Planning out my days advice

[Donald315]

We're set to go in two weeks, Sat 3/4-Sat 3/11. We're a group of myself, DW, DD3 and DD1 and my in-laws as well.
My only concern is if I have too much MK time planned and not enough Epcot. I'd also like to try to fit in a few hours visiting Disney Springs either one morning or evening. We're also on the DDP and staying at AofA.

Right now this is what I have planned:
Sat 3/4: Magic kingdom around 3 or 4-8 or 9 on, quick service dinner

Sun 3/5: Animal Kingdom all day, 11:40 lunch at TH and dinner around 5-530 at FTB, with a ROL fastpass to cap the night.

Mon 3/6: Hollywood 9-2, break at hotel, 720 dinner at Ohana.

Tue 3/7: BoG PPO breakfast at 805, stay at MK until lunch time. (In-laws are doing Epcot on their own this morning).
At night DW and I will be hitting Boardwalk w/ dinner at Yachtsman and Epcot after a/ EMH.

Wed 3/8: Morning up in air, possibly Disney Springs w/ early lunch, get back to hotel for a swim and rest. Planning on heading to magic Kingdom either before or after parade for the rest of night, 5:30 pm dinner at CRT.

Thu 3/9: Epcot EMH at 8 am stay until 12. Need to be at Hollywood by 4 for our 435pm H&V fantastic dinner reservation. Is it worth it going back to hotel for break this day or should we spend the afternoon on the boardwalk while traveling between two parks, getting lunch either on boardwalk or in Epcot.

Fri 3/10: AM EMH at MK, 1135 lunch at BoG (may cancel this). Break for swimming/nap, then spend night at Epcot (have dinner either at Via Napoli or Coral Reef, have reservations for both). Should I do it this way or reverse it and do Epcot in morning, or do MK whole day? Or leave it up in air?

Sat 3/11: 8:20 breakfast at Chef Mickeys (may keep, may decide to just do breakfast at resort and swim instead). Magical Expresa is picking us up around 11:45.

Any input/advice is appreciated. I know a lot of Magic Kingdom time is planned, want to make sure I'm not overdoing it or leaving anything out.

 

[loutoo]

With a 1 and 3 year old I don't think there is such a thing as too much time at MK.

As far as park distribution goes, that entirely depends on how focused you are on kid-centric only attractions vs things for you, DW, and the in-laws.

If anything, this schedule might be overly full for some young children. Only you could know that, but you should keep in mind that your children might experience a level of tired and stimulation new to them (and you) Travel and meals will take longer than anywhere else. For instance, it is a relatively safe assumption your 7:20 Ohana ADR will mean the kids don't make it to bed until at least 10:00PM, and the 8:05 BOG ADR means getting up by at least 6:30, maybe earlier. Even if this is enough rest for your three year old in normal circumstances, it might not be at Disney.

When my girls were that age I found myself touring more slowly than I expected, taking more breaks, canceling ADRs to fit in down time, and even eliminating planned park hopping on on some days in favor of an extra nap, pool and resort time. Planning is incredibly important, but I have learned the key to an awesome trip (especially with young children) is executing that plan with enough flexibility to cater to everyone's enjoyment. Overly tired, cranky and hungry kids can suck the magic out of even the most magical trip, (and I would guess the same goes to overly tired and cranky in laws)

If this is a once in a lifetime trip, than by all means you should try to push through and fit in every possible experience. If you plan on returning in a few years don't feel bad about saying "I guess we will hit that next time"

 

[Nancyg56]

We're set to go in two weeks, Sat 3/4-Sat 3/11. We're a group of myself, DW, DD3 and DD1 and my in-laws as well.
My only concern is if I have too much MK time planned and not enough Epcot. I'd also like to try to fit in a few hours visiting Disney Springs either one morning or evening. We're also on the DDP and staying at AofA.

Right now this is what I have planned:
Sat 3/4: Magic kingdom around 3 or 4-8 or 9 on, quick service dinner

Sun 3/5: Animal Kingdom all day, 11:40 lunch at TH and dinner around 5-530 at FTB, with a ROL fastpass to cap the night.

Mon 3/6: Hollywood 9-2, break at hotel, 720 dinner at Ohana.

Tue 3/7: BoG PPO breakfast at 805, stay at MK until lunch time. (In-laws are doing Epcot on their own this morning).
At night DW and I will be hitting Boardwalk w/ dinner at Yachtsman and Epcot after a/ EMH.

Wed 3/8: Morning up in air, possibly Disney Springs w/ early lunch, get back to hotel for a swim and rest. Planning on heading to magic Kingdom either before or after parade for the rest of night, 5:30 pm dinner at CRT.

Thu 3/9: Epcot EMH at 8 am stay until 12. Need to be at Hollywood by 4 for our 435pm H&V fantastic dinner reservation. Is it worth it going back to hotel for break this day or should we spend the afternoon on the boardwalk while traveling between two parks, getting lunch either on boardwalk or in Epcot.

Fri 3/10: AM EMH at MK, 1135 lunch at BoG (may cancel this). Break for swimming/nap, then spend night at Epcot (have dinner either at Via Napoli or Coral Reef, have reservations for both). Should I do it this way or reverse it and do Epcot in morning, or do MK whole day? Or leave it up in air?

Sat 3/11: 8:20 breakfast at Chef Mickeys (may keep, may decide to just do breakfast at resort and swim instead). Magical Expresa is picking us up around 11:45.

Any input/advice is appreciated. I know a lot of Magic Kingdom time is planned, want to make sure I'm not overdoing it or leaving anything out.

You have a lot of traveling in your plan, IMO. I do not think that there is too much MK though, considering the ages of your children.

I agree with the PP who suggested that you may need to be flexible. Disney is pretty overwhelming and over stimulating for little ones, and you may find that your children cannot last the late nights that you have planned. The day I look at is your arrival day. I have no idea what your travel day looks like, but I know at 4 my DGD would not have been up for a late night in a park on our arrival day, and she was a night owl.

You have a PPO breakfast planned on Tuesday, but 'Ohana is not scheduled to even begin until 7:20 on Monday night. 'Ohana tends to run behind, so at that hour you may not be seated until 7:45. That is another late night and early start the following day.

 

[LSUfan4444]

I like how it all plays out. You've left alot of room for flexibility, which is key. Some days you may want a mid day break and other days you may not....wait and see how it plays out. Something will change. Someone will get sick, you'll lose a magic band, one of your "MUST DO" attractions will be down for some reason and that is when that flexibility becomes key. Sounds like an awesome trip. I don't think the park time or the travel is too abundant at all considering you have strollers and they can nap in the strollers.

See more below...

 

[LSUfan4444]

Sat 3/4: Magic kingdom around 3 or 4-8 or 9 on, quick service dinner

Keep in mind you've got Wishes at 8pm this night, so if you want to see it grab a spot early enough and expect alot of other people will be heading out of the park after it ends as well. If you have plans for Wishes on another night, wait times around the parks generally drop during Wishes so if you miss something earlier you may want to check the wai time about 7:30 or so when people start nabbing a spot for the fireworks.

Sun 3/5: Animal Kingdom all day, 11:40 lunch at TH and dinner around 5-530 at FTB, with a ROL fastpass to cap the night.

LOVE Tusker House - best character meal on property and the lunch is the best value of any meal (breakfast/lunch/dinner) in my opinion. FTB is a good option after a TH lunch because you may be able to split a few things. I know after TH I am not hungry for a long time but with RoL not being until 7:15 you've got flexibility to move FTB back or remove if need be.

Mon 3/6: Hollywood 9-2, break at hotel, 720 dinner at Ohana.

I'm assuming you'll have your FP+ lined up at HS so depending on what your tier 1 is (I'll assume Toy Story) that will be plenty of time to do most of the other family style attractions there (Disney Jr, Beauty & The Beast, Little Mermaid. Toy Story Meet & Greet would likely be my first priority as soon as you get there because waits for that will build fast as people get off of Toy Story.

Wishes is at 8 this night so depending on where you are sitting you MIGHT be able to catch a glimpse of the fireworks from inside Ohana.

Tue 3/7: BoG PPO breakfast at 805, stay at MK until lunch time. (In-laws are doing Epcot on their own this morning).
At night DW and I will be hitting Boardwalk w/ dinner at Yachtsman and Epcot after a/ EMH.

Wed 3/8: Morning up in air, possibly Disney Springs w/ early lunch, get back to hotel for a swim and rest. Planning on heading to magic Kingdom either before or after parade for the rest of night, 5:30 pm dinner at CRT.

Love it..you've got the whole morning open.

Thu 3/9: Epcot EMH at 8 am stay until 12. Need to be at Hollywood by 4 for our 435pm H&V fantastic dinner reservation. Is it worth it going back to hotel for break this day or should we spend the afternoon on the boardwalk while traveling between two parks, getting lunch either on boardwalk or in Epcot.

Wait and see how the morning at Epcot goes and may depend on whether you make your FP+ at Epcot or HS. If you're booking them at Epcot you should be wrapped up with that park pretty early so as soon as you get on your last FP+ ride start looking to add something over at HS for later in the day.

Fri 3/10: AM EMH at MK, 1135 lunch at BoG (may cancel this). Break for swimming/nap, then spend night at Epcot (have dinner either at Via Napoli or Coral Reef, have reservations for both). Should I do it this way or reverse it and do Epcot in morning, or do MK whole day? Or leave it up in air?

I live breaking it up. But again, all depends on where you want to do your FP+. If you're going to FP+ Epcot then you really need to be at MK for EMH to take advantage of it, then leave by 11 and cancel the ADR (grab something at your resort). Kepe the Via Napoli, enjoy a nice evening at Epcot with your FP+ and a fun family dinner at Via Napoli and take the little ones around the world showcase to meet all the characters while the rest of you guys enjoy a beverage or 2.

Sat 3/11: 8:20 breakfast at Chef Mickeys (may keep, may decide to just do breakfast at resort and swim instead). Magical Expresa is picking us up around 11:45.

I like resort character meals the day we leave but I don't really like Chef Mickeys. I'd suggest Ohana or Cape May instead.

 

[Donald315]

You have a lot of traveling in your plan, IMO. I do not think that there is too much MK though, considering the ages of your children.

I agree with the PP who suggested that you may need to be flexible. Disney is pretty overwhelming and over stimulating for little ones, and you may find that your children cannot last the late nights that you have planned. The day I look at is your arrival day. I have no idea what your travel day looks like, but I know at 4 my DGD would not have been up for a late night in a park on our arrival day, and she was a night owl.

You have a PPO breakfast planned on Tuesday, but 'Ohana is not scheduled to even begin until 7:20 on Monday night. 'Ohana tends to run behind, so at that hour you may not be seated until 7:45. That is another late night and early start the following day.

If it helps I can do a 5:25 dinner at Ohana instead of 7:20, this would help us get back to our hote and in bed at a more reasonable hour

 

[Minsc]

Looks like you are already following the best advice I have when traveling with kids that age: Take midday breaks, and leave some flexibility.

Have a great trip!

 

[Nancyg56]

If it helps I can do a 5:25 dinner at Ohana instead of 7:20, this would help us get back to our hote and in bed at a more reasonable hour

You know your family, but given the ages of your children, 'Ohana's reputation for running late, and your early morning PPO ADR, I would take that one.

 

[coasternut22]

As stated by other posters, you really need to consider how your children will feel after a full day of park touring. Also keep in mind how exhausting it is to go from rope drop to the end of a night show. Now add young children and then think about it again. I just did this with a 3&4 year old and it was exhausting. For example you are doing EMH at Epcot, are considering spending time at Boardwalk, and then doing dinner and Fantasmic at HW. This is a 14 hour day. And then you are doing EMH at MK the next day. Trust me you will be tired.

I remember my first Disney trip with the kids and I thought I could power tour and I (more like my wife) regretted it. Now I plan with waayyy more breaks, early to bed, and non-rushed mornings.