Disney Trip Advice - Holiday 2013/14

My aunt is planing a trip to Walt Disney World for herself, her fiancee, and his two kids. There is the possibility of a third child going but I dont know about that at this point. The kids will be six and nine at the time of the trip, one boy and one girl. The other child is also a girl and will be around four years old if she can go.

My aunt is staying off property for this trip which is set around the Christmas/New Years holidays. I know crowds will be a pain for them during this time. I have already mentioned they look into http://touringplans.com/ and mentioned the FastPass system. They only want to do Magic Kingdom since they cant afford all of the parks and the kids will get more out of that park then all of them.

My aunt wants to book some of the restaurants when she can. She is going to make a reservation at Cinderella's Royal Table (Crown?) on her 180 days out time frame.

My questions are for any Disney fans, or Orlando people that might know;

1. What other restaurants would be a good option in the Magic Kingdom?
2. What rides or shows should they get a FastPass for and when should they get the FastPass(s)?
3. Are any of these days a "Very Merry Christmas Party" days? If so, how much is that ticket?
4. Any other tips you might have.

Thanks, Ill be checking this topic and relaying your tips to my aunt on a regular basis.

PS: When answering, keep in mind the possibility of the trip being 2 adults and three kids. Also remember, this is ONLY FOR THE MAGIC KINGDOM! I dont mean to yell, but thats what they want to do so I dont need tips for Epcot, or Universal, or anything else.

[Mikey]

You will regret going the two weeks between Christmas and New Years or anytime during winter break. You can't even find a hotel room in the city of Orlando during that time unless you booked it months ahead.

I have experienced all of the parks during that time and while Disney handles the crowds well, you will be waiting more then 45-60 minutes for each ride. I would recommend that you consider staying on property where possible as the package deals are often much better then what you can get offsite. Especially when you tack on a rental car or parking fees.

Plus with kids being able to take a bus back to the hotel from the front gate makes things so much easier. The two cheapest properties at Disney are the pop-century which is on par with a best western.

Not knowing what the budget is it is hard to make recommendations, there are so many things that one can do at Disney but they all cost money.

I think they have the resort taken care of already. I have told them to expect heavy crowds for this period of time to. I think they chose this slot because the kids would be out of school and they have a wedding in Philly during what is most likely going to be around Spring Break next year. They dont want to go in the summer due to the weather and they need to work to so they are stuck with it.

Ill find out if they booked already or not, if not I will recommend those resorts to them. If they stay at the "value" resorts do they get EMH? I think they do but I've never been.