Park Plan Ideas for four days?

[hollygolitely93]

Congrats on your first trip!!! There is a wonderful special needs bored that will help you identify rides your son with mild aspergers might be needing awareness of...does he have sensory issues? If so, I might suggest you bring headphones or ear buds for him to use...I don't think you will find he needs them except for fireworks or some shows (Indiana jones) and maybe the parades???

I might suggest you try the kids on big thunder road mountain to see how they like coasters...we found almost all the disney coasters to be very mild. My tween niece hates heights but fell I. Love with TOT and Space Mountain mainly because she couldn't see the heights...yet she refused to go on barnstormer (the kiddie coaster) so you never know...huh?

We priced out the dining plan both years. I painfully added up what we would most likely order at each restaurant and we literally broke even between that and the plan...so what the plan got us was snacks for free...and then we only used half our snack credits...ha! So I would say do it if the peace of mind of feeling like you have an inclusive vacation is important to you...you won't lose money...

We did photopass on all visits. We got our money worth the first time, we didn't the second (kept forgetting) and made a point to the third. The disney photographers will take pictures with your camera if you want just a few key shots with you in it. I would still probably do it again but, I'm a sucker that way

I would possibly try Epcot on your arrival day...Soarin and test track might be of interest...turtle talk is cute for the age of your kids...and if you bought six day passes you can stay for two hours and still get money's worth. We love the three cabanas boat ride (it is lame but we love Donald)

Them do a half day at AK and DTD for dinner. The kids will love the lego store and Goofy's candy shop...and the toy stores. T-Rex was quite the dinner experience but if your son has senosory issues check it out first on you tube. It was over stimulating for me but enjoyable!

 

[MHSweb79]

Just so you know, you can change your tickets now to 4 day passes, THEN on your last day you can add days if you need them. There's no need to purchase the extra days "just in case."

Even if it's only $20 per person, that adds up to a nice meal or a bunch of souvenirs.

 

[danceteachermom]

My kids loved Epcot at your kids' ages and my hubby loves it too. There is a lot to do there for the "non thrill seekers" and the park is bigger so it always feels less crowded even on crowded days to me. Nemo, Living Seas, Soarin, Innoventions, Agent P Missions.....all fun and really just one fast pass needed.

If crowds are what your hubby dislikes, I would be sure to be there at rope drop and get in a few or more major attractions on your list of must do's. Then you will not fall into the trap of feeling like you must stay all day and endure the crowds to get your monies worth. Take a break each afternoon at the resort for downtime.

Do rides with long potential wait times first in the morning or get fast passes.

In our family we just do AK for a half day. We like the safari, Lion King, and the bone yard but not much else. It always seems so congested and unlike the MK there just are not a lot of options around every corner.

Our trip this spring will include a lot of MK and Epcot.....one day at DHS and no AK. But we did do AK when I was n a work trip there in January.

Your boys are at great ages even if they do not like thrill rides. Do not overlook the Monster's Inc. attraction at MK. It has become a favorite of our son. He is almost 6 and he also loves Buzz, Pirates, People Mover, Small World, Pooh, Peter Pan, Splash Mountain, and Big Thunder Mountain (tame as far as coaster's go).

 

[cougarfan84]

Here's my 2 cents on the matter.

For going the short amount of time that you are, it doesn't make sense to me to buy a park hopper. Personally, I don't think the extra costs are worth it as you'd probably only use the hopper for one day. That being said, if you're at the park and decide you want to hop one day, you can always add the hopper option onto your ticket at any time during your visit.

Arrival day (Thursday): Arive; Epcot in the evening
Friday: Magic Kingdom
Saturday: Hollywood Studios
Sunday: Animal Kingdom
Monday: Magic Kingdom
Tuesday: depending on your flights, you could jump over to DTD to do some shopping before you leave.

As far as how long you stay in the parks, that would be completely up to you. If the parks are open late, it could be a good idea to arrive at RD, then take a break in the afternoon for lunch and a nap/pool time, and then head back to the park around dinner time and for the rest of the evening. That way you can avoid the hottest and busiest time in the park as well as keep yourself from wearing out during the time you are there.



As far as my opionions on the dining plan, I've heard a lot of people say that while the convenience of the plan is nice, it's not really as good of a value as you'd think. It takes a lot of effort and planning (and eating) in order to actually incur cost savings with the plan.

My advice is to take the money you would be spending on the dining plan and instead use it to pay for your meals out of pocket. For most people's typical eating habits, you'd probably end up saving money that way.

 

[rachallyy]

Thanks to all, and after more tweaking, pretty much following Cougar's list:

5/23: possibly Epcot or just resort
5/24: MK
5/25: HS..have ADR SciFi Theatre for lunch
5/26: AK 1/2 day....DTD later that evening...have ADR Tusker for bkft
5/27: MK
5/28: any or EP

I need more ADRs but having a tough time deciding: would really like a character on the first MK day, but not crazy about the two MK availables. The Ohana bkfst has a limited menu so dont think that would work, and the Chef Disney doesn't have early bkft or lunch ressies available. So time wise that would screw the day up.

Any good recs for ADRs at DTD? probably not the Dinosaur one as it will probably be too loud for one of my kids as previous poster commented.

Thought about Hoop Dee Doo but their menu is really limited as far as kid fare goes.

Thanks to previous poster regarding the special needs thread, I will review that! I'm especially worried about my child with sensory issues and getting him on the airplane, ugh, gonna be rough I predict.

 

[rachallyy]

After reading The Unofficial Guide and reviewing the rides/ shows at DHS, I'm changing the itinerary again, sigh. I think my kids would only be interested in the one toy story ride and one or two shows.

Thurs pm-? Depends on arrival time
Friday-MK
Sat-Epcot
Sun-Ak, followed by DTD
Mon-MK
Tues am- maybe HS