Aug 5-10 with 3- and 4-yr old: trip report

[MamaK]

Thanks to TGM/Unofficial Guide, reading forums and much advanced planning, this was a dream vacation.

Learned:
- can't use 2 tickets in one day for 2 parks (Since we spent one
day at Seaworld, we had an extra park ticket, and I asked 3 diff
people over the past few months about using that extra ticket at
a diff park on the same day, and they said they thought we could
do that; well, you can't without a park-hopper)

- pay for the lunch in Cinderella's castle instead of using 2
meal tickets; the cost was about the same as 1 dinner-meal at
other restaurants and you only used 1 ticket, so you could get
two meals of the same cost.

- the water/squirt bottle & fan combo is a good investment, if
traveling in the hot months

- the meal plan is well worth it - you'll eat so well and get so
much food; use your snacks; the last day we had so many snacks
and counters left over, we ended up using them at the counter
place in our hotel and stocking up on drinks, chips and fruit for
the trip home. She told me I could get any three snacks to count
for 1 counter meal.

- schedule a meal at Wolfgang Puck's in Downtown Disney -
excellent food, and (if on Dining plan) no limit on entrees, so
you'll have a good meal for only 1 dinner ticket.

- get there at park opening and use FPs - it'll save you so much
time, and you'll get loads done before there are lines.

- from Poly, the boat is quicker to MK than monorail; on the way
back boat and monorail are about the same; boat can be faster

- if others in your party aren't getting FPs for anything, use
their tickets to obtain several FPs and ride the ride twice in a
row, or get two diff rides at the same time

- get there early, that extra hour (or more) before the crowds
allowed us to do so much without waiting in line; we had a very
productive morning, which allowed us a realxed pace in the
afternoon/evening, adn we didn't miss anything we wanted to get
done.

Kids' favorites:
- parades
- hula girls at Poly Luau
- meeting characters
- tea cups, Pooh and Peter Pan, Small World
- volcano pool (Poly)
- Muppets 3D
- lunch at the castle
- Minnie's house

Accomplished (Schedule):
Sat - Aug 5
- arrived in early afternoon, children drew tribal masks while I checked in at Poly
- took boat to MK, found a good spot on Main Street to watch the
parade; took kids through shops (in A/C) while waiting.
- watched parade (characters were walking around, not in globes)
and interacted with the kids a lot
- went back to hotel to clean up for dinner (luau reservation at 5:15)
- dinner at Poly luau - excellent show (2 hours)
- relax in the room before bed

Sun - Aug 6 - MGM
- got there at park opening, 9 am
- Playhouse Disney (9:45)
- met characters: Sorceror Mickey (no line); Quincy and JoJo (in

front of trailers)
- Millionaire game
- lunch at Hollywood and Vine with JoJo, Goliath, June and Leo
(received pass for priority seating at Fantasmic)
- back to hotel for nap
- MGM again for evening parade (5:30)
- Beauty & the Beast live (best show overall)
- Muppets 3D
- dinner at Toy Story pizza planet (counter)
- Fantasmic

Mon - SeaWorld
- played in pool at hotel
- Downtown Disney shopping

Tues - MK EMH
- left hotel around 7:15 (rode in front of monorail with driver)
- arrived at MK before 7:30, went through turnstiles and watched

opening show with train arriving with characters
- went in and grabbed maps, guide and stroller
- straight to Dumbo (no wait)
- Pooh (across from Dumbo)
- Peter Pan (about 7-10 min wait)
- Small World
- Carousel (only 9:15)
- Philharmagic (out at 9:40)
- Tea cups
- Toontown: Mickey's house and Judge's tent first, no line;
character line for Minnie, Chip & Dale, walked through Minnie's house
- walked through Tomorrowland to front of Castle for
Cinderellabration (10:40)
- Fairytale garden for Belle's storytime (11:10)
- got girls dressed for Princess lunch in castle (res at 12:05)
- 12-1, lunch in Castle
- back to hotel for nap
- took boat to MK, then boat form MK to Wilderness lodge for

dinner at Whispering Canyon.
- boat to MK after dinner
- got silhousettes of the girls (Main Street; gentleman was

outstanding)
- Swiss Family treehouse
- girls played with ducks in grass in front of Adventureland
while I took pics of the castle changing colors (guys used FPs
for SPace Mountain)
- left before parade (my kids couldn't stay up that late);
enjoyed some ice cream on the way out

Weds - Animal Kingdom - EMH
- arrived at park at 7:45 (drove)
- one guy in our party took all the tix to get FPs for Everest
while we walked to the Safari; he met us there. No line at
Safari, it was very good! We saw the giraffes about 15 feet from

our jeep, lions were out, hippos, tons of animals
- Pangini Trail - gorillas
- Maharaja Trek to see tigers
- Camp Minnie-Mickey to see Pocahontas
- Festival of the Lion King
- asked cast member where Belue would be and he gave me exact
time and location, so we got photos with Belue and King Louie
(while guys went to Everest)
- lunch at Flame Tree BBQ (counter)
- excellent view of Everest, coaster side (heard screaming) and
also saw a boat pass during lunch with Minnie, Mickey, Pluto and
Goofy on board waving at us.
- went back to hotel for nap; didn't make it back for parade
- went to Epcot to discover our extra ticket wouldn't work; ended
up at Wolfgang Puck's for dinner (better choice)

Thurs - MK - EMH
(redid some favorites and a few new attractions; had to leave by

12:15 to check out of hotel by 1)
- arrive before opening, saw welcome show
- grabbed breakfast in a Main Street bakery
- Dumbo (no line, but it wasn't working, so we had to leave)
- Pooh
- Dumbo was up again, so we walked right on, no wait.
- Peter Pan & Small World
- played in 100-acre wood (across from Pooh ride)
- Tea cups (about 9:30 now)
- over to Adventureland for Tiki Birds
- Country Bear Jamboree
- train to ToonTown
- played in play area
- character lines were OK, but we didn't have time to spare, so
no more autographs there
- on the way to lunch we saw Pooh and Tigger outside 100-acre
wood playground and got photos
- lunch at Pinnochio's Haus (great milkshakes)
- back to hotel to check-out

Email me with any questions about going with preschoolers -
adamskr@musc.edu
Our entire party consisted of mom (me), dad, 2 girls (3 & 4), my
sister and two cousins (adults).

I talked to others in line who spent hours and hours in
line - we never waited more than 10 min for anything, rides,
food, shows... It was an incredible trip.

MamaK
adamskr@musc.edu

 

[prcoamo]

Mamak wrote:
Mon - SeaWorld
- played in pool at hotel
- Downtown Disney shopping

How long were you at SeaWorld? I take it then you were not there all day? Did you find going to SeaWorld worth it? I'm debating on whether taking a day out of our 7 day visit to go to SeaWorld (myself and dd 7). We wouldn't be doing any of the rides really, just touring the park and some shows. Do you think if we get there at opening we could be done by mid afternoon?
We're also staying at the Poly (first timers)
What mode of transportation did you use to get to SeaWord

Thanks

 

[MamaK]

Since we went off Disney property, this was the one day we didn't take a mid-day break/nap, but the kids faired well.

We arrived at Seaworld just after the park opened - the shows don't begin for at least 30 min after the opening, so if that's what you'll be doing, you'll be OK not be there right when it opens. We were able to do all the major shows. We saw "Clyde & Seamore" first, then Shamu (a must), then the kids played a little bit and we ate lunch at the Busch hospitality center (good food, we got beef stew, even though it was 100 degrees), and free beer, if you like beer. We also got to see the Clydesdale horses there.

Then we walked through the Shark Encounter (underwater-tunnel viewing), saw the Odyssea show (very good), then the kids played in a water fountain and we caught a group of "Chefs" banging some pots and pans, like they were drums - pretty interesting. we went into the dog/cat show, which was surprisingly good. Then we went by the Stingray pool (you can buy food to feed them and touch them when they get close).

By this time it was around 4:00, and we left. That evening back at the hotel, we went ot the pool to cool off and relax, then I got the kids a counter lunch from Captain Cook's, and they went to bed early (because Tuesday was an early morning).

It was good to save the indoor shows for the afternoon (Odyssea and dog/cat), because it was so hot. Clyde & Seamore was probably the least favorite, so if you miss that one, it'd be OK. Your dd may like another dolphin show (that we didn't see) instead.

Seaworld is also a lot of walking, and, unlike I thought, the Shamu's play area has NO water-related areas, it's just some slides and kiddie rides. I was hoping my girls could cool off there, but they didn't find water to play in, until we were outside the dog/cat show.

I'd say it's well worth it to take a day for Seaworld. If you buy tix online (7+ days in advance, you can get a good discount and you don't have to wait in line for tix.) Also, it was like $10 to park, which I think is outrageous, when the tix are already so high. But just keep that in mind when budgeting. We drove to Orlando and had a vehicle there, so we drove to seaworld - took about 15 -20 min from the hotel.

You could easily be done my mid-afternoon if you plan the shows right.

Hope that helps.

 

[prcoamo]

Yes, that info helps alot. Thank you.
We're going to definetely take a day for SeaWorld