Planning to do a 2-day MK trip with G+ this Friday Feb 2nd (CL 4) and Saturday Feb 3rd (CL 5) with DD6 and DS2. I’ve been many times, and we last went in 2018 when DD was 1.
We want to ease her into the rides as she’s a bit apprehensive about dark rides, with her only exposure to dark rides being a scary haunted ride that is “marketed toward kids but is not really for kids” in a local amusement park. I think once she gets exposure to Disney dark rides she’ll be fine (with the exception of HM!), this is why we want to start with Tomorrowland, to expose her to a combination of dark/outdoor rides first.
Day 1:
Arrive ~9am and after meeting Mickey, head toward Tomorrowland and cover off:
Speedway, Buzz, CoP, People Mover, Monsters Inc (TP says we can do this all before 11am assuming we have G+)
Head over to Dumbo, then take the train to the main gate, and head back to the hotel for a nap
Arrive back at MK around 3pm and cover off Fantasyland:
Pooh, Little Mermaid, small world, PPF, Philharmagic
Then close out the day with fireworks.
Day 2:
We have a looser plan, and BoG reservations. We might do a few favourites from Day 1, and cover off Adventureland (JC, etc)
Want to make sure we take our time, and we aren’t planning to do anything like Tron, Space, BTM or 7DMT which makes things a lot easier (although I might be tempted to try Tron if I can get a decent VQ)
Looking for some advice:
Anything you think we’re missing? Is this doable?
Does the ‘refresh’ trick (either with BG1 or MDE) still work like it did with FP+ “back in the day”? We were able to get immediate return times when we went back in August 2018 using this method.
We did Enchanted tales when DD was 1, she’s not into princesses anymore But Tom Sawyer island is interesting. I’ve never been, how long would you spend there?
Exploring the caves (it is dark but nothing scary), go over to the Fort - where she (and you) can explore. Then the escape tunnel and back across the barrel bridge and via the Windmill. It’s a great way to unwind. An hour to two.
Don’t forget the Treehouse too.
Edit: climb the hill on TSI too.
And there’s the riverboat. You could do that plus TSI to relax rather than a break. They’re totally away from the “hype” of MK.
We had a similar goal on the trip with 3 of our great granddaughters, 8, 7 and 4. They’d not been to any amusement park tho they’d been to the zoo a few times.
Back story: Our youngest granddaughter was quite apprensive about most attractions - on trips when she was 2, 6 and even 9. Because of our experiences with her, when my sister’s grandkid, possibly autistic, started going to WDW, we were eager to keep things fun and light.
We started with Adventureland and Aladdin’s Magic Carpet - figuring to save Fantasyland and its busy-ness until day two. Aladdin was a winner with my sister’s grandkid, becoming a traditional first ride throughout their childhood.
Fast forward to our great-granddaughters’ first trip when we also went first to Aladdin’s Magic Carpets. They all screamed in terror and vowed never to ride that ride again. We thought, this is going to be a long week.
Yet, that same morning, they loved Tiki Birds, Pirates, Splash and Big Thunder Mountains. And a day or two later Tower of Terror, Toy Story, and Everest and Dinosaur on another day. We tried to get them interested in Slinky and Aliens but they scoffed at the kiddie rides.
All of which is to say you never know with kids, and maybe save Fantasyland to day two when she’ll be an old hand at how MK works and recall more of it later.
I’m also wondering about PPF. G+ goes quickly to the afternoon for that.
If you were to book that first you couldn’t then use it for the TL rides. Not sure when the return time would be if you waited until after TL and then booked it. Otherwise you could have a long wait.
Also, if you get back to MK at 3ish, you’ll get caught in the parade crowds. Which makes it hard to get to FL until everyone else does.
I’d plan to hit FL during the parade if you can. Waits will be lower then. You’d need to arrive by 2:30pm to get back to FL before the parade starts. But DD might also want to watch the parade - might have to Bebe her to watch it tomorrow. Would she go with that or will she insist?
Thanks for your replies. Tom Sawyer sounds like a good time. With crowds expected to be around a 4 or 5 (hope it stays that way!) it might be a great quiet retreat.
Good point on PPF … definitely not doing that first, but maybe I can try to book it before our downtime around 11 and get a return in the afternoon. Will check thrill-data.
Also good point on the crowds at 3pm but we will want to catch the parade, or at least part of it. I think this go around we really want to take it easy, enjoy some snacks and take in the scenery as much as possible, so I think Day 2 will be focused on that. It’s only a 2-day jaunt so don’t want to overhelm or pack so much in that we remember nothing in particular!
This is all too familiar! You plan as much as you can and then throw that same plan out the window. This is why I have a Plan B and C in my head … basically, be prepared for anything to go in any direction and be ok with that!
Should be a great trip - it’s nice you have so much time and low crowds to take it easy.
Definitely agree with PPF later in the trip/plan, there is something about it that seems to make it more intimidating for littles than other rides (my youngest still covered her eyes for some parts until she was 6).
For your 6-yr old I would maybe consider trying 7DMT? This was one of my kids’ favourites between ages 4-8, it’s just a nice, smooth coaster that’s fun and not intimidating. I actually find it smoother/less intense than Barnstormer, which is meant to be the entry coaster in FL. And many kids who are timid about dark rides don’t have any of the same apprehension on coasters (we moved immediately from 7DMT to BTMR and then SM once they were tall enough). That said, I realize it’s also a much longer line than other rides you’re planning, so unless you’re willing to spring for an ILL it may be easier to skip.
Would also add Tea Cups, and seconding the above recommendations for Enchanted Tales with Belle (which our whole family loves, even though no one is really into princesses). Pirates has also been a favorite since ours were very young.
If it’s warm enough, the spash pad (Casey Jr) near Dumbo is always a hit. I also love the parade for this age range, as well as the castle stage show (Mickey’s Magical Friendship Faire), which is short and sweet with great characters and songs many kids know. Especially at age 2, they may prefer seeing characters at a bit of a distance rather than up close. I would also consider fireworks (we love watching from behind the castle in FL where kids can run/jump/dance around freely), it’s usually super impressive to littles, though 2 could be a bit young (our youngest was scared of the noise until she was around 3). You know your kids best.
Refreshing in BG1 (or MDE) to get quicker return times often works, definitely worth doing again.
For QS, Columbia Harbor House is solid, and we love Sleepy Hollow waffles (both sweet and savoury). We did TS at Skipper Canteen on our last trip, which was ok but we didn’t think it lived up the the hype. My top recommendation with kids this age is to plan lunch early, around 11.30 when restaurants are still nice and quiet (and lines at short, though Mobile Ordering in advance helps get around those too). And bringing snacks you know they like.
Thank you all for your feedback. I would have loved to come back and say we had an amazing time. We did have a good time but unfortunately, for some reason or another, crowd levels were insane. MK had a predicted 4, actual 7.
We decided to do AK on our second day, thinking it might be less crowded. It had a predicted 5 I think, but an actual 9! We did G+ for all our rides and the line ups for the LL were all at least 15-20 mins. It was a very hectic time and I felt the rides were not as well maintained as they used to be, often stopping repeatedly like on PPF, really taking away from the experience.
I was most disappointed with the Shaman on NRJ. She was replaced with a screen! Imagine my disappointment, going on this ride after 6 years, waiting to see the look on my daughter’s face when we turned the corner. I am sure they are just repairing or doing routine maintenance on the animatronic but it just added to an already lackluster experience.
It’s going to be at least another 5 years before I can make my way back. And of course I am only focusing on the negative here, there was a lot of great moments but for such a short trip, those moments were few and far between.
Still excited to plan our next trip, hopefully spend more time and also hoping they pour some much needed funds back into the parks!
But Tom Sawyer island is interesting. I’ve never been, how long would you spend there?
They all screamed in terror and vowed never to ride that ride again. We thought, this is going to be a long week. 
… basically, be prepared for anything to go in any direction and be ok with that!