Looking for opinions on itinerary

[tatoet]

I revamped our itinerary a little since the last time I posted about this. We are a family of 3 (me, DH, DS4) traveling to Disney World for the first time. We are staying at CSR with FD. Here is the itinerary I have planned and am looking for opinions please.

9/24: Arrive at MCO 10:30 am
DTD
Lunch: Earl of Sandwich or Wolf Gang Puck Express
Dinner: ? (possibly the one we don't choose for lunch)
Possibly campfire and movie at resort in the evening if offered

9/25 Epcot (Illuminations at 9 pm)
Lunch: Sunshine Seasons or La Cantina de Angel
Dinner: Garden Grill ADR at 4:30 pm

9/26 MK (closes at 7 pm)
Lunch: BOG-plan to arrive by 10:30 am
Dinner: Whispering Canyon at WL ADR at 6:55 pm
Watch Electric Water Pageant from WL

9/27 AK
Breakfast: Tusker House ADR at 8:30 am
Dinner: Mickey's Backyard BBQ ADR at 6:30 pm

9/28 Resort Day-Laundry, Swimming
Breakfast or Lunch: Pepper Market
Dinner?
MNSSHP in evening

9/29 Clearwater Beach Day Trip
Lunch: Off Sit
Dinner: ? (possibly late ADR upon return to DW)

9/30 MK (MSEP 8 pm, Wishes 9 pm)
Breakfast: Crystal Palace ADR at 10:30 am
Dinner: Casey's Corner

10/1 HS (Fantasmic 8 pm)
Breakfast: Hollywood and Vine 10:15 am
Dinner: Pizza Planet

10/2 Depart from MCO 11:00 am

Is it a mistake to only plan 1 day for Epcot? Any suggestions for the meals I have ? next to? We are willing to pay OOP for additional ADR's.

 

[minniegirl19]

Hi! i think your itinerary looks great!

I think one day at epcot will be okay.. as long as you try to do the park open to close i think you'll be able to fit everything in fine.

I would suggest not doing an ADR for dinner the night of the halloween party! I would just grab something from pecos cosmic rays cases really anything you have a taste for! just not a sit down so you can enjoy the party and not be tied down.

 

[Happyjen27]

Preface with saying I've never been to DTD, so I don't have a complete picture, but, I would rather spend the first day in the park than DTD. For just a $10 more per person for an additional day on the park ticket, I would rather enjoy a park.

Also, don't underestimate how exhausting Disneyworld is. Sincerely. My 5 year olds could only handle about 4 hours at a time of a park before they were overstimulated, overtired and DONE with it. I tried to push it to 5 hours for AK since we were only there 1 day, and I paid for it with meltdowns at the bus stop.

The Electric Water Pageant arrives at WL 9:35, putting you back in your room at CSR around 10 or 10:15 if you hop a cab, 10:45 or later if you plan on boating or busing. It might not be realistic to be up again at 6:30 to be out of the room by 7:30 to get your ADRs at Tusker House at 8:30. Unless you're staying at one of the EWP resorts, I would skip that in favor of an early night to ensure adequate rest for everyone.

1 day at EP would be fine for us. For a 4 year old, I would even change that DTD day to an MK day. I know it's a family trip, but I'm certain my pair would rather be in the Magic Kingdom than shopping.

 

[ajwolfe]

I think most of it looks fine. However, I would not plan to spend your entire first day at DTD. We rarely spend more than a couple hours down there unless we are also eating a TS meal. Personally, I would plan to go to DTD for the early part of your arrival day and then head over to Epcot for the evening. That way it gets you into Epcot for more than just one day.
We always do MK the first day, but I think venturing over to Epcot for the evening would allow you to eat another meal there and see a few more things. Plus, it would give you a second opportunity to see Illuminations in case you miss it the other night.

 

[It's A Happy Day]

Do you have park hoppers?

9/25 Epcot (Illuminations at 9 pm)
Lunch: Sunshine Seasons or La Cantina de Angel
Dinner: Garden Grill ADR at 4:30 pm
To us Lunch/Dinner are too close time wise, especially if your walking around from 4:30-9. I would make the ADR a little later (6ish), IMO

9/28 Resort Day-Laundry, Swimming
Breakfast or Lunch: Pepper Market Maybe do sit down instead - Maya Grill at resort for lunch and then do a counter service in the park for MNSSHP?
Dinner?
MNSSHP in evening

9/30 MK (MSEP 8 pm, Wishes 9 pm)
Breakfast: Crystal Palace ADR at 10:30 am personally this would be an earlier ADR - 1st available so we could get into MK BEFORE it opens and get some great shots on Main Street, in front of the castle without the crowds.
Dinner: Casey's Corner

 

[TempleOT]

Having just been there with a 4 and 7 year old, I would say that you need to figure in time for the exhaustion factor. We were up at 7am every morning to do rope drop, so by the time 2pm rolled around, the kids were toast. We would go back to the room for a rest and then do dinner. The kids were in bed by 10-10:30 every night, which is late for them and it showed as the trip wore on. We had to sacrifice a lot, like illuminations, water pageant, etc. so they could have park time and enough sleep. I had to adjust our plans a lot as the week went on, even canceling some ADRs. Just something to think about.

 

[henry72]

I agree with the others in that you probably don't want to do late nights and then full days or early mornings following it. When my kids were 4, we never made it to the night activities (illuminations, Wishes) because we were always up early and they were tired by that time.

Also, I would go to a park on your first day. We arrive at 10:30 too and will be hitting MK as soon as we can. (Have our mid-day FP all lined up.)

 

[Happyjen27]

I forgot to add that we've been twice, the first trip for 9 days, the second trip only 7.

We still have not seen Illuminations or Fantasmic!. I also agree to beware of the late ADR. For a child of 4, I think late is any time after 5:30 to be honest. Very often you can get a last minute table somewhere, maybe not the A-list restaurants, but a decent one. Rather than forcing a tired kid to go to dinner so you don't get charged the $10 cancellation fee, I would rather see how the night goes and make a last minute reservation somewhere off the beaten path. That's also why I'm not keen on the dining plan, because people book dining to get their money's worth, rather than just play it by ear and sometimes grab a Quick salad and flatbread at the resort if everyone is tired.

 

[tatoet]

Preface with saying I've never been to DTD, so I don't have a complete picture, but, I would rather spend the first day in the park than DTD. For just a $10 more per person for an additional day on the park ticket, I would rather enjoy a park.

Also, don't underestimate how exhausting Disneyworld is. Sincerely. My 5 year olds could only handle about 4 hours at a time of a park before they were overstimulated, overtired and DONE with it. I tried to push it to 5 hours for AK since we were only there 1 day, and I paid for it with meltdowns at the bus stop.

The Electric Water Pageant arrives at WL 9:35, putting you back in your room at CSR around 10 or 10:15 if you hop a cab, 10:45 or later if you plan on boating or busing. It might not be realistic to be up again at 6:30 to be out of the room by 7:30 to get your ADRs at Tusker House at 8:30. Unless you're staying at one of the EWP resorts, I would skip that in favor of an early night to ensure adequate rest for everyone.

1 day at EP would be fine for us. For a 4 year old, I would even change that DTD day to an MK day. I know it's a family trip, but I'm certain my pair would rather be in the Magic Kingdom than shopping.

I think you make a good point about not underestimating how exhausting DW is. Do you usually take an afternoon break and return to the parks in the evening? Is it a hassle to get out and back into the parks? Also, thanks for the suggestion to skip the EWP. We aren't that into shopping so maybe we could go to DTD before the night of MNSSHP if we feel like it.

 

[tatoet]

I think most of it looks fine. However, I would not plan to spend your entire first day at DTD. We rarely spend more than a couple hours down there unless we are also eating a TS meal. Personally, I would plan to go to DTD for the early part of your arrival day and then head over to Epcot for the evening. That way it gets you into Epcot for more than just one day.
We always do MK the first day, but I think venturing over to Epcot for the evening would allow you to eat another meal there and see a few more things. Plus, it would give you a second opportunity to see Illuminations in case you miss it the other night.

Our concern with going to a park on arrival day is that we would need to take some time to get to know the layout of DW, the transportation system, etc. Is it hard to figure out for the first time? I think that EMH are in Epcot the evening of our arrival so not sure if that's a good or bad thing if we decide to head there our first night.

 

[tatoet]

Do you have park hoppers?

9/25 Epcot (Illuminations at 9 pm)
Lunch: Sunshine Seasons or La Cantina de Angel
Dinner: Garden Grill ADR at 4:30 pm
To us Lunch/Dinner are too close time wise, especially if your walking around from 4:30-9. I would make the ADR a little later (6ish), IMO

9/28 Resort Day-Laundry, Swimming
Breakfast or Lunch: Pepper Market Maybe do sit down instead - Maya Grill at resort for lunch and then do a counter service in the park for MNSSHP?
Dinner?
MNSSHP in evening

9/30 MK (MSEP 8 pm, Wishes 9 pm)
Breakfast: Crystal Palace ADR at 10:30 am personally this would be an earlier ADR - 1st available so we could get into MK BEFORE it opens and get some great shots on Main Street, in front of the castle without the crowds.
Dinner: Casey's Corner

We do not have park hoppers. We decided to spend the money on MNSSHP instead. I think you're right about the lunch/dinner at Epcot being too close together. I had a hard time finding an ADR at Garden Grill that allowed us to be done in time for Illuminations. I will have to check again. Have you tried Maya Grill and what did you think of it? I tried to look for an earlier ADR at Crystal Park and couldn't find one but I will keep checking.

 

[tatoet]

Having just been there with a 4 and 7 year old, I would say that you need to figure in time for the exhaustion factor. We were up at 7am every morning to do rope drop, so by the time 2pm rolled around, the kids were toast. We would go back to the room for a rest and then do dinner. The kids were in bed by 10-10:30 every night, which is late for them and it showed as the trip wore on. We had to sacrifice a lot, like illuminations, water pageant, etc. so they could have park time and enough sleep. I had to adjust our plans a lot as the week went on, even canceling some ADRs. Just something to think about.

Thanks for sharing your experience. I will definitely think more about this!

 

[It's A Happy Day]

We do not have park hoppers. We decided to spend the money on MNSSHP instead. I think you're right about the lunch/dinner at Epcot being too close together. I had a hard time finding an ADR at Garden Grill that allowed us to be done in time for Illuminations. I will have to check again. Have you tried Maya Grill and what did you think of it? I tried to look for an earlier ADR at Crystal Park and couldn't find one but I will keep checking.

A really nice CM mentioned to me on the phone the other day that the 45 day out mark is your best bet for trying to get those last minute switches, requests, etc. The reason for this people book trips, put down that $200 deposit, make their ADR's at the 180 day mark and then find when it comes time to pay off the trip that they just can't do it and have to cancel the whole thing. Sad & I feel bad for those that have to cancel but I appreciated the honesty of the cast member I spoke to on the phone. Keep trying, ya never know when someone changes restaurant, times, etc. and that opening is there.

We've never tried Maya Grill before... looking forward to trying it when we stay at CSR for the 1st time in November.

 

[Happyjen27]

I think you make a good point about not underestimating how exhausting DW is. Do you usually take an afternoon break and return to the parks in the evening? Is it a hassle to get out and back into the parks? Also, thanks for the suggestion to skip the EWP. We aren't that into shopping so maybe we could go to DTD before the night of MNSSHP if we feel like it.

Yes, we always took an afternoon break. We went when my twins were 5 and 6. They didn't reliably nap at home, but napped every day we asked them to at Disney. We didn't nap every day during the break though, sometimes we would swim, or just veg out in the room and watch TV. We only encouraged a nap when we would be up late that night. On early to bed nights, breaks were just getting away from all the stimulation of the parks, and getting off our feet and away from the heat.

We didn't always return to a park. We would have dinner, we would watch the movie and enjoy the marshmallows at the campfire on the beach at our resort. Sometimes we would return to the park though, if we had a nap and felt up to it.

 

[Nicnic]

We would sometimes head back to the hotel for our DD to take a nap when she was younger, if we were done with that park for the day, if we were still in the park we would just let her sleep in the stroller and we would find a seat/bench, grab a drink/ice cream and just sit and people watch. If we tried to head out of the parks around lunch time, DD would have fallen asleep by the time we got to the bus!