Don't forget to do this when planning your trip....

Jeff Becker

jefbecker1
Joined
Nov 7, 2017
So I have posted a few questions on other threads about planning my first family trip to Walt Disney World. My wife and I are planning to take our daughter's (5 and 3 at the time of the trip) to Walt Disney World in June 2018. We will also be celebrating my wife's 40th birthday. All the planning for this is one me, so I REALLY don't want to make any mistakes (although I am sure that is not possible :-)).

From earlier threads, I have received great advice on the resort and dining plan options. We are going to stay at the Polynesian on the Club Level. I think we are going to hold off on a meal plan for right now. I plan to make some dinner reservations at some restaurants 180 days in advance when allowed.

Does anyone have some "absolute musts" I should do when planning this trip? Are there certain things I should do to make sure my family enjoys the trip? I don't want to make the "obvious" mistake. I want to make sure I don't forget that "critical" step in the planning process.

I know that both my daughters want to meet the Princesses, so I need to look into that process.

Any help would be much appreciated!

Also, I want to thank everyone that takes the time to respond to these messages. You have no idea how helpful all this advice is when planning our trip.
 
I'm going to assume you know how to book your FP at 60 days out?

If your daughters want to meet the princesses I would recommend a character meal such as Akershus or maybe CRT for a special birthday dinner for your DW.

What is DW's favorite things at Disney? Is there a certain nighttime show she likes to watch, does she enjoy the dessert parties, certain rides, etc? I would make sure and try to include her favorites for sure.
 
My daughter was five the first time she visited which was in April. I second Akershus, it was wonderful! We went for lunch and she still talks about it.
You can also use a FP for Story Time with Belle in the MK. We visited Cinderella, Elena, Tiana, and Rapunzel in the Fairytale Hall. Are you guys visiting Hollywood Studios? She loooved Sci Fi Drive In for lunch also. The theme there is so cool and that was def one of her favorites. If you're going to Animal Kingdom - Tusker House.
Another thing we all loved was the Dessert Party at Magic Kingdom. We did the Garden View and it was really nice.
 
With kids that young, I highly recommend a rest day in the middle of your trip. If you can't do that, at least a day to sleep in a little later. I learned the hard way that my family gets very cranky if I don't allow them to get somewhat caught up on sleep in the middle of a trip. If we go for a week I usually plan a day to sleep in and use the pool. My girls LOVE to swim and enjoy the down time.

Have a magical trip!
 
Our 3 year old granddaughter loved BOG - we actually went once for breakfast and again for lunch. We sat in different rooms each time. She loves the princesses but her most favourite thing was meeting Minnie Mouse!
As others have said don't try and do too much. We did not do any early get ups. The grandchildren loved returning to the pools and playground at our resort and having spending money for gifts at Disney Springs.
 


On our first trip the boys were 1, 5 and 9. I found that our TS meals were a great way to relax and regroup. (I would think the AC will be a much appreciated benefit in June.)

In addition to a princess character meal, I would also suggest doing at least one meal with non-face characters (I forget the term) like Mickey or Pooh and their respective friends.

For your wife, there are many options depending on her likes. Would she enjoy a birthday meal with birthday hugs from Mickey and Minnie (or Donald and Daisy or......)? Or more food centric meal with a personalized treat ordered in advance waiting for her?

I agree that just exploring the magic of the parks (there are play areas) and the resort pool will be a big part of the fun for your little ones.
 
I can tell you that my DW's favorite restaurants included Artists Point, Jiko, California Grill, Ohana, Biergarten, Rose & Crown, and 50s Prime Time. If she were still alive, a dinner at one of those would have been a good birthday choice for her. Her favorite shop was the store in the Japan pavilion at Epcot. Ride Dumbo together just the two of you--this may sound strange, but we found it to be a treasured memory.
 
I know that your nighttime schedule may be limited because of tired kids/bedtimes.... but do look at the various nighttime shows...I would think Happily Ever After would be awe inspiring for young girls who are into princesses. If you don't do a dessert party with HAE viewing, look for good viewing strategy advice from experienced folks
 
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Another thing you may want to research ahead of time...Kenny the Pirate's character locator has advice for interacting with characters at meet n greets (like questions to ask) to help make sure you end up with a memorable moment, not just a photo op. The CMs don't just look the part, they know the roles.
 
Mentioned before but worth mentioning again, don't plan down to the minute, focus on the most important things and let anything else be a bonus.

We have done CRT and loved it. The food was good, but realistically the cost is driven by the overall experience. Haven't done Akershus, but will probably try it on a future trip based on all of the good things we have heard. Those are your two best bets for princess interactions. One thing to add, buy autograph books beforehand...you'll be able to save a few bucks that way. Also, if the girls know about the trip, you can give them those as Christmas or birthday gifts.

BOG is another awesome experience which we will repeat.

Overall, you won't make mistakes...you will just gain experience for future trips. Have a blast and watch your girls have some of the biggest smiles they've ever had! :tigger:
 
I'm assuming cost is not such a big factor since you're staying at Poly Club level. :cool1:

In that case, make sure you book CRT. It's a really fun experience and the food is actually better than I was expecting. Akershus is also good for princesses; however, CRT has a much better ambience. With that said, 3 and 5 year olds don't notice those things -- so it's not that big of an issue.

If you want to max out on princess meet and greets, then here are the places you want to hit up.

CRT
Akershus (picture with Belle in yellow gown and you meet Aurora, snow white, ariel, and sometimes mary poppins and Cinderella)
1900 Park fare (dinner at Grand Floridian Resort -- buffet and you get to meet Cinderella, Prince, and the best characters in Disney -- the stepsisters and evil step mom. They were an absolute riot when we went)
BOG -- beast is only at Dinner -- but you have to go just to see how nice it is on the inside

Also do the meet and greets at Magic Kingdom and you must do Enchanted Tales with Belle. It is really well done. The Frozen meet and greet in Norway is great and doesn't take too long to get through the line.

As far as shows, DHS has Beauty and the beast, Ariel, and a Frozen sing along (which is my daughter's favorite show).

You can also try bibbity bobbity boutique for the oldest (not sure if they do 3 year olds). I've never had my daughters do that one yet (they're the same age as yours are now).

As others have said -- your kids will not move quickly through the parks and some of the things they will enjoy the most are the play areas in different parts of the park (magic kingdom has a play area in dumbo, animal kingdom has the boneyard). If you use touringplans.com to set up your schedule -- set it to slowest possible walking speed -- and don't be surprised if you are still way behind schedule. Kids are also fascinated with the bubble wands they sell throughout the parks -- so plan on buying two of those!

Last thing -- the Grand Floridian Resort has a couple of princess things that they can go to. There is the Disney's Perfectly Princess Tea (pretty pricey at $333 for one adult and one kid -- second child is $234). The other options are afternoon tea (no princess interaction at this one), but if your kids like tea parties, this could be fun (at least for the older one); and the Wonderland Tea Party (mad hatter and Alice). Supposed to be fun for kids 3 to 10 years old. Adults typically don't go in, so this would allow you and your wife to relax for an hour (1:30 to 2:30). http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/dining/diningdetail.cfm?restaurant.id=227

Ok -- now last thing...since you'll be staying club level, don't forget you'll be able to get some decent snacks, food and drinks back at the resort throughout the day. You can pretty much get by without having to buy any breakfasts...especially for the kids.
 
I would but the Memory Maker/Photopass. You will be able to get everyone in all of the pictures and will make for great memories.

I would also look into the Kids club if you can. I think there is one at the Polynesian and you and your wife could have a little time to yourself. We used the one at AKL with my daughter so that my husband and I could have a date night.

For princesses we did many of things mentioned above and my daughter is not a princess fan but she enjoyed it.
 
You can also try bibbity bobbity boutique for the oldest (not sure if they do 3 year olds). I've never had my daughters do that one yet (they're the same age as yours are now).
Yes it's ages 3 to 12. My 3 year old did it last month and she was in heaven! She loved every second of the hair, makeup, and nails. But not all 3 years old would be able to handle it.
 
We have done Bibbity Bobbity Boutique in the morning and then went to Akershus for dinner. My daughter loved it. We also love Crystal Palace (Pooh Charterers), Be Our Guest for dinner, 1900 Park Fare, Garden Grill and Tusker House (Mickey and Friends).

For non charterers we love Teppen Edo at EPCOT. The kids have a bast watching the food cook in front of you. We also like Liberty Tree Tavern at MK.
 
About 60 days before your trip consider your children and what they are like, when hot, when frustrated, and with noise. ESPECIALLY with noise. It never dawned on me how many attractions feature darkness and thunder, until I was there with my 3 year old and he was a mess. If dark and loud is a problem for either one of them at the time, then have a plan. On the next trip I had ear muff (hearing protection kind) and our trip was much better. Remember that you are traveling with your children and they will still be your children even at Walt Disney World. Packs LOTS of snacks!! You never want to let a kid get too hungry or too tired. Better to eat early and leave too early than stay one minute too long!!
 
I would take the family to see the Hoop De Doo Revue. This is our favorite thing at Disney, and we go every trip. Three years ago, we had an extended family group (18) go to HDDR. We had 5 princesses ranging in age from 3-8 and we had one 3 year old pirate. I was worried about the kids and how they would react to the experience. They absolutely loved it. I think the fast pace and the fact that the actors came out into the audience helped a lot.
 
We arrive in the parks 15 mins after rope drop then book FPs starting around 9:30. Peter Pan has the longest lines so we used one FP for PP every dat at MK. Use parent swap for any rides your little one refuses to or can't go on. Bring a double stroller or stroller with glider board. We absolutely adored Mickey's Backyard BBQ. You get to meet a lot of characters who pose for pics, the food was good, and alcohol was included for what it's worth. We didn't attempt fireworks or night entertainment at that age. The kids were in bed at 8 and ready for the parks early. Have a great trip!
 
My daughter, age 5 at the time, was really into princesses and loved having lunch at Akershus. Your kids can meet Anna and Elsa in the same area, with much shorter wait times (we didn't even want to bother with the lines when we went a couple years ago).

Surprisingly, she also still talks about Pirates and Pals - a dessert party with Captain Hook and Smee followed by a boat trip to see the fireworks show and a usually a visit from Peter Pan at the end.

Don't forget to book fast passes for your entire stay 60 days before check-in, and get those restaurant reservations as soon as the window opens. We're planning a second trip now and it's very time consuming. But hopefully it'll be a more enjoyable vacation having all the details figured out before arrival. Definitely use rider swap if there are attractions you want to see but one or both of your kids are unable/unwilling to go.
 

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