Planning Advice, Please? (Seriously second guessing myself...)

[samara]

I apologize in advance for the length of this post!

I am seriously nervous about our October trip. It's going to be the shortest one we've ever taken (just Wednesday through Sunday) and DS14 is bringing a friend along. I'm not nervous about the friend - she's one of those friends that's practically family - I am nervous about the fact that we are planning to split up for a lot of the time. This is going to sound silly, but I am worried they'll get stuck in that "What do we do next?" trap because DS is used to me telling everyone where to go and the friend has never been before The plan is for me and DH to spend lots of time doing F&W stuff and specifically "not planning to do everything in the parks" (DH's words My fastpass day is tomorrow - I'm minorly freaking out and would love some advice on what I'm thinking plan-wise...

Wednesday - arrive late afternoon and check into BC, reservation at Chef Mickeys at 6:20, pool time, etc

Thursday - 8am reservation at CP, hit Peter Pan, Space Mountain, Buzz then express transportation to Epcot. Fastpasses for Soarin, Mission: Space and Spaceship Earth between roughly 10:30 - 1:30. DH and I may split off and not use all of our passes in favor of head0ing to F&W. Around 3:00, the kids will head back to MK for MNSSHP. DH and I have booked the sake pairing in Japan at 4:00, so we won't make it to the party until the official start time of 7 but mostly going for the entertainment, so that's okay.

Friday - Kids are planning to rope drop DHS for TSM and I'm planning to get them Fastpasses for RRC, Star Tours and something else, not sure what would be best? DH and I may do EMH at MK, then at some point head to Epcot for our 12pm Tequila lunch. Sadly, we also have a Fantasmic dining package at Mama Melrose's at 3:30 (just the way things event timing fell out) so we're planning to run around the lake several times before meeting the kids at DHS. I wish we could ride things with them after the reservation, but I didn't want them to be all day without fastpasses - didn't seem fair. So I will get fastpasses for me and DH for RRC and Star Tours, then we'll all go see Fantasmic.

Saturday - EMH at AK, so planning to be there at 7:00am to get in line to rope drop FOP. Hoping for fastpasses for NRJ, Everest and Kilimanjaro. Maybe fit in Dinosaur and Primevil Whirl before heading to MK for Be Our Guest lunch. After that, split up, not sure where the kids will go but since we will have already used our scheduled fastpasses, it doesn't matter as much. They may end up at DHS for the Star Wars fireworks. DH and I have a wine seminar at Epcot at 5:00pm, then whatever we feel like!

Sunday - We have to leave the parks at 2:00pm to head to the airport. DHS has EMH, so head there first maybe to all ride TSM and maybe Star Tours together. If we want to, could head back to MK for a few hours, but want to end up in Epcot because our stuff will be at BC and also to eat lunch at booths. I think I will make a Test Track fastpass because I couldn't get it in earlier.

Thoughts? Suggestions? It sounds like a lot because I want to get as much in as I can without actually trying to do everything! Honestly, if it wasn't for Pandora, DH and I would have skipped AK altogether, and I suggested not doing Fantasmic, but DH and DS revolted I will appreciate any help!!

 

[stsomewhere]

Cancel CHef Mickey's on arrival day and go to Epcot for food booths. Kids do not have much time to explore Epcot. You are hopping a lot. I cancel BOG since you are already spending a few days at MK. I would not go just for lunch. We did BOG in April and it was my least favorite meal.

 

[a742246]

Everything should go fine, just make sure both your son and friend have fully charged cellphones every morning.

 

[samara]

Cancel CHef Mickey's on arrival day and go to Epcot for food booths. Kids do not have much time to explore Epcot. You are hopping a lot. I cancel BOG since you are already spending a few days at MK. I would not go just for lunch. We did BOG in April and it was my least favorite meal.

Thanks so much for the advice. Unfortunately, we only have four day tickets. I will talk to DS about Be Our Guest. It wouldn't have been important to me either, but he wanted his friend to be able to go

 

[leebee]

We are pretty much in the parks all the time, but we wouldn't be able to keep up with this schedule; late nights every night AND rope drop (or earlier) every morning? We'd all be crabby in short order. I also think you are doing a LOT of running around and park hopping. I would think your son's friend isn't going to get a good feel for each park on its own, because you are constantly changing venues (and using up park time to do so).

Thursday- I think (this is the way it worked last time we did MNSSHP) that you can make fastpass reservations on a party night for times in the late afternoon... maybe up until 6:45pm? Once you use your fps at Epcot that day, you could book some for the kids to use before the party starts at 7pm. They let us into MK at about 3:40pm, and I was glad we were in line at that point. Not sure how they are doing crowd management now... this was 2 years ago.

Friday- I'd skip the Fantasmic dining package and just see the show. I'd also get two of your Fps on that day together, after you and DH get to DHS. The kids'll still have 1 fp to use during the day, and there's lots of other stuff to see and do, even if they have to wait in line a bit.

Saturday- I'd skip lunch at BOG. With transportation, it'll take close to 3 hours just for a quick service lunch- it's just so much running around! What happens if you get to AK and they want to stay, do the safari, ride Kali and Dinosaur? If you really have to do BOG, can you skip the CP PPO on the first day and get a BOG breakfast then?

Sunday- I'd just go to Epcot. Your son's friend will have spent about 4 hours or less there, doing 3 fps in that timeframe. Give the friend time to ride Spaceship Earth, wander World Showcase, etc.

Regarding keeping your son on track of what to do, and when, why don't you use a Touring Plan? Set it up for him for each day. We found them very helpful for the "where do we go now" moments, and you can set them for your walking speed, commando vs smell the roses type of touring, put in the times of your Fps, etc. If he had one for each day, he could easily keep them on track and not miss much- and not stand around, suffering from "What do you want to do next? I don't know, what do YOU want to do" syndrome!

 

[disneyvoice]

My son is 15 and when he started bringing friends at 13 we did absolutely no planning for their day unless he asked me to get an ADR for someplace they wanted to eat and he told me which FPs they wanted so I made their FPs. The only time we ever see him when he is with friends is when we first check into the resort and when we leave several days later - he and his friends prefer to just go off on their own for everything. We will occasionally check in with each other via text and of course we get a text if he wants to buy something that is a bit more money. We sometimes get lucky and are sent a few pictures. They have never been at a loss about what to do next. Although my son always happily went along with all my planning and itineraries when he was younger, he was fine with not doing much pre-planning with his friends. He checks the wait time apps and they typically decide what to get on based on that information or if they happen to be somewhere and a nearby ride is showing a short wait they ride that. When they are hungry, they eat. They will be fine. I actually found that these trips are the most fun for all of us because my son typically goes off on his own even when he doesn't have friends and I always worry that he isn't have much fun (even though he insists he doesn't mind). This was DH and I can do exactly what we want to do together while we know our son is having a really fun time with hi friends.

 

[ENJDisneyFan]

I agree with others, this plan seems like a LOT of time spent traveling. A few thoughts...

Thurs - Why not spend the whole day at MK? Seems unnecessary to travel over to Epcot just for a few FPs
Fri - sounds good....stay at HS the entire day
Sat - maybe start off at AK and then hop over to Epcot for the rest of the day
Sun - leave it free for the kids to re-visit their favorite park

 

[poohfriend77]

It does sound like a lot of hopping, but I don't blame you for trying to cram in as much as possible!

I'd just make sure to include the friend in the planning as much as possible. If she picks a couple "priorities" for each park, your son will likely be able to take over the "tour guide" role. Just make sure he is able to make additional FPs for the two of them after you split up.

 

[nacho113]

I apologize in advance for the length of this post!

I am seriously nervous about our October trip. It's going to be the shortest one we've ever taken (just Wednesday through Sunday) and DS14 is bringing a friend along. I'm not nervous about the friend - she's one of those friends that's practically family - I am nervous about the fact that we are planning to split up for a lot of the time. This is going to sound silly, but I am worried they'll get stuck in that "What do we do next?" trap because DS is used to me telling everyone where to go and the friend has never been before The plan is for me and DH to spend lots of time doing F&W stuff and specifically "not planning to do everything in the parks" (DH's words My fastpass day is tomorrow - I'm minorly freaking out and would love some advice on what I'm thinking plan-wise...

Wednesday - arrive late afternoon and check into BC, reservation at Chef Mickeys at 6:20, pool time, etc

Thursday - 8am reservation at CP, hit Peter Pan, Space Mountain, Buzz then express transportation to Epcot. Fastpasses for Soarin, Mission: Space and Spaceship Earth between roughly 10:30 - 1:30. DH and I may split off and not use all of our passes in favor of head0ing to F&W. Around 3:00, the kids will head back to MK for MNSSHP. DH and I have booked the sake pairing in Japan at 4:00, so we won't make it to the party until the official start time of 7 but mostly going for the entertainment, so that's okay.

Friday - Kids are planning to rope drop DHS for TSM and I'm planning to get them Fastpasses for RRC, Star Tours and something else, not sure what would be best? DH and I may do EMH at MK, then at some point head to Epcot for our 12pm Tequila lunch. Sadly, we also have a Fantasmic dining package at Mama Melrose's at 3:30 (just the way things event timing fell out) so we're planning to run around the lake several times before meeting the kids at DHS. I wish we could ride things with them after the reservation, but I didn't want them to be all day without fastpasses - didn't seem fair. So I will get fastpasses for me and DH for RRC and Star Tours, then we'll all go see Fantasmic.

Saturday - EMH at AK, so planning to be there at 7:00am to get in line to rope drop FOP. Hoping for fastpasses for NRJ, Everest and Kilimanjaro. Maybe fit in Dinosaur and Primevil Whirl before heading to MK for Be Our Guest lunch. After that, split up, not sure where the kids will go but since we will have already used our scheduled fastpasses, it doesn't matter as much. They may end up at DHS for the Star Wars fireworks. DH and I have a wine seminar at Epcot at 5:00pm, then whatever we feel like!

Sunday - We have to leave the parks at 2:00pm to head to the airport. DHS has EMH, so head there first maybe to all ride TSM and maybe Star Tours together. If we want to, could head back to MK for a few hours, but want to end up in Epcot because our stuff will be at BC and also to eat lunch at booths. I think I will make a Test Track fastpass because I couldn't get it in earlier.

Thoughts? Suggestions? It sounds like a lot because I want to get as much in as I can without actually trying to do everything! Honestly, if it wasn't for Pandora, DH and I would have skipped AK altogether, and I suggested not doing Fantasmic, but DH and DS revolted I will appreciate any help!!

WOW that's a lot packed into a really short time.
Personally, with a first timer making this trip, I'd drop all the park hopping (and associated time wasting transportation between parks) and just focus on one park per day. Rope drop each day and try not to kill yourself by staying until close each day.
If the kids are OK on their own, do your touring your way and leave them to experience the parks one day at a time so the first timer can get a good feel for the experience and the 2 of them can decide what is important to them.

 

[Gehrig1B]

We hop just as you are planning. Hit one park at rope drop, FP+ another park, and even finish with fireworks/dinner at a 3rd park. With the new express bus it is incredibly easy and actually provides 20 minutes of air-conditioned down time from one park to another. We visited 3 parks on several days during our last visit and even changed parks when a valuable Fast pass became available in another park in the afternoon.

Park hopping is so easy now we would not visit without that option and the express bus transportation.

 

[wdw&sonny]

Add ToT to their DHS FPs for Friday morning.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

I will agree with the others that it is a lot of hopping and, though I know you are trying to cram stuff in, you will spend a lot of time on buses (even using the express transportation).

I would cancel Chef Mickey's on arrival night. You are staying at an amazing resort with so much to do nearby. I would pick a restaurant in the Boardwalk area, swim, wander over to the Boardwalk for the entertainment and Ample Hills ice cream.

Thursday - that's a lot. 8 am CP and going to MNSSHP for the night. Personally, I would cancel CP. With an 8 am reservation and a 10:30 am FP+ start in EP, you are giving yourself only 3 1/2 hours to eat (which could take upwards of 60-90 minutes), do 3 popular MK rides on standby and get over to EP. It's just a lot of rushing around.

Friday - if you want to ride things together at DHS, I would get on the MDE app when the kids' FP's are done and see if you can line an extra one up with yours. Or, try to do some things standby together

Saturday - wow, that's really early (why aren't you trying to get a FOP FP+?) and you are really limiting yourself in AK time if you want to hop to MK for BOG. I would suggest making that BOG late (like 2 pm) or maybe make a BOG ADR just for them for when they head over to MK for MNSSHP? Then you don't need to hop to MK this day.

 

[samara]

Thank you all so much for the advice! I should have mentioned that DS and friend think they will want to go back to the resort to change into costumes before the Halloween party, and that's why I was thinking hopping to Epcot makes sense, so they can just walk back to BC. But now I am thinking maybe they should stay longer at MK (it's a low attendance day there bc of the party, so could probably do a lot without fastpasses) and meet us for Soarin' around 12:30?

Using the reservation finder at Touring Plans, I am looking for either a breakfast BOG or a late lunch for them on Thursday. I would be fine skipping it altogether, but DS is insistent. Ditto for Chef Mickey's!

I think I may take the suggestion of just making them one fastpass for mid-morning on Friday at DHS (probably RRC) and then doing TSM and Star Tours all together after "dinner". I think there's a lot they can do there that won't really need fastpasses, and if they end up standing in line a little, probably not the end of the world. DH and I won't die if we don't get to do RRC, and that eliminates the necessity of doing EMH at DHS on Sunday if we don't want to.

Saturday at AK is an early morning but it seems like the chances of getting a morning fastpass for FOP are pretty nonexistent, based on what I'm hearing from other people. With DH and I having a booked wine seminar at Epcot at 5, I don't want to cut it close, even taking out the BOG lunch.

Gehrig1B, thanks for letting me know that the Express Transportation does help!

Again, thanks for all of the advice. Still open to suggestions (all the way up to 7am tomorrow!

 

[cmarsh31]

Another fan of the Express Bus - we used it in Feb - and it totally changed our touring style. It makes hopping SOOO easy. We did 9 days in the parks basically without much of a break, and still managed to hit 3 parks on our last day with the bus! We thought nothing of starting at rope-drop in one park, then changing at lunch. We even did the Star Wars fireworks followed by Magic Kingdom. Snagged FastPasses for the next park as soon as we were done with the first!

 

[samara]

I apologize in advance for the length of this post!

I am seriously nervous about our October trip. It's going to be the shortest one we've ever taken (just Wednesday through Sunday) and DS14 is bringing a friend along. I'm not nervous about the friend - she's one of those friends that's practically family - I am nervous about the fact that we are planning to split up for a lot of the time. This is going to sound silly, but I am worried they'll get stuck in that "What do we do next?" trap because DS is used to me telling everyone where to go and the friend has never been before The plan is for me and DH to spend lots of time doing F&W stuff and specifically "not planning to do everything in the parks" (DH's words My fastpass day is tomorrow - I'm minorly freaking out and would love some advice on what I'm thinking plan-wise...

Wednesday - arrive late afternoon and check into BC, reservation at Chef Mickeys at 6:20, pool time, etc

Thursday - 8am reservation at CP, hit Peter Pan, Space Mountain, Buzz then express transportation to Epcot. Fastpasses for Soarin, Mission: Space and Spaceship Earth between roughly 10:30 - 1:30. DH and I may split off and not use all of our passes in favor of head0ing to F&W. Around 3:00, the kids will head back to MK for MNSSHP. DH and I have booked the sake pairing in Japan at 4:00, so we won't make it to the party until the official start time of 7 but mostly going for the entertainment, so that's okay.

Friday - Kids are planning to rope drop DHS for TSM and I'm planning to get them Fastpasses for RRC, Star Tours and something else, not sure what would be best? DH and I may do EMH at MK, then at some point head to Epcot for our 12pm Tequila lunch. Sadly, we also have a Fantasmic dining package at Mama Melrose's at 3:30 (just the way things event timing fell out) so we're planning to run around the lake several times before meeting the kids at DHS. I wish we could ride things with them after the reservation, but I didn't want them to be all day without fastpasses - didn't seem fair. So I will get fastpasses for me and DH for RRC and Star Tours, then we'll all go see Fantasmic.

Saturday - EMH at AK, so planning to be there at 7:00am to get in line to rope drop FOP. Hoping for fastpasses for NRJ, Everest and Kilimanjaro. Maybe fit in Dinosaur and Primevil Whirl before heading to MK for Be Our Guest lunch. After that, split up, not sure where the kids will go but since we will have already used our scheduled fastpasses, it doesn't matter as much. They may end up at DHS for the Star Wars fireworks. DH and I have a wine seminar at Epcot at 5:00pm, then whatever we feel like!

Sunday - We have to leave the parks at 2:00pm to head to the airport. DHS has EMH, so head there first maybe to all ride TSM and maybe Star Tours together. If we want to, could head back to MK for a few hours, but want to end up in Epcot because our stuff will be at BC and also to eat lunch at booths. I think I will make a Test Track fastpass because I couldn't get it in earlier.

Thoughts? Suggestions? It sounds like a lot because I want to get as much in as I can without actually trying to do everything! Honestly, if it wasn't for Pandora, DH and I would have skipped AK altogether, and I suggested not doing Fantasmic, but DH and DS revolted I will appreciate any help!!

I just wanted to say a huge thank you to everyone who offered suggestions on my original plan. I have taken a lot of them and I think our trip is going to be so much better because of it! The kids are going to spend the whole first day in MK. DH and I will do Peter Pan and have a FP for Space Mountain with them, then head to Epcot for Food & Wine. Kids have additional FPs for Buzz and BTMR, AND I changed that BOG reservation from Saturday to the first day and made it just for the kids, so DS still gets to go but we don't have to run back to MK on Saturday just for that! At DHS, kids will rope drop TSM, then have FP for RRC. We all have FP for Star Tours together later in the day, so kids have one more FP to schedule whenever.

Thank you all so, so much for the help! I love this board!

 

[chloelovesdisney]

How do I sign up for this express bus? Is it a per day charge?

 

[samara]

Sadly, it was cancelled at the end of August. That's one of the reasons I changed my plans so much!

 

[chloelovesdisney]

Argh, total bummer.

 

[srwarden1928]

If you are rope dropping TSMM and you fastpass RNRC and ST, your third fastpass should be TOT, since those are the only four rides in DHS, and while I wouldn't miss a number of the shows, fastpassing them doesn't seem to save ANY time.

 

[dkrauss]

I apologize in advance for the length of this post!

I am seriously nervous about our October trip. It's going to be the shortest one we've ever taken (just Wednesday through Sunday) and DS14 is bringing a friend along. I'm not nervous about the friend - she's one of those friends that's practically family - I am nervous about the fact that we are planning to split up for a lot of the time. This is going to sound silly, but I am worried they'll get stuck in that "What do we do next?" trap because DS is used to me telling everyone where to go and the friend has never been before The plan is for me and DH to spend lots of time doing F&W stuff and specifically "not planning to do everything in the parks" (DH's words My fastpass day is tomorrow - I'm minorly freaking out and would love some advice on what I'm thinking plan-wise...

Wednesday - arrive late afternoon and check into BC, reservation at Chef Mickeys at 6:20, pool time, etc

Thursday - 8am reservation at CP, hit Peter Pan, Space Mountain, Buzz then express transportation to Epcot. Fastpasses for Soarin, Mission: Space and Spaceship Earth between roughly 10:30 - 1:30. DH and I may split off and not use all of our passes in favor of head0ing to F&W. Around 3:00, the kids will head back to MK for MNSSHP. DH and I have booked the sake pairing in Japan at 4:00, so we won't make it to the party until the official start time of 7 but mostly going for the entertainment, so that's okay.

Friday - Kids are planning to rope drop DHS for TSM and I'm planning to get them Fastpasses for RRC, Star Tours and something else, not sure what would be best? DH and I may do EMH at MK, then at some point head to Epcot for our 12pm Tequila lunch. Sadly, we also have a Fantasmic dining package at Mama Melrose's at 3:30 (just the way things event timing fell out) so we're planning to run around the lake several times before meeting the kids at DHS. I wish we could ride things with them after the reservation, but I didn't want them to be all day without fastpasses - didn't seem fair. So I will get fastpasses for me and DH for RRC and Star Tours, then we'll all go see Fantasmic.

Saturday - EMH at AK, so planning to be there at 7:00am to get in line to rope drop FOP. Hoping for fastpasses for NRJ, Everest and Kilimanjaro. Maybe fit in Dinosaur and Primevil Whirl before heading to MK for Be Our Guest lunch. After that, split up, not sure where the kids will go but since we will have already used our scheduled fastpasses, it doesn't matter as much. They may end up at DHS for the Star Wars fireworks. DH and I have a wine seminar at Epcot at 5:00pm, then whatever we feel like!

Sunday - We have to leave the parks at 2:00pm to head to the airport. DHS has EMH, so head there first maybe to all ride TSM and maybe Star Tours together. If we want to, could head back to MK for a few hours, but want to end up in Epcot because our stuff will be at BC and also to eat lunch at booths. I think I will make a Test Track fastpass because I couldn't get it in earlier.

Thoughts? Suggestions? It sounds like a lot because I want to get as much in as I can without actually trying to do everything! Honestly, if it wasn't for Pandora, DH and I would have skipped AK altogether, and I suggested not doing Fantasmic, but DH and DS revolted I will appreciate any help!!

You know you're kid(s) the best.............for me 14 would be the earliest I'd allow them to split up (but that's me). I personally would worry less about them worrying about "what to do next" I'd worry about them remembering your ADR schedule that they would be included in. Younglings, even older ones, tend to lose track of time much more than adults (in my experience).

As for you're schedule......the timing you have is extremely tight......a late afternoon arrival......what does that mean? Your flight arrives at 4pm or you've checked in to your resort at 4pm. Then off to the Contemporary..............seems like that could get chaotic. Arrival day should be free and easy......not saying you can't do an ADR but put it closer to your resort so you could walk (You're on the boardwalk)........if you have hoppers you would have Epcot too!

As for Thursday............you have an 8am breakfast at MK.......then you want to do Peter Pan, SM, and Buzz so you can then get to Epcot for FP's starting at 10:30am....then the kids are off to MK at 3:00 for the MNSSHP (you obviously have hoppers or this day can't work).............I'm exhausted just thinking about all that travel between parks.......even using the monorail.

On Friday............you have really high expectations with what you can do at AK before having to go to the MK (longest bus ride from AK) for a lunch. When do you ever rest?

I'm sorry.....If you have to head to the airport by 2:00pm, I have no idea how you're going to do so much park hopping. Since this is your last day this might be the day you keep everyone together (again my opinion....but if you use DME.....it's important). It all seems really chaotic to me. Seems like you're trying to get everything in. At the end of this vacation you'll need a vacation to recover.

So..........my only comment would be to pull back a bit. Don't have things so scrunched together. I'd avoid cris-crossing WDW parks. With all that movement and separation........your setup for confusion and late or missed arrivals. Again total my thoughts based on what you stated. In the end you know your family..........so if they can handle this...............go for it!

Have a wonderful vacation no matter what you decide to do.

Doug