Disney World with Younger Youngsters: Ideas, Prices, Meals Allergy symptoms

Disney World actually wasn’t on the high of my trip bucket record, however the timing and pricing in February labored out, so we determined to offer it a first-time go. Nick and I’ve by no means been huge Disney individuals so we went in with low expectations, and actually had such an excellent time as a household!

I needed to reply some FAQ’s from Instagram, however word household preferences will fluctuate extensively based mostly on ages and pursuits. As a bit of background, my youngsters are aged 3 and 5, and so they’re very aware of Disney motion pictures and characters. Since Disney+ streaming service presents many audio languages, we’ve got film evening in Mandarin every month as a enjoyable manner of bilingual studying. Whereas their familiarity with characters positively added to the magic, I do know they might’ve had a blast regardless!

You may as well learn my post on outfits I packed (together with the most effective princess gear), and a few issues I want we had introduced.

When is the most effective age to go to Disney for the first time?

After I requested you guys, solutions ranged from “any! it’s totally different at all ages” to “when the youngsters are sufficiently old to recollect and meet all the peak necessities.” After going, I consider age 5/6 was simply good for a primary go to (a minimum of for households who don’t plan on going commonly), though our 3 yr previous actually had a grand time.

At age 5 Nori was sufficiently old to actually admire many parts of the journey and final by a lot of the day, but additionally younger sufficient to nonetheless consider and really feel the magic. The variety of occasions the youngsters whispered, “wow….wow…” to one another each day nearly made all of it value it!

As an FYI, youngsters beneath age 3 get free park admission and eat free at buffets and glued priced fashion meals. That saves about $100+ a day on admission alone and extra on Lightning Lanes and meals, so one thing to contemplate when you’re considering a go to! Not assembly all the peak necessities was a non-issue for us since there’s no scarcity of issues to do.

How lengthy did you keep?

We did 4 nights (3 park days) and would’ve preferred a minimum of 1 extra. I might see staying even longer when you’d like a “relaxation day” in between. We did Magic Kingdom on Day 1, Epcot on Day 2, and again to Magic Kingdom on Day 3 (since we solely coated half of it earlier), so would’ve cherished an additional day to go to Animal Kingdom!

Budgeting at Disney: Splurge vs Save

Disney World prices took me unexpectedly, so I needed to share some areas the place we ended up splurging vs. saving. I even have pals who did Disney on a price range by staying at way more $-friendly resorts.

What we splurged on:

• Lodging at a handy Disney resort alongside the Magic Kingdom monorail. As first-timers with younger youngsters, we actually loved this.
• Genie+ for Lightning Lanes (the “quick cross” at Disney World) – about $35 per particular person, per day. This actually provides up for a household, however considerably minimized trip time spent ready in strains.

What we skipped:

• Fastened value eating places and buffets. We did largely takeout or quick informal as a substitute of the favored eating places like California Grill or Ohana, which might be round $250-$300 for a fam of 4.
• Character Eating. I used to be torn on this one! Whereas they’re dear, they’re clearly enjoyable and I do assume they save quite a lot of time from ready in particular person meet & greet strains.
• Bibbidi Bobbidy Boutique. The well-known makeover the place youngsters get a princess costume, hair, and make-up achieved by Cinderella’s fairy godmothers. However what Nori doesn’t know received’t harm her (and saved us $500) and we introduced all our princess apparel from dwelling.
• Souvenirs. We set expectations forward of time with the youngsters that we wouldn’t be shopping for toys or trinkets on the parks.

The place did you keep?

Whereas we normally keep at Airbnbs when touring, we opted for a Disney resort for the various perks. A lot of you beneficial staying at a resort alongside the monorail if we’d be frequenting Magic Kingdom, citing the comfort of popping again mid-day for a pool or nap break. The monorail line stops at Magic Kingdom and three resorts:

• The Up to date. We stayed right here, and an added perk is you possibly can stroll to/from Magic Kingdom in lower than 10 minutes. Nice to have instead choice to the monorail!

  The rooms are common and plain by lodge requirements with refined The Incredibles theming, however I discovered them to be pretty renovated and clear. There’s a family-friendly pool with clear life jackets that we used each day, scorching tubs, sandy “seaside” space with cabanas, good allergy-friendly meals downstairs at Steakhouse 71, and the youngsters cherished that the monorail goes proper by the lodge foyer. We stayed in a regular 2 queen mattress, theme park-facing room and cherished the nightly fireworks from our balcony! In the event you’re a light-weight sleeper, although, I discovered that staying in the primary constructing received a bit of loud at evening.

  We booked 2 months prematurely throughout a “low” week, and it averaged to round $800/evening (nonetheless loopy IMO) however it did make for a terrific first go to. It was priced the bottom out of the three monorail resorts, and I’m unsure how a lot prices fluctuate totally different occasions of yr.

• The Polynesian. By far, this and the Grand Floridian had been named probably the most usually by readers as their favourite Disney World resort. Many talked about loving the swimming pools right here.
• The Grand Floridian. Probably the most luxurious and $$$ resort at Disney that positively felt fancy and stylish in comparison with the standard Disney themes (first pic above was taken there). We additionally noticed a big, fun-looking youngsters splash space.

Disney World Ideas that Got here in Helpful

I did a TON of analysis earlier than our journey, from filling my feed with #disneytips reels to delving into boards and YouTube movies. Some suggestions that got here in useful:

• In the event you’re staying at a Disney lodge and need to take full benefit of the half-hour early entry, plan to reach on the park effectively earlier than that early entry time. Early entry is when you can begin happening rides, however you possibly can bodily enter the parks a lot earlier. So if a park opens to the general public at 9AM, early entry is at 8:30. I’d arrive to the park round 8:10 to stroll to the primary rides you need to get on.
• Check data on rides at every park with the shortest & longest wait occasions. We frequently discovered that the preferred rides with the longest waits weren’t our household favorites (ie Peter Pan & Jungle Cruise in Magic Kingdom). In the event you skip a few of these, you possibly can seemingly go on a number of rides and points of interest within the time you’d be ready for one.
• In case you have younger youngsters who may get scared, watch YouTube movies prematurely in regards to the points of interest at every park so you recognize which rides are darkish, which of them have a shock drop, and many others.
• Find out about Rider Switch
• With younger youngsters, decrease expectations and don’t attempt to do an excessive amount of every day. For our nap-averse youngsters, this meant wrapping up mid-afternoon on the parks each day earlier than potential drained meltdowns. And placing them to mattress early even when it meant lacking the fireworks.
• Pack slow-munching snacks to maintain youngsters occupied whereas ready in strains. Even Lightning Lanes could require some ready.
• For first timers shopping for Genie + Lightning Lanes (these are like a “quick cross” for strains), be certain that to research online or ask your Disney planner intimately the way it works and methods to maximise it i.e. with Standby Skipper.
• If utilizing Lightning Lane, there’s a grace interval beginning 5 minutes previous to your “return window” to a minimum of 2 hours after that window, so don’t stress when you’re working late to a experience.

Magic Kingdom particular suggestions:

• Some shared that the most effective spot to look at the Fantasy Parade is by Metropolis Corridor on Principal Avenue close to the doorway of the park. That is additionally the place the parade ends. The parade begins at 3PM, and we arrived at this spot round 3:10 each days and had front-row parade entry that the youngsters cherished!
• If you’re drained: the Individuals Mover is a straightforward and lengthy experience with nice views of Magic Kingdom and minimal wait. The Railroad (runs between Fantasyland, Frontierland, and the doorway at Principal Avenue) is a pleasant option to get round with out pushing by crowds.
• A lunch spot with common meals however a picturesque, peaceable view was the 2nd ground balcony of Pinnochio’s Village Haus. We welcomed the quiet respite from the crowds, and so they additionally had allergy-friendly choices for my little pizza lover.

How did you get round?

For attending to & from the airport and lodge, we did Uber/Lyft. This lighter weight Cosco car seat was a reader advice 4 years in the past and continues to be our go-to for journey. There are additionally Minnie vans which have automobile seats, however they value a number of occasions greater than a regular Uber or Lyft.

For parks and airport journey, we introduced our trusty Yoyo stroller with ride along board. I learn {that a} stroller was a should at Disney, even for teenagers who’ve outgrown one again dwelling, and it actually was a lifesaver having two stroller seats. You don’t need to collapse your stroller to get on the monorail or skyliner, so the one occasions we needed to fold it had been on the Disney buses and the railroad practice inside Magic Kingdom.

Disney may be very stroller pleasant with stroller parking areas at almost each experience, and it appeared like nobody fearful about anybody stealing their stroller or stuff. There are additionally loads of stroller rental choices each within the park and firms that ship them to your lodge.

What was your itinerary?

Day 1: Arrival/Resort Day. Acquired in round midday and Uber’d to lodge. Had pool time and rode the free Disney bus and Skyliner gondola (we loved this!) to discover another Disney resorts. Took the bus to Magic Kingdom, the place we hopped on the monorail to dinner at Kona Cafe within the Polynesian resort. Many steered testing Disney Springs for eating & leisure, which we’ll need to do subsequent time!

Day 2: Magic Kingdom. Throughout the early entry interval and the primary hour or so after public opening, there was no wait / very quick waits for straightforward rides just like the Barnstomer curler coaster, Little Mermaid, Small World, Tomorrowland Speedway, Dumbo and extra so we knocked a lot of these out with out utilizing Lightning Lanes.

We used our Lightning Lanes for widespread points of interest like Peter Pan’s flight, Jungle Cruise, Buzz Lightyear, Belle’s Enchanted Tales, and different princess meet & greets that aren’t open throughout early entry. Rio refused his nap every day, so we stayed till the Fantasy Parade (the youngsters cherished this!) ending round 3:30PM earlier than heading again to the lodge for pool & chill time.

Day 3: We had been torn on Epcot vs Animal Kingdom, so I polled you guys on what’s higher for younger youngsters and it was break up precisely 50/50. So I assume it’s simply private desire! Our children are in a princess & Elsa section and it was wet, so we selected Epcot. We walked, ate & drank “all over the world,” rode Nemo and the aquarium, Figment the dinosaur, Frozen (our fave at Epcot), Ratatouille (we’re susceptible to movement illness and wouldn’t do it once more) and met a number of princesses in every nation. That is the place I consider the Princess eating at Akershus would’ve been value it to satisfy everybody (besides Elsa + Anna) at one meal, slightly than ready in a number of meet & greet strains all through the day.

Day 4: Our final full day. It could’ve make sense to do a park we hadn’t gone to but, however our youngsters cherished Magic Kingdom so we went again for points of interest we missed earlier. Even with two days at Magic Kingdom, there have been nonetheless a number of points of interest we didn’t get to.

Did you guide by a Disney planner?

Sure! This was a giant tip from you guys, and comes at no further value for journeys which are 3 days or longer (Disney pays planners a fee). As a first-time customer I discovered it very useful to have somebody educated to ask a ton of questions and stroll by our itinerary with intimately. Primarily based on the MANY suggestions I acquired, there are clearly tons of excellent planners on the market. I clicked one of many first recs I received, and the planner Joseph Cheung occurred to be a fellow native dad or mum of children just like mine in age (with meals allergic reactions too), so we clicked!

How is Disney with Meals Allergy symptoms?

Great! Disney and Disney cruises are well-known for being nice with meals allergic reactions. Our child has a dairy, nut & egg allergy, and nearly in every single place we ate within the Disney parks and resorts was allergy-conscious.

• Most Disney eating places have sturdy allergy procedures in place, together with a chosen prep space to attenuate cross contamination, and a supervisor checking every allergy order.
• Every Disney restaurant has a web based menu with allergy menu on the backside. Verify these out prematurely as a tenet.
• When you’re at a restaurant, you possibly can ask to speak to the chef to get extra allergy-friendly choices that will not be on the menu. The extra formal sit down eating places offered larger consideration and different choices over seize & go spots.
• Dairy, egg & nut-free snacks that may be discovered usually all through Disney embody Mickey waffles (tho my youngsters weren’t a fan), Mickey soft pretzels, and fruit Dole Whips however not the vanilla taste.
• At Magic Kingdom, Columbia Harbor House has more healthy allergy-friendly youngsters meals like grilled salmon or shrimp, although Nori most popular getting dairy-free pizza at Pinnocchio’s Village Haus (I had an honest hen caesar salad that comprises dairy).
• At Epcot, a tasty allergy-friendly snack was the contemporary baked bread and dips in Morocco. We additionally had a meal at Shiki-Sai in Japan which was fairly good sushi, leaps and bounds higher than our meal at Kona Cafe within the Polynesian lodge.
• On the Up to date lodge, we received each day takeout from Steakhouse 71 for the youngsters (adults after the youngsters snoozed) and ate it both by the Contempo Cafe space watching the monorail, or by the pool. The youngsters meals are well-priced for steak, “cheese” burger, fish, or hen with a alternative of two sides. The youngsters cherished the inexperienced beans right here, and the adults additionally loved their breakfast choices.

Whew! That was rather a lot! We’re FAR from Disney specialists having simply wrapped up a primary go to, so would like to any enter or suggestions for our subsequent go to. Additionally pleased to reply any extra questions on our journey or the meals allergy facet!

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