Braving the June heat with our 2 kids! First trip for the kids!

[azarine]

So excited to find this pre-trip forum with all of my fellow planners! Glad to see that I'm not the only one who LOVES planning every single detail... almost as fun as the actual trip (almost!)

June 2015, coming from way out west
Staying in a 1 br villa at the Villas at the Grand Floridian, using Disney transport
Myself, DH, 5 yr old DD and 2 yr old DS (he will turn 3 shortly after the trip)

First trip for the kids, DH & I were there for our honeymoon 12 years ago! Won't be our last trip!

We are so excited to do this trip - DD is a princess fanatic and DS is finally a pretty good traveler. We plan to tour fairly slowly - we want to enjoy and not wear them out. We will be skipping a LOT of adult stuff but we're okay with that - we'll be back. The heat is a big concern (June is because DH is a teacher, darn it), we are NOT used to Florida heat, so will be trying to avoid the worst heat by making the most of the mornings, taking afternoon breaks, and having lunch indoors. We'll do most breakfasts in our room. Other tips appreciated!

Our kids are in bed at home by 7-8 pm so we'll probably stick to that most nights, but we'd like to try to make MSEP one night. And we can see Wishes from the GF with the 5 yr old when we want to.

Tuesday
Flight will probably get in to MCO about 4:30. Planning dinner at airport or Gasparilla Grill, and just exploring the resort

Wednesday - MK (most recommended park)
Rope drop hopefully (maybe not due to time change)
Lunch at BOG - hopefully
Break 1-4 pm at hotel
Back to MK for evening
Dinner at CS, probably CHH

Thursday - HS in the morning (most recommended)
Close to rope drop
11 am Lunch at H&V
Break 2-4 pm at hotel
EP (recommended) for the evening - just wander
Dinner CS in World Showcase

Friday
Sleep in
10 am - Perfectly Princess Tea Party - me and DD
DH & DS do something together - maybe rent a boat at the GF
Afternoon/evening - MK (most recommended)
5:25 pm dinner at Tony's Town Square
Try to stay for MSEP


Saturday - AK (most recommended)
Rope drop
12 pm Lunch at Tusker House
Break 1-4 pm at the hotel
Afternoon open to whatever we want (pool)
5 pm Dinner at 1900 Park Fare

Sunday - MK (most recommended)
8 am pre-opening ADR at Crystal Palace
11:15 am Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique for me & DD
12:20 pm Lunch at CRT
Maybe do 3 pm parade with DD if not too hot/tired
Dinner CS

Monday - EP (most recommended)
Maybe rope drop
Lunch at Sunshine Seasons
Break 1-4 pm at hotel
4:30 pm Dinner at Via Napoli

Tuesday - probably early flight home


Would LOVE feedback on our plans. Will post daily plans next, still working on planning our FP+.

 

[azarine]

Here are our Magic Kingdom day plans. Plans dependent on DS height in June! DD was right at 38" at that age so hoping he is past 38". My strategy here is to ease the kids into scary rides because these are all very new to them. No idea how they're going to do. Winnie the Pooh is our first one for that reason. Barnstormer will help us know how they'll do on SDMT, Splash, BTMR etc. and saving POTC and HM for when we know how they're doing.

MK Day 1 (Wednesday)
Rope Drop- see opening show, start in Fantasyland. Winnie the Pooh, Small World, Little Mermaid, Dumbo, Barnstormer, Tea Party
10-11 Cinderella/Rapunzel FP
11-12 Peter Pan FP
11:35 am Lunch at BOG
12-1 Meet Mickey FP
Break at hotel
Back to MK around 4
Try for Haunted Mansion FP
Dinner at CHH

MK Day 2 (Friday, just afternoon)
4 pm Tinkerbell FP
4:40 pm Dinner - Tony’s
6-7 pm FP SDMT - 38"/Rider switch - put arm behind kids’ heads at beginning! (3)
7-8 pm Anna & Elsa FP (3)
MSEP - from Frontierland. near Pecos Bill and outside Hall of Presidents in Liberty Square.

MK Day 3 (Sunday)
8 am breakfast - Crystal Palace
Jungle Cruise
BTMR - sit up front for tamer ride. 40”/rider switch (1)
Splash Mountain 40”/rider switch (1)
Aladdin's Carpets
Country Bears, Tiki Room?
11:15 pm - BBB (call 407-WDW-STYLE) crown package. No restroom. Hair must be clean. Bring own brush/comb. 443381183279
12:20 pm CRT Lunch
3 pm parade - maybe
5 pm ETWB - FP (3)
6 pm Indy Speedway FP (3)
7 pm Buzz Lightyear FP (3)
Dinner ?


I would LOVE feedback on these from my fellow planners! Any tips or tricks appreciated! These are all subject to change of course, dependent on kids stamina. For instance if TS meals don't go well the first few days, we are perfectly happy to cancel them for the rest of the trip (except CRT of course

 

[azarine]

Going to keep on posting while I have some free time today

Hollywood Studios plan!

Thursday - we are avoiding SWW. DH is a fan and may go by himself while the kids are napping over the weekend, but we want to avoid the crowds. We really aren't into much at HS so this will be a half day. I am having a hard time figuring out what order to do things here.

9 am park opening
try for TSMM at RD
9:30-10:30 Star Tours FP 40”/rider switch (1) most motion is in the far left or right seats in back row
10:30 Big Hero 6 M&G?
10:30 Disney Jr show (get there 10:15)
11:00 Lunch H&V so get breakfast and lunch
12:35 am Frozen Singalong FP (3)
1-2 TSMM FP
RnR FP?
maybe stay for another show

 

[azarine]

Animal Kingdom! Saturday

Also having a hard time deciding what order to do stuff. We have a late night the night before, but there's a lot I want to get done at AK, so would like to make RD but may not. DH & I are iffy as to whether we want to do the coasters. I am not a big fan. Again booked Tusker House as a nice cool break but it's across the park from where we'll probably be at that point... and trying to decide between Nemo and Lion King shows because I don't think we'll have time for both. Skipping Rafiki.

9 am park opening - explore coming in
9:30 am Safari FP - ask for 1st row for motion sickness
explore Pangani
Expedition Everest? single rider line hidden
Boneyard/Triceratop Spin/Dinosaur
11:30 am Lunch - Tusker House
1 pm FOTLK FP
1:30 pm Kali River Rapids FP if DS is 38"
or - 1:45 Flights of Wonder show

Would love feedback on our timing here and whether we can fit all that in.

 

[azarine]

EPCOT! We are tentatively planning for 1 afternoon + 1 full day here. We loved the WS on our honeymoon and hope the kids will too.

Not sure what to get for a 3rd FP+. We're going to make the most of child swap and one parent will get a FP for Test Track and one for Soarin.

Day 1 (afternoon)
half of World Showcase - start in Canada, UK, France, Morocco, Japan

Day 2
9 am park opening
Spaceship Earth
Nemo ride
9-10 Turtle Talk FP (3)
play in Innoventions East
10-11 Test Track FP 40”/rider switch (1)
11-12 Soarin FP 40”/rider switch (1)
Lunch at Sunshine Seasons
Break
Afternoon - other half of World Showcase - Mexico, Norway, China, Germany, Italy
Dinner - Via Napoli


Maybe: Figment, Living with the Land

 

[azarine]

Changes! We've decided to add on a day at the beginning of our trip, to give our kids a day to adjust to the time zone and temperature and get over traveling exhaustion (we'll have to get up at 4 am our time to fly out).

So we'll be flying in on Monday at 6 pm, and going to Port Orleans Riverside! We've always thought about staying there too, and are excited to try it out. Hoping for a room with a 3rd fold-down bed. Then Tuesday we won't do any parks. Probably swim at POR before we leave. Maybe go to DTD on the boat and then to the GF. We're doing 1900 Park Fare that night to kick things off - I think that'll be a great first character experience!

 

[iheartbelle87]

Following along! Can't wait to see what you think of GF villas!

 

[totebagg]

I think you will love POR. We stayed there last year and loved it. I have yet to stay at GF but it is my dream resort. I think it is a wise decision to go down a day earlier so you can get use to the time change and humidity! As for which show to see in AK, if I could only choose one then I would go with Lion King.

 

[Writer325]

I am following along. We are taking our almost 2 year old this May. Have you used touring plans dot com? I found them very helpful. The only thing I question is doing Kali Rapids and then FOTLK. They are kind of far apart. Double check that to see if that is what you want to do. Also, I am not sure if I would do my lunches at noon. I would try to get an earlier time. (Apparently, they do not sit you on time.)

 

[azarine]

Thanks for joining, everyone! I just updated my plan for each day with our latest - lots of changes. I can't make up my mind! Happy to have gotten an ADR for lunch at BOG, the exact day and time I wanted. Now I'm anxiously awaiting next week when I get to make my FP+. And shopping for the coolest clothes possible for the whole family, plus sunglasses, sandals, hats, etc!

 

[azarine]

I am following along. We are taking our almost 2 year old this May. Have you used touring plans dot com? I found them very helpful. The only thing I question is doing Kali Rapids and then FOTLK. They are kind of far apart. Double check that to see if that is what you want to do. Also, I am not sure if I would do my lunches at noon. I would try to get an earlier time. (Apparently, they do not sit you on time.)

You are totally right. I've changed a lot of lunches to be 11-11:30 instead. And we are actually doing FOTLK and then Kali. Yeah I know they aren't close, but I want to do Kali right before we leave the park!

Touring plans have been very helpful - my strategy thus far has been to use the Easywdw cheat sheets, picking out what we're actually doing (skipping a lot with small children!) and then I go to Touring Plans and plug in the stuff we want to do in the order Josh recommends, to get the actual amount of time they will take.

 

[JoshAndEvsMom]

Following! Nice plans so far! A 1 BR at the GF souds heavenly.

I know this is different from most opinions but my vote is for Finding Nemo, the Musical! Especially with your kiddos ages. DH & I LOVED that show! We were both wiping away tears at the end, it was so good. It is definitely a family favorite.

 

[azarine]

Following! Nice plans so far! A 1 BR at the GF souds heavenly.

I know this is different from most opinions but my vote is for Finding Nemo, the Musical! Especially with your kiddos ages. DH & I LOVED that show! We were both wiping away tears at the end, it was so good. It is definitely a family favorite.

Welcome and thanks for that! It was a tough decision (and who knows, may change our minds at the last minute) but my kids just aren't Nemo fans, crazy kids! They do like Lion King and I LOVE Lion King so we picked that one for now

 

[azarine]

Now I'm trying to decide if we want to hire a babysitter (looks like Kids Night Out is the best bet) for one night... I am so torn on this. I would LOVE a night out with my husband, and our kids are early to bed (both usually down at 8 pm), so that's a lot of hours of us just sitting in our hotel room We will go out one at a time, but a date night at Disney World??? Heaven. Plus we did honeymoon there. It's just so out of my comfort zone to leave my kids with someone I don't know - I'm that overprotective mother who is super picky about babysitters and we don't use non-family members very often.

 

[HerMajesty]

Following along! We are planning a June trip as well! We have only been in Jan before so a bit worried about crowds and heat but I know it will be an awesome trip. Trying not to over schedule but its so hard with fast passes now!

Thanks for sharing your plans

 

[Monykalyn]

Hey-found this from the FB planning group. LOVE FOTL! However all my kids liked Nemo better even though I didn't peg them for Nemo lovers...Nemo turned out to be my son's favorite show! Next time, when kids are older, do the Wilderness Explorer Booklet. I think the cast members doing that were some of the absolute best anywhere! Or just do one or 2 stations on this trip...

I do not remember the name (nor can I find the receipt as it was 11 years ago!Can't believe it was that long ago...) but there are bonded, licensed professional organizations that will send babysitters to you-got names of agencies from a guide book, called them, got references and hired a babysitter (this was on our 2004 trip when kids were 6 and 16 months). Could not have been more pleased-the agency called and asked about us, our kids preferences, likes, habits, rules etc. The girl showed up with a rolling suitcase full of my daughters favorite things (baby was already asleep though). My 6 year old was teary eyed at being left behind until she saw all the goodies (barbies, coloring books, puzzles) in the sitters case. Then it was 'See ya later mom-can you please leave now?' Hubs and I did date night at Victoria and Albert's, and finished the night at (then) Pleasure Island (very tired for flight out next day).

That was last time we were at 1900 Park Fare too, but the girls loved loved meeting the Cinderella team!

As far as Epcot goes and FP-might consider Turtle Talk? Just in case you get there later..., also the play area after Test Track and Spaceship Earth were favorites of my kids (although they older).

TSMM by reports is still a mess a RD. good to get FP for later (we liked Buzz in MK better). Do your kids like Muppets (show)? or Phineas and Ferb? DHS is a little harder if thrill rides aren't your thing Or Great Movie Ride is always nice to cool down.

What are your dates? Jealous of the GFV!!

 

[azarine]

Hey-found this from the FB planning group. LOVE FOTL! However all my kids liked Nemo better even though I didn't peg them for Nemo lovers...Nemo turned out to be my son's favorite show! Next time, when kids are older, do the Wilderness Explorer Booklet. I think the cast members doing that were some of the absolute best anywhere! Or just do one or 2 stations on this trip...

I do not remember the name (nor can I find the receipt as it was 11 years ago!Can't believe it was that long ago...) but there are bonded, licensed professional organizations that will send babysitters to you-got names of agencies from a guide book, called them, got references and hired a babysitter (this was on our 2004 trip when kids were 6 and 16 months). Could not have been more pleased-the agency called and asked about us, our kids preferences, likes, habits, rules etc. The girl showed up with a rolling suitcase full of my daughters favorite things (baby was already asleep though). My 6 year old was teary eyed at being left behind until she saw all the goodies (barbies, coloring books, puzzles) in the sitters case. Then it was 'See ya later mom-can you please leave now?' Hubs and I did date night at Victoria and Albert's, and finished the night at (then) Pleasure Island (very tired for flight out next day).

That was last time we were at 1900 Park Fare too, but the girls loved loved meeting the Cinderella team!

As far as Epcot goes and FP-might consider Turtle Talk? Just in case you get there later..., also the play area after Test Track and Spaceship Earth were favorites of my kids (although they older).

TSMM by reports is still a mess a RD. good to get FP for later (we liked Buzz in MK better). Do your kids like Muppets (show)? or Phineas and Ferb? DHS is a little harder if thrill rides aren't your thing Or Great Movie Ride is always nice to cool down.

What are your dates? Jealous of the GFV!!

Thanks for joining in! That's great to hear about your experience with the sitter. I've researched Kids Nite Out and think I'm comfortable with them. We've decided to just spend the evening wandering the World Showcase - SO excited!!!

We are so looking forward to Park Fare - I think that will be the perfect first character interaction and start to our trip.

 

[azarine]

Well I have re-planned our HS day about 5 times now. First the Frozen Singalong wasn't going to be open while we're there, so I planned without it, and now it will! Happy about that but HS is really hard to plan with all the show times. Here's what we have for now:


8:55-9:10 Rope drop - TSMM
9:10-9:25 TSMM with FP+
9:40 Disney Jr show - me & kids
9:30 DH lineup for Big Hero 6
10:15-10:40 Big Hero M&G
10:40-11:05 Star Tours FP+
11:30 Frozen Singalong
12-12:30 Star Tours again with rider swap
12:30 H&V Lunch

Then after the SWW details came out, DH decided he does want to do one thing - the Visit to the Maul with Ray Park. Well with that being a Tier 1, I had to rethink a few days. We had only planned on a Thursday morning at HS to avoid the SWW crowds. So on our AK day, that afternoon DH will go to HS (Saturday) for that FP. Because we only have 6 day tickets from Undercover Tourist, I had skipped FP for our AK day in hopes that after we get there and add a day, I can book our AK FP+ without too many problems. I had to cancel DH from our FP+ for our last MK day so that I could book his Visit to the Maul FP in HS that day. Sheesh what a process.

This trip is so hard to plan due to the amount of planning Disney requires, and the complete unknown of how our children's stamina will be. I expect that after the first 1-2 days, when I have an idea of how the kids are doing, I'll replan a lot of the other days.

Anybody still reading?

 

[AshBriSmi]

Hi, joining in a little late- but I'm here!!! Your plans sound terrific!
Some tips to stay cool in the summer heat: in a zip lock baggie bring a wash cloth, you can bring one or you can use one from the resort, and get it wet and carry it around and pull it out to wipe down the kiddos.
Also, a misting fan! You can buy these at any of the parks, but I definitely recommend buying one from Amazon as these are a LOT cheaper. One more thing... rides with long queues that are outside will also have misting fan's... It's awesome!

We will also be there in June so I've done lot's of research on trying to stay cool Hope these help!!

 

[Monykalyn]

Yep still here! Your plans sound great! What is the date your DH is planning his Star Wars day? We have FP+ for June 5 for Stars of the Saga and the premium Feel the Force Package for June 6 (it includes seating for one show and I already have a FP+ for the Ray park show that day). Since this whole trip started as a SWW trip we are doing 1/2days at the parks earlier in the week (~opening to 12-1 pm-lunch ADR, then swim/resort time, dinner and back to parks for a bit-prob not closing unless MK with a planned sleeping in day the next day)

We used Frogg Togg Chill pad towels last year and they were GREAT! Need to find out where I put those things (packed them up at Christmas and now can't find them!).

43 days to go for us!