[Dina]

Many friends who have gone have told me they go early in the morning to avoid the crowds and then leave just after or around lunch...they then hang by the pool at their hotels and may go back later in the afternoon /evening...what do you all do? I have 2 small girls, 4 and 7 and am worried they'll get tired...am thinking of renting a double stroller if they have them...Dina

[mickey]

We follow that same advice almost every day. We will hit the parks at opening, usually avoiding early entry parks, head back after lunch, swim, nap, etc. We then go back to the parks after about 2 hours at the resort, and finish out the day at the parks. Works great for little kids and big kids alike. My kids love a swim in the middle of the day.

[WDWaddict]

We have been 4 times just since DS#2 was born. The first 3 trips we took our jogging stroller and when he got tired he took a nap and DH and DS#1 went on rides that I didn't want to go on our we took turns w/ our fast passes. The last 3 times we went, we stayed in each park the whole day. I'd rather stay all day than keep hopping from park to park unless it is MGM..we only have a couple things there we like so will hop over there then go somewhere else for the rest of the day the next time we go. This is based on when we go though. We go in November/December and it is really too cool to swim and the parks close early so we stay all day in one park. My kids do really well going all day but that is all they have ever known regarding Disney visits. We usually only have 4 days or less so that is why we do it that way. If we had a longer vacation during the summer, I would like to go back to the hotel to have lunch/swim and take a rest during midday when it is hotter and more crowded at the parks.

[Val32]

I will be there that same week Dina. I have a DD going on 7 and Iam taking my mom. Iam afraid more that my mom will get tired.
Anyways, since the hours are shorted I planned on staying in the parks all day and I have 2 days out of the week where Iam not going to any parks (maybe Seaworld). One day out of the week Iam splitting between Epcot and Animal Kingdom, does anyone have any suggestions on which rides/shows I can do in a 1/2 day at each?
When we get to Epcot we are doing the Princess Storybook Breakfast hoping to catch Princess Aurora.
Ive heard mixed things about "It's a Bug's Life" that it's scary to young children and also "Honey I shrunk the Kids">
Can someone give me some feedback???

Thank you!!!

[llama]

We've always gone early in the morning and take a break after lunch. We've found that someone always gets cranky and tired by this time, and if we continue on in the parks, it always leads to a quarrel or crying or whatever. As we go in January, the only park open til 9:00 is Epcot, so we always do our Epcot touring in the late afternoon to evening, enjoying a dinner in one of the WS pavillions. We're all just much happier following this plan and all get a "second wind" and better outlook.

[MrDisneyfan1]

Originally Posted by Val32

Ive heard mixed things about "It's a Bug's Life" that it's scary to young children and also "Honey I shrunk the Kids">
Can someone give me some feedback???

Thank you!!!

It's a Bugs... is very intense for some small children. My Ds was 4 and did not like it the first time. There is complete darkness at times, with some critters hanging above you, and then of course Hopper comes screaming out, which sent my little one out. A great show though!

Honey I...has some really nice effects also, but the same year my DS was affraid of the Bug show, he liked this show. This show is a bit more predictable when the scary stuff will happen (MICE!!!) and give you enough time to prep.

BUT don't overlook Mickey's Philharmagic (MK), my choice for the best 4d show...incredible, the sights, sounds and smells!

[Dana]

My Dd and I have tried the commando thing going from dawn to dusk in the parks and it was just a miserable experience for us both. By the time the park closed, we were bickering over things as dumb as her hair in her face..lol That lasted one trip. Now, we are on-hand for rope drop every morning, tour until lunch or after lunch and then head back to the resort to rest. We usually go back out for dinner and tour a bit more till closing. With going in January last year, we got a lot more done by lunch then normal and were somtimes done for the day and just went out to a resort and grabbed dinner and peeked around a bit. We were also good for going to one park in the morning touring until we dropped, going back to the resort for a break and then choosing another park. It depended on the mood of the day. If you are asking how many hours we usually last, I would say about 5...that's usually my limit. I start getting annoyed and nit picky as does my DD (like mommy), but we are great after a second wind.

[honeypot]

My DH and I always go to the parks early in the morning (avoiding the early entry parks) and stay until 1-2 in the afternoon. It's like going to the mall, it gets crowded by then. We go back to our resort and relax by the pool, take a walk, rent boats, just hang out and relax for a few hours. Then we get ready for dinner and go back to the parks or wherever we have PS. Has worked for us for the last 3 trips. We've done the commando thing and it was too much.

[WVWISEGUY]

We have 2 sons, 4 & 7. We always go to the parks in the morning, take a break back at the resort in the afternoon, and then back to the parks usually after an early dinner. We find that the boys do better this way, as do we the parents. We took them this year and last year when they were 3 & 6, and both times they loved both "Bugs life and Honey ISTA". However, both are not scared of a lot. I did warn them of the bees stinging in the back during Bugs Life (Your seat has little bumps that pop up in the back of your seat, does not hurt, but might be scary for a child not expecting it). We also found that taking our time in the parks and stopping to look at things worked better than commandoing it through the parks; there is so much you can miss when rushing. Also, we do MK on Early Entry because we can get through most of Fantasyland before the parks open, and then we leave and head elsewhere around 11:00AM.

[MerlinMatt]

I don't understand why so many people avoid the EE parks. I prefer doing EE and then getting out between 10 and 11. That way, we can get a lot done before noon-time and then make our way somewhere else that is likely to be less crowded.

[WVWISEGUY]

I don't understand why so many people avoid the EE parks. I prefer doing EE and then getting out between 10 and 11. That way, we can get a lot done before noon-time and then make our way somewhere else that is likely to be less crowded.

I agree. We usually do each park at least once on each trip EE. However, we always do MK, because we get a lot done during the hour. ANd we also always leave around 11:00 because of the crowds being worse.

[hiner]

When we go, we usually get up around 7:00-7:30, take showers and head to a park we decided on the night before. We see what we want and head back to change or stay for dinner.

This last trip. We were there for 11 days with a length of stay pass. Usually mid to late afternoon we headed back to the hotel for a swim, shower then off to dinner - or - back to the hotel for a quick shower and off to dinner. We ended up in two parks usally every day.

The waterparks were and we usually left around 2:00, went back to the hotel, showered, rested (one time did laundry) and went off to another park for dinner and more exploration.

To us it is a vacation full of fun and try not to rush through the parks. We don't like coming back feeling like we need a vacation from a vacation.

[Metalfan]

We pretty much hang at the parks all day. Occassionally we'll take a mid day break...but not often. If we do it's usually to go somewhere for food...not really to go back to the resort.

[tinkerbell]

We have done it all .. stayed in one park from Early entry till close .. we have parked hopped and we have taken mid-day breaks.
we used the strollers for the girls up untill they were about 6 / 7 :)

[roxie]

Dina and Val -
The answers to your questions really depend on your kids. I have 3 kids - 10, 8, and 3 - and they are commando kids. We always do EE and stay until the park closes. My 3 year old will fall asleep in the stroller a little everyday, but we all just do everything we can! Mine also LOVE the Honey I Shrunk the kids and Bugs Life. I haven't found one thing that scares my DD (3) - she even likes the TofT and the HM! And I have to agree the Mickey's Philharmagic is wonderful...we loved it.