Need a little input on our daily park plan Anyone at all. Bueller, Bueller :)

[lllGurulll]

Our trip is May 31- June 7. Arriving at noonish on may 31.

my tentative lineup is
Sunday May 31 - ??
Monday June 1 - Epcot
tuesday June 2 - AK, HS or waterparks
Wednesday June 3 - MK
thursday June 4 - HS
Friday June 5 - MK
Saturday June 6 - AK or waterparks
Sunday June 7 - Morning kids choice before leaving for airport

As you can see, I am up in the air for Sunday, Tuesday, and Saturday. I want to take my kids to Tusker house for the character breakfast as well as Crystal Palace for character breakfast.

AK is a park I can live without and will be a half day whichever day we go. We will not have park hoppers so where ever we go we stay or do waterparks the last half of the day.

Arrival day is my dilema because MK closes at 7pm. I always like to take the kids to the castle on day one but I don't know if it is worth wasting a day pass for when they are closing early.

What would you guys suggest for Sunday, tuesday and Saturday?

Oh, we also do not plan on doing SWW. Too much of a zoo for me and the older kids have already done it and didn't much care for it.

 

[lllGurulll]

Am I in the wrong forum or asking the question wrong?

 

[HulkBuster]

its a questionthat comes down to your own preferences more than anything so there isnt much help we can be. watermarks arent my thing so I wouldnt do that but if I did I would avoid weekends for example. you might want a second day in epcot or even a third in magickingdom

 

[lllGurulll]

to be honest I'm more concerned with the first Sunday than anything else. MK closing early really has me frustrated.

 

[HulkBuster]

then ak maybe and get it out of the way you said something about it being a halv day park for you but thats up to you of course

 

[emldrl]

It sounds like your family has been to WDW multiple times, so how about doing something you've never done before? I have no idea what that might be, so here are some general suggestions. Hope they help!

Tour some resorts, play mini golf, take the balloon ride at DTD, go horseback riding, parasailing, rent a pontoon boat, etc. Some of these are an extra expense, some are not, but they all look fun. Maybe just do something fun and relaxing on your first day, then hit the parks on day 2? Or maybe, if you really want to see the castle that day, eat at California Grill and watch the fireworks there?

Hope this helps a little!

 

[lllGurulll]

Oh no. Its Disney, and my 6 year olds first time. Will be in some park every day.

May just have to bite the bullet and settle for only a 3 hour vist to MK on day one. I hate this private party stuff.

 

[SarahKate]

What about knocking out HS on your first day? For us it's always a 1/2 day park for us and not as big as the others. We're always kinda tired on our first day. One time we did AK on our first day and that was a BIG mistake for us. DD was exhausted and it didn't go well at all.

MK is our fave park and this last trip we saved it for our 3rd park day....lol.

AK has never been one of our faves (we've been several times) and usually gloss over it but this last trip was GREAT. We had our DD's friend who had never gone and we took our time a little more. There is so much to appreciate there if you "stop to smell the roses." They also have a wilderness explorer program themed after UP that was fantastic. It was like a scavenger hunt and you had to go all around the parks and pick up "badges" (stickers). It was wonderfully low-tech and my DD 12 loved it, even though it's probably more targeted to younger kids.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

It would helpful to have more information about your party and your WDW experience, whether you have the dining plan, etc.

Looking at your schedule, if it were our family, we'd have at least two non-park days in that amount of time. We like that time to sleep in, explore our resort, maybe go offsite or shopping, etc.

Where we went, on which day, would also largely depend on what the crowd planning guides predict and where the EMH hours are, park hours, etc. Not sure if those are out for that time frame yet?

 

[stephm0188]

We've always done a park on arrival day. Last year we arrived at Epcot in time to grab a bite to eat while watching Illuminations. It was worth it to us, but after 4 days, the price per additional day is $10 per person. We were happy to pay that little bit for a dose of Disney magic on our first day

 

[alan68]

I heard Simone Adamleigh's sister telling the 7-11 cashier that her brother's roommate knows a Disney CM that saw Ferris Bueller passing out at Beaches & Cream last night.

No problem whatsoever

(Didn't mean to derail. That just happens to be one of my favorite non-Disney movies.)

 

[RenaissanceBabe]

We're going the same time you are except we arrive on Monday for ten days instead and we're just an adult couple. I know the crowds can be crazy but don't rule out Star Wars weekends. It's great fun and you can meet a lot of cool characters if your family is into it.
Aside from that my plan is very similar. I hope you have a blast.

 

[MrInfinity]

Am I in the wrong forum or asking the question wrong?

I love these planning posts, I just don't have a good picture of what you're looking for or what you need help planning. This type of thing is better just talked about among friends than asked in a general forum cuz what everyone else would do is not necessarily what you would do.

Right off the bat, you say AK is a 1/2 day park, which to me is crazy. I love the AK. It's a relaxing break, so I try to put my AK day toward the middle of our trip. I don't like opening with the MK, unless you're staying at a MK resort. Then it's perfect to pop in for a couple hours. Why does MK close early on Sunday? Knowing where you're staying is a must. And then if you drive to the parks or take Disney transport.

As emldrl said, pick something you've never done before. Pick 3 or 4 such things even. Have you done all the dinner events? What's going on at your hotel?

Are you going to Downtown Disney or any other non-park stuff? For example an early day at the AK would pair nicely with a couple hours at DTD, or even a Dinner Event.

Where you plan to eat matters a lot too. Dining Plan? Or have some dining places in mind?

So many variables to just pick things out of the blue.

I just start laying it out in Excel. By the end of our planning, it's a colorful piece of art!

 

[Disney_Princess83]

A few questions for the first Sunday. Where are you travelling from? If it's a long trip, you might not feel like hitting a park. Also, if you're just arriving at your resort at noon, you won't get into a park until 1:30pm or even a little later. You could hit the resort pool, head to DTD for dinner and be ready to hit the parks. I'm not sure I'd worry about hitting the parks when they close so early. You could always hit Epcot and snack around World Showcase or HS to see Fantasmic or even hit a water park for a few hours to relax.

Our trip is May 31- June 7. Arriving at noonish on may 31.

my tentative lineup is
Sunday May 31 - ??
Monday June 1 - Epcot
tuesday June 2 - AK, HS or waterparks
Wednesday June 3 - MK
thursday June 4 - HS
Friday June 5 - MK
Saturday June 6 - AK or waterparks
Sunday June 7 - Morning kids choice before leaving for airport

As you can see, I am up in the air for Sunday, Tuesday, and Saturday. I want to take my kids to Tusker house for the character breakfast as well as Crystal Palace for character breakfast.

AK is a park I can live without and will be a half day whichever day we go. We will not have park hoppers so where ever we go we stay or do waterparks the last half of the day.

Arrival day is my dilema because MK closes at 7pm. I always like to take the kids to the castle on day one but I don't know if it is worth wasting a day pass for when they are closing early.

What would you guys suggest for Sunday, tuesday and Saturday?

Oh, we also do not plan on doing SWW. Too much of a zoo for me and the older kids have already done it and didn't much care for it.

 

[lllGurulll]

Little info about my family...
Me 45yo 5th trip
DW 48yo 2nd trip
DS 13yo 4th trip
DD 11yo 3rd trip
DS 6yo 1st trip

This trip is primarily for the 6yo since it is his first time.

We plan on only doing two character meals. Breakfast at Crystal Palace and breakfast at Tusker House. We might change out CP for lunch at Garden Grill though. Tusker house is a must so AK is not an options for arrival day.

We have the water parks and fun passes but no park hoppers. We haven't done DTD since 2008 so we will stop there for a half day at some point.

My kids don't like taking days off from the parks, they are go go go all the time so we usually do our breaks inside the parks.

I do kind of like the idea of HS on arrival since we have never done fantasmic that might be a decent option. I just worry how large the SWW crowd might be for that. Can you get pre reserved fastpass for Fantasmic like you can wishes and illuminations? I know I don't really want to do the dinner reservation for it as none of us really like the food at those two places.

Oh, lastly, we are staying at Port Orleans Riverside and solely using the Disney transportation system.

 

[lllGurulll]

A few questions for the first Sunday. Where are you travelling from? If it's a long trip, you might not feel like hitting a park. Also, if you're just arriving at your resort at noon, you won't get into a park until 1:30pm or even a little later. You could hit the resort pool, head to DTD for dinner and be ready to hit the parks. I'm not sure I'd worry about hitting the parks when they close so early. You could always hit Epcot and snack around World Showcase or HS to see Fantasmic or even hit a water park for a few hours to relax.

We are coming from Kansas with a short layover in atlanta. EARLY morning flight so the wife and I will be tired. The kids not so much.

But every time we have gone to disney it was a early morning flight and the kids were perfect the entire day at the park on arrival days. Its usually day three they started getting a little grumpy.

To this point, our plan is based on the the best parks/best days at one of the really popular free planning sites. Pretty sure you all know which one that is. Not sure if I can post the name on this board or not.

 

[TravelandLeisure]

If you are interested in doing Fantasmic! your first night and are worried about crowds from SWW, you could always get a fast pass for it (that way you wouldn't have to purchase a dining pkg.). Yes, this will prevent you from getting a 4th fp, however you will be arriving later in the evening, and the fast pass options in Hollywood Studios are limited anyway IMO.

 

[Disney_Princess83]

You could hit MK for a few hours and then head back to the resort for dinner and an early night. You could also book Chef Mickey for 7:30pm once the Park has closed.

We are coming from Kansas with a short layover in atlanta. EARLY morning flight so the wife and I will be tired. The kids not so much.

But every time we have gone to disney it was a early morning flight and the kids were perfect the entire day at the park on arrival days. Its usually day three they started getting a little grumpy.

 

[lllGurulll]

If you are interested in doing Fantasmic! your first night and are worried about crowds from SWW, you could always get a fast pass for it (that way you wouldn't have to purchase a dining pkg.). Yes, this will prevent you from getting a 4th fp, however you will be arriving later in the evening, and the fast pass options in Hollywood Studios are limited anyway IMO.

Yeah, I am kind of leaning that way since we have never taken the time to see Fantasmic. Just have never been that interested in it after seeing a youtube of it. What is the fastpass tier system for HS anyway?

 

[IBLarsen]

Having little ones, my concern with starting with Fantasmic your first night, makes it a late night. The next day with your first full day in the parks, you will likely be getting up and make it for rope drop? How will the 6 year old do with that after a late night?
The other thing, since you are saying this is primarily for the 6 year old. My children at that age didn't feel like they were at Disney unless they could go see the castle and walk Main St. MK is what the big draw is for the kids. I would personally start with MK even if you only have a few hours. You could try to get your fp's in advance for during that time frame. We took my DD for her 6th birthday and we did the same, starting for just a few hours in MK and it really set the tone and built the excitement for her
We are going again in March and arriving late afternoon, I think we will have to take the kids (now ages 9 and 11) to MK even for just a couple hours, as I know they will be dying to go once we are at the resort