Fast Pass system is awesome. You can schedule your visits to the rides in advance. I recommend them. Besides, you will receive pretty cool wrist bands to wear and your daughter can customize hers as she sees fit once she is at the park. Remember, everything is possible at Disney...for a price!

I also recommend staying on property as you get extra visiting hours (aka Magic Hours) as well as purchasing a meal plan....not the top end plan or the bottom end plan but the one in the middle. It is so convenient to not always be carrying your wallet with you and getting cash in and out of it.

I also wore a backpack everyday and carried our own water. In the summer this was imperative. February though sounds delightful.

I wouldn't care so much about the view from the room...you won't be in there very much. Most likely, you'll be at the park for fireworks.

All the parks are different and have something unique to offer. It's hard to pick just one.

I like the magic kingdom light parade just before the park's closing time when all of the characters march by. That's fun. Schedule breakfast at the Crystal Palace. Tons of disney characters come to breakfast and it is great for photo ops.

Animal Kingdom is awesome...its strictly a daytime visit park IMO.

Hollywood Studios is cool too if you are geared towards movies, starwars, raiders of the lost arc, etc....

Epcot has a lot to offer that doesn't meet the eye. If your daughter likes Disney princesses, then schedule a princess dinner at the Norway Pavilion. We did this and, even though i have a son, I still got my picture made with a princess....Belle I think! Fireworks are awesome there too. The food at the Moroccan cafe was outstanding and the place was not crowded .... belly dancers were nice too!

Most all of your Disney scheduling can be done (should be done) in advance.

Maybe schedule one visit at each park each day and then go back to your favorite park on the 5th.

One of the best things we did was carry a Hydroflask. Fill it completely with ice in the morning. You can get 3 or 4 water fills from fountains and still have ice. It was 90 when we were there.


Find a light comfortable backpack. Clip on hand sanitizer is a must. Get dollar ponchos too. All Disney rides allow packs on them.

Magic Kingdom is the best for younger kids. Hollywood Studios has Toy Story Land which was well done. The rest of the park has a few thrill rides. Epcot is mixed fun stuff and tour the world stuff. Animal Kingdom was our least favorite.

Disney Springs has massive amounts of shopping - a lot of higher end places too.

Be sure to take a midday break and go back to your room, especially on Magic Kingdom days.

Character Dining options fill up super fast.

Magic Kingdom has a nice opening show. You can get into most parks at least a half hour early and be ready to go at rope drop to other areas.

The Polynesian was nice to visit. It was a kid party at night but also had an adult pool.

You really only break even on meal plans if you eat them all or it's free. We did two days at Universal via Uber plus usually skipped breakfast so we came out ahead just buying. You can link a credit card to your magic band for purchases. No need to fish for cash and cards.

Ask shops to deliver purchases to your hotel gift shop. You pick them up with the green slip in a day or two.

Yes, get your Fast Passes ASAP.

As for which parks, that is tough. Hollywood Studios has lots of construction, but it also has Toy Story land. Toy Story Mania is one of the best rides in all four parks and Slinky Dog coaster is pretty cool.

Utilize extra magic hours where possible.

If you do not have a fast pass for the very popular rides, get in line as soon as the park opens. For example, my family will make a beeline for Mine Train. Since the park has just opened, there is not a queue of Fast Pass people, so the standard line moves twice as fast.

Do not get Fast Passes for Dumbo or Winnie the Pooh. Both rides have interactive lines / playgrounds so that little ones are completely occupied during the wait.

I live in Orlando and and we have been annual pass holders for nearly 10 years. PM me with any specific questions.

I’ll be in Disney tomorrow !! I don’t get involved with any of this, but I know my wife started planning, making dinner reservations and fast passes over 5 months ago.

Fantasmic at Hollywood Studios was one of my favorite things.

I'm a planner, you know the guy that likes to make a spreadsheet about most everything. I'm a big advocate of Unofficial Guide to Disney World. Their park itineraries are spot-on, I've never had an issue using them, line waits were no longer than 20-minutes and we were able to knock-out everything on the list by early afternoon so, more time to go back and ride our favorites or, squeeze in a nap. Great resource as you're trying to plan your accommodations, they list and rate every hotel on-property and just about every place off-property in the surrounding area. They also list and rate the many restaurants/eateries in the park and surrounding it. Pick-it up and make your plans, you're gonna be spending a lot of money best to plan-out how it's going to be spent.

EPCOT is my favorite, Magic Kingdom the kids really like, Animal Kingdom has gotten a lot better than when it first opened, it is a day-time park so plan accordingly. Hollywood Studios despite having the Guardians ride and Toy Story rides is under major construction and you may perceive a lack of value there. For those hot/humid days, don't overlook the two waterparks, Blizzard Beach we liked a lot.

We liked Hollywood park a lot, and Animal Kingdom. But the magic Kingdom is great for the first day.

It's been 3-4 years since I was at Disneyworld, so things may have changed a bit. Fastpass is great, I believe you may get an extra Fastpass per day if staying on property. Take advantage of the early openings for staying on property as well. It also sounds like you can reserve in advance now? When we were there, the Fastpass was available at the ride, go to the ride and then find the kiosk for the ride's Fastpass.

Animal Kingdom was probably our favorite park and Epcot the least. Epcot just seemed very dated, but they do have Test Track which is an awesome ride. Magic Kingdom is probably a must just for the traditional Disney experience. Pick your parks and just plan on spending the day there rather than wasting time transferring between parks.

Download the Disneyworld app on your phone. If for no other reason it gives approximate wait times for rides as wells maps. Pick your park, then pick the big attraction rides that you want to go to in that park. Once the gates open, go get to the big attraction rides and get the Fastpasses for them, then plan the rest of your day around those.

More important, make it fun for your son. Take breaks and keep him fed and hydrated. Many years ago my wife interned in Epcot for college. They referred to the Magic Kingdom as the Tragic Kingdom for the amount of crying young children they saw parents dragging through the park.

Wife and daughter have been there since, they said to definitely ride Avatar claiming it was unlike another amusement park ride. Brown Derby is good for food. Yak and Yeti was also good.

Have fun.

Well, I did make my fast pass + reservations this morning as soon as possible-planning on Monday afternoon/evening at Animal Kingdom (probably arrive around early afternoon); Magic Kingdom on Tuesday and Thursday, and extra Magic Wednesday night. Wednesday Animal Kingdom (Monday is uncertain about arrival time); Friday Epcot (tentatively; may do Magic Kingdom again depending on the lovely bride and beaming 6-year old!).

Thanks for the tips; keep them coming as I may try and "fine rune" the experience.

I did find out that I (without question) should have reserved dining months ago; now I've got to scramble. I did reserve at Le Cellier and the Boardwalk Inn for two of the four nights' dinner; now to plan breakfast and lunch.

If you get the photopass, which is well worth it, make sure you ask each photographer if they have magical extras. This will be a photo that adds something like Jimminy Cricket in your kids hand or puts a ghost next to you in front of the Haunted Mansion.

In Disney Springs at the Marketplace area there is a Photo Studio. It is included free. They put you in front of a greenscreen and use some props and take tons of photos that go on your Photopass.

********Make sure you get the Disney app on your phone. It will show you ride times, your fastpasses, schedule, and let you make new Fastpasses after you use your three each day.

We were just there 2 months ago and basically did pretty much everything and did it at a rapid pace. If we ever go back, we can definitely pick and choose to do our favorites at a more leisurely pace and skip things that were only ok.

quote:

Originally posted by bcereuss:


I did find out that I (without question) should have reserved dining months ago; now I've got to scramble. I did reserve at Le Cellier and the Boardwalk Inn for two of the four nights' dinner; now to plan breakfast and lunch.

If you got a leCellier reservation 2 months out, you did good. I usually need to make reservations 6 months out. It's a smaller restaurant, and fills up quickly. Don't sweat getting reservations at a sit down restaurant every day.
The counter service places are quicker, cheaper, and still have decent food. Columbia Harbor House (near The Haunted Mansion in Magic Kingdom), has good sandwiches, and you can order in advance via the WDW app.
Other Places that I like for food are:

Epcot:
Tangerine Cafe
Spice Road Table

Animal Kingdom:
Yak & Yeti

Hollywood Studios:
Mama Melrose's
ABC Commissary

When i was there in September, we tried Pizzafari in Animal Kingdom, and wasn't impressed with the personal sized pizza's.

Nevermind. You need to be a an Annual Passholder or Vacation Club member or Florida resident

Check into getting a Tables in Wonderland card. It saves you money on the meals you buy. The first time we went with another family. Ten of us in all. The first supper we had saved us the amount the program cost.

Schedule your rides on the fast pass asap. When you get done with a ride and have a window, go secure another fast pass. You can basically re-stock. Some rides will never be available for the fast pass it seems so wait for those when the opportunity is there. The popular rides go fast. We decided to go into things we couldn't get a fast pass on and get in line on the popular ones or most desirable to us. Some things open up later in the evening. I'd do some reading on the park tips online and you'll get a strategy...which is helpful. There's a lot of ground to cover. We did Animal Kingdom, Epcot, and LEGOLand in Orlando, then also Kennedy Space Center. Animal Kingdom was by far the favorite of my girls (7 and 9 then). LEGOLand was a huge hit if you have time to swing it. KSC is amazing too.

I had been to Epcot as a kid about 30 years prior and frankly it felt about the same. There were a couple of cool rides. The ride where you design and race your car is cool and repeatable. If you go in the singles line we figured out you could skip the 90 min wait and almost walk right up. My girls and I did it several times and some people even let us sit together to be nice. Seemed silly to wait for so long to just sit next to each other. So be on the lookout to make common sense decisions to save time. We did the slow coaster deal that goes into the globe and it broke down for about 20 minutes leaving us stranded to wait on an incline. Anyhow, was fun but I'd go for the newer rides. If your kid is a Frozen fan meeting the movie cast is neat and a short line. Elsa's hands are even cold.

We ate a big breakfast and got to the parks about 9am each day with backpacks. Stayed until about 6-7 most nights. There is a lot going on past that though.

Another simple money saver idea if you have Chase Bank: If you change your ordinary debit card to one with the Disney logo you could save like 10% on a lot of the purchases at the Disney properties. Could be gift shop souvenirs or food, etc. Just have to show the card and ask.

go to easywdw.com and there you will learn the best way to do the parks for the dates you are there.

look at the crowd calendars
as a floria resident who goes 5 times a year, this site is the hands down best for info

My next door neighbor is a Disney specialist. They have been able to get some amazing deals for folks that I know. If you haven't purchased anything yet I would suggest contacting them. http://yourfairytalevacation.com/about-us/

Posting from a Disney Resort now...while my son rests on day 3 of 7 after just being diagnosed with the flu...

All excellent advice from all. One thing to keep in mind, there is no way to see it all, no way to know everything there is to do. Accept that you will miss some things, roll with it. Just remember to have fun and spend quality time with the family.

We've been three times, but not in the last 6 years, so far from experts. That was apparently back when Fast Passes were free. Jiko restaurant at the Animal Kingdom was one of our favorites. The Luau at the Polynesian is very entertaining for everyone as well. Depending on how your son responds to the characters, you might buy an autograph book so he can collect them. At 5 my daughter was initially reticent, but really got into it by the end of day two, and takes it whenever she returns. We stumbled into Jack Sparrow doing a bit complete with sword fight near Pirates of the Caribbean. Also fun for everybody, and I think a 6 year old might love that. The golf ain't half bad either. We also enjoy Universal quite a bit and do a day there.