theme park plan-please review!!

[liz vollbrecht]

Our new theme park plan is:
Wed 28th April-
Arrive in Orlando 5:10pm p/u by towncar
check-in at PO Riverside at 6:15pm Kids swim w/Nana & Grandpa
leave for Chef Mickies at 7:15pm-- Chef Mickie 8:15 PS

Thurs 29th April-
leave for EE Magic Kingdom 7am
mid-day break noon-2pm
Epcot 2:30-9pm
Dinner at Morocco Marakesh Rest. 5pm PS
*Maybe Disney wishes at 9:30??*

Fri 30th April-
leave for Animal Kingdom EE 7am
mid-day break noon-2pm
Magic Kingdom 2:30-7pm watch fireworks
Large snack at MK (turkey legs or dole whip, etc)
monorail to Epcot -- Epcot 7:30-9pm
Dinner at Germany Biertergarden 8pm PS

Sat 1st May-
leave for MGM EE 7am
mid-day break noon-2pm
MGM 2pm-close
grab dinner and wait for Fantasmic at 7:30 (1 hour wait)

Sun 2nd May-
leave for MK EE 7am
leave for PO Riverside 9:45am back around 10:15am
check out of POR/ towncar p/u at 11am for Disney Cruise
Disney Cruise ..(Noon check-in)...Cruise Fun...

Does this plan sound like it will work with a 4 and 5 yearold??


Thanks everybody for all thier help and info on these boards!!!!!

 

[JesNJakesMom]

WOW, that is quite a plan!

My kids (3 & 6) would never make that. We can go 8:00-1:00 at the parks, 3 hour lunch/nap break, and back to a park but usually end up at the hotel by 8:00pm, zonked and ready for bed (well, the kids are anyway).

Our first trip was with the kids and gram & grandpa too. We tried doing the parks everyday that first visit. I had our day planned out by the hour with PS each night (which all but 1 got cancelled). I had quite high hopes! But, by day 3 my kids did not want to be there anymore, they were done and ready for home?. The whole been here, done that routine I guess. I never knew 2 kids could be so crabby at DISNEY!

Now, we do the parks every other day, 3 days max. This seems much more doable. However, my kids were very unimpressed with MGM and won't stay there longer than Playhouse Disney, Muppets & Arial's show, so that makes that park done in about 2 hours. And, as for Animal Kingdom, again not a favorite with my kids (except for the Safari & Pangini Trail). We pretty much do both of those in one morning, take a few hour break and we're off to Epcot or MK for the rest of our trip. We have not yet been able to make it to Illuminations due to complaints and/or them falling asleep.

You'll be surprised at how soon the kids get tired, it's a lot of stimulation that most kids are not use to. It's hard being up for 15 hours when you are so little, espcially if 12 of those hours are in the Parks. And then to expect them to be well behaved at the PS you've made every night.

However, that is my opinion and my kids, I understand everyone is different. But, if this is your first trip, you might as well be prepared.

Good luck,

 

[laurabelle]

My suggestions would echo the other poster's reply. EMH every day and plans for every evening are tough on most little ones. You may just want to do EMH at MK, remember not everything in the park is open during EMH, and MK has the most open for your kid's interests to ride multiple times. I would also extend the midday break to at least 3 hours. When my kids were that age, we learned to plan only 2 late nights, more than that was just too much. HTH

 

[Eeyore2003]

With that small of kids, I'm sure they are probably up early and you want to catch the night time shows. If this is the case, I agree to extend you mid-day break. According to most books, parks don't start "clearing out" a little before 4 anyway and the last thing you want to do with small kids is stand in lines!!! Time for a good swim and a good nap will help. And remember rule #1--you can't do everything, you'll have much more fun taking it a little easy.

 

[christophfam]

I agree with what the other posters have said and suggest you try to get earlier dinner PSs or just go counter service. My kids would never make that late of a dinner, even with a snack. Do you usually have such late dinners? It is really best to try to keep their schedules as close to what you do at home as possible, especially meals, or they are so crabby by the time you get there it just isn't worth it. Of course you will have a few late nights so you can see the night time shows, but a relaxed day following is a lifesaver. I would also suggest that you reconsider your first night dinner being so late. Is it worth it to get them tired right off the bat?

Hope this helps.

 

[Korbs]

I don't know about the kids, but i don't think i could do that plan. (and i'm 20). We generally do two park days, and than a waterpark/pool day.

Maybe you could one of the middle days as a waterpark/pool day?

It might just help and give you a chance to recharge your batteries!

 

[mad4themouse]

In my house, I'm considered to be the Disney Drill Sargent but to be honest, even I think that this looks like an exhausting itinerary. You're going to need the cruise just to recover from your days in the parks.

Consider extending your mid-day breaks to at least 3 hours & doing no more than 2 parks in one day.

I still think that you have not allowed yourself enough time to get from one place to another. WDW is HUGE!!!!

Try to resist the urge to do it all. No one does it all, especially if they only have 3 full days.

For Wed. 4/28 -- Forget the swim. You won't have time. If the children have a lot of energy, let them go swimming after you return from dinner.

Thurs. 4/29 -- Skip "WISHES" or else do the MK instead of EPCOT in the afternoon.

Fri. 4/30 -- Don't try to fit 7pm MK fireworks into your schedule if you plan to keep that 8pm Biergarten PS. You won't make it.

Sat. 5/1 -- Looks pretty good but make the mid-day break longer. Perhaps the children would like to go swimming for the afternoon.

Sun. 5/2 -- The MK opens at 8am for EMH. I'm not sure how much you'll get done in 1 hour 45 minutes.

My children would have never been able to tolerate the kind of schedule you have planned when they were 4 & 5. I know that we would have had more than a couple of meltdowns due to fatigue and stress. IMHO, you need to slow down the pace a couple of notches.

 

[mickeyclark]

We went to Disney last October with my almost 4 year old son and mom. I can understand the eagerness to see and do everything, however you need to balance that with realistic schedule expectations. No one has fun when someone is tired and cranky!

One strategy that worked well for us was to visit a park one day in the afternoon, and then visit it again the next morning. That allowed my son to become familiar with what was in the park, and then the next day when he went back it didn't seem so overwhelming to him. In addition, it allowed me to get a schedule of the shows and make sure if we didn't view one during the first visit, then we could view the next day.

In addition, if we had a late night, such as fireworks, then we wouldn't have an early morning the next day. I didn't always find it easy to go home for a break in the middle of the day, although I think it is a good idea.

Also, if you are so busy trying to stick to a tight schedule, then you will miss the wonderment of your children which is such a joy. It was heartwarming to take in my son's observations of the surroundings ... and it was nice when he slowed us down to look at something that we would have just walked right by. He doesn't really know the difference between an attraction and something cool looking on they way.

Have fun!

Also, my son loved the pressed pennies. We collected them all over the parks. It also gave him something to do in the stores while the adults wanted to shop. While he was looking for the pressed penny machine and getting one, we shopped, and when we were ready to leave, he felt he had gotten something also. And it only cost us fifty-one cents!

 

[ksaybolt99]

Hmmm, to bed late and up early 4 days in a row?? Sounds too tiring even for this commando. I have kids ages 5 and 8 and they would never make it through that schedule. I would forget early entry every day except MK. As long as you're at the other parks by opening, you'll be fine. That extra hour of sleep in the morning will make all the difference to you AND your kids. I would try for an earlier dinner, and don't try to force Wishes or any other nighttime show if your kids are tired.

 

[liz vollbrecht]

thank you for all your help...I guess I am just so excited to see it all.
I will send the kids back to the room with the grandparents for wishes, and extend the mid-day break to 3 hours.
Is it possible to get between MK and Biertergargen in Epcot in an hour?
My kids are pretty good with late hours, and I can send tired ones back with DDad or DGrandpa.
Other than that...Will it Maybe???work.
Thanks again. Liz