MouseEarsJenny
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 8, 2006
- Messages
- 1,095
Warning! Obsessively long. Read at your own risk!
My family is going to Disney in June. Its only our second trip as a family, and Id absolutely appreciate critiques on our plans. Are there better restaurant choices? Should we tour in a different order different parks first, etc? Are there things Im missing that would make the vacation more special? And on and on . If any of you long time Disney aficionados have the time or inclination, Id appreciate input!
Just as background, Im traveling with DH29, DD9, and DS6. (Im also 29.) We are fairly mellow and laid back, but follow a touring plan because DS has a low tolerance for lines and we like to maximize our time. We are going to be on the Disney Dining Plan, which is why we went with a value hotel wed rather eat expensively without worrying than have a nicer place to lay our heads. The trip is a surprise for both kids, but a gift for DS (our last trip was his sisters kindergarten graduation this one is for his).
June 11th
Arrive at All Star Movies by 3:00. We requested a preferred room because of the proximity to pool and buses, but Im thinking of changing it and asking for a room in Toy Story because my son adores Buzz and Woody.
Check-in. I hear its usually better to carry your own luggage if youd like it within a few hours. And well probably want to change right away three day road trips do that to you.
We then thought wed maybe check out the giant icons, walk around the resort, swim if we have time. Were going to Chef Mickeys for dinner. I have ADRs for 6:20. First question: Bus or drive? We tend to get lost driving in Disney, just FYI. J We are supposed to be there, according to dining, by 6:15. I planned to try and get there by 6:00, just to be safe. Weve never been to this dinner before, so is it a good choice? I thought it would start the whole Disney magic thing since the kids would get to see Mickey and Co. right away.
We do have passes for this day, but werent really planning to use them. I know, silly. But they were only like $4 extra, so I figured if we had them, we could DECIDE to use them, if we really wanted. After dinner, we dont really have plans. We thought we might ride the monorail just to go by the parks. We dont want our experience to start with really long lines, so we didnt think 7:30 or later was a good time to start touring a park. Opinions??
June 12th
Wow. Youre still here. Brave soul. This is practically a trip report without tripping! Ill try to move this along
We thought, first day, small kids, Magic Kingdom. Heck, first day, grown-ups, Magic Kingdom. Just feels more like Disney to me. Heres what we plan to do, in order:
Morning:
Arrive 30 minutes before opening. Disney Transpo. We get cranky when we drive to the parks. Its not pretty.
Dumbo
Winnie the Pooh
Peter Pan
Its a Small World
Mickeys Philharmagic
Haunted Mansion
Jungle Cruise
Country Bears
Pirates of the Carribean
Yes. Im aware. I missed all the mountains. Were not honestly sure how our son is going to react to the whole Disney ride thing he was 2 last time. And we want to start with the attractions we all love. DH and I can take or leave roller coasters. DD likes them, but is going to want to ride Dumbo and Winnie and such more. And we have another day (maybe two!) at MK. So once we see how Pooka does, well fit in thrill rides another morning, if desired.
Anyway, were going to break for lunch and go back to our room for a nap. Lunch advice? MK or ASM? Wheres yummy? Weve never eaten counter service before. My mom couldnt afford Disney park food on my childhood trips, and we stayed in the cabins last time so we ate lunch there.
Afternoon (aka Afternap)
Get a Fastpass for Buzz (Now, Im not sure here. I love Buzz. I really wanna ride Buzz. But the unofficial guide, whose touring plan Im mostly following here, says to wait until now to get a fastpass. Wont they all be gone??)
Tommorowland Transit Authority
Carousel of Progress (Probably 2x . maybe 3? My DD has a THING for this ride/show.)
Timekeeper
Buzz?? Depends on Fastpass time
Dinner: We have ADRs at Liberty Tree Tavern at 6:30. No advice needed here. This was our first character meal. The first place in my whole life I met Minnie. (Missed her when I came as a kid with my mom.) We are SO going here. J
Wander aimlessly in the general direction of the hotel. Is the evening parade likely to be enough time after our reservations that well be able to catch it? If so, wheres a good place to watch? Is it worth it?
Sleep.
Ya know, I said I was going to expedite this. Apparently, I lied. Sorry.
June 13th
Were gonna go to EPCOT on this day. Unless someone thinks thats a bad order to do the parks in? Very flexible here Oh. And this is where I depart most from the Unofficial touring plans. So if you think Im gonna get hit with horrid lines, let me know, kay?
Morning
Once again, there at opening, Disney transpo.
Soarin (Since were skipping Test Track and Mission:Space, we thought we should just ride this instead of getting fast passes. From reading about them, I am not sure I can handle TT and M:S, let alone the kiddos. I get motion sick in cars. And tilt-a-whirls. But I really want to ride Soarin. It sounds marvelous. Am I nuts?)
Living with the Land (Its not a major draw for us, but its RIGHT there.)
Journey into Imagination (Figment Figment Figment, we love you, you little purple guy!)
The Living Seas
Spaceship Earth
Universe of Energy
Whatever theyre calling Ice Station Cool now on the way out. We love that place. It saved our lives on a sweltering, sunny, shadeless day last trip. Wouldnt you know, the only sunny day on our trip was in the concrete wonderland of Future World.
Lunch - Again, where shall we eat? Oh where oh where? J And back to hotel for nap or swim.
Afternap
World Showcase Maelstrom is important. I have a THING for it. Like my daughters thing for Carousel of Progress. Yes, I know its not the greatest ride ever. SHHH. My inner child still thinks it is.
Eventually, we need to wander to Mexico. Cause we have ADRs for San Angel Inn at 6:30. We basically picked this restaurant because we liked the look of the place last time and wished we had reservations. The rest of the evening we have no plans. Probably wont stay for the fireworks.
Are we gonna be able to fit all this stuff in? Should I be allowing more travel time to get to and from the parks? Am I thoroughly crazy for worrying so much? Hmmm .
June 14th
I suddenly feel the need to know what the words at the beginning of Lion King actually are. Cause I associate that (please forgive the phonetic spelling) Naht se vein ya with the opening of todays park, Animal Kingdom. Do they still do the Awakening thing with the characters? Can I tell you how much I loved that?
Anywho .
Morning
Arrive early.
Kilimanjaro Safaris
Maybe, maybe Kali River Rapids. Reserving judgement until I ask my son, who cant know right now.
Dinosaur, if I can convince at least one other person. Maybe all of us, if Pooka has been fearless. He is sometimes. But Ill exercise care.
Festival of the Lion King
Wander, look at animals, play in Boneyard, yada, yada No bird show. My husband has a thing about birds. But NOT in a good way. ;-) Ditto bug show. Except its DD, DS and I who are the wimps.
Lunch????? Dont know where .
Nap, swim, as needed.
We dont have afternoon plans for this day. Except dinner. At Boma, 6:30. Should we drive or take Disney transpo? Looking forward to this meal I hear its quite nice! J
See! I am making them shorter!!
June 15th
No surprise here, were at the last of the major parks, MGM. Another big deviation from published tour plans. Because were freaks. Star Wars freaks. Lightsaber carryin, Vader helmet wearin, freaks. So guess where were going first??
Morning
Early arrival Im sure you have the theme. If youre still reading. Which is quite impressive and patient of you.
STAR TOURS!!!!!
Muppet Vision 3-D (Also card carrying Muppet freaks.)
Great Movie Ride (If Pooka survived Pirates and etc. Alien might be a bit much.)
Voyage of the Little Mermaid
Backlot Tour
Indiana Jones Stunt Show
Lunch Break. Where, oh where? Thinking Pizza Planet. Cause hey, Toy Story.
Nap, swim, lalala
Afternap
Beauty and the Beast show
We have Fantasmic Dinner Package ressies for Mama Melrose. Ive heard mixed reviews, but dh and I did this last trip while the kiddos stayed with grandma. We adored the place. Really loved it. So, were gonna go again.
Fantasmic! Loved this, itll be our one planned fireworks show. Which is why I did it this day when we have a sleep-in option if we so desire for the next day.
Oh, yeah. We skipped RnR Coaster and Tower of Terror. No one in our family likes elevators. Some of us were stuck in one once. Had to call for help. Not a good scene. And the coaster Disney theming aside, can any coaster compete with STAR WARS??? Cmon now.
June 16th
No plans, no plans! Lalalalala! That way, if we decide to go for it, we can jump on some thrill rides early. If we missed something important (think Buzz Lightyear if Im right about Fastpasses being all out) we can repeat parks. We can do whatever floats our boat.
We did make ADRs at 1900 Park Fare because, well, we have a 9 year old little girl. And Cinderella Castle was all booked up. And princesses are a requirement. But thats not until 6:40.
Any suggestions??
June 17th
Check out at hotel. Can we leave our bags after check out or do we have to put them in the car? Im worried about heat and our DVD player
Back to the MK. We begin and end with MK. Again, missed attractions go first, repeats of favorites second, Mickeys Toontown Fair gets tossed in the mix as desired, counter service lunch and watching the afternoon parade. Then we leave. Maybe to friends in Florida. Maybe home. Not sure yet.
If you made it through, and can offer ideas, suggestions, or critiques, bless you. Youre AWESOME!
My family is going to Disney in June. Its only our second trip as a family, and Id absolutely appreciate critiques on our plans. Are there better restaurant choices? Should we tour in a different order different parks first, etc? Are there things Im missing that would make the vacation more special? And on and on . If any of you long time Disney aficionados have the time or inclination, Id appreciate input!
Just as background, Im traveling with DH29, DD9, and DS6. (Im also 29.) We are fairly mellow and laid back, but follow a touring plan because DS has a low tolerance for lines and we like to maximize our time. We are going to be on the Disney Dining Plan, which is why we went with a value hotel wed rather eat expensively without worrying than have a nicer place to lay our heads. The trip is a surprise for both kids, but a gift for DS (our last trip was his sisters kindergarten graduation this one is for his).
June 11th
Arrive at All Star Movies by 3:00. We requested a preferred room because of the proximity to pool and buses, but Im thinking of changing it and asking for a room in Toy Story because my son adores Buzz and Woody.
Check-in. I hear its usually better to carry your own luggage if youd like it within a few hours. And well probably want to change right away three day road trips do that to you.
We then thought wed maybe check out the giant icons, walk around the resort, swim if we have time. Were going to Chef Mickeys for dinner. I have ADRs for 6:20. First question: Bus or drive? We tend to get lost driving in Disney, just FYI. J We are supposed to be there, according to dining, by 6:15. I planned to try and get there by 6:00, just to be safe. Weve never been to this dinner before, so is it a good choice? I thought it would start the whole Disney magic thing since the kids would get to see Mickey and Co. right away.
We do have passes for this day, but werent really planning to use them. I know, silly. But they were only like $4 extra, so I figured if we had them, we could DECIDE to use them, if we really wanted. After dinner, we dont really have plans. We thought we might ride the monorail just to go by the parks. We dont want our experience to start with really long lines, so we didnt think 7:30 or later was a good time to start touring a park. Opinions??
June 12th
Wow. Youre still here. Brave soul. This is practically a trip report without tripping! Ill try to move this along
We thought, first day, small kids, Magic Kingdom. Heck, first day, grown-ups, Magic Kingdom. Just feels more like Disney to me. Heres what we plan to do, in order:
Morning:
Arrive 30 minutes before opening. Disney Transpo. We get cranky when we drive to the parks. Its not pretty.
Dumbo
Winnie the Pooh
Peter Pan
Its a Small World
Mickeys Philharmagic
Haunted Mansion
Jungle Cruise
Country Bears
Pirates of the Carribean
Yes. Im aware. I missed all the mountains. Were not honestly sure how our son is going to react to the whole Disney ride thing he was 2 last time. And we want to start with the attractions we all love. DH and I can take or leave roller coasters. DD likes them, but is going to want to ride Dumbo and Winnie and such more. And we have another day (maybe two!) at MK. So once we see how Pooka does, well fit in thrill rides another morning, if desired.
Anyway, were going to break for lunch and go back to our room for a nap. Lunch advice? MK or ASM? Wheres yummy? Weve never eaten counter service before. My mom couldnt afford Disney park food on my childhood trips, and we stayed in the cabins last time so we ate lunch there.
Afternoon (aka Afternap)
Get a Fastpass for Buzz (Now, Im not sure here. I love Buzz. I really wanna ride Buzz. But the unofficial guide, whose touring plan Im mostly following here, says to wait until now to get a fastpass. Wont they all be gone??)
Tommorowland Transit Authority
Carousel of Progress (Probably 2x . maybe 3? My DD has a THING for this ride/show.)
Timekeeper
Buzz?? Depends on Fastpass time
Dinner: We have ADRs at Liberty Tree Tavern at 6:30. No advice needed here. This was our first character meal. The first place in my whole life I met Minnie. (Missed her when I came as a kid with my mom.) We are SO going here. J
Wander aimlessly in the general direction of the hotel. Is the evening parade likely to be enough time after our reservations that well be able to catch it? If so, wheres a good place to watch? Is it worth it?
Sleep.
Ya know, I said I was going to expedite this. Apparently, I lied. Sorry.
June 13th
Were gonna go to EPCOT on this day. Unless someone thinks thats a bad order to do the parks in? Very flexible here Oh. And this is where I depart most from the Unofficial touring plans. So if you think Im gonna get hit with horrid lines, let me know, kay?
Morning
Once again, there at opening, Disney transpo.
Soarin (Since were skipping Test Track and Mission:Space, we thought we should just ride this instead of getting fast passes. From reading about them, I am not sure I can handle TT and M:S, let alone the kiddos. I get motion sick in cars. And tilt-a-whirls. But I really want to ride Soarin. It sounds marvelous. Am I nuts?)
Living with the Land (Its not a major draw for us, but its RIGHT there.)
Journey into Imagination (Figment Figment Figment, we love you, you little purple guy!)
The Living Seas
Spaceship Earth
Universe of Energy
Whatever theyre calling Ice Station Cool now on the way out. We love that place. It saved our lives on a sweltering, sunny, shadeless day last trip. Wouldnt you know, the only sunny day on our trip was in the concrete wonderland of Future World.
Lunch - Again, where shall we eat? Oh where oh where? J And back to hotel for nap or swim.
Afternap
World Showcase Maelstrom is important. I have a THING for it. Like my daughters thing for Carousel of Progress. Yes, I know its not the greatest ride ever. SHHH. My inner child still thinks it is.
Eventually, we need to wander to Mexico. Cause we have ADRs for San Angel Inn at 6:30. We basically picked this restaurant because we liked the look of the place last time and wished we had reservations. The rest of the evening we have no plans. Probably wont stay for the fireworks.
Are we gonna be able to fit all this stuff in? Should I be allowing more travel time to get to and from the parks? Am I thoroughly crazy for worrying so much? Hmmm .
June 14th
I suddenly feel the need to know what the words at the beginning of Lion King actually are. Cause I associate that (please forgive the phonetic spelling) Naht se vein ya with the opening of todays park, Animal Kingdom. Do they still do the Awakening thing with the characters? Can I tell you how much I loved that?
Anywho .
Morning
Arrive early.
Kilimanjaro Safaris
Maybe, maybe Kali River Rapids. Reserving judgement until I ask my son, who cant know right now.
Dinosaur, if I can convince at least one other person. Maybe all of us, if Pooka has been fearless. He is sometimes. But Ill exercise care.
Festival of the Lion King
Wander, look at animals, play in Boneyard, yada, yada No bird show. My husband has a thing about birds. But NOT in a good way. ;-) Ditto bug show. Except its DD, DS and I who are the wimps.
Lunch????? Dont know where .
Nap, swim, as needed.
We dont have afternoon plans for this day. Except dinner. At Boma, 6:30. Should we drive or take Disney transpo? Looking forward to this meal I hear its quite nice! J
See! I am making them shorter!!
June 15th
No surprise here, were at the last of the major parks, MGM. Another big deviation from published tour plans. Because were freaks. Star Wars freaks. Lightsaber carryin, Vader helmet wearin, freaks. So guess where were going first??
Morning
Early arrival Im sure you have the theme. If youre still reading. Which is quite impressive and patient of you.
STAR TOURS!!!!!
Muppet Vision 3-D (Also card carrying Muppet freaks.)
Great Movie Ride (If Pooka survived Pirates and etc. Alien might be a bit much.)
Voyage of the Little Mermaid
Backlot Tour
Indiana Jones Stunt Show
Lunch Break. Where, oh where? Thinking Pizza Planet. Cause hey, Toy Story.
Nap, swim, lalala
Afternap
Beauty and the Beast show
We have Fantasmic Dinner Package ressies for Mama Melrose. Ive heard mixed reviews, but dh and I did this last trip while the kiddos stayed with grandma. We adored the place. Really loved it. So, were gonna go again.
Fantasmic! Loved this, itll be our one planned fireworks show. Which is why I did it this day when we have a sleep-in option if we so desire for the next day.
Oh, yeah. We skipped RnR Coaster and Tower of Terror. No one in our family likes elevators. Some of us were stuck in one once. Had to call for help. Not a good scene. And the coaster Disney theming aside, can any coaster compete with STAR WARS??? Cmon now.
June 16th
No plans, no plans! Lalalalala! That way, if we decide to go for it, we can jump on some thrill rides early. If we missed something important (think Buzz Lightyear if Im right about Fastpasses being all out) we can repeat parks. We can do whatever floats our boat.
We did make ADRs at 1900 Park Fare because, well, we have a 9 year old little girl. And Cinderella Castle was all booked up. And princesses are a requirement. But thats not until 6:40.
Any suggestions??
June 17th
Check out at hotel. Can we leave our bags after check out or do we have to put them in the car? Im worried about heat and our DVD player
Back to the MK. We begin and end with MK. Again, missed attractions go first, repeats of favorites second, Mickeys Toontown Fair gets tossed in the mix as desired, counter service lunch and watching the afternoon parade. Then we leave. Maybe to friends in Florida. Maybe home. Not sure yet.
If you made it through, and can offer ideas, suggestions, or critiques, bless you. Youre AWESOME!