Almost ADR time... Critique our plan pretty please?

[Holstar]

Hello guys!

So, we're under 10 days away from making our ADR's! Eeeeek!

We've pretty much decided upon where we want to eat, and where we want go/hope to be each day, would you guys mind having a look and offering any advice?

We've tried to keep our evenings relatively free, as the girls all love getting up early, and are usually pretty exhausted come dinner time. We're aiming for Rope Drop each morning, so I think we'll probably end up heading back to the Yacht Club after lunch and relaxing for a bit by the pool and maybe heading back out later if the girls have enough energy? Is this a sensible plan?

I've tried two different Reservation Date calendars, but they give us different dates for when we can start booking our ADR's... the WDWInfo calendar says we can book from the 23rd of February, but the PSCalculator says we can't book until the 24th... Which do you guys use/trust?

*Final* Question (promise!)

For those with experience of travelling with children, our flight will be leaving Manchester at 11am (we'll probably get up around 6am, and arrive at the airport for 8am), arriving into Florida at 3:20pm... How tired can we expect the girls to be?

Is it too much to hope they'll nap on the plane? I was sort of hoping to be at the resort for around 5:00pm, can we expect them to crash as soon as we get in?

xxxx

 

[Disneynutinlondon]

My only comment would be you only seem to have allowed 1 day for EPCOT but you've got 4 days and an evening EMH at Magic Kingdom. I assume you're staying at the Yacht Club as you mention going back there for pool time, if so you are within a 5 min walk of EPCOT so I'm a little surprised you're not spending any more time there.

We also stay at the Yacht club and our daily routine is normally rope drop for a park (usually the one with morning EMH) then back to the Yacht club about lunchtime for some pool time and a rest. Then after a shower we head back out, usually to EPCOT for dinner (as we think it has the best TS restaurants) and the fireworks are just THE BEST.

Just my tuppence worth

 

[Holstar]

My only comment would be you only seem to have allowed 1 day for EPCOT but you've got 4 days and an evening EMH at Magic Kingdom. I assume you're staying at the Yacht Club as you mention going back there for pool time, if so you are within a 5 min walk of EPCOT so I'm a little surprised you're not spending any more time there.

We also stay at the Yacht club and our daily routine is normally rope drop for a park (usually the one with morning EMH) then back to the Yacht club about lunchtime for some pool time and a rest. Then after a shower we head back out, usually to EPCOT for dinner (as we think it has the best TS restaurants) and the fireworks are just THE BEST.

Just my tuppence worth

Completely agree Isabel!

We've tried to involve the girls in planning and picking restaurants as much as possible, and Epcot is the one park none of them seem that thrilled about

My partner and I were just chatting about this, and I think we'll most likely follow your example - Epcot is the place I can see us wandering over to in the evenings.

Hollie xx

 

[Disneynutinlondon]

Our favorite TS restaurants in EPCOT and on The Boardwalk are

Teppan Edo
Flying Fish
Le Cellier
Via Napoli

EPCOT is a fab park .... actually IMHO it's the best park but thats just me. As well as having some wonderful rides Soarin', Test Track and Turtle talk with Crush! It also has the whole of world showcase to walk round and discover. Going into each of the pavilions is fascinating and when the boys were smaller they just loved finding all of the Kidstops and coloring the masks and getting each of the tags that the cast members from each country added.

 

[zippy99]

ADRs look great - rather like Isabel pointed out a bit too much Magic Kingdom time.

It is a scandal not to see Illuminations! By far one of our best experiencesbhas been eating at Epcot(rose & crown) and watching the firworks over pudding! i also think that Animal Kingdom warrants a second morning or afternoon visit if you can - we love the animals and to do both walkthrough safaris and the Kilimanjaro in one day is a bit too much!

That said - I applaud your planning for a first trip - we were scared of planning and whilst we now embrace the DDP and book our reservations we quite like having days where we get up and see what bus arrives first and head to that park!

We will be at Wilderness Lodge at the same sort of time as you and as we discovered last year (with the mass of rain due to Hurricane Issac) you may need a flexible approach with the unpredictable weather in terms of you park visits. It is so easy to spend a morning in one park and head to another in the afternoon - we would never manage a whole day in a water park - even my DD15 & DS12 would die of boredom in a water park all day and with just one day between visiting both parks for a whole day - it gets HOT!! Way too much for us...

That said - we are all about the dining and our choices look great! and having been many times it is easier for me to pass judgment - but it is only based on my families desires - it is different for everyone.

Regardless you will have a fab trip x

 

[Disneynutinlondon]

Oh yes another thought with your arrival. As you arrive about 3:30pm (hopefully no delays) you really need to try and keep everyone up till about 9pm local time and then get a good nights sleep. You all be up early the next day so there'll be no problem with rope drop

Anyways hopefully you'll get to The Yacht club about 5pm ish. We usually get to the room and unpack and then walk over to The Boadwalk and look in the shops and buy our 1st souvenirs.

We've found that The Big River Grill, on The Boardwalk, is a good place to have dinner. It's just a glorified burger place but you can't make ADRs it's a walk up only place. That way if you're delayed then you're not missing any reservations. They do a lovely chicken ceaser salad and the burgers are just right after a very long day and a long flight. Then after dinner all you've got to do is a 5 min walk round the lake back to The Yacht club.

 

[Holstar]

ADRs look great - rather like Isabel pointed out a bit too much Magic Kingdom time.

It is a scandal not to see Illuminations! By far one of our best experiencesbhas been eating at Epcot(rose & crown) and watching the firworks over pudding! i also think that Animal Kingdom warrants a second morning or afternoon visit if you can - we love the animals and to do both walkthrough safaris and the Kilimanjaro in one day is a bit too much!

That said - I applaud your planning for a first trip - we were scared of planning and whilst we now embrace the DDP and book our reservations we quite like having days where we get up and see what bus arrives first and head to that park!

We will be at Wilderness Lodge at the same sort of time as you and as we discovered last year (with the mass of rain due to Hurricane Issac) you may need a flexible approach with the unpredictable weather in terms of you park visits. It is so easy to spend a morning in one park and head to another in the afternoon - we would never manage a whole day in a water park - even my DD15 & DS12 would die of boredom in a water park all day and with just one day between visiting both parks for a whole day - it gets HOT!! Way too much for us...

That said - we are all about the dining and our choices look great! and having been many times it is easier for me to pass judgment - but it is only based on my families desires - it is different for everyone.

Regardless you will have a fab trip x

I can't believe I forgot Illuminations! Will amend ASAP!

Our middle niece has some disabilities which can be quite challenging without pre-planning, but I'm definitely the roll out of bed and see what comes first type at heart!

We're definitely happy to be flexible, we've used easyWDW to make a backup list of different parks just in case... especially for the BB/TL days (in case it tips it down the entire time!).

Our girls are fishes.... We took them to Haven a couple of months ago, just as a mini break during half term and they spent 8+ hours a day in the tiny, 4ft deep, slide-less pool! We had to drag them out at the end of the day... I'm anticipating a battle if we don't at least leave enough time for them to stay there as long as they want to. But, if it gets to 2pm and they're fed up and ready to move on - I'm happy with that too!

Thank you for all the tips! Definitely going to try and squeeze another morning at AK and Illuminations!xx

Oh yes another thought with your arrival. As you arrive about 3:30pm (hopefully no delays) you really need to try and keep everyone up till about 9pm local time and then get a good nights sleep. You all be up early the next day so there'll be no problem with rope drop

Anyways hopefully you'll get to The Yacht club about 5pm ish. We usually get to the room and unpack and then walk over to The Boadwalk and look in the shops and buy our 1st souvenirs.

We've found that The Big River Grill, on The Boardwalk, is a good place to have dinner. It's just a glorified burger place but you can't make ADRs it's a walk up only place. That way if you're delayed then you're not missing any reservations. They do a lovely chicken ceaser salad and the burgers are just right after a very long day and a long flight. Then after dinner all you've got to do is a 5 min walk round the lake back to The Yacht club.

The girls are hoping to be able to play in the pool when we get to YC, whilst I unpack - but I'm a tad worried that they'll be too tired? Boardwalk does sound like a good plan - thanks for the tip regarding The Big River Grill... I've been trying to find places that are close but not too pricey (where we don't need to make reservations) for the first night - it sounds perfect!

I also love the idea of going for a wander and letting them buy their first souvenirs! When I was little and we went to Disneyland Paris, we always bought PJ's the first night or a t-shirt for the next day, it made it special! That's definitely going in the plan!

xxx

 

[scoobydooby]

Staying at the Yacht club I would definitely plan several evenings to eat there as you only have one day in that park and its really convenient from there. Your girls will love their pool, it's the best on property by a mile. But you really should eat at Beaches and Cream at the Beach Club. U tube 'The Kitchen Sink'!

My DD loves multiple days at MK too and both my children can easily do 8 hours in a water park without getting bored. They have fins! If they are between about 7 and 11, at Blizzard Beach get your chairs at the tween area and get a locker there too NOT at the front of the park. Then you can relax while they no doubt spend hours playing in this area. X

 

[scoobydooby]

Sorry I meant plan several evenings at Epcot.

 

[darthtatty]

How old are the children?

Im sure theyll be fine and manage to stay awake when you arrive.
theres so much to take in, theyll want to stay awake.

On our first visit my son was 4, he hardly slept the night before-eventually getting up at 3am. He slept on the plane for a couple of hours and stayed awake until about 10pm US time.

Its been pretty similar with him the past few trips.

The only thing we have found is about 4 or 5 days into our holiday, no matter how early we get to bed. Once morning we just need to sleep in.

youve got some great ADR's planned.

 

[Claire Bear]

Hello! When I phoned Disney they told me I can make ADRs on 21st Feb and I arrive on Tuesday 20th August so I presume you can make your ADRs on 24th xx

 

[Disney-PartyOf5]

Hi Hollie

We are staying at Disney's Beach Club around the same time as you. Best of luck with your ADR's - we arrive on the 16th so I was able to start making mine on Sunday.

Our 3 children are similar in age to your 3 nieces so I just thought I would respond to your question about tiredness and what to do on arrival.

You are all going to be tired when you arrive as traveling can really take it out of you but somehow that never seems to matter on the way there, it's the return journey that hurts the most

The excitement will kick in and with any luck you will be able to keep the girls up for a few more hours and then all crash around 8/9pm. We found that a quick dinner from the marketplace (Beach club side) was enough to keep the kids going (as was a quick swim - great idea!) and it meant that we had a slightly longer nights sleep. I would be prepared for a very early start the next day. We generally struggle to sleep later than 5am that first morning but it does have its benefits. You will definitely make rope drop and you could get some lovely pictures of the resort (great shots on the swinging chairs on the beach or posing on the sun beds) before anyone else is up

Don't forget to book your preferred fireworks viewing at both Epcot and the Magic Kingdom. (call the recreation line).

You could also make your T-Rex reservation by calling direct (001 407 828 8739).

Happy planning

 

[chmurf]

One thing seems "off" in your planning (in my opinion)

September 2nd. You plan CRT at 7pm, then the dessert party at 9pm

I think it's a waste of time and money. You'll probably be too stuffed to enjoy anything at the dessert party.
If it's only to secure a good spot to watch Wishes, then so be it, but that's a bit of a waste.


there is also the 27th of August, where you plan Magic Kingdom, then an ADR at Hollywood Studios for Sci-Fi Dine in at 6pm, then Fantasmic at 8:30pm
I know the second part of August is less crowded than the rest of the summer, but it might be cutting it too short. It's doable, but if you have to wait to be seated, have a slow service, then you may have to run through the park to get to fantasmic, which is basically on the other side of the park.
I might be overthinking this, but I don't like to run

T-Rex on Animal Kingdom day. DTD and DAK are just on opposite sides of the property. If you have a car, then it should be no problem, but consider going back to YC and take the bus over to DTD as an ADR in DTD, Friday night, 7pm, you're not going to find a parking spot quickly. And if all 3 first parking lots are full and closed like they often are, you're facing a 15 minutes walk or more to get to T-Rex. You might as well take the bus.

you also have 2 water parks planned.
What if it rains ? You'll need a backup plan.
Your planning is fine since you didn't plan ADRs for lunch. So you can swap water park days. but get a backup plan just in case.

Too much MK, too little EPCOT. Just as PP said.

Impressive planning for a first timer

 

[Tinkerpeas hubby]

Our boys are around the same ages, they also love swimming! If they could have it there way they would swim all day and do rides all night lol, unfortunately they do not nap and so they can't do both no matter blowhard they try,

We actually did try it a few days as they just loved the paddock pool at SSR and our room over looked it so we was only a few steps away
They swam all day then went and changed to do HS, we arrived at HS around 7 and by 9.30 one was asleep in his chicken nuggets lol and the other asleep on the bench! Dh & 1 took it in turns to take the other twin on RNR and TOT while the other 2 slept, they was pretty embarrassed lol.

When it comes to the 1st night there we have tried going for dinner at boma ( fail) they was all way too tired to eat and really wasn't interested in a proper meal! We have also tried swimming then a QS meal, this worked best for us, they enjoyed the swim but still ate nothing much on the last trip,flying and being dragged through the airport really seems to take it out of the boys! So I would not schedule anything much, just try and keep them entertained as long as you can

 

[Holstar]

Hi Hollie

We are staying at Disney's Beach Club around the same time as you. Best of luck with your ADR's - we arrive on the 16th so I was able to start making mine on Sunday.

Our 3 children are similar in age to your 3 nieces so I just thought I would respond to your question about tiredness and what to do on arrival.

You are all going to be tired when you arrive as traveling can really take it out of you but somehow that never seems to matter on the way there, it's the return journey that hurts the most

The excitement will kick in and with any luck you will be able to keep the girls up for a few more hours and then all crash around 8/9pm. We found that a quick dinner from the marketplace (Beach club side) was enough to keep the kids going (as was a quick swim - great idea!) and it meant that we had a slightly longer nights sleep. I would be prepared for a very early start the next day. We generally struggle to sleep later than 5am that first morning but it does have its benefits. You will definitely make rope drop and you could get some lovely pictures of the resort (great shots on the swinging chairs on the beach or posing on the sun beds) before anyone else is up

Don't forget to book your preferred fireworks viewing at both Epcot and the Magic Kingdom. (call the recreation line).

You could also make your T-Rex reservation by calling direct (001 407 828 8739).

Happy planning

Thank you! I've actually been having such a hard time finding the T-Rex number, I'll call them Sunday after I've done all of the other reservations!

I'm so relieved to hear that the girls will make it through the afternoon - I don't want them to be grouchy when we're waiting at immigration and then crash as soon as we get there without eating first!

What dates are you over? Are you flying direct from London? Perhaps we'll see you floating around the pool!

One thing seems "off" in your planning (in my opinion)


September 2nd. You plan CRT at 7pm, then the dessert party at 9pm. I think it's a waste of time and money. You'll probably be too stuffed to enjoy anything at the dessert party.
If it's only to secure a good spot to watch Wishes, then so be it, but that's a bit of a waste.


there is also the 27th of August, where you plan Magic Kingdom, then an ADR at Hollywood Studios for Sci-Fi Dine in at 6pm, then Fantasmic at 8:30pm
I know the second part of August is less crowded than the rest of the summer, but it might be cutting it too short. It's doable, but if you have to wait to be seated, have a slow service, then you may have to run through the park to get to fantasmic, which is basically on the other side of the park.
I might be overthinking this, but I don't like to run

T-Rex on Animal Kingdom day. DTD and DAK are just on opposite sides of the property. If you have a car, then it should be no problem, but consider going back to YC and take the bus over to DTD as an ADR in DTD, Friday night, 7pm, you're not going to find a parking spot quickly. And if all 3 first parking lots are full and closed like they often are, you're facing a 15 minutes walk or more to get to T-Rex. You might as well take the bus.

you also have 2 water parks planned.
What if it rains ? You'll need a backup plan.
Your planning is fine since you didn't plan ADRs for lunch. So you can swap water park days. but get a backup plan just in case.

Too much MK, too little EPCOT. Just as PP said.

Impressive planning for a first timer

Completely hear you on the Desert Party thing, I've been worrying that it may be too much food too. I think my partner and I will have to have a big chat about it tonight. It's our last night at WDW before we go to a villa for a week, so we wanted to end it on a really happy note and go all out - but you're right, it will be too much food!

I do want to look into the T-Rex positioning before we book Sunday, as I'm not quite happy with it either. It's the one our girls said they really wanted to do, but it is a long way, even with a car! Thank you!

With regards to the waterparks, we do have backups planned, days we can switch around - I just couldn't figure out how to show that on the chart!

Will defo try and squeeze in more Epcot - I think that's our plan for the evenings/late afternoons after we've sat around the pool or before we go to dinner.

Our boys are around the same ages, they also love swimming! If they could have it there way they would swim all day and do rides all night lol, unfortunately they do not nap and so they can't do both no matter blowhard they try,

We actually did try it a few days as they just loved the paddock pool at SSR and our room over looked it so we was only a few steps away
They swam all day then went and changed to do HS, we arrived at HS around 7 and by 9.30 one was asleep in his chicken nuggets lol and the other asleep on the bench! Dh & 1 took it in turns to take the other twin on RNR and TOT while the other 2 slept, they was pretty embarrassed lol.

When it comes to the 1st night there we have tried going for dinner at boma ( fail) they was all way too tired to eat and really wasn't interested in a proper meal! We have also tried swimming then a QS meal, this worked best for us, they enjoyed the swim but still ate nothing much on the last trip,flying and being dragged through the airport really seems to take it out of the boys! So I would not schedule anything much, just try and keep them entertained as long as you can

Thank you! I think this sounds like the best option - being the fishes that they are, they'll be dying to get in the pool as soon as we get there, so we'll let them swim whilst I unpack and then grab a QS meal!