Clueless in Canada! Itinerary help please!

[Mom3lovebugs]

Hi! First time poster and fist time visit to Florida!

My Dad & Mom are taking me and my family (3 kids... 12, 11 & 8) and my sister, her hubby and family (3 kids... 14, 14 & 12) to Orlando during spring break. My Dad doesn’t think we need to plan anything. :/

Can I get itinerary suggestions? We get in at 10:30 am on March 23rd and leave on March 31st. The only thing I pre-booked was bibbidy bobbidy boutique for my daughter on the 24th morning in the Magic Kingdon. We want to Disney and Universal for sure. I think my Dad mentioned the space centre too.

Mostly an older group of kids so what Disney parks would be best suited?

Thank you for any suggestions!

Sara

Oh- we are staying at the Grande Villas Resort as my Dad is a diamond member.

 

[Erino'North]

Sounds like you are going to have a great trip! I think you're right though to do some planning in advance.

Do you know what length of ticket you are going to purchase for WDW, and if you will get the Park Hopper option / Water Parks option?

Are you thinking you will spend all day at the parks or go back to your resort to rest / swim, etc. midday, and return in the late afternoon?

Although my kids are younger, I think all of the parks would be enjoyable to kids of all ages. With the addition of Pandora at Animal Kingdom, I think that it could easily be a full day park, or near full day park - maybe spend most of the day there, then go to Disney Springs for dinner and a stroll.

Hollywood Studios has a couple of thrill rides that would appeal to teens (Tower of Terror and Rock n' Roller Coaster, along with Toy Story Midway Mania, which is just fun!) I don't know if there is enough there though currently to make it a full day park, though if you have Star Wars fans in your family, there are a few related attractions.

Epcot is great too; again, not a lot of thrill rides but you won't find much of this type at WDW; it's more of a Universal thing I believe. Soarin' around the World, Test Track, and Mission Space would be of interest of to the older kids, but honestly it is such a great park to explore (even if the Canada pavilion is a little stereotypical in my opinion LOL). Lots of interesting dining options here.

Magic Kingdom is so special; the Disney tradition is very much alive here. Definitely worth a whole day (at least!) in my opinion.

It will likely be quite busy over March Break, so make sure you book some Fastpasses in advance once your 30 day window opens. You could also download the My Disney Experience app on your phone which will help you track wait times for attractions, change Fastpass selections, etc. One important tip is to build in some time to relax during your stay!

I'll try to post more soon. What are you planning to do for meals? Mix of in-park and at your resort? Happy to give some suggestions!

 

[kenthanson]

I am of the mind to plan, but don't over plan. You gotta know what parks you are going to on what days so you can book fast passes to avoid 3 hours of standing in line for the premier attractions. We are a quick service restaurant family but if you are wanting to do sit downs then you also gotta book those ahead of time as well. I would take a day each for each of the parks at wdw and do a water park day in there as well and I haven't been to Kennedy space center yet, but we are going after our cruise next week so take a day for that. That is 6 days so toss in a universal day and thats your 7 days. If you want a shopping day then do a hollywood studios/animal kingdom split day and then take a shopping day but honestly I would take a day for each and take your time and enjoy the magic. If you over plan and have to many things to do then the stress might push you and create a negative vibe.

 

[amie416]

If you purchase your tickets soon, you'll be able to make fastpass selections online for you and your family at 30 days out from your visit. There is great value in being able to "walk-on" to a few rides during your trip so it doesn't feel like you're waiting in lines all day. Additionally, there is a promotion for Canadians running right now that gives you a 20% discount on park tickets of 4 days or longer. This is a significant discount that is only available for tickets purchased by February 10, 2018.

 

[mdelano4]

I can be an over-planner, but i wasn't always. Our first trip as a family was actually a one day stop while we were in the area. I hadn't been there for many years and although I had plenty of lead time I never thought of making dinner reservations. We went only to MK and could not get in at any table service locations. Had counter service, but still a bummer. Fast forward to today. New FP+ makes it difficult to get on many of the more desirable rides.

That's my long way of saying tell Dad you have to plan or you'll be wandering around all week trying to figure it out. Have a great trip!

 

[bobbie68]

Hi it sounds like a great trip! If you are going to do Universal, Disney and the Space Center I think you do need a little planning also. You mention you have older kids and if they are into thrill rides and Harry Potter you might want to consider two days at Universal. Universal does have some good younger kids sections as well. We have done Disney for many years but the last several years with the teens Universal is a bigger hit with them.

If you are going to have park hoppers then I think you can do some things in each park. There is kind of a little something for everyone in every park so it gets hard unless you have hoppers. My teens don't like MK anymore but I think if you have not been there then it is something to see. I think AK is a definite all day park. My teens and us enjoy that one. Epcot and HS does not have as much for older kids so they might be bored with all day.

I agree that if you can pick your Disney days and get some FP would be a good idea because it will be busy.

As far as Univiersal goes you don't need to have as specific days because there is no reserving rides like Disney. Their Express Pass system is an all day pass that you buy for all the rides. If you want there is a Universal section if you scroll down. There is great advice for those parks over there. I am on all the time there and very friendly posters.

Enjoy!

 

[KittyKitty]

Things to plan.
1. Buy tickets and get them on My Disney Experience on Disney's web site. Then you will be ready to book FP's (fastpasses, no extra charge) when your 30 days prior to arrival opens up. Lots of questions will come up. Don't worry. This board will be happy to help.

2. Decide on transportation to WDW. This large of group I would either get 2+ vehicles, since you probably won't stay together all the time. Mom and Dad may want to leave early. Check to see if resort has scheduled busses to WDW.

3. Start walking. My goal at my age is 10K steps daily before I arrive. You will probably walk 15 thousand and up when you arrive.

4. Watch the rides and shows on YouTube to get idea what ones you want to ride.

5. Since you have planned to be at MK on 24th, the big rides are Big Thunder Mtn and Space Mtn. The fun rides for everyone are Splash Mtn, Buzz Lightyear, 7 mine train, Haunted Mansion and others.

6. My favorite rides for Epcot are Soarin, Test track, Mission Space, Frozen Ever After. Animal Kingdom are Flight of Passage, Safari, Everest. I also like the Lion King show. Disney Studios is small right now because on construction, but I do love Toy Story Mania, Star Tours, Rock N Roller Coaster, and Tower or Terror.

7. There is a forum for Canada visitors under Trip Planning, Global Neighbours.
https://www.disboards.com/forums/canadian-trip-planning-community-board.19/

You can go crazy planning like I do, but most people will tell you to get the most out of WDW is to do some planning. It is so big, 45 square miles, 75 kilometers(I looked it up), and you will not see everything in a week. So don't worry if you miss something.


AND Have a great time!

 

[AFwifelife]

I always scoffed the uber planning and as a local, I thought it was silly to plan. It really does help just wandering around and end up spending more time in lines than you need to. I use Touring Plans and get a good idea of what is doable in the time we have. It also helps figure out how to best use your FP+ selections which I think are really helpful in seeing everything you want to see/do.