Walt Disney World With Kids (Fodor's, 2012) - Fodor's [44]
Use the touring plan to cut down on arguments and debates. It’s a hapless parent indeed who sits down at breakfast and asks, “What do you want to do today?” Three different kids will have three different answers.
When making plans, keep the size of the parks in mind. Hollywood is small and can be easily crisscrossed to take in various shows. Likewise, the Animal Kingdom can be toured in five or six hours. The Magic Kingdom has more attractions and more crowd density, slowing you down; although some cutting back and forth is possible, you’ll probably want to tour one land fairly thoroughly before heading to another. Epcot is so enormous that you’re almost forced to visit attractions in geographic sequence or you’ll spend all your time and energy in transit.
If your kids have the stamina for it, try park hopping. Families with a multiday pass might figure: We’ll spend Monday at the Magic Kingdom, Tuesday at Hollywood, Wednesday at Blizzard Beach, Thursday at Epcot, and Friday at the Animal Kingdom. Sounds logical, but a day at the Magic Kingdom is too much riding, 14 hours at Epcot is too much walking, the Animal Kingdom simply doesn’t require that much time, a whole day at Hollywood is too many shows, and anyone who stays at Blizzard Beach from dawn to dusk will wind up waterlogged. Mix it up a bit.
If you’re trying to predict how crowded a ride or show will be, four factors come into effect:
The newness of the attraction. In general, the newer it is, the hotter it is, especially if it’s an attraction that’s gotten a lot of media attention like Toy Story Mania.
The quality of the attraction. Space Mountain, Fantasmic!, and other Disney classics will still be mobbed years from now.
Speed of loading. Continuous-loading attractions such as Pirates of the Caribbean, Spaceship Earth, and It’s a Small World can move thousands of people through in an hour. The lines at start-and-stop rides such as Dumbo, TriceraTop Spin, and the Mad Tea Party move much more slowly.
Capacity. Shows like Muppet*Vision 3D, Captain E-O, and Mickey’s PhilharMagic have theaters that can accommodate large crowds at once. Lines form and disappear quickly as hundreds of people enter the theater for a show. For this reason, theater-style attractions are good choices in the afternoon, when the park is at its most crowded and you need a rest.
Take some time to familiarize yourself with the sprawling WDW transportation system. If you’re staying on-site you’ll be given a transportation map at check-in, and Guest Relations (a.k.a. Guest Services) can help you decide the best route to take to out-of-the-way locations.
For families with young children, seeing the characters is a major part of what makes Disney World special, so don’t overplan to the point where you don’t have time to hang with Mickey and the gang. Your theme-park map indicates when and where they’ll appear, but the one place you probably won’t see them is just walking down the street. At Disney, the characters are the equivalent of rock stars and security around them is tight. If you want that photo, autograph, or hug, you’ll need to either line up or schedule a character meal.
In the off-season, the Magic Kingdom, Hollywood, and the Animal Kingdom sometimes close at 5 or 6 PM, but Epcot always stays open later, even during the least crowded days of the year. So spend your days at one of the parks that closes early, and your evenings at Epcot. This buys you more hours in the parks for your money and besides, many of the best places for dinner are at Epcot.
If there’s a wide gap in the ages of your kids, check out the maps and develop some strategies in advance. There are plenty of places throughout all four parks where Disney has put kiddie attractions next to rides that appeal to older kids. For example, the