itinerary for 11/28-12/4 need suggestions

[KelseyLaPerle]

I posted this a while ago but only got one response. I was hoping to get some suggestions, ideas, or other input from some veteran Disney Moms. My one particular question is: we have to eat more times that we'll have credits from the DDP, how do I figure out which meals to pay for out of pocket and which to use DDP credits? Thanks!

Trip 11/28-12/4 with myself (29), my Mom (55), DDalmost 5 and DS almost 2. We are staying 6 nights/7 days with a 10 day park hopper (it was cheaper and we plan to add the no exp. and I'm hoping to take DD for her 5th birthday on those tickets in March), no water parks option. We also have the DDP - 1 table service, 1 counter service and 1 snack per day. I'm going to order groceries (any advice on garden grocer or wego would be greatly appreciated) so some days we can eat breakfast in our room before heading out. We're staying in a family suite at the ASMusic. No car, will use only Disney transportation.

We will return to room every day (or plan to anyway) for naps around 1:00 ish. Bedtime is typically around 8:00 and I don't want kids getting over tired so we'll do our best to stick to that most nights.

Here goes....

Arrive MCO 11:55 on 11/28
check-in, unpack, pool, explore, etc.
6:50 res. at Chef Mickey's

11/29
breakfast in room
9:00 opening ceremony at MK
Harmony barber shop for DS's 1st haircut
11:30 res. at Crystal Palace
afternoon at MK
dinner at counter service in MK

11/30
8:00 AK EMH for Kilimanjaro Safari
9:05 res. at Tusker House
lunch - picnic in the park
afternoon at MK
7:00 pm Spectromagic parade (we really want to see one parade and this is the only one that fits with our ADRs...it was frustrating as I had to book ADRs before park hours/schedules were released)

12/1
breakfast in room
HS for morning
11:35 res. at Hollywood & Vine (Play&Dine)
afternoon is OPEN (return to AK? relax at pool?)

12/2
breakfast in room
MK morning
lunch at either counter service at MK or food court at resort before nap
afternoon at Epcot
1:00-4:00 Disney Visa character greeting
6:35 res. at Garden Grille

12/3
all day open
DTD? more MK? AK? return to favorites?

12/4
breakast in room
11:05 res. at Whispering Canyon
ME leaves at 3:00ish - what last minute things should we do?



What have I forgotten? ANY and all suggestions are appreciated! Thanks so much!

[kpgriswold]

Wow! What a well planned schedule! Can I come too?

It looks like you put alot of thought into it and that it will work well for your kids. Early mornings and bedtimes, time to rest, as variety of good restaurants and a day to "play things by ear...." You covered all your bases!

As for the food question, remember that lunches are cheaper than dinners, and buffets are generally cheaper than a la carte menus. You can check out menus and prices at "allears.net" and then plan to apply your DDP credits to the meals that will cost you the most. Also, maybe cut down on the number of TS meals, and eat out of pocket at CS?

[jenseib]

Looks like a good plan. Remember your youngest can share your food. Portions tend to be big, so I wouldn't worry too much on how much food credits you have. We are a family of 3 with DD being 4. We wen twhen she was 2 ans she shared and we rarely pay OOP for anything for her. We always have credits at the end. We sometimes got one meal in the morning and shared, and I did bring things like granolas for breakfast for her if she wanted. The TS meals are very filling. It was like we were forcing ourselves to eat at times. You will have snack creidts too, which you can get a small thing for brekafast or just a good snack later on. If you pay out of pocket for anything, do it for CS. and breakfast is probably cheaper. We acutally used the last of our TS credits to get Earl of Sandwhich to take home and eat on the plane. We also had a ton of snack credits left and bought alot of snacks to take home.

I would try to get in Mk as many times as possible as that seems to be a lot of little kids favorite. It will probably be kind of busy, (is that the weekend after Thanksgiving?) So you may not get as much done as you want at the parks. Great plan about sleep. My DD is a late nighter, but needs to sleep in. The first trip with her, I was trying to get up early everyday and she got sick the last day. Just too much stimulation. In 2008 I tried to go a bit slower, but she still got sick. So this past trip, I decided it wasn't worth a day of barfingto be rushing around, and took it really slow and went with the flow. She never got sick and it was our best trip.

[jenseib]

Is the picninc in the park a TS credit? If it is, then chose between that and Tusker house to pay out of pocket. Which ever is cheaper.