Now that I'm less than 2 weeks out, tell me how bad I did!

[tizzant]

I've been saying for a while now that in 8 years of trying to go we've never managed to get quite this close and it's true! We haven't! So right now I'm eyeballing plans, considering things, and basically finalizing everything.

We're driving down from the Augusta GA area on 10/30 early early early in the morning and heading home on 11/8 a bit more leisurely. While we've done disneyland before, we'll probably never do WDW again because it's way more expensive for the ridiculous crowds they're trying to press 100% of the time via cm management and stuff.

That said, I'm not a first timer. It's just been a long, long time for me. I grew up partially in Florida and was born there. It's nice to be going home for the first time in 20 years... but the last time we were down there, we went to Disney and the castle was a cake. Tells you it's been a while , but as a little one we went plenty. I'd intended to say hi to the doodlebugs at MSEP since they almost had me run out into the middle of the parade as a toddler but SOMEBODY (DISNEY!!! *shakes fist*) decided to kill that and ship it to california after we booked our trip. Ah well. Maybe in 3-5 years when we make it to Cali we can go see them then.

I do have a couple of days where I'm hitting EMH parks and I know jersey week, etc. With four adults that -sincerely- don't care about crowds and have so much time in the parks, we'll be fine as long as we can find a planter to lean against to eat dinner =)

I AM taking three first timers along, including two who have never been at a disney park so I'm expecting the eyes-falling-out-of-their-heads looks for a bit. It's my 30th birthday. It's about a month out from my husband and I's 11th anniversary. I never asked for any of this to be noted, but somebody in dining congratulated us on our celebrations so I think a sneaky CM popped them in the computer.

Here's our schedule at the moment. I'd love it if you tell me how terrible it is <3

October 30th:

Food: uh, wherever along the way, poutine at disney springs, pinocchio village haus and gaston's tavern

drive down, check in at Pop
possibly hit disney springs for lunch/military ticket activation
3pm: be parking at magic kingdom for 4pm entry for MNSSHP
3:30-4:30 pm FP for ariel meet (this was the worst idea, why did I want to run us all the way to the back of the park?)
4:30-5:30 pm FP for haunted mansion
5:30-6:30 pm FP for space mountain
*I don't really care about character meets and meeting ariel is for one of the first timers. If anybody wants to go hit meet and greets, I'm fine with that. My plans are pretty open except that I want the little zero popcorn bucket if they still have them out.
second parade, second hocus pocus show


October 31st: Epcot, not rope drop

Food: pop for breakfast, kabuki cafe for kakigori, food and wine fest and/or katsura, liberty inn

park at disney hollywood studios and ferry over (hold on, you'll understand in a minute)
9:10-10:10 am test track FP
FLEE to american adventure's chase lounge directly after test track to go get eat to the beat concert bands because a friend REALLY wants to see hanson
wander around food and wine fest til hanson
hanson (hanson? hanson hanson hanson hanson~)
immediately jump on the boat over to DHS and race inside
grab a seat for star wars fireworks (this is the only day that works for us unfortunately)


November 1st: Epcot again, this time for rope drop

Food: pop for breakfast, coral reef for lunch, dinner at via napoli's pizza window

FPs: Soarin, The Seas, Turtle Talk With Crush.
We might hit Test Track again since we're doing rope drop, then wander over to Soarin. We'll see
Illuminations


November 2nd: Magic Kingdom, rope drop

Food: pop for breakfast, lunch outside the park, dinner at cosmic ray's

FPs: Splash Mountain, Buzz Lightyear, Winnie the Pooh
This day is really open because I also wanted to head over to the tampa area and look around my old stomping grounds :3



November 3rd: Animal Kingdom rope drop (at this point I fully expect my party to be ready to kill me)

Food: mara for breakfast, mr. kamal's/yak n yeti local cafe for lunch, dinner at harambe market

FPs: Festival of the Lion King, Kilimanjaro Safaris, Expedition Everest
Rivers of Light? Maybe? We might end up with a soft opening. One never knows.
We do intend to knock the park out in one day here and the folks along with us definitely want to see the macaws fly and will want to see flights of wonder. We might be a littttlllee bit stretched for that.



November 4th: Magic Kingdom

Food: kona for breakfast, be our guest for lunch, columbia harbour house for dinner

FPs: POC, Jungle (jingle?) cruise, Peter Pan's Flight
wishes



November 5th: DHS/MK rope drop for dhs

Food: grand floridian cafe for breakfast, scifi for lunch, 50's prime time cafe for dinner, gaston's tavern for a snack if we need one

send someone mid day to go park the car at magic kingdom and head back down
FPs: TSMM, TOT, Star Tours
fantasmic at whenever it actually ends up being scheduled (DISNEY!!!! *shakes fist*)
jump to magic kingdom
wishes
woohoo 1 am mk close, shoulder bump with your 95,000 closest friends



November 6th: Epcot

Food: les halles bakery for breakfast, sunshine seasons for lunch, dinner at a quick service wherever we are

This is kind of bounce day, too. If there's anything we missed, anything we want to go see again, this is our float day.

FPs: FEA, Spaceship Earth, Mission Space
We might go wander POR and get a carriage ride.



November 7th: MK

Food: Be Our Guest breakfast, lunch at liberty tree tavern, light mid-dinner afternoon snack thing? at be our guest, cinderella's royal table for actual late dinner

FPs: 7DMT, Enchanted Tales With Belle, Ariel's under the sea ride whatever it's called (it's got too long a name for such a meh ride)
MVMCP



All the be our guests are kind of an in-joke. One of the first timers gasped and said "gosh I could eat every meal there" so now she gets to.

 

[dkrauss]

I like your plan from a touring perspective.............plenty of flexibility Since you have a car all the movement is doable too. Your dining plans are very specific.........seems like a lot to me........but hey we're all different. You don't seem to overwhelm with TS meals...........and I love Via Napoli!!!! Too many BOG's for my taste............the food (IMHO) isn't that great for that much time........but again that's me

In the end I like it........even my wariness of the dining is offset by your use of QS locations. My family and I will be in the MK on Nov 7th..........maybe will run in to ya! Look for the 6 Jersey folks wearing tye-day "Mickey" shirts

Have a great vacation!

Doug

 

[mjkacmom]

Jersey week is the following week this year. If time is an issue, the quickest way between DHD and Epcot is the walkway.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

I would take Disney buses to MK. Parking at MK can be time consuming.

 

[ppjluvsdvc]

Looks good, FYI Mara is at Animal Kingdom Lodge not at the parks right? That might be a bit much to get to rope drop but depends on how fast your group moves/eats.

I also second the not driving to MK. I prefer the bus because it drops you near the gate and don't have to take a 2nd mode of transportation.

Have a great time!

 

[Alesia]

I prefer the bus to driving in WDW, but especially when going to MK. Timewise, it's probably about the same, but the bus is so much easier.

If time is of the essence, walking between DHS and Epcot is faster than taking the boat.

 

[BlueFairy]

October 30th:

Food: uh, wherever along the way, poutine at disney springs, pinocchio village haus and gaston's tavern

drive down, check in at Pop
possibly hit disney springs for lunch/military ticket activation
3pm: be parking at magic kingdom for 4pm entry for MNSSHP
3:30-4:30 pm FP for ariel meet (this was the worst idea, why did I want to run us all the way to the back of the park?)
First time in a Disney Park. First time at MK in 20 years? Yeah, I htink hightailing it to Ariel is a bad call. Enjoy Main St USA and then head to HM.
4:30-5:30 pm FP for haunted mansion
5:30-6:30 pm FP for space mountain
*I don't really care about character meets and meeting ariel is for one of the first timers. If anybody wants to go hit meet and greets, I'm fine with that. My plans are pretty open except that I want the little zero popcorn bucket if they still have them out.
second parade, second hocus pocus show


October 31st: Epcot, not rope drop

Food: pop for breakfast, kabuki cafe for kakigori, food and wine fest and/or katsura, liberty inn

park at disney hollywood studios and ferry over (hold on, you'll understand in a minute)
that's a long boat ride. probably 30 min after you're on the boat.
9:10-10:10 am test track FP
FLEE to american adventure's chase lounge directly after test track to go get eat to the beat concert bands because a friend REALLY wants to see hanson
wander around food and wine fest til hanson
This will be fun
hanson (hanson? hanson hanson hanson hanson~)
immediately jump on the boat over to DHS and race inside
again, long boat ride. i'm no expert on the times on these 2 shows.
grab a seat for star wars fireworks (this is the only day that works for us unfortunately)


November 1st: Epcot again, this time for rope drop

Food: pop for breakfast, coral reef for lunch, dinner at via napoli's pizza window

FPs: Soarin, The Seas, Turtle Talk With Crush.
We might hit Test Track again since we're doing rope drop, then wander over to Soarin. We'll see
Illuminations
Looks like a shorter more relaxed day. You'll be glad of this. Maybe needing a pool break today.

November 2nd: Magic Kingdom, rope drop

Food: pop for breakfast, lunch outside the park consider a monorail restaurant, dinner at cosmic ray's

FPs: Splash Mountain, Buzz Lightyear, Winnie the Pooh
This day is really open because I also wanted to head over to the tampa area and look around my old stomping grounds :3
I'd group FPs in the morning so you can head to Tampa around lunch if you must. not sure CRs is going to fit.


November 3rd: Animal Kingdom rope drop (at this point I fully expect my party to be ready to kill me)
That's a lot of rope drops. They will. Maybe only do a 1/2 day on 11/2. And find a way to stay put somewhere all evening and rest.

Food: mara for breakfast, mr. kamal's/yak n yeti local cafe for lunch, dinner at harambe market

FPs: Festival of the Lion King, Kilimanjaro Safaris, Expedition Everest
Rivers of Light? Maybe? We might end up with a soft opening. One never knows.
We do intend to knock the park out in one day here and the folks along with us definitely want to see the macaws fly and will want to see flights of wonder. We might be a littttlllee bit stretched for that.
You won't do it all, but you can do your FPs and the bird stuff, np.


November 4th: Magic Kingdom

Food: kona for breakfast, be our guest for lunch, columbia harbour house for dinner

FPs: POC, Jungle (jingle?) cruise, Peter Pan's Flight
wishes
Good day for a later start if you can manage it with your breakfast ADR.


November 5th: DHS/MK rope drop for dhs

Food: grand floridian cafe for breakfast, scifi for lunch, 50's prime time cafe for dinner, gaston's tavern for a snack if we need one
Why not park the car at TTC on your way to GF breakfast, then everyone bus from GF to HS?
send someone mid day to go park the car at magic kingdom and head back down
Time consuming transfer. They'll have to monorail to MK or a resort, or bus to a resort, and then get a different bus to HS I believe.
FPs: TSMM, TOT, Star Tours
fantasmic at whenever it actually ends up being scheduled (DISNEY!!!! *shakes fist*)
jump to magic kingdom
wishes People do F! followed by Wishes. I'm not sure how they manage it.
woohoo 1 am mk close, shoulder bump with your 95,000 closest friends



November 6th: Epcot

Food: les halles bakery for breakfast, sunshine seasons for lunch, dinner at a quick service wherever we are

This is kind of bounce day, too. If there's anything we missed, anything we want to go see again, this is our float day.
You are overdue for a no-parks rest day. Skip the park.

FPs: FEA, Spaceship Earth, Mission Space
We might go wander POR and get a carriage ride.



November 7th: MK

Food: Be Our Guest breakfast, lunch at liberty tree tavern, light mid-dinner afternoon snack thing? at be our guest, cinderella's royal table for actual late dinner

FPs: 7DMT, Enchanted Tales With Belle, Ariel's under the sea ride whatever it's called (it's got too long a name for such a meh ride)
MVMCP



All the be our guests are kind of an in-joke. One of the first timers gasped and said "gosh I could eat every meal there" so now she gets to

 

[MermaidMommy]

I don't think the Via Napoli pizza window actually serves Via Napoli's pizza. It's just regular Disney quick service pizza. If you want Via Napoli's pizza, which is very good, you'll need to make an ADR.

As PP noted, Mara is at Animal Kingdom Lodge, not at the park. It's quick service, and not worth the hassle. Eat breakfast at the park.

You've got several days with more meals than we would be able to eat. Grand Floridian Cafe/Sci-Fi/50's Prime Time, for example, is a lot of food, and a lot of time spent eating, but you know your group best.

 

[pclvnmcky88]

My husband and I actually really enjoy the boat ride between Epcot/HS and prefer it over walking. Plan for about 20 minutes or so. It's very relaxing and gets you off your feet. When we walked from HS to Beach Club we were sweating by the time we got there and very tired. We beat the boat by about a minute.

Another thing to remember, that weekend November 5th though 6th is the Wine and Dine half marathon weekend. The expo starts on Thursday I believe so it actually begins before that. Since these are early in the morning it probably won't affect your strategy, but I can guarantee the parks will be more crowded considering it's Food and Wine, the race sold out in 20 minutes, and from what I can tell every resort except some deluxe resorts are full. You might encounter some traffic problems/delays on the 5th and 6th, even possibly the 3rd and 4th. Also, on the night of the 6th there is a runner's after party at Epcot stating at 8pm so you will have a lot of crowds at that time.

I don't think you'll have too many problems, but just be aware! I've been during Spring Break when it's a mad house with Band trips and that's a lot worse! Have fun!

 

[pclvnmcky88]

Oh, and if your party is into it, eating around the world for a meal is wonderful! We were stuffed by the end!

 

[Alesia]

I don't think the Via Napoli pizza window actually serves Via Napoli's pizza. It's just regular Disney quick service pizza. If you want Via Napoli's pizza, which is very good, you'll need to make an ADR.

Correct. The pizza at the take out window is just gross WDW pizza.

 

[tizzant]

Man you guys are gonna think we're nuts, but I was requested to not have any down days in there. Nobody cares about the pools or the resorts. The only reason we're going to Mara is that I wanted to see AKL in person

 

[BlueFairy]

Man you guys are gonna think we're nuts, but I was requested to not have any down days in there. Nobody cares about the pools or the resorts. The only reason we're going to Mara is that I wanted to see AKL in person

It's not about the pools and resorts so much as taking a break and getting off your feet for some big chunks of hours. That's hard to do in a park. 9 days of park touring is a TON. Most can't go more than 3-4 without an off day. If you pace yourself you can do more. This is an ambitious but fun plan.

 

[JackOfHearts]

Looks good to me! We will be in the same parks the 30th, 31st, 3rd, and 4th!

 

[sharonabe]

possibly hit disney springs for lunch/military ticket activation

What kind of military tickets do you have that have to be activated? You have way too many days for Salute tickets.

 

[tizzant]

What kind of military tickets do you have that have to be activated? You have way too many days for Salute tickets.

We're only doing the halloween party on the 30th. We have all 6, 4 day salute tickets we're allowed to buy and one person who has an 8 day park hopper attached. Two four days per 3 people.

 

[tizzant]

I don't think the Via Napoli pizza window actually serves Via Napoli's pizza. It's just regular Disney quick service pizza. If you want Via Napoli's pizza, which is very good, you'll need to make an ADR.

As PP noted, Mara is at Animal Kingdom Lodge, not at the park. It's quick service, and not worth the hassle. Eat breakfast at the park.

You've got several days with more meals than we would be able to eat. Grand Floridian Cafe/Sci-Fi/50's Prime Time, for example, is a lot of food, and a lot of time spent eating, but you know your group best.

I honestly wanted to go early to Mara and go look at AKL at least briefly. I refuse to eat at Rainforest Cafe after a dreadful experience with that chain and have 0 interest in Tusker House. Is there anywhere else worth eating breakfast at AK?

 

[Jgeauxmo]

I don't understand all the moving of the car around. We always take Disney buses with no problem and it's nice to be chauffeured. Other than that I think your plan looks good!

 

[MermaidMommy]

I honestly wanted to go early to Mara and go look at AKL at least briefly. I refuse to eat at Rainforest Cafe after a dreadful experience with that chain and have 0 interest in Tusker House. Is there anywhere else worth eating breakfast at AK?

I would either eat breakfast at your hotel or just get a pastry somewhere at AK. If you want to see AKL, it's a nice, easy break to go there from the park. I would recommend having lunch or dinner at Sanaa, which is really one of Disney's best restaurants. If you go when it's light out, you can even see the animals on the savanna. It's not st the main AKL building -- it's at Kidani village, which is the DVC building, and just a couple of minutes thrive from the main lodge. With a car, it will be easy to get to both buildings -- and much easier than trying to do breakfast before rope drop.

 

[tizzant]

I would either eat breakfast at your hotel or just get a pastry somewhere at AK. If you want to see AKL, it's a nice, easy break to go there from the park. I would recommend having lunch or dinner at Sanaa, which is really one of Disney's best restaurants. If you go when it's light out, you can even see the animals on the savanna. It's not st the main AKL building -- it's at Kidani village, which is the DVC building, and just a couple of minutes thrive from the main lodge. With a car, it will be easy to get to both buildings -- and much easier than trying to do breakfast before rope drop.

The ridiculous over the top pricing at Sanaa is what made me cut it in the first place, but originally it was on there. Same with Boma.