Overwhelmed!!!

[awilliams4]

Personally, I would keep most if not all the TS and forego Universal. We used to do the theme park commando approach on pretzels and hot dogs and thought it was great.....until we started slowing down and doing two TS a day and just being realistic on our expectations and have found that we have a much more valued vacation. We take our time and get to what we get to.....including sleeping in. Imagine sleeping in on vacation!!!

Staying at AoA and having breakfast at Ohana and then dinner at WCC via buses may be a bit much. However, you would get to see some cool resort themeing.

 

[laughinplace199]

I would start by asking each person what attraction in each park is important to them...make those high on the list. Once those are done, just relax and enjoy the rest of the day.

This is great advice. We do this too. Once we've done everyone's "must do" attraction, then we see what else we can fit in. If we can't do other stuff, no biggie because we did what people wanted to do most. If we can fit in more stuff, bonus!

 

[Bonniec]

although perusal of this board can sometimes give you the idea that if you don't plan out every single second you will be lost, this is not in fact the case.

Remember it's about having fun, not having a touring plan.

I agree with this SO much!!

Having everything planned out with kids that age and a non-theme park loving hubby is setting yourself up for disaster. Go with the flow, realise you can't see it all....probably not even half of it, and just enjoy your vacations. You will have a great trip

 

[laughinplace199]

This is so much to plan. A friend of mine and I (both single moms) are taking our kids to WDW in November. We have 5 days of park passes and are staying at the AoA. We have our ADR's planned (free dining plan) and that is all! I have no idea how to plan touring the parks. We want our kiddos (ages 4, 5, 10, 13) to see the big stuff, ride the rides, meet the characters and have a laid back (as much as you can at WDW) vacation. Is there anyone out there that can help me with touring plans. I joined touring plans.com but it is still so much to try to fit our ADR in with the plans.... HELP! ANY help would be appreciated!

Here is our park dates and ADRs

16th - MK - CP @3:30 for early dinner so we can attend MVMCP
17th - HS - MMR @ 12:20 - Fantasmic pkg
18th - off day - Ohana @ 9:25 am and WCC @ 4:35 pm dinner
19th - Going to IoA for HP
20th - AK - TH @12:40 pm lunch and HoB @ 8 pm
21st - MK - LTT @ 7:45 dinner
22nd - EP - CR @ 1:45 lunch
23rd - Going home...

THANKS!



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I noticed that you have 2 late-ish dinners. Can your little ones handle dining that late? Especially if you are planning to be up early for rope drop the next morning?

Also, are you going to Universal solely for HP, or do you want to see other stuff too? I'm asking because I think there are only 3 HP rides, and the 4 and 5 yr old may not be tall enough for all of them. I was considering HP for our last trip, but my 5 yr old was not tall enough for 2 out of the 3 HP rides, so we're wating a year or two. But, if your kids are too short, I'm sure there are plenty of other things that you could do with the little ones while the bigger kids do HP.

Since your trip isn't long, I'd consider skipping the day off and doing another day at Epcot.

Table service meals do take up a lot of time, but we enjoy a TS dinner every night. Also, we try to do one or two character meals so that the kids can meet Mickey and some other characters without having to waste a lot of park time.

 

[serene56]

Here is our park dates and ADRs

16th - MK - CP @3:30 for early dinner so we can attend MVMCP
17th - HS - MMR @ 12:20 - Fantasmic pkg
18th - off day - Ohana @ 9:25 am and WCC @ 4:35 pm dinner
19th - Going to IoA for HP
20th - AK - TH @12:40 pm lunch and HoB @ 8 pm
21st - MK - LTT @ 7:45 dinner
22nd - EP - CR @ 1:45 lunch
23rd - Going home...

THANKS!

MNSSHP and an early day the next day do not go hand in hand.
not with the young ages of some of the kids.
Sad that you already have ADR set up.

When we did the party-- we made world showcase as our after party day- it opened at 11am.

Since you already have your adr-- sleep in then head to the park

we went with a 5 year old- although at home she is an early riser-- and a late to bed kind of person-- touring kicked her butt.
we napped every day

 

[serene56]

Curious-- what is HoB?

 

[mickeyluv'r]

House of Blues. Is CR Coral Reef perhaps? OP, will you have car, or will you need WDW transportation?

Not trying to brag, but the kids in our extended family are perfectly able to handle a late night followed by an early morning. Especialy if you follow that she's got a rest day. Usually it's the adults in our family that can't keep up a commando pace for a full week. It really depends on the kids, and how early they start travel on their travel day.

Ours also handle 8pm dinners just fine. A stroller makes a big difference for a kid that age. Im assuming witha four year old that she's going to have strollers, or maybe even a double stroller.

In November I see Fantasmic offered at 6:30pm. I know our family could generally handle that, esp if the next day is a rest day. She also doesn't HAVE to make RD on her Hs day, but getting to TSM early is generally a good way to hit HS.

The third day is probably also fine, but if you were going to skip anything, I'd drop the breakfast that day.

If you do not have a car, then getting to the breakfast might not be 'a relaxing pace.' Also with 'Ohana, if you wait until the last minute to cancel, you'll get charged a $10pp fee! So if you wake up that day and don't feel up to it, too bad. On the other hand, it's character meal, and WCC is menu - so you dont have to order full dinners that night. You can also nap after breakfast if you choose, and go to bed early that night.

We usually finish up AK by 3pm, so that would give us plenty of time before the HoB dinner if we wanted to relax. If you have a car,then getting back after dinner will be easy. By bus it will take a little longer, but as long as you don't linger after dinner, you should be back before 10:30.

 

[ZoZo]

I agree that getting a good guide book is a good place to start; I love the Unofficial Guide. It gives you a lot of great, basic information about the parks, including touring suggesions, information and ratings about each attraction, and suggested touring plans. It also goes into detail about how to best use Fast Pass.

I think these chat boards are wonderful, but I find the best way to use them is to get at Epcot?") A guide book is a great source of all of the information you need, all in once place.

And as another poster suggested, I bet your local library has the Unofficial Guide. If not, you can always buy it - I think it's a great investment.

 

[knottmel1]

Personally, I would keep most if not all the TS and forego Universal. We used to do the theme park commando approach on pretzels and hot dogs and thought it was great.....until we started slowing down and doing two TS a day and just being realistic on our expectations and have found that we have a much more valued vacation. We take our time and get to what we get to.....including sleeping in. Imagine sleeping in on vacation!!!

Staying at AoA and having breakfast at Ohana and then dinner at WCC via buses may be a bit much. However, you would get to see some cool resort themeing.

IoA is a must...for the older kids. But that being said, I like your idea. I don't expect to do everything. It would take weeks to do that. I don't know that we'll sleep in, but rest is planned. I hoped that the ADR's would help with character meet and greets, so we could skip most of those in the parks.

our Ohana/WCC day is set aside JUST for resort touring. Going all around the world so to speak.

 

[knottmel1]

House of Blues. Is CR Coral Reef perhaps? OP, will you have car, or will you need WDW transportation?

Not trying to brag, but the kids in our extended family are perfectly able to handle a late night followed by an early morning. Especialy if you follow that she's got a rest day. Usually it's the adults in our family that can't keep up a commando pace for a full week. It really depends on the kids, and how early they start travel on their travel day.

Ours also handle 8pm dinners just fine. A stroller makes a big difference for a kid that age. Im assuming witha four year old that she's going to have strollers, or maybe even a double stroller.

In November I see Fantasmic offered at 6:30pm. I know our family could generally handle that, esp if the next day is a rest day. She also doesn't HAVE to make RD on her Hs day, but getting to TSM early is generally a good way to hit HS.

The third day is probably also fine, but if you were going to skip anything, I'd drop the breakfast that day.

If you do not have a car, then getting to the breakfast might not be 'a relaxing pace.' Also with 'Ohana, if you wait until the last minute to cancel, you'll get charged a $10pp fee! So if you wake up that day and don't feel up to it, too bad. On the other hand, it's character meal, and WCC is menu - so you dont have to order full dinners that night. You can also nap after breakfast if you choose, and go to bed early that night.

We usually finish up AK by 3pm, so that would give us plenty of time before the HoB dinner if we wanted to relax. If you have a car,then getting back after dinner will be easy. By bus it will take a little longer, but as long as you don't linger after dinner, you should be back before 10:30.

You summed it up for me. Our kids do handle late nights and early mornings well. My son, for example, goes to bed at 10 and wakes up (on his own) by 7 each morning. We will be fighting with the transportation system, so if after the first two days, the ADR's are too much, we'll just cancel some of of the remaining ones. Thanks!

 

[Micca]

Just a note for first-timers or anyone else feeling overwhelmed. It looks worse on paper (or computer monitor) than it is in reality.

We Dis-ers are largely avid planners because we kind of "go there" mentally while doing so. For us, this is a good time.

While I recommend a basic outline of park days, and making ADRs (because being tired and hungry is no fun) if you feel overwhelmed or stressed-out just let it go at that.

Thousands of people wander into WDW every day with no clue of what to do and still manage to have a good time. That style of touring is not for me or many of us here on the Dis. But whatever you've done so far, is far ahead of those "clueless" folks. Have a good time