Does this sound like a realistic holiday plan?

[Beth__WDW23/6/02]

On our first trip when DD was 4 and DS was 7 we had a great time but after a few days of theme parks, crazy golf, shopping and swimming DS said, "Mum, when can I have time to play?" I'd crammed far too much in and all he wanted to do was sit and colour and play with his toys that we'd brought for the journey.

Yes..very true.
My girls constantly asked to go into the pool and it's true all they want to do is go in the pool/games rooms and play...they love Disney but still like us they need a "time out" from it all.

 

[anthony2k7]

sara, i really think you should go buy the brits guide book others have recommended. it'll feed your thirst for info and excitement whilst giving you a much more complete picture of what to expect! you've easily got time to read it thoroughly several times before you need to be making firm decisions!

 

[Cyrano]

You are getting some great advice here from seasoned WDW visitors. Having returned from our 1st visit I can concur about not lasting all day.
On the days we went to the park for rope drop (necessary for some of the most popular rides) we were done by 3pm.
The effect of the time change meant that we did not manage night-time fireworks until later on in the trip

I used the crowd calendar forecasts from the guys who write The Unofficial Guide to WDW to good effect to decide which park to visit on a particular day.

 

[mollies_mum]

Hi Sara,
Nice to see you over here, I recognise you from the DLP boards, I really enjoyed reading your trip report
From experience if you love DLP you will absolutely LOVE WDW

On our first trip in 2006 DD was 6 then and what I found that worked really well for us was split days. We would go to a park at opening then go back to the hotel for a relaxing swim/lunch/shopping etc for a bit then back to a park (not necesssarily the same one as that morning) We were staying onsite though so you may not want to do that if you're offsite.

I agree with the posters that commented about MK three days in a row. I like to mix it up and then allocate some time towards the end of the holiday fo us to choose our favourites to do again. We loved Seaworld more than we expected to so we went there a few times and gave Universal a miss.

We're lucky enough to be going back next year and DD will be 10 and we're doing a couple of extra days at Universal instead of full on Disney to make up for missing it in 2006. For us we like to have a plan but with it we are also flexible.

In 2006 we weren't sure if we could afford to go back anytime soon either so enjoy it, we did!

 

[loobylou44]

sara, i really think you should go buy the brits guide book others have recommended. it'll feed your thirst for info and excitement whilst giving you a much more complete picture of what to expect! you've easily got time to read it thoroughly several times before you need to be making firm decisions!

I so completely agree with this, my 'Brits guide to Orlando' is always on my bedside table.

 

[Pegasus928]

As most people have already said it does look as though you are trying to fit everything in, and the chances are that is going to make for a very tiring holiday.
I also noticed on one your other threads that you had asked about character meals. I think you would struggle to make any firm plans until you know what times your dining reservations would be - then you could plan particular park days around them.
Either way I think everyone would agree that it doesn't matter much you plan they will always change. You may want to do a full day in the park but this will ultimately be decided by how tired the youngest one in your group is getting.

 

[higgy66]

We're going for 2 weeks in a couple of months with a 6 & 5 year old and to be honest we only plan on doing the Disney parks including the water parks. We might possibly consider Seaworld but will make our minds up when we're there.

Myself and DH have been to WDW a couple of times but it's the first time with the girls although we've taken then to DLRP.

We've made a rough plan of the parks and days we'll be visiting as we've made quite a few ADR's. However we plan to enter the park early doors and just follow the kids.

In DLRP we went on Its' a Small World 5 times in a row because that's what the girls wanted to do. I;m sure they will be the same this year with favourite rides so rushing round the parks is not an option.

We also plan to have plenty of afternoons back at the resort having naps and playing in the pool - think most children love time playing in the pool.

When people hear we're only going to do Disney they think we're mad but I know my DDs and their limitations and believe me they can be little angels but once they're over tired...........

We've made the conscious decision that this will not be our only trip so the pressure to see everything has gone - also nobody likes shopping so that's out of the question.


Have a wonderful time planning - it's exciting isn't it!

 

[torsie24]

oooh - we're there at the same time Janet! Where are you staying?

 

[wils]

Some great advice already which I won't repeat.

Our mistake (first time we went with a child) was to plan too much. Things like Water Parks, whilst restful for us, weren't for DD and we ended up losing a whole day as she was too exhausted to do anything bar sit in and play.

Even now (they are 6 & 3) we sometimes need to stop and let them play in the water play area for 1/2 hour or let them start the day with some time in the villa pool (I think our first trip we only got round to swimming twice in 2 weeks!)

You'll have a better idea once you get there. So have a plan but be prepared to be totally flexible!

Having said that planning is half the fun!

Enjoy

 

[higgy66]

oooh - we're there at the same time Janet! Where are you staying?

POFQ - 25th Sept - 9th October.