Next week, I'm taking my 6-yr-old (and my soon to be 40-yr-old...ha) to Disney World. My son has never been so I'm looking for suggestions on where is the best place to go. I was thinking Magic Kingdom, although I love Epcot, I'm not sure which he would appreciate more. And I haven't been in 7 years so I don't know what has changed.
We are only spending one day in Disney, the rest of the time with friends we haven't seen in a while. So what can I pack into one day?
I'd go for the magic kingdom, it's the best park in my opinion. It is the classic "disney" park. I'm taking my 5year old sister next week and she's SO excited. They just added "Mickey's Philharmagic" which is a 3-d show that is SO much fun! And they have "Ariel's Grotto" now that Liv (my sister) has told me we're going to, as that's where the characters meet the kids. The Magic Kingdom has such a range of rides that I think it's the best.
For a six year old, he'd probably like the Magic Kingdom the best (not the adults though), although Animal Kingdom is probably a very close second for him and way more fun for the adults (and also crowd friendly. MK is the oldest of the parks and moves WAY more slowly). I don't think that age bracket would appreciate Epcot as much - the nations pavilion is sort of lost on them. Same for the high-tech stuff at MGM.
The other thing you can do is spend a little more for a park hopper ticket and hit any of the parks during the day by using the bus system to shuttle back and forth or using your parking pass to move from one park lot ot the next without paying again (make sure you go on the day it is open the longest and let the tike sleep in a rented stroller in the middle of the day) - there are a lot of books that tell you when it is least crowded. Definitely use the FastPass system for everything since your time is limited - again, books can help you to maximize your time without getting stuck at something stupid (like a 90 minute line to ride a silly Dumbo amusement park ride that doesn't have FastPass - NOT worth the time!).
Plan, plan, and plan and maximize your fun and minimize you line time. It really works.
yeah, but remember that kids don't always want to rush to get the fastpasses. I've tried explaining to liv that we're going to go get our fast passes and then get on line for other rides so that she knows what's going on. but i know that if we pass a ride/attraction/cast member and she wants to visit them there's no way i'm going to get her to continue for the past pass. there are also a bunch of "secrets" for disney world as well -- i'll see if i can't find them for you guys .
Definately the Magic Kigdom. When I was a kid, I went to Magic Kingdom a bunch of times and Epcot once. I hated the Epcot experience. The last thing you want is to take your boy to Disney and have him hate it.
Sounds like Magic Kingdom it is. We'll play the FastPass by ear. I'm getting nervous. Since I'm the only one that knows we're going, I have to pack for all of us tomorrow and have everything ready by the time my husband gets home from work. I'll let Justin know when he gets home from school tomorrow so he can get used to the idea of getting on a plane. It will be his first plane ride!
yo'ull be fine and have a great time! Be sure to grab sweatshirts, cause even tho it'll be hot out, you may get sunburned and at night there's nothing worse than being sunburned and getting cold. (plus they keep the ac's set at like 30 and everyone freezes) if you get a chance go down to disney's boardwalk - they have really cool lego displays and stuff.
I'm excited. Just printed out our boarding passes...woohoo. But I haven't started to pack yet. Procrastinating as usual. Thanks for all of the input. I will post pics when we get back
Here are some pics from FL. Jeff and Justin were both completely surprised with the trip. Can't believe I pulled off months of planning without either one having a clue We had a blast and it was so fun to watch Justin experience his first plane ride and first roller coasters. We picked an excellent day to go...the longest wait for a ride was 5 minutes. We went on Space Mountain 5 times Another high point in the trip...we stopped for dinner outside of the park. Justin leaned over to me and said "This was the best day of my life." Talk about bringing warmth to a mom's heart.
Justin in front of our friend's orange tree (I'm jealous..I'd love to grow citrus fruit in my back yard)...
At the beach...
The lizards were everywhere..I wanted to bring some home..they were so cute!
Last edited by TrainingGirl : 10-04-2006 at 11:14 AM.
Those are great shots, Tracy. You all look so happy.
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awww!! great pics tracy!! yo'ure making me wish it was thursday already! i'm so glad justin liked the magic kingsom and that you guys had such a great time! I'm impressed that justin went on space mountain so many times!
Disney World suggestions
We had a blast and it was so fun to watch Justin experience his first plane ride and first roller coasters. We picked an excellent day to go...the longest wait for a ride was 5 minutes. We went on Space Mountain 5 times 
Another high point in the trip...we stopped for dinner outside of the park. Justin leaned over to me and said "This was the best day of my life." Talk about bringing warmth to a mom's heart.
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