Help.. Jan 12 - 18 .. need a plan!

[BeachRocker]

Hi there.. this is our first time to WDW, We leave in about a week and want to have a plan! We are staying at CSR with 2 Adults and 2 children 8 and 10 yrs old. We arrive on Saturday afternoon Jan. 12 and leave Friday Jan. 18 (8pm). I understand the Marathon is this weekend too.. so not sure what kind of impact this will have.

Please comment on my plan... By the way we do have Park Hopper if needed.

Sat (Jan 12th) Check-In Resort - Epcot + Illuminations.

Sun 13th -DHS

Mon 14th- MK

Tues 15th- Epcot (Extra Magic Hours Morning)

Wed 16th- AK (EMH Evening)

Thur 17th- MK (EMH Morning)

Fri 18th- Open for anything (leave for airport 5PM)

PLEASE comment if you can advise on better plan.. we are first timers and my kids love rides!

 

[frayedend]

Hi there.. this is our first time to WDW, We leave in about a week and want to have a plan! We are staying at CSR with 2 Adults and 2 children 8 and 10 yrs old. We arrive on Saturday afternoon Jan. 12 and leave Friday Jan. 18 (8pm). I understand the Marathon is this weekend too.. so not sure what kind of impact this will have.

Please comment on my plan... By the way we do have Park Hopper if needed.

Sat (Jan 12th) Check-In Resort - Epcot + Illuminations.

Sun 13th -DHS

Mon 14th- MK

Tues 15th- Epcot (Extra Magic Hours Morning)

Wed 16th- AK (EMH Evening)

Thur 17th- MK (EMH Morning)

Fri 18th- Open for anything (leave for airport 5PM)

PLEASE comment if you can advise on better plan.. we are first timers and my kids love rides!

We are going the same week as you. We did almost the same week two years ago.

First, don't worry. It shouldn't be too busy. It is a slow time. The marathon may add to the crowds but I'm hoping it won't be too bad.

Here are some tips I would give you. But keep in mind that this is my opinion and a lot of people will have different opinions.

First, two days Epcot and two days MK is a great idea. That is exactly what we do.

We like to go to MK on the first day. But that is only because it just "feels" right to see the castle as the kick off to our vacation. We have two boys, 7 and 4. It may not matter that much with older kids. And having 2 full days at MK is a good idea.

Next, we skip EMH parks on EMH days entirely. This is simply because of the theory that the parks with EMH will more crowded. Since you have hoppers, and the parks close a bit early in Jan, you can go to another park, and then hop over to the evening EMH to get in some extra time. Again, this is Jan so it may not be that big a deal anyhow.

We never ever make early EMH, but that's because we are not morning people. It may be easier with older kids who will get dressed without a fight

I also love your idea to leave the last day open. Just see what you liked best and then decide to do whatever was fun on the last day. But another idea is to have the open day in the middle of the week to wind down a bit. Park to park each day can be tiring. But I still like your idea since your last day won't be as long.

Lastly, not sure where you are from, but check the weather.com 10 day forecast and bring clothes for all weather. It was never freezing when we went, but we did have to buy the kids heavier jackets for the cold nights. Yesterday was 45 in Orlando, but it looks to be warming up for the week we are going. It will get chilly at night and can get very cold.

That's all I can think of. Ask if you have any more questions.

 

[SandraC]

We've been so many times and done so many favs we really enjoy RELAXING during Disney vacations.

With your last open day, why not; book a character breakky at a resort and then spend the rest of the day resort hopping.

Sandra

 

[Paticake]

We'll be there the exact same time also! Have a great trip!

 

[Smile4Me]

Leave yourself an hour or more to get places such as dinner reservations plus time to rest your feet! Most importantly have fun!

 

[BeachRocker]

We like to go to MK on the first day. But that is only because it just "feels" right to see the castle as the kick off to our vacation. We have two boys, 7 and 4. It may not matter that much with older kids. And having 2 full days at MK is a good idea.

Thanks... We thought of MK on Saturday.. since we arrive afternoon. We could do MK ... But also think Epcot will be cool too. I really wanted to see fireworks on first night we are there! Kinda the same reason as you said... to "kick off" the trip with a "Bang".

Thanks!

 

[BeachRocker]

We've been so many times and done so many favs we really enjoy RELAXING during Disney vacations.

With your last open day, why not; book a character breakky at a resort and then spend the rest of the day resort hopping.

Sandra

Ha.. Good idea .. But we figured the last day we would be dragging.. plus we would need to pack and store luggage etc.. so that will be our slow morning.

Thanks!

 

[BeachRocker]

Leave yourself an hour or more to get places such as dinner reservations plus time to rest your feet! Most importantly have fun!

Have fun! Yes Indeed...!

I personally am a planner... But had no time up until now.

Although, I feel this first trip should just be "free and easy" and take each day as it comes. I do not want to be the dad that is always saying "hurry Up".... I want to let the kids lead the way .. as long as they are happy... I will be happy. My DW is very easy going.. always goes with flow.

So as long as we have a loose plan .. we should be OK.

Also.. the weather is tricky isn't it? I just saw it was in the 40s the past days.... BUT I see there is a warming trend next week !!

 

[trivial]

Although it's a slower time of year, the marathon will have a minor impact on crowds. I noticed that some days, the parks you've chosen may not be ideal based on the Unofficial Guide website's crowd calendar (you'll have to Google it as I can't post a link). They have recommended and not recommended parks for certain days based on crowd levels, and the next 30 days are always free to view.

 

[BeachRocker]

Although it's a slower time of year, the marathon will have a minor impact on crowds. I noticed that some days, the parks you've chosen may not be ideal based on the Unofficial Guide website's crowd calendar (you'll have to Google it as I can't post a link). They have recommended and not recommended parks for certain days based on crowd levels, and the next 30 days are always free to view.

Cool! I just checked the website out. Here is what "they" recommend.

Date.............Crowd Level...Best...Avoid

Sat, 12 Jan '08......6.......MK.......EP DS AK / Half Marathon
Sun, 13 Jan '08......5.......MK........EP DS AK / Marathon
Mon, 14 Jan '08......6.......DS........EP AK
Tue, 15 Jan '08......5.......MK........EP DS AK
Wed, 16 Jan '08.....4.......DS.........AK
Thu, 17 Jan '08......5.......EP AK.....MK
Fri, 18 Jan '08........5.......AK.........EP DS

 

[BeachRocker]

Ok here is what I had chosen vs. Unofficial Guide

My original picks:
Sat 12th - Evening at EP
Sun 13th -DHS
Mon 14th- MK
Tues 15th- EP
Wed 16th- AK
Thur 17th- MK
Fri 18th- Open for anything

Their Picks:
Sat, 12th......MK
Sun, 13th......MK
Mon, 14th......DS
Tue, 15th......MK
Wed, 16th.....DS
Thu, 17th......EP AK
Fri, 18th.......AK

 

[earthfaries]

Cool! I just checked the website out. Here is what "they" recommend.

Date.............Crowd Level...Best...Avoid

Sat, 12 Jan '08......6.......MK.......EP DS AK / Half Marathon
Sun, 13 Jan '08......5.......MK........EP DS AK / Marathon
Mon, 14 Jan '08......6.......DS........EP AK
Tue, 15 Jan '08......5.......MK........EP DS AK
Wed, 16 Jan '08.....4.......DS.........AK
Thu, 17 Jan '08......5.......EP AK.....MK
Fri, 18 Jan '08........5.......AK.........EP DS

That's neat. We are going the same dates pretty much, is there anyway you could please give me the crowd levels for our plan?

We have to go to Epcot Mon. and Tues. for Homeschool Days , but plan on doing...

Wed. 16...MK
Thurs. 17...DHS
Friday 18...MK

Thanks so much

 

[earthfaries]

Hi there.. this is our first time to WDW, We leave in about a week and want to have a plan! We are staying at CSR with 2 Adults and 2 children 8 and 10 yrs old. We arrive on Saturday afternoon Jan. 12 and leave Friday Jan. 18 (8pm). I understand the Marathon is this weekend too.. so not sure what kind of impact this will have.

Please comment on my plan... By the way we do have Park Hopper if needed.

Sat (Jan 12th) Check-In Resort - Epcot + Illuminations.

Sun 13th -DHS

Mon 14th- MK

Tues 15th- Epcot (Extra Magic Hours Morning)

Wed 16th- AK (EMH Evening)

Thur 17th- MK (EMH Morning)

Fri 18th- Open for anything (leave for airport 5PM)

PLEASE comment if you can advise on better plan.. we are first timers and my kids love rides!

Hi Congrats on your first trip You have gotten a lot of good advice on this thread...my only suggestion would be to keep the predicted crowd levels in mind and AVOID the parks with EMH like the plague! I know you get extra hours, but it is just so much busier on those days.

 

[trivial]

Of course, you can still go to non-recommended parks, but they may not be the best park for crowds that day. Based on the UG's crowd calendar and how many times you're wanting to visit each park, I'll tell you what I would do, just for fun:

Sat - EP
Sun - MK
Mon - DS
Tues - MK
Wed - EP
Thurs - AK

 

[BeachRocker]

Of course, you can still go to non-recommended parks, but they may not be the best park for crowds that day. Based on the UG's crowd calendar and how many times you're wanting to visit each park, I'll tell you what I would do, just for fun:

Sat - EP
Sun - MK
Mon - DS
Tues - MK
Wed - EP
Thurs - AK

Sure.. That is a good plan too.

Although, you would think MK would be busy on Sunday?

Now.. I need to make DDRs.... Ha!

 

[trivial]

Looking at TourGuideMiKE, his recommendations are quite different for Saturday and Sunday. There's a big marathon run in MK on Sunday, plus it's an EMH park that day, so I'm surprised the Unofficial Guide site suggests it. Can anyone offer any insight or suggestions?

 

[trivial]

Double-post.

 

[BeachRocker]

Looking at TourGuideMiKE, his recommendations are quite different for Saturday and Sunday. There's a big marathon run in MK on Sunday, plus it's an EMH park that day, so I'm surprised the Unofficial Guide site suggests it. Can anyone offer any insight or suggestions?

Ya.. I am wondering the same thing. I would think that Sunday the 13th would be busy at MK.

Let's keep the thread going and see what others think and help with trip plan.

Thanks Trivial !

 

[trivial]

I mentioned TourGuideMiKE, which is a great resource, but is a paid site. As such, I can't post what his guide says. If you decide to sign up, use the banner at the top of the thread/forum for a $3 discount. He details which parks are best for each day and why, but the site also has a ton of useful planning information (which may or may not be of much use to you at this point).

 

[earthfaries]

I think MK would be swamped that day.