First draft of itinerary - any suggestions?

[J. Galt]

Help!

My parents are taking the whole clan to Disney in February and I'm in charge of planning. I've started working on an itinerary and would love any suggestions.

We are: Grandma and Grandpa (60's), 4 adults (30's) and 3 kids (4, 2 and, what will be 8 months).

We are staying at the Beach Club Villas.

Day 1 (Thursday Feb 6): Arrive at noon. Lunch somewhere close. Evening at EPCOT with dinner at Askerhaus (brother-in-law is Norweigan)

Day 2 (Friday, Feb 7): Breakfast at Breakfastosaurus. Spend the day at AK. Thinking lunch at Pizzafari. Evening at the Boardwalk with dinner at Beaches and Cream.

Day 3 (Saturday, Feb 8): Breakfast in room. Spend the day at MGM (must see Buzz and Playhouse Disney). Lunch maybe at Primetime. Evening at DD with dinner at Wolfgang Puck Express.

Day 4 (Sunday, Feb 9): Pulling out the big guns today. Breakfast in room. All day at MK with either dinner or lunch at Crystal Palace (to see Pooh).

Day 5 (Monday, Feb 10): Breakfast in room. Spend the day at MK. This day is Grandma's birthday so we want to do something special at night - maybe an Illuminations cruise? Any suggestions?

Day 6 (Tuesday, Feb 11): Breakfast at Cape May. Travel home.

I'm planning on scheduling a lot of breaks for swimming, etc... (very excited about Stormalong Bay).

Any suggestions you can give on meals, events, activities, etc... would be greatly appreciated.

Also, my parents had wanted to do a package deal. The packages seemed to have changed for 2003. We would be doing the "budget" package which includes storytelling at EPCOT as a option. Any idea what this is? If it isn't really cool, we might drop the package and book room, park hoppers separately.

Thanks in advance!

 

[susy]

Sounds good! I would allow for some flexibility where the kids are concerned. I would even plan days/evenings when a couple can go out alone, while the other adults take the kids.

Purshasing hoppers separately will save money, especially now since you can get discounts on advanced purchase tickets (see official site). I don't know about discounts on the villas. Have fun!

 

[Laurabearz]

My only suggestion would be swicth your AK and MGM days. Hit AK on Saturday (slowest park on the buisest day) and MGM on Friday.

I dont know anything about the story telling.... sorry.

Have a BLAST!!!

 

[Laurabearz]

My only suggestion would be swicth your AK and MGM days. Hit AK on Saturday (slowest park on the buisest day) and MGM on Friday.

I dont know anything about the story telling.... sorry.

 

[momx2]

Looks great, but my little ones can't make it a whole day and night. The baby may do better because she may nap in the stroller. But with 2 and 4 yr. old, I would plan breaks for naps, etc. or expect meltdowns.

Have a great trip!

 

[J. Galt]

Thanks for all of your suggestions!

 

[waltandjulie]

Looks like you are well on your way... My kids are 4 and 10 mo., and we leave for WDW next week. I suggest moving one of your days in MK earlier (maybe the first full day) and keeping the other MK day as your last day. Kids sometimes have a hard time waiting too long for the main attraction, and the variety may be nice for you.

Also, we are taking our DD to Norway (Epcot) for the Princess Storybook breakfast (you might consider this as an alternative to dinner. If you make a reservation, you could then plan on eating at the Rose and Crown (Great Britain) at around the time of Illuminations so that you could avoid staking out a spot along the water (ask for outside seating when you arrive).

Good Luck

 

[J. Galt]

I'm worried about scheduling MK days too early in the trip. I read somewhere on these boards that it is often hard to get the little ones interested in anything else after they have seen the Mothership.

We decided against any princess breakfasts for this trip. The only little girl is my 8 month old. We'll take her back to Disney when she can truly appreciate being a "princess". As for my 4 and 2 year old nephews... while they can play tea party with the best of them, we didn't think that they would get a really big kick out of the princess thing (now, if say, Buzz Lightyear were there... well, that would be a different story). Besides, my Norweigan brother-in-law is REALLY looking forward to any smelly fish pastes they might serve him at dinner in Norway.

 

[waltandjulie]

We had our DD there when she was 2 1/2 (Jan. 2001), and had heard the same comment about beginning with MK. It was definitely here favorite, though. We decided then to spend the first day (Sunday) in AK, followed by a day in MK. We then went to Epcot, then MGM & MK, and finished up with another full day in MK. It worked well for us, but our daughter was relatively easy to travel with at that age. It may not be the same now that she is 4, and has more of a mind of her own ("I'm Booaarrd...").

Also, I believe that there is a Pirate cruise for kids 3-??. Your oldest son might enjoy that.

Good luck.... (from a transplanted cheeshead).

 

[vald1977]

Your itinerary looks great! Just wanted to make sure you knew about the birthday buttons at MK. Your mom can go to the town hall there and they will give her a big pin that says happy birthday. Then she will be wished happy birthday all day. If you decide against an illuminations cruise, Chef Mickey's is a fun place that would make a big fuss for the birthday if your mom would like that sort of thing. Have a wonderful time !

 

[J. Galt]

Wow! These are all great suggestions! We may need to reword our plans a little bit more. I'll ask my sister about the Pirate Cruise to see what she thinks. I'm already on top of the birthday button thing. I'll make sure to pick one up for my mom, because I know that she won't do it herself.