Is it cheating to do BB on a No Park Day? (Also, please critique my itinerary)

[Slartibartfast]

I've just about got our loose itinerary done for our August 10-15 trip. I've gotten so much advice, I've had to sort through it to find whant I think will work for us. The lowdown:

Me, DW, DS6, and DW5 are going. DS is older he's in worse shape and is the whiny one. We have a total of 5 days at the CYM (No EE), so I've planned it like this:

Sat- Arrive in the evening at MCO marriott. Crash.

Sun - AK till about 3 or 4, leave to check into CYM, dinner PS at Chef Mickey's for 7:30. Early (for us) bedtime.

Mon - EARLY (8:30) PS for princess breakfast. Do the few things in FW my kids are interested in, and leave between 10:30 - 11:30. Rest, return about 3. Tour WS (My kids love all things international). 6:45 PS at Teppenyaki. More WS TOURING. Watch Illuminations from Italy. Take a leisurely stroll to the exit.

Tue - No park day. BB in the morning, maybe WinterSummerland. 5:30 PS for Cape may clambake. See Downtown Disney.

Wed - Commando MK day. Use tourguide Mike's wonderful morning touring plan, and by 11:00 we will have done every ride in FantasyLand my kids want to do, along with BTMRR (if it's not in rehab) and Splash. 12:30 PS at WCC. NO HOTEL REST. Return to MK at a much more leisurely pace. Get a FP for Buzz. If the return time's 5 hours away, WHO CARES? Do HOP, the steamboat, POC, HM. I'll let my kids decide if they want to see spectro or ride more rides. leave as FIS lights up the night.

Thur - MGM till 3 or 4. 1:30 PS at 50's to celebrate my XXth birthday. Then we'll decide on a whim where to spend our final night.


Two things stand out that worry me: only one MK day (unless we go there the final night), and my Tuesday. By going to BB, I feel like we're breaking the spirit of the "no park day". Can we have a relaxing, refreshing day at BB?

Does anyone see any major flaws in my plan, or have any suggestions for tweaking? Not too much though. If I more finely tune this vacation plan, my wife will give me a touring plan for DivorceLand.

Thanks DIS'ers!

 

[drogerstn]

Can we have a relaxing, refreshing day at BB?

I consider BB to be a non-park day activity. It looks like BB will open at 9am when you are there. We have been when it opened at 10am, so we did manage to sleep in. Also, we only spend about 6 hrs or so there versus 10+ hours (usually with a break during the day) when visiting THE parks. We went to TL after a 10:10am PS at Goofy's Beach Blast Breakfast last year. You do have to walk uphill a lot to get to the top of the slides, but I don't think it compares to the walking done during an all-day visit to the parks.

 

[PaulaJ]

"
Sun - AK till about 3 or 4, leave to check into CYM, dinner PS at Chef Mickey's for 7:30. Early (for us) bedtime." Just wanted to point out that in August AK is VERY hot..much hotter and more walking between attractions than other parks. I'd advise getting there at opening and staying till about 12. See if you can check into your hotel early (or just use the pool). I'd also move dinner time up. You know your kids, but most kids find a Disney day a long one. After an earlier Chef Mickey's you could ride the monorail or explore CR a bit. IMHO I'd rather not take an off day, but go easy on each day. But BB would probably still feel like an off day and would be restful.

 

[dgaston]

Keep the rest day--they are very important. Try to spend some time in the lazy river, and you will feel refreshed.

 

[drogerstn]

We always schedule a rest day (even if its a water park) so that we won't have more than 3 straight park days. 4 park days in a row is too much for us.

On your WED, you should consider getting the fastpass for Buzz or some other major attraction before leaving for WCC. There is a good chance that the return time will be late enough that you can make it after lunch. If you can't make it back in time, it won't hurt you because you will be able to get a fastpass when you get back in the park as originally planned.

If you want to see some of the shows and spend time on some of the trails, you should keep your plan to stay in AK till at least 3pm. On one trip, we visited AK early and left before noon, then re-visited on another day from about 2:30pm to 5pm (closing). The crowds were very small near closing time and we rode Dinasour, ITTBAB, and the safari ride all in the last hour while there. On our last visit, we planned to be out of the park around noon, but we ended up eating lunch in the park, seeing some of the shows, and walking more trails than expected so we stayed until about 3pm.

 

[jordanyosh]

Gotta have that day of rest. If you are planning on doing alot of the attractions at BB, then it may not be as restful as you had planned. With all the white snow and hot days and all the fun attractions, I came back from BB very tired. TL may be more restful as it has the big Wave Pool and Castaway Creek and less thrill attractions.....Just my .02.

 

[puffkin]

I would suggest doing Typhoon Lagoon on your off day instead of Blizzard Beach. While we like both parks, Blizzard Beach is much more of a teen scene. Bigger slides=less relaxing. Since your kids are younger and you seem to really want to use your off day to relax try Typhoon Lagoon. It is beautiful and fun and the lazy river and beaches are great. Hope this helps and have fun!

 

[sarahj]

We always take a rest day to spend at TL or BB. We usually go to TL, as we find it more relaxing when we go without our kids. Although we keep busy with Storm Slides, Lazy River, the Wave Pool, we still find it relaxing. We wouldn't miss it!