Help with itinerary for 1st time guests!

[jcemom]

I am planning the itinerary for relatives. It's their first visit -- two adults, their two kids ages 14 and 9, and a fairly energetic 70 year old grandma. They're going in September, staying at Art of Animation.

I still make itineraries for my family but we tend to follow them VERY loosely. I generally stick to the parks I chose each day because of ADRs and stuff, but everything else we change up as we go along. I don't want my relatives to have to improvise too much since they don't know what they're doing lol.

Is this too much? They're all "green" days with crowd levels from 1-3.

SAT - arrive around noon; Epcot until 6:00ish w/late lunch at Teppan Edo, early to bed
SUN - DHS all day w/lunch at Sci-Fi, dinner at 50's Prime Time, Fantasmic 8:30
MON - AK until 3:00ish w/lunch at Flame Tree BBQ, evening off
TUE - MK until 5:00ish w/early lunch at BoG, FoF Parade 3:00, early dinner at LTT, evening off
WED - DtD for a few hours in the AM, swim, Chef M's 5:30, MK for a few rides, MSEP 9:00 and Wishes 10:00
THU - morning off, Epcot at 3:00ish w/dinner at San Angel, Illuminations 9:00
FRI - swim or DtD, leave for airport around 4:00ish

I can't seem to fit a break on the DHS day. We haven't done all day at DHS in forever because our must do list there is short, but I think it might be the easiest all-day park because of the shows, minimal walking, and two sit down meals. I also put it first so they won't be worn out yet. Thoughts?

They are early risers. Their 9 year old normally wakes at the crack of dawn and is ready for bed by 9:00 pm. I thought it was best to put the two later nights at the end with no park mornings, so hopefully he will be able to hang in until after fireworks. If not, Grandma can take him back to the room.

Normally I would recommend they do two rope drops, a morning off, and two rope drops, but I can't get that to work with MK's best morning being Tuesday and DHS all day on Sunday.

Will they survive? I don't want them to hate me lol. I tried to give them enough time to experience all the best attractions, yet enjoy the pool and not be needing a week's vacation when they get home.

Thanks in advance for any advice or suggestions!

 

[BuzzinDownToDisney]

I hate to use the word perfect, but that is pretty darn close. You haven't tried to cram too much at all and if they decide to skip an off evening or morning, that's their decision. Love the DHS plan, very similar to our own. Some say a sit down lunch and dinner is too much, but you gotta take in SciFi!

 

[jcemom]

Thank you! I agree about Sci-Fi, and we have always found it to provide a refreshing break in hot weather. It's way more stressful planning for someone else than for myself LOL.

 

[maryandtyson]

I think it looks great! Good job mixing late and early. I like you keeping them in one park each day. Good job!

 

[jcemom]

Thank you! It helps to hear someone else's opinion. I have stared at it for so long I can't think straight any more lol. DD and I usually take midday breaks and often park hop, but I didn't want them to spend so much time on transportation back and forth. I thought they might be better off staying put and knocking out their to-do lists than bouncing around.

 

[Southern Bell]

Sounds like a well thought out plan! Just a thought for the grandmother, I don't know if she is bothered with arthritis, but I found that my Dads best time if I took him anywhere was in the mornings, & towards the end of the day he was tired. I found that shows was a good rest.

 

[jcemom]

Sounds like a well thought out plan! Just a thought for the grandmother, I don't know if she is bothered with arthritis, but I found that my Dads best time if I took him anywhere was in the mornings, & towards the end of the day he was tired. I found that shows was a good rest.

Thank you, that is helpful. She does have some arthritis though she is pretty active in her daily life (regular exercise, frequent travel, etc). With the attraction order I tried to keep backtracking to a bare minimum and schedule shows in the afternoons (as a break from the heat). I didn't realize that mornings were generally better as far as pain is concerned. I will keep that in mind.