I was pretty freaking jaded and cynical about it before I went with my kids.
first time we took just the oldest, she was 4. last time, last fall, we took both, then 7 and nearly 4. they had a blast, and it was really a lot of fun. I never thought Id say that but it was...
so the tips:
1) get a wife to make all the arrangements. Mine went through one of these 'disney travel consultants' which I guess is like a stay at home mom side business kinda thing. they hooked us up with seasonal discounts for park hopper passes and meal plans.
2) book the fast pass stuff asap. I think its like 3 or 6 months out. wifey had a spreadsheet of all the crap she wanted for us, character meals, rides, etc and was logging into the site at midnight the day we were able to start booking. we still had to go to 3rd or 4th choices on some things cause that stuff goes quick
3) we stayed on property and it aint cheap but its good, clean, foods decent, and the meal plan really is a good thing to have. we were there in sept and they comped the whole meal plan for us over a 3 day stay
4) just chill, go with the flow and know you arent there for yourself but for the kids to have fun, and I will say, I get anxious as hell in crowds.... its hard, but ease up, know that its all gonna be ok and just dont sweat it and focus on the kids having fun, and you'll end up having a good time yourself!
all said and done, I think we'll probably go every other year till they're beyond the age of wanting to go and im lookin fwd to the next time.
EDIT: and a Disney Cruise sounds like a floating prision to me LOL
