My "OMG, we're leaving in less than a week & DH doesn't think we need a plan!" Plan

[kristieboyd]

So, I'm new to Disboards, but have LOVED all of the info I've found here. I'm not really sure how this PTR works, but we're leaving in 6 days and I'm freaking out, feeling like I'm not ready. DH doesn't think we need a 'plan', but I'm not too keen on wandering around the parks aimlessly until we happen to stumble upon something we think we might want to do. So, I'm basically using this thread to compile my info and figure out what we're going to be doing!

I'd be tremendously grateful to anyone's insight or advise on my plan. I've not been to Disney since 2001, and then we went with my parents and my dad was the man with the plan. We just followed where he led.


Who's Going:
Me
DH
DD (15)
DS1 (5)
DS2 (2)
Our neighbor/friend
her DS (9)
her DD (4)


We're staying at Wyndham's Bonnet Creek in a 2 BR deluxe from Sat, 4/2-Sat, 4/9. We're getting the military 4 day PH tix (plus 1 extra at full price), and we'll go to Sea World (or maybe Universal??? still contemplating) one day, and have 1 resort day mid-week. I used touringplans.com to figure out what days were best for what parks and what rides/attractions to do.

We plan on eating in the room and then getting to the parks for rope drop. We'll stay in the park until 1:00 or so & then head back to the room for lunch, naps and/or pool. We'll head back to the park around 4:00 for the evening session. Dinner will be at a CS restaurant each evening in the parks.


Plan for the week:
Saturday: arrive, check in, head to Wal Mart for a few items, dinner at House of Blues (using a restaurant.com gift cert)
Sunday: Epcot
Monday: Sea World (or Universal??? help me decide....Sea World is free for neighbor & her kids through military & DH doesn't think the littles will enjoy Universal, but I SO want to see HP World!)
Tuesday: Magic Kingdom
Wednesday: Resort pool & downtown Disney day. Dinner at Arabian Nights Dinner Show
Thursday: Animal Kingdom (or MK again) in the morning, HS for fireworks show (since our HS day does not have a showing)
Friday: Hollywood Studios
Saturday: Check out

 

[kristieboyd]

Sunday, April 3rd
Epcot

Park Hours: 9:00am – 9:00pm Crowd Level: 5.3

Morning:
1. Epcot Entrance:
2. Soarin'
3. Test Track
4. Mission: Space Orange
5. Journey into Imagination with Figment: **Ride with littles while others ride Test Track & Mission: Space
6. Living with the Land
7. The Seas with Nemo & Friends:
8. Turtle Talk with Crush
9. Spaceship Earth:
10. Ellen's Energy Adventure: If time permits.
11. Epcot Entrance: Depart Epcot around 1:00


Afternoon:
1. Epcot Entrance: Arrive at the entrance to Epcot around 4:00 p.m.
2. Gran Fiesta Tour Starring The Three Caballeros:
4. Reflections of China
5. Germany Pavilion
6. Italy Pavilion
7. The American Adventure
8. Japan Pavilion
9. Morocco Pavilion
10. France Pavilion
11. Impressions de France
12. United Kingdom Pavilion
13. Canada!: See the O Canada! film at Canada.
14. IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth:
15. Epcot Entrance: Depart Epcot.

Dinner Plan: Eat at various vendors around the World Showcase

 

[jimmiej]

Couple thoughts...

Yes, you need a plan, at least a loose one.

Your Epcot plan seems a little ambitious, especially with 3 little ones. Have you considered taking a break during the day? How difficult would it be to get back to your hotel in the afternoon for a few hours?

 

[DisneyWorldbuff]

I agree that the Epcot day seems very full. I don't think I've done all that in many many trips to the World! The walking at Epcot takes a toll on little ones- you really forget how big it is until you are there. But, I hope you get to see as much as you want. The Living Seas is a lot of fun and a nice place for little ones to explore. Good luck

 

[hurleysweety]

Love your plans so far! How fun to go with a big group, but can be stressful to plan - so here's my two cents!

Like others have said, I would re-consider your Epcot day.

Maelstrom that late in the afternoon is going to be a nightmare, and not worth it. The whole ride is about 30 seconds, maybe? We did this last year, because it was on our plan, but had got sidetracked previously, and weren't able to get back to it until much later in the day, around 5:00, I think. The line said 20 minutes, but we waited at least 45 minutes. Its slow loading, so if the line is even the slightest bit outside, I'd skip it.

Also, in the morning as your are exploring future world, I would consider a few minutes in Innovations to get out of the sun, even if its only 20 minutes. Plus there are a lot of children-museum-science-center like attractions in here that might be lots of fun for the little ones.

Also, unless the kiddos are huge Lion King fans, or you really like enviromentalist type stuff, I would skip the Circle of Life. Its not the best show for Lion King (the one at Animal Kingdom is awesome!) and if you happen to get there and miss the previous show, you're looking at a 30 minute wait time, plus the time it will take to watch the show. I would do, "Turtle Talk with Crush" instead. Its interactive and fun for both kids and adults.

Epcot is HUGE and has all kinds of fun for all kinds of ages and people. Don't feel like you have to rush through everything in one day. Figure out what is most important to each person, and make sure you're able to do those one or two things. Then anything else can be a bonus, and you won't feel stressed, rushed, or bummed about your day there.

Keep asking away with questions, we're here to give the advice!

 

[kristieboyd]

Thanks for the suggestions! Please keep them coming. I added Turtle Talk and took off Captain EO, Circle of Life & Maelstrom.

What about Living with the Land? Is that worth it for my group?

Thanks again!

 

[kristieboyd]

oh, and yes, we do plan to take a break each day from about 1:00-4:00. The little ones need a rest/nap time!

 

[kristieboyd]

Magic Kingdom (8:00am - 12:00am) Crowd Level: 7.4

**yes, I know there is a LOT here and we probably won't get to it all. We will go back to MK later in the trip to finish what we miss on this day.

Morning:
1. Magic Kingdom Entrance: A
2. Dumbo the Flying Elephant:
3. Peter Pan's Flight
4. The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
5. it's a small world
6. The Haunted Mansion
7. Pirates of the Caribbean
8. Tom Sawyer Island
9. Splash Mountain: Obtain FASTPASSes
10. Ride train to Main Street to leave park.


Afternoon:
12. Space Mountain: obtain fast passes
13. Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin: obtain FASTPASS
14. Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor:
15. Swiss Family Treehouse:
16. Jungle Cruise
17. Country Bear Jamboree
18. Splash Mountain : Ride Splash Mountain using FASTPASS.
19. Big Thunder Mountain Railroad: Obtain FASTPASSes
20. Mickey's PhilharMagic
21. Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin : Ride Buzz Lightyear using FASTPASS.
22. Magic Kingdom Evening Parade / Fireworks:
23. Space Mountain : Ride Space Mountain using the FASTPASSes obtained earlier. Use "child swap."
24. Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover: **WHILE OTHERS RIDE SPACE MOUNTAIN
25. Tomorrowland Speedway: **WHILE OTHERS RIDE SPACE MOUNTAIN
26. Prince Charming Regal Carrousel: . **WHILE OTHERS RIDE BTMR
27. The Magic Carpets of Aladdin: *WHILE OTHERS RIDE BIG THUNDER MTN
28. Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
29. Magic Kingdom Entrance: Depart the Magic Kingdom.

 

[kristieboyd]

Anyone have any suggestions for a CS meal at Magic Kingdom? We'll eat there 2 days. I know Cosmic Rays is talked about a lot.

 

[kristieboyd]

Thursday, April 7th
Animal Kingdom/Hollywood Studios

Park Hours: 9:00am (AK) – 10:00 (HS) Crowd Level: 5.4 (AK) / 7.7 (HS)

Morning (Animal Kingdom):
1. Expedition Everest: get fast passes
2. Kilimanjaro Safaris
3. Dinosaur
4. It's Tough to Be a Bug!
5. Maharajah Jungle Trek
6. Finding Nemo: The Musical
7. Festival of the Lion King
8. Expedition Everest
9. Animal Kingdom Entrance: Depart Disney's Animal Kingdom.




Afternoon (Hollywood Studios):
1. Beauty and the Beast Live on Stage
2. Studio Backlot Tour
3. Streets of America
4. Muppet*Vision 3-D
5. Fantasmic!


Dinner Plan: Toy Story Pizza Planet at Hollywood Studios

 

[kristieboyd]

Friday, April 8th
Hollywood Studios/Magic Kingdom

Park Hours: 9:00am (HS) – 12:00am (MK) Crowd Level: 3.7 (HS) / 8 (MK)

Morning ( Hollywood Studios):
1. Disney's Hollywood Studios Entrance
2. Toy Story Mania! obtain FASTPASSes for Toy Story Mania.
3. Rock 'n' Roller Coaster
4. Voyage of the Little Mermaid
5. The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror
6. The Magic of Disney Animation Character Greeting: go through the Animation Gallery gift shop and head to the back of the store.
7. Toy Story Mania!
8. Lights! Motors! Action! Extreme Stunt Show
9. Honey, I Shrunk the Kids Movie Set Adventure
10. Walt Disney: One Man's Dream
11. Beauty and the Beast Live on Stage



Afternoon (Magic Kingdom)
Do anything missed the first day or anything we want to do a second time.


Dinner Plan:

 

[Corrine 1973]

I definatly agree that you need some sort of plan on touring the world. It looks as if you have pretty busy days planned. Did you use touringplans to help you make these plans? It is very good that you included a good amount of time in the afternoon for lunch and nap time. Definatly have a list of things you definatly want to see in case you get off your plan our DH doesn't want to follow it.

As for places to eat at MK, we really enjoyed Pecos Bill's. Don't forget to head to Aloha Isle for there famous Dole Whip (Pinapple Ice Cream)

I would maybe skip It's Tough to Be a bug with the young kids. The show can be very intense (not to mention dark) for small kids.

All so remember that seeing characters are a must for a lot of small children and can put huge holes in any well constructed touring plan. Good luck. I wish I was going with you. I am done with the cold.

 

[kristieboyd]

Thanks for your comments! Character greetings are definitely high on the priority list! Thanks, too, for the heads up on "It's Tough to be a Bug". We may just skip that show!