My Husband,myself, and our two kids (ages 9 and 5) are leaving in 2 days for Disney. Can anyone tell me how. How crowded is it now? We are staying at Holiday Inn Family Suites. Has anyone stayed here? How is their shuttle service? I appreciate any help or advise. Thank you!!!!

I just got back from Orlando. We only went to Epcot on Saturday as it was a short weekend for us. We stayed across the street from Downtown Disney and it was never overly crowded there either!

Pretty uncrowded there and I was surprised. Hardly any waits at the attractions. No waits to get on the monorails or the buses to get from place to place.

However, it was very hot and humid. And I am from Atlanta!

Have a wonderful time.

Schools out for summer except big crowds.

Quick! Go to wdwig.com unofficial guide site with TONS of tips. Under the Dining out sections read info about kid-friendly restaurants. Under the Theme Park section read about ride restrictions (so you will know height restrictions 5yo may not meet). Read the Downtown Disney section, definitely take kids to Lego store & play area there (free!), I also recommend the Adventurer's Club shows for families, the cast members there really do play up to kids. Under Fun Things to see & do at WDW sections read about Belle's Storytime in the Garden (in MK), it is fun for kids! Also pick up a guidebook from the library or bookstore to take with you, read on the way there. Get to parks ASAP after opening and it is less crowded, you can see lots of things in short time. with a 5yo I would not recommend Disney Quest, wait a year or two, it is geared toward older children & adolescents with height restrictions on the most fun things. Have a great time!

I've stayed there! Shuttle service is great - just a little frustrating if the park you want to go to for the day happens to be the last stop on the run! Full self-service breakfast buffet is included, is good, but is chaotic! Pools are nice; there is one especially for kids. Be sure to check out the dinner theatres at the Grosvenor Hotel Wed or Sat nights! FastPass is an excellent addition, be sure to use it to cut down your line wait times. Have a blast!

A good tip that we received was to save Magic Kingdom for last. If you do Magic Kingdom first, the younger kids may tend not to appreciate EPCOT, etc. HAVE A FABULOUS TIME....

My one word of advice is to remember that there is no prize at the airport for the family that sees the most sites/goes on the most rides. Please remember that this is designed to be fun. If the kids are hot and tired at 1 PM and just want to go back to the hotel and swim, do it. The idea is to spend some fun family time together. You can not and will not see everything.

We took the trip last year aboutthe same time of the year. The parks were not crowded, (not deserted either, but manageable), anyway the FAST-PASS is a must!! Saved us a lot of time, it's easy to get, free and fun.
My daughter was 8 at the time, had a blast and loved every minute of the trip. In the parks, don't forget to bring a plastic water bottle (you will be able to fill it often), hats for everyone ( the sun could be rather strong), and most of all have fun and don't try to "do everything". Maybe splitting rides is not a bad ideea; something that will make the little one happy could be "boooring" for the older one so let them choose now and then. Have fun, let us know how it was.

Thank you to all who replied. We will be in Disney 6 days. I am not going to try and see everything, as this is our first ever trip to Disney. I thought we could spend 2 days at Magic Kingdom, 1 day at MGM and the rest play by ear. My husband was thinking about making a side trip to Kennedy Space Center, what do you think? I'll report back after we get back.

Amy, IMO you will not need 2 days for Magic Kingdom, it's really not that big.
Animal Kingdom is also a succes with the kids and Epcot has someting for (almost) any kid's age. Also, even if you did not buy a "packaged trip" if you plan on spending more than a day in "Disney" parks ( as opposed to Universal, etc...) DO buy a multi-day pass. You can get them at the gate at the first park you visit,for 2 to 7 days, and there is a discount ( 5-10-15 $/person depending on age and # of days).
Enjoy yor trip.

Kennedy Space Center is wonderful and there are gorgeous beaches in that area as well. Ron Jon's Surf Shop in Cocoa Beach is an institution and is open 24 hours a day.

It is extremely hot here in Orlando (over 90 every day), and our terrible drought finally seems to have ended so you can expect heavy thunderstorms just about every afternoon. I would hit the parks as early as possible and retreat back to your room for a rest as soon as the clouds roll in. Then you can be back out and feeling fresh by 6 PM.

I agree that you will probably not need 2 days to do Magic Kingdom so enjoy the other parks!