Change of plan....do we /don't we??

[pooky_uk]

Hi All

I am having second thoughts about our itinerary for our first ever WDW trip.

We have 10 days in WDW in Feb and I planned on getting a 5 day hopper and 2 day for Universal IOA....here is my first stab at an itineray....

3rd - Thurs - will arrive late pm, so plan to chill and maybe go to downtown disney...
4th - Fri - Magic Kingdom &wishes
5th - Sat - Animal Kingdom
6th - Sun - Epcot (a late start - just looking to do World showcase)
7th - Mon - Island of Adventure
8th - Tues - Seaworld
9th - Weds - Univeral Studios
10th - MGM & fantasmic
11th - Magic Kingdom - will try and get a character breakkie - my daughters 7th birthday
12th - Swimming with the dolphins @ discovery cove
13th - the next four days chilling on the disney cruise

Anyway, after reading so many posts on here I'm inclined to drop the Universal parks - as much I don't want too - but I am concerned it may be wayyy too much to take in! my DD is 6 (will turn 7 out there)

I am now thinking of getting a 7day hopper and drop the universal parks, we can then take WDW at a more leisurely (if at all possible!!!!) pace ....

what do you think??

Also, with the 7day hopper (and 5 for that matter) - does that mean you get 7 days entry into any of the WDW parks PLUS waterparks on top?? SO, if we bought a 5 day hopper - we could do 5 days in the theme parks and have 1 day at a water park?? Also, are you paying for the "days use" regardless of how many parks you do in a day..i.e. we could do 2 in one day but only use 1 day of your hopper ticket?

Thanks guys - look forward to your advice!

Laura

 

[JohnnySharp]

Hi Laura,

As far as your plan goes, although you have a cruise at the end to relax I think you are right in dropping some Theme Parks from your schedule, whether that is Universal is a personal choice.

To visit the parks day after day is very difficult, impossible for us - we tend to plan our first 3 or 4 days then play it by ear.
We are visiting twice next year and already have a number of Disney days left over from our previous trip and are planning to buy an Annual Universal pass.

It is difficult advising when we talk about the parks as we all have different ideas, however to plan a visit each day is too much really, you have to have time to relax in-between (in my opinion anyway).

Park Hoppers, a 5 day hopper plus also gives you 2 days at any of the water parks and a 7 day gives you 4 days.
Any days not used can be saved for another trip as the tickets never expire, including the Water Parks.

Yes you could do 2 parks in one day - for example visit Magic Kingdom in the morning and MGM in the afternoon - in doing so you would only use 1 day of your ticket.
Obviously the 'hopper' term means that you can move from park to park on the same day.
This flexibility could affect your schedule , another example is I reckon Animal Kingdom is not a full day visit, so you could do AK in the morning and say EPCOT later in the day...you then have a free day to relax or whatever.

Does this help?

 

[danandjackie]

I think Johnnys right you can always use your hoppers on another trip, however personally I do prefer to take a break from Disney and Universal is the perfect antidote to this, yes the experience on a whole may be a little to much for a 7 year old but remember its your holiday as well and you would miss out on a lot... Personally I never take any days off from parks but mix the parks up, though thats because we have no children and secondly because thats the main reason we travel, but as Johnny points out everyones needs are differant. My only other real suggestion as you arrive late would be to maybe move your seaworld visit up to your first full day to gently introduce DD to the parks and avoid any real queing, hope you manage to ride Kraken though youll have to child switch..

 

[JohnnySharp]

DanandJackie, That's right - the reason we feel we need that bit of rest is we have one child , a 7 year old boy who is Autistic and whilst he is a lovely happy playful boy it can be tiring at times touring the parks, which is why we rent a villa allowing us to relax a bit more (we often do not get the chance at home).
Plus he loves water so a private pool is great for us.

I also think that the more you go the more you can pick and choose a bit and not feel you have to visit a park each day.
Like we have both said though everyone has their own ideas and part of the fun is planning, that's why we all like these discussion boards

 

[Celestine]

I would definitely build in some downtime/day at a water park when the pace is much more leisurely. Also, you can then do a bit of retail therapy (there is never enough time to do it at the parks!). Only you can decide whether to stick to Disney (which have done on shorter trips) or to sacrifice a day or 2 at Disney (saving you hopper for a return visit!) & visit Universal. If you are into big rides, missing IoA would be a tragedy, but for us DD is too young to appreciate it so we wizzed round IoA & spent the remainder of that day next door in the studios. Many people say AK is only a half day, but again it depends on your priorities. If you are only after rides, it is, but AK is about so much more than that & it is a sham IMHO to miss out the tigers, gorillas etc.

 

[pooky_uk]

Thanks for you you advice!

I really did want to try and visit all the parks - but after reading the boards and what you guys have re-inforced is that doing all in 10 days will not be wise!

Must do's are Discovery cove (all booked) and seaworld....so that's 2 days....

I would not get of Florida alive if we didn't go to MK, plan to do that on the first day then have it again on Millie's birthday....that's 4 days used!

Apart from that - we planned Epoct, MGM & AK too!

Hubby and I are coaster fans - precisely why we orginally factored in Universal and IOA - Mille is 49" (pretty darn tall for a 6 year old) so she wouldn't miss out too much ( and if history repeats itself, she'll be a gem about the parent switch thing, as we did this at Alton Towers - she loved watching us on the big rides and didn't feel she was missing out).......

So, I think I have just tied myself up in knots!!

I think we will go with the orginaplan - 5 day hopper and get UNi/IOA tickets and play it by ear as to what to drop when......

We were going to give Epcot a miss - but world showcase looks great and maybe a bit more "at your own pace" kind of place?

Ho hum - will probably go round and around again before we go in Feb!

Thanks for "listening" to me ramble on

 

[Miffy2003]

Hiya,

This is only what I think, feel free to ignore me

Last time we went our DD's were aged 3 & 6. It was in August when the heat is sapping but the crowds were very small.

We had a fantastic first day in MK, full of energy and raring to go. Next day, we struggled to get up but made ourselves and went around AK (not really enjoying it that much).

We found then that we had to just take it a bit easier (the 6 year old found it harder to cope than the 3 year old, oddly enough) and do shorter days / have a day off. We were in Orlando for 7 days so you have a few more days than we did.

Universal is a great place but (IMO) not as good for children (though there are areas that are great for children there). As you are staying onsite as Disney, and will have all the onsite guest perks there, it almost seems a "waste" to me to go to Universal when you only have 8 free days. Don't get me wrong, Universal is good but you are already having at least 2 non Disney days (SW & DC), maybe a day or two in the water parks with your Plus options from your Hopper, maybe a day relaxing? Personally I would give Universal a miss. But everyone is different and you know best what your family will enjoy best

Phew, long post! Sorry to go on!


Karen

 

[JohnnySharp]

For us EPCOT and particularly World Showcase are ideal for a nice walk round in the evening.
We tend to have the morning round MK and then often have a break for a few hours and return to either MGM or ECPOT for a couple of hours.

As far as Universal Studios and IOA for children goes, our son's favourite rides of all are 'Cat in The Hat' - IOA and 'Barney's Playground', 'ET' and 'Woody's nuthouse Coaster' at the studios...
so whilst I accept they are not specifically aimed at the younger one's children can have fun there, and if there are a few borderline attractions that we are not sure he will like and we may try next time, they tend to be at Universal also.
I don't feel that MGM and certainly EPCOT offer anymore for children. Although MK and the water parks are great for kids.

 

[Scotfan]

Why dont you get the 1 day 2 park hopper thing from universal - they only sell it at the gate but you can get 10% off if you are an AA member. It is easy enough to do these 2 parks in 1 day on a weekday in Feb - we have often done it. That way you can do the big coasters and have a taster of both parks. We get to IOA for opening, come out at lunch time and move to US for the afternoon.

I also think a full day on your 1st day may be a bit much especially as Wishes will be about 7 pm and your body will be saying its midnight.

My boys both love Epcot and have done since they were tiny but you know your daughter best.

Our final day goes along the lines of - Epcot for opening, stay til around 2, back to Vistana for a swim, head to the Studios do TOT and RNR watch Fantasmic, go to Epcot, get some snacks watch Reflections, leave tired but happy. Even my 67 year old Dad loves this day.

 

[tiggerlady]

We find if we do to many parks in quick succesion without a break then we get parkitis (its what we call cant be bothered feet hurt and cant get up with lots of enthusiam)

So best advice plan full days off away from parks at least every 2 days (a day off could be to a water park like typhoon lagoon)

Also we usually try not to do a big park on the 1st day try Mgm or sea world, MK and Epcot are huge & need a lot of walking


However IMHO universal is a great day & not too much walking and is not to far from Beltz for retail therapy IOA is wonderful but does involve more walking and unless you love coasters maybe sit this one out until next time (there will be a next time) always is with us now

 

[MazdaUK]

We're going for 2 weeks at Easter and have already decided that, although we will probably spend a part of most days at one or other of the Disney or Universal parks, there is no way we can spend day after day JUST at the parks (we did a 5 day (4 night) at Disneyland Paris and, without a car, were "moused out" byt tfhe time we got back on the Eurostar!)

We're staying onsite so plan to take advantage of extra magic hours then maybe shoot off to a less busy park/shopping/water park etc., sometimes returning for fireworks/dinner, or eating out and about.

Our last trip to America was before our children were born, but everywhere is so kid-friendly we're not worried about having a plan - part of staying onsite was so that if they were wacked we could relax at the pool and still be enjoying the "magic".

Lets hope this works....

 

[Miffy2003]

Your plan looks good to me Mazda Early mornings are the way to go for sure

 

[disneyholic family]

why are you only planning on world showcase at epcot?
my kids love future world at epcot......(they've always hated world showcase....nowadays they only agree to go to the american adventure since they know that DH and i are such patriotic saps....we love it....although i actually like the hall of the presidents at the MK better.....but take that with a grain of salt, i'm an american forced to live overseas by work....i get that little bit of stars and stripes wherever i can.....)

i'm sure your daughter will enjoy future world, especially journey into the imagination and innoventions east and west....she might even enjoy test track....(assuming she's tall enough)....it's just a fast car ride....

also, remember that you need to rest during the day....you shouldn't pack too much into any one day.....we always are at the parks for opening, but leave by 1 in the afternoon....returning to either that park or another, much later in the day.....we never ever go non-stop....it's way too much for anyone...adult or child....