SimplyGoofy
"You are not Mickey Mouse... you are a rat!"
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- Jul 31, 2011
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Time to Think About Those Lightning Lanes...
Daily Plans – Part I (Thursday-Sunday)
It’s hard to believe – we’ll be in Disney World in less than two weeks!
With our lightning lane booking window in just a few days (!), I need to finalize our ride plans for each park day. My plan is to concentrate on the height restriction rides during the first portion of our trip since we can do rider swap with two adults. I’ll plan more family-friendly fare during the second half when it’s just me and the girls (although we’ll be sure to do all-family rides during the first portion too – we can’t leave L out of the fun!).
L is currently just under 38 inches without shoes - any shoe bumps her above the magical 38-inch height requirement.
Not only will she be tall enough for Barnstormer (which she LOVED last year), but it also gives her Slinky Dog, Smuggler’s Run, and Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. If one of the height markers is wonky and the CM won’t let her ride, we’ll roll with it… but I’m pretty sure she’ll be good for every 38” attraction. She’s super excited for Slinky Dog – please cross your fingers that she makes it on the ride!
Here are my plans for the first four days of our trip when G will be with us:
Thursday, March 12
We’ll arrive at the Sanford Airport and will take our private transportation to Pop Century. First we'll set up the room as our room should be ready with our mid-afternoon arrival (fingers crossed!). My plan is to pack most of what we’ll need here in a single suitcase so we don’t have to unpack much before repacking it the next morning. We’ll also set up the rental stroller for park touring, adding stroller clips, the flag, and our cup holder.
After that, we’ll have time to kill – maybe we’ll wander around our resort, go over to the Cars section of AoA (we missed it last year and L loves Cars!), or the girls will want to swim. Anything works!
We have dinner plans at Trattoria al Forno so we’ll enjoy our first Skyliner ride of the trip to get to dinner. We’ll head back to Pop after dinner for an early night. We’ll plan to swing by the food court so we can get milk for G’s morning cereal (surely it will survive one night in the beverage cooler?) and some Tie-Dyed Cheesecake for me.
Friday, March 13
We’ll be up early for our first park day – Epcot!
My lightning lane plans for today include Test Track, Soarin’, and Spaceship Earth. We’ll also buy a single pass for M and me to ride Cosmic Rewind.
We’ll pack up the room and bring the bags to Bell Services for transfer to the Yacht Club. I’ll stop the food court for coffee while G takes the girls to get in line for the Skyliner. We’ll “fly” over to Epcot and get in line for Remy. After Remy, we’ll either head toward Norway (if the Frozen line isn’t too long or if G wants to see L meet the Frozen sisters) or toward the front of the park. Our goal for today is to do the higher height restriction rides that L can’t do (such as Test Track, Soarin’, and Cosmic Rewind), but also rides the whole family can enjoy (such as Spaceship Earth, Journey Into Imagination, and Grand Fiesta Tour). We’ll also ride G’s favorite, Living with the Land.
Lunch plans are loose today, with plans to eat from the festival booths or a quick service spot (there are so many options in Epcot!).
We’ll continue with attractions and touring World Showcase into the afternoon. Mid-afternoon, we’ll take a break to head over to the Yacht Club and check out our room. We’ll collect our bags from Bell Services and get our groceries from our Amazon Fresh delivery. We also may want to visit the pool briefly if G wants to check it out.
We’ll head back to Epcot for dinner at Le Cellier. After dinner, I’d love everyone to see Journey of Water (I’m the only one who’s seen it!) and maybe do another attraction or more wandering. I’d love a family picture or two with the Epcot icon and another World Showcase site. We may or may not stay for Luminous, but if we do, it’s an easy walk back to our nearby room.
Saturday, March 14
Today we’re headed to Magic Kingdom.
My lightning lanes plans include Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Haunted Mansion. We’ll also get an individual lightning lane for all of us for 7DMT. It will be L’s first time riding Mine Train and I think she’ll love it! We'll skip TRON as G and I don't like it and M doesn't want to go (and it seems silly to waste an hour of park time doing something no one is excited about).
We loved our MK early entry day last year, so I intend to do it again this year. We started with the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, followed by multiple rides on Barnstormer and Dumbo. It was so much fun with small kids to ride Barnstormer over and over again!
We’ll hit other favorites, including G’s favorite boat ride (Pirates), my favorite classic ride (Haunted Mansion), and other family-friendly things like It’s a Small World, Tomorrowland Speedway, and the Peoplemover. I’m excited for G to try Tiana’s – water rides are his favorite thing and I think he’ll love it!
We’ll grab lunch from a quick service spot (Columbia Harbor House is likely, with Peco’s Bills a close second) or with a last-minute ADR at Skipper Canteen (which G enjoyed last time). We’ll ride more in the afternoon with subsequent lightning lanes and then take a break at the monorail resorts.
I’m excited about our dinner plans – we’re going to Narcoossee’s at the Grand Floridian. We’ll do a quick outfit change in the Grand Floridian bathrooms due to the restaurant’s dress code (plus, it’s fun to dress up a bit). After dinner, I’d love to go back to the park for another attraction or two and the Starlight Parade. G was a hard no on the fireworks (but I think that was due to our nightmarish time leaving the park after the fireworks last time – DO NOT LEAVE RIGHT AFTER THE FIREWORKS, folks!). Either way, we’ll plan to beat the crowds to the transportation and get a good rest before our last park day with G.
Sunday, March 15
Our last park day with G was M’s choice – Hollywood Studios. G would’ve been happy to go back to MK or Epcot and skip Hollywood Studios altogether, but hopefully our day will go better this year than our Studios day in 2024.
My lightning lane plans for today are Slinky Dog (for all of us!), Toy Story Mania, and Tower of Terror (mostly for me). I’ll also get an ILL for G and M to ride Rise of the Resistance.
We’ll plan to walk to Hollywood Studios to avoid the stroller folding business on the Skyliner (plus, it should be a lovely walk this time of year!). I’m flexible about our early entry plan – last year we pivoted from Mickey and Minnie’s to Toy Story Mania when the former was down, and I loved our two rides on TSM. Likely we’ll pick M&M’s and then head back to Smuggler’s Run. I’ll mobile order breakfast that morning at Woody’s Lunchbox before arriving at the park like I did last year.
We’ll plan to see the Frozen Sing Along (L is SUPER into Frozen right now and will LOVE that show) and use our lightning lanes. I’ll take L and enjoy my annual Black Caf Cold Brew while G and M ride Rise of the Resistance – G missed it in 2024 and I think he’ll find that attraction right up his ally (even though it’s not a boat ride). I’ll skip rider’s swap on that one to make time for M and me to ride Tower of Terror, my favorite ride in Disney World.
I’d also love to find time for L to meet Olaf, perhaps at the Disney Visa meet and greet (likely that has a shorter line?). Another must-do character meet for L is Jessie and Woody – she LOVES Jessie and is excited to wear her Jessie shirt on HS day.
We have a lunch ADR at Roundup Rodeo BBQ – it will be our first time there and I think the girls will love the atmosphere. G and I will enjoy the food (and the girls will hopefully like… something? At least they’ll like the dessert!).
We’ll do another attraction or two after lunch (with M’s favorite, Star Tours, being in the mix) before heading back to the Yacht Club with G. His flight leaves MCO in the early evening so he’ll head to the airport around 3:30. The girls and I may take an extended break to swim or enjoy the resort, or perhaps we’ll head back to the Studios for more character meets and attractions.
We’ll head back in the evening for our dinner at Hollywood Brown Derby. We did a last-minute ADR there last year and LOVED it – they had a hot dog for M, mac and cheese for L, and that delicious Cobb salad for me. They also have a phenomenal piece of chocolate cake that I’m excited to eat again!
After dinner, we’ll do another attraction or two (perhaps a second ride on Runaway Railway with a lightning lane?) and the Villains Ever After show. We’ll skip Fantasmic this year for more flexibility but may stay to watch the animation show if it’s playing that night. Otherwise, we’ll plan for an earlier night as we’ll have another early morning the next day.
Up Next: Daily Plans Part II
Daily Plans – Part I (Thursday-Sunday)
It’s hard to believe – we’ll be in Disney World in less than two weeks!
With our lightning lane booking window in just a few days (!), I need to finalize our ride plans for each park day. My plan is to concentrate on the height restriction rides during the first portion of our trip since we can do rider swap with two adults. I’ll plan more family-friendly fare during the second half when it’s just me and the girls (although we’ll be sure to do all-family rides during the first portion too – we can’t leave L out of the fun!).
L is currently just under 38 inches without shoes - any shoe bumps her above the magical 38-inch height requirement.
Not only will she be tall enough for Barnstormer (which she LOVED last year), but it also gives her Slinky Dog, Smuggler’s Run, and Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. If one of the height markers is wonky and the CM won’t let her ride, we’ll roll with it… but I’m pretty sure she’ll be good for every 38” attraction. She’s super excited for Slinky Dog – please cross your fingers that she makes it on the ride!Here are my plans for the first four days of our trip when G will be with us:
Thursday, March 12
We’ll arrive at the Sanford Airport and will take our private transportation to Pop Century. First we'll set up the room as our room should be ready with our mid-afternoon arrival (fingers crossed!). My plan is to pack most of what we’ll need here in a single suitcase so we don’t have to unpack much before repacking it the next morning. We’ll also set up the rental stroller for park touring, adding stroller clips, the flag, and our cup holder.
After that, we’ll have time to kill – maybe we’ll wander around our resort, go over to the Cars section of AoA (we missed it last year and L loves Cars!), or the girls will want to swim. Anything works!
We have dinner plans at Trattoria al Forno so we’ll enjoy our first Skyliner ride of the trip to get to dinner. We’ll head back to Pop after dinner for an early night. We’ll plan to swing by the food court so we can get milk for G’s morning cereal (surely it will survive one night in the beverage cooler?) and some Tie-Dyed Cheesecake for me.
Friday, March 13
We’ll be up early for our first park day – Epcot!
My lightning lane plans for today include Test Track, Soarin’, and Spaceship Earth. We’ll also buy a single pass for M and me to ride Cosmic Rewind.
We’ll pack up the room and bring the bags to Bell Services for transfer to the Yacht Club. I’ll stop the food court for coffee while G takes the girls to get in line for the Skyliner. We’ll “fly” over to Epcot and get in line for Remy. After Remy, we’ll either head toward Norway (if the Frozen line isn’t too long or if G wants to see L meet the Frozen sisters) or toward the front of the park. Our goal for today is to do the higher height restriction rides that L can’t do (such as Test Track, Soarin’, and Cosmic Rewind), but also rides the whole family can enjoy (such as Spaceship Earth, Journey Into Imagination, and Grand Fiesta Tour). We’ll also ride G’s favorite, Living with the Land.
Lunch plans are loose today, with plans to eat from the festival booths or a quick service spot (there are so many options in Epcot!).
We’ll continue with attractions and touring World Showcase into the afternoon. Mid-afternoon, we’ll take a break to head over to the Yacht Club and check out our room. We’ll collect our bags from Bell Services and get our groceries from our Amazon Fresh delivery. We also may want to visit the pool briefly if G wants to check it out.
We’ll head back to Epcot for dinner at Le Cellier. After dinner, I’d love everyone to see Journey of Water (I’m the only one who’s seen it!) and maybe do another attraction or more wandering. I’d love a family picture or two with the Epcot icon and another World Showcase site. We may or may not stay for Luminous, but if we do, it’s an easy walk back to our nearby room.
Saturday, March 14
Today we’re headed to Magic Kingdom.
My lightning lanes plans include Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Haunted Mansion. We’ll also get an individual lightning lane for all of us for 7DMT. It will be L’s first time riding Mine Train and I think she’ll love it! We'll skip TRON as G and I don't like it and M doesn't want to go (and it seems silly to waste an hour of park time doing something no one is excited about).
We loved our MK early entry day last year, so I intend to do it again this year. We started with the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, followed by multiple rides on Barnstormer and Dumbo. It was so much fun with small kids to ride Barnstormer over and over again!
We’ll hit other favorites, including G’s favorite boat ride (Pirates), my favorite classic ride (Haunted Mansion), and other family-friendly things like It’s a Small World, Tomorrowland Speedway, and the Peoplemover. I’m excited for G to try Tiana’s – water rides are his favorite thing and I think he’ll love it!
We’ll grab lunch from a quick service spot (Columbia Harbor House is likely, with Peco’s Bills a close second) or with a last-minute ADR at Skipper Canteen (which G enjoyed last time). We’ll ride more in the afternoon with subsequent lightning lanes and then take a break at the monorail resorts.
I’m excited about our dinner plans – we’re going to Narcoossee’s at the Grand Floridian. We’ll do a quick outfit change in the Grand Floridian bathrooms due to the restaurant’s dress code (plus, it’s fun to dress up a bit). After dinner, I’d love to go back to the park for another attraction or two and the Starlight Parade. G was a hard no on the fireworks (but I think that was due to our nightmarish time leaving the park after the fireworks last time – DO NOT LEAVE RIGHT AFTER THE FIREWORKS, folks!). Either way, we’ll plan to beat the crowds to the transportation and get a good rest before our last park day with G.
Sunday, March 15
Our last park day with G was M’s choice – Hollywood Studios. G would’ve been happy to go back to MK or Epcot and skip Hollywood Studios altogether, but hopefully our day will go better this year than our Studios day in 2024.
My lightning lane plans for today are Slinky Dog (for all of us!), Toy Story Mania, and Tower of Terror (mostly for me). I’ll also get an ILL for G and M to ride Rise of the Resistance.
We’ll plan to walk to Hollywood Studios to avoid the stroller folding business on the Skyliner (plus, it should be a lovely walk this time of year!). I’m flexible about our early entry plan – last year we pivoted from Mickey and Minnie’s to Toy Story Mania when the former was down, and I loved our two rides on TSM. Likely we’ll pick M&M’s and then head back to Smuggler’s Run. I’ll mobile order breakfast that morning at Woody’s Lunchbox before arriving at the park like I did last year.
We’ll plan to see the Frozen Sing Along (L is SUPER into Frozen right now and will LOVE that show) and use our lightning lanes. I’ll take L and enjoy my annual Black Caf Cold Brew while G and M ride Rise of the Resistance – G missed it in 2024 and I think he’ll find that attraction right up his ally (even though it’s not a boat ride). I’ll skip rider’s swap on that one to make time for M and me to ride Tower of Terror, my favorite ride in Disney World.
I’d also love to find time for L to meet Olaf, perhaps at the Disney Visa meet and greet (likely that has a shorter line?). Another must-do character meet for L is Jessie and Woody – she LOVES Jessie and is excited to wear her Jessie shirt on HS day.
We have a lunch ADR at Roundup Rodeo BBQ – it will be our first time there and I think the girls will love the atmosphere. G and I will enjoy the food (and the girls will hopefully like… something? At least they’ll like the dessert!).
We’ll do another attraction or two after lunch (with M’s favorite, Star Tours, being in the mix) before heading back to the Yacht Club with G. His flight leaves MCO in the early evening so he’ll head to the airport around 3:30. The girls and I may take an extended break to swim or enjoy the resort, or perhaps we’ll head back to the Studios for more character meets and attractions.
We’ll head back in the evening for our dinner at Hollywood Brown Derby. We did a last-minute ADR there last year and LOVED it – they had a hot dog for M, mac and cheese for L, and that delicious Cobb salad for me. They also have a phenomenal piece of chocolate cake that I’m excited to eat again!
After dinner, we’ll do another attraction or two (perhaps a second ride on Runaway Railway with a lightning lane?) and the Villains Ever After show. We’ll skip Fantasmic this year for more flexibility but may stay to watch the animation show if it’s playing that night. Otherwise, we’ll plan for an earlier night as we’ll have another early morning the next day.
Up Next: Daily Plans Part II
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). Considering the crazy lines for Cosmic Rewind and FOP, LLSP is a wise choice. 
). Nonetheless, some early nighttime Magic Kingdom time will be magical.
