Beginner Brief Itinerary - Opinions?

[BettyBoo29]

So... To my suprise, the DBF came and sat down last with with a pen, notebook and the laptop, saying 'right then, lets look at what parks we both want to do and try get organised a little' at this point I was in utter shock as up until this point it has been me who has wanted to do all the plannong (we booked in April) but hey, I wasn't going to turn it down! So.. We have come up with a brief plan, there is still some room for things to be added and some bits to be moved around, but its amazing how much better you feel when you are a little more organised!

So here it is, please feel free to share your opinions and any help as it's muchly wanted. The only ADR we are both set on is breakfast at crystal palace (or should I say my ADR) - so opinions on resturaunts would be good too, we are staying off site so wont always be eating on, but would love to know any good places! We both love our food, and seeing as though we are in America I want to go to American diners and all of that.. So less of the waffling and more of the planning.

Tues 16 Sept 2014:
Land at MCO around 14.30
Hopefully dump bags, have a little freshen up, go grab our first American meal and head to Magic Kingdom for the first glimpse of the Castle & to see wishes fireworks.

Wed 17 Sept 2014:
AM: Head to Wet 'N' Wild
PM: This is open, as we are staying down I Drive maybe use this time to have a wonder and see what is around.

Thurs 18 Sept 2014:
First day at the parks! So up early to get to IOA. (not sure if this is an all day park?)

Fri 19 Sept 2014:
Super Early start as we have a ADR at Magic Kingdom Crystal Palace, (I don't think we will be here all day so maybe could do something in the afternoon?)

Sat 20 Sept 2014:
The one I've been waiting for, The day at Discovery Cove!

Sun 21 Sept 2014:
A rest day Time to chill, shop and eat!

Mon 22 Sept 2014:
Today we are going to Epcot, We want to do the drinking around the world and see the Illuminations so i'm thinking go here around lunch time and enjoy the afternoon and night time here?

Tues 23 Sept 2014:
Disney Hollywood Studios (Full Day Park or Not?)

Wed 24 Sept 2014:
Universal Studios (Full Day Park or Not?)

Thurs 25 Sept 2014:
Nothing penciled in so maybe rest day

Fri 26 Sept 2014:
Today we are going to Busch Gardens so this will take a full day.

Sat 27 Sept 2014:
AM:Blizard Beach
So maybe take a trip back to hollywood studios today or Universal.

Sun 28 Sept 2014:
Seaworld today, thinking of going around mid afternoon? So we can stay for the night time show.

Mon 29 Sept 2014:
Nothing Today, So open to returning to see fireworks or any of the parks we took a liking too.

Tues 30 Sept 2014:
We fly home today, our flight leaves at 16.30 so would imagine we will be getting picked up around dinner time, so will leave us some time to grab some breakfast and maybe to a little of last minute shopping.


As you can see it is not jam packed! As we are both first timers, we have just pencilled in the things we want to do. Its quite hard as we don't know how long you will be at some parks and if you can fit two parks in a day? I guess we will just have to wait and see but at least we have a guide line

Thank You!

Beth

 

[torsie24]

I think MK first night is a bit ambitious. We wouldn't be able to manage it and we've only ever stayed on site. You're better to chill and get a meal and be fresh for the morning I'd say. X Driving late after a long flight won't be fun either. (& if you're not driving then battling for a shuttle back to I drive post Wishes would be horrible too)

No AK in there? Or did I miss it?

 

[wilma-bride]

I'm with Torsie - I think maybe you're underestimating a) how long it will take you to clear immigration, get your cases, get to your accommodation, have a meal and then get to WDW, get parked and get in to MK for Wishes and b) how tired you are likely to be. Personally, I would stick to just having a quick meal near to your hotel, get unpacked and settled and have an early night - you're bound to be up early on your first day.

I can appreciate that you want to get your itinerary finalised but given that park hours aren't out as yet, I would personally wait until the hours are out before making any firm plans about which parks to visit on which day.

You don't say whether you're driving but I get the impression that you aren't. If not, then I think some of your days aren't particularly practical - i.e. a Disney water park in the morning, then a theme park in the afternoon. What would you plan to do with your wet swimming gear, towels etc? If you are planning to use the hotel shuttle, you need to bear in mind that they aren't always conducive to being able to see the fireworks/late night shows at WDW as the last shuttle usually coincides with park closing and fireworks are often just starting then. I think also you are underestimating travel time between parks, particularly again if you are relying on WDW buses and hotel shuttles.

Sorry if it appears that I am being a bit of a negative Nellie but I know that on our first trip, we stayed offsite (I-Drive) and relied on shuttles and found it very difficult when trying to get back/forth to WDW.

As far as restaurants on I-Drive, if you're looking for a great diner-type meal, be sure not to miss Friendlys - it's really great

 

[Kath2003]

Tues 16 Sept 2014:
Land at MCO around 14.30
Hopefully dump bags, have a little freshen up, go grab our first American meal and head to Magic Kingdom for the first glimpse of the Castle & to see wishes fireworks.

Far too ambitions IMO. You will be unlikely to get to your hotel before almost 2 hours after landing. You will be tired. Get some food, explore the area and go to bed. You don't want to be at MK for Wishes, which starts at 3am UK time, and unlikely to be in bed before 5am UK time. You just won't do it.

Wed 17 Sept 2014:
AM: Head to Wet 'N' Wild
PM: This is open, as we are staying down I Drive maybe use this time to have a wonder and see what is around.

I-Drive is fun. Make sure you take as little as possible to WnW, especially if you are staying nearby. The cost of lockers is phenomenal.

Thurs 18 Sept 2014:
First day at the parks! So up early to get to IOA. (not sure if this is an all day park?)

It most definitely is!

Fri 19 Sept 2014:
Super Early start as we have a ADR at Magic Kingdom Crystal Palace, (I don't think we will be here all day so maybe could do something in the afternoon?)

You will probably be there most of the day.

Tues 23 Sept 2014:
Disney Hollywood Studios (Full Day Park or Not?)

Full day.

Wed 24 Sept 2014:
Universal Studios (Full Day Park or Not?)

Universal is a full day

Sat 27 Sept 2014:
AM:Blizard Beach
So maybe take a trip back to hollywood studios today or Universal.

Blizzard Beach is a full day.

Sun 28 Sept 2014:
Seaworld today, thinking of going around mid afternoon? So we can stay for the night time show.

You will wind up waiting a long time for the rides. I'd go first thing then return in the evening.

That's a lot of parks in a short space of time. You won't be able to do it all, really, and you'll be exhausted. I'd consider cutting a couple out and building in some repeats.

 

[juliebro]

Get some food, colorectal the area and go to bed.

Really??!!!!

LOL

 

[shazzaz]

I've done disney twice in September and found the park hours are pretty similar every year so you could use this years as a guide to help you plan. You haven't mentioned what you both want to get out of the parks do you like to ride every ride to death or take the parks in your stride? This makes a big difference in your planning.

I agree with the others don't try to plan too much on the first day as tiredness can ruin it, bearing in mind the time difference as 5pm Florida time is 10pm over here.

I see you have discovery cove added, this was the best thing we have ever done. Make sure you get there super early to get an early swim with the dolphins booked, really makes the rest of the day go easily. Also buy the DVD/photo package it cost around $200 but the large poster we got was well worth it.

Also don't forget mickeys not so scary Halloween party, not to be missed usually on the same nights every year and starts 7pm-12pm.

Hope I've helped

 

[Elise79]

I have to agree with all the others if you're staying offsite going to MK and seeing Wishes is way to much for a first evening.

I also feel you have under- estimated the size of everything and the distances between them. WDW itself is 47 square miles

I would consider your transportation options along with where you want to be to make best use of your time

 

[Kath2003]

Really??!!!!

LOL

Seriously worrying - autocorrect for explore?! Someone at Apple has issues!

 

[Cinderella]

I also agree on the first night. We tried to visit the Magic Kingdom twice on our first night - it left us all tired and kind of spoiled the next morning a bit. Even though my kids are older teenagers now, we are all in agreement that the first night it is best just to eat and chill at the hotel.

I can't advise on the rest of your itinerary '*** we always park hop and barely ever stay anywhere a whole day. But if you were counting in full days, Epcot could easily take up two whole days, as could the Magic Kingdom, and all the other parks would need a whole day to see fully. With that said, it's impossible to try to see everything anyway, and not recommended.

 

[juliebro]

Seriously worrying - autocorrect for explore?! Someone at Apple has issues!

It's made me giggle all morning!

 

[Julia Ann]

you must be so excited but i agree, don't go anywhere other than local on your night of arrival, you will probably feel ok (excitment!) until you sit down for that evening meal, i think i nodded off my first visit when we ate in the hotel. also you will be awake mega early on your first day, why not schedule a big theme park (MK or Epcot) for your first day? ....you'll be awake from about 5am ... just a thought

 

[chmurf]

already lots of answers I mostly agree with

here are my thoughts

Tues 16 Sept 2014:
Land at MCO around 14.30
Hopefully dump bags, have a little freshen up, go grab our first American meal and head to Magic Kingdom for the first glimpse of the Castle & to see wishes fireworks.

Be aware that, by the time you get to your hotel, it will already be bed time in the UK, and your plans include to start a full afternoon and evening at MK.
I wouldn't advise it.
Going back to I-Drive after wishes on top of that will probably drain your energy and if you factor in the jet lag, it's very likely that you'll never recover from that first day until you're back in the UK.
Don't take the risk to be too exhausted during all of your vacations, just for having wanted to overdo it on your first day (because your 1st day plan is overdoing it for the vast majority of guests)

Wed 17 Sept 2014:
AM: Head to Wet 'N' Wild
PM: This is open, as we are staying down I Drive maybe use this time to have a wonder and see what is around.

jet lag will have you up at silly o'clock (just like most of us here are all up at 4 or 5-ish on our first morning)

Wet'n'Wild opens at 10am.
doing a water park (they all open at 10 in september) is not the best of ideas on your first full day, because they open late, and you'll be up early.

Thurs 18 Sept 2014:
First day at the parks! So up early to get to IOA. (not sure if this is an all day park?)

you'll ask a lot about "all day parks ?" on your topic.
don't forget to take your time, and take the time to rest.

I'm under the impression that you're considering the parks like a race and you want to give them just the time required to tour them, and pack as much as possible into your trip.
Seasoned Florida Travellers will tell you how tiring a trip to the parks can be if you go commando style.
Take the time to take your time.
Even if you've done IoA by 4pm don't expect to do much for the rest of the day.

If you don't have a car, or rely on shuttles, or Disney transportation, consider that it can take you up to 90 minutes to get from any place to anywhere.

Fri 19 Sept 2014:
Super Early start as we have a ADR at Magic Kingdom Crystal Palace, (I don't think we will be here all day so maybe could do something in the afternoon?)

same remark as above, don't try to pack too many things in one day.
transportation will eat into your time, so if you don't have a car, try to stick to a single plan each day.
Remember that you're not going to do the parks from opening to closing every day, like go to the earliest opening in the morning to the park with the latests closing at night. You'll do that for 2 days, then sleep for the next couple of days.

Sat 20 Sept 2014:
The one I've been waiting for, The day at Discovery Cove!

wonderful day, but expect to be shattered at the end of the day.
meal then bed, trust me

Sun 21 Sept 2014:
A rest day Time to chill, shop and eat!

nice.
Go to the shops or outlets as early as possible (note that they open at 11am on sundays), afternoons are packed wall to wall.

Mon 22 Sept 2014:
Today we are going to Epcot, We want to do the drinking around the world and see the Illuminations so i'm thinking go here around lunch time and enjoy the afternoon and night time here?

Tues 23 Sept 2014:
Disney Hollywood Studios (Full Day Park or Not?)

Wed 24 Sept 2014:
Universal Studios (Full Day Park or Not?)

same remark.
if you need to rely on public transportation, make them full days.
You'll always manage to make half day parks with any of the theme parks. If you fly through them, you'll be able to scratch the surface in half a day. But that would be a bit sad.

Get a backup plan in case you don't "like" a park and feel like going out by mid afternoon, but don't schedule the time you'll be leaving the parks.

Expect them to be full days, but be ready in case you are done earlier, and don't schedule them as half day.

If you get to that point where it's "been there, done that" regarding a park by early afternoon, and you feel like you've seen what you needed to see, it will most of the time mean that you're fed up with parks (for the time being), do something else, like go to the pool, do some shopping, visit a resort instead of a park. Chances are that, if you go to another park, you'll waste a lot of time in transportation, it will increase your frustration and tiredness, and you won't enjoy the next park
bottomline : do breaks.

Sat 27 Sept 2014:
AM:Blizard Beach
So maybe take a trip back to hollywood studios today or Universal.

same remark as day 1 with water parks
blizzard beach opens at 10am.
don't expect to be out of there before 1:30PM if you intend on enjoying BB
you'll be at Universal by 3PM (at the earliest)
Universal Studios will close at 5PM (saturday, 99% chance of having a hollywood horror night that night, so early close) IoA will close at 7PM

Sun 28 Sept 2014:
Seaworld today, thinking of going around mid afternoon? So we can stay for the night time show.

rule of thumb for parks : be there early.
you're going at a slow time, but there will be crowds.
crowds build up starting 11:30am or noon.
arriving mid afternoon at a park is often a bad idea. but some like it this way. YMMV

Tues 30 Sept 2014:
We fly home today, our flight leaves at 16.30 so would imagine we will be getting picked up around dinner time, so will leave us some time to grab some breakfast and maybe to a little of last minute shopping.

if you're on the magical express or a shuttle, you'll probably need to start to the airport around 12:30pm
consider that you'll gather and collect a LOOOOT of souvenirs, memorabilia, and weird stuff you'll want to bring back, and packing will be an issue, and it's time consuming.
you'll still have time for breakfast and a few little things though

but whatever you do, do not wander too far away from your pickup point.
going to a park in the morning will not be a good idea if you have 10 miles to do to get back to where you need to start for the airport.

As you can see it is not jam packed! As we are both first timers, we have just pencilled in the things we want to do.

I will tell you that it already looks packed as it is.
When you ask "full day parks", it sounds a bit "scary". Because you don't say why you want to know.
2 options : you want to know if they are full days, because you plan "rest" activities (pool, shopping, walking around, and so on)
or you want to know because if they are half day, you want to add another half day park to that day.

In the first option, you're good, because you'll be able to extend your park day if you enjoy it.
In the second option, you're facing disappointment, because you'll botch both parks. Plain and Simple. And then your plan is already too packed.

Its quite hard as we don't know how long you will be at some parks

what you need to tell yourself, is that, you'll be in the park for as long as you feel it's appropriate to.
You'll be : from the time you get to the park, to the time where you decide to go, or the park closes, whichever comes first.

Do not enter the park with the "need" to get out at a set time (unless it's a scheduled meal)
there is no half day park. The only limit is the one you set yourself.

and if you can fit two parks in a day?

you can. But I wouldn't advise that for a first timer.

be aware that Disneyworld only, is much bigger than the city of Manchester. (115km² for Manchester, and 135km² for Disneyworld)
Universal and Idrive are over 10 miles away from Disneyworld.
going from one park to the other within disneyworld will require from you to take one bus to an hotel, then another bus from that hotel to the next park. Don't expect it to take less than 45 minutes.

this will give you perspective on how long it will take you to change parks during the day,

I guess we will just have to wait and see but at least we have a guide line

all of the above might sound pretty negative, or patronizing. But they just come from experience
If there is one single mistake a first timer can do, it is underestimating the size and how tiring the theme park areas really is.

If there is only one advice I could give you, it would be "don't forget to rest, you won't be able to do it all, no matter how long you stay. Try to do what you'll do as well as possible, and leave the rest for the next trip"

 

[Wills Mom]

Completely agree with the previous posters on the first day plans. We made that mistake on our first trip and never recovered! Also immigration at MCO can take ages so you might be there for longer than expected.

Only other thing I can add is with regard to your Seaworld day. Its a big park, everything is spread out so it really pays to have a plan of action before going. Do your homework with regards to show times and remember to get decent seats especially in off peak season (as theres less shows they fill up faster) you'll need to get to each show early. We had a great plan for our May trip and got everything done that we wanted to do.

 

[penlanspice]

Your post made me laugh and reminded me of us on our first trip. We booked our first trip about 6 weeks before we went as we got a late deal (we were planning on going to the Caribbean). My other half wasn't really interested and just agreed to it as it was somewhere I wanted to go when i was a kid, I planned it all and he basically showed up, he said it wasn't his thing and he wouldn't really enjoy it!! needed less to say we both absolutely loved it, 11 years later, 26 trips, 3 time shares and a wedding we still love the place. lol

Don't underestimate how big the parks are, these are all full days and you will be exhausted, you could do IOA or Universal in half a day depending on the rides you want to do.

Wait until the magic hours are out and avoid the those parks on magic hour days.

We have been many times to MK after arrival, it is usually a rush but it depends on park closing times etc, you will be shattered by 9pm. Plus I would wait for your first MK experience until a morning visit, when everyone is going in the right direction and excited.

First day has to be a park!! I wouldn't be able to wait, plus you will be up by 5am so may as well make the most of it and get to the park for opening.

Don't worry to much about the plan, ours went out the window after 2 days.

You will have an amazing time.

 

[Kath2003]

I don't know how old you are but if its just you and your bf, it may be worth just doing one set of parks: either Disney or Sea World/Discovery Cove/Universal/WetnWild/Islands/Busch. If you're young and kid-free, chances are you'll get a lot more out of the second option rather than Disney - and it would more than fill two weeks.

You could always book in for character meals at the Disney hotels, watch the fireworks from one of the hotel restaurants, and enjoy Downtown Disney - none of those require Disney theme park admission.

 

[pampat]

If there was one piece of advice I could give it would be 'Don't forget to look around you and enjoy your surroundings'. If you rush around from one thing to another, you miss so much of the theming, the music, the colours and smells. Those are the things that build memories.

Pam

 

[Minniesgal]

I don't know how old you are but if its just you and your bf, it may be worth just doing one set of parks: either Disney or Sea World/Discovery Cove/Universal/WetnWild/Islands/Busch. If you're young and kid-free, chances are you'll get a lot more out of the second option rather than Disney - and it would more than fill two weeks. You could always book in for character meals at the Disney hotels, watch the fireworks from one of the hotel restaurants, and enjoy Downtown Disney - none of those require Disney theme park admission.

I agree I think you are trying to do far too many parks in one trip. We have been many times and usually stay 18-21 nights but we would never attempt Disney, Universal, and Seaward all in one trip. It is a very inefficient way to buy tickets as well as the fewer days you spend in a park the more you pay per day. I would pick two different ones and limit to that. We do Disney and universal or Disney and Seaworld/Busch gardens but never all of it.