Teach me your ways and Tell me my plan is okay before I book fast passes

[Dis Dragon]

We ended up ditching almost all our ADRs. Wasn’t worth it with kids. They were not hungry or eating. We kept Chef Mickey for the characters and kept Hollywood and Vine (but wish we had cancelled it).

What is it with Hollywood and Vine??? It's the only location on property I refuse to go to. I never wanted to go back but gave Minnie's Holiday dine another shot because DW wanted to do it so badly... totally regretted it like I thought I would, and DW agreed. HS really lacks when it comes to food locations, there's no place that I think of with HS that makes me say we should go there. (trying BD in an upcoming trip so maybe that will be the one)

 

[Kamy04]

There wasn’t really anything wrong with H&V. The breakfast is fine. We booked it for Jedi Training advantage, but we could have signed up early without the breakfast due to the TSL opening procedures. Since my kids were basically on food strike all week, it was a huge waste of money. We paid for them to eat 2 pancakes and 2 bowls of cereal lol. They did like seeing a few characters, but we didn’t even see all of them (saw a few twice).

 

[Miffy]

He is not 48 inches. He’s about 46. He is scared of bugs so maybe skip that one. Loves dinosaurs though. Like soooky things too. I think I’m skipping TOT just to be safe.

He's scared of bugs? Stay far away from the Bugs movie. I'm an adult and cannot deal with it. The only time I went--since I'd been convinced that these were "cute" bugs (they're bugs not cute)--I was basically trapped in the middle of a long row and couldn't get out of the theater. Even closing my eyes wasn't helpful, since there are a lot of sensations during this show. I guess there's a possibility your son would think it's cute, but since you said he's scared of bugs--don't do it!

Dino, though, I find to be fun and totally unscary. But not everyone agrees with me.

The Na'vi ride is just beautiful. When I'm at DAK I try to get on as my last ride of the day--assuming I get out of FoP in time to do this. The ride gets downplayed and dissed here, but I really love it. And Pandora itself is just beautiful, especially at night.

 

[Dis Dragon]

I believe Na'vi to be a good ride, but it's just over hyped at the moment leading to lines that are too long for what it is.

 

[YesterDark]

I'm not going to tell you if your plans are good or not, that's pretty difficult without knowing you and your family. However here are a few guidelines that can make your vacation more enjoyable, especially with young kids.

• If you're doing full days and/or rope dropping don't do more than 2 full days in a row. Have some break days built it.
• Plan all your fastpasses early in the day, try to hit your third by lunch time, then you're able to start booking your 4th and 5th as soon as possible. This will let you bounce from attraction to attraction and the little guy won't be waiting in line forever.
• Plan your day around breaks and rests, especially if it's during the hot summer. Pick out things like Carousel of Progress, Hall of Presidents, Shows, Character meals.
• If the attraction is a must for you, then use a fast pass on it. Don't get cute with the "should we, shouldn't we" question when it comes to some touring guides.
• Don't rush and run around. Stop and smell the roses and enjoy your time. Don't be worried about keeping to a schedule. Follow your own energy levels, especially with a 4 yo.
• Figure out where you're going to eat, unless you don't really care, because the less decisions you have to make, the more you don't have to worry about it.
• A little strategy helps too, if you're rope dropping, pick two attractions to shoot for before doing your first fast pass.

A lot of touring plans/strategies include goals of JUST hitting up as many rides as possible. With young ones, your objectives might be different. Just keep that in mind.

 

[Rxdr2013]

My son loves seven dwarfs for mk and brainstormer he has been riding seven dwarfs since 3 years old. But big thunder and splash are fun too I would make that one of my fastpasses for sure. The last couple of times we tried for dinosaur it was down (this was a year ago). A couple of times we stood in line and found it to home down. The safari is super fun too. My son is my park buddy. We've gone several solo trips, even when I was 6 months pregnant just him and I went. My husband could care less about going usually will stay in hotel IF he goes. We get a lot done, I just bring my stroller and he's good in case he gets tired and then I'm not lugging around a bunch of bags. Although not fun carrying him sleeping and stroller trying to get on the bus! Best advice I think is to get done the most of you want before you think he might get tired bc once they are worn out watch out at least mine can be a terror! Always good to go back to hotel for mid day break.

 

[ClapYourHands]

Also not to turn this into a Transportation Board discussion, but at 4 you do need a car seat per FL law. There are some Uber’s with a car seat option, but not many. Just wanted to mention that as it could impact your arrival plans.

I believe you need a car seat UP TO 4, and then a booster for 4- and 5-year-olds. I just got back from lugging a 5-point-harness seat through MCO because DD was two weeks shy of 4, but next trip to Orlando, she's going to be in a booster. There are inflatable ones like the BubbleBum that meet federal safety standards, but are quite portable.