Itinterary help (please) ...

[alleghator]

Trying to accomodate the various interests and energy levels of my family (check ages in sig, below) for our trip next March. We have a Saturday-Saturday timeshare.

3/11 Sat -- travel day, settle in, buy groceries, Chef Mickey's for dinner
3/12 Sun -- arrive AK early am for opening, stay 'til we're done touring, back to timeshare
3/13 Mon -- arrive DS early am for opening, back to timeshare for lunch/swim/nap, back to DS for dinner at 50s Primetime, stay through Fantasmic (depending if my son freaks out ... he's not always good with loud noises)
3/14 Tues -- arrive MK early (hopefully for CRT breakfast), back to timeshare for lunch/nap/swim, back to MK through fireworks (see above noise note *sigh*)
3/15 Weds -- break from parks day, probably hang at Downtown Disney with lunch at Earl of Sandwich
3/16 Thurs -- back to MK early (probably Crystal Palace breakfast this day), similar day as Tuesday, but if we stayed up for parade/fireworks on Tuesday, we'll boogie out at some point for an evening on the Boardwalk
3/17 Fri -- arrive EP early for opening, back to lunch/nap/swim, back to Epcot for Biergarten dinner, stay through IllumiNations (if Matthew lets us *double sigh*)
3/18 Sat -- good-bye to Disney breakfast at the Whispering Canyon Cafe.

Thanks for any and all input ... this is a first WDW trip in YEARS, and our first with kids at all. Thanks SO much!
--Heidi

 

[momofdbsdc]

Hi Heidi,

Your itinerary sounds great! We had the same problem with our kids and noise on our last Disney trip. On our fisrt day we went to AK, and made the mistake of taking the kids on It's Great to be a Bug. Big mistake. All four of my boys flipped and were crying, my daughter loved it ! Go figure!! Anyway after that we went to Epcot to catch illuminations. They were so flipped out from the noise we had to leave.

Maybe ear plugs will help!

Have a great trip!!!

 

[Boo Mc]

Just my two cents - I'm not sure I'd go back to the time share every day for a nap. It just takes too much time out of the day IMO. Would your youngest nap in a stroller? That's what we usually do. Especially on 3/14 - if you're taking the next day off from the parks, I'd just stay at MK all day - there's so much to do. Also, you can take breaks during meals, parade and fireworks so the kids won't be walking all day. On 3/16, I'd advise to stay at MK for the whole day - again so much to do there and you won't feel at stressed if you know you have two whole days. I would say go to the Boardwalk on your Downtown Disney day so you don't have to lose any park time. (A side note, most activities/entertainment happen in the evening). Another option is to go to Boardwalk from Epcot as it's about a 3 minute walk from the back gate. You could go to BW from say 7-8:30 and get back to Epcot for Illuminations. Also, unless your kids are dead set on the character meals, I might skip one of them. You can see characters at the parks (Epcot is easiest IMO) and the parks aree less crowded in the a.m. That's when you should maximize ride times. We prefer a quick breakfast at the hotel and a sit down lunch (by which time the kids need a rest). If you really want a character meal, try one at the hotels so you don't have to waste park/ride time. Chef Mickey's might be fun for an early dinner on 3/15 (then you can get up early on 3/16). Hope this helps! Have fun!!

 

[alleghator]

Looking at the MK character breakfasts partly as ways to get into the parks early.

Not dead set on the Boardwalk at all (we live 30 minutes from the Jersey Shore, and we're curious about Disney's version of it).

Matthew is a very big 4 ... he hasn't ridden in the stroller in probably a year, already. So, I have NO idea if I'll be able to get either of them (Emily is a very petite 6-1/2 ... he's taller than she is) to ride in a stoller, let alone sleep in one.

We'll have to play the mid-day breaks by ear when we're there, I guess.

--Heidi

 

[becca011906]

I agree about leaving the parks everyday... unless you ds won't nap in a stroller or is use to a daily nap (mine never were by 3 y/o). I would just stay at the park and take a slower pace and rest durring meal times in a nice AC resturant. We are going in a few weeks and don't plan to return to the hotel once we are at the parks just b/c we think the kids will nap in the stroller and the parks close earlier durring the time we are going. Also we think it will take a huge amout of time to get backt to the van load up the kids, and get them to sleep once at the hotel... JMO!

 

[momofdbsdc]

I would still try to get him to at least sit in a stroller. My kids are on the tall side and I still had 3 of them in strollers. 1 double and 1 single. Their little legs get exhausted quickly and that way I could keep a closer eye on them. As far as naps and leaving everyday,I would just wait and see. How are the kids acting, how exhausted are you and the park hours are all variables. We usually didn't leave for naps, but my kids wanted to leave usually by dinner time to go play in the pool. Sometimes, I think they liked the hotel better than the parks!