our disney plan

[lauradis]

Oh and get a snack in evening before leaving park or at resort.

 

[mrzrich]

You will never make it from an 11 am ADR at 1900 to an 1130 FP for Peter Pan even if you give yourself until the window closes at 1230.

You will have to eat, meet all the characters, pay, wait for a boat or monorail, go through bag check, go through turnstiles and make your way back to fantasyland

 

[mrzrich]

Since she loves pooh, why don't you switch on of your Ariel meets with the pooh ride?

 

[caroline1851]

May 11- 3:15 arrive at Orlando Airport travel to POFQ (our resort) using Magical Express.
5:10-6:10- Fast Pass- under the sea (We are pretty sure we will have to skip this one!)
 6:10- Dinner at The Crystal Palace (Pooh is the first character our daughter new. . .and even now she wants to sing the pooh
song before going to bed. . .although the lyrics are always different?)
7:10-8:10- Fast Pass- Meet Mickey Mouse at Town Square Theater
9:00- Main Street Electrical parade (Will likely try to watch near the Country Bears or Liberty square)
 9:35-9:55 Fast Pass- Wishes nighttime spectacular
*I don't think you'll make that FP under the sea. As someone else said, I wouldn't do any parks this day. go to resort, check in, eat, relax, swim, early bed.

May 12- Due to late night for three year old hoping for a bit later of a start (My wife and I would do rope drop every morning if our daughter
allows)
9:40-10:40- Fast Pass- Animal kingdom- Meet the Characters
10:35- Tusker House Restaurant
12:05- Fast pass- Kilimanjaro Safari
2:30-2:50- Fast pass- Nemo the musical (Nemo is a must for Mama and I, bu if we can we will go earlier and ignore the fast pass)
TBD- Hollywood studios and Fantasmic for the evening
*Go to park for RD. YOu can do KS first thing and check out some of the animals. I'd ditch the Tusker House reservation and take advantage of low crowds because it's still early. You will also have time for the Festival of the Lion King and the Flights of Wonder

May 13- 10:00-11:00 am- Fast pass turtle talk with Crush
11:15 AM - 12:15- Fast pass Soaring
11:25 AM- Chef Mickeys (I am pretty sure we are going to release this one. . .just seems to complicate the day)
12:30-1:30 Fast pass- Character Spot
3:05- Akershus Royal Banquet Hall
No Set plans for the evening
*I absolutely would cancel Chef Mickey's. Way too much travel time. Are you doing other things here that you're just not mentioning? Like Nemo, etc....


May 14- 10:20 -11:20 Fast pass-Enchanted Tales with Belle
11:30-12:30- Fast pass Meet Cinderella and Rapunzel at Princess Fairytale Hall (Cinderella is daughter's favorite....we've watched it 6 times n one weekend!)
12:50-1:50 Fast Pass meet Ariel (Again. . . likely to have to skip...did I mention I kind of hate fast passes)
 1:30- Hollywood studios- Hollywood and vine Disney Jr Lunch
No set plans for Evening but will likely wish to see fireworks
*Are you planning to do MK in morning, then HS then back to MK? Traveling to 3 parks in one day is EXHAUSTING. Are you planning any rides this day or is it all meeting character?


May 15- EMH- 8:00 To Magic Kingdom
9:50 AM - 10:50 AM- Fast pass- Meet Ariel- I know we have two will need to let one go!
11:00 AM- 1900 Park Faire (We finally got a break from Cinderella when our daughter discovered Mary Poppins!)
11:30-12:30- Peter Pan (Possibly another fast pass we need to skip)
 1:20-2:20- Meet Tinker Bell at Town Square Theater
5:40 flight leaves Orlando
*You'll need to leave park sooner than 2pm to catch ME to airport.

Are you doing other rides not listed? It seems the whole trip is meeting characters and dining reservations, which is fine OF COURSE if that's what you like.


I took my kids when they were dd2 and ds6 and then again when they were dd5 and ds9. We basically almost never did nighttime stuff. The day was too exhausting and it's a big effort to leave your resort, wait for bus, get into park, do stuff then go back out of park, wait for bus, travel back to resort, walk from bustop. We didn't even want to do this more than 1x per day. Typcially we got to the parks at RD (only solution to avoiding lines imo) then left around 3 (depending on day) and went back to resort for swimming and dinner etc.. Earliesh bedtime leading to another early morning at RD. Avoided meltdowns from over-tired kids. Yes they missed nighttime stuff but they can see it when they're older is what I thought.

 

[caroline1851]

Also, on your last day, I would not waste all of the time it's going to take to get to Park Faire to eat.

 

[mrzrich]

As I type this, there is an ADR For 1900 available at 1005 for a party of 3 on May 14. If you can adjust that day a little, maybe you won't have to rush on your day of departure

 

[senadler]

Since you are doing character meals, I would suggest using your FP+ for rides instead of more character M&G. For us, that is the main reason we do the character meals. We would rather spend our time in the part on rides than waiting in lines to meet the characters.

I would also suggest not planning any ADRs anywhere near nap time. With all the excitement at Disney, that just tends to be a disaster with a tired little one. We normally try to do rope drop with a character lunch and then back to the resort for swim or nap.

On your Epcot Day:

May 13- 10:00-11:00 am- Fast pass turtle talk with Crush
11:15 AM - 12:15- Fast pass Soaring
11:25 AM- Chef Mickeys (I am pretty sure we are going to release this one. . .just seems to complicate the day)
12:30-1:30 Fast pass- Character Spot
3:05- Akershus Royal Banquet Hall
No Set plans for the evening

I think you definitely need to skip CM, there is not way to get there. I would suggest moving Akershus to that earlier time if you can get it.

 

[GWhitten98]

May 11- I agree with PP, not sure you will make this FP, I would suggest trying to get your Mickey FP during that window(at least it would be on your way), also then you could go directly to Adventure land and hit a few rides prior to finding your space for the Parade.

May 12- I think a late start at AK would be great on this day. We also love TH around the time you have so you may be able to sample lunch and dinner. I agree with PP about trying to squeeze in the other shows at AK. I also agree that your second afternoon/evening at HS may be a better fit for Fantasmic.


May 13- Chef Mickey is probably not going to work in your current schedule time wise plus two ADRs that close would be food overload. There are so many great things to do at Epcot, its one our favorite places. I would just take your time and explore WS for the evening.

May 14- I don't think there is any way you can make the Ariel FP and get to HS for ADR by 130. I would suggest moving one of the two. Also I would not hop to HS just for lunch and then go back to MK. That will take a lot of time. Either stay at HS and do the evening activities or don't go at all and find another ADR. If you want to take advantage of the next days EMH you may not want to make this too late of a night


May 15- If you make EMH, you could potentially get a lot accomplished this morning. I don't see any way to make PP after your breakfast, I would like an push that out to later.

 

[LaurEm378]

It will be okay!

You're going at a great time of year. If you can get to parks early in the day, a lot of your FPs will be unnecessary anyway. Standby lines won't be ridiculously long except for headliners like Soarin and mountains and princesses.

I'd cut some of the TS dining. A lot of it is redundant because you're meeting the same characters with FPs. Pare those down, then look at your park itinerary and make a list of just a few meals you really want to do, that make sense with your park plans, and what the optimal date/time to do them would be. Then keep checking MDE obsessively. Almost all of the dining you want will open up as your trip gets closer, if you're willing to check MDE 50 times a day.

It's a short trip with a small child. You won't have time to do all the things you want to do. I know you want your daughter to experience everything, but it's not going to happen in one short trip. That doesn't make it a waste of money. Don't stress about it, and DON'T lock yourself into an impossible itinerary. Just go and enjoy yourself and have fun with your family and let your daughter enjoy the magic. The magic is everywhere, you don't need ADRs and FPs to catch it. I promise!

 

[mrzrich]

May 13, instead of Chef Mickey's would you want to do cape may? It's more convenient to Epcot and there is currently an ADR available for a party of 3 at 10:20 am

 

[IrishNYC]

Rope drop to fireworks every day, nap or not, seems extremely ambitious to do with a 3 year old. I don't even expect my 5.5 year old to hang in there for all that.

 

[revwooster]

Thanks. I feel like I am getting some good advice.

I feel the need to assure some folks that we will NOT run our daughter into the ground until she is tired and cranky and miserable. We fully expect to spend some time at the hotel in the pool and we want her to have time to do some of the things that she discovers along the way. We are also fully aware that she won't know what she's missing. Weare also trying to balance what memories we want to have with her.

You all are helping tremendously though. I knew with everything in me that this itinerary was not going to work. I had just spent so much time with it that I couldn't see the trouble spots. Thanks for help

I did only mention time-bound things. My frustration has been feeling very time bound by those things. I want our schedule to have more room to breathe and be "magical"

We are on Disney Dining and sit down meals are important to us. Our daughter is a good eater. And on our last trip to the parks, our worst days were quick service only. For us the chance to sit down and eat rather than shovel it in on the go is tremendously important. That being said: Chef Mickey's will be gone. (I shouldn't even have included it, I just wanted to in case someone thought it was worth the time). And we will likely be dropping Hollywood and Vine. We will likely go to Hollywood Studios in the evening for a Fantasmic. There's not really anything else there that interests us at this moment. (Our Daughter doesn't know the toy story characters)

We are likely to stick with Wishes the first night. We doubt that our daughter will be ready for bed early that night. We suspect that she will be pretty excited. So we figure if she will be up we might as well be at the parks. And since we only had a few days, we wanted to maximize park time. However, if she crashes, we will go in early and we can save fireworks for the closing night.

I am struggling a bit with whether to let go of Character meals or Meet and greets. Any guidance? We want to make sure that our daughter is not just waiting in a long line or rushed through for a picture opportunity. Our experience last time was that meals were great because you weren't waiting in line, you could eat while waiting for a character. We felt like we got some better interactions at the tables then we did in the meet and greets. But we could be convinced otherwise. . . we know we want some meals. She would absolutely LOVE being part of the princess parade or shaking musical instruments with Donald at Tusker.

Thanks so much! I really do appreciate the help. if we had more time, I could wrap my head around it so much better and plan the perfect trip.. But that's why I have you all!

 

[mrzrich]

Since that Epcot day is going to be a long one for Dd missing her nap time, be sure to bring her bathing suit so that she can play in the splash features. Places to chill out in Epcot include, the "oh canda" waiting area, the morocco pavilion, the living seas, the test track exit area, the China pavillion, innoventions.

 

[eyehartdisney]

I am struggling a bit with whether to let go of Character meals or Meet and greets.

You have a lot more options if you don't do character meals, maybe keep 1? Do you know how your daughter will act with characters? They're very big, and can be intimidating at times.

 

[revwooster]

We know that she will do fine. several months ago we went to Sesame Street live and she interacted with her Sesame Street pals. I will never forget the look on her face when one of the muppets (an unnamed one) touched her on the head and our DD turned around and saw the charcter. It was sheer Joy. And this year for easter she insisted on having her picture taken with the Easter Bunny holding her (although I find the easter bunny a bit creepy).

 

[ariane37]

First, like I mentioned in my previous post I TOTALLY get having a sit down meal every day. DH and I both just can't handle QS all day. I know some people can and that's cool but we know we can't so TS ADR's ate one of our priorities.

Since that appears to be one of your priorities as does meeting characters, I will suggest letting go of some M & G's in favor of character meals if you can fit them in a schedule you're happy with. As you said, you can kill 2 birds with one stone by eating and meeting at the same time and those parades are cute. It also frees up some FP's for rides.

You know, I've been taking my boys, now 13 and 9, since they were 4 and 1. On each consecutive trip when they were younger we learned news things that worked for us, and along the way sometimes said "well, that kind of sucked" lol. But every trip was great and you can only plan so much, and when the kids are young and you don't have lots of experience bringing them you just get to a point where you have to say "ok, here's what we're doing. We'll see how it goes!" I hope that makes sense

 

[Ava]

Probably the best piece of planning advice I've read on these boards is don't think of FP+ as an obligation. They are easy to change on the app as you go along, or you don't have to use them at all. My suggestion, instead of stressing about there not being early FP times available, is to shedule your FP for the late afternoon/evening, after you come back from nap time. If you get to the parks early and tour efficiently, you won't need FP in those first couple hours after opening. Have lunch around 11:30-12:00, then take a break. Make FP ressies starting around 4 or 5pm in whatever park you plan to be at for the evening.

Some more specific comments:
Personally, I would not schedule an ADR on your arrival night. All kinds of delays can happen with traveling, or you all just might be tired. You can tentatively plan to go to the park for fireworks if everyone is up to it, but I would not book anything with a no-show penalty.

Take a look at all of the character meals you have planned and make a list of who you'll meet at each. If you have multiples that are very similar sets of characters, consider canceling or switching some out for different meals. Same with the meet & greets. If you have a lot of overlaps with the character meals, switch those FP for something else.

Also I think the most important thing to remember is that as long as everyone has fun, you'll have gotten your money's worth. There is so much to do and see at WDW and sometimes the most fun and best memories are found where you least expect them. One of my favorite memories from our last trip was being at the Chapeau shop on Main St on our first day, waiting for my girl's ear hats to be embroidered, and my 5-year-old trying on all the biggest, most ridiculous hats she could find. I snapped a bunch of photos of her on my phone and they're some of my favorites from the trip because she's laughing with joy in every one. We had a great time at our character meals and rides and shows too but sometimes those unplanned moments are the best.

Just try to relax and enjoy the time with your family, and you will have a great trip.

 

[lilmape]

Totally get the need for sit downs. We have one scheduled for every day. Typically early breakfast or lunch before we exit for rest time. I personally prefer character meals because you get to eat and meet the characters rather than waiting in line (though we will do that a couple times too). We have also planned for wishes and the evening parade because we know that our kiddo can handle it when she naps. I too was going to skip HS, but the DIS folks changed my mind. They have the frozen sing along, little mermaid, disney jr live, character-palooza, street shows ( mulch,sweat,and shears is a favorite of ours), beauty and the beast, the muppets, and fantasmic. We are doing Hollywood and vine because my kiddo loves disney jr. So we are having a lunch. Going to rest and coming back for the show. I'd maybe try to get a dinner there and see a couple shows for a change in pace before fantasmic

 

[revwooster]

Thanks for all the advice and tips. You have really helped a lot!

Here is our revised (And likely to be revised again….) itinerary. I feel the need for more certainty towards the end of the trip, but that will come as other things fall in place.

Reminder: Traveling with a 3 year old.

Continued input is welcome!


Monday May 11- - 3:15 arrive in Orlando take Magical Express to POFQ

Head to Magic Kingdom for exploration

Quick Service meal

Fastpass: Pooh Ride 6:10-7:10 (Optional)

Fastpass: Meet Mickey

Parade and Fireworks (FP) (if tolerated)


Tuesday May 12— Go to Animal kingdom for morning

Fastpass: Safari 9:25-10:25

ADR: Tusker House (Mickey, Donald, Goofy, Daisy) 10:35

Fastpass: Festival of Lion King 11:30-11:50 (Appears to be right near Tusker?)

Fastpass: Finding Nemo 12:30-12:50

Return to Resort for Afternoon

Head to Hollywood Studios for Evening (if Tolerated)

Quick Service meal

Beauty and Beast or Frozen Show

Fantasmic @ 9:00


Wednesday May 13- Head to Epcot for morning

No time bound plans at moment

Must do’s: Character Spot, Turtle Talk, Living Seas, Soarin’

Hoping for breakfast at Akershus (using Disney Dining Buddy to keep me from

checking every 10 minutes)

Return to Resort for afternoon

Magic Kingdom in evening (If I understand the advice I have received, you all

would recommend saving our fastpasses for Magic Kingdom this evening)


Thursday May 14- Head to magic Kingdom for morning

Quick Service: Be Our Guest 9:05 (Do you recommend breakfast or lunch here?)

Head to Resort for Afternoon

Return to Magic Kingdom for evening

(Again, if I understand the advice. . .save fast passes for evening?)

We have not yet landed on a table service meal for today.



Friday May 15- Head to Magic Kingdom

ADR: Crystal Palace 8:45

No fastpasses at this time. Will use this day to revist favorites or catch what we missed.

Leave park 12:30

Leave resort @ 2:30

Flight home 5:40

Begin counting down to 2018 trip. . . . .

 

[lilmape]

Looks awesome! So much more relaxed you're going to have a great time!