Walt Disney World With Kids (Fodor's, 2012) - Fodor's [40]
How should you spend your arrival day at Disney World? It’s tempting to rush straight to the parks, but that’s rarely the best use of your money. Since it will probably be at least afternoon before you arrive and settle into your hotel, you’ll be using a full day of your expensive ticket for only a few hours in the park. Instead, relax around your resort pool or spend the evening at Downtown Disney, which offers lots of Disney-theme fun but doesn’t require a ticket. Then you can start your first full day rested and raring to go.
Staying hydrated is essential—and expensive—so bring your own bottles, and keep refilling them at fountains. All fast-food places also provide free cups of ice water on request. Also, on-site hotels offer a deal where you can buy a souvenir beverage mug the first day of your trip and get free refills at the resort for the remainder of your stay. Because soft drinks and coffee are so costly, families who plan to eat a lot of meals at their hotel can save as much as $20 per person with the souvenir mugs.
If you’re not on the dining plan, try to eat at least some of your meals outside the parks. If you get a suite, it’s easy to keep breakfast food and snacks in your room. Many off-site Orlando hotels offer free breakfast buffets to their guests, and there are numerous fast-food and family-friendly chain restaurants along the I-4 exits that flank Walt Disney World.
Dining in Epcot’s World Showcase can be very special, but book those restaurants for lunch, when prices are considerably lower than at dinner. And remember that portions are huge, even for kiddie meals. Consider splitting a meal with a family member. Or toss a few Ziploc bags in your tote and save some of those chips or grapes for a later snack.
The dinner shows are expensive, costing a family of four about $150; even a character breakfast can set you back $70 or more. If the budget is tight, skip those extras and concentrate on ways to meet the characters inside the parks.
Except for maybe an autograph book and a T-shirt, hold off on souvenir purchases until the last day. By then the kids will really know what they want and you won’t waste money on impulse buys.
Buy memory cards or film, blank videotapes, diapers, and sunscreen at home before you leave. These things are all for sale in the parks, but you’ll pay dearly for the convenience.
If you move from park to park in the course of a day, save your parking receipt so you’ll only have to pay the fee once. Also, remember that parking is free for on-site guests.
Buy your tickets when you make your hotel reservations, so you’ll have them before Disney decides it’s time for another price increase.
Meeting the Disney Characters
Meeting the characters is a major objective for some families and a nice diversion for all. If your children are young, prepare them for the fact that the characters are big and, therefore, often overwhelming in person. I once visited Disney World with a toddler whose happy babble of “my Mickey, my Mickey” turned into a wary “no Mickey, no Mickey” the minute she entered the Magic Kingdom gates and saw that everyone’s favorite mouse was much, much larger than he appears on TV.
That reaction isn’t unusual. Many kids panic when they first see the characters, and pushing them forward only makes matters worse. The characters are trained to be sensitive and sensible (in some cases more so than the parents) and will always wait for the child to approach them.
On the other hand, some kids fall in love with the characters from the start. A father from Ohio said, “We were really surprised at how fast our 3½-year-old daughter became a character groupie. Even when in her stroller she could spot them from a mile away, and she loved getting autographs. This took a lot of time but was worth it just to see the excitement on her face.” And a mom from Tennessee reported that the first thing her 4-year-old son said upon entering the Magic Kingdom gates