Please help with itinerary????????

[Karenc3135]

I would really like your input on our this itinerary. It is my families first trip to Disney World for a vacation. We have 2 girls ages 5 & 8 and have been once for a day trip to Magic Kingdom but this is the big trip for us. We are staying for 2 weeks and are at Beach Club Villas 10/4-10/11 and Bay Lake Tower 10/11-10/19. It is loosely done because I would like to have the option to change what park we visit in the morning or come back and rest in the afternoons. However the night parks will stay because of dinner reservations.

10/4 Arrive Saturday afternoon to unpack and Mickeys's Backyard BBQ 6:30pm. Watch Wishes from beach. (Still unsure about MBBBQ because of the reviews.)
10/5 AK with Tusker House 8am then EPCOT with Akushus Royal Banquet 7:30-8pm. Illuminations after dinner.
10/6 EPCOT with Teppan Edo 6:30-7pm. Illuminations after dinner.
10/7 MK with Ohanas 7:30-8pm. Watch Wishes from beach.
10/8 Break Day. Pirate Adventure Cruise in the morning while we enjoy a kid free breakfast. Downtown Disney and Cirque du Soleil
10/9 HS with Hollywood & Vine 11am (Fantasmic Package).
10/10 Typhoon Lagoon with Garden Grove 7:30-8pm (Any thoughts on Garden Grove vs. Cape May Cafe?)
10/11 Break Day and change resorts. My husband will play golf and the girls and I will enjoy one last swim at Stormalong Bay. Chef Mickey's 5pm then Chip N Dale's Campfire at 8pm.
10/12 MK for Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique at 8a and Cinderella's Royal Table at 9-9:30am. 1900 Park Fare at 5:30-6pm. We will definitely rest this afternoon till dinner and go back to MK for extended hours. This is the only extended hours we will utilize probably.
10/13 Break day for morning and Be Our Guest at 4:30pm before MNSSHP.
10/14 Break in the morning. City Walk and Blue Man Group 8pm. Any suggestions for something other than Blue Man Group and what are your thoughts on the show?
10/15 Blizzard Beach and Spirit of Aloha at 8pm.
10/16 1900 Park Fare 9-10am. Maybe HS for one last Fantasmic show.
10/17 Break Day in morning and EPCOT at night for Restaurant Marrakesh 7:30pm. Illuminations after dinner.
10/18 Ohanas w/Lilo & Stitch 7:30am then Break Day
10/19 Drive home.

We will have season passes so don't need to worry about wasting tickets. I also know that dinner takes 1.5-2 hours so tried to schedule enough time to finish before fireworks/shows start. I gave myself a 30 minute window for dinner reservations because I haven't made them yet and know that the time I want might not be available. We will probably visit more of MK during our Break Days but didn't want to plan too many park visits in advance. Experts PLEASE tell me your thoughts......... Thank you.

 

[cheap traveler]

Ok, aside from my jealousy that you get to stay so long....

Do you have the kind of kids that don't need to sleep? You have A LOT of late nights planned, often followed by a very early morning.

ie: 10/4 watch wishes
10/5 Tusker House 8am - if you drive, you will have to leave by 7:30 at the latest. This means a family of four will need to be up at 6:30 to get ready. Kids might be able to roll out of bed at 7 and throw clothes on. This is a sleep window of maybe 10pm-7am. I know my kids (DD7 & DD10) would melt before lunch if we did this.

Another one is 10/11 - 10/12. Campfire at 8pm means bed around 10 again. BBB at 8am means up before 7am again.

If your kids can handle that multiple times in a 2 week period, then I think you guys are in for a whole lot of fun!

 

[lovemy4sweeties]

I don't have any input other than this sounds like an amazing trip!! Have fun!

 

[KristenCarll]

Sounds like a blast. Like a PP said, it seems like you have a lot of late nights planned. Do you normally have late dinners? You mentioned a couple at 7-8pm.... my kids could NEVER eat that late. Both girls would have total meltdowns. Its hard with kids because we know that as adults we can go go go, but its not the same for our little ones.

On the last evening you have a "break". I would definitely be in the parks because the kids can rest in the car the next morning when you guys are driving home..

Hope you have a wonderful trip!!!!

 

[MandiC]

Yeah, my only suggestion, especially since you will be there for so long is maybe skip the late night if you have an early am ADR but other than that it looks like lots of fun and I too am very jealous of the long trip!! My husband is not a Disney guy so if we went to Florida for more than a week we'd surely be spending the extra time somewhere else

 

[Betty Rohrer]

the Chef Mickey and Campfire night could be short on time if Chef Mickey is running late and then you need to wait for bus. plus you will need a bus at campground to get to campfire as it is not at the boat dock area. I also think you might have a lot of late nights with getting up early to make next morning activities.

 

[Aliceacc]

It does look as though you're trying to fit it all in, and that can be difficult.

You're going to be at the BCV. If the weather is above freezing, my kids would be looking for some quality time at Stormalong Bay. (My 11 year old is already looking forward to night swimming again there.)

Anyway, here are my suggestions:
10/4 Arrive Saturday afternoon to unpack and Mickeys's Backyard BBQ 6:30pm. Watch Wishes from beach. (Still unsure about MBBBQ because of the reviews.) You've arrived after what I assume is a long drive. I think I would plan to skip Wishes, and maybe plan on an evening at STormalong Bay. Maybe think of doing Cape May for dinner, since it's in the Beach Club?? It's our family's newest favorite restaurant.)
10/5 AK with Tusker House 8am then EPCOT with Akushus Royal Banquet 7:30-8pm. Illuminations after dinner.My middle child is a very picky eater; I'm not sure she would eat dinner at Aukerhaus. Instead, we did a late breakfast one year-- more of a brunch, so we could hit rope drop.
10/6 EPCOT with Teppan Edo 6:30-7pm. Illuminations after dinner.
10/7 MK with Ohanas 7:30-8pm. Watch Wishes from beach.
10/8 Break Day. Pirate Adventure Cruise in the morning while we enjoy a kid free breakfast. Downtown Disney and Cirque du Soleil (A late night)
10/9 HS with Hollywood & Vine 11am (Fantasmic Package).Another late night. Will your kids be OK with Fantasmic? Our first year, my husband had to take my 2 girls out, though admittedly they were easily scared at ages 5 and 8.
10/10 Typhoon Lagoon with Garden Grove 7:30-8pm (Any thoughts on Garden Grove vs. Cape May Cafe?)We've never been to Typhoon Lagoon, but STormalong Bay may make it a little redundant, particularly with young kids.
10/11 Break Day and change resorts. My husband will play golf and the girls and I will enjoy one last swim at Stormalong Bay. Chef Mickey's 5pm then Chip N Dale's Campfire at 8pm. lat night, followed by an early morning.
10/12 MK for Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique at 8a and Cinderella's Royal Table at 9-9:30am. 1900 Park Fare at 5:30-6pm. We will definitely rest this afternoon till dinner and go back to MK for extended hours. This is the only extended hours we will utilize probably. Your kids will love 1900 Park Fare, and the stepsisters are a total hoot!
10/13 Break day for morning and Be Our Guest at 4:30pm before MNSSHP.
10/14 Break in the morning. City Walk and Blue Man Group 8pm. Any suggestions for something other than Blue Man Group and what are your thoughts on the show?
10/15 Blizzard Beach and Spirit of Aloha at 8pm.late night, followed by an early morning.
10/16 1900 Park Fare 9-10am. Maybe HS for one last Fantasmic show.
10/17 Break Day in morning and EPCOT at night for Restaurant Marrakesh 7:30pm. Illuminations after dinner.late night followed by an early morning.
10/18 Ohanas w/Lilo & Stitch 7:30am then Break DayI woudn't do a break day the day before leaving for home. Instead, with young kids particularly, I would plan to visit the Magic Kingdom to re-do their favorites.
10/19 Drive home.

Hope that helps!

It sounds like an amazing trip!!! Enjoy planning!!

 

[Karenc3135]

Thanks you for everyone's input. I have definitely rethought a couple of nights. My kids are not the type that need a full 10 hours of sleep every night however they can only manage on little sleep 1-2x a week. I had thought that on the late nights/early mornings that we would try to nap during the day on both days. We are driving there and live in Nashville. It is an 11 hour drive and we plan on leaving Friday around 3p. We will drive until we're tired, get a hotel then continue Sat morning. I expect to get in before 3p.

-I forgot how late wishes start so will not be doing that 10/4. I also like the idea of Cape May on this night and not eat at Garden Grove on 10/10. I couldn't decide between the 2. I really like that Garden Grove has lobster and characters but like the connivence of Cape May.

-I am going to move some dinner reservation earlier. I was trying to time it before the night shows. The thought of 5 or 6p never crossed my mind. Don't know what I was thinking here. My common sense was out the window. I also schedule 8p dinners after the water parks because I figured we would eat a late lunch and wanted to have time to come back to the hotel and shower.

-On the last break day we will be visiting a park. I didn't schedule one because I'm letting the kids and husband decide. I'm sure it will end up being MK

-Our Cirque du Soleil tickets are for 6p. We plan on eating around 3:30 in DD then something simple back at our hotel room after the show. Or fast food driving back. But we would not stay out after the show.

-I'm pretty sure my kids will be okay with Fantasmic. They don't scare easily. That is sometimes a good thing and sometimes bad.

-10/11-10/12, I've decided not to do the campfire this night and stick with the early morning.

-10/16 I'm going to make the lasted breakfast reservation possible.

-10/18 we were originally going to do breakfast with Lilo and Stitch Sunday before we started to drive home. That is why it is so early. We moved it to Saturday so we can get up and get on the road Sunday. I still had the original time. It will actually be a later breakfast.

I will repost a new itinerary when I finish it. Thank you again for everyone's help and please comment more if you see anything else that I can improve on.

 

[GWhitten98]

The only other thing I notice was you list Hollywood and Vine at 11am and fantasmic package. I don't think you can do that. I am pretty sure the fantasmic packages are only for dinner reservations with do not have characters.

 

[MandiC]

One thing to keep in mind before changing your dinner times is your current time zone. I believe Nashville is central time? We are central time and had no problem with 7 and even 8pm dinners. We normally eat at 6-6:30pm at home so it was really right on target, some days we weren't even all that hungry because we did do late lunches on some days. I preferred our late dinners tbh.

 

[Karenc3135]

Here are my updated plans. Please critique them as much as you can. I call tomorrow for my dining reservations. Thank you to everyone who has helped me.

10/4 Akushus Royal Banquet Hall at 7p
10/5 Tusker House at 10:45 so we can hit both the breakfast and lunch buffet. Chip N Dales Campfire at 8p if we feel like it.
10/6 EPCOT and Teppen Edo at 6p
10/7 Magic Kingdom and Ohana at 6:30p. We will try and watch the Electric Water Pageant and Wishes from Polynesian Beach.
10/8 Break Day. My kids will do the Pirate Adventure Cruise at 9:30a. Downtown Disney and Cirque du Soleil at 6p.
10/9 Hollywood Studios and Hollywood & Vine for lunch with the Fantasmic Package
10/10 Typhoon Lagoon and Garden Grove at 8p.
10/11 Change Resorts. My husband will play golf and meet us at the new Resort. Chef Mickeys at 6p and watch Wishes from our balcony
10/12 Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique at 8a then breakfast at CRT. Magic Kindom for a while then back to resort for a nap. 1900 Park Fare at 5:30 then back to Magic Kingdom for extended hours. This is the only extended hours we will participate in.
10/13 Break in the morning. Be Our Guest at 4:30p then on to MNSSHP
10/14 Break day. Maybe City Walk and Blue Man Group. We haven't decided yet.
10/15 Blizzard Beach and Spirit of Aloha at 8p
10/16 1900 Park Fare at 10a and maybe Hollywood Studios with one last Fantasmic show.
10/17 Haven't decided morning or afternoon yet but we will do Restaurant Marrakesh at 6p
10/18 Ohana w/Lilo and Stitch at 10a then let the kids decide what we do on our last full day

Again please let me know if you see any conflicts. I have appreciated everyones feedback.

 

[Lydia91]

Are you sure you want to do Cinderella's Royal Table and 1900 Park on the same day?

Might be a bigger bang if those were separated in time.