Take It Or Leave It- Disney Advice

So, after more than a few trips to Mickey's house, I feel like I should share what I have learned to maybe help someone else. I went to Disney several times as a child, then as a teen and an adult. It is very different when you have kids. (The 30 minute waits in line before kids are nothing- after kids it feels like 2 hours. ) So, I have compiled a not-so-organized list of thoughts I will share and also references I recommend for those who are thinking of going with children in tow. A lot of this is just my opinion- someone may disagree with me on some things, and that's ok too. This is just speaking from my experience. Here goes...
1.) Here are 2 reads that I strongly recommend for anyone to read at least a few months before you go. One is "Walt Disney World With Kids, 2007" (or 2008 if they have it). The author is Kim Wright Wiley and it also includes advice and info for SeaWorld and Universal Orlando. The other reference I would suggest is the website http://www.tourguidemike.com/ . He was a professional tour guide for Disney World for many years and knows all the secrets and best times and ways to do things. It costs $18.00 to get into the site, but considering a personal tour guide costs $150.00 per hour at Disney, the 18 bucks is well worth it. You can print out whatever you want and go back to it as many times as you want. It even gives you how busy each week is during the year so you can plan to go during a slower time. We used his system and it really made a difference in our trip. It was much less stressful.
2.) Do not go in the Summer if you can help it, unless you are extremely cold natured and love the heat and humidity (and crowds). I was born and raised in the South, but even I was miserable at times and it is only Spring.... So many kids were walking around burnt. (Not to mention parents!) Also do not go on or around any holiday. It may seem like a fun idea to do a holiday at Disney- but trust me, it is so crowded and the waits for the rides at all of the parks are just ridiculous.
3.) Any character breakfast, lunch or dinners that you want your child to experience should be booked several months before your scheduled trip. When we went 2 years ago, we tried to book them 3 months in advance and many were already full. If you have daughters, the dinner at 1900 Park Fair in the Grand Floridian Hotel and also lunch at Akershus in the Norway section at Epcot are both good choices to see the princesses. For boys, I don't know- but the book and tour guide Mike's website will let you know who you will see at each place. These dinners are more expensive than regular places, so be prepared.....
4.) Do the basic dining plan for each member of your family. It will seem like a lot until you see how much the food there costs! Also- some places take 2 of the meals on your plans to eat dinner there- so the nicer places and places with characters, I would suggest lunch at those, because it will only use one meal. We did the deluxe dining plan- it was way too much food and next time we will do the basic. Stay at a place that has continental breakfasts or pack a couple boxes of pop-tarts/muffins. You can take food and snacks into the parks. I would suggest juice boxes if they aren't too much for you to carry- the drinks are outrageous.
5.) Moms- get one of those backpack-looking purses that you don't have to carry with just a shoulder. I got a brown one at Target and a black Nine West one at Kohl's- they are so much better because they do not get in the way and they hold a lot. (I'm not talkin' about the little tiny ones- I mean the bigger ones.) This is what you definitely need to pack in that for the parks: diaper wipes in a travel case or a ziplock (hands get nasty), sanitizing gel, sunscreen, sunglasses, park maps, small snacks. And whatever else you may want. Try to keep your kids from putting their hands all over the handrails at the parks- I stayed on my girls like a warden- there were kids picking noses and wiping spit and then playing on the rails. I shudder to think what may have been on them....
6.) If you can, stay at one of the Disney hotels that the monorail goes right to. It is sooo convenient. Those include: Grand Floridian, The Contemporary, The Polynesian. Contemporary seems to be the best price- you won't be in your room long anyway. If you want to save some bucks and also get continental breakfasts included in the deal, we have stayed in the off-site hotels, like Double Tree and Marriot and they were very nice and included breakfast and shuttle transportation to all the parks (and a good bit cheaper.) You have to take a bus to Animal Kingdom and MGM anyway- so you may choose the off-site option.
7.) I personally would not recommend taking your child until they are at least 44 inches tall. That is the height requirement for a lot of the faster rides. Emmaline is 45 inches and the only one she couldn't do was the Aerosmith Rock-N-Rollercoaster. Disney is not cheap- and we had so much more fun this time with Emmaline being able to ride stuff. I felt we got more bang for our buck this time. Your choice- just my opinion!
8.) Scary rides warning: Tower of Terror (you freefall 12 stories twice.) My 2 girls loved that ride, but I only did it once. I know I am a chicken. At Animal Kingdom in Dino-Land, there is a roller coaster with Dinosaurs in it. It terrified me. I knew they weren't real, but it was very scary. A lot of kids came off of it crying and wouldn't ride another coaster after that! Mt. Everest roller coaster at Animal Kingdom. My 2 loved it, but there is a giant Yedi (Yeti?) inside of it at the end that swoops his arm down and growls and tries to swipe you. It also goes backwards really fast, so that may be scary for some kids. We all loved it, though. Space Mountain- rough ride and in the totally pitch dark. Everyone sits single file, so I was very concerned that Emmaline would freak out and start trying to get out of her seat. I made Brian sit behind her and reach over and put his hands on her shoulders to make sure she didn't get out...Of course, she was fine, but you never know with her. We all loved it and I loved it as a child, but some kids get freaked out about the dark issue. Then there is the Stitch (from Lilo and Stitch) adventure at Magic Kingdom in Tommorrowland. It terrified Annelise- who is not scared of anything. Many kids left that screaming and crying. Just a warning. Mission Space at Epcot- you feel a little sick after it and it is not that fun.... I think that is it for the really scary ones.
9.)Things to get the fast pass for : the fast pass will allow you to get in a separate, much faster line than the normal one and it should be utilized as much as possible! You use your park pass to get it. The places to get them will be at each specific ride. These are the ones with the most wait time that are worth using your fast passes for (you can only get so many fast passes per couple of hours): Soarin' at Epcot - awesome ride and the kids absolutely loved it. It has become Disney's most popular ride. The normal wait is about 40-60 minutes, but with a fast pass it will only be 5-15 minutes. Not scary- very relaxing for the parents! Aerosmith rockin rollercoaster at MGM- if your kids are tall enough (48 inches I think) it is so much fun and it was Annelise's favorite. Normal wait time without a fast pass is 30-50 minutes. Also Tower of Terror at MGM- it is right next to the Aerosmith coaster and if your kids love a thrill and are not easily scared, it is fun. At Magic Kingdom, the fast pass is necessary for Dumbo (for the little ones), Peter Pans Flight, and Space Mountain. In Animal Kingdom, you will want one for the Kilamanjaro Safari and also Mt. Everest coaster. At MGM the Arial (Little Mermaid) show is also very good. Sometimes you need to get the fast pass and sometimes there is not much of a wait, but is worth seeing. Also at MGM- Emmaline and Annelise both loved the Star Wars Star Tours- not very scary and pretty neat. Not a bad wait usually. At Epcot, ride the Nemo ride early in the day before a lot of the younger kids get there- it can get crowded. My advice in concurrence with tour guide Mike is to get to the parks a few minutes before they open at 9 am and go straight to the busy rides, ride them and immediately get a fast pass to ride it again later if the kids like it. The fast pass usually allows you to come back about 1-2 hours after you get it to ride that certain ride. Use them and use them often! I also highly recommend Mickey's Philharmagic 3-D show at Magic Kingdom in Fantasyland. The girls loved it tremendously and we watched it several times. It is much better than the other 3-D shows there.
10.) Make a schedule for your days before you go. Do not plan to go to Magic Kingdom on a Saturday or Sunday. (Except for the evening parade- it is cool.) Those days are when a lot of locals or people just getting there choose to go and it is very crowded. Go to Epcot and MGM on the week-end days. Animal Kingdom wasn't too bad, but it closes at 5 pm some days, so watch for that.
11.) Last tip- schedule all of your sit-down dinners beforehand and make reservations before leaving. Make sure they coincide with the actual park you will plan to be in that day anyway so you don't have to catch a bus or monorail to leave the park you are in. Good place for a less expensive character dinner is Liberty Tree Tavern in Magic Kingdom (Goofy, Minnie, Chip, Dale and Pluto are there) and 2 great places for lunch that the kids loved are Sci-Fi Diner in MGM and also the Coral Reef in Epcot- much cheaper at lunch. At the Coral Reef, when you get there, ask for a table next to the aquarium. Most of the time you will get it. You will need reservations for almost all the sit down places. Try to eat lunch and dinner early, before the crowds get in. If you and your spouse are lucky enough to have help with the kids and want a romantic, good dinner alone, I would recommend Narcoosee's at the Grand Floridian. The food was outstanding and the atmosphere was wonderful. It is right on one of the lakes.
I think that is it. Mindboggling, huh? Sorry so much stuff, just trying to help someone else out here! Seriously, I know the experience is different for everyone, so this may not apply to you. I just hope if you go, you have fun! (PS- sorry for any typos or errors in spelling, I was in a hurry, so be forgiving as you read!!) Hope to have some pics on here tommorrow.
*Oops- one more tip- the t-shirts and toys and stuff are really expensive at the shops in the parks. I got the girls some beautiful Cinderella t-shirts at K-Mart before we went and surprised them with them at the park. K-Mart and Wal-Mart both carry Disney lines. You can also go to www.disneyoutlet.com and they have a lot of clearance clothing and toys also.