May 2017 - dining and logistics

[LSUfan4444]

Pre cruise – Boardwalk resort

Day 1 (arrival day) – flight lands at 1:45 pm. Spirit of Aloha Dinner show at 8:15 pm (no park tickets)

Day 2 – Rope drop at Hollywood Studios. 12 pm lunch at Sci Fi Drive In.
- Mid-day Break.
- Hop to Magic Kingdom about 4pm where our FP+ will be waiting. Wishes at 9 pm.

Day 3 – Rope drop at Epcot and use three FP+. Quick service lunch somewhere in Epcot then walk back to Boardwalk.
- Mid-day break (if needed).
-Hop to Magic Kingdom (2:30pm ish – 5:30pm ish)
-Dinner at Restaurant Makkeresh at 6:45 pm then Illuminations at 9 pm.

Day 4 (cruise embarkation day) – Pick up rental car from Car Center at 7 am. Breakfast at Cape May at 9am
-Shoot for a Port Arrival Time around 12 so will likely leave Boardwalk about 10:30 am. Will
need to get gas and drop off rental car.

Post Cruise (Animal Kingdom Lodge)

Day 8 – (cruise disembarkation day) – Express Disembark at 7 am (ish)
-Pick up car rental and drive to Animal Kingdom Lodge to drop off luggage then head directly to car rental return at Disney Dolphin resort.
-Hit Hollywood Studios where our 3 FP+ will be waiting) about 11:30 / 12:30 or so then head back to Animal Kingdom Lodge about 4pm to check in to the resort, unpack, etc.
-Going to shoot for a Rivers of Light dining package for dinner on this day and plans are to do whatever we can with the add’l FP+ we could get and what has short standby then stick around for River of Light that evening

Day 9 –Rope drop at Magic Kingdom (no FP+)
-Mid-day break once standby times get too high for us or until one of us starts to feel we need a break
- Hop over to Epcot (three FP+ will be waiting) about 3pm / 4 pm and after we use our last FP+, hop over to Hollywood Studios where we’re planning on the Star Wars Dessert party that evening. Need to find something for lunch on this day.

Day 10 (departure day) – Rope drop at Animal Kingdom with our three FP+. Grab quick service or Tusker House lunch before we head back to the resort for DME.


Plan would give us:

Magic Kingdom – 1 rope drop, 1 day with FP+ (Wishes that evening) and 1 afternoon no FP+

Epcot – 1 rope drop with FP+, 1 evening with no FP+ (Illuminations) and 1 afternoon with no FP+

Hollywood Studios – 1 ropde drop, one afternoon with FP+ and one evening for Star Wars Fireworks

Animal Kingdom – 1 rope drop (with FP+ and one evening for River of Light with no FP+



Alot of info and I hate to post it all but any thoughts or feedback is welcome

 

[AJT607]

We're planning a trip in April 2017 and planning to do a somewhat similar itinerary (but it will be Easter so I'm sure our crowds will be much worse)...

The only advice I might give is to maybe re-think some of your days where you are hopping two times. I'm totally for mid-day breaks but its easy to forget that time you spend going from park-to-park or resort-to-park.

I'm planning to do the exact same thing as you are at Animal Kingdom - spend a few hours there in the evening and be there one morning for rope drop. If you aren't committed to seeing every single show - that is more than enough time to experience all of the major attractions.

For me, there isn't much rope drop value at Hollywood Studios. If I was in your shoes, I would probably make Day 2 a full-day at Magic Kingdom (maybe even with a break in the middle if you want some resort time to relax) and consider making Day 3 an Epcot/HS combo day.

Hope this advice helps. I'm sure your trip will be awesome. Have a great time!

 

[sharonabe]

Day 3 – Rope drop at Epcot and use three FP+. Quick service lunch somewhere in Epcot then walk back to Boardwalk.
- Mid-day break (if needed).
-Hop to Magic Kingdom (2:30pm ish – 5:30pm ish)
-Dinner at Restaurant Makkeresh at 6:45 pm then Illuminations at 9 pm.

This day doesn't make sense. With an ADR in EP for dinner, I would either stay in EP the whole day or start in MK and hop to EP for the evening. The back and forth will take a lot of time out of your day. You need to figure at least an hour travel time each way, then there's the walking to/from wherever you are in the park to the exit, security for each time you enter. And if you do take that mid-day break, there's just not time to make that short hop to MK worth it.

 

[LSUfan4444]

Thanks!

The day will begin and end at Epcot but there is not nearly enough for my family to do for an entire day. Staying at the boardwalk for the start of our trip makes rope drops at HS and EP easy, but with rope drop and 3 FP+, we're going to be done with Future World before noon and there isn't simply enough to do in the world showcase for 8+ hours for us.

So since the day will begin and end at Epcot (maximizing the proximity of the Boardwalk) I don't think going to Magic Kingdom is a waste for us. It won't cost us anything and since we'll be done with our 3rd FP+ at Epcot fairly early, we will have plenty to choose from for our 4th later in the day. Even if it's just one headliner, a couple of meet and greets, some photopass pics, some snacks, Philharmagic and a couple of other walk ons it doesn't really take away from anything else.