Feedback on itinerary needed

SwanVT2

DIS Veteran
Joined
Jun 19, 2010
Messages
2,913
We will be staying at BCV, only have two days for park with DD 3 1/2. Mostly there to escape New England winter. How does this plan look? We need to make dining reservations Thursday of this week, so if anyone has tips, please let us know. TIA!

Wednesday (first day)

  • Breakfast- Character late breakfast/lunch (Goofy, Minnie, Donald) Cape May Cafe

  • Pool
  • Dinner - Cabana at Dolphin

Thursday Magic Kingdom
  • Arrive at Magic Kingdom about 30 minutes before the park opens at 9-grab Tinkerbell FP

  • Ariel’s Grotto (meet and greet) (suggested FP+: early morning)

  • Under the Sea – Journey of the Little Mermaid

  • Dumbo/Carousel

  • Lunch -Cinderella’s Royal Table

  • Use FP+ for Peter Pan (suggested FP+ time: early afternoon)

  • Use FP+ for Enchanted Tales with Belle (suggested FP+ time: early afternoon)

  • Winnie the Pooh Ride

  • Steamboat to Tom Sawyer's Island

  • Dinner- Columbia Harbor House or Pinocchio House flatbread

  • Tinkerbell and Mickey on the way out
Friday
  • Pool

  • Lunch- Hurricane Hannah's
  • Beaches and Cream ice cream only

  • Dinner- Kimonos

Saturday
  • Pool-

  • Monorail GF piano music cafe -request Disney song

  • Dinner-Grand Floridian Cafe

Sunday 2
  • Arrive at Magic Kingdom about 30 minutes before the park opens at 9. When to meet Jasmine in Adventureland?

  • FP+ Cinderella and Rapunzel

  • Pirates of the Caribbean

  • Jungle Book

  • Alladin Magic Carpet Rides

  • Swiss Family Tree House

  • Lunch -Peco’s Grill or Tortuga Tavern

  • Use FP+ for Anna and Elsa (suggested FP+ time: early afternoon)

  • On the way to parade, Dole whip Aloha Isle Adventureland

  • Use FP+ for Festival of Fantasy parade (sunscreen!) 3-4

  • Ride railroad before dinner

  • Dinner- Tony's Town Square

Monday Depart
 
FYI, Thursday at MK is EMH. Since you are staying onsite it will be open at 8 for you.

That's a lot of down time. What do you plan to do on your non-park days between meals?
 
Hi-- Note that you can't "grab a FP" for Tinkerbell first thing in the morning. You can reserve FP+ ahead of time, but the way you have it phrased implies you may wish to grab a physical FastPass ticket upon entry for a time later that day, which no longer exists.

We are going about the same time... that same week this year, I was surprised at the line for Ariel and wished we had hit it earlier that morning. About 45 min wait and was our longest wait for anything all week. Some may say not to get a FP for that, but based on your child's age and interests, it's not a bad idea based on your plan. If you get there in the earlier part of the morning shouldn't be a bad wait or require a FP.

As for Jasmine, you can use the MDE App to see times the characters are around, and plan for her that day when in the park. If you arrive at Rope Drop (opening time), you may be able to get to Cinderella and Rapunzel as your first thing and use a FP+ reservation for something later in the day.

There is nothing for Jungle Book around Adventureland as your plans imply, not sure what that item in your plan means?

Tortuga Tavern has very erratic times, and isn't always open so don't plan that as a guarantee but you can decide on site once you know if its open or not, and Pecos Bill is a good option.

Note for your Dining Reservations on Thursday, you only need to book the table service/sit-down meals. Your quick services and snacks do not take reservations. DO try to get a table reserved for Beaches n Cream, even though you state dessert only.

Enjoy BCV, it's lovely-- and nothing like the relaxing smell of the Beach Club Lobby!
 

Agree its a lot of down time.

What about adding one more park day? Animal Kingdom would be fun for her age.
 
Sorry about that. I didn't realize EMH was changing next year. It's been Thursday for a very long time.

Some down time is always nice, but I'd add one more park day if you can. I agree that AK would be a good choice.
 
It looks like your first attraction on Thursday is Ariel's Grotto with a FP+. You probably don't need one if that is your first thing since you are going to be at rope drop. The wait should be minimal at park opening. (At 9:40 today the wait is showing 10 minutes.) You could slip Pooh in first or add the Meet and Greet for Mickey. Here are recent wait times for Mickey. These are during heavier crowds than when you are going so the waits should not be as long.

http://www.easywdw.com/reports13/mickey.jpg

We started both our kids out at Disney at this age. Kids will want to do their own thing at times. A simple play area similar to what you have at home can interest them. Patience is important
 
If you are making ADRs this week, does that mean you are going in February? If so, I wouldn't be set on those 3 pool days. You should have a back up plan. It MIGHT be warm enough to swim in February, but it also MIGHT be a high of 50 degrees. Florida winter weather is all over the place. We have gone in the winter and spent park of the week in shorts, and part in sweaters, coats and gloves. Your itinerary is very weather dependent on an unpredictable time of year.

Also, if your DD is anything like my DD when she was 3, the minute she got a taste of the parks, she was no longer interested in the pool. You might want to consider adding park days. Staying at the BCV, you are in walking distance of EPCOT. My DD loved EPCOT at that age (still does at age 9). There are a ton of Princesses and other characters to meet in World Showcase. There is the Nemo Ride, Turtle Talk with Crush, Living with the Land, the Figment ride, the boat ride in Mexico, the Kidcot stations, bands, jugglers, acrobats. There is a Princess meal at Akershus, but what my DD really loved at that age was Biergarten with the German Band and dance floor.

As far as your MK plans, if you are at MK near rope drop, you won't need a FP+ to meet Ariel at her Grotto. You probably won't need a FP+ for her for at least the 1st hour. Her line gets long a little later in the day, but it also has shorter period, you just have to catch it right. We have never gotten a FP+ for her, and we have waited less than 10 minutes for her on our trip since FP+. The Festival of Fantasy parade is great, but if it is swimming weather on your trip, know that area can be hot and can make a kid cranky with no shade and the sun beating down. For us, it was worth it when the FP+ viewing area was down by the castle, but not as much with it in Town Square. Of course, who knows where it will be in February- it could move back by the castle. The rest of your FP+ are all great choices.

Also, unless they have started something new and are handing out Tinkerbell FPs that are not connected to the FP+ system, you can't grab a Tink FP when you hit the park. You are limited to your 3 FP+ until you have used all of them, or the time expires, and then you can go to a kiosk and try to hit a 4th.

As far as your first morning plan, if you go straight back to Ariel's Grotto, you can get your 1st 3 items knocked out in less than an hour, maybe even less than 30 minutes. We have done those exact 3 things at rope drop and been done very quickly. Your issue that could drag it out may be Dumbo, the play area inside is a time suck. Your 3 year old may want to just stay in there and play for a long period of time. We have seen a lot of irritated parents trying to get kids out, and CMs trying to help them by going in and telling the kids it is time to ride. That early in the morning, they may not have the play area open as Dumbo will probably still be walk on, but if they do it is going to be more for playing than waiting as the wait time will be very short. If things haven't changed if you elect to go into the play area when there is no line before riding, they will give you a pager set for 8 minutes- good luck getting a kid out after those 8 minutes though. You might not want to do that 1st thing on your first day. The line will be short, but the question is whether you are okay with spending a lot of time in that play area when you could be doing things like Pooh, Small World, Tea Cups etc while the lines are still really short.
 
These are all great suggestions. Thank you! Now I'm tempted to add another ticket day. The thing is we had two days left on non expiration tickets so thought we'd just use those and DD would be young so we would slowly be introducing her to the parks. Will have to check with DH about another park day. We've gone to Disney in the past in February so are familiar with the wacky weather. We can always do DTD and T Rex too. Of course, we love Biergarten so you don't have to persuade me there!
 
The Festival of Fantasy parade is great, but if it is swimming weather on your trip, know that area can be hot and can make a kid cranky with no shade and the sun beating down. For us, it was worth it when the FP+ viewing area was down by the castle, but not as much with it in Town Square.


Where would you recommend sitting for the parade instead?
 
The lines for Winnie the Pooh will be longer than Tinkerbell for most of the day unless you do Pooh at ropedrop. That's the only thing I'd consider changing.



Is it possible to make FP+ for mornings?

of course! It's not the best use prior to 10:30ish though (on a 9am opening). We typically make our first FP for 10:30 or 11am.
 
Where would you recommend sitting for the parade instead?

Depends on how much time you are willing to put in to stake out a spot. Main Street where the buildings provide shade is great, but it requires the biggest time investment. When DD was that age, she wasn't big on long waits for the parade or waits for any length of time in hot direct sun. We found that Frontierland was a great place to watch the afternoon parade. Unless things have changed, the Festival of Fantasy Parade starts in Frontierland too, so you won't have to wait as long for it to start and will be done well before the people on Main Street.

If I knew it was going to be a cooler day- I would do the FP+, the problem is that there is just no way to know. If it turns out to be an 80 degree day, you may have a whining child. If you have a stroller with a sun shade, that might help the wait. With us, I had a whiny DH and whiny child in last year's FP+ spot when the sun was beating down on us. My DD is older now, so no stroller to shade her head. She was whining to leave, but I stood my ground and she quit whining the minute the parade started. It is a fantastic parade- definitely a must see!
 

New Posts


Disney Vacation Planning. Free. Done for You.
Our Authorized Disney Vacation Planners are here to provide personalized, expert advice, answer every question, and uncover the best discounts. Let Dreams Unlimited Travel take care of all the details, so you can sit back, relax, and enjoy a stress-free vacation.
Start Your Disney Vacation
Disney EarMarked Producer






DIS Facebook DIS youtube DIS Instagram DIS Pinterest DIS Tiktok DIS Twitter

Add as a preferred source on Google

Back
Top Bottom