Newbie traveling with teens, advice please

[xavier2001]

This is my first time on this side of the board. I am a Disney fanatic but haven’t been to the parks in 30 years!! We are definitely cruisers but with all that having been cancelled for do long, we thought we’d try the parks. Trip planned for early June. We Traveling with me are my Mom (a young 65), and 2 13 year olds who have never been to the park. We have a tight timeline for the Disney portion of a longer Florida trip. Currently plan is drive about 2 hours to get to Disney, do 1 day at Magic Kingdom, spent the night at Carribbean Beach Resort, spend the next day at Hollywood Studios, then drive home.

Any tips or tricks to maximize our park time and keep the teens engaged would be greatly appreciated. Star Wars is pretty high on the list and the main reason we are going to DHS.

 

[potterfanatic]

My teens absolutely love Disney no tips or tricks needed. We even told them last year that they could “do their own thing” if they wanted for a little bit, but they never chose to separate from the rest of us. Have a wonderful trip!

 

[dprincessmom]

Tips and tricks: Rope drop will be huge to get as much out of the parks as you can. If the park is "opening" at 8, you should be in line by 7 - currently they are staggering the opening times to get people out of the "herd" opening. This should let you into the park and on a ride or two before the actual opening. For MK we usually head to the mountains in Frontier land, then adventure land, then tomorrow land and finally fantasy land.

Given your time frame, I would have the everyone in the party pick one or two "must dos" use the app and youtube to determine what that might be.
Dining is still limited so you will need to do mobile ordering and if possible an off time or plan ahead.
The lines will look very long because of the social distancing markers, but they will go relatively fast.

For Hollywood Studios research the rise of the resistance que and how it works/what is needed. You MAY NOT get a boarding pass so how you play this off with the teens will be up to you. HS is smaller in terms of square footage but has great rides for thrill seekers, our strategy is usually Sunset Blvd for Tower of Terror and Rock N Roller Coaster, then move on to Toy Story land after the initial wave is already there. Again, figure out the must dos and then work off of that list.

Have a great time. Go into the trip with expectations that this is not the "normal" WDW experience and determine if you like the limited experience enough to plan a longer trip when things are more open.

 

[holden]

Be sure to book park reservations and any dining reservations ahead of time. Park reservations can be booked now. Dining can be booked 60 days before check-in.

If you want to maximize your time in the parks, arrive well in advance of opening. Parks are opening before the published time. Based on what I've read, I think the parking lots open about an hour ahead of time.

Let the kids check out the attractions on line and prioritize which ones they'd like to do. They won't get to try everything, so they should make sure they get to do the ones they want.

You won't need to do anything to keep them engaged. The parks will do that for you.

Enjoy!

 

[mamaofsix]

Just go into it knowing that there's a very good chance you won't get a Rise of the Resistance pass at Hollywood Studios. Look at it like, "if we get it, that's a bonus" and hopefully everyone will be satisfied with enjoying the land without necessarily being able to go on that attraction.

 

[ENJDisneyFan]

As others have mentioned my biggest tip would be to read up on ROTR boarding groups and PRACTICE in advance. Lots of tips here: https://www.disboards.com/threads/r...planning-and-information-no-spoilers.3782822/

With only 2 days I would not waste time on table service meals. Quick service right now is done through mobile ordering on the MDE app. Make sure to read up on how that works.

I would also plan to be at each park about 1 hour prior to posted opening. They have been opening the gates early and some rides will be operating before the park officially opens. Take advantage of the first hour or 2 for shortest lines.

I too have teens and their favorites at MK are the mountains (Space, Splash, Big Thunder), Haunted Mansion, and Buzz Lightyear.

Have a great trip!

 

[glocon]

And remember, if you don’t get a BG for Rise at 7, you can try again at 1pm.

 

[MomOTwins]

Is there no way you can come in the night before and stay 2 nights at CBR? Driving 2 hours your MK morning will likely put you there after crowds have built up and the park is packed. Plus that will give you time to settle in to the room on arrival day, maybe do a nighttime swim at the pirate pool and enjoy the resort.

Other tip is, just like the shorter cruises, take it slow, and don’t try to do everything. I know you want to maximize rides since you have limited time, but when we find we are go go go all day it really isn’t as enjoyable as the days where we took a break and just hung out and watched the characters a bit in star wars land and browsed the shops, or spent a couple hours on the tree house and the tiki room in MK. Being at Disney World is best when you stop to smell the roses and enjoy the little details at the parks.

 

[xavier2001]

Is there no way you can come in the night before and stay 2 nights at CBR? Driving 2 hours your MK morning will likely put you there after crowds have built up and the park is packed. Plus that will give you time to settle in to the room on arrival day, maybe do a nighttime swim at the pirate pool and enjoy the resort.

I wish we could go the night before but it’s just not feasible in the overall plan of the week. I did plan a low key no plans beach day after the trip to recover lol. We definitely don’t want to rush to everything (we are cruise pace people after all), but want to make sure we at least hit all the highlights.

 

[WEDWDW]

My teens absolutely love Disney no tips or tricks needed.

You have got some BRILLIANT teens there!

 

[potterfanatic]

You have got some BRILLIANT teens there!

Only when it comes to Disney, they hate pretty much everything else in the world. Actually planning a trip now and thinking about it, things tend to go more smoothly for us if they know what our plan is and if we have at least one dining reservation a day so they know when the walking/food breaks are.

 

[Blondie58]

Two days..............No need to keep busy with tips and tricks. I think they will be begging to return. Soooo much to do, see, and enjoy.

 

[xavier2001]

Two days..............No need to keep busy with tips and tricks. I think they will be begging to return. Soooo much to do, see, and enjoy.

Yes, but how do I make the best of my time? I know we can’t see it all, but what are the ‘must do’s’ for the teens?

 

[Blondie58]

This is my first time on this side of the board. I am a Disney fanatic but haven’t been to the parks in 30 years!! We are definitely cruisers but with all that having been cancelled for do long, we thought we’d try the parks. Trip planned for early June. We Traveling with me are my Mom (a young 65), and 2 13 year olds who have never been to the park. We have a tight timeline for the Disney portion of a longer Florida trip. Currently plan is drive about 2 hours to get to Disney, do 1 day at Magic Kingdom, spent the night at Carribbean Beach Resort, spend the next day at Hollywood Studios, then drive home.

Any tips or tricks to maximize our park time and keep the teens engaged would be greatly appreciated. Star Wars is pretty high on the list and the main reason we are going to DHS.

Tight timeline... First decison what time will you get to MK? HS? Where and what type of meals will you eat? Quick service or sit down? Three, two, or one meal out each of the two days? Print out a list of the attractions and rides at MK and HS and decide who wants to do what. Is compromise necessary or will all four of you do all things together? There is too much missing information? Are the kids old enough and responsible enough to take off on their own. Does Grandma like the rides? Do you want to rope drop and close the parks each of the two days? You kind of have to decide how many hours you have and prioritize.

How do we make the most of our time that fits our personalities: We leave the room about 6:30 and walk for a minimum of four miles. Return to room and eart a small breakfast and get ready to head to parks. We are not rope drop people. We do our fast pass rides intermingled with attractions. We usualy buy lunch at a quick service and split what we order so we have room for a favorite snack. (Mine = Mickey ice cream sandwich.) We then finish using our fast passes if we have not used prior to lunch and then do other attractions. Late afternoon we head back to hotel to get ready to go out to dinner. After dinner we go to Disney Springs, just r and r, or back to the parks. Next day repeat. (No fast passes right now and parks not open late.) I do not do the crazy rides so I go to a production while DH does the ride. Example: He does Areosmith and I go to Beauty and the Beast. Sometimes I people watch and he does single rider. We are 62 and 64. This may look far different if we were planning with two 13 year olds. This is why it is hard for someone else to give an outline without many more facts of times and likes and dislikes. Also in June heat will be a big factor.

 

[disneyworldsk]

https://www.wdwinfo.com/walt-disney-world/eye-to-eye-taking-teens-to-walt-disney-world/

 

[kwdw]

Given you have two hours of driving to do before your park day starts, I think you should reverse your days. Do HS day one and hope to be lucky to get a ROTR pass at 1 pm. Do MK in second day and stay until park closes.

You aren’t planning this ideally with the morning drive on day one and driving home after day two. These are going to be VERY, VERY long days with little sleep in between. You can still have fun, but make sure you all go in with the expectations that it will be crowded, tiring, and you won’t get everything done. With the right attitude, it can be a great experience! If you think of it as a taste of Disney trip, not a complete experience, I think it will be better enjoyed!

 

[Lori Duck]

With no fastpass+ you will be in socially distanced lines for a lot of your days! I think the idea of doing HS first is a good one. There's just so much to do in MK that you'll want to be there early! My older teens are happy on ANY ride and yours may be too. Even the "kiddie rides" allow them to be little again, just for a few minutes, and recall when Pooh or Tinkerbell was their favorite character! We just returned a few weeks ago, and we planned later dinners after the parks closed. The resorts and DS have some great places to eat and enjoy entertainment or ambiance. Be sure to check your park times guide online. Opening/closing times are updated about two weeks out I think. Enjoy your family, stay safe, and have a blast!