Disney Holiday w/ 4 DC

[chocolateblueberrywaffles]

Planning a WDW Holiday w/ 4 DC for Summer 2027 - myself and DH, and DDs who will be 6, 3, and 1, and DS who will be 4. In the very, very early stages of planning, but am feeling overwhelmed, and would love any sort of guidance that you all have about (a) underrated activties you would recommend, (b) overrated activties we should skip, (c) suggestions for where to stay - Disney hotel, nearby hotel, airbnb?, and (d) anything general you would suggest for first-time visitors to Florida! TIA x

If your looking at a Disney holiday stay at or very nearby Disney. Endless summer is a universal resort and would require a car

Pregnancy brain! I have no idea why I said that and I'll be removing it from my post... thank you x

Look at Saratoga springs , a 1 bed apartment would be great for you. A master bedroom , shower room plus a separate room with a bath in it. A lounge / kitchen area which is great with little ones for milk , easy breakfast etc and the lounge converts to a double bed and single bed

Just thinking out loud as I haven't been to Walt Disney World, have only been to Paris and the Asian parks, but in those parks children need to be 7 to ride alone. I would check how many rides the baby can go on, because if the baby can't go on the ride that leaves one adult tackling rides with 3 kids and none of the kids are old enough to ride alone, and then the adult has to take the older kids either individually or in pairs, as not sure that many will take 1 adult and 3 kids all in a single row. That doesn't sound the most fun when queues are already long. Can you muster up a set of Grandparents to join you?

Thank you for this ! My parents are likely going to be joining us!

Have you considered Disneyland in Tokyo? The yen is very cheap right now, unlike the rampant inflation in the US, and you won't have to deal with handing over all your social media information/employer information in order to enter the country.

I would get a 4 bed villa and hire a people carrier. Having your own pool at the end of the day is so relaxing

We stayed at art of animation and it was perfect. The suites have a separate bedroom plus a living/kitchen area with 2 separate beds which meant our girls slept superbly.

I would also recommend sweets and seats.one night at magic kingdom where you get a seated area to watch fireworks with snacks and drinks. Expensive but amazing

I think with children so young it’ll be better to be off site. Near by, but with more space of your own than any of the Disney accommodation. And drive in or make sure there’s a very near by shuttle.
It is always my preference to stay on site, so I’m only saying that because of so many little children needing different things at different times potentially.

Or Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort! Where you’ll have your own cabin. Which would mean more space. There’s also swimming pools and the benefits of being on site (though not sure if you can still get dining plans at Fort Wilderness, as it’s the budget option). It looks nice and centre Parcs like. You can even hire a gold buggy to get around! I’ve stayed at the other lower budget hotel ones, Pop century, Art of Animation and they’ve been good but you’re all cramped into one room & it can get loud in the evenings so I would not recommend with 4 very young kids. I’ve stayed at a couple of Moderate Disney resorts there too and the cost isn’t worth it unless you’ve got a deal with free dining plan for your entire stay.

Tokyo Disneysea is properly magical. The best theme park I’ve ever been to in my life by a huge margin. I haven’t been to WDW but the members of our group who have been said it blew any of the US parks out of the water (although obviously WDW has more parks). It’s so much cheaper too.

I was wondering if seats and sweets are worth the money! Thank you!

Another DisneySea fan, theming is beautiful, the prices and the food are a delight compared to Paris. The queues are long though. I think we will go again next year.

Stay on site. Transportation is buggy friendly.
Check out the many online guides to find suitable rooms.
We’ve stayed at Port Orleans Riverside 5-sleeper, but unsure if you can also add a travel cot. Have a look at Old Key West as they are more like apartments. Both are a short bus ride to Magic Kingdom. Or look at booking Disney Vacation Club properties (like a timeshare) usually cheaper to rent points through David’s Vacation Club.

Try and booking when there is a free dining plan offer. Having said that all the restaurants do kids meals and it’s not all burgers and nuggets. Again there are plenty of online resources like Disney Food Blog, which have the menus.

F

I’d wait till they’re all older

rent a double buggy there if you don’t have one. I took a 5 and 2 year old and my 5 year old was having naps during the day in the buggy. Lots of companies over there will hire them and they are huge so nice and comfy for the bigger children. Tired children are miserable

Agree! The best times in the parks are early morning and in the evenings when the parks are cooler and lit up. If you have DC that can get up and out early, nap and swim in the afternoon then head out again for dinner and fireworks etc. you will have a good time.

Join "It's Orlando Time" on Facebook. This was recommended to me on here. I found that they answered all of my questions, plus I learned so much more about things i would never even have known to ask about.

I'd definitely stay in a villa or townhouse in a resort off site with kids those ages. Something like floridays or Bahama bay. Try not schedule too much. With such young kiddies you'll want to take it slow.

There is a website called "thedibb" that is so useful, I'd stay clear of the Facebook group mentioned above, false information is often posted and they don't make it clear how the admins gain financially from discounts in the group!

I know this isn't helpful OP, but I would honestly wait a few more years before going, unless that isn't an option?

It's a lot of money, your little ones will be restricted of what they can go on and probably won't remember a lot/any of it when they are older. If you're doing the holiday for them, I would wait until they can make more use of the parks & rides, the food, the culture, the whole trip. Not to mention have fabulous memories of their time.

Honestly, I would wait until the youngest is 6, it will be a much better holiday for all the DC.

Not sure if this will be helpful but we’re thinking of going and we’ve been watching lots of vlogs on you tube - these vloggers are good -

Adam Hatton
Brogan Tata
Disney in detail
Cheers Ears

I'd strongly prefer to stay on site for early access as you're going in summer and it will be crazy hot and you'll need to expect an absolute drenching in the afternoons.

I'd go early, first thing, while it's cooler and come home for pool afternoon. With the youngest, that will probably be enough for them.

I wouldn't dream of staying off site unless choosing a hotel with a shuttle as parking was $25 per car per day.

We've been with family before and as lovely as it was, you need to be prepared for practical issues to arise - a villa sounds great but you'll either be car pooling and need to arrive and leave together and make shared travel plans (onside avoids this) or paying double hire car and parking money.

I think Art of Animation is the cheapest multiroom/kitchenette disney room. Don't forget, you can bring loads of food over and order supermarket deliveries to your hotel via Instacart. There are also loads of cheap ubers if one of you wants to do a full in-person food shop. So there are loads of ways to do packed lunches and have fresh things like yoghurt and milk. We stayed at universal last year and the small fridges were so cold that they actually iced up the milk 😆

In summary, off site savings will likely be traded off by other costs like parking. Consider how your family like to travel: we were climbing the walls at 11am wanting to get on with the day!
Consider temperature and what a practical day out looks like. I'd recommend a 14 day ticket, getting out in the morning and smashing the busier rides before the big queues. You can always go out again later, but half days are more chill and anything more is a bonus. Let me knownif you have any more questions!

Just to weigh in on age, we went twice and my 2 year-old loved it and had loads of naps in the pram but at 5yo DC cried to come home after a week due to the queues. She did love the pool though.

So there is no perfect age and having the 1yo free and active grandparents isn't a gift horse I'd look in the mouth!

Eta in hindsight I'd have done what I suggested above: half days onsite and more time strolling around with an icecream rather than trying to make the most of the attractions. But that's much easier said as ive been quite a few times now, and if it's genuinely once in a lifetime, it's a difficult balance to find.

Oh and ive noticed typically the free dining plan is advertised pre-christmas, from around November, and then they switch to 25% discounts on hotel packages until March. They work out to be around the same saving so if you don't want the dining plan as you want to bring food (e.g. due to dietary needs) then you'll be better off with the hotel discount and booking in Jan-March next year.