Please critique my dining / park plan!

[randi02]

Hi everyone! My ADR day is almost here, and I'd really appreciate some critique or thoughts on my trip plan. This is my first "big" trip with our whole family (we took DS 3 years ago and this will be DH, me, DS7 and twin DD4s) We've not dined at any of these places (except Ohana, we have been for dinner but not breakfast). We'll be getting the regular dining plan. We'll be celebrating our 10th anniversary as well as DS' birthday. Trip is Wed. Jan 27 - Wed. Feb 3.

Arrival Day: Flight lands at 1PM from Chicago. Take DME to POR, check in, head to Epcot and spend the late afternoon/evening there and watch Illuminations. QS dinner at Epcot, probably sushi for DH and Mexican or something else for rest of us.

Day 2: MK (crowd level 1 - woohoo!) Welcome show/rope drop. Columbia Harbor House for lunch. Watch parade. Take the boat over to Whispering Canyon for dinner. Kids will probably be DONE and we'll head back to resort.

Day 3: AK. RD. Flame Tree BBQ for lunch. Bus it to AKL for seeing the animals and dinner at Sanaa. Considering sending the kids to the kid's club during this meal, but ugh, the price.

Day 4: No park / free day. Walk to POFQ for beignets for bf. Lunch at resort. Would like to send DS on the pirate cruise but not sure it'll be offered this day. Explore DTD and dinner at Raglan Road.

Day 5: DHS. EMH RD and book it to Jedi Training Academy sign-up. Early lunch at Hollywood & Vine with Fantasmic Dinner Package. Take a break at resort in the afternoon, then head back to park for Fantasmic. QS dinner either before we leave resort or at DHS.

Day 6: Epcot. Breakfast at Akershus. Leave park in the afternoon, maybe lunch/ice cream at Beaches & Cream. Date night! Thinking of doing one of 2 options: 1) Using Kid's Nite Out, going for dinner (OOP) at Yachtsman and strolling the boardwalk. Could even pop into Epcot if we wanted. 2) Dining at Shula's (OOP), website says kids can go to Camp Dolphin free during dinner (one child per entree, so we'd have to pay for one child). This option would limit our date to just dinner and transportation would be more difficult with the kids (we'd Uber just the 2 of us).

Day 7: MK. Pre-park BOG breakfast. QS/snack for lunch. Break at resort during afternoon. Back to MK for TS dinner (LTT or new Skipper's Cantina or maaaybe Crystal Palace but we've been there). Watch Wishes.

Day 8: Departure day. Ohana for breakfast then head to either MK or AK. I'd like to leave this up in the air and go to whichever one we want more time at, but I'll want to schedule some FP+, so...not sure. QS lunch. Catch DME bus around 5PM.

Thank you all so much in advance.

 

[randi02]

Hmm, I just realized our 3 breakfast (planned) ADRs are all in a row the last 3 days. I'd prefer these to be more spaced out, so I could go for BOG bf for Day 2, but I really want to watch the welcome show on our first day there. Which would you prefer?

 

[jalapeno_pretzel]

I would change day 4 to MK in the morning and do the BOG breakfast then. You can still make it an easy day - just go in, have breakfast, spend a few hours, not worry about keeping any kind of schedule. Then enjoy the resort and DTD that afternoon and evening. IMO, a full day resort / DTD is too much, especially in winter when pool use is unlikely. Then on Day 7 get the beignets and get to MK for RD. Other than that I think it looks great!

 

[Kristi113]

This is of course as long as they extend BOG breakfast into next year. As of right now it is not available then

 

[Hopefully]

I think you are being way to adventorous on your arrival day. Travel day is very tiring. If you land at MCO at 1 and are taking DME it will take on average 90 minutes to reach your resort. You then have to check in and you may or may not have a room yet.
I think going to Epcot for Illuminations with your little ones, makes for way too late a night for your little ones, especially since you are planning on MK rope drop the next night. Illuminations ends at 9:20 ish and again it can take over an hour to get to POR after.
I would recommend you check in and explore your resort, settle in and have an early dinner and an early to bed eveing. You have a long exciting week ahead and you do not want to start with everyone overtired.
Again on day 6 you have a late night/date night and an early AM rope drop. If your little ones go to a kids club it will be late when they get to bed. Maybe Kids Night Out in the room is a better option, as you mentioned.
Other than that I think your choices are great,
Good Luck

 

[randi02]

I would change day 4 to MK in the morning and do the BOG breakfast then. You can still make it an easy day - just go in, have breakfast, spend a few hours, not worry about keeping any kind of schedule. Then enjoy the resort and DTD that afternoon and evening. IMO, a full day resort / DTD is too much, especially in winter when pool use is unlikely. Then on Day 7 get the beignets and get to MK for RD. Other than that I think it looks great!

Interesting idea - I hadn't thought of that. Thanks!

I think you are being way to adventorous on your arrival day. Travel day is very tiring. If you land at MCO at 1 and are taking DME it will take on average 90 minutes to reach your resort. You then have to check in and you may or may not have a room yet.
I think going to Epcot for Illuminations with your little ones, makes for way too late a night for your little ones, especially since you are planning on MK rope drop the next night. Illuminations ends at 9:20 ish and again it can take over an hour to get to POR after.
I would recommend you check in and explore your resort, settle in and have an early dinner and an early to bed eveing. You have a long exciting week ahead and you do not want to start with everyone overtired.
Again on day 6 you have a late night/date night and an early AM rope drop. If your little ones go to a kids club it will be late when they get to bed. Maybe Kids Night Out in the room is a better option, as you mentioned.
Other than that I think your choices are great,
Good Luck

Very helpful, thank you! I am OK with missing Illuminations if we were to either not go to the park at all on arrival day or to just go for a little while and get back for bed earlier. My DH and kids are very early risers, so I'm not at all worried about early mornings (I'm the one who will have the hardest time with that!) but of course still want them to be able to get enough sleep.