driving myself crazy! FP and itinerary critique?

[kristidiaz1]

Group of 7, from grandparents down to toddler. Have 8 day hoppers, 2 dessert parties, dining packages and EMM to cut down on crowding/staking out spots, lines for the little one. I'm going crazy this week trying to figure out my FP/touring plans. Really struggling with my AK day, and not sure how much I can fit into my 2 HS days...seems like I'm low on time? Ugh, any input? Thanks!!!!


Thurs-Arrival Day/no parks: land around 11 am, head to ASMu to explore resort & check in, dinner at Chef Mickeys @6:30

Fri-MK: EMH at MK 8am, lunch at BOG 11:10 FP will probably be Speedway, Enchanted Tales with Belle, and??? (will have toddler with us, and no grandparents etc so will save the bigger rides for our other 2 MK days)-and we are doing EMM later

Break at hotel, meet rest of party and all head to Chip & Dale’s Campfire Singalong (CS dinner at hotel or at chuckwagon)

Sat-HS: try for TS fp-SDD 1st choice (if not try later in week) morning in TS land

Lunch at Mama Melrose 11:30 then try to meet Olaf and the Indy show, see what else we can fit in before a hotel break. Return, CS at Woody’s lunchbox, maybe a late FP at TOT before Fantasmic at 8pm

Sun-AK: Tusker House PPO breakfast/ROL pkg, hopefully head to Navi if we get a FOP FP. Then safari, Everest with a FP, Kali with FP, head to DInoland for some characters, then CS lunch (Flame Tree?) Hotel break, dinner at Rainforest (ADR5:15but can change) more Dinoland before ROL

Would like to fit in Lion King, maybe meet Timon, maybe cut out Rafiki’s/train this time around? I feel very unsure of timing on this day and what the best plan is…AK was very different last time we were there

Mon-EP/MK: Epcot, mainly focusing on WS…doing Food & Wine, Agent P, would like to meet mainly Mulan, maybe Anna/Elsa. FP for FEA and…??? SE? We will have another day for FW.

Would like to be on monorail at 2:30 for a 3:30 Ohana ADR? Then monorail to MK for HEA dessert party

Tues-MK: doing EMM, so excited! At 9:00 want to try to meet Ariel & LM ride, then head to Gaston for 10? Want to do the mountains.. BTMRR and Splash with FP before lunch. BOG 12:25 then Philharmagic, Space FP 2:00, try for a 4th FP for Buzz, head back to hotel,nap. Mom & Dad date night.

Weds-EP: GG PPO, then Soarin & the Land, Nemo FP at 10? Crush, Mission Space FP at 11, Test Track at 12, snacks at F&W, ice cream at Beaches & Cream window. Hotel break and back for Teppan Edo at 6:30 and Illuminations. Look around WS as time allows

Thu-HS: have a PPO H&V breakfast if I keep it. Hope to sign up for Jedi training. Need to fit in that, Star Tours, Disney Jr and Frozen Singalong, March of the 1st order ?

Lunch is Sci Fi at 11:15, aim for FP after lunch for RNR, SDD. Some more Star Wars stuff and hotel break. We have dessert party that night so will do Launch Bay then.

Fri-MK: Would like to do anything we missed, meet Tink, Al/Jasmine. Thinking FP Jungle Cruise, ??

We have Tony’s at 11:30 for the parade pkg (2:00 parade) Head to hotel soon after, pack & relax

Sat-DS: We have Ohana at 8:45 then heading to DS to spend whatever time we have before ME

 

[Tksolomom]

On your first MK day, I would get a fast pass for Peter Pan. Try for a 4th FP for Pirates, WTP and maybe HM or JC. All are rides the toddler can do.

 

[dbb727]

On your first Magic Kingdom day, the obvious 3rd FP would be Peter Pan but since you are doing EMM, I’d suggest maybe a Princess meet at Fairytale Hall (Cinderella/Elena or Tiana/Rapunzel), Mickey meet or Buzz Lightyear, whichever one you think the toddler would enjoy most.

Also, have you done WDW with this group before? Your days seem pretty packed without a rest day or much downtime besides afternoon naps. By Day 3, I’d expect some people may hit a wall, so just be prepared to be flexible. I love to overplan, but also set realistic expectation we may only accomplish the first half of the plan and sometimes leave early depending on children’s behaviors, mood, exhaustion, etc. It looks like you can arrive late on your Monday Epcot day since your focus is WS, so maybe try to do your FEA at 10:30/11 to allow everyone a chance to sleep in. Or leave a bit early in AK day and just skip ROL.

I think keeping the last day (Friday) flexible is great so you can go back to whatever park/rides you missed or just want another ride on. Book some FPS at MK, or if you couldn’t get SDD or FOP on your first choice day then book on the last day since you have park hoppers!
Overall, you have some great ADRs and it looks to be an amazing trip!

 

[Disneymom1126]

You have some great plans set up! A few things I noticed that you may just want to think a bit about:

When my daughter was younger, it was tough for us to stay out through the fireworks/night shows and then get up and rope drop/PPO breakfast the next day for multiple days. We definitely needed to alternate this (so if up early, don't stay to night show then if stay till night show don't rope drop). Learning this (the hard way) made the next few trips much more enjoyable from a mood/level of crankiness perspective. Because you have park hoppers and you have multiple days, that would be something I would think about in your plans!

It seems like you're looking for a bit of advice on your day at Animal Kingdom - some of this will depend on what you want to get done. Because of the popularity of Pandora, at rope drop you can do anything else in the park with little to no wait. The dining package for Rivers of Light will also be helpful. While I usually try and make my touring plans avoid backtracking, I think it's hard to avoid it at AK right now - depending on what is most important to you - lower wait times, less walking back and forth, or definitely riding both Pandora rides my advice would be a little different! What we would probably do is after breakfast head straight to Expedition Everest, then circle to Dinoland, then cut back to Africa (through Discovery Island) and use a FP for Kali and Safari, then watch LionKing show. If you still have time, you're in Africa and could head to Rafiki's Planet Watch or walk one of the animal trails. After that we'd plan our FP for FofP right around lunch time and eat at Saltuli Canteen in Pandora (cause I think the food there is really good!); take the mid-day break you have planned, come back for Rivers of Light and head straight to Na'vi after Rivers of Light (while also trying to score a 4th FP for it all day lol). When you come back for Rivers of Light, depending on the timing with your Rainforest Cafe dinner - you may also have time to head to Rivers of Light by taking the route through Dinoland and meeting some characters (in case they aren't out in the morning when you're there).

It looks like you're going to have a great trip!

 

[tlmadden73]

How young is the toddler?

Looks pretty solid, a lot of "would like to" plans that seem very flexible (which you need to be with a toddler and grandparents).

The only suggestion I have (I would do differently with my family) .. that is a lot of early mornings and a lot of late nights. Depending on the age of the toddler, that is a lot of being wore out.

When I've gone with my son as a toddler, we just skip the night shows .. or maybe see them on the way out. Keeping them up past their bedtime and then getting going for an extra early morning (with things like EMM and PPO breakfasts) .. while efficient for planning .. could be a recipe for meltdowns.

I would also put a "do nothing" day in the middle there. Let everyone sleep in, enjoy the pool or resort. A good day to grab a dinner at a resort without having to worry about leaving a park. Or maybe just plan on taking it easy in the morning and go to a park later in the day. Everyone will appreciate the rest.

 

[KittyKitty]

Transportation to Ft. Wilderness? You will need to plan on at least 90 minutes from resort to Ft. Wilderness. Even if you have a car, I think you still have to take a bus to Singalong?

I agree, lot of stuff planned.

 

[PrincessDaisyDuck]

With toddlers I would think about taking a break day somewhere in the middle. Also I don't know if your little one is a Doc McStuffins fan but they do have a cute meet and greet at Rafiki's Planet Watch with a whole pet vet set up which was not crowded at all when we went a few weeks ago.

 

[Spencer Wright]

Looks like a great plan!

If you need a bit of a break from the madness of AK, please do not forget the animal trails toward the back of the park! They are very immersive and offer a great break.

I would recommend a Jungle Cruise FP as that line can be long, and is somewhat congested without air conditioning.

 

[BebopBaloo]

You've got a heavy schedule. The best advice I can give is - Don't over do it. Be prepared to say 'okay we're chilling now.' What can truly make your trip a bummer is if people get really stressed out (which is easy to do with a tight schedule). Also, having so many extras booked is a recipe for stress because you are spending a lot of extra money on the extra events and that naturally leads to needing those things to be above amazing, which often leads to disappointment.

Have everyone pick three things they really want to do (the whole week) many of those things will overlap and then just let everything else be icing on the cake. We've actually been avoiding EMH because the parks without EMH have less crowds and for us less crowds = less stress. I recommend Buzz as the 3rd FP on that first MK day. If you are at EMH then just go straight to Peter Pan at rope drop. The queue is really cute.

Depending on the toddler they may not like things like Indy or Fantasmic because of the loudness and Fantasmic has a lot of villains. Be prepared to get up and leave either of those without being disappointed. There also seems to be a lot of traveling back and forth for breaks. Sometimes the amount of time it takes to leave the park, get to the hotel, plus getting back to the park is just really consuming. We've often just found a spot to relax in the park (with toddlers). I definitely would not try to bounce back and forth from the parks to the hotel every day.

For AK - definitely just try to enjoy the atmosphere of the park. Enjoy the animals on the trails. AK is tied for first place as my favorite park with MK because of the atmosphere.

For Epcot- skip walking to the Beaches and Cream ice cream window if it isn't a 'must do' for someone in your party. Try L'artisan de Glace. They have amazing gelato/sorbet and waffle cones and then you don't have to leave the park. It's in the France pavilion of World Showcase.

Have a great time and try not to stress too much!

 

[KenHutch]

What time is your breakfast at Tusker House? We always do the earliest breakfast and are usually done as the park opens and we just walk over to Kilimanjaro. It saves you a fast pass for something else. We do AK for 2 days and I go fast passes for both of the Pandora rides so we did the opposite of many people. While a good 80-90% of the crowd heads to Pandora we head every where else.

 

[disneyfool_1202]

Wow - I'm going for 10 days with two teens and we don't have as jam packed a schedule as you! I would say be prepared to deviate from any plans you have made, especially traveling with a toddler. I remember a friend of mine WINNING a free week (air included) to WDW with a 3 year old WORST vacation she ever had. Never been to Disney and her and hubby tried to cram it all in and do everything which meant they had one very very tired cranky toddler who ended up by day 4 starting the day crying and wouldn't stop all day.
Our first time was with kids my daughter was 9 months and son was almost 3. We had a blast but we didn't set an itinerary and just went with the flow. By "no itinerary' I mean we DID plan which park which day and did plan either lunch or dinner at CS but if they couldn't make it to dinner and needed a nap, we cancelled dinner, let them nap (whether it be where we were or back at the room), and found an alternative once they were up and running again.
Just make sure if you can't make any of your plans to cancel them so the spots open up for people on waiting lists and don't get stressed over things that don't work out. The important thing is you are enjoying the experience with family- but trying to drive that experience causes stress. Just let it happen.

 

[Eve & Wall-e]

There's a lot of great suggestions above. On Sun-AK day I would suggest skipping Rafiki/train. That takes a lot of time out of your day that you could be doing something else, like the Lion King show you want to do. Have a magical vacation!

 

[kristidiaz1]

Wow, some great advice..for some more background, we've done a trip together before but the little one wasn't around yet. Luckily he's pretty easygoing, we travel with him a lot (And are a go go go kind of family) and he's the type to nap/stroller nap anywhere. Literally-in a wave pool, lol, in a crowd of screaming kids, etc.

Id never rest if it was up to me haha, but everyone voted for a rest/naptime every day versus a whole break day. My concern is the time it takes up with the travel. And we are also open to splitting up, some skipping out on certain things etc. Looks like I'm on the right track if we stay flexible?

 

[kristidiaz1]

What time is your breakfast at Tusker House? We always do the earliest breakfast and are usually done as the park opens and we just walk over to Kilimanjaro. It saves you a fast pass for something else. We do AK for 2 days and I go fast passes for both of the Pandora rides so we did the opposite of many people. While a good 80-90% of the crowd heads to Pandora we head every where else.

Our Tusker ADR IS 8:10, I was unsure where to head at opening. We'd love to do either/both Pandora but won't be crushed either. Thanks..I was debating-head to Navi? Everest? Safari?

 

[BebopBaloo]

I would FP Navi and Safari and try to get Everest as a 4th FP later in the day. Flight of Passage is pretty spectacular. If that's something you want to go for then I would rope drop Navi, and FP Flight of Passage and Safari. Tusker House is pretty close to Pandora, but I'm not sure that you'll be out by rope drop if rope drop is at 9a.m. You could always try for one of the Pandora rides after ROL.

 

[KenHutch]

Our Tusker ADR IS 8:10, I was unsure where to head at opening. We'd love to do either/both Pandora but won't be crushed either. Thanks..I was debating-head to Navi? Everest? Safari?

After your breakfast go to KS first. Everyone goes to Pandora if you east at Tusker and go to KS you can easily ride 2 other rides before the wait lines get long.

 

[KMarston]

No need to FP Peter Pan if you're doing EMM!

 

[YesterDark]

Good luck getting your toddler awake past fireworks. Mine couldn't make it but we rope dropped.

Good strategy is a character meal as a midbday break. You need lots of breaks.

I suggest sitting down somewhere an hour before the fireworks and get ready.

Don't try to do too much with young ones.

Try to schedule fast passes as early as possible so you can start getting your 4 and 5th FP soon. Just bounce from FP to FP all day. Works great for kids.

Plans look good though.

 

[KittyKitty]

Make sure everyone is walking before the trip with broken-in shoes.You can easily walk 7 miles a day at WDW.