1st timer with a tween and a toddler

I am travelling in May for a first time visit with 3 other adults, an 11 year old and a 2 year old. I’m okay with the fact that to not be too boring for either child, we may have to split the group st certain points, but I’m looking for suggestions of what we can all do together that would keep both kids happy. My 11 year old will be happy to do the odd character meets and shows, but won’t want to do too many - he’ll want to be on the rides! Thanks

I have a big range in ages for my 4 kids (currently 16-7) but it was more pronounced and harder to plan when it was 10-1. We’ve always stayed together mostly but what helped was having the older kids know that their priorities were included in the plan. Yes, you might have to ride Dumbo again today, but Splash is up next. Or when the younger kids were too short/scared for something, that’s when we would split up and do something for the younger crowd (Disney Jr show or meet n great). But all the other rides/attractions/shows we did together. Character meals are probably a good bet–older kid gets to eat, younger kid gets to meet–both things out of the way at one time.

Also probably depends on how much park time you have. We typically go for a week (7-9 park days) so we have time to pretty much ride everything at least once.

I also have 4 kids with a large age range. I’ve found that it’s so much easier to keep everyone together (almost all the time) at Disney than at other places because there are just so many rides without height requirements. The ride that comes to mind as having been a favorite across a range of ages is Toy Story Mania. But with planning, I’ve never had a problem covering everything everyone likes best. I just make clear in advance that not everyone will love everything, but we do different things for different people, as a family.

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I would plan for the group to stay together for morning/lunch to do the tamer rides and a TS meal, then trade off someone taking the 2 year old back to the hotel for rest/down time while the 11 year old gets one on one time in the afternoons and goes on the bigger rides. You’ll cover more ground without the stroller, and it would be a great bonding opportunity :relieved:

Disney is great for family rides, but I imagine you will want to split up a bit. Think about what is close, for example get a FPP for SDM for the elder child and Winnie/PP for the younger, this will work well as you can get a rider swap and the tween can ride twice. There’s a play area next to splash which I’m sure your toddler will like. Your first time around MK you’ll be able to mainly stay together but when you start repeating things that’s when they will want totally different rides.