Hi from Oz! My crew of 2 parents and 6 kids (they'll be aged between 5 and 10yrs) are planning a once in a lifetime trip to WDW in late August-early September 2023. This is part of a larger road trip through North America and we are feeling the pinch with costs of everything adding up. At this stage we are looking at 7-10 days in Orlando, with probably one day for Universal (park hopper to explore the Harry Potter worlds for the older kids) and the rest for WDW or as rest days inbetween the park days. Our littler girls love Disney princesses (Little Mermaid, Frozen, Beauty and the Beast mainly) and our older kids enjoy some rides and things like Star Wars, some Disney and Pixar films. My DH enjoys Star Wars but is not a complete fan boy, and I like the Marvel titles and enjoy most Disney things.
The kids (and adults!) are going to get tired if we go flat out for the full 7-10 days. I'm not sure that prams will be helpful, given how big the kids will be, so we are considering having one parent take the big kids to the parks for perhaps 6-7 days (and another 1 day at Universal) with the other parent having a few rest days with the littler kids (maybe 2?). This will help us rein in the budget a bit, too, or give us some more cash to spend on Genie+ etc. We don't expect to be able to 'do' all of WDW but the time is precious and we'd like to enjoy watching shows and going on rides instead of just standing in lines most of the day.
I'm trying to read through all the relevant previous threads but I'd really appreciate your advice on the following, please:
1) What are the must-do parks for 5-6 year old girls?
2) How many rest days (if any) would you recommend? Or are we better off going home and resting for a bit and coming back in the same day and hitting the parks harder?
3) Apart from the early entry, does staying in a resort make the trip significantly better, given the price? Given the size of our family and our budget constraints, we would be looking at a Disney value hotel (so they won't appreciate as many of the older characters) or even camping at Fort Wilderness if we were to be staying in the Park. Otherwise, we were planning to stay in a cheaper AirBNB in Kissimmee and driving in each day.
Thank you so much for your help! The planning is exciting but daunting, and I know that y'all will be able to really help make this an awesome trip.
The kids (and adults!) are going to get tired if we go flat out for the full 7-10 days. I'm not sure that prams will be helpful, given how big the kids will be, so we are considering having one parent take the big kids to the parks for perhaps 6-7 days (and another 1 day at Universal) with the other parent having a few rest days with the littler kids (maybe 2?). This will help us rein in the budget a bit, too, or give us some more cash to spend on Genie+ etc. We don't expect to be able to 'do' all of WDW but the time is precious and we'd like to enjoy watching shows and going on rides instead of just standing in lines most of the day.
I'm trying to read through all the relevant previous threads but I'd really appreciate your advice on the following, please:
1) What are the must-do parks for 5-6 year old girls?
2) How many rest days (if any) would you recommend? Or are we better off going home and resting for a bit and coming back in the same day and hitting the parks harder?
3) Apart from the early entry, does staying in a resort make the trip significantly better, given the price? Given the size of our family and our budget constraints, we would be looking at a Disney value hotel (so they won't appreciate as many of the older characters) or even camping at Fort Wilderness if we were to be staying in the Park. Otherwise, we were planning to stay in a cheaper AirBNB in Kissimmee and driving in each day.
Thank you so much for your help! The planning is exciting but daunting, and I know that y'all will be able to really help make this an awesome trip.
. Living with the land when they were small was the same. Soarin if they are adventurous, its not scary but they will be off the ground etc.
