Disney time management questions, 1st timer

[stephyamber]

THis will be our first time to Disney. I've done a ton of research and think I'm doing well so far. Right now we are booked for 9nights at POFQ in September. Going on what I've read, we decided to go with 7 day park tickets with the water park upgrade. I am figuring 2 days a piece at MK and Epcot, 1 day each at AK and DHS. That will leave us with one additional ticket for whatever park we want. I'm planning on not doing any park the day we arrive, nor the day we leave.

So I guess my question is am I right to assume that 2 additional days (including the extra park ticket) will be enough to do DT disney and both water parks? For some reason I'm second guessing myself. I think we will also go DT the day we arrive if that helps. Any advice would be wonderful. I feel like maybe I'm underestimating how much park time we may need? Should I maybe make it 6 day park passes or will we have time to use our 7th day tickets with ease maybe one of the other nights? Help!

 

[mvgiggles]

I think you will be fine with that timeline planned out. Keep in mind that depending on the time of year you go, AK and HS sometimes close much earlier and you can check out DTD after the park for dinner even.

What are you planning to do at DTD? That really makes all the difference as to how much time you spend there. If you just shop and eat then an one evening will be fine, inless there are multiple restaurants that you want to try out. If you plan to go to cirque or bowling/movies or DisneyQuest you may need more time.

As far as the water parks go, we have been to both and spend a good chunk of an afternoon there, but have never spent the whole day. However, we usually use this as our "down day" and sleep in, put-put golf, waterpark and DTD to end the evening.

I'm hoping this helps! Have fun!

 

[hoosll]

Congrats on planning your first trip ..
It's not clear if this is an adult trip or if there are any children involved which can really skew things.

I think your day distribution is about right for a first trip for an adult trip or older children. You don't mention park hoppers so you will need to pick your park days carefully to align with available night entertainment, i.e., parade/fireworks at MK which may not run every night, also Fantasmic.

It sounds like you are looking forward to the water parks ... you could plan a night at Downtown Disney on one of those days or perhaps, mini-golf. A great way to spend time is to tour some of the monorail resorts or an evening at the Boardwalk.

My advice to first-timers is that you will probably not experience it all even in 6-7 days. Think of the first trip as a scouting trip for future trips: learn the transportation system, check out the resorts and restaurants, soak up the atmosphere - September is a great month.

 

[SEA333]

The biggest mistake we made last trip is planning park days every single day we were there. By day three, DS7 was exhausted and didn't want to even be in a park anymore. We decided that next time, since my kids are pool lovers, we will do every other day at a park and the in-between days at the resort, with maybe a ADR at another resort for dinner.

If you have kids who love the pools, or younger kids who are too old for a stroller but still are young with short legs LOL, you might want to reconsider throwing a couple relax days in there. Trust me, you do not need to be in a park to enjoy a Disney vacation, and spending time during the day at your resort is really fun, too. It's so quiet and the staff is really friendly. They play games at the pool in the afternoon and at POR, they do a marshmallow roast/campfire at about 5pm, plus movies on the lawns at both resorts, etc. My kids' (13, 9, and 7) favorite day was the last day. We had a late flight (6pm), they went to the pool outside of our room at POR at about 8am and swam in that no-frills pool for about 3 hours while DH and I packed up. Then we checked out and went over to POFQ to swim and eat (the shrimp po'boy was the best CS the whole time were there besides BOG!). At about 3pm, we changed and stopped in DTD for about 90 minutes before heading to the airport. There was no traffic at all, and we arrived VERY early for our flight, returned our rental car, and headed to the terminal, which was good since the only issue was the ridiculously long, boring wait at security.

We did not miss having a park day at all that last day, and felt like we were still "at Disney" until the moment we passed the sign on the way in saying Welcome to Disney (sob).

 

[HiHoWeGo]

The biggest mistake we made last trip is planning park days every single day we were there.

I made nearly the same mistake on our last trip. We had park days every day except one. But on that day we went to KSC and stopped at DTD on the way back - not really a down day. If we were to do another 8 day/7 night visit, I would probably do each park once. An exception would be if we were at an Epcot resort, in which case I would probably go to Epcot many of the days, most only for dinner and Illuminations.

 

[tara98]

Your plan sounds good! I would check the water park schedules, sometimes only one of them is open, which would free up a day for you..

 

[FredQc]

So I guess my question is am I right to assume that 2 additional days (including the extra park ticket) will be enough to do DT disney and both water parks?

Yes. As previous posters wrote, you can combine water park and another non-park area (Downtown Disney, the Boardwalk, a miniature golf, or your resort) within the same day. Please note that your "Water park & More Fun Options" ticket allows you to spend more than two days in water parks whether you decide you want more. You may also decide to spend daytime in a water park, then to take a shower at your resort and to spend nighttime in a theme park.

I feel like maybe I'm underestimating how much park time we may need? Should I maybe make it 6 day park passes or will we have time to use our 7th day tickets with ease maybe one of the other nights? Help!

I am convinced that most first timers underestimate how much time is required to tour the theme parks, especially whether you take time to "smell the roses" (i.e.: to slow down and look around on all the details). Disney theme parks are like onions: some people look only the first layer (the major attractions), but there a so much to enjoy if you take time.

Many first timers also underestimate how much energy is required to spend all days in parks. Port Orleans is a large and beautiful resort : you will want to spend time there to relax and to enjoy the facilities (pools, lounge, etc.).

Planning is essential, but keep in mind that you are likely to deviate from your plan, and your package is flexible enough for that. Since you will visit the water parks, I don't think the park hopper option would be a good purchase, as you already have the opportunity to visit two parks on a given day (water parks + one theme park). However, you will have the opportunity to add more theme park days to your ticket during your vacation, if you decide that you want them.

 

[FredQc]

Your plan sounds good! I would check the water park schedules, sometimes only one of them is open, which would free up a day for you..

Don't worry : both water parks are usually open in September.

 

[disnut1149]

The one suggestion I have is to take a day off to rest between park days. Your feet might need the break!! Have a great trip!

 

[stephyamber]

Thank you all for the great advice! We are a family of 4. DH, DD8, DS2, and myself. On our arrival day (time unknown) I plan for us to check into the hotel and catch the boat to DTD for lunch and maybe a little shopping/exploring. Then making our way back to the resort to freshen up, unpack a bit(hopefully) and then jump on a bus to the boardwalk for an ADR at flying fish.

My Kids and I love the water so we definitely plan on taking full advantage of the pool at the resort. Should I actually schedule in days only at the resort with the exception of some ADRs? Being as we are staying at PO I was planning our down days to include the water parks and DTD.. But I guess that might not qualify as down time. We love to shop, and plan to spend a good bit DTD doing that, eating and also going to Quest. How long would everybody suggest for Quest?

It seems that maybe I should downgrade our park tickets to 6 days? Also, I saw someone mention that we could add another day while on our trip? How does that work? Would it still cost the same?

 

[Marlismouse]

They usually will upgrade and just charge the difference. I love having a few days NOT at the parks, allow for down time, enjoying the resort ( like fresh delicious beignets at PO), shopping, maybe some dole whip at the poly.

 

[photo_chick]

You won't know until you go. Really, all anyone can give you is their experience.

We do 3 days MK, 2 days DHS, 2 days Epcot and 1 day AK. But we don't do the water parks. We don't have a break day in-between. We're a family of 4 and on our last trip the kids were 8 and 12. They had more energy than we did and wanted more time in the parks. We do hit the resort pools a bit in there as well.

 

[Kari0180]

To answer your question on DisneyQuest, it really depends on how much your family loves video games. On our visits, we have spent anywhere from a couple hours (this was with no crowds, the place was deserted) to all day (it was pretty busy this day and it was raining). We love the simulators and all the classic video games in the arcade, it would be very easy to spend all day there!

 

[KittyKitty]

With the ages of your children, have you looked into baby swap information for rides that have a height requirement?

Sept. is hot with thunderstorms in the afternoon, so if possible, earlier the better going to the parks, afternoon break, and back in the evening.

And don't worry, you will not be able to do everything, but you will have a great time!!

 

[stephyamber]

Yes, we will definitely be taking full advantage of line swap, especially since even our DD is scared of some rides still!

 

[NJR]

....... Then making our way back to the resort to freshen up, unpack a bit(hopefully) and then jump on a bus to the boardwalk for an ADR at flying fish.

Just wanted to make sure that you know that you cannot take a bus directly to Boardwalk from your resort - you will either have to take the boat back to DTD and then get on the Boardwalk bus, or take a bus from your resort to any park and then catch the Boardwalk bus from there. And as I just experienced, if you try taking the bus to Boardwalk from DTD be aware that it first stops at the Swan, then Dolphin, then Yacht Club, then Beach Club resorts before it gets to the Boardwalk.

I find that many first-timers underestimate the time involved in going from point A to point B - just because point B is a 15 minute bus ride away does not mean you can present yourselves at the bus stop 15 minutes before you want to arrive. You may need to wait 10-15 minutes for a bus, then ride for 15-20 minutes (or more, depending on how many stops your bus has to make), then another 10 minutes or more to walk to your final destination (eg through security/bag check, through the gates etc). Same for when you are leaving a park - the walk from the back of a park to the bus stops is not short and will easily take you 10-15 minutes, where you may again need to wait for a bus to arrive. Disney recommends that you give yourself at least an hour to get from one place to the next (particularly if you are trying to make it to your ADRs), and that is sound advice.

 

[mom2AidanAndEli]

You can definitely add days to your tickets while you're done there and there's no service charge or anything. It doesn't cost any more to do it there than it would to do it ahead of time. So if you're really not sure how many days worth of tickets you'll need, for now get the lowest number of days. Then if you need more, you can add while you're down there. I know the difference isn't much once you get past 5 or 6 days, but still why pay for something you won't use!