Walt Disney World Travel Tips

May 30th, 2008 by Jeannie - NWA WorldVacations

Here are my top 10 first time Disney to-dos with a 4 year-old, along with some survival tips for a Disney World vacation. These are the things that delighted my 4 year-old on her first visit to Walt Disney World in December of 2007. We tried a lot more than what is listed here - these were the biggest hits which made Disney World a great family vacation destination.

1. Cinderella’s Royal Table
A character lunch (Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, Jasmine, Mary Poppins, etc.) at Cinderella’s Castle within the Magic Kingdom. We reserved a year in advance. Quite a big deal to meet these legends in person.

2. Akershus Royal Banquet Hall (hosted by Belle)
A character lunch (Belle, Sleeping Beauty, Mulan, Pocahontas, Alice) at Norway castle within Epcot. Lots of fun. Also booked well in advance.

3. Kilimanjaro Safaris
We got to Animal Kingdom early for a nearly no-line situation. We got so close to the animals - really amazing.

4. The Boneyard at Animal Kingdom
A chance for my little one to dig up her own mammoth fossil. Dinosaurs and fossils have been of particular interest lately and this answered a lot of questions.

5. Within the Pyramid at Mexico
In Epcot, we had a nice meal at the restaurant under the stars and a volcano with actual smoke. Craftspeople painting wares - a chance to watch.

6. Activities at Most Pavilions within Epcot
Free spots to color and learn about different countries. A lot of free shows too: drumming in Japan and, juggling in Italy were attention grabbing.

7. Journey Into Imagination With Figment
At Epcot - learn about the senses. Get sprayed with skunk smell - very cool if you are 4 years-old !

8. Swiss Family Treehouse
A walk through provoked a lot of interesting questions, “Why can’t we live in a tree house?” and what-not.

9. The Monorail
The monorail was a big hit. My 4 year old now wonders if it will fit in our backyard.

10. Walt Disney World Railroad
Travel in general for the first time by plane (to get there), the monorail, and by the train within the Magic Kingdom was very exciting. Bus shuttles from the hotel were even fun to the various parks.

I myself had not been to Walt Disney World since I was a little girl. I found that with the exception of the two planned character lunches and one planned ride experience (Safari), the other items were relatively unplanned and slow-paced (even though we were there over the holidays). This kept the 6 adults happy along with the 3 kids and kept everyone relaxed and happy.

I would advise shying away from really hyped-up experiences. We saw some big shows, experienced some rides and parades, and mostly it was a lot of waiting around for what my daughter thought was too loud and scary anyhow. The slower pace allowed for the adults to watch the kids having a blast. We are still talking about how much fun we all had!

Happy family vacations! Next month we are trekking to Sea World in Orlando, so we’ll let you know how that goes.