Things You'll Need:
- A plan
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Step 1
Plan vacation dates around peak travel. If you have small children, travel in the Disney parks can be unpleasant with the peak season crowds and it gets worse with Florida's hot humid summer weather.
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Step 2
During the hot summer Florida season, the best parks to be in are Disney World water parks: Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard beach. There are areas best suited for toddlers and big kids and children in between.
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Step 3
The major holiday weeks to avoid are Easter, Memorial, 4th of July, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Labor day. Another week to avoid is Spring breaks. Public schools usually schedule the Spring breaks before, during, or after Easter week. The actual Western Christian Easter week dates vary from year to year. There are no fixed dates because the holiday is based on a lunar calendar.
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Step 4
If you have to travel on peak holiday weeks, at least select the Winter months where the heat will be more tolerable.
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Step 5
Compromise on school and work schedule. You will have to coordinate taking leave at the same time as your spouse if your spouse works. If your children goes to school you will have to consider the kids being excused from school and find out what the consequences will be (if any). So plan carefully.
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Step 6
If you have kids requiring strollers, consider renting them at the park. For visitors traveling to the park directly by car, transportation from the parking lot is via shuttle carts. After you have taken the shuttle, you have a choice to either take the monorail or ferry. You will need to break down the stroller to be seated in the parking shuttle and the monorail. Then you have to open the stroller again and reset to get your family mobile again. You do not have to break down the stroller if you take the ferry as you can stroll right in with strollers.
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Step 7
If you really want to bring your own stroller, bring the umbrella types. They are lighter and enables your family to be more mobile than families that use the humongous ones from the parking lot to the park and back. Plus, you can maneuver through tight spaces alot better. The rentals at the park are also big but the trade off is that you will be more mobile going into and out of the park.
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Step 8
Utilize Fast Pass. It allows guests to avoid the long lines at the a particular attraction (it is not everywhere). Fast Pass frees you and your family to see other attractions before you are due to come back for a saved spot at a certain time slot. It can expire so be mindful of that fact if you are at the other side of the park. It is a free service.
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Step 9
Another tip for avoiding very long lines is to come later in the day vs.. when the park opens. By the late afternoon, it seems lots of family with toddlers are tired and everyone wants to go back home to crash. There are times that the park reaches capacity when it is around noon. Guests that don't wake up early enough when the park opens will enter the park around noon.
Comments
floridaharris said
on 7/31/2009 Great suggestions!