First Trip Questions...

[Peppi]

My first question is about the Refillable Mugs. Do any of the Disney Parks sell refillable mugs or do you have to buy all of your drinks there? Someone mentioned that the refillable mugs were only to be used at the resorts. I am confused.....

My second question is if you think the schedule I came up with is realistic. Here is what I have:

Fri - 10/9 - Arrive WL around 3P - dinner at 5:10 p @ Whispering Canyon. Then I figure we will check out the resort more and unpack, etc.

Sat. 10/10 - Ohana's Breakfast - Day/Night @ MK

Sun 10/11 - Epcot in the Morning - Leave in the afternoon and head to Disney Studios. Dinner @ 5:20 p @ Hollywood & Vine - then Fantasmic.

Mon 10/12 - Mara - Breakfast - Then AK until afternoon. Dinner at 5:45 @ Biergarten (Epcot) stay til close or whenever...

My question would be do you think spending about 4-5 hours at AK is enough time? How much time do you usually spend at Disney studios and epcot? We will have a 5 year old, boy, with us.

Any suggestions??

 

[KellyNY]

My first question is about the Refillable Mugs. Do any of the Disney Parks sell refillable mugs or do you have to buy all of your drinks there? Someone mentioned that the refillable mugs were only to be used at the resorts. I am confused.....

My second question is if you think the schedule I came up with is realistic. Here is what I have:

Fri - 10/9 - Arrive WL around 3P - dinner at 5:10 p @ Whispering Canyon. Then I figure we will check out the resort more and unpack, etc.

Sat. 10/10 - Ohana's Breakfast - Day/Night @ MK

Sun 10/11 - Epcot in the Morning - Leave in the afternoon and head to Disney Studios. Dinner @ 5:20 p @ Hollywood & Vine - then Fantasmic.

Mon 10/12 - Mara - Breakfast - Then AK until afternoon. Dinner at 5:45 @ Biergarten (Epcot) stay til close or whenever...

My question would be do you think spending about 4-5 hours at AK is enough time? How much time do you usually spend at Disney studios and epcot? We will have a 5 year old, boy, with us.

Any suggestions??

Mugs only to be used in your resort, you can also buy separate mug at water parks.
Your schedule seems fine to me.
4-5 hours in AK is enough, park is not that huge.
We skip DHS, but in general from afternoon till closing would be enough.
Epcot is huge and has 2 parts. One with all the rides and World Showcase with all the countries. It can be too much walking for a 5 years old. Consider renting a stroller for him in this particular park(do not worry, lots of kids his age are in strollers due to lots of walking)

 

[Missytara]

Refillable mugs are only sold and used at the resorts.

For a five year old, there are a lot of things to do in AK for his age. It might take a bit longer, but it is doable in about five hours, depending on the lines and availability of fast passes. There is the Safari; The Nemo Show; the Lion King Show; It's Tough to be a Bug, etc.; lots of character greetings and he would really love to see the parade in the afternoon. You can also take in lunch at Rainforest Cafe or just walk through the shops....

Epcot may be a doable in about five hours in so, with a five year old, but he still will enjoy it. There are a lot of interactive things to do in Innoventions East and West for kids.

You didn't mention his height; depending on his height, some of the rides he may not be able to ride. But you can both still ride them; they have a rider swap program, where you can ride first and then as soon as you are done, the other person will have a pass to get right on the line themselves.

HS is also fun for kids; do have lunch at the Prime Time 50's Cafe - you will need to make an ADR because it is always crowded, but at that age, he will love it!

When you go to Epcot and go over to DHS, be sure to take the boat over from Epcot to DHS. It is a wonderful way to get over there.

Your longest day will be at MK; he will downright love it!!!!

Also, don't forget to check out which parks have EMH's - you may want to adjust slightly based on that.

Oh, and he will love Whispering Canyon!!! You can really get some good ribbing - ask for ketchup at the table and see what happens.

 

[Peppi]

Thanks so much for the information! Ryan, my son is about 42 inches right now, but is growing like a weed so maybe he will be able to get on a few more rides by the time our vacation rolls around.

We're getting so excited, but have akward feelings towards our parents & in-laws as they think we should use our vacation time to visit them instead (out of state)....I guess they will get over it.

 

[Pooh&OurHunny]

I think your schedule looks good but you don't have any downtime for your son...he might like an afternoon swim...My son first Disney trip and all his other trips...he liked going back to the resort after lunch to play around the pool. It was a good idea eating at the resort b/c when you arrive it gets overwhelming and if your flying there might be flight delays...happened on my son first airplane ride. 5 hours you will be fine at AK...we usaully spend just one day there (go at opening then leave around 2 and go back to our resort for a swim). Another thing, I think going to Mara is out of the way or time wise...may I suggest Tusker House Character buffet...your son will love it. Good luck

 

[mattmommy]

I would definitely rent a stroller--It's a lot of walking for little legs.

I would change Hollywood & Vine to Primetime Cafe.

Be flexible--it takes time to get between parks.

 

[wvdislover]

I think your schedule looks good but you don't have any downtime for your son...he might like an afternoon swim...My son first Disney trip and all his other trips...he liked going back to the resort after lunch to play around the pool. It was a good idea eating at the resort b/c when you arrive it gets overwhelming and if your flying there might be flight delays...happened on my son first airplane ride. 5 hours you will be fine at AK...we usaully spend just one day there (go at opening then leave around 2 and go back to our resort for a swim). Another thing, I think going to Mara is out of the way or time wise...may I suggest Tusker House Character buffet...your son will love it. Good luck

I have to agree...going all day may be tough on your DS. You may need some downtime in there, even though your trip is short. A grumpy child makes for a miserable vacation (been there, done that!). Also, Mara is definitely out of the way. AKL is not close enough to AK to walk to. You'll have to take a bus from WL to TTC to AKL (could take an hour for all that!), then another bus to AK after b'fast (or take a cab from WL to AKL). If you're going to do CS for b'fast, why not just do Roaring Forks, there at WL? It will be much faster, and you'll get more out of your day. If you can swing Tusker House, though, that would probably be a lot of fun for your DS. Good luck! Have fun!

 

[Kathy Z]

Thanks so much for the information! Ryan, my son is about 42 inches right now, but is growing like a weed so maybe he will be able to get on a few more rides by the time our vacation rolls around.

We're getting so excited, but have akward feelings towards our parents & in-laws as they think we should use our vacation time to visit them instead (out of state)....I guess they will get over it.

We're fortunate, our grandchildren live about 25 minutes away so we see them frequently.

When we raised our children my husband's parents were within an hour's drive, but my family (all of them - parents, siblings, cousins etc. were over 600 miles away.) We made sure to drive east at least every other year and everyone seemed satisfied with that. Several of them even came to visit us occasionally. They understood that there were lots of other places we wanted to travel to on vacation.

Have a wonderful time at WDW.

 

[MHSweb79]

I would also rethink Mara in favor of getting to the park at opening in order to maximize the attractions you'll be able to take in with shorter lines.

You've got a relatively short trip so you may not want to spend a lot of your park time sitting down to eat. Sometimes it can take 90 minutes to 2 hours before you're done (showing up 15 minutes before ADR, having to wait for your table, etc.)

And yes, your son may actually have more fun in the WL pool area than in the parks. Be prepared for this one!

 

[Peppi]

I'm so glad I posted...I am getting a lot of great advice!!

I figured we would definitely take some time back at WL, the day we are planning on spending at MK. I definitely want to check out the pools a bit.

We are pretty easy going and figure we will "wing it" as we go. I didn't realize that Mara was so far out of the way for AK. I figured they were on the same property or right next to each other...I will definitely try and get that switched. Also, I thought for Fantasmic you had to choose between Hollywood & Vine and Mama Melroses...Mama's was booked. I'll check into Primetime Cafe...is it located at DHS? I don't see it listed on the site that I've been looking at for restaurants.

I'm trying to convince DH about the strollers, I don't think he understands how big it is going to be...I'll let him learn the hard way!

 

[PIRATEGIRL007]

Is there any way you would consider going somewhere the night you get there? With such a limited amount of days you may want to see if its worth the $$ for your family. Maybe do Epcot and stroll thru WS, you should also be able to at least Ride Spaceship Earth. Might be a good introduction for your DS. I'm picking Epcot b/c its always open till at least 9 (except EMH) Or depending on when it closes you could head to MK for some night time festivities. Maybe take this opportunity to see the parade/fireworks and just walk around familirize yourself w/ the park for the next day?

We could never do half day in DS or Epcot w/ our kids we would just pick one over the other. FYI if you arrive afternoon or later at DS you will not be able to ride TSM w/out at least an hour wait, so if Toy Story is a priority you may want to flip flop DS/Epcot.

And I agree the stroller is worth every last penny. Let your DH carry your kid for a while and he will probably get a stroller asap.

Yep prime time is at Disney Studios, on dining reservations it usually comes up near the bottom of the page for me.

Wanted to add I also recommend the nap/down time during your long day at MK. Thats alot for a kid of any age (even adults) so a refreshing nap/time in your room might be a trip saving move to avoid a mid day meltdown.

 

[sharonabe]

I'm going to be the lone dissenter here. My youngest DS was only 4 on our last trip in 2007 (in fact, he wasn't quite 4) and he did great without a stroller. We were not in commando mode. We walked to his pace and we still did everything we wanted to do. We did do some "get ready for Disney" walking in the neighborhood before we left to help build up his stamina. My advice is to not rent a stroller until you see you need one. Save the money to buy him a really cool souvenier to reward him for being so fit!

 

[Peppi]

Thanks Pirate Girl. I also thought about heading to Epcot or MK the first night. I think we are just going to play it by ear and see what we feel up to. Ryan may want to just check out the pools or something.

Sharonabe: Ryan, 5, has a LOT of energy, a bit on the hyper side. When we have visited other parks, he kept up with us with no problem from sun up to sun down. So, we will most likely follow your advice and wait and see if we need one or not.

Does anyone know what the weather is like the second week of OCT. we are keeping our fingers crossed that there are not any hurricanes and that it is not too hot. That combined with lower crowds would be awesome