Parks - Pools - Relax Planning

[eporter66]

We have been to WDW many times, and I usually have a plan that I go with, but always stay flexible. Just interested in how everyone here plans. We have a DD6, DW and myself, we are pretty easy. We dont go commando, and enjoy just taking everything in. We have always traveled at off peak times, so even when the crowds are bigger, it is nothing like School Break times I am sure. I am just interested in how you setup your trips - here is a look at our schedule

Sat - The day we arrive, we always make a ressie for dinner. We usually get to the resort by 1:30 (this includes getting rental car, stopping for groceries as well). So we stock the room - head for the pool, and then are heading to BOMA for dinner!

Sun - We are Disney Homers, but this year we planned our first trip to Sea World. I was hesitant to do this on a weekend day (figuring crowds would be a bit bigger), but this is how it worked out. I have the show schedules, so as long as we hit those, I think we are fine.

Mon - Cap May Cafe' Character breakfast (7:50?) then off to Hollywood Studios for the day. My only plan here from reading the boards is to get a FP for TSM. Other than that, we always hit TT and RRC as many times as possible and hit Fantasmic to end the day

Tues - Day at the pool, and tix for MNSSHP party in the evening

Wed - EPCOT for F&W - hit all the big rides and explore the world...lots of eating. Stay for the fireworks.

Thurs - Free day....pool, out to dinner at Whispering Canyon, and then head over to the Boardwalk, we love going over in the evening and seeing the entertainment and head over to Beaches & Cream

Fri - Animal Kingdom day!!! Then sadness as we prepare to go home on Saturday.

We may use Thursday for a second tour of MK if we miss a lot during MNSSHP. We dont typically park hop, as our DD6 does excellent, but not sure the Park hopper would be worth it at her age. We just hang in one park. I may head back to the F&W on Thurs myself if we are ok with MK

How does that sound??? Obviously I do try to get FP's if the lines appear long, want to make sure I hit my favs at least once.

A few evenings will be spent at DTD for food, wandering around AKV where we are staying, and just taking WDW in. I cant wait!

 

[5forDiz]

Your schedule looks fine. I'd just say if you don't go with park hoppers I'd be sure to coordinate park visits according to which park has evening EMH.

Are you & your family early risers? our family likes to schedule character breakfasts for as late in morning as possible so it's more brunch than breakfast & it takes the pressure off not having to be someplace by 8am , especially since our kids are older & we always stay at the parks until closing.

MNSSHP: usually can enter as early as 4pm so I'd take advantage of that and be over by MK at 3:30, take advantage of some photo ops outside MK or just have some fun riding the monorail around couple of times and enter MK as early as they'll allow; this might help you cover all the things at MK that you want to do so you may not need to go back again on Thursday.

Have a great trip

 

[ToddyLu]

Here is our official plan...

11/30 evening flight out of New Orleans, non stop to Pop. We will use Tiffany Towncars becasue DH had a hangup about ME for some reason

12/01 check out of Pop and head to AKV. Maybe get a bite at AK and then check in. DH will head to AK for his camera in the park day and MIL and I will do somethig else. DH will stay at AK for EMH and she and I will go to HDDR for the first time...yummmm.

12/02 No big plans until MVMCP that night and an ADR at Plaza for 5:10.

12/03 Anticipate possible Xmas parade filming at MK so we will do Epcot. Breakfast at Boma 10:00, then Chefs de France at 5:00. Will stay for Illuminations and Epcot EMH.

12/04 Again possible parade filming at MK, so will do a different park then Cali Grill at 5:35. Hoping to catch MSEP at 9:00.

12/05 Hollywood Studios for Brown Derby at 5:05, then Osborne Lights. DHS EMH this night.

12/06 DH had to do Cali Grill twice so ARDs here again at 5:45. MK EMH so if we didn't get to see MSEP we will do it tonight??

12/07 Second MVMCP and ADR at WCC 5:00, then boat over to party. Parks closing earlier tonight so felt like MVMCP was way to go..

12/08 Boma for breakfast after a late night. Have to do AK evening EMH when possible. We eat at RF Cafe (4:30), so after Jammin Jungle and still have time to walk the park.

12/09 Third MVMCP, again other parks closing early so we figured we would get in our time at the party. MIL wants to try Biergarten, first time for us eating there at 5:50...then monorail to the party. Its OK if we are late, not like it is our first

12/10 Heading home....flight at 3:00 p.m. We will have our traditional breakfast at the Wave ( I miss the COncourse Steakhouse) at 10:00 then get our towncar for MCO.

SO basically I have planned meals and MVMCP X 3 this trip, rest is up in the air. Of course I have passed the Excel Spreadsheet of dates times and conf # to the interested parties.

 

[eporter66]

Your schedule looks fine. I'd just say if you don't go with park hoppers I'd be sure to coordinate park visits according to which park has evening EMH.

I did do that, we have extra magic at both AK and DHS. Again - we have to see how we do at MNSSHP, we may be back for that trip

Are you & your family early risers? our family likes to schedule character breakfasts for as late in morning as possible so it's more brunch than breakfast & it takes the pressure off not having to be someplace by 8am , especially since our kids are older & we always stay at the parks until closing.

We are early risers, DD6 will be up b/t 6:30 & 7:00. We usually eat breakfast in the room, but like to do one character breakfast each visit. We will head over to DHS after breakfast at Cape May Cafe. Some days we go back for a swim (we rent a car, so no biggie on the travel time) and then go back to the park for the evening

MNSSHP: usually can enter as early as 4pm so I'd take advantage of that and be over by MK at 3:30, take advantage of some photo ops outside MK or just have some fun riding the monorail around couple of times and enter MK as early as they'll allow; this might help you cover all the things at MK that you want to do so you may not need to go back again on Thursday.

We plan on doing that too - do some rides before the party starts. If we have to go back, that's fine, I was hoping for an extra EPCOT day for the F&W Fest.

Thanks

 

[eporter66]

Here is our official plan...

11/30 evening flight out of New Orleans, non stop to Pop. We will use Tiffany Towncars becasue DH had a hangup about ME for some reason

12/01 check out of Pop and head to AKV. Maybe get a bite at AK and then check in. DH will head to AK for his camera in the park day and MIL and I will do somethig else. DH will stay at AK for EMH and she and I will go to HDDR for the first time...yummmm.

12/02 No big plans until MVMCP that night and an ADR at Plaza for 5:10.

12/03 Anticipate possible Xmas parade filming at MK so we will do Epcot. Breakfast at Boma 10:00, then Chefs de France at 5:00. Will stay for Illuminations and Epcot EMH.

12/04 Again possible parade filming at MK, so will do a different park then Cali Grill at 5:35. Hoping to catch MSEP at 9:00.

12/05 Hollywood Studios for Brown Derby at 5:05, then Osborne Lights. DHS EMH this night.

12/06 DH had to do Cali Grill twice so ARDs here again at 5:45. MK EMH so if we didn't get to see MSEP we will do it tonight??

12/07 Second MVMCP and ADR at WCC 5:00, then boat over to party. Parks closing earlier tonight so felt like MVMCP was way to go..

12/08 Boma for breakfast after a late night. Have to do AK evening EMH when possible. We eat at RF Cafe (4:30), so after Jammin Jungle and still have time to walk the park.

12/09 Third MVMCP, again other parks closing early so we figured we would get in our time at the party. MIL wants to try Biergarten, first time for us eating there at 5:50...then monorail to the party. Its OK if we are late, not like it is our first

12/10 Heading home....flight at 3:00 p.m. We will have our traditional breakfast at the Wave ( I miss the COncourse Steakhouse) at 10:00 then get our towncar for MCO.

SO basically I have planned meals and MVMCP X 3 this trip, rest is up in the air. Of course I have passed the Excel Spreadsheet of dates times and conf # to the interested parties.

WOW - sounds great! The Biergarten is a blast, we enjoy it. We have not done BOMA for breakfast, only dinner, but I bet it is great.

We have been thinking about going during Christmas, would love to see everything decorated. Maybe someday

Thanks for sharing - love reading the plans

 

[dadio]

I'd be sure to coordinate park visits according to which park has evening EMH.

We were @ the world the last of sept. I went nutz booking our DDp rezzies, then did A forehead smack about the EMH...we did manage to be @ AK on EMH...was the worst...ride lik=nes were like 3-5X longer than the day before....I did say day before....we walked on Exped. Everest, walked on...EMh=40-50 min.

when we go in Jan, I think I personally will be avoiding the EMH parks

 

[ldo]

at least last year, many, if not all of the SW tickets gave you free 2nd day admission---if you have not bought any yet, check online. Even if you have bought one, call SW and ask--usually you just show your ticket at guest services and you get a free 2nd day.
It is hard to see all the shows and do the rides in 1 day, esp. with 6 yr old. If you get a free 2nd day, I would break up SW into 2 days that are AM-4pm or so--and use the 2nd day on one of your free days--even if you just pop over for a few hours and do 2 shows and Happy Harbor again. The Happy Harbor is very fun for this age, and my kids climb on the climging stuff (parents can go too) for at least an hour. In 2 days, you can do 1-2 shows each day and not feel so rushed. Otherwise, a schedule looks great. FYI, you can into MK on 4pm with your party ticket.

 

[CruznLexi]

We love the parks and the pool. On Monday when we get to the resort we will go to Mara and have lunch. We do the dinning plan. I do NOT cook on vacation. We then head to the pool at KV. We hang out there until 5pm or so and then head to Epcot at the Biertgarten and then to HS for EMS. We geenrally do a few hours of park in the am and then pool time in the early afternoon and then park in the evening. This time we will go to the poly and rent a sea ray racer too. We also like to go and play mini golf too.
Lexi

 

[eporter66]

at least last year, many, if not all of the SW tickets gave you free 2nd day admission---if you have not bought any yet, check online. Even if you have bought one, call SW and ask--usually you just show your ticket at guest services and you get a free 2nd day.
It is hard to see all the shows and do the rides in 1 day, esp. with 6 yr old. If you get a free 2nd day, I would break up SW into 2 days that are AM-4pm or so--and use the 2nd day on one of your free days--even if you just pop over for a few hours and do 2 shows and Happy Harbor again. The Happy Harbor is very fun for this age, and my kids climb on the climging stuff (parents can go too) for at least an hour. In 2 days, you can do 1-2 shows each day and not feel so rushed. Otherwise, a schedule looks great. FYI, you can into MK on 4pm with your party ticket.

Thanks for the tip - my parents mentioned that to us, they got that deal last year. We will...looking forward to SW for the first time. Love to try new things while we are down there.

 

[eporter66]

We were @ the world the last of sept. I went nutz booking our DDp rezzies, then did A forehead smack about the EMH...we did manage to be @ AK on EMH...was the worst...ride lik=nes were like 3-5X longer than the day before....I did say day before....we walked on Exped. Everest, walked on...EMh=40-50 min.

when we go in Jan, I think I personally will be avoiding the EMH parks

We like the EMH because we go early in the morning, tend to head back in the afternoon for a break, and then go back in the evenings. In our experiences it seems the parks really open up during the evening hours. MK we had practically to ourselves (not really, but you know...) in 2008. We went during EMH when it was open until midnight, we were walking on everything. I actually enjoyed this more, as we had a very relaxing day.

For this trip, each park has EMH the day we are going, DHS is until 10:30, AK is open until 8, EPCOT until 12:00. So, going for MNSSHP will be the only one where we may decide to go back to MK on another day. It just depends on how things go.

Our DD6 is up at 6:30 - 7:00, so it is not problem getting to the parks by opening and hitting rides and grabbing a couple FP's. Since we get the one bedroom and groceries, we can head back for lunch in the room - hit the pool at the hottest part of the day, and then head back to the parks. I hope it works as well as it had in the past.

 

[hollis]

Wow! So everybody is so organized. When it comes to vacation, we don't plan. Check-in date and check-out date, that's about all we plan. We usually just take it real easy. Stay there for a couple of weeks. Get up late in the morning. Fool around in the room for hours. Then think about what we want to do that day.

I try not to go back to work the following week needing a vacation to recoup from our vacation.

 

[Cee]

I don't like to plan too much either. I have made ADRs, and we know we will be spending time at F & W, but other than that....we fly by the seat of our pants!

 

[eliza61]

Wow! So everybody is so organized. When it comes to vacation, we don't plan. Check-in date and check-out date, that's about all we plan. We usually just take it real easy. Stay there for a couple of weeks. Get up late in the morning. Fool around in the room for hours. Then think about what we want to do that day.

I try not to go back to work the following week needing a vacation to recoup from our vacation.

A few years ago, my family and I had an unexpected trip to the world. since it was last minute we made zippo plans. We got up every morning and decided whatever bus came first that was the park we went to. It was the absolute best time we have ever had at wdw. Absolutely no stress, no worrying about getting to an ADR on time, no kevtching about missing a bus or why a bus was taking so long, no running at top speed trying to get a fast pass. We were amazed at how much the vacation centered on "having fun with each other" as opposed to "getting a particular ride done".

Magical!!

 

[5forDiz]

A few years ago, my family and I had an unexpected trip to the world. since it was last minute we made zippo plans. We got up every morning and decided whatever bus came first that was the park we went to. It was the absolute best time we have ever had at wdw. Absolutely no stress, no worrying about getting to an ADR on time, no kevtching about missing a bus or why a bus was taking so long, no running at top speed trying to get a fast pass. We were amazed at how much the vacation centered on "having fun with each other" as opposed to "getting a particular ride done".

Magical!!

I'm liking this !! it sounds like an adventure within the

adventure ! No focusing on a schedule and just care-free fun

Glad you & your family had wonderful trip

 

[eporter66]

A few years ago, my family and I had an unexpected trip to the world. since it was last minute we made zippo plans. We got up every morning and decided whatever bus came first that was the park we went to. It was the absolute best time we have ever had at wdw. Absolutely no stress, no worrying about getting to an ADR on time, no kevtching about missing a bus or why a bus was taking so long, no running at top speed trying to get a fast pass. We were amazed at how much the vacation centered on "having fun with each other" as opposed to "getting a particular ride done".

Magical!!

I can see that happening for us at some point. I agree, it sounds relaxing. Honestly - we dont rush around trying to get everything done anymore either. We really enjoy and relax on our vacations. My planning this time around stemmed from adding Sea World to the mix, and trying MNSSHP. I also paid attention to the EMH - I really like taking a break in the day, hitting the pool and then going back to the park. We have found that we usually get to ride everything we want, and a few times each if things work out just right.

I can tell you one thing, I could probably spend this whole vacation going to EPCOT every day and sampling everything 5 days of eating and drinking, with two days in between to relax at the pool - that would work for me!

 

[Rest&Relax]

Christmas time is really the only time we follow a schedule. If I did not have to schedule ADR it would be great. Boma is great for breakfast so we usually have ADR there and we usually do a late character breakfast somewhere else(Crystal Palace is our favorite) One ADR for dinner somewhere otherwise it's more a last minute what do I feel like. Our one routine is our first day has to be spent at MK watching Spectromagic & Wishes.

I agree with eropter66:
"I can tell you one thing, I could probably spend this whole vacation going to EPCOT every day and sampling everything 5 days of eating and drinking, with two days in between to relax at the pool - that would work for me!"

Doesn't get any better than this except we like to sit on our porch at OKW and just relax!