Planning advice

[Donald315]

Seeking some feedback on our trip advice: Travel party is me, my wife, in-laws and DD3 and DD1 (daughter will be just shy of 3). Arriving on Sat 3/4 in the afternoon (around 1 pm) and our flight Sat 3/11 departs around 230-3 pm. We're also trying to get to parks for rope drops and take mid-afternoon breaks the hotel the majority of days. We are staying at AofA.

Sat 3/4: Magic Kingdom w/ dinner at a counter service (Peco Bills, Columbia Harbour or Cosmic Rays?). FP+ for Splash Mountain, BTMRR and 7DMT.

Sun 3/5: All day at Animal Kingdom w/ quick service lunch at FTB, early dinner at Boma at AKL, and FP+ for KS, KRR, and ROL.

Mon 3/6: Hollywood rope drop w/ FP+ for Frozen Sing Along, TSM and Star Tours. Stay until around 1230ish, head back to resort for lunch, swimming and nap time. Have Ohana reservations for 7:20 pm (maybe sprinkle in a few rides at MK beforehand and see Wishes from Ohana).

Tues 3/7: In-laws will be going their own way at Epcot this morning/early afternoon.
We will be going to MK, we have BOG breakfast reservations set up for 8:05, after that will head for Fantasyland. We have FP+ for 7DMT, PP and ETWB. Will stay until around 12, head back to hotel for swimming/lunch. DW and I will be going off to Epcot on our own that evening while the in-laws watch the kids.

Wed 3/8: Morning is TBD, perhaps checking out Disney Springs w/ swimming before or after?
Evening will be MK, plan on arriving sometime between 3-4 pm, we have dinner reservations at CRT and FP+ set up for PP, Space Mountain, and 7DMT.

Thu 3/9: Morning in Epcot w/ FP+ for Seas w/ Nemo, SE, and Frozen, stay until 1130-12, head back to hotel, head to HS later for 4:35 reservation at H&V w/ Fantastic show.

Fri 3/10: Morning in MK, lunch at BoG, head back to hotel. Up in air for what to do at night (maybe Epcot?).

Sat 3/11: No parks. Possible go to Chef Mickey's for 8:20 breakfast. Magical Express should pick us up around 11:45ish at AofA.

Anything here that I'm missing that we need to do or any places we're hitting too much/not enough. Obviously have bulk of time planned for MK w/ two little ones.

Any advice and thoughts are appreciated. Thanks

 

[DisneyAnytime]

Just a couple of comments. Your plan looks good overall (IMHO), the only thing that gave me pause was that you have used two days of FP+ on PP and 3 for 7DMT. If that is your preference and you were able to snag those, GREAT! If not, you might want to share the love with a few other favorites. I have found that the most miserable line in all of WDW is for Jungle Cruise. However, we typically go in May or October when the crowds may be heavier than in early March.

Definitely check out Disney Springs; with all the recent development it's really worth the time. Another option would be a stroll down the Boardwalk with a trip to Beaches and Cream!

As for your arrival day QS, our personal preference is Columbia Harbor House. If you eat upstairs it's usually a little quieter and a nice break from all the excitement of arrival day.

 

[hiroMYhero]

Because you have two little/too short kids, you really should utilize Rider Swap to double your adult FPs.

See this thread for a great example of scheduling:
Rider Switch Planning

 

[JPKnapp]

I've stayed a AofA a couple times. Including bus wait times, it can be an hour each way (hotel door to turnstile) to the parks. So you need to account better for that. I think you'll end up always thinking about rushing to the next event so you can get your afternoon break in, or worse, skipping the break and the kids melt down.

As previous poster said, most of your FPs are for height restricted rides. The 1 yr old definitely wont make it, and likely the 3yr old isnt over 40" SplM & BTMRR (38" for 7DMT). Use the rider swap and a single FP. I am also assuming that because she isnt 3 yet, you didnt buy a ticket for her. If you did buy one and those are her FPs included (total of 3), you really have room to play with.

 

[Donald315]

Because you have two little/too short kids, you really should utilize Rider Swap to double your adult FPs.

See this thread for a great example of scheduling:
Rider Switch Planning

My older daughter is 38 inch so she's good for those rides but isn't quite 40 inches.

I've read that thread: so if my wife and I both want to ride Space Mountain for example, we both don't need fast passes? Only one of us needs a fastpass?

 

[hiroMYhero]

My older daughter is 38 inch so she's good for those rides but isn't quite 40 inches.

I've read that thread: so if my wife and I both want to ride Space Mountain for example, we both don't need fast passes? Only one of us needs a fastpass?

Correct. And also know, you can get Rider Swap based on the 1-year old. Any 3 people ride on the Swap.

 

[mshanson3121]

I'll add my thoughts in your original post.

Seeking some feedback on our trip advice: Travel party is me, my wife, in-laws and DD3 and DD1 (daughter will be just shy of 3). Arriving on Sat 3/4 in the afternoon (around 1 pm) and our flight Sat 3/11 departs around 230-3 pm. We're also trying to get to parks for rope drops and take mid-afternoon breaks the hotel the majority of days. We are staying at AofA.

Sat 3/4: Magic Kingdom w/ dinner at a counter service (Peco Bills, Columbia Harbour or Cosmic Rays?). FP+ for Splash Mountain, BTMRR and 7DMT. Eat at Peco Bills since you'll already be in this area. We enjoyed it.

Sun 3/5: All day at Animal Kingdom w/ quick service lunch at FTB, early dinner at Boma at AKL, and FP+ for KS, KRR, and ROL. Just make sure you allot enough travel time for traveling to Boma, then back and having to re-enter the park. Myself I would prefer not to be back and forth like that, so I would want to try for breakfast at Boma instead, and then once I get the AK, stay there. That said, all day from 9-9 is going to be a mighty long day for your children, you'll want to consider how well they nap in a stroller in a theme park. You may want to consider an afternoon break. So, go in for RD, spend the morning, go back and have some R&R, and then spend your evening there for ROL. Skip Boma if you have to.

Mon 3/6: Hollywood rope drop w/ FP+ for Frozen Sing Along, TSM and Star Tours. Stay until around 1230ish, head back to resort for lunch, swimming and nap time. Have Ohana reservations for 7:20 pm (maybe sprinkle in a few rides at MK beforehand and see Wishes from Ohana). I would finish with Ohana and not add in more rides/wishes this night (see the rest of my comments). The kids will have had a late night last night, followed by an early morning for rope drop at HS. I would keep the evening as low-key as possible.

Tues 3/7: In-laws will be going their own way at Epcot this morning/early afternoon.
We will be going to MK, we have BOG breakfast reservations set up for 8:05, after that will head for Fantasyland. We have FP+ for 7DMT, PP and ETWB. Will stay until around 12, head back to hotel for swimming/lunch. DW and I will be going off to Epcot on our own that evening while the in-laws watch the kids. Sounds good, other than this is a very early morning (you'll need to be out the door by 7:00) after yet another late night. So just consider how well your kids can manage an early morning after a late night. You might want to push breakfast a bit later and stay a bit later. Since the rest of the afternoon/evening is for rest for the kids, it wouldn't be so bad to perhaps do a 9 or 10 breakfast instead and stay until 2:00.

Wed 3/8: Morning is TBD, perhaps checking out Disney Springs w/ swimming before or after?
Evening will be MK, plan on arriving sometime between 3-4 pm, we have dinner reservations at CRT and FP+ set up for PP, Space Mountain, and 7DMT. What time is your dinner reservation? Myself, I would plan on being done as soon as dinner is over, so you're not giving your kids too many late nights, especially since tomorrow will be a busy day with a late night. Also, I would try and arrive early enough to see the parade. So, I would probably plan a relaxing morning, perhaps sleep in, take a swim, then head to the park around noon, do your rides and then finish with CRT (CRT is looong, plan on at least 90 minutes).

Thu 3/9: Morning in Epcot w/ FP+ for Seas w/ Nemo, SE, and Frozen, stay until 1130-12, head back to hotel, head to HS later for 4:35 reservation at H&V w/ Fantastic show. This day could be a bit rushed. Depending on how much your children enjoy the aquarium, if you do Turtle Talk etc... you could easily spend 60-90 minutes there all said and done. So by the time you do this, SE, and then walk all the way over to Norway, do Frozen etc... I'm guessing noon at least before you leave, plan on it being 1 before you're back in your room, and then you'll need to plan on leaving by 3:30 to make your reservation, so, definitely doable, but not leaving you much down (nap) time at the hotel. If you could push the reservation even an hour later I definitely would.

Fri 3/10: Morning in MK, lunch at BoG, head back to hotel. Up in air for what to do at night (maybe Epcot?). I would not necessarily want to plan on being in the park for RD after being up late for Fantasmic with littles. I would plan on a leisurely resort morning, do late lunch at BoG and spend the rest of the day at MK, finishing up with Wishes (or whatever the new fireworks show is called!) this night. It's a perfect way to finish up.

Sat 3/11: No parks. Possible go to Chef Mickey's for 8:20 breakfast. Magical Express should pick us up around 11:45ish at AofA. I would definitely do Chef Mickey's great way to finish up.

Anything here that I'm missing that we need to do or any places we're hitting too much/not enough. Obviously have bulk of time planned for MK w/ two little ones.

Any advice and thoughts are appreciated. Thanks

 

[Donald315]

I'll add my thoughts in your original post.

Thanks for all your great advice - I scratched the Boma plan on AKL day, we instead have an early lunch at Yak and Yeti at 11:30 and am planning on FTB for dinner. Would take a break but feel the distance from AK to AofA and to go back would take too much time, plus it's our first full day.

Also on Ohana dinner night, I can do 5:30 pm dinner instead of 7:20, that would allow us to have get in and end the evening earlier.

Also will def take in some of your other suggestions, they sound like great ideas!

 

[caroline1851]

I wouldn't waste 3 fast passes on 7dmt. Might want to get one for Jungle Cruise or even It's a Small World. ( I dislike both personally but I think most young kids like them and the line builds super fast for Junge Cruise and you won't want to wait even 20 min for It's a small world).
Definitely spend some time at DisneySprings. What about a dining reservation at TRex or Rainforest Café?

 

[Number Six]

I wouldn't waste 3 fast passes on 7dmt. Might want to get one for Jungle Cruise or even It's a Small World. ( I dislike both personally but I think most young kids like them and the line builds super fast for Junge Cruise and you won't want to wait even 20 min for It's a small world).
Definitely spend some time at DisneySprings. What about a dining reservation at TRex or Rainforest Café?

Not a waste if they want to ride it and save time. There isn't a better use of FP.