First WDW Trip for 5 - A June 2013 PTR

[nanay2jdr]

Hello fellow DISers. I am enjoying everyone's posts and so grateful for replies to my past questions. As our trip is approaching soon, I would like to share my plans with you. I would appreciate your feedbacks.

First, let me introduce myself. My name is Sophia, a mother of 3 kids. I work as an RN in a nursing home and work night shifts. I found the DISboard through the Android apps. and its the most helpful place for my planning. Our family never been to WDW but went to DL 3 years ago with poor planning. Doing better this time by doing lots of research.

 

[nanay2jdr]

Next my family, DH who is not much into planning as much as I am. But he can easily get stressed out if I or the kids become rushed or grumpy. So I need to be careful with my scheduling. I do hope he will enjoy our WDW trip to make it a routine family vac. Since childhood, I always wanted to go to Disney (who doesn't). And with all this research and reading, I am getting DISaddiction, lol!

 

[nanay2jdr]

My eldest DS13 is graduating from grade school and entering High School in the fall. He loves thrill rides and he is old enough to ride without us. I am afraid of heights and thrill rides but enjoy watching the kids enjoy them. I hope he will be happy with the trip and not get disappointed. We live close to Canada's Wonderland and its full of thrill rides. Our trip is booked May 31 to June 7. So we included his graduation as part of our celebrations. We are also celebrating our first trip.

 

[nanay2jdr]

Next one is my DS10 who is turning 11 in April. He was diagnosed with Aspergers, a part of The Autism Spectrum. He is high function which means he appears neurotypical like everyone else. But when he becomes upset, anxious or stressed, then you will notice he has special needs. I am glad to read that Disney is experienced with kids like him. I plan to get a Drs note from an advice of a fellow ASD mom. I realized that GAC wont lessen our waiting time but it will avoid being in large waiting crowds. I do hope to apply what I learned from here to lessen any waiting times for our family.

 

[nanay2jdr]

Last but never the least, our DD3. This trip is centred on her. We booked our trip on her 4th birthday (June 6th). We are not only celebrating her bday but also her life. You see, we almost lost her from brain cancer at age 2. Thank God, she is cancer free now after several surgeries and 6 chemo cycles. We are celebrating a year after she battled and won. I blogged our experience, you are free to visit the site: http://rosiesweetrosie.blogspot.ca

She was granted a wish from Make A Wish. She had a princess weekend in Toronto. Our family was hoping they would grant her a trip to WDW but still grateful for her princess experience. So now we are going to WDW OOP. It seems out of reach from our budget but with God's guidance, its becoming a reality.

 

[nanay2jdr]

As you can see, this trip is very meaningful for our family. Its a challenge not to overplan and can easily overwhelm the family. That is why I try to learn everything I can here to help with our trip.

 

[nanay2jdr]

For a family of 5, we decided to stay at POR-R. Originally we booked AoA but read that transportation is busier there and we also save money moving from a family suite-value to a double bed plus trundle-moderate. Thankful for the 25% mod discount. We chose the basic DDP so we can try several character meals and we enjoy our food. We also added the Waterpark plus with our tickets since the boys like water parks, video games (Disney Quest), and mini golf. We decided we dont need a hopper ticket since we will be exploring each parks a day. We hope not to rent a car and maximize the avail. transportations within WDW. We plan to use Cabs if we have any ealy ADRs and feel there is a long waits for the buses.

 

[nanay2jdr]

We will be ariving at Orlando airport around noon on a Friday and will be taking advantage of the Magical Express. A QS Lunch at POR. I dont plan to enter a theme park that day since we only have the afternoon. I scheduled it as the day to explore DTD and waterparks. Maybe also Disney Quest. Have ADR at Chef Mickey at 8. Sure hope its not too late. I will try to get an earlier ADR 48hrs before from possible late cancellations.

 

[nanay2jdr]

Here's our brief plan for the week:

Friday:
DTD Tour & Water Park Day
QS lunch at Riverside Mill or Wolfgang Puck Express
ADR at Chef Mickey dinner at 8:05pm

Saturday:
Magic Kingdom (1 of 2)
QS lunch at Be Our Guest or Cosmic Rays
ADR at Liberty Tree Tavern for dinner at 6:45pm

Sunday:
Hollywood Studios / Star Wars Weekend (1 of 2)
ADR at Sci-Fi for 11am lunch
and Hollywood and Vine 6:10pm dinner with Fantasmic! reservation

Monday:
Epcot (1 of 2)
QS Brunch at Sunshine Seasons
ADR Coral Reef dinner at 4:10pm

Tuesday:
Animal Kingdom (1 day visit)
ADR at Tusker House for 10:20 brunch.
QS Dinner at Flame Tree BBQ

Wednesday:
Magic Kingdom (2 of 2)
QS Breakfast at Be Our Guest or Cosmic Rays
ADR at the Crystal Palace at 4:55pm
DD3 will have her appointment at BBB today, before dinner and a day before her bday

Thursday: DD turns 4 today!!
Epcot (2 of 2)
ADR at Akershus Royal Banquet at 9:30 am (while DD is still clean and refresh)
Booked a Storybook Experience for DD at noon
Tokyo Dining for 6pm

Friday: Last Day
Hollywood Studios / Star Wars Weekend (2 of 2) OR DTD and Disney Quest
Check out Time
QS Breakfast at Riverside Mill
QS Lunch at Toy Story Pizza Planet or Wolfgang Puck Express
DD booked for Wonderland Tea Party at Grand Floridian Resort at 2pm
To the airport at 5pm


Of course this plan is based on what I learned from this board and other helpful disney related sites. I sure hope this is realistic.

 

[nanay2jdr]

Would really appreciate some feedback before I move towards the tour plans.