help me with my plans please

[sln88]

We(me, DH, DD, and 2 DS) are going to DW 10/24-11/3

We went last fall and did a park(and Universal) every day.

This year we are going to be more laid back, and use some days to relax. This is what I have in mind so far...


Fri- we arrive late at night. I may just find a cheapie airport hotel and then pick up our rental Sat am.

Sat- we check in to our condo for the week. Relax, grocery shop, maybe check out some on site resorts, swim..???

Sun- probably will do the Halloween party, so I won't use a pass during the day. Go there as early as I think I can get in.

Mon- no parks since we will be up late Sun night. Maybe the pirate cruise for the boys- need more ideas

Tues- Fri- park days. Need help choosing the least crowded day for each park for off site guests. If the park we are at closes early, we will head over to Epcot to finish off the day. I want to get my moneys worth out of my passes!!!

Sat- check out of condo, and go?? Talking about going to a beach for a couple of days.... Tampa, or Cocoa????

Mon am- airport- flight leaves around 11


Thanks
ps- kids are 15, 9 and 6

 

[Eeyore's Girl]

You're going to have FUN no matter how you schedule, but here's my thoughts.

Are your children going to be patient enough to wait until the fourth day for a park? Since I could not possibly wait that long, this is what I would do...

Either DH or I would make a early Saturday morning run to the grocery store and let the other one stay with the kids. By the time you get back, the kids have slept in, dressed and are ready to go. I would hit a park. Based on experience with my own kids, an off day mid-way through the trip would work out best for us. They really get drained touring all day, day after day.

Again, you'll have FUN, FUN, FUN with whatever schedule you choose.

 

[swilphil]

We did 3 straight days at the park, and it was exhausting even though we took a nap/pool break every afternoon. I would recommend doing 2 park days, taking a day off, and doing two more park days. I felt like we didn't enjoy the pool at the hotel enough.

 

[donna in Oz]

A few suggestions to add some Disney to your trip but still keep it low-key:

If you are planning to check out some resorts on Saturday, perhaps you could plan your evening meal at either the Polynesian or Grand Floridian. Afterwards, you could stroll down to the beach to watch the Electrical Water Pageant. Beaches are never crowded and it's a nice (and free) way to cap off the day. The beach at the Poly is my personal favorite for this purpose.

And on Sunday, since you won't be heading toward the MK until late afternoon for MNSSHP, would your kids enjoy a little water fun at Blizzard Beach or Typhoon Lagoon? You don't say what type of admission you are using, but if you're using hoppers, this is included as one of your "plus" options. A few hours in the morning with an early return to the hotel would still give you time to rest up for the evening.

As it is now, you'll have four park days in a row. Would you consider perhaps making it two days, followed by a break, and then another two days? Even though you'll be up late on Sunday night, eight hours sleep would still allow you to be in the parks by 10:00 a.m. or so. Epcot wouldn't open until 9:00 anyway, and since this is a slower time of year, that wouldn't be too bad.

Just my thoughts, for what they're worth !!

 

[sln88]

Eeyore's Girl-
actually, since we are going to the halloween party, we will be at MK Sun night, so they won't have to wait 4 days- that would be too long! I just think I will be too tired(our flight gets in at 10 pm, and by the time we get a car and checked in, ect- it will be late). I don't want to start our vac with a crabby mom! I would prefer to do a mid- vac break, but the halloween party is messing me up. It is only Sun or Thurs while we are there, and I think since Thurs is the day before Halloween, it will be packed.

Swilphil- would you believe we did 8 park days in a row last year? No afternoon breaks. I thought I would never get DH back to DW, so I wanted to do it all. We had 5 days at DW and 3 at US.

donna- can you tell me more about dinner at the Polynesian or GF? is it pretty pricey? If yes, are there other less expensive places to eat? we are not big spenders when it comes to dinner- especially if the kids are with us. Going to watch the water pageant sounds like fun- if they even have it while we are there.
I am not sure what kind of passes I am getting yet. Someone was supposed to be getting passes for me, but that deal has not come through yet.

I was thinking of maybe doing Disneyquest on Monday- I think that opens later in the morning.

We are supposed to have access to a water park(not as fancy as DW), with our condo, so I hope we can make use of that.

I wish I could talk DH into the 3 day Disney cruise instead of going to the beach!