Are We Being Unrealistic????

[KAK]

We are planning a trip to Disney in January 2005. We are setting aside 9 days. 2 days for travel (1 to fly in and 1 to fly home) and 7 days to spend at WDW. We will spend 2 days at the MK, 1 at the AK, 1 at MGM, 1 at Epcot (with several evening meals at Epcot) with 2 free days. Some folks that we know are telling us that we are trying to do too much. I was last there 25 years ago when I was 15. Are we being unrealistic or will we have enough time to see most of it?

Thanks for any advice that you can give us.
KAK

PS It will be me and my wife and her parents and our 3 children (9, 6, 4)

 

[ILPHIL]

January crowds are normally lighter so you shouldn't have long lines to contend with.
I think 5 days should work well. I would suggest doing your "homework" and decide on your must-see attractions in each park and hit those first and take it from there. But don't get so wrapped up in seeing "everything" that you forget to have fun.
Besides...a week at WDW in January beats the heck out of being here in IL (especially N. IL)

Have Fun!!

 

[ciera123]

I agree, January hours are shorter than busier times, but you can get so much into those hours with such short lines. With 2 free days you can go back to parks you really enjoyed and you probably won't be doing water parks in January so I think it's realistic. Have a great time!!

 

[4greatboys]

To me for your first visit in a long time Epcot is probably a 2 day park unless you are skipping some of it. MGM is always a 2 day park for our family because we love it. Hours will be shorter and crowds will be less but I'm thinking there is a lot you are going to want to do.

 

[TwingleMum]

Very doable!! Just be flexible. AK is a park people either love or hate. But is best done as soon as park opens so you have a good chance of seeing animals on safari ride. Plan on hitting that first. You "might" be able to do all you want at AK in a half day. We usually break our days up so we're not too exhausted for rest of the trip this way (this is only an example) Day 1 MK am , Epcot pm Day 2 AK am, MGM pm Day 3 Epcot am , MK pm and so on. Also I Can't stress enough the importance of staying on property there are plenty of hotels in all price ranges. You need to seriously think especially with kids of taking a 2-3 hr rest midday. Go back to your resort , swim ,relax, lie down and have a bite to eat. recharge yourself for the exciting night ahead. And cuts down on cranky kids (and adults LOL). You don't realize how tiring it is to do all that walking. Another advantage to staying on property is you can enter the parks an hour earlier than the masses and no parking headaches. So you "might" want to schedule your parks to coincide with the early entry days. You can ride the popular rides before everyone else is allowed in the parks. Make sure you check the schedule for fireworks and parades, at slower times of the year they don't offer them everynight. So you want to make sure you see - Spectromagic and Wishes at MK and Illuminations at Epcot.

With some advance planning you and your family are going to have a magical trip. Just beware once you go you'll get biten by the Disney bug and have to keep coming back!!! Hope I didn't overwhelm you with strategy but its always fun to have another Disney convert. ENJOY!!!!

 

[MickeyMonstersMom]

I took my mom and kids (8 and 4 at the time) for their first WDW trip and planned for 5 days in the parks. I went beyond "doing my homework," and it made the most of the time we had. We bought the Birnbaum's Guides (regular and children's versions), and worked together to make a "must-see" list. Then I bought the Passporter and looked up how much time we were likely to spend on each attraction. From that I figured out how to allocate time in the parks. It sounds pretty obsessive, but the advance planning really paid off - we never felt like commandos - everything went really smoothly. We went in late August and found that we were done with our must-see's shortly after lunch - we spent a lot of time simply park-hopping in the afternoons, revisiting favorites and such.

With good advance planning, seven days will be quite realistic - and fun! Good luck!

 

[Margie J]

My only change:
2 days Epcot
1 day each - MK, MGM and AK

Epcot is large and can take a lot of time to get the most out of it. I consider it two parks. There are things for kids to do including crafts, games and special projects that take time. Trying to do Epcot with your group in one day is too much.

MK can be completed in one day, especially by using FastPass whenever possible. Stay the entire day too with a short break if you need it. There are also quiet places within the park to take a break such as the rose garden pavillion area (near Tomorrowland) or the spot behind the Castle.

AK closes early. After seeing that park you can always hop back to another one that is still open (Epcot or MK), make it an early evening or take in a dinner show that night.

 

[daannzzz]

That sounds like a fine plan to me. I think it is better to plan 2 days off and then fill them if you feel than to plan full days every day and then become overwhelmed. You should have a fine time.

 

[crisi]

Depends on what your definition of "most" is.

You won't have time to play all 99 holes of golf, or eat in every restaurant or take all the behind the scenes tours. It takes years worth of Disney obsession to do it all.

But you should have plenty of time to see the major attractions in each park, and many of the minor ones, plus revisit a few favorites. You may want to split up the party in a few parks - your nine year old may want to do coasters while your four year old enjoys the Playhouse Disney show.

 

[Rachael Q]

We were there in January 2004, and heading back Jan 2005 as well.

We had 1 day at AK, one day at MGM, one day at MK, one 1/2 day and lots of evenings at Epcot and two full days that were extra -we ended up spending them not in parks. We didnt' feel rushed, saw most of what we wanted to see and are not upset at what we didn't see/do - eg kali river rapids - too cold

We arrived late on Sunday afternoon, after unpacking and napping we went to Epcot around 7. Toured Mexico and Norway - no waits on either ride, had dinner at Mexico and dessert from Norway while we watched Illuminations.

Monday - AK with EMH. Left right after the parade finished. Napped and washed up then went to Epcot. Toured UK and Canada. Got take out from Le Cellier and ate while watching Illuminations.

Tuesday - MGM arrived around 9am (had been planning to use EMH but slept in). Again left after parade. Back to resort to change then to Downtown Disney to see Cirque De Soleil, then dinner and shopping.

Wednesday - MK all day until Wishes and Closing. Dinner at resort.

Thursday - Offsite - Lakeland and Winterhaven Airports. Arrived Epcot around 2pm stayed until Illuminations

Friday - Offsite all day - shopping, mini golf

Saturday - Kennedy Space Centre

Sunday - travel day

Just be flexible and you'll have a great time.

 

[webray]

Sounds like a good plan to me...we love to be busy while on disney vacations...no point in sitting around..as there is a lot to see and do.

I don't think you are being unrealistic at all.

Have a great time!

 

[KAK]

Thank You guys so much! Your thoughts are greatly appreciated.

KAK

 

[N.Bailey]

You will have plenty of time to see and do what you feel is important. and....What you might miss this trip will always be a great excuse for you to return!

One thing you might make a note of is, on EE days you might want to visit that park in the AM and switch to another park midday. If you'd spend EE morning for example in the magic kingdom, you'll get a lot accomplished, but it might be really busy at that park by midday because of it being an EE morning. Does that make sense? At that point, you could hop on over to MGM or Epcot and enjoy less of a crowd at those parks.

Have a great trip.

 

[Deb & Bill]

Park hop as much as possible. Don't plan on only one park a day. Hit one in the morning, relax at the hotel and hit another in the late afternoon/evening (depending on park hours).

With kids the age of yours, you want to spend lots of time in MK.

We always hit a park a day, maybe not all day and maybe just an hour or two, but we never stay home one full day. Waterparks are fun in January because they aren't very crowded.

Hit the parks on your free days. But take some time to smell the roses and let your kids have fun.

You won't be able to do everything, so plan on returning. (Plus catch the DVC channel on the hotel TV).

 

[lwestwise]

Looks like exactly what I would plan. The extra evenings at Epcot for dining will get in the extra time there. Sounds like you have a good plan. Enjoy.

 

[01Sweetpea]

Just be willing to be flexable with the kids. We went in the end of Feb, 7 park days. We were up early and at every rope drop but by 3 or 4pm the kids we tired of the parks and wanted to go back to the resort to swim and relax.

For me AK is a whole day park. We left at 3pm and there was more I thought I would go back and see, and just never got there. As for Epcot, my kids wanted no part of World Showcase. I would have loved to take my time, stroll thru, but with 2 whinning boys, it just wasn't worth it. MGM was a 1 day park, no need to go back. MK, I just think there is so much to see and do, that I would take 2 days to really enjoy the park.

We did the Family Magic Tour, which was wonderful. Your 9 & 6 yo might like Disney Quest, this was my boys (11 & 8) favorite. 5 floors of virtual reality games & video games. My Dh was in heaven!!