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Thread: Parenting in the Parks: Disney Theme Park Trip Tips

  1. #1
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    Parenting in the Parks: Disney Theme Park Trip Tips

    Disney Theme Park Trip Tips by Adrienne Krock

    The Parenting Panel goes generic with some basic tips for families planning trips to the Walt Disney World and Disneyland resorts.

    Read it here!


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  3. #2

    The advice is generalized and non-specific. That doesn't make it useless, but not useful either. It is safe advice.

    The one that stuck out is bringing your own stroller. Yes, I highly recommend this one. You shouldn't pay for park strollers that can only be used at the park. You'll need strollers when you're at the resorts too.

    Transportation: Do take advantage of Magical Express. You don't need a rental car if you're only visiting Disney and staying on-site. You won't have much time to visit other attractions if you're only staying for one week. On the other hand, if you're staying off-site and you have time for visiting other attractions, then rental cars are a must.

    I don't know if you MUST see a night-time show. Nothing should be a must-see because who knows what you like. Sometimes the hassle of getting a family or group together is a big effort in itself. If you're not already out and about, a night-time show is optional. When I visited last year, my whole week was rained out. That was most unfortunate. I mostly restricted myself to the day time at the park and returned before night. Perhaps focus on what you must-see as a preference for your family or group.

    Therefore, use Fastpass+ to its greatest advantage. Reserve rides and shows you really must-see.


  4. #3
    Registered User DisneyGator's Avatar
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    I would say you MUST see ALL of the night time shows!!! Wishes, Fantasmic!, and Illuminations. I can't imagine missing these for any ride or meal. And my kids get mad if I'm missing a night time show. It's what I miss about WDW...the fact they have these shows running every night at 3 out of 4 parks.

    Working for Disney. No, no. Working (in a Modesto office) for (the money to take a trip to) Disney (World/Land)

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    Read Everything-Assume Nothing GusMan's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by DisneyGator View Post
    I would say you MUST see ALL of the night time shows!!! Wishes, Fantasmic!, and Illuminations.
    Personally, I agree that the night time shows are highlights. Whether or not we hit all of them is something dependent on the kids and if they have enough energy to stay up late.
    I mean, I would hate to miss Illuminations... but sometimes it doesn't work out. If something happens and I dont make it, I just bring out the Cub Fan in me and just "wait 'till next year."

    Quote Originally Posted by Jimbo996 View Post
    The one that stuck out is bringing your own stroller. Yes, I highly recommend this one. You shouldn't pay for park strollers that can only be used at the park. You'll need strollers when you're at the resorts too.
    Agreed, I would not want my kid in one of those very uncomfortable Disney strollers. However, there is an alternative... to rent a stroller from an outside company.
    Ive done it both ways. Ive destroyed a few cheap strollers throughout the years and caused a few bigger, higher-priced ones to beg for mercy by the end of a 10 day trip.
    The last trip where we needed a stroller, we rented one from an outside company. It was clean, it folded up real compactly, my son was comfortable, and it was reasonably affordable.
    It was waiting at my resort upon arrival and we left it with Bell Services on the way out.
    As bonuses - it did not take up a lot of space in the car coming down and I did not have to worry about damaging my own.

    One less thing to worry about. Sometimes, that extra expense is more about value and convenience than saving every penny.
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    Quote Originally Posted by DisneyGator View Post
    I would say you MUST see ALL of the night time shows!!! Wishes, Fantasmic!, and Illuminations.
    Yeah, uhm, at the risk of offending a pile of my friends, but knowing that I have friends who agree with me WHOLE-heartedly...

    My personal advice is don't bother with Illuminations. Unless you want to sit and watch a giant metal ball s-l-o-w-l-y m-o-v-e a-c-r-o-s-s a l-a-k-e a-n-d t-h-e-n... fire.

    Yes, I know I just GROSSLY offended a bunch of people, even people I like.

    But. I KNOW I'm not alone. (You know who you are!)
    Parenting in the Parks[/url]
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  7. #6
    Quote Originally Posted by adriennek View Post
    Yeah, uhm, at the risk of offending a pile of my friends, but knowing that I have friends who agree with me WHOLE-heartedly...

    My personal advice is don't bother with Illuminations. Unless you want to sit and watch a giant metal ball s-l-o-w-l-y m-o-v-e a-c-r-o-s-s a l-a-k-e a-n-d t-h-e-n... fire.

    Yes, I know I just GROSSLY offended a bunch of people, even people I like.

    But. I KNOW I'm not alone. (You know who you are!)
    I think maybe you are just spoiled by World of Color! I know it's nowhere the same idea, but if comparing 2 shows that happen over/on water, I'd guess WOC may win out.

    I enjoy Illuminations, but I'd probably rank it behind Fantasmic. (Certainly behind the DL version before the new assigned areas, I haven't seen it since then to really know if I still have the same love for it as I used to)

    Sorry, I went off topic (off coast? )responding to Adrienne's post.

    Obviously, I'm a big fan of the nighttime shows too. I think prioritizing may intertwine with where you are staying. While on a trip last summer with my sister's family, the kids generally would start to get tired by late afternoon or dinner time. They never did get to see Wishes from within the MK, but they watched it before bed from the Poly. Same could apply to GF, Wilderness Lodge, or Contemporary. You can probably get a decent view from afar from any of these resorts. This is pretty much only applicable to Wishes of course. You can't really see any of the other shows (though you may hear them) from outside the parks.

    I can't believe no one has mentioned the Main Street Electrical Parade! For me, that is must see night time entertainment. (I may be biased since I first saw it at DL when visiting as a kid).

    I'd also agree with the dining suggestion. I wasn't originally considering that a key part of the trip aside from a few character meals for the kids, but we ended up doing one sit down meal each day we were in a Disney Park. I think at the end of the trip we all thought that worked out well. (but of course this intertwines with where your goals end up for how much you are trying to see, the sit down meals do obviously take more time than quick counter service places)
    -Dave

  8. #7

    And while we are on the night time events lest we forget a truly "hidden gem" the electrical water pageant that can be seen from a variety of locations each evening on the 7 seas lagoon (Poly, GF, Contemporary, Fort Wilderness). It is set to music which is easily heard and is quite magical and it is not necessary to be staying at the resorts to view the water pageant - just resort hop & head to the dock or beach areas & just enjoy. Also did I mention this is a FREE Disney item.
    It easily tops our families must do list each trip. It is one of those truly magical Disney moments that we are so happy to see each visit & long for when we are home. And no where else can u see this but at Disney.


  9. #8
    Quote Originally Posted by adriennek View Post
    Yeah, uhm, at the risk of offending a pile of my friends, but knowing that I have friends who agree with me WHOLE-heartedly...

    My personal advice is don't bother with Illuminations. Unless you want to sit and watch a giant metal ball s-l-o-w-l-y m-o-v-e a-c-r-o-s-s a l-a-k-e a-n-d t-h-e-n... fire.
    The first time I saw Illuminations, I didn't get it. The globe was down for repairs so it was even less than normal. I'm not sure why they were running the show.

    The first time I enjoyed Illuminations, we took an illuminations cruise on the Platinum plan and our boat driver took the time to explain the show. That made it more interesting (in my opinion). When we went back in January, we did the illuminations cruise again and I requested that the boat driver explain the show to our friend, who was visiting WDW for the first time. She seemed to enjoy it.

    I'm not sure how I feel about a show that needs an explanation to be enjoyable.

  10. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by currence View Post
    I'm not sure how I feel about a show that needs an explanation to be enjoyable.
    Yep.
    Parenting in the Parks[/url]
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  11. #10
    Read Everything-Assume Nothing GusMan's Avatar
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    Im a big Illuminations fan, but its mainly because I love the music. No, its not for everyone. That's OK. Not everything is for everyone.
    My daughter's fave is Fantasmic... Wife's fave is Wishes. Son... He's neutral.

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    Quote Originally Posted by GusMan View Post
    Im a big Illuminations fan, but its mainly because I love the music. No, its not for everyone. That's OK. Not everything is for everyone.
    My daughter's fave is Fantasmic... Wife's fave is Wishes. Son... He's neutral.
    My dear GusMan: You owe it to your daughter to bring her to Disneyland Anaheim. She NEEDS to see the real Fantasmic.
    Parenting in the Parks[/url]
    Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% what you do with what happens to you.[/b]
    "You should do totally do this thing, but just remember, it's going to suck eggs" #ThingsMyFriendsSayToMe

  13. #12
    Quote Originally Posted by adriennek View Post
    my dear gusman: You owe it to your daughter to bring her to disneyland anaheim. She needs to see the real fantasmic.
    yes!

  14. #13
    Read Everything-Assume Nothing GusMan's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by adriennek View Post
    My dear GusMan: You owe it to your daughter to bring her to Disneyland Anaheim. She NEEDS to see the real Fantasmic.
    Yes, I do realize the flaw in my parenting. And we are thinking of a pilgrimage to the west coast in the summer of '16. I hope to rectify the situation then.
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  15. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by GusMan View Post
    Yes, I do realize the flaw in my parenting. And we are thinking of a pilgrimage to the west coast in the summer of '16. I hope to rectify the situation then.
    Good. Please do.

    Just don't say I didn't warn you. Because once she's seen ours, it's going to be very sad for her when she has to watch it in Orlando.
    Parenting in the Parks[/url]
    Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% what you do with what happens to you.[/b]
    "You should do totally do this thing, but just remember, it's going to suck eggs" #ThingsMyFriendsSayToMe

  16. #15
    Quote Originally Posted by GusMan View Post
    Yes, I do realize the flaw in my parenting. And we are thinking of a pilgrimage to the west coast in the summer of '16. I hope to rectify the situation then.
    Cool, then I can meet another of JeffG's college friends!

  17. #16

    Last year was our first trip to The World with our 18 month old Granddaughter.
    She was intimidated by the IllumiNations fireworks the first night but by the end of the week she was excited and couldn't wait to see fireworks.
    This year she's already talking about the Disney fireworks.
    This should be a fun trip.

    It's OK to be Grumpy.
    Just not to the Grandkids....

  18. #17

    One thing with the nighttime shows....you need to know your kids. Know what they react to and how. Know if they will have issues with fire, smoke, being in crowds, etc. Last night we took Arg to see the new World of Color show at DCA. Jeff had gotten some tips from cstephens who mentioned the fire effects so we told Arg about those but since we hadn't seen the new show, we didn't know exactly how to prepare Arg for the fire that occurred in the show. He was huddled in Jeff's side for that part of the show. He is Aspergers/HFA so we were ready to deal with the situation by huddling around him but it is difficult to see a child completely upset over something that is supposed to be fun and entertaining.

    Last edited by dsnyredhead; 05-31-2015 at 04:28 PM.

  19. #18

    Oh, poor Arg. At least he was able to huddle in with you guys. Right now one of my autistic little ones is having daily meltdowns. They will start in with just heartbreaking sobs and we are stumped trying to figure out what the trigger is. Possible triggers change all the time. So far no luck. But I totally understand that difficult to see and helpless feeling.

    Cruising the Seas... Looking for the Pearl

  20. #19

    yeah, the triggers can be just about anything. When he was younger, getting onto an airplane was horrible. This was long before his diagnosis a few years ago, but it was so stressful. Seeing doctors/dentist is stressful but slowly getting better. Loud noises, fire, still triggers.


  21. #20
    It was a good day! Malcon10t's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by dsnyredhead View Post
    One thing with the nighttime shows....you need to know your kids. Know what they react to and how. Know if they will have issues with fire, smoke, being in crowds, etc. Last night we took Arg to see the new World of Color show at DCA. Jeff had gotten some tips from cstephens who mentioned the fire effects so we told Arg about those but since we hadn't seen the new show, we didn't know exactly how to prepare Arg for the fire that occurred in the show. He was huddled in Jeff's side for that part of the show. He is Aspergers/HFA so we were ready to deal with the situation by huddling around him but it is difficult to see a child completely upset over something that is supposed to be fun and entertaining.
    I can relate. What we usually did was have someone preview the show/movie/ride to see what would/could cause issues. Then we could cover eyes/ears or have her simply not see the show. It worked best for us as we knew the triggers the best.

    Has his therapist discussed ways to mitigate this?
    Planning 3 trips at once...

  22. #21

    We knew there would be some bad effects as another friend had told us about them. But we didn't know exactly when things would happen. No, haven't really talked to her too much about this recently. We've kinda gotten to a once a month visit with her as schoolwork has been too much to deal with another hour in the afternoon. Thanks Malcon!


  23. #22
    some imagination, huh? DisneyFunFamily4's Avatar
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    Ok, here's my .02 cents. We don't got to WDW without a car. I did it once and that was enough.

    As for nighttime shows we like illumination ok, we don't necessarily go out of our way to see it but it's enjoyable to watch from the patio at R&C with a adult beverage in hand. Now if your at WDW for the 4th of July, Illumination is AMAZING!! DH heard 2 cm's taking and one said "it looks like the have the WW3 barges out tonight". And yes they did. The finale was just WOW, I mean WOW!

    We don't miss the Main St Electrical parade. I grew up with it at DL. We watched it with the kids when they were little at DCA. I seriously doubt they will bring it back to this coast anytime soon but we all love it.

    We've never seen Fantastic at WDW so I can't comment there. I have heard that DL's F! is superior and i've watched youTube videos of the WDW version. DL has Murphy (Aka the dragon) and the Mark Twain. We just watched it last weekend and yep, still love it. Maybe someday we will watch the WDW version but it hasn't made our top 10 list of things to do or see on any trip yet.

    Oh and we LOVE watching the Electric Water Pageant. We had a lake view at Bay Lake Towers on one trip and the girls watched it every night before bed. We always try to catch it at least 1x per trip.


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