Itinerary help, what extras to do?

[mshanson3121]

So we are traveling to WDW at the end of June. This is my family's first time there (I've been before). Both children have special needs, so we will be getting the DAC. My son will be 8 and has Sensory Processing Disorder. Then our daughter will be 5 and has Aspergers. They are both very excited! My in-laws are also joining us, and we've booked a 4-bedroom house in Windsor Hills. We are driving from Canada, so we will be spending 2 nights/3 days driving (about 27 hours driving time total) to get there.

We have 5 day, basic passes. Technically we only have 4 days of parks scheduled, but it was only $60 extra for all 6 people, to get the extra day, so we got it just in case. So, what I have so far looks like this (based off crowd calendar recommendations):

June 24th: arrive, probably around 5:00 pm
June 25th: no parks planned, rest day, hang out in our pool, pick up groceries etc... Plus, our in-laws are flying, and their flight doesn't get in until 2:50 at Sanford Intl. However, we are open to doing something in the evening on this day.
June 26th: Hollywood Studios
June 27th: Animal Kingdom
June 28th: Sea World
June 29th: Discovery Cove
June 30th: MK - MSEP, Wishes
July 1st: MK with dinner at CRT at 6:50


So... there are a few things we want to do, but I'm not sure when to schedule them. Also, we want to make sure we don't over-schedule the kids and overwhelm them. We are thrilled to be going, but we're being realistic. We are NOT going with the intention of seeing everything/doing everything. On the days at MK, we're not planning on being there from rope drop to close. In fact, on our first MK day, likely what we'll do is get there for rope drop, stay till 12, go back to the house, have lunch, a rest, relax in the pool etc.. eat an early supper and plan on being back at the park for 5 or so, do more rides, stay for the MSEP, Wishes etc... On our second MK day we'll probably have a late brunch at the house, plan on getting there around 11, pack snacks for the park and stay right through until our dinner at CRT, as we'll be leaving the park after the dinner, since we'll have to be up early to get packed, out and on the road. This way we'll also get to see the afternoon parade. We're also not huge ride junkies. The kids enjoy rides, but they also due to issues at hand, do not do well with roller coasters, or rides where they get splashed/sprayed unexpectedly etc... So really, for us, the trip will really be about the extra experiences etc...

So with all that in mind, these are some of the extras we were thinking of:

- Doing Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique for DD and DS (knight package), before our dinner at CRT.
- Pirates & Pals fireworks cruise (my kids are both absolutely in love with Peter Pan and all things pirates)
- Hoop de Doo dinner show
- Pirates League

Thoughts? Input? Any of those you wouldn't bother with? When would you schedule them in? Other things you would suggest (we are not doing Fantasmic. Due to issues at hand, we already previewed it here on YouTube and it is a no-go). The evenings of the 25th, 27th and 29th are open, since AK and DC both close at 5:00, and of course the 25th is our rest day.

Also, how much time should we plan to be at HS, AK, Sea World? I do know we plan on being at AK at rope drop, as I know morning is the best time for the safari.

 

[hiroMYhero]

Because you will be staying off-site, I feel you should read the Throwaway Room Thread that is usually found on the first two pages of this board. It discusses how you can get MagicBands for all members of your party and FP selection at 60 days prior to your trip.

Also post your post on the Disabilities Board as you'll find some awesome help there: http://www.disboards.com/forumdisplay.php?f=20

 

[mshanson3121]

Thanks!

 

[mshanson3121]

I'll still take input on here though too, from anyone who wants to offer it!

 

[cincystamper]

I highly recommend the Pirates & Pals Fireworks cruise, especially if your kids are obsessed with pirates & Peter Pan. That might be a good one to do on one of the nights a park closes earlier. Or your first day, as a way to ease into the whole Disney experience. It can be a late night, though, so keep that in mind when planning the next morning. (Ask me how I know...)

I'd stay away from the Hoop De Doo show, especially if your kids are adverse to unexpected things. That show is noisy and interactive so it might not be a good fit.

You didn't mention Epcot at all....I'm wondering if you might consider switching your Hollywood Studios day to Epcot instead? I think of HS as more of a 'thrill ride' place than Epcot (as much as Disney has thrill rides, I mean) and if your kids aren't into those, or are two short for those, they might not find much to enjoy there. Epcot, on the other hand, has a TON of places to explore, a scavenger hunt the kids could do, the activity stations for kids at the different countries, etc etc. I'm a fan of both parks, but in your situation, I just thought I'd throw it out there that Epcot might be a better fit for your family.

Have fun!

 

[mshanson3121]

I highly recommend the Pirates & Pals Fireworks cruise, especially if your kids are obsessed with pirates & Peter Pan. That might be a good one to do on one of the nights a park closes earlier. Or your first day, as a way to ease into the whole Disney experience. It can be a late night, though, so keep that in mind when planning the next morning. (Ask me how I know...)

I'd stay away from the Hoop De Doo show, especially if your kids are adverse to unexpected things. That show is noisy and interactive so it might not be a good fit.

You didn't mention Epcot at all....I'm wondering if you might consider switching your Hollywood Studios day to Epcot instead? I think of HS as more of a 'thrill ride' place than Epcot (as much as Disney has thrill rides, I mean) and if your kids aren't into those, or are two short for those, they might not find much to enjoy there. Epcot, on the other hand, has a TON of places to explore, a scavenger hunt the kids could do, the activity stations for kids at the different countries, etc etc. I'm a fan of both parks, but in your situation, I just thought I'd throw it out there that Epcot might be a better fit for your family.

Have fun!

We debated quite a bit between Epcot and HS. But, in the end chose HS as even though they may not do many of the rides, they'll love the shows. The kids love music and live shows (they really want to do Hoop de Doo, lol). And so many of the shows they like have stuff there - Star Wars, Honey I Shrunk the Kids, Indiana Jones, all the meet and greets etc... And if Frozen Summer comes back..... oh my! My little girl will never leave, lol.

But in reality... with not doing many rides (I can see them doing Honey I Shrunk the Kids, Magic of Disney Animation (they'd love the hands on stuff at the end), possibly the Stars Wars one (I'll have to find some previews), definitely Toy Story Mania, how long will we want to plan on spending at HS?

 

[jmassey1samchi]

I agree with previous poster on considering epcot. especially since this might be the adults favorite park. there are rides for the kids to enjoy, and world showcase at night is awesome. you would be cheating yourself to not see illuminations imo.
also, I am a florida resident, and you should expect rain sometime between 2-7, potentially each night in june. it usually doesn't last long, but it is heavy when it rains.
hope this helps

 

[mshanson3121]

I agree with previous poster on considering epcot. especially since this might be the adults favorite park. there are rides for the kids to enjoy, and world showcase at night is awesome. you would be cheating yourself to not see illuminations imo.
also, I am a florida resident, and you should expect rain sometime between 2-7, potentially each night in june. it usually doesn't last long, but it is heavy when it rains.
hope this helps

What are the illuminations? How late is Epcot open? We have 5-day passes, so we could always look at doing Epcot in the evening of the 25th.

 

[JadeDarkstar]

If the rides at epcot don't appeal to your kids, maybe the half day evening on the 25th. It is a nice place from what I remember and I am planing on having 4 days for epcot and mk hop overs back and forth.
I think about 9 is the fire work show and the times its open depends. 9 or midnight i think some times.

 

[GWhitten98]

I see you don't have Epcot on your list. I would suggest making that your first afternoon/evening. If you get FP+ for Soaring, turtle talk and Nemo....all are very kid friendly. Then your IL could meet you for dinner (our kids love Beirgarten and dancing the chicken dance). Finish with Illuminations.

 

[pigletgirl]

Spending an evening in W.S is just awesome! I think each member of your party would get something out of it. Illuminations (the fireworks show) is my favorite one on property.

If Epcot becomes something you want to do again, you can always go to guest services and add the hopper pass so you could potentially get back to Epcot on either of your AK or HS days.

 

[RustManFan]

have you thought of not doing the MK on back to back days? AK might be better later in the trip as it is so relaxing compared to DHS, SW and MK

 

[mshanson3121]

have you thought of not doing the MK on back to back days? AK might be better later in the trip as it is so relaxing compared to DHS, SW and MK

We did, but we're trying to go by the best days on the crowd calendar, so that's why we chose the days we did for AK, HS. And then Sea World & Discovery Cove have to be back to back.

Originally, we were going to do MK on Friday, then AK on Saturday, HS Sunday, Sea World Monday, Discovery Cove Tuesday, MK Wednesday. But, we wanted to stay for the MSEP and Wishes that Friday night, which means it will be a very late night, and we want to be at AK early on Saturday, which just will not work with our kids. Plus, that's then four very busy days before we get our "break" day at Discovery Cove, so we thought moving the DC day up, might be nice, too. Whatever day we do MK on, the next day needs to be something that we go to later.

 

[hiroMYhero]

At the time of year you are going, it won't make that much of a difference. Just expect crowded conditions at all parks. Stay away from morning EMH parks especially because you are off-site. Going to a park with evening EMH should be okay if you go in at rope drop.

 

[mshanson3121]

Spending an evening in W.S is just awesome! I think each member of your party would get something out of it. Illuminations (the fireworks show) is my favorite one on property.

If Epcot becomes something you want to do again, you can always go to guest services and add the hopper pass so you could potentially get back to Epcot on either of your AK or HS days.

I didn't know you could do that! How much does that cost?

 

[mshanson3121]

How big of a deal do you think it is to END your trip with MK? We originally planned our last day at MK with CRT as it seemed "the" way to end our trip. However, per the suggestion to maybe rearrange, maybe we'll end at Animal Kingdom, since it's suggested that's a more relaxing day. Plus, that would allow us an earlier evening/less tiring day, seeing as how we have to get up early the next morning, pack a car and hit the road for day 1 of 3 driving home.

 

[ZoZo]

I didn't know you could do that! How much does that cost?

Adding the park-hopper option to an existing ticket costs about $60 per ticket. It's a flat rate add-on cost - it costs the same amount whether you hop once, or every day. Since you have six people in your group, it would cost a total of $360 to upgrade all of your tickets to hoppers. It does give you more flexibility in your planning, but if you're not planning to use it more than once or twice, it might be cost-prohibitive for your big group. If you hop once, it's "$60 per hop!" If you hop twice, it's still "$30 per hop" based on the total cost of $60 for a hopper upgrade.

Since you bought five-day tickets but only have four WDW park days planned, maybe you could go to Epcot the afternoon/evening of June 25th. Since right now you have it planned as a "down day," you could still hang around the pool, get your groceries, and enjoy Epcot!

That would be my recommendation. Whatever you decide, I hope you have tons of fun!

 

[Marthasor]

So we are traveling to WDW at the end of June. This is my family's first time there (I've been before). Both children have special needs, so we will be getting the DAC. My son will be 8 and has Sensory Processing Disorder. Then our daughter will be 5 and has Aspergers. They are both very excited! My in-laws are also joining us, and we've booked a 4-bedroom house in Windsor Hills. We are driving from Canada, so we will be spending 2 nights/3 days driving (about 27 hours driving time total) to get there.

We have 5 day, basic passes. Technically we only have 4 days of parks scheduled, but it was only $60 extra for all 6 people, to get the extra day, so we got it just in case. So, what I have so far looks like this (based off crowd calendar recommendations):

June 24th: arrive, probably around 5:00 pm
June 25th: no parks planned, rest day, hang out in our pool, pick up groceries etc... Plus, our in-laws are flying, and their flight doesn't get in until 2:50 at Sanford Intl. However, we are open to doing something in the evening on this day.
June 26th: Hollywood Studios
June 27th: Animal Kingdom
June 28th: Sea World
June 29th: Discovery Cove
June 30th: MK - MSEP, Wishes
July 1st: MK with dinner at CRT at 6:50


So... there are a few things we want to do, but I'm not sure when to schedule them. Also, we want to make sure we don't over-schedule the kids and overwhelm them. We are thrilled to be going, but we're being realistic. We are NOT going with the intention of seeing everything/doing everything. On the days at MK, we're not planning on being there from rope drop to close. In fact, on our first MK day, likely what we'll do is get there for rope drop, stay till 12, go back to the house, have lunch, a rest, relax in the pool etc.. eat an early supper and plan on being back at the park for 5 or so, do more rides, stay for the MSEP, Wishes etc... On our second MK day we'll probably have a late brunch at the house, plan on getting there around 11, pack snacks for the park and stay right through until our dinner at CRT, as we'll be leaving the park after the dinner, since we'll have to be up early to get packed, out and on the road. This way we'll also get to see the afternoon parade. We're also not huge ride junkies. The kids enjoy rides, but they also due to issues at hand, do not do well with roller coasters, or rides where they get splashed/sprayed unexpectedly etc... So really, for us, the trip will really be about the extra experiences etc...

So with all that in mind, these are some of the extras we were thinking of:

- Doing Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique for DD and DS (knight package), before our dinner at CRT.
- Pirates & Pals fireworks cruise (my kids are both absolutely in love with Peter Pan and all things pirates)
- Hoop de Doo dinner show
- Pirates League

Thoughts? Input? Any of those you wouldn't bother with? When would you schedule them in? Other things you would suggest (we are not doing Fantasmic. Due to issues at hand, we already previewed it here on YouTube and it is a no-go). The evenings of the 25th, 27th and 29th are open, since AK and DC both close at 5:00, and of course the 25th is our rest day.

Also, how much time should we plan to be at HS, AK, Sea World? I do know we plan on being at AK at rope drop, as I know morning is the best time for the safari.

With that 6th day ticket, you may want to consider going to EP the evening your IL's arrive. World Showcase at night is amazing! Great restaurants and Illuminations at 9 pm. Tons of interactive things to do in Innoventions, an aquarium in Living Seas, lots of non-ride things to do!

My DS has ASD and has gone to WDW multiple times a year since he was one. Just a few suggestions, you may not want to do Pirates and Pals AND view Wishes from inside MK. When you go on Pirates and Pals, they stop the boat so you can see Wishes and even play the music on the boat. I actually did Pirates and Pals with DS so he could see the fireworks without having to deal with the crushing crowds on the way out of MK (which he would not have done well with). It is, of course, a closer experience when you see it in MK, but it is the same fireworks show you will see on Pirates and Pals. After Pirate's League (which was a big hit with DS), do the Pirates' Adventures, Treasure of the Seven Seas game around Adventureland! If your children love pirates (and are not big on rides), they will LOVE this game. You go to a recruitment station (basically between Pirates of the Caribbean and Splash Mountain) and get a map that takes you around Adventureland for an interactive scavenger hunt - it's a lot of fun!

 

[hiroMYhero]

How big of a deal do you think it is to END your trip with MK? We originally planned our last day at MK with CRT as it seemed "the" way to end our trip. However, per the suggestion to maybe rearrange, maybe we'll end at Animal Kingdom, since it's suggested that's a more relaxing day. Plus, that would allow us an earlier evening/less tiring day, seeing as how we have to get up early the next morning, pack a car and hit the road for day 1 of 3 driving home.

You know your kids best. Would it bother them if they didn't get that one last ride on Peter Pan versus watching Festival of the Lion King? Saying "see ya later" to Peter and Wendy may be more meaningful and memorable than meeting Pocahontas?

As a special education specialist, I know that specific things can be of very great importance to kids and if something is left undone, will it be bothersome to your daughter?

 

[mshanson3121]

Okay, here's a re-worked idea, based on some of the input we've received, with the approximate times we'd spend at each:

Thursday: evening at Epcot (5-9)
Friday: Magic Kingdom with Pirates League (10-6) with Pirates & Pals that night
Saturday: Sea World (11-6)
Sunday: Discovery Cove (8-4), Hoop de Doo that evening (6:15 show)
Monday: Animal Kingdom (9-5)
Tuesday: Magic Kingdom with CRT @ 6:50, MSEP (9-1, go home for break, back for 5-10 (whenever parade is done)
Wednesday: Hollywood Studios (11-6)