Help- first trip since I was 3!

[MomOfWesAndNorah]

Hi! My plane tickets are bought and rooms reserved for June 2-7. My husband, son (4) and daughter (1.5) will be staying at Pop Century. We have 5 days of tickets.

Here are our plans so far--

Monday- get in around 2pm. Want to hit a park for 2-3 hours that night.

Tuesday - MK @ opening. Lunch at Crystal Palace (might cancel this???), then nap and back to MK. Late dinner (8:30) at Chef Mickey's- hoping to see fireworks after. Is there a good place to watch @ this hotel?

Wednesday- HS- kids are Disney Junior obsessed so we will do character meal @ Hollywood and Vine. Downtown Disney after nap break:

Thursday- MK. We have late breakfast reservations at Cinderella's Royal Table.

Friday--?? AK or Epcot? If we do AK, should I do Epcot Monday evening? I'd love to do Nemo and Soarin'. Is AK fun for a 1 year old? She doesn't walk.

Saturday- fly home- early!!

What's the best for sit down at Epcot? Tusker House or Saaba at Ak?

Thanks!!

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

Hi! My plane tickets are bought and rooms reserved for June 2-7. My husband, son (4) and daughter (1.5) will be staying at Pop Century......

Where will you be staying?

 

[Fivesacharm]

Hi! My plane tickets are bought and rooms reserved for June 2-7. My husband, son (4) and daughter (1.5) will be staying at Pop Century. We have 5 days of tickets. Here are our plans so far-- Monday- get in around 2pm. Want to hit a park for 2-3 hours that night. Tuesday - MK @ opening. Lunch at Crystal Palace (might cancel this???), then nap and back to MK. Late dinner (8:30) at Chef Mickey's- hoping to see fireworks after. Is there a good place to watch @ this hotel? Wednesday- HS- kids are Disney Junior obsessed so we will do character meal @ Hollywood and Vine. Downtown Disney after nap break: Thursday- MK. We have late breakfast reservations at Cinderella's Royal Table. Friday--?? AK or Epcot? If we do AK, should I do Epcot Monday evening? I'd love to do Nemo and Soarin'. Is AK fun for a 1 year old? She doesn't walk. Saturday- fly home- early!! What's the best for sit down at Epcot? Tusker House or Saaba at Ak? Thanks!!

If your kids love Disney Junior, Play and Dine @ H&V will be truly memorable. Seriously, have the camera ready!

My suggestion would be to let AK be your park for a couple hours on Monday and do Epcot of Friday when you have more time. There's so much to do in Epcot between Future World and the World Showcase! AK is more of a half-day park in my mind (at least compared to Epcot).

Out favorite restaurants in Epcot are Coral Reef and San Angelo Inn. The good and atmosphere are fab in both, but kids seem to think Coral Reef is especially cool because of the ability to watch the fish and sharks while you eat.

Tusker House is good, but our favorite restaurant in Animal Kingdom is Yak & Yeti, hands down!

 

[MomOfWesAndNorah]

If your kids love Disney Junior, Play and Dine @ H&V will be truly memorable. Seriously, have the camera ready!

My suggestion would be to let AK be your park for a couple hours on Monday and do Epcot of Friday when you have more time. There's so much to do in Epcot between Future World and the World Showcase! AK is more of a half-day park in my mind (at least compared to Epcot).

Out favorite restaurants in Epcot are Coral Reef and San Angelo Inn. The good and atmosphere are fab in both, but kids seem to think Coral Reef is especially cool because of the ability to watch the fish and sharks while you eat.

Tusker House is good, but our favorite restaurant in Animal Kingdom is Yak & Yeti, hands down!

If our flight gets in around two (2:20?) I'm not sure we could get to resort and then to AK for any amount of time considering it closes at 7. We will be using Disney Transportation. My impression was to plan 90 minutes to get to resort, then we still have to get to our room and then on a bus to AK. Not sure how long that takes...??

Glad to hear the postive note on play and dine!

 

[jezebel73]

Friday--?? AK or Epcot? If we do AK, should I do Epcot Monday evening? I'd love to do Nemo and Soarin'. Is AK fun for a 1 year old? She doesn't walk.

Saturday- fly home- early!!

What's the best for sit down at Epcot? Tusker House or Saaba at Ak?

Thanks!!

My daughter has always preferred Epcot to AK, regardless of age (trips at 1-7 years old). There are the fun rides in Future World and LOTS of princesses in World Showcase.
Epcot food- we actually usually eat counter service here, to take advantage of all the different cuisines and keep everyone happy, but we did eat at Coral Reef once and enjoyed it as well. For kids, I'd also recommend Akershus, Biergarten, or Teppan Edo. All have lots to keep the attention of little ones!

If you do choose AK, Tusker House is VERY good, though I've also heard lots of great reviews on Sanaa and Yak & Yeti.

 

[amym2]

We wouldn't be satisfied with 2-3 hours at EP as it's our favorite park (kids included). But if you have FP+ for a couple of rides, you could make it work. We also love AK, so that's a tough choice.

Not sure if you're aware that Sanaa is at AKL (Kidani) not AK park. You'd need to take a bus to get there. If you spend a day at AK, you could eat dinner at Sanaa, but if it's past park closing you'd then have to bus to a different park and then switch to your resort bus (or take a cab). If you're looking to keep it simple, go with TH.

 

[MomOfWesAndNorah]

I wasn't aware of that with Sanaa. Thanks for the tip!

 

[DisneyFansInNYC]

We agree about EPCOT. We love this park. We would spend more time there than at AK. I would skip AK over only being at EPCOT a few hours.

 

[kiramay]

We loved Epcot! It's a 2 day park for my kids. We liked Biergarten and Garden Grill for TS. The first is a buffet and all my kids were able to find food they liked and enjoyed the music show. The latter is a character dinner in a revolving restaurant.

 

[glassslippergirl]

Hi! My plane tickets are bought and rooms reserved for June 2-7. My husband, son (4) and daughter (1.5) will be staying at Pop Century. We have 5 days of tickets. Here are our plans so far-- Monday- get in around 2pm. Want to hit a park for 2-3 hours that night. Tuesday - MK @ opening. Lunch at Crystal Palace (might cancel this???), then nap and back to MK. Late dinner (8:30) at Chef Mickey's- hoping to see fireworks after. Is there a good place to watch @ this hotel? Wednesday- HS- kids are Disney Junior obsessed so we will do character meal @ Hollywood and Vine. Downtown Disney after nap break: Thursday- MK. We have late breakfast reservations at Cinderella's Royal Table. Friday--?? AK or Epcot? If we do AK, should I do Epcot Monday evening? I'd love to do Nemo and Soarin'. Is AK fun for a 1 year old? She doesn't walk. Saturday- fly home- early!! What's the best for sit down at Epcot? Tusker House or Saaba at Ak? Thanks!!

1. You can watch fireworks from a balcony on the 4th floor of the Contemporary. They even pipe in the music. Get there an hour early or your kids won't have a good view.

2. Have you considered this? You could save a day of park tickets by going to DTD on the night you arrive. Eat dinner there, shop, then explore the hotel or even cross the lake and explore Art if Animation. There's a lot to see in both hotels.

3. Use the money you save on the extra day to get park hoppers (not actually sure which is cheaper). Seems like this will give you more flexibility to go to all the parks. Spend Wednesday afternoon/ evening in Epcot. Go to AK Friday until you have seen everything you want there, then go to whatever park you choose for the final evening.

4. If that's a no-go, then I guess you have to do Epcot on the first night. As you mentioned, AK closes too early for it to be a real option with your late arrival. Just know that you are probably scheduling too little time for Epcot and too much time for AK.

5. If you do go with Epcot on the first day and AK on the last, consider going to DTD Friday evening. Fantastic! Is not to be missed at DHS.

6. For kids in Epcot, I'd recommend Coral Reef (you sit by huge aquariums) or Garden Grill (characters visit your tables, restaurant spins so you can see The Land attraction). I also love Hacienda San Angel (try to get ADR an hour before Illuminations and watch from inside the restaurant). You didn't ask about DTD dining, but consider TRex. The food is just okay, but your kids will love the ambiance. Ask to sit in the meteor shower room.

7. Get your kids First Visit badges (should have them at hotel desk).

8. Enjoy!