Critique My Itinerary - 2 days at MK

[BestFaceForward]

We are staying off-site so we will be driving in (or taking a taxi? From Winter Garden). We are total newbs at this, I haven't been to Disney World in 20 years!! 3.5 year old and a 6 month old. My kid doesn't watch a lot of movies at all, let alone Disney, the only thing he will be very into are the characters from the Mickey Mouse Club, and rides. He loves transformers and Rescue Bots stuff right now. He gets a little scared easily. We also go to the boardwalk rides a lot so I was hoping to steer him away from the ones he can ride anywhere. My goal is to have fun and make it magical and not rush around the whole time. I will have to make stops to change baby's diaper and breastfeed. Really anxious about the Fastpasses I have and which to try to modify. I've been watching all the rides on youtube because I don't remember many of them. We are spending most of our time at the beach in Clearwater, visiting friends in Winter Garden so decided to try Disney and now I am pretty overwhelmed with all the micro-managing I didn't realize was needed. We will come back for a bigger trip in maybe 3 years-ish.

Day 1 4/26 (lighter crowd day):
Rope drop to 7Dwarves, keep trying to fast pass (trade Belle)
Head over to Splash Mountain and Rolling Thunder wait in regular lines
Bring Lunch to Tom Sawyer Island, hang around there a while
(fit Haunted Mansion for one of adults above if possible, maybe while DH and DS are on roller coasters mom goes to HM w/baby)
FP for Peter Pan 1:20-2:20
Winne the Pooh (may trade in Belle for a FP for here)
Parade
FP Mickey M&G 2:50-3:50 (do we need a FP for this or can we just do this at end of parade? or Chef Mickey see below)
Little Mermaid
FP Belle (will prob cancel after watching youtube) 5:20-6:20
Dumbo
Tea Party, etc.
Speedway (or else where to fit?)
Fireworks, etc.

Day 2 4/27 (EARLY MAGIC HOURS BUT WE WON'T BE ELIGIBLE AS STAYING OFF-SITE. BUSIER CROWDS TODAY)

Try to get morning FP for Jungle Cruise
FP Pirates of the Carribean 10:05-11:05
FP Winnie the Pooh 11:25-12:25 (maybe move to Day 1)
Swiss Family Treehouse
if time Country Bear Jamboree or Tiki
12:30 leave for Contemporary for Chef Mickey at 1:15
3ish return to MK or find a place for 3yo to nap at one of resorts pools so we can extend day overall (can we do this?)
FP Monsters Inc 3:30-4:30 (have to watch youtube and figure out if we want this, why are FPs hard to get for this?)
More Tomorrowland stuff (really wish it was darker cuz this stuff looks way cooler in the dark. Maybe relax/nap somewhere at the Contemporary after brunch if that's possible and go back to MK later)
Tomorrowland stuff until we drop, probably skip fireworks

Comments, suggestions? Places to eat and times to fit eating in lol?

 

[disneylover102]

A big thing I would personally change is try to have your FPs in the morning if possible, and that way you can get FPs later (you can get one FP at a time after using your first 3). If you go at park opening on EMH day, nobody will already be on rides in Adventureland, Frontierland, and Liberty Square. You can do a popular ride in any of those lands first and you should have a very short wait. Pirates isn’t a bad choice for FP, but you can get an extra FP just for Pirates at the park- if you go to A Pirate’s Adventure in Adventureland and complete 2 treasure hunts I believe (each one takes about 10 minutes) they will give each person in your party a FP to Pirates. So you could do that and get FP FP something else in order to do more. I don’t know why Monsters Inc is a hard FP. Maybe they don’t give out very many? But you don’t need one. The standby wait is always short. With kids, a ride in Tomorrowland I’m sure you will love is Buzz Lightyear. You can usually get a 4th FP for that immediately. You also might want to try rider switch for some rides because Space Mountain can’t be missed. Also if you want to be able to use extra magic hours, you can book the campsites for one night (the night before or after the EMH are) and you’ll also get free Magic Bands which are actually pretty convenient. Last time we went, we had Magic Bands and regular card tickets and if someone was taking a nap at the hotel, we could keep their card ticket to use their FPs and they would have their magic band to enter when they needed to. Hope this helps.

 

[lovethesun12]

Def switch monsters inc to buzz lightyear. That was my 3.5 year olds (now 5, and still is) favourite ride and I’ve heard many others say the same

I’d also FP jungle cruise in lieu of pirates. Pirates is easier as a 4th and my kids both liked jungle cruise better.

 

[disneyinthespringtime]

That’s going to be so fun for your three year old! Couple thoughts and questions....

Rope drop to fireworks is a really long day for a 3 year old I think. will he nap in a stroller? If not maybe think about moving fireworks to a different day?

Your son seems kind of young to enjoy Big Thunder mountain and splash mountain. I am not positive my six yr old will get on even. Sure about that or is this more for the adults (who also deserve fun!)? I think a better split is for dad to do coasters while you take the kids after seven dwarfs to fantasyland. I have been floored how long the wait times seem to get for the rides like dumbo, teacups and Pooh as well as speedway.

I agree with having Tom Sawyer island on since that seems great based on others feedback but the Frontierland coasters reportedly have pretty short waits the first hour so it may be before lunch quite a bit when you arrive if you keep your plan as is. I usually see the island suggested as a good late morning or early afternoon thing when it is more crowded elsewhere and lines are long.

Are you going to take baby breaks to nurse/change while the rest of the crowd keeps moving? That would seem to make sense but was not clear from how you mentioned the breaks.

I think three is a great Winnie the Pooh age and a boy is likely to like that better than the belle show. Also agree with adding Buzz.

On day 2 you are hiking all the way across the park for Pooh and then back again. Move Pooh to day one and instead do the magic carpets in Adventureland while you are there.

Finally my best advice is to go to touringplans.com and pay fifteen dollars for a subscription to use their user friendly drop down menus to get estimates for how your plan will work out timing wise. compared to the cost of your visit it is a drop in the bucket but I am finding it so helpful in getting a feel for how long things may take Andy how far apart they are from one another in the park to create a doable schedule.

 

[Capang]

My DD at 3 LOVED Splash and Thunder and 7DMT. Looks like a workable schedule. My DD slept in a full size stroller at that age. If yours will do the same then you should be ok. Check out the FP thread on here as well. Super helpful thread. Enjoy!

 

[Delirium]

MY kids loved Big Thunder and Splash at a very early age as well.

 

[BestFaceForward]

Thanks guys, any feedback on if we definetly need a FP for the Times Square Mickey M&G? We will be seeing Mickey et al on day 2 at Chef Mickey but I kind of wanted him to meet also on day 1 for the ambiance of it all. But when I saw it on YouTube I wasn’t sure it kind of felt like we could skip it or trade in that fastpass for something else in the morning and if we get tired of the parade going over and waiting in a regular line for it. I do have a touring guide I’ve been customizing and it says Mickey M&G isn’t a priority but someone said he won’t talk anymore and the lines will be long.

 

[BestFaceForward]

Ok I just traded Belle for Rolling Thunder for son and husband, Haunted House for me. I’m trying to trade Laugh Factory for a Jungle Cruise for morning on the second day - didn’t realize that would be so hard! Maybe we will have to rope drop Jungle Cruise! What about Tomorrowland Speedway? Will we need a FP for this do you think, or when is a good time of day to wait in regular line? Or try to get second-line FP once we do our first 3?

 

[Surgie2]

Two days will go very fast with young kids in MK. Are you definitely set on Chef Mickey's? That takes a big chunk out of your day in transportation, going to the meal, back to MK and back through security, etc. With it being an EMH day, that park will likely be more crowded than others. So to leave and come back in could feel very crowded to you. I think using a FP for Mickey on Main St. would be a better use of your time. And I agree with PP who suggested getting FPs for the morning rather than waiting until the afternoon.

No, you cannot go to a resort pool if you are not a guest of the resort, even if you do not plan to swim. If you child needs to nap, you can use any public area at the Contemporary but I would get back to MK and find a place in the shade so you are ready to be on the go again.

I know you already made the switch but I think Belle is a great use of a FP. So much more than a meet and greet and perfect for both of your kids' ages. So maybe try getting as a 4th FP.

I think it might help you to organize your park days by lands. Since 4/26 is your lighter-crowd day, do Fantasyland and Tomorrowland which are near each other. Fantasyland tends to seem more crowded on longer park days. On 4/27 do Adventureland, Frontierland and Liberty Square. So much less backtracking for FP if you consider MK in terms of geographical lands. It really helped me to have maps out and pay close attention to ride locations when planning FP.

And while I think YouTube is a great resource, it doesn't do justice to a lot of attractions which are much better in person so just keep that in mind.