:Dazed: Help me put my itinerary together... PLEASE???

[TheLittleRoo]

If we have 6 full days, and two half days, I need advice on how many days in each park. We are a family of 2 adults, DS11, DD4, and DS18 months. Obviously, this presents challenges with attention spans, likes, dislikes, naps, etc. We'll be there from 9/16-23 (got the Free Dining!! )

My DH, DS11, and I have all been to Epcot before, and recall it overwhelming us - - more than we could do in one day running through the park on full tilt. BUT, since we've seen it once, we have a headstart on the others and wouldn't have to do every little thing again. Plus many of our ADRs for dinner are in Epcot, so can we see the attractions at night?

None of us have seen MK, and this will be DD4's hands-down favorite. She and DH have ressies at CRT on 9/19 at noon.

DS11 is looking forward to MGM Studios (none of us have been there either), and we hear both MGM and AK can be thoroughly explored in 1 day.

Of course, DS11 wants to see Disney Quest, and I think everyone would enjoy a waterpark.

HELP!! That puts me at about 12 days crammed into 6 full/2 half days!! I'm also using touringplans Best Days to help me find the best days to go to each park whenever possible.

My biggest concern is that my days are cut short by the naps for the two younger kids. Our best day would be to make a park from 8AM-2PM, best case. Block out 3-4 hours for bus and naps and it's dinner time. 1-2 hours for dinner, and it's fireworks time, bus and bed. We can only impact the front half of a day.

Thanks for any advice you experienced Mousers can offer!!

 

[Robo]

We would be happy to help.

Might I suggest that you get the ball rolling by putting together YOUR OWN rough itinerary, then post it back here and others can make suggestions on how to improve it.

Alternatives are TGM (at the top of this forum page) or TouringPlans.com (or others) that offer "pre-built" itineraries.

 

[liquid]

It is hard when you have two different age groups and we found on our trip last fall that a little splitting up went a long way! For example, we spent a day at MGM. The younger ones enjoyed the day but were VERY ready to leave at around 4PM. So, I took them back to the hotel and we had a relaxing evening. They were in bed watching the bedtime stories by 8:30 and asleep by 9:30. My husband and our older girls stayed at MGM, went on more rides, saw Fantasmic! and got back to the rooms at around 10:00, thrilled with their evening!

We did this about 4 of our 10 nights and it really helped! You may find that splitting up during the afternoon will work better, depending on your children's personality and sleep habits.

HTH!

 

[jeankeri]

I would get the kids Biernbaum (sp) book for kids. This was very helpful for our guys to pick the attractions they really wanted to see. I had them pick their top 3 in each park and promised they would get to do those. With the wide age difference (and having extra adults) you can split so your DS11 does not have to suffer through Playhouse Disney or anyother attraction you DD4 has to do. You will still have time to pick other things (and they may agree to one or 2 attractions) and you can fill in the tour with shows/rides you know the whole family can enjoy togeather. Some attractions in Epcot Future Worls are open to 9pm9 SpaceshipEarth, Test Track, MS, Soarin) but depending on crowd levels you may not want to wait in line to ride them. You may be able to get a FP depending on your arrival time/ maybe not. How many dinners did you plan for Epcot?

 

[traviesojmt]

Here's what we do and it has always worked well for us. We are a family of four DH, me, DS 8 and DD 3. Our morning always starts with early entry park. You can ride so much in those first couple hours before the park becomes crazy. We stay at that park until right after lunch and then head back to the room. Our youngest (2 last trip) would take a nap and my DH and I would take turns with our oldest either swimming, arcade, or going to the park for a while. We always choose a different park to go to at night. The park we go to usually has a lot to do with were we chose to make our ADR for that night. So, we are at the parks from 8am to 1pm. Nap until no later than 3:30pm and then head back to the parks. The break was actually good for all of us. I will say that we took our youngest to Disney Quest and it was not fun. I would recommend only one of you taking your oldest.
I wouldn't even worry about trying to do it all in one day. You will get the most done at the earliest part of the day. Take the break and then visit the parks again. I have our itinerary ready to go if you need examples just ask. Have a great trip.

 

[TheLittleRoo]

Oh, I would LOOOOOOOVE to post my rough itinerary! Just didn't wanta bore you good people, LOL!!

OK, so here goes:

Sat 9/16 Arrive 11, Settle into room/naps(?), MK sightseeing only, Chef Mickey's 6:30, Wishes, bedtime

Sun 9/17 TBD (leaning toward DS, lunch, naps, more DS, Mama Melrose/Fantasmic! package, bed)

Mon 9/18 MK (same drill, am park, lunch, leave around 2 for naps) Crystal Palace 6:35

Tue 9/19 MK (might break into two groups this day) DD4 has lunch at CRT with Daddy at 12:10, then nap at the hotel. Back half of this day is open as I don't see her wanting more MK after 1.5 days of it.... Dinner Coral Reef 6:20, Illuminations, bed

Wed 9/20 Epcot (same drill), Akershus 6:30

Thurs 9/21 TBD (thinking Epcot - - is back to back best? Two days=best right?) same drill with naps, Babysitter for kids @5:30, Chef de France for 2
@ 6:30

Fri 9/22 AK by default (hate seeing it so late in our trip...) same drill, Le Cellier 5:30

Sat 9/23 Open (need to leave around 3:00 for flight at 6:00)

Here's what we know:
We want to see all 4 parks, for sure.
We think MK can be done in 1.5 days, EP in two, DS and AK in one day each.
We would like to visit one or both water parks (seams bursting here..)
DS11 wants to go to DisneyQuest as much as possible
DH and I really don't want to split up, but realizing it may be impossible not to, so we might just try to MINIMIZE how much/how long we split (ie maybe taking DS11 to do some special things during the 3-4 hour break while the younger kids are napping.)

How is park hopping midday? Is it a waste of time arriving at a new park around 1? And transferring from one park to another = 1 hour?

I'm pumped, but having to make all these ADR's w/o my DH is killing me! He's deployed for another 90 days and I talk to him only once a week or so. I so need other adult's opinions! The 11 y/o is killing me!

TIA!!!

 

[TheLittleRoo]

I bought the unofficial guide and the unofficial guide with kids, as well as disney for cheapskates (HA!). It says to avoid the parks with early/late hours, which is really throwing a monkey wrench into my plans. That's why I'm picking parks on the days I am; b/c UOG says those parks are the best based on other parks using EMH those days.

It seems counterintuitive to NOT go at least to the early hours park that day, but I want to avoid crowds and lines. Is this redundant for me to even worry about in Sept with lighter crowds?

Ugh.

 

[scoolover]

When I went for my honeymoon in 99 we went for the early entry days and would leave around noon. In the afternoon we would hop to another park. We never had a wait of more than 45 minutes for anything. That was in August. Good luck
Scott

 

[my2boys1821]

I bought the unofficial guide and the unofficial guide with kids, as well as disney for cheapskates (HA!). It says to avoid the parks with early/late hours, which is really throwing a monkey wrench into my plans. That's why I'm picking parks on the days I am; b/c UOG says those parks are the best based on other parks using EMH those days.

It seems counterintuitive to NOT go at least to the early hours park that day, but I want to avoid crowds and lines. Is this redundant for me to even worry about in Sept with lighter crowds?

Ugh.

I am planning something like this as well. We are doing half days everyday because my 3/4 year old has to nap or he will be very ill by dinner time. My plan is to go to the park with the EMH in the a.m. We are early risers and I'm hoping to get in some rides before the big crowds start. We will leave around 11-12, have lunch go back to the hotel for swim and naps. Then head out to our dinner ADR destination. Most are at parks without EMH because the UG says the crowds are pretty bad on those nights. I think with the amount of stay, we will have enough time to visit all of the parks a few times and hopefully get in all the rides we want to ride.

 

[traviesojmt]

That's why we always we leave Early entry parks at lunch. They get really crowded after a couple of hours, but we ride more in the first couple hours of EE than any other time of the day. For example, on an Early Entry day to MK, we usually head straight for Dumbo and ride twice. Then it is walk-on at Winnie the Pooh and the rest of Fantasy Land. Then we move to bigger rides. Keep in mind that you can also use the fast passes to save time too. It seems crazy to me not to do EE. It has always worked for us, esp. in the time of year you are going. I agree that it would be the park to avoid if you were going to the park later in the day or staying all day. Our last trip was this past July and EE was great. At AK, we saw the most animals we had ever seen on the Safari by going first thing in the morning. The only park that I don't care about EE is MGM. That is because I am not a big fan of the thrill rides. If you are dying to ride ToT and RnR, then you would want to go EE.

 

[torinsmom]

DS=????? Is that MGM or what?

Remember that Disney Quest does not open until 11:30am. What we did was go to Downtown Disney at 9 and looked around/shopped, then headed over to DQ at around 11:00 to wait for the opening. This way, you can do all the big rides(POC, Jungle Cruise, Aladdin) before it gets busy. We saved the "regular" arcade for last, since it was easy to get on the games(which are all free, and they even have Ms PacMan, Centipede, etc, LOL)

The water park would probably be a good outing for DH and DS during the little ones' nap. They close at 5, so maybe if the little ones wake up before they return, they could go in the hotel pool?

Two days for Epcot? 1.5 is probably more likely. Future world could take a whole day if you are taking a break, but The World Showcase can be done in a few hours easy. Maybe you could use that other 1/2 day for something else? Or do World Showcase after your LeCellier dinner(Check in early so you get seated on time)

Marsha

 

[donac]

We especially like to do MK with EE. You should split up for the MK. IN the past (our sons are 5 years apart). My dh would take ds1 on space mountain and I would take ds2 on dumbo and pooh. We would have gotten fp for buzz and then meet up to do buzz and the rest of fantasy land before it got too crowded.

 

[powellrj]

ok, My kids are 23, 15 and 9, so I know all about traveling with different aged kids. The first thing I would do is to split up. DH has always taken DD/youngest on the tamer rides while I take the boys on the bigger rides.

Sept 16 DQ and DTD for your first day because its really hard to go to MK and only look around!

Sept 17 MK in the morning MGM after your naps for fantasmic!

Sept 18 AK for EMH

Sept 19 Epcot for EMH

Sept 20 waterpark

Sept 21 MK for EMH

Sept 22 water park

Sept 23 MGM for EMH

I would make good use of your EMH because you can really see and do a lot in the short time when the parks aren't full. They really start to fill up mid-morning so you can have your lunch and go back for a swim and a nap. I would avoid any park with evening EMH for your afternoon visits. On water park days you can stay until mid day and then go back for lunch and nap and visit another park in the afternoon.

 

[TheLittleRoo]

Ok, so I've reevaluated (thanks guys!!) and I think EE will dictate where we go as much as possible.

I see an opportunity on Tuesday to split into two groups, and DH/DD4 go to MK for their CRT outing while DS11 & DS18mo come with me to EE at EP. That would be fine since DH has BTDT with EP, and DD4 won't miss the extra half day gone from EP. ( I love it when things come together!!)

That frees up one of my EP days slated for Wed or Thurs to be for hanging out at a water park now.

The big snafu is that we have to stack MK upfront or listen to DD4 whine about it. Other parks have EE those first days, esp AK on Monday which is currently slated for MK. Maybe we do AK in the EE hours, nap and return to MK for the parade and dinner?

Ugh, this is supposed to be fun! And if not fun, then why not EASY??

 

[Gabe's Mom]

My best suggestion is to join Tour Guide Mike! Best vacation $$ we spent. So much insight and info. Well worth it!

 

[TheLittleRoo]

I had another thought: should we bail on the parks with EE around noon, even eating lunch at our hotel CS instead of the park so we can nap around 1:30-3:00, and be back at another park by 4:00?

I guess the question is: how are park crowds at a non-EMH at 4:00 vs 5:00? Where is the hour best spent? Staying one hour longer at the EE park in the AM, or getting to the non-EMH park one hour earlier in the afternoon?

 

[traviesojmt]

We tended to eat counter service at the parks before we left to go back to the hotel for the afternoon. I think that you should play by ear what time you head back to the hotel. If the kids are still on the go, stay as long as you can. If the kids tire early, don't fight it. I think that you will be fine either way that you go. I don't think that there will be much difference between the two hours. Having done it with young children, they will tell you when they have had enough and are ready stop for a break.

 

[ougrad86]

We had the same time frame as you except we stayed in the parks all day. AK and MGM are one day parks. MK we were there our first night, and all of another day. Epcot, 3 days. FW one day, and then FW to WS when it opened the other two. Our last half day we actually didn't leave the hotel as I had the worst blister ever. We took our time packing, but if not for the blister, we probably would've hit either MK or Epcot. Probably MK to get a few more rides on the BMTRR.
We did do DisneyQuest after AK. My DS was so enthralled with CyberSpace Mountain, we only did a few other things and then he kept coming back! Hope to explore it a little more fully next time.
Sit down with everybody and plan which rides everyone wants to go on. Look at the crowd levels and the touring plans. I put together a rough touring plan based on what we wanted, and the order to go in. We were very lucky, as it seems the crowds seemed very light (except for our first night at MK, which was a Saturday and open until 11).

 

[jeankeri]

Going with a plan is the best way to go if you are hoping to see as much as possible. I would not leave AK for the last day and plan to be at Le Cellier by 5:30 to eat (you would have to be leaving AK by 4 to make the trip relaxing. Our first trip to AK we were the last car out of the lot. I also understand the need to see MK to get in the mood and plaese you DD. I would do it as the first night. We went to MK after Chef Mickey's, watched Philharmagic & Stitch and enjoyed the fireworks.