Experts - need help with touring plan....

[mommyof2boys1girl]

Ok, I am trying to come up with a semi flexible touring plan for our 5 days at the park, and I am having some issues. If anyone can take the time to read/comment on the following, I'd really appreciate it!!

Day 1 (Tues) - We don't arrive in LAX till about 2, so checking in and settling will take most of the day. Planning to make PS's at the Rainforest in DTD for about 6pm (can you make ressies if you aren't a member???), otherwise we will just grab dinner at McD's or somewhere...To bed early....

Day 2 (Wed) - Park opens at 10, plan to leave hotel by 9 to be in line early. Hitting FLP, Dumbo, Alice, Casey, Teacups, and possibly some other dark rides (depends how ds handles PP and Alice - he's only 3 and a bit scared of the dark).

Planning to do early lunch around 11( or whenever we are done the FL rides), grabbing a FP for Astroblasters (if necessary) and eating while we wait for our ride time.

We have till about 1pm before everyone starts melting down and needing naps, so I figured maybe a ride on the DLRR or something to wind down, then head back to the hotel for naps. Sleep till 4 or so, then head back to the park.
I was considering leaving our afternoon/evening plans incredibly flexible - as in, not really making one, besides where to eat dinner. That way we could do as crowds/moods/whims allow - reride some of the morning rides if lines aren't too long, do things like the Jungle Cruise or the Riverboat, shopping, character autographs, etc... Good idea, or bad??

Day 3 (Thurs) - Magic Morning!! Planning to be at the gate by 8:30, head straight to Nemo (probably not worth wasting the MM, but ds1 is also huge nemo fan!) Then ride Astro Orbiter, and do FP's for Autopia and Astroblasters. If any time left, head back to FL and re-ride anything they want.
Ok - here comes one of my questions. How long will the above take - we will basically give up on FL whenever the lines get long (probably around 10:30 or so??) - would this be a decent time to schedule a Character bfast? We'd like to do 2, but is it wasting a not-so-busy weekday morning? Would it be better for us to do them both on the weekend, when lines will be long and we won't really be missing anything for rides (my kids are not the patient types, so when things get busy, we will probably tend to do things other than rides...)

See Aladdin (either before or after naps - doesn't really matter which)

That's pretty much my only plan for day 3 - perhaps some time at Tarzan's Treehouse or somewhere else unstructured where they can just play at their own pace.

Day 4 - Friday MTTMM day - at gate by 8:30, head straight for Toontown.

Question - how much time to budget for Toontown? Couple hours gonna be enough? Gadget's go coaster is down while we are there, and ds2 is too little for Roger Rabbit, so there won't be many rides - just playing around.

Ride POC, head over to CA to ride anything that isn't too busy. Grab lunch at Taste Pilots, then do Playhouse Disney. Back to hotel for naps. Return to park to watch Pixar Parade (5:15), ride anything in CA that isn't busy, or head to Redwood Creek Challenge or Bug's Land to just have unstructured playtime.

Day 5 - Saturday - "Day off from parks" Goofy's Kitchen in the mid morning (for us that's around 9ish), tour around DTD, maybe check out the DL hotels. Spend rest of day at hotel resting and at the pool.

Day 6 - Sunday - "Do all the weekend stuff in one day!"
Basically same plan as all other days - be there at park opening, do anything in DL we haven't yet done, or whatever kept the kids wake at night with excitement the night before. then head over to CA this time and do as many rides as possible before park gets too busy. (not open till 10) This would be our other option for a Character bfast - probably Lilo and Stitch, so we could take off to that once CA gets busy (say around 11) Back to hotel for naps around 1, return in late afternoon for dinner, and F! (magic pillar here we come!!) and fireworks, if anyone is still awake!

Day 7 - Monday "Last day at the parks" Hopefully it will be a good thing that our last day is a weekday, since it shouldn't be too busy, and we can go back and do anything the kids can't wait another 2 years to ride! I haven't really any plan for this day - kind of planning to make one up as the week goes on, and we can go back and do anything they absolutely loved, or anything we didn't get a chance to do already.

That's about it. As you can see, my planning capabilities kind of fall apart after day 4 (how can you tell I haven't read the CA section in my Ultimate Guide book??)
Kids are ages 5, 3 and 19mo. We will have a stroller conveyance of some kind, as well as a baby carrier for the baby (she's still tiny for a 1 yr old!)
You may have noticed I didn't mention bfast - we plan to order groceries from Albertson's (they apparently allow us poor Canadians to order without a US address), and we're staying at the Camelot with a continental bfast - reportedly not the greatest, but combined with our fresh fruit and such in the room fridge, should be everything we need.
Anything we missed? Anything we should/shouldn't try? Character bfasts on weekends/weekdays? Really loose plans for afternoons good or bad idea? Any suggestions, experts???

Thanks for taking the time to read my insanely long post!

Carm

 

[jernysgirl]

On Day 3, you mentioned Aladdin. Make sure you give yourself plenty of time to get to the show before it starts, as it is in CA Adventure, not DL.

Other than that, I think that keeping loose plans with kids is the best. You will however find more characters out in the morning than afternoons, so if your kids want autographs I shoot for the AM. There are often lots of characters on Main Street when the park opens, or shortly after.

Sounds good and have fun!

Just out of curiosity what time of the year are you going? You didn't mention it, but said you wanted to go swimming. Just make sure it is going to be warm enough to go swimming with the kids before you schedule the whole afternoon around it.

 

[BillyFan]

Let me give a couple of tips.
Don't miss Pirates Lair on TS Island. We've spent a bunch of time there with kids of all ages. It's a fun place to run around, and there are some fun interactive things too. The caves can be a bit dark and creepy, so use your best judgement on that.
On day 1, make sure to get a FP for something before you leave for your rest. Maybe Autopia?
Club Buzz is no more. I believe it is back to being called Tomorrowland Terrace, and they do Star Wars Jedi Training on the stage there.
That's all I have for now, but I'm sure more will come up.

 

[BillyFan]

The Aladdin Storytime in Adventureland is fun for kids too!

 

[mommyof2boys1girl]

sorry - knew I forgot something! We leave April 29th and return home May 6th. Not so much planning the day around swimming as trying to book a day of R&R, and the pool might be a good place. But if it is too cold to swim (and it would have to be pretty cold for us - our absolute hottest days in summer are around 85, so even mid 60s is warm enough to swim!

 

[princessnicchia]

I agree---good to keep it loose with little ones---that way no one melts down (including you) if things don't go as planned. They do take PS at Rainforest, so that shouldn't be a problem.

If you have girls, the Princess event is very fun. They do a story time and then some crafts---and you get a moment to relax.

 

[pumpkin5156]

Day 2: I've never heard of Cafe Buzz, and if it is now Tomorrowland Terrace, it is one of the worst places to eat IMO. but kids don't care, so...


Day 3: I've never seen a long line for Astroblasters, even on a busy day. You probably won't need to FP it...


I think it is awesome that you 'scheduled" so much unscheduled time. My toddler loves these times the best. Toon Town is a great place to run off some steam. Rodger Rabbit doesn't have a height limit. I've taken my baby and 1.5 yo on it. Some parts could be a little scary to little kids, and it's not worth more than a 10 minute wait IMO.

Above all: Have so much fun drinking in every moment thru your child's eyes! And eat a churro...

 

[bumbershoot]

"PS's at the Rainforest in DTD for about 6pm (can you make ressies if you aren't a member???)"

Being a member allows you to NOT make reservations, but still get priority seating. That's the beauty of being part of the Safari Club. So yes, you can make reservations, though since you can use your 10% discount OR free appetizer discount on the visit when you join, you might want to consider joining...


Why is your son too little for Roger Rabbit? There's no height requirement. The line is noisy and dark, so the second time my 3 year old went in the line he flipped out (and I left with him b/c I couldn't convince him that he loved the ride before), so that might be an issue, but the actual ride doesn't have a height req.

As someone else mentioned, no Club Buzz. Now...you do have the most recent guidebook, yes? Very important to have the most recent guidebook!


Lots of characters out and about at opening. Especially, in my experience, during Magic Mornings when you're trying to rush to FL or Nemo! Gotta put your blinders on and get where you're going, b/c those characters are out in force in the mornings!


Since your younger son is iffy with dark, be aware of the exits at the Aladdin show. It's loud, it's dramatic, it's BIG. And there's an elephant that walks through. My son had to sit on my lap, under a blanket, with his light saber keychain on (I doubled the blanket over his light saber so the LED light didn't bug others) for at least a quarter of the show b/c it was so overwhelming to him. And then he had to go to the bathroom right before the flying carpet scene, sigh.

I bet once your kids see DCA's a bug's land, you will end up being there for hours. And that's not a bad place to be, in my opinion! At least it's shady!

 

[Jenn1116]

Excellent planning already! I know someone said they have never seen Astroblaster busy but when I was there over President's day weekend that line was very long and I saw people getting FP. My group rode during our MM with no problem.

We also scheduled rest time - we took three 4 year olds and spent three full days in the parks (and 2 partial days on arrival and depature). One napped and was still very grumpy. Another semi-napped and was ok. Mine did not nap and she was a real trooper but I can seen in her pictures how pale she looks and how tired her eyes are!! Nap time is so important and it's great that you have a whole day of rest in the middle of your trip.

 

[mommyof2boys1girl]

Re - Roger Rabbit - sounds a bit too intense for youngest ds - eldest ds and dd wouldn't have trouble, but middle child is not good with darkness and sudden loud noises -friend who has been there advised us against this one unless he's sure he wants to go, so we will see....

Sorry - the club Buzz thing was from an older guidebook a friend lent me (forgot to check the date!!) - so we'll switch lunch to somewhere else nearby - will check my Ultimate Guide for that - probably more reliable than a 6 year old guidebook!

 

[DLR29]

Re - Roger Rabbit - sounds a bit too intense for youngest ds - eldest ds and dd wouldn't have trouble, but middle child is not good with darkness and sudden loud noises -friend who has been there advised us against this one unless he's sure he wants to go, so we will see....

If he doesn't like darkness or loud noises, I'd have him skip Roger Rabbit. Or see how he does on Mr. Toad (well first Peter Pan and Alice). But I think Roger Rabbit and Mr. Toad are similar in intensity. They both have very loud areas and some intense moments. However Pinocchio and Snow White are in a league of their own.