Need experienced eyes to look at our daily plan

[littlesuitcase]

I have tried to read as much as I can but am on overload. Here is what we have so far for a general idea of what we will do each day - any advice would be great as to the days we have selected. Also wondering if Fort Wilderness is a good idea for our first full day after our Chef Mickey breakfast?

Sat - arrive and get settled (not getting in until 8ish)
Sun - PS at Chef Mickey's 11:30 - considering the rest of the day at Fort Wilderness - and the campfire. not sure about food in that area?

Mon - MGM
Tues - Epcot (Storybook breakfast 11:10)
Wed - Magic Kingdom (Castle breakfast around 8am)
Thursday - Animal Kingdom
Friday - Magic Kingdom again and anywhere else we might want to go again.
Saturday - leaving at 5pm - not sure what to do during the day - not sure if they have a place to store our bags until we leave?

 

[ChisJo]

For your final day, have you considered a water park, downtown disney, or a round of mini golf? You can consider the same for the Sunday as well, unless you really want to go to one of the parks.

 

[grover]

When are you going?
Be sure to start trying to book your cindy'd breakkie on the proper day.
Are you staying at Fort Wilderness? I am not sure how much they have to do there--will let the experts who have stayed there answer this one!
The resorts will hold your bags for you on check out.
G in W

 

[PoohBWV]

I would have a hard time not going to the parks on Sunday as I would be too excited to wait. Also, we like to have a break from the parks in the middle of the week to go to a water park and DTD. It is also a nice break for your feet!

 

[hockey mom]

I was thinking along the same lines as Pooh- You will be way to excited to wait a full day to get to the castle. I would insert the Fort Wilderness/pool day into the middle of your schedule.

 

[littlesuitcase]

Thanks - we are going Feb 5 to 12th. I have the Cindy breakfast already booked for the wednesday. I have read on more than one occasion to hold going to that park until after you have gone to some other parks - I guess the age of our kids - most articles/books I have read say that the other parks don't have the same appeal if they go to MK first.

Thanks for the advice for the Sunday - I will take a look and see if there are any parks open later that day - since we only have the 5 days for the parks I want to be sure we pick days that make it worth our while. If we decide to stick with the plan to do Mon-Fri - and maybe go to a waterpark that day (although I have heard it is coldish?) are the waterparks additional money or included? And I have a 6 and 8 year old - are they suitable for younger kids?

Is there anything else other than the parks and the waterparks that might interest the kids?

Thanks again for your tips.
Helen

 

[littlesuitcase]

Forgot to include that we are staying at Pop Century. We have read about Fort Wilderness and that they have wagon rides, a campfire, etc.. so we thought it would be fun. We are going to Chef Mickeys at 11am which is one of the reasons we didn't want to go to a park that day.

 

[AKQJ10]

For your final day, I would recommend what I usually do when I have a flight at around that time - I go to Downtown Disney for a nice lunch (Earl of Sandwich is nice and casual), as well as using that time to get all of my souvenirs for myself and family. Tell the CMs you are taking them as carry ons on the place right after you leave and they do a great job of pakcing them nicely for you. I save all of my shopping (except the impulse stuff) for this time.

 

[MECH8T7]

Forgot to include that we are staying at Pop Century. We have read about Fort Wilderness and that they have wagon rides, a campfire, etc.. so we thought it would be fun. We are going to Chef Mickeys at 11am which is one of the reasons we didn't want to go to a park that day.

Any possibility of (or interest in) going off-site to SeaWorld on Sunday after Chef Mickey's?

 

[littlesuitcase]

My kids would love SeaWorld - how far is it and does Disney offer any kind of transportation for guests?

Helen

 

[PrincessTrisha]

Fort Wilderness has lots for your family to do:

• Nightly wagon rides at Pioneer Hall at 7 and 9:30 p.m.- Cost $8 adults, $4 children. Depending on Magic Kingdom hours, there are sometimes special "Fireworks" wagon rides scheduled.
  Private carriage rides - Cost $30/half-hour. Call (407) 824-2832 to reserve (reservations suggested, not required). Depart from Crockett's Tavern at Pioneer Hall between 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. nightly. There are two carriages available; one accommodates four adults and two children, the other accommodates two adults and two children.
  Petting farm featuring goats, pot belly pig, donkey, ducks, sheep, and chickens. This used to be Minnie Moo's home until she passed away.
  Pony rides from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. - Cost $3
  Bicycle rental: $7.54 plus tax/1/2 hour, $20.75 plus tax/day. Surrey Bike (2-seater): $16.90 per 1/2 hour.
  Fishing in canals (free) or chartered largemouth bass fishing excursions on Bay Lake, which include a professional guide, refreshments (soft drinks, coffee, hot chocolate & water), fishing gear and a dozen shiners. 7 a.m. trip - $210; 10 a.m. trip - $195; 1:30 p.m. trip - $180. Trips are standard 2 hours with maximum of 5 guests per boat.
  Kid fishing: Bluegill Fishing - $28.16 per child for 1 hour trip (kids 6 - 12). Includes 2 guides, fishing gear & beverages. Up to 5 kids per boat. Trips leave on Saturday and Sunday only at 10 a.m.
  Sand volleyball court near Meadow Trading Post
  Horseshoes and shuffleboard
  Basketball and tetherball courts throughout the resort
  Two arcades - Davy Crockett Arcade at Pioneer Hall (near Settlement Depot) is open 7 a.m. to midnight. Daniel Boone Arcade (near Meadow Trading Post) is open 7:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.
  White sand beach
  Rental watercraft at Fort Wilderness Marina (open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily) including: 21' Suntracker pontoons ($34.74/half hr), must be 18 to drive; Mercury Water Mice ($21.59/half hour; $27.23/45 minutes; $30.05/one hour), must be 12 and 5 feet tall to drive. Parent or guardian signature required for all drivers 12-18 years old. At the Bike Barn: canoes, kayaks and paddle boats ($6.13 plus tax/1/2 hour; $10.38 plus tax/hour)
  Water skiing, wakeboarding - starting at $140/hour with a 5-guest maximum
  Parasailing - starting at $85/flight single; $135/flight tandem
  Tri-Circle D Ranch - home of the draft horses used to pull the trolleys down Main Street USA, featuring a blacksmith shop
  Swamp Trail - 3/4 mile loop along the shore of Bay Lake
  FW Exercise Trail - 2.3 mile paved and sand path
  Electrical Water Pageant - nightly at 9:45 p.m. at the FW beach and marina

(giving credit where credit is due, this list was compiled and copied from Allearsnet.com - a great resource!)

And to answer your last question, yes the hotel will hold your bags once you check out.

 

[bavaria]

Even as an often single adult traveller, I love a quiet time at Fort Wilderness. I take the boat from either WL or CR.

My trip is pretty much the same each time:

- check out the Trading Post (never bought anything there!)
- watch the peacocks
- head over to the Guest Relations area to use the washrooms (love the horse theming)
- watch the farrier shoe a horse
- visit the horse barn (this is the big part of my visit, had horses for many years)
- wander through the kiddie zoo
- watch the kids enjoying the pony rides (and the fed up looking parents!)
- wander past River Country and wish it wasn't closed
- check out the lawnmower tree
- wander back to the boat dock

That usually takes me two hours or so! Sometimes I vary it by taking the bus back to WL.

Now, if I ever had kids with me and wanted to do some of the other things, it would take a lot longer.

In some ways I am glad that other people have not discovered the relaxation of down time at FW.

 

[eyeoretoo]

We have camped at Fort Wilderness several (4 at least) times and have never done anything they offer.

This time with going in Feburary and having no camper this time, we decided to stay a POP (with Canadian $ as par).

Our first day we are going over to Fort Wilderness Trails End for dinner at 5:30 then to the sing along and movie. Then we will watch the electric parade before going back to the hotel. We plan on taking the boat from the Magic Kingdom to arrive and the bus to leave

With the pony rides and even possibly renting a boat($) an afternoon arrival then all of the above I am sure will entertain your children. Maybe if the temperatures are right you could go back to the hotel for a swim before you head over to Fort Wilderness, if not maybe a game of mini golf. (not sure if you bought the package at par, but if so a game on mini golf is one of the extras).

I would also suggest breaking up the visit with a water park day. If you have the park hopper plus you can use one the the pluses for the water park, otherwise they cost.

On the last day I would go to DD and do shopping before heading back. We always gave my daughter money each day ($10) and she could buy something little or if she really wanted something she could save todays money and buy a big thing at the end of the trip. Last time it was a watch the time before that a 3FT Tigger.

I am sure whatever you decide to do your kids will enjoy themselves.

 

[MECH8T7]

My kids would love SeaWorld - how far is it and does Disney offer any kind of transportation for guests?

Helen

I don't know the answer but I would not expect that WDW will be offering a shuttle there! We will probably have a rental car during our stay. However, the topic has been canvassed at the following discussion thread on the Transportation board:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=703919

 

[littlesuitcase]

Thank you all so much for the help in figuring out our first day. Hearing about horses pretty much decides it for us - both kids love horses especially my daughter. They both want to do pony rides and the campfire. I will just have to figure out dinner as I expect we will be there at that time.

Can anyone tell me if the Fort Wilderness Trail End is the only option for dinner in that area?

Helen

 

[calena]

I would go to Magic Kingdom first. We went with our 3,7,9 year olds last year and MK is "the" park for them. We had five day passes and went to MK three times. The kids liked MGM the least. My husband really liked Animal Kingdom and I liked Epcot, but the kids liked MK. We are going back this year and will probably only go to MK and Epcot (maybe) or just MK and then do Universal.
LOVED MK. Fort Wilderness sounds great. We stayed off site.
Another idea is on the Disney site you can see the hours of operation at each park and the events planned for each day. For example, the nightime parade at MK was only on some days when we were there, so plan on being there for that. Also, on our last day we went park hopping so the kids could ride their favourite rides and we hopped over to Epcot for test track only to find it was closed that day! It never occurred to me it would be closed.
The water parks are great if included in your pass. I don't think I would pay extra for them though since your accomodation probably has a good pool/play area. A water park is something to do on your last day.
Have fun!

 

[littlesuitcase]

Hi again - thanks for all the tips - I have read several times not to go to MK first if you are going to the other parks - once the kids see MK they won't enjoy the others the same. This is why we chose to go to MGM then Epcot then MK then AK then a hopper day which I am pretty sure we will spend most of at MK. The day we are at Epcot I am pretty sure we will go to another park as well - I don't think there is a lot there for kids but my daughter really wants to go to check it out (she is 8).

Does anyone know if there is a place to find a schedule for parades etc.. times as well (early entry and later hour) - this might help me adjust our schedule. I didn't realize the parades etc.. were not offered daily.

H

 

[calena]

You can find the daily schedule at the Disney.ca site. Just go to Disney World, choose the park you want, and there should be a link to park hours, operating hours or calendar. The calendar is what you want because it says on it what time the fireworks are and which parades are on. It appears the fireworks are not on every night. Probably since you are staying at a Disney Resort they would tell you give you this info if you ask too. You don't want to miss the Wishes fireworks at MK. We loved it.
My daughter was nine when we went last year. She enjoyed making a mask at EPCOT in the world pavillions. At each country you stop and add a little pendant to your mask and decorate your mask. Nice free souvenir.
Have fun!
We are going Feb 23-March 6, so I have been looking at the schedules to plan our days too.

 

[SnowyPrincesses:)]

how old are your children? Perhaps Disney Quest would be a fun alternative to the water parks or on a rainy day?

 

[littlesuitcase]

They are 8 and 6. What is Disney Quest?

By the way - I am just up the 401 from you - Cobourg!