Disney in December

We took our first trip to Disney in '07 in the first week of december too! It was awesome. We went with a just take it as it comes approach. We spent the majority of our time in the Magic Kindgom, I would have totally skipped the Animal Kingdom, and will this December when we go again. I was really NOT interested in being in the middle of the taping of the Christmas Parade, and had NO IDEA we were until we got to magic kingdom on the day they were taping, this was the first weekend in December. It was so clogged up with traffic. I am going to find out in advance when it is being taped and stay far away from the Magic kingdom on that day. Since we were staying in park we planned our days and evening in accordance with where we could go in early and stay in late.
Have fun.

we have been 5 times and stay on site, usually at all star resorts. I would suggest the movie or sports one for you all. We have always booked through Disney. We stay at the lower cost hotels because you don't spend that much time in the room and the pools and food are good for kids and the savings we use for other stuff. The free transportation is worth it to stay on site. the others have also given great advice also check out Allears.com, I think is the name of that great website. Also one way we save money and we fly is to bring Breakfast foods we can eat in room or take with us, plus some snacks for the parks, but beware that all packpacks and purses are checked, so factor that in. We did just have a bad expereince on our last trip some of my daughter items were stolen by the staff and thankfully we had pictures to prove we had brought the items, but the staff was not good at all in recovering our items, so take pictures of things in your room and you can delete those later, other than that we have had a great time.
Magic Kingdom is the best, especially Buzz Lightyear ride, Lilo and Stitch and more at that park. As others have said get the books, (from Library is best) and check all the websites that you can.
I could overload you but but will stop here. Have fun it is a great place to go

There is a certain amount of planning that needs to in place, but it helps to be flexible too. First thing I would do is pick up Unofficial Guide to Disney World and start reading through it. Especially check out their "touring plans" that help you max out on rides and attractions while minimizing waiting in line. There's lots of other good books out there about doing Disney with kids with tons of great advice.

Get to the park when it first opens - it generally won't be as crowded as it will be later in the day and make getting on the most popular rides a priority. You might even be able to go more than once and only wait in line 10 minutes each time. Many attractions offer Fast Pass, which allows you to return at a certain time later and go through a fast line. Use Fast Pass whenever and wherever you can.

When it's lunch time and you feel like you've been on a bunch of stuff already and it's getting more crowded and the kids are getting more tired, take a break, head back to the hotel, let the kids go swimming in the pool, have some lunch. Head back later when you've had a chance to rest up to catch any shows in the evening (parades, fireworks, etc.). Don't feel like you have to stay there all day and do everything, and don't feel like you have to do all of it in one day. Give yourself 2 days to spend at Magic Kingdom and however many other days you want to do at the rest.

Look into Disney's PhotoPass service once you get there - photographers will take pics of the whole family in certain popular spots (front of Cinderella's Castle, etc.) and with characters, and scan them on a card that you carry with you. Later you can look up the pics on their website, and order prints, or get all of them on a CD.

Most of all, keep your expectations realistic and recognize the importance of "down time"!

Disney's website is the best! There's info they offer that travel sites/agents may not be aware of.

We took our daughters when they were 7 and 3. The fav places for them was Hollywood Studios Theme Park and the section in Magic Kingdom where it's just for little people (I think it's to the left of the castle). Also, go to Magic Kingdom in the evening, the parade starts at 9pm and you'll want to be as close to the castle as possible by 8:30pm. Tinker Bell flies in the sky and it's incredible from the top of the castle. They do the parade in the daytime but it's much more prettier at night. Oh, Hollywood Studios does a block party!!!! The kids get to participate in this and have a ball!!!

DO get the Disney meal plan. It will save you a fortune on food cost. Pay attention to the receipts that come with your purchase as they track how many more meals and snacks you are to get for that day.

DO a character meal! The kids will love it! Character breakfast is generally cheaper than the character lunch or dinner. RSVP required in advance for these.

Have fun!!!!

We just did DisneyWorld this past December-the week before Christmas. My DH had a conference on site for work (lucky!) This was our second time at DisneyWorld.

Because my DH is a federal employee-we have stayed at Shades of Green military resort on Disney property both times. It's VERY reasonable and clean and perfectly nice, but I absolutely hate the restaurants on site there and the service is terrible. Will not make that mistake again-regardless of room price!

In December-there are LOTS of extras at the park-special Christmas parades, etc-all cost extra and require advance purchase tickets. I think with 2 six year olds who can probably make a longer day-I would spring for at least 1-2 of these things. We didn't because a 2 year old couldn't make it through the long day.

I highly recommend staying on resort property so you can ride the monorail and not have to drive in and park everyday and have the flexibility of going back to the room to rest. Get a room with a kitchenette or at least fridge and microwave so you can keeps drinks and snacks and small meals in the room. Park food is super pricey! Don't buy souvenirs in the park-order or shop at Disney store first (particularly if you know what your kiddos will want) and bring along as a surprise-way cheaper!)

Plan, over-plan in fact-the more organized you are about what you are doing, reservations for special meals, etc-the better the experience is. Use fast passes all that you can-start early in the morning and if you stay on Disney property-take advantage of extra magic hours to get in early or stay late. It's cheaper to stay longer, if you can-do at least 4-6 days, particularly if you plan to do multiple parks. Magic Kingdom is still the best part of Disney in my opinion and we always spend the most time there. Epcot had some great food and picture sites and a few fun rides, but overall can be a littled dated and probably not worth an entire day. The Animal Kingdom is a lot of fun for kids (basically like a deluxe zoo) The Hollywood themed park is more appealing to older kids, teens-wilder rides (might be too wild for 6 year olds) Time might be better spent at Universal if you are looking for the whole movie experience with younger kids. Bring rain ponchos-there's always a downpour! Bring a backpack or something to carry with you in the park-Florida weather changes like crazy and you might need to change clothes, have snacks, etc. In 3 days at the park in December-we experienced 30 degree temps with wind and upper 70 degree temps with rain...you never know!

Have a blast! And know in advance, you will likely spend more than you want-even with good planning. It's just a fact of Disney!

mousesavers.com and tourguidemike.com (totally worth the small fee for the second - I used it before the trip and every day we were there) are awesome for planning and saving money. Good luck! We just got back and had a blast.

Someone said that they check your bags when you go into Disney which is true but you are ALLOWED to bring in food. They are just looking for dangerous things like weapons. Food is OK. So if you want take all the food you want. They do not care. But I will say the food at Disney is cheaper than at Six Flags or most of the other parks.

If you make purchases, do not carry them around all day! lol! The shops have a note that says you can have your stuff sent to the front to pick up on your way out. We saw that too late, but we didn't buy much early anyways. Also, plan a day for Downtown Disney and check out the stuff there. Kids love the RainForest Cafe, or there's a dinosaur one that we know when we go back we'll take our son to. Hope you have a great time!