Help me plan out our week long wdw trip!

[kiapepito]

We went to WDW for two days this past summer before taking a Disney cruise and it didn't take long or much to convince husband/daddy to take a full week trip to WDW this next summer!

We went to Magic Kingdom and Epcot in July and this time plan to take a week where we can enjoy a park then enjoy the hotel the next day and so forth. So...

We are planning around the same dates we visited last summer which was July 22nd... onwards...

1. What quick service and table service do you recommend at Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios? Our girl's will be 5 and 8.

2. We had Garden Grill at Epcot but would like to change that to somewhere else? Any recommendations?

3. I think we are going to stick with Cinderella's Castle and BOG again for MK since the girl's are all about princesses!

4. In what order should we do the parks and should we take a day break in between each of them?

Thanks for your help!

Eeek... so excited to start planning once again...!

 

[sharonabe]

With your princessy girls, Akershus at EP might be a good choice. Take a look at the menu to be sure the food will suit your family. Biergarten is a fun place as well.

AK has Tusker House character buffet and there is a new signature restaurant opening there in the spring (I think).

HS might depend on what is/isn't going on with the expansion. 50's Prime Time is a fun place with cozy food, though.

We enjoy the parks too much to take much time off, so I can't give much advice there, but even with a full week, I would plan for at least 5 days in the parks if not more. They wouldn't have to be full days, but go in the morning and take the afternoon/evening off or vice versa would be a more relaxing trip than we usually do.

 

[Canuck16]

1. What quick service and table service do you recommend at Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios? Our girl's will be 5 and 8.

You might want to try Sci-Fi Drive In at HS......its pretty cool to sit in a car booth while watching old Sci-Fi movie clips.

 

[heart4dis]

On the "break between parks" part, I would say, don't underestimate how exhausting it is on your kids. If you can prep them by taking walks before the trip so they are ready for a lot of walking that would be great. (even if you plan to use a stroller). Also don't underestimate how much kids love to spend time at the hotel pool. So do plan on a day or at least a half day of relaxing at the hotel.

 

[mshanson3121]

I can't help with #1, because we didn't eat at either of those parks, but I would recommend a character breakfast at either Tusker House (AK) or Hollywood & Vine (HS).
#2 - Have you considered doing Akershus this time around instead of CRT, since you've already done that? They have just as many princesses there as well, and my understanding is they get the kids up for a processional around the room, too? However, the Coral Reef would be nice where you can see the fish etc... For something quicker, I loved Les Halles Boulangerie in France.
#3 - see above, lol. I would definitely look at adding the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique at Cinderella's Castle. If you just get the basic package, it's really not that expensive, and sooo worth it for the experience. You can buy great dresses off eBay as well, to help with the cost. We bought a beautiful pink gown that included a shawl brand new for $16.
#4 - that's hard to say without knowing the crowd calendars (depending on how much you plan on following them). Also, do you want a park day, rest day, or are you going to do a couple/few days then rest day? Myself I'd likely do this:

Day 1: MK
Day 2: EP (see IllumiNations tonight)
Day 3: rest
Day 4: AK
Day 5: HS (see Fantasmic and Frozen Fireworks this night)
Day 6: rest (you'll want the rest after your late night)
Day 7: MK (see Wishes tonight, a great way to end your trip!)

Myself, I would prefer to open and close with MK

 

[kohlby]

We do the order depending on crowd calendars - so it's always different! We would rather minimize crowds than do a certain order and it's never been an issue. I would not take a break day in between every park day. We used to do 3 park days, then a completely off day, then 3 break days. That worked well. We didn't do any break days on our last trip and it still worked well - but I don't think we could have handled that a while ago. Also, that was in the heat of early Sept - heat indexes reaching the triple digits at times - so we didn't make it park closing.

 

[kiapepito]

Thank you everyone for your great advice. We did not get to stay and watch Illuminations at Epcot as we had to go to sleep early to catch the shuttle for the port. We will have to watch it this trip around! I love the idea of starting and ending with MK. Great idea!

So, in talking with my oldest... she's not really digging the whole Animal Kingdom park as she is afraid of the animals... I'm quite aware that they have hidden barriers to keep the animals and guests safe.. would we really be missing out much if we do not go to AK or is it a park not to miss?

I got all excited about the 50's drive in Star Wars... and then realized that is only during Star Wars week.. :-(

We also spent the entire first day at the hotel and lived in the pools the entire day!

Thanks again for your help and guidance!

 

[caroline1851]

1. What quick service and table service do you recommend at Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios? Our girl's will be 5 and 8.
AK-We've liked Flame Tree BBQ (cs) and Tusker House (ts).
HS-We hate all of the CS options that we've tried. We like Sci Fi for TS

2. We had Garden Grill at Epcot but would like to change that to somewhere else? Any recommendations?
We've enjoyed Coral Reef and Teppan Edo

4. In what order should we do the parks and should we take a day break in between each of them?
Pick the parks as recommended by EAsyWDW. when my kids were that age, we just planned shorter days in the parks. We never stayed out late at night so that we could be up for RD in the morning. Usually between 1p-3p, they would request we go back to hotel for swimming. We'd usually do that, dinner and then early bedtime. Some people choose to do mornings at parks, rest/nap/swim in afternoon and back out at night. As long as they nap, that would work out. That's the plan DS13 and I did this past June.

 

[kohlby]

Thank you everyone for your great advice. We did not get to stay and watch Illuminations at Epcot as we had to go to sleep early to catch the shuttle for the port. We will have to watch it this trip around! I love the idea of starting and ending with MK. Great idea!

So, in talking with my oldest... she's not really digging the whole Animal Kingdom park as she is afraid of the animals... I'm quite aware that they have hidden barriers to keep the animals and guests safe.. would we really be missing out much if we do not go to AK or is it a park not to miss?

I got all excited about the 50's drive in Star Wars... and then realized that is only during Star Wars week.. :-(

We also spent the entire first day at the hotel and lived in the pools the entire day!

Thanks again for your help and guidance!

AK was a flop three times with my kids. It worked out okay on our last trip - but we only did half a day. (We did MK three days, EP three days, and DHS one and a half days, so it wasn't due to tine constraints).

 

[mshanson3121]

Thank you everyone for your great advice. We did not get to stay and watch Illuminations at Epcot as we had to go to sleep early to catch the shuttle for the port. We will have to watch it this trip around! I love the idea of starting and ending with MK. Great idea!

So, in talking with my oldest... she's not really digging the whole Animal Kingdom park as she is afraid of the animals... I'm quite aware that they have hidden barriers to keep the animals and guests safe.. would we really be missing out much if we do not go to AK or is it a park not to miss?

I got all excited about the 50's drive in Star Wars... and then realized that is only during Star Wars week.. :-(

We also spent the entire first day at the hotel and lived in the pools the entire day!

Thanks again for your help and guidance!

For us - yes, not seeing AK would be horrible. But I have kids that love animals. Is it worth going? Definitely, there's lots to see and do there - even if you skip the safari, which I'm guessing would be the problem, because yes, on the safari some animals roam free and can come right up to the vehicle, and even though the lions are enclosed, the enclosure is cleverly hidden so you can't see it. But, the rest of the animals on the trails etc, with the exception of one part where you can walk through and it's a free flight for birds, are noticeably enclosed, which might help your daughter. AK has the Wilderness Explorers program which my kids (who were 8 & 5), absolutely LOVED. They go around and earn badges by talking to Animal Experts - it might help with the fear, too, since they'd be learning about the animals. Plus, it's just fun to "earn" something. The musicals are great (Nemo and Lion King especially), Tusker House reportedly has the best character dinner, Kali is a tonne of fun.

But, if they're really not feeling it - then skip it. If you have park hoppers, I'd spend the extra day split between EP and MK. If not, I'd probably do the extra day at MK, even if it was just a half day, giving you even more resort time.

I'll make a dinner show suggestion - take them to see Hoop dee Doo Revue at Fort Wilderness. We went and we all absolutely loved it. It's corny, and a riot, and all of us laughed our butts off. The kids adored it, and the food was excellent. What we did is spent a partial day at MK, then took the boat over to Fort Wilderness. They roamed around, playing at the play ground, seeing the horses, just kind of relaxing, until show time. That could always be an option if you skipped AK.

 

[SaraJR]

the boutique is very expensive i personally would skip it because of the price and just bring costumes they will pixie dust your daughters for free without you having to pay for a make over but id recommend a small tip if you do that

 

[mshanson3121]

the boutique is very expensive i personally would skip it because of the price and just bring costumes they will pixie dust your daughters for free without you having to pay for a make over but id recommend a small tip if you do that

Honestly, I disagree. When you look at the value of the experience, as well as the quality of what you get, it's not expensive. It's only $60 for the basic package which includes hair, make up, nails, a portrait session, plus you get to keep the make up and nail polish, plus they give you a satin princess sash and small backpack to store the make up in. Go to any Joe Blow salon in any cheap town and you can easily drop $50+ for an updo, make up and nails, even for a child. And it won't even come close to the experience of being in Cinderella's castle, being waited on like a princess, having a photographer capturing the whole thing, having the portrait session after, being "announced" once she's done, not to mention being able to keep the stuff. So, is it too much money for some people's budgets? Sure. But is it expensive when you look at what you get? Not even remotely, quite the opposite, it's pretty cheap for what you get. I do agree though, it's definitely cheaper to bring your own dress.

 

[SaraJR]

Honestly, I disagree. When you look at the value of the experience, as well as the quality of what you get, it's not expensive. It's only $60 for the basic package which includes hair, make up, nails, a portrait session, plus you get to keep the make up and nail polish, plus they give you a satin princess sash and small backpack to store the make up in. Go to any Joe Blow salon in any cheap town and you can easily drop $50+ for an updo, make up and nails, even for a child. And it won't even come close to the experience of being in Cinderella's castle, being waited on like a princess, having a photographer capturing the whole thing, having the portrait session after, being "announced" once she's done, not to mention being able to keep the stuff. So, is it too much money for some people's budgets? Sure. But is it expensive when you look at what you get? Not even remotely, quite the opposite, it's pretty cheap for what you get. I do agree though, it's definitely cheaper to bring your own dress.

Thats fair, I should add im from canada so cutting the cost of visits is almost #1 goal for me 60$ becomes a big deal for us XD that said i didnt know it came with the photo session that might make it worth it for even me! (if i had kids lol)

 

[msmama]

Animal Kingdom is HOT. I mean, even in colder times of years, it's HOT there. Just thinking about going to AK in July heat makes me want to cry, so yeah, I'd say it's ok to skip it. That said, it is a really cool park, but probably less so if you don't like animals.

Also, another thought/suggestion - we don't do full days in the park, we go (usually) from rope drop until about dinner time at the latest. If we do want to stay for later activities then we get a later start (and hang around the hotel in the morning). So we do a park every day with no rest days, but we don't wear ourselves out completely. I have a 7 year old (so between your girls) and over the last 7 years we've figured that's what works best for us.

 

[tink9702]

1. We enjoy Flametree BBQ for QS at AK. Not fond of anything at HS that we've eaten at other than ice cream! lol

2. I haven't eaten there but heard Via Napoli is great for a TS meal with kids.

3. Princesses are fun!

4. Follow the crowd calendars at easywdw, touring plans or undercover tourist. If you do AK the best day for that is a Saturday since it's almost always the most recommended day and least busy of the 4 parks on Saturdays. I would take a break day every two or three days. So 2 park days, break or 3 park days break. I'd also consider doing a shorter day with a longer day then the break. So AK, MK with fireworks, break day, HS, Epcot with Illuminations, Break.

We love AK, but we really love animals. With one daughter that doesn't even like animals I'd probably skip it and do an extra day at MK or Epcot.

 

[mshanson3121]

Thats fair, I should add im from canada so cutting the cost of visits is almost #1 goal for me 60$ becomes a big deal for us XD that said i didnt know it came with the photo session that might make it worth it for even me! (if i had kids lol)

We were impressed with the photo shoot, I think between the two children, we ended up with around 30 pictures just from the post-make up photo shoot, plus another 30 shots that they took while the children were having their make overs. I love this one of DS

 

[soniam]

Thank you everyone for your great advice. We did not get to stay and watch Illuminations at Epcot as we had to go to sleep early to catch the shuttle for the port. We will have to watch it this trip around! I love the idea of starting and ending with MK. Great idea!

So, in talking with my oldest... she's not really digging the whole Animal Kingdom park as she is afraid of the animals... I'm quite aware that they have hidden barriers to keep the animals and guests safe.. would we really be missing out much if we do not go to AK or is it a park not to miss?

I got all excited about the 50's drive in Star Wars... and then realized that is only during Star Wars week.. :-(

We also spent the entire first day at the hotel and lived in the pools the entire day!

Thanks again for your help and guidance!

I wouldn't miss AK. I don't like zoos, so we hardly ever see any of the animals, except the ones on the Safari and in the Flights of Wonder show. There's a lot to do at AK without ever having to see a live animal. There's the Nemo show and Festival of the Lion King. Dinoland is fun. If they like adventurous rides, then Dinosaur and Expedition Everest are good. The atmosphere of the park is really cool. It is my least favorite WDW park, but I would still plan at least a half day there.

 

[kiapepito]

Thank you again everyone! We have done BBB when we have gone to Disneyland in the past so I think we would pass it at MK for this trip. My youngest this past summer wore her Alice dress while the oldest wore a Disney shirt and shorts because we are not used to the humidity! Lol! I would hate to make the trip and not go to AK as I don't know how long it will take for us to take another trip out to Florida. I like the idea of half a day and go from there! Thanks again everyone!

 

[WIcruizer]

It's really hard advising other people, because we all have our own preferences. Especially restaurants. For example, I would have no problem skipping HS altogether, except for Fantasmic- which is a can't miss. We love AK! Yes, it seems to get hot there, but we like the heat. The theming there is outstanding, and several good QS restaurants there. When in doubt, just pick a restaurant in the World Showcase at Epcot. They're all pretty good, just check out the menus online and see what looks good.

 

[kiapepito]

It's really hard advising other people, because we all have our own preferences. Especially restaurants. For example, I would have no problem skipping HS altogether, except for Fantasmic- which is a can't miss. We love AK! Yes, it seems to get hot there, but we like the heat. The theming there is outstanding, and several good QS restaurants there. When in doubt, just pick a restaurant in the World Showcase at Epcot. They're all pretty good, just check out the menus online and see what looks good.

Great point! Everyone is going to be different. Luckily, we are not picky at all when it comes to pretty much anything! We are open to all and love to try everything and anything. The one place I really had my heart set with Tangerine Café in Morocco and boy was it worth the wait! Can't wait to eat there again for lunch.

I'm also adamant on trying HS because we go to Disneyland and California Adventures many times a year and it seems and sounds like so much of it is the same between Ca. Adventures and HS. For example, when we visited MK we only did the shows, rides and attractions that are not offered here at Disneyland... although we did a couple of the same like Haunted Mansion, Tiki Room and some others. We skipped Space Mountain, Buzz Light year etc..