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Mom and Daughter at Disney's Polynesian Village Resort Room
  • On Feb 25, 2008
    Heather from NJ Asked Note: This answer was provided prior to the change to planDisney and may still contain references to Disney Parks Moms Panel.

    Experiences, policies, pricing and other offerings are subject to change and may have changed since the date of this answer.

    Back again...I'm going crazy trying to plan our trip April 7-13 so we don't miss anything! Everyone seems to recommend a midday break for the little ones (ours are 2,4 & 6) but how will we fit it all in w/ parades and night shows? Help!

    The answer is you won't fit everything in. It's simply not possible. Think of WDW as a city; all of WDW is about the size of San Francisco. Try to relax and try to choose the attractions that make sense to you right now and know that WDW will still be there to explore on future trips.

    When my children were preschoolers, we never saw a parade. That was my line in the sand. The afternoon break was essential to our sanity. We had early riser kids when they were young. We were always at the parks when they opened -- before 9:00 a.m. After about four hours of waiting and being good and having all sorts of new stimulation, a preschooler (and her 30-something mom) is just going to shut down. So, we always left the parks by about 12:00 or 1:00 (depending on if lunch was at the park or elsewhere).  The littlest ones (and maybe hubby) would take a nap or maybe we would all swim. But we  always had some decompression time. After a few hours of rest, we would have dinner in one of the parks or other resorts. And then we'd have the kids (when they were preschoolers) in bed by 8:00.

    Only on the last day of our trip, would we have the kids stay up late to see the fireworks. We were fine with having them conk out on the plane ride home, but having exhausted cranky kids in the parks was just not going to work for me.  Also, listen to your kids. I have one friend that went to WDW and barely made it to the parks because her kids loved the pool so much. That's fine. I have another friend that had planned to take her kids to all four parks but never made it past the Magic Kingdom because her kids had such a great time there.

    You wouldn't spend a week in a major city and beat yourself up that you didn't do "everything" because you intuitively understand that it wouldn't be possible. The same goes for WDW, pick a few highlights for each day and then spend your time focusing on enjoying the time with your family rather than focusing on crossing off items on a "to do" list.
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Meet the Panelist: Erin, New York

I have three teenage daughters. We're DVC members obsessed with Disney travel. We've been to Walt Disney World countless times and have visited Disneyland & Disneyland Paris. We've taken several Adventures by Disney and Disney Cruise trips. Learn More About Erin

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