Florida / Disney World top tips please!

[Coveredintinsel]

Hello,

We are going to Florida in June with our 8 month old and 3 yo DDs. DD1 is obsessed with princesses so I'm looking forward to taking her to Disney Magic Kingdom.

I know it's going to be crazy expensive but please tell me if you have any tips for getting cheaper tickets, jumping queues and any other tips for a Florida holiday with 2 young children in the heat of summer! I've seen there is another Disney / Florida thread so will trawl that too. Our accommodation is sorted already.

Ooh and also, we are planning to spend a week in Orlando and then head off elsewhere, maybe to the coast for a week or two. Any recommendations will be welcome there too!

Thank you!!

the ticket price is the ticket price - there is no such thing as cheaper with Disney involved! you can get ahead of the queues and when we went you could book a ride in advance. that was a couple of years ago and it may have changed now so check out their website on this. have a look at the dibb forum and buy the books - WDW with kids and beyond WDW with kids. they have touring plans in the back which give you a good idea of what you need to see and what you can miss. a week in Orlando is just about enough to do Disney imo. I would go for slightly longer if possible so you can have a few days away say at the water park and doing something else non Disney. plan, plan and plan again is how we did it so we had proper hats and cardis to protect from the sun, lots of sturdy carrying bags and water bottles and didn't rush around just took it at a slow pace. there will be a lot of queueing - unless you have been its hard to imagine the sheer amount of this. on some days we hardly did any rides but it is what it is. have fun.

You an get fast pass tickets to meet the princesses and you can also book a meal with them. Best to do one of those two options unless you want to queue one to two hours.
Agree with pp about the queues, if you do 5-6 rides in a. Day you will be doing well especially in the heat.

Thank you both very much!

I have been twice before - once wen I was about 11 and once in my mid-twenties before I had kids so I'm expecting it to be a really different experience this time. I know what you mean about the queues. I remember waiting for 3 hours to go on Splash Mountain when I was 11. I don't think my 3 year old would be willing to sit still for more than half an hour but I will bring queue entertainment.

Any other tips for managing with young children / must sees would be very welcome. Magic Kingdom is top of our list but I assume Animal Kingdom would be the next best?

Buy the Brits guide to Orlando to start with. It's a great guide book.

Things have changed with fast pass plus where you pre book some rides so look into this too.

We have always gone with little ones and it's been great. Even if the 3 year old doesn't use a buggy much take one as they will there, days are long and it's so hot.

have a look at www.thedibb.co.uk - lots of useful advice there.

Rather than a full on week of the parks, I'd look at interspersing the days with visits to the water parks. These are much more relaxing than the theme parks - and good fun with lots for younger kids.

Not so sure about going heat of summer - we've been in October, April, December and January and it was pretty hot then. Some of the queues are 90 minutes long - that's a long time to be standing in heat.

Either take a cheap buggy, or buy a cheap one from Publix or Target when you're there. useful for carrying water etc around in.

Breakfast in Cinderella's palace is a rip off. Over priced and poor food and over very quickly. However, it was the highlight of my 6yo niece's trip, and my kids (6 &4 then, in their 20s now) still remember it.

And, don't overspend. Having been several times with several children - I'd say each and every one preferred to splash around in the hotel or villa pools than go to the parks.