1 full park rest day vs several 1/2 rest days

[tbre1982]

Hello! Heading to Disney This Saturday and second guessing my itinerary. We currently have no parks scheduled on arrival/departure day but 1/2 - 3/4 days scheduled Sunday - Saturday.

Wondering if we should take a full rest day Wednesdsy or if we have enough time
Off already built into the plan.

On the below itinerary, we could move Wednesdsy HS to Saturday and forgo 2nd AK day. My kids are 4.5 And 1 and the only HS FP we probably wouldn't be able to rebook is toy story.

Thoughts?

Sat: arrival BLT
Sun: MK rope drop - after parade ~4pm
Mon: AK 9am- mid afternoon
Tuesday: morning/early afternoon off. MK ~4pm for MVMCP
Wed: am off. HS ~noon till fantasmic
Thursday: am off. Epcot noon - dinner
Fri: MK rope drop till afternoon
Sat: 2nd AK day currently
Sun: depart

 

[sharonabe]

I think your schedule looks fine. If by Wed it seems like you need more time off, reschedule your HS day then. As you said, rebooking TSM FP+ is probably a no go anyway, so no real reason to move things around now.

 

[Lalalyn]

It really depends on your kids. For us, kids are up around 7:30/8. We went to a park every day but did so in one of two ways. We always went in the morning really close to park opening but maybe not right at rope drop. Then, we did one of two things. We either left after lunch (maybe one ride after lunch), took an afternoon break and went back at night. Or, we stayed at park until 3ish and then were at the resort for the rest of the night.

What would be a disaster for us is your HS day. Our kids wouldn't relax in morning so having them in the park til after fantastic would be a really long day. In general this is why we always go straight to parks when we get up. We aren't gaining any rest hanging out at resort in the morning and we miss the lower crowds. That's why we have never been able to make Fantasmic with them. Fortunately we travel with grandparents so DH and I go while they put kids to bed.

If it were us, I'd plan on letting everyone sleep in after the party Tuesday night and hitting HS once they are up. Go back to resort when they start wearing out, which for us would be way before fantasmic. And then on Thursday go to Epcot in the morning.

Your first MK day I wouldn't stay until after the parade. That's a long day to start with. I'd go to MK again on your last day and push it to see Parade that day.

It is a lot of MK time but my kids would spend all week there is we let them at that age.

We have found rope drop to 4 almost impossible. We do it on our last day and stay until they drop, which is usually after FoF.

 

[MinnieGi]

I agree with lot of the PP said. When ours were small we did lots of rope drop mornings because the kids were already up!! We usually only made it till 1:00 in the parks if we were there at rope drop - then went back to resort to take naps and/or downtime. We then would determine if kids were up for going back into the parks or stay at resort for swim and relaxation. Most of the time we went back into the parks. We never saw Fantasmic because usually too long of a wait to get in and Fantasmic dining package did not work either because we'd be out of the park at that time. But kids would see Electrical Parade (after a break)because not long to wait and then we would leave park. They rarely saw MK afternoon parade unless it was on last day and we had a later flight. But starting your first day and lasting till 4 with little ones I think will be a rough start in that it will have a cumulative effect into the next day. Also I would not personally do to late nights in a row with little ones!

But it also depends on your kids - if they are more night owls then you may have a great schedule!

 

[caroline1851]

I think your schedule looks perfect.

 

[poohfriend77]

That's a lot like our schedule looked when we were there a couple weeks ago. We don't like full days "off." We just get antsy at the hotel, and while we enjoy a quick dip, we don't like to spend whole afternoons by the pool.

We usually go 7-10 days, and we just can't go commando that whole time. But it's so cheap to add days at that point, so we make our 3 FP+ each day. Even if we only hit a park for 3-4 hours, we're there each day.

 

[Minnie17]

Looks like a great plan! Enjoy

 

[kniquy]

I agree with pp your schedule looks pretty good. You really have to gage your days around your 1 year old. I am guessing that he/she still takes an afternoon nap. If that is the case then at least your MK days you may want to get an early start with an afternoon nap and then back to the park for the evening. If they are a good stroller napped then your plan should work. Mornings off would be a benefit with older children that like to sleep in, but my guess is at 1 yo they are up pretty early. If that was the case I would just hit the parks early when they are fully rested. If they are anything like my 3 kids have been (hungry or tired = total bear) then just work the parks around their schedule.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

It looks good. I would just recommend going with the flow. If you find, when you are there, that you need more rest time or need to adjust your schedule, I would do it. Quite honestly, my DS was terrified of Fantasmic when he was 3 1/2, so maybe keep Wednesday a little looser and not feel like you have to stick with your plan if your children can't handle the parks for that long.

 

[MadHookUp]

Also going to agree that it depends on your kids. We went to Disney last year for 9 nights in early December with a 1.75 and 2.75 year olds. Both ours kids if occupied are machines, but when they do get tired its melt down mode. I planned our days out as full days, typically getting there at rope drop, and staying till the park closed. But I was always ready and expecting to leave immediately if the kids started to get tired and cranky. Only 2 of the 9 nights did they start to get tired, so we went to bed early those nights. I also took some time to research places to sneak naps in our stroller rather making the trip back to our resort, Saratoga Springs.

My philosophy is to plan for full days, and try to plan out every detail. And then immediately be willing to drop the plan based on how you feel that day. If I were in your shoes, I would fully take advantage of being at BLT and upgrade to park hoppers. This gives you the added flexibility to quickly walk to Magic Kingdom in the event that you feel as if you are taking too much break time.

I am assuming that you have that much break time in your schedule because your kids need it. I definitely suggest seeing some resorts like Grand Floridian, Wilderness Lodge, and Animal Kingdom specifically for their Christmas decorations. And the kids will never be unhappy at the pool.

 

[tbre1982]

It really depends on your kids. For us, kids are up around 7:30/8. We went to a park every day but did so in one of two ways. We always went in the morning really close to park opening but maybe not right at rope drop. Then, we did one of two things. We either left after lunch (maybe one ride after lunch), took an afternoon break and went back at night. Or, we stayed at park until 3ish and then were at the resort for the rest of the night.

What would be a disaster for us is your HS day. Our kids wouldn't relax in morning so having them in the park til after fantastic would be a really long day. In general this is why we always go straight to parks when we get up. We aren't gaining any rest hanging out at resort in the morning and we miss the lower crowds. That's why we have never been able to make Fantasmic with them. Fortunately we travel with grandparents so DH and I go while they put kids to bed.

If it were us, I'd plan on letting everyone sleep in after the party Tuesday night and hitting HS once they are up. Go back to resort when they start wearing out, which for us would be way before fantasmic. And then on Thursday go to Epcot in the morning.

Your first MK day I wouldn't stay until after the parade. That's a long day to start with. I'd go to MK again on your last day and push it to see Parade that day.

It is a lot of MK time but my kids would spend all week there is we let them at that age.

We have found rope drop to 4 almost impossible. We do it on our last day and stay until they drop, which is usually after FoF.

Thanks for the great advice. Our kids are definitely early risers, and ESPECIALLY in light of daylight savings, we should have no trouble being at parks for opening time.

We do have a set of grandparents coming with us so our general plan was to all go to parks together in the morning then send 1 year old home with grandparents around lunch, since neither 1yo or grandparents will be able to do full days. We though me/hubs/4.5 yo daughter might have a better chance at making longer days. I think you HS day advice is really good. I agree pushing to Fantasmic, especially after a late night the prior night, might be too much. Maybe we will make this a date night and send kids back from HS to resort with grandparents!

 

[tbre1982]

Also going to agree that it depends on your kids. We went to Disney last year for 9 nights in early December with a 1.75 and 2.75 year olds. Both ours kids if occupied are machines, but when they do get tired its melt down mode. I planned our days out as full days, typically getting there at rope drop, and staying till the park closed. But I was always ready and expecting to leave immediately if the kids started to get tired and cranky. Only 2 of the 9 nights did they start to get tired, so we went to bed early those nights. I also took some time to research places to sneak naps in our stroller rather making the trip back to our resort, Saratoga Springs.

My philosophy is to plan for full days, and try to plan out every detail. And then immediately be willing to drop the plan based on how you feel that day. If I were in your shoes, I would fully take advantage of being at BLT and upgrade to park hoppers. This gives you the added flexibility to quickly walk to Magic Kingdom in the event that you feel as if you are taking too much break time.

I am assuming that you have that much break time in your schedule because your kids need it. I definitely suggest seeing some resorts like Grand Floridian, Wilderness Lodge, and Animal Kingdom specifically for their Christmas decorations. And the kids will never be unhappy at the pool.

Yes we are going to try to be as flexible as possible! Love the idea of the resort hopping to see the decorations. Plus my kids LOVE riding trains/boats so that would be additional fun.

 

[Klayfish]

That's great you have the resource in the grandparents to give the 1 year old a rest. I do agree with others that this is purely dependent on the individual(s) involved. When our kids were 4, 1, 1 a lot of full rest days weren't needed. We pushed them all in strollers and they all napped pretty well in those, so they could frankly go as long as my wife and I, or longer. But our days were still fairly similar to what you describe. Either do rope drop until early-mid afternoon, or do mid-afternoon until evening, not all day. I think you've got a great plan in place. Have fun!