IT'S ALL IN THE PLANNING
One of a family's biggest questions is where to stay. Since Disney has 18 on-site hotels, ranging from budget to deluxe, it makes sense (and it's far more convenient with kids) to stay at the park. One of my family's favorite resorts is the BoardWalk. It's a splurge, but my eight-year-old, Jordan, and 12-year-old, Leigh, can't get enough of the wacky Atlantic City atmosphere. On the practical side, the resort is a quick walk to Epcot, one of our top spots, and there's water taxi service to MGM and bus service to the Magic Kingdom.Another benefit of a Disney-owned hotel is that you can buy your park tickets at the Guest Services desk instead of at the gate. What you want to buy is the Five-Day Hopper Pass, a card with a magnetic strip that grants you unlimited admission to the four major theme parks, plus the choice of two of Disney's other theme parks (Pleasure Island, Blizzard Beach, Typhoon Lagoon, River Country, and Wide World of Sports). Yes, your pass covers one more day than you need, but it's still a better deal than paying separately for the attractions on our four-day itinerary. Plus, passes never expire, so you can use any remaining days on your next trip to Disney World.
There's another benefit, too. The Five-Day Hopper Pass allows you to visit more than one park a day. If you're going to be at Disney World for four days, it might seem logical to think, We'll spend Monday at the Magic Kingdom, Tuesday at Epcot and so on. But in my view, you'll have much more fun if you mix it up, alternating active and passive pleasures, and the educational with the whimsical. My family likes to hit a park in the morning when we're fresh, crash by the hotel pool in the afternoon and then take on another park.
Silly as it may sound, it's important to think about where you're going to dine at Disney World before you get there. By making priority seating arrangements (quasi-reservations that entitle you to the next table if you show up at a given time), you can be certain you'll get to dine at Disney's prime sit-down restaurants. And you'll have better luck getting a table at, say, the wildly popular California Grill if you can be flexible--dining at 4:30 P.M. instead of 6 P.M. Of course, you can always skip the major restaurants altogether and just hit snack bars, but that wouldn't be as much fun.
There's no need to map out where you'll be every hour--that's too confusing--but you do need some sense of how you'll spend each day. My kids, for instance, are much more apt to follow a schedule if they help make it. Look over the park's brochures together and build everyone's priorities into the plan. Then you'll be able to say to Molly, "I know it's a drag to wait while Jeremy rides Space Mountain, but tomorrow we're going to the character breakfast you wanted to see."
Have fun!
Click on the following links for ideas on a four-day itinerary for Disney World and a guide to on-site hotels.
Kim Wright Wiley, author of WALT DISNEY WORLD WITH KIDS (Prima), is a contributing editor at DISNEY magazine and is FamilyFun's new Theme Park Expert.
Please keep in mind that phone numbers, addresses, and prices are subject to change. Updated June 2005.
