Please critique my plan...

[kamcole]

Hello All! I'd love some feedback on our current plan. I'm used to going in late summer not spring and taking extra family along -- soooo with it just being me and my kiddos (hubby doesn't really like to travel) and going just after Easter - I'm not as confident in my plans as usual.

I'd like this to be a more laid back trip. It's just me and the kids and AKL is supposed to be beautiful resort with lots of activities so I'd like to make sure that we take advantage of it. Our last trip (August 2015) we stayed at WL and loved it. While we did spend a number of afternoons at the pool - I wished we explored more of WL and FW when we were there. Trying not to repeat the same thing this time (though I get sucked into the idea of parks and food all the time). We also will be back in November for a brief pre/post-cruise stay so it's not like we aren't going to be coming back again soon - though we will have family we don't usually travel with then. I'm really looking forward to enjoying some downtime with just my kids.

Please feel free to comment away - I'd really love some constructive criticism.

Travelers:
Me (Mom)
DD (age 7)
DS (age 5)

Dates & Resort:
3/30 - 4/6 @ AKL - Jambo House
Standard Dining Plan


Day 1: 3/30

• Our flight arrives around 10:30AM
• Lunch at Resort
• Resort/Pool for the afternoon
• Evening @ Disney Springs and early to bed.
  • BBB - Reservation @ 5:10 (still hoping for a cancellation to move to MK - but keeping for now)
  • Dinner @ Wolfgang puck express

Day 2: 3/31

• HS Day @ rope drop
• Sign up for Jedi Training - hoping for a 10 or 10:30 slot. Kids loved this last time and want to do again.
• FP+: Tower Terror, TS Mania, StarTours + Fantasmic Dinner package
• Lunch @ Backlot; Dinner @ Hollywood & Vine
• Stay all day and end with Fantasmic.

Day 3: 4/1

• AK + Resort Day
• Bfst at Tusker House @ 9:15AM
• FP+: Safari, Nemo & Characters
• Just planning on doing 1 trail (tigers since we did gorillas in August), Nemo and Safari then grabbing lunch before we head back. Since we are staying at AKL - not planning on spending a ton of time - this was our "free" ticket day with the promo.
• Stay from 9:00 - 1:30 then back to resort to play/swim and bed early. Go to Simba's Clubhouse for the evening art activity.

Day 4: 4/2

• MK Day 8:00 - 2 or 3ish
• BOG Bfst reservation @ 8:15AM
• FP+: SDMT, A&E, Peter Pan
• Planning on spending most of the day in Fantasy land
• Lunch @ Crystal Palace
• Monorail to GF to see Easter Eggs if they are out. Do the Resort loop and Grab dinner to go @ Contempo Cafe. or just head back to resort and eat at Mara.
• Early evening at Resort to swim/play.

Day 5: 4/3

• MK Day 2: Rope Drop till dinner or if we aren't tired we'll go to the parade @9PM.
• Focus on primarily on Adventure/Frontier/Tomorrowland
• Lunch: Columbia Harbour House; Dinner @ Whispering Canyon (5:35PM)
• FP+: BTM, SDMT, Enchanted Tails with Belle
• Pirates League @ 11AM

Day 6: 4/4

• Epcot day 1 10:30 - 4:00
• Sleep in and arrive around 10:30AM. Do the Seas, test track and wander 1/2 of world showcase to see topiaries (I've never done Flower & Garden so not sure what else to expect).
• Lunch at Askershus @ 12:35
• FP+: Test Track, character spot, turtle talk
• Dinner at Sanaa @ 5:35PM - Late afternoon/evening at resort

Day 7: 4/5

• Epcot day 2: 10:00 - 3:00PM
• Another later sleep in morning (no Soarin' - and I've fast passed test track so I can't find a reason not to let them sleep in a bit).
• Do Land pavilion, test track and wander 2nd 1/2 of world showcase
• Lunch at Garden Grill @ 12:45PM
• FP+: Test Track, Spaceship earth & ?
• visit baymax and inside out characters - hoping a fastpass comes out for this one before we go.
• back to resort for play/pool - eat at AKL or if we stay later grab something at Epcot

Day 8: 4/6

• Resort morning
• Maybe bfst at Boma
• Magical Express @ 1:30PM for 4:30PM flight home

Thoughts??!?!

 

[sharonabe]

The 4th and 5th will be much less crowded than your other days. Can you switch one of your MK days to one of those? Personally, I think I would choose the 5th because it's a Tuesday and because it's your last park day. I realize this means switching some ADRs around, but if you can, I really think the lower crowds will make it worth it.

 

[kamcole]

The 4th and 5th will be much less crowded than your other days. Can you switch one of your MK days to one of those? Personally, I think I would choose the 5th because it's a Tuesday and because it's your last park day. I realize this means switching some ADRs around, but if you can, I really think the lower crowds will make it worth it.

I thought about it originally - but I thought Epcot would be really crowded with more locals + the tourists on the weekend. I'll see if there's still some good ADRs available and if I can do it without losing pirates league on Sunday.

 

[SFMommy]

The only thing that jumps out at me is on Day 3 you have a reservation for breakfast at Tusker House RIGHT at park opening. Wouldn't you rather do rides and attractions the first 2 hours and then have a late breakfast when it gets more crowded and you need a rest?

I would never want to be eating in a restaurant between 9-10 with a 9:00 a.m. park opening. What about lunch at Tusker House before leaving the park?

 

[kamcole]

The only thing that jumps out at me is on Day 3 you have a reservation for breakfast at Tusker House RIGHT at park opening. Wouldn't you rather do rides and attractions the first 2 hours and then have a late breakfast when it gets more crowded and you need a rest?

I would never want to be eating in a restaurant between 9-10 with a 9:00 a.m. park opening. What about lunch at Tusker House before leaving the park?

Typically yes. I never do - But my kids are little and the only ride we really do at AK is the safari (which I fastpassed). Tusker bfst is my son's favorite - so that's really the only reason we are going this trip.

 

[SFMommy]

Typically yes. I never do - But my kids are little and the only ride we really do at AK is the safari (which I fastpassed). Tusker bfst is my son's favorite - so that's really the only reason we are going this trip.

OK! Just wanted to point it out. We are going to Tusker House for our first trip in May...can't wait! Have a great trip!

 

[kamcole]

Hello All! I'd love some feedback on our current plan. I'm used to going in late summer not spring and taking extra family along -- soooo with it just being me and my kiddos (hubby doesn't really like to travel) and going just after Easter - I'm not as confident in my plans as usual.

I'd like this to be a more laid back trip. It's just me and the kids and AKL is supposed to be beautiful resort with lots of activities so I'd like to make sure that we take advantage of it. Our last trip (August 2015) we stayed at WL and loved it. While we did spend a number of afternoons at the pool - I wished we explored more of WL and FW when we were there. Trying not to repeat the same thing this time (though I get sucked into the idea of parks and food all the time). We also will be back in November for a brief pre/post-cruise stay so it's not like we aren't going to be coming back again soon - though we will have family we don't usually travel with then. I'm really looking forward to enjoying some downtime with just my kids.

Please feel free to comment away - I'd really love some constructive criticism.

Travelers:
Me (Mom)
DD (age 7)
DS (age 5)

Dates & Resort:
3/30 - 4/6 @ AKL - Jambo House
Standard Dining Plan


Day 1: 3/30

• Our flight arrives around 10:30AM
• Lunch at Resort
• Resort/Pool for the afternoon
• Evening @ Disney Springs and early to bed.
  • BBB - Reservation @ 5:10 (still hoping for a cancellation to move to MK - but keeping for now)
  • Dinner @ Wolfgang puck express

Day 2: 3/31

• HS Day @ rope drop
• Sign up for Jedi Training - hoping for a 10 or 10:30 slot. Kids loved this last time and want to do again.
• FP+: Tower Terror, TS Mania, StarTours + Fantasmic Dinner package
• Lunch @ Backlot; Dinner @ Hollywood & Vine
• Stay all day and end with Fantasmic.

Day 3: 4/1

• AK + Resort Day
• Bfst at Tusker House @ 9:15AM
• FP+: Safari, Nemo & Characters
• Just planning on doing 1 trail (tigers since we did gorillas in August), Nemo and Safari then grabbing lunch before we head back. Since we are staying at AKL - not planning on spending a ton of time - this was our "free" ticket day with the promo.
• Stay from 9:00 - 1:30 then back to resort to play/swim and bed early. Go to Simba's Clubhouse for the evening art activity.

Day 4: 4/2

• MK Day 8:00 - 2 or 3ish
• BOG Bfst reservation @ 8:15AM
• FP+: SDMT, A&E, Peter Pan
• Planning on spending most of the day in Fantasy land
• Lunch @ Crystal Palace
• Monorail to GF to see Easter Eggs if they are out. Do the Resort loop and Grab dinner to go @ Contempo Cafe. or just head back to resort and eat at Mara.
• Early evening at Resort to swim/play.

Day 5: 4/3

• MK Day 2: Rope Drop till dinner or if we aren't tired we'll go to the parade @9PM.
• Focus on primarily on Adventure/Frontier/Tomorrowland
• Lunch: Columbia Harbour House; Dinner @ Whispering Canyon (5:35PM)
• FP+: BTM, SDMT, Enchanted Tails with Belle
• Pirates League @ 11AM

Day 6: 4/4

• Epcot day 1 10:30 - 4:00
• Sleep in and arrive around 10:30AM. Do the Seas, test track and wander 1/2 of world showcase to see topiaries (I've never done Flower & Garden so not sure what else to expect).
• Lunch at Askershus @ 12:35
• FP+: Test Track, character spot, turtle talk
• Dinner at Sanaa @ 5:35PM - Late afternoon/evening at resort

Day 7: 4/5

• Epcot day 2: 10:00 - 3:00PM
• Another later sleep in morning (no Soarin' - and I've fast passed test track so I can't find a reason not to let them sleep in a bit).
• Do Land pavilion, test track and wander 2nd 1/2 of world showcase
• Lunch at Garden Grill @ 12:45PM
• FP+: Test Track, Spaceship earth & ?
• visit baymax and inside out characters - hoping a fastpass comes out for this one before we go.
• back to resort for play/pool - eat at AKL or if we stay later grab something at Epcot

Day 8: 4/6

• Resort morning
• Maybe bfst at Boma
• Magical Express @ 1:30PM for 4:30PM flight home

Thoughts??!?!

Thanks for the initial feedback. @sharonabe - I think you are right about the MK days. I didn't originally have the 4/6 day on our trip and when I extended it - I just tacked Epcot onto the end - but I think you are right and we'd rather end on a MK day. So I'm rearranging and think we can cover most everything if I move Sunday's MK day to Epcot and MK on Tuesday.

 

[kamcole]

OK! Just wanted to point it out. We are going to Tusker House for our first trip in May...can't wait! Have a great trip!

I really appreciate the feedback. "talking" it through helps me to figure out what works - and there's no disney ears here, LOL.

Tusker House is great. It is a must do every trip for us. My son has a dairy allergy and the chef there is just fabulous.

 

[kamcole]

Updated Plans:

Day 1: 3/30

• Our flight arrives around 10:30AM
• Lunch at Resort
• Resort/Pool for the afternoon
• Evening @ Disney Springs and early to bed.
  • BBB - Reservation @ 5:10 (still hoping for a cancellation to move to MK - but keeping for now)
  • Dinner @ Wolfgang puck express

Day 2: 3/31

• HS Day @ rope drop
• Sign up for Jedi Training - hoping for a 10 or 10:30 slot. Kids loved this last time and want to do again.
• FP+: Tower Terror, TS Mania, StarTours + Fantasmic Dinner package
• Lunch @ Backlot; Dinner @ Hollywood & Vine
• Stay all day and end with Fantasmic.

Day 3: 4/1

• AK + Resort Day
• Bfst at Tusker House @ 9:15AM
• FP+: Safari, Nemo & Characters
• Just planning on doing 1 trail (tigers since we did gorillas in August), Nemo and Safari then grabbing lunch before we head back. Since we are staying at AKL - not planning on spending a ton of time - this was our "free" ticket day with the promo.
• Stay from 9:00 - 1:30 then back to resort to play/swim and bed early. Go to Simba's Clubhouse for the evening art activity.

Day 4: 4/2

• MK Day 8:00 - 3ish
• BOG Bfst reservation @ 8:15AM
• FP+: SDMT, BTMR Peter Pan
• Pirates League @ 11:10AM
• Lunch @ Crystal Palace @ 1PM
• Monorail to GF to see Easter Eggs if they are out. Do the Resort loop and Grab dinner to go @ Contempo Cafe. or just head back to resort and eat at Mara.
• Early evening at Resort to swim/play.

Day 5: 4/3

• Epcot day 2: 9:30ish - 3:00PM
• Another later sleep in morning (no Soarin' - and I've fast passed test track so I can't find a reason not to let them sleep in a bit).
• Do Land pavilion, test track and wander 2nd 1/2 of world showcase
• Lunch at Garden Grill @ 12:45PM
• FP+: Test Track, Spaceship earth & Character Spot (hope to visit baymax and inside out characters - hoping a fastpass comes out for this one before we go).
• back to resort for play/pool - eat at AKL or if we stay later grab something at Epcot or if don't do Easter Eggs day before maybe we'll hop on the Monorail at Epcot at transfer to Resort Monorail at TTC.

Day 6: 4/4

• Epcot day 1 10:00 - 3:30PM
• Sleep in and arrive around 10:00AM. Do the Seas, test track and wander 1/2 of world showcase to see topiaries (I've never done Flower & Garden so not sure what else to expect).
• Lunch at Askershus @ 12:35
• FP+: Test Track, character spot, turtle talk
• Dinner at Sanaa @ 5:35PM - Late afternoon/evening at resort

Day 7: 4/5

• MK Day 2: Rope Drop till dinner or if we aren't tired we'll go to the parade @9PM.
• Lunch: Columbia Harbour House; Dinner @ Whispering Canyon (5:30PM)
• FP+: A&E, SDMT, Enchanted Tales with Belle
• Pirates League @ 11AM

Day 8: 4/6

• Resort morning
• Maybe bfst at Boma
• Magical Express @ 1:30PM for 4:30PM flight home

 

[kamcole]

Updated Plans:

Day 1: 3/30

• Our flight arrives around 10:30AM
• Lunch at Resort
• Resort/Pool for the afternoon
• Evening @ Disney Springs and early to bed.
  • BBB - Reservation @ 5:10 (still hoping for a cancellation to move to MK - but keeping for now)
  • Dinner @ Wolfgang puck express

Day 2: 3/31

• HS Day @ rope drop
• Sign up for Jedi Training - hoping for a 10 or 10:30 slot. Kids loved this last time and want to do again.
• FP+: Tower Terror, TS Mania, StarTours + Fantasmic Dinner package
• Lunch @ Backlot; Dinner @ Hollywood & Vine
• Stay all day and end with Fantasmic.

Day 3: 4/1

• AK + Resort Day
• Bfst at Tusker House @ 9:15AM
• FP+: Safari, Nemo & Characters
• Just planning on doing 1 trail (tigers since we did gorillas in August), Nemo and Safari then grabbing lunch before we head back. Since we are staying at AKL - not planning on spending a ton of time - this was our "free" ticket day with the promo.
• Stay from 9:00 - 1:30 then back to resort to play/swim and bed early. Go to Simba's Clubhouse for the evening art activity.

Day 4: 4/2

• MK Day 8:00 - 3ish
• BOG Bfst reservation @ 8:15AM
• FP+: SDMT, BTMR Peter Pan
• Pirates League @ 11:10AM
• Lunch @ Crystal Palace @ 1PM
• Monorail to GF to see Easter Eggs if they are out. Do the Resort loop and Grab dinner to go @ Contempo Cafe. or just head back to resort and eat at Mara.
• Early evening at Resort to swim/play.

Day 5: 4/3

• Epcot day 2: 9:30ish - 3:00PM
• Another later sleep in morning (no Soarin' - and I've fast passed test track so I can't find a reason not to let them sleep in a bit).
• Do Land pavilion, test track and wander 2nd 1/2 of world showcase
• Lunch at Garden Grill @ 12:45PM
• FP+: Test Track, Spaceship earth & Character Spot (hope to visit baymax and inside out characters - hoping a fastpass comes out for this one before we go).
• back to resort for play/pool - eat at AKL or if we stay later grab something at Epcot or if don't do Easter Eggs day before maybe we'll hop on the Monorail at Epcot at transfer to Resort Monorail at TTC.

Day 6: 4/4

• Epcot day 1 10:00 - 3:30PM
• Sleep in and arrive around 10:00AM. Do the Seas, test track and wander 1/2 of world showcase to see topiaries (I've never done Flower & Garden so not sure what else to expect).
• Lunch at Askershus @ 12:35
• FP+: Test Track, character spot, turtle talk
• Dinner at Sanaa @ 5:35PM - Late afternoon/evening at resort

Day 7: 4/5

• MK Day 2: Rope Drop till dinner or if we aren't tired we'll go to the parade @9PM.
• Lunch: Columbia Harbour House; Dinner @ Whispering Canyon (5:30PM)
• FP+: A&E, SDMT, Enchanted Tales with Belle
• Pirates League @ 11AM

Day 8: 4/6

• Resort morning
• Maybe bfst at Boma
• Magical Express @ 1:30PM for 4:30PM flight home

So Excited!! An early 'Ohana reservation just opened up for our first MK day. Cancelling lunch at Crystal palace. Instead we will do the monorail loop and have dinner at 'Ohana.

 

[kniquy]

I am just commenting on your Day 3 - AK We were there after NYE and if you just do a QS breakfast say at Pizzafari you could hit the safari without needing a fast pass and maybe change the FP to Everest. Just a thought. We did have a fairly early (say 930) FP for the safari but didn't end up needing to use it because when we got there we only had a 5-10 minute wait.

You must be so excited that your trip is just around the corner!!

 

[kamcole]

I am just commenting on your Day 3 - AK We were there after NYE and if you just do a QS breakfast say at Pizzafari you could hit the safari without needing a fast pass and maybe change the FP to Everest. Just a thought. We did have a fairly early (say 930) FP for the safari but didn't end up needing to use it because when we got there we only had a 5-10 minute wait.

You must be so excited that your trip is just around the corner!!

Thanks for the idea -- I'll be filing this one away for future use! My kids are too small for Everest - but something we can do when the get older. We didn't end up using our safari fastpass in August either - but with the kids this age it's nice to have just in case.