Would like some input as to my plans for an upcoming WDW adventure with my granddaughter, age 8. It will be her first time to visit. While I’ve been a few times ( As a couple on my honeymoon, a couple of times while my kids were young and then tweens) my last trip was 8 years ago when I did the WDW marathon.
I’m no longer that young or that in shape, so while we will be there before the parks open officially, there will be no running or speed walking to a ride. Since it’s my granddaughter’s first time, I’m sure she’s going to getting excited and looking around anyway. She does have some sensory/anxiety issues that should make her eligible for a DAS pass, so we will probably use that if the line is more than a 30 minute wait, Especially in new situations, the more she has time to think about it, and worry, her anxiety mounts and she gets very emotional and then shuts down. Add in a loud, croweded environment, and without the DAS pass I envision waiting in line, we get up there she burst into tears and wants to go, then after burst into tears because she didn’t ride and then she gets down on herself – this is supposed to be fun! So we will be taking more sit down in a quiet place/snack breaks that most, I believe.
She won’t know about our trip until the morning we leave- she knows we are going somewhere, as I promised her a trip because I took my other two grandchildren on a short trip earlier this summer. But although she has been asking her mom for a Disney Trip, she just thinks we are driving a short distance for some fun more locally. I think she will be more chill at the parks if she knows what to expect on the rides, so I’m downloading some youtube clips to watch on the airplane. So I will have a list of her must do rides then, and we are going to start slow, with the more sedate rides, and then maybe think about doing something like Splash Mountain or 7 Dwarves train later in the trip. We will see how it goes, but she has always said that she doesn’t mind fast, and is ok with high, if it is not fast. We won’t be doing any Everest or Space Mountain or RocknRoll Coaster or Tower of Terror this trip! I’m hoping I can coax her into Pandora FOP, but who knows?
We are staying at the Dolphin Hotel, and while I know several people have mentioned not taking the busses from the Dolphin but to walk over to Boardwalk or Yacht Club because of the drop off at the Transpo Center - is it really that much faster or that important. Since it’s my granddaughter’s first trip, I think arriving either on the Monorail or the ferry would be cool for her. According to Dolphin website, their busses leave 45 min before part open, what time should we be out there to get it?
We are going the first week of August – hopefully no hurricane that week!
Mon – travel day, assuming Southwest doesn’t delay or cancel flight, we should be at hotel by 5 pm. ( Southwest has always been dependable for me, but now Im really worried) Have granddaughter decided if she wants to play mini golf or Swan paddleboat, then hit the pool and have dinner poolside at Dolphin.
Tues – Park Reservation at Magic Kingdom Park Hours listed as 9 am to 9 pm
We have a lunch reservation at :10 PM to Liberty Tree Tavern
Think she would like to do:
Small World, Peter Pan, Dumbo, Jungle Cruise, Buzz Lightyear, People Mover, Pirates of the Caribbean, Mad Tea Party, Buzz Lightyear, Speedway cars, Little Mermaid, Tiki Room, Michey’s Philharmagic, Aladdin Magic Carpet, look at Castle,
Might do with some encouragement and enjoyment of other rides – Haunted Mansion, Splash Mountain, 7 Dwarves Mine Train
.
Plan to go to a certain area, like Fantasyland, get a DAS pass return time for that attraction like Peter Pan, and look around ride a shorter wait like tea cups or Small World and just work our way around that way.
At around 5 PM, park hop over to EPCOT, and check out Norway Frozen ride time, if long, get a DAS pass return time and go to our 6:30 reservation for dinner at Mexico, eat, ride boat ride in Mexico, then Frozen and then walk back to hotel via International Gateway
Tues – Park Reservation at Animal Kingdom. Have a Disney photoshoot at 11:00 and and lunch res at Tusker House at 2:00 PM Park Hours 8 am to 6PM. Plan to ride bus from Dolphin to be there prior to park open, as soon as we can get there by the busses, it seems based on recent park reports that people are getting released to go in around 730?
I think this will be her favorite park because she is animal crazy – loves the behinds scenes shows like”the Zoo” and the the Animal Kingdom on on Disney plus.
Attractions will want to do:
Kilimanjaro Safari, Rafiki area, all the exploration trails on Discovery Island, Gorilla Mist and Asia Trail, Kali River Rapids, Lion King show and Navi River Journey. May do if she agrees and I fit in test seat – Pandora FOP, maybe Dinosaur ( could be too intense for her)
Plan is s ame as before. For example walk first to Safari, since morning is best for that ride. Get in line if not too long, or get a DAS pass and use the time waiting to return to explore the trails, then do the ride. Repeat with other attractions The photo shoot meets at Discovery Island, so I think we could do those trails after that or go to Lion King show before or after lunch since it is close to Tusker House. About how long does it take to ride train to conservation station and see the petting zoo area and come back?
When park is closed at 6 pm, plan to park hop to Epcot again, and eat some dinner and hopefully see the Aquarium and ride inside the ball , do the Imagination Ride. Maybe Test Track, but not necessary. Don’t have dinner reservations, but with the Food and Wine Festival going on, Im sure we can find something to eat – although my granddaughter is a very finicky eater. We will see how we are feeling after all that and decide if we want to stay for fireworks. Walk home to Dolphin via International Gateway.
Thursday Park Reservation is Hollywood Studios Park Hours 9 am to 7 pm lunch res Hollywood and Vine 2:50
Want to do : Mickey Runaway Train, Frozen Sing a long , Toy Story Mania, Alien Swirlng Saucers, Star Tours Rise of the Resistance, if possible
Maybe Slinky Dog dash , Muppet 3D
Plan to walk over to Hollywood Studios from hotel, what time should I aim to be at HS by to be in as early as possible?
Will try to complete the attractions want to do before our lunch reservation, or shortly after and park hop to Magic Kingdom. Once there do some of the rides we didn’t do on Tues, or ride something again that we enjoyed the first time. Also get a late dinner and plan to watch the fireworks to finish out our trip. If they bring them back, I’m considering a dessert party with the plaza viewing. It would be more relaxing, and I’m not sure I want to stake out a place hours in advance.
That’s the plan, anyway. It may be upended by weather, my granddaughter doesn’t like being out in the rain much at all, so I’ll need to be watching the sky for the usual afternoon storms and plan to be near an indoor queue or show when that happens. Or by whatever else happens like rides being down, etc. Just like making a plan so that you know what you really want to do, and then just be flexible about anything else.
This was long - thanks for reading and for any suggestions! Whenjust my husband and I ,and even with our kids we were ride everything get there from open to close, but this needs to be a more relaxed trip.
I’m no longer that young or that in shape, so while we will be there before the parks open officially, there will be no running or speed walking to a ride. Since it’s my granddaughter’s first time, I’m sure she’s going to getting excited and looking around anyway. She does have some sensory/anxiety issues that should make her eligible for a DAS pass, so we will probably use that if the line is more than a 30 minute wait, Especially in new situations, the more she has time to think about it, and worry, her anxiety mounts and she gets very emotional and then shuts down. Add in a loud, croweded environment, and without the DAS pass I envision waiting in line, we get up there she burst into tears and wants to go, then after burst into tears because she didn’t ride and then she gets down on herself – this is supposed to be fun! So we will be taking more sit down in a quiet place/snack breaks that most, I believe.
She won’t know about our trip until the morning we leave- she knows we are going somewhere, as I promised her a trip because I took my other two grandchildren on a short trip earlier this summer. But although she has been asking her mom for a Disney Trip, she just thinks we are driving a short distance for some fun more locally. I think she will be more chill at the parks if she knows what to expect on the rides, so I’m downloading some youtube clips to watch on the airplane. So I will have a list of her must do rides then, and we are going to start slow, with the more sedate rides, and then maybe think about doing something like Splash Mountain or 7 Dwarves train later in the trip. We will see how it goes, but she has always said that she doesn’t mind fast, and is ok with high, if it is not fast. We won’t be doing any Everest or Space Mountain or RocknRoll Coaster or Tower of Terror this trip! I’m hoping I can coax her into Pandora FOP, but who knows?
We are staying at the Dolphin Hotel, and while I know several people have mentioned not taking the busses from the Dolphin but to walk over to Boardwalk or Yacht Club because of the drop off at the Transpo Center - is it really that much faster or that important. Since it’s my granddaughter’s first trip, I think arriving either on the Monorail or the ferry would be cool for her. According to Dolphin website, their busses leave 45 min before part open, what time should we be out there to get it?
We are going the first week of August – hopefully no hurricane that week!
Mon – travel day, assuming Southwest doesn’t delay or cancel flight, we should be at hotel by 5 pm. ( Southwest has always been dependable for me, but now Im really worried) Have granddaughter decided if she wants to play mini golf or Swan paddleboat, then hit the pool and have dinner poolside at Dolphin.
Tues – Park Reservation at Magic Kingdom Park Hours listed as 9 am to 9 pm
We have a lunch reservation at :10 PM to Liberty Tree Tavern
Think she would like to do:
Small World, Peter Pan, Dumbo, Jungle Cruise, Buzz Lightyear, People Mover, Pirates of the Caribbean, Mad Tea Party, Buzz Lightyear, Speedway cars, Little Mermaid, Tiki Room, Michey’s Philharmagic, Aladdin Magic Carpet, look at Castle,
Might do with some encouragement and enjoyment of other rides – Haunted Mansion, Splash Mountain, 7 Dwarves Mine Train
.
Plan to go to a certain area, like Fantasyland, get a DAS pass return time for that attraction like Peter Pan, and look around ride a shorter wait like tea cups or Small World and just work our way around that way.
At around 5 PM, park hop over to EPCOT, and check out Norway Frozen ride time, if long, get a DAS pass return time and go to our 6:30 reservation for dinner at Mexico, eat, ride boat ride in Mexico, then Frozen and then walk back to hotel via International Gateway
Tues – Park Reservation at Animal Kingdom. Have a Disney photoshoot at 11:00 and and lunch res at Tusker House at 2:00 PM Park Hours 8 am to 6PM. Plan to ride bus from Dolphin to be there prior to park open, as soon as we can get there by the busses, it seems based on recent park reports that people are getting released to go in around 730?
I think this will be her favorite park because she is animal crazy – loves the behinds scenes shows like”the Zoo” and the the Animal Kingdom on on Disney plus.
Attractions will want to do:
Kilimanjaro Safari, Rafiki area, all the exploration trails on Discovery Island, Gorilla Mist and Asia Trail, Kali River Rapids, Lion King show and Navi River Journey. May do if she agrees and I fit in test seat – Pandora FOP, maybe Dinosaur ( could be too intense for her)
Plan is s ame as before. For example walk first to Safari, since morning is best for that ride. Get in line if not too long, or get a DAS pass and use the time waiting to return to explore the trails, then do the ride. Repeat with other attractions The photo shoot meets at Discovery Island, so I think we could do those trails after that or go to Lion King show before or after lunch since it is close to Tusker House. About how long does it take to ride train to conservation station and see the petting zoo area and come back?
When park is closed at 6 pm, plan to park hop to Epcot again, and eat some dinner and hopefully see the Aquarium and ride inside the ball , do the Imagination Ride. Maybe Test Track, but not necessary. Don’t have dinner reservations, but with the Food and Wine Festival going on, Im sure we can find something to eat – although my granddaughter is a very finicky eater. We will see how we are feeling after all that and decide if we want to stay for fireworks. Walk home to Dolphin via International Gateway.
Thursday Park Reservation is Hollywood Studios Park Hours 9 am to 7 pm lunch res Hollywood and Vine 2:50
Want to do : Mickey Runaway Train, Frozen Sing a long , Toy Story Mania, Alien Swirlng Saucers, Star Tours Rise of the Resistance, if possible
Maybe Slinky Dog dash , Muppet 3D
Plan to walk over to Hollywood Studios from hotel, what time should I aim to be at HS by to be in as early as possible?
Will try to complete the attractions want to do before our lunch reservation, or shortly after and park hop to Magic Kingdom. Once there do some of the rides we didn’t do on Tues, or ride something again that we enjoyed the first time. Also get a late dinner and plan to watch the fireworks to finish out our trip. If they bring them back, I’m considering a dessert party with the plaza viewing. It would be more relaxing, and I’m not sure I want to stake out a place hours in advance.
That’s the plan, anyway. It may be upended by weather, my granddaughter doesn’t like being out in the rain much at all, so I’ll need to be watching the sky for the usual afternoon storms and plan to be near an indoor queue or show when that happens. Or by whatever else happens like rides being down, etc. Just like making a plan so that you know what you really want to do, and then just be flexible about anything else.
This was long - thanks for reading and for any suggestions! Whenjust my husband and I ,and even with our kids we were ride everything get there from open to close, but this needs to be a more relaxed trip.
Have the most magical time ever, but be prepared for not everything to go quite as planned. Sometimes those unexpected changes make for the best memories of all!
