OK, so I thought I would post my ideas for our itinerary. Any and all comments, thoughts, and suggestions are welcome. You know I love great tips!!
TUESDAY, 7/29
Leave our airport at 7:20am and arrive in Orlando at 10:45am
Get checked in at GKTW & hang out there for the afternoon and evening
(*side note: this is Nickelodeon Night, and I would LOVE it if they featured a SpongeBob character...but I have a feeling this night is geared toward younger children and characters such as Blue, Dora, etc. We'll see!)
WEDNESDAY, 7/30
Magic Kingdom!!! This will be a long day. I want to stay as long as the family can handle it.
THURSDAY, 7/31
US Islands of Adventure!! We are looking forward to this park. I do want to spend a full day here, although many say you can do both US parks in one day. We'll see about that, but I know one thing: I do NOT want to jeopardize getting back in time for Christmas/Winter Wonderland at GKTW that evening!!! If we happen to be able to get both US parks in on this day, then great--that will leave us more extra time for later.
FRIDAY, 8/1
EPCOT in the morning; Hollywood Studios in the afternoon!! I hope we can fit everything in. I'm worried about this. I am hearing everyone's advise right now telling me to just accept that we can't do everything on our list....but still, we have our must-dos. I hope I've made the right decision for us regarding which parks to do in half-day periods. I know we won't get back in time for the Pirates & Princesses Party at GKTW, and I'm mad about it!!
SATURDAY, 8/2
Universal Studios in the a.m. (just long enough to do the must-dos there, one of which is the Nickelodeon thingy since we have to meet SpongeBob, you know!!); SeaWorld in the p.m. We live in Texas and have done SeaWorld in San Antonio and loved it. I was actually pleasantly surprised to read that SeaWorld Orlando does NOT have an adjoining waterpark included in admission as does SeaWorld San Antonio. That will make things go more quickly for us!! Ha!! Don't expect me to say that if we ever pay for the tickets ourselves! We might make it back for Mayor Clayton's birthday party, but I doubt it. You never know, though.
SUNDAY, 8/3
Animal Kingdom!! My husband is really excited about this park. It sounds hot to me, although I do love animals. I just don't know how much I love them during the highly humid, extreme heat in August. I'm a Texas girl, but still. But we'll have our dorky neck-coolers on. Well, all of us will except for my husband, who will be making fun of us dorks. My kids--all four of them--have always loved playing CandyLand, so I'm kind of hoping that we are back to GKTW in time for the giant CandyLand game that evening. I don't know how that will be. If we are having too much fun at AK, I doubt we would sacrifice a Disney park for it. Again, we'll see.
MONDAY, 8/4
Our return flight leaves at 5:40pm and gets home at 7:20pm. I'm hoping we get some good hang-out time in at GKTW as I am afraid we won't have felt like we've spent all that much time there up to this point. I'd love to shop and explore Downtown Disney, but I doubt we'll be getting that in this trip. I know we'll be worn out, but we'll be sad it's over, I'm sure!!
The only thing I'm fretting about right now is missing the Pirates and Princesses Party on Friday night. We'll want to stay late at HS for Fantasmic, so the only thing I could figure on doing is switching my Friday plans with our Saturday plans, maybe. I wonder if that party is worth it. My twins are eight. What do you think? Would they love the party? Would it be OK to miss? Oh, what to do???
Amy,
Great Trip Planning and Schedule, but remember the prime directive....."Be flexible and willing to change when it works better that way.
I love your plan to start slow and easy at the Village. Maybe you can get the Wish Star taken care of that day. Ask the Star Fairy in the Castle of Miracles about that. The animation machine is fun, and the enchanted play area. Check out the train set at the train station. I had some fun working the various controls and playing with the RC boats. Take the train ride and play a round of mini putt golf. Check out the fishing dock. We saw a huge terrapin there swimming by. Eat Ice Cream!!!!!! Ride the Carousel. Walk through the lovely grounds in the evening. Play in the pool.
You might have time to check out the Disney section at Wal-Mart or visit the Flea Market. It would be cool for a kid to start the trip with one thing THEY chose.
Sponge Bob is in the exit shop from SHREK 4-D which is an AWESOME SHOW as US.
The Pirates and Princesses Party was more about the girls and crafts than the boys. It was fun, but not as fun as the parks.
I can't wait to hear about all the fun you will have.
HUG
Bill