Seeking touring advice for best laid back plans

[Tia1977]

I'm planning our 1st WDW trip; end of April 2015. Feeling a bit overwhelmed lol. It's my husband & I w our 12yr old daughter. While I want to maximize the experience by doing all the research/planning I can; I also want to maximize it being as stress free as possible. We're willing to sacrifice "doing it all" for the sake of sanity. Our resort is booked (offsite but close). Offsite on purpose for breaks from Disney madness lol. 10 days to include 1 day each to water parks, Animal Kingdom, Epcot, 2 days Magic Kingdom, w/ resort rest days sprinkled in. All advice for Magic Kingdom leans to getting in early, breaking mid day; return @ night. We'd instead like to do an early day to leave bf close/ late arrival day & stay til close. Any tips to share in regards to this? Any general tips in regards to being laid back, but still utilizing park time wisely? I've heard you guys are the "experts" to ask Thanks so much!

 

[lroger01]

When it comes to doing Disney "laid back" deciding what you can skip is key. Maybe plan your FP+ attractions and then only do other rides if you have a 4th, 5th etc FP+ or the wait is under 30 minutes.

Alternately you can just cross off attractions before you leave and save them for next time. For example, decide to totally skip the living seas pavilion at Epcot, or do only the rides and 2 shows at DHS.

The 2 three quarter days you have planned for MK are a good idea. The hard part is deciding whether to do the morning one first or the evening.

If you start with the evening, you can take your time walking up Main St. taking photos. You'll get the lay of the land and will make better use of your rope drop morning rush. The negative is that you may be inclined to wait in longer lines because you're excited. Even though you know those rides will likely be walk-ons in the morning.

Having your first visit in the morning will make your evening visit easier. You'll know what you'd like to ride again and will be unlikely to wait in overly long lines since you may have already ridden the attraction. The negative is you'll be inclined to rush through your first view of the park in a hurry to get to attractions with a short wait even though you really don't know where they are.

Good luck deciding!

 

[Tia1977]

WOW! Thank you so very much for your time & all the great advice!!! It helps alot! I was told here was where I could get the best help; and they were right (;

 

[disneyAndi14]

Remember it does take some time to park and get up to the entrance, so if driving and plan to get to MK at RD, give yourself at least an hour or so for parking ang getting up to the line for entrance. Head to fantasyland first at RD to get on the rides that fill up quickly! We find if we get there at RD we can get many attractions in by 1:00 in the afternoon! Have fun.

 

[MississippiMom]

Our girls (13 & 11) have been begging to go to Disney for years. (Only been once, eight years ago.) Since DH went many times as a child, and even worked there during his college years, he has very little interest in going. He has finally agreed to a Disney trip this Summer, because he has to be in Orlando for work. But he has made it perfectly clear that he is not rushing all over the place, and we will be taking a laid back approach, including pool time and afternoons in the AC.

I can't wait to find out more tips on taking a more relaxed approach at Disney. DH's favorite park is Epcot, if that helps.

 

[maryandtyson]

My advice would be to watch your child. My DD12 can get sort of bored/overwhelmed and she needs down time. Or she needs us to make a change in plan because she is a kid who likes quiet time to herself. You have a good plan, but be ready to drop or change it up if some one isn't feeling it that day. I hope that makes sense. As an example, my girls love the water parks. Last trip, we were at MK and I could see my older one wasn't having a great time. My DH said, hey let's get out of here and head to Blizzard Beach for awhile. We can come back later. We did and she perked up and I think really appreciated that her feelings mattered more than THE PLAN.

Relax, enjoy. See what you see and do what you do. Have your top priorities planned out and everything else is gravy. Like a PP said, plan some lower priority things you just won't even try to get to this trip.

I love WDW for the family time together where we all have fun. If we are not all having fun, it's not worth it. Have a magical time.