Overwhelmed! Need help w/planning schedule

[JJ&JSMOM]

You don't have to give out any trade secrets but I need some tips on planning our itinerary (spelling?), please. This is so overwhelming! We have a 7 day MYW tkt plus dining so I have picked 7 TSs and I have written down priorities such as parades and what characters kids (DS7, DD4, DD2 ages at time of travel) want to meet. We don't go until May 07 so I can't get EMHs yet so I can't do much right now probably. But I'm still agonizing over it! Why can't disney post them sooner!

I know its a personal choice but some people do a.m. EMH and some do only EMH p.m. and some completely avoid EMH - how does a first timer know what to do? At this point I'm leaning towards EMH a.m. for MK and AK and maybe try an EMH p.m. depending on how kids do.

How much time to spend in each park? If it wasn't for Princess meal and Living Seas (and of course the "big golf ball" seen on WDW dvd) we probably wouldn't be going to Epcot. In reading about MGM - that looks like a 1/2 day - kids probably wouldn't like TOT & Aerosmith ride (forgot name) but son wants to see parade for the Power Rangers. MK no doubt will be the most visited park. AK probably a day there but no more.

We are planning SeaWorld for one day. Thanks for any tips. I do enjoy this planning but for some reason I'm stressing.

 

[Disneytwinz]

Wow, did I write your post? We are also visiting in May 2007.

I know what you are saying about the EMH not being posted yet. That really makes planning in advance so much harder!!
For now, the only thing I have been able to do is write down the restaurants that we want to go to. I went to the Dis and made use of the pictures and menus to narrow down the list. I pegged them out on the maps.

A friend of mine assures there will be plenty to do in Epcot or MGM for my kids. I'm not seeing it on the maps, however. I sure hope there is!

I figure we're going to try the EMH and if they don't work out, well we can leave and have fun in our resort.

I would also like to plan one day in SeaWorld. I'm just not sure how to fit it in {yet}. We're going for 6 nights.

 

[BuzzBelleMom]

We went to DW in 2005 when DD was 6 and DS was 3 1/2. I had heard EPCOT was not geared toward children, so we did it the first day.

It was a struggle to get DD OUT of WS. She loves to color and that mask that you get in the countries that you can decorate and get the attached stick stamped was a HUGE HIT! We had to force her to leave each country. We also had to stop to see the characters in the countries. (They were the same ones we had seen at Princess Storybook Breakfast at Akershus.)

I had very little time to shop. Or see anything else.

This year, we planned two days at EPCOT. She wants to visit each country in depth. We will do 5 countries one day and 6 the other. And then there is the doll shop in Germany. She collects dolls.

DS loves swords and shields. He will want to extend his collection (he got 2 on the last visit.)

We found that MGM is great for the extended night hours. Tower of Terror is great at night. The park tends to lighten up after Fantasmic.


HTH

 

[KittyKitty]

I've read enough trip reports to know that children that young may not want to get up early for EMH, nor stay awake for evening EMH. You can try it the 1st day to see how they do. But you could also plan on going to the park that had EMH the day before.

And that Flexibility is the name of the game. Relax, I promise you , you won't see it all.

Epcot: Make sure to see Crusher at Living Seas, Soarin' at the Land, Figment and Honey I shrunk the Audience,Energy, The activity area of Mission:Space.
In World showcase, they have kidcots that your children can make a mask and then get signatures from each country. Mexico and Norways rides are slow. Many characters around.

MGM: See Mermaid, Disney Playhouse, Beauty and the Beast, Indiana Jones show,The Muppets, Disney Radio is located here w/B.B. Good, Backlot Tour,Movie ride(one part scary at Alien scene) Stunt Car show,Honey I shrunk playground. Again lots of characters.

It will be warm, but shouldn't too busy. So the pool back at your resort will be a huge hit!!

Have a great time!

 

[IWISHFORDISNEY]

I would buy the birnbram book if it is your first time. It was a huge help to us the first time and we still get a copy every year. Epcot is very kid friendly and we usually spend 2 days there. Just so much to do and it is spread out we really love it there and so have all 9 of my nephews and my toddler. The kids can get on every attraction and the mask thing takes a day itself. My little one carries it around every day at home. Thank goodness we are going back in November because I dont think I can tape the mask back together again.

Plan your dinners with your evening park. Makes it easier.

I found that an afternoon break for naps/swim time work best and early dinner but that is just our family. We did the evening hours with little ones dozing in the stoller after dinner and the older kids getting on the rides. Our family ranges from 2-30 for kids and then the adults on board.

We ususally do 2 days MK, 2 days Epcot, 1 day mgm, 1 day ak and one day at the hotel but again that is just us.

HTH.

 

[Bama_C]

We don't go until May 07 so I can't get EMHs yet so I can't do much right now probably. But I'm still agonizing over it! Why can't disney post them sooner!

I know what you mean, but if you can find out what they were in July of this year that will probably help. They will *probably* be the same.

I know its a personal choice but some people do a.m. EMH and some do only EMH p.m. and some completely avoid EMH - how does a first timer know what to do? At this point I'm leaning towards EMH a.m. for MK and AK and maybe try an EMH p.m. depending on how kids do.

Definitely personal choice. We were there in Sept. last year and will be again this year. Your kids are younger than mine (15, 12 & 9), but we found the a.m. EMH (*hour* as in singular) to be not that necessary. We are all late nighters, so we have a hard time getting going in the mornings. The morning we went to Epcot, some rides that were supposed to be open were not (Soarin' our fave!). The morning we went to MGM, the machines to let us in the gates weren't working. We ended up with "EM 30 mins." We made much more use of the evening EMHs because for most parks it's 3 hours. Just my thoughts on this.

How much time to spend in each park? If it wasn't for Princess meal and Living Seas (and of course the "big golf ball" seen on WDW dvd) we probably wouldn't be going to Epcot.

Epcot is actually our favorite park. We love everything from Spaceship Earth to every country. For younger kids, they have to see Journey Into Imagination and will probably love Turtle Talk with Crush. Some rides will be a little scary (UofE and Norway's Maelstrom). The daughters would probably love the princesses in the countries, and all of them would love the characters in the UK (Mary Poppins, Alice, Tigger, Pooh, Eeyore, Piglet, etc.) and also Aladdin and Jasmine in Morocco. Also, they have Kidcot stops in the countries where your children can make a mask and then get it stamped and a special tag from each country. My younger ones have always loved this. There are some quiet boat rides (Livin with the Land and Mexico) that I find to be relaxing with little ones. (When our kids were young like yours are.) Anyway, you as the parents definitely don't want to miss out on Epcot! Now that our kids are older we probably spend as much time there as in MK.

In reading about MGM - that looks like a 1/2 day - kids probably wouldn't like TOT & Aerosmith ride (forgot name) but son wants to see parade for the Power Rangers.

You might be surprised that you may want more than 1/2 day there simply for scheduling the shows. They have Beauty and the Beast which is not very long (seems like around 30 mins), but great. The stunt show Lights, Motors, Action is a bit long for little ones, but your 7yo would probably love it. There is a new show for little ones (can't remember name) but it has gotten rave reviews. And, don't miss Fantasmic, it's the best thing at MGM.

MK no doubt will be the most visited park.

For sure with your kids ages!!

AK probably a day there but no more.

Surprisingly, we usually do 1/2 day there. It's large and a LOT of walking. The little ones will get tired pretty quickly. The thrill rides (ExpE, Dino, and KaliRR are not necessarily for small ones. Kali more b/c of the MASSIVE amount of water.) Has a few things for the little ones (Tough to be Bug, Dinoland), but not as much IMHO.

We are planning SeaWorld for one day. Thanks for any tips. I do enjoy this planning but for some reason I'm stressing.

There are some GREAT sites that help with planning. I have downloaded some great pdf files from themouseforless which have extensive planning helps. They even have journals... some for adults and some for kids.

Here's a link to the MFL website of links to helpful planning websites: (OK I haven't had enough posts to post links but it's themouseforless with com on the end, then click in the left frame under "Trip Planning" on "Links You Can Use.")

Hope this helps!!

 

[bekkiz]

A few suggestions (and these are just my opinon--others may have a different take)

I don't find the evening hours worth it, except for maybe at MK. AK and MGM have such few rides, and people are much more apt to hang out in the evening then get up early, it leads to really, really long rides and no fast pass.

For example, last June (before most kids got out of school, maybe June 3rd or something) we went to the evening hours at MGM. The line for Rockin Roller Coaster was 75 minutes, and stayed that way for all 3 hours. TOT was 60 minutes. And again, no FP.

Compared to the very next morning, we got up for early hours at Epcot. We got there about 10 minutes before they let people in. We rode Mission Space, Soarin, Test Track and Spaceship Earth in less than an hour and then took the monorail over to Chef Mickey's for breakfast.

MK is a little different, because there are SO many rides. That would be the only place I would do the evening hours.

Also, going in May will ensure much shorter lines, so you may find that you don't need the extra hours. This also might mean more flexibility for your plan once you get there. Your kids may fall in love with the animals at AK, or the fountains at Epcot. I think a "go with the flow" attitude would be a good bet.

 

[neatokimmo]

I am a non-roller coaster rider so I miss a lot of the long lines for the popular rides.

If it were me, I would avoid the parks with extra magic hours. I would think those parks would be the most popular on those days and lead to longer lines for the things your kids do want to ride.

I love going to Disney in May. It isn't crowded yet and its not blistering hot yet. Last time we did AK in the morning, all of Epcot in the afternoon/evening and made it to the MK for fireworks. That was my last park hopper ticket from 1996, I was so sad to see it go

 

[Bama_C]

I agree with IWISHFORDISNEY that Birnbaum's Guide to Walt Disney World is great. He also has one called Birnbaum's Guide to Walt Disney World with Kids that might even better. There is one that is written specifically for kids to read with activities for them to do before the trip called Birnbaum's Kids Guide to Walt Disney World. I checked all three of these out from our local library when planning for our trip.

 

[JJ&JSMOM]

Wow thanks to all for taking the time to sit down and type all these responses. I'll check out july's emhs and do a sample itinerary - if the hours aren't the same thats ok at least I've played around w/our schedule. I didn't realize Epcot offered that much for kids - I was wrong! Thanks again for the info.

 

[powellrj]

when our kids were younger one thing we found that we liked to do was plan our character meals for the last seating of breakfast.

Breakfast was always the cheapest meal, but if we waited until almost lunch time, we called it brunch! It was always less crowded so they weren't as rushed with the characters and we had already had a couple hours of park time so they were ready for the break.

 

[nurseypoo5]

I avoid EMH days like the plague, i will be visiting parks the day AFTER a late EMH... I'd rather have a shorter day with less people and less line waiting, then a longer day of standing arm pit to elbow.

 

[Tink&Mickey]

Wow! I feel like you read my mind, we are going in April, 8 days + dining, and SeaWorld too. My mind is so boggled trying to figure this out. We are staying at the Coronado for the whole time, I picked that resort because of the pool and slide, but I'm wondering if we will actually have time to go back to the hotel, get changed, swim and bit and then back to the parks for reservations somewhere, I don't know what time to make reservations for to give us time for swimming. Is that too much to expect we will get done in a day? I also want to see Illuminations at Epcot, Wishes at MK, Princess breakfast at Epcot. I don't know where to begin planning the days and what time to make reservations. I don't want to miss anything!

 

[JJ&JSMOM]

Wow! I feel like you read my mind, we are going in April, 8 days + dining, and SeaWorld too. My mind is so boggled trying to figure this out. We are staying at the Coronado for the whole time, I picked that resort because of the pool and slide, but I'm wondering if we will actually have time to go back to the hotel, get changed, swim and bit and then back to the parks for reservations somewhere, I don't know what time to make reservations for to give us time for swimming. Is that too much to expect we will get done in a day? I also want to see Illuminations at Epcot, Wishes at MK, Princess breakfast at Epcot. I don't know where to begin planning the days and what time to make reservations. I don't want to miss anything!

This is my first time to WDW w/kids but what I did was start w/a list of priorities - things that are a must do. I plan on doing those things first to make sure we get them done. Everything else will be icing on the cake. Looks like you did this already w/Illuminations, Wishes and EP breakfast. We'll probably do one firework show as they are late in the evening.

I'm still not sure about the dining plan - it seems to tie us down quite a bit. I know I know it saves us money but flexibility may be more of a priority for us - not sure about that yet!

Since you're going in April next month you'll know your EMHs! Then the fun starts - trying to piece everything together. Good luck!