My plan for our first trip to WDW...advice from the pros?

[Fonty]

In May I will be taking my first ever trip to WDW. It will be me and two teenagers. I have spent hours over the past several years here and have practically memorized the Unofficial Guide. I have pages and pages of notes, tips, etc. We are only able to be in Florida for 4-5 days because of my work schedule.
Here's my plan...

Day 1-Fly in to MCO, landing at 1:00. Get rental car and head to Windsor Hills where we will be staying. Stop at a grocery store on the way.
What time will I arrive at Windsor Hills? I'm thinking 4:00 or so?
Undecided about supper plans. Don't want to make ADR at a resort restaurant without having a good idea of what time we'll be there. Would it be worth it to park our car and ride the monorail(s) to get a feel for everything? (for a fun and free activity)
Day 2-MK-Be there at rope drop. Follow appropriate touring plans. Have ADR for noon taken care of.
Not sure if I should make ADR for an evening meal. Will we be so exhausted that we'll want to head back to WH by the evening? I don't relish the idea of standing for long periods of time waiting for counter service after a hot, tiring day.
Day 3-Sleeping in and driving to the beach for the day.
Day 4-AK-Be there at rope drop. Follow appropriate touring plans. Am undecided about making ADR because I just don't know how we'll be feeling, how big the park is, where we'll be in our touring plans, etc. I plan to be there the whole day.
Day 5-Fly home.

I wish we had more time, but that's not possible. I'm making the best of being fortunate enough to go in the first place. Advice?

Thanks much!

 

[DisneyRookie2007]

first time visit....maybe this is a good read for you then.
http://www.bostonglobe.com/magazine...BIMqxyMM6qJ/story.html?event=event25#comments

 

[lborne]

Yes, getting to WH around 4 sounds right. Getting your luggage at Orlando takes forever, and depending, the rental car can take a long time too. We tend to make rental car reservations with several places and then go with the one with the shortest line. I like your idea of riding the monorail as an evening activity. I'd park at the CR. Tell them you want to shop and eat and they will give you a 3 hr pass. Then take the monorail around - explore resorts and have a meal. You won't get into the more expensive sit downs, but possibly you can eat at The Wave.

The other days sound good. What beach are you going to? I'd make a dinner ADR somewhere, or it looks like you won't have any dinner set and you might miss out.

 

[Jennytoon]

On the question of whether or not to make ADR

1) For AK noon I would say yes unless you think you'll be happy with the counter service options. Flame Tree gets rave reviews (of the CS options) but can also have some very long lines. Not to mention I think it may still be closed for refurb.

2) For the evenings, I would suggest no, and then take a poll around 2 in the afternoon and make up your mind on the fly. MDE has a "find a table" feature, and even in 2013 before the advent of the ADR cancellation fee we found that we were able to find something we were quite happy with day-of if we wanted to. IME, there is only a problem making ADRs at the last minute if you are committed to a specific location. From the MK, you will have access to all of the monorail resort restaurants convenient as well as MK options. For AK, since you will have a car and AK closes early then if nothing in the AK suits you can go wherever you want among the resorts. I'm assuming you don't have hoppers so ADRs in another park are out, that's why I limited to specific park you are in and resorts.

You could even employ the find-a-table strategy on arrival day after getting to WH if you desire. The worst that could happen would be that you wouldn't find anything, but if you did you could go to resort, eat dinner, and *then* stroll around / ride monorail / check things out.

 

[SplashMo]

I would not break on the MK day. You will be fine going straight through. Get ADRs for Lunch and Dinner. That is a solid plan for MK. look at easywdw and best days for each park. Make sure your WDW day is on a best day to visit. AK is not as critical. One option is moving the beach day to day one. Try and find a day that AK is open later.

Perhaps consider Epcot or DHS over MK as they stay open later.... But all in all it sounds like a great time. DTD is basically free unless you buy something or eat something...