First trip to Walt Disney World with kids

[Wolfman]

Hello. I am a brand new member here and have a few questions on our upcoming trip to WDW. We have recently adopted two great girls from Russia and will be taking them to WDW for 7 days, during Thanksgiving week. We had been there once as a couple for a few (too few) days about 5 years ago. Now we will be traveling with our new 5 and 8 year old daughters. We have made a few reservations for character meals, but I have a few questions on what to include on our must see list. We will be staying at an in-park resort.

What are the must see attractions and events?

What are the best times to go into which parks?

And one for mom and dad: When does the Haunted Mansion get the holiday makeover?

Any information will be greatly appreciated. Thanks, in advance!

[tjrj]

First off, welcome! My oldest son is adopted as well-from here in the States though.

Ah-the holidays in WDW-fun! I can only speak from my DL experience but the Haunted Mansion should be all set and ready to go when you are there.

As far as must see attractions go-please know that you are going during a really busy time-you may want to concentrate on "holiday type things" first-as the "regular everyday magic" will still be there during another visit. We did this at DL and still managed to see quite a bit.

The parades and night time activities are extra special during the holidays too-extra doses of Disney magic.

It's a Small World gets a holiday makeover. But according to Mark's article on the WDW update this week, Country Bears will not/may not.

I know that World Showcase gets special treatment during the holidays as well.

Others will have more first hand knowledge than I do.

[Wolfman]

Having a focus on the holiday stuff is a great tip. We hadn't really thought about that. Thanks. We will have 7 days there and have the park hopper passes. Any other tips would be great.

[GusMan]

Welcome to Mouseplanet!!
I echo the holiday sight-seeing option. From what I have read and heard from others, you will start seeing more of the holiday touches after Thanksgiving than before. So if you happen to be around for a few days after the holiday, then you might be in for a real treat.

One thing that we did as a non-park day* was go around to many of the resorts to see how they decorated for the holidays. We hit mainly the Deluxe resorts but it seems like every place was decorated. Some more than others but still. We really loved the decorations at Wilderness Lodge and Animal Kingdom Lodge. At the same time, the Beach Club, Boardwalk, and Grand Floridian had some really special displays that will blow your mind.

*=For us a good non park day would be the day that we arrive or the day that we leave. That way we are not using a day on our tickets for less than a day at the parks.

As you approach Thanksgiving, the crowds tend to get bigger. After Thanksgiving, it tapers off. So be prepared to wait around unless you use FastPass.

Also, dress in layers as it can get cooler in the evening hours after the sun sets. During the day in the sun, it can be nice and warm.

Have a great time.

[tjrj]

I can tell you that if they decorate the Wilderness Lodge half as well as the Grand Californian(and they should as they are really similar resorts), it'll knock your socks off Santa was sitting in his big chair just waiting for the kiddos each afternoon. Needless to say, our Christmas pictures of that year are priceless-and I'm sure yours will be too.

[jengold29]

And one for mom and dad: When does the Haunted Mansion get the holiday makeover?

!

First congratulations on your adoption. My sister is in the process of adopting from Russia and it is so exciting.

I don't think the WDW Haunted Mansion changes at all, I may be wrong about this (and if I am someone will correct me. )

[efoxx]

WDW HM does not get a holiday makeover. rumor has it that Country bears will not either this year.

best advice I could give would be to first of all plan your trip around avoiding EMH mornings. those parks tend to be A LOT more crowded.

my next bit of advice is to spend the next couple of weeks studying. only you will know what you and your family will like, so study and ask specific questions. we will be more than happy to help.

finally I would say take advantage of what ever holiday events are going on. the Christmas party at the MK is great, as is the osborne family lights at MGM. and many people, my self included think the candle light procession at Epcot is a must do.

as for which rides you should do... well there are lots, but most recently added would be finding Nemo. at Epcot.

finally it may be possible that your newly adopted girls may not be all that familiar with Disney, so I would also use this time to show them as many Disney movies as you can get in.

[tjrj]

Bummer! I'm sorry for steering you wrong about the Haunted Mansion (non)makeover. Mea culpa

One thing about Disney anxiety-the characters are HUGE-especially the costumed ones. The girls(especially the youngest one) may not be at all pleased to see them at first. A character meal(if affordable) may be a good way to introduce them to the characters.

[Wolfman]

That's all great advice. I am disappointed about the HM not getting the holiday treatment. My wife and I love "The Nightmare Before Christmas." We had even gotten to see some of the set props on a Behind the Animation backstage tour.

Disney Magic seems to be universal. The orphanage our girls were in was in extreme southern Russia, on the border with Chechnya, yet the kids there had Disney VHS tapes (most were dubbed in Russian). Our girls have been here about a year and are Disney fanatics, so they will know the characters very well. We do have reservations for some character meals, including Cinderella's Royal Table, at the castle. We wanted to hold off taking them to Walt Disney World until they had a working knowledge of English, which they now do.

Jengold29, congratulations on becoming an aunt soon. Your sister is in for quite an adventure!

We will be at WDW from 11/18 until 11/25, so we will probably catch views of the decorations. I like the idea of the non-park days. That will be a nice break from the crowds.

[danyoung]

best advice I could give would be to first of all plan your trip around avoiding EMH mornings. those parks tend to be A LOT more crowded.

While efoxx is correct about the morning's EMH park being extra crowded, I'd point out that the crowds don't really build up till later in the morning / early afternoon. If you can stand the early rising thing while on vacation, you can get a lot done in that first couple of hours, especially in the Magic Kingdom. Then make use of your park hopper option (if you have it) and zip over to another park that'll be far less crowded.

[Wolfman]

Dan, I was wondering about that extended hours schedule. When my wife and I went there, it was Mid-January 2002. The parks were fairly empty, since people were still leary after 9-11. We walked right onto most of the popular rides, HM, Tower of Terror, and once we were able to ride POTC three times in a row, without getting off the boat, as there was no one in line. We had a private boat for two for each trip! I know it won't be anything like that this time around. Any and all tips on crowd avoidance are welcomed!

Eric

[danyoung]

Well, as I said the MK works really well with the morning hours. It's pretty important to park hop to make this work, as the park will be choked with people by mid-day. I don't do the evening hours - gotta get that old-guy sack time! But everyone says that the first 90 minutes or so will be slammed, and the 2nd 90 minutes much more fun as people go to bed. Plan on the evening EMH park getting busy from mid-afternoon on, as folks start gathering for their late night fun.

[efoxx]

While efoxx is correct about the morning's EMH park being extra crowded, I'd point out that the crowds don't really build up till later in the morning / early afternoon.

this kinda contridicts itself.

our experience as of two weeks ago was that the parks were very full by 9am.
Example
MK: PotC 25 min. off day 0-5min.
Splash 60+ min. off day 25 min.
BTMRR 45 min. off day 10 min.

Epcot: TT 70 min. off day 25 min. or less
Space 30 min. off day 15 min.
maelstrom 25 min. off day no wait
el rio del tiempo 5 min. off day walk on as they beg you to give it a try.

MGM: RnRR 25 min. (in the first 10min park was EMH) off day 10 min.
ToT 20 min. off day 5 min.
Star tours 25 min. off day no wait

[Wolfman]

I reaally appreciate all of the information. This is a great site!

Eric

[danyoung]

efoxx, I will of course not disagree with your math. I can only go with my own perceptions. And when I visit the MK on an early entry day I can continue to enjoy lots of stuff well into the late morning / early afternoon. But then I'm a pretty seasoned park stormer, so later in the morning I'm usually hitting things that aren't going to have a long line anyway.

And my original statement meant to say that the parks will get crowded later, but I didn't find the first couple of hours to be a problem at all. In fact, the actual EMH early hour itself is usually pretty cool, and people are loathe to get up so early.