Please review my trip strategy (long).

[asaj]

We are going in Oct. My Wife, DD, and I will be there for 7 nights, and our parents are joining us for the first 3 nights. Since they will only be with us 3 nights/4 days, we wanted to try and organize the trip so that they could see the major attractions while they were there, then we (DW, DD, and I) will go back through in more depth.

We also have the dining plan, so that adds another wrinkle, as we want to get those PS made ahead of time.

So, here is our tentative plan, please take a look and let me know if I should re-think anything:

Arrive: Sunday, 10/2.
Parents Depart: Wednesday, 10/5
We Depart: Sunday, 10/9
Resort: POR

10/2: Epcot, counter service dinner - We will arrive around noon, and will have probably eaten lunch by then. Was thinking we would spend the remainder of the day at Epcot, and just have a counter service meal for dinner.

10/3: Magic Kingdom, CRT breakfast, Whispering Canyon dinner - if we can get CRT for this day, then we will spend the day at Magic Kingdom, and have dinner at Whispering Canyon.

10/4: Animal Kingdom & Epcot, counter service breakfast, Le Cellier dinner - We will do half of the day (morning) at Animal Kingdom. Then we'll head over to Epcot in the afternoon/evening to hit anything we missed the first day, have dinner at Le Cellier, and hopefully catch Illuminations.

10/5: MGM Studios, counter service breakfast, 50's Prime Timer dinner - Not sure exactly how long my parents will stay before leaving to visit my Grandfather in Sarasota, but I imagine they'll stay most of the day. We'll do MGM this day.

10/6: Magic Kingdom, counter service breakfast, Liberty Tree Tavern dinner - We have the MNSSHP this evening, so we'll do the entire day at Magic Kingdom.

10/7: Epcot, Chef Mickey's breakfast, counter service dinner - We'll spend the entire day at Epcot, and probably pick up dinner back at POR. Or, we may pay out of pocket for a TS dinner at Epcot, and use our CS credit another time.

10/8: Animal Kingdom & Epcot, counter service breakfast, Mitsukoshi dinner - We'll probably spend most of the day at Animal Kingdom before heading back to Epcot. Dinner will be at the Japanese steakhouse in Epcot.

10/9: Magic Kingdom, counter service breakfast - We will probably stay until early afternoon before hitting the road, and my daughter likes to finish up with Magic Kingdom. if we have lunch before we leave, we'll pay out of pocket as we'll be out of credits by then.

Okay, so there it is. I tried to organize everything so that meals were at or near the parks we were doing that day. The biggest variable is getting CRT seating. If we do not, we'll do Chef Mickey's that day (we want to do one character meal while our parents are there), and rearrange things based on when we get a CRT ressie. this plan should account for all of our meal credits, and we'll pay out of pocket for anything extra that we do.

Also, this is not written in stone, and each day will include some quiet time back at the resort in the afternoon, before going back in the evening.

Please let me know what you think. I don't want to overplan, so this will be the extent of my planning. I just want to have an idea so I can start with my PS calls on 7/5.

Thanks,
Andy

 

[mrslur]

You really might want to reconsider 10/6 and 10/7. All day at MK then the party will run late and then an early morning breakfast ressie. You might be exhausted!

 

[asaj]

You really might want to reconsider 10/6 and 10/7. All day at MK then the party will run late and then an early morning breakfast ressie. You might be exhausted!

Good point. My DD will be 6 when we go, so we will definitely take a long break in the afternoon, before the party. Our dinner reservations are for 6:50, so we'll make sure we get enough rest that day. We'll also be sure not to make our breakfast ressies the next day too early. if we can make them more like a brunch, we'll be good.

Thanks for the catch!

Andy

 

[ericafny]

Mitsukoshi dinner - Dinner will be at the Japanese steakhouse in Epcot.

Can you please tell me if this is the real name of the restaurant? I looked on allearsnet.com and I couldn't find it. I love Japanese Steakhouses and would like to do a lunch there while at Epcot. Thanks!

 

[eeyore45]

Teppanyaki

http://www.allearsnet.com/menu/men_tepd.htm

 

[asaj]

Teppanyaki

http://www.allearsnet.com/menu/men_tepd.htm

Looks like I had it wrong, not sure where I got that name from, but I know I saw it somewhere....

Andy

 

[TimothyG]

You are arriving on my birthday!!!! Make sure you ride some rides for me, lol jk!

Make sure you take some breaks, especially on the 6th and 7th like you said. This plan is definately doable though.

 

[Cara]

We will be there during this time, and we are also doing MNSSHP on Thursday. We are planning Thursday as a "rest day" and will just go to the park for the party. We are also planning a "rest morning" on Friday and will do the World Showcase Friday afternoon and evening. I know MNSSHP runs late, so it might be too much to have two full days on Thursday and Friday. Everything else looks great though! Have fun!

 

[asaj]

Thanks for all of the input.

Yes, with our DD, we will definitely be having some quiet team each day, I just didn't note that in the plan. We typically go to the park in the morning, come back sometime in the afternoon for a nap and some swimming, and then go back to the park in the evening. Otherwise, we all get very crabby.

Thanks again.

Andy

 

[suevee]

If you can't get CRT have you thought of doing the Chrystel Palace with Pooh and friends? I think the food here is much better than Chef Mickey's and I like the atmosphere better also. Also if you are early eaters you may be able to get a PS before the parks officially open. It is so cool to walk down a nearly empty main street. Then when your breakfast is over you will already be in the park to start your day.

 

[IMALOVNDISNEY]

You may want to consider renting a double stroller for times the little one starts to get tired. We did this until my dd was 7. (A happy child makes a happy mommy ). By having the stroller, this may allow you extra time in the parks. Have a great trip.