How bad did I screw up our itinerary? First timers....

[khrivnak]

I've never been to Disney before, so I had a really hard time "planning". Any suggestions on changes, please feel free to help me out. I had a hard time with the dining reservations as we booked after the 90 window already opened. It will be myself, DH, DD9, DD3, DS2. Staying at ASMo

Sunday - 11/8 = nothing planned as we're driving from PA and not sure what time we're arriving.

Monday - 11/9 = Animal Kingdom day. Would love to catch the Jammin Jungle Parade. Dinner reservations for Chef Mickey at 7:55 pm.

Tuesday - 11/10 = Epcot Day. Would love to catch illuminations at 9:00. Breakfast reservations at Tusker House for 9:30 am and dinner reservations at Akershus 5:20 pm.

Wednesday - 11/11 = MK day. Spectromagic at 7:00? Dinner reservations at Crystal Palace at 3:40.

Thursday - 11/12 = DHS day. Skipping fantasmic as I was told my DS might be a little frightened. Dinner reservations at Sci Fi at 5:55.

Friday - 11/13 = MK day. Dinner reservations at 1900 PF at 6:05 pm.

I want to throw Disney Wishes in there somewhere... suggestions? I can imagine I'll have us running from here to there sometimes, but I'm not quite sure how bad I've screwed this up. I would LOVE to have suggestions on how to better my itinerary.... It would be a headache to try and switch dinner reservations (they were a NIGHTMARE), but I'll definitely take that into consideration if someone can help me make this as magical a trip for my family as possible.

 

[goofy53073]

I would swith your AK and EPCOT days. You have a breakfast ressie in AK so why leave to go to EPCOT? I would do AK then head to EPCOT in the evening for your dinner and Illuminations? Then the day you are doing CM you could got to EPCOT

To see Wishes just do that after Spectromagic on Weds.

Stacey

 

[vicki_c]

I definitely wouldn't be having breakfast at Tusker House/AK on your Epcot day.

 

[khrivnak]

If I switch AK and Epcot days, would I still be able to catch the Jammin Jungle parade at 3:45 and make it over to Epcot for the 5:20 Akershus reservation?

Thanks so much for the suggestions. Its so difficult to plan things out when we've never been. I have no idea about anything Disney... travel times between parks, etc. (we do have park hopper passes, so thats good....)

What time is Wishes on 11/11?

 

[BayouMickey]

yep again, switch CM's and TH.

 

[BayouMickey]

If I switch AK and Epcot days, would I still be able to catch the Jammin Jungle parade at 3:45 and make it over to Epcot for the 5:20 Akershus reservation?

Thanks so much for the suggestions. Its so difficult to plan things out when we've never been. I have no idea about anything Disney... travel times between parks, etc. (we do have park hopper passes, so thats good....)

What time is Wishes on 11/11?

They aren't saying switch days, just the two meals. TH is in AK so you'd do better eating there on your AK day and CM's is on a monorail route, take it to TTC and switch to the epcot monorail to breeze you to epcot.

 

[MomBoyd]

I would keep the days as they are and reschedule your breakfast at Tusker house to your AK day, 11/9.

 

[khrivnak]

yep again, switch CM's and TH.

I dont know that I'd be able to switch the actual reservations. When I made these reservations weeks ago they were slim pickins. If I cancel, Id be afraid I couldnt get CM and TH reservations again. Could I just switch which parks the go to for that day?

Have I made a horrible mess of things? lol If I have, just dont tell my DH

 

[Zandy595]

I've never been to Disney before, so I had a really hard time "planning". Any suggestions on changes, please feel free to help me out. I had a hard time with the dining reservations as we booked after the 90 window already opened. It will be myself, DH, DD9, DD3, DS2. Staying at ASMo

Sunday - 11/8 = nothing planned as we're driving from PA and not sure what time we're arriving.

Monday - 11/9 = Animal Kingdom day. Would love to catch the Jammin Jungle Parade. Dinner reservations for Chef Mickey at 7:55 pm.

Tuesday - 11/10 = Epcot Day. Would love to catch illuminations at 9:00. Breakfast reservations at Tusker House for 9:30 am and dinner reservations at Akershus 5:20 pm.

Wednesday - 11/11 = MK day. Spectromagic at 7:00? Dinner reservations at Crystal Palace at 3:40.

Thursday - 11/12 = DHS day. Skipping fantasmic as I was told my DS might be a little frightened. Dinner reservations at Sci Fi at 5:55.

Friday - 11/13 = MK day. Dinner reservations at 1900 PF at 6:05 pm.

I want to throw Disney Wishes in there somewhere... suggestions? I can imagine I'll have us running from here to there sometimes, but I'm not quite sure how bad I've screwed this up. I would LOVE to have suggestions on how to better my itinerary.... It would be a headache to try and switch dinner reservations (they were a NIGHTMARE), but I'll definitely take that into consideration if someone can help me make this as magical a trip for my family as possible.

Keep your ADRs and switch your park days to match. Go to Epcot on Monday and AK on Tuesday. Then I guess you'd have to leave AK early to get to Epcot for dinner. Seems like a lot of running around.

Wishes is at 8pm on 11/11.

 

[BayouMickey]

Keep your ADRs and switch your park days to match. Go to Epcot on Monday and AK on Tuesday.

Wishes is at 8pm on 11/11.

yup go ahead and just switch days, forgot about free dining.. Keep those ADR's

 

[Maiden]

Hi I would agree with the previous posters, since Tusker is in AK and Chef Mickey's is much easier to travel to & from Epcot by monorail.
I am assuming you have park hopper tickets? Just checking because you wouldn't be able to eat in a park without admission.

I do have a couple of comments- I think you did a great job with your choices considering the ages of your kids. Definitely best bang for your buck (or free dining as the case may be) to do the character meals! As long as you like buffets. You will have fun visiting the resorts as well.

The other comment- are you planning to have a break back at your room mid day? Again with young kids, I highly recommend doing this unless they can sleep in a stroller!

You are going at a great time of year. It's great to have a plan & have the ADR's for sure, but be prepared to deviate from it if your family needs to.
Enjoy your trip!

 

[MomBoyd]

I just called and tried to schedule breakfast for 5 at the Tusker House on 11/9. That was not available. BUT there were spaces at the character breakfast at Ohana for a few different times before 9:00. I think that would work better for you than trying to go to Tusker House then switching parks.

 

[danceintherain]

If your ADRs are completely unchangeable, then splitting Monday between Epcot and Animal Kingdom as well, simply because Epcot is a very large park.

Do Epcot in the morning on Monday (9-12), then take a break and head to Animal Kingdom in the afternoon for the parade. Obviously it would be easier to get to Chef Mickey's from Epcot, but it is still doable from the Animal Kingdom. Then, unless you are driving, it's a short walk from the Contemporary resort to the bus stop at the Magic Kingdom.

Then on Tuesday hit the Animal Kingdom in the morning, and Epcot in the afternoon/evening. This way you can do rope drop at both parks, which will make sure you'll be able to get the major attractions done with little or no wait.

Personally I love midday breaks, because it allows time to relax a little from a long day in the parks. However, it can take some time to get back to your resort, so some people don't try to take them, especially first timers.

 

[Zandy595]

Are you driving? Getting from park to park using Disney buses is a bit tricky and can take a long time.

 

[Northern Disney Girl]

I've never been to Disney before, so I had a really hard time "planning". Any suggestions on changes, please feel free to help me out. I had a hard time with the dining reservations as we booked after the 90 window already opened. It will be myself, DH, DD9, DD3, DS2. Staying at ASMo

Sunday - 11/8 = nothing planned as we're driving from PA and not sure what time we're arriving.

Monday - 11/9 = Animal Kingdom day. Would love to catch the Jammin Jungle Parade. Dinner reservations for Chef Mickey at 7:55 pm.

Tuesday - 11/10 = Epcot Day. Would love to catch illuminations at 9:00. Breakfast reservations at Tusker House for 9:30 am and dinner reservations at Akershus 5:20 pm.

Wednesday - 11/11 = MK day. Spectromagic at 7:00? Dinner reservations at Crystal Palace at 3:40.

Thursday - 11/12 = DHS day. Skipping fantasmic as I was told my DS might be a little frightened. Dinner reservations at Sci Fi at 5:55.

Friday - 11/13 = MK day. Dinner reservations at 1900 PF at 6:05 pm.

I want to throw Disney Wishes in there somewhere... suggestions? I can imagine I'll have us running from here to there sometimes, but I'm not quite sure how bad I've screwed this up. I would LOVE to have suggestions on how to better my itinerary.... It would be a headache to try and switch dinner reservations (they were a NIGHTMARE), but I'll definitely take that into consideration if someone can help me make this as magical a trip for my family as possible.

I would do just what the others have said! Switch your first 2 days around! This will be better for two reasons -

1. You will avoid EMH days at both parks! Without a hopper pass you DO NOT want to be stuck in an EMH park in the afternoon!

2. You will be able to keep your ADRs without too much travelling around. Since TH is @ AK it makes sense to be there on that day!

To get to your ADR @ CM's take the monorail from Epcot to the TTC and then switch to the Resort line. This will take you right to the CR.

Seeing the parade and getting to your ADR @ Epcot will be tight! If this is really important to you I would suggest taking a taxi!

Good Luck and enjoy your trip! It will be awhirlwind but looks like crowds should be low!

 

[khrivnak]

We're driving down, but planning on parking our car and using disney buses, etc. (we are planning mid-morning breaks here and there... depending on how the kids are)

Obviously the "screwed up" days are Monday and Tuesday. In a perfect world, I'd love to keep the Tusker House breakfast.

So... keeping Disney transportation in mind (I have no idea how long "take a long time" is....)

Monday do Epcot and keep CM 7:55 pm
Tuesday do AK. The only thing that screws me up is heading back over to Epcot for Akershus (not excited about this ADR at ALL, but cant cancel because thats the only dinner you can eat with Belle... a must for my DDs).

I know this is going to be worth it once we get there, just to see the look/magic in my kids' eyes, but I'm getting seriously frustrated planning. I dont think I've ever had to spend so much time/energy/headaches on planning a vacation before in my lie.

 

[khrivnak]

To get to your ADR @ CM's take the monorail from Epcot to the TTC and then switch to the Resort line. This will take you right to the CR.

Seeing the parade and getting to your ADR @ Epcot will be tight! If this is really important to you I would suggest taking a taxi!

Good Luck and enjoy your trip! It will be awhirlwind but looks like crowds should be low!

The parade is probably the "least important" thing of this trip. If I need to bag it, I'll bag it. (unless its one of those "must see" kind of things... anyone?)

Will we need to pay to ride the Monorail or is that included in the price of our "trip"?

And... last question (promise... maybe) how much time should I give for the "buses" system? Travel time between resort/parks, parks/ADRs?

 

[MomBoyd]

You may want to try calling Disney Dinning, or checking online, every few days to see if you can schedule Tusker House for Monday. People sometimes do cancel their reservations.

 

[khrivnak]

You may want to try calling Disney Dinning, or checking online, every few days to see if you can schedule Tusker House for Monday. People sometimes do cancel their reservations.

I'll definitely keep doing that. I just tried from 8 am to 11 am on monday and nothing there. I'll keep checking back.

Thanks so much for the suggestions. You guys are a GREAT help

 

[Jiminy_78]

If I switch AK and Epcot days, would I still be able to catch the Jammin Jungle parade at 3:45 and make it over to Epcot for the 5:20 Akershus reservation?

We were at AK last Sunday and caught the parade for the first time ever. We thought it was cute and it went by quickly, lasted less than 15 minutes. If you caught the parade towards the beginning of the route and then followed it on your way back out of the park you could make it out of the park by 4:20pm. However, Disney transportation could make getting to Epcot by 5:20 tricky. If it is important for you to see the parade, think about driving your own car this day.

I agree with others, during free dining it is easier to change your park day than your ADRs. Most importantly, have fun with your family and enjoy your first Disney experience!