Tuesday, February 23, 2010

the MC guide to DISNEY (with munchkins)!



During our recent trip stateside we took C for his first visit to the "House of Mouse". I'm a bit of a Disney freak, went every chance I could as a kid and had season passes for several years in college and as a young adult, but this was my first visit as a parent. I've had a long-held theory, after witnessing years and years of Magic Kingdom meltdowns, that there's simply no reason to take a kid to Disney World until s/he can get through the day without a nap. Now, after experiencing WDW with a kiddo, I think the theory still stands (of course if you live close by, with season passes, or have an xtra adult on hand to head back to the hotel pre-meltdown, that's a different story.) I followed my own advice and left B at home, just so as not to have to deal with his theatrics.

Other tips:
Don't go during summer, don't go during Christmas, don't go on a holiday weekend, don't go on the weekend. **DO** go on weekdays mid January to early March, May, or October

Take in as many snacks sandwiches and drinks as you want. Disney doesn't care, and you'll feel a lot better spending 4 dollars on that Disney shaped popsicle if you didn't just spend 12 dollars on chicken nuggets and fries

Even if your youngster walks everywhere and has for years, take or rent a stroller. You can get from Big Thunder Mountain to Space Mountain far more quickly if you're not paced by little legs. Disney is exciting, overwhelming and tiring for the wee set, and if you're in for the long day, everyone's gonna need the break. Not exaggerating: it's completely normal to see kids as old as 8 or 9 in strollers. BUT, the ultimate reason to take a stroller -- you can leave bags/coolers/gear/whatever with your stroller. Without the stroller you either have to carry everything on every attraction or rent a locker way up at the park's entrance. Sroller = the ultimate packmule

FASTPASS -- use it anytime the standby wait is more than 15 minutes

If you stand in line to "meet" characters there'll be far less tolerance (not to mention time) for ride lines. There'll be lots of characters to see as you walk through the park, but if actually meeting characters is important to you, be sure to see Mickey and Minnie at toontown, but then consider going to a character breakfast or lunch.

Don't miss the afternoon parade. The kiddos love to be so close to the all the characters and it provided my kiddo MUCH needed downtime to be ready to go again into the evening. Watch it from Frontier land, the end of the parade route. It'll be far less crowded than Mainstreet. Be there 15 minutes early for a spot right on the rope line.

You can sit in Dumbo(and take pics in Dumbo) without waiting in line to fly Dumbo.
The Aladdin flying carpet line is always far far shorter. If Dumbo is a must, think about hitting it during the fireworks.

Stay on Disney property and take advantage of early/late park hours

The monorail might look cool, but the ferry boat is far more stroller friendly.

If you park in Minnie or Mickey and have the kid in a stroller follow the footpath and *walk* to the transportation and ticket center, far faster and easier than hassling with the tram.

FWIW -- C's favorite ride was Buzz Lightyear and he liked Big Thunder Mountain (AKA Cowboy Mountain) far better then the Barnstormer coaster in toontown *AND* Big Thunder Mountain is a Fastpass. We waited close to 30 minutes for Barnstormer, not worthit, IMHO.