You are cordially invited to rip my Itinerary and ADR's to shreds.....

[Laketravis]

Here's our plan:

Saturday:
2pm to Epcot
7:05pm Yachtsman Steakhouse

Sunday:
7:30am Breakfast at The Wave
9am to Magic Kingdom
7:35pm Narcoossee's

Monday:
7:30am Cape May
9am to Epcot
2pm to Magic Kingdom
3:40pm Crystal Palace
7pm - Parade
8pm - Wishes
11pm: MK Close

Tuesday:
8:20am 1900 Park Fare
9am to Magic Kingdom
4pm Hoop De Doo
6pm to Downtown Disney

Wednesday:
8:15am Crystal Palace before MK opens
9:00am Magic Kingdom
3pm to Epcot
5:35pm Biergarten
8:15pm Candlelight Show
9:30pm Reflections preferred seating

Thursday:
8:25am Hollywood & Vine
9am HS
1:30pm 50's Prime Time Cafe
3:00pm Epcot
8:10pm Chef Mickey's

Friday:
9am to Magic Kingdom (.9 crowd)
Noon to Hollywood Studios (4.0 crowd)
12:55pm Brown Derby Fantasmic Package
6:35pm Fantasmic
7:00pm Osborne lights on way out
8:00pm Cape May

Saturday:
7:30am Boma
9am Epcot
5:35pm Citricos
7pm to Magic Kingdom
9pm Parade
10pm Wishes

Sunday:
7:40am Ohana's (Keep trying for CM)
9am Magic Kingdom (.5 crowds)
12:35pm Grand Floridian Cafe
2pm Bye!

 

[Quin]

Not ripping anything to shreds; overall looks nice!

Your arrival night - getting back to Epcot for Illuminations is iffy, if that was your plan.

Tuesday - with an 8:20 at 1900PF, you are not going to make that 9 am RD at MK.

Are you not going to AK at all? It's really, really nice.... Could you do that on Tuesday instead, changing the breakfast from 1900PF to Tusker? From AK you could easily take the bus to WL for that WCC ADR you already have.

On Thursday, same potential issue as Tuesday: the 8:25 H&V breakfast is NOT going to get you to the front of the pack for TSM FPs at 9 am.

 

[burberryplaid]

I'm not ripping it to shreds either however, I don't know if I'd do 3 sit downs on Thursday, especially with a breakfast buffet.

Have a great time!

 

[Laketravis]

Not ripping anything to shreds; overall looks nice!

Thanks!

Your arrival night - getting back to Epcot for Illuminations is iffy, if that was your plan.

Not really - will have a 6 year old in tow who will have been up since 3am at that point

Tuesday - with an 8:20 at 1900PF, you are not going to make that 9 am RD at MK.

Figured those chances were slim, but that's okay. We'll make RD on other mornings, thought this one might be a good photo opportunity before the park opens.

Are you not going to AK at all? It's really, really nice.... Could you do that on Tuesday instead, changing the breakfast from 1900PF to Tusker? From AK you could easily take the bus to WL for that WCC ADR you already have.

Believe it or not, we decided to leave AK off of this trip. Although, we are staying at CSR so if we change our minds it's the closest park.

On Thursday, same potential issue as Tuesday: the 8:25 H&V breakfast is NOT going to get you to the front of the pack for TSM FPs at 9 am.

True, and that reservation is really tentative and will get dropped in a heartbeat if CM opens up. Or we just aren't hungry. We'll make some minor adjustments based on crowds or lack of - we're going 12/3-12/11

 

[Laketravis]

I'm not ripping it to shreds either however, I don't know if I'd do 3 sit downs on Thursday, especially with a breakfast buffet.

Have a great time!

You just hit on one of the pitfalls of deluxe dining. As it stands now, we still have a TS left over. Ideally, we'd be booking 2TS fancy places for dinner each evening, but there are some really nice 1TS places we enjoy. Hence the leftover credit(s).

 

[Pakey]

If you have a 6 year old who will have been up since 3 am, I'm not sure I'd do a quiet signature that will take close to 2 hours on that same day. That's pretty tough on a little guy.

Personally, I wouldn't leave a credit on the table. I'd ditch Whispering Canyon in a heartbeat and book Hoop De Doo instead. Keep Citricos for that other night.

 

[Laketravis]

Personally, I wouldn't leave a credit on the table. I'd ditch Whispering Canyon in a heartbeat and book Hoop De Doo instead. Keep Citricos for that other night.

Excellent idea!! Thanks!

 

[Quin]

Too many credits - no. DxDP has "meal credits", not specific to TS or CS. You still get good value for the DxDP if you use a few of those credits for CS meals (IIRC the spreadsheet gurus say the break-even point is at 1/3 CS). So you will easily use up those remaining credits. For example, no matter how big the 7:30 breakfast is on Sunday, you are not going to go a full 12 hours until dinner without eating. So use those credits for CS to give yourself some flexibility.

On arrival day you will have a 6 yr old who has been up at 3 am and you are looking at eating dinner after 7 pm at a Signature? Eeek. BC/YC has a childcare club on the BC side. Would your youngster stay there? Kid-friendly food and a nice place to take a nap, so that you can have a more adult dinner without danger of a meltdown. Especially since you will have to be up pretty early the next morning to get from CSR to a 7:30 breakfast at CR.

 

[poohbear227]

If I were you, I would change the Wave & Hollywood & Wine breakfasts to other choices-both were really nasty, in my opinion

If you want a fantastic breakfast near MK, try Kona Cafe-you will not be disappointed!

 

[hannahdrewmom]

Your 6 year old must have some good stamina... cause those are some really long days! I'm not sure I could pull it off for that many days in a row. Pre-rd breakfasts through park close makes for LONG days!

The first day is already making him start behind. Up at 3am and dinner not over til 9 and then bed at 10. Plus the next morning he's gonna have to be up at like 6 to make 7:30 breakfast!

Just food for thought....

 

[Laketravis]

Your 6 year old must have some good stamina... cause those are some really long days! I'm not sure I could pull it off for that many days in a row. Pre-rd breakfasts through park close makes for LONG days!

The first day is already making him start behind. Up at 3am and dinner not over til 9 and then bed at 10. Plus the next morning he's gonna have to be up at like 6 to make 7:30 breakfast!

Just food for thought....

Believe it or not, this is similar to the same schedule we followed last year - when he was 5. We would go back to the room mid-day for him to take a nap, but he'd have no part of that. I was really surprised how he would last until 10pm and then be up and ready to go at 6am without fail.

To the PP, yeah - I agree - I consider both The Wave and Hollywood & Vine to be sacrificial. Just waiting for something better to open. The H&V may have to stay, though, purely because of Handy Manny.

 

[wdw4rfam]

Although it seems like a lot of TS to some, our family enjoys them just as much as "park" time, so cant blame you there. I'd keep the Ohana over trying to get CM for breakfast- We love ohana- nice to have everyone sitting together ( buffets someone is always jumping up to get food).

 

[topmonkeygirl]

All I can say is wow that's alot of hopping from place to place. Sat you're going to 5 different places. Traveling is going to eat up most of the day. I would book more ressies in the parks and not plan on hopping from park to park. Monday and Wednesday you're going to both MK and Epcot. I would do Epcot one day and MK one day. I would think it would make things easier. Just my opinion though. Either way the ressies look great.

 

[laine&connorsmom]

I second keeping O'hana, IMO way better than CM. When my kiddos were younger we did a lot of sit down meals mainly for downtime, it made it so we could keep going! We were always up and out the door early, park hopping all day and back to the room late! You know your sons limitations, my kids were always fine. Although, I always felt like I needed a week of relaxation when we got back

 

[Laketravis]

I second keeping O'hana, IMO way better than CM. When my kiddos were younger we did a lot of sit down meals mainly for downtime, it made it so we could keep going! We were always up and out the door early, park hopping all day and back to the room late! You know your sons limitations, my kids were always fine. Although, I always felt like I needed a week of relaxation when we got back

Yeah, I'm more worried about myself than him

What's great is we are going at a time when it's not terribly crowded, and last year he did everything he wanted to do in MK by noon or 1pm anyway. Epcot, he was done by 11. Same with HS.

So we think this time around we'll knock out the rides and attractions for him in the mornings, and enjoy leisurely sightseeing and not-so-popular walk ons while everything else has lines.

We just didn't get to do much of that last time, seeing all of the "other" things that WDW has to offer.

Moving around to different key resorts and parks is part of the strategy to take in all of the different decorations and holiday themes.

I don't know - this plan may turn out to be a total disaster and we wind up in MK all day getting back in line for Mickey's Philharmagic over and over and over again, but we'll see

 

[bcrook]

All I can say is wow that's alot of hopping from place to place. Sat you're going to 5 different places. Traveling is going to eat up most of the day. I would book more ressies in the parks and not plan on hopping from park to park. Monday and Wednesday you're going to both MK and Epcot. I would do Epcot one day and MK one day. I would think it would make things easier. Just my opinion though. Either way the ressies look great.

I like the Saturday plan overall. I don't mind the three parks, but I do agree about the ressie in the EPCOT. Heading over to Citricos would be a little inconvenient for me at 5:35. If you ate in EPCOT, your last "mission" for the day would be to take those monorails over to MK to watch the parade and fireworks.

 

[vinotinto]

Here's our plan:

Saturday: This day looks good
2pm to Epcot
7:05pm Yachtsman Steakhouse

Sunday: This day looks good
7:30am Breakfast at The Wave
9am to Magic Kingdom
7:35pm Narcoossee's

Monday: This day looks long. Forget about the stamina of your kid - how about your stamina? Especially because I don't see a 'true' TS. Both meals are buffets - you have to get your food. Not quite as restful as a true TS.
7:30am Cape May
9am to Epcot
2pm to Magic Kingdom
3:40pm Crystal Palace
7pm - Parade
8pm - Wishes
11pm: MK Close

Tuesday:
8:20am 1900 Park Fare very early ADR for a late evening the night before. Or are you planning to leave earlier than 11 pm the night before? Rest of day looks good
9am to Magic Kingdom
4pm Hoop De Doo
6pm to Downtown Disney

Wednesday:
8:15am Crystal Palace before MK opens
9:00am Magic Kingdom
3pm to Epcot
5:35pm Biergarten
8:15pm Candlelight Show
9:30pm Reflections preferred seating

Thursday: Another early ADR after a late night. Skip Epcot at 3 pm - go back to hotel and pool and then do CM
8:25am Hollywood & Vine
9am HS
1:30pm 50's Prime Time Cafe
3:00pm Epcot
8:10pm Chef Mickey's

Friday:
9am to Magic Kingdom (.9 crowd)
Noon to Hollywood Studios (4.0 crowd)
12:55pm Brown Derby Fantasmic Package
6:35pm Fantasmic
7:00pm Osborne lights on way out
8:00pm Cape May

Saturday: Another long day. Boma to DHS? And Epcot? And MK? I thought you had already seen Parade/Wishes a few nights before. Plus, with a 5:35 ADR at Citricos, you will probably be getting to MK closer to 8:00 pm.
7:30am Boma
9am Hollywood Studios and Epcot
5:35pm Citricos
7pm to Magic Kingdom
9pm Parade
10pm Wishes

Sunday: Last day looks fine
7:40am Ohana's (Keep trying for CM)
9am Magic Kingdom (.5 crowds)
12:35pm Grand Floridian Cafe
2pm Bye!

Well, you did ask to shred your plan to pieces You have a lot of MK. I like MK, but not sure I could do more than 2 days. No love for AK? And not even a full day at Epcot? Epcot has been my DS fave park since he was 4 (and he's 6 now) When are you going? Can you do a waterpark?

There's a lot of hopping around. A lot.

Also for the early ADRs at Boma and Cape May - do you have a car or are you taking a cab?

 

[Laketravis]

Wow! Tons of great advice here! It is MUCH appreciated! Our dates are 12/3-12/11. And after last year, AK really held no attraction for my DS5 other than petting goats.

We'll be taking a cab to all of our morning ADR's and anything else where time saved is a premium. We saved so much changing from CR to CSR even after upgrading to deluxe dining that we could spend $100 a day on cab fare and still be ahead several hundred $$$.

It does look like a lot of park hopping, doesn't it? Honestly, though, we know from experience how long it takes (or doesn't) to get from MK to Epcot or Epcot to HS...a lot of people wait in line for Soarin or TT longer than it takes us to get from one park to another.

And you're right - we don't necessarilly plan on being in the parks at those late hours, I just included what the important parts might be (Reflections, Wishes, EMH) if we stuck around that late.

We'll see, though, and if this year is anything like last year then we will be able to slow down quite a bit in the afternoons after being able to accomplish everything we wanted to in the morning hours.

I plan on posting updates to DIS when there, so we will all see what adjustments might need to be made when reality is faced!

 

[Laketravis]

I like the Saturday plan overall. I don't mind the three parks, but I do agree about the ressie in the EPCOT. Heading over to Citricos would be a little inconvenient for me at 5:35. If you ate in EPCOT, your last "mission" for the day would be to take those monorails over to MK to watch the parade and fireworks.

You've made a really good point. I originally included HS and then Epcot even if it meant taking the ferry from HS to Epcot and then just walking thru Epcot to take the monorail to GF for Citricos, but your idea is better, to spend that day starting in the morning at Epcot thru 3pm or so and then on to GF for dinner at Citricos, then on to MK for the parade and Wishes.