Itinerary help -- waited too long to think this through

[sonmer]

We leave for Disney this Saturday!! Anyway -- I have to figure out what to do when fast!! We arrive at the airport around 10:00 AM. Arrive at AKL. (around 12) Our flight back is around 9:30 Wednesday night. (BTW --DD is 8 and DS is almost 7)

I made a couple of PS's and then realized they were at parks with EE days. So, those parks would be really busy. Considering it's President's week I may have to live with what I have. But, would love to hear thoughts and try to change stuff. (I'm an optimist)

2/14 -- arrive/rest to MK around 2:00 dinner at Boma's (have a PS -wish I had done something with a character that might make Valentine's day more special -- should I try for LTT? Ohana's is full) and eat at Boma's another day or keep it and make it an early night since ths is our arrrival day and the kids will have been up since 5AM?)
2/15 --? have a dinner PS at Epcot's Rose and Crown (I've read that's a good place for an Illuminations view.No luck with the cruise) Is Epcot good for kids this age? Is Sunday a good day for Epcot
2/16 -- PS at Breakfastosaurus -- just learned this was an EE day at AK --- oops. Will try to change it because 've heard it's good to use early PS'sfor breakfast to get into the park early.
2/17 --dinner PS at Hollywood and Vine oops EE at MGM. Probably should try to reschedule this?
2/18 -- too paralyzed with indecision to make any decisions

Please kind Disney lovers help!! Thanks.

 

[laurabelle]

Why don't you do AK on Sat., MK will be mobbed, and you'll be close to your resort and dinner PS.
Sunday in Epcot should be ok, it's so big. Our family loves Epcot! My girls are 7&10, loved it since they were babes.
Maybe switch MGM to Monday, MK on Tuesday&Wednesday (assuming it's a fav) and adjust your PS to those days. Have a great trip!

 

[dcmbshafe]

2/14 - Assuming you have park hopper passes, you could drop your bags at AKL & go straight to AK, which closes at 5 on 2/14. It is possible that, with roughly 4 hours of efficient touring you could experience nearly everything you want to in AK. I definitely agree that you don't want to drop off your bags, go over MK, then back to Boma's (then presumably back to MK, which closes at 11pm). If you really want to hit it hard that first day, finish up at AK, go back to AKL & check-in, go to your PS at Boma's, then head over to MK for a couple of attractions and maybe the fireworks (9pm) & spectromagic (8 & 10pm). ***Alternative*** Though it is might not be likely, see if there are any PS times available for Chef Mickey's or 1900 Park for their character dinners. This would place you closer to MK & allow you to do a character meal.

2/15 - Since this is EE day at MK, I would recommend (as long as you're into getting up early) making early entry there (which means being there by 7:30am), and touring until around 11. Then you could either go back to AKL, grab some lunch and relax by the pool for a couple hours or you could take the monorail over to Epcot. Again, depends on how hard you want to go. I'm assuming your PS at R&C is around 8:30, so if you did the latter, you would have nearly 8 hours at Epcot.

2/16 - I think you're right about not scheduling a character breakfast in a park that has EE b/c by the time you're out, the best attractions will have lengthy waits. The Crystal Palace in MK is a good place for a character breakfast, but if you take my recommendations you'll have already been to MK twice. Another option would be the Princess Storybook breakfast in Norway at Epcot. You could have breakfast, then hit any attractions you missed the previous day before heading off to another park - if you do MGM. Focus on the theatre shows b/c by that time there will be long lines for the ride attractions. You could also try to switch your PS for H&V and you could get PS for Fantasmic that night.

2/17 - I'd recommend going back to MGM for EE and hitting all of the stuff you missed the previous day. Leave late-morning and go back to AKL & take a couple hour break before embarking on the park of your choice. At this point, you will have done par or all of the 4 theme parks and can pick and choose based on anything you've missed.

2/18 - You have a lot of flexibility with this day. On the one hand, you have a lot of time before your flight leaves. On the other hand, there are always lots of things to do the day you leave. If, by this point, you're satisfied with the amount you've experienced, you could sleep-in, get up and have a leisurely breakfast, pack up, check out & head over to Downtown Disney.

Anyway, hope this helps. I hate to tell you to redo all of what you've planned thus far. Just remember that no matter what you do, everyone will have an awesome time as long as you keep your sense of humor and roll with the punches. The only concern I have with my recommendations above is that they are very aggressive (of course, so are yours). If you start wearing out, take a break.

Have a great trip!!!

 

[sonmer]

Thank you so, so, so much.

I'm going to print this out and try to change my PS's. (Have you been to the meals you mention? They sound great to me!} How do you know about the park closing times? Everything I see on the wdw site shows everything closing at 7. One more question, if I may. I guess from what you are saying the EE days are good to take advantage of. I had gotten the sense from some postings that these were the worst times to hit the parks. I'm glad that isn't so because I love the things you have outlined here.

I used to think I was relatively bright until I tried to plan this trip. I really appreciate all the suggestions.

I can't thank you enough.

 

[sonmer]

Laurabelle,

Thank you so much,too. I'm glad to hear that your dds love Epcot. AK the first day is probably the way to go. Then perhaps I should eat elsewhere if I can.

 

[dcmbshafe]

Hi - not sure what website you're looking at, but I'm looking at the calendar on disneyworld.disney.go.com. For your dates it shows:

MK
2/14 - 9-11 - 3pm parade, Spectro 8 & 10, Wishes 9
2/15 - 9-10 - 3pm parade, Spectro 8 & 10, Wishes 9
2/16 - 9-10 - 3pm parade, Spectro 8 & 10, Wishes 9
2/17 - 9-9 - 3pm parade, Spectro 8, Wishes 9
2/18 - 9-8 - 3pm parade, Spectro 7, Wishes 8

Epcot
For all of your dates - FW 9-7, WS 11-9, Illuminations @ 9

MGM
For all of your dates except 2/17, hours are 9-7, with the parade at 3:30 & Fantasmic @ 7. On 2/17, the park is open until 8:30 and there are two showings of Fantasmic @ 7 & 8:30.

AK
2/14, 2/17 & 2/18 - 9-5 with parade at 4
2/15 & 2/16 - 9-6 with the parade at 4

We have been to Chef Mickey's for dinner, the Crystal Palace for breakfast & the princess breakfast at the castle. We haven't been to the princess breakfast at Epcot, I recommended that one based solely on your schedule (also figuring you'd be able to get a PS for that one). You can check out www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/dining/diningdetail to find some descriptions, ratings & reviews on character meals and other restaurants.

One thing we learned last year - we could not get a PS for Chef Mickey's for dinner, so we reserved 1900 Park Fare. We happened to be at the Contemporary around the time that Chef Mickey's was getting ready to open & the CM told us that they always hold a certain number of tables for standby guests. Since there were relatively few people there at opening, we were able to put our name on the list and get right in - it was really great! I'm sure 1900 Park would've been fine, but Chef Mickey's was very lively with the monorail driving by over your head and all of the most familiar Disney characters walking around and occasionally doing little performances. It was a great way to start our trip. Always remember that in WDW, it never hurts to ask!

Regarding EE, if you were to spend a great deal of time searching through the posts on this site (and using guide books and other resources) you will definitely get a mixed opinion on this subject. IMHO, EE offers you the opportunity to extend your total touring time and allows you to experience several attractions with shorter than average wait times. This assumes that you are at the park a half hour before the opening. If MK is "officially" opening at 9, then on EE day you should be there at 7:30. If, on the other hand, you can't get to the park until 9 or 10, then I would recommend you definitely avoid the EE park. By 11 or 12, the EE park will be mobbed, so the stategy I'm recommending is to get to the EE park early, tour for 3 or 4 hours, then get out of there and go straight to another park or go back to AKL for a break before going to another park.

Don't sell yourself short - your plan was better than the vast majority of those heading to WDW. I have been to WDW more than a dozen times, but I am still learning, asking questions on these boards, reading guidebooks. WDW is one of the greatest places in the world, but it is so big and there are so many things to do and it is not an easy place to navigate. Don't worry, you're gonna have a great time!

 

[Katy]

We usually schedule a later breakfast - say 10:00 a.m. or so and hit the parks very early....do all the biggies and settle down for a nice relaxing breakfast. We do have a lite snack on our way out in the morning - juice, fruit etc. This way you don't need a big lunch and you can hit the parks again after breakfast or head back to your resort for a restful afternoon while the parks are crowded.

 

[vicb]

Good advice from all... just wanted to add my thoughts on Epcot for kids 7 and 8. Mine were 6 and 9 last trip, now they are 8 and 11 for our trip next week.

On the last trip we only planned one day for Epcot, ended up going back for an extra half day and evening. Our kids were really getting into the shows in the world showcase like: Chinese acrobats, japanese drummers, Off Kilter etc... We also had them do the masks in each country and they really enjoyed that. It caught us off guard how much they liked Illuminations (more than Fantasmic!) we went twice that trip.

For our trip next week, we had asked the kids what things they really wanted to do and they said "more time at Epcot and MGM". For our last night they suggested dinner at Rose and Crown and Illuminations! As much as they love rides and shows, I think they liked the laid back atmosphere of the world showcase, especially in the evenings.

 

[sonmer]

Thank you all for your advice. Just got back and had a truly magical trip.

Sonia

 

[laurabelle]

Sonia,
Glad you had a magical trip!
What itinerary/meals did you end up doing?