DxDDP TS and Itinerary

[smsmsw]

Here is a possible plan for our ADRs and itinerary. DxDDP for 2 adults and 2 boys ages 4 and 7. Staying at AKL in April 2018. Will likely use snack credits in between TS meals. I don't care for QS for the most part. Thoughts on park time, challenges with all the travel from one place to the next, etc? Other suggestions? Pretty set on most of the TS choices, though not opposed to changing up schedule or restaurant to save time. Possibly skip/replace Kona? Other ideas? Thanks!

Sunday:
Arrive AKL at 11am ish
Sanaa 12pm
Pool/Resort 1-3pm
MK 4-7pm
California Grill 7:30pm
Fireworks 9pm

Monday:
Light breakfast in room
AK 8am-2pm
Tusker House 10:30am ish
Resort 2:30-4:30pm
Epcot 5-7:30pm
Rose & Crown 7:30pm ish
Illuminations 9pm

Tuesday:
AKL Resort Day
Boma 10am ish
Resort and Pool/Pool Bar
Jiko 5pm ish
AK in evening maybe

Wednesday:
Light breakfast in room
HS 9am-1:30pm
SciFi Diner 11:00am ish
AKL 2-4pm
Kids to Lilo's Kid's Club at Polynesian by 5pm
Trader Sam's, Polys drinks 5pm
Citrico's at 6:30pm
Mizner's, Geyser Point drinks
MK 9-11pm
Pick up kids at Poly
Back to AKL

Thursday:
Light breakfast in room
Epcot 8:00am-11am
Beaches & Cream 11:15am
AKL nap pool 12:30-2:30
MK 3-9pm
Be Our Guest 6pm
Fireworks 9pm

Friday:
Chef Mickey's 7am
MK 8am-12:30pm
Whispering Canyon 1pm
AKL nap pool 3pm-6pm
Ohana 7:30pm
Fireworks at Poly 9pm

Saturday:
Possibly AK EMH 8-9
Kona 10:30am ish
Another Park and/or Resort, Pool during day
Disney Springs 4-9pm ish
Boathouse 6pm

Sunday:
California Grill Brunch 10am ish
MK?
Late Lunch, unsure
Back to AKL for Magical Express

 

[holden]

Your schedule doesn’t allow for much time in the parks. It that what you intended?

 

[smsmsw]

Your schedule doesn’t allow for much time in the parks. It that what you intended?

We don't need an excessive amount of time in the parks, but that is exactly what I am worried about with this schedule (that we don't have enough time for the parks). Maybe it would be better to focus on one park per day to cut down on travel. We like sitting down for TS meals and there are a bunch we want to do this time. I'm conflicted! Thank you.

 

[Colleen27]

I do think Kona is too out of the way to fit the rest of your Saturday plan. It is a lot of travel just for breakfast, and while Kona is good I don't think it is worth it. Either find a way to fit it in when you're going to be in the MK area or replace it with something closer to where you do plan to be.

More generally, I think a break and two TS every day just adds up to too much time away from the parks, especially when you add in the travel time of getting back and forth to AKL. Hopping isn't really the issue; it doesn't much matter if you're at the same park all day or two different ones when you're taking breaks. But I would reconsider the idea of taking a break every single day.

Does your 4yo still nap at home? Will you have a stroller for him? By that age, we were doing more in-park breaks than actual trips back to the resort to rest and swim - calmer show-type attractions, relaxing with a snack, or even just the transportation between parks. Going back to the resort just eats up so much time, and my kids felt like it wasn't worth it for the swim time because by the time we got to the room, changed, and went down to the pool it felt like it was time to head back up to get changed for the afternoon plans.

 

[NicoleLarson]

Will you have a car? Because if you are planning on taking the buses your timelines are way off. Even if you are driving you still need to allow a lot more time. Plus on the deluxe plan your meals will take a lot longer so only allowing 1 hr for meals is super unrealistic. Really, really, really rethink beaches and cream and sci-fi. Both are horrible values on the DxDDP, (along with Kona breakfast) and serve very similar food. Epcot has some fabulous restaurants that are also amazing values on the plan. If you want ice cream, France has a great parlor or walk over to the BW and use a snack credit at ample hills, its wonderful. Also unless my math is off, you have a bunch of unused credits. Are you sure the DxDDP works for you? Have you ever done the DxDDP? Its a TON of food!!!!

 

[smsmsw]

I do think Kona is too out of the way to fit the rest of your Saturday plan. It is a lot of travel just for breakfast, and while Kona is good I don't think it is worth it. Either find a way to fit it in when you're going to be in the MK area or replace it with something closer to where you do plan to be.

More generally, I think a break and two TS every day just adds up to too much time away from the parks, especially when you add in the travel time of getting back and forth to AKL. Hopping isn't really the issue; it doesn't much matter if you're at the same park all day or two different ones when you're taking breaks. But I would reconsider the idea of taking a break every single day.

Does your 4yo still nap at home? Will you have a stroller for him? By that age, we were doing more in-park breaks than actual trips back to the resort to rest and swim - calmer show-type attractions, relaxing with a snack, or even just the transportation between parks. Going back to the resort just eats up so much time, and my kids felt like it wasn't worth it for the swim time because by the time we got to the room, changed, and went down to the pool it felt like it was time to head back up to get changed for the afternoon plans.

We will get a stroller and I think you are so right about doing in park naps instead of going back to hotel every day, that makes better sense. I'm going to try and rework this. Thank you so much for your input, it really helps me!

Will you have a car? Because if you are planning on taking the buses your timelines are way off. Even if you are driving you still need to allow a lot more time. Plus on the deluxe plan your meals will take a lot longer so only allowing 1 hr for meals is super unrealistic. Really, really, really rethink beaches and cream and sci-fi. Both are horrible values on the DxDDP, (along with Kona breakfast) and serve very similar food. Epcot has some fabulous restaurants that are also amazing values on the plan. If you want ice cream, France has a great parlor or walk over to the BW and use a snack credit at ample hills, its wonderful. Also unless my math is off, you have a bunch of unused credits. Are you sure the DxDDP works for you? Have you ever done the DxDDP? Its a TON of food!!!!

We will not have a car. I did look back on how long we took last year at meals and did look at travel times. However, I didn't really factor in actually waiting for the buses, which can take a while.

So, the reason I'm considering the deluxe plan is because I looked at all the restaurants I want to go to and I added up what we would get if we were paying oop, which is usually 1 appetizer per table, 4 entrees, two desserts, and 1 or 2 alcoholic drinks. All of those costs added up were more than the cost of deluxe plan. I didn't even add in snacks. So, financially it makes sense and it aligns with how we like to eat (TS vs QS). Last year we did the standard dining plan and we had too many QS credits and not enough TS.

I really appreciate your insights. Thank you for taking the time to respond, it is very helpful for me. I am going to take a closer look at these suggestions and make some adjustments.

 

[DisneyHardin]

We just got back from a trip where we did the Deluxe Plan for the first time and our schedule was a lot like yours. We didn't do a ton of travel though. I booked a late breakfast each day at the park we were going to be in and then our dinners were generally at places easy to get to from our resort (we stayed at the Poly). It worked out great for us.

 

[starousse]

You have a really good lineup, however I do think you may be traveling too much from park to park. I think you'd have a lot more relaxing vacation if you stuck to one park a day to cut back on all of that travel. One other suggestion, is to eliminate your lunch on Friday. We love our food, but there's no way you're going to be ready for a Whispering Canyon lunch at 1 after a Chef Mickey breakfast, and then an O'hana dinner afterward. Too heavy of meals back to back.

 

[smsmsw]

We just got back from a trip where we did the Deluxe Plan for the first time and our schedule was a lot like yours. We didn't do a ton of travel though. I booked a late breakfast each day at the park we were going to be in and then our dinners were generally at places easy to get to from our resort (we stayed at the Poly). It worked out great for us.

Thank you...I think part of the problem is that we are at AKL, which is a bit further from some of the dining and MK. Poly would probably have been a better fit for us, but we wanted to try AKL this time.

You have a really good lineup, however I do think you may be traveling too much from park to park. I think you'd have a lot more relaxing vacation if you stuck to one park a day to cut back on all of that travel. One other suggestion, is to eliminate your lunch on Friday. We love our food, but there's no way you're going to be ready for a Whispering Canyon lunch at 1 after a Chef Mickey breakfast, and then an O'hana dinner afterward. Too heavy of meals back to back.

Thanks, I agree with cutting out Whispering Canyon. I'm also going to either cut back on travel to/from resort or cut back on park hopping. Thanks for the feedback!

 

[smsmsw]

Thanks for all the great feedback, will be working on revising schedule this weekend.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

I agree with the others regarding all the traveling and hopping around. You barely have any park time scheduled on any of your days. I also think your date night, ending at 11 pm at the Poly and then going to EP at 8 am the next day is a bit ambitious.

 

[smsmsw]

I agree with the others regarding all the traveling and hopping around. You barely have any park time scheduled on any of your days. I also think your date night, ending at 11 pm at the Poly and then going to EP at 8 am the next day is a bit ambitious.

Thanks, I think you are right about the Thursday morning schedule. Might switch that to a resort morning and adjust the other day. Will be switching things around to allow for more park time and less travel time. Thanks again.

 

[10CJ]

So are you flying in and taking Magic Express? What time is your flight supposed to land? I am concerned your first ADR is too early.

I think you are doing a lot of resort dining for someone staying at AKL without a car.

I would look at restaurants in the parks, Tiffins, Skippers Canteen, lunch in EP instead of B&C

 

[smsmsw]

So are you flying in and taking Magic Express? What time is your flight supposed to land? I am concerned your first ADR is too early.

I think you are doing a lot of resort dining for someone staying at AKL without a car.

I would look at restaurants in the parks, Tiffins, Skippers Canteen, lunch in EP instead of B&C

Yes, supposed to arrive at 9:30am at MCO and take ME to AKL. I basically tried to plan our park time around the TS restaurants I hoped to do. However, that was probably a mistake and I need to be more flexible with TS selections. Thank you for the suggestions!