Disney w/ Kids (Prayers) Recommendations

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Going in late October

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I don’t have anything to suggest, but wanted to say good choice in the time of the year you picked

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Going in late October, our daughter loves princesses (shocker).

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This might not affect you since you have a 4 year old and may already be in the room by then, but if you haven’t bought your park tickets yet then you should look and see when the Mickey not so scary Halloween party is. If you are in MK on one of the party days then they kick you out early unless you have a ticket.

The actual Halloween party is nice, but it’s gotten pretty expensive ($150+). The ticket lets you in at 4 and the park is open until like 11 or 12. They have trick or treating, a different fireworks show, a different parade, and different characters are out. The park is also much less crowded and you can ride pretty much everything with minimal wait (especially later).

We do have 1 waterpark day and one of our days at MK is really just a half day (will be getting there at lunch). Our plan that day is to just enjoy being at MK - shop around some, do the Boutique, do the little side profile thing, etc.

True park days I guess we’ll be looking at 6.

- Put in a break day somewhere. You need a day or two to at least relax and rest. Go visit other resorts or monorail crawl those resorts and snack around them. Go to the ranch they have at Fort wilderness and trail ride a horse. Sit by pool, something other than all park. You’re gonna and your kid is gonna burn out.

- Get a preferred room if you can. Some of the buildings feel like miles away. Nice to come back to your resort and walk a little from your room. Your feet will thank u.

- Jump on skyliner at night and visit Riviera resort. Quick service Primo Piato is pretty good and the grounds are beautiful. There is a large fountain with either or painted stone or glass mural or two princesses that wraps over your head with the lights and fountains at night.

- Go to Disney springs and eat. Plenty of places and most are better than anything in the parks.

- don’t push your kid to ride something that scares them to much. They won’t ride anything after and it turns into a hassle.

- take breaks back at the hotel. Don’t try to open and close with a kid that little. Good luck if you do.

- You’re taking a small train to the petting zoo in Animal kingdom. 4 year old will be worth it. They also have a vet area there with clear glass to watch them working on animals. On animal kingdom anyway, rope drop the safari. Earlier in the day animals will be moving and eating before it gets hot. You can rope drop pandora, but little one may not be tall enough to ride. You do you on ride priorities, just my opinion. Do the Lion King show also!

- yes on purchasing magic band from me. Some of it’s nastalgia, but you can use your phone for everything. If it dies or is misplaced your in a small pickle of walking to get help. Magic band is just easy tap for everything.

- use Mobile order with app when available for quick service dining. Makes it SO much easier.

- don’t rent a stroller. They suck. Bring your own.

- get a popcorn bucket your first chance. Pay initial big first fee then its like $2 refills rest of your trip to light snack on. Have a hook on your stroller and you’ve got a simple snack for when your kid gets hungry.

- watch Disney food blog on YouTube. She’s got one of best content for food related Disney stuff.

I probably wrote too Much but if you need more advice or recommendations with little ones let me know. Wife and I have plenty of things you don’t think of till you get there with little kids advice.

This is a great website for the latest news, specials and up-to-date information about anything for Disney.

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We’ll defiantly consider doing this - our little girl would absolutely love it for sure. Just worried about being out so late haha. I think though, if we did decide to go, we’d do the park in the AM then take a nice chunk of the afternoon off to to go nap and relax and then go back later.

Really appreciate the detailed response, you didn’t write too much. I’d love to hear any other nuggets of wisdom that you have, in particular with how it relates to kids. And again, any off the beaten path ideas that you might have —- my wife and I have ridden most of the rides, seen a lot of the shows, but we haven’t done the smaller details reserved for kids (like the boutique, or petting zoo). Also read where you can go to a place behind the castle for free pixie dust, things like that. She’ll be to small for a lot of the bigger rides.

Glad to see you recommend the petting zoo, that’s something we’ve never done , or even heard of but it seems really neat. Didn’t realize you could take a train there as well. We’ve done the lion king show before and will definitely take our daughter, she loves LK!

Had never heard the popcorn trick - great advice and something we’ll do for sure.

Noted on the mobile order, hadn’t heard that either. We need to download the app and get familiar with it before the trip.

So we have a magic band from 5-6 years ago, would those still be fine or do we need to purchase newer ones? If we need to purchase, we’re leaning towards doing that. Will be much easier than trying to dig our phone out all the time, we’ll probably buy 2 for my wife and I but let daughter wear one of them so that she can feel big.

- You will probably need new bands. I think battery life is 3 years but I could be wrong. Just get the cheaper versions and you’ll be fine. Just make sure all your party is connected to each other and bands accordingly before you book rides, dining reservations, and what not.

- Go to checkin desk at hotel and get your daughter a first visit button. Most cast members tell her things or greet her more positively. Sometimes, she might get a free snack or fast pass to a ride like we did. Never hurts to try.

- good idea we did on water park day was eat at whispering canyon cafe at wilderness lodge. Try to get a reservation for when restaurant opens. Family platter all you can eat breakfast and the waitresses do funny shtick things with you and kids. Resort is amazing!

- Also have a great place to eat in back of Wilderness lodge called geyser point. Huge open air restaurant overlooking a lake. Nice place to relax if you don’t want to eat lunch in MK. Take the ferry from MK to the resort for more relaxing ride.

- You’re going during food and wine at Epcot. They’ll have a scavenger hunt for kids to find Remy in different countries. You get the kit in Epcot and front of world showcase from the front gift shop. Definitely makes Epcot more fun for kids.

- purchase memory maker add on. Try it first time and see if you like it. Sometimes you forget to take pictures. Makes it easier with little one.

- your gonna be using the skyliner for Epcot and Hollywood studios. The central hub for it is at caribbean beach resort. Whatever time you think you need to leave your resort to make it for opening…. Add 30 minutes. The central hub will have long lines in AM when people rope drop. You’ll see what I’m talking about if you don’t.

- Don’t freak out or get mad if your plans change and you can’t go/eat where you want/plan. You’re not just two adults, you’ve got a small child now. Stuff is gonna happen. You might plan on eating wooodys lunchbox in HS. Well, so are rest of the people in The park. You’ll look at your phone to Mobile order and it’s 1-1.5 hours to even get food from there. Go with the flow and pick/do something else. It’s not the end of the world.

- Get a pair of noise canceling/suppression headphones. Cheap pair from Amazon do the trick. Loud noises might freak your kid out. Pair of these helped my son tremendously and made it more approachable with rides that might scare him.

- clip a portable fan on your kids stroller for them. Also have the dual neck fans to help out. Bring spare batteries or charge every night. It’s still might be hot in Florida in October. Comfortable/not crying too hot kid = not pissed wife = better for you anytime dad.

- keep an eye on your kid. This may sound like stupid advice, but losing track of a kid in Disney is probably up there is up there with scariest things I’ve ever dealt with in my life. It happens so quick. Lost one of my kids coming off buzz light year ride, pure terror. Other people Do NOT care about you losing a kid and will run you over while looking for said kid. Mix in a billion people in a small space and whew it’s bad! Cast member and I found her long story. But keep your third eye on her at all times.

- best character dining we did at parks was tusker house lunch in AK. Big five characters and lunch was surprisingly good for buffet. Had semi adventurous foods and basic stuff for kids. We also like Crystal palace breakfast in MK, but it’s also breakfast food. Can only do so much with it.

- festival of fantasy parade in MK was worth it for little kids. Stake out a spot in circle by castle. One parent stays, other gets ice cream from ice cream parlor right close. Good snack and parade watching for little one.

I’ll ask my wife and if I can come up with restaurants we both liked or where you should avoid I’ll post it.

Best dining on property is at Riveria Resort.. restaurant on the roof Topolino's Make sure there's room on your credit card tho. Hollywood studios best place to eat is Hollywood Brown Derby (get the specialty house salad) and a martini flight