DHS schedule for preschoolers

[MyTwoPrincesses]

I currently have a Fantasmic Dining Package booked with Mama Melrose. Would it be overstimulating to do:

AM in DHS - we want to do TSMM, the Little Mermaid, and Beauty and the Beast. Everything else is extra.

Return to CSR ~ 1.

Head back to DHS, eat at Mama Melrose at 3:40.

We'll be done before 5, I'm thinking. Between 5 and 6, maybe take in soemthing else?

6:30 Fantasmic.

THEN Playhouse Disney Dance party at 8PM EMH.

My original plan (before they added Fantasmic) was to go to the Resort at 3 and swim etc. and eat dinner there and just come back for EMH/Dance Party. Would you revert to the original plan?

[vicki_c]

I don't think that's enough of a break, you have to factor in transportation times, arriving at the restaurant 15 minutes ahead, etc.

You could leave the park a lot earlier than 1 PM though, depending on the time for the first Beauty & the Beast show, you could probably be out by 11:30 and that would be a better break for the early dinner time.

[sharonabe]

The first Beauty show is at 11:30, but you could still leave right after that and be back at your hotel by 1:00. That still gives you about a 2 hour break.

If your daughter is a late sleeper, you could sleep in and arrive later to the park. If you get there before noon, you should still be able to get a FP for TSM, then do the shows and your ADR. You wouldn't get a break, but with a later start, and your late lunch ADR you might not need one.

[MyTwoPrincesses]

Would this work:

Arrive in the AM. Try for TSMM, Voyage of the Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast. DH may do RnR and/or ToT during shows.

Lunch at Sci Fi at 12ish (cancel Fantasmic Package - this way I'm not tied to Fantasmic. Plus I can pay for Sci Fi OOP and it is fairly inexpensive compared to the Package as I have one too many TS ressies). Leave DHS after lunch.

Return to resort after lunch. Should be at resort at around 2.

Come back to DHS at 5:30ish. DH can check line lengths at Fantasmic. If lines are ok (which they might be given that the crowd level is 5 and there are 2 Fantasmic shows that night), go see Fantasmic. If not, then do other stuff and go to Playhouse Disney Dance Party at 8.

[sharonabe]

Is there a reason you want to do another TS? A counter service would be cheaper. Or you could eat at Pepper Mkt back at CSR.

[vicki_c]

Ah - I thought first B&B was at 10:45 -- but it changes at different times of the year, doesn't it?

[MyTwoPrincesses]

Originally Posted by sharonabe

Is there a reason you want to do another TS? A counter service would be cheaper. Or you could eat at Pepper Mkt back at CSR.

Well, I am a HUGE pizza snob and generally dislike sandwiches. None of the QS options at DHS appeal to me... My original plan (pre-Fantasmic addition) was to pay OOP for Sci Fi, eat a QS dinner at CSR and then go to Evening EMH. I could still do that but now with Fantasmic that night, I feel that I might as well try and see it, KWIM? I can't switch to a non-fantasmic night. The day before is the only non-Fantasmic day of our trip, but it is morning EMH AND the overall crowd level is predicted to be 7, compared to 5 on 11/15. Also, I wanted a resort dinner that night, as a friend is joining us for dinner.

If I stick with the Fantasmic package I either need to cancel an ADR or pay for one OOP. I have no IDEA what to cancel as they are all must do's for us or what to pay OOP as they are all $$$. We have:

Akershus (Girls' pick)
Biergarten (DH's pick and I think it'll be a blast)
The Wave (my birthday dinner)
Sanaa (really want this one)
Coral Reef (really want this one)
1900 Park Fare (Girls' pick)

[caroline1851]

When we took dd2 (a few weeks shy of being 3) last year, our most successful days were the ones that we got to the park for rope drop and stayed until about 3 or 4 and then went back to resort, swim, dinner and regular bed time. She got cranky and overtired on the days we attempted the "break in the middle". It's just too time consuming to travel back and forth.

[lemondog]

Well FWIW, we did DHS last year with my then-4yo twins and we loved it SO much we did not take a break!

We are BIG TIME nap/break people at Disney, so for us to skip our break was a big deal, but we were loving DHS! We did everything in the park, with the exception of Sounds Dangerous (was closed, but didn't interest me anyway). The only ride they could not go on was RnR due to height restrictions, but they loved everything else, including ToT (their favorite ride in all of WDW, according to them -- but Haunted Mansion scared them, go figure )

We had breakfast at Kona Cafe, lunch at Sci-Fi, and dinner at Brown Derby.

However, we left after dinner and did not stay for Fantasmic. If we were staying for the show (which we are in March since we booked a Fantasmic dinner pkg) we would definitely take a midday break. Your schedule looks pretty do-able to me. Have fun!