Please Critique my Itinerary

mom2four · #1 01-30-2008, 03:03 PM

This is our 1st official trip to WDW. I have been lurking here for about 1 month.

I have 4 DC. 12,10,8,6. My 8 DS will turn 9 while at WDW and my 6 DD will turn 7. Here our my current plans:

Arrive: 6:40 ADR @ Akershus EMH @ epcot (plan lands at 9:30AM) We plan to do the day @ Epcot.

Day Two: DD B-day, breakfast ADR at Cinderella's castle @ 8:15 AM, MK all day.
LBT ADR @ 4:15 ; princess & pirate party

Day Three: Hollywood Studios AM, MK EMH evening - NO ADR's

Day Four: DS turns 9, Morning hours at Animal Kingdom. 8:00 AM Tusker House ADR. 1:45 PM Rainforest Cafe (he really wants to eat here).; Possible MGM EVM if we have the energy (this is the plan right now)

Day Five: Epcot early morning hours, ADR at Hopp Dee Doo @ 7:15

Day Six: No AM plans, possibly Typhoon Lagoon (blizzard Beach is closed while we are there). Animal Kingdom evening hours.

Departure Day: MK early AM hours, No ADR's, plan leaves at 5:30 PM.

We are staying at WL.

Any thoughts, tips, suggestions? We are doing the DDP. Thought about Deluxe but that seems like too much food.

Also, a little worried about the Tusker House breakfast being too early, also it is an early day at AK and I do not know if I want to waste it at a big breakfast. thought about cancelling the breakfast and changing to a special dinner at MGM then catching Fantasmic. (This is my DD's 9th birthday)

Thanks in Advance!

#1donaldfan · #2 01-30-2008, 03:16 PM

Welcome to Intercot........I'm not one to critique anyone, we normally do things "fly by nite"......there are some REAL planners on here and they'll give you some sound advice. Is the Tusker House breakfast the Donald's Safari Breakfast....it used to be called Donalds Breakfastsaurs....it was awesome, I'm sure it's the same great food. We loved our early breakfast at AK, it gave us the opportunity to be the first riders, first car on EE that day......about CRT....very good choice......

MOJoe · #3 01-30-2008, 03:42 PM

This actually looks like the type of plan that a Disney veteran would propose. So it looks like you have done some homework.
My bits of advice would be to become as familiar as you can with the attractions in each park, and make a list of priorities. Try to avoid those you have little interest in, because with such a large family, you probably will not complete your list. Also, remember that it seems to take more time than you imagine just getting from place to place. You may not be able to make that early breakfast if you stay up for evening EMH.
But having two of your children with birthdays at WDW! How great! No matter what else happens, that will be something very special. So make the most of it. Have fun!

vamaggie · #4 01-30-2008, 04:43 PM

The only thing I may rethink is Day 6. AK is usually closing early so there are not too many evening hours. I would do AK in the am and water park in the pm if you want. You will love the WL. We had a great time there. Enjoy your first trip!

BigBaloo · #5 01-30-2008, 04:48 PM

The only suggestion I would make is make sure to take a break on day 1 & 2 to make sure you're pacing yourself. Don't want to burn the kiddies out too early in the vacation. They have a great pool at WL so you won't get any arguments from kids leaving early (especially MK because you are so close you can go back after a little rest)

DakotaDisney · #6 01-30-2008, 07:50 PM

Your plan looks good, I would just make the following suggestions.

- be flexible
- have fun and don't worry about the schedule to much, it is vacation
- take time to relax a little
- take some time to enjoy WL
- be aware that sometime travel in between parks and resorts, etc. can take time and even longer than expected sometimes
- let disney(your resort, restaurants and other CMs) know that it is your children's birthdays
I bet they would do some special things for them. I know you can pay for special things for birthdays, etc. but I bet they would also do somethings that don't cost extra.

Have a great Trip!

mom2four · #7 01-31-2008, 08:25 AM

Thanks for the tips everyone.

I am hoping to pus back day two LBT ADR so we can take a break at the WL but so far they have not had any openings.

Also, I can get a 10:20 at the Tusker house for breakfast which I might do. I am worried about being too tired. I did not plan day three very extensively so we could rest after a really busy day two and before a really busy day four.

Any other birthday types for my son. My daughter's day is really cool. We are doing AK on his birthday and possibly MGM EMH.

Thanks Again!

Cinderelley · #8 01-31-2008, 12:24 PM

Make sure you get birthday pins for your kids in the parks. They may get some extra attention that day.

illini · #9 01-31-2008, 12:48 PM

My only concern is that you have a couple of times where you're planning EMH evening, then EMH morning the next day. I think that might be too much for the kids. And if you're not doing the EMH morning, I wouldn't go to that park on that day-- it'll be too crowded.

I'd definitely take the later Tusker House breakie. Just to give you some more flexibility.

irish1967 · #10 01-31-2008, 07:56 PM

I can't imagine starting anywhere but the MK! But that is just me. I would keep the ADR but maybe stop at MK on the way to EPCOT (ok, maybe not "on the way") and just make your first official sight Cinderalla's Castle...

Ditto what someone said about evening EMH and then morning EMH - sleep is important!

Also, if you are going at a hot time of year, plan on an afternoon break - no matter what ages your children are - it is a long, tough day when it is really hot out!

Have a great visit!

mom2four · #11 02-01-2008, 02:28 PM

Thank you everyone for the tips!

A small change. My son now wants to spend his Birthday at MGM instead of AK. After I made all the ADR's for AK.

So we will do AK on day three and MGM on day four. We will miss the EMH morning for AK but will catch the EMH evening for MGM.

I posted under dining but any thoughts on BDAY dining ideas at MGM?

Also, is it true EMH makes the parks way to busy.

We are doing EPCOT the first day because it has EMH and we have a long day planend at MK the next day. Also, did not want the kids to do EPCOT after MK and think EPCOT was boring (I read this somewhere).

Thanks for all your help.

rcaide · #12 02-01-2008, 03:17 PM

We were at MGM on my birthday and we took the boat over to Yacht and Beach Club and ate lunch at Beaches & Cream. It was awesome. Food was wonderful (you can't beat the dessert) They flash colored lights in the restaurant and announce your birthday and then the whole place sings happy birthday to you.

I think it would be fun for your DS. To top it off you can order the kitchen sink dessert. It comes in a stainless steel sink filled with 4 scoops of every ice cream they have, every topping and a full can of whipped cream. It is massive. I think it costs around $22. I think the kids would have a blast with that. I know my DS would.

mickey&missy · #13 02-01-2008, 09:21 PM

I have 2 suggestions.

1 being remember to take a break! Don't exhaust yourselves!

2 being make sure you have PLENTY of time to get to the breakfast ADR's. I kow you said your staying at WL. For your 8:15 ADR at CRT the MK boat may not be running yet. That happened to us last trip. Luckily the captain of the boat to the Contemporary told us to get on. We would have stood their looking stupid and missed breakfast. We took the boat to the Contemporary, went up to the Monorail station and took the monorail to MK. Good thing we had plenty of time!

It looks like a great plan! You'll have a wonderful time!

wdw_bound · #14 02-02-2008, 08:36 AM

Looks like a great plan. Your MK day is adventurous, though, and wearing yourselves out that early in the trip can make it hard to catch your breath. Even with the LTT ADR, I'd still plan on leaving MK at lunch, and going swimming at WL. The boat ride, even allowing wait time on the dock, is less than 30 minutes (we found it to be more like 20).

We have a tried and true method for avoiding ride whines. Pre-trip, we go through the Birnbaums for kids book and everyone picks their top 3 or 4 attractions choices for each park. We find they often overlap, so the combined list is not that huge. We make a promise as a family that getting to everyone's first couple of choices will be a priority, and that everything else is an added bonus. This stops the "How come we do everything X wants, but not what I want?" as well as the park-closing wails of "But I really wanted Y, and we never got to ride it." It is a good idea to review the list the morning of park day and make sure everyone is still in agreement with their list choices.

Birthday trips are great. While at WL during DD's b-day, we ordered a cake to be delivered to the room so that we could celebrate quietly as a family. It really made it special.

Have you thought about Whispering Canyon? It is one of our favorite places to eat - and they'll make a big deal out of birthdays as well.

heidi614 · #15 02-04-2008, 03:09 PM

Birthdays, I would tell all the restaraunts it's your kids birthdays and the hotel too. You never know when a surpise will appear.

I try to come back early if I have planned a early morning. I would make a list of to do's at each park and try to go in sections/lands, that way not to criss cross back and forth and waste time. Make sure you get a parade spot at least an hour early and Fantasmic as well. We get a spot then one goes for a snack or ice cream.

Have Fun