I need a good touring strategy to include BBB and CRT

[Kebby]

Hi all!

We are seasoned WDW vets but this time we are bringing newbies with us in September. I usually have our touring style down to a science, but this time they want to do some things that we don't do anymore ( and we are ok with that!)

One of them is BBB and breakfast at CRT.

I like to have PPO breakfast advantage, so this stresses me out some. If we book the earliest BBB appointment at 8 am, they won't be ready to go until likely 9. That means b fast at 9 and losing an hour of prime touring time!

What do people suggest? One thought was that we do Disney springs the night before and we do BBB there and then go to CRT the next am ( If I recall my girls hair lasted a LONG time if not swimming). This way we could still do BBB and then I would book an 8 am b fast at CRT and hopefully still have that PPO advantage I am looking for.

Alternately, should we do BOG for breakfast PPO, do a few rides, book a 10 am BBB at the castle followed by 10 40 "brunch" at CRT to have a bit of a break?

 

[LSUfan4444]

What do people suggest?

To opt for a CRT lunch instead. Don't let the desire to do one, maybe two attractions (especially when you have FP+ at your disposal) make the rest of your plans that stressful.

I don't think BBB and CRT is the problem, I think the PPO ADR is the problem. It's a popular craze and extremely overvalued, overpriced and overrated in my opinion.

I'd likely opt for the earliest BBB you could get, then book your FP+ back to back starting as close to the 9-10am window as possible, then sit down for lunch...Something like

8am - 9am - BBB
9-10 - Mine Train
10-11 - Peter Pan
11-12 - Enchanted Tales with Belle (as early in the booking window as possible then book 4th FP)
Stanby attractions like Philharmagic, princess meet & greets, dumbo, barnstormer, etc
12:30 - CRT
after lunch start using your add'l FP+

Alternately, should we do BOG for breakfast PPO, do a few rides, book a 10 am BBB at the castle followed by 10 40 "brunch" at CRT to have a bit of a break?

If the PPO ADR was a requirement, this would be my choice.

 

[Hootch]

I agree with the PP. You can plan the BBB starting around 11:30 or so and lunch after that and not miss the prime ride times.

 

[ktlm]

We did BBB on several trips when DD (10) was younger. She would not go to bed with her hair in a BBB hairstyle. If you do it the night before, you might find it to be a waste of money. My DD thought most of them were tight and was not going to sleep with them or with all the goop they put in the hair. Plus, I think in the parks you can always tell which girls are on their 2nd day of the hairstyle. I would suggest the possibility of lunch instead of breakfast at BBB to them. Is this your only MK day? What we usually did on BBB day was we made a BB reservation for between 10 and 10:30. Then we would hit the park at opening- do several things in that first hour- usually, Peter Pan, Pooh, Ariel, Dumbo, Barnstormer, meet Ariel if she didn't care if she was dressed up, and Carousel and then after BBB depending on the time might try to fit in a couple things before a CRT ADR at between 12 and 12:30-- usually that was small world and maybe Philharmagic depending on how much time we had. How old are the kids and where are you staying? For us- the pre-park opening sounded good in theory- but DD was not a morning person and it did not work well for her when she was a toddler. We tried it once and had a cranky kid at breakfast who stayed cranky for a couple of hours after. Rope drop was the earliest we could get her to parks without her being a pain. If the kids are early birds- pre-park opening will probably work great for them. If it is your only MK day, I would hate to lose that first hour of park time- especially now with FP+ which makes it so much more critical. For the 5 and under set - BBB and meeting Princesses may be more important than anything else at MK though. I can recall one day when DD was a pre-schooler that we basically spend an entire MK day doing BBB, CRT and then just going from character to character and rode very few rides--- she still says that was the best day ever- might not have been the best for DH and I, but boy was she happy. When she was young, the character meet and greets were absolutely the most important things to her at WDW.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

We did BBB late morning followed by CRT lunch. Yes, I took DS when he was 5 and did the prince package (I knew it was my only chance to get in to see BBB!). He loved it! (wouldn't be caught dead in there now LOL!) If you want to do a PPO breakfast, I would do PPO BOG an hour before opening, schedule BBB late morning (even 11:30 am) and lunch around 1 pm. That way you get all of your morning touring in before BBB.

 

[Vickie1016]

Another option is a later BBB then CRT for dinner. I usually plan BBB for 3:30-4:00, then dinner 6:00. We travel in July, so this helps with the 3:00 downpour...lol. Also helps that DD is not in a princess dress all day in the heat & sun.

I agree with PP - when DD was younger she would NEVER sleep with her hair still done - it was too tight. Now that she is older (now 11), she will wear it the next day (with some extra gel & hairspray). I also agree (even now) BBB day is a character day for her. After dinner, we hit the princesses (for Photopass pictures), Mickey and everyone else. It was (and still is) very important to her to take pictures with all the characters in the MK that day dressed as a princess.

Happy planning!