Please help, last min trip, so overwhelmed!

[josefina022]

just booked a last minute trip for me, DH, & our DD's, almost 6 & almost 3.5 for the end of November for 4 days. Originally we were doing 3 day tickets for magic kingdom, animal kingdom & Hollywood studios. But now thinking maybe we need to add the hopper option or a 4th day? We went to magic kingdom just for the day in 2013 before a cruise, but we didn't make it to wishes and I'm still kicking myself for that! So, I know that's a must do & then I realized it's not there every night while we are there because of the Mickey Christmas party. I thought that could be super fun, but I don't know if it's worth the extra cost because I don't see my girls staying awake/being good that late.

I would appreciate any thoughts on what parks we should do....I didn't have Epcot on my radar, but it looks like there are a lot of princesses opportunities? I'm reading as much as I can, but I feel so lost. I'm a planner & researcher, but only having a few weeks and not having a lot of Disney knowledge is definitely making me stress out a bit!

 

[siskaren]

I would highly recommend getting this guide book:

http://www.amazon.com/Guide-First-D...&sr=1-7&keywords=walt+disney+guide+books+2016

 

[g-dad66]

in addition to the princesses in World Showcase, there is a gentle boat ride in Mexico, Agent P adventures which the 6-year-old might enjoy, Mickey, Minnie & Goofy greets in Future World, the Nemo ride and Turtle Talk (which is definitely geared to the 3-6 age group), a gentle ride through the iconic Spaceship Earth attraction, a tame though underwhelming ride in the Imagination pavilion, and some really fun fountains outside the Imagination building with "jumping" water. There is also a play area in the exit of the Mission Space ride, and it always surprises me that our grandkids love to spend as much time in there as they do. (You can enter this area through the gift shop; you don't have to do the Mission Space attraction to get to it.)

If your 3.5 year-old is 40" tall, she could do both Soarin and Test Track, and that would make Epcot definitely worth it, in my opinion.

We also love the France movie and the American Adventure show, and we have had more than one exhausted grandkid fall asleep there for a short nap....

 

[Nancyg56]

I like Epcot for young ones. In FW there are a few attractions that they love, Turtle Talk, Nemo, and Spaceship Earth, are just a few. My girls also like Living with the Land, ut not every child would enjoy that one.

Once you get to the WS there is a lot for children as well. The Characters are out, and there is the boatride in Mexico. My girls had to ride that one multiple time in August. I swear it was one of their favorites! Even with a last minute trip, this is a park that can keep kids occupied all day long.

I like DHS for children as well. If they like characters, there are a lot to meet. Can you tell my DGD was a character Junkie??? LOL! But there are attractions and shows tha appeal to youngsters here, and again, you do nto need to have a plan in place months in advance.

AS the PP said, if your kids are tired...American Adventure! Not only did my DGD nap there, I think I did as well!!

 

[ready123go]

Some very good suggestions here. One of the reasons we love Disney is that there is always a reason to book a return trip, because there is always something we haven't tried.

Since this will be your second trip, and a short one, I wouldn't bother with MVMCP. Save your money for your next trip and do one of the other 'free' fireworks shows (Fantasmic or Illuminations).

Have a look at the touring plans on TouringPlans.com and Undercover Tourist. We have use Touring Plans for a number of years with great success. They make it easy.

 

[jlsmith376]

Josh's cheat sheets on easywdw provide a wealth of information. Look at the full version for each park, not just the map, as it provides more guidance. http://www.easywdw.com/category/cheat-sheets/

If we skip a park it's usually Animal Kingdom and that's just personal preference. We always go to Epcot which the PP's have pointed out the benefits.

This is the last year to check out Osbourne Family lights at Hollywood Studios so I would recommend sticking around for that the evening you are there. Disney Jr show is a big hit with my kids. Reserve your TSMM fastpasses as soon as you can. We are a week and a half out from our trip and fastpasses are already gone.

This year will be our first Christmas Party but we have been to several Halloween parties at MK and my kids loved them so I would recommend it. My kids were as young as yours. They loved the special parade and Wishes, the characters are everywhere, and the rides are mostly walk on. There are several videos on YouTube of the parade and fireworks. What we have done in the past is use the party day to relax at the resort and arrive at the party at 4 pm when they allow party guests in. That way we don't have to add another day to our regular park tickets. There is some great information on the party in this thread. http://www.disboards.com/threads/of...nderella-castle.3388319/page-77#post-54661713

Have a great trip!

 

[NJlauren]

My advice is know you aren't going to get to do it all. All of my recent trips have been 5 days or less. I also have a short end of November trip booked. With 2 full park days and maybe a few hours on arrival day. I love hoppers but not everyone does we tend to eat dinner on Epcot most days so I like having that option.

Other options instead of the party is checking out the Osborn lights at Hollywood studios.

Also if you want to books some meals I would look into that now. Some options still open but not a lot for character meals.

Also if you have tickets book your FP now too.

MK needs a full day for your kids ages IMO, I loved Animal Kingdom last trip but I am skipping it this trip.

Are you staying on site? I ask because of EMH. Check out crowed calendars to pick which parks for wh in days.

 

[Nancyg56]

My advice is know you aren't going to get to do it all. All of my recent trips have been 5 days or less. I also have a short end of November trip booked. With 2 full park days and maybe a few hours on arrival day. I love hoppers but not everyone does we tend to eat dinner on Epcot most days so I like having that option.

Other options instead of the party is checking out the Osborn lights at Hollywood studios.

Also if you want to books some meals I would look into that now. Some options still open but not a lot for character meals.

MK needs a full day for your kids ages IMO, I loved Animal Kingdom last trip but I am skipping it this trip.

Are you staying on site? I ask because of EMH. Check out crowed calendars to pick which parks for wh in days.

I agree that on short trips you have to prioritize the parks. We have a short one planned in December and have had to cut a park. It was AK, but if we had one more day.....

OP- If you are going to DHS, try to get in the Voyage of th little Mermaid, I think it is going away, and eally is cute.

 

[CMNJ]

We did a four day trip last fall with our son who wasn't quite 3 at the time. While he loved MK and really liked Epcot and DHS he really wasn't into AK that much. If you don't think you would wind up doing the Nemo and Lion King shows with them (we skipped because we knew he wouldn't sit still for a show that long) there isn't a ton (of unique stuff) for really small kids there. We went for AM EMH and by 10 am my son asked to leave so we could go back to "Disney Word". We tried again this fall and while he liked it better this time he still was ready to leave after only 1/2 a day there. I know some people say it is a waste of money but personally we love the hoppers because we never know if we are going to want to stay at a park all day-esp AK or DHS.

 

[Paigesmom2013]

I would say add a 4th day ticket and do MK twice. Park hopping is too tough with little ones, IMHO. We have girls 2 and 5, and our first MK day will be princesses and fantasyland. The 2nd day will be Tomorrowland and adventureland and the afternoon parade.
If you want to add Epcot instead, we're doing the princess lunch at Akershus and hopefully meeting a few princesses as we walk around World showcase.

 

[Mome Rath]

just booked a last minute trip for me, DH, & our DD's, almost 6 & almost 3.5 for the end of November for 4 days. Originally we were doing 3 day tickets for magic kingdom, animal kingdom & Hollywood studios. But now thinking maybe we need to add the hopper option or a 4th day? We went to magic kingdom just for the day in 2013 before a cruise, but we didn't make it to wishes and I'm still kicking myself for that! So, I know that's a must do & then I realized it's not there every night while we are there because of the Mickey Christmas party. I thought that could be super fun, but I don't know if it's worth the extra cost because I don't see my girls staying awake/being good that late.

I would appreciate any thoughts on what parks we should do....I didn't have Epcot on my radar, but it looks like there are a lot of princesses opportunities? I'm reading as much as I can, but I feel so lost. I'm a planner & researcher, but only having a few weeks and not having a lot of Disney knowledge is definitely making me stress out a bit!

Just a bit of confusion; do you mean normal Wishes is never going on when you are there, or it just isn't every single night you are there? Usually there will be one or two nights when it is going on at its normal time in its normal form. If so, the easy thing is just to plan on the MK on one of those days/nights and there would be no extra cost. One thing I'll add is if you do have the funds for an extra day ticket, that would make a huge difference as it wouldn't feel so stressful for you. I don't think I'd try to go to a party though, as it isn't the most relaxing time. One thing I did see is that if you wanted to you could see which park stayed open later on your Studio day or AK day and do a park hop then... a lot will depend on your children and how much down time they'll need.

However, you guys will have a lot of fun regardless, the biggest thing is to know your kids and what would interest them the most. For example, if your kids love animals, AK is a must and you'd probably have a full day there, but if they don't you could potentially go to a different park that evening.

 

[dkrauss]

just booked a last minute trip for me, DH, & our DD's, almost 6 & almost 3.5 for the end of November for 4 days. Originally we were doing 3 day tickets for magic kingdom, animal kingdom & Hollywood studios. But now thinking maybe we need to add the hopper option or a 4th day

You may want to add the hopper...........would have to be cheaper than adding a 4th day. You could use for a split visit to AK/HS. Do AK in the morning and then jump to HS (after a break of course ) in the evening and take in the last moments of Osborne Lights. Then you can insert Epcot in that open date......tour Christmas around the world....maybe take in the Candlelight processional.........then Illuminations!!! Then you have the MK.............if you can't do the party........which I completely understand........you could resort hop, during our December trip we're visiting WL, GF, and YC to see the holiday decorations.........or with the hopper you could bounce back over to Epcot or HS for a dinner!

You've got this...........no worries. You'll make it............and have a magical trip!!!

Doug

 

[disneygolfer1985]

If you're going after thanksgiving, I would highly recommend Epcot as the world showcase will have holidays around the world, which is not to be missed. As stated above, you need to cherish the Osborne lights as this is the last year for them.

 

[buccikulju]

I think you may want to consider the Mickey Christmas party only because you will be there so briefly. It will really make the trip special. Also, you can use it as a way to save a day's ticket since the party ticket will let you in to the MK at 4:00. Someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but if you do one other park during the day and then take a nice long nap midday, you can then go to MK and not "burn" one of your park tickets. Just a thought.

 

[siskaren]

Just a bit of confusion; do you mean normal Wishes is never going on when you are there, or it just isn't every single night you are there? Usually there will be one or two nights when it is going on at its normal time in its normal form. If so, the easy thing is just to plan on the MK on one of those days/nights and there would be no extra cost.

Actually, there's no MVMCP from the 20th through the 28th, so with an end of November trip, there would only be one day when a party would be going on.

 

[heart4dis]

Hopefully I won't make you more confused, but I have to weigh in....
I found that Epcot was the least favorite of my children's when young. Also, at the ages of your kids if you go there, you would need a double stroller. It is so large and they get tired. I agree that park hopping is more trouble than it's worth for the ages of your children (unless you go in the morning come back for an afternoon nap then go to another park in the evening). We were able to do AK from opening to late afternoon then MVMCP in the evening. At the time, my youngest was 7. It was tiring and I don't think I'd do that to a 3.5 year old.
To me the biggest factor to loving the trip is to set realistic and even low expectations. Relax and absorb the atmosphere instead of trying to get a "ride count". ESPECIALLY given the ages of your children. They need to be free to enjoy the sights, sounds, smells and not feel rushed to the next ride.

 

[NH-to-FL]

I'll second the recommendation to take a look at the easyWDW site. In addition the the cheat sheet pages mentioned above I also encourage you to read through the November 2015 crowd calendar entries for your dates.

http://www.easywdw.com/calendar/november-2015-walt-disney-world-crowd-calendar/#more-15549

Yes, I know, a lot of information to digest. But you still have a few weeks left to study.

I wish you a magical trip!

 

[Hootch]

I would add the fourth day with the park hoppers if it fits in the budget. You may find that you and your kids have interest in any one park for only a few hours and still some energy left. Every park has something for kids at their age. There are going to be some attractions that your kids cannot do. (Look at rider swap in case there are some you want to do like Everest or Tower of terror. Though our son"s first trip we did only rides with him.)

Have you made your FP ressies yet? That's key at this point along with any dining reservations, especially character meals.

Learn what you can in the interim and you and your family will have a fun time. Our first family trip was when our son was three. There weren't the internet sites like this back then. We started our three day visit in mid afternoon standing in line for 90 minutes for Peter Pan. There were other mistakes, but we still look back fondly on that one.

Good luck.

Just a bit of confusion; do you mean normal Wishes is never going on when you are there, or it just isn't every single night you are there? Usually there will be one or two nights when it is going on at its normal time in its normal form. If so, the easy thing is just to plan on the MK on one of those days/nights and there would be no extra cost. One thing I'll add is if you do have the funds for an extra day ticket, that would make a huge difference as it wouldn't feel so stressful for you. I don't think I'd try to go to a party though, as it isn't the most relaxing time. One thing I did see is that if you wanted to you could see which park stayed open later on your Studio day or AK day and do a park hop then... a lot will depend on your children and how much down time they'll need.

However, you guys will have a lot of fun regardless, the biggest thing is to know your kids and what would interest them the most. For example, if your kids love animals, AK is a must and you'd probably have a full day there, but if they don't you could potentially go to a different park that evening.

I think the issue might be that the slot for Wishes shows none on some schedules since the fireworks are named Holiday Wishes. If they don't have tickets, and many days are sold out already, they won't be able to see the show in the MK on those days.

 

[Mome Rath]

I think the issue might be that the slot for Wishes shows none on some schedules since the fireworks are named Holiday Wishes. If they don't have tickets, and many days are sold out already, they won't be able to see the show in the MK on those days.

I thought perhaps the OP wanted to see the regular Wishes set; for example on November 27th there is a regular showing of Wishes at 9 pm. If the OP wants to see Wishes, they could spend the 27th at the MK. I thought they may not know that wishes also runs on non-party nights, it just isn't Holiday Wishes.

 

[Mainemama]

Our first trip was a 4 day trip with kids almost the exact same ages. We did MK, Epcot, AK, and MK again. We had a fantastic time. Although I now appreciate HS, we have actually only gone twice in 6 trips. I find there is just less there for kids that age (mine are ride vs. show kids). Trying to time shows takes up more touring time, I find. That said, Osbourne lights are definitely making it worthwhile for us on our next trip! If you can afford hoppers, I would go with the pp's plan to do AK in a.m., HS at night. Epcot is our favorite park. (Kids, too.) I would be prepared to have a stroller for both kids, as a pp suggested, if you have concerns about your older child's stamina. Do plan some down time. We always hit the "day 3 meltdown", until we learned to rest. It is hard on a short trip, but schedule a long lunch, or pool break. Or go to bed early or sleep in at least once.