Strategy Planning -

[lisaross]

OK, i'm planning a family trip Aug 27th till Sept. 4 with my husband and two boys who will be 4 & 6. I'm staying at the CBR and have bought the hopper passes. - not sure if i'll even use them.

I have the unofficial guide to disney - did anyone follow their itinirary? or can i more or less wing it?

The day i arrive, i'm planning on just hanging out at the hotel. My flight arrives at about 3:00pm - i'm using the disney magic your way transportation - what time do you think i'd arrive at the hotel?

OK now, the unofficial guide says not to do the MK on the beginning of the trip because then the kids will be disappointed by the other parks??? any reactions?

and how to best use the hopper tickets? do you mostly use them to get to Epcot and MK at night?

I'm thinking

Monday - MGM - most of the day

Tues- Epcot - till the afternoon

Wed - Animal Kingdom

Thur - Rest

Friday - MK morning/afternoon

Sat. - Epcot - late afternoon evening

Sun. MK late afternoon evening

If i do this, i wasted $ on the hopper - when would i use it

Or do you think i should do MK earlier in the week??

Any suggestions with two young kids? What about needing a stroller in the parks - will a small umbrella be more of a hassle??

lisa

 

[cruiserkaren]

I'm definitely no expert, only been there once. But the time you are going shouldn't be very busy at all. We were there this year the week after you are going and we walked on to everything at MK or had very small waits of 10 minutes. I doubt you'd need to follow the strict itineraries in the UG at that time.

 

[Robo]

You should not forget to take into account the evening shows:

Wishes (MK) (not every night)
Spectromagic (MK) (not every night, but sometimes twice)

IllumiNations (Epcot) (every night)

FantasMic! (Stu) (every night, sometimes twice)

As your trip approaches (within 4-5 months of going) the actual times will be avaliable at the WDW website.

Make your best plans THEN.

Strollers. Now THAT's another issue.

Use the SEARCH on this board and type in STROLLERS.

 

[GeorgiaAristocat]

Hi Lisa! Welcome to the DIS!

I can't comment on many of your questions except about following the UG tour plans. You will actually be going at a fairly slow time of the year since most kids are back in school by that time. TouringPlans.com (the website for the UG updates) shows those dates starting at "6" crowds and dropping to "4" by the time you leave. Those are about the same crowd estimates that we had last September when we went. I had cut out the touring plans and carried them around with me, but ended up not really using them as they were unnecessary.

My rule was no line longer than 10 minutes or I fastpassed it. Honestly, we walked on to at least 1/2 of the attractions. The biggies would start to fill up, especially Soarin', but that was the first few days of the Food and Wine Festival, too. The plans do give you a good idea of what attractions you might want to hit. I would keep them around, but not criss-cross the parks like they sometimes recommend. We did hit a lot of the "kid" attractions, but also skipped quite a number, so that is the only area that I can't give really good answers about. (i.e. we skipped Dumbo, Toontown, Carousel, Indy speedway, Voyage of the Little Mermaid, Figment, Aladdin's Carpets, Triceratop Spin, but did go to Pooh, Pan's flight, all the 3-D shows - Philharmagic is the BEST!, etc.)

Enjoy your trip! If you don't already have the planning DVD - get it. My 3 yr old often "picks" to watch the "Disney World movie" in the car.

 

[GeorgiaAristocat]

Ooops, forgot about the hopper question! As a first timer, you probably WON'T end up using that feature much, UNLESS you want to catch a different parade (like Spectromagic, which is NOT run every night) or hop to Epcot after Animal Kingdom closes.

It sort of depends on what is going to work best with your kids. If they are the type that you can get them to take a break in the afternoon, then you may want to hit a different park in the evening (after a nap and rest in the room), in that case you will hop a lot more. If they will scream bloody murder if you try to remove them from the park mid-afternoon, then I don't think you will hop much, because if you finish late afternoon/suppertime, you just won't have the energy to do much afterwards.

You might want to consider letting the kids go to one of the "clubs" at one of the deluxe resorts one night and have an adult's only dinner - just for a break. Everyone raves about what a good time the kids have in them. The minimum age is four, so your kids qualify. Lots of activities, the kids get dinner, etc. I think there is a club at Animal Kingdom Lodge (Simba's clubhouse), at Grand Floridian, at the Yacht Club, at Wilderness Lodge, and maybe one other? Check allearsnet.com - they usually have great info.

 

[CleveRocks]

OK, i'm planning a family trip Aug 27th till Sept. 4 with my husband and two boys who will be 4 & 6. I'm staying at the CBR and have bought the hopper passes. - not sure if i'll even use them.
I have the unofficial guide to disney - did anyone follow their itinirary? or can i more or less wing it?

Winging it will suit you only if you have LOTS AND LOTS of information and are able to use that situation on-the-fly to your advantage.

The day i arrive, i'm planning on just hanging out at the hotel. My flight arrives at about 3:00pm - i'm using the disney magic your way transportation - what time do you think i'd arrive at the hotel?

Just to save you some trouble down the road when communicating with others, you're not using Magic Your Way transportation, you're using DIsney's Magical Express (commonly abbreviated DME). When I stayed at CBR in May, it took 53 minutes from the time I got in the DME line at the airport until I was dropped off at CBR's Custom House. Traveling with a 5 year old, a 2.5 year old, and 2 in-laws, ALL of whom had to make numerous bathroom and souvenir stops IN THE AIRPORT (!!!), it took us a while to get to the DME Welcome Center.

OK now, the unofficial guide says not to do the MK on the beginning of the trip because then the kids will be disappointed by the other parks??? any reactions?

I read and re-read The Unofficial Guide many, many times. But I didn;t follow the advice you mentioned. My kids loved it all.

and how to best use the hopper tickets? do you mostly use them to get to Epcot and MK at night?

I really can't advise you there, but I can share my personal experiences. I bought hoppers, and had no plan or idea for how we were going to use them. Our first day there, we got to MGM around dinner time. Next day, magic Kingdom all day. Tuesday, Epcot 'til after lunch, then CBR, then Mk for character dinner and some other fun. Wednesday we didn't intend to go to a park, but after Hoop Dee Doo we went to MK at night. Thursday was Animal Kingdom but we went back to MK at night. Friday was MK all day, and Saturday was Downtown Disney. So we didn't hop a lot, but the extra expense was worth the flexibility, at least for me.

Any suggestions with two young kids? What about needing a stroller in the parks - will a small umbrella be more of a hassle??

A double stroller was well worth it for me -- their little legs got tuckered out after long days walking. Heck, by Thursday MY little legs were tuckered out, and I run 3 miles three times a week!

Enjoy CBR and all of WDW!

-- Eric

 

[pepe of ohio]

We have never used any guide other than in the earlier years we did use Birdbaum's book. Being there over 30 years, we kinda know what we like and don't like and plan accordingly. We still have a basic plan, so as not to be jumping all over from park to where we want to eat our meals. I set up meals then plan our parks, this is where park hoppers come in handy. But we most always do one park in the morning, go back to resort and relax and use their facilities, the resort is part of our vacation, and go back to a different park for the evenings catching their last show or fireworks. On a different day we just do the reverse. Our favorite park is MK so we go one morning then another evening. Being in one park all day is boring to us and if we encounter alot of people we are going to a different park after resort break anyway. Always have that one day, usually in the middle of vacation, down day, no parks, for either resort relaxing, shopping and DTD. Our first day at Disney is always resort swimming, trip to DTD and pizza and beer over at Trails End in Fort Wilderness and back to resort for late night swimming and drinks around the pool. This hasn't changed in 34 trips to the World. Good luck and enjoy yourself and remember, its not a race.

 

[mjh8955]

I paid very, very close attention to the guide that describes the crowd levels for the days we would be there. I avoided any park that had extra magic hours as it gets very crowded quickly. It paid off hugely for our last trip.

We have been there during the same time period you are going. It was very hot. We took an old umbrella stroller, our kids were 4 and 7, both very small for their ages. The 4-year-old wilts in the sun and it was a blessing to have that stroller so she could rest. The 7-year-old even climbed in a few times so he could rest. We brought one the next year as well and used it then too. I had gotten rid of our strollers so I actually bought used ones at garage sales for next to nothing and then gave them to some needy family arriving as we were leaving. Then we didn't have to mess with them at the airport on the return trip.

I agree that if your kids see MK first, the other parks seem a little less exciting to them. Our last trip we started out at MGM and hopped to Epcot later and then back to MGM for spectromagic which we had never seen before. The second day we did MK and again hopped to Epcot later. AK always seems to come in last, probably because when we go there it is crowded and we are disappointed. The walkways are smaller and it just feels more congested. But it is a beautiful park and there are so many things that are overlooked.

Our last trip we traveled with brother-in-law's family and their son who was 4. It was their first visit. We did MGM first (he loves Bear in the Big Blue House) and then they did Epcot on their own which was a mistake because they hadn't looked at the materials I had given them and picked out things he would enjoy. They left the park after about an hour and went back to the resort because "they couldn't find anything to eat". ?? The next day we all did MK together and they loved it. The next day they tried AK on their own and again just couldn't figure anything out even though I had gone through and circled things on the map, written in show times, etc. They did the Safari and then went back to MK to ride the same rides they had ridden the day before. So any advance planning you do will help you get the most for your money for your family. Zero in on things that your kids will like and look forward to IN EACH PARK. Talk about it, show them pictures, etc. Our kids were older, 11 and 14, and for them I printed out scavenger hunt pages for each park and they LOVED them. They've been to WDW several times so they have lots of favorites but this made them look at things with a new perspective.

We did not have a plan carved in stone for each day. We knew which park we would head to first and which ones we would avoid based on crowd level projections. We went to MGM on Halloween when everyone else was at MK, it was perfect. The next day we went to MK early and did a character meal at the Crystal Palace and then did all of Fantasyland without any waits at all. By mid-afternoon it started feeling crowded so we moved on to Epcot and that park is so big it just feels emptier. The thing with the hopper pass is that if things aren't working out at one park due to crowds or tempers or attitudes, you can just switch plans and go elsewhere. Sometimes a nice little boatride somewhere cools everybody off and refreshes the whole family.

 

[Fryan08]

Last year we went in late June early July. I read all the books and took bits and pieces from each one and came up with my own agenda. It worked for us and we have two kids ages 6 and 4 then. We did not get to ride everything but we rode everything that the kids really wanted to ride and a few extras. Even though it was hot and crowded it was not unbearable. About your question about the stroller. I brought my own umbrella stroller for my 4 year old and it was a life saver. Not just in the parks but getting to the bus stops and around the resorts especially at night when she was tired. We did get the park hopper passes and at first I did not think I would use them either but we wound up using it quite a bit. Like another poster said Animal kingdom closes earlier then the rest and you could go to another park afterwards. Or go to one park in the morning and another in the evening. I would definetly reccommend afternoon breaks with two small children it was alife saver for us. Hope you have a wonderful trip.

Frances

 

[salmoneous]

Millions of people have great times of Disney without ever reading the UG. Unfortunately, some people walk away from the book with the idea that they will be miserable unless you do exactly what they say. Learn from them, follow their general principles, but do what you want and don't worry about it.

One way to look at hopper passes is as insurance. If you aren't having a good time at one park, your insurance kicks in and lets you go to another. That way, you won't feel like you've wasted money if you don't "hop". Not hopping just means everything is going great.

 

[ErinInCT]

Here are some suggestions.
Don't even think about going to the park the 1st day. You'll get in right at check in time so take your time to unpack, check out your cool resort, get your refillable mugs, etc & unwind. I would go to Chef Mickey's for dinner - it is a great way to get excited for your trip! Then take a little monorail ride (be sure to ask to sit up front with the pilot, your boys will get a kick out of it!) & go back to your room to get to bed early. Be sure to check out the bedtime story channel for the kids!! Oh, and be sure to get daily wake up calls & have the boys answer (it is Mickey Mouse who calls!).
I'd do AK for a half day am & MGM a half day pm. You won't want to miss Fantasmic! If you seem to be loving AK then by all means, stay the whole day & then zip over to MGM for Fantasmic or EPCOT for Illuminations or MK for Wishes, whatever. I find a mid day break helps to escape the heat (AK will be very hot), take a swim, nap, shower b4 going back out in the evening. You have Sat & Sun mornings free & Fri night free to be able to go back to some place that you want to revisit.
We found advance planning (using DIS boards) helped us make our own plans to fit our needs. Some planning is needed but you need to be flexible too. To make EPCOT more interested, we taught our dd4 how to say hello & thank you in all the country's languages. She loved being able to talk to the CM's in their language!! Plus she loved the arts & crafts at the kidcot stations. We could easily spend 2 half day afternoons at FW (we split the WS in half) and 1 half day at FW. MGM for us is a half day park as is AK. MK is probably a full 2 days (but again we split it up into half day segments so we can always take a mid day break).
Your hotel may end up being just as fun to the kids as the parks! Our kids love to go swimming! Sometimes it was harder to get them to leave the pool then to leave the park!!!
Be sure to plan any meals that need ressies & the rest will fall in place!! Park hours, fireworks and parade schedules come out 90 days in advance so you'll have plenty of time to plan!
Have an awesome time!

 

[Jalva22]

We were there last June with a 9 yr old girl and 5 yr old boy. First trip to WDW. We bought hoppers but never used them. With the June heat, they were really tired by midafternoon and ready to go rest and then swim in the evening. My guess is it will still be blazing in late August, so it depends on your kids' stamina whether you want to hit more than 1 park in a day. I could see needing it for giving yourselves options on what fireworks to see at night. Just be sure to build plenty of downtime into your itinerary! Those little ones will need it!

The parks were busy when we were there in June, so we used the UG itineraries. Looking back, I'd use them as a guide for which rides to do early in the day to avoid the worst lines, then wing it from there. Rushing from ride to ride pays off in number of attractions visited, but you will miss much that is truly Disney in the process. I guess I'm saying that the itineraries have value for educating you on what to expect as far as longest lines, but don't let them rule your trip.

 

[outtonight]

I think the only reason to follow the UG itinerary is if you're headed to the World during an extremely crowded time. Since you're not, I'd recommend "winging it" - the plans in the book require you to constantly go from one end of the park to the other, over and over - which, in the August heat, will NOT be much fun, I assure you.

I agree with whoever said to use it just to get an idea of what to do first - I'd suggest just picking the land you want to begin in and from there just take your time and relax. Your feet will thank you if you're not crossing the park back and forth.