Party of 5, 4yr DD bday, and early entry ? please help.

[suebo]

I am truly losing my mind trying to get these details perfect for my family. Sometimes I can see the big picture and realize that I'm being neurotic but mostly I just get caught up in it all trying to plan the perfect trip.

DETAILS:
Myself, DH and 3 DD's 8,6 & 3 (will turn 4 there)

Dec. 2 - Dec 9

We will be visiting my inlaws in Spring Hill but will be spending 3 days at Disney. 2 days park hopping and 1 H2o park

I have ressies at HIFS for 3 days Dec. 2,3,4 at Ent. rate $75
We will have a rental car.

PROBLEM:
My 3yr old DD will turn 4 on Dec. 8., I want to stay at the All Star MOvies so badly. She loves the dalmations, Toy Story, and Herbie. She would be in heaven there. We've been there before when she was legal and in a pack-n-play. I LOVE early entry and was hoping for a birthday card, balloons or whatever from Mickey at the resort. HIFS looks great but I'll miss out on all that. Will we need early entry at that time?

I'm torn between staying at the HIFS for two nights, visiting inlaws, then doing Disney resort for 1 night on her birthday. OR just cancelling HIFS and probably getting POR for 3 nights. I hate paying for that trundle!!!!! The all stars are more my budget. It's taken alot for me not to reserve it and sneak one of my kids in. It's so tempting.......Arggh, I know this is long. Anyone have any suggestions. I just hate forking over all the money for tickets. I want to get my moneys worth. Early entry usually makes me feel like I am. Never been in Dec. before and never stayed offsite before so please offer suggestions.

Sue

 

[AZKathy]

HIFS is a lovely off site resort. We stayed there a few days on our trip this summer and really liked it. It it truly kid friendly and you will be very comfortable in the kidsuite; the three gals will get their own little room with bunk beds and a trundle bed, you get your own bedroom with a king size bed, and there is a nice little living area with a couch/chair/table with chairs and mini kitchen. For the money, you can't go wrong; that rate is great! HIFS is just a short 5 minute drive into WDW, so it is convenient.

I have not found any benefit in the EE except for MK to do Fantasyland. I think with the crowds at this time of year, you should see a lot especially if you get there when the parks open.

I don't know where you are from, but since I am from a warm area, I would use my third day in a park rather than freezing at a water park. I, personally, don't like colder water. Are you sure you want to watch three young ones at a water park? Call me a wimp, but I don't do the water parks except in the summer. YES! I am a wimp!!!

Certainly being on site is such a wonderful experience, but I don't know if it warrants the extra money! What is POR going for now? This summer, I was quoted $154/night.

How about making a ressie at a wonderful character meal for DD's birthday and celebrate it that way? They do special things for birthday kiddos. Don't forget to get the "today is my birthday" button at city hall for DD.

Happy planning. Happy birthday a little early to DD!!! Have a great trip!

 

[XStAnt]

First of all, RELAX. Everything will be great and your family will appreciate all your efforts.

AZKathy had a great idea: Plan a character meal for DDs birthday. She'll love it even more than ASMovies. I hear HIFS are great for kids, so I wouldn't worry about not being at the All Stars.

As for EE, you are going at a very slow time of the year. It's actually a great time to go since crowds are low and XMas decorations are up. You should be able to do everything without needing early entry. By the way, 12/2 and 12/4 are dates for MVMCP. You may want to save your money and stay at HIFS and go to MVMCP.

 

[swilphil]

I agree that HIFS would be a good plan for you although I've also heard great things about POR. We never did EE when we were there this summer and staying on site. We did implement the Day After approach to the parks. We went to a park the Day After it had Early Entry, so it was not as crowded. And we got there right at the opening time, which is the most important thing, especially at MK. We had a PS for before the park opened in MK and AK and were able to enter early on a non-EE day. I think you can still do that if you stay off site and drive yourself.

I also agree that you should skip the water parks. We too went for 3 days and were able to do all the parks though we should have skipped AK. You may or may not want to do that depending on the interests of the older kids--mine were 3 and 1. There's lots of park water rides, and I think you will have a decent pool--hopefully heated. I don't think you can get a 2-day park hopper pass. We had a 3-day PH and that was even a little hard to find.

For the Toy Story fix, look at the MGM character daily schedule. It will tell you when the characters will be at Al's Toy Barn. We saw Woody, Buzz and Jessie. My son also liked Pizza Planet arcade in MGM. There are some good character meals in Epcot, one with Princesses. Check into that, along with the more popular meals at the other parks.

I brought some souvenirs from home and gave them to my older son in the hotel room and told them Mickey had delivered them to him while he was sleeping. He liked that a lot and it saved on buying souvenirs.

 

[suebo]

Thanks everybody- I know the trip will be great no matter what we do but I still freak over the planning. I love it though. lol

AZkathy, We're getting the 7 day hopper plus passes but we are splitting them over 3 vacations, hopefully. We try to visit my inlaws at least once a year or every 2 years. We all live in NH but they winter down there. We usually go in Feb. when the kids have school vacation but I must see those xmas dec. that everyone says are so wonderful. This will be our 1st time flying. YIPPEE!! My kids love waterparks and won't be bothered by the coldness of the water at all. They are all fish and just went swimming in Lake Winnipesaukee yesterday. Yes, during Fall foliage. LOL We all do the rides together (we're crazy too) so I don't mind watching them. I actually considered doing this on my DD's bday because she is such a water rat. We've done TL before and loved it.

Yes, I will get the birthday button and I'm hoping to do a character meal also. Not sure which one yet. If I get a free breakfast voucher with my passes, we'll pick one of those. Thanks for all the good wishes and suggestions.

XStAnt, You don't think we'll need early entry? That's just what I wanted to hear, thanks. LOL I was going to do MVMCP but my kids melt down that late and I don't think we'd get our moneys worth. I would love to try it though.

swilphil, Good idea about the Toy Story fix and souvenir trick. I will do that also, thanks! We have done AK before and even when the kids were 2 yrs younger they missed the rides that MK had. We will try to go there but just for the SAfari, Lion King show, Tarzan show, and Kali Rapids, most likely.

Wow, I know I'm long winded. LOL I appreciate you folks taking the time to read my post and offer suggestions. Thanks, Sue

 

[SnoWhiteRabbit]

You can probably get 2 rooms at the AS Movies for about the same price as 1 room at POR (Not your other choice though...) SO if you decide to spend the extra $ and you love ASM, that's a thought...We'll be in that boat soon, with 3 kids....right now we still have one under 3.

HTH

 

[suebo]

I thought about getting two rooms at the All Stars but I think everyone has convinced me to stay at HIFS and forget about doing early entry. I might try to find a nice cheap hotel for DD's bday which is also our last night in Orlando before we fly home.

Suggestions anyone?

SnoWhiteRabbit, How was celebrating your DD's bday at CRT?
MY daughter loves the princesses!!!!

Sue

 

[Cindymere]

My 2003 unofficial guide says early entry has been discontinued. has it been reiinstated since the book was published? Am I confused? lol

 

[suebo]

EE discontinued? I haven't heard that. It was for a while but then it was brought back again.

Sue

 

[AZKathy]

Originally posted by Cindymere
My 2003 unofficial guide says early entry has been discontinued. has it been reiinstated since the book was published? Am I confused? lol

It was in effect in June when we were there.