Come and help me with my DLRP itinerary!

[xeni72]

I wonder if I could be so cheeky as to ask to benefit from your combined knowledge and experience?

We're off to DLRP in June (that's DH, me and DD, who is just 4). We arrive on a Sunday and leave on the Friday, and I'm trying to figure out what we're going to do and when. Here are my thoughts so far, what do you old hands think?

(As I blog and will be writing it all up in detail anyway, I'll promise you a doozy of a trip report if you help me out!)

Oh, first, while we're there for five (yay) nights we'll 'only' have four clear days and a morning in the parks, as we're driving and tunnelling and will get there late on the first day. We're staying in Sequoia Lodge.

- I thought we would pretty much devote a day to Fantasyland, as it seems to have not only the most attractions but the most likely to appeal to a little girl. Just hoping she doesn't find the dark rides too scary, she loved the dragon coaster at Legoland but hated the initial dark bit!
- A day combining Frontierland and Discoveryland, not so much to do in either one - DD is way too little for Indiana Jones of course, and Phantom Manor wouldn't be appropriate even if it weren't CLOSED that week (cries). I think she'll enjoy the playgrounds, so this could be a relatively chilled, queue-free day.
- A day in Discoveryland - how much we do will depend on whether we 'risk' Star Tours and/or Honey I Shrunk The Audience, considering they might be scary for DD. I suspect we might send DH on Space Mountain - DD is obviously too small, I will do coasters out of sheer bravado, but always think 'why?!' as soon as I'm on one, meanwhile DH cannot stand anything spinny (no teacups for him).
- And finally (although this isn't in the order I think we'll do things) a day in the Studios Park. Brits' Guide doesn't reckon there's so much for small children, but I think there's easily enough for a day. My indulgence will be to do the Tower - DD is actually tall enough, but no way! DH and I might do 'babyswitch' if he fancies it.

How does that sound? I'll probably do something quite detailed, figure out exactly where we're heading first thing, what FastPasses we're going to try to grab etc. But for starters, is that a goer?

Other stuff I'm planning is to book dinner at Auberge du Cendrillon (fingers crossed for Sleeping Beauty, DD will be made up), Buffalo Bill's, and a character breakfast.

And somewhere in there, the reason we booked Sequoia Lodge rather than Santa Fe is the pool, so hoping to fit a bit of chill-out time in there too!

Thanks in advance.

 

[Cazgal]

I was going to plan our itenery very much as you have suggested, but after reading through a few posts on here, I have decided that we will split each day between the main park and the Studios.

The main reason being - the Studios is a lot of shows ... a lot of queueing and watching shows ..... Animagique, Cinemagique, Stunt Show, Stitch Live, HSM etc .. and I think for my daugter that could possiby be too much sitting down in one day (she is very active ) and watching "shows". Also it would be tough going to get them all done in one day (without running like some mad demented woman from one show to the next !!

Also, many people have pointed out that in the afternoon a lot of the shows get very busy ..... and therefore it is prolly best to watch them in the morning.

So, our days will generally consist of doing the EMH in the main park (8am - 10am), then heading over to the Studios for 2 hours or so - sometimes as it opens at 10am to catch the Cars and the Tram Tour before the queues build up and sometimes at around 11am ish - catch a show or two (depending on times) and then back into the main park .. this could also be combined with a fast Pass for Buzz or BTM so that while you are "waiting" for your ride you are actually in the Studios watching a show. And could also be combined with a spot of lunch in the Village as it may be quieter there than in the parks

Hope that is of some help .. we go on April 8th so I can letyou know when I get back if the "plan" was a good one or not !!

 

[ema74]

When we first went to DLRP my DD 1 was 4. We were worried she's get too excited around the characters so we decided to have 5 half days in the park. Every day after breakfast we went to the park and spent most of the morning and lunch time there. Then we'd go away, back to the hotel (it was SL for us too), a little rest, play in the playground or some drawing and colouring and back to the park for the parade. She coped well. She loved it!!!

Your plan sounds great. The playground in SL is great but if your DD gets bored of it you can also walk to the playground in Cheyenne - we loved it!

I think the princesses in Auberge de Cendrillon come at lunch time so double check this to avoid disappointment My DD was so excited to meet Ariel and Prince Eric there

 

[xeni72]

Hm, that sounds very sensible. I guess we can be pretty flexible anyway (I just like planning because it's something to DO while we wait to go on holiday, while my husband really likes to have a plan, just not very good at actually creating one, harumph). DD is sometimes very energetic too, but sometimes a complete sloth - usually she's just the opposite of what I want her to be, so she'll probably be tired with sore feet when required to walk from one end of a park to the other, and a ball of energy when sitting down to watch a show or eat a meal!

Thank you, and I'll look forward to finding out how you got on.

 

[Dianetigger]

My three 'kids' are alot older and I still love to plan. We are going in July as usual although a few days later than normal due to trying to get everyone off work!
First day we are normally in the park for around 11ish (depending on flight arriving on time and catching the VEA!) and POC is our first stop along with Phantom Manor, after that it's what ever takes our fancy!
What we usually do is head back to the hotel complete with park maps at some point of the day and sit down and plan the following day. This is especially useful for shows etc., where timing can be everything if you are on a tight schedule, plus in the past we have found that some shows aren't showing on certain days and this has always made sure that everyone gets to see their favourite at least once although the past couple of times we've managed them twice which has been great.
Having a plan is great but also prepared to change it depending on how your daughter is. Personally we get to either park nice and early and it's amazing just how much you can get through before the crowds arrive (we've never experienced the EMH though). The rest of the days then are nice and leisurely nipping on rides as and when we please depending on queue times.
Have a fabulous time and already I'm looking forward to your trip reports, I must try and get one done this time as well.

 

[xeni72]

I think we should be able to get in good and early (although DD does have a record of getting up early when it doesn't suit, ie weekends so she might lie in when it would suit us to get up and about). It's good to know that getting in early should get us onto some things in fairly short time. We did get some good practice at queuing in Legoland though, and she was surprisingly good!

 

[Cyrano]

Hi xeni72 and welcome to DLP DIS board
We are a friendly bunch here so please join in on any other thread or if you have a number of questions then just start a new thread for each

If you have not had a look yet, DLP posting rules are here, DIS posting guidelines can be found here.

 

[Ware Bears]

Hi xeni72, welcome to the DIS!

 

[xeni72]

I've just popped back and am trying to figure out how I missed ema74's reply yesterday, with the big photo and everything (aw, little DD1, bless her with her vest on under her princess dress, 4yos are such snappy dressers!)

There are some good tips there, I really must remember that we have quite a bit of time really, and it'll be more enjoyable if we take it easy - sometimes I take having fun a bit too seriously!

Thank you for the welcomes! I like it here.

 

[bigAWL]

My family (with three little girls 5, 3 and 6 mos) and I spent three days in DLRP last summer. We didn't venture into the Studios as there was plenty to see in the MK. We found that Fantasyland was great during EMH when the queues were short - we got a lot done before the big crowds showed up. We did Fantasyland first thing each morning. Later in the day some of the waits were extremely long, especially Peter Pan. I definitely recommend a rest at the hotel after lunch (or for lunch). We used the late mornings and afternoons mostly for lazy park touring like a ride on the Railroad, exploring the castle and dungeon, meeting characters, watching the parade, and maybe a ride or two for which we got fastpasses before leaving for our rest. It's a Small World is also a good one when it's crowded because the queue moves pretty quickly.

 

[Bolanette87]

There's gonna be no kids on our trip and I've been planning from the moment it was booked in January!!

Bob xoxox