My family will be traveling to Orlando in May.
Our daughters ages 2 & 5 are excited about
seeing Mickey Mouse & all of the other characters. What is the best place in the park
to see lots of characters & the best places to take
young children. Also, is there a place to rent
strollers? or should we bring our own. We are
not renting a car....is that a good idea? The
hotel provides free shuttle service to Disney
parks. Thanks for any suggestions.

I am by far not an expert on Disney based on my one visit, but I CAN answer a few questions. As long as your hotel has shuttle service, there's no need to rent a car. I did, but really never used it.

Children your daughters' age probably will like Magic Kingdom best, with lots of pool time thrown in. The characters are especially thick around Main Street, but really they aren't hard to find anywhere. Your 5-year-old will probably enjoy collecting their autographs, but the 2-year-old might be frightened of them. Be sure and get a good spot to watch the parades.

They rent very nice strollers in the park. My daughters actually liked MGM studios the best, but they were a little older.

I have found two very helpful websites on Disney: www.disneyinfo.com and www.wdwig.com/

Both should answer any questions you might have.

I have found two very helpful websites on Disney: www.disneyinfo.com and www.wdwig.com/

Both should answer any questions you might have.

Two good websites for Disney information are: www.disneyinfo.com
and
www.wdwig.com/

Cyndy: You do NOT want a car -- WDW transportation is fabulous and a car would be a waste of $$. We took a 15 year-old last June, so characters were not high on our list of attractions, but I believe they offer a character breakfast somewhere in the park (Magic Kingdom??). They do spend a lot of time at MK and at Epcot. Also -- check out Toon Town at MK. MGM is a little old for them, as are Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon. They may enjoy some of the tamer attractions at Epcot and will probably enjoy Animal Kingdom. Check out the Rainforest Cafe at Animal Kingdom -- they will enjoy watching it rain from the ceiling and seeing the fake animals move from time to time. Have a wonderful time!

Cindy--Strongly suggest you invest in Birnbaum's Book "Disney World for Kids by Kids" which runs for less than $10 at Barnes and Noble, Books-A-Million, or order it from Amazon.com. It will tell you all you need to know and then some.
Disney has Character Breakfasts at certain hotels just right for your kids. An inexpensive idea we did with our 5 year old was to go to Disney Downtown/Marketplace. There is a LegoLand, which she loved cause it was a "hands-on" store. We then had Lunch at Rain Forest Cafe which small kids will adore. After Lunch we then spent 1 hour letting her play in the "dancing waters" fountain, while we relaxed in the shade. (have your kids wear a bathing suit under their clothes and take a towel). Of all the things we did at Disney, she still talks about those Dancing Fountains as one of her Favorite things to do. Go Figure.
Birnbaum's book has that and many other tips, cause going to Disney with Small Children, you have to plan well.
Enjoy!

We've been to Disney World many times and found when the kids were younger, yes, the Magic Kingdom RULED! I have video of my daughter staring at Goofy and pulling at him until he got annoyed. Mickey used to have his own "theatre" where you had to wait in line to meet the star of the show...but for my daughter at the time, it was worth it. Ariel is also to be found in her own "grotto"..anther long wait. But usually the characters just mill around or haved posted times when they appear at special enclosed booths where you line up to get books signed or just get hugs. Try to go to the parks in the a.m. before it gets too hot and spend the afternoons at the pools and napping (for all!) Unless you want to see other parts of Orlando, you won't need a car. And with two little ones, everything you could possibly want is right there! Make sure you get to a character breakfast, too - the one at the Contemporary (at Chef Mickey's is great!) But all the parks have something to offer for little ones, although Epcot is much more educational and MGM has some more thrill -type rides. Take lots of film and video - you'll capture priceless moments...have a great time!