Plan sorted (for now) help with when to plan ADR for beaches and cream?

c3h3a3r

c3h3a3r

c3h3a3r
Joined
Jan 12, 2011
Hi, my family and I (DH, DS 12 & DS 10) will be visiting from the UK at the end of July. We are staying off site and have our tickets (unlimited for Disney & Universal Parks). This will be our second family trip. We did 2 character breakfasts and meet and greets/autograph books last time, so will be spending most of our time on rides. Boys not particularly fussed about parades either. After researching lots of different crowd calenders etc. This is what I have come up with. No ADRS booked yet as want to finalise plans first. We may only get one anyway due to cost. Please give me any feedback/advice/comments. TIA.

Weds 27th July - arrive late afternoon, check in, dinner and maybe Epcot for few hours in the evening or Disney springs
Thurs 28th - Magic Kingdom
Fri 29th - Animal Kingdom
Sat 30th - IOA
Sun 31st - Typhoon Lagoon, Fantasmic? Or dis springs
Mon 1st - H/studios
Tues 2nd - U/studios
Weds 3rd - Blizzard Beach, Fantasmic or dis springs
Thurs 4th - M/Kingdom
Fri 5th - Epcot
Sat 6th - Typhoon lagoon
Sun 7th - IOA
Mon 8th - HS /Epcot if not all done
Tues 9th - U/studios
Weds 10th - Disney springs/Disney quest? Fly home late afternoon

After writing it like that, it does seem quite hectic. We use the water parks as our 'lazy' days. We may or may not do full days every day - we probably couldn't! And I know sometimes things don't go to plan. Last year we had a character breakfast at AK and had planned a full day in the park, but after an hour or so came out as we were all exhausted from the days before!
 
Well you seem well in synch with the Easy WDW calendar, which is what I use. I can't really rate the Universal time, though weekdays are better than weekends usually. You definitely have more than enough time budgeted for most everything.

Keep in mind, DisneyQuest may be closed, though I haven't heard a hard date and it seems they are leaning toward keeping it open a bit longer. Also note that the new Frozen ride should be opening in Epcot if that matters to you, and that AK may be adding later hours and a nighttime show by then as well. It seems like you have full says at both, so it shouldn't be an issue, just note that they both will be new and EXTREMELY popular, so plan accordingly.

You're looking good so far.
 
To me honestly, that sounds like hell :) You are just going to kill yourselves, that is way too busy. For starters, you're forgetting how tired you're going to be adjusting to jet lag. Also, not sure if your last trip was during the summer or not - but it's going to be extremely hot which really saps your energy. The big benefit of long trips is that you can take some breaks so you don't wear yourselves out.

- Since you have a long journey to get there, I would plan on doing nothing more than dinner and R&R that first night.
- I also would not plan on water park as a real "rest day" as they can be very tiring in and of themselves.
- Any day that you're in WDW, I would plan on an afternoon break. Rope drop until lunch time, take an afternoon break, and head back in for the evening. That at least will give you _some_ rest
- Since you have 13 park days available, in all honesty, I would take at least two full days off. NO parks those days. You could always go into Disney Springs later.

It's better to plan rest days and not need them, than to end up needing them and have to miss something.

Of course, not knowing the preferred park days, I'd do something like this:

27th - check in, dinner, relax in pool
28 - Magic Kingdom
29 - Animal Kingdom(stay for the Rivers of Light show, night safari)
30 - Typhoon Lagoon (since you'll probably be done here by mid-afternoon, have the rest of the day/evening for resting)
31st - HS (stay for Fantasmic and fireworks if there are any)
1 - rest day (head into Disney Springs later)
2 - IOA
3 - U/S
4 - U/S
5 - rest day (again, you could always head into DS later)
6 - Epcot (stay for IllumiNations)
7 - Blizzard Beach (sleep in a bit if you want, again have hte late afternoon/evening for rest)
8 - flex day - go back to whichever park you want more of
9 - Magic Kingdom (stay for Wishes, great way to finish off a trip)
10 - pack, leave
 
If it were me, I'd absolutely require a couple of break days in there. Perhaps you're considering your waterpark days to be your breaks. Or maybe your days aren't open to close. That may work for you, as long as you are doing very little walking for a couple of stretches in there. For me, that is the big thing, is having some time off of my feet. Especially with as many days as you have planned at parks.

Also, we did the springs on our last day - we had an evening departure time. I'll tell you this much, we had no interest in dropping an additional $45 to do Disney Quest at that point in the vacation. We were more interested in hitting some shops and eating. But YMMV.

I don't think you'll need two HS days in there. But it depends on how much you like the shows. I'd rather have two days at Animal Kingdom or Epcot, or even a third at Magic Kingdom.

I'm also not sure what you mean when you write "Fantasmic" after a waterpark. Does that mean you're going to head into HS for just the show on those evenings? I'm not sure I get it.

Otherwise, looks like an action packed adventure. Have fun!
 


Yes, was planning to just see fantasmic one evening after one of the water parks. We went in June last time. HS was my boys' fave park when we went last time and AK was their least fave park. Disney quest is included with our tickets. As I said, we may not do "full" days every day and may not spend all day at the water park. With the amount of money this is costing us, I don't really want to have "NO PARKS" days. I don't think we will be coming back to WDW again :( I do appreciate everyone's comments and although I'd like to plan each day, I am happy to change plans as necessary once there. Thanks again
 
Yeah, if you're planning water park days, I'd just be doing as much lounging on the beaches as possible. And take it easy at the parks - plan on doing portions of each on each day, rather than covering the entirety. For example, on one MK day to Fantasy and Tomorrowlands. Another, do Frontier and Adventurelands. I think fatigue is the quickest buzz kill when doing WDW.

I'm jealous of the time you have there, though! It'll be quite the memory!
 
Lol. I know we are lucky to go back. It's taken a lot of saving...we were lucky enough to have 3 weeks last time and had more rest days/no plans. I'm worried we won't do everything we want to, but I also know I need to chill and enjoy it :)
 


Also, if you want to ride the Hogwart's Express at IOA & US you have to have park to park tickets.
 
We have unlimited tickets for the universal parks, so guess we're covered?
 
my strongest piece of advice.... avoid UNIVERSAL AND IOA on the weekend
 
I was trying to avoid this but seemed to struggle when planning...as then the water parks ended up on a weekend and was trying to avoid that also...I will take another look and see what I come up with. Thanks again ☺
 
c3h3a3r said:
.............. I'm worried we won't do everything we want to, ......
Click to expand...
What are you concerned about missing?o_O.............you have so much time (in my mind anyway :-)).

Now in reality you can't do everything in that time.........even with 2 weeks time to spend its impossible at WDW.........but you need to write down your "must do's" so you can "make sure you do!". Interestingly you have 4 days in your plan you're at (or could be at) Disney Springs..........to me that's wasted time.........would rather being doing something in a park or resting by the pool.

I really can't argue with laying out your park days first........but for me, that is based on/done in conjunction with, meeting what important "must do's" I have for my trip. I do agree with others who say given you're long trip over..........arrival day should be low key.........maybe a dinner at a resort..........perhaps Chef Mickey's :D You'll be tired.........so end the day early so you can be ready to go the next morning.

I also agree weekends are problematic.........its summertime so it will be busy anyway.......but weekend will be PLUS BUSY..........so highlight the weekends first.....fill/plan the week days............than you can work out the weekends to minimize the chaos 8-) Don't be afraid to change things around.........until you have ADR's and FP's you're not locked into a park day.
You said it yourself........you just need to relax...........you'll be fine........it will be a great trip! pixiedust:

Doug :goofy:
 
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In all honesty if I were you I would scrap the July trip and plan a one week trip in the fall or winter. I get that you want to experience the parks everyday because this will be your last trip. But the brutal Florida heat will prevent you from going to the parks everyday. No matter how much the kids love the parks they will be begging to stay back at the hotel to just swim & relax & get out of the Florida sun. In cooler weather you CAN stay at the parks from opening to closing for about 5 days in a row.

But I'm sure you are going in the summer out of necessity.

A lot of people who stay on property in the summer will get to the parks at opening, leave at lunch when it's the hottest & then come back in the evenings when it's cooled down a bit.
 
Don't get too scared about the heat. It's very doable. But that said, he is right in that it does tire you out, and you really do NEED to plan on some days "off" from the parks. I know you want to get the most bang for your buck, because you'll probably never be back, but what kind of trip do you want to remember - one where everyone was exhausted running place to place, trying to cram it all in (which you will NEVER be able to do, even in 13 days), or one where you were more relaxed and enjoyed yourselves, because you took the breaks you needed?

Definitely plan on afternoon breaks when at WDW. This is easily doable, even if you're staying off site. The afternoon break will help, especially if you're going to be keeping the pace you plan on. And trust me, even if you heed my advice and take those 2 full days off - you're still going to need those afternoon breaks. The crowds and heat will be very intense by noon. Plus, hopefully that way, you'll avoid the showers, because in July it is going to thunderstorm every single day you're there, with heavy downpours, sometime in the late afternoon. They don't normally last long, when we were there the storms rolled through about 4:00 and lasted 20-30 minutes, but they're intense while they do last (think you can hardly see to drive kind of downpours).

I guess I just can't stress enough: plan time off. Whether that's a full day off like I suggested, or 3-4 half days, where you're only in the parks until early afternoon (and even better still would be 1-2 full days off, plus 2-3 afternoons off). In summer, rope drop is crucial. This means every morning you're getting up EARLY. Even earlier when you have to drive into US/IOA. Also, if you take the afternoon breaks, and spend your evenings in the park (which are beautiful!), that means late nights. Early mornings + late nights + Florida summer heat + crowds = you NEED rest or you're going to have a miserable trip.

We did our trip this summer, and we took 3 full days off from the parks, plus a few afternoons off, and towards the end of our trip, one of my legs was aching/throbbing so badly from all the walking that I was considering cutting our trip short. I cannot imagine how bad it would have been if I had pushed myself every day. That's the other reason for rest - the theme parks are very physically demanding on your body, you'll be walking several miles every day. Plus add in all the extra swimming you'll likely be doing in pools etc... You'll lose some weight, but you're also going to be very tired.
 
Thank you all for you advice. We are going those weeks as they were cheapest for when our kids are out of school for summer. Maybe I am trying to do 'too' much....We went in June last time-is it that much hotter in July? Definitely want a good holiday to remember - not a stressful one! Only planning dis springs once/twice really. Wasn't really sure what to do with our last day, our flight leaves at 6pm, so guess we could do a park until about 3pm. Am going to have a serious re think...about everything... Thanks again all :)
 
So, have re done my plan, removing the universal parks from the weekend days as advised. Let me know what you think. Also any suggestions what to do on departure day. We have until about 3pm I'm guessing. TIA

Weds 27th July - arrive, check in, dinner, pool, chill :)
Thurs 28th - MK
Fri 29th - Epcot
Sat 30th - Hollywood Studios
Sun 31st - Typhoon lagoon until 2ish, then rest
Mon 1st - IOA
Tues 2nd - IOA (if needed, rest when done)
Weds 3rd - Blizzard Beach until 2ish, then rest, possibly springs in evening
Thurs 4th - MK half day if needed
Fri 5th - AK, closes early, so early night
Sat 6th - Epcot/Hollywood studios if needed
Sun 7th - Typhoon Lagoon until 2ish, then rest
Mon 8th - Universal Studios
Tues 9th - Universal Studios if needed
Weds 10th - depart :(

Probably do fantasmic one night. Will visit Disney springs at some point. Will attempt to hit rope drop most days. Will aim to take a break from parks maybe around 3/4pm daily, probably to eat/rest. We are staying about ten minutes drive from Disney. Am I right in saying that if you pay to park at one Disney park, it covers you for the same say at any other Disney park?

Thanks again all :)
 
Your plans look like so much fun! I read on your other post that you're "Harry Potter mad" - me too! You got some great advice to get to the Harry Potter areas early in the morning, but if you're unable to make it early one morning, going in the late afternoon and staying until park closing worked really well for us during this past Christmas. There were very minimal waits for the big HP rides (10-20mins) after 6-7pm when we were there.

If you go in the mornings, also check which park, Hogsmeade or Diagon Alley, has early openings for onsite guests while you're there and go to the opposite park first. Have a great time!!!
 
MilitaryMouse said:
Your plans look like so much fun! I read on your other post that you're "Harry Potter mad" - me too! You got some great advice to get to the Harry Potter areas early in the morning, but if you're unable to make it early one morning, going in the late afternoon and staying until park closing worked really well for us during this past Christmas. There were very minimal waits for the big HP rides (10-20mins) after 6-7pm when we were there.

If you go in the mornings, also check which park, Hogsmeade or Diagon Alley, has early openings for onsite guests while you're there and go to the opposite park first. Have a great time!!!
Click to expand...

Thank you. Will try and go early as this seems to be everyone advice :)
 
We also travel to WDW in the summer (last week of August) and have never had an issue with the heat that so many people warn against. There are so many opportunities to get a break from the heat (indoor attractions, restaurants, shops, etc...) that it's very manageable. You have to be smart and drink some water, put on sunscreen and wear a hat, basic stuff like that, but you'll be fine.

I also don't think you're trying to do too much either. Personally, I can't be bothered with a "rest" day and I think that's because I have a pretty relaxed approach to my park time. I don't go full steam from rope drop until closing. I take my time, sit and relax when I need a break and enjoy my surroundings. Some days we will take a break for a swim in the afternoon and some days we will just leave the park, have dinner and chill at the resort in the evening and some days we may stay in the park all day and night. The point is, we never feel overly rushed or harried and don't push ourselves to exhaustion. So for that reason, I think your plan looks just fine because you have a lot of days and lots of opportunity to double back on a location that you feel you have more stuff to cover.

If I were to offer a few fine tuning points: I would not do TL two days and I would want more MK time. I would probably change the 2nd TL day into a MK morning with some pool time at the resort in the afternoon.
 
GillianP1301 said:
We also travel to WDW in the summer (last week of August) and have never had an issue with the heat that so many people warn against. There are so many opportunities to get a break from the heat (indoor attractions, restaurants, shops, etc...) that it's very manageable. You have to be smart and drink some water, put on sunscreen and wear a hat, basic stuff like that, but you'll be fine.

I also don't think you're trying to do too much either. Personally, I can't be bothered with a "rest" day and I think that's because I have a pretty relaxed approach to my park time. I don't go full steam from rope drop until closing. I take my time, sit and relax when I need a break and enjoy my surroundings. Some days we will take a break for a swim in the afternoon and some days we will just leave the park, have dinner and chill at the resort in the evening and some days we may stay in the park all day and night. The point is, we never feel overly rushed or harried and don't push ourselves to exhaustion. So for that reason, I think your plan looks just fine because you have a lot of days and lots of opportunity to double back on a location that you feel you have more stuff to cover.

If I were to offer a few fine tuning points: I would not do TL two days and I would want more MK time. I would probably change the 2nd TL day into a MK morning with some pool time at the resort in the afternoon.
Click to expand...

Thank you. My boys LOVE typhoon lagoon but we could always skip the second day if we felt we needed to re visit a park.
 
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