Very first trip plan...please be gentle...!

[disneyholic family]

i'm not a big believer in 'days off"..

we go to a park every morning and take it easy in the afternoons...

 

[scoobydooby]

I am a big believer in days off several trips in. We stay on site and do two early mornings where we will be FIRST in the parks then a sleep in morning. We plan late nights for before the sleep in. Have done it differently but we are wrecks when we get back home. It depends how much you want to fit in. This next trip (10 sleeps!) we are only doing the Disney parks to guarantee more down time. Last trip we did Disney, Universal, Sea World and Discovery Cove. It was too much for us. This time I upgraded to a Disney deluxe hotel from a moderate and plan to enjoy the resort. This said the kids were looking at Sea World coaster videos on u tube last night so I suspect I might get nagged into a day there once we arrive

 

[kittykitty87]

I am a big believer in days off several trips in. We stay on site and do two early mornings where we will be FIRST in the parks then a sleep in morning. We plan late nights for before the sleep in. Have done it differently but we are wrecks when we get back home. It depends how much you want to fit in. This next trip (10 sleeps!) we are only doing the Disney parks to guarantee more down time. Last trip we did Disney, Universal, Sea World and Discovery Cove. It was too much for us. This time I upgraded to a Disney deluxe hotel from a moderate and plan to enjoy the resort. This said the kids were looking at Sea World coaster videos on u tube last night so I suspect I might get nagged into a day there once we arrive

Sounds like a nice idea!

My boyfriend has been watching videos of everything so I am getting nagged already about the parks

 

[bazzanoid]

We take an excel sheet with a complete calendar of our time there and every park's opening hours. We then mark in red the parks to avoid on each day according to the various touring plans, and then mark in yellow any parks we have made an ADR at, along with a note of the time so we know we have to be at that park.

Apart from that, we take it easy!

 

[kittykitty87]

We take an excel sheet with a complete calendar of our time there and every park's opening hours. We then mark in red the parks to avoid on each day according to the various touring plans, and then mark in yellow any parks we have made an ADR at, along with a note of the time so we know we have to be at that park.

Apart from that, we take it easy!

Cool! Sounds good! We haven't made any ADRs so we don't have to worry about that! The plan I have done is all the parks that are 'supposed' to be the least crowded on those days

 

[thestevied]

Maybe it's just me, but I only need one day at each of the universal parks. One day shopping and a day at seaworld then it's all Disney.

 

[luke]

Maybe it's just me, but I only need one day at each of the universal parks. One day shopping and a day at seaworld then it's all Disney.

I guess it depends if you see it as a Disney holiday or an Orlando one

We are only gonna be around wdw for six days next trip so will spend it all at Disney but normally we only maybe spend half of our two weeks in the wdw parks

 

[thestevied]

I guess it depends if you see it as a Disney holiday or an Orlando one

We are only gonna be around wdw for six days next trip so will spend it all at Disney but normally we only maybe spend half of our two weeks in the wdw parks

Yeah, everyone's different. Maybe it really is just me!!

 

[luke]

Yeah, everyone's different. Maybe it really is just me!!

I don't think so, I actually think my way of thinking is in the minority

 

[kittykitty87]

We are looking at the holiday as an Orlando one. Mainly Disney with a few extras thrown in.

We probably wont go again for a good few years now so we want to do as much as we can.

 

[cherjp]

you might want to check out if the day you are doing seaworld is firstly a saturday and if it is, check the seaworld halloween party days, as we made this mistake the last time we went and it was heaving beyond belief. absolutely gobsmacked with that, as its always nice and quiet when we have been in oct before. When we went in 2010 it was the first halloween party of their season, think also the new ride had opened that year too. might not matter to you tho.

 

[kittykitty87]

you might want to check out if the day you are doing seaworld is firstly a saturday and if it is, check the seaworld halloween party days, as we made this mistake the last time we went and it was heaving beyond belief. absolutely gobsmacked with that, as its always nice and quiet when we have been in oct before. When we went in 2010 it was the first halloween party of their season, think also the new ride had opened that year too. might not matter to you tho.

I think it's a Sunday

 

[kittykitty87]

Due to my trip being this month cool1 I am shamelessly bumping this as I want people to look at it as I am wanting to make these plans final.

I know some people dont go by plans but all I am planning is what park, we can go with the flow when we get to the park in the morning.

 

[higgy66]

Looks a good plan - the only thing I would consider is that you may not need a full relaxing day

We have 2 young girls and we often left the parks around 2pm and spent the afternoon by the pool before heading out for our evening meal and somtimes a visit to a park for parades/fireworks etc. This really charged their batteries!

Last year we spent our last full day by the hotel pool chilling before heading out for our last meal - the girls loved the Disney activities/games and we came home so relaxed people couldn't believe we'd been to Florida! Were definitely planning the same this year

 

[kittykitty87]

Looks a good plan - the only thing I would consider is that you may not need a full relaxing day

We have 2 young girls and we often left the parks around 2pm and spent the afternoon by the pool before heading out for our evening meal and somtimes a visit to a park for parades/fireworks etc. This really charged their batteries!

Last year we spent our last full day by the hotel pool chilling before heading out for our last meal - the girls loved the Disney activities/games and we came home so relaxed people couldn't believe we'd been to Florida! Were definitely planning the same this year

When I went in 2000 with my parents, we spent a few full days off and I do think it helped recharge however, I do like the sound of leaving through the day and maybe going back later. I am assuming we wouldnt have to pay for parking twice if it was the same park we went back to in the evening...?

 

[thestevied]

I agree with higgy about maybe not needing full days rest. If you play things by ear a bit you may find you only need half days in parks and you can relax for a few hours in the afternoons by the pool or napping in your room. We tend to get to all parks early and often we're done by lunchtime. We'll go back to our hotel for a bit and either hit a new park in the afternoon/evening or head somewhere for fireworks or dinner.

And no shame in bumping!

 

[kittykitty87]

I agree with higgy about maybe not needing full days rest. If you play things by ear a bit you may find you only need half days in parks and you can relax for a few hours in the afternoons by the pool or napping in your room. We tend to get to all parks early and often we're done by lunchtime. We'll go back to our hotel for a bit and either hit a new park in the afternoon/evening or head somewhere for fireworks or dinner.

And no shame in bumping!

Cool! Maybe me and DBF should have a look at doing this then...

As this is only my 2nd visit and DBF first visit, I was kind of just thinking I have to do 1 park in 1 day and not leave and come back to it later or go somewhere else. We have unlimited 14 day park passes and I have been told before this allows us to park hop. This may be a good way to holiday then

 

[thestevied]

Cool! Maybe me and DBF should have a look at doing this then...

As this is only my 2nd visit and DBF first visit, I was kind of just thinking I have to do 1 park in 1 day and not leave and come back to it later or go somewhere else. We have unlimited 14 day park passes and I have been told before this allows us to park hop. This may be a good way to holiday then

Park hopping is a great way to get around. I also find that by leaving a park around lunchtime and going back to your room for a nap, shower, drink, etc, you feel much better and fresher so you're more likely to want to go out for the afternoon. As an example, we often do MK in the morning, then have a break, and go to epcot for the evening feeling fresh and happy to explore for a bit and stay late to watch the fireworks. It just works well for us, but everyone may be different!

 

[marcgiu]

Park hopping is a great way to get around. I also find that by leaving a park around lunchtime and going back to your room for a nap, shower, drink, etc, you feel much better and fresher so you're more likely to want to go out for the afternoon. As an example, we often do MK in the morning, then have a break, and go to epcot for the evening feeling fresh and happy to explore for a bit and stay late to watch the fireworks. It just works well for us, but everyone may be different!

Thats exactly what we do - always nice to have a swim or a nap and then stay up late and enjoy the nigh round the parks.

 

[kittykitty87]

It does sound like a nice way to spend the days. Would probably stop me getting grumpy in the heat too so that would be a bonus