Newbie with many questions

[hockeymomoftwo]

Hello,

I have the below itinerary.

9-16 late evening check in at all star sports. Plan to go to mk if time permitting or to swim or ?downtown disney.

9-17 mk with dinner at cape may at 6pm then back to mk for emh

9-18 mgm with fantasmic show at mama melrose at 3:50 seating then stay for emh

9-19 epcot early for emh dinner at polynesian aloha show at 8pm. Swim or shop after show

9-20 pirate adventure 9:00 am (we plan to look around some of the resorts during this time). On to ak after pirate adventure. Dinner at boma at 5pm then back to ak for emh

9-21 mk early for emh then dinner at marrakesh at 6pm then back to mk for parade and fireworks

9-22 family vote day either blizzard beach or epcot. dinner at biergarten at 6:15 then stay at epcot for emh

9-23 free day breakfast at chef mickeys at 11am. Flight at 4:35pm
plan to shop or hit must rides or swim

questions:

1. This is our boys first time to dw. Does this itinerary look doable for a 8/5 y/o boys?

2. Are there any major glitches that you see or bad choices?

3. What is your opinion of the pirate adventure?

4. What is the best place to shop. Boys will be shopping one time only for pin/tshirt type item. Is there some place that carries stuff from all the different themes or do I just need to write down where they see things at.

5. how late are the pools open at all star sports.

6. Is drink mug worth expense with dining package?

7. any other suggestions to make our trip awesome. We won't be going back until they are quite a bit older.

Sorry for all the questions but I can't wait to hear your advice.

Thanks

 

[gems_smiling]

Best place for shopping is Dowtown Disney.

 

[Katy Belle]

The only thing that concerns me is the late nights and the early morning. I'm assuming you are not planning to go nap in the afternoon? If not I think after doing three late nights, 9/16,9/17,9/18 it will be hard to get up and go to the early EMH at Epcot and stay up for the show at the Poly which starts at 8.

Looks good! All 4 parks and possibly a water park. You will have a great time!
Katy

 

[lexmelinda]

I agree with katybelle---late nights and early mornings make for a tired group. Last trip, my girls were quite a bit younger (10/6) and it was easy to get them up early the first couple of days but by the end of the week, forget it! Back then, there were no evening EMH's but even getting back to the hotel and getting them in bed after the fireworks, no one (not even my husband) wanted to get up the next morning. This time we also have DS5 with us and I am planning an afternnon break every day and no early mornings after fireworks nights. Do what works best for you--you know your guys! Have fun!

 

[eliza61]

Hi Hockey Mom,
I would suggest you factor in some pool time. When my sons were younger (they're 15/13 now) they loved the pools and water parks. Remember you are going in early september and it still may be in the high 80's. The only other advice I would give is not to go "commando disney" and try to do every thing, don't stress if your schedule doesn't go according to plan (mom, you try to relax, it's your vaca too.)

have a magical time

 

[Lynne M]

IMHO, you need to put in an afternoon break every day.

The biggest mistake first-timers make is underestimating the sheer size of the place, and the way it will tire you out. You're going to walk several miles every day. And in September, it can still be unbelievably hot and humid. I've taken several late-September trips, and I remember plenty of 98 degree, 90% humidity days. It really saps your energy.

I'd seriously consider scrapping the plan to visit MK or DD on your first night. Unless your trip to WDW is a short one, everyone's going to be tired by the time you arrive in the late evening. At most, walk around the resort a bit, explore the food court and gift shop, then hit the sack and get plenty of sleep so you can get a good start the next day.

I know you want to see and do it all in your first trip, but that won't happen. It's not possible. I took my 15th trip in March, and I STILL haven't seen everything.

 

[MsLeFever]

9-21 mk early for emh then dinner at marrakesh at 6pm then back to mk for parade and fireworks

This might be cutting it close. I'm not sure when the parade is in September but I can't see you getting to MK before 8:30 or 9. You won't want to rush through dinner! Marrakesh is a great choice (IMHO) my kids enjoyed the dancing and we all liked the food. You'll be there at least an hour and that is assuming that you get seated right away and just chow down. Then you'll have to hike to the front of the park - probably a 10-15 minute brisk walk, wait for a monorail, travel to MK and deal with the parade crowds. Maybe stay put at Epcot and see Illuminations? It's a great show.

 

[buckylarue]

I think you might be underestimating the overall size of the resort. 9/17 and 9/21 you are doing MK but eating at Epcot or Epcot-area resort restaurants, and 9/19 you are doing an Epcot day and eating at a MK resort restaurant. Epcot and the MK are miles apart from each other, so you will need to factor in a lot of travel time. I'd suggest changing the restaurants to match the parks you want to be in to reduce wasted time travelling.

 

[Chuck65]

I agree.................don't underestimate the size of WDW. It is massive to say the least. I would definitely look at an afternoon break to get some recovery time in. Just look at it this way, if you don't get to do everything it's just another reason to start planning your next trip

 

[mmmears]

I agree with previous posters. When travelling with kids (or even without), an afternoon break really helps, especially if you want to do early mornings and late evenings.

Also, it is easier to have your dinner plans in or near the park you plan to spend the evening in. You can waste an hour or two just getting to and from your dinners (especially Cape May) because they are too far from your planned park. Just my thoughts, but we dont like to waste any time at WDW since we dont go as often as many people seem to.

 

[myprinceandprincess]

The boys are going to have a great time...no matter what. And taken that into mind, WDW is very big, so don't try and squeeze everything in. The best place to shop is DTD. Never did pirate adventure, so sorry I can't give my opinion on that. Hope you have a great time.

 

[MELSMICE]

I would also worry about late night at a park & then an early morning. Very hard to do.

I would also change thefollowing:

9-17 mk with dinner at cape may at 6pm then back to mk for emh

9-19 epcot early for emh dinner at polynesian aloha show at 8pm. Swim or shop after show

Cape May is on the Boardwalk. Even if you take the monorail from MK over to EPCOT you need to walk all the way through to EPCOT to get to the back of the park. You can then continue to walk to the Beach Club (fastest way) or take the boat. Believe it or not, this will most likely take at least an hour.

The Polynesian is over near the MK - it is a monorail resort. Why not switch those 2 park days. It will be much easier that way.

Also, keep in mind that the highlight of most kids' trips to WDW is swimming. I would definitely factor in pool breaks and............definitely work in the water park day!!!

 

[mello]

Hello,

I have the below itinerary.

9-16 late evening check in at all star sports. Plan to go to mk if time permitting or to swim or ?downtown disney.

9-17 mk with dinner at cape may at 6pm then back to mk for emh

9-18 mgm with fantasmic show at mama melrose at 3:50 seating then stay for emh

9-19 epcot early for emh dinner at polynesian aloha show at 8pm. Swim or shop after show

9-20 pirate adventure 9:00 am (we plan to look around some of the resorts during this time). On to ak after pirate adventure. Dinner at boma at 5pm then back to ak for emh

9-21 mk early for emh then dinner at marrakesh at 6pm then back to mk for parade and fireworks

9-22 family vote day either blizzard beach or epcot. dinner at biergarten at 6:15 then stay at epcot for emh

9-23 free day breakfast at chef mickeys at 11am. Flight at 4:35pm
plan to shop or hit must rides or swim

questions:

1. This is our boys first time to dw. Does this itinerary look doable for a 8/5 y/o boys?

2. Are there any major glitches that you see or bad choices?

3. What is your opinion of the pirate adventure?

4. What is the best place to shop. Boys will be shopping one time only for pin/tshirt type item. Is there some place that carries stuff from all the different themes or do I just need to write down where they see things at.

5. how late are the pools open at all star sports.

6. Is drink mug worth expense with dining package?

7. any other suggestions to make our trip awesome. We won't be going back until they are quite a bit older.

Sorry for all the questions but I can't wait to hear your advice.

Thanks

Sounds like fun! I've got a logistical suggestion for you. You might want to look at reversing your dinners on 9-17 and 9-19 or 21, since it will be much easier/quicker to reach the luau from MK and Cape May or Marrakesh from Epcot.

For one-stop shopping, World of Disney in DTD has the biggest selection.

Have a great trip!

 

[hockeymomoftwo]

I will make the changes in dining that you suggested.

Is 5pm at marrakesh enough time to get back to mk for parade and fireworks? I think they are at 8p and 9p?

We definately were planning on at least one afternoon at the pool but my boys did disneyland/calif adventure 9am-12mid 3days straight without much problem but I realize the humidity may change things somewhat so we are willing to kick it back to the resort if need be.

Thanks for all the input so far.

 

[Lynne M]

Disneyland and California Adventure are much smaller than the WDW theme parks. Just to give you a point of comparison, Disneyland is around the same size as the Magic Kingdom, maybe smaller, and I've read that the MK will fit in the space taken up by the Kilimanjaro Safaris ride at Animal Kingdom. That's one ride at one theme park, and it's roughly as big as Disneyland. Now, granted, you're riding through that, not walking it, but it gives you some idea of the vastness of WDW. It's good that your boys did well in other theme parks for the whole day, but there's a whole heck of a lot more walking at WDW. And you're right, the heat and humidity will make a difference in your stamina.

Not trying to bring you down, or make you think that you're going to be laying on the sidewalk with heat stroke by the end of your first day. But I see that you're willing to head back to the resort if the kids start to get worn down, and I think that's very smart of you.

 

[Tam1067]

I will make the changes in dining that you suggested.

Is 5pm at marrakesh enough time to get back to mk for parade and fireworks? I think they are at 8p and 9p?

We definately were planning on at least one afternoon at the pool but my boys did disneyland/calif adventure 9am-12mid 3days straight without much problem but I realize the humidity may change things somewhat so we are willing to kick it back to the resort if need be.

Thanks for all the input so far.

In theory, you could probably make it back, assuming you were seated immediately, served quickly, and walked quickly. But really, I agree with the other posters that you're going to have a hard time getting around so much with boys as young as yours.

I'd rearrange some of those dining choices so that they're closer to the parks you're visiting those days. If you want to do MK in the evening, then eat at MK or at one of the nearby monorail resorts instead of trekking all the way to Epcot for a meal. If you did 'Ohana or Kona on that evening, you'd have it a lot easier. Plan on it taking you at least 30-40 minutes to get from park to park--each way. I wouldn't want to spend that much time in transit when there are other restaurants really close to where we're at.

Also, as others have said, getting to the parks first thing in the morning and staying for EMH almost every evening is going to wipe you guys out.

WDW is much, much bigger than Disneyland. And unless you've been in Florida in the summer, you will be knocked out by the heat and humidity, too, which will make your little ones really tired. While it's possible to do DL all day (cause I've done it both as a kid and as an adult), WDW is way different.

 

[tink1978]

The only thing that concerns me is the late nights and the early morning. I'm assuming you are not planning to go nap in the afternoon? If not I think after doing three late nights, 9/16,9/17,9/18 it will be hard to get up and go to the early EMH at Epcot and stay up for the show at the Poly which starts at 8.

Looks good! All 4 parks and possibly a water park. You will have a great time!
Katy

I agree...if you have a late night...I suggest you let the boys sleep in the next morning, if not, you're probably not going to enjoy the day.

 

[klj27]

With regard to #3, my ds6 and dd9 did the Pirate Adventure last year and loved it. It was at hoot to send them off and see them come back singing pirate songs and yelling "Argh!" at the other boats.

FYI - The "crew" are actually certified lifeguards so safety is not an issue!