kizmet311
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jul 19, 2017
This is the first "real" Disney trip for my family together. Hubby went as a child, step-D has been 2-3 times, and I've been once with the two of them for one day at MK 6 years ago, but not a true stay onsite, dining plan, do it all for 5 days kind of trip. This will be my 5yo DD's first trip ever.
So, I am trying to balance the whole "once in a lifetime" do it all trip with making sure that I don't exhaust everyone (including myself) so that we can enjoy our whole trip. We are staying 4 nights with 5 day single-park tickets, but I plan on arrival and departure days to still be nearly full days in the parks.
How feasible is it take 4-5 hour breaks in the middle of each park day? We are doing HS arrival day, MK/MNSSHP day 2, MK (with extra magic hours from 9-11pm) day 3, AK day 4, and Epcot on departure day. I've given a general idea of what we want to do at each park below. We are driving to WDW, so we will most likely drive to every park except MK from the Poly (where we're staying) so that we can come and go quickly if we want to go back to the hotel.
My general plan is to get to HS the first day as early as possible - ideally by park opening. My only reservations that day are duplicate H&V Fantasmic Dining Packages - one at 11:35 and one at 4:35, so one will be cancelled. I'm thinking we arrive at Park Opening, each lunch, and then head to the Poly around check in time for a little rest and to get settled in our room, then head back to HS a couple hours before Fantasmic. Rides that would probably be a must do here would be RNR Coaster and maybe Star Tours. The only show that is a MUST is the Frozen singalong, but would also like Disney JR, VoLM, and B&tB (she's seen the last one in the touring Broadway show so it isn't as imperative that we see it). Character M&Gs here are a bonus for the Disney JR characters, but not a must-do since we'll meet Minnie and Friends at our ADR. Can we get everything done if we take a 2-3 hour break for the hotel?
Day 2 would be to arrive at MK as early as possible and get as much done as possible, eat QS lunch at the park, then go back to the hotel for swims/naps/showers and back to MK for check in at BBB by 5:15 before the MNSSHP. Of course the object at the party would be to try to ride rides such as 7DMT that might have longer waits during the day, meet any princesses that have shorter lines or princesses that aren't usually at MK. We have an 8:55 BOG ADR during the party that I am debating whether we should keep or not. I don't want to miss the parade, HP show, or HalloWishes because of the ADR. We would also do some minimal trick-or-treating and hit as many rides as possible.
Day 3 would be to arrive at MK as early as possible and we have a 9:25 ADR at Cindy's. We would get to stay in the park until 11:00 that night due to extra hours, so at some point in the afternoon we would again want to do swim/nap/showers and come back at no particular time, but obviously in time for HEA.
For both days at MK, attractions that would be a must would probably be SpaceMtn, maybe BTMR, ETwB, HM, JC, Monsters Inc, PotC, PCRC, 7DMT, and UtS-VoLM. I would think we would try to hit up HM and 7DMT during the MNSSHP for sure, then spread the rest out over the two days with repeats of favorites if we can on the second day. Character M&Gs that are a MUST would be Rapunzel and I have to get Jasmine here or at Epcot if I miss her at MK. Elena is a favorite and Merida would be a bonus. Meeting Ariel in her mermaid costume might not be necessary if we meet her at Cindy's. FoF Parade is a MUST, as is HEA the second day.
Day 4 at AK arrive at park opening. No ADRs this day, no real plans. Must do FoP, NRJ, KRR, KS, RoL, and probably see as many animals as possible. Must see FotLK and would like to do FN. Meeting Pocahontas is a must. Again, would like to have a hotel break in the middle of the day. DD and I probably would only ride NRJ and KS, so we could see animals and meet Pocahontas while the other two do FoP and KRR.
Last day would be to eat breakfast at the Poly and try to hang out until close to checkout then head to Epcot before 11:00 when WS opens. I know this puts us behind the crowd, but I don't think we'll make it all day to Illuminations if we don't start late this day. Plus at the end of the day we'll be starting our drive home by either staying in Orlando in a non-Disney hotel or driving a couple of hours towards Gainseville and stopping there. Rides that are a must here would be FEA, maybe Soarin, Test Track, and maybe Nemo. I don't think they care about SE. Our biggest goal at Epcot would be WS and meeting any princesses we missed at MK. Anna & Elsa would be a huge win, although I will not tell my daughter about any princess or character just in case it doesn't work out. Belle in France would be nice since I don't think she signs autographs at ETwB. Mulan and Snow White would be nice. Jasmine would be a MUST if we miss her at MK. And of course, I would like to see Illuminations if my husband will stay that late. On this day, we do have an ADR at Paddlefish at DS between 3-4:00, so we could theoretically take a break and go there then go back to Epcot later. My biggest thing here would be trying to meet any princesses we haven't met yet.
Finally, there will be several situations where our party splits FP attractions with my DH and step-D going on rides and me and DD going to a show or M&G, so hopefully we can cover a little more ground that way. Sorry this is such a long post! I just really want some advice on my "game plan" and whether or not my midday breaks are realistic with what we want to do. Since we are paying for the Poly I want to be able to enjoy some time there swimming and relaxing/gearing up for each evening. Plus, I am trying to do as much as possible, because we may never go back to Disney or if we do, it would be at least 5 years away.
So, I am trying to balance the whole "once in a lifetime" do it all trip with making sure that I don't exhaust everyone (including myself) so that we can enjoy our whole trip. We are staying 4 nights with 5 day single-park tickets, but I plan on arrival and departure days to still be nearly full days in the parks.
How feasible is it take 4-5 hour breaks in the middle of each park day? We are doing HS arrival day, MK/MNSSHP day 2, MK (with extra magic hours from 9-11pm) day 3, AK day 4, and Epcot on departure day. I've given a general idea of what we want to do at each park below. We are driving to WDW, so we will most likely drive to every park except MK from the Poly (where we're staying) so that we can come and go quickly if we want to go back to the hotel.
My general plan is to get to HS the first day as early as possible - ideally by park opening. My only reservations that day are duplicate H&V Fantasmic Dining Packages - one at 11:35 and one at 4:35, so one will be cancelled. I'm thinking we arrive at Park Opening, each lunch, and then head to the Poly around check in time for a little rest and to get settled in our room, then head back to HS a couple hours before Fantasmic. Rides that would probably be a must do here would be RNR Coaster and maybe Star Tours. The only show that is a MUST is the Frozen singalong, but would also like Disney JR, VoLM, and B&tB (she's seen the last one in the touring Broadway show so it isn't as imperative that we see it). Character M&Gs here are a bonus for the Disney JR characters, but not a must-do since we'll meet Minnie and Friends at our ADR. Can we get everything done if we take a 2-3 hour break for the hotel?
Day 2 would be to arrive at MK as early as possible and get as much done as possible, eat QS lunch at the park, then go back to the hotel for swims/naps/showers and back to MK for check in at BBB by 5:15 before the MNSSHP. Of course the object at the party would be to try to ride rides such as 7DMT that might have longer waits during the day, meet any princesses that have shorter lines or princesses that aren't usually at MK. We have an 8:55 BOG ADR during the party that I am debating whether we should keep or not. I don't want to miss the parade, HP show, or HalloWishes because of the ADR. We would also do some minimal trick-or-treating and hit as many rides as possible.
Day 3 would be to arrive at MK as early as possible and we have a 9:25 ADR at Cindy's. We would get to stay in the park until 11:00 that night due to extra hours, so at some point in the afternoon we would again want to do swim/nap/showers and come back at no particular time, but obviously in time for HEA.
For both days at MK, attractions that would be a must would probably be SpaceMtn, maybe BTMR, ETwB, HM, JC, Monsters Inc, PotC, PCRC, 7DMT, and UtS-VoLM. I would think we would try to hit up HM and 7DMT during the MNSSHP for sure, then spread the rest out over the two days with repeats of favorites if we can on the second day. Character M&Gs that are a MUST would be Rapunzel and I have to get Jasmine here or at Epcot if I miss her at MK. Elena is a favorite and Merida would be a bonus. Meeting Ariel in her mermaid costume might not be necessary if we meet her at Cindy's. FoF Parade is a MUST, as is HEA the second day.
Day 4 at AK arrive at park opening. No ADRs this day, no real plans. Must do FoP, NRJ, KRR, KS, RoL, and probably see as many animals as possible. Must see FotLK and would like to do FN. Meeting Pocahontas is a must. Again, would like to have a hotel break in the middle of the day. DD and I probably would only ride NRJ and KS, so we could see animals and meet Pocahontas while the other two do FoP and KRR.
Last day would be to eat breakfast at the Poly and try to hang out until close to checkout then head to Epcot before 11:00 when WS opens. I know this puts us behind the crowd, but I don't think we'll make it all day to Illuminations if we don't start late this day. Plus at the end of the day we'll be starting our drive home by either staying in Orlando in a non-Disney hotel or driving a couple of hours towards Gainseville and stopping there. Rides that are a must here would be FEA, maybe Soarin, Test Track, and maybe Nemo. I don't think they care about SE. Our biggest goal at Epcot would be WS and meeting any princesses we missed at MK. Anna & Elsa would be a huge win, although I will not tell my daughter about any princess or character just in case it doesn't work out. Belle in France would be nice since I don't think she signs autographs at ETwB. Mulan and Snow White would be nice. Jasmine would be a MUST if we miss her at MK. And of course, I would like to see Illuminations if my husband will stay that late. On this day, we do have an ADR at Paddlefish at DS between 3-4:00, so we could theoretically take a break and go there then go back to Epcot later. My biggest thing here would be trying to meet any princesses we haven't met yet.
Finally, there will be several situations where our party splits FP attractions with my DH and step-D going on rides and me and DD going to a show or M&G, so hopefully we can cover a little more ground that way. Sorry this is such a long post! I just really want some advice on my "game plan" and whether or not my midday breaks are realistic with what we want to do. Since we are paying for the Poly I want to be able to enjoy some time there swimming and relaxing/gearing up for each evening. Plus, I am trying to do as much as possible, because we may never go back to Disney or if we do, it would be at least 5 years away.
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