Itinerary advice please!

[monsmith]

My family of 4 (boy:8/girl:5) are heading to DL for the first time & I'm booking reservations this week so I'd love y'all's expert .02!

We arrive at LAX at 5:30pm on Sun 5.31, stopping for groceries and checking in at VGC. We have 5 day park hoppers. I want to book reservations & fill in a loose plan from there & would really appreciate any guidance/advice/tips/insight! My daily plan is to get there EM, leave early afternoon for naps & pool time & then nights go see shows and parades.

Mon 6/1: Welcome to DL tour, WOC lunch (not sure where), pool/naps & head back for parades & WOC. Since this isn't a grad night we'll do nighttime rides if we can.
Tues 6/2: same overall plan, but add F! Dinner at BB & stick to shows at DL.
Wed 6/3: non park day. Sleep in, character meal outside the park (any Recs?!), 1/2 day cabana at the DL pool. Early bed time!
Thurs: EM together, then girls go to BBB & AG lunch, boys do animation, naps, & then back for parades/rides w/o grads. Drop the kids off at Pinnochios & adults head back solo for a few hours!!
Fri: EM, maybe a character meal for late lunch? We may stick around longer & not head back at night unless we missed something this week.
Sat: EMH & do whatever the kids want. We'll only have 1/2 day before we have to head to the airport!

Thoughts/suggestions? I'm creating an ideal plan, thinking one reservation per day. I'll go back and edit for cash flow if we start to run low, but for now, $ isn't a driving force. Thanks for any input!!

 

[wisdomgiver]

Not having kids, I can't offer much advice on the family-friendly activities front. But if you're looking for a fancy adults-only dinner (perhaps your Thursday night), Carthay Circle is fantastic. It feels very upscale so might be enjoyable if you're looking to relax and feel a little romantic after several days of running the kids around.

 

[craigkerstiens]

I'd actually encourage Carthay Circle with the kids, and if you really want to indulge without them go with the Napa Rose. Either would be fine, but we've found Carthay circle is plenty kid friendly enough. We've done Carthay circle with our daughter and then kids of other ages as well and it's a fine enough environment for them.

The only extra item I'd encourage is eating at Flo's one day either breakfast or lunch, it's quite good for quick service.

The EM will definitely be helpful, and plan to wait for a few key rides if you want them with Radiator springs racers being the worst offender.

 

[MinMou]

I'm a novice, so I can't offer you the best advice, but I thought I'd give you my thoughts, just in case you hadn't thought of these.
1st, I like how you have things spaced out. We are planning only 3 days, but we have a toddler, and he can't go on many of the rides. Plus he is too young for Pinocchios
I like that you have some down time scheduled, it will give everyone time to think about what they liked, didn't like, and what people want to go back to!
I did wonder why you chose the DL hotel cabanas if you are staying at the GC though, since there are some there as well.
You don't mention any rides, so if you are looking for ideas on what to do in what order, DLR Prep School has some itineraries on how to do the parks in one or two days. While that's not your plan, these lists can help you since they are planned by what attractions are closest to each other.

 

[NannyBeBe]

Your plans sound great, but having gone to DLR for decades with small children, I would caution you that your children may put the kibosh on your plans. Things that you think are trivial will fascinate the kids, and the things you think are awesome may be blah to them. If it were me, I would have the free day be the first day, when the kids can do what they want, and then do the other things later. I am sure the tour is great, but you may find that the kids are looking around wanting to do something else instead of being guided around. BBB and AG will be a blast for you and your daughter if she loves princesses. Have a great trip!

 

[Nicolette11785]

For your first day 6/1. Plan some time to stay in DL before going to DCA for your WOC lunch. The fast passes you get with the tour will be for rides in DL. You will also get priority seating for the Aladdin show at DCA with the tour so you might want to see Aladdin that day unless you don't mind not having priority seating.

For your rest day: I personally love Surfs Up character meal at PPH but Goofy's kitchen is also fun. Not sure if you are able to pool hop to DL hotel pool but maybe if you are renting a cabana you can? Probably good to check just in case.

I went to 3 or 4 grad nites last year and found that this plan helps. DL early morning and then in the afternoon DCA is quieter because a lot of the grads like to spend time in DL during the day since they move to DCA at 10pm. Then move back to DL late night.

 

[monsmith]

You guys are awesome!! I really appreciate the input!
I don't know that we'll have a fancy meal...we want our biggest meal expenses to be character meals, but CS and home brought otherwise.
I'll have to check out DLR prep school; not necessarily for the itineraries but I really want to hang out within a land & explore so that sounds super useful!
The tour was definitely for the FP and Aladdin...but maybe we'll do that later in the week so i can cancel if we don't feel it's needed.
I'd like the cabana at DL (if we can...I'll let you know!), just to give the kids something different on their down day. I anticipate spending a lot of time at the GCH pool.
And I really want to keep most of our schedule open & be child led, so maybe I'll tweek some things. I like the idea of keeping day 1 totally open!!

Thanks again & any other input would be awesome!

 

[ebenmax]

Trust me, I am not that familiar with DLR but I thought I read you cannot pool hop from hotel to hotel. (Staying at VGC and cabana at DLH.) Maybe it's different if you are renting a cabana though. Maybe one of the experts will clarify...