Anyone care to critique/help me think this thru?

[Shelly888]

Traveling are me, DH and our two boys ages 12 and 6(7 when we go). They are seasoned travelers. DS(6) hasn't been to WDW that he can remember. He went when he was2 1/2. A few other facts that might help. We are paying OOP for food. We will likely eat breakfasts in our room except the few I mentioned. We will use busses or the boat to DS for all transport except the few cases I mentioned. We usually never get PH passes, but I might get the 4:3 deal PH. I'm waiting to see if there are any package deals coming out for our dates. I hope my gamble pays off and I don't miss the deal.

Nov 5th...either arriving early evening around 5 pm or late evening around 9:30. Flights have not been booked yet. I'm thinking the earlier arrival is better even though it's a bit pricier.

Nov 6th(Sun) Magic Kingdom day for Rope drop. Likely stay until 4-5. Head back to resort and grab dinner there and swim.

Nov 7th(Mon) EPCOT for RD. I am trying to get a PPO breakfast at GG, but no luck. Likely stay until 4-5, maybe grab TS/QS in EPCOT, then head back to resort to chill.

Nov 8th(Tues) Hollywood Studios for RD. Honestly, not sure how long we will sty, but it's likely around the same time frame(4-5). Head to resort and chill. Then reserve(still available) The Spirit of Aloha dinner show for our family and another family we are meeting there. Looking at the 8:30 spot. Kids will be fine this late...my kids are night owls. We will either taxi or Uber there. Friends have a car.

Nov 9th(Wed) Resort/mellow day. We've hit the parks for 3 days and had a late night dinner. Probably a good day to take the boat to Disney Springs, grab lunch(or an early dinner). Head back to resort, get things all packed up for the 2nd half of our split stay. Maybe go to the arcade or pool again.

Nov 10th(Thurs) Check out of POR, and get our stuff to bell services. POFQ is our resort. DH and DS(12) are going to Universal and I thought this would be a good day for that. DS(will have just turned 7) and I will go to a park. DH had encouraged AK since that is his least favorite park, but it's a red park so I am thinking nope. We could go back to MK.

Nov 11th(Fri) Crowds look wild and I believe AK is the only recommended park this day. I'd love to get dinner at Boma! Our favorite buffet in the World!

Nov 12th(Sat)Rest/resort day. I was thinking this might be a good day to try and snag a dinner reservation at a MK area resort restaurant and hope to catch Wishes. I know it's really late, but since we don't have a lot of TS planned, I am not opposed to a signature place if that's all that is left. Another thought would be to spend a leisurely day at FW campground, maybe go to Trails End buffet for dinner(though breakfast or brunch also look awesome!) and then catch the fireworks.

Nov 13th(Sun) Magic Kingdom with the whole family. This would be day #3 of MK for youngest DS and myself.

Nov 14th(Mon) EPCOT and try for a PPO at GG. Half day, then resort, likely back for Illuminations. This is our last full day.

Nov 15th(Tues) Flight home is around 3. I was thinking a swim in the am, and maybe a send off breakfast with characters somewhere there is availability using taxi/Uber. Then back to POFQ, to catch ME to MCO to fly home.



If you got this far...thank you We haven't gone to DW since 2011. DH was getting burnt out, so I am trying to make this trip an extra positive experience so he will go back in a couple of years. I was using Easy WDW's crowd calendar for Nov 2016 to figure the days. I'm not sure if the Star Wars fireworks at HS are worth squeezing in? Do we look overbooked? Could we squeeze in more? I don't have any PH using this plan. Maybe we should? The more I look, the more confuzzled I seem to get.

 

[Alesia]

Do we look overbooked? Could we squeeze in more?

This is really a personal decision. My family would be bored to tears with your schedule by day 2. For others, it would be too strenuous. You just have to decide where your family falls on the spectrum.

Is there a reason you're splitting your stay between POR and POFQ. Moving midway through seems like kind of a pain when you're moving to virtually the same resort.

 

[sharonabe]

I'd say it looks pretty good.

With two boys, the Star Wars fireworks are definitely a must. Either head back on your HS day or add a day to your tickets (around $10 pp) and go on an evening of one of your rest/resort days.

I think I might also ask DS7 which park he wants to go to on your day alone with him. If you don't have the planning DVD, get it, so he can see the different parks. Get one of the kid friendly guide books (your library probably has at least one), so he can do some "research" and decide where he wants to go.

As for packages, I think I would go ahead and book now. If something does come out, you can change it, but I doubt there will be anything else for this year. Free dining was available for parts of Nov/Dec. There MIGHT be a room discount come up if they aren't filling rooms. Do some math and see how a possible 25% off room discount holds up against the deal you're looking at now.

 

[Shelly888]

This is really a personal decision. My family would be bored to tears with your schedule by day 2. For others, it would be too strenuous. You just have to decide where your family falls on the spectrum.

Is there a reason you're splitting your stay between POR and POFQ. Moving midway through seems like kind of a pain when you're moving to virtually the same resort.

This is why I'm asking for advice/help! I honestly don't know if we will be bored or feel satiated. We have 11 days, and I don't want to burn out early on. The reason for a split stay is because we have a PIN code. Good friends of ours are meeting us down there and are staying at POR. DH insists that we stay there, at least part of the time. There is no availability using the PIN at POR, but there is at FQ for the dates we are staying there(the second half of the split). Since there aren't any deals out yet, and I know DH's only requirement is to stay at POR, I figured at least 5 nights would be discounted. He also seemed to get "burnt out" at our resorts the last time we were there for 10-11 nights.

 

[sharonabe]

This is why I'm asking for advice/help! I honestly don't know if we will be bored or feel satiated. We have 11 days, and I don't want to burn out early on.

Just because you don't PLAN on going back to the parks at night or staying longer, doesn't mean you CAN'T. Your plan is very loose and leisurely, and I think it gives you the flexibility to add to it if you're enjoying the parks, but gives you a framework to get what you want done in the time you have planned.

 

[Cynister]

I agree with the previous poster that it is hard to say without knowing what type of vacationing your family likes to do. Are you all perfectly content not doing a lot & hanging out most of the time, or do you like to do & see things more? Think of how your weekends normally work to get a feel. You're going for a lot of days so I don't think you'll have to be worried about missing things. For my family, you would have too many resort/rest days. We aren't 'hang out at the resort' kind of people. We like to go all day & see many things, so we'd be wanting significantly more time in the parks or other activities like horseback rides, DTD, etc.

 

[DexLabDeeDee]

Hmmmm...that is a conundrum. One the one hand, you don't want to push for long park days or your husband my get burnt out. On the other hand, if you just hang out at the resort and relax a lot he might get burnt out.

Does he get burnt out because of the sameness or because he's doing too much?

If it is because of the sameness, then I would think that you might want to add some things in there that are just fun extras that will fill up time but not be too strenuous. Like mini golf or Chip n Dale's campfire sing a long at FW.

If you are cool with your kids hanging out in the room, you should check out Bob the piano player at POR. He's awesome and so much fun!!

 

[2manypets]

I personally think your plan is perfect. 11 days is a long time to do the parks every day commando style. You plan allows for even mix of entertainment and relaxing. Also I don't think the resorts are alike at all even though they're "sister" resorts. Bayou vs French Quarter. Completely different atmosphere.

 

[justme0729]

On off/ rest days, maybe consider going to one of the water parks! It can be relaxing if you want to just lay in a chair on the sand or it can be entertaining if you do the wave pool and slides. Your boys would probably love it. Typhoon Lagoon is our favorite for the wave pool. You could just get a one day ticket for it or I think you can get like an 8 day park ticket with water parks but it would last more days than 8 if you just do water parks some days. Someone needs to confirm that though!!

I would also make sure (I think you have) to visit parks at different times of day to make it not feel redundant. Some MK days could be rope drop with rides and other MK days could just be 3 evening fast passes with a night show. Same for the other parks. The parks have a very different feel at night and it gives half of the day your not at the park to relax which might prevent burn out!

 

[Hopefully]

It would be too much hanging out for me. What we usually did was a park at rope drop until 1ish. Then a break back at the resort for a nap/rest and a swim. After we relaxed we would return to a park for dinner and evening activities. With a rest in the afternoon even the younger ones did fine with this schedule. You are missing out on all evening activates/shows. I think both Wishes and Illuminations are worth seeing.
Good Luck

 

[Shelly888]

Thank you for the honest feedback! I will try to answer as best as I can. Only DH can really explain how he feels with his complaint of burn out. All I know is that after 2 years of WDW vacations of 11 days each, the next year we stayed for 3 days pre-cruise. That was it. We got hooked on cruising and haven't gone back until now. I tried to go back to WDW and he didn't want to.

I agree with the previous poster that it is hard to say without knowing what type of vacationing your family likes to do. Are you all perfectly content not doing a lot & hanging out most of the time, or do you like to do & see things more? Think of how your weekends normally work to get a feel. You're going for a lot of days so I don't think you'll have to be worried about missing things. For my family, you would have too many resort/rest days. We aren't 'hang out at the resort' kind of people. We like to go all day & see many things, so we'd be wanting significantly more time in the parks or other activities like horseback rides, DTD, etc.

We do like to do more and see more, but I don't want to over-see to the point of not wanting to go back

Hmmmm...that is a conundrum. One the one hand, you don't want to push for long park days or your husband my get burnt out. On the other hand, if you just hang out at the resort and relax a lot he might get burnt out.

Does he get burnt out because of the sameness or because he's doing too much?
If it is because of the sameness, then I would think that you might want to add some things in there that are just fun extras that will fill up time but not be too strenuous. Like mini golf or Chip n Dale's campfire sing a long at FW.

If you are cool with your kids hanging out in the room, you should check out Bob the piano player at POR. He's awesome and so much fun!!

I think he gets burnt out from a combo of both! I think we've tried to do too much in the past and the sameness wore on him. He's an explorer, so why would we go to WDW every 2 years when there is SO much more of the world to see. I do agree with him, but, I also really love WDW. I have heard all about Bob! I was under the impression the kids could go with us. I do think your ideas of the extras/uncommon delights may help!

I personally think your plan is perfect. 11 days is a long time to do the parks every day commando style. You plan allows for even mix of entertainment and relaxing. Also I don't think the resorts are alike at all even though they're "sister" resorts. Bayou vs French Quarter. Completely different atmosphere.

I admit, I felt very silly splitting this stay. I would have preferred a value early on followed by a deluxe, but DH insists on staying at POR. I have been there before and really liked it. I am looking forward to our time at FQ.

On off/ rest days, maybe consider going to one of the water parks! It can be relaxing if you want to just lay in a chair on the sand or it can be entertaining if you do the wave pool and slides. Your boys would probably love it. Typhoon Lagoon is our favorite for the wave pool. You could just get a one day ticket for it or I think you can get like an 8 day park ticket with water parks but it would last more days than 8 if you just do water parks some days. Someone needs to confirm that though!!

I would also make sure (I think you have) to visit parks at different times of day to make it not feel redundant. Some MK days could be rope drop with rides and other MK days could just be 3 evening fast passes with a night show. Same for the other parks. The parks have a very different feel at night and it gives half of the day your not at the park to relax which might prevent burn out!

I wasn't planning on water parks(but maybe I should reconsider) because Typhoon Lagoon is closed and I didn't know if we'd have days hot enough to use it? Thanks for the idea to switch it up. I think I"ve done that a little, but I can likely do better

It would be too much hanging out for me. What we usually did was a park at rope drop until 1ish. Then a break back at the resort for a nap/rest and a swim. After we relaxed we would return to a park for dinner and evening activities. With a rest in the afternoon even the younger ones did fine with this schedule. You are missing out on all evening activates/shows. I think both Wishes and Illuminations are worth seeing.
Good Luck

I was considering this. You don't feel you spend a lot of time getting around on the busses?

I am meeting with our friends tonight, so hopefully I can hash this out with them as well. I"m not sure exactly how much time they are planning on spending with us, how they typically tour the parks etc. They are AP holders and went in April, going in September, with us in November, and back in April 2017. Thanks again for your thoughts

 

[harrowgirl]

We are midday break people as well - even when we stay offsite. AK we tend to do in one shot....but now with the new evening activities we'll do breaks those days too. The only time I feel like it is a drama to take the mid day break is our MK kingdom days - but that is more because of the fact you have to monorail to TTC, then shuttle to car, then drive.....but all the other parks are fine. My son has autism, and can only handle the parks in 3-4 hour spurts...but we love the evenings at the parks - every park has something great at night (well, I don't know if the AK stuff is "great" yet), but you get my point. We also travel when the parks are generally open until 9, and MK is open until 11. I don't like being there in the afternoon because of the crowds and heat. But we travel between May and October usually also (though not summer usually).

Some people hate all the back and forth. We don't mind it. I figure 90 minutes or so of travel back and forth to get 3+ hours of a break (we usually leave at 12:30 or 1 and return at 5:30 or 6) is worth it. Kids are ready to go and fired up after some air conditioning and a swim.

 

[JennyDrake]

I will throw this in the mix---the half marathon etc. is going on the Thursday-SUnday that you arrive. Expect heavier crowds on those days. Monday-Wednesday should thin out, then expect HEAVY crowds over the 3 day federal holiday weekend. While you don't have a lot in your plans, I think it is ideal to add this "space" given the ages of your kids and the fluctuating crowds. Keep in mind that you could also be rained out at any time!

 

[Amelia :)]

Is there a reason your not taking your youngest to Universal? I think there's lots there that a 7 year old would enjoy! My 8 year old can't wait to see HP, Jurassic park.. Well just about everything!
We are there the same time! Mk the 6th aswell. Keep in mind on the 13th it's mvmcp so you will have to leave at 7

 

[DexLabDeeDee]

Your kids are able to come to Bob's performance. I thought it might be fun to do something without the kids but you can totally bring them.

And depending on when you go, it does get a little rowdy (just loud and very energetic) and sometimes there can be inebriated people. Neither Bob nor his show is inappropriate but to me, it just starts to feel a little more like adult time and less like kid time. This would probably vary a lot depending on the evening, the people there, and your and your kids' comfort levels.

I don't want to give the impression that it's a wild and crazy bar scene - it's not. It can just start to be a little raucous and I know as a child, it would have intimidated and upset me. Your children may feel differently.