Quick January Trip Planning Help!

[klwdisney]

Hi all! I am a Vet who's doing a new trip format for me. I am taking my 11 year old quasi-step son for a 4 day/3 night long weekend trip in January and I find myself needing some planning help! It's a surprise for him for Christmas. When he was little he loved loved loved Toy Story so....

THE PLAN:

Thursday January 23rd

• Landing at 2:15 pm
• Staying at ASMo (requested Andy's Room, but booked standard room and will take Mighty Ducks as a 2nd choice as he loves that movie).
• Figure we'll arrive at ASMo by 3:30-ish give or take. I'm sure our room will be ready so we can check it out.

Friday January 24th

• Doing our only park - Hollywood Studios. Mostly because of Toy Story Land but the Star Wars stuff is a huge bonus. We were last at WDW in Nov 2017 and both of these park sections weren't open so it's all new for us.
• We plan to be there before Rope Drop
• I have been stalking MDE for a Slinky Dog FP and will continue to do so until we are at the park.
• I made FP to ST at 9:35, MV3D at 10:50, and TSM at 11:50.
• I'm totally freaked out that I made a huge mistake but I was past the FP window when I booked and now everything is pretty much sold out. I feel like we should be Rope Dropping RotR or SR. or even SD.
• My plan is open to close here. Might take a break mid-day if needed. We'll see.

Saturday January 25th
Doing free things. Some ideas I had were:

• riding the new skyliner
• going to Disney Springs
• monorail trip/checking out resorts
• maybe having dinner at the Poly and watching the fireworks from the beach - depending on the weather.

Sunday January 26th

• Flight home is at 3:51 pm so I figure ME will pick us up around 12:30/1pm.
• Maybe breakfast at a resort or just hanging around our resort

I need some help / itinerary suggestions for the Studios. It's just the 2 of us so we'll be ok knowing we may have to wait standby for some rides. He's willing to try more rides now that he's 11 so I"m hoping to get him onto RnR and ToT. lol I feel like we more want to SEE TSL but only want to ride SD. We have the FP to TSM. The Alien Saucers look a little babyish - like the tea cups. Once I surprise him for Christmas I can involve him in the decision making process and let him choose our priority I suppose.

I need some Free ideas too. In January, is there any entertainment at the Boardwalk? I thought that might be an idea for arrival night. Maybe we can wing it... ESPN club for dinner or the pizza window worst case. Maybe he'd be interested in the dueling pianos or the Karaoke at the Swan/Dolphin.
I was thinking about the animals at AKL too. Maybe we could make a breakfast reservation or eat at their QS on departure day and then wander around looking at the animals before heading back to ASMo for ME.

I've never done a weekend trip, I've never done only 1 park, I've never traveled alone with the boy, I've never been in January... lots of new things here. Plus, I jumped to do this after reading somewhere that after MLK Weekend the crowds drop. All the crowd calendars I've seen say otherwise. lol But then again, with RotR opening today, I shouldn't be very surprised I guess.

Anyway, looking for all the suggestions and advice I can get on maximizing our fun with 1 park day and a free day with a tiny budget. Thanks in advance, All!! <3

 

[nandojoe]

That´s so nice!! I love to surprise my kids!! On sunday there will be extra morning at DHS (8:00 AM to 9:00 AM ). Maybe you can have a breakfast there (but you´ll have to add one more ticket) or try to change your travel days!

Or maybe add Chefs Mickey for 26, Sunday!

 

[klwdisney]

I can't wait! Although he's started saying the 2 of us should just go for a long weekend a LOT since I started thinking about this idea. I'm afraid he won't be quite as surprised as I think he'll be haha.

We only have a 1 day ticket... this is a VERY budget trip so adding a day is not an option. I thought going on a weekday vs a weekend day would be better for crowds but I get the impression it won't make much difference. And we fly home on Sunday afternoon ... can't change our travel days.

 

[sharonabe]

The Alien Saucers look a little babyish - like the tea cups.

I wouldn't miss this one. It's more than tea cups and really a lot of fun, especially for TS lovers.

 

[klwdisney]

Really? I watched a video and it just looked a little lame to me. And i'll be with a boy who's 11 going on 17. But who knows how we'll feel when we're there. We may want to kill time in that area and if the wait isn't that long we probably would check it out. Glad to hear it's worth it!

 

[TinkSassy]

I'm with you on the HS planning. We will be there MLK weekend and our FP situation is similar. Be patient as we should see in the next few weeks what will happen with the RotR crowds and crowd patterns. It will take some time to settle and patterns to emerge. Right now we are planning on RD for RotR - but that may change. With MFSR it actually made sense to go to SDD first and then over for SWGE - but that all changed today! Just be patient on your ride plan - it will make sense closer to the day.

I would definitely put AKL on your free stuff day - you have a great view of the savannah even without eating at one of the restaurants. Also, check the resort schedules for campfires (I know they have them at AKL and Ft Wilderness) and outdoor free movies. There is also the Water Parade with the light up floats that you can see from all the monorail resorts - that happens after the MK fireworks.

 

[VAfamily1998]

AKL has a lot of great "free" things! AKL is basically a mini museum about Africa; if you go down some of the hallways where the rooms are (specifically I'm thinking of the Kudu trail on 3rd floor because that's where I've been, but maybe other floors too?) there are various signs up telling you more about African life and culture. Also there are artifacts around the resort and MANY observation windows/balconies. Do a google search for "Animal Kingdom Lodge Beads" and you'll find information about other activities for kids

The boardwalk will have some buskers (jugglers, magicians, etc.) at night which are fun to watch. Sometimes they ask for "volunteers" to participate. There are also a few carnivals games, surrey bikes you can rent, and Ample Hills creamery has great ice cream! Unfortunately the dueling pianos are at a bar called Jellyrolls, which is strictly 21+. I'm not familiar with the Karaoke bar.

 

[klwdisney]

AKL has a lot of great "free" things! AKL is basically a mini museum about Africa; if you go down some of the hallways where the rooms are (specifically I'm thinking of the Kudu trail on 3rd floor because that's where I've been, but maybe other floors too?) there are various signs up telling you more about African life and culture. Also there are artifacts around the resort and MANY observation windows/balconies. Do a google search for "Animal Kingdom Lodge Beads" and you'll find information about other activities for kids

The boardwalk will have some buskers (jugglers, magicians, etc.) at night which are fun to watch. Sometimes they ask for "volunteers" to participate. There are also a few carnivals games, surrey bikes you can rent, and Ample Hills creamery has great ice cream! Unfortunately the dueling pianos are at a bar called Jellyrolls, which is strictly 21+. I'm not familiar with the Karaoke bar.

Does the entertainment still take place in January? Is there a way to find out before going over there? Ohhhhh I didn't realize Jellyrolls was 21+ ! Bummer! Thanks for letting me know in advance. The karaoke is at one of the Swan/Dolphin places... I bet it's 21+ too. There's always my favorite - Yeehaw Bob! Maybe that's what we'll do!

 

[nco91590]

Yeah, I'm going to be there 1/12 - 21 and our HS day on touring plans is listed as a 1...but I couldn't get SDD when I logged on at 8am to make my FPs. I keep checking everyday. I'm kinda hoping that people will be caught up in Star Wars stuff and there will be limited SB waits in TSL. That's the hope anyway!

 

[klwdisney]

Yeah, I'm going to be there 1/12 - 21 and our HS day on touring plans is listed as a 1...but I couldn't get SDD when I logged on at 8am to make my FPs. I keep checking everyday. I'm kinda hoping that people will be caught up in Star Wars stuff and there will be limited SB waits in TSL. That's the hope anyway!

Fingers crossed I guess!! I have all my FP in the morning so I think we might have to RD Slinky and hope we can stand waiting in the standby for RotR and SR in the afternoon.