Trip Itinerary please review- opinions?

[bigcrit]

We are a family of four with Twin 8 year old girls. We are in moderately fair athletic condition. My girls love "big kid" rides and don't want to ride the kiddie rides. So to that we will be able to skip some of the "kiddie" rides and focus on bigger attractions but still stopping to meet characters and enjoy alot of the magic designed for their age.

Our trip is for 8 nights 9 days for the week of May 14 - May 22nd. We are leaving Philadelphia in the afternoon arriving in Orlando at 3:55pm. Hoping to arrive at the CR around 4:30. Hopefully we will get a good room arriving that late in the afternoon. We purchased 7 day park hopper's and the MYW Dining plan. I have all my PS's for the week. Our general rule of thought has been to maximize our park time and allow for rest. Most days will have the following schedule (or something close to this).

- Arrive at park very early (first thing).
- Tour parks using info from UG, TGM, Passporter and the disboard of course.
- Leave parks around 1 - 2 PM (except day at MGM)
- Go back to hotel for Rest or swim or whatever we feel like.
- Most of our PS's are for early dinners so we will have a leisurely afternoon, get dressed for dinner - go to dinner then go to a park for the evening.

Here's the outline for our trip considering Park hours and the following, recently posted EMH for the time we will be there.

----------------------------------------------------------
EXTRA MAGIC HOURS
May 8-14, 15-21, 22-28 & 29-31:
SUNDAY EVENING Disney-MGM Studios
MONDAY MORNING Epcot
TUESDAY MORNING Disney-MGM Studios
TUESDAY EVENING Animal Kingdom
WEDNESDAY EVENING Magic Kingdom
THURSDAY EVENING Epcot
FRIDAY MORNING Magic Kingdom
SATURDAY MORNING Animal Kingdom

-----------------------------------------------------------

5/14 Saturday
- Arrive around 4:30PM.
- Chef Mickeys @7:40PM for dinner.
- Couple laps on the Monorail.
- Early to bed for 1st day at MK.

5/15 Sunday
Magik Kingdom
- CRT @ 8:20 AM.
- Lunch @ Pecos Bill's.
- Leave MK around 1pm or 2pm.
- Back to the hotel for rest and relaxation.
- Concourse Steakhouse @5:30PM for dinner.
- Back to MK for night time touring and Wishes.

5/16 Monday
MGM
This is gonna be a long day as we don't plan to leave until after Fantasmic. I figured with the time it takes to travel between the CR and MGM. The number of sit down shows (rest) and our ressie for dinner (4:20pm) we should stay all day. Does anyone have any suggestions on the best way to do this? I'm concerned this is too much for one day. This is what I have planned so far.

- Breakfast in our room (bringing our own cereal).
- Spend day at MGM doing almost everything. Hopefully alot of sit down shows.
- Lunch @ ABC Commissary.
- Afternoon Touring.
- Hollywood and Vine for Fantasmic Dinner package @4:20.
- More touring til' Fantasmic (9PM)

I'm thinking of getting later PS for dinner, leaving, coming back for night time touring and Fantasmic but I'm not sure of how long the commute is between the CR and MGM. If it is very long I would rather stay in the park.

5/17 Tuesday
Epcot
- Breakfast in Room.
- Lunch @Liberty Inn.
- Leave Epcot around 1pm or 2pm.
- Back to the hotel for rest and relaxation.
- Ohana's @5:00PM for dinner.
- Back to Epcot for night time touring and Illuminations (9PM).

5/18 Wednesday
Animal Kingdaom
- Breafast in room.
- Lunch @Flame Tree BB'Q.
- Back to the hotel for rest and relaxation.
- HDDR @5PM for dinner.
- Boat ride back to MK for evening touring and EMH.

5/19 Thursday
Blizzard Beach - May use this as a makeup day for one of the other parks (depends on weather and future forecast).
- Breakfast in room.
- Lunch at ? ( Ineed to check the dining plan for our options) suggestions?
- California Grill @5:30PM for dinner.
- Back to Epcot for evening touring and EMH.

5/20 Friday
Magic Kingdom
- Breakfast in room.
- Arrive early enough for EMH.
- Lunch @ Cosmic Ray's.
- Leave MK around 1PM or 2 PM.
- Back to the hotel for rest and relaxation.
- Liberty Tree Tavern @5:20 for dinner.
- Leaving the night wide open or back to MK to see Spectro.

5/21 Saturday
- Open day! Whatever we want to do or anything we missed.
- Boma @5:25PM for dinner.
- Open night or possbly DTD or back to MK to see Spectro.

5/22 Sunday
- Breakfast at Chef Mickeys @9:10 AM.
- Possibly going to DTD for souveneirs.
- Leaving - Flight leaves at 4:30 - We are at the mercy of Disney express -


Any thoughts, suggestions or tips on this itinerary would be a big help. I haven't been to Disney since I was 11 in 1977 so I am only going on what I have read and the wisdom of those on these boards. Thanks for all your help everyone

 

[bigcrit]

Bump

 

[Tinkerbelll]

I think your trip looks amazing! You will have a lot of fun! I see you got in that very critical breakfast at CRT! Good for you!

The only thing I kept thinking while reading was that if you plan to leave the park at 2 and then have dinner ressies for around 5, I'm not sure how much R&R time you will have... If 4 of you have to shower and stuff, plus the commute time between the resort and the dinner location, you may not have much time. I would say that if your really looking for RnR time, or looking to use the pool at the resort, leave the park around 12 pm. Especially on days when you will be using the early morning EMH. The parks will start to get full around 12pm, so thats when I would plan to leave...

Also, I think a full day in MGM is fine. You will be sitting through a lot of shows and, honestly, when I used to go with my family, we spent plenty of days in the parks without a break. I actually liked it better when my parents didn't make me leave the parks, and now that I go with DBf, we don't usually take breaks throughout the day. I'd say to go with the flow, and see how everyone is holding up as the day progresses. If your girls want to go rest or play in the pool, then do that. If they want to stay, then stay.

You will find that no matter how strict the plans are that you make, you will have to stray away from them every now and then. Have a great trip!

 

[anditoo72]

They say if you want to go back and rest or even just hop from one park to another to schedule an hour for travel time so really that would be 2 hours not including nap/relaxing time, it might take more out on you than to just find a shady spot and relax with an iced lemonade or a . I am talking about your MGM day, so I think it might be a good idea to stay in the park if your girls can handle it. Your plan looks great!!! You'll have a blast!!!!!

 

[Micca]

I would agree that the 2pm park departure might be pushing it just a bit. It depends on how long a "break" needs to be. If everyone in your party can chill/snooze for 30 or 45 minutes, you'll be fine. The other thing that concerns me are the days with 3 meals per day. I know most of us eat 3 times a day as part of our normal routine, but some of the Disney restaurants really pile on the food. If the in-room breakfasts are light (juice and a muffin), that's ok. Meals with only 4 or 5 hours between them are questionable(and expensive!). Even two meal s too close together are not desirable(and trust me, my family and I LOVE to eat).

 

[bigcrit]

Thanks for reviewing our itinerary. I will take the advice and leave earlierthen 2PM. noonish sounds alot more reasonable.

I planned our meals to be roughly at these times

Breakfast - 7 - 7:30 AM (We are bring cereal with us for most breakfasts)

Lunch - 11:300 - 12:00 (Trying to beat the lunch crowds)

DInner - 5:00 - 6:00 (Again tring to stay ahead of the crowds)

Maybe that would be alot of food. I guess I'll wing that part of the trip.

Does anybody have any thoughts on the days I chose for the parks? I was curious to see if they made sense. I really want to avoid crowds if possible. Thanks again everyone for posting. I have read alot of books and stuff online but haven't been to WDW in a very very very long time.

 

[bigcrit]

Anyone else have any thoughts? Particularly on the days I chose at the various parks? I was curious if you thought they were well chosen for crowd levels.

Thanks

 

[jkjjhuddle]

My Dh and I will be there the same time as you are (well for part of it May 17-20) I think your park days look great. We will be at Epcot the same day as you. Just look for use running around the World Showcase.

You also did a great job with planning your dinning using the dinning plan. We will be using that as well!

Have fun!
Kristy

 

[bigcrit]

My Dh and I will be there the same time as you are (well for part of it May 17-20) I think your park days look great. We will be at Epcot the same day as you. Just look for use running around the World Showcase.

You also did a great job with planning your dinning using the dinning plan. We will be using that as well!

Have fun!
Kristy

Cool. I hope "you's" guys have a great time. Are you as excited as we are?

 

[sk!mom]

Allow time at MGM to ride Rock n roller coaster over and over. My DD8, also a thrill rider fell in love with it last June and we spent most of the morning riding it! Have a great time. We will be at CR a couple of weeks before you.

 

[bigcrit]

Allow time at MGM to ride Rock n roller coaster over and over. My DD8, also a thrill rider fell in love with it last June and we spent most of the morning riding it! Have a great time. We will be at CR a couple of weeks before you.week

Would you mind letting me know your thoughts when you get back? I would love to hear your thoughts and any tips you have.

Thanks

 

[mark smith]

sounds like a good plan,but maybe a little ambitious w/ commutes you have planned. We just returned from a week w/ our 8 year old DD and found we were a little ambitious in our planning and scheduled times. We did not leave enough time for spontanaity and rest times due to always worrying about the next show time or PS. But, what do you do? You have to atleast have a basic plan and if you want to eat at certain popular spots PS's are a must. Our trip was great anyway and I'm sure yours will be as well. Maybe take atleast one afternoon/evening to do nothing or whatever-we did'nt but wished we had.

 

[sters]

My only comments are that your check in time is probably ambitious but it's only a minor point since your dinner is on the late side.

My other is that I'd reconsider your lunch option at Epcot. The american pavillion offered the worst meal of my entire week! Stale buns, overcooked meat, slimy toppings. Yuck! And there is no atmosphere there! Other than that, it seems like you've allowed for plenty of breaks. I always WANT to take breaks, but it seems to take so long to commute that I usually scrap that plan.

 

[bigcrit]

sounds like a good plan,but maybe a little ambitious w/ commutes you have planned. We just returned from a week w/ our 8 year old DD and found we were a little ambitious in our planning and scheduled times. We did not leave enough time for spontanaity and rest times due to always worrying about the next show time or PS. But, what do you do? You have to atleast have a basic plan and if you want to eat at certain popular spots PS's are a must. Our trip was great anyway and I'm sure yours will be as well. Maybe take atleast one afternoon/evening to do nothing or whatever-we did'nt but wished we had.

Mark - I was counting on the fact we are at the CR and the MK is in walking distance. I was told the commute wouldn't exceed a 1/2 hour to Epcot. I was assuming that the commutes would be insignificant. Can you suggest an alternative. I am definitely flexible and am such a noob to WDW I could use all the help I can get.

 

[ILoveWDW2003]

Mark - I was counting on the fact we are at the CR and the MK is in walking distance. I was told the commute wouldn't exceed a 1/2 hour to Epcot. I was assuming that the commutes would be insignificant. Can you suggest an alternative. I am definitely flexible and am such a noob to WDW I could use all the help I can get.

I don't know if I would say insignificant commutes - WDW is approximately 47 square miles, about twice the size of the island of Manhattan - and don't forget you may need to wait for the monorail or bus to come. Disney always recommends that you allow 30-60 minutes for travel time.

It all depends on your timing, if you need to wait for the bus/monorail - getting from CR to Epcot you need to take 2 monorails - you have to switch at the TTC...

 

[bigcrit]

I was under the impression it would be pretty quick. I better rethink my itinerary a little to allow for delays. Thanks.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

For a newbie this looks pretty darned good! I would suggest you might want to build some time into your Epcot iteneraries to walk out the International Gateway exit and explore the Epcot resort area a bit - it's so worth it. You might even want to have your lunch somewhere over there - maybe Beaches and Cream at the BC? Our Epcot days are so full we almost always stay the whole day. So much to do and so little time! Walking the World Showcase in and of itself takes quite a while, especially if you want to explore some of the pavilions.

 

[Sheaboys]

Just a reminder that Hoop Dee Doo Review and California Grill count as 2 table service meals per person.

 

[bigcrit]

Just a reminder that Hoop Dee Doo Review and California Grill count as 2 table service meals per person.

HDDR and California Grilll look so good we figured it was worth it. We figured we pay cash for 2 of our other meals, whichever were cheaper.

Does anybody think we did OK crowd wise on the days we chose to go to the various parks?

 

[bigcrit]

I don't know if I would say insignificant commutes - WDW is approximately 47 square miles, about twice the size of the island of Manhattan - and don't forget you may need to wait for the monorail or bus to come. Disney always recommends that you allow 30-60 minutes for travel time.

It all depends on your timing, if you need to wait for the bus/monorail - getting from CR to Epcot you need to take 2 monorails - you have to switch at the TTC...

Does the Monorail have a schedule I can get a hold of? I would like to time my trips a little better. Can I get them at my resort.

Thanks....