Please give opinions on my itinerary (long)

[JJ&JSMOM]

I'd appreciate any opinions on my itinerary (sp). We're going in May and ADRs have been made.

Day 1 : Arrival at MCO at 12:10
ME to VWL/get settled
5:40 ADR at Chef Mickey's
(DD1's 2nd bday)

Day 2: Magic Kingdom at opening
c/s for lunch then return to resort about 2
6:00 ADR at Akershus
walk around WS or go to MK

Day 3: MGM at opening
11:30 ADR at Sci Fi
Return to resort 1:30 ish
5:30 ADR at Crystal Palace
Spectro/Wishes

Day 4 AK (may go after a sleep in morning)
c/s for lunch
Evening is flexible - maybe MK but I really want to get to DTD

Day 5: SeaWorld (probably 9-3)
c/s for supper
Evening flexible - depends on how kids are doing

Day 6: Early EMH at MK
10:30 ADR at Ohanas
Back to resort?
Late afternoon to Epcot FW
6:00 ADR Coral Reef

Day 7: Favorites Day - spend am in whatever park kids agree on
c/s for lunch then back to resort
1:30 apptmnt at BBB in DTD for DD4
5:30 ADR for CRT & spend the evening in MK

We're only attending one early emh because MGM is open early on Saturday which is our traveling days, AK I don't think we need to get up early for as our kids are young and probably won't go on the rides there, Epcot - need to go easy on one park and this is the one we picked. May try evening emh not sure yet and may try Illuminations. Fantasmic out for this trip.

Kids will be ages 2, 4 & 7. Thanks for taking the time to read this and I appreciate any opinions. Hoping we'll have enough time in MK - I'm sure this will be my kids' fav.

Joanne

I wasn't sure what forum to post on so I'll post this on Theme Parks forum as well.

 

[Elmo888]

I haven't taken my kids yet, but I have a 2 yo and a 6 yo (she'll be 7 in Feb.) DDs, we are going in Jan., and my itinerary looks very similar to yours. So, either great minds think alike, or we are both going to be in trouble!

I'm planning to settle into our resort (WL) on our first day and have dinner there (WCC) after our plane arrives around noon. All our ADR dinners are around 5, we have 2 early character breakfasts (probably c/s for breakfast for the other days), and I plan to be at the resort (rest/swim) from after lunch until just before dinner.

I can let you know how it works after we go in Jan. since you aren't going until May!

 

[Elmo888]

Another thought...if your kids are into animals, I would rethink your AK plan. Off the top of my head, they can go on the safari ride, and that is a good one to do early (animals seem to be more active in the morning). There are lots of animals to see (just walking paths), and your kids will probably enjoy some of the shows. I've only seen The Lion King, but there was a lot of singing, dancing, and crowd involvement.

 

[JJ&JSMOM]

Another thought...if your kids are into animals, I would rethink your AK plan. Off the top of my head, they can go on the safari ride, and that is a good one to do early (animals seem to be more active in the morning). There are lots of animals to see (just walking paths), and your kids will probably enjoy some of the shows. I've only seen The Lion King, but there was a lot of singing, dancing, and crowd involvement.

Yeah right now the plan is to get up and be at AK at opening but I thought if the kids are really tired we could use that day to sleep in a little. But I do want to keep our routine and visit parks first thing in the am and pm and keep the nap/swim in the afternoon.

I agree with great minds think alike . When planning my itinerary I read this board quite alot and came up with my plan. So thanks for the help everyone!

 

[1happymommy]

My plan is also similar to yours. All of my friends have made fun of me b/c I have planned everything out. Nice to know others like to be prepared, too!

 

[JJ&JSMOM]

My plan is also similar to yours. All of my friends have made fun of me b/c I have planned everything out. Nice to know others like to be prepared, too!

Me too! My DH thinks I'm planning too much. But when we went just the two of us (about 8 years ago) we could wing it, we could go from morning to night in the parks. We didn't really take breaks - we stopped for one meal at lunch (counter service-we didn't make adrs) and snacked the rest of the day. WDW has changed since then.

With kids its a different story and with needing adrs 180 days in advance it changes everything. I tell him "if you snooze you lose!" I believe to have a great vacation at WDW you have to plan and research. But always have fun!

 

[Love the Mouse]

I think that your plan looks pretty good. I know that we tried to "wing" it with DD when we were there in May and didn't really work out too well. When we went in Sept. I made sure I did what you did and really planned it out well. I even went and checked into all menus, just so I knew exactly where I wanted to eat when it came to c/s and sit down meals.

As for returning to the resort for the nap/swim time...I HIGHLY recommend it. When we went in Sept. we did just that. DD(2) doesn't really nap here at home, but when we went to Disney, we stayed up later on certain nights to take in the fireworks and parades.

But, each day we got to the parks early and were out before DD got too tired. We were back by 1:30 ish and we all took naps for 2 1/2 to 3 hours. It made all the difference in the world in our daughter. (She was less than fun on the trip in May, so we learned our lesson)

Have fun!

Michaela

 

[ndgqmiller]

You're plan looks great. I do have one suggestion that is not a popular one but it really worked for us. We either got an early start to our day and came back to our hotel a little earlier or we got a later start and stayed for fireworks at the night. I found this so much easier. Everyone says go back to the hotel rest. But by the time you get out of the park on the bus or boat, get settle in your room, take a nap that's 2/3 hours and then back on the bus back at the park getting your bag check agian etc. My kids were 2, 6, 9 on our visit and the one day we tried to go back to the resort no one wanted to get up when they did they were cranky. So we nixed that and went with our other plan. My dd2 would take a nap in stroller which was nice bc we would just do baby swap. And one of us would hang out in the shade with her. It's up to you. I just think going back to the hotel is a lot of work. Have fun. I can't wait to go back!

 

[alicenwonder99]

I think you need to be more realistic on the amount of time it is actually going to take to leave the park in the afternoon, go back to the resort, nap/swim, get ready, and get back to the next park. It takes HOURS to do that when you have small children.

Also, we find that the sit down dinners take alot longer than we plan. The only exceptions are the sit down meals that are buffets. One night in Sept, we just finally got up and told our waiter to forget our dessert...we've been there for 3 hours!!

Anyway, if you are going to be park hopping just make sure you get to the morning park at opening, have an early lunch (and plan the place you're going to eat in advance), leave just after lunch to get back to resort, and make sure you give yourself enough time to get to your early dinner ADRS.

What worked the best for us was staying at a monorail resort, and visiting MK every morning. It was such a breeze to get back and forth to our resort in the mornings. But once we got back to our resort and the kids were in the pool, it was hard to get them out of there, get dressed, then get to the next park for our dinner ADR.

HTH

 

[JJ&JSMOM]

I think you need to be more realistic on the amount of time it is actually going to take to leave the park in the afternoon, go back to the resort, nap/swim, get ready, and get back to the next park. It takes HOURS to do that when you have small children.

Also, we find that the sit down dinners take alot longer than we plan. The only exceptions are the sit down meals that are buffets. One night in Sept, we just finally got up and told our waiter to forget our dessert...we've been there for 3 hours!!

Anyway, if you are going to be park hopping just make sure you get to the morning park at opening, have an early lunch (and plan the place you're going to eat in advance), leave just after lunch to get back to resort, and make sure you give yourself enough time to get to your early dinner ADRS.

What worked the best for us was staying at a monorail resort, and visiting MK every morning. It was such a breeze to get back and forth to our resort in the mornings. But once we got back to our resort and the kids were in the pool, it was hard to get them out of there, get dressed, then get to the next park for our dinner ADR.

HTH

Thanks for your thoughts. We will definitely get to the parks at opening and leave by 1:00. That should give us an hour for transportation and w/ADRs at 5:30 or 6:00 that should give us 2 1/2 to 3 hours break. I would rathar take the break and get the kids out of the hot afternoon sun. I am concerned with them (and me) not wanting to go back to the parks for dinner but we'll see how it goes we can always change our plan. Got to be flexible w/kids.