Final Itinerary - how does it look?

[mshanson3121]

Well, possible final anyways! Trip dates, May 14-21 (park days May 15-20), 5 day base passes. What I like about this plan is that we can start/finish with MK, our late nights are followed by sleep in mornings, and we got the Fast Passes we wanted etc... What I am a bit worried about is the crowds given we'll be touring on some EMH/less than ideal days (like MK on a Monday)? But with crowd levels this "low", will it really matter?

I was thinking that perhaps by doing the fireworks on an EMH night at MK, we might avoid the flooded buses? Instead of leaving after the fireworks with everyone else, we'll be able to hang out for another hour or so and let the crowd thin out some? Good strategy? My daughter definitely will not cope well waiting for 30-45 minutes for a bus at the end of a long day (ASD).

If the kids are wound on arrival day (Tuesday, May 14th), then we may hit Epcot that night, since they have EMH from 9-11, so we could realistically do 6-11. We would just wait and enter MK around 1 the next day, and not do an afternoon break. That would give us Thursday "off" as a second resort day, with which we would probably head over to Fort Wilderness for the Chip n Dale Campfire.

Any other input/suggestions? Better ideas? (Please keep in mind, that I realize this is more downtime than most want on their Disney vacation, but we have a variety of special needs, and we definitely need regular rest, for physical and mental reasons).

Wednesday, May 15
Magic Kingdom, EMH 9-11 pm
Crowd Level 4
Touring 9-12, afternoon break, back for 5-10ish
Garden Plaza Fireworks Dessert Party

Thursday, May 16
Epcot, EMH 8-9
Crowd Level 5
Touring 12ish-5ish

Friday, May 17
Hollywood Studios
Crowd Level 5
Touring 1ish - 9
Fantasmic! is a must-do

Saturday, May 18
Resort Day
1900 Park Fare Breakfast 11:45

Sunday, May 19
Animal Kingdom
Crowd Level 5
Touring 9-4ish

Monday, May 20
Magic Kingdom
Crowd Level 5
Touring 9-4ish (basically leaving after the parade)

 

[teachmedis]

This looks good to me, I also like ample breaks. I'm still trying to figure out how to tour the beast that is Epcot, it seems like not much time allotted there? I'm sure there's reasoning on your end, that's the only thing that really stood out to me. Have fun!

 

[mshanson3121]

This looks good to me, I also like ample breaks. I'm still trying to figure out how to tour the beast that is Epcot, it seems like not much time allotted there? I'm sure there's reasoning on your end, that's the only thing that really stood out to me. Have fun!

We are only doing Soaring, FEA, The Seas, Mexico boat and Journey for rides. Then we might walk around the showcase, but my kids won't linger.

 

[Peppeperoni]

How is MK not ideal on a Monday. That’s sounds ideal to me!

 

[mshanson3121]

How is MK not ideal on a Monday. That’s sounds ideal to me!

From what I've heard, it's because most people arrive on the weekend, and decide to "kick off" their trip by visiting MK first, on Monday. So crowds can be higher.

 

[Peppeperoni]

From what I've heard, it's because most people arrive on the weekend, and decide to "kick off" their trip by visiting MK first, on Monday. So crowds can be higher.

Gotcha. I wouldn’t overthink it. I bet you wouldn’t notice a difference

 

[summerw]

Did you make FP+ reservations? The parks with EMH will definitely be more crowded in the middle of the day. Are you getting to Epcot at 8 on the day it has morning emh?

Do you have a game plan for meals? Maybe use mobile ordering in the parks if waiting is problematic? Two of the longest lines we waited in were for quick service in MK and HS.

And we like our breaks too. It makes everything more enjoyable. Definitely knowing what your family needs makes for the best plans of all.

 

[Nancyg56]

From what I've heard, it's because most people arrive on the weekend, and decide to "kick off" their trip by visiting MK first, on Monday. So crowds can be higher.

I think there is truth to that, but I woudl kee the lan that works best for the family, no matter. We generally hit the MK on a Tuesday and again on Friday, and Sunday if we have time. TBH, I have been on Wednesday and Saturday on party nights and since those days are so crowded, every other day any other time works just fine! It is just perspective.

Have a fun trip!

 

[mshanson3121]

Did you make FP+ reservations? The parks with EMH will definitely be more crowded in the middle of the day. Are you getting to Epcot at 8 on the day it has morning emh?

Do you have a game plan for meals? Maybe use mobile ordering in the parks if waiting is problematic? Two of the longest lines we waited in were for quick service in MK and HS.

And we like our breaks too. It makes everything more enjoyable. Definitely knowing what your family needs makes for the best plans of all.

Um... I don't know? lol. For lunches we'll be bagging it, and just plan to try and sit at an indoor, air conditioned restaurant like Peco Bill's or Pinocchio. We'll probably buy some dessert there, since we all love dessert, lol. Though our HS day, we'll be buying supper, probably PizzeRizzo, since my kids love pizza. I have NO idea how the mobile ordering works?

I think there is truth to that, but I woudl kee the lan that works best for the family, no matter. We generally hit the MK on a Tuesday and again on Friday, and Sunday if we have time. TBH, I have been on Wednesday and Saturday on party nights and since those days are so crowded, every other day any other time works just fine! It is just perspective.

Have a fun trip!

So true about perspective. Our last trip was during a pretty busy time (June 25-July 3 for park days), so crowd levels were up there, 7-8 etc... compared to predicted levels of 3-5 for this trip, so, I'm guessing that even a "busy" time, will probably not feel any worse than last time?

I did go ahead and tweak the plan a bit. I moved Epcot to our last day since it's our shortest park, and will give us more time to get back to the room, pack up and prepare for our uber-early departure the next day. And in all honesty, if the kids are worn out and don't feel like going in, it's the park that we can "drop". Plus, I wasn't sure on doing 3 days in a row, with 2 of them having really late nights, so I bumped our rest day up. It puts our AK day on an EMH day, but if the kids are up to it, I think we'll try and use the extra hour. I would love to get the trails done as early as possible (since we spend a lot of time on them), and then can focus on the shows during the hotter parts of the day.

Wednesday, May 15
Magic Kingdom, EMH 9-11 pm
Crowd Level 4
Touring 9-12, afternoon break, back for 5-10ish
Garden Plaza Fireworks Dessert Party

Thursday, May 16
Hollywood Studios
Crowd Level 4
Touring 2 - 9
Fantasmic! is a must-do

Friday, May 17
Resort Day
1900 Park Fare 11:30

Saturday, May 18
Animal Kingdom, EMH 8-9
Crowd Level 6
Touring 9-3ish (possibly coming in for EMH)

Sunday, May 19
Magic Kingdom
Crowd Level 3
Touring 9-4

Monday, May 20
Epcot
Crowd Level 5
Touring 10-3? Basically see how we feel, and whenever we get up and around. May be earlier, may be later.

 

[Nancyg56]

I would have a backup plan in mind for lunch in the MK. When it is busy there are a few restaurants that bar folks from finding table until they have their lunch. If you find you want to dine inside, I would plan in the CS spots with a lot of seating and go at off times.

 

[summerw]

Um... I don't know? lol. For lunches we'll be bagging it, and just plan to try and sit at an indoor, air conditioned restaurant like Peco Bill's or Pinocchio. We'll probably buy some dessert there, since we all love dessert, lol. Though our HS day, we'll be buying supper, probably PizzeRizzo, since my kids love pizza. I have NO idea how the mobile ordering works?



So true about perspective. Our last trip was during a pretty busy time (June 25-July 3 for park days), so crowd levels were up there, 7-8 etc... compared to predicted levels of 3-5 for this trip, so, I'm guessing that even a "busy" time, will probably not feel any worse than last time?

I did go ahead and tweak the plan a bit. I moved Epcot to our last day since it's our shortest park, and will give us more time to get back to the room, pack up and prepare for our uber-early departure the next day. And in all honesty, if the kids are worn out and don't feel like going in, it's the park that we can "drop". Plus, I wasn't sure on doing 3 days in a row, with 2 of them having really late nights, so I bumped our rest day up. It puts our AK day on an EMH day, but if the kids are up to it, I think we'll try and use the extra hour. I would love to get the trails done as early as possible (since we spend a lot of time on them), and then can focus on the shows during the hotter parts of the day.

Wednesday, May 15
Magic Kingdom, EMH 9-11 pm
Crowd Level 4
Touring 9-12, afternoon break, back for 5-10ish
Garden Plaza Fireworks Dessert Party

Thursday, May 16
Hollywood Studios
Crowd Level 4
Touring 2 - 9
Fantasmic! is a must-do

Friday, May 17
Resort Day
1900 Park Fare 11:30

Saturday, May 18
Animal Kingdom, EMH 8-9
Crowd Level 6
Touring 9-3ish (possibly coming in for EMH)

Sunday, May 19
Magic Kingdom
Crowd Level 3
Touring 9-4

Monday, May 20
Epcot
Crowd Level 5
Touring 10-3? Basically see how we feel, and whenever we get up and around. May be earlier, may be later.

Mobile ordering is super easy for the places that offer it. It’s available through the MDE app. One of the choices when you swipe on the main screen is “order food.” Order and it will tell you to notify them when you arrive at the location and they will start to make the food so you can skip the line. I’m not sure if Pizzerizzo is one of the options though

 

[mshanson3121]

Mobile ordering is super easy for the places that offer it. It’s available through the MDE app. One of the choices when you swipe on the main screen is “order food.” Order and it will tell you to notify them when you arrive at the location and they will start to make the food so you can skip the line. I’m not sure if Pizzerizzo is one of the options though

Can you still pay via gift card?

 

[summerw]

Can you still pay via gift card?

I'm not sure about that. It doesn't list gift card as an option below here, so I guess not? But that doesn't mean it won't change sometime soon either. I'd check once you get to your resort.

https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/guest-services/mobile-food-orders/