7 Disney tips just for grandparents
Book a resort with a great pool
Kids love swimming pools, and Disney resorts come with some of the best.
A few kid-approved favorites:
- The Volcano Pool at Disney's Polynesian Resort offers a smoking volcano slide, underwater music and sparkling waterfall, all with a superb view of the Seven Seas Lagoon.
- Wilderness Lodge's boulder-lined pool features glistening waterfalls, rocky overlooks, a fun water slide and nearby geyser.
- Eye-popping Stormalong Bay is a mini-water park complex that offers three acres of winding, watery delight -- including sandy bottom pools, a giant "shipwreck" waterslide, tidal whirlpool, bubbling hot tubs, a kiddie pool with its own slide next to the beach, and enough length to float lazily in inner tubes to your heart's delight.
Start your day together at a Character Breakfast
If you're traveling with young children, at least one or two character meals are a must. These extremely popular dining spots, offered at both the theme parks and the Disney resort hotels, are a perfect way for the grandchildren to spend extra time with their favorite characters. Young ladies don their favorite Disney princess costumes at Restaurant Akershus in Epcot's Norway pavilion to dine with Sleeping Beauty, Snow White and Belle -- while both boys and girls alike adore the Fantasyland breakfast offered at the Magic Kingdom's Cinderella's Castle.
Head over to Ft Wilderness for a campfire sing-along
Gather 'round the campfire each evening at Disney's Ft. Wilderness for a sing-along, marshmallow roast and a Disney animated movie. It's complimentary to all Walt Disney World resort guests.
Start your day early at the Magic Kingdom
Each morning one of Disney's theme parks opens an hour early only for guests staying at a Disney resort. The Magic Kingdom's early open days are Sunday and Thursday, a perfect opportunity to knock off the children's attractions in Fantasyland where waits can sometimes be extremely lengthy during normal park hours.
Magic Kingdom's afternoon parade & evening fireworks
The wonderful Share a Dream Come True parade is Disney's best, where giant floats topped with rotating globes, twinkling lights and live Disney characters are accompanied by over a hundred walking characters and a medley of classic Disney songs. And the Jiminy Cricket narrated nighttime fireworks display is probably the most magical experience in all of Disney.
Take a spin on a WaterMouse boat
Rent one of these two-seater mini-power boats for zipping around one of Disney's waterways. The grandkids will love you for it. They're available at the Contemporary, Polynesian, Grand Floridian, the Yacht Club, Downtown Disney and the Wilderness Lodge.
Head to a water park for a splashing good time
Disney has two of the most fantastic water parks imaginable, Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon, each offering their own brand of wonder. At Blizzard Beach you'll find quite a few tame attractions along with wild, rushing water and death-defying slides. Typhoon Lagoon offers a whopper of a surf pool, but both have wonderful children's areas with smaller versions of the adult attractions -- and there are even areas for the adolescent set.
More Disney fun
Tips for Disney World first-timers
