Disney

We just went with our 5 year old twins in November. It was absolutely amazing. They are still talking about it now. A great site for tips is www.allearsnet.com. We did the meal plan and that worked out great for us - except for the diet needed when we got back because there was just so much food! I would HIGHLY suggest going to at least 2 character brunches or dinners. I didn't think that my kids would get too into the autograph books but they did and it is much easier to have the characters come to you instead of waiting up to 90 minutes in line to see them.

One thing that both my kids loved (we have a boy and a girl) was the free shows that seem to pop up in the parks. There is a great one in front of Cinderella's castle that my daughter made us see 3 times. Also, the nighttime show at MGM is amazing. Get there early to get a seat. Also, the fireworks and illuminated parade at the Magic Kingdom were really enjoyed by my kids. They didn't get much out of the Epcot nighttime show. My kids usually go to bed at 7pm but we were up late every night but one when we were there. I had thought that we would go back and rest at the hotel but we only did that twice and it was more for my father than for the kids. They really seemed to be so excited by the Disney magic that they seldom got cranky or tired (if only I could capture that at home!)

The only time we used strollers was late at night. You will see that people abandon the strollers that they rent from Disney. We would grab one of those and use it to wheel the tired kids out of the park. Other than that they walked everywhere and never complained (once again really wish this would happen at home!)

Oh, another thing that I did was to buy some Disney stuff at the Disney store on sale and pick up some Disney stuff at thrift stores the months before the trip. Every night in the hotel room I would set out the gifts with a little note from Mickey or a princess, etc. that they would get in the morning when they woke up. This really seemed to help the "buy this for me" fuss that I was afraid would happen. Disney is a marketing machine (the MBA in me found it amazing but the mom in me was ready to scream!) Almost every ride ends in a perfectly themed gift shop! Since the kids had already gotten a gift in the morning (and it was a gift that cost much less since I got them on sale or used!) - they didn't ask for too much from the stores.