Reality Check-Disney with Kids?

[AirForce Wife]

I agree with the others to skip the dessert parties. I feel like those ‘add-ons’ Are for people who go so often and need new experiences.

In general, i wouldn’t get hung up on must dos with kids. I think many people get stressed when they go with family/kids and are like we must accomplish these things..... some time kids need down time (or just sleep). I always try to plan on seeing evening shows but a lot of the time the family is just too tired. So we head back to the hotel. On our most recent trip, we only did HS fireworks bc that was a ‘half day’ park so we had the energy.

The nighttime shows are definitely awesome but not so great if everyone is tired and cranky.

I know we want to do Fantasmic, the other shows I’m not sure of. Star Wars looks neat so we thought we might go over to see that one night. I don’t know about rivers of light or illuminations

 

[rdaky]

Something to keep in mind is that you might not be able to do it all in one trip. Maybe pick one nighttime show that you really want to do and everything else could just be a bonus if it actually happens. Last year when we were there for a week, I think we made it to ONE nighttime show, which was at MK. All of the other nights everyone was just too tired to sit around and wait for fireworks. After being at the parks all day, kids (and adults) are just tired and cranky, and sitting waiting for a show to start- even when we'd entice them with ice cream or glow sticks- it was just too much. Of course we go every 1-2 years so we didn't feel the pressure to pack it all in. But the end of the evening is just so, so hard if you've being going strong all day. One of our kids last year was even asking in the middle of the fireworks if it was almost over. She was done.

 

[AirForce Wife]

I have made some adjustments to my planning based on everyone’s input! Thank you!
I decided we are going to split MK up

Day1 MK morning getting as much as we can done staying to watch parade then going to hotel to eat and relax. If we are up to it we might go back over.

Day 2 easy day at Epcot
Day 3 Hollywood studios morning- early evening break and then back over to watch Fantasmic
Day 4 AK
Day 5 LEGO store and MK if they want to go back

Decided not to worry about the Dessert party, I think they would rather have the money to use for souvenirs

 

[kwdw]

Do you have a LEGO store anywhere close to home? We have a great one about an hour from home, now, so taking the time to do that at DS is a waste of time. Plus - unless the kids are sent in with a budget - that adventure can get quite pricey and none of the stuff is unique to Disney. I would just plan a full second day at MK. Given your parties size and age of kids - MK is a two day park for newbies. Also - knowing you are going back can help get them to agree to leave the park at a decent hour on the first day so you don't exhaust everyone on day one. A fifth park day IS worth the cost.

Glad to hear you ditched the dessert party at Fantasmic - that was a waste of money for your group. We have booked the dessert party a couple times at MK - but that's because we don't like the crowds and can afford to do so (and I'm a pig out on sweets person) - but it's definitely not a necessity.

 

[rdaky]

Decided not to worry about the Dessert party, I think they would rather have the money to use for souvenirs

I would say you are 100% correct on this one. Of course my kids would have zero issues with being offered unlimited desserts, but if it came down to desserts vs crap that they could take home with them, the crap wins every time.

 

[AirForce Wife]

Do you have a LEGO store anywhere close to home? We have a great one about an hour from home, now, so taking the time to do that at DS is a waste of time. Plus - unless the kids are sent in with a budget - that adventure can get quite pricey and none of the stuff is unique to Disney. I would just plan a full second day at MK. Given your parties size and age of kids - MK is a two day park for newbies. Also - knowing you are going back can help get them to agree to leave the park at a decent hour on the first day so you don't exhaust everyone on day one. A fifth park day IS worth the cost.

Glad to hear you ditched the dessert party at Fantasmic - that was a waste of money for your group. We have booked the dessert party a couple times at MK - but that's because we don't like the crowds and can afford to do so (and I'm a pig out on sweets person) - but it's definitely not a necessity.

No Lego store close to them and they love Lego's. They have never been to a Lego store. They would have liked to do Legoland, but I couldn't justify being able to fit it in on this trip, between cost and time. They get the lego magazine etc etc
(believe it or not their town is so small they still have a one room school house)

 

[AirForce Wife]

I would say you are 100% correct on this one. Of course my kids would have zero issues with being offered unlimited desserts, but if it came down to desserts vs crap that they could take home with them, the crap wins every time.

Unfortunate but true. Crap does win...LOL

 

[kwdw]

No Lego store close to them and they love Lego's. They have never been to a Lego store. They would have liked to do Legoland, but I couldn't justify being able to fit it in on this trip, between cost and time. They get the lego magazine etc etc
(believe it or not their town is so small they still have a one room school house)

Okay - if they have never been - then maybe its worth the trip. We've never done Legoland for the same reason - my niece would love it - but it's just a huge chunk of money to add that on. Just be prepared with a budget for them at the Lego store. Maybe prep them - one small kit or one bucket of pick your bricks. Or? Also - going first thing in the morning when it opens is a great idea. Lunch over at Earl of Sandwich, a visit to the Disney store - and you could be done with DS by lunch.

 

[AirForce Wife]

Okay - if they have never been - then maybe its worth the trip. We've never done Legoland for the same reason - my niece would love it - but it's just a huge chunk of money to add that on. Just be prepared with a budget for them at the Lego store. Maybe prep them - one small kit or one bucket of pick your bricks. Or? Also - going first thing in the morning when it opens is a great idea. Lunch over at Earl of Sandwich, a visit to the Disney store - and you could be done with DS by lunch.

I have heard good things about Earl of Sandwich.

 

[happymommy]

Honestly? I wouldn’t pay for anything extra. A first Disney trip is magical enough. And if finances matter even more reason to ditch it. And what if kids are so tired they can’t make it to evening? Dad and kid can have just as special a time going off to ride say space mountain alone.

I could not agree more!!!!!

We started taking our kids when they were 2 and 4. We had such fun vacations! I started taking them without my DH when they were 4 and 6. We took our time, enjoyed the little things, swam a bit some afternoons, did very few if any sit down meals (so we could eat when it suited them and us).

I've never done a dessert party. One cupcake and I'm full (heck, I could split one), and if we made it up until fireworks, we are happy to view them where we may be! My kids were much older before we started doing late nights at Disney (I think at least 7 or so before they saw Illuminations, and then it was straight to bed). Now we never do early mornings, but sleep in and try to do a late night or two as the crowds really die down.

You can save your money on the dessert party and still have an awesome time. Heck, most trips we don't even do any table service meals (or if we do one, it's Sci Fi Dine in Theater that my youngest adores, and it's not priced much higher than counter service for burgers/sandwiches). We enjoy breaks in the shade without spending too much on sit down meals (but mostly for us, it's that we like to be less rigid with our days).

 

[omniscientmommy]

I did the super planning before hand w/ our 3 & 6 yr old last year.... yup straight out the window. When going w/ a large party expect that someone will always be running late! My in laws take fooorreever to get ready, then add the great grandparents! It's better to break off into separate groups, imo, and go at a pace you know your kids can handle. We didn't do park hoppers last time and my kids don't ride roller coasters bc dh won't and I can't. Literally we could have just spent everyday at MK or the pool and with no real extras and they would have been fine. We're doing park hoppers this time so we can do HS bc my 7 yr old is big into star wars and we're only going to be there 4 days. The kids talked about Disney for months afterwards!!! Even our little guy kept saying how great the buzz lightyear ride was... we rode it 3x

 

[2019TripIdeas]

No Lego store close to them and they love Lego's. They have never been to a Lego store. They would have liked to do Legoland, but I couldn't justify being able to fit it in on this trip, between cost and time. They get the lego magazine etc etc
(believe it or not their town is so small they still have a one room school house)

We did the lego store at DTD at Disneyland and I wasn't that impressed at all. There were 2-3 duplo tables, a few lego play areas and some cool lego displays... but the same lego sets you can find at Target or whatnot. It was bigger than the Lego store in our local mall and a good way to kill an hour, but not that exciting.

Another thought- based on how tiny their town is, are they not used to being in big crowds? I feel like that can throw even non-anxious kids off, so might be something to think thru in terms of crowds, transportation etc. Kids are probably big enough that you can just explain to them how things will be, but I'd remember to ask them how they're feeling in case they get overwhelmed by crowds, people or noise, etc.

 

[AirForce Wife]

We did the lego store at DTD at Disneyland and I wasn't that impressed at all. There were 2-3 duplo tables, a few lego play areas and some cool lego displays... but the same lego sets you can find at Target or whatnot. It was bigger than the Lego store in our local mall and a good way to kill an hour, but not that exciting.

Another thought- based on how tiny their town is, are they not used to being in big crowds? I feel like that can throw even non-anxious kids off, so might be something to think thru in terms of crowds, transportation etc. Kids are probably big enough that you can just explain to them how things will be, but I'd remember to ask them how they're feeling in case they get overwhelmed by crowds, people or noise, etc.

I think we are planning on spending about and hour or so at the lego store. Nothing to extensive probably go to disney springs for lunch and then walk around and look. I don't believe they have been to ANY lego store not even one in the mall, no mall in their town its probably a couple hours away. I could be wrong but the extent of the lego experience has probably been Walmart toy isle.
Town is pretty small, gas station, general store and post office in one building.
They have been to bigger towns, they haven't been cut off from the world lol, but they haven't been anywhere with such a high concentration of people.
I would say the biggest crowds have probably been weddings and bowling. I plan to do quite a few pulse checks, through the day. I have relaxed the expectations for the day with the main focus just on a few rides. We were able to get FP's for all the rides that lines are typically longer for and we can adjust through the day if availability is there. I plan to re-plan after Day 1 once we see how they are feeling.