Having trouble coming up with a trip plan - any ideas?

[pennylane16]

Hello!
My family and I will be visiting WDW in August, for a total of 10 days, but the first and last are travel days, so can only squeeze a little bit of disney into day 1 and day 10. 8 full days I guess you could say.

So, we visited WDW in 2013 and 2015 and I thought it would be easier to plan this one since we've had some experience with it, but I'm struggling to formulate a plan. I made an Excel sheet so I could schedule, and we absolutely plan to do the 8AM EMHs (however I wish there were more AM MK EMHs and less for AK but that's just me )

So far here is what we have, but can you offer some suggestions to help me fill in the blanks as far as which days to do BB and TL? And should we take a rest day? I don't think we've ever successfully fully taken a rest day - maybe half a rest day and then gone to a park at night or something. I don't need it to be crazy over scheduled, but as far as narrowing down some ADRs for TS, I want to make sure I'm scheduling stuff for the right day/location. Any advice is great!

Day 1: Fly from Boston to MCO, arrive probably late afternoon (haven't booked flight yet) - maybe go to MK for the evening
Day 2: Epcot has evening EMH this day - not sure which park to visit
Day 3: MK has evening EMH - not sure which park to visit in AM (I have Garden Grill booked for dinner, thought we'd do an Epcot evening)
Day 4: EP has 8am EMH, so we'll be there for RD
Day 5: MK has 8am EMH, so we'll be there for RD and have CP breakfast ADR
Day 6: AK emh 8am (BUT AK also has an 8am emh 2 days later on our day 8, so we could do one or the other)
Day 7: HS 8am emh, we'll be there for RD
Day 8: AK emh 8am, but should we do AK emh on day 6 or day 8?
Day 9: Epcot has pm emh
Day 10: no AM emh, and we fly home this afternoon

Do you see any spots where you think it'd be the best evening to try for SoA (we're staying at Poly), or you see a days that look good for TL and BB? Which day would make a good Mk revisit day? DS loves AK so wants to go there more than just once this trip as well. Is there a best plan for your departure day when you have until afternoon time before ME pickup? Any advice/tips/thoughts are greatly appreciated! Thanks

 

[Irish_Mike]

For Day 1, I'd suggest either hanging out at your resort or checking out Disney Springs. If you're thinking of getting there in the late afternoon (Say, 4:00ish), you likely won't be at the resort and checked in until 5-5:30. Unless your family really wants to get into the park right away, take the evening to check out the new offerings at the Springs and have dinner there. There's D-Luxe, Blaze Pizza, Homecomin' and other places.

In terms of SoA, I'd say Day 4 seems like a nice time for it. Hit Epcot in the morning and stay until the early afternoon, and that gives you time to go back to the resort and relax a bit before dinner.

Are you guys planning on getting park hoppers, or are you thinking 1 park per day?

 

[pennylane16]

For Day 1, I'd suggest either hanging out at your resort or checking out Disney Springs. If you're thinking of getting there in the late afternoon (Say, 4:00ish), you likely won't be at the resort and checked in until 5-5:30. Unless your family really wants to get into the park right away, take the evening to check out the new offerings at the Springs and have dinner there. There's D-Luxe, Blaze Pizza, Homecomin' and other places.

In terms of SoA, I'd say Day 4 seems like a nice time for it. Hit Epcot in the morning and stay until the early afternoon, and that gives you time to go back to the resort and relax a bit before dinner.

Are you guys planning on getting park hoppers, or are you thinking 1 park per day?

Oh sorry, forgot to mention that - yes, definitely PH! We love to hit up another park later in the day after a mid-day break Thanks!

 

[MommaBerd]

See my comments below. I would also check the crowd calendars, just to make sure you aren't going to a park that's a 9, when another park is a 5. It's tough to trust the calendars these days, but I like to just get a feel for what they say.

Day 1: Fly from Boston to MCO, arrive probably late afternoon (haven't booked flight yet) - maybe go to MK for the evening
Day 2: Epcot has evening EMH this day - not sure which park to visit
Day 3: MK has evening EMH - not sure which park to visit in AM (I have Garden Grill booked for dinner, thought we'd do an Epcot evening)
Day 4: EP has 8am EMH, so we'll be there for RD If you are doing PM EMH at MK the night before, you may want to reconsider AM EMH at Epcot.
Day 5: MK has 8am EMH, so we'll be there for RD and have CP breakfast ADR At this point you've scheduled EP/MK/EP/MK (Granted, you haven't committed full days on Days 2 & 3) Maybe this is a good day to visit a water park?
Day 6: AK emh 8am (BUT AK also has an 8am emh 2 days later on our day 8, so we could do one or the other) Given that Pandora will be open, maybe you should do both!
Day 7: HS 8am emh, we'll be there for RD
Day 8: AK emh 8am, but should we do AK emh on day 6 or day 8?
Day 9: Epcot has pm emh I might pop back over to MK for the morning, especially since you are staying at Poly. Or leave it open for you all to decide that week.
Day 10: no AM emh, and we fly home this afternoon

Do you see any spots where you think it'd be the best evening to try for SoA (we're staying at Poly), or you see a days that look good for TL and BB? Which day would make a good Mk revisit day? DS loves AK so wants to go there more than just once this trip as well. Is there a best plan for your departure day when you have until afternoon time before ME pickup? Any advice/tips/thoughts are greatly appreciated! Thanks

 

[agavegirl1]

Keep in mind that the park with 8AM EMH will be really crowded by 11-Noon due to those who do not have hoppers using those hours plus additional guests showing up from offsite will start to clog the EMH park. This is a good time to Hop to a park with no EMH, morning or evening or take a pool break at your resort for a while then hop. I like to schedule partial days based on EMH and whether or not I will be attending.

 

[pennylane16]

See my comments below. I would also check the crowd calendars, just to make sure you aren't going to a park that's a 9, when another park is a 5. It's tough to trust the calendars these days, but I like to just get a feel for what they say.

Thanks for the advice!

 

[pennylane16]

Keep in mind that the park with 8AM EMH will be really crowded by 11-Noon due to those who do not have hoppers using those hours plus additional guests showing up from offsite will start to clog the EMH park. This is a good time to Hop to a park with no EMH, morning or evening or take a pool break at your resort for a while then hop. I like to schedule partial days based on EMH and whether or not I will be attending.

Yes, thank you! We definitely plan to leave mid-day on those EMH days and take a break and then visit another park later in the day.

 

[Accident]

knowing the actual dates and what day of the week some of these parks are can really change advice. For example is food and wine starting? are you doing MK on days with a party? are you doing it on days without a party that might be more crowded. is it opening or closing weekend or somethign that is going to pack the place? is there a holiday in there somewhere....

they all make changes in when I would do which park..

 

[TheInvernessie]

For your day two, have you considered having a breakfast at your resort? You could do a few things, for instance you have both Ohana and Kona Cafe available for breakfast (TS). For a non-character, less crazy experience Kona would be the way to go (Hello, Tonga Toast!).
Just a thought since I didn't see anything at your resort.

 

[pennylane16]

knowing the actual dates and what day of the week some of these parks are can really change advice. For example is food and wine starting? are you doing MK on days with a party? are you doing it on days without a party that might be more crowded. is it opening or closing weekend or somethign that is going to pack the place? is there a holiday in there somewhere....

they all make changes in when I would do which park..

August 14th-23, so no F&W yet and I don't think there are any other events going on then, but I could be wrong. Thanks!

 

[pennylane16]

For your day two, have you considered having a breakfast at your resort? You could do a few things, for instance you have both Ohana and Kona Cafe available for breakfast (TS). For a non-character, less crazy experience Kona would be the way to go (Hello, Tonga Toast!).
Just a thought since I didn't see anything at your resort.

hi, yes! I do have a couple 'Ohana ADR's booked and I couldn't decide which day to do it! Thanks for the advice! I keep seeing Kona Cafe recommendations but when I looked at the menu, I was iffy on if my somewhat picky crew will like it (plus we have food allergies that complicate things a bit).

 

[LSUfan4444]

just to make sure you aren't going to a park that's a 9, when another park is a 5.

The main reason I avoid parks with morning EMH.

http://www.easywdw.com/easy/blog/flying-fish-review-at-disneys-boardwalk/

No doubt


And being that it can take 45 minutes + to move between parks, the extra hour you gain in the morning is lost in transfers.

 

[Gehrig1B]

And being that it can take 45 minutes + to move between parks, the extra hour you gain in the morning is lost in transfers.

It takes less than 20 minutes now if you include the Express Transportation option. Worth every penny of you plan to hop almost every day. Only $29 for 7 consecutive days.

 

[LSUfan4444]

It takes less than 20 minutes now if you include the Express Transportation option. Worth every penny of you plan to hop almost every day. Only $29 for 7 consecutive days

It CAN take less than 20 minutes if you time it absolutely perfect but it can take much longer if you miss a bus (30 minutes or more longer). Express transportation can be worth it for the longer trips (like you mentioned) of 6, 7 days but it wouldn't be good for the full 10 days here and wouldn't be worth a second purchase.

 

[pennylane16]

It takes less than 20 minutes now if you include the Express Transportation option. Worth every penny of you plan to hop almost every day. Only $29 for 7 consecutive days.

Is Express Transportation a thing now? Last time I was there in 2015 it wasn't an option, as far as I knew. Is it brand new? How do we sign up?

 

[LSUfan4444]

Is Express Transportation a thing now? Last time I was there in 2015 it wasn't an option, as far as I knew. Is it brand new? How do we sign up?

https://www.disboards.com/threads/n...e-page-1-post-1.3563694/page-89#post-57478261

 

[pennylane16]

https://www.disboards.com/threads/n...e-page-1-post-1.3563694/page-89#post-57478261

Fabulous, thanks!

 

[Gehrig1B]

It CAN take less than 20 minutes if you time it absolutely perfect but it can take much longer if you miss a bus (30 minutes or more longer). Express transportation can be worth it for the longer trips (like you mentioned) of 6, 7 days but it wouldn't be good for the full 10 days here and wouldn't be worth a second purchase.

Express Transportation never took us more than 20 minutes and we used it on more than one occasion on multiple days. There is no time wasted waiting for a bus (and no missing a bus) because they run on a schedule. You show up at departure time and away you go...

If this was not your experience has something changed?


In my opinion if I was staying 10 days I would find it worth purchasing two 7 day passes. For us time (lost) is money lost. There are many ways to enjoy Disney.