20 days and I'm getting worrried

[Debs1963]

Our family-me,Dh and 4and 6yo are going to Disney 5/14-5/21. We are arriving at MCO on 5/14 a little after 3:00pm. On th5/21 we don't have to leave the resort until about 4 or 4:30pm. As I am planning I just so worried that we are never going to have enough time to do all the things we want to do. I promised myself when we began planning that I wasn't going to drag screaming overtired children through the parks for the sake of being able to say we saw "everything". Additionally, I want to have some down time planned at the resort. Most people I know come home from WDW exhausted. I even know one person who had to leave 3 days early because she was so tired. I know we are not the type of family that will be up at the crack of dawn to get to the parks. To me thats not a vacation anyway. Additionally, Many people and guide book s suggest going back to resort mid day to rest and go swimming. I'm not sure this will work for us either as my kids are not nappers. I know that we will need atleast 2 days in MK and I figure 1 day in AK,MGM and EPCOT. It all just seems so rushed Any suggestions?

 

[crow11ad]

First off how old are your kids? Your going in May and it may or may not be busy...wait this is for the celebration, so it maybe a little busier. My suggestion would be to get to the parks as soon as they open. This way you can get a lot done in the am. Take a break. You don't have to nap. Then go back in the afternoon around 4 or depending when the park closes. If your going for 5 days, it may seemed rushed, but you can get a lot of done. There is no way your going to see everything. So get used to that. Our second trip was in December and that was our first time we actualy visited each of the countries at Epcot.

I can see MK being a 2 day park. Epcot if you want the full experience it will be a 2 day park. Mgm you can get done in a day if not more than a half of day. Ak you can get done in half a day or take your time and do it the full day.

We are going in October and told by DW that this is the last trip for a while. She said that after the one in December to.

Depending on what time your getting to your resort, you may want to resort hop or just relax.

We always make it a point to go to DTD our first day and last. Oh don't miss out on eating at EOS....Yummy....

 

[Maverick Mike]

We are a family of 3, and we can only be there for 7 nights as well. We went last year and saw most everything we wanted to, but I understand your dilemma.

The thing that we found the best was to go back to the resort mid-afternoon, and then we swam, changed clothes, and went to a different park in the evening. Now to do this, you will need the "hopper" option on your tickets. But it is a nice change of pace to go back to a different park in the evening!

Just a thought..

 

[penguinande]

I know just how you feel... well sort of. I'm going in 20 days too (May14-20). When I bought the tickets back in December, I figured four days would be plenty of time. Now that I've done a ton of research, I know there's NO WAY I'm going to be able to do everything I want to do in 4 days at the parks (plus 1 waterpark day). If I'd known all this before I bought the tickets, I would have planned a 6 or 7 day trip instead. We don't have any kids though, so we won't have any problem getting up early and staying up late, and we can skip a lot of the kid stuff. O well at least if I don't see everything this time, I'll have a good excuse to go back again.

 

[minkydog]

Think of this as your "first" trip to WDW. You cannot see and do "everything" in one trip so get over that. With two small children you need maximum flexibility and enough down time to keep them from exploding. Even if they don't nap, a couple hours of pool time every day can make a huge difference in their coping ability. And they may surprise you--about the third day of our WDW vacation we are so tired, my kids are practically begging to lay down somewhere.

It will be okay. don't get so worked up about your schedule that you fall apart when it rains, or when the children cry, or when your transportation runs late. I'd much rather see you relax and cruise along than be running full tilt from one attraction to the next. What's fun about that?

 

[eeyore kelly]

I am planning my trip in Feb., and I was concerned about the same thing. I assigned pts. to the things we have planned. Anything 5 pts. is a must do, and it goes down from there. Anything less than 3 pts, can be kicked until a later trip if we run short of time.

 

[opal]

In the warmer weather, we always try to go back to the resort and spend a little time by the pool. It is amazing how a few hours off your feet and floating in a pool can help you re-charge. Besides mid-afternoons always seem so busy. We would spend most of our time either standing in lines or threading our way around the crowds.

 

[jjsmom]

First of all, relax. The other posters are exactly right, you cannot see it all in one trip. Heck I've been nearly 20 times and STILL have new things to see. I know what you mean about kids and no naps. My DD refused to sleep during the day when she was a toddler, but she did fall asleep in many restaurants at WDW. We have a really cute pic of her asleep in the old Chef Mickey's at DTD with Mickey patting her head. Here's another vote for the pool, too; even at the cranky age of 14, the pool is still is still a life saver.
I suggest making a list (not too long) with your family of things you MUST do at each park and then mapping a route. You may be able to get those things done early in the day; return for a swim, some rest, a meal; then IF they're feeling like it, returning to the parks for fireworks, parade, etc.

Remember it's your vacation and you have the right to some rest and relaxation.

 

[smjj]

When our kids were small we took time out to return to our resort for the afternoon to let the kids unwind. They were not nappers like yours either but just being able to relax by the pool or in a play area was a rejunvenator for them. We would then go back to the park in the enenings and it was much more enjoyable for both them and us...smjj