Help with planning 7 day trip

[MMKC2222]

I am planning our first trip to Disney and was hoping for some suggestions on how many days to spend at each park. We are going sat-sat and will hopefully arrive early enough that we could do a 1/2 day somewhere on sat. We will not be doing any parks on the sat that we leave. We are staying offsite so hopefully will leave the parks around 2 pm in the afternoon and come back at night. We could do 1 or 2 days straight if we have to. We want to see all 4 parks and Universal. Could someone give me suggestions on how they would begin to plan this type of trip? Our kids are 12 and 8 so we can (hopefully) go park crazy. I have signed up for tourguidemike and will be using his strategies, I am just stuck with how to plan out the week.

Thanks so much!
Michelle

 

[Devil_Dog99]

You can do MGM and AK fully in one day each. MK and Epcot deserve two full days to see everything without spending all day in line.

I suggest you invest in a copy of the Unofficial Guide. They have touring plans for each park and they work like a charm. DW and I tried them for the firts time last year and we were able to see more in that trip than in our previous 3 trips combined!!

Have fun!!!

 

[princssdisnygina]

I would agree about spending one day at AK and MGM. Depending on when you go you could do the MK in one day but would suggest two because you will probably want to go back anyway! And EPCOT is definitely at least a day and a half to do everything! I would not do anything on the saturday you arrive if you dont have to because saturdays are the busiest days in the parks and that would be a nice night to go to downtown disney and relax and get to bed early and be at the parks when they open! I would do MGM on Sunday or EPCOT. I would use monday and/or Tuesday to do MK. Wed is a good AK day and then Thursday would be a good day for whatever you dont do Sunday and then you can spend a half day or full day on friday finishing EPCOT. Or you can do EPCOT on Tuesday. You will have plenty of time to do everything but might I suggest the larger parks on monday and tuesday so that way you will know if you need to do them again later in the week! I like to break it up and the day I arrive relax then like thursday or Friday I like to relax again, go shop at DTD, park hop and just do the rides I loved or whatever. Make sure you plan for your dinners (character etc..) so you know when you need to book them! Please ask any questions...we will be glad to help!

Gina

 

[ajcolorado]

Since you signed up for Tour Guide Mike, you'll definately want to use his "Best Days" information, which is really excellent. If you have trouble finding it, go to the forums on TGM and ask. Someone will be happy to help out.

Once you have your itinerary set, you'll be able to figure out your special dining plans and make any necessary dining reservations (up to 180 days in advance). There is no good reason to delay getting your reservations - they're easy to cancel but not always easy to get. You can see menus at www.allearsnet.com, in the dining section.

By the way - You might plan on just staying at the Animal Kingdom all day as it isn't usually open in the evenings. You can usually have everything done by the afternoon parade, and then leave. Do check out the wonderful live entertainment.

There is a great site for live entertainment information - just click on the tab for each park: http://pages.prodigy.net/stevesoares/

Here's another great link w/ Disney related television listings for the week to help get familiarized with the parks: http://www.bartlett-sloan.net/tv/agenda.php3?modeagenda=soon

You don't have to worry about your touring plans until your dining is done. Once the itinerary and dining are done, the rest isn't so overwhelming.

Universal Studios posts some great ticket deals on its website. Also see www.mousesavers.com

If it fits well with your best days info, I'd like to suggest that you start with Epcot. Epcot is my favorite park but kids sometimes find it a little educational compared to the other parks. My kids are 20, 19, 14, and 9 and three of them love Epcot. The 19 year old isn't a big fan. Spend some careful time with the advanced planning to make it an enjoyable day for everyone. There really is something for almost every interest. I'll put some of my recommendations in a seperate post so that you can ignore it if it doesn't really apply.

 

[ajcolorado]

I think Epcot is WONDERFUL for kids your kid's ages. Mission Space is possibly the only thing too intense for the eight year old and even that has a new "no spin" less intense option Soarin’ and Test Track should be fine - I personally think Test Track is much, much more fun after dark.. Honey I Shrunk the Audience 3-D and Maelstrom are both just fine. Spaceship Earth, The Universe of Energy (Dinosaurs & 45 blessed minutes of air conditioning), and Journey into Your Imagination with Figment are all slow rides but visually interesting for most kids. Kids seem to enjoy the Innoventions pavilions. “The Seas with Nemo and Friends” is great for kids – marine life & “Turtle Talk with Crush” are fantastic. “The Land” has a character meal and there are Princess meals at the Norway Pavillion. There are Character Meet & Greets all through Epcot. Be sure to stop at Club Cool, which offers free samples of sodas from aroung the world. There is some great entertainment too – the Jammitors are a “Stomp” like percussion group.

There are “Kidcot” stations throughout the World Showcase. Your kids can make a cardboard mask (free) at which ever station they stop at first. Then they can add a decoration at each additional station. The boat ride at the Mexico pavilion is similar to “It’s A Small World” - it is pretty...umm....lame. The kids may or may not enjoy the American Adventure or the Circle Vision movies in China & Canada. If I was going to choose one, I’d go with the China movie. Kids always seem intrigued by the model train at the Germany pavilion. My kids loved wandering through the Morocco pavilion. There are Koi fish in the pond in Japan. There is some fantastic entertainment that kids will enjoy: The “Serveur Amusant” (France) is a comedic balancing act. Japan has three great things for kids – “Matsuriza” is a traditional drum act; “Miyuki” is a very neat candy artist, and there is a Japanese Storyteller “Honobono Minwa” on Wed, Thurs, & Fri. Sergio (Italy) is a juggler. “OrisiRisi”, he drum circle and African Storytellers (Mon- Fri) in the Outpost get good reviews. Kids always love the Dragon Legend Acrobats (China) because they are children too. Some kids will enjoy “Off Kilter” (Canada) – bagpipe rock and “MoRockin” (Morocco) – Middle Eastern pop sounding band. IllumiNations is the evening fireworks show and it is excellent.

Epcot takes a little advance planning so that you see the entertainment that you want to see - some starts earlier in the day, others a little later in the afternoon. You'll received a "Times Guide" when you get to the park but you can get an idea of the schedule by clicking on the "Epcot" tab at http://pages.prodigy.net/stevesoares/

 

[MMKC2222]

Thanks so much for the great ideas! I have been learning so much through these boards. I can't imagine doing this without this valuable information.