GRAND vacation itenirary... HELP!!

[ryansgirl96]

So my family is having a GRAND vacation the week before Christmas December 18 through the 23rd. There will be my side of our family for the entire time (7 adults, ages 27-66 and 4 children, ages 7-16) and DH family will be there Wednesday evening to Saturday (4 adults, ages 38-68 and 2 children , 2 and 11) .

I am already having nightmares about trying to get that many fast pass plus but first I need to tackle our itinerary!

We will all have Park Hopper tickets, ranging anywhere from 3 to 5 days depending upon arrival date, with the plan to attend a park every day Tuesday through Saturday. We will take breaks anywhere from 3 to 4 hours a day and probably return to a different park. Or at least that is my plan. Depending upon what you guys say I also would like to do an evening night show at least once (so that means twice while we are there to cover both families). So here we go!!

Tuesday Dec 19
EMH 7a MK
BREAK 11-3 or 4
EPCOT EMH till 11:30 (CLP package)
- Illuminations

Wednesday Dec 20
AK RD till 3:00

Thursday Dec 21 (MK closes early for party AND my DS turns 11)
EMH 7a MK till 1:00
BREAK 1:00-4:00
DHS till close with Fantasmic

OR
EMH 7a MK till 3:00
BREAK 3-6
Chef Mickey ADR
Watch Fireworks from Top of the World Lounge

Friday Dec 22
EPCOT RD till 1:00
BREAK 1:00-5:00
MK/DHS whichever we didn't do the night before

Saturday Dec 23- my side of Fam leaves in the am
RD AK

So it is really the Thursday, December 21 that is throwing me. DS has indicated that he would like a character meal for his birthday. One with the originals as he calls them. But we probably need one outside of the park since one set of the grandparents may not be purchasing park tickets. Also Does anyone know if you can still see the Christmas party fireworks at the usual outside of the park locations? Not sure if that's even an option to watch from TOWL during a party evening.

Finally Which evening presentation is the must do between Fantasmic and the activities at the Magic Kingdom? It will be the first time At Disney for three out of the six kids if that makes a difference.

 

[DisneyRegulars]

I think your rope drop morning at magic kingdom followed with evening extra magic hours at Epcot followed by another rope drop at Animal Kingdom sounds like a recipe for exhausted grumpy family. I would caution against a late night followed by an early morning.

For ADRs outside the park with the main characters you could do Chef Mickeys in the Contemporary or you could do the restaurant in the Beach Club, Cape Mays I think. Both of those have some of the traditional members of the fab five.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

I have to agree with DisneyRegulars in that those back-to-back parks until close followed by RD mornings may get really tough after a while. Are you sure your family is up to that type of touring?

In terms of fab five characters meals outside the parks, your choices are Chef Mickey's for all meals or Cape May for breakfast. Yes, you can see the MVMCP fireworks from outside the parks at the MK resorts and TTC. For a first time trip, I would definitely recommend the MK nighttime entertainment over Fantasmic.

 

[Ambehnke]

No one has seen the new MK show to tell you if you should do that or fantasmic but I do know it will have projections on the castle and will probably better to see from inside of the park than out.

 

[Mainemama]

My only bit of advice is to plan what you will do as a whole family (like an ADR or experience each day), and then consider having more flexible time in smaller groups at other times. i have only travelled with grandparents once, and my dad tuckered out way before kids. He never made it back into a park at night after rest time. Booking ADRs will obviously drive your scheduling to some degree. Is everyone staying at the same resort?

 

[ckb_nc]

Vote for Chef Mickeys for character breakfast; rather cool setting as the monorail comes through

 

[ShellieMimi]

The youngest & oldest members of your party are going to seriously struggle with that schedule. They say nobody ages at Disney, but after a long day of park touring (even with breaks), I sometimes feel 95.