How long to spend in each park?

[steamboatjosh]

2 days at Magic Kingdom
1 day at Epcot (For me and my fiance it's 2 days, but with 2 young kids that'll get bored with a lot of the stuff they have there, I'd recommend only one.)
1 day at Hollywood Studios (DO NOT MISS FANTASMIC! Both you and your kids will love it!)
1 day at Animal Kingdom (If your kids like animals then I'd definitely spend a whole day there. They have some great relaxing spot where your kids can take a nap, and they also have a really cool fossil site in DinoLand where your kids get to dig up fake Dino-bones and you get to sit down.)

As far as table service restaurants, the ones I'd recommend with kids are:

Animal Kingdom- Tusker House Restaurant (Safari Donald and friends)
Magic Kingdom- The Crystal Palace (Pooh and Friends)
Hollywood Studios- Hollywood & Vine Character Breakfast (especially if your kids watch Disney Junior.)
Epcot- Askershus Royal Banquet Hall Breakfast (Disney Princesses)

 

[tmstephe]

don't bother planning at all. Just decide upon a park to go for your first day, I would suggest Magic Kingdom. From that point on just decide on a daily basis where you want to go, what you want to see and how long you will stay for.

Being your first time, you will probably take it slow and take in the sights and cherish the environment.

I agree 100%. We took our kids at 6 mo/3 yrs and again at 18 mo/4 yrs and followed a similar plan. Just take it at your pace and enjoy the trip!

 

[lebeau]

Planning is essential. But with a 2 and a 5 year old, you will have to be flexible. Plan. But be prepared to deviate from those plans. Going in without a plan will not end well.

With a 2 and a 5 year old height restrictions will be a concern. Also, how adventurous is the 5 year old?

When my oldest was 5, we could coax her on some rides. But really, there was very little she could do at Hollywood Studios or Animal Kingdom. The same is true for our youngest who is about to turn five.

At Hollywood Studios, unless your oldest is really adventurous or you really enjoy stage shows, there may not be a lot to do. There are three rides without a height restriction. One is a fairly dull tram ride. One features mummies and the creature from Alien among other potentially scary things. And the last one has hour-long waits most of the time. I would not spend more than a day here.

Animal Kingdom also has very few rides. There is the safari and a Dumbo-type spinner ride. Anything else is likely to have a height restriction or be too scary. (As always, depends on the kid.) There's some great atmosphere and animal exhibits. But if you have a nice zoo nearby, you may not want to spend top dollar on a Disney zoo. Unless you have a love of zoos, I would not spend more than a day here.

Frankly, I think both of these parks are skippable with young ones.

MK should use up most of your time. Epcot is surprisingly fun for little ones even if most of the rides are a bit of a snore. But your mileage may vary there.

 

[DfromATX]

I would vote

2 Days at MK
1 Day at AK
1 Day at DHS
1 Day at Epcot
1 Day "off" from the parks
1 Day based on what you find you like the best while you are there

With ones that little plan on breaks during the day for naps back at the hotel. The off day in the middle of the week, sleeping in some, swimming and relaxing, maybe DTD.

This would be my vote! (Except we can usually do AK in half a day and then go swimming before dinner, but maybe after Avatarland is built that will change.)

 

[Disnee4Me]

My kids have been going to WDW since they were each 2 years old and we always tour the parks commando(open to close), stay at one park, and don't take a nap break(they napped in the stroller). But you are the only one who knows your kids and have to decide if a mid-day break is necessary.

You can easily spend a whole day in each park, so none are a "half day", especially if you are first timers. There is so much to see at each one, that you will not need to hop to another. And with kids, hopping is more of a chore and takes up valuable time you could be spending in the parks.

We always did this when our kids were little too ... open to close in one park, nap in the stroller. My sons were raised on Disney. Mickey was one of the first words my older son Stephen said ... although he pronounced it "Ditti"

 

[DfromATX]

I am planning our first family to disney world November 8-15. My girls will be 2 and 5 years old. I am trying to plan an itinerary for each day/park and I'm not sure if we should plan to be at each park for the whole day. We plan to go to one park a day starting in the morning. I'm not sure if we should stay a full day to make dinner reservations in each park? For example: could we see all the necessary attractions at animal kingdom and leave the park to have dinner at a resort? I'm assuming a full day or two in magic kingdom is necessary but what about the other parks?? Any suggestions would be helpful! Also, any recommendations you have about table service restaurants would be appreciated! Thanks!

I would say just go with the flow. Maybe plan to go to one park per day, knowing you may leave early. I personally like to do two days at my favorite, MK, and one day at the others, but my kids are older. Even we are exhausted at the end. Just enjoy your time there and you will go home knowing what you'll want to do next time!