Need help planning trip with 3 year old twins please.

[Papa Deuce]

I haven't been to Disney since 1986, and my wife since 1988. We have girls who will have just turned 3 when we get ther in October. I have bought two books on Disney. Bur each of those books is just one person's opinion.

Here are our facts:

Arrive Sept. 30th
Depart Oct 10th.

Parents, early 40's

We certainly want our kids to have a ton of fun. We will have babysitters for at least 2 days, where we are on our own. What should we do on "our" days w/o the kids? We plan two days with no parks at all.

What is reasonable? Will all this on the go stuff catch up with our kids, meaning should we plan even more "down" time?

Considering our kids will have just turned 3, what do you think is the "can't miss" item other than MK?

And, finally, do we have to pay for the kids for everything? Or are some areas free to "3 and under"?

Just looking for feedback from a bunch of sources, not just the two authors of the books. Thanks.

Oh, BTW, somebody said you need to "understand" the fast pass. What did they mean by that?

Finally, I'm guessing October is a great time for Disney... less crowds, warm weather.... correct?

 

[KatieBelle]

We are taking our 3 year old twins, plus two other children (5 and 1) in May. We went last Thanksgiving. Other than MK, our kids enjoyed the Playhouse Disney show and the Beauty and the Beast Show at MGM. The Little Mermaid show was too scary. We won't be going to that one again. On your days without the twins, I would recommend Epcot for one of those days. It is a nice place to explore at a leisurely pace. With regard to fastpass, I guess the most important thing to know is that you can only get one fastpass at a time so if you get a fastpass for the Jungle Cruise that is not up until 11:30, you cannot get another fastpass for Space Mountain at 10:30. You have to wait until your fastpass time for Jungle Cruise has passed. The weather in late September/early October will probably be in the high 80's. When we were there in October 2002, we experienced low 90's every day. You will definitely be able to enjoy the pool.

 

[zurgswife]

We have been going with our kids since the youngest was 3 months here are my thoughts...

9 days....2 days without parks, 2 days without kids...

I would plan on Early Entry and do the morning stuff then go home for lunch and naps and pool time.... then try to go back an evening or 2 for parades and fireworks....

MK...most of the stuff there is great for kids even the little ones can find tons to do.

MGM...Beauty and the beast, Mermaid ( my kids haven't ever been scared of this one), Playhouse Disney, Honey I shrunk the kids Playground, Muppets, Indiana Jones (very loud could be scary for some),

Epcot (This is my kids favorite park)...Journey into your imagination and the kodak playground, Energy, The Land, Test Track,(my youngest was tall enough at 3 loved it),

In the world showcase part of epcot there are many kid friendly things to do....Norway has a playground, and a water boat ride with Trolls, China has the kid acrobatics, UK has the World Show Case players a improv group that kids and adults would love, Frances, living statues are fun...there are a number of places to find characters...and starting in the afternoon there are the kidcot stations.

AK...Safari, Dino digs playgroud, Conservation Station,