Disney Intineraries

[Minnie's Northern Friend]

Hello All--

Happy New Year!!

We are less than one month away and I am getting my final plans together.

What I am having trouble with is organizing an itinerary that will be effective...

We have a 6 day park hopper pass- even though we will be in FL for 9 days...

We want to be able to take a break in the middle of the day and go to a new park or finish the same park in the evening...

We do not want to tour MK before Sat for 2 reasons-- 1- we want the kids to enjoy Epcot-- and not be bored because of overstimulation at MK-- and we want the twins to celebrate their birthday, the 31st, by going to the MK- Most likely for the whole day- take a break- and return for the evening.

Does anyone have any ideas on best way to tour the other three parks-- or a water park day?? I would really appreciate your help.

[teambricker04]

Where are you staying?

I think you may have a misconception of EPCOT... I think it is just as fun as MK. Personally, I don't think MK distracts at all from the rest of the parks as they are all so different. I wouldn't suggest making your first day at MK on a Sat. as that is one of the most crowded days at that particular park. We always park hop (a lot) so you may find that if you start the day at MK and it IS too croweded for your taste, you can hop over to EPCOT, AK or DHS.

Are you looking for the most effective way to do the parks with getting the most out of them?

[thumperbug]

For us...(DS is almost 7) we usually do a half day at DHS (not a fan and only a few things there my son likes) but you can make a full day of it, we only do about half day at AK (again, same as DHS, not a fan but we have some favorites and you can make a full day of it)

We can easily make 2-3 full days of Epcot and never get bored and of course with MK...there is never enough of that.

We have not done any water parks with our son but we have done it ourselves in the past..that is a one day park.

I guess if you want to hold off on MK, start with a full day at epcot, try DHS and AK and after the birthday at MK see what everyone liked and would like to do again.

Everyone is different so everyones likes and dislikes will vary.

[WishingStar2006]

If you are at WDW for 9 days and only have 6 day park hoppers, there are three days you are going to have to fill without going to a park and I don't think it's really warm enough for all day at a water park in January/February. There is Downtown Disney and Disney Quest (costs $$) and there is just staying at your resort, but for the difference in price between the 6 day and a 9 day park hopper (I think it's a very small differential) you would have much more flexibility for when and where you go. Just my :twocents:

I think you will find that your children will love Epcot...it's not just for parents anymore!!!

[Minnie's Northern Friend]

Even though we will be there for 9 days-- we took off the first day-- as our travel day and we will do other things around Disney-- and we took off the last day-- which we will spend at our rental house-- a relax day... We are taking off one day in between so that the little kids and the parents can take a breather-- We may go to the beach-- we may go to one of the hot springs... not sure yet-- we may just hang out at the house... I just don't want to feel rushed the whole time we are there to get the value of our money...

[Beast_fanatic]

Since you say you'll have a rental house, then you must be staying off property and won't be able to take advantage of Extra Magic Hours. In that case, I would highly recommend avoiding the parks with Extra Magic Hours completely. Many people have suggested planning your days for the park that had Extra Magic Hours the previous evening (for example, if DHS had EMH on Sunday night, go to DHS on Monday) as a way to avoid the worst crowds.

[teambricker04]

I know what you mean about not feeling rushed! It is hard to come back from a vacation feeling like you need a vacation!!! We planned our trip next week so when we come back we have the weekend to recover.

The beach is a great idea. We like Cocoa Beach (we like to go to Ron Jons while we are there and the Space Center is nearby) and then St. Pete Beach (DH and I got married there) and lots of other beaches in St. Petersburg (We like to go to Treasure Island and Medira Beach). There is also an aquarium in Tampa that we want to go to. A fun, touristy place in Orland is Gatorland.

A water park may be fun, but it might be too cool. Since you are from the North it may be just fine.

I agree... stay away from the parks on EMH days as they tend to get crazy.

Does your rental house have a pool? I would make a pool day for half of at least one day and some easy activity... you can do a character meal at WDW or even go to FW and check everything out. Have a hoop dee doo dinner and then got to the singalong or eat at the BW and then check out all the performers. Or DTD.

Good luck with the plans and Happy New Year!

[GrumpyFan]

The water park(s) are at best a half day event, so you may or may not want to plan something for later that evening, I would suggest downtown disney if so. You can easily do 2 days for Epcot, and might be a good idea since you have younger kids.

Here's my itinerary suggestion based on the info you provided. This is a relaxed, easy pace and allows you plenty of time to enjoy all the parks without tiring yourselves out.

Day 1 (travel) - relax, unpack & explore the area of the rental. Spend some time getting familiar with the area.
Day 2 - DHS or AK, both are smaller parks than Epcot, and can easily be done in less than 6 hours.
Day 3 - Epcot - only do half, either Future World or World Showcase
Day 4 - Break -
Day 5 - AK or DHS - (the one you didn't do on day 2)
Day 6 - Water Park
Day 7 - Epcot (other half),
Day 8 - MK
Day 9 - Travel

This is just a suggestion. Feel free to mix them up.

[Minnie's Northern Friend]

Thanks Grumpy!! I appreciate your efforts...

[mom2morgan]

I do agree with you about not doing the MK first. Yes, all the parks are fun, but to lots of little kids, the Magic Kingdom really is the highlight, and I think it could give them rather skewed expectations for the others (esp. Epcot and Animal Kingdom). I wish we hadn't done MK "first" the first time we went. I'd consider leaving some flexibility to go back to MK, though. We usually try to do it twice, at least briefly since it is our favourite. Now, considering the age of your kids, I'm going to guess that DHS is the second favourite for your older ones - my 10 and 16 year olds love the Tower of Terror, Rockin Roller Coaster, Indiana Jones show and the Motor stunts show - so I'd suggest budgeting enough time to do that park quite thoroughly. Here was our itinerary for our 8 day trip - although your plans are different you might find some insights:
day 1 - Magic Kingdom - for quite a long day
day 2 - Universal Studios
day 3 - Seaworld
day 4 - day "off" - would have done a water park if it had been warmer
day 5 - DHS - intended to only go for a few hours, but ended up staying for 8
day 6 - Shopping at downtown disney and then Epcot (a first timer will want to spend more time at Epcot)
day 7 - Animal Kingdom for a few hours, then hopped back to MK

We actually could have managed easily without the park hopper option, since travel always takes so much time we tend not to hop a lot. tHe only one who really appreciated it was my 16 year old daughter who took the Epcot day to just go SHOPPING at practically every park and resort.

[stitchaholic]

hey there canadian neighbor! i am from montreal,and headed to didney with DS(7) and DD(9) january 26th,we are staying onsite,but this is what our itinerary looks like,taking into consideration that i took an 8 day hopper.
you also have to take into consideration if you made any ADR's any of the days.

day 1,arrive check in and head to MK,have a 4pm ressie at CP,stay at MK and do our favorites

day 2,epcot(my kids love epcot),do future world favorites,head over to france for a snack,back to future world and then hotel to get ready for a 5pm ressie at cape may's

day 3 AK,spend most of the day,go to hotel,rest and head to west side(cooks of dublin)

day 4-breakfast at ohana's,head over to boardwalk and marketplace(less crowded during the day),back to the hotel for a swim,arcade and R&R,head over to DHS for fantasmic

day 5 back to MK until after lunch,back to pop for some r&R,head over to FW explore and check in for Hoop de doo

day 6 DHS for the day,back to hotel for rest and then ohana dinner at 8pm(will see wishes from restaurant)

day 7 MK then chef mickeys for brunch,a bit more MK,head to epcot WS,plan to get supper someplace on the water and watch illuminations

day 8 pack,check luggage in,head to AK for donald breakfast,hang out a bit and head back to hotel to get to airport

but we like to take 2 days in each parc(exception DHS) and see as much as we can and do our favorites several times.

[Minnie's Northern Friend]

So after all considerations--- this is what we have come up with...

I checked our tickets again-- and we have a 7 day park hopper plus--

27th- Day 1- arrive- groceries- unpack- swim in pool-- after dinner @ villa, head over to WL for S'Mores, electric light parade, and fireworks @ the MK- head back to house for swim and then bed-- We also talked about a trip to Disney Quest on this day... not sure if we will do it.

28th- Day 2- Epcot-- 1/2- first ride Soarin'

29th- Day 3- DS (one of the only days for Fantasmic) But we have to return for Little Mermaid.

30th- Day 4- AK

31st- Day 5- TWINS BDAY!!! Breakfast rezzies @ Chef Mickey's- then off to MK for opening ceremonies. Spectromagic parade-

1st- Day 6- We may take this as a day off... Originally planned as a Waterpark day-- but thinking that it might be too cold-- we may let the kids choose-- head to Disney quest-- sleep in late-- whatever on this day..

2nd- Day 7- Epcot Day 2- head over to DS for Fantasmic if we wish...

3rd- Day 8- MK

4th- Day 9- Tour the resorts-- just hang at the house-- whatever...

5th- We will pack as we go nightly-- do some final packing this day- enjoy the pool for the rest of the day and fly out @ 6:00- Heading home to Boston.

If anyone sees anything that could be changed or added-- I am thinking about heading to undercover tourist to change my tickets-- I don't think that we will need 7 days hopper plus tickets-- and we can probably save some money by changing them---