Thoughts tips and opinions

[brittany lee]

We will be visiting with our almost 5 year old and birthday girl turning 3 on the trip December 2-7th with 5 park days and hoppers. Any tips would be helpful? Right now my plan sits at 1 day at Epcot, 1 day AK, Half a day at Hollywood, and 2 days MK. Our last day would be a shorter day for us to leave and drive home a little before getting a room somewhere for the night.

I think we will do AK a whole day with late safari and river of lights. Then day 2 Epcot. This is Birthday day! I've read rumors there will be an Elsa and Annah meet and greet( my youngest loves frozen) there with the new Frozen ride. (If we could see them at Epcot my 5 year old could fast pass rapunzel at mk) Maybe Akershus for a princess birthday breakfast,dinner at Teppdan Edo?

Here is where I am questioning what I want to do.

Options 1 Day three Hollywood sleep in and chill around the resort then finish with an afternoon at Hollywood for Minnie's holiday done with fatasmic package show. Then last two days at magic Kingdom. One of those nights will be a short night because we don't plan to attend the mvmcp.

Option 2 Do day 3 and 4 at MK for 2 full days (rather than having to leave park early to get a jump on driving home) and our last day at Hollywood for a short day but miss Fantasmic show.

 

[PrincessRachelT]

I personally love Fantasmic, that being said, I didn't see it until I was much older. It can get pretty intense for the little ones, and I've seen lots of parents take their kids out. Depending on how your kiddos would do, I would pick based upon that. Maybe watch the show on YouTube to get a better feel for it.

 

[Weather_Lady]

If it were I, I would finish with the Magic Kingdom (doing the other parks first). It has more than twice the number of attractions for kids than any of the other parks, and is the easiest to navigate (smallest footprint). Once my kids had a taste of the Magic Kingdom, every other park was a letdown. They still had fun, but they kept asking every day when we could get back to the Magic Kingdom...

 

[Disney4family]

When you're at Animal Kingdom, your kids could enjoy being Wilderness Explorers. They get badges all over the park. It's for preschoolers and kids. Looks cute.
https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/attractions/animal-kingdom/wilderness-explorers/
Face painting is found on the left in Africa & in Dinoland. Save the receipt. If they need a touch-up, it'll be done for free when you show your receipt.

They do a beautiful job. It's sanitary & fine. Girls usually get sparkles. My kids are 11 & 13 and they still get it done.

When you're at Epcot, get them the little Passport Kits. There are Mickey stickers to add to the pages. Cast Members will stamp them and write welcome notes to them. My daughter's UK page would welcome her to the land of Mary Poppins & Alice. My son's would be to the land of Peter Pan & Pooh. They're nice souvenirs on top of the free Duffy or Perry to color at the Kidcot FunStops - which are also fun to color. We have tons from each year. It's fun to see how well they colored when they were little. Now they plan how they're going to do it. [The magic is always there.] Cast Members will stamp them & draw something of their country or flag with Mickey (of course). Japan, Morocco & China will also write their names in their languages on them. Here are some pictures of them as well as where to find them in each country. If they don't come up, just click on the top left and they'll load.
http://allears.net/tp/ep/epcot-kidcot-fun-stops.htm
I believe they have 5 in FutureWorld, too.
http://www.wdwinfo.com/just_for_kids/epcotkids.htm
Face Painting is found in the back left of World Showcase in the Africa Outpost.
Akershus would be a definite for a meal!!

The Studios has a lot for little ones, so it would be hard to miss, but I agree that they're young for Fantasmic. YouTube it one time when they're not around and check it out. The ending is wonderfully magical, but it could be a bit much with the "villain" stuff before that. You could enjoy a nice character b'fast, see the shows - Beauty, Disney Junior, Little Mermaid. Face Painting is by Toy Story & Star Wars.

I would choose the full 2 days at Magic. There's just so much to enjoy here, you don't want to feel rushed. Have a meal at The Crystal Palace with Pooh & Friends. We always do b'fast.

Don't forget the umbrella strollers since there's so much walking for little ones. Get the stroller covers at BabiesRUs in case you have "liquid sunshine".

Get your daughter her b'day pin. It'll still be a wonderful souvenir even if you find she's too little to wear it. I guess with the Magic Bands, everyone will know it's her b'day. When we were there for our daughter's b'day, I would have a little slip of paper that said "Today is Emma's b'day." I would have it on top of the autograph books when I handed them to the princesses (or any character). Her face lit up when they would say "Oh Princess Emma, thank you so much for sharing your special day with us!" and wish her a happy b'day even before she said hello!

Enjoy every minute! I love looking at the pictures of my "little" ones when they were 5 & 3.

 

[Disney4family]

Oh - Magic Kingdom face painting is in Tomorrowland by the Space Mtn restrooms

 

[brittany lee]

We are going to have a special birthday shirt made as well! Thank you for the info it has helped greatly!

 

[Rsj88]

We always do first and last day In MK. It doesn't feel right being there until we've seen the castle! We also get hoppers and hop back to MK if we get done early at any of the other parks.

 

[KCheatle]

I was questioning why you were starting at AK, but now I think I get it - you won't get there until later in the day, correct? If that's true, then I think it's a good idea to do AK first because that's not a full day park for my family (and for many families that I hear from).

I, personally, would go for Option 2. I think your kids will want full days at MK at their ages. HS is kind of barren right now, and although I agree that Fantasmic is a great show, I also think it's kind of a lot to handle for the little ones. So, I don't think you'd regret missing it.

 

[brittany lee]

We actually are checking in to out resort in the 2ns and starting park days on the 3rd. The reason for others parks first is I am MK obsessed and I feel like if they went there first and saw the castle and had so much magical fun it would be such a let down to go to the other parks.

 

[PinnySmart]

Most families I speak with enjoy at least a full day at AK. It's a shame to rush in and rush out of Disney's most beautiful park.

 

[Bryan Slater]

We will be visiting with our almost 5 year old and birthday girl turning 3 on the trip December 2-7th with 5 park days and hoppers. Any tips would be helpful? Right now my plan sits at 1 day at Epcot, 1 day AK, Half a day at Hollywood, and 2 days MK. Our last day would be a shorter day for us to leave and drive home a little before getting a room somewhere for the night.

I think we will do AK a whole day with late safari and river of lights. Then day 2 Epcot. This is Birthday day! I've read rumors there will be an Elsa and Annah meet and greet( my youngest loves frozen) there with the new Frozen ride. (If we could see them at Epcot my 5 year old could fast pass rapunzel at mk) Maybe Akershus for a princess birthday breakfast,dinner at Teppdan Edo?

Here is where I am questioning what I want to do.

Options 1 Day three Hollywood sleep in and chill around the resort then finish with an afternoon at Hollywood for Minnie's holiday done with fatasmic package show. Then last two days at magic Kingdom. One of those nights will be a short night because we don't plan to attend the mvmcp.

Option 2 Do day 3 and 4 at MK for 2 full days (rather than having to leave park early to get a jump on driving home) and our last day at Hollywood for a short day but miss Fantasmic show.

Don't miss the fantasmic show. Go w option one but you know what your family will enjoy. Go with your gut!

 

[Boknowsleo]

If you plan on returning for more trips, you might want to start some traditions. My family goes every three years, ever since my girls were 2 and 5. Some traditions we have are...last ride of trip Splash Mountain, last place to eat, Cosmic Rays...stuff like that my girls love. Also, don't feel the need to do EVERYTHING, if you return you can try things for the first time, every trip is different which is why we return so much!!!