Since my almost 4-year-old daughter, Mae, started her obsession with Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Tangled, Monsters Inc., and pretty much everything else Disney, I'd been looking forward to our first trip to Disney World, especially the Magic Kingdom, which she considers home to all her favorite friends. But while today's Disney still features a lot of the rides I loved when I was her age, the process of visiting them seems to have become exponentially more complicated . . . and expensive.
We debated how best to introduce Mae to the magic of Disney, but since we were already going to be in Florida (a couple hours south of Orlando) over Winter break, we decided to couple the trips and hit the park in one whirlwind day. It took some planning, but all in all, I think it was the perfect first Disney experience.
Here's what I learned from our trip.
Try to make all of your FastPass+ reservations as early in the day of your visit as you can. Once you use all three, you'll be able to hit up one of the FastPass+ kiosks in the park and make additional reservations. Since our three reservations were all between 9:45 and 12:50, we had plenty of time to score two more of those golden tickets, which allowed us to skip the lines at the Little Mermaid and Winnie the Pooh rides. Tip: if the FastPass+ system overwhelms you, don't worry. Book your online reservations early, and once you get to the park, find one of the countless cast members and ask for help. They're all eager to do so.
So don't stress out too much about planning your trip perfectly. While some strategizing is definitely necessary, your kids will have a fantastic time regardless of whether you make it on every ride, catch every parade, and have the perfect viewing spot for the fireworks. In fact, if they're anything like my little one, they might just sleep through the last one.