snarky needs help!

[Alligirl]

Hello my friends,
I am hoping to get some help from you all, but if this needs to be moved to vacation planning or whatever I guess we will go there. Anywhooo.. one of the teachers I work with is planning a WDW trip this August. She has not been since she was 8 DH has never been and it is a first trip for the four kids under 7!! She asked me to help with an itinerary but it has been a while since my kids were that small so any help, advice, tips, plans etc. would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks so much!
~Allison

[RenDuran]

I don't have any advice, but I'm glad to see that you are alive!

[Alligirl]

Thanks red! Yes I am alive and lurking! I of course made the mistake of coming back to vmk last weekend with the big quest craziness going on! Good grief that was something!

[Patricia]

Sounds like someone needs to join INTERCOT..

Snarky, you will get many more replies in vacation planning. I'll move you up there.

Hang on to your ears! Here we go...

[AuntDJ]

Hello~ Here are some of the basic tips I give:

1. Give each kids a fanny pack, it can hold the autograph book; pen, a paper with my name and cell #.

2. Go ahead and prepare each child a small coinpurse for pressed pennies. We all know they will want to do this and then you don't have to search.

3. Talk about what you want to ride. Since your friend seems to have a large group, she will want to think about what each child would like; as well as her and DH. Make sure they realize they will not see everything and should decide on a few "must do's" for each park.

4. Talk about rides like the Haunted Mansion. Things that might seem scary to a child, but once they get on the ride, it isn't.

5. If they are staying on property, I recommend the afternoon break. It makes my whole trip a little more relaxing.

6. ADR's/Fast Pass- Explain each of these to her and make sure she makes ADR's for things like the Princess Breakfast or must do restaurants.

Okay, that is all I can think of right now..

Have fun planning!
DJ

[KAT1811]

I would recommend the following:

1. Bring your own stroller(s) if needed. My children are always more comfortable in their own and we have it all over property not just in the parks.

2. If bringing an infant also bring some sort of carrier (I like the Baby Bjourn) for waiting in lines and watching shows (or general places where strollers are not allowed).

3. Familiarize the children with classic characters they may not be familiar with but will most likely see. My children always get more excited when they see a character they know (not that there are any they do not know due to mom's, and now dad's Disney disease! LOL!)

4. Book character dining meals. I find that it gives the kids a more personalized interaction with the characters and you are not waiting in line all over the place trying to see everyone. Or searching the parks for Mickey or Pooh.

5. When in the MK go straight to Fantasyland first thing in the morning. We have found that the lines are virtually non existant in the early morning hours but grow rather large in the afternoon and evenings.

6. In World Showcase get each child a Passport and take advantage of the FunStops. That way mom and dad can have a more relaxing time in the countries and the kids are having fun too.

7. We typically plan to spend two days at Epcot and the MK and a day at the other parks, then we revisit wherever we want after that.

I just did an itinerary for DH's cousin and her family (they are also thaking their children for the first time). I tried to keep the dining simple for them without a ton of traveling.

[Alligirl]

Thanks for your help! It seems I have forgotten a few things about traveling with little kids!

[irish1967]

Moving along the character dining thread...

This came from a CM at Chef Mickey's:

Don't make the ADRs for character dining at the beginning of the trip - make them for the middle/end. The characters, at least the non-human ones, are huge and a lot of younger children are frightened if they haven't had the time to get used to their size.

Also, don't make any promises about the trip. That way if they don't run into a favorite character (we STRESSED OUT for three days once because we didn't see Pocahontas and my 4 year old niece was with us and all she wanted to do was show Pocahontas her Pocahontas sneakers!) or a particular ride is down or closed, the children aren't disappointed.

Afternoon break - definitely key!

Familiarize themselves with the park layout and fastpass system so they don't wear themselves out criss-crossing the parks.

If there is a child on the cusp between baby food and table food, bring familiar food from home just in case the child doesn't like the restaurant food (we spent $$$$$$$ on baby food one year because my DS wouldn't eat any of the table food)

Swim diapers for non-trained children, they are required in the pools (and once again, much less expensive if purchased outside WDW.)