WDW over memorial day weekend

[jlw29]

Hi guys! I'm new to this site, and it's great!

We had dreams to take our first ever trip to Disney this June as a graduation present (me -- MD, hubby -- BS) from us to our kids (DD8 & 6) for everything they put up with over the last 4 years of medical school and also as a present to myself before residency, but no concrete plans. Then hubby came home and told me he had a conference the first week of June -- at Coronado Springs DISNEY WORLD!!!!! The girls have off Memorial Day and the Friday before so we decided to use those days to minimize their time off school. We will be there May 27 (Late) to June 4 and will be staying at CS to be close to the conference.

Now the questions --
We have 4 "family" days at the parks, then hubby will be tied up 8am - 5pm with some possible evening for business entertainment. Is it worth getting the UPH when he won't be able to use 3-4 days worth? The room reservation has to be in his name for work purposes, so I can't leave him off the reservation. What other options are there?

How crazy will the parks be over the weekend holiday? I know Easter, T-Giving and Christmas are busy.

What is the best way to spend the 4 days we have together among the parks? (We would get some sort of park-hopping privilges).

What cool options other than the parks do the girls and I have for the days he's at the conference?

Thanks in advance to all the disney veterans!

Julie

 

[CarrieAP]

Wow, this trip will be great timing for you. Congrats on med school. Did my MBA with kids, so can't even imagine what you have been through. First off, you are staying at a perfect resort. CSR alone can provide a lot of entertainment for the girls and I am sure they will want to spend a lot of time the pool and on the water slide. Agree that a UPH is probably not most economical option, so you may want to investigate other park ticket options.

We were in WDW week up through the holiday last year. We did notice that MK got very crowded on the weekend. Best advice is to get to the parks right when they open and hit all the popular attractions. You will save tons of time and not suffer in lines during peak heat of the day. Use extra magic hour when possible, especially for MK, and then leave and go to another park if it starts getting too crowded. We generally go to parks early, stay until afternoon and then return to resort for swim, nap. Typically head back out for dinner and/or evening event. Of all evening events Fanstasmic is favorite of our daughters. Fireworks at MK (now Wishes) comes in second.

When the crowds get too crazy we generally head over to Epcot as it feels much more open and calmer there. Added bonus is that you will be going during Flower show and it is lovely!

There are many ideas for you and the girls (great ages, mine are 5 and 8) on non park days. Might be fun to schedule a character meal or two at resorts, i.e. Chef Mickeys, Park Fair, Cape May. The water parks are also great fun. There is always shopping at Downtown. Sometimes fun to ride the monorail loop and explore the resorts and shops along the way, i.e. Poly, GR, CR. I have heard about the afternoon tea at GF, but never tried it yet. The great thing about Disney is that there is so much to do! Don't be surprised though if the favorite of all is merely sitting poolside or swimming. There's a great poolside bar for mom and munchies available for the girls.

Have fun planning and let me know if there are any other questions!

 

[jlw29]

Wow, Carrie! Thanks! There's alot of info I can use in your reply.

I never thought about doing a character meal on a non-park day. I just assumed they were all IN the parks and you had to have admission. The afternoon tea sounds just up my "princesses'" alley. And resort hopping would be alot of fun, especially without hubby (he hates that kind of stuff). I expect we'll spend quite a bit of time by the pool. I think that's what the girls are most excited about!

I also appreciate the tip about heading to Epcot on crowded days. We will definitely keep that in mind.

I think the planning and anticipation is half the fun! Thanks again.

Julie