First timer here! MK planning help

[Sim4242]

Hello! My family and I are heading to Disney in early May of this year - we have 2 days dedicated to MK. This is the only park that I am having such a hard time planning for. Of course I know that things most likely won't go as planned, I still like to have a general idea of what to do, especially since this is our first trip and it's all so overwhelming. I have ready numerous touring plans but am still a little lost so I'm hoping you great people can help me!

My kids are small, they will be almost 5, almost 3 and 9 months at the time of our trip so we are definitely more focused on rides for the almost 5 and 3 yr old.

Can anyone help me figure out where to start each day? Should I split the days into Fantasyland and Tomorrowland and then Frontierland and Adventureland? I am thinking that I do not need a full day for Fronteirland and Adventureland, so then I am getting confused on what the best way to manuver through the park is on the day we hit those spots. Or should we just go directly to Fantaslyand each day and then move around from there?

I just don't want to be zig zagging around. I have yet to make my FP+ selections but we are staying at AK so I can do so 60 days out and my thoughts for these are: day 1 = A & E meet (if I'm lucky) Seven Drawfs Mine, Enchanted tales with Bell. Day 2 = Buzz lightyear, peter pan, big thunder mountain. Of course the bigger rides will only be for my 5yr old and myself or husband

I have given us the entire day and night for both days but it would be nice to get a break, but we are also so far from the park that I don't know if it's worth it to go back to AKL and then back to MK. We are planning to arrive by rope drop each day. We will not have a car either.

We have several other days where we have allowed big breaks in our day, but I know MK will be the most fun so I want to maximize our time.

I'm sorry for all of the rambling but I am lost on how to plan our days here and I don't want to show up unprepared!

I should add that meeting some characters are important but we do have reservations at Akershush and Chef Mickeys so I'm not sure if we should spend alot of time meeting characters we have already met (plus I plan to meet some at other parks) We also want to see the parades and fireworks!

In other words, PLEASE HELP!!!

Thank you!!!!!

 

[kmb584]

For a first-time trip, I like the idea of concentrating on only certain parts of the park each day. Spend one day in Fantasyland, New Fantasyland, Storybook Circus, and Tomorrowland, and another in Adventureland, Frontierland, and Liberty Square. On the second day you can always swing back to other lands that the kids enjoyed.

 

[lisski76]

I agree stick to fantasy and tomorrow on 1 day and the other Landa the next. Don't be surprised if you find yourself back in fantasy land on your second day though

 

[Feberin]

When planning our trip I looked at a map when making FP+ reservations so I could make sure we weren't running around too crazily however we didn't split up the lands into different days. We spent most of our time in Fantasyland and Tomorrowland (my kids were 4 and almost 2 at the time). I also made a list of all the attractions we wanted to do and listed them by their lands. This helped me know what I wanted to do in each area and also where to focus our time.
I would also recommend making a FP+ for whoever doesn't go with your oldest on the bigger rides for other rides. As for breaks they didn't work for our family. My younger child happily slept in her stroller and my older child wouldn't rest when we went back to resort anyways. I also felt like it ate up a lot of time getting back to our room/heading back out.

 

[MandiC]

We worked our way around starting at Adventureland, going to Frontierland, then Liberty Square. We finished with plenty of time to redo our favorites and start on Fantasyland. Our next MK day we did Tomorrowland, Fantasyland and then rerode some of our favorites throughout the park. We then browsed Main street.

 

[WendyLou]

I agree! Take your time and enjoy every minute! Wish we had 2 days for MK.

I agree stick to fantasy and tomorrow on 1 day and the other Landa the next. Don't be surprised if you find yourself back in fantasy land on your second day though

 

[FlightlessDuck]

For a first-time trip, I like the idea of concentrating on only certain parts of the park each day. Spend one day in Fantasyland, New Fantasyland, Storybook Circus, and Tomorrowland, and another in Adventureland, Frontierland, and Liberty Square. On the second day you can always swing back to other lands that the kids enjoyed.

This has been our usually MO, actually. We would split the park and do some each day, with repeats for our favorite rides. For example, our first Magic Kingdom day is usually spent in Fantasyland in the morning (to make sure we got on Peter Pan, Winnie the Pooh, etc. before the crowds decend) and then Adventureland and parts of Frontierland in the afternoon. Our second day would be hitting the Mountains and all Tomorrowland.

Now, granted, we haven't been since FastPass+ was introduced, so I can't give any detailed ideas.

 

[houstonmomof3]

Try looking online for touring plans as well. There's touringplans.com from the people that brought unofficial guide to disney. If you're into character meet and greet, there's kennythepirate. Your instinct on breaking up the lands is a good one. Arrive very early in the parks and you can knock out a bunch of stuff on your todo list early.

And take a deep breathe. Your kids will have fun even if you don't get to do every single thing.