What parks? How many parks? MVMCP?

[FromKansas]

Good morning!!
My plans keep flip flopping. Idk what I want! Help me

We are flying down on Dec 8 arriving to MCO at 7pm. So no park options that day. And flying back Dec 12 leaving MCO at 10am. So no park options that day. This leaves three full days for plans.

It will be me and DH, DD age 8, and DD age 5. The 8 year old went to MK when she was 4. That is her only experience. I have not been to any of the other parks since I was really little and my husband has only ever been to MK.

Originally I was planning on going to MK and DHS, and one day either swimming and resort touring or maybe a day to get back to the ocean to hear the waves (If my name doesn't give it away, I'm landlocked and my favorite thing in the world is the ocean waves.)

But then I got tempted by MVMCP and AK. My husband wants to see the tree of life because we both remember jealosuly watching the updates and commercials on the Disney channel growing up. So I added that in.

But now I'm back to thinking that this is too much for three days. And I'm thinking about skipping AK (obviously we have to have another trip in a couple years for Universal and Epcot and we could hit it then.) But still doing MVMCP. But not sure if it's worth it, we don't eat a lot of food and don't want to wait for hours for meets.

So, long story short:

Idea 1: MK, DHS, resort observings and swimming on last day. (Watching for ohana dinner reservations)

Idea 2: MK and MVMCP on same day, DHS, AK

Idea 3: MK and MVMCP, DHS, visit beach town (probably new Smyrna or cocoa)

Ideas? I way over think things, I know I do. And I know whatever I do we will love. My husband just doesn't appreciate talking through my ideas as much as I do.

 

[hakepb]

You don’t have to do MK on an MVMCP day. you can hop from another park to MVMCP (even if you don’t have hoppers). You can enter MK as early as 4pm with your MVMCP ticket.

But it is a good idea to do rides at MK on an MVMCP day as wait times will be the shorter than MVMCP days.

I’d probably give strong consideration to MK, DHS, AK/MVMCP to bookend a trip with MK. (Or swap AK and DHS, depending on what you want to see at night)

 

[YesterDark]

I wouldn't visit the beach unless it's very important to you. The beach is an hour or so away, so that's 2 hours of driving on one of your precious vacation days. Is that worth it to you?

I've got a 5 yo and 7 mo daughter and 3 yo son. We went a year ago for a 4 full day stay. I did MK-HS-Off Day-MK. If you want a personal opinion, and assuming your daughters are like mine, they will love the Magic Kingdom and it's worth 2 days. It'll be a toss up for the other day in my opinion. HS if you want some Star Wars stuff and some shows and now Toy Story Land. My son got a kick out of it. AK is really great too, and it's fun for the whole family.

If I were doing the vacation this year with my family and had 3 days I would do something like this:

Rope Drop MK Day 1
Rope Drop AK Day 2
Rope Drop MK Day 3

Now if you think that is too much, I would do MVMCP on one of the MK days, but not the park in the morning/afternoon.

I also didn't look up which days are party days either so adjust accordingly!

 

[wdw&sonny]

You've come to a great place to talk through your ideas, since your husband is less engaged in doing so...LOL.
Of course it's hard for us to plan your vacation. I would suggest you look over the attractions at all the parks and decide which ones are YOUR "MUST" do's. We have done numerous trips of 3-4 days. We like to experience each park, if only for a half day. We always take a mid-day break (even as 2 adults), and I recommend that for anyone with young kids.
Simplest idea for you would be 1 day at each MK, HS, AK (and skip EP this time). If you see some things at EP you really like, and hoppers are within budget, then I would suggest 1/2 day at EP and HS and two 1/2 days at MK and AK (split them up). You can accomplish a lot in a morning with FPs.

 

[crazylady]

I'd go with option #4- MK, AK, DHS and skip MVMCP. I wouldn't want to do a full park day and MVMCP with kids your kids ages. Just doing the 3 parks gives you some time to rest/swim/tour around your park time. I would also skip the beach on a trip this short.

 

[Alison S]

With only 3 days I would probably stick to the parks.

One option:
Day 1- AK
Day 2- resort/MVMCP (or if you are feeling adventurous, do another park in the morning)
Day 3- MK or HS or Epcot...whichever you feel like (I'd probably choose HS, and leave my only time at MK being at the party)

 

[jcdean]

12/09- HS (Or, if you have park hoppers, MK in the morning then HS in the everning)

12/10- split day between resort/ pool and AK.

12/11- (am) Cocoa Beach / (4:00pm) MVMCP

 

[YesterDark]

12/09- HS (Or, if you have park hoppers, MK in the morning then HS in the everning)

12/10- split day between resort/ pool and AK.

12/11- (am) Cocoa Beach / (4:00pm) MVMCP

That's a lot of moving around and travelling with young kids in my opinion. Too much moving around sticking to a schedule.

 

[rwdavis2]

I would do 3 park days because it's a very short trip. I would not spend time hanging around the resort. Again, you only have 3 days.

 

[timsueshd]

I would not do a beach day... Like someone else mentioned it is at least an hour away.

If you have hopper passes:

HS / AK
MK and MVMCP if you want
Day 3 I would leave open... Once you have went to the parks you want, use this day to go back and hit something you may not of had time to do in the previous days. Or split the day with resort/pool day and a park.

 

[FromKansas]

The beach is always important to me. But not a must do. It was just wishful thinking. So that's off.

HS is a must do due to DD8 being a huge star wars fan.

We are all day theme park troopers so long days don't phase us. MVMCP seems to be a personal preference of worthiness. What makes it worth spending the extra money besides a parade, special food, and special costumes for characters?

 

[FromKansas]

Also hoppers are not in the budget. How much reliance should I be putting into touring plans. It seems like to hit up most of HS it would be an all day thing, as well as AK.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

The beach is always important to me. But not a must do. It was just wishful thinking. So that's off.

HS is a must do due to DD8 being a huge star wars fan.

We are all day theme park troopers so long days don't phase us. MVMCP seems to be a personal preference of worthiness. What makes it worth spending the extra money besides a parade, special food, and special costumes for characters?

Also hoppers are not in the budget. How much reliance should I be putting into touring plans. It seems like to hit up most of HS it would be an all day thing, as well as AK.

I would either do 3-day base tickets (AK, DHS and MK) or 2-day base tickets (AK, DHS) plus MVMCP. MVMCP isn't "worth it" IMHO, but when you add up the costs of these two options, the price difference isn't much. It really depends on how you want to plan out that MK day. MK on a regular ticket on a non-party day gives you a ton of time in MK, plus HEA, but, typically higher crowds. You could also so MK on a party day (on a regular ticket), leave when the party starts and, typically experience lower crowds during the day. Doing the 2-day base plus MVMCP, gives you an opportunity to spend the day swimming and/or touring resorts and then entering MK at 4 pm. IMHO, it really just depends on how you want to break up your day and which MK atmosphere you want (daytime, but still decorated for Christmas or, with the party, nighttime with Christmas festivities). We went to MVMCP last year and unless you are interested in special meet and greets, the Christmas parade and fireworks, there is zero reason to go to the party. DHS has beautiful Christmas decorations as do the deluxe resorts, so you will get a taste of Christmas even if you don't go to the party.

I would save the beach for a dedicated beach vacation. Could you stay at one of the WDW resorts that has a beach so you at least have a beach-type atmosphere?

 

[WanderlustNZ]

I'd go with option #4- MK, AK, DHS and skip MVMCP. I wouldn't want to do a full park day and MVMCP with kids your kids ages. Just doing the 3 parks gives you some time to rest/swim/tour around your park time. I would also skip the beach on a trip this short.

This is what I would choose.
In fact, it is what I have chosen for my 3 day Xmas stay, with the only difference being Epcot instead of AK.

A large part of my decision came down to cost. 2 day passes it seems are rarely discounted, so buying a 3 day pass from Undercover Tourist saved me over $100 over a 2 day Pass + 1 night party.

We’re going to experience all things Xmas (hence Epcot and HS over AK, when I actually prefer AK), so I do feel a bit sad to be missing MVMCP. However, I can’t shake the feeling that it seems really expensive given that the only part I’m really upset about missing is the parade. Instead we are spending the morning of a party day at MK since the crowds will be lower and then doing a bit of resort hopping (GF followed by dinner at Trails End and our ticket savings allowed me to justify a sleigh ride). On the other 2 nights we’ll get our park Xmas evening entertainment with Jingle Bell Jingle Bam and Illuminations/Peace on Earth.

It really wasn’t a decision I came to lightly and I changed my mind 100 times, but I’m happy now. Good luck with whatever you choose.

 

[FromKansas]

All EXTREMELY helpful opinions. I definitely could spend mvmcp money on something else. Any good ideas? Unfortunately I've missed the 180 day mark on restaurants so I've got alerts set. Maybe one of those will pop up

 

[WanderlustNZ]

All EXTREMELY helpful opinions. I definitely could spend mvmcp money on something else. Any good ideas? Unfortunately I've missed the 180 day mark on restaurants so I've got alerts set. Maybe one of those will pop up

I don’t know if I just pick less popular choices, but I’ve still been adding and changing dining options as late as last week.
Mickey’s seasonal dine is our biggest $ splash, and I’m excited about the Xmas theme. We’re having a late lunch/early dinner there to cover 2 meals. It still seems to have availability.

As do our other choices: Whispering Canyon and Trails End.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

All EXTREMELY helpful opinions. I definitely could spend mvmcp money on something else. Any good ideas? Unfortunately I've missed the 180 day mark on restaurants so I've got alerts set. Maybe one of those will pop up

When we went in December last year, we spent an evening doing HDDR (we did the 4 pm show) and then did a private sleigh ride at Ft. W to see all of the decorations that the people staying in the campground put up. It was really fun. You could even push that a little later, do the 6 pm HDDR, private sleigh ride and then watch the MK fireworks from Ft. W. The WDW stables are also right next door to HDDR and my DS10 loves to visit the horses there.

We've also done DIY monorail tours (including a boat ride over to WL to see the decorations) to see all of the holiday decorations. We typically start at Trader Sam's as soon as they open at 4 pm (they have great "mocktails" for kids and those who don't drink) to see the antics and special effects, go to GF to see the tree and gingerbread house, then on to CR and WL. We usually have dinner at one of those resorts. With your kids WCC at WL could be fun. We end the night with fireworks from one of the MK resorts.

Your kids may also enjoy the Pirates and Pals fireworks cruise out of CR. You could also pair that with a resort decorations tour and a dinner.

 

[CML's mom]

Also hoppers are not in the budget. How much reliance should I be putting into touring plans. It seems like to hit up most of HS it would be an all day thing, as well as AK.

I wouldn't do it either-wastes a lot of time. IMO party-not worth it. Very expensive and a late night.

 

[YesterDark]

I think the parties are a waste of money when you do them on a day you're rope dropping the same park. If it's in your budget I would do 3 park ticket and do a full day MK then pick AK or HS for another full day. Then whichever one you don't pick for a full day do the MVMCP in the evening.

The parties are fun for the decorations and parades (I've never done MVMCP though), but I wouldn't want to spend $200+ for a single park. At least mix up the experience if you're going to do the party. Doing MK on the day of the party just means you have to leave early.

 

[sapphirerose915]

If going to the beach is very important to you then I would do a trip like this: get 2 day Park Hoppers
1. Mk day/ HS night
2. Beach day/ MVMCP night
3. AK day/ EP night

The girls would like the princesses in the world showcase and you and your husband can still se the tree of life and squeeze in the safari!