Our plans

[Tara1988]

DH and I are taking our kids (boys 6and2 and baby girl will be a couple months) October 1st-9th. We are staying at Caribbean beach. These are our plans so far:
Sat 10/1- check in and possibly a park. (We have an extra park day and aren't sure if we should use it on check in or check out day)
Sun 10/2- water parks then MNSSHP
Mon 10/3- HS lunch at Hollywood and vine
Tue 10/4- MK
Wed 10/5- epcot breakfast at Cape May dinner at Garden Grill
Thu 10/6- rest day. Morning at the pool then fort wilderness for the evening. Currently have mickey's bbq reserved but thinking about switching to HDDR if it's available
Fri 10/7- AK breakfast at tusker house before the park opens
Sat 10/8- MK dinner at liberty tree tavern
Sun 10/9- late breakfast at Ohana check out (maybe a park if we didn't go check in day)
What do you think of these plans so far? We also have a dinner at trex scheduled, but I know we are moving it to either check in day or our first MK day since it closes early for the party. We just added the first 2 days to qualify for free dining so we could upgrade to a moderate, so I'm trying to decide how to balance our plans with the extra time

 

[ajwolfe]

I would think you would want to go into the parks on the first day there - depending on when you arrive..I know my family wouldn't be able to get there and not hit an actual park until 2 days later - not counting the water park.

 

[TwoMisfits]

DH and I are taking our kids (boys 6and2 and baby girl will be a couple months) October 1st-9th. We are staying at Caribbean beach. These are our plans so far:
Sat 10/1- check in and possibly a park. (We have an extra park day and aren't sure if we should use it on check in or check out day)
Sun 10/2- water parks then MNSSHP
Mon 10/3- HS lunch at Hollywood and vine
Tue 10/4- MK
Wed 10/5- epcot breakfast at Cape May dinner at Garden Grill
Thu 10/6- rest day. Morning at the pool then fort wilderness for the evening. Currently have mickey's bbq reserved but thinking about switching to HDDR if it's available
Fri 10/7- AK breakfast at tusker house before the park opens
Sat 10/8- MK dinner at liberty tree tavern
Sun 10/9- late breakfast at Ohana check out (maybe a park if we didn't go check in day)
What do you think of these plans so far? We also have a dinner at trex scheduled, but I know we are moving it to either check in day or our first MK day since it closes early for the party. We just added the first 2 days to qualify for free dining so we could upgrade to a moderate, so I'm trying to decide how to balance our plans with the extra time

I would have skipped all the TS with kids that age (a 2 year old boy and a 4 month old girl and sitting at a table just don't go hand in hand in my experience)...but since you have free dining, I would just say you're asking a lot of you and your husband and your baby/2 year old with your plans. 4 full days before a rest day (in weather that could still be brutal at that time of year and crowds that will likely be not wonderful) could be a lot for you all. And you're gonna be tempted to do those long days b/c you have to spend awhile at the TS, you'll want to make the time up. So, I guess this is my way of saying...I would change a few TS to CS (even if it's not as financially beneficial) and I'd plan others to happen on a total pool/rest day (so you could do a character breakfast and then dinner)...and I'd change your plans and not do a water park on a weekend (crowded)...

 

[azcamper]

We found that the sit down locations worked out fine for out infant...however counter service is usually quicker and allows more flexibility in your day to day changes in plans. Have fun!

 

[Tara1988]

I would have skipped all the TS with kids that age (a 2 year old boy and a 4 month old girl and sitting at a table just don't go hand in hand in my experience)...but since you have free dining, I would just say you're asking a lot of you and your husband and your baby/2 year old with your plans. 4 full days before a rest day (in weather that could still be brutal at that time of year and crowds that will likely be not wonderful) could be a lot for you all. And you're gonna be tempted to do those long days b/c you have to spend awhile at the TS, you'll want to make the time up. So, I guess this is my way of saying...I would change a few TS to CS (even if it's not as financially beneficial) and I'd plan others to happen on a total pool/rest day (so you could do a character breakfast and then dinner)...and I'd change your plans and not do a water park on a weekend (crowded)...

Our experience has been the exact opposite with table service. If we could spring for the deluxe dining plan, we would have table service breakfast lunch and dinner because it works better for our family. We have taken our oldest a few times since he was 16 months and have always hated quick service meals, they are too hectic. We either have to wrangle restless kids in a boring line or send one parent to get all the food, and if that happens to be my husband, my order is guaranteed to be wrong. I do wish the character meals weren't all buffets, but even those are easier to manage by taking turns. We have always done commando, rope drop to fireworks, so the set time to sit down out of the heat is necessary. With more kids than parents, I hate risking not being able to find a table inside a quick service restaurant when it's time to eat. As far as the rest day goes, that was planned before we added the two days at the beginning, and so far, we haven't been able to adjust our adrs to make it more balanced. Which is why I'm leaning towards not doing a park day on arrival day and taking it easy on the second day with a water park before lunch then resting until the Halloween party. We were planning on doing the Halloween party on our first mk day and just staying in the park all day, so this is a much more relaxed plan than we started with. We aren't counting on going full commando this time since the baby is a wildcard, but we also aren't worried about seeing and doing everything because we will be back in a couple years.

 

[Tara1988]

We found that the sit down locations worked out fine for out infant...however counter service is usually quicker and allows more flexibility in your day to day changes in plans. Have fun!

The infant is really my only concern since we haven't met her yet. But I know table service will be best for my boys. We have every meal sitting at a table at home, and they are wonderful when we go out to eat. But picnics and trying to eat on the go is a nightmare. I'm struggling to figure out how we will use all of our quick service credits and trying to find the best qs locations where we have the best chance of getting an indoor table.

 

[Simba07]

We enjoyed sit down meals as a break too. If they are used to eating out it can work well.

There are QS that feel more like TS in every park. Columbia Harbour House and Be Our Guest (lunch) at MK. At Epcot Sunshine Season can be chaotic since it is more cafeteria like, but it is good. Cantina San Angel or Tangierine Cafe are a little calmer. At AK, Restantasaurus or Pizzafari would be indoors. I always feel like HS is harder for sit down QS. Maybe eat dinner at your resort or Disney Springs.

Overall, your plan isn't bad. With kids that age, we have done better having multiple days that ended by 1pm rather than doing a full rest day. Are your kids morning people or evening people? That could impact your plans, especially whether the Halloween party will work.

 

[Tara1988]

We enjoyed sit down meals as a break too. If they are used to eating out it can work well.

There are QS that feel more like TS in every park. Columbia Harbour House and Be Our Guest (lunch) at MK. At Epcot Sunshine Season can be chaotic since it is more cafeteria like, but it is good. Cantina San Angel or Tangierine Cafe are a little calmer. At AK, Restantasaurus or Pizzafari would be indoors. I always feel like HS is harder for sit down QS. Maybe eat dinner at your resort or Disney Springs.

Overall, your plan isn't bad. With kids that age, we have done better having multiple days that ended by 1pm rather than doing a full rest day. Are your kids morning people or evening people? That could impact your plans, especially whether the Halloween party will work.

They are definitely night owls. My oldest has done the Halloween party twice and we had to drag him out. The youngest will start getting sleepy around 10, but if his brother is still going, he will fight it. He's never been to Disney world, but they are both great on vacation, they can party all night and still not be cranky in the morning. But we're trying to keep things as flexible as possible, with only one morning we have to get up early.

 

[Pkltm]

I like the plans! We are going to be there around the same time 28th-5th. I like the water park before MNSSHP, that is how we work it too. If you use your extra day on check in or check out, would depend on when you arrive/leave?

 

[Tara1988]

I like the plans! We are going to be there around the same time 28th-5th. I like the water park before MNSSHP, that is how we work it too. If you use your extra day on check in or check out, would depend on when you arrive/leave?

We drive. It's 3 1/2 hours with no stops. So we would probably arrive sometime before noon and leave by 5.

 

[brockash]

DH and I are taking our kids (boys 6and2 and baby girl will be a couple months) October 1st-9th. We are staying at Caribbean beach. These are our plans so far:
Sat 10/1- check in and possibly a park. (We have an extra park day and aren't sure if we should use it on check in or check out day)
Sun 10/2- water parks then MNSSHP
Mon 10/3- HS lunch at Hollywood and vine
Tue 10/4- MK
Wed 10/5- epcot breakfast at Cape May dinner at Garden Grill
Thu 10/6- rest day. Morning at the pool then fort wilderness for the evening. Currently have mickey's bbq reserved but thinking about switching to HDDR if it's available
Fri 10/7- AK breakfast at tusker house before the park opens
Sat 10/8- MK dinner at liberty tree tavern
Sun 10/9- late breakfast at Ohana check out (maybe a park if we didn't go check in day)
What do you think of these plans so far? We also have a dinner at trex scheduled, but I know we are moving it to either check in day or our first MK day since it closes early for the party. We just added the first 2 days to qualify for free dining so we could upgrade to a moderate, so I'm trying to decide how to balance our plans with the extra time

I don't think they look bad...are you really wanting to do a water park? If so, then that's fine, but if it were us, especially with the ages of your kids (not sure if you've been there before, but there's not a lot for those ages to do), we'd just do a morning at the pool on the MNSSHP day (you can get into MK at 4:00). I think doing a water park first, might wear everyone out and you may not get a lot out of the party. I'd just save the money and do the water parks when the kids are older if you want.

What time will you get in on your arrival day? If it's at a decent time, I'd probably do the extra park day then. We're pretty tired by the end of our trip and busy with trying to get everything packed up etc. - You could also go to Disney Springs on your departure day if you had a lot of time to kill.

 

[Tara1988]

I don't think they look bad...are you really wanting to do a water park? If so, then that's fine, but if it were us, especially with the ages of your kids (not sure if you've been there before, but there's not a lot for those ages to do), we'd just do a morning at the pool on the MNSSHP day (you can get into MK at 4:00). I think doing a water park first, might wear everyone out and you may not get a lot out of the party. I'd just save the money and do the water parks when the kids are older if you want.

What time will you get in on your arrival day? If it's at a decent time, I'd probably do the extra park day then. We're pretty tired by the end of our trip and busy with trying to get everything packed up etc. - You could also go to Disney Springs on your departure day if you had a lot of time to kill.

We had to add either water park tickets or park hopper to qualify for free dining, and since we tried and hated park hopping, we thought we would try the water park instead. We are planning a very short day there from open to lunch, and considering renting a cabana and possibly having someone from kids nite out keep the infant there while we let the boys do everything they can. My oldest is excited about swimming with sharks, and my youngest loves water, so hopefully it won't be too awful. But my expectations are very low. We drive from less than 4 hours away, so no set time to arrive or leave. I was leaning towards using the extra park day when we leave to keep from having the first part of the trip before our rest day from being too busy. Also, on past trips, we have let our oldest pick his favorite thing and we did that again before heading home.