Too much, or not enough?

[lyra2007]

My DD and I are arriving 2/24. We have no plans for that day and intend to use our 4-day tickets Monday-Thursday. (Meeting friends at SeaWorld on Friday and leaving Saturday, so no flexibility with the dates.)

My DD will turn 5 during the trip. She's a kid who needs her sleep--usually still naps but if not, needs a solid 11-12 hours of sleep. She seldom wakes herself up before 8 (of course I have to get her up earlier for school). And she's usually asleep by 8 or 9 PM.

I made a few ADRs--my goal here is to give her the best of WDW without exhausting her. We are not on DDP, in fact we just started planning this a week or so ago. Also, I think this trip we're just going to stick to MK and Epcot. I don't see the point of HS. She might like AK, and I want to stay flexible in case she does, but I have a really hard time with animals in captivity. But I would do it for her.

So here is our schedule:

Monday: 10 AM at Park Faire
Tuesday: 940 AM at Ohana and Wishes at 7
Wednesday--no ADRs (she will probably be slow and tired after Wishes the night before)
Thursday--10 AM at CRT (don't ask me how we scored that--just popped up on the website one day last week--still not sure it's not a computer error)

Chose breakfasts because they're cheaper and it gives us the flexibility to head back to our hotel earlier if she's tired.

Too much character dining? She LOVES princesses and Mickey, and Ohana seems the best choice for him (also, Chef Mickey is basically unavailable), though we've never seen "Lilo and Stitch." She's a "Mary Poppins" fan, but not hugely so. I just thought it might be a soft landing into WDW (her first visit).

Thoughts? And is CRT the right choice vs. Askerhaus?

Thanks...

 

[sharonabe]

Does she like Winnie the Pooh? I think I'd change the 1900 Park Fare to Crystal Palace. That way you're in the park a little earlier. If you keep 1900, it could easily be 11:30 before you get to a park.

Akershus is a little cheaper, but it's not THE castle. If that is important to you, I'd keep CRT.

If you decide to do AK, Tusker House would be a great breakfast to catch Mickey (and Donald and Daisy) instead of Ohana. But, AK closes at 5:00, so you need to make the most of the time you have there. Tusker has characters at breakfast and lunch.

 

[GaBelle]

If she likes characters and princesses, it may not be enough. You guys will probably be happy with one character meal per day. But it really depends on your daughter.
Tusker House is one of my family's faves at AK. Yes, the animals on in captivity, but its more like an animal preserve than zoo.
Personally, I like the food at CRT better than Akershus. Both princess experiences are great, with a slight edge to CRT. (You are in Cinderella's caste after all and the ambiance is amazing!)

 

[serene56]

it might not be enough -- lol

lets see, we arrived late on a Saturday (fter 8pm)
had an ADR for 7am the next morning at Chef Mickeys.
a 7pm for dinner at Crystal Palace and the net morning a 7:55am with Lilo and Stitch before we left at 1pm.

Our grand daughter was all about the characters-- so it was a lot better doing it this way then stand in line.

 

[Kimosabe]

For a 5-year old, it sounds like you've got plenty of character experiences set up. We have two girls, now 10.5 and 8, and we've hit lots of the character dining options with them, and one per day is plenty, particularly given that most of your character dining options are not necessarily the restaurants you would choose for food (if characters were not an option). For me, it's really hard to mess up breakfast, so doing character breakfasts is always an easy way to knock those out each day. You'll also have all sorts of character greeting options during the day, so there will be plenty of chances for other interactions if you (or she) might want them!

We first went with our girls when they were 5 and 2.5, and I knew from the get-go that you have to move at their pace and not your own. As we have gone back from time to time, we're able to speed up a little when we want to, ride some bigger rides and eat some nicer meals.

1900 Park Fare is a wonderful first stop, especially for a 5-year old girl. Yes, Mary Poppins is there (our older DD's all-time favorite character), but you've also got some of the Winnie the Pooh gang, as well as Alice and the Mad Hatter.

If you find yourself at EPCOT at lunchtime (or anytime in early afternoon), you might go to Les Chefs de France. It's a good grown-up menu, but you also get to meet Remy from Ratatouille (obviously helpful if DD has seen that movie!). A waiter pushes him around on a cart and interacts with each table. This is not a big, walk-around Remy, but rather a little true-to-size animatronic that squeaks at you (always interpreted by the waiter, of course!).