Hiya, Joy!
Welcome to planDisney! I am so very glad that you found us. Oh boy! The first trip as a family of five is so exciting. I have three kiddos of my own in my Ohana, and I remember that first trip to The Most Magical Place on earth with our trio like it was yesterday.
Planning for five is so much fun, but it can come with some logistical challenges. The biggest is referenced in your question. How do five people ride attractions that are primarily designed with seats in pairs? Let's go through some of my tips and tricks, and talk about what to do when two by two doesn't always work.
I am excited to tell you that there are several attractions that will accommodate you sitting as a group of three, meaning you can have one adult with one child and the other with two. Some examples of these are The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, Under the Sea~ Journey of the Little Mermaid, and Mad Tea Party. And several of these attractions are double seats, meaning all five of you can fit in one teacup or honeypot. A great way to find a list of attractions that will accommodate this rider layout is on the Walt Disney World website.
The Attractions page has a filter option. Here you can select any height option under the "Height" drop-down menu. Based on my research, all rides listed under this filter will accommodate a family of five without an odd man out. You may occasionally be in a different clamshell or star cruiser, but one will need to ride alone.
Joy, I recommend downloading the
My Disney Experience Mobile app before you arrive. I consider this convenient tool a vacation must have, especially when traveling with small children. You will be able to easily access wait times, complete mobile food orders, and map out character locations. There is also the feature to filter thrill factors, age, height, and more for all attractions. This is so helpful on the go. There is nothing worse than getting up to a must-do on someone's list and discovering members of your crew are not quite tall enough..yet. Now, what can you do when your oldest may be tall enough but your youngest is a no-go for The Barnstormer? Great News! You can use the
Rider Switch option. This is a fantastic way for Guests to experience attractions that may not be for everyone in their travel party. Here's how it works. Talk to the Cast Member at the attraction you wish to ride. If Rider Switch is available, a Cast Member will give one of the adults a Ride Switch entitlement and direct you and the non-riders to a designated area to hang out while the other adult and any children that meet the height requirements enjoy the attraction. Then you switch! No additional waiting and no missing out. My family used this convenient option often for rides like Soarin' Around the World and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. This allowed one parent to ride with our oldest, and then we would switch. I also recommend this option when parents want to enjoy attractions like Space Mountain and their children are not particularly thrilled with the idea of zipping through dark rides with drops. You can even use Rider Switch for rides that do not have height restrictions but may be too dark or loud for some young riders.
Joy, there is so much more I can share about traveling as a family of five, and I hope that this is a good start. Feel free to
come back and visit us anytime with your planning questions! It's what we do best.
I hope that your vacation is memorable and magical!
Tammy