Plan of attack for MK w/children

[dreamfinder55]

I was wandering if anyone has any suggestions on how to tour MK with children 3-10. In the past we have tried to hit all the Fantasyland rides first thing in the morning. Just curious to see if anyone does it differently. Oh, and please don't refer me to touringplans.com. TIA

[ibelieveindisneymagic]

That's exactly what we do with DD. We get to the park as early as we can, hit all of the Fantasyland attractions, then off to Toontown to meet the characters when it opens, then Buzz and the TTA/Space Mountain.

Adventureland/Frontierland is sometimes another day, sometimes we have enough time to do it after Fantasyland (depending when the EMH's are), sometimes we just head over after Tomorrowland.

[KylesMom]

DS is now 11, but we've been hitting Tomorrowland first in what seems like forever. We grab a FP for Space Mtn & ride it right then, then hit Buzz, Tomorrowland Speedway & Astro Orbiter before the first hour is up, then gradually make our way around to Teacups, Snow White, grab a FP for Peter Pan, ride the Carousel, Small World, Dumbo and other rides in Fantasyland. This seems to work the best for us! :mickey:

[SBETigg]

We always start in Frontierland. We grab fastpasses for Splash, wait in line for Big Thunder, if the line is low we stand in line for Splash and save the FP for later, head to Pirates and Jungle Cruise, back to grab a fastpass for Big Thunder, ride Splash, head to Haunted Mansion, back to Big Thunder, back to Pirates, over to Tomorrowland, and we either save Fantasyland for another day or do it around 5 pm. You could do it without all the jumping around, but we like to fit in a lot of rides on Splash, Big Thunder, and Pirates, our favorites.

[DANAM]

First let me say the Unofficial guide is my bible but I just can't get with the touring plans. They just don't work for my family. I normally look at the suggested times to visit each attraching and make my own plan. This is what we do.

Personally we normally like to get fantasyland in the morning also but we normally do it during EMH AM. I know many people stay clear of EMH but they have always worked for us. We do what we can and get out of there before it gets crazy. A little tip don't do any of the Fast Pass rides even if there is no wait. Grab the FP for one of the ride in fantasyland before you leave for toontown. If you want to do Ariel's Grotto do it now before Toon Town then do toon town. If possible let one adult stand in line at the Grotto and you can ride with the others.

Then we head to toon town for openning which is normally 30 min to 1 hour after park open. We can normally get everything done here before the crowds come. If you want autographs get in line here first. The line is normally very long so we normally pass so we can get toon town done. You should be able to use that FP for fantasyland now. Grab another FP for Fantasyland before you leave.

Then, we normally skip over to adventureland/frontierland for jungle cruise, tiki, magic carpets, ect. If jungle cruise's line is long skip it and wait until you can get another FP and get it for jungle cruise then.
Then we normally leave and park hop to another park. If you can't do this I would suggest going to tommorowland. Use FP for Buzz and wait for monsters Inc.

[MOJoe]

With such a wide range in ages, you may have to do what my family does. My boys are 5 yrs apart, and have different interests. So after we do all the attractions we can all agree on, we split up. Normally i go with my oldest, who likes SM and BTMR, :thumbsup: while my wife makes my youngest suffer through Small World. :mad:
We usually meet up at Mickey's Philharmagic, and then go eat.

[Giggy]

We've always started with taking the Walt Disney World Railroad around to Mickey's Toontown Fair. It just IMO seems a very Disneyish place to start with Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy and the rest all there. After looking around and meeting the gang the first rollercoaster, Goofy's Barnstormer is right there. Then after we have finished in there next stop is Tomorrowland. I always found this one of the most exciting parts of the park, it was a combination of the rides and the theming

After that there doesn't seem to be a set battle plan. However Magic Kingdom for us takes much more than a day to do everything we want, we do all the rollercoasters and most of the big rides. The 3 mountains are of course a vital part of any WDW visit. We normally enter the park on about 4 different days (of 14 days in Orlando), though some of them are only part days. Such as an evening after Typhoon Lagoon or Blizzard Beach.

By the way in these visits I was the child on our 3 visits so far. I was 8 in 1998, 11 in 2001 and 15 in 2004.

[dancin Disney style]

My DD LOVES to help me plan our trips and has since she was about 7. Get a couple of the guide books for your kids to read. The Birnbaums 'for kids' book is great. Then figure out what rides are must dos for everyone. Most likely there will be a few in Fanstayland. I would start there on an EMH morning and be in the park for rope drop. Then carry on to what ever the most popular rides are. If you know where you want to have lunch that can help you figure out which way you head from FL.

[Daisy'sMom]

My advice-don't have a plan. I think a plan sometimes ruins a good time. It is sad when you see families charging thru the crowd to "stay on schedule", the kids are usually crying and mom and dad have a scowl. Just enjoy Magic Kingdom.:mickey:

[dreamfinder55]

My advice-don't have a plan. I think a plan sometimes ruins a good time. It is sad when you see families charging thru the crowd to "stay on schedule", the kids are usually crying and mom and dad have a scowl. Just enjoy Magic Kingdom.:mickey:
I too have seen the scowl on mom and dad and I have vowed never to do that. I will just be so happy to be in the Magic Kingdom.:mjump:

[deedeenmickey]

No matter what "land" we start in we just do everything that we want to do in that land before we move on to another land. We have been before where we ride Space Mtn and one of the kids will insist on riding BTMRR and we head over there and then they will say Buzz and then POTC. Such a waste of time. We hardly got to ride anything that time. I had to put my foot down. :mickey:

[wire0monkey]

We don't do Fantasyland first.

We get to the park just at or after opening. We take the WDW railroad over to the Adventureland stop. We ride Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain, and then work our way to the middle of the park (aka Fantasyland), riding POTC, Jungle Cruise, Magic Carpets, and Haunted Mansion on the way. It's a straight line more or less.

Then we quit and go home. The next day we take WDW over to the Toontown stop. We do Toontown and then we do the rides in Tomorrowland and then we do anything we missed or want to do again in Fantasyland, Adventureland, or Frontierland.

[Nini5055]

Well, we have an 8:00 ADR at CP so this year we will go directly to Frontierland and ride Splash Mountain ASAP. DD7 loves SM and I want to try to get her on BTMRR and Haunted Mansion this year too! :thumbsup: So we will probably then head down to HM and then IASW (cause we girlie girls like the dolls) and MPhlM and SWSA and do some window shopping along the way. We will also head on over to Toon Town as we have never been!!! :confused: Then we will do teacups and Poohs ride and we'll have to break for lunch at LTT. Get in on the Stich ride (never went on it) and Buzz Lightyear (I think that's at MK right???)...we will see as much as possible without going crazy and killing ourselves in the process. Oh, we will stop for a snack or two and smell the roses I suspect! :thumbsup: Then we have a 6:00 ADR at The Wave so we will hop to Monorail over and after I think we will head to EPCOT as there is the EMH there that night.

WHEW!!!!! I'm lovin it!!!!!!! :mickey::thumbsup::mickey::thumbsup:

[KylesMom]

My advice-don't have a plan. I think a plan sometimes ruins a good time. It is sad when you see families charging thru the crowd to "stay on schedule", the kids are usually crying and mom and dad have a scowl. Just enjoy Magic Kingdom.


We've also seen evidence that a "lack of plan" can cause the same effect. The MK can become a very overwhelming place quickly, and cause a meltdown for parents and children alike. I always suggest to friends, family and acquaintances to at least have some idea of the things they want to see while visiting the Magic Kingdom. Make a "top five/ten" list if you are going during a busy season and have limited time at MK.

[MississippiDisneyFreak]

Our last trip we started in Tommorrowland with Space Mountain, Buzz, Stitch, Monsters Inc etc...but if I had young children I would probably start with Fantasyland and do Peter Pan first.

[Mickey91]

Get to the Mk as it opens and head straight to Fantasyland. Get on Dumbo first!!:mickey:

[GoofyforFun]

Get to the Mk as it opens and head straight to Fantasyland. Get on Dumbo first!!:mickey:

Agree, Ride Dumbo twice , finish fanatasyland then over to what area will appeal to your family next.....Toontown for character pictures and some rides then take the train over to Frontier Land. IF you plan a little you will save lost time wandering around. We don't plan what ride at what time just who wants to do what per child and get on ther favoite ride.