Vacation to Disney World in Orlando...any tips?

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Candee Graham

I suggest you take in a couple character breakfast/dinners. That way the Disney characters will stop at your table while you eat. The character dinners we loved were in the castle, eating with Cinderella, and the Park Fare at the Grand Floridian with Mary Poppins. or with Aladdin at MGM. There are other fun places to dine, like the Sci fi drive in at MGM. This is set up like a drive-in movie. Eating can be entertainment. Most of the rides our daughters enjoyed were at the Magic Kingdom & MGM. See the show Illuminations at Epcot, and Beauty & the Beast & Fantasmic at MGM. And all the parks have parades that are super fun! You can enjoy the beach at the Polynesian resort, and later watch the water parade and fireworks from that beach, or go to the Mickey Luau. Or go the campfire sing a long at the Wilderness resort with Chip and Dale roasting marshmellows. Also several of the Disney hotels offer child care so we did leave our 2 and 4 year old during nap time and spent some time alone in Epcot. We also took them to Neverland childcare (Disney resort hotel)one evening, where the girls made crafts, played games,saw animals brought over from the Animal Kingdom and were tucked in bed by Peter Pan.
Since you are staying at the Floridian, take advantage of the early entries to the parks, making dining resevrations ahead (dinner shows are very hard to get into, call now if you plan on going to one) and using the Disney buses. At the Disney Market Place there is also a neat docked paddleboat character breakfast, and while there you can check out the bibbety bobbity boo botique with the fairy Godmother.
I would buy hopper passes.
There is so much I could add..... If you go I would buy this book as it is wonderful! The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World by Bob Sehlinger.
Hope you go & have a blast!

Italionaire

Definately do the character dining. Adults and kids alike love this. If you get the chance do the Princess party. Little girls love this one.

ammecalo

A 7 yr. old will love Magic Kingdom. However, June in Florida is very hot and the whole experience can be very tiring. Allow time to go back to the room to relax or go for a swim during the hottest time of the day.
I have found that it is easier to ride the more popular rides at night, and be sure to see the lighted parade.
Definitely, take advantage of Disney's FastPass, or you will do nothing but stand in lines all day.
If you like themed dining, try out Rainforest Cafe. There's two in Disney, one in Animal Kingdom and one in Downtown Disney. As far as the character dining....try Mickey's Backyard BBQ .

Natterjack9

There are a few things that I would say are "must see's" for yor daughter (I have an 11 yr old daughter and 7 yr old son.) When we were there in April, they had a few things on their list that they wanted to do.

First, schedule a character breakfast. There are quite a few of them. Each one has a different kind of food and different characters. My kids like the Chef Mickey's character breakfast at the Contemporary (right across from where you are staying.) It is a good breakfast that guarantees the fab five (Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Donald, and Pluto) are seen up close and personal since they come right to your table. There is also one in EPCOT center with the Disney Princesses she may enjoy. Crystal Palace in the MK is good too. Check out the Disney website and you can find them all.

Make sure to catch all of the night time shows. Spectromagic and Wishes night time spectacular at the Magic Kingdom, Illuminations at EPCOT, and Fantasmic at MGM. All of them are spectacular.

Ride the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at the MK. They have added Capt. Jack Sparrow to the ride, if you didn't know any better you would think Capt. Jack himself was there.

The rest of the can't miss stuff is mainly rides, but I would suggest going to the Disney website and going over what you guys want to do and see. Also, check out the disboards. The disboards is a Disney message board site dedicated to going to WDW. There are resort reviews, trip reviews, dining reviews, as well as tips on rides, attractions, and how to beat the crowds. It is the most info about going to Disney I have ever seen, and it is all from people who love to go and know what they are talking about. Finally get the Birnbaum's guide to WDW and the Birnbaum's guide for Kids by Kids. Read them over and then sit down together to decide what your own "must see attractions" are. I know there are tons of guide books out there, but those are the ones that we get the most out of and work the best for us.

Hope this helps, have a great trip! (Oh and the Grand Floridian, great choice!!)

Beach Gal

Be sure to visit http://www.easybreezyplanning.com
There you can sign up for a free E-newsletter, read up on fun tips and advice, and receive assistance with planning your Disney vacation!

Sign her up for the Princess Tea Party at the Grand Floridian. There she can have tea with a few special (Disney Princess) guests! Also, the Princess breakfast at EPCOT is wonderful. Call 407-WDW-DINE and make a reservation ASAP. June is a busy time, so try and get all of your dining reservations made immediately.

You might also consider making a reservation at the Bippidy Boppidy Boutique at the Downtown Disney Marketplace. Packages are actually pretty reasonable. Cast Members will let her pick out a princess dress of her choice, and do her hair and makeup! This is very popular for young girls at the park. See www.disneyworld.com for details.

Have a wonderful trip!

Jessica T

You must take complete advantage of the Extra Magic Hours (especially in June, when crowds can get to be overwhelming). You can get into select parks either an hour early or stay up to 3 hours after closing. This is only offered to Disney Resort guests! I would recommend early morning for the Animal Kingdom, and advise you to go directly to the Kilimanjaro Safari. Because it is still "cool" (as cool as Florida can be in June) in the morning, you will see TONS of animals. We had to wait for giraffes and gazelles to cross the path before we could continue. The giraffes were so close to me I could have reached out and touched one! Amazing! Other must sees at Animal Kingdom, are The Festival of the Lion King (Broadway-type show), It's Tough to be a Bug (3-D show), and Expedition Everest (if she's a fan of roller coasters). It goes forwards and backwards, way cool!
The Magic Kingdom is also a good park to catch for the early morning extra magic hours. On my last trip I was able to do everything in Fantasyland (that was open early) during this hour, and I was already toward the back of the park, so I was able to get a FastPass for Splash Mountain, ride Splash Mountain, ride Big Thunder Mountain, then go back to Splash Mountain to use my FastPass! Mickey's Philharmagic is awesome! The parade is great, and WISHES fireworks is a must see!

At Epcot, I would suggest Honey I Shrunk the Audience (3D show), Soarin', the Living Seas, and Test Track. You'll want to ride on or get a FastPass very early in the day for both Test Track and Soarin'. The FastPasses go fast, and I've seen the ride lines as long as 3 hours for Test Track!

At MGM, Muppet Vision 3-D is my personal favorite. Who doesn't love the Muppets?! Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular and Lights, Motors, Actions Extreme Stunt Show are both very exciting. The Great Movie Ride is neat, and a great ride to cool off on. It's a 30 minute ride through the movies, inside in the A/C. And for the best thrill ride, The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror will take you up 13 stories, and drops you several times (the ride changes each time you ride it)! If you love this ride, I recommend staying for the evening Extra Magic Hours. I rode this ride 4 times in a row, and there was no wait!!! Remember though, when you want to stay for the Evening Extra Magic Hours, you must show your room key and get a bracelet. The bracelets are handed out after 3pm.

For some out of the park fun, Fantasia Gardens Miniature Golf (located by the Dolphin & Swan Resorts), is a lot of fun.

Or even at your resort the Grand Floridian:

Wonderland Tea Party
Your daughter can join Alice and her curious friends for lunch, cupcakes and, of course, a spot of tea.

Every Thursday morning (double check with front desk) their is a program that teaches children about lady bugs, as Disney uses them in their gardens to control "bad bugs". Each child will be given a little box containing some ladybugs to release onto nearby plants. Be sure to bring your camera.

Or even head back to the pool to cool off in the afternoon!

I hope this helps your planning, and I know you'll have such a great time!

And this is me because I don't get to go :(

Sane

You don't really need to leave the Disney complex if you don't want to. The Floridian is beautiful, and they have the shuttles and transportation to all of the parks and attractions to and from there. Suggest you buy everyone a 3 day all park pass, and do one or two parks each full day you are there. That will keep you busy the whole time. he best parks for the kids would be Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, MGM, and maybe Epcot they are all good. The first and last days are a bust because you will be traveling and cannot check in until around 1PM so by the time you get to your room, and get your stuff ready, it will be close to dinner time. You can get to Lake BuenaVista in the evening and enjoy the clubs and stores or go to the Disney swimming hole parks, or just stay at the Floridian at their pool or beach. Same with the last day, you'll need to be getting breakfast after your showers and getting packed up so you can meet the checkout deadline. Then its off to the airport. So in reality you only have three full days and a half.

vaautumn

Being that you are staying at a Disney resort then take full advantage of the off park hours. These are the early opening and late evening hours just for resort guests. It was a huge hit for our kids in Nov. What a blessing to not have to Fast Pass or stand in line for Rockin Roller coaster, tower of Terror, or Star Tours--walked right on.

For a special afternoon, perhaps your daughter might enjoy tea time at the Grand FL, she can "dress up" and they serve a children's tea plate. There is a Wonderland Tea Party just for guests age 10 and younger with Alice in Wonderland Character. There is also a Pirate Adventure and a cooking class that is available at the Grand.

Since you will be there anyway, it might make a fun time to hit the pool/beach, then catch Epcot fireworks later that night/ In the Magic Kingdom there is a wonderful meal (can't remember if it is breakfast or lunch) at Cinderella's Castle.

Another fun special treat may be to make her an appt in the hotel beauty shop to have her nails done. This would charm her & make her feel "oh-so grown up." (if your daughter is girly girl that is) The Grand spa has a "My First Manicure/Pedicure" appointments just for guests 12 and younger.

Though Disney is about the parks, it is also about doing things on vacation that you normally wouldn't do at home.

Offer up several things to your daughter to ask her what she might want to do most. Maybe she would want to try a little of everything, but anything that says, "I am thinking of you" is special. Good luck & have a Magical time! I have traveled all over America, Europe & China, and still WDW is my favorite place. :)

tiggertrance

DEFINETALY go to the Animal Kingdom and do the safari ride first thing - it gets packed super fast. Also check out the Maharajah Jungle Trek.

k_reile

In downtown Disney...there is a beauty shop there called the bibbity bobbity boutique. It is ran by the fairy godmother and the beauticians are fairy god mothers in training. There they do Disney princess hairdo's for kids. Look it up on disneyworld.com....it looks pretty cool...I have heard though to take your childs own disney princess costume and just get the hair done...it will be cheaper that way. A seven year old would love that esp if she is into disney princesses.

Lilli

Magic Kingdom will probably be her favorite park. Find out enough about the different parks to know how many days you want to visit each one. A great planning resource, with lots of information about the rides, is AllEarsNet. Sit down with her and pick out where you want to spend the most time.

annabelle

I suggest see every ride, show, and all the parades and fireworks. Everything is awesome and I know your daughter will love it. I am 21, and I love it! Honestly nothing is to be missed, and visit downtown disney, it is alot of fun!

jennifer

Most definitely ride Space Mountain!! That is the most fun ride I have EVER been on!!! HAVE TONS OF FUN!!!

rrsn

Bring a lot of money and breakfast with the Disney characters is always fun for that age group

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