Disney in June with two kids under 5 for 5 days and made it out alive! Just kidding but seriously it’s hot in Florida in June and Disney is packed! We took our two kiddos a baby and preschooler to Disney World along with 15 members of our family. By day 5 of Disney we were done. We did have fun though and learned some things along the way.
Fast pass!
If we didn’t have a fast pass we didn’t ride it! To get a fast pass you need to download the “My Disney Experience” app, be sure to book 30-60 days ahead of the time you are going depending on where you are staying. If you are on a Disney property including Shades of Green you can book 60 days out. Rides like the new Avatar were booked 60 days out, we managed to get it but if we waiting we may not be able to. The lines were too long in most rides (up to 120 minutes) and the kids wouldn’t have it. Some regular lines did get down to 15-20 minutes if the ride wasn’t as popular in those cases we would wait. We made sure to get the parent swap on EVERY ride. The parent swap allows those waiting with the kids too little to go on the ride to ride the next go around, they went in the fast pass line and sometimes depending on the ride they had a special waiting area where they got on right after the prior parent(s) got off. The kids that went the first time got to ride again which was a hit.
Wear Matching Shirts
Seriously, wear matching neon shirts! On days we all wore our matching shirts it was easier. We could all find each other when we split up and we were able to get on the rides easier. When you have 19 people sometimes fast passes and child swaps don’t work for all of us but when the staff seen we were together with the same shirt we had no problems. Not only were we easy to spot in a crowd but the characters would say hi to us by name since we had our last name on the back of our shirts, lol.
Stay Cool
Babies in strollers in the Florida heat can get hot. Our solution: portable USB fans. We bought some $10 fans from Home Depot that had clips and USB port that we could attach a rechargeable battery port to. They lasted all day and the babies stayed comfortable. For the adults and older kids the Cooling towels helped you put them in cold water and shake them to get cool again.
See a show
Instead of trying to ride all the rides we explored other things like the shows, parades, characters and other sites. There are so many things at Disney to see and you can’t see it all in one trip. If you try to just enjoy the moment and not rush to everything you will all have a much more enjoyable trip.
Go to the Water Parks
It’s hard to plan a day ahead of time when the weather will be just right for a water park especially when you have to book fast passes 60 days out. What we did was have two days that were somewhat flexible, we booked fast passes in the evening since the water park closes at 6 pm. We did the Typhoon Lagoon water park one day and it was a blast. Not only was the crowd less but it was a more relaxed atmosphere. Kids could do pretty much all the water rides too. We really wished we could have done Blizzard Beach as well but we didn’t have the time with visiting all the other parks at Disney. If we did Disney in the summer again we will definitely plan to do both water parks during the day or HOT hours and a different park in the evening or morning.
Shades of Green
We stayed at the military resort Shades of Green which is considered a Disney property now. This is a huge benefit! Not only do you get Magic Hours but you can book those fast passes 60 days out. There was also a shuttle to all the parks. Just be sure to check the departure times when planning on leaving the resort and returning if you have plans such as fast passes or meals to get back to.
Magic Hours
We tried the magic hours one night and wish we could have done them more! The lines were short -no fast passes needed. There was also not as many people in the park. We went from 11 pm-1 am at Magic Kingdom, so it was late. The kids lasted about an hour, because the park is closed they give you the strollers to use for free. We grabbed a double and the kids that were older but not able to hang feel asleep in the stroller. The adults all booked it to the must ride older rides. Each park has their magic hours at different days/times. Some were in the morning (we were not early risers with 19 people!) and some were in the night. Magic hours are a must if staying at a Disney resort!
Meal Plan
Not the Disney meal plan but the Shades of Green meal plan was a great deal and we didn’t have to worry about ANY of our meals. Breakfast and Dinner are included in the meal plan but they have stuff for sandwiches which we bought some sandwich bags and took with us to the park. Since Disney allows you to bring food into the park (no ice) we could pack snacks and lunch then be back before 9 pm to eat dinner. We did try one restaurant in Disney Springs and we were not impressed. We booked it 30 days out and they took 45 minutes to seat us and the food was not that good. We got seated in front of an aquarium which would have been find but the restaurant had a light show every 30 minutes and it was hard to see the show where we were at. The restaurant was cool with all the dinosaur scenery but for eating not the best and a little pricey. From that point on we were fine with the food at our resort. Shades rotated the type of food every day so you didn’t get the same meal. They even had cute interactive things for kids where they made their own cookie desert or face painting on Carnival night.
Take Away
We had a great time with the little ones but think it would be easier if all the kids could ride the rides. We would be able to do more and see more instead of waiting for each parent to do the parent swap at the same ride. 4-5 years or 42″ is a great age to see the characters, ride most rides and really enjoy Disney. A little older like 6-7 years or 48″ and you can ride all the rides so no need for parent swap. Whatever your plan the kids will love it! Happy Travels!
northpolemom 