Our First Trip in Oct.....how do these plans look?

[indycindy]

Hi, I've been planning for the last couple of weeks (although I have been READING and planning in my mind for the last 4 years!). I have finally decided on a resort and have made my ADRs. My daughters will be 7 and (almost) 10 at the time. My husband is going too. I was wondering if you could please look over my plans and let me know if you see any major (or minor) flaws, and the BIG question is this......DO I NEED TO RENT A CAR???

Day 1:arrive in Orlando airport at 5:20
Check in at Coronado Springs
Dinner at 7:30pm Maya Grill
Go to bed right after dinner

Day 2: (first) Magic Kingdom Day
Breakfast Chef Mickey's 7:00am
Lunch at Be Our Guest 1:00pm (No ADRs.....stand in line)
Return to resort for rest and swim after lunch (2:30pm??)
Dinner Artist Point 7:05pm (but I will change this to California Grill at
a good time to see Wishes from there (8:00pm ish) if I can get an ADR
after they star taking those again, in which case, I would push back our
Be Our Guest lunch to 2:00)

Day 3 (only) Animal Kingdom Day
Breakfast Boma 7:30am
Return to resort to rest and change at 3:00pm
Dinner Jiko 5:30pm
Early to bed!

Day 4 (first) Epcot Day
Breakfast Akershus 8:10 am
Lunch Coral Reef 1:30pm
Return to resort to rest and swim after lunch
Dinner at Le Chefs de France 7:00pm
IllumiNaions at 9:00pm

Day 5 (second) Magic Kingdom Day
1900 Park Fare 8:10am
Cinderella's Royal Table 2:00pm
Return to resort to rest after lunch
Head back to MK for MNSSHP at 6:00pm
No dinner reservations
HalloWishes 9:00pm

Day 6 (only) Hollywood Studios Day
Cape May Cafe 7:30am
Return to resort to rest at 1:00pm
Sci Fi Drive-in 5:40pm
Fantastic 7:30pm

Day 7 (second) Epcot Day
Captain's Grill 7:30am
Return to resort to rest & swim 2:00pm
Narcoosee's 7:50pm
Hopefully get a window table to watch HalloWishes with our dessert

Day 8 (third) Magic Kingdom Day
The Wave 7:30am
Crystal Palace 2:35 pm
Flight hope departs at 7:40pm

We bought the deluxe dining plan, so with four of us, we will have a gazillion snack credits to get us through the days that we only have 2 meals planned (we only have 3 meals planned on two of the days). We also have one leftover meal credit. I'm not sure how we should use that. I was thinking we could just get a counter service meal at MNSSHP so as not to waste too much of that time sitting in a restaurant. Or, do you think we would be better off making ADR at a MK restaurant?

If you have the time and the inclination to scrutinize someone else's trip plans, I would truly appreciate it if you could let me know if you see any major (or minor) flaws in my plans. I am going to try to follow touring plans from touringplans.com for our mornings at the parks.
I REALLY TRULY appreciate any and all thoughts and suggestions as this will probably be my family's one and only BIG Disney trip. This is a BIG splurge for us, so I want to be sure I make it worth it

 

[Figgy1]

It looks well thought out! Have a magical time! I would do cs for the MNSSHP to save time but that's just me! CHH is quite nice!

 

[Allygator]

Hallowishes is at 9:30 not 8:00. I have 9:05 reservations at narcoossee's and was hoping for a window seat. Someone reminded me that people stand in front of the windows. You are better off going onto the deck to watch. Just let the waiter know of your plans.

 

[tsaintc]

Not to be overly critical of your plans, but two major ADRs per day is very aggressive. You will burn a lot of time, especially during breakfast. In addition, those early starts, coupled with the late night plans will burn the little ones out fast. I would recommend a down grade on the dining plan and try to plan just one major sit down per day. I can almost guarantee that you will not be hungry in the early afternoon after the large breakfast plans.

As for the car, we never rent, regardless of length of stay. One of many magical things about the 'World is to ability to leave the keys @ home.

With that being said, I do not want that to sound negative, just some advice from my personal experiences. I hope you have a great trip.

 

[indycindy]

I guess that I wasn't clear, I meant that I wanted the reservation to be at 8:00pm at California Grill, if I can get it, once they start taking reservations again. But I thought HalloWishes was at 9:00pm.....thank you for telling me it is at 9:30. Now I will try to get the ADR at 8:30ish. I didn't realize that there was a deck either. Sounds PERFECT!

Still, does anyone think that with the early morning ADR and then coming back in the afternoon for a few hours before returning that I would be better off renting a car? I can rent a small car for the whole week for less than $250. I am trying to decide if that is worth it.....

 

[Clamman73]

Personally, for jumping back and forth from resort - breakfast - Park - resort - dinner - Park - resort, I would want a car.

 

[rob45]

Thats a lot of food!

 

[tsaintc]

I guess that I wasn't clear, I meant that I wanted the reservation to be at 8:00pm at California Grill, if I can get it, once they start taking reservations again. But I thought HalloWishes was at 9:00pm.....thank you for telling me it is at 9:30. Now I will try to get the ADR at 8:30ish. I didn't realize that there was a deck either. Sounds PERFECT!

Still, does anyone think that with the early morning ADR and then coming back in the afternoon for a few hours before returning that I would be better off renting a car? I can rent a small car for the whole week for less than $250. I am trying to decide if that is worth it.....

I guess I did not notice your plans to return the resort so often. If you truly want to do that, a car will help. But you will be losing a large amount of 'park time' by bouncing from park to resort. You are looking at 45 mins to an hour in travel time (each way) from resort to park, by the time you park, pass thru bag check, then thru the gates, etc. This does not even take the MK transportation process into account.

Once again, I do not mean to be overly critical, and we are diehards that maximize time in the park. I can count on one hand the number of times that we needed to or chose to go back to the resort during the day (25 trips and counting....).

 

[PolynesianPrincess]

That definitely is a lot of dining, as others have pointed out. However, to some people, dining is just as important as the attractions, shows and meet and greets. We do at least one table service meal per day on our trips, sometimes more than one on occasion. We love to eat!! Also it provides a nice break from the regular QS meals and it's a nice time to relax and unwind. However - I don't think we would do an afternoon meal coupled with a return to the resort. Maybe a return to the resort if we do a breakfast or dinner. On our trip next month the parks are open VERY late (midnight to 2am at MK on some days) and the parks will be very busy so we plan to be there at rope drop and head back to the resort in the afternoon for a swim or nap and then head back to the parks for closing. I say this now because I'm sure some of us will choose to be there park opening to park close lol. Just do what you think your family will most enjoy!

 

[Zman-ks]

Looks like a good plan!

 

[indycindy]

Tsaintc, I don't think you are being critical. I asked for everyone's thoughts. The ONLY reason that I am returning to the resorts in the middle of the day is because I have read on all of these mom blogs about Disney, that I found on Pinterest, that you should get there at the rope drop, follow a tourning plan, and then return to the resort for the afternoons to rest. They said that otherwise, your family will get tired out very quickly during a one-week trip. We absolutley might NOT return on our HS and AK days.....it's was just a thought (or possibility).

It is a LOOOOOOOT of food. I wish that Disney had a dining plan that gave you 2 table service meals per day. Three table service meals is a lot! I feel like we have to use them all though.....thus all of the signature restaurants. But, I wanted to do character meals and I DID want to try the signature restaurants, so I thought this was the cheapest way to do all of that.....I could be DEAD WRONG, but honestly, if my husband had to look at prices every day on every menu and then pay, he would have GREAT anxiety. By me being able to tell him that it's "all-inclusive" and that I already paid for everything, he might be able to relax and enjoy himself. We both LOOOOOVE food, but he just HATES to pay for good food. So, this is my manipulative way of getting us some great meals without having to deal with his anxiety about them......as it is, he will probably pick the cheaper items on the menu so that he doesn't have to tip as much! (no, I'm not kidding....)

 

[Alexis]

Hi! Nice trip planning. I did notice you got a lot of dinning going on jumping from park to park! But that's alright if you haven't been in a while to get the excitement! Maybe if you have free time you can go to Downtown Disney on spare time to fit in there. They do have a good amount of restaurants and shops there, maybe you should check that out
Have fun!

 

[rob45]

A great plan, have a safe trip!

 

[PrincessNelly_NJ]

Honestly, Im with the others that have said that is alot of food.. But I love food! lol. So if you want to keep you general dining layout, I'd give a couple more hours between breakfast and lunch and do a late dinner like (8pm). Because a few of your breakfast choices are buffet style and you don't want to over eat... not that I have any experience with that hehe...

On your Animal Kingdom day... do you have a way to get back to Coronado from Boma? Buses only run an hour after closing and from what I see, that would be about 6 pm.

3 sit down meals per day is alot.. Personally I'd drop Captain's Grill and move your lunch at the Coral Reef to Epcot day 2.

Again, Breakfast and lunch that close, you might not even be hungry and that might ruin CRT for you and your little ones. I would move CRT to an early dinner

I think you should stay at Hollywood Studios all day. Although Hollywood Studios doesn't have many rides, lines can get long and they have some great shows.

Make sure you including 45 minutes traveling time between Coronado and anywhere. Also with all of your early Breakfast reservations, you might want a car, in case bus aren't running at 6 am. And if you do get a car, realize you will have to pay for parking as well.

Also, can you still use your dining credits after check out on your last day?

And Downtown Disney has some great restaurants worth looking into as well.

 

[indycindy]

I will have to ask about using the dining credits after checking out. I hadn't thought about that being an issue. We are staying that whole day.

I called Coronado Springs directly because I was concerned about getting to the early morning ADRs. They said that the conceirge sets up a special bus to get people to their early morning ADRs and to check with him/her the night before to find out when and where I need to meet that bus.

I think I am going to cancel Coral Reef and Change Le Chefs de France to Monsieur Paul.

I think I will also change the Cape May Cafe breakfast to a much later time so that we can sleep in after MNSSHP, and then still be able to stay awake for Fantasmic. That way we also wont have to go back to the resort at all during the day.

 

[PrincessNelly_NJ]

I will have to ask about using the dining credits after checking out. I hadn't thought about that being an issue. We are staying that whole day.

I called Coronado Springs directly because I was concerned about getting to the early morning ADRs. They said that the conceirge sets up a special bus to get people to their early morning ADRs and to check with him/her the night before to find out when and where I need to meet that bus.

I think I am going to cancel Coral Reef and Change Le Chefs de France to Monsieur Paul.

I think I will also change the Cape May Cafe breakfast to a much later time so that we can sleep in after MNSSHP, and then still be able to stay awake for Fantasmic. That way we also wont have to go back to the resort at all during the day.

Oh ok, Coronado lover over here and even I didn't know they do that!
Have a great trip!

 

[StarWarsGirl]

Hi, I've been planning for the last couple of weeks (although I have been READING and planning in my mind for the last 4 years!). I have finally decided on a resort and have made my ADRs. My daughters will be 7 and (almost) 10 at the time. My husband is going too. I was wondering if you could please look over my plans and let me know if you see any major (or minor) flaws, and the BIG question is this......DO I NEED TO RENT A CAR???

No. Not unless you are leaving property. They have enough transportation that you don't need a car. Ever. Actually, MK is more of a pain in the butt with parking than with just taking the bus.

Day 1:arrive in Orlando airport at 5:20
Check in at Coronado Springs
Dinner at 7:30pm Maya Grill
Go to bed right after dinner

Sounds good.

Day 2: (first) Magic Kingdom Day
Breakfast Chef Mickey's 7:00am
Lunch at Be Our Guest 1:00pm (No ADRs.....stand in line)
Return to resort for rest and swim after lunch (2:30pm??)
Dinner Artist Point 7:05pm (but I will change this to California Grill at
a good time to see Wishes from there (8:00pm ish) if I can get an ADR
after they star taking those again, in which case, I would push back our
Be Our Guest lunch to 2:00)

Don't set an exact time for a quick service. Eat when you're hungry. Also, after Chef Mickey's, you may not be hungry.

Day 3 (only) Animal Kingdom Day
Breakfast Boma 7:30am
Return to resort to rest and change at 3:00pm
Dinner Jiko 5:30pm
Early to bed!

Early bed? That's no fun

Day 4 (first) Epcot Day
Breakfast Akershus 8:10 am
Lunch Coral Reef 1:30pm
Return to resort to rest and swim after lunch
Dinner at Le Chefs de France 7:00pm
IllumiNaions at 9:00pm

That is an awful lot of food for the day. And part of the fun of Epcot is trying cuisine from multiple countries. Keep Les Chefs de France because it's fantastic. Cancel both Coral Reef and Akershus (I'm doing you a favor on Akershus). If you want to do breakfast, do a quick service at France. It's really good.

Day 5 (second) Magic Kingdom Day
1900 Park Fare 8:10am
Cinderella's Royal Table 2:00pm
Return to resort to rest after lunch
Head back to MK for MNSSHP at 6:00pm
No dinner reservations
HalloWishes 9:00pm

Hmm. You generally don't want to do a breakfast reservation and lunch reservation on the same day. I would keep Park fare, cancel the castle. Food isn't that great at the castle, though I've never been to Park Fare, so I can't speak for the food there either.

Cosmic Ray's is a good spot for dinner if you do QS. Or you can try to get a reservation in the resort area. May I recommend Kona at the Polynesian?

Day 6 (only) Hollywood Studios Day
Cape May Cafe 7:30am
Return to resort to rest at 1:00pm
Sci Fi Drive-in 5:40pm
Fantastic 7:30pm

Er...Sci Fi tends to be better for lunch. Either change it to lunch and skip Cape May or change it to Prime Time Cafe.

Day 7 (second) Epcot Day
Captain's Grill 7:30am
Return to resort to rest & swim 2:00pm
Narcoosee's 7:50pm
Hopefully get a window table to watch HalloWishes with our dessert

Sounds good

Day 8 (third) Magic Kingdom Day
The Wave 7:30am
Crystal Palace 2:35 pm
Flight hope departs at 7:40pm

Cancel Crystal Palace and just do the Wave so you have more time in the parks

We bought the deluxe dining plan, so with four of us, we will have a gazillion snack credits to get us through the days that we only have 2 meals planned (we only have 3 meals planned on two of the days). We also have one leftover meal credit. I'm not sure how we should use that. I was thinking we could just get a counter service meal at MNSSHP so as not to waste too much of that time sitting in a restaurant. Or, do you think we would be better off making ADR at a MK restaurant?

If you have the time and the inclination to scrutinize someone else's trip plans, I would truly appreciate it if you could let me know if you see any major (or minor) flaws in my plans. I am going to try to follow touring plans from touringplans.com for our mornings at the parks.
I REALLY TRULY appreciate any and all thoughts and suggestions as this will probably be my family's one and only BIG Disney trip. This is a BIG splurge for us, so I want to be sure I make it worth it

Get. Rid. Of. Your. Dining. Plan. Seriously. Go pick up your phone, call Disney, and tell them that you would like to cancel. That is way too much food. You are going to waste more money that way. You are going to be so stuffed you can't enjoy your vacation. Just...don't. Trust me. Plus, you have a 10 year old and a 7 year old? They are not going to want to sit for that long. I know I would not have wanted to sit that long at their age.

My other advice to you is to go with the flow. You're over planning a bit. Don't get me wrong; it's good to get your ADRs straight and which park you're thinking about doing on what day, but remember that it does storm in the afternoon, so planning a pool day in advance? Not the best idea! You're on vacation, not in boot camp. When you enter the park, mentally plan your day.

 

[Rogue21]

I am both exhausted and full after just reading your itinerary! It IS a lot of food and a lot of running back and forth to get from food to resort to park, etc. I hope you planned a recovery day once you get back home.

Now, since you asked, my 2 cents worth . . .
First, you may be cutting it a little close from arrival in MCO to settling in at Coronado Springs for a dinner at 7:30. 30 minutes later might be a tad less "rushed".
If you must do all the table service meals, perhaps keep them for breakfast and dinner. I can hardly imagine eating 3 big meals a day AND running around the parks. Lunch would never make it through a spin in the Tea Cups.
As for a car, I would get one. With all the back and forth, it might save you time in the long run rather than waiting for buses, monorails and boats. (Plus, I hate feeling trapped -- but that's just me.)
If your girls are as energetic as my two nieces at that age, you may find them not wanting to go back to the resort every day. Perhaps you may need to build more flexibility into your plans.

And finally, while you have been planning this for a long time and it may be your one big trip . . . sadly, you won't be able to see it all. Do and enjoy what is most important to you and your family -- dining, the parks (rides/shows), resorts and evening "spectaculars".

**Note -- October is also Food & Wine Festival. Save some room to try the snack size bites all around World Showcase. No tipping required!

 

[Jo DeVil]

Make sure you including 45 minutes traveling time between Coronado and anywhere. Also with all of your early Breakfast reservations, you might want a car, in case bus aren't running at 6 am. And if you do get a car, realize you will have to pay for parking as well.

When did paying for car park for resort guest start!! We have never had to pay for parking at any of the resorts or the parks you just show you vehicle pass that is given to you when you arrive.

 

[Mr.Skunkape]

No will not need to return everyday to the resort for a break. Your kids are plenty old enough to be in the parks all day. If they are having fun stay in the parks with all the meals you have planned you will be getting 2-4 hours of rest everyday just sitting and eating. By age 3 my kids went all day and still had more energy than me.