Does this sound like a good plan?

katibosch

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DD and I will be at Disney from September 3-7 and I already booked a package but I'm not totally happy with it so I think I will cancel that and book another. What I was thinking is:

Staying at POFQ for the whole trip -- I would like to try a few different resorts, but it seems like too much trouble for no more days than we are there. I also thought about POR and Coronado Springs -- any thoughts? We stayed at ASMu before and it was fine, but I'd like a moderate this time.

Thursday we fly in and get to MCO at 1:55. Taking DME. I was thinking of making ADR for maybe 7 pm at a resort restaurant and hoping to have a few hours to unpack and swim at resort before dinner, and after dinner wander around a few resorts, ride the monorail, go to DTD and wander around... whatever DD wants to do, pretty much.

Friday, Saturday, Sunday -- park days with hopper passes, and planning to hop a few times a day if necessary to get to what we want to do. I am hoping to plan on making it to 4 attractions of DD's choosing a day and have one ADR a day these days. Any other attractions we make it to would be a bonus.

Monday -- we fly out of MCO at 5:10 so I was going to make a breakfast ADR, then spend the early part of the day wandering the resorts, swimming, shopping... then get DME about 2:00 pm and head home.

I don't want this to be a super stressful trip -- we've already had plenty of stress and change in our lives this year for several reasons, and I just really want to spend some good, quality, one on one time with my daughter.

Does this sound reasonable? Suggestions? Thank you!
 
I LOVED the POFQ - small and easy/quick access to the pool/bus/front desk/dining area within a quick walk of each other. I would think you would be fine with a 7 p.m. ADR as long as you dont experience flight delays. Not sure how much time you'll have for swimming and such before dinner though. 2:00 flight you MAY be at your resort within 1-1/2 hrs after checking in at DME. (sooner or later depends on lines and if yo just missed a bus, etc.) and then you have to give yourself about an hour to get from resort to park to whichever ADR you select. If your only doing the parks for 3 days, I would pick one park per day - otherwise IMO you'll spend too much time traveling from one park to another. Have a great trip!
 
My only question is will you be renting a car or using Disney transportation? With how long disney transportation takes, I don't know that hopping a few times each day will be a good idea, may end up being a major time suck. I wouldn't plan to hop more than once a day if I were you.
 
We will take Disney transportation, so I'm thinking the hopping needs to be limited. Still might go ahead and get the hopper passes just in case, will think about it.
 

If you want a low stress trip I would definitely choose one resort and stay put.
 
We will take Disney transportation, so I'm thinking the hopping needs to be limited. Still might go ahead and get the hopper passes just in case, will think about it.
Why don't you get base tickets and theb upgrade at GS if you decide you want to hop. Thay way, if you don't end up needing the hopper, you haven't wasted the money on it. I definitely wouldn't hop several times in one day because you would spend a lot of time on transportation and maybe only get to a few attractions.
 
How old is your DD?
First off, stay at one resort. Too short of a trip to do a split stay.
Second, keep in simple.
First day, check in, unpack, swim, CS somewhere. No ADR, early to bed. If you have the time or energy, you could head over to DTD for an hour or two and get a yummy CS dinner at Wolfgang Puck. No ADR needed so no cancellation fee if you don't need it. Or else make an ADR for Raglan Road through Open Table. Again, no penalty if you don't show up (although it would be polite to call or cancel online).
Third, I'd drop PH if I were you. You don't need them so why spend the extra $$?
For the rest of your trip, I'd do the following:
one day - Rope drop MK - swim or nap break - ADR at home resort or somewhere on the monorail, or MK, then back to MK for rides/parade/Wishes (Think Friday is the best day for MK according to crowd calendars, but I'd be tempted to save MK for Sat or Sun since it will probably be your daughter's fave park. MK for late EMH on Sat night if your daughter can stay up for it. Then you could schedule your sleep in day for Sun.)
another day rope drop Epcot - swim or nap break - ADR at Epcot (or do a 3/4 day - stay from RD - 5, with a lunch ADR somewhere. You can swim relax at your resort that night.
a third day sleep in, go to DTD for a few hours if you didn't do it the first night, then head over to DHS around 3 or 4 w/FP already booked. ADR at 50's PTC or Sci-Fi.
Final day I'd do AK from 9 - 1, then back to resort to catch ME. Can you do a prepark opening breakfast ADR at Tusker House? Is this even a breakfast place still?
 
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It would cost you right at $10 LESS to get a 5-day base ticket. You have time on your arrival/departure days to hit up the parks. With a 5-day, you see all of the once and do one of them twice.
 
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DD and I will be at Disney from September 3-7 and I already booked a package but I'm not totally happy with it so I think I will cancel that and book another. What I was thinking is:

Staying at POFQ for the whole trip -- I would like to try a few different resorts, but it seems like too much trouble for no more days than we are there. I also thought about POR and Coronado Springs -- any thoughts? We stayed at ASMu before and it was fine, but I'd like a moderate this time.

Thursday we fly in and get to MCO at 1:55. Taking DME. I was thinking of making ADR for maybe 7 pm at a resort restaurant and hoping to have a few hours to unpack and swim at resort before dinner, and after dinner wander around a few resorts, ride the monorail, go to DTD and wander around... whatever DD wants to do, pretty much.

Friday, Saturday, Sunday -- park days with hopper passes, and planning to hop a few times a day if necessary to get to what we want to do. I am hoping to plan on making it to 4 attractions of DD's choosing a day and have one ADR a day these days. Any other attractions we make it to would be a bonus.

Monday -- we fly out of MCO at 5:10 so I was going to make a breakfast ADR, then spend the early part of the day wandering the resorts, swimming, shopping... then get DME about 2:00 pm and head home.

I don't want this to be a super stressful trip -- we've already had plenty of stress and change in our lives this year for several reasons, and I just really want to spend some good, quality, one on one time with my daughter.

Does this sound reasonable? Suggestions? Thank you!

No, it sounds exhausting. First, I would keep POFQ. It is a quaint little resort that is our family favorite. On arrival day, skip all that running around If you plan dinner at 7 and you may get a little sightseeing done, but not to the monorail, DTD and Dinner. You will arive at your resort in about 90 minutes if you are taking DME, so you are looking at 3:30. You could take your DD to explore the resort, swim adn get ready for dinner. i would plan either something in DTD because of the easy transprtation by boat, or POR, POFQ sister resort. We like Boatwrights and often choose it for our arrival meal when we are at POFQ.

I would drop the hoppers, and add a day pass to your tickets. Hopping to one park takes time, but more than one? not worth it. I would pick a park and stay there. If you want to leave during the afternoon for a break, go back to the same park for evening activities.
 
Yeah, it honestly does sound like a lot. Thumbs up for POFQ though. I love the smaller size of the resort and it feels like every room is pretty close to the lobby/transportation. It has a lot of charm.

I agree with the PP -- why not check out the resort when you arrive, head to DTD via their boat service (it's a nice short ride) and eat something tasty there?

Hopping means your day is going to be very long, but it's possible to do RD, take a break, and then head to a park with evening EMH (we do AK/MK, with FP+ at MK instead of AK). But you're going to be exhausted the next day! Sticking to one park per day means more time having fun and less time traveling (which is decidedly not fun!).

On that last day, I don't think you're going to get as much done as you are planning. There's also not really a place to make ADR for Breakfast at POFQ or PORS, unless you're planning on returning to DTD. Hopping to other resorts will just take more of your time. However, you could always hop on the bus to one of the MK resorts for a nice breakfast (and maybe get in a monorail ride around the loop, if the mono is a must-do).
 
Yeah, it honestly does sound like a lot. Thumbs up for POFQ though. I love the smaller size of the resort and it feels like every room is pretty close to the lobby/transportation. It has a lot of charm.

I agree with the PP -- why not check out the resort when you arrive, head to DTD via their boat service (it's a nice short ride) and eat something tasty there?

Hopping means your day is going to be very long, but it's possible to do RD, take a break, and then head to a park with evening EMH (we do AK/MK, with FP+ at MK instead of AK). But you're going to be exhausted the next day! Sticking to one park per day means more time having fun and less time traveling (which is decidedly not fun!).

On that last day, I don't think you're going to get as much done as you are planning. There's also not really a place to make ADR for Breakfast at POFQ or PORS, unless you're planning on returning to DTD. Hopping to other resorts will just take more of your time. However, you could always hop on the bus to one of the MK resorts for a nice breakfast (and maybe get in a monorail ride around the loop, if the mono is a must-do).


THe only place that is closeby is Boatwrights, and we have enjoyed breakfast there in our departure day, but I have no idea if breakfast is still offered. I think your monorail loop is a fun way to get the OP's resort hopping in. Breakfast at 'Ohana in the Poly and then a visit to the monorail resorts and back to POFQ could be manageable and not too stressful.
 
Thank you, everyone! I appreciate all the ideas. I'm still studying on how to best do this, but you've given me a lot to think about!
 
We change resorts often on 10-15 days trips but wouldn't on a 4 day trip. I would stay with POFQ. It's our favorite moderate.
 

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