Itinerary help, what extras to do?

[mshanson3121]

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).

Glad you mentioned this. The crowds probably aren't such a big deal, BUT... how loud are the fireworks when you're IN the park (both IllumiNations and the Wishes)? Because that will be a problem. DS cannot handle the noise of fireworks at all, not without ear plugs AND headphones.

 

[ariane37]

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)

I like this plan I'm glad you decided to put EPCOT in there; I feel there is SO much there for kids, you just have to look a little harder since what's there isn't so much rides (which in your case is a good thing). I would even bet you find you want MORE time there after the first night

A pp mentioned the pirate treasure hunt game in MK for after Pirates League, which reminded me of the Phineas and Ferb game in WS. Look into that; your kids may like that, also.

I have no experience with children who are bothered by the fireworks noise, but they are loud. Bring you DS's headphones and earplugs if you're going to watch Wishes or Illuminations from the park. I know I've seen many threads about this issue on the DisAbilities board.

One thing on the HDDR 6:15 show. Your plan has you at DC until 4. I know that leaves you just over 2 hours, and I assume you'll drive your car over to Ft. Wilderness. Just be aware that once you get there, you have to take an internal bus back to where the show is. So travel time will take a bit longer than you may think; plan accordingly. And have fun!

 

[laughinplace199]

The fireworks are very loud when you're in the park. Illuminations in Epcot seems louder to me than Wishes does.

 

[mshanson3121]

The fireworks are very loud when you're in the park. Illuminations in Epcot seems louder to me than Wishes does.

Ah... probably won't bother trying fireworks at either park then (at least not in park). I've heard that they're quieter out on the boat? (Pirates and Pals cruise)?

 

[TwoMisfits]

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.

My advice would be to plan less "paid" activities and go with the flow more, since this is your kids' 1st trip - you just don't how they'll react to Disney...I have one with Asperger's and SPD and we found on his 1st trip that even EPCOT was too much for him on Day 1 - he was just overwhelmed by everything in the World (rode nothing, a few freak outs especially when characters tried to cheer him up or interact with him - it was a surprisingly short day). So, Day 2, we asked him what he wanted to do on vacation and he wanted to swim, so we spent the day at the pool and ended up later convincing him (he was 4) to try a ride on the monorail and the train at MK (he loved all vehicles) and we went over at 5pm and I rode the train with him for 90 minutes while my husband took our other kids on rides. Once he conquered those 2 items, we got him on the Tomorrow Land Speedway that night, too, although the Dumbo area was still too much. Every day after, we always swam 1st thing in the morning (it calmed him and he loved it) and went to the parks after lunch or even later...and he grew to enjoy a little more of the parks each day so that by Day 7, he actually rode Pirates (b/c he loved boats) and did fine. But all trip, we never had to worry about making or attending expensive paid reservations anywhere and it kept us all happy and much calmer...

I know it's likely not what you want to hear, but I figure passing on the experience of a veteran Disney mom who has been there, done that can only help...

 

[GatorMama]

I'm exhausted just reading your plans. It doesn't sound like much downtime at all. Six (or 7) park days in a row without a day of rest is not a good fit for my family AT ALL. Mostly for my husband who would really rather just be at the pool. You will very likely get breaks the afternoons you are at AK and Hollywood studios, but since they're at the beginning of your trip, the last four days will be very full and tiring.

I'm a huge believer in the crowd calendars and I trust them. But if I look at what they suggest as the best park days and they're all in a row like that, I know something has to give. You can use those calendars to plan your visit without following them so strictly. I promise!

 

[dachsie]

One thing you might consider in EPCOT is the kidcot stations in World Showcase. They may enjoy doing that. Then you could do Illuminations

 

[mshanson3121]

Well, DH, in-laws and I went over stuff last night, and we have the final plan. For starters, in laws are now flying in Wednesday, so we all have Thursday together to just relax at the house in the pool, get groceries etc...:

Thursday: Hoop de Doo at 4:00
Friday: MK with Pirates & Pals cruise that night
Saturday: HS
Sunday: Discovery Cove
Monday: Sea World
Tuesday: Animal Kingdom
Wednesday: MK with BBB and CRT in the evening, stay for MESP then done!

DH does not want to do ANY parks that Thursday. So... we might leave DC around 3:00, and go to Epcot for a few hours that night. But, we'll see. DH really doesn't care if he goes to EP or not, and we'll see how the kids are.

So, we're happy with our plan. It leaves tonnes of down time, since with the exception of the two MK days, every single day, we will be back at our house by 5 or 6, so we'll have normal supper time, normal bedtimes, all evening to relax etc...

We specifically chose HS for Saturday, since Friday is going to be a really late night. So, we can all sleep late, and just head into the park around noon.

We put Discovery Cove in the middle since that is our rest day. Discovery Cove is the anti-Disney, lol. It's a day resort where your most ambitious thing is deciding whether you want to lounge on the beach, or in an in-pool lounger with a drink in your hand, go float down a river, or go snorkelling, lol.

We chose AK for in between SW and MK since both of those places are busier, and we knew that AK (for our family) would be a more relaxing day than either of those places.

And again, we're not open-close people. If we get to AK at 9, and the kids are done at 1... then, that's that. We'll head back to the house and relax in the pool for the rest of the day! Or maybe hit up a beach.

We're doing the Pirates cruise partly because my kids are HUGE Peter Pan fans, lol, but also because based on what I've heard here and other places, I think it'll be much easier for them sensory wise to view the fireworks from a boat, rather than in the noise and crowd of the park.

 

[Laketravis]

Sounds like a good plan!