Looking for input on Jersey Week Trip Planning

[ErinsMommy]

Think this is ok to post in this forum as I’m seeking tips on park days and FP for the most part: our dining is pretty nailed down so not looking to change that. key to this trip is to not run ragged every day.

Family of 3; not morning people so rope drop has never worked or appealed to us: been to WDW quite a few times in recent years and was always comfortable and happy with my planning but this trip I’m just questioning myself if we made right FP etc so looking for any opinions if you would tweak anything (48 days left so I feel like I have enough time to change things up)

Arrival day:: room only but now arriving late morning vs late evening. Late Lunch @ B&C. Early bed as were usually tired from flight day. Since we have 8 day PHs all tied into first reservation - if I wanted to use one of those PHs for our arrival day can we even tho our package doesn’t start until Day 1 (day 5 below we won’t be in the park at all so we’ll have an extra unused park day)??

Day 1 (staying at BWI); Cape May Breakfast; FP+ SDD, AS, TSMM, RNRC, TOT, Beauty & Beast show (never saw it); dinner @ HBD; Fantasmic/SW Show

Day 2: resort/pool day @BWI - breakfast at Bon Voyage - dinner at Flying Fish, then nightlife on the boardwalk (never went to boardwalk at night - is it lively and fun???)

Day 3 (last day at BWI); Cape May breakfast; FP+ FEA, MS, SE, Soarinx2,Nemo; dinner at Le Cellier, Illuminations show

Day 4 (now at Poly for remainder of trip): Uber to Poly with luggage, CRT for breakfast, FP+ SDMT, BTMRR & Splash); DH briefly back to resort when we get room ready text; dinner at Plaza Restaurant, then back to resort. I’m not sold on this idea and would rather either stay at MK or if we go back to resort where to eat dinner? Ohana is not an option.

Day 5: breakfast at CM, spa day for me, wonderland tea party for DD, DH said he’ll relax somewhere with glass of wine while waiting for daughter); dinner at Boathouse, enjoy Disney Springs at night. Never stayed around at night due to DDs anxiety with crowds but she wants to try and stay - so any tips as to what not to miss??

Day 6: breakfast at Crystal Palace, FP+ Space, Splash, BTMRR, SDMT, PP, HM), dinner BOG, MVMCP.

Day 7: breakfast at 1900 PF, relax at resort, dinner at Le Cellier, DH staying for all 3 concert showings, me and DD will figure something out just not sure what - any suggestions???

Day 8: breakfast at Kona Cafe, pack, eventually make our way to AK, FP+ FOP, ROL & EE, dinner RFC

Departure day: breakfast at Ohana

 

[ClapYourHands]

You can use one of your park days on arrival.
It actually looks like you aren't going to the parks on days 2 or 5, so even if you only go for a little while, it seems like it's better to use the park time than not.
You'll be right on the boardwalk, so taking a quick trip to DHS or Epcot would be super easy, and shouldn't tire you out. Maybe go onto MDE and see what FP+ you can book for that afternoon/evening, and then go to that park.
I think you've got great FP+ lined up, but it might be fun to ride a few again.
I also notice that on your DHS day you plan to do both Fantasmic and SW show, but usually if you go to F, you will be done too late to get good sightlines for SW, so maybe plan to do one of those shows your arrival night.

 

[Imamom2]

The Boardwalk area is fun as long as it's not raining. If this is your first BC stay and your DD likes to swim you will love the pool. Cape May has a great breakfast but you might want to consider something else on Day 3. Ale and Compass at YC is really good and since you're in Epcot that day you can go to the Boulangerie Patisserie in France - great breakfast spot and they are open at 9am even though the World Showcase opens at 11. You can walk in from BC and just turn right. Looks like you have a lot of ADRs - 2 sit down restaurants a day is a lot of time eating. F&W at Epcot will have great food choices for dinner. MK and AK both have really good counter service. Have a great time!

 

[ClapYourHands]

Suggestions:
Day 2: Will you want to do more than a resort day on your second day at Disney? Speaking for my family, my kids and I would still be pretty jazzed up to do Disney park things, and might be too antsy to just do pool time and ADRs. We wouldn't need a "break" after just one park day. You're so close to DHS and Epcot that maybe booking a few FP+ and going for an hour or two might be a nice addition without making you feel worn out.

Day 4: why Uber to Poly with luggage? Disney will transfer your luggage for you. Does DH really need to go back when he gets the room ready text? I mean, I guess it's not too far from MK, but it seems like unnecessary steps.

Day 8: Only 1 day at AK? Will this be enough? It looks like you only really have FP for 2 rides, and if your 3rd FP is tied up in ROL, you can't get any same-day FP+ for other rides like Safari. Does this matter to you? From what I've gathered, ROL isn't THAT popular a show and the FP seating isn't really any better than the standby seating. I'd probably drop the ROL FP, pick up Safari, and just get to the standby seating 45 minutes before it starts.

Day 7: What park would you and DD like to go to? Since you only have one day planned for AK, it might be nice to go and spend some time there. Book a few FPs, walk the gorilla trial, take in Festival of the Lion King. Whatever you might not have time to do in your one-day plan for day 8. Alternately, since you'll have breakfast near MK and have dinner in Epcot, maybe spend some time in those parks. Say spend a few hours at MK after breakfast, return to Poly for a swim or relaxation, and then hit up Epcot before and/or after dinner.

You have park hoppers, but it doesn't look like you are park hopping on any of your days. Did you have to buy them to get the package? Can you change them to base tickets for a partial refund? I get not wanting to be run ragged, but staying at BW and Poly, you've got easy access to 3 parks, so going for a few hours shouldn't take too much out of you. I'd probably plan some park hopping.

 

[Princessclab]

When is Jersey week? Not from that area.
Thx.

 

[holden]

When is Jersey week? Not from that area.
Thx.

It’s the week surrounding Election Day in November. There is a NJ teachers conference so Jersey kids have off most of the week. Lots of NJ families go that week because their kids only miss a day or so of school.

 

[ClapYourHands]

When is Jersey week? Not from that area.
Thx.

NJEA hosts a big conference each year. This year it's 11/8-9. Since so many teachers attend, many school districts are closed for those two days. There are some districts that give the full week off, but that's more rare. Still, lots of families will pull their kids a day or two early or even for the whole week. Lots of families see this as a good non-peak time to take a family vacation, which gives Disney an attendance bump, and drives up airline costs in the NJ area.

 

[ErinsMommy]

You can use one of your park days on arrival.
It actually looks like you aren't going to the parks on days 2 or 5, so even if you only go for a little while, it seems like it's better to use the park time than not.
You'll be right on the boardwalk, so taking a quick trip to DHS or Epcot would be super easy, and shouldn't tire you out. Maybe go onto MDE and see what FP+ you can book for that afternoon/evening, and then go to that park.
I think you've got great FP+ lined up, but it might be fun to ride a few again.
I also notice that on your DHS day you plan to do both Fantasmic and SW show, but usually if you go to F, you will be done too late to get good sightlines for SW, so maybe plan to do one of those shows your arrival night.

Yes, we're thinking day 2 we'll probably head over to Epcot for a little bit -- I think we actually booked Soarin and Pixar. As for Fantasmic/SW, DH will probably watch SW and me and DD will go to Fantasmic. We just weren't overwhelmed with SW last time but DH was, so we'll meet back up at the front of the park or at the resort. Thank you for the input!

 

[ErinsMommy]

The Boardwalk area is fun as long as it's not raining. If this is your first BC stay and your DD likes to swim you will love the pool. Cape May has a great breakfast but you might want to consider something else on Day 3. Ale and Compass at YC is really good and since you're in Epcot that day you can go to the Boulangerie Patisserie in France - great breakfast spot and they are open at 9am even though the World Showcase opens at 11. You can walk in from BC and just turn right. Looks like you have a lot of ADRs - 2 sit down restaurants a day is a lot of time eating. F&W at Epcot will have great food choices for dinner. MK and AK both have really good counter service. Have a great time!

Yes our first stay on the Epcot side so we're pretty excited to check it out -- we're on the DxDp and while we're not otherwise big breakfast people, when on vacation we like to splurge and spend that meal time together.

 

[ErinsMommy]

Suggestions:
Day 2: Will you want to do more than a resort day on your second day at Disney? Speaking for my family, my kids and I would still be pretty jazzed up to do Disney park things, and might be too antsy to just do pool time and ADRs. We wouldn't need a "break" after just one park day. You're so close to DHS and Epcot that maybe booking a few FP+ and going for an hour or two might be a nice addition without making you feel worn out.

Day 4: why Uber to Poly with luggage? Disney will transfer your luggage for you. Does DH really need to go back when he gets the room ready text? I mean, I guess it's not too far from MK, but it seems like unnecessary steps.

Day 8: Only 1 day at AK? Will this be enough? It looks like you only really have FP for 2 rides, and if your 3rd FP is tied up in ROL, you can't get any same-day FP+ for other rides like Safari. Does this matter to you? From what I've gathered, ROL isn't THAT popular a show and the FP seating isn't really any better than the standby seating. I'd probably drop the ROL FP, pick up Safari, and just get to the standby seating 45 minutes before it starts.

Day 7: What park would you and DD like to go to? Since you only have one day planned for AK, it might be nice to go and spend some time there. Book a few FPs, walk the gorilla trial, take in Festival of the Lion King. Whatever you might not have time to do in your one-day plan for day 8. Alternately, since you'll have breakfast near MK and have dinner in Epcot, maybe spend some time in those parks. Say spend a few hours at MK after breakfast, return to Poly for a swim or relaxation, and then hit up Epcot before and/or after dinner.

You have park hoppers, but it doesn't look like you are park hopping on any of your days. Did you have to buy them to get the package? Can you change them to base tickets for a partial refund? I get not wanting to be run ragged, but staying at BW and Poly, you've got easy access to 3 parks, so going for a few hours shouldn't take too much out of you. I'd probably plan some park hopping.

Day 2: we're going all out on Day 1 at DHS and think we'll be pretty spent and ready to just chill. As mentioned earlier, i did make a couple of FP+ for Epcot in the mid-afternoon prior to heading to FF for dinner. We've been to Disney so many times in recent years (like every 6 months), DD thankfully seems to have gotten to the age where she's enjoying family down time, relaxing and goofing off in a pool, rather than go all out park commando.

Day 4: I totally agree with you...but he wants to see the room and make sure its ok because last time we got a room ready while at the park, we weren't very happy with the placement and I spent a great deal of time on the phone while at the park and DH felt it would've just been easier had one of us been there. So he's going to go, and let me and DD get our rollercoaster fix in (which he doesn't go on at all). I personally prefer for us all of us to leave and enjoy the resort but I can't come up with an ADR that could sway him into that idea. Any ideas/suggestions? 'Ohana isn't an option any of us care for. As for Uber, its just easier to go with our belongings should we need something from the suitcase.

Day 7: I just dont know. DD said she wants to hit up some rides as we're exiting then go back to the resort and relax by the pool and have DH meet back up there (we're also staying CL so she likes to snack). I wanted to go through the countries again and meet up with DH on our way out. So we're all over the place. LOL.

Day 8: Family just dislikes AK. If it wasn't for Pandora, we would not be going to that park at all.

Thank you for the input

 

[bizeemom4]

Jersey week is tough. Super crowded! You may need to amp up your park hours to get some more accomplished.