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Original poster

Disneyworld - How many days with 4 and 2 year old

26 replies

sleepdeprivedby2 · 02/01/2011 16:17

Hi and a Happy New Year.

I am in a bit a dilemma and I thought I would call upon the powers of mumsnet for help.

We are planning a holiday in Florida in April with a few days tagged on the end to visit Disneyworld but the problem is how many days do we need to do Disney justice taking into account that our children are quite young (4 and 2).

I know it is a nice dilemma to have Grin, but would be grateful to hear from any of you who have experience of disney with young children.

Thanks

OP posts:
AttilaTheMeerkat · 02/01/2011 18:03

A day or two in each park (I would probably not bother with Disney's Hollywood Studios though due to their age) should suffice.

strandednomore · 04/01/2011 07:17

We went to Disneyworld last April when our two were 4 and 2. We spent 5 days there in total and did all the parks. We didn't overdo it though - we left the parks in the late afternoon, didn't stay until nighttime etc. We got there for opening every day though.
Don't ignore Hollywood Studios - they will love Playhouse Disney! And the 4-yr-old eill enjoy the Toy Story ride. But get the tickets that mean you can go to more than one park each day.
I would also really recommend booking character meals (do it through the Disney website but you need to do it a few months before you go to get the days and times you want). Ours loved them all - but I would really reommend the Winnie the Pooh one at Crystal Place in Magic Kingdom and the Mickey Mouse et all at the Tusker House at Animal Kingdom. If you have dd's, they will enjoy the Princesses. We didn't bother with Cinderella's castle as it is difficult to book but did the Storybook breakfast at the Norwegian restaurant at Epcot. The highlight of the trip for dd2 (this was actually the 2nd trip which we did in October).
Incidentally if you are over the Gulf Coast side of Florida, Busch Gardens is also now really good for children this age - they have an entire area aimed at Preschool children.

JakeBrake · 04/01/2011 15:38

I wouldn't do it with tiniES TBH WASTE OF Money

strandednomore · 04/01/2011 15:43

Under-3's are free to get in, although you will obviously have to pay airfare.

BiscuitNibbler · 04/01/2011 15:52

We're going next week for 2 weeks with an almost 2 year old. I don't care that she won't remember it, we will! I really can't see how anyone could call it a waste of money, it is a holiday.

strandednomore · 04/01/2011 15:57

It's not a waste of money, you'll all love it. Just don't push her - dd2 would hardly go on any rides the first time we went. But she loved meeting the characters and that made our holiday tbh.

JakeBrake · 04/01/2011 16:02

A we saw last week were crying under5s. In fact two people said to me " why go they do it?"

JakeBrake · 04/01/2011 16:03

Btw. It was cold a few days. Hats scarves gloves etc. Temp was 4 degrees.

didldidi · 04/01/2011 16:09

I agree to it being a waste of money (unless you can afford to do it again when the kids are older) - of course you will remember it Biscuit but it might be for all the wrong reasons!

DeckTheHallWithBowlsOfPomBears · 04/01/2011 16:11

1 day is plenty - do magic kingdom. They will be a bit too young, but if you're going to Florida anyway and you're up for it, then you might as well go. The 4 year old will enjoy it.

BiscuitNibbler · 04/01/2011 19:51

I can't see why it would be for all the wrong reasons - there is so much to do, and we can take it easy over the two weeks. We've been before we had children, so we aren't hoping to see everything, it will be done at DD's pace. We will definitely do it again when she's old enough to remember it though. The only thing I'm dreading is the flight!

Shame about your weather Jake, looking at the weather there this week (late teens to twenties) it seems you were very unlucky. Maybe that's why people were crying? Wink

JakeBrake · 04/01/2011 20:19

Pupil went last year. Said same. Weather amazingly variable. Even when warm has cool undertone

Original poster
sleepdeprivedby2 · 05/01/2011 09:58

Thanks everyone for your replys.

strandednomore thankyou so much for your tips. My DD would love dinner with Winnie the Pooh so this is something I will definitely be looking into. Also we are staying in the gulf coast for the first part of the holiday so I will be looking into a trip to Busche Gardens also.

I am a little concerned that it might be a bit too much for my ds (aged 2) but with DD starting school in September it is the last opportunity to do it so alas it is now or never.

OP posts:
PictureThis · 05/01/2011 10:07

We went when DD was 2 and she absolutely loved it. Her face was a picture when she met Micky and Minnie. I thought she would be the same when she met the princesses but she was a bit wary of them. In fact, she was much more at ease with the cartoon characters rather than the 'people' characters.

We had lunch at the Crystal Palace in Magic Kingdom where you are joined by Winnie the Pooh and friends and DD had a ball. She does still talk about when we were in America and she's now 3.9. I would suggest you take a pushchair with you or hire a stroller while you are in the parks for your 2 year old as the walking around can get a bit much for them.

GoldenGreen · 05/01/2011 10:12

a little time in the parks each day over 5 days is much better than packing it all into two days, esp with little ones. you can get tickets which include water park entry - the Disney water parks are fab.

flowery · 05/01/2011 10:13

Putting myself on this thread to come back later - we're thinking of taking DSs 1&2 in April who will be almost 4 and 17mo. Younger than I'd choose but it's the final launch of the space shuttle in April and DS1 would love to see it.

Any tips on flying long haul with a 4yo and 17mo? Bit worried about that.

HelloOutThere · 05/01/2011 10:29

We did it in April when our youngest were 4 and 5, the only one I wouldnt bother with at their ages is Epcot. Animal and the Magic Kingdom they loved the most

ChildofIsis · 05/01/2011 10:37

We went last may DD nearly 4. Had a total of 8 days in disney over 14. With 2 days at kennedy space centre and a couple of beach days thrown in.

We all still talk about who we met and what we did. The Nemo ride at Epcot was one of the best, finishes in a fantastic wrap round aquarium.

Meeting all the characters was an absolute delight and the staff and actors were so kind and friendly.

It was regularly 40oc whilst we were there, everywhere is air-conditioned so it was ok.

strandednomore · 05/01/2011 13:58

For more help I would thoroughly recommend the DIBB website. There are Disney FANATATICS on there and they will be able to answer your every question. I was able to get loads of really useful information from them.

JakeBrake · 05/01/2011 15:43

That are obsessed there, saw some people at airport with matchin i heat Disney hoodys. Saddos

redskyatnight · 07/01/2011 10:00

What dates are you going? Remember that the weeks before and after Easter will be REALLY busy - so if going then, your strategy with little ones might well be to get there early (the parks open at 8am Easter week!!), spend a few hours there and leave when it gets crowded.

pinkem · 07/01/2011 10:19

We took ds when he was 2.8. He loved meeting the characters and because of his age we got picked out of the crowd several times during the opening ceremonies.

You just have to plan lots of breaks into your day or you will end up with a screaming child!! The toilet facilities have baby feeding areas which we used to sit down quietly while ds had a drink or small nap before we continued.

We decided not to take or hire a pushchair but with two children you may find it easier. There are plenty of boat/train/safari rides so your feet can have a break!

Everytime ds see's the disney castle in a picture or on the tv he shouts 'we've been there'. Smile

Original poster
sleepdeprivedby2 · 10/01/2011 22:50

Thanks everyone, you have got me really excited thinking about the trip and have given me plenty of ideas to go on.

redskyatnight we are not hitting disneyworld until the second week in May so I am hopeful by then that the easter crowds will have gone down.

OP posts:
Electricstarfish · 11/01/2011 19:53

Hiya, have been twice, once when DS was 2.5 and once when he was 3. Talked about it every day pretty much in between times - so definitely remembered it.

Magic Kingdom is absolutely heaving, but I did notice that if you can hang out and go later in the afternoon - loads of the toddlers have past their peak by then and gone off to eat/nap. If you can somehow work it to go in later, you may not have to wait so long for the rides. Dumbo ride (for example) can be a bit of a torturous wait for even the most eager little one. Get/take a stroller if you can - you do looooooads of walking and obviously that will add to tiredness factor for small people.

Alternatively, gen up a bit before you go and go straight for the fast passes of the rides you know you really want to go on so youre guaranteed a shorter wait on at least a couple.

Take waterproofs just in case - oh yes, speaking from bleak experience of being piddled on from a great height and paying a zillion $ for disney ponchos! If it does rain tho - make for tomorrowland as you can do a few circuits on the sky train thingy (cant remember its name) to dry out. Enjoy!

NannyState · 11/01/2011 19:54

We did two days at the Magic Kingdom and a day at Animal Kingdom last time (with 4 yr old and 1 yr old) and that was adequate.