"Crazed" is NOT an understatement!! I'm a planning machine for August 2011.

[NewlyDisneyCrazed]

Hello! I have been lurking on the site for weeks now as I've been researching my first self-planned Disney trip for my DH, DD and DS and I. I figured it was time to join in!

This will be my 3rd trip to WDW but I didn't plan the first two. The first one was when I was ten and I went with my parents and two younger sisters. I remember having an amazing time except for the part when I thought I was old enough to tour around Caribbean Beach Resort (where we were staying) by myself and got totally lost and gave my parents near heart attacks! I know I loved MK, Epcot, (then) MGM and Typhoon Lagoon. I don't think AK or Blizzard Beach existed yet! I had an amazing opportunity to visit a friend of a friend in Orlando when I was 21 and she took us to MGM (not sure when it became DHS) and Animal Kingdom and I loved that trip too! (We skipped Epcot and MK because we were students on a tight budget but I regretted it!)

Now I'm a 31 year old married mother of two amazing children and I have been dreaming of taking them to Disney since they were born! The time (and money) has finally arrived and I am quite literally OBSESSED!!! Does this happen to other people or do I need therapy?

We are from Ontario, Canada but we are flying from Detroit to Orlando on August 24th and returning August 31st. We are thinking about staying in a motel in Detroit on one or both ends to make the trip last longer but it's only a couple of hours from where we live depending on how the border crossing goes.

I suppose I should give more details about us before I get into the details of the trip. I'm a teacher so we can only go during school breaks. School doesn't start until after Labour day in Ontario so we figured late August when some of the US is in school would be the least busy time to go (out of summer/Christmas break/March break which are our only options.) My DH and I got married fairly young (22 and 23) and had DD soon after. She'll be 7 and a half at trip time. DS will have just turned 5. Perfect ages??? I hope so!!

I have been reading/researching EVERYTHING I can find on Disney and had a Disney specialist travel agent help us book it as well as our dinner reservations. I took her advice and combined it with what I've been reading and mapped out an itinerary for our trip. Is this the right place to post it to get feedback from you experts out there?

 

[NewlyDisneyCrazed]

So we're flying out of Detroit on Wednesday, August 24th and scheduled to get to Orlando around 2 pm. We have booked Magical Express and are staying at POP Century for all 7 nights of our trip and have the Disney Dining Plan.

Here's the plan (feedback welcome):

Day 1 -arrival, check-in, tour resort and then head to Polynesian to try to get a walk-in table at O'Hana. If not possible, we have a ADR for Kona Cafe.

The travel agent said we should just try O'Hana's because it was full for ADRs but does anyone know how likely it would be to actually get a table without a reservation? Also, is it even that much better than Kona? I'm sure both would be great, right?


Day 1 - evening After dinner (somewhere) at the Polynesian, head to MK for the evening. Maybe try to do Tomorrowland (or as much as possible) and then watch the parade and fireworks.

Day 2 - Magic Kingdom again! EMH morning but I'm not sure we'll make it because my kids will need their sleep after staying up to watch Wishes. If they wake up early anyway due to excitement, we'll take advantage of EMHs. If not, oh well! Our plan is to do as much of MK as possible but not sweat it if we don't do everything. Hopefully we will have done a couple of our "must-dos" the night before and we're also going back to MK on our last evening in case we missed anything and to end our trip the way it started!

I know it's highly recommended to take a break from the August heat in the afternoon but we have an ADR at Wilderness Lodge at 5 pm so I'm hoping we can last in the park until then. (We'll try to get wet or do some indoor shows if it's really hot!) After dinner, we'll play it by ear. Back to MK? (No park hopper.) Or most likely back to resort for an early night so we can get up for EMH at Epcot the next day!

Day 3 - Epcot Day! Going to try to make it by 8 am to make sure we get on Soarin' and also get fastpasses for it! (Heard such great things, really CANNOT wait for that one!!) Then we'll try to do as much of Future World as possible and see how it goes. I'm open to taking a break at the resort that afternoon (POP is close to Epcot, right?) We're also looking forward to touring around Showcase and whatever we do, we have to end up in Norway for our ADR at Akershus for dinner! Princess dinner here we come! Hopefully that will re-energize us to be able to stay for IllumiNations!

Day 4 - Chef Mickey's and Typhoon Lagoon! After a couple of mornings of getting up early, I know we'll all need a sleep in so we have an ADR at Chef Mickey's for 10:30 brunch. I'm sure we'll want to tour around the Contemporary too. Then, I think a (hopefully) low stress afternoon at Typhoon Lagoon will be in order. We will be tired from walking for two days of theme parks right? I was sad to see the water parks close at 6 though. Maybe Downtown Disney that night? Maybe back to the resort for more play and/or rest?!

 

[NewlyDisneyCrazed]

Day 5 - DHS! I'm really looking forward to this day and think after a day of taking it easy I'm hoping we'll be ready to go 9 to 9. We have a lunch ADR at Mama Melrose so that will provide a midday break. For some reason, when I look at the map for Hollywood Studios I want to do EVERYTHING. It's the smallest park so it might be possible. It's my goal. I know to head straight to Toy Story Mania for FPs when we get there! I'm also soooo looking forward to capping the night off with Fantasmic!

Day 6 - AK! Prediction: It will be my family's favourite park! Both of my kids are crazy about animals and could spend days in a zoo without getting bored. Combining that with some amazing shows and even rides will be their heaven on earth! I know most people think a five and seven year old would prefer MK but I know my kids. They'll like it all. They'll LOVE AK! We're going to try to get there for EMH at 8 am and do the safari first thing. (Like everyone else there right?) Then I think we'll have no trouble staying occupied until our 5 pm ADR at Tusker House. I'm hoping there's enough indoor shows and that Kali River Rapids gets us soaked so we can keep cool! The only thing I'm worried about is having tired kids by then from lack of sleep. They rely on a solid 10 hours/night at home and hotels have historically meant that they don't sleep near as well! If they aren't too tired, I'd really like to do Downtown Disney and Disney Quest in the evening! We'll see!

Day 7- Down time and maybe a few hours at Blizzard Beach and 1900 Park Fare Dinner!!! We can decide the plan for this day depending on how our week went but I'm thinking BB since it will be the only place we haven't been to. The evening is for sure ADR at 1900 Park Fare - heard the step-sisters are amazing! - and then back to MK for the evening to do anything we missed or loved and watch the Wishes fireworks to close the trip the way it opened.

Day 8 - Sad just thinking about it! We will have the morning to go back to whatever park we want for just a few hours but will probably have to get our ride back to the airport around 1 pm. We're going to let the kids recommend their favourite places to spend their last few hours at WDW and then we'll vote as a family where to go. (My guess: AK all the way! I'll let you know if I'm right sometime after August 31st!) Then it's back to the north to get ready for the start of the school year and hopefully start dreaming/planning/saving for our next trip!!

 

[PuppyPrincess]

My husband went 2 years ago and had dining ressies at Kona Kafe and really wanted to eat at 'Ohanas. Before checking in at Kona Kafe, we checked at 'Ohanas and they had something available for us. Before I could even cancel our reservation at Kona Kafe, they had our table ready. I know this doesn't happen all the time, but it is possible. No harm in asking.

On your Epcot day, what we always do after riding Soarin' (which is my aboslute favorite ride, there is no other ride like it at Disney), we get a fast pass, then head over and ride Test Track, before that line gets too crazy. Just a suggestion.

I think you'll love Chef Mickey's. So will you kids. We have no kids and that's always on our "must do" list.

Don't forget the fast passes in MK, it will help you, expecially in Fantasyland. Peter Pan, Winnie the Pooh, Dumbo can all get huge lines fairly quick.

Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy! I'll be there a month after you, but wishing I was there a month earlier!

 

[PuppyPrincess]

At AK, I just love Festival of the Lion King. And the step-sister's at 1900 Park Fare are great. Last year one danced the waltz with my dad!! What great pictures! And there's a great variety of food to choose from to. Hopefully, you're enjoying planning as much as you will enjoy the trip.

 

[NewlyDisneyCrazed]

Thanks PuppyPrincess! I'm LOVING the planning and really haven't done much else in my spare time in the last month or so. I usually have a novel or two on the go but lately my reading is all Disney related! Thank you also for the great suggestions and affirmations! This site is great!

 

[OhMari]

We went an hour before our ADR and got right in to Ohana.

I am going to move you to our pre-trip board. Let me know when you return, and I'll move you back.

 

[NewlyDisneyCrazed]

Thank you for moving this thread to the right place! I'm totally new to this whole thing. But loving it so far!

Would you say it's worth the hassle of trying to get into Ohana or is Kona Cafe just as good?

 

[taymorel]

I hope you have a great trip. AK is our favorite park also because of the animals. The safari is awesome. You should ride and then get a fastpass and ride again later--it is never the same twice since the animals have minds of their own!!

Enjoy your planning and your trip

 

[OllieDannyandMe]

I just responded to your question on the Restaurant Board about 'Ohana and Kona Cafe, and I thought I would share some info here, too!

If you decide to try for 'Ohana, your best bet is to arrive about half an hour before they open for dinner and ask one of the hostesses if they will be taking walkups. Or, you may be able to snag an ADR between now and then, if you keep trying. People cancel every day (especially as the date approaches). I do think you will love Kona Cafe, though. They have wonderful desserts, too, and they actually let you take a peek at all of them as you walk to your table. Plus, you have a view of the beautiful Polynesian Resort while you dine.

Once you arrive at the parks, be sure to check out the playgrounds at DHS and AK. My daughter loved both the Honey, I Shrunk the Kids playground and the Boneyard Dig Site. She could spend hours (and I do mean hours) at either location. She loved both of these parks (DHS and AK) every bit as much as she loved the MK.

The other thing she loved last year (at 6 years old) is pin trading. The cast members are so great about trading pins with the little ones. Eve loved walking up to the cast members and asking to see their pins and offering one of hers in a trade. It was lots of fun, and I was so happy that I bought her a lanyard and a starter kit. She has always been a little shy, and this activity really helped her to blossom! Along the same lines, she loved collecting autographs from the characters. We made it a game to find them, and she loved reading all of her autographs when we returned to our room each evening. It is now a treasured keepsake!

Best wishes for a glorious trip! We will be at POP the week before you, and then, my sister and her husband are arriving, and we will be joining them at Kidani the next week. I cannot wait until late August! It has become our favorite time to travel to Disney!