1st trip to WDW & need some planning advice

[MMARCAVA]

My DH, 3 yr DD & 5 yr DS will be at the parks 3/27 thru 3/31. It's our 1st trip & don't want to be too rigid in planning but want to put some broad schedules together so we can try & hit the best things. Here's what I've come up with so far, any words of wisdom from you frequent visitors of WDW?
3/27 spend day at MK, see 3:00 Share A Dream Parade
3/28 8:30 breakfast in Dinoland spend day in AK then see 4:00
Jammin Jungle Parade
3/29 MK, see whatever we missed day 1
5:00 Chef Mickey dinner (daughters 3rd bday!)
7:15 Spectromagic
8:00 Fantasy in Sky Fireworks
(is it doable to for dinner and then both events inone night?)
3/30 Epcot
3:20 Ice Cream social @ Garden Grill in the Land
6:10 or 7:45 Tapestry of dreams
9:00 Illuminations (if kids hold out)
3/31 MGM
4:00 Stars & Motor cars parade
7:30 Fantasmic

I'd welcome any critiques, suggestions, etc.!!! Thank you all for all the wonderful information I've gotten so far off of this site!

 

[donna in Oz]

Sounds as if you've spent some time planning !!

However, Tapestry of Dreams is no longer running (sob . . . .). So you'll have a little more free time during your evening in EPCOT.

It is possible to see both Spectro & Fantasy after a 5:00 seating at Chef Mickey's, but it would be difficult for you to get a good parade viewing location by the time you returned to the park. My real question is: Are you certain Spectro is running on 3/29?? I just checked this website . . . . .

http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/mar03fw.cfm

. . . and it didn't look like it was scheduled to run that day.

Are you staying on-site??? If so, you may want to take a break during your EPCOT day to allow your small ones to rest. Since this is your first trip, Illuminations is a must-see !!!

Your trip will be wonderful, no matter what you decide . . . .

 

[kilee]

First, the TOD parade is no more. This was ended on March 1st. It looks like your schedule is fine. The Chef Mickey dinner and getting a spot for spectromagic is the only grey area. You will most likely need to get a spot about 30-45 minutes early. Especially w/ Specto being at a premium these days. That means you'll have 90 minutes to eat and transport back to MK. Other than that, try and do one main attraction right at opening, it helps eliminate the wait time and the retracing your steps to use a fast pass.

 

[wdwrich]

With children of those ages, I strongly recommend a midday or afternoon break. Some down time and/or a nap will help everyone enjoy the long days.

 

[erikthewise]

It looks good, but I would recommend NOT going to MK during the day on Saturday, or at all if Spectromagic is not happening. Saturday is the busiest day of the week at MK.

You might go to Epcot on Saturday, and plan on hitting MK Sunday morning or on Monday instead. If you are staying on-site and can take advantage of Magic Hour at MK on Sunday, this could work out well. Crowds do pick up at MK midday on Sunday as well.

I hope you will have park hopper passes; that makes it easy to be flexible. Also with children that age it would be very wise to plan for a midday break; 12-hour days just don't go over well in that age bracket! You may want to seriously consider renting a double stroller, especially in Epcot.

And while planning is important, so is being flexible once you get there. You never know what's going to catch a 3-year old's interest! Often they like the hotel pool as much as anything else.

 

[disneychic]

I agree with the others if you are staying on property take a break. Remeber, you are on VACATION! Plus you will be surprised how tiring all this running around can be by mid-day. If you are staying on site, take that mid-day break and go back to your hotel and try to rest a bit. Being in the park from open -closing is exhausting for both children AND adults! I'm sure you'll get an idea of what works best for your family once you're at WDW for a few days. Have fun!

 

[MMARCAVA]

Thank you all for the great info so quickly! The last time I looked Tapestry of Dreams was still on the schedule, I'll have to go back on and recheck things to see if Spectromagic is still a go.
Does anyone know what the rental cost of a double stroller is? Also, someone told me that if you rent a stroller at one park you can show your receipt at another park that same day so you don't have to double pay. Is that true? Otherwise how are the strollers?
We are staying off site at the HIFS but will have a rental car to make things more convenient. Midday breaks will be a must!

 

[donna in Oz]

Stroller rental is paid by the day, so if you're park-hopping, you can get another stroller without charge at the park you hop to.

I've never had a need to rent a stroller, so can't vouch for how they are.

Since you're staying off site, be sure to avoid the Early Magic Hour parks on those days!!

 

[erikthewise]

When we rented a double stroller at Epcot 15 months ago, they were $15. It's a lot, but with two tired children who had spent the morning in AK, it was worth it.

 

[MMARCAVA]

Thanks for the stroller info!
Question, I went into the "wdwinfo" site & sure enough Spectromagic is not shown for 3/29 however Disney's site does show it for 7:15 that evening. I would think that Disney's site would be more reliable, is that a correct assumption?