I have to wait HOW LONG to go back to Disney?!!!!

[elizablake]

The calendars were posted on the DW web site earlier this week. There was nothing unexpected except Fantasmic is not scheduled for Tuesday night?!? I had considered making Tuesday our off day but go to Fantasmic in the evening.

Of course I’m trying to determine a schedule in order to make our ADRs on the right day but it’s really difficult this far out. We will be there 7 days total and would like to plan two MK days (on morning only and one morning plus return in the evening for Wishes), one AK day, one HS day, and one EPCOT day. So that’s five rope drop days leaving two other days. The other two days we would like to leave the morning open and possibly plan something in the evening like Fantasmic, EPCOT or dinner somewhere.

As of right now, we are planning to get water park tickets. We are hoping to visit the water parks a few evenings and one or both of the mornings that are open. We don’t care about riding all of the popular rides at BB and TL, just use the time to relax and cool off. I know DD will like the kid’s area, the wave pools, the family raft rides and the lazy rivers.

Also, our itinerary needs to have lots of breaks built in for my DF. I know the June heat can be exhausting. And I would like for our mornings off to be strategically scheduled after late nights or a few days of rope drops in a row.

We are not getting park hoppers.

Got all that????

Here are a few possibilities we are considering. Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Option 1:

1. Arrive Friday evening
2. Saturday: MK rope drop. Tomorrowland and Adventure land. Meet a few characters and leave by 1:00. Rest and enjoy the rental house Saturday afternoon and evening. Possibly go to Chef Mickey’s for an early dinner.
3. Sunday: AK. Donald’s Safari Breakfast at 8:05. Stay at AK till about 2:00. Rest Sunday afternoon and possibly visit a water park in the evening.
4. Monday: Sleep in. EPCOT in the late afternoon and evening. If we pick Akershus for our princess meal, then go to the BBB in DTD in the afternoon and have dinner at Akershus. Possibly stay for Illuminations.
5. Tuesday: HS rope drop. Leave about 1:00. Possibly return in the evening for the extra characters at Magic of Disney Animation.
6. Wednesday: MK. If we pick CRT, then BBB appt at 8:00 AM. The rest of the group will meet DD and I after rope drop. Fantasyland and Frontierland. Lunch at CRT about 1:00. Then go back to the rental house to rest and return in the evening for Wishes. If we don’t do CRT, then possibly Crystal Palace ADR for 8:05.
7. Thursday: One of the water parks in the morning, rest in the afternoon and Fantasmic! in the evening. (This will be our only chance to see Fantasmic, so if it rains we are out of luck)
8. Friday: EPCOT rope drop. Rest in the afternoon and one of the water parks in the evening

Option 2:

1. Arrive Friday evening
2. Saturday: Super busy day: EPCOT at rope drop. Stay till about noon. 1:00 BBB appointment at DTD. Then EPCOT for the late afternoon and evening. Have dinner at Akershus. Stay for Illuminations. Or skip BBB and Akershus (do CRT on Wed) and just enjoy EPCOT in the evening and afternoon.
3. Sunday: Sleep in. Enjoy the rental house in the afternoon. Fantasmic in the evening.
4. Monday: MK rope drop. Tomorrowland and Adventure land. Meet a few characters and leave by 1:00. Rest and enjoy the rental house Saturday afternoon and evening. Possibly go to Chef Mickey’s for an early dinner or to a water park.
5. Tuesday: HS rope drop. Leave about 1:00. Possibly return in the evening for the extra characters at Magic of Disney Animation.
6. Wednesday: MK. If we pick CRT, then BBB appt at 8:00 AM. The rest of the group will meet DD and I after rope drop. Fantasyland and Frontierland. Lunch at CRT about 1:00. Then go back to the rental house to rest and return in the evening for Wishes. If we don’t do CRT, then possibly Crystal Palace ADR for 8:05.
7. Thursday: One of the water parks in the morning, rest in the afternoon and Fantasmic! in the evening if we miss it on Sunday.
8. Friday: AK. Donald’s Safari Breakfast at 8:05. Stay at AK till about 2:00. Rest Friday afternoon and possibly visit a water park in the evening.

 

[Brave teacher]

Is there any way you can plan a day at the water park one day earlier in the week? They have a tendency to be less crowded earlier in the week because people aren't likely to visit tem at the beginning of the trip. They are considerably less crowded at the beginning of the week rather than the end of the week. Otherwise, eerything looks good.

Out of the two I like the first plan best, though.

 

[elizablake]

Is there any way you can plan a day at the water park one day earlier in the week? They have a tendency to be less crowded earlier in the week because people aren't likely to visit tem at the beginning of the trip. They are considerably less crowded at the beginning of the week rather than the end of the week. Otherwise, eerything looks good.

Out of the two I like the first plan best, though.

When you say visit the water parks earlier in the week, do you mean Monday or Tuesday? What about Sunday? Great tip, I hadn't thought about that.

I'm comming to terms with the possiblity that there may not be a "perfect" schedule. Everyone (except me) thinks we don't need to do EPCOT rope drop. If we can't ride Soarin', so be it. Mom is leaning toward resting Sat AM, then BBB at DTD around 12:30. Then go to EPCOT, have dinner at Akershus, and stay for Illuminations. I concerned that the Soarin' FPs will be gone by then, I think it will be hotter than h***, DTD will be crazy busy on Sat., and that's a lot of walking for the first day.

 

[elizablake]

Option 3:

1. Arive Friday evening
2. Sat:MK rope drop or possibly Crystal Palace reservation at 8:05. Stay at MK till about 1:00. Take a break at the rental house in the afternoon. Return to MK in the evening for Wishes.
3. Sun: Take the morning off and enjoy the rental house and see Fantasmic in the evening.
4. Mon: Rope drop at one of the water parks. EPCOT in the evening. Possibly dinner, but where?????
5. Tuesday: HS rope drop. Leave about 1:00. Possibly return in the evening for the extra characters at Magic of Disney Animation.
6. Wednesday: MK. If we pick CRT, then BBB appt at 8:00 AM. The rest of the group will meet DD and I after rope drop. Lunch at CRT about 1:00. Then go back to the rental house to rest and return in the evening.
7. Thursday: AK. Donald’s Safari Breakfast at 8:05. Stay at AK till about 2:00. Rest Sunday afternoon and possibly visit a water park in the evening.
8. Friday: EPCOT rope drop. Leave about 1:00. Maybe go to a waterpark in the evening.

I hate to put AK towards the end of the week but otherwise this might be our best option.

 

[elizablake]

Well, it's official. We decided on the following itinerary. It's still not "perfect" but I'm happy anyway. We have started making ADR's I'll list them as we get them.

Friday: Arrive, unpack and a few drinks to celebrate I'm sure.

Saturday: Hopefully, we won't have too many drinks because Sat is a busy day. MK at rope drop. Probably hang out in Fantasyland and meet Ariel . We have a BBB appointment at 11:30 AM. We reserved the package with nails, hair and make-up. I plan to purchase and bring the dress with us. The men can find an air conditioned restaurant to hang out in while Mom and I take DD to the BBB. We should be done a little after 12:00. We may check out some of the shows or less popular rides. Then CRT at 2:00. After CRT we will leave. Hopefully, we will have the energy to come back to the MK for Spectro and Wishes.

Sunday: Sleep-in. Enjoy the rental house in the morning. We may go to DTD or Disney Quest. Then Fantasmic in the evening. If rain is forecast Sunday night and Fantasmic may get cancelled, then we will go to AK at rope drop and rest in the evening instead.

Monday: Rope drop at one of the water parks. Stay till about noon. Rest at the rental house in the afternoon and then go to EPCOT in the evening for Illuminations.

Tuesday: HS rope drop. Stay till about 1:00. Rest in the afternoon and possibly return to HS in the evening to meet the extra characters at Magic of Disney Animation. Hopefully, HS will not be very busy since this is the only day without EMH, Fantasmic, or Star Wars Weekend. ADR for Sci-Fi at 1:15!

Wednesday: MK rope drop. Leave about 1:00. Maybe return to MK in the evening or spend a couple hours at a water park. ADR for Crystal Palace at 8:05 AM.

Thursday: AK rope drop. ADR for breakfast at Donald's Safari at 8:00 AM. Stay till about 2:00. Rest in the afternoon, maybe a water park in the evening. If it rained Sunday, we will take the morning off and go to Fantasmic in the evening.

Friday: EPCOT rope drop. Possibly go back to EPCOT in the evening. ADR for Akershus at 1:15 PM.

 

[elizablake]

Hope everyone has a.....

Happy Holiday and Magical New Year!

 

[Bridora]

Hi! Hope you had a good Christmas. And I hope you have a great New Year...full of Disney planning, of course!

 

[darlak]

Things we have never done-I left out restaurants and characters that we are not interested in:

MK
Hall of Presidents
Been inside Exposition Hall (Is there anything in there?)
Tried a Dole Whip!
Swiss Family Tree house
Enchanted Tiki Room
Liberty Square Riverboat
Dream Along with Mickey
Pooh’s Playful Spot
Never eaten at Cinderella’s Royal Table
Stitch’s Great Escape
We haven’t seen the current afternoon parade

HS
The American Idol Experience
Indiana Jones Stunt Show
Lights, Motors, Action Stunt Show
Backlot Tour
The character greeting spot in Pixar Place
Journey into Narnia
One Man’s Dream
Met the Power Rangers
Met the extra characters in the Animation Building in the evenings


Epcot
Ellen’s Energy Adventure
Exhibits in Innoventions East and West
Journey in the Imagination
Honey I Shrunk the Audience
ImageWorks
Dine with the Princess in Norway
Movie in China
The American Adventure
Movie in France
O Canada
Kim Possible Mission
Illuminations-technically we were there during Illuminations in Jan but we didn’t really see it.

AK
Discovery Island Trails
Rafiki’s Planet Watch
Mickey’s Jammin’ Jungle Parade
Flights of Wonder
Maharajah Jungle Trek
Carnival Games in Dinoland
Met Pocahontas

I'm enjoying your pre-trip report immensely! One thing not mentioned on either your must-do list or your never-done list is the Carousel of Progress at MK. We love it and I bet your mom and dad would as well. Another plus is that it has comfortable seating in an air-conditioned building.

I bolded the things on you never-done list that I would try to squeeze in if at all possible.

Maharajah Jungle Trek is a must do for us. Great viewing spots for the tigers and my personal favorite is the bat room. I love watching those giant bats!

Lights, Motors, Action! is bleacher seating, but it's fully covered, much like the Beauty and the Beast show.

In June, the heat will probably be pretty bad, but honestly, it's not usually that much worse than Birmingham, where I live. So if you're in or around central GA, you have a pretty good idea of what it should be like.

 

[elizablake]

Hi! Hope you had a good Christmas. And I hope you have a great New Year...full of Disney planning, of course!

We had a perfect Christmas! Hope you had a good Chrismas too.

I just noticed that you started a pre-trip report. I'm off to check it out.

I'm enjoying your pre-trip report immensely! One thing not mentioned on either your must-do list or your never-done list is the Carousel of Progress at MK. We love it and I bet your mom and dad would as well. Another plus is that it has comfortable seating in an air-conditioned building.

I forgot, we rode the Carousel of Progress last Jan! DD and I loved it and DH enjoyed his nap. Your right, I need to add it to our must do list.

Maharajah Jungle Trek is a must do for us. Great viewing spots for the tigers and my personal favorite is the bat room. I love watching those giant bats!

Maharajah Jungle Trek sounds great. AK is going to be a diffucult day to plan. There is so much we want to do. We did the other train (it starts with a P, can't remember the name) and thought it was OK but I don't think we would go out of our way to do it again.

Lights, Motors, Action! is bleacher seating, but it's fully covered, much like the Beauty and the Beast show.

Yeah! I really wanted to see it but I didn't want to subject my father to roasting in the hot sun. I've heard good such good things about the show and I think we would really enjoy it.

In June, the heat will probably be pretty bad, but honestly, it's not usually that much worse than Birmingham, where I live. So if you're in or around central GA, you have a pretty good idea of what it should be like.

Hi Darlak! Yeah, we are used to the heat here in GA but we don't spend that much time outside during the summer unless it around the pool. We'll survive though.

Thanks for all the advice!

 

[DisneyMomma09]

Just joining in! Your plans look great so far! My family is going to the World June 17-25, so just after you! We are all super excited, especially since it will be my son's first trip! He will be 13 months old when we go. Looking forward to counting down with you!

 

[elizablake]

Just joining in! Your plans look great so far! My family is going to the World June 17-25, so just after you! We are all super excited, especially since it will be my son's first trip! He will be 13 months old when we go. Looking forward to counting down with you!

Hi Disney Momma! Your son's going to love Disney! Do you have any other kids? Anyone else going with you? There are a lot of play areas spread around Disney and most of them look 1-year-old friendly. He may also like shows like Festival of the Lion King because of the bright colors and music. I saw some young toddlers having a blast in the water fountain at Downtown Disney last summer.

If you start as pre-trip report, let me know. I would love to hear about all your plans.

 

[DisneyMomma09]

Hi Disney Momma! Your son's going to love Disney! Do you have any other kids? Anyone else going with you? There are a lot of play areas spread around Disney and most of them look 1-year-old friendly. He may also like shows like Festival of the Lion King because of the bright colors and music. I saw some young toddlers having a blast in the water fountain at Downtown Disney last summer.

If you start as pre-trip report, let me know. I would love to hear about all your plans.

No, we do not have any other kids. We are going with a total of 8 adults and one child. I am excited to let DS play in all of the areas for kids. Every time we have been to Disney in the past I have seen these areas and the kids playing. They always look like they are having so much fun!

I am planning on starting a pre-trip report soon. I am reading through others right now to see how people put them together. I will let you know when I get started!

 

[elizablake]

No, we do not have any other kids. We are going with a total of 8 adults and one child. I am excited to let DS play in all of the areas for kids. Every time we have been to Disney in the past I have seen these areas and the kids playing. They always look like they are having so much fun!

I am planning on starting a pre-trip report soon. I am reading through others right now to see how people put them together. I will let you know when I get started!

Sounds like a great trip! Let me know when you start a pre-trip report.

 

[elizablake]

Can anyone help me with a ticket question?


I think we are going to do 7 day tickets (without park hopper or no expiration) but we may add the Water Park option.

I understand that we will get 7 entrances into the 4 major parks and 7 entrances into the water parks or DQ. I know we won't use all 7 of the minor park entrances but how long will we have to use them.
For example, if we use all 7 major park entrances by Friday (but only use 3 minor park entrances by then), can we go to a water park Friday evening and Sat AM? Or do all the minor park entrances expire as soon as we use all 7 major park ones?

I think I may be over complicating this a bit.

 

[Bridora]

Can anyone help me with a ticket question?

That's a good question, but I don't know the answer....sorry! I would think you could use your minor entrances within the use window (do they give you one? like must use within 15 days of 1st use?) even if you had already used your major ones...But that's just a guess.

And you should do Carousel of Progress...we do it every time...it may be old, but it's good & a nice place to sit & rest, while still doing an attraction!

 

[elizablake]

That's a good question, but I don't know the answer....sorry! I would think you could use your minor entrances within the use window (do they give you one? like must use within 15 days of 1st use?) even if you had already used your major ones...But that's just a guess.

And you should do Carousel of Progress...we do it every time...it may be old, but it's good & a nice place to sit & rest, while still doing an attraction!

That makes sense. I think you have 14 days to use your tickets when they are not no expiration. So hopefully we will have 14 days to use our minor entrances. I want to find out for sure though. I may ask on the Attractions and Strategies board.

 

[elizablake]

Schools are closed tomorrow for a SNOW DAY!!

Unfortunately, all this wet, frozen stuff keeps falling from the sky and might completely ruin our day off. Plus, my fellow southerners don't know how to ice skate and drive at the same time so they keep running into each other on their way to the grocery store to buy the last loaf of bread and gallon of milk.

I think I have no choice but to call out of work and hang with DD at home.

 

[elizablake]

On this day last year we were enjoying our first full day at DW. I wish we were there now!

Here's our site at Fort Wilderness:

DD driving:

 

[elizablake]

One year ago today we slept in and went to the MK in the afternoon. DD had a BBB appt then we rode a couple of rides, saw the parade and went to 1900 Park Faire for dinner.

 

[elizablake]

One year ago today we were at the Animal Kingdom. Crowds were non-existant. We saw FOTLK, rode Everest, KRR, Dinosaur, Safari, and Triceratops Spin (about 10 times). It was a great day. Then that evening we went to EPCOT about 6:00 and rode Test Track, Mission Space and stayed for Illuminations.