First timers! Would someone kindly help tweek my not so official itinerary? (Long)

[stacyalisa]

We are going for the first time Nov 6-12. 2 adults 3 kids ages 7 yo girl, 9 yo boy and 11 yo boy. I have purchased our package staying at POR Riverside with deluxe dining and park hopper. We are flying (also for the first time) so we will be using Disney transportation. I don't really plan on renting a car. I am really hoping for a good promotion or pin I will be able to call back and add. Anyway, this is our first and maybe only time going because it's so expensive so I wanted to pack a lot in but I'm afraid what I have planned might be too much. I do want to be realistic but it's so hard to really "know" if you've never been. I've read The Unofficial Guide and subscribed online so I chose our days at any particular park by what the crowd calendar recommends. Everyone really stresses to get there early so I figured I would schedule a breakfast every morning before the park opens so it will kind of force us to get our butts up and get going in the morning so we will already be in the park at opening. Does anyone know about when they will put their calendars for the park up for November? I've been checking but they are still blank. It's almost time to do our ADR's so I'm guesstimating the parks will be open around 9 am and planning ADR's for around 8 or so. Anyway, I still have a million questions but here goes:

Nov 6- Epcot. We will probably be arriving around 1 or 1:30 so it will be a half day. We will eat a qs anywhere if we're hungry (maybe the resort?) then head to Epcot. Le Cellier around 6:30 or 7. Watch Illuminations and head back to the room.

Nov 7- Animal Kingdom. Donalds Safari breakfast at Tusker house around 8. Mid-day break around 11 or 12 then return to the park around three hours later. No adr for supper....I think AK closes earlier than the other parks so wasn't sure where we would be. We will probably just grab something. Any suggestions?

Nov 8- DHS- Play & Dine @ Hollywood & Vine for breakfast around 8. Mid-day break around 11 then return. Fantasmic Dinner package @ Mama Melrose's. This is a Monday. Am I correct that they normally have Fantasmic on Monday's?

Nov 9- Free Day. The kids want to go to a water park. Seems weird because here we don't swim in Nov. lol. I will take them weather permitting though. I didn't add the water park and more option yet. I think I read you can add that at the hotel on any day you choose right? I also thought about mini golf or Disney Quest for this day. We don't really plan on going off Disney property but does anyone know about how much a cab ride for 5 would cost if we did decide to go to Sea World? We will wing earlier meals but do Hoop Dee Doo Review for supper.

Nov 10-Magic Kingdom. Breakfast around 8 at Chef Mickey's. Mid day break around 11 and return to park. CRT for supper. I want to take my daughter to Bibbiddi Bobbiddi Boutique before CRT dinner. If I book CRT for around 7 what time should I book BBB?

Nov 11-Epcot. Princess Storybook @ Akershus around 8. Mid-day break around 11 and return. Supper at Ohana at 6 and watch wishes.

Nov 12- Last half day. Magic Kingdom. Breakfast at A Crystal Palace and stay at MK as long as possible until we have to go. We may have about 3 hours.

That's what I have so far. I can't make ADR's quit yet so nothing is set in stone. I'm open to suggestions, this is just what I was thinking of. After looking at this I don't even really know why I paid for park hoppper passes. I also wanted to ask about using touring plans. I'm not sure if I will really need them going this time of year. The crowd calendar lists our first 2 days at 7 (Jersey week?) and the rest of our days at a 4. Thanks for taking the time to read this whole long post. I will probably have a million more question before this is over.

Stacy

 

[mjkacmom]

To get the most out of deluxe dining, most get dinner ADR's each night, to make it worth the $. We did the regular DDP, had ADR's each night, and had about 13 snack credits left over.

 

[Jdougherty]

Stacy,

frist let me say you are going at an awesome time. You will have the best of the christmas decor and not the crouds of christmas! PLUS food and wine will still be going on while your there. okay I have a couple of suggestions.

We don't do a park on arrival day as kiddo's are way tired. it's usually a DTD day with dinner at the Earl of sandwhich. There are other option like T-Rex down town too.

Your AK day, also consider Charactor meals at the resorts like Chef Mickey at the Contempory.

DHS day Loved this Breakfast. DD was 9months last time and got great interaction from all the charactors.

It might be a little cold to go to a waterpark

If you want to be IN the park before or at rope drop also consider Crystal Place the food is awesome. I would do BBB early in the day as to get the most enjoyment out of her experience. Good luck with getting CRT, it can be hard one to get. There is another at the GF called 1900 Park Fare it's gotten GREAT reviews on the DIS

I would wait to see what ME they have you on on your last day.

A couple of other Charactor meal our family enjoys is the Garden Grill in the Land, Beach Club (Dinner is non Charctor but still good).

During that time of year we always ended our day at Epcot, We love thier fireworks and walking around the world tasting everything out for food and wine. Plus AK closes early you can always "evening" at another park.
For us atleast Park Hoppers are a must.

Not sure how much a cab will cost but DTD I think is closer.

 

[brymolmom]

Basics look GREAT and FUN!

Keep in mind - the pool at the resort is beautiful - if your kids just want the novelty of swimming in November- just have a resort swim day! Saves a lot over adding in Water Park ticket and it is nice to have a rest day in there anyway - esp. since you plan to park on both your arrival and departure days - gets tiring!

I would think carefully about the Deluxe Dining option - especially if budget is at all a concern. With the possibility of leaving WDW property for an entire day of only a 6 night stay to begin with - I would think that it would be very difficult to use up all your credits (or enough to make it 'worthwhile' for the deluxe). Another factor is that with staying 6 nights and wanting to pack so much in - 2 TS meals a day take a good chunk of time out of your park plans.

I agree about hoppers - drop them if your itinerary stays the same - good savings for you.

ENJOY your planning!

 

[PrincessMom4]

Maya Grill at Coronado was a nice meal.

 

[PiperPizzaz]

Ok, so I hope you don't take this the wrong way but, I think the deluxe dining is WAY too much. The problem is it eats so much time (no pun intended).
Also, are you sure about the Hollywood & Vine breakfast? Just something to think about since it is geared more towards the preschool set but, obviously if the kids are big JoJo fans or something then by all means they will love it. (I like it myself but, just thinking about the kids).


We only do hoppers now if there are some weird hours like special parties going on or something. Otherwise it is no big deal to stay at the same park or take an afternoon break and head back to the same park later. (Plus we usually have fastpasses from earlier that day. )

Once you get your parks more set feel free to PM me for help with a touring plan.

 

[mom2faith]

Here's my 2Cents

Nov 6- Epcot. We will probably be arriving around 1 or 1:30 so it will be a half day. We will eat a qs anywhere if we're hungry (maybe the resort?) then head to Epcot. Le Cellier around 6:30 or 7. Watch Illuminations and head back to the room.

My only question is what time do you leave in the morning your time? Depending on what time you leave and how you handle flying you may be pretty tired by the timeyou get there. Do not be afraid to "Not overdo it" onthe first day. By the time you get there and settled it could be later than you thought. Do not hesitate to save the "park" day and use this time to head to Downtown Disney. It still has that Disney feel and a lot of great food (many on the Dining Plan) and you can get to bed early after a day of travel.

Nov 7- Animal Kingdom. Donalds Safari breakfast at Tusker house around 8. Mid-day break around 11 or 12 then return to the park around three hours later. No adr for supper....I think AK closes earlier than the other parks so wasn't sure where we would be. We will probably just grab something. Any suggestions?

This is where I am going to suggest you get Park Hoppers. Since you have said that it is your first and possibly only time you head to Disney, you are going to want to maximize your time there. We love Animal Kingdom, but for us it is not a "full day" park. We usually leave about 2 to 3 and then head back to the resort for a bit and off to MK for the evening. Everyone is going to have their favorite park, and for us it is MK. We love to hop there after an early day at another park. I just hate to see you be done at AK by 2pm and then not have the opportunity to go to another park. (Just a thought....)
Also, if you do go to Epcot on your first day, then you could go to Downtown Disney this night instead.

Nov 8- DHS- Play & Dine @ Hollywood & Vine for breakfast around 8. Mid-day break around 11 then return. Fantasmic Dinner package @ Mama Melrose's. This is a Monday. Am I correct that they normally have Fantasmic on Monday's?

Fantasmic is not "normally" any day. They do change it occasionally. I would plan for this to be a Fantasmic day, but if it is not then you just swap Mondy for Tuesday etc in your Itinerary.

Just a note, DHS gets VERY busy by noon on Fantasmic days.

Nov 9- Free Day. The kids want to go to a water park. Seems weird because here we don't swim in Nov. lol. I will take them weather permitting though. I didn't add the water park and more option yet. I think I read you can add that at the hotel on any day you choose right? I also thought about mini golf or Disney Quest for this day. We don't really plan on going off Disney property but does anyone know about how much a cab ride for 5 would cost if we did decide to go to Sea World? We will wing earlier meals but do Hoop Dee Doo Review for supper.

Work out how much it is for all of you to just go to the Water Park and pay for the day's entrance. It may be worth it to just pay for 1 day rather than adding the package, especially if you are only going once.

IMHO - Disney Quest is not worth it. We went last year and it was just your average very busy arcade. I would not count on this being a full day's activity.

Nov 10-Magic Kingdom. Breakfast around 8 at Chef Mickey's. Mid day break around 11 and return to park. CRT for supper. I want to take my daughter to Bibbiddi Bobbiddi Boutique before CRT dinner. If I book CRT for around 7 what time should I book BBB?

We booked BBB for 8:05am and CRT for 9:15am and had lots of time. But that was partly because we were the first appointment in the morning for BBB, later in the day they can get busy!! If you plan to head to CRT 1 1/2 hours after BBB you should have lots of time!! HAVE FUN with this one - it is a blast!!

I would also suggest your breaks for 1pm instead of 11 am. You will see when you get there, but it is still slower in the parks at 11 am, it gets BUSY after lunch. Just a thought

Nov 11-Epcot. Princess Storybook @ Akershus around 8. Mid-day break around 11 and return. Supper at Ohana at 6 and watch wishes.

Epcot is huge!! You may want to stay as long as you can, then go for your break and directly for supper. Transportation does take some time, so going back and forth to Epcot then off to O'hanas can waste some precious time. I would suggest you stay at Epcot until 3 pm then go for a rest then straight to O'hanas.

You are going to LOVE O'hanas!! It is so yummy!!

Nov 12- Last half day. Magic Kingdom. Breakfast at A Crystal Palace and stay at MK as long as possible until we have to go. We may have about 3 hours.

Sounds like a perfect last day

Anyway, all of my suggestions are just suggestions - so do not take anything personally.

Also, I noticed you only have 1 day for DHS, 1 1/2 days for Epcot and MK - what about skipping the water park / free day and using that day for "Your Favorite Park" day. That way you can return to one park that you have enjoyed.

Have fun!!

 

[stacyalisa]

Thanks. These kind of suggestions were just what I was looking for. I think I do have my heart set on the deluxe dining *this time*. I would NEVER say that money is no object but this is probably a once in a lifetime for us so we are kind of sparing no expenses, kwim? I wanted to do a lot of character meals, CRT, and Hoop Dee Doo. I also LOVE the thought of just being in a restauraunt and ordering whatever we want without thinking about the price, I know I'm still paying high dollar for it, but still....It's kinda the same reason we are flying. We are just in SC so we could very easily drive but I want the experience of flying. I want to give that experience to the kids too.
I also thought that since I was going to try and schedule the breakfasts before park opening that it wasn't going to cut into our time at the park too much. I've already explained to everybody that is not going to be a relaxing laying on the beach kind of vacation. Mama's gotta lot to do and I've been waiting since I was little to do it!

I am thinkng about maybe not doing a park on the first day but if my package is for 7 days and and I skip a park the first day and can only go a couple hours on the last day isn't that a waste of park admission or is that kind of the way it goes? Our flight leaves at 10:30 am (only takes 1 1/2 hours to get to Orlando as opposed to a 10 or 11 hr drive.) We will have about a 1 hour and 15 min. drive to the airport so we will probably leave the house around 7ish I guess. We will probably be a little tired but we are in the same time zone so not dog tired or anything.

We just may end up using the pool at the resort and skipping the water park all together. My kids LOVE swimming and that's just one of the reasons I am going on a mid day break because then maybe I won't have to hear "When can we go to the pool?" every stinking minute if I have scheduled some time for it everyday. Good idea about taking the break later in the day instead of 11 too. I will probably take that advice. Think I will take the advice about "free day" also and just go the the park of our choice that day, or just do whatever.

Maybe instead of going to Epcot to first day maybe Downtown Disney would be better to do that day then we can plan to spend the evening in whatever park I feel like we need more time in in the evening on AK day.

And to the person asking about the Hollywood & Vine breakfast on DHS day, you are absolutely right. My kids care nothing about JoJo. Any other good character breakfasts at DHS? Or we could just stick with it if it could be fun anyway...they wouldn't hate it but may like something else better.

I will definitely book BBB for earlier in the day. Would definitely be better for her to actually get to spend some time dressed up instead of having to go directly to supper then pretting much bath and bed after. Didn't think of that.

Thanks everybody. Keep 'em coming. And I would never take a suggestion on what to do personally or the wrong way. It's what I asked for. I so wish we had more time so we wouldn't be trying so hard to fit everything in but I just can't keep the kids out of school any longer than the five days I already am.

 

[zarvgirl]

I have only made one trip to WDW myself, but had many of the same questions you have asked when trying to plan. The DIS was so amazing at helping to make it a fantastic family vacation, and we are planning on another trip, hopefully sooner than later!!

Some of my thoughts:

Nov 6- Epcot. We will probably be arriving around 1 or 1:30 so it will be a half day. We will eat a qs anywhere if we're hungry (maybe the resort?) then head to Epcot. Le Cellier around 6:30 or 7. Watch Illuminations and head back to the room.

We arrived later in the day that first day and still headed to Epcot the first night. Just to see the fireworks. Although our hotel was very Disney themed, we just knew we were going to have a fantastic trip the moment we were standing in Mexico, the children (DS9, DD7, DD3) were watching the fireworks and my DH and I were drinking our $10 margarita's. It felt good to try the buses out and get a feel for how things work before our first real tour day.

Nov 7- Animal Kingdom. Donalds Safari breakfast at Tusker house around 8. Mid-day break around 11 or 12 then return to the park around three hours later. No adr for supper....I think AK closes earlier than the other parks so wasn't sure where we would be. We will probably just grab something. Any suggestions?

AK was our favorite park and the park the kids still talk about going back too. Could you book a resort ADR on this day and go straight from the park. As the buses don't go from resort to resort but from park to resort. So it could save you some travel time. maybe Ohana's on this day?
Tusker House was a great introduction to the Fab 5 characters and by seeing the characters at a restaurant you don't need to wait in meet and greets later at the park!!


Nov 8- DHS- Play & Dine @ Hollywood & Vine for breakfast around 8. Mid-day break around 11 then return. Fantasmic Dinner package @ Mama Melrose's. This is a Monday. Am I correct that they normally have Fantasmic on Monday's?

The toughest part I found with planning DHS days was planning around showtimes. Not sure what your children would make of the characters at breakfast. Could you have lunch in a restaurant? We enjoyed Sci-Fi dine in, air conditioning, and a quieter atmosphere then many WDW restaurants, it was a good burger joint.

Nov 9- Free Day. The kids want to go to a water park. Seems weird because here we don't swim in Nov. lol. I will take them weather permitting though. I didn't add the water park and more option yet. I think I read you can add that at the hotel on any day you choose right? I also thought about mini golf or Disney Quest for this day. We don't really plan on going off Disney property but does anyone know about how much a cab ride for 5 would cost if we did decide to go to Sea World? We will wing earlier meals but do Hoop Dee Doo Review for supper.

Although the resort pools are super, and we also had scheduled pool time each day, Thyphoon Lagoon was another family favorite day. We didn't buy the tickets until the day of, depending on how the family felt that day. I only bought the one day pass as it worked out to be a few dollars saved. You could do Chef Mickey's this day as a late breakfast, (sleep in day) and then have Crystal Palace as your MK day breakfast.

Nov 10-Magic Kingdom. Breakfast around 8 at Chef Mickey's. Mid day break around 11 and return to park. CRT for supper. I want to take my daughter to Bibbiddi Bobbiddi Boutique before CRT dinner. If I book CRT for around 7 what time should I book BBB?

Could you do wishes this night?

Nov 11-Epcot. Princess Storybook @ Akershus around 8. Mid-day break around 11 and return. Supper at Ohana at 6 and watch wishes.

There are sooo many great restaurants in Epcot, it was for this reason that we got the hoppers. check out the restaurant board for reviews, or allears.net for menus.

Nov 12- Last half day. Magic Kingdom. Breakfast at A Crystal Palace and stay at MK as long as possible until we have to go. We may have about 3 hours.

I was surprised by the time that we needed for ME on our last day and wasn't able to accomplish much. Hope you can fit in as much as you can.

Many on the Dis talk about Downtown Disney, we went the day after we were at the Waterpark. It was okay but our family wasn'y overly impressed. Perhaps just not what we were looking for.

You plans are looking super. If you are anything like me they will be tweaked right up until the day you leave. Remember to have fun and be prepared to go off the plan!! I actually had an ADR booked thinking we didn't want to miss a certain restaurant, but we decided after the great day we had in the Park that day that we would just cancel and hang out at the pool, it was just what the family needed!! That's okay.

Have a super trip and fun planning!!

 

[PiperPizzaz]

I am pretty sure there aren't any other breakfasts at DHS. Dining is kind of slim pickin's there. You know I would probably suggest just grabbing something like a pastry in the morning (writers stop or starring rolls) and going to sci-fi (or 50s prime time) for a very early lunch. I think they start seating at 11:10. The kids would probably LOVE sci-fi but, I think 50s food is better.

I totally get wanting the deluxe dining! It would be awesome. I just wanted to warn you especially with taking breaks (which we love to do too) you will be very surprised how much time it can take up of your day. Just make sure to give yourself about 45min to travel from hotel to park restaurant and about 60min for POR to another hotel. We allot 1 hr. for TS breakfast and 1.5 hours for TS dinners. I have literally had it take 3 hours from leaving the hotel to leaving the restaurant after eating.

 

[ncmomof2]

If I were you, I would save the money and get rid of the deluxe dining plan. The regular plan with one sit down a day is plenty of food. We usually bring granola bars for breakfast before heading to the park and then eat a sitdown lunch or dinner and the counter service for the other. Plus there are snack credits. We have always had extra at the end of the trip because we are so stuffed. I get mickey rice krispies treats to take home. Just my opinion! Two sitdowns a day will take alot of time away from the parks!

 

[BubMunkeyBles]

We always do deluxe dining for family trips. We've found that a character breakfast (buffet usually) in the morning and then dinner at night is the best way to go. For a weeklong stay we normally do three of the 2 point TS and then a few of our favorite 1 TS. Then for lunch we eat quick service if we're hungry or just grab snacks. Maybe go fancy one night at Narcoosee's or something?

Our normal breakfast places (we'll sometimes book one more than once depending on hotel choice) include Chef Mickey's, Beach Club Cape May, Boma, Princesses and Donald's Safari. We like the buffet option. 1900 Park Fare's is nice too, but our DD is too young and not a fan of human characters yet, lol.

Our favorite dinner restaurants are Narcoosees (we took our one year old), Teppan Edo, Le Cellier, Coral Reef is great for kids because the fish, Spirit of Aloha is fun with kids, Hoopty Doo since your kids are a bit older would be great in my opinion. Lots of good options to make your dining plan worth your buck. We tended to make later dinner reservations and early breakfasts so we weren't so tied down. Also Planet Hollywood at DTD takes dining plan and is fun.

We like deluxe dining because its takes the budgeting out of food for the most part (minus tips).

 

[simonsmom]

I am pretty sure there aren't any other breakfasts at DHS. Dining is kind of slim pickin's there. You know I would probably suggest just grabbing something like a pastry in the morning (writers stop or starring rolls) and going to sci-fi (or 50s prime time) for a very early lunch. I think they start seating at 11:10. The kids would probably LOVE sci-fi but, I think 50s food is better.

I second these options!!!

 

[poohnpigletCA]

We went in October and I did several character meals at 8:00. Our kids wake up at 6:00 am regardless of what time they go to sleep so I thought this would be a nice way to get us out of the hotel. I was wrong.

We stayed at WL and POFQ we did not rent a car as the Disney transportation seems great. However, the early morning transportation is somewhat of a problem. When we asked at the front desk we were told that there is an early am breakfast bus but he did not know the time. Three people later and they finally figured out that the bus left at 7:15 and it was the only one so they recommended leaving our room at 6:45 to make it in time.

Even though our children are morning birds this is not how you want to start every morning. The sheer panic of having to make that 1 bus. Like you this was our one big trip so I wanted to try and fit in as much as possible.

 

[DoBug]

I think your plans look great. I would like to try deluxe dining but haven't yet and we always get park hoppers - so you have more dinner options, etc.

I plan my itin the same way starting with UOG to pick park days. We almost always take midday breaks although maybe a little later. sometimes we eat lunch in parks or at restaurants on monorail (The Wave or Kona Cafe) or just eat back at the resort and then swim

That may be a lot of early breakfasts considering the transportion issue also but I still might give it a try. Also you have a lot of buffets and we really appreciate sitting down and having someone bring us our food at the end of the day! Unless your kids are VERY VERY picky or bottomless holes I would try a couple more sit-down restaurants.

Also you can use your snack credits at F and W which is a great way to visit World Showcase. maybe your kids would like the Kim Possible missions there too. Our 7 yo DS did and we (well I, lol) got to shop around World showcase woohoo

And I wouldn't worry too much about "wasting" a park day for only 2 -3 hours. After the 4th day or so the price of park tickets drops dramatically.
Nov 6- Epcot. We will probably be arriving around 1 or 1:30 so it will be a half day. We will eat a qs anywhere if we're hungry (maybe the resort?) then head to Epcot. Le Cellier around 6:30 or 7. Watch Illuminations and head back to the room. sounds great

Nov 7- Animal Kingdom. Donalds Safari breakfast at Tusker house around 8. Mid-day break around 11 or 12 then return to the park around three hours later. No adr for supper....I think AK closes earlier than the other parks so wasn't sure where we would be. We will probably just grab something. Any suggestions?

my suggestion would be take a bus to AKL after AK closes and eat at BOMA, very cool resort to visit. we really like BOMA (I know I am suggesting a buffet when I recommended sit-down restaurants but BOMA is very cool) and hear that Jiko (2 TS) is good too. also there is a new restaurant there supposed to be good.

Nov 8- DHS- Play & Dine @ Hollywood & Vine for breakfast around 8. Mid-day break around 11 then return. Fantasmic Dinner package @ Mama Melrose's. This is a Monday. Am I correct that they normally have Fantasmic on Monday's?

If you decide to skip an early meal this would be the one to skip, although we enjoyed H and V for both lunch and breakfast our DS was younger. I think you'll have to wait for park hours to find Fantasmic schedule but think the dinner pkgs are well worth it - sign up as soon as you can! We really like Brown Derby (2 TS - and since you have lots of meal credits I would try to use them!)

Nov 9- Free Day. The kids want to go to a water park. Seems weird because here we don't swim in Nov. lol. I will take them weather permitting though. I didn't add the water park and more option yet. I think I read you can add that at the hotel on any day you choose right? I also thought about mini golf or Disney Quest for this day. We don't really plan on going off Disney property but does anyone know about how much a cab ride for 5 would cost if we did decide to go to Sea World? We will wing earlier meals but do Hoop Dee Doo Review for supper.

water park or golfing or DQ all sound good. There is a ferry boat going from POR to downtown disney which kids like. haven't done SeaWorld and not sure I would on a 6/7 day trip. I think there are cheaper ways to get there than taxis but not sure ? shuttles?.
Nov 10-Magic Kingdom. Breakfast around 8 at Chef Mickey's. Mid day break around 11 and return to park. CRT for supper. I want to take my daughter to Bibbiddi Bobbiddi Boutique before CRT dinner. If I book CRT for around 7 what time should I book BBB?

sorry don't know much about BBB as we have 1 DS but I would agree with pp to go earlier in the day and it should still look nice. I think they use shellac on their hair
Nov 11-Epcot. Princess Storybook @ Akershus around 8. Mid-day break around 11 and return. this might be a good time to sample Food and Wine festival

Supper at Ohana at 6 and watch Wishes. sounds great although I would consider Cal Grill (2 TS) for an "SO" special occasion and your last night. Its a great place to watch wishes.
Nov 12- Last half day. Magic Kingdom. Breakfast at A Crystal Palace and stay at MK as long as possible until we have to go. We may have about 3 hours.

Crystal palace is very pretty inside. I think you'll enjoy it.

That's what I have so far. I can't make ADR's quit yet so nothing is set in stone. I'm open to suggestions, this is just what I was thinking of. After looking at this I don't even really know why I paid for park hoppper passes. I also wanted to ask about using touring plans. I'm not sure if I will really need them going this time of year. The crowd calendar lists our first 2 days at 7 (Jersey week?) and the rest of our days at a 4. Thanks for taking the time to read this whole long post. I will probably have a million more question before this is over.

Stacy[/QUOTE]

I think your plans are great. That looks very similar to what we would do as far as time at each park. I really recommend using touring plans from UOG - even though you are lucky enough to go on a relatively uncrowded time it is so helpful to have a plan even when modifying to fit your family. but then I am anal and OCD when it comes to planning

thank you for letting me live vicariously since we don't have a trip planned right now

 

[SunnieRN]

[/QUOTE]Nov 6- Epcot. We will probably be arriving around 1 or 1:30 so it will be a half day. We will eat a qs anywhere if we're hungry (maybe the resort?) then head to Epcot. Le Cellier around 6:30 or 7. Watch Illuminations and head back to the room.[/QUOTE]

Sounds great, as you don't know when you are arriving, getting to Epcot for sure. This should make you evening fairly stress free. Remember that you have to allow time for check in (even if you do online check in), you have to get your packet and KTTW cards. Le Cellier is near the back of the park, so I might make my reservation no earlier than 7 or even 7:30.

[/QUOTE]Nov 7- Animal Kingdom. Donalds Safari breakfast at Tusker house around 8. Mid-day break around 11 or 12 then return to the park around three hours later. No adr for supper....I think AK closes earlier than the other parks so wasn't sure where we would be. We will probably just grab something. Any suggestions?[/QUOTE]

Here is where I will play devils advocate. If you are planning on leaving the parks for an early break anyway, I would extend your only day here and plan on doing breakfast as planned and then having lunch at Yak and Yeti. This will give you a nice relaxing, air conditioned break. After that you could leisurely explore one of the nature trails or watch the parade. There is LOADS to do in this park, so make the most of your day here as you will still be done early.

After this I would take an Animal Kingdom Lodge bus and have dinner at Boma. Yes, there are some more unusual choices, however, there is a carving station, fruit, breads and yummy desserts! This will allow your kids to partake in activities at the resort also, which are fantastic!

[/QUOTE]Nov 8- DHS- Play & Dine @ Hollywood & Vine for breakfast around 8. Mid-day break around 11 then return. Fantasmic Dinner package @ Mama Melrose's. This is a Monday. Am I correct that they normally have Fantasmic on Monday's?[/QUOTE]

On deluxe dining I would rather do an early breakfast at Kouzzinas on the boardwalk. It is supposed to be a fantastic breakfast! You can take the bus to HS and walk or ride the boat to boardwalk. I think they start breakfast at 7:30, which would give you plenty of time.

As for lunch, I would schedule sci fi diner or 50's prime time which should be good and unique as well as a lot of fun. For the food, 50's for the atmosphere, sci fi. Of course Mama Melrose for fantasmic.

[/QUOTE]Nov 9- Free Day. The kids want to go to a water park. Seems weird because here we don't swim in Nov. lol. I will take them weather permitting though. I didn't add the water park and more option yet. I think I read you can add that at the hotel on any day you choose right? I also thought about mini golf or Disney Quest for this day. We don't really plan on going off Disney property but does anyone know about how much a cab ride for 5 would cost if we did decide to go to Sea World? We will wing earlier meals but do Hoop Dee Doo Review for supper.[/QUOTE]

I would let the kids sleep in this day and just have leftovers or snacks from the food court for breakfast.

By around 10:30, I would head to Downtown Disney, to look around, soak it all in and have a lunch at one of the restaurants that take the dining plan. You can go back to the resort, swim, relax and then have a blast at Hoop De Doo!!

I am not exactly sure how hard it would be to get to, but if you go to the early Hoop, you could take the kids to the Chip N Dale campfire.


[/QUOTE]Nov 10-Magic Kingdom. Breakfast around 8 at Chef Mickey's. Mid day break around 11 and return to park. CRT for supper. I want to take my daughter to Bibbiddi Bobbiddi Boutique before CRT dinner. If I book CRT for around 7 what time should I book BBB?[/QUOTE]

I think I would book this as soon as possible after your break. This way your princess will have time to enjoy it!

I think Chef Mickeys sounds like a great idea, as that means you wont have to wait in character lines. The only suggestion I have, is if you are considering leaving the park at 11 anyway, you may want to book the latest possible breakfast (10:30 or 10:45?) instead, go straight to the park that morning and use a snack credit each at main street bakery for breakfast, then have a brunch with Mickey and gang. The extra sleep may be welcome by nightfall.

Another alternative would be to go to BBB around 11:30 and have a late lunch with Cindy at the castle and dinner with Mickey and friends. Lots of possibilities!!


[/QUOTE]Nov 11-Epcot. Princess Storybook @ Akershus around 8. Mid-day break around 11 and return.

Supper at Ohana at 6 and watch Wishes.[/QUOTE]

I generally would feel rushed, going to a park, spending two hours, heading back to the hotel, back to the park, then to the resort for dinner. I think I am just old and tired.

Again, there is so much to do here, I would do the early breakfast, do some rides, plan a lunch, for a nice break/rest, do an hour or two more and then leisurely head to dinner. Disney transportation and traveling through the parks is tiresome and time consuming. You could have breakfast with the princesses, and lunch at "the aquarium" for your boys. Coral Reef is beautiful!

[/QUOTE]Nov 12- Last half day. Magic Kingdom. Breakfast at A Crystal Palace and stay at MK as long as possible until we have to go. We may have about 3 hours.

That's what I have so far. I can't make ADR's quit yet so nothing is set in stone. I'm open to suggestions, this is just what I was thinking of. After looking at this I don't even really know why I paid for park hoppper passes. I also wanted to ask about using touring plans. I'm not sure if I will really need them going this time of year. The crowd calendar lists our first 2 days at 7 (Jersey week?) and the rest of our days at a 4. Thanks for taking the time to read this whole long post. I will probably have a million more question before this is over.

Stacy[/QUOTE]

So, six nights on Deluxe, 18 meals, 12 snacks and 1 refillable mug each! I am the type that I want to maximize my value to cost, hence so many TS meals. I also want to maximize my park hours, so would use my "down time" for a relaxing meal, to help me recharge.

I hope you have a most wonderful and magical vacation, full of dreams that come true! I also hope you don't mind all of my suggestions.

 

[ajohanni]

Are you returning to the SAME park every day? Why are you not taking advantage of the park hopper and going to different parks?

 

[Evi]

Nov 6- Epcot. We will probably be arriving around 1 or 1:30 so it will be a half day. We will eat a qs anywhere if we're hungry (maybe the resort?) then head to Epcot. Le Cellier around 6:30 or 7. Watch Illuminations and head back to the room.

I would call this a water park day weather permitting and then you can shower and change at the park and play minature golf after. Call it an early night and get ahead start at the parks tomorrow.

Nov 7- Animal Kingdom. Donalds Safari breakfast at Tusker house around 8. Mid-day break around 11 or 12 then return to the park around three hours later. No adr for supper....I think AK closes earlier than the other parks so wasn't sure where we would be. We will probably just grab something. Any suggestions?

I would let the kids hang out in the hotel pool and do breakfast at the hotel then go for lunch to animal kingdom and do picnic in the park. Then stick it out till park closing and either do dinner at the park or at downtown disney. Since animal kingdom closes earlier by going later you should be able to stick it out to closing and call it an early night.

Nov 8- DHS- Play & Dine @ Hollywood & Vine for breakfast around 8. Mid-day break around 11 then return. Fantasmic Dinner package @ Mama Melrose's. This is a Monday. Am I correct that they normally have Fantasmic on Monday's? I would do scifin with your age crowd or the 50's for dinner I think they would like the atmosphere more but thats me.

Nov 9- Free Day. The kids want to go to a water park. Seems weird because here we don't swim in Nov. lol. I will take them weather permitting though. I didn't add the water park and more option yet. I think I read you can add that at the hotel on any day you choose right? I also thought about mini golf or Disney Quest for this day. We don't really plan on going off Disney property but does anyone know about how much a cab ride for 5 would cost if we did decide to go to Sea World? We will wing earlier meals but do Hoop Dee Doo Review for supper.

You could do seaworld though I personally don't like seaworld maybe go for US harry potter.

Nov 10-Magic Kingdom. Breakfast around 8 at Chef Mickey's. Mid day break around 11 and return to park. CRT for supper. I want to take my daughter to Bibbiddi Bobbiddi Boutique before CRT dinner. If I book CRT for around 7 what time should I book BBB?

Nov 11-Epcot. Princess Storybook @ Akershus around 8. Mid-day break around 11 and return. Supper at Ohana at 6 and watch wishes.

Nov 12- Last half day. Magic Kingdom. Breakfast at A Crystal Palace and stay at MK as long as possible until we have to go. We may have about 3 hours.

I would include something for the boys seems very princess themed to me. But thats just me. Maybe you could split up and go to bbb with the girls and send the boys fishing or to one of the parks to just ride the bigger rides.