***Official March 2021 Thread***

[JJ2017]

With 10 days left I'm getting too excited not to run through our trip a little bit with you guys! I don't have the patience for a PTR but hopefully it's interesting--I'd love to hear more about everyone else (even if you ran through it a month ago now that we are all there or almost there!)

I am traveling with my husband and 7 year old (soon to be 8 on the 19th!) and meeting my brother, his wife and his two girls there (18 and 14). My brother and I haven't been to a Disney park together in 30 years but wow did we love it back then! I cried when I watched the 50th anniversary video that said "I'm here with my brother."

We arrive Friday 3/12, way too late! Our flight gets in at 11:44pm. I am so nervous something will happen and with no other departing flights we won't make it. Trying to have positive thoughts here!

Head to CBR on ME to get in bed as quickly as possible--we are doing MK Saturday with a 9am open, so really have to be there by 8am. We're planning to mobile order QS from Contemporary at 7ish and Uber there to pick it up/eat breakfast and then walk to MK. (Any of you think this is a bad plan?)

We have park hoppers, but also have 8:55pm BOG reservations so I'm not sure if we'll go somewhere else at 2pm and then back or not. I guess it'll depend on the lines!

Sunday we have reservations for HS so we'll get up early to be in the front of the Skyliner line and everyone with MDE adult accounts will try for BGs. Our ADRs that day are 5:55pm Oga's and 8:40pm Chefs de France. I'm really excited about the 11pm Epcot close!

Monday we'll head to AK most of the day, but have ADRs for San Angel Inn at 8:30pm. We'll RD AK but for whatever reason I feel less stressed about that morning. Another late Epcot night!

Tuesday we were supposed to be leaving at night, but Frontier changed our flight to a 9:30am departure. We'll probably take an Uber so we don't have to leave three hours early on ME. What a last day bummer!

It's weird to plan with FPs, honestly, because I have no idea what our days will look like outside of those plans! My older niece put together a pdf with all of the snacks we need order in each park, a description of what they are, and where they are located in the park so we'll probably spend some time strategizing food, ha!

We've thankfully all been many times before (except for my husband who has been once and really couldn't care less, blargh) so I don't think we have any "must dos" except Galaxy's Edge and Everest for my daughter (we went in 2019 before it opened and we skipped AK that year). I'm hoping we can live and let live and take it easy once we are in the parks early and knock out those top headliners as much as we can.

What a weird trip to plan compared to other years! I'd be shuffling around FPs like crazy right now!

I also feel like packing is strange--we usually carry water bottles, but since you can't walk and drink that seems less pressing? If you can get a cup at QS it won't save any money, but maybe some hassle.

Anyway, I'm rambling! Other people post what their plans are, especially transportation to the parks and their schedules if they are RDing and what their plans for closing down the parks are! I love organizing morning opens and nighttime close plans more than anything!

Sounds sooooooo fun! Your 7 year old sounds like she can hang! Awesome!

Your post is forcing me to write down an itinerary - which is needed!

4 of us - 2 adults, 8 year old daughter and 10 year old son.

3/28 - Sunday Departure 10:00 am - arrive in MCO - 12:45 - Disney Springs hotel
Pool Day and Dinner at Jaleo/DS evening

3/29 - Monday Check out of DS hotel, hang at pool, grab lunch somewhere, maybe back at DS, meet up with Realtor - excited to explore! Then check in at Orange Lake and meet up with BFF Family! Kids are sooo excited. We both have our own 2 bedroom condo and hoping they are right next to each other.

3/30 - Tuesday Pool Day - have to pick dinner - maybe at Margaritaville Sunset Walk - there are 9 of us - can't decide if we should eat out locally or order in.

3/31 - Wednesday - first park day - splitting up with other family. We are going to HS while they are going to MK and doing a private tour!!!! So excited for them. First time for us attempting to get a BG. Planning to drive, especially since when we are done we are going to meet up with our friends at MK when their tour is over. Hunting for Oga's earlier in the day - we have it at 7:00 pm, but will probably leave by then (anyone let me know if you are looking for this date).

4/1 - Thursday Epcot - all together - will take it slow and drop kids back at resort in afternoon. Got a babysitter for all of them and the adults will go back to Epcot - hoping for 11:00 pm closing!

4/2 - Friday - last full day - pool day and anything else we missed/want to do. Keeping this day open in case we want one more park day.

4/3 - Saturday - all fly home together - kids will love that!

CANNOT WAIT!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Kitty & Covs Covs]

Sounds sooooooo fun! Your 7 year old sounds like she can hang! Awesome!

Your post is forcing me to write down an itinerary - which is needed!

4 of us - 2 adults, 8 year old daughter and 10 year old son.

3/28 - Sunday Departure 10:00 am - arrive in MCO - 12:45 - Disney Springs hotel
Pool Day and Dinner at Jaleo/DS evening

3/29 - Monday Check out of DS hotel, hang at pool, grab lunch somewhere, maybe back at DS, meet up with Realtor - excited to explore! Then check in at Orange Lake and meet up with BFF Family! Kids are sooo excited. We both have our own 2 bedroom condo and hoping they are right next to each other.

3/30 - Tuesday Pool Day - have to pick dinner - maybe at Margaritaville Sunset Walk - there are 9 of us - can't decide if we should eat out locally or order in.

3/31 - Wednesday - first park day - splitting up with other family. We are going to HS while they are going to MK and doing a private tour!!!! So excited for them. First time for us attempting to get a BG. Planning to drive, especially since when we are done we are going to meet up with our friends at MK when their tour is over. Hunting for Oga's earlier in the day - we have it at 7:00 pm, but will probably leave by then (anyone let me know if you are looking for this date).

4/1 - Thursday Epcot - all together - will take it slow and drop kids back at resort in afternoon. Got a babysitter for all of them and the adults will go back to Epcot - hoping for 11:00 pm closing!

4/2 - Friday - last full day - pool day and anything else we missed/want to do. Keeping this day open in case we want one more park day.

4/3 - Saturday - all fly home together - kids will love that!

CANNOT WAIT!!!!!!!!!!!

This sounds so fun too! I love Margaritaville anything—store, restaurant, hotel, I’m all for it!

Getting a babysitter to go back to Epcot is such a good idea. I think you’ve got a good shot at a late closing because that’s still a spring break week. It seems like they are really trying to spread the crowds out.

Our last two trips we had a pool day and two travel days with more leisure time and only two park days. It was actually really nice and I’m sort of regretting we didn’t extend this trip one more day for some down time. It’s not my daughter’s spring break though—just my nieces’—so I figured we’d be responsible this time. Might have to plan a mom/daughter trip for the fall instead!

Have so much fun! I love the joint families trips!!

 

[Jessrobian]

Here's our trip rundown

This will be DH and my 5th WDW trip (w/ 3 DCL trips) since married 6 years ago - safe to say we're hooked - and DD's first trip to "Mickey's House!" She's almost two.

We arrive this Sunday, 3/7 for a 4-night stay at AKL: Jambo and tacked on 2 nights at SSR last-minute check-out on 3/12.

We're BIG resort people, so only one day in the park - MK on Tuesday, 3/9 - just to "dip" DD's toes in the Disney water since she won't remember this trip. But we'll fill the other days with ADRs, pool time, and rides on the SkyLiner and Monorail.

Our MK day we plan to "RD" and ride as many toddler-level Fantasyland rides as possible before heading back to the resort for nap (thanks to some tips from this group ). Then we'll head back and go more my husband's speed, hitting and short-line rides, maybe a ride-swap or two, and snacks.

I'm a bargain hunter, so I've been buying little toys from Goodwill and the Target dollar section as surprises to sprinkle throughout. I even pulled some of her own toys a few weeks ago so they feel new

This is our first time sharing a hotel room with DD, so all the tips and tricks are helpful! We're bringing our wifi video monitor and are considering leaving her in the room to walk around the resort while she sleeps...anyone else do this? Is that crazy?

This group (and the DisBoards in general) have been SOO helpful. I usually go overboard planning our Disney trips, but these boards are taking me to a WHOLE other level. Poor DH.

 

[Bama Mom]

Okay so this is a girls trip that has been talked about for a couple years and this just seemed like the perfect time to actually do it. We all need breaks from what has been going on the past year.

This trip includes my daughter (23), myself (48), my middle sister (50), my oldest sister (52) oldest niece (celebrates her 28th birthday while there) and my youngest niece (15). those not able to go: My DIL and grand daughter, my middle sisters two daughters (my middle two nieces) and my oldest sister's DIL.

We decided on Art of Animation in a Lion King suite so we can all be together. We don't spend a lot of time in the room so hopefully we won't feel cramped.

We are all flying in from different locations on Sunday, March 21st. Elisa, my oldest niece will be arriving at MCO first flying in from LA. My oldest Sister, Sheila and my youngest niece Allie will arrive about 15 minutes after her so they will meet up and probably head on to the resort on ME together. My daughter and I arrive about an hour after them and will take ME to AoA. My middle sister Norma arrives around noon. She will head to the resort alone. She isn't a disney person so I took a screen shot of the MCO map and sent it to her along with specific instructions and directions for her to get to ME.

Once my daughter and I get to the resort we will have to get something to eat but may go ahead and head to DS or resort hop if the room isn't ready (and most likely won't be since it should only be 9:30-10:00 am. We will also meet up with my oldest sister and nieces. Once my middle sister gets to the airport we will decide what to do about meeting up with her. The plans are to go to DS to eat supper, the rest of arrival day is up in the air.

Monday: Magic Kingdom...we have to start at MK. It's an unspoken rule LOL My oldest niece did the college program years ago so it will be interesting to be in the park with her and for her to give me some inside info. I'm not sure what our rope drop plan will be. Either SDMT or start with the mountains. I haven't really decided. We have a second MK morning so whichever we don't do, we will do then. We also have hoppers but have a 5:45 ADR at LTT so we will probably just stay at MK all day today.

Tuesday: Our first HS day. Hopefully we will score a BG. We will have 6 people who can try. Hopefully one of us will score some. Galaxys Edge opened shortly after my August 2019 trip so I haven't seen it in person so I am looking forward to it. The Empire Strikes Back was the first movie I saw in a theater. I saw A New Hope at the drive in. So I have been a Star Wars fan most of my life so I'm excited to see it. I've also never ridden MMRR so that's a priority as well. Neither of my sisters nor my daughter have seen Toy Story Land so thats another priority. I don't usually ride Rockin' Roller Coaster because it's a headache trigger for me but would if the wait isn't too bad. My daughter and I love ToT but if the wait is terrible it's skippable to me so we can do the newer things. This is the day I have three Sci-Fi ADRs for so we will need to decide which one we want to keep. After lunch, if we want a break from the crowds we will hop to EPCOT.

Wednesday: AK...Time for my favorite ride. We will probably rope drop FOP then head to Navi and the Safari. AK is my second favorite park so I will miss the shows but once we ride everything we want to and eat lunch at Yak and Yeti, we will hop somewhere else. Most likely EPCOT if we didn't the day before and it also depends on hours once they are updated. It will be weird walking through the stand by line of FOP because I never have had to, but I'm kind of glad I finally get to see all the details.

Thursday: Second HS day. In case we don't get BGs for the first HS day we have a second one planned. We may change our reservation if we do get BGs the first day, or try again and hope to get them a second time. After all we love Star Wars. Then we can always hop after 2:00. I also have a lunch ADR for Sci-Fi on this day just in case we don't get BGs on the first day and decide to not eat lunch in the park on the first day. But hopefully I can drop this one. When we hop it will be where ever people wanna go. There may even be some splitting up going on.

Friday: MK We will be going back to MK in the morning. We will stay until at least lunch because I have a Skipper Canteen ADR. We will rope drop whichever we didn't on the first MK day. Hopefully we can knock out the things we didn't get to do at the start of the trip. Then we may hop to another park. Not sure where. We have a 9:00pm ADR for Beaches and Cream so we can basically end our trip with the kitchen Sink. After we finish we will probably walk back to Epcot and take the skyliner back to AoA because we all fly home the next day. If Epcot is still opened my daughter and I may go in and ride Frozen at park closing.

Saturday: Everyone flies home. My oldest niece and middle sister both fly out at like 7 am on Delta and the rest of us around 10 am on Southwest. Thankfully we will all have someone to keep us company at the airport while waiting for our plans to board.

I have a feeling we will want to make these girls trip a more regular thing. My hubby nor my oldest sisters hubby care much for Disney. Oldest BIL is burnt out and hubby just isn't an "amusement park" fan.

I still need to work on transportation details but we will most likely take the bus first thing in the mornings. We will aim to be down there early to catch the first buses to the parks. Then we will take the skyliner when we hop from HS to EPCOT and on the way back to the resort the last day.

 

[Jessrobian]

Here you go! There are a couple inside family jokes, but you can ignore those. It’s not comprehensive, just things we’ve all liked over the years!

This is AWESOME! Thanks so much, Kitty!

 

[JJ2017]

I just remembered to "try" for a BG at 1:00 and it finally "worked!" That gave me some confidence!

 

[Mzpalmtree]

For anyone looking to make/change park reservations, it looks like they have shifted availability through the end of the month. Days that were previously out of park passes now have a couple of options that appear to be juggled from the AP bucket.

 

[ENJDisneyFan]

Okay so this is a girls trip that has been talked about for a couple years and this just seemed like the perfect time to actually do it. We all need breaks from what has been going on the past year.

This trip includes my daughter (23), myself (48), my middle sister (50), my oldest sister (52) oldest niece (celebrates her 28th birthday while there) and my youngest niece (15). those not able to go: My DIL and grand daughter, my middle sisters two daughters (my middle two nieces) and my oldest sister's DIL.

We decided on Art of Animation in a Lion King suite so we can all be together. We don't spend a lot of time in the room so hopefully we won't feel cramped.

We are all flying in from different locations on Sunday, March 21st. Elisa, my oldest niece will be arriving at MCO first flying in from LA. My oldest Sister, Sheila and my youngest niece Allie will arrive about 15 minutes after her so they will meet up and probably head on to the resort on ME together. My daughter and I arrive about an hour after them and will take ME to AoA. My middle sister Norma arrives around noon. She will head to the resort alone. She isn't a disney person so I took a screen shot of the MCO map and sent it to her along with specific instructions and directions for her to get to ME.

Once my daughter and I get to the resort we will have to get something to eat but may go ahead and head to DS or resort hop if the room isn't ready (and most likely won't be since it should only be 9:30-10:00 am. We will also meet up with my oldest sister and nieces. Once my middle sister gets to the airport we will decide what to do about meeting up with her. The plans are to go to DS to eat supper, the rest of arrival day is up in the air.

Monday: Magic Kingdom...we have to start at MK. It's an unspoken rule LOL My oldest niece did the college program years ago so it will be interesting to be in the park with her and for her to give me some inside info. I'm not sure what our rope drop plan will be. Either SDMT or start with the mountains. I haven't really decided. We have a second MK morning so whichever we don't do, we will do then. We also have hoppers but have a 5:45 ADR at LTT so we will probably just stay at MK all day today.

Tuesday: Our first HS day. Hopefully we will score a BG. We will have 6 people who can try. Hopefully one of us will score some. Galaxys Edge opened shortly after my August 2019 trip so I haven't seen it in person so I am looking forward to it. The Empire Strikes Back was the first movie I saw in a theater. I saw A New Hope at the drive in. So I have been a Star Wars fan most of my life so I'm excited to see it. I've also never ridden MMRR so that's a priority as well. Neither of my sisters nor my daughter have seen Toy Story Land so thats another priority. I don't usually ride Rockin' Roller Coaster because it's a headache trigger for me but would if the wait isn't too bad. My daughter and I love ToT but if the wait is terrible it's skippable to me so we can do the newer things. This is the day I have three Sci-Fi ADRs for so we will need to decide which one we want to keep. After lunch, if we want a break from the crowds we will hop to EPCOT.

Wednesday: AK...Time for my favorite ride. We will probably rope drop FOP then head to Navi and the Safari. AK is my second favorite park so I will miss the shows but once we ride everything we want to and eat lunch at Yak and Yeti, we will hop somewhere else. Most likely EPCOT if we didn't the day before and it also depends on hours once they are updated. It will be weird walking through the stand by line of FOP because I never have had to, but I'm kind of glad I finally get to see all the details.

Thursday: Second HS day. In case we don't get BGs for the first HS day we have a second one planned. We may change our reservation if we do get BGs the first day, or try again and hope to get them a second time. After all we love Star Wars. Then we can always hop after 2:00. I also have a lunch ADR for Sci-Fi on this day just in case we don't get BGs on the first day and decide to not eat lunch in the park on the first day. But hopefully I can drop this one. When we hop it will be where ever people wanna go. There may even be some splitting up going on.

Friday: MK We will be going back to MK in the morning. We will stay until at least lunch because I have a Skipper Canteen ADR. We will rope drop whichever we didn't on the first MK day. Hopefully we can knock out the things we didn't get to do at the start of the trip. Then we may hop to another park. Not sure where. We have a 9:00pm ADR for Beaches and Cream so we can basically end our trip with the kitchen Sink. After we finish we will probably walk back to Epcot and take the skyliner back to AoA because we all fly home the next day. If Epcot is still opened my daughter and I may go in and ride Frozen at park closing.

Saturday: Everyone flies home. My oldest niece and middle sister both fly out at like 7 am on Delta and the rest of us around 10 am on Southwest. Thankfully we will all have someone to keep us company at the airport while waiting for our plans to board.

I have a feeling we will want to make these girls trip a more regular thing. My hubby nor my oldest sisters hubby care much for Disney. Oldest BIL is burnt out and hubby just isn't an "amusement park" fan.

I still need to work on transportation details but we will most likely take the bus first thing in the mornings. We will aim to be down there early to catch the first buses to the parks. Then we will take the skyliner when we hop from HS to EPCOT and on the way back to the resort the last day.

Girls trips are so much fun!!!

 

[Bama Mom]

I was thinking to be waiting for the bus at 6:30 for an 8am opening. Assuming we won't necessarily get on a bus immediately, hopefully that will put us at MK and moving through security by 7:15 or so.

This is what I'm thinking as well. I imagine at least my daughter and I will be doing this. My oldest sister is an early riser as well so she may too. Not sure my middle sister and oldest niece would do it (especially the first day when my niece is on LA time and hasn't had time to adjust).

 

[Kitty & Covs Covs]

Here's our trip rundown

This will be DH and my 5th WDW trip (w/ 3 DCL trips) since married 6 years ago - safe to say we're hooked - and DD's first trip to "Mickey's House!" She's almost two.

We arrive this Sunday, 3/7 for a 4-night stay at AKL: Jambo and tacked on 2 nights at SSR last-minute check-out on 3/12.

We're BIG resort people, so only one day in the park - MK on Tuesday, 3/9 - just to "dip" DD's toes in the Disney water since she won't remember this trip. But we'll fill the other days with ADRs, pool time, and rides on the SkyLiner and Monorail.

Our MK day we plan to "RD" and ride as many toddler-level Fantasyland rides as possible before heading back to the resort for nap (thanks to some tips from this group ). Then we'll head back and go more my husband's speed, hitting and short-line rides, maybe a ride-swap or two, and snacks.

I'm a bargain hunter, so I've been buying little toys from Goodwill and the Target dollar section as surprises to sprinkle throughout. I even pulled some of her own toys a few weeks ago so they feel new

This is our first time sharing a hotel room with DD, so all the tips and tricks are helpful! We're bringing our wifi video monitor and are considering leaving her in the room to walk around the resort while she sleeps...anyone else do this? Is that crazy?

This group (and the DisBoards in general) have been SOO helpful. I usually go overboard planning our Disney trips, but these boards are taking me to a WHOLE other level. Poor DH.

What a great plan for a toddler trip! There is so much to do out of the parks (even more non-COVID times) that will entertain her and make for incredible memories!

I am probably on the more laidback side of things for parenting, so bringing a wifi monitor and dipping out while she naps for a few minutes doesn't seem crazy. You know your daughter best and if she'll stay asleep so not wake up and wonder where you are.

I have found that we have to go to bed at the same time when we've shared a room over the years, and scheduling that can be hard. My daughter at least had a hard time falling asleep unless everyone else is.

I also have brought stuff in the past to set up a play area for her--a blanket, some familiar toys, for example. Since you're sprinkling in toys and surprises this should serve the same purpose!

I think your approach to taking it easy and not forcing too much park time will make the trip so much more enjoyable. We took my daughter at 18 months as part of a business trip and she loved wandering around the hotel, going in the pool, and looking in the hotel gift shops. I was very anti-stroller and didn't bring one, but broke down and bought one in MK once we were there. I think I constantly fed her ice cream too to keep her going!

 

[Kitty & Covs Covs]

Okay so this is a girls trip that has been talked about for a couple years and this just seemed like the perfect time to actually do it. We all need breaks from what has been going on the past year.

This trip includes my daughter (23), myself (48), my middle sister (50), my oldest sister (52) oldest niece (celebrates her 28th birthday while there) and my youngest niece (15). those not able to go: My DIL and grand daughter, my middle sisters two daughters (my middle two nieces) and my oldest sister's DIL.

We decided on Art of Animation in a Lion King suite so we can all be together. We don't spend a lot of time in the room so hopefully we won't feel cramped.

We are all flying in from different locations on Sunday, March 21st. Elisa, my oldest niece will be arriving at MCO first flying in from LA. My oldest Sister, Sheila and my youngest niece Allie will arrive about 15 minutes after her so they will meet up and probably head on to the resort on ME together. My daughter and I arrive about an hour after them and will take ME to AoA. My middle sister Norma arrives around noon. She will head to the resort alone. She isn't a disney person so I took a screen shot of the MCO map and sent it to her along with specific instructions and directions for her to get to ME.

Once my daughter and I get to the resort we will have to get something to eat but may go ahead and head to DS or resort hop if the room isn't ready (and most likely won't be since it should only be 9:30-10:00 am. We will also meet up with my oldest sister and nieces. Once my middle sister gets to the airport we will decide what to do about meeting up with her. The plans are to go to DS to eat supper, the rest of arrival day is up in the air.

Monday: Magic Kingdom...we have to start at MK. It's an unspoken rule LOL My oldest niece did the college program years ago so it will be interesting to be in the park with her and for her to give me some inside info. I'm not sure what our rope drop plan will be. Either SDMT or start with the mountains. I haven't really decided. We have a second MK morning so whichever we don't do, we will do then. We also have hoppers but have a 5:45 ADR at LTT so we will probably just stay at MK all day today.

Tuesday: Our first HS day. Hopefully we will score a BG. We will have 6 people who can try. Hopefully one of us will score some. Galaxys Edge opened shortly after my August 2019 trip so I haven't seen it in person so I am looking forward to it. The Empire Strikes Back was the first movie I saw in a theater. I saw A New Hope at the drive in. So I have been a Star Wars fan most of my life so I'm excited to see it. I've also never ridden MMRR so that's a priority as well. Neither of my sisters nor my daughter have seen Toy Story Land so thats another priority. I don't usually ride Rockin' Roller Coaster because it's a headache trigger for me but would if the wait isn't too bad. My daughter and I love ToT but if the wait is terrible it's skippable to me so we can do the newer things. This is the day I have three Sci-Fi ADRs for so we will need to decide which one we want to keep. After lunch, if we want a break from the crowds we will hop to EPCOT.

Wednesday: AK...Time for my favorite ride. We will probably rope drop FOP then head to Navi and the Safari. AK is my second favorite park so I will miss the shows but once we ride everything we want to and eat lunch at Yak and Yeti, we will hop somewhere else. Most likely EPCOT if we didn't the day before and it also depends on hours once they are updated. It will be weird walking through the stand by line of FOP because I never have had to, but I'm kind of glad I finally get to see all the details.

Thursday: Second HS day. In case we don't get BGs for the first HS day we have a second one planned. We may change our reservation if we do get BGs the first day, or try again and hope to get them a second time. After all we love Star Wars. Then we can always hop after 2:00. I also have a lunch ADR for Sci-Fi on this day just in case we don't get BGs on the first day and decide to not eat lunch in the park on the first day. But hopefully I can drop this one. When we hop it will be where ever people wanna go. There may even be some splitting up going on.

Friday: MK We will be going back to MK in the morning. We will stay until at least lunch because I have a Skipper Canteen ADR. We will rope drop whichever we didn't on the first MK day. Hopefully we can knock out the things we didn't get to do at the start of the trip. Then we may hop to another park. Not sure where. We have a 9:00pm ADR for Beaches and Cream so we can basically end our trip with the kitchen Sink. After we finish we will probably walk back to Epcot and take the skyliner back to AoA because we all fly home the next day. If Epcot is still opened my daughter and I may go in and ride Frozen at park closing.

Saturday: Everyone flies home. My oldest niece and middle sister both fly out at like 7 am on Delta and the rest of us around 10 am on Southwest. Thankfully we will all have someone to keep us company at the airport while waiting for our plans to board.

I have a feeling we will want to make these girls trip a more regular thing. My hubby nor my oldest sisters hubby care much for Disney. Oldest BIL is burnt out and hubby just isn't an "amusement park" fan.

I still need to work on transportation details but we will most likely take the bus first thing in the mornings. We will aim to be down there early to catch the first buses to the parks. Then we will take the skyliner when we hop from HS to EPCOT and on the way back to the resort the last day.

Thanks for posting a recap like this! I knew a little bit about your trip from awhile ago but really wanted to read it all. I'm so thankful for your moderation of this thread and can't wait to hear what a great time you have!

 

[Bama Mom]

For anyone looking to make/change park reservations, it looks like they have shifted availability through the end of the month. Days that were previously out of park passes now have a couple of options that appear to be juggled from the AP bucket.

UGH! Now my MK day is booked for everything except annual pass holders. Glad we have a second MK day booked just in case.

 

[Mzpalmtree]

UGH! Now my MK day is booked for everything except annual pass holders. Glad we have a second MK day booked just in case.

Yeah, mine has been a mess for awhile, but we are going during that super busy 14-20th timeframe. I was watching like a hawk trying to shift from AK to MK, but no dice. MK is out in all buckets on that day. Oh well—we will be at Disney and we’ll have a great time

 

[Bama Mom]

Oh well—we will be at Disney and we’ll have a great time

AMEN to that! That has been my motto this whole time.

 

[Thomasboys]

Thank you for this update! I’ve been trying to follow along as well and asked this question a couple times but the information keeps changing! I feel like the only guarantee to be there at the front of the pack right now is to be on the first bus from CBR to MK, since they hold Ubers with cars. I haven’t decided on a time to be at the bus stop to make that happen, but I’m guessing it means no Mickey waffles beforehand.

Ya'll will have to report back on the CBR bus to MK....unless you go after us. Ha! We will be there 3/18 and the MK bus situation "stresses" me out. I'm on the fence about waiting for the bus at CBR or heading over to the Riviera. We will be in a preferred room, so will be close to Riviera.

 

[Kitty & Covs Covs]

Ya'll will have to report back on the CBR bus to MK....unless you go after us. Ha! We will be there 3/18 and the MK bus situation "stresses" me out. I'm on the fence about waiting for the bus at CBR or heading over to the Riviera. We will be in a preferred room, so will be close to Riviera.

We'll be there before you, so I'll let you know! My brother is in a preferred room and we are right across the lake in Aruba/Jamaica so using Riviera isn't a bad idea. I know we'll probably go over there for QS anyway. I agree that CBR buses stress me out--I've never stayed there before but what I've read seems overwhelming!

 

[ENJDisneyFan]

We'll be there before you, so I'll let you know! My brother is in a preferred room and we are right across the lake in Aruba/Jamaica so using Riviera isn't a bad idea. I know we'll probably go over there for QS anyway. I agree that CBR buses stress me out--I've never stayed there before but what I've read seems overwhelming!

Honestly, it's really not as bad as people make it seem IMO. I really think people tend to overthink the bus situation. There is really no need to uber, or make ADRs , or anything else. Just be at the bus stop 90 minutes before official park opening and you really should be just fine.

 

[Justrose]

Hi!

I am Rose and I am taking my daughter Violet (9 years old) to Disney by myself as a "girl's only" trip. My husband doesn't feel safe traveling yet. I went on a solo trip back in November, and I am comfortable with my plan and Disney's safety precautions. We are staying at POP in a preferred pool room. We love POP! Background: we have been to Disney 4 times and I am a huge planner and watch this board closely to make my decisions. We are also rope drop people and early risers. Strategy this time will be rope dropping every park and then going back to POP every afternoon for swimming and/or rest. Then we will return to the parks at dinnertime and hopefully stay until close. This strategy will be dependent on hours and also my DD's endurance - this will be the first time we aren't using a stroller. YES I stuffed my 7 year old in a stroller the last time we went to Disney as a family - no shame!

We are flying to MCO on Sunday, March 21. Our flight doesn't get in until 7:30 pm, so we will pretty much be unpacking and going to sleep. I love unpacking and putting everything in its place. We are heavy packers and I hang a lot... we also change clothes frequently based on parks, rides, restaurants... I am crazy like that

Monday 3/22: Uber to breakfast at the Wave (Contemporary) at 7:45. Monorail to MK afterwards. Planning on knocking out SDMT first because it is my daughter's favorite, then maybe Splash. Dinner at BOG at 5:45. Overall MK plan is to just ride as much as possible after the Mountains and Haunted Mansion (my fav!) are done.

Tuesday 3/23: Uber to breakfast at Trattoria al Forno at 7:30. I was planning on walking to Hollywood Studios, but I have heard recently that the Friendship Boats are actually faster. Rope drop MMRR, then move to ToT and Rock N Roller Coaster. Plan for HS is to skip Toy Story Land until evening (I am hoping hours get extended, because riding SDD at night is so fun!). We do have a dinner reservation at 50's Primetime - again, my daughter's must do for HS! We are totally skipping Galaxy's Edge - neither of us are huge fans, and my husband will be sad if we go without him!

Wednesday 3/24: Sleep in. Eat at either POP or take the skyliner to Riviera to eat quick service at Primo Piatto. Head to Epcot for the Flower and Garden Festival! I am so excited; we have never been. I already warned Violet that I will want to look at every single topiary and if she acts like a turd, I will hire a babysitter that night and go by myself! And NO, this Mama is not joking. Her favorite ride is Soarin and mine is Figment, so we will get those rides done for sure. We have a dinner reservation at Teppan Edo at 5:50.

Thursday 3/25: Uber to breakfast at Kona Cafe. I am not sure how we will get to the MK yet afterwards - if anyone has suggestions let me know - the monorail is not running. Strategy for this day is to do whatever we didn't get done. We have a dinner reservation at 4:25 at Skipper Canteen - IMO one of the most underrated restaurants at Disney World.

Friday 3/26: Quick grab and go breakfast at POP, then head to the bus stop at 7:30 for Animal Kingdom. We are meeting friends there, and will rope drop FoP. We will definitely hit the safari, Dinosaur, and Everest and anything else we can do. We have a lunch ressie at 12:15 at Yak and Yeti. AK closes early (at least for now) so we will not leave midday like at other parks. After it closes, we will head back to POP for swimming and showering and maybe hop to Epcot for dinner - those booths look tasty!

Saturday 3/27 - No Park Day - Originally I planned on going to Sea World, but I think we are just going to take it easy and go to Disney Springs. We have a brunch reservation at Homecomin at 9:40. I know it will be busy. We want to go to Gideon's, the soap store, World Of Disney and of course the candy store too. After that, we will relax at POP, then head to Beaches and Cream for a reservation at 6:45. After that, I will probably pack.

Sunday 3/28: Departure day. Our flight doesn't leave until 8:30, so we plan to pack everything up and drop off luggage with Bell Services, then head to Hollywood Studios on the skyliner. Do whatever we can get done. We have a lunch reservation at Hollywood and Vine at 12.

Unknown: Will I buy the photopass? Which grocery service will I use? These are things I am going to hammer out over the next 18 days!

 

[Kmedders]

With 10 days left I'm getting too excited not to run through our trip a little bit with you guys! I don't have the patience for a PTR but hopefully it's interesting--I'd love to hear more about everyone else (even if you ran through it a month ago now that we are all there or almost there!)

I am traveling with my husband and 7 year old (soon to be 8 on the 19th!) and meeting my brother, his wife and his two girls there (18 and 14). My brother and I haven't been to a Disney park together in 30 years but wow did we love it back then! I cried when I watched the 50th anniversary video that said "I'm here with my brother."

We arrive Friday 3/12, way too late! Our flight gets in at 11:44pm. I am so nervous something will happen and with no other departing flights we won't make it. Trying to have positive thoughts here!

Head to CBR on ME to get in bed as quickly as possible--we are doing MK Saturday with a 9am open, so really have to be there by 8am. We're planning to mobile order QS from Contemporary at 7ish and Uber there to pick it up/eat breakfast and then walk to MK. (Any of you think this is a bad plan?)

We have park hoppers, but also have 8:55pm BOG reservations so I'm not sure if we'll go somewhere else at 2pm and then back or not. I guess it'll depend on the lines!

Sunday we have reservations for HS so we'll get up early to be in the front of the Skyliner line and everyone with MDE adult accounts will try for BGs. Our ADRs that day are 5:55pm Oga's and 8:40pm Chefs de France. I'm really excited about the 11pm Epcot close!

Monday we'll head to AK most of the day, but have ADRs for San Angel Inn at 8:30pm. We'll RD AK but for whatever reason I feel less stressed about that morning. Another late Epcot night!

Tuesday we were supposed to be leaving at night, but Frontier changed our flight to a 9:30am departure. We'll probably take an Uber so we don't have to leave three hours early on ME. What a last day bummer!

It's weird to plan with FPs, honestly, because I have no idea what our days will look like outside of those plans! My older niece put together a pdf with all of the snacks we need order in each park, a description of what they are, and where they are located in the park so we'll probably spend some time strategizing food, ha!

We've thankfully all been many times before (except for my husband who has been once and really couldn't care less, blargh) so I don't think we have any "must dos" except Galaxy's Edge and Everest for my daughter (we went in 2019 before it opened and we skipped AK that year). I'm hoping we can live and let live and take it easy once we are in the parks early and knock out those top headliners as much as we can.

What a weird trip to plan compared to other years! I'd be shuffling around FPs like crazy right now!

I also feel like packing is strange--we usually carry water bottles, but since you can't walk and drink that seems less pressing? If you can get a cup at QS it won't save any money, but maybe some hassle.

Anyway, I'm rambling! Other people post what their plans are, especially transportation to the parks and their schedules if they are RDing and what their plans for closing down the parks are! I love organizing morning opens and nighttime close plans more than anything!

I’m not sure if you have been since masks, but I highly recommend taking bottles of water. I am a marathon runner from texas and didn’t think the masks would be a big deal when I went last august. But the heat got to me one day in Hollywood Studios and I nearly passed out. If you are going to be good at drinking a lot and stopping to get water, then it may not be a big deal. But I am going to take bottles of water this time and take drinks every opportunity I can to avoid what happened last time.

 

[Thomasboys]

Our trip will consist of me, my husband, and our two elementary-age sons. My college roommate (sic 'em bears!) and her son, who was born two days after mine are meeting us for a portion of our trip. It will be the first time our kids meet.

Thursday, March 18 - Travel/Epcot
Our flight leaves at 6:05a and arrives at MCO around 12:30p where we will take ME to CBR. Our plan is to do some light unpacking, pick-up our grocery delivery order, and the take the Skyliner over to Epcot to knock out Test Track. We have a 5:15p ADR at Coral Reef and may squeeze another ride in or two and then will take a bus or uber back to CBR since we will be on that side of the park.

Friday, March 19 - Magic Kingdom
We will leave the hotel room at 6:15a and head to the bus stop for an 8a opening. As of now, our plan is to hit SDMT, Space Mountain, several of the rides in Tomorrowland OR after Space decide to go to BTMR, JC, POC, or HM. We will do a QS lunch and then do BTMR, Splash, POC or whatever we didn't do in Tomorrowland that afternoon. We have two Whispering Canyon dinner reservations -- a 5:05p and a 6:35p. We will decide which one we will keep closer to the trip, and someone who snags the other one will have a fun surprise. The plan is to come back to the park to do BTMR and Splash at night, then we will take the bus back over to CBR.

Saturday, March 20 - Animal Kingdom
We will leave the hotel around 6:30a for a bus for the 8a opening. Our plan is to hit FOP, Navi River (if low wait), Safarai, and the EE as many times as we can before a QS lunch at Satuli or Flame Tree. The afternoon will be It's Tough to be a Bug (snag a Jungle Juice Cocktail at Dawa Bar if its open...i LOVE Jungle Juice!!!), Dinosaur, and then back to CBR to rest/swim or to the Affection Station. We have two dinner reservations at Yak and Yeti -- a 5:15p for 4ppl and a 6:30p for 6ppl. I'll likely get rid of the 5:15p one. The 6:30p would allow our friends to join and give us more time to rest in the afternoon. Then we plan to ride EE at night as many times as we can.

Sunday, March 21 - Epcot
We will walk to Riveria for an 8:35a Toppolinos breakfast and then take the skyline over to Epcot. The plan is to hit Frozen, Gran Fiesta and spend time in the World Showcase. We have a 12:15p lunch at Via Napoli, then hope to ride Soarin, see Awesome Planet, do Mission Space (Blech...doing it for my son), TT, or back to CBR to rest/swim. We have a 6p dinner reservation at Biergarten

Monday, March 22 - HS
We WILL get a boarding group at 7a (the power of positive thinking, right?). As of now HS opens at 10a so we will head to the skyliner at 8:15a. Our plan is to ride SDD, MMRR, and TOT before lunch. We will do a QS and then do RNRC, TSM, and Alien Swirling Saucers (if the kids want to do this one). We have a 3:20p Oga's reservation which we may/may not keep. Then we will head to MFSR and dinner will either be a 5:05 50s Prime Time reservation or a 7:30p Beaches and Cream (I've got these later in the week too -- so I'll end up playing around and finalizing one of these two.)

Tuesday, March 23 - MK
The park opens at 9a so we will head to the bus stop around 6:45 and once in the park do SDMT, JC, and Haunted Mansion. We have a 1:15 BOG lunch reservation which I will likely cancel. Then Space, Buzz, Tomorrowland Speedway, and any of the Fantasyland rides we missed earlier if the boys want to do them (PP, Mermaid, Winnie the Poo, Carpets), if not, we will pick whatever sounds good. We have a 4:45p BOG dinner reservation which I will likely cancel and a 6:30p Wave reservation. We will either head back to ride a few rides at night or go back to the hotel.

Wednesday, March 24 - AK
We will either leave the hotel at 7:45a or sleep in -- I'll just see what everyone is feeling the night before. If the boys want to do FOP again we will do that, otherwise, we will likely ride the heck out of EE. Lunch will be QS at Flame Tree or Satuli. I have a 1;15p Yak and Yeti I need to get rid of. The afternoon will either be spent at the CBR pool, or going to the Animation Station. We have a 6p dinner at Sanaa

Thursday, March 25
6:30a we will head to the Skyliner to head over to HS. 7a try for a ROTR boarding pass. I have a 7:30a Toppolinos that I got for a friend, but need to release. we have a 1:25p lunch at H&V, a 2:50p Ogas, and a 5:40p and 7:30p Beaches and Cream. I'll re-work all of these closer to our HS day. I don't have specific ride plans for this day but it will likely involve a rotation of our faves: SDD, TOT, RNRC and then anything else we want to do again.

Friday, March 26 - HS and Travel day
We will try for another ROTR boarding pass and have a lunch reservation at Mama Melrose. It will be another last minute decision of which rides we want to do and then our flight out of MCO is at 5:30p that evening.