news story - How to survive Walt Disney World with grandparents and kids in tow

Note: This is my favourite type of client to plan a WDW vacation for - grandparents, parents,and kids - a grand gatherings family reunion - it's so much fun! ; Here's the story...

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The elderly lady with the Mickey Mouse hat announced her mission on her T-shirt: "I'm at Walt Disney World to celebrate my granddaughter's 10th birthday."

She wasn't alone in wanting some fun time with her children and grandchildren at the planet's most ambitious and most popular amusement parks. We, too, were among many multi-generational families who trek to Orlando each year to join 47 million other people who jam Walt Disney World's four theme parks -- Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Disney Hollywood Studios and the Animal Kingdom.

With our daughter, her husband and their two boys ages 6 and 8, we settled into the lushly landscaped Polynesian Resort (one of 20 Disney-owned properties on site) to see if our stamina could match our determination to keep up with the youngsters and enjoy as much of the 110-square-kilometre park as possible in five days. We asked for and obtained connecting rooms, a definite advantage with little ones.

The Disney monorail is a major convenience for guests staying at the Polynesian, the Grand Floridian or the Contemporary resorts. We took it to the Magic Kingdom, opened in 1971 as the original attraction and still the heart of the Walt Disney World complex. On the busiest days of the year (between Christmas and New Years and around Easter), upwards of 90,000 people a day visit the Magic Kingdom, but May (when we were there) and the fall are much better choices, with just 30,000 visitors a day. Even on the busiest days, Disney's clever Fastpass system (where, at no cost, you get a ticket for the most popular attractions enabling you to return at a specific time for priority boarding) makes long waits a rarity.

We ran into several other multi-generational families at the Magic Kingdom, including Lonna and Doug McKay of Calgary who travelled to Walt Disney World with their four children, spouses and five grandchildren.

"Walking in here was very emotional," Lonna McKay said. "I've often thought it would be awesome to bring the whole family here and we finally realized we could do it." Doug McKay added that the biggest challenge would be to make sure all 14 of them had a good time and that nobody got lost.

Other families agreed that the key to a good time was advanced planning and a slow pace. As one Toronto area grandfather told us, "We're here to relax and enjoy our grandchildren. Wherever the kids want to go, we go."

We read several Walt Disney World guidebooks for their recommendations on what to see first and what to avoid (the most useful book we found was the Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World). The best advice in all of them was to start early, head for the most popular attractions before the park filled and then take a noon break back to the hotel for lunch, a swim and some quiet time. As the crowds started to thin in mid- to late afternoon, head back to the parks.

On the first two mornings, we took the monorail to the Magic Kingdom just as it opened at 9 o'clock. Trying not to show our years (and our growing timidity with fast rides) we joined our grandchildren on the two major Frontierland adventures: Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. Then to Adventureland and the venerable Pirates of the Caribbean boat ride with its swashbuckling adventures (now updated to include Capt. Jack Sparrow in several scenes). In Tomorrowland, our eight-year-old grandson was keen to experience the Magic Kingdom's top attraction, Space Mountain, a fast and dark indoor roller-coaster.

We deferred until he and his dad emerged with a huge grin and said, "Let's do it again!" and grabbed John's hand. John kept his eyes closed throughout, fearful of a heart attack.

One Disney feature we all enjoyed was Mickey's Philharmagic in Fantasyland. This was a zany 3-D movie (we wore special glasses) starring Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck in which objects pop out of the screen and special effects (fake smoke, sprinkles of water, various odours) assault the audience. All four theme parks at Walt Disney World have brilliantly conceived 3-D movies, but this and It's Tough to be a Bug in Animal Kingdom were our favourites.

On the first afternoon, we headed to the Disney Hollywood Studios (using the efficient Disney bus service) where the grandkids had a ball at the imaginative Honey I Shrunk the Kids playground (bugs and plants are giant sized). Later we joined 10,000 other guests in a huge outdoor amphitheatre for Fantasmic, a spectacular mixed-media show starring Mickey Mouse as the Sorcerer's Apprentice. Lasers, fireworks, flaming water and amazing special effects (images are projected on a wide spray of water) contribute to a dazzling 25-minute show.

Epcot, the second Disney theme park in Orlando, still draws huge crowds to its unique combination of education, entertainment and World's Fair ambiance. On our second afternoon, we all enjoyed a wonderful meal at the Morocco pavilion (including entertainment by a belly dancer) and took in two new attractions -- Mission: Space, a realistic flight simulation to Mars, and Soarin', an airborne tour of California with Imax-quality images projected all around your hang-glider. Great fun for all ages.

Ten years ago, Walt Disney World opened its newest and most intriguing theme park, Animal Kingdom. With more than 1,000 live animals and exotic replicas of African and Asian architecture, the park combines nature trails, outback excursions, formal gardens and thrill rides (including a high-speed roller-coaster through a realistic looking Mount Everest). We broke our noon-nap rule and spent all of one day there and could have easily stayed longer.

The family highlight at Animal Kingdom was the Kilimanjaro Safari, a 25-minute truck ride through a realistic African landscape. We saw giraffes, hippos, tigers, elephants, crocodiles and many other species in their "natural" habitat. There are also several walking trails where animals are easily spotted and guides answer any questions.

Part of our last day at Disney World was spent in one of its two huge water parks, where the grandkids and the parents enjoyed the slides and tube rides. After a noon break, we headed toward a section of the park called Downtown Disney, where Canada's own Cirque du Soleil built a permanent theatre to perform La Nouba, described by many as the best show in Cirque du Soleil's repertoire. Combining drama, humour, circus thrills and emotion, the 90-minute performance mesmerized young and old alike.

Looking back on the five days in central Florida, we realized that a three-generation visit to Walt Disney World is an ideal plan. Not only do grandparents get to spend quality time with their children and grandchildren, but there's usually someone to watch over little ones while parents and older kids enjoy the more challenging rides.

As the McKays of Calgary told us, "We never brought our four kids here as children, but we can now see that child in them. People are so goofy and so happy here. You just want to click your heels together."

John and Sandra Nowlan are freelance travel writers based in Halifax.

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