Feb 5 night stay - total beginner. Itinerary recommendations please!

Guest · 14 Nov 18, 09:23 PM

Hi there

We're heading to Disneyworld (Florida) for 5 nights in May. I've got two girls aged four and eight.

We've literally only just booked accommodation this week (staying at Grand Floridian) and I've heard we need to be booking restaurants asap.

This is all totally new to me and there's so much to take in! Can you please hit me with your recommendations for an outline itinerary, particularly which restaurants / character dining options you'd recommend. Which parks should we prioritise? We don't want to be rushing about every day, so need to include some chill out time too.

The little one loves princesses and the older one now thinks she's too old for that, so need a mixture of things for both.

Thanks so much in advance

Ridersmom · 15 Nov 18, 02:49 AM

You can get to every park in five days as there are 4 parks. I would do each park one day and use the fifth to redo your favorite (or do two the last day)

My question is why only 5 days, I would look to a longer stay, even if it meant downgrading accommodation. Personally, I would not book the GF for a first trip where you might want to spend most of your time exploring the parks.

Get a book (my local library has many on WDw) and look through them and talk to your dd's about what attractions they think they would enjoy. You can also look at YouTube videos but I think you might want to get an overall view of each park first.

I might book one character meal with a 4 year old. At that age some kids love the characters, others love some and still others hate them all. You need to know 4 year old's reaction first before committing the time and expense to multiple character meals.

Your 8 year old needs to be involved in the planning. We don't go to HS often but I can see those with other interests spending a day or more there.

MY suggestion is investigate more, involve the children and then come back and ask more specific questions.

Guest · 15 Nov 18, 07:32 AM

Hi there, great advice thanks. I'll do some more research, talk to the girls and come back with more specific questions. Thank you!

Guest · 15 Nov 18, 11:26 AM

We are going for five nights in February, it will be a bit of a squeeze and we definitely won't be wasting any of our time chilling (but we don't have children). DH wants to revisit Universal this time so we are spending a week there hence short Disney trip.

I would allocate two lots of fast passes to Magic Kingdom and one to each of the other parks. We don't generally stay in one park from opening to close, we generally would head to another park in the afternoon or for the evening, in your case maybe you would like to head back to the hotel pool. It is a long day if you are in the one park from morning until dinner, whereas we find we get a second wind if we mix it up.

Staying at GF, Chef Mickeys would be a handy character meal and you get all the big characters. It is always nice to try out your resort restaurants as well, Narcoossee looks like a lovely restaurant, although I have never been myself and it might not suit the children (I don't know). In which case I would look at 1900 Park Fare, it also has some characters.

A few places that might be worth looking into, Rainforest Caf� in Animal Kingdom, the food is fine (nothing special) but the theming is great and I think a family would enjoy it. Beaches & Cream is very popular with families for either just an ice cream or you can get a meal there. Sci Fi Dining in Hollywood Studios is a novelty eating in a car. If you are early risers, a BOG breakfast before park opening times gets you inside early and you can take advantage of short queues after you have eaten.

7SeasSailor · 24 Nov 18, 05:05 PM

No need to get books from the library when you can use the dibb menu on the right of this page.

14 Nov 18, 09:23 PM	#1
	14 Nov 18, 09:23 PM Guest Guest
Guest Guest	Feb 5 night stay - total beginner. Itinerary recommendations please! Hi there We're heading to Disneyworld (Florida) for 5 nights in May. I've got two girls aged four and eight. We've literally only just booked accommodation this week (staying at Grand Floridian) and I've heard we need to be booking restaurants asap. This is all totally new to me and there's so much to take in! Can you please hit me with your recommendations for an outline itinerary, particularly which restaurants / character dining options you'd recommend. Which parks should we prioritise? We don't want to be rushing about every day, so need to include some chill out time too. The little one loves princesses and the older one now thinks she's too old for that, so need a mixture of things for both. Thanks so much in advance

15 Nov 18, 02:49 AM	#2
	15 Nov 18, 02:49 AM Ridersmom Imagineer
Ridersmom Imagineer Join Date: Apr 06	You can get to every park in five days as there are 4 parks. I would do each park one day and use the fifth to redo your favorite (or do two the last day) My question is why only 5 days, I would look to a longer stay, even if it meant downgrading accommodation. Personally, I would not book the GF for a first trip where you might want to spend most of your time exploring the parks. Get a book (my local library has many on WDw) and look through them and talk to your dd's about what attractions they think they would enjoy. You can also look at YouTube videos but I think you might want to get an overall view of each park first. I might book one character meal with a 4 year old. At that age some kids love the characters, others love some and still others hate them all. You need to know 4 year old's reaction first before committing the time and expense to multiple character meals. Your 8 year old needs to be involved in the planning. We don't go to HS often but I can see those with other interests spending a day or more there. MY suggestion is investigate more, involve the children and then come back and ask more specific questions. Edited at 01:47 PM.

15 Nov 18, 07:32 AM	#3
	15 Nov 18, 07:32 AM Guest Guest
Guest Guest	Hi there, great advice thanks. I'll do some more research, talk to the girls and come back with more specific questions. Thank you!

15 Nov 18, 11:26 AM	#4
	15 Nov 18, 11:26 AM Guest Guest
Guest Guest	We are going for five nights in February, it will be a bit of a squeeze and we definitely won't be wasting any of our time chilling (but we don't have children). DH wants to revisit Universal this time so we are spending a week there hence short Disney trip. I would allocate two lots of fast passes to Magic Kingdom and one to each of the other parks. We don't generally stay in one park from opening to close, we generally would head to another park in the afternoon or for the evening, in your case maybe you would like to head back to the hotel pool. It is a long day if you are in the one park from morning until dinner, whereas we find we get a second wind if we mix it up. Staying at GF, Chef Mickeys would be a handy character meal and you get all the big characters. It is always nice to try out your resort restaurants as well, Narcoossee looks like a lovely restaurant, although I have never been myself and it might not suit the children (I don't know). In which case I would look at 1900 Park Fare, it also has some characters. A few places that might be worth looking into, Rainforest Caf� in Animal Kingdom, the food is fine (nothing special) but the theming is great and I think a family would enjoy it. Beaches & Cream is very popular with families for either just an ice cream or you can get a meal there. Sci Fi Dining in Hollywood Studios is a novelty eating in a car. If you are early risers, a BOG breakfast before park opening times gets you inside early and you can take advantage of short queues after you have eaten.