Rough Draft of Itinerary - Tell me what you think

[princessalexis]

This is a very rough plan for our trip, May 10th - 14th.

Saturday afternoon - arrive at LAX, pick up rental car, stop at Walmart on the way to HOJO for snacks for the week. Spend the evening exploring Downtown Disney and relaxing at the hotel.

Sunday - Mother's Day - I know it will probably be crazy busy, but I really wanted to go on Sunday to see the shows that will not be available during the rest of the week. We plan to be at DL right before it opens and hit Fantasyland, and Tomorrowland. Then head over to DCA to see some of the shows (Aladdin, High School Musical, and Playhouse Disney) and maybe hit some rides (probably not if it is super busy). Go back to the hotel for lunch/nap/pool and head back in the evening to catch at least the Fireworks and Fantasmic! Depending on how the first part of the day goes, we might try to do the "trifecta" and see DEP as well.

Monday - Start the day at DCA to do the Visa Meet & Greet - does anyone know if they do this every day? We'll probably see if we can see both parades this day - Pixar Play at 5:15 and Parade of Dreams at 7:00. Is it realistic to see both on the same day? If not, we will have to try to see one on Sunday.

Tuesday - This will be our "Non-Disney" day. Probably go to the beach and spend a lot of time relaxing. I was going to make this for Wednesday, since our flight doesn't leave until 8:35pm, but I don't want to get on a plane covered in sand!

Wednesday - Last day. Start at DL (we'll definitely get there the second the park opens). Do what we can in Fantasyland and Autopia/BLAB and see how busy the park gets. If we have a desire to do anything in DCA, we might head over there, but I think we will spend most of the day in DL.

Our flight leaves LAX at 8:35pm - If we leave DL between 4 and 4:30pm, do you think that gives us enough time to get to the airport?

 

[disney-inspired]

This is a very rough plan for our trip, May 10th - 14th.

Saturday afternoon - arrive at LAX, pick up rental car, stop at Walmart on the way to HOJO for snacks for the week. Spend the evening exploring Downtown Disney and relaxing at the hotel.

Sunday - Mother's Day - I know it will probably be crazy busy, but I really wanted to go on Sunday to see the shows that will not be available during the rest of the week. We plan to be at DL right before it opens and hit Fantasyland, and Tomorrowland. Then head over to DCA to see some of the shows (Aladdin, High School Musical, and Playhouse Disney) and maybe hit some rides (probably not if it is super busy). Go back to the hotel for lunch/nap/pool and head back in the evening to catch at least the Fireworks and Fantasmic! Depending on how the first part of the day goes, we might try to do the "trifecta" and see DEP as well.

Monday - Start the day at DCA to do the Visa Meet & Greet - does anyone know if they do this every day? We'll probably see if we can see both parades this day - Pixar Play at 5:15 and Parade of Dreams at 7:00. Is it realistic to see both on the same day? If not, we will have to try to see one on Sunday.

Tuesday - This will be our "Non-Disney" day. Probably go to the beach and spend a lot of time relaxing. I was going to make this for Wednesday, since our flight doesn't leave until 8:35pm, but I don't want to get on a plane covered in sand!

Wednesday - Last day. Start at DL (we'll definitely get there the second the park opens). Do what we can in Fantasyland and Autopia/BLAB and see how busy the park gets. If we have a desire to do anything in DCA, we might head over there, but I think we will spend most of the day in DL.

Our flight leaves LAX at 8:35pm - If we leave DL between 4 and 4:30pm, do you think that gives us enough time to get to the airport?

Sounds good but for Mother's Day, since you are expecting high crowd levels, get to DL at least 1 hour before opening if that's possible for your group. That way you can get your tickets situated (if you need to) and be there for rope drop that way you will be sure to ride Peter Pan and Dumbo (those are the craziest lanes!) in FL, that is if you have small children in tow.

Have a good time!

 

[hlbtimes2]

On Mothers day the park opens at 8. I know you are planning to get there at opening to do Fantasyland and tomorrowland. That is an early entry / magic morning day, so you would want to get there by about 6:30 (assuming you have a park hopper and are eligible) to get in line for early entry at 7. You might want to consider hitting those areas on Monday morning instead. You could do them when the park opens at 9, then head over to DCA a little later in the morning.

Yes, you should easily be able to do both parades in one day. They are not that long and they are pretty easy to get seating for.

 

[princessalexis]

We were planning to go for Magical Morning on Sunday. We will have the park hopper tickets. So we'll do all the FL rides that morning. Do you have any suggestions about when to do the DCA Visa Meet & Greet if we do DL instead on Monday morning?

We are definitely planning to get to the parks 30 minutes before the gates open. With a 2 year old, we need to make sure we make the best use of times when there are shorter lines!

 

[Shawn429]

Wow, I'm planning a solo trip during the same days. I didn't realize it was Mother's Day (duhhhh) but I plan full days in Disneyland and DCA on Mon/Tues so I'll probably just wing it on Sunday and see what happens. I'll probably be jet-lagged anyway ... I do hate being away from my mom on Mother's Day but I'll do something with her beforehand. I know she has vacation time coming up so maybe I can see if she'll go. I'm in the process of booking this week so ...

 

[ballarinamom]

Make sure to leave time for Toontown. My DD loved this at 2 years old, and 3 and 4 and 5!!! DCA will open later than DLR. If you are up to it, try to do an hour or so in DLR before hopping over to DCA for the Meet and Greet. Your little one will love Bug's Land!!!

 

[avalon451]

Not too sure about your plan to see all those shows on Mother's Day. The first Aladdin show starts at 12:25, usually, and you'll need to line up a half hour before, at least. You won't get done till 1:15. At this point, if you've been up since 6 for Early Entry, your toddler will be more than done, even for Playhouse Disney. You may want to spread your shows out over other days.

Just a guess, I'm not familiar with Mother's Day crowds.

 

[farmfresh]

You could always swap your MM/EE day to Tuesday ( and make wednesday the day off). That way you can use Sunday for shows as planned, but without the early start.

 

[Mommy2PrincessAbby]

In Oct we left DLH at 5 pm on Sat and were at LAX at 5:35 pm (no traffic for some reason), and were BORED to tears waiting for an 8:30 pm flight... I know there is more traffic on weekdays, but just be warned if you get there too early it isn't one of those great airports with basically a mall inside that you can spend time in to keep yourself entertained (like PDX and PHX the airport we frequent the most!) We were stuck in the terminal with only a sportsbar, starbucks and a burger king... no shops...

--Lisa