re: Disney World advice

If my family would have skipped Epcot when I was a kid I would have read them the riot act when I finally experienced it. I went once a year from age five to seventeen and Epcot was my favorite park from the beginning.

I thought that would be the Disney cruise on the OT

Ill be there on the 19th-26th and then cruising from the 26th through the 30th.

The amount of fail in this thread, coupled with the complete false sense of security and knowledge is astounding.

4 years is very young to bring a child to Disney World. But if you're going to do it, here's my advice:

1 - Do a character Breakfast. Our favorite was always the one in the Contemporary (Chef Mickey's I think was the name). But there are others and some have their own particular characters - Winnie the Pooh and company in the Crystal Palace Restaurant, etc.

2 - A 4 year old girl would probably enjoy the Princess Dinner which I think is in the Castle. I think you have to book that far in advance though.

3- Do NOT push your child too much in an effort to get the most in that you can. Every evening you can see kids melting down, just plopping on the ground or screaming (or both) because clueless parents think their kids have the same stamina they do.

4- Don't bring her on any rides that might scare a young child. When our daughter was young we brought her on Snow White's Haunted ride and Mr. Toad's Wild Ride and they put her off of adventurous rides for a few years.

5 - Go back to the resort mid day for rest. A nap perhaps or a dip in the pool if the temperature/weather allows.

Here's a helpful resource Allears.net

I do disney almost every year...i have 4 boys and we are going again in June...

the best place to see characters is at Animal Kingdom and Epcot...

make sure you see the parade at Animal Kingdom..it is great for that age..get a good spot...she will get lotsof interaction from the parade participants

do Animal Kingdom on a day that one of the other parks has magic hours...then leave animal Kingdom when they close....its around 5 or so cause they feed at night

Downtown disney is awesome for little kids..the stores she will love...and so will the wife...

fast pass...you can get another one when the time for the one you hold has passed...so if you have a fast pass for Splash Mountain for 1130...you can get another one for another ride at 1131 for something else...be strategic and plan your way around the park...

get the app...there are several...they ahve different features but most will give you pretty accurate ride wait times and showtimes...

at MK the best place for fireworks is at the chinese restaurant to the right when you get down mainstreet usa and the castle is straight ahead of you...set up early

best magic kingdom parade location is either near the hall of presidents or across from Splash Mountain at the little cantina there...

skip medieval times...and somebody mentioned the Fantasia show..it is awesome...lots of princesses but can get a little scary for the small ones at times...

dont try to go around the world at epcot with the 4 yr old...most of the stuff she would like is over by Nemo and the Land...that is also an excellent lunch spot

carry back packs with frozen gatorades/waters...and snacks...we do lunchables so we dont have to pay for two meals ..usually try to do one meal in the park..as it can get very expensive...


the train at Magic Kingdom is a great place for little ones to catch a nap..

Hollywood Studios has a good Little Mermaid show the kid would probably like...fast pass the toy story ride as you walk in the gate at Hollywood...if you dont you will wait for hours in line...

hope some of that helps...

your 4 year old is gonna forget all of this, take her when she is older

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It's a Disney thread, full of opinions .. Where's the "fail" ?

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A good bit of the fastpass info in this thread is outdated/incorrect.

Raz4back has the latest FastPass+ info pretty much nailed. It's rolling out now.

Addtionally, at present Epcot and Hollywood Studios are 'tiered', so out of your 3 FP+, you can only hold one of Soarin or Test Track, for example.