Please critique my September plan : )

[wishusluck]

Hi,
We (2ad, 2ch - 8 & 10) are checking into Springhill Suites on Sat 15th Sept.

Then I have planned the following (we have 5 day PH passes):

SUN 16th
DL at opening, then parkhop, afternoon hotel break, back to DL for 5.30pm BB F ! dining package, stay at DL til close

MON 17th
DL at opening, then parkhop, afternoon hotel break? - not sure, as parks close at 8pm, stay til close

TUES 18th
DCA at opening (DL has MM, we are using ours on Thurs), parkhop, afternoon hotel break, return to parks and stay til close

WED 19th
Non park day (outlets, beach....)

THURS 20th
MM at DL, parkhop, afternoon hotel break, return to parks, stay til close

FRI 21st
DL at opening, parkhop, afternoon hotel break, return to parks for MHP, stay til close

I just want to know if I am using our days wisely, or if I am missing something? Is there anything you would do differently?

Thanks : )

 

[lalasmama]

I would do more than just 1 out of 4 mornings starting at DCA. DCA is different in the mornings and at night (as is DL). At 8 and 10, my daughter (and at newly 7 for my grandson), we didn't do afternoon breaks at the hotel, but every family is different of course. We just planned some quieter activities (Mr Lincoln, Mickey and the Magical Map, Fantasy Faire show, etc). We also aren't huge pool people, and if I nap, I want an hours-long nap, so... we don't let me nap, haha.

 

[wishusluck]

hehe, re the naps.

Thanks lalasmama. Yes, the only reason I had only one morning starting at DCA is because all the other days had EMH at DCA, which I was trying to avoid. Also, we wanted to start our first day (Sun) at DL. Is there a day in there we should swap for a DCA start instead of DL?

 

[Skyegirl1999]

I’d actually keep your morning starts where you have them, personally. I find DCA easier to hop into later in the day.

 

[smartlabelprint]

I would make Monday your beach day and go to the parks Wednesday. Mondays are often very busy. Wednesday’s less so.

It doesn’t matter where you start. MM/EMH isn’t a big deal-especially in DCA. In fact, you may be able to get on Soarin’ prior to park opening if you go on an EMH day.

I would use your MM the first day possible. Later in the trip you get more tired overall and may not be able to use it.

 

[wishusluck]

I would make Monday your beach day and go to the parks Wednesday. Mondays are often very busy. Wednesday’s less so.

It doesn’t matter where you start. MM/EMH isn’t a big deal-especially in DCA. In fact, you may be able to get on Soarin’ prior to park opening if you go on an EMH day.

I would use your MM the first day possible. Later in the trip you get more tired overall and may not be able to use it.

I did consider doing MM on the Tuesday, but when i realised that was the only DCA day without EE so I changed it. Also, I thought we might need the beach day in the middle, rather than being at the parks Sunday then Tues, Wed, Thurs, Fri all in a row. I also thought doing MM on the Thursday (instead of Tues) would work out because we could go to bed early on the beach day on Wednesday, in preparation for MM on Thursday.

I suppose if we had the Monday as the beach day we could sleep in, go the beach, go to bed early, then have MM on Tuesday at DL. It would just mean having to do DCA on a morning that has EE.

Ha! Sorry, this thinking back and forth is driving me crazy!

 

[Skyegirl1999]

I did consider doing MM on the Tuesday, but when i realised that was the only DCA day without EE so I changed it. Also, I thought we might need the beach day in the middle, rather than being at the parks Sunday then Tues, Wed, Thurs, Fri all in a row. I also thought doing MM on the Thursday (instead of Tues) would work out because we could go to bed early on the beach day on Wednesday, in preparation for MM on Thursday.

I suppose if we had the Monday as the beach day we could sleep in, go the beach, go to bed early, then have MM on Tuesday at DL. It would just mean having to do DCA on a morning that has EE.

Ha! Sorry, this thinking back and forth is driving me crazy!

Couldn't you start at DCA on Thursday, then?

EMH at DCA isn't that big of a deal... but I do think you only need one DCA rope-drop, personally. I'm assuming you have Maxpass when I say that, though... we pretty much always start at DL and move to DCA around lunchtime, but we do that with DCA headliner FPs already pulled and ready to go.

 

[wishusluck]

Yes, Skygirl1999. We will be using Maxpass each day.

Yes, I suppose if we went with the Monday non-park day then we could do DL MM on Tues and start at DCA on Thursday. Although the kids would be waiting until Tuesday to even see DCA, considering we will be in DL all Sunday. Still not sure about the four big park days in a row (Tue, Wed, Thurs, Fri) if we went with this plan.

 

[Winnowill]

EMH at DCA isn't that big of a deal...

As a "for instance" of how much EMH at DCA is not that big of a deal - on one of our mornings recently, we started at DCA for rope drop on an EMH morning (to which we did not have access). Our choice for RD was GotG standby. Of course, guests were already there for EMH, but, even so we were exiting the attraction at 8:07 after an 8:00 park opening.

 

[wishusluck]

ooh, interesting Winnowill. I had just automatically assumed to avoid those EE days which were not applicable to me.

 

[lalasmama]

hehe, re the naps.

Thanks lalasmama. Yes, the only reason I had only one morning starting at DCA is because all the other days had EMH at DCA, which I was trying to avoid. Also, we wanted to start our first day (Sun) at DL. Is there a day in there we should swap for a DCA start instead of DL?

One thing to consider is that MM is only at DL... So, when there's EMH, there's only the people from the 3 on-site hotels... And then you are assuming that they are going to get up and go (which not all will, obviously). At DL, they have MM and EMH together, meaning anyone with the appropriate 3+day tickets may be able to attend, *plus* all those people in the on-site hotels. So, possibly avoiding the MM/EMH at DL (unless attending) is a bigger deal than at DCA.

While rope drop at DCA isn't a "big deal" as others have said, we still tend to get a load done--we've blasted through all of Pixar Pier/Paradise Park plus Soarin' and pulled a FP for RSR in that first hour. That's a serious bit done pretty quickly, assuring us that we would get to do everything we wanted that day at DCA, since we were able to clear a huge chunk of it in the first 90 minutes. We've also done this with Bugs Land (may it rest in peace after it's passing in 18 days)--we would get Paradise Pier out of the way, then Bug's Land, and that's half the park, essentially, in an hour.

I think I would do something like this:
Sunday--Rope drop at DL. Use your MP and get the headliners out of the way... Or, just spend the morning exploring DL. There's a ton to see! Park-hop around noon for lunch. Stay until 2pm, then head to the hotel until 5ish, when you can come back to DL for your dining ressie. Spend your evening doing chosen attractions at DL until your F! viewing, and then ride more rides afterward!

Monday--Rope drop at DCA. Park-hop to DL at lunch time. Break time around 2pm. Come back to DL for dinner, then head to DCA to close out the night (Paint the Night if it's going).

Tuesday--This is the day I would do the beach and/or outlets. My reasoning is this: After 2 days of up early, out until late, the kids will be ready for a break. You'll have had 2 days in the parks to get the initial "go go go go, gotta see everything" out of your system. Our first 2 days are the most challenging, personally, when we typically do 13+ miles each day. So, sleep in Tuesday. Have a good breakfast. Head out to the outlet and then the beaches. Spend the day relaxing. Have a great dinner, and spend some more time at the pool at the hotel. Head to bed at a reasonable hour ("school night" bedtime).

Wednesday--Rope drop DCA and do whatever you didn't get done on Monday. When you tire of DCA, then head over to DL, and spend the rest of the day there. Check out the Pixar Play Parade if it's still running (not sure if it stops at the end of the Pixar Pals promotion) or whatever parade they have... Enjoy seeing things at night in DL! Things look so different at night! If your kids can handle late, late nights, hop on the last train of the night at DL (just before closing--ask at the Main Street Station). You'll enjoy a quiet ride on the train as they go through and close up each of the train stations and say, "Goodnight" to each place.

Thursday--MM at DL. Spend all the time you want at DL, take your afternoon break, then hop over to DCA to enjoy it some more at night.

Friday--Rope drop at DL. Hop over to DCA for a final hurrah until it's time for your afternoon break. Then come back, and have your party at DL. Remember you can get in 3 hours before party time. Try to close out the parks.

 

[wishusluck]

Thanks so much, lalasmama. I really appreciate seeing other people's perspectives on this.

The Wednesday is a MHP night, which is why I made that our non-park day, considering we would be shut out at 6pm. Based on that would you still do the plan as you've outlined above? (apart from Wed night)

 

[smartlabelprint]

I did consider doing MM on the Tuesday, but when i realised that was the only DCA day without EE so I changed it. Also, I thought we might need the beach day in the middle, rather than being at the parks Sunday then Tues, Wed, Thurs, Fri all in a row. I also thought doing MM on the Thursday (instead of Tues) would work out because we could go to bed early on the beach day on Wednesday, in preparation for MM on Thursday.

I suppose if we had the Monday as the beach day we could sleep in, go the beach, go to bed early, then have MM on Tuesday at DL. It would just mean having to do DCA on a morning that has EE.

Ha! Sorry, this thinking back and forth is driving me crazy!

We don’t take an any days off with our toddlers. So I think you could do 4 in a row. My experience with Monday’s is just so very negative. I don’t do well with wall to wall people. It’s why I spent some time in dca each afternoon.

Last trip we didn’t plan our where we’d start any of our days. It worked out. We saw almost everything we wanted to in 5 days with maxpass. We only missed Mickey & magical map. So, no matter your plans you’ll see it all! Feel free to diverge from your plans! With maxpass times you may find yourself park hopping randomly!

FWIW we always have Tuesday as our first park day. Monday is our new travel day because of the issues we’ve had. Been doing it this way for 3 years now. Last year dh wanted to add a day to his comic convention. I stupidly let him and traded it for Monday. We walked up and security was to harbor.

 

[lalasmama]

Thanks so much, lalasmama. I really appreciate seeing other people's perspectives on this.

The Wednesday is a MHP night, which is why I made that our non-park day, considering we would be shut out at 6pm. Based on that would you still do the plan as you've outlined above? (apart from Wed night)

Two options-- you could hop over to DCA at party time, but expect a zoo. With the MHP on Wednesday, then, yes, that could be a good break day!

 

[tabersdismom24]

For those of you locals, would you expect the Monday crowds to continue once school is back in session? I'm heading to DL in the fall, too, and was curious on how it would effect my planning on a Monday. Thanks in advance!

 

[SOCALMouseMommy]

For those of you locals, would you expect the Monday crowds to continue once school is back in session? I'm heading to DL in the fall, too, and was curious on how it would effect my planning on a Monday. Thanks in advance!

For me personally, Mondays have been consistently busy every time I went on a Monday for st least the last year regardless of what time of year it is.

 

[Skyegirl1999]

For me personally, Mondays have been consistently busy every time I went on a Monday for st least the last year regardless of what time of year it is.

I agree; however, I do think it was more noticeable in the spring than in the fall.

Wednesdays are my favorite.

 

[smartlabelprint]

We had no issues with dca when we went there after dl closed for the party. It wasn’t ridiculously busy. Maybe on a weekend night it would be different.

 

[tabersdismom24]

For me personally, Mondays have been consistently busy every time I went on a Monday for st least the last year regardless of what time of year it is.

Ok, thanks for the input!

 

[tabersdismom24]

I agree; however, I do think it was more noticeable in the spring than in the fall.

Wednesdays are my favorite.

Thanks for the info!