Hi Alexandra!
I'm so excited for your first trip to Walt Disney World! You are coming during my favorite time of year, Christmas!
Pin trading and collecting is EVERYWHERE around Walt Disney World! Every Cast Member has pins to trade. Start off with a start set that you can purchase in any major gift shop. You can ask any Cast Member to take a look at their pins. If you see one you like, you ask to trade. It's that simple! If you end up with all pins you want to keep, purchase more, but spend your money on the least expensive ones since you will be trading them away. My family starting purchasing pins that mean something to us, so we kept all of ours. Now that my son is 4, he is hooked on trading.
Since you are first timers visiting, I suggest you dedicate a whole day to each park and then save the last day to re-visit the parks you liked the most or if there's anything you missed. Magic Kingdom is my favorite, so we usually end up there multiple times.
Have you made any advance dining reservations? I like to schedule my park days around which restaurants I'm dining in. If you haven't made any reservations and you have an idea of where you want to eat, you should book them now. You can do so by calling (407) WDW-DINE or you can do it
online.
Sit down with your kids and show them the website. FInd out what they are most interested in seeing. Fans of Toy Story? Hollywood Studios is the park for you where you can meet Buzz, Woody, strike a pose with wandering Green Army Men and take a spin on Toy Story Midway Mania.
Interested in International culture? Spend your day in Epcot and explore the World Showcase.
Be sure to visit with Santa Goofy in Downtown Disney December 25-27th!
Have a magical day!
Leslie