Want to help me plan a trip?

[I'mDownWithDisney]

A little background first since I am new around here. I have been going to Disney since I was a little kid....probably logged at least 200 or so days at Disney. My wife also went often as a child. We have been going Disney together since 1999 (staying at FW, WL, CBR). The last 4 years we have been taking advantage of free dining and staying in a cabin. We even stayed off property in a timeshare once last year. Even though it was free, I hated it so bad that I vowed to never to do that again.

This year I think it is time to get back in the camper at FW. Our kids (daughters: 3 yrs and 2 yrs) are old enough now to enjoy the camper more, and I think they would love riding their tricycles and playing. I want to spend more time "camping" by cooking meals, playing at the pool, laying around, looping with the kids in the bike trailer, etc....not just staying in a cabin and hitting the parks all day every day.

Here is my plan, and I am open to all suggestions. (We are almost stuck in a rut when it comes to Disney. We always seem to do the same things and see the same stuff. So I would love to hear input from people with children the same age about some of their favorite things to do.)

Probably a travel date in late September or October to take advantage of lower rates and less crowds.

Hopefully stay at least 7 days...maybe more. Going to request the 100 or 200 loops as to be close to the marina.

Probably buy park tickets for the length of the stay minus one day. Thinking about making them park hoppers to enjoy a quick evening trip to the MK for Wishes and a few rides. I like the idea of going for a few hours every evening. The kids love MK, but we will hit all 4 parks.

My grandparents and mother will probably go with us too in a separate camper. It helps to have a babysitter every now and then. They definitely won't go to a park every day. Need some suggestions for something different they could do.

May bring a golf cart in the back of the truck for non pedal powered looping and quick trips to the pool. Definitely won't spend the money to rent.

Park days would consist of getting up early, hitting the rope drop, going to about 11am or so, come back to the camper for lunch and kid naps, early dinner at the camper, and then back to a park.

Possibly could go to a water park one day, but I am not sure the kids would survive a long day there.



So that is the general plan for now. Like I said, I would love to hear some input from you guys. I know the depth of knowledge on this board is very deep.

Thanks.

 

[BigDaddyRog]

My suggestion would be to drop another park day,just to spend hanging out and relaxing at the campground. The days go by sooo fast at Disney,and, being the veteran at it that you are...you know that most people try to cram 2 days of activity into every day they are there...forgetting to chill out and relax and enjoy THEMSELVES instead of only enjoying DISNEY.

be sure to hit the campfire with the little ones, theres nothing a kid likes more than a parent allowing them to set a marshmellow on fire....er, I mean...roasting marshmellows!!

Welcome to the camping boards

 

[I'mDownWithDisney]

That's a good idea. I really hope to be able to stay for 10 days with 7 days of tickets, but I don't want to get anyone's hopes up if we can't.

The campfire sounds nice. I know the kids would love it.

 

[Shan-man]

I would spend more time at the Fort and less at the parks, personally. I'd also recommend looking into Mickey's Backyard BBQ, it would be perfect for kids your's ages. A good idea I saw last year at the Fort was the parents brought colored chalk and mapped out their kid's boundaries on the road for where they could ride their trikes. Worked pretty well for the most part. My only other advice would be, if at all possible, bring a cart... fun, fun, fun!

Oh, one more thing, if it were me I'd shoot for early December instead. Christmas decorations at the Fort really kick it up a notch!

 

[Skyw]

My son was 3 the first time he went. I loved the simple stuff like looking for animals, riding the boat, riding the golf cart, eating ice cream outside, the playground and the simple rides like IASW. We hit the parks at rope drop and left at nap time. I think we went back once that year. The rest of the time was just being together as a family at the fort.

 

[nikkipowell1]

We are staying at the cabins for 7 days and we have DS5 and DD3. We are only going to 2 differernt parks, 1 each day. There is so much to do/see other than parks, I think my kids will enjoy that more.

ps we leave in 18 days

 

[campingdawgs]

I would also suggest more time at the campground. If you think your girls would be up for it, try the pony rides and visiting the stables and blacksmith. My DD5 loves this.

 

[becky1960]

Our plan is to go Halloween MNSHP (never have) and then stay for the first MVMCP Nov 10. We have to stay 12 days to do it. If you are like us and have been a lot, I would try do some activity that you have not done before. If you stay longer you can go at a slower pace. You seem to follow our schedule.

 

[des1954]

This might sound lame, but we also enjoy "resort hopping". Your windshield parking pass will get you into the resorts. Just tell the guard you're coming in to eat at the food court.

The kiddies might also enjoy taking the boat to the CR & riding the monorail loop & exploring the monorail resorts - especially at Christmas. The GF, PR & CR all have special life-sized gingerbread houses with "Hidden Mickey's" on them

It's fun to see the lobbies, gift shops, food courts, grounds & pools of all the resorts. Don't forget to bring your drink mugs with you!

Best of all, resort hopping is in A/C and it's free!!

 

[BigDaddyRog]

Not lame at all...we really enjoyed taking the boat to MK,and jumping on the monorail and getting off at each stop to shop the gift shops and get snacks....it was a great way to spend a few downtime hours. Not at all boring...but not overly stimulating either.

I also agree with Skyw.....the stables are a wonderful way for the small ones to get up close with some majestic animals...those horses have an aire of royalty about them.

 

[I'mDownWithDisney]

I agree. Not lame at all. We normally resort hop the day that we arrive. Our usual route in the boat to CR and then do the monorail loop. We have never toured the value resorts, a few of the moderates, and the Beach Club. May try to do those.

More time at the Fort seems to be a popular suggestion, and I agree. A couple thoughts about the length of stay tickets minus a day or two are...

I usually buy discounted tickets off site, and buying extra days is cheap. For example, a 5 day non hopper is $230, a 7 day is only $6 more, and a 10 day is only $15 more....add $50 for park hoppers.

I would rather have more than enough days for the parks so we won't feel rushed. Or if we go one day, and the kids are not feeling it we can just try again later without feeling like we wasted a day.

Also going somewhere every day sounds nice to me, even if it is just for an hour or two in the morning or evening. An evening boat ride to the MK, an ice cream from the shop on Main St, people watching while the kids play, and Wishes sounds right up my alley.

I definitely want to avoid the all day park marathon. We tried that last year when we stayed off site, because it was such a hassle to leave the park and come back.

Thanks for the suggestions.

Edit...The stables and pony rides should be a hit with the kids. They like animals.

 

[I'mDownWithDisney]

Shan-man,

I am ashamed to say that we have never done the BBQ. I need to do some research on that.

 

[Shan-man]

The BBQ is basically a glorified picnic with lots of character interaction. But little kids seem to LOVE it. And they serve beer IN THE LINE while you're waiting to get in to help you enjoy it! LOL

 

[clkelley]

More time at the Fort seems to be a popular suggestion, and I agree. A couple thoughts about the length of stay tickets minus a day or two are...

I usually buy discounted tickets off site, and buying extra days is cheap. For example, a 5 day non hopper is $230, a 7 day is only $6 more, and a 10 day is only $15 more....add $50 for park hoppers.

I would rather have more than enough days for the parks so we won't feel rushed. Or if we go one day, and the kids are not feeling it we can just try again later without feeling like we wasted a day.

I agree with you on the tickets. As cheap as extra days are, it will be nice to have them even if you don't use them. That way, say you could just run to Epcot for dinner, or have dinner at Beach Club one evening and run into Epcot for Illuminations or something, or run to Studios for Fantasmic.

 

[BradyBz12]

And they serve beer IN THE LINE while you're waiting to get in to help you enjoy it! LOL

Wha-wha-whaaat? Beer IN the line? And BBQ... oh geez, I think DH really needs to rethink skipping this again.

Agreed with resort hopping being a fun way to see more without being in the parks. We love doing a monorail tour at Christmas time, and plan to check out some new places this next trip, incl. trying some new dining options.

One resort that's practically a park in itself is AKL. There are loads of public viewing areas for the animals, and the resort itself is amazing. Try and get there at feeding time. We were over by the pool when they were out feeding the giraffes. Plus there are lots of neat signs and info all around about the different animals that the kids might enjoy.

The CS location has some pretty decent food and you can eat out by the pool area. We're planning to go over in November and try the new restaurant (Sanaa) they just opened.

 

[Shan-man]

Wha-wha-whaaat? Beer IN the line? And BBQ... oh geez, I think DH really needs to rethink skipping this again.

Oh yeah! I'm planning on getting in line just to enjoy the free beer and then feign confusion when they say it's not the line for the HDDR! (I know, I know, me feigning confusion should be a REAL convincing act! LOL)

 

[I'mDownWithDisney]

Just got off of the phone with Disney reservations, and I made reservations for October 24th through the 30th in a preferred loop. I really wanted them through the 1st, but they were booked. I am going to call everyday to try to get the extra days.

We have never been down to FW during Halloween. I think the girls will really enjoy it. We will probably buy tickets to the Halloween party for one night also. That sounds like a good time. Sounds like the campground will be busy, which I like...a empty FW is kind of depressing. How are the crowds at the parks usually for that time?

I am stoked.

 

[Tigger0624]

We will be there Halloween weekend too My youngest are 2 and 5. Their favorite things to do when we go to the Fort (which I must admit I'm obsessed with going as much as we can) are seeing the horses, playing on the beach, at the play grounds and by far their absolute favorite is looping on the golf cart! We went once without the cart and I vowed never to do that again! I love just driving around checking out everyone's sites and chatting with ppl around hte Fort. We usually only spend a few hours a day at the parks, but try to watch either Wishes, Fantasmic or IllumNations each night- mostly we watch Wishes from the beach while we snack on Mickey Bars I've found out that my lil guy would much rather be playing around the campground than stuck in his stroller fighting through crowds. If we are there on a Sunday night I try to get him to take a late nap and hit the EMH at MK which also assures that I get to sleep in in Mondays too

Resort hopping sonds like its a blast- I'll have to try that when we are there over the summer!

Cant wait to get back to the Fort!

 

[I'mDownWithDisney]

My search skills have failed me. So how are the crowds during Halloween? I know FW is going to be packed. We are going anyway....just wondering about the parks.

 

[I'mDownWithDisney]

Bump for the crowds question.