Critique my 3-day Disney (AK and MK) itinerary

[crease1234]

Going to WDW in early May for 3 nights with my wife, mother-in-law, and 2 year old son. We will be staying at the Animal Kingdom Lodge. Here is my planned itinerary so far, would appreciate if you can critique it.

Day 1 (Monday) - Animal Kingdom:
Check in at Animal Kingdom Lodge at around 8am and drop bags off
Take bus to Animal Kingdom for rope drop
Rush to Flights of Passage
FastPass for Na'vi River at 10 - 11am
FastPass for Kilimanjaro Safari at 11 - 12pm
Explore Africa/Asia a little bit, head back to AKL for lunch at Sanaa at 1:15pm
Hopefully assigned a room after lunch, go back room take a nap
FastPass for Expedition Everest (just wife and I) for Expedition Everest at 3:35 - 4:35pm
Grandma takes 2-year old to Maharajah Jungle Trek while we do EE, join them after
Boneyard + Triceratops Spinner
Possibly hit up Rafiki petting zoo if time allows
Watch Lion King show
Dinner reservation at Tusker House at 7:30pm
Look at bio luminescent at Pandora, check out Lights Show if not tired

2nd day (rest day)
Buffet breakfast at Boma at 9am
Chill at pool
Explore Disney Springs after afternoon nap
Dinner reservation at T.Rex restaurant at 7pm

3rd day (Magic Kingdom):
Breakfast Buffet at Chef Mickey at 7:15am
Head to Magic Kingdom for rope drop at 9am
Head over to FantasyLand, do Winnie the Pooh first
Dumbo Spinner ride
Character meet Goof/Donald/Daisy/Minnie at Pete's Silly Side Show
Under the Sea ride (if line is not long)
Meet Gaston at Gaston's Tavern
FastPass for Enchanted Tales with Belle at 9:50 - 10:50am
FastPass for Peter Pan's Flight at 11:05 - 12:05pm
It's a Small World Ride
FastPass for Haunted Mansion at 12:35 - 1:35pm
Head to AdventureLand for Pirates of the Caribbean (will check whether FP freed up)
Magic Carpets of Aladdin
Watch Fantasy Parade at 3pm outside Sleepy Hollow. Wife and MiL can chill inside Hall of Presidents while I secure spot
Head to TomorrowLand to meet Buzz
Head back to resort to rest
Dinner at Crystal Palace at 7:45pm
Watch fireworks show at 9pm

 

[Think Tink]

Honestly looks good. Only concern would be Rope Dropping at AK on the first day. Sometimes the busses will be backed up with others trying to Rope Drop as well. I would try to check in a little earlier if possible so that you can ensure a spot closer to the front during rope drop. I'm also going in early May and staying at AKL. Getting excited!!!!

 

[nickys]

are you aware of the new procedure at MK now?

Everyone is allowed into Main Street and down to the Hub at 8am on a 9am opening day. You gather at the Hub and watch the show and then they drop the ropes.

So just be aware you will be behind a large crowd by doing CM first. The walk to MK is easy and security is on the walking path. And by going to Pooh first, not PP or 7dmt, you'll be fine. It might well be easier than being in the initial melee!

Also at AK, people start arriving up to 90 minutes before park opening, and they usually lead groups into the park towards Pandora before official opening. So you will probably find the line for FoP is already at least an hour. Do you have plans for the little one whilst you ride? Maybe get Grandma to take DS to look at some of the trails and then meet you in Pandora for Navii.

 

[DarthVader]

Why not spend some time at Epcot or HS? on Day 2?

 

[crease1234]

I'm hoping that, with Chef Mickey at 7:15am, we can be in Main Street by 8:30 or 8:45am. Regardless, since we are going to do Pooh first and have already secured FP for Peter Pan, I'm hoping that long lines will not be too big of a concern in the morning.

How does the rider swap for FoP work? Can we ALL go through the line together so as to soak up the experience? Then, when it comes to
the ride itself, my wife and her mom go in first while I wait by the side with our son. Then they take over the son duty and I go in by myself

 

[crease1234]

Why not spend some time at Epcot or HS? on Day 2?

Because we are staying at AKL baby! Want to spend at least one day unwinding at the pool and looking at the animals. Don't want to kill ourselves by doing 3 parks in 3 days with a toddler. Then we will need a vacation from our vacation

 

[DarthVader]

Because we are staying at AKL baby! Want to spend at least one day unwinding at the pool and looking at the animals. Don't want to kill ourselves by doing 3 parks in 3 days with a toddler. Then we will need a vacation from our vacation

You're in disney baby , 3 parks in 3 days isn't that tough, even with a toddler. We did it with twins and managed just fine, but that's just me ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

You need to build out your itiniary as best as you can, I'm not knocking it, but I guess I come from a different perspective.

 

[crease1234]

You're in disney baby , 3 parks in 3 days isn't that tough, even with a toddler. We did it with twins and managed just fine, but that's just me ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

You need to build out your itiniary as best as you can, I'm not knocking it, but I guess I come from a different perspective.

I get what you saying. My wife is having a conference in Orlando (hence the trip) every three years. We will definitely hit the other parks in due time.

 

[nickys]

I'm hoping that, with Chef Mickey at 7:15am, we can be in Main Street by 8:30 or 8:45am. Regardless, since we are going to do Pooh first and have already secured FP for Peter Pan, I'm hoping that long lines will not be too big of a concern in the morning.

How does the rider swap for FoP work? Can we ALL go through the line together so as to soak up the experience? Then, when it comes to
the ride itself, my wife and her mom go in first while I wait by the side with our son. Then they take over the son duty and I go in by myself

They won't let anyone who doesn't meet the height requirement to go through the queue. So if you're using rider swap someone will have to skip the line to use the "FP benefit" of rider swap. Of course you could just go through the line separately without rider swap, maybe at a time when the others are at the Boneyard.

 

[nickys]

Because we are staying at AKL baby! Want to spend at least one day unwinding at the pool and looking at the animals. Don't want to kill ourselves by doing 3 parks in 3 days with a toddler. Then we will need a vacation from our vacation

I agree. There are loads of activities at AKL. Tours of the kitchens, drumming, craft activities, talks by CMs. In fact the CMs will happily chat at any time about their home country and the animals.

And you have both pools to enjoy too. One of the savannahs is only viewable from the Kidani pool,area, and they have the red river hogs, which are soooo cute!

You'll love it. Stick with your plan.

 

[crease1234]

They won't let anyone who doesn't meet the height requirement to go through the queue. So if you're using rider swap someone will have to skip the line to use the "FP benefit" of rider swap. Of course you could just go through the line separately without rider swap, maybe at a time when the others are at the Boneyard.

Thanks. Do all adults need to be present when we are informing them we are doing a rider swap?

 

[nickys]

Thanks. Do all adults need to be present when we are informing them we are doing a rider swap?

You'd need at least 2 adults plus the little one, to show why you need a rider swap.

 

[jannedoe]

Honestly looks good. Only concern would be Rope Dropping at AK on the first day. Sometimes the busses will be backed up with others trying to Rope Drop as well. I would try to check in a little earlier if possible so that you can ensure a spot closer to the front during rope drop. I'm also going in early May and staying at AKL. Getting excited!!!!

I'm going to echo this. If you don't get to AK early enough before Rope Drop then you may get stuck in a multiple hour line for FOP. Worst case scenario, you end up waiting in line during your River Journey FP and miss your window. Wait times seem to go down in the mid-afternoon, so maybe you could find time to do it in the afternoon if it doesn't work out in the morning.

Other than that, your plan looks great! Just so you know, they still do the light on the Tree of Life at night in AK, plus there is a nighttime show on the water now (Rivers of Light)!

Your day in MK sounds delightful. Have a great trip!

 

[GVentola]

Last time I critiqued someone's itinerary, I thought they overdid things and would exhaust themselves. I was getting tired just looking at their plans! But your plans sound quite reasonable, adding in rest with all the recreation! The only thing I want to point out is that you may have some downtime between FastPasses where you don't know what to do with your time. The FastPasses have an hour window, and can't overlap with any other FastPasses' time. So if you do a ride early in the window's time, you may have almost an hour to wait until the window for your next FastPass. Time perhaps to do a little shopping, or find a ride without a long line.