Feedback on my Itinerary (first time going as an adult)

[AquaGlitter]

First-time poster, so hopefully I do this right (I apologize in advance if I get any abbreviations wrong as some I could not find on the list).
My partner and I are going to WDW for the first time as adults. This is how I have planned things so far but I would love feedback. Lots of info coming in this post so many thanks in advance for your patience and help! My park and hotel tickets are already purchased in a package with Disney.
Who: Myself and my partner, (early 30s) no kids!
Dates: Thursday, Feb 17 2022 (Arrival) - Saturday, Feb 26 2022 (Departure) (yes I'm planning this far ahead because my excitement is through the roof! )
Resort: 9 nights at CS (UNLESS some great deal happens and we upgrade, OR there are no advantages for moderate resorts and we decide to downgrade to value or stay off-site. We would ultimately rather stay on-site and get the whole experience though).
Tickets: 8 day PH

Things to note:
1. A lot of this planning is based on the hope that some sort of FP plan will be available by then-TBD
2. Of course I don't have any ADRs yet, but hoping I will be able to get them or something in the same area/vibe.
3. We have no "rest" days planned except for the last (departure) day. We originally had two, but then decided that we wanted to be less stressed to get everything done in one day and be able to have later mornings/earlier nights and be more relaxed when in the parks. This will likely be the last time for many years that we come so we do want to get as much done as possible but we also don't want to be stressed out and tired.

Main questions/concerns:
1. Do we really need PH, or should we consider doing one park a day?
2. Do we have too many ADRs?
3. I haven't scheduled any fireworks or shows because I'm unsure about what will be available. Not too concerned about seeing these but at least one would be nice. Which do you think would fit best into our schedule?
4. Are we doing too much overall? Is it reasonable to get all the things we want to do without being exhausted?
5. I'm concerned about the on-site transportation, esp at CS. How bad is it? Can't really afford the deluxe upgrade, unfortunately.

Day 1: Arrival + MK (THRS)
Try to get into MK by 3PM latest
FP: BTMR, PoC, SplashM
Standby: JC + any other rides if time
Dinner: California Grill ADR around 8pm

Day 2: DHS with potential hop to MK or Epcot (FRI)
Try to get boarding passes for ROTR
FP: RnR, ToT, MMRR
Standby: MFSR + any other rides if time
Lunch: QS + Oga's Cantina ADR
Dinner: QS or table res if we find anything interesting available
If able to get ROTR done early enough, hop to MK or Epcot

Day 3: AK + hop to MK (SAT)
FP: KS, EE, FoP
Standby: any other rides if time
Lunch: Tiffins ADR, maybe Nomad lounge if time
Hop to MK and do whatever rides
Dinner: QS or table res if we find anything interesting available, might eat at resort

Day 4: Epcot (SUN)
Try to get boarding passes for Remy's (I assume)
FP: TT, SE, Seas w/ Nemo
Standby: Soarin’, Epcot Forever!, any other rides if time (focus on future land)
Lunch: QS/Snacks
Dinner: ADR Takumi Tei

Day 5: AK (MON)
sleep in and get in AK when we feel like it
FP: FTLK, NRJ, KRR
Standby: whatever
Dinner: ADR Jiko around 6-7PM
get to bed early/relax

Day 6: Universal (TUES)
day at universal studios parks with focus on harry potter world in both parks, park should be open between 9am-6pm, get to bed early/relax

Day 7: MK (WED)
Breakfast: ADR Kona around 11 AM
FP: SpaceM, 7DMT, PeterPF
Standby: Pooh, Mansion, Buzz + wtv
Dinner: QS or table res if we find anything interesting available, might eat at resort

Day 8: EPCOT (THRS)
Try to get boarding passes for Remy's (I assume)
FP: Frozen, LVTL, Figment
Standby: Soarin', Grand Fiesta+ any other rides (likely going to focus on World Showcase)
Lunch: QS/Snacks
Dinner: ADR La Hacienda de San Angel, drinks at cava del tequila

Day 9: DHS with potential hop to MK or Epcot (FRI)
Try to get boarding passes for ROTR (if didn't do it the previous DWS day or if really want to do it again)
FP: TSM, SDD, StarTours
Standby: MFSR (if didn't do last time) + any other rides
Lunch: QS/Snacks
If able to get ROTR done early enough (or was done on previous DWS day), hop to MK or Epcot
Dinner: QS or table res if we find anything interesting available

Day 10: Disney Springs + Departure (SAT)
Lunch/Dinner: THE BOATHOUSE (late afternoon)



Many many thanks!

 

[sugar and spice1]

Hello,

My husband and I have gone many times, and are visiting WDW this October. We have learned over time to do one park per day, with a day of rest in the middle of our trip. In our opinion rope dropping is really important because it will get you on a few really great rides with little or no wait. It sounds like Fastpass will come back, but you will have to pay an extra fee per person each day for it. Another reason that we do one park per day is because between waiting for WDW transportation and going to places in and out of other parks like restaurants, uses up a good deal of time. We try to do each park for two days, and Animal Kingdom for one day. As far as food goes we find restaurants for at least lunch in the park that we are going to be at. Then we either choose a restaurant in that same park or after we leave that park for the day, go to whatever restaurant that you choose. For example, after we leave the Animal Kingdom, we will take a WDW bus from the park to the Polynesian Resort and have dinner at one of our favorite restaurants, Ohana. Please have a quick service lunch at Epcot at Halles Boulongerie in France, have a Dole Whip at the Magic Kingdom. One morning at the Magic Kingdom go to Sleepy Hollow and share a homemade waffle with nuttela and fresh fruit.

Fireworks - Do not miss the new show coming to Epcot - Harmonious, and the new night time show coming to the Magic Kingdom. Or Tinkerbell flying down from the top of the castle before the fireworks begin. Magical.

In the past we have always stayed at a moderate resort - Port Orleans French Quarter. Oh how we love it there. However since they will not be open when we go in October, we are staying at a value resort, the Pop Century in a preferred room ( close to transportation, lobby and pool.) It costs half the price and gets many good reviews. It is also on the new Skyliner which people seem to love.

Last, there are many wonderful rides. As the crazy people that we are, we do most of them. For example with the Magic carpets of Alladin, it is magical at night to ride the carpets with people on the ground having the camels spit at you. You would never know this if you didn't go on that ride. I actually make up a daily list of rides as a guide. I could go on forever as we love Disney. Please let me know if you have any other questions.

Cindy

 

[AquaGlitter]

Hello,

My husband and I have gone many times, and are visiting WDW this October. We have learned over time to do one park per day, with a day of rest in the middle of our trip. In our opinion rope dropping is really important because it will get you on a few really great rides with little or no wait. It sounds like Fastpass will come back, but you will have to pay an extra fee per person each day for it. Another reason that we do one park per day is because between waiting for WDW transportation and going to places in and out of other parks like restaurants, uses up a good deal of time. We try to do each park for two days, and Animal Kingdom for one day. As far as food goes we find restaurants for at least lunch in the park that we are going to be at. Then we either choose a restaurant in that same park or after we leave that park for the day, go to whatever restaurant that you choose. For example, after we leave the Animal Kingdom, we will take a WDW bus from the park to the Polynesian Resort and have dinner at one of our favorite restaurants, Ohana. Please have a quick service lunch at Epcot at Halles Boulongerie in France, have a Dole Whip at the Magic Kingdom. One morning at the Magic Kingdom go to Sleepy Hollow and share a homemade waffle with nuttela and fresh fruit.

Fireworks - Do not miss the new show coming to Epcot - Harmonious, and the new night time show coming to the Magic Kingdom. Or Tinkerbell flying down from the top of the castle before the fireworks begin. Magical.

In the past we have always stayed at a moderate resort - Port Orleans French Quarter. Oh how we love it there. However since they will not be open when we go in October, we are staying at a value resort, the Pop Century in a preferred room ( close to transportation, lobby and pool.) It costs half the price and gets many good reviews. It is also on the new Skyliner which people seem to love.

Last, there are many wonderful rides. As the crazy people that we are, we do most of them. For example with the Magic carpets of Alladin, it is magical at night to ride the carpets with people on the ground having the camels spit at you. You would never know this if you didn't go on that ride. I actually make up a daily list of rides as a guide. I could go on forever as we love Disney. Please let me know if you have any other questions.

Cindy

Thank you so much for taking the time to read my post and giving such a detailed and helpful reply!
I am definitely starting to think that one park a day might be better. Esp since the parks don't seem to be open that late during February anyways.

My one "fear" about not getting PH is that since we have two AK or AK adjacent restaurants that we really want to try (Jiko and Tiffins) it would be difficult to do this without reserving two AK days. And so I feared I wouldn't be able to get enough MK time. I'm thinking what I might do if I do one park a day is make our arrival a short day/dinner in AK, so that our 2 MK days will be full days and will give us more time to do everything.
So we would go to AK on arrival day (hopefully arriving a little earlier, maybe 2-2:30PM and go to Jiko after park close. Then we could do Tiffins/nomad on our other AK day.

I also may just have to nix the Kona cafe breakfast, as I don't really see a way of doing it without cutting into lots of MK time.

Thanks again for the great suggestions!

 

[mkmomto2]

I loved reading your plans! Planning is so much fun to me! I think your plans are good. My only suggestion is to rope drop most days if you are able to- I'm an early riser, so it's a no brainer for me but I know that not everyone is. I, personally, love having the flexibility of a park hopper. I know that you may lose some time with transportation, but to me the transportation can be part of the fun! I like being able to hop to another park or two depending on my whims and where I am able to get extra fast passes (assuming they come back). As far as fireworks, I love watching the MK fireworks from Cali Grill and the Epcot ones from La Hacienda, so if timed correctly, these would be perfect and are already in your plans I think your plans sound really good- one table service a day is a nice break, but doesn't impede on your touring too much. My biggest advice is be flexible- if you decide that you don't want to do something, change your plans! Everyone is going to have different preferences, so don't hold onto plans that don't feel right in the moment. Have the best time!

 

[AquaGlitter]

I loved reading your plans! Planning is so much fun to me! I think your plans are good. My only suggestion is to rope drop most days if you are able to- I'm an early riser, so it's a no brainer for me but I know that not everyone is. I, personally, love having the flexibility of a park hopper. I know that you may lose some time with transportation, but to me the transportation can be part of the fun! I like being able to hop to another park or two depending on my whims and where I am able to get extra fast passes (assuming they come back). As far as fireworks, I love watching the MK fireworks from Cali Grill and the Epcot ones from La Hacienda, so if timed correctly, these would be perfect and are already in your plans I think your plans sound really good- one table service a day is a nice break, but doesn't impede on your touring too much. My biggest advice is be flexible- if you decide that you don't want to do something, change your plans! Everyone is going to have different preferences, so don't hold onto plans that don't feel right in the moment. Have the best time!

Thanks so much for reading and for the tips!
I was hoping that we could make California Grill work with fireworks, but had no idea that you could see them from La Hacienda too, so that's awesome to know!

After discussing with my partner I think we may end up getting rid of park hopper and do two days in each park (with our arrival day in Animal Kingdom since that will be just half a day). We figured that because of the shorter winter hours this will allow us more time to meander around and enjoy the parks and come home early and rest so that we can rope drop! We also figured that by saving money on the park hopper we will likely get the memory pass as a compromise, so I'm excited about that.

I know either way we will have an amazing time. Because we don't know when we will come back, I want to make sure it's perfect, but then I remember that no matter what it will be fantastic. You can't go too too wrong I think! Your advice about flexibility is excellent.

 

[Haygar2]

I also may just have to nix the Kona cafe breakfast, as I don't really see a way of doing it without cutting into lots of MK time.

Kona used to be my favorite breakfast ANYWHERE. But it isn't the same. I say cut out Kona.

 

[AquaGlitter]

Kona used to be my favorite breakfast ANYWHERE. But it isn't the same. I say cut out Kona.

Thanks for the feedback, that is sad to hear. I think we will cut it out, unfortunately. Being at CS and travelling there for BF cuts a lot of time out. But hey, is just one out of all the awesome things we will get to do. Sometimes you just can't do it all!

 

[Haygar2]

Thanks for the feedback, that is sad to hear. I think we will cut it out, unfortunately. Being at CS and travelling there for BF cuts a lot of time out. But hey, is just one out of all the awesome things we will get to do. Sometimes you just can't do it all!

I know what you mean. I'm trying to fit everything in during a 4 day trip. We had one trip where we had Kona 4 times, for breakfast, in one week. It was so so so good. The next time we went, it was different (they changed the Samoa). It was okay but not the same. My husband ordered the the Loco Moco and it was good. Now that has changed and not for the better. It's just blah. So, Kona is no longer on my list of "must do". Unfortuantely.