Is this a good Easter itinerary?

[LauraR]

We're driving down to Orlando for the week leading up to Easter, and I realize this is one of the busiest times of year at WDW. So, I'm only planning one day at the parks, the rest doing things we haven't tried before. What do you DIS-experts think of this schedule?

Sat 4/3-drive 12 hours from MD
Sun 4/4-drive to St. Augustine, maybe hit the beach for a few hours, continue to Orlando and spend rest of the day at the hotel pool.
Mon 4/5-Pool Day, head over to DTD to get sundaes at Ghiradelli's in the afternoon
Tues 4/6-Head to Epcot at opening, counter service lunch in WS, ice cream social at Garden Grill, 2:50 pm, rest of the day at the pool
Wed 4/7-Typhoon Lagoon as soon as it opens, bring lunch with us
Thurs 4/8-Seaworld as soon as it opens
Fri 4/9-Chef Mickey's for late breakfast (11 am) then head to Orlando Science Center.
Sat 4/10-leave early for home (sniff, sob...)

I wish we were doing more at WDW, but I realized on our last trip that DS's (7 and 9) were getting frazzled with the parks and needed more pool time. Does this look good, or should I move anything around to avoid crowds (or is that impossible the week leading up to Easter)?

 

[Tigger&Belle]

I would go to Universal for a couple days. If you can stay in an on-site hotel you get the front of the line cards and will be waiting in line very little. You could stay one night on-site and have two days of FOTL so it wouldn't even cost a lot. There are some AAA discounts for rooms, but the discounts are not wonderful this year. Your children are at a perfect age for Universal and would be able to ride most everything.

BTW, we'll also be driving from MD (Gaithersburg) the week before Easter.

T&B

 

[tinkie]

Your itinerary sounds great! Your addy caught my eye - we live in NC now, but lived in Gaithersburg for 10 years before moving here a year ago! Have a fantastic, magical trip! ::::Fairy dust!::rincess:

 

[WDWisTheBest]

Everything looks good but unless you have a great attraction to St. Augustine, I would suggest something else for Sun 4/4.

The drive to Cocoa Beach is much shorter if you want to hit the beaches. Also, unless you have visited the Kennedy Space Center before, I highly suggest that you consider going there. It is great for the DS 7 & 9 to visit the space complex.

You may have some reason to go to St. Augustine though, so that may override going to Cocoa Beach. Another option along the same thought would be to go to Daytona Speedway and then to the beach at Daytona Beach.

But, the trip looks well planned. Enjoy.

 

[Tigger&Belle]

Originally posted by tinkie
Your itinerary sounds great! Your addy caught my eye - we live in NC now, but lived in Gaithersburg for 10 years before moving here a year ago! Have a fantastic, magical trip! ::::Fairy dust!::rincess:

At least NC is closer to WDW! We're actually in Montgomery Village, but who the heck knows where that is... and that used to be Gburg, anyway, before the snobby MV people had to break away and get their own zipcode. I was really living in Gburg then, though, so I wasn't one of the snobby people.

T&B

 

[LauraR]

Thanks for the feedback and well wishes, everyone!

Tigger&Belle--Do you really make it to Orlando in 14 hours? My neighbor did it in 16 (and I was thinking it would take us even longer since DS has to go to the bathroom every 20 minutes!) Hope your trip is wonderful, too!

WDWisTheBest--I am really tempted to go to Kennedy Space Center, but I've gotten the impression it's an all day kind of stop rather than a couple of hours. So, we'll probably wait until we have more time to devote to it. I'm curious, though, whether you think Cocoa Beach is nicer than St. Augustine Beach (I just read a guidebook and was planning on going to Anastasia St. Pk, near St. Augustine) What I'd really love is to get some cool shells, but I guess that's more the Gulf beaches.

Tinkie--I wish we lived in NC, too! (Especially when we start driving)

 

[Tigger&Belle]

Laura, It usually takes us whatever mapquest says including any stops. We can drive for hours without stopping, even with a young child. My 4yo can "hold it" longer than I can. All my kids know that if we make a stop they all have to go potty. We also restrict fluids (I usually drink coffee so if we are driving in the morning I buy caffeine tablets so I don't get a headache). We try to find a Burger King with a playground so my 4yo can run around and then eat in the car. We drive the flow of traffic, which is faster than the speed limit, but we are not the leader of the pack. I dread the drive, but it's like labor pains and the drive is forgotten and we remember the fun vacation (ok, labor pains are different since we are then left with screaming children lol).

We're planning on pulling our kids out of school on the Friday, 4/2 and leaving the afternoon before on 4/1(Montgomery County kids have early release days that Th and F). We should be able to drive at least half way down that day and then will finish up the next morning. We've never done it this way before--we usually leave at oh-dark-thirty Saturday morning and drive most of the way.

We won't be going to WDW this April visit, just Universal and one other to be determined park (maybe a water park). Then we'll head to Kennedy Space Center and the beach for a few day, but haven't decided what beach.

T&B