Hi everyone! I'm new here & going to WDW in Nov.

[Shelby]

My husband and I are taking our 2 kids who will be 5 & 3 when we are there...we are trying to plan the trip and make our itinerary but it is sooo hard to do! I need some pointers. I have been to disney many times and so has my husband. we honeymooned there 7 years ago and that was our last trip. if you have any tips for traveling with small kids please fill me in! we arrive at WDW on Nov 6th at 11am and we leave on Nov 14th at 11am.

thanks in advance for you advice. I'm sure I'll be spending a lot of time here over the next couple of months!

Shelby

 

[Ringo8n24]

The Unofficial Guide to WDW With Children is a great book showing the perfect restaurants, rides, and hotels for children by age group. It also shows all of the height requirements and noise factors for each. I have recommended it to many of my friends and they love it. It can be found around the Birnbaums at any bookstore. The other tip I have is to bring ziploc bags for leftovers to be used later as a snack. Even the kid's menu at WDW has large portions for small children. Have fun and have alot of patience for your children with so much going on around them.

 

[Shelby]

oops! I haven't really had time to browse the site yet I guess!

 

[wannabeBelle]

Again Welcome to the Boards!!!! I am sorry I dont have children either although I have gone with My two nephews 11 and 7 at the time and my niece who was 4 at the time. Make sure you invest in a stroller or bring one with you!!! Little legs get tired very quickly when doing all that walking. We were able to do so much more of the parks without the kids wiping out on us because of this.
Explain to the children about the characters is right on!!! Generally the little ones tend to do better with the face characters. Id definitely call for one of the princess breakfasts. Call exactly 90 days out and at 7 am for best choice. They may be sold out completely otherwise. Also let your children know that if they get lost they should go to a character!!!!!! I know it sounds odd but the characters all come out with a CM as a handler and will pass the children right off to one of them!! Also let them know that the CMs only wear WHITE name tags. Other colors are available for purchase so anyone can have that!!!
Dont limit yourself to a certain time frame for a park. I have never agreed with the idea that the AK is a half day park. I like it there a lot. Tarzan Rocks is one of my favorite shows there and Im sure your kids would love it!!!!
Also dont limit yourself to what you think you will like, try some new stuff!!! This is what Disney is all about!!! I met up with a couple with a very young daughter who were discussing how they couldnt enjoy EPCOT because the kid was too young. I stuck my two cents in and gave them a complete listing of different things to do wth her in EPCOT inccludign the Kidcot fun stations, which rides she would like, what to go and see, the water fountains play area specifically for little kids etc. They were very pleasantly suprised. When I asked them who told them that EPCOT wasnt good for thier daughter, they told me the travel agent did!!!!! I laughed and told them that only someone who knows and loves the parks the way I do could really make a call like that!! The people on this board have the same love for the parks that I do and so I know you wont get any misinformation!!! You came to the right place!!!
The all Star Movies is a very cute hotel and I think you would have a great time!!!
Any more specific questions on anything, please dont feel funny. Post them and I am sure we will get a response for you!!! Once again ,Welcome!!! Belle

 

[Dwarful]

Welcome to the boards. if you go with Renting the double strollers from the parks, inquire about the multiday discount. We were there in June with 6 kids, not all in strollers, but we did take advantage of paying up front and getting the coupons for the week, two great features, one you don't stand in the long lines every morning..go right to express line to get the stroller. second you save about 5% I believe, not alot but every penny counts.

Speaking of pennies..our kids loved saving their shinney pennies and quarters for the squished penny machines (thats 4yr old speak) the kids loved collecting the various pennies and then getting the book to keep them in.

Also we loved taking the family photo on MainStreet..do it early while everyone is at their best.

 

[Shelby]

wow, this is wonderful! I never imagined this many responses so soon! I have taken in every bit of information mentioned in this thread and will keep it fresh in my mind when I start the planning. we don't plan on a strict itinerary or anything, but we do want to plan which days we'll be at each park and where we want to eat dinner, etc. when my husband and I went on our honeymoon we stayed at the CB and it was great. this time around we are on a strict budget and when my 4 yr old saw the pics of the big buzz and woody I was sold by his reaction...we got the trip planning dvd and they watch it every night before bed...they are so excited and I just can't wait to get there! thanks so much for the great advice. I have many more ??s but I''m thinking I should maybe ask them in a different thread!

thanks for making me feel so welcome here...it's great!

 

[Nansafan]

I apologize in advance if you mentioned this and I missed it. Are you flying or driving? if flying, will you be renting a car? My cousin and her husband decided to rent a car when they went the first time with my nephews who were 6 and 8. The car was a great place for the boys to catch a nap on the way back and forth to places and with a car, they always had a seat. If you are on a WDW bus, you may have to stand now and then.

I'm not sure if I read this on this site or a different one but I thought it was a clever idea. The family flew to Orlando and had a rental car. When hey drove to property, they stopped at a store and bought a cheap stroller to use for the duration of the trip. This way, they always had a stroller available and didn't have to worry about getting and returning one everytime they went to a park. When their vacation was over, they simply left the stroller in the hotel room with a note attached saying to give to charity. Buying the stroller was actually cheaper than renting one each day.

PS welcome

 

[maxime29]

Welcome to the forums.

Continue to ask as many questions in this thread as you wish (doesn't matter if they are off topic; anything to make your vacation more enjoyable for the family)

I do recommend Kidcot in World Showcase. There were a lot of children involved in the program when we visited EPCOT, and they were enjoying themselves.

 

[FatBoy976]

As someone who's been going to Disney World since birth, I say definetly stick your kids in the Neverland daycare club one night and go have fun without them. That's what our parents did, and none of the four of us ever missed them. That place is awesome and I kind of wish I could still go there. It's got a great Peter Pan theme and they have games and activities all night long. Other than that, I think everyone else on the post has pretty much covered it all.

 

[Snowflake82]

Hi, Shelby -

We will be at WDW Nov 6 - 9 with our 4 year old - maybe we'll run into you! There's been a lot of good advice here; not sure I have a lot to add.

Definitely encourage the kids to try things that they may not be sure about, but don't force them to go on anything they don't want to. The only thing that ever really freaked my son out, though, was It's Tough To Be A Bug - and we were not completely not expecting it. After that, I cringe whenever I hear kids in the waiting area crying before they even get into the theater.

Also, everybody talks about the afternoon break - all I can say is that it just doesn't work that well for my family. Travelling to and from the hotel and changing from touring mode to resting mode and back just to get a break seems to make everyone Grumpy. We usually do take a reasonably long lunch break in the park, however, and make sure to find some air conditioning. It helps that our son is a good stroller sleeper. Of course, you know your kids best, so do what works for your family. Oh, yeah, since we don't normally do daily breaks, we do make sure to plan a pool afternoon into the schedule, otherwise we might never get to it.

Enjoy the planning - it's part of the fun!

Jennifer

 

[wannabeBelle]

I agree with Maxime, Keep asking your questions here!!! If they are spread out some of us who might want to help, may not see the question!!If they are all here, we can find them easily enough!!!! There is some great info here so far!!! I agree about the planning where to eat in what park on what day. That is usually how I do it!! Belle

 

[fjm777]

My family (children 8 and 5) and I went in Jan 2003. I understand that Nov is about the same as far as crowds. When we went there were so few people in the parks that it took almost no time to do everything we wanted over and over again. We did try to get to the park right at opening and I'm sure that helped.

About the "All Star Movies"...

We stayed at the Music and although it is not as good as far as the decor it was FAR less crowded. The buses usually ran to all three resorts - Sports then Music then Movies. When we got on there were only a handful of people on the bus. At the Movies resort there were tons of people trying to crowd on the bus, standing in the aisles - at least we had a seat already. Sometimes people had to wait on the next bus because it was too full. Just a heads up. If you stay at the Movies be ready for a crowd (buses, food court, etc.) even in the off season.

 

[Kadee]

Shelby -- I don't think this was mentioned but if it was, I apologize. When you go to the AK, DON'T miss the LIon King show and you will want to sit as close to the front as possible. Towards the end of the show, they go to each section and pick some kids to join in a "parade" and play instruments. They just walk around inside the show area...they don't take them anywhere. My daughter got picked to do this and loved it. She felt very special. When you go in, there will be 4 sections; sit at the bottom (first 3 rows) of any of them and there is a good chance they (or at least your oldest) will get picked.