Critique our family's first trip plans

[tehSAC]

We will be visiting May 14th - 19th for our first family visit to WDW. it will also be our 4 yr olds first visit. We are not a commando family but we do have things we want to see.

MK:
Everything but Space Mountain
MUST meet Rapunzel

Epcot:
Nemo
Spaceship Earth
Imagination

HS:
Star Wars
Little Memaid
Movie Ride

Animal Kingdom:
Safari
Jungle Trek

We have some adr's and a BBB appt, but other than that we are just going with the flow. Although I do have some concerns about what days to visit which park and if my thoughts will give us the oppurtiunity to see everything we won't to see. Here is my initial idea. Let me know your thoughts and any advice you have.

Monday May 14th:
Epcot - Future World (morning)
Break (afternoon)
Epcot - World Showcase (evening)

Tuesday May 15th
Magic Kingdom - (Morning). ADR at CRT 8:05 am
Break (afternoon)
Hollywood Studios (evening)

Wednesday May 16th
Epcot - FW/WS (morning)
Break (afternoon)
Magic Kingdom (evening)

Thursday May 17th
Animal Kingdom - (morning) ADR at Tusker House 8:00 am
Break (afternoon)
Hollywood Studios (evening)

Friday May 18th
Magic Kingdom (morning) BBB Reservation at 9:25 am
Break (afternoon)
Magic Kingdom (evening)

Saturday May 19th
Downtown Disney morning then head home

So does this look good or would you change something? Only 99 more days!!!! :sohappy:

 

[SAV]

At DHS, I would try to get there in the morning to ride Toy Story Midway Mania or you will be waiting a long time since Fast Passes are usually out by mid day. Our son loved it when he was 4. Also, the Playhouse Disney show seems like a perfect show for a 4yo and that isn't on your list.

It looks like you are only allowing less than a half of a day at Animal Kingdom. That is far too short. Festival of the Lion King and Finding Nemo the Musical are amazing. Our kids love both of those. Not to mention just to have time to walk through the park and take everything in.

It is best to check touringplans.com for the best days for each park.

Have a magical trip.

 

[DisneyWall-E]

meeting Rapunzel took my family and I almost 2 hours. She is vary vary vary popular.

 

[vcstr]

I feel like with a four year-old you will need less time in Epcot and more in Animal Kingdom. I would trade one of your half days in Epcot for another half day in Animal Kingdom. It's good you've allowed yourself so much time in Magic Kingdom, I think your 4yo will enjoy that the most.

You have a great attitude about going with the flow, my only other suggestion would be for rides at MK like Splash Mountain on a hot day or perhaps even Mickey's Philharmagic (fun for young kids, provided 3D movies don't freak them out!) plan ahead enough to grab a fastpass to use later in the day.

Have a fantastic vacation!

 

[tehSAC]

At DHS, I would try to get there in the morning to ride Toy Story Midway Mania or you will be waiting a long time since Fast Passes are usually out by mid day. Our son loved it when he was 4. Also, the Playhouse Disney show seems like a perfect show for a 4yo and that isn't on your list.

It looks like you are only allowing less than a half of a day at Animal Kingdom. That is far too short. Festival of the Lion King and Finding Nemo the Musical are amazing. Our kids love both of those. Not to mention just to have time to walk through the park and take everything in.

It is best to check touringplans.com for the best days for each park.

Have a magical trip.

Well the only days recommended to visit HS are the days we have early morning ADR’s at MK and AK. Every other day has a EMH’s, plus SWW start on the 18th. I assume we could switch out an Epcot morning (14th or 16th) but in all honesty we never really considered trying to ride TSM. Knowing the waits, and the mad dash just to get a fastpass in the morning turns me and my wife off.

I also forgot to mention we wanted to visit the Playhouse Disney show. It was late when I made the post. LOL

We may try and squeeze another day into Animal Kingdom, but I’m not sure we really want too. We will leave that up to the 4 yr old in a way. If we do go for another half day we might throw in a morning on the 19th. The shows do sound amazing, but trying to get my 4yr old to sit and enjoy it might be a chore in itself. Having another half day would be great to have extra time to soak in most of the animals and such.

Monday May 14th:
Epcot - Future World (morning)
Break (afternoon)
Epcot - World Showcase (evening)

Tuesday May 15th
Magic Kingdom - (Morning). ADR at CRT 8:05 am
Break (afternoon)
Hollywood Studios (evening)

Wednesday May 16th
Animal Kingdom (morning)
Break (afternoon)
Magic Kingdom (evening)

Thursday May 17th
Animal Kingdom - (morning) ADR at Tusker House 8:00 am
Break (afternoon)
Hollywood Studios (evening)

Friday May 18th
Magic Kingdom (morning) BBB Reservation at 9:25 am
Break (afternoon)
Magic Kingdom (evening)

Saturday May 19th
Downtown Disney morning then head home

meeting Rapunzel took my family and I almost 2 hours. She is vary vary vary popular.

I have read that she is very popular. We plan on heading over to get in line after our morning ADR at CRT on the 15th. It is our only MUST for our trip. I have been telling my daughter that we might wait a long time to see her favorite.

 

[ThinkTink721]

MK: It will take awhile to see everything.
The line for Rapunzel can be long, so be sure to p/u a meet & greet schedule when you enter the park.

Epcot: You should be able to do Nemo, SE, & Imagination within a couple of hours.
If you decide to ride Soarin' in The Land, be sure to get Fastpasses when the park opens.

HS: You should be able to do SW, LM, & MR within a couple of hours.
I would suggest doing TSM (get Fastpasses when the park opens).

AK: Get there when the park opens & ride the Safari 1st.

*Some of your reservations are early - make sure you leave in plenty of time to get to your destination.

*Visit HS in the am so you can ride TSM.

*I know it's hard to get an ADR at CRT - but, it would be fun to do the BBB before CRT one morning - that way she can be dressed up for the breakfast!

*I think you will enjoy Epcot WS in the evening.

*Afternoon breaks are great - I wish we would learn to do more of those!

:wave:

 

[tehSAC]

MK: It will take awhile to see everything.
The line for Rapunzel can be long, so be sure to p/u a meet & greet schedule when you enter the park.

Epcot: You should be able to do Nemo, SE, & Imagination within a couple of hours.
If you decide to ride Soarin' in The Land, be sure to get Fastpasses when the park opens.

HS: You should be able to do SW, LM, & MR within a couple of hours.
I would suggest doing TSM (get Fastpasses when the park opens).

AK: Get there when the park opens & ride the Safari 1st.

*Some of your reservations are early - make sure you leave in plenty of time to get to your destination.

*Visit HS in the am so you can ride TSM.

*I know it's hard to get an ADR at CRT - but, it would be fun to do the BBB before CRT one morning - that way she can be dressed up for the breakfast!

*I think you will enjoy Epcot WS in the evening.

*Afternoon breaks are great - I wish we would learn to do more of those!

:wave:

Yea Rapunzel will be the first thing we do after our CRT reservation. Our reservation is on a day without EMH’s so we are hoping to eat and be done before or just after rope drop.

I think we will be skipping Soarin this time. We also want to try and get one of the first safari trucks after our Tusker House ADR. I specifically made our breakfast ADR’s on days without EMH’s

We will be using our own vehicle for transportation, so I don’t foresee an issue with arriving on time. We tend to be morning people anyway.

We hadn’t decided to do BBB until just last week, that is why we are waiting until Friday to attend. It never occurred to us to do this before hand until last week, but I’m sure she will want to wear one of her princess dresses that day.

 

[draybook]

If you go to Rapunzel first thing in the morning then it shouldn't take longer than 30 minutes or so, depending on the characters scheduled M&G time.

 

[erinshaneb]

Are you staying on site? There is a secret to meeting Rapunzel...When we went last September, the line was also 2 hours IN THE SUN :brick:..told my daughter no way..well you know what happened ..anyway...a cast member pulled my husband aside and told us to come back in the morning..she comes out about 9:15 (by the time everything gets set up), BUT if you are a resort guest, you get in an HOUR early for EMH..so we got up early, headed to the park and sat my kids down with grandpa and went and got breakfast..by the time breakfast was over we only had a short time to wait...then after that we hopped on a bus and continuted on our way....check your schedule and see if that would work (and make sure she is still on that schedule)

 

[JillC LI]

Soarin' in EPCOT is our family's #1 favorite ride. I'd say don't miss it. Toy Story Midway Mania in DHS is also a do not miss, if possible.

 

[tehSAC]

So I've tweaked our days as follows:

Monday May 14th:
Epcot - Future World (morning)
Break (afternoon)
Epcot - World Showcase (evening)

Tuesday May 15th
Magic Kingdom - (Morning). ADR at CRT 8:05 am
Break (afternoon)
Magic Kingdom (evening)

Wednesday May 16th
Animal Kingdom (morning) ADR at Tusker House 8:10 am
Break (afternoon)
Animal Kingdom/Magic Kingdom (evening)

Thursday May 17th
Hollywood Studios - (morning)
Break (afternoon)
Hollywood Studios (evening)

Friday May 18th
Magic Kingdom (morning) BBB Reservation at 9:25 am
Break (afternoon)
Magic Kingdom (evening)

Saturday May 19th
Magic Kingdom (morning)
Downtown Disney Mid Afternoon then head home

I was able to move our tusker house reservation to the 16th from the 17th. I did this because it was suggested HS was a better option to visit on the 17th than any other days while we were there.

 

[ncstate7991]

One great thing about your new schedule is you do not have to pay extra for a park hopper. That will save you ~$150 for a family of three!

 

[38053WDW]

On your ADR @ CRT .. if your waiting out front to get into MK ..look around... me and my daughter we're dancing (per say) while waiting and it attracted an attendant .. He thought it was cute so we were chosen to OPEN the PARK for that day !!! we were taken to the back (ToonTown) and had Mickey and Minnie, Daisy, Mad Hatter, Wendy Alladin and more to ourselves then rode the train around to the front to open the park !!! (and they took care of our reservations @ CRT for us) - Just relax, enjoy and make it a special time for all of you !!! I promise .. you will come back (use fast pass wen at all possible)

 

[tehSAC]

On your ADR @ CRT .. if your waiting out front to get into MK ..look around... me and my daughter we're dancing (per say) while waiting and it attracted an attendant .. He thought it was cute so we were chosen to OPEN the PARK for that day !!! we were taken to the back (ToonTown) and had Mickey and Minnie, Daisy, Mad Hatter, Wendy Alladin and more to ourselves then rode the train around to the front to open the park !!! (and they took care of our reservations @ CRT for us) - Just relax, enjoy and make it a special time for all of you !!! I promise .. you will come back (use fast pass wen at all possible)

Thats awesome! Congrats!

:sohappy:

 

[vjgraham]

So I've tweaked our days as follows:



Monday May 14th:
Epcot - Future World (morning)
Break (afternoon)
Epcot - World Showcase (evening)

Tuesday May 15th
Magic Kingdom - (Morning). ADR at CRT 8:05 am
Break (afternoon)
Magic Kingdom (evening)

Wednesday May 16th
Animal Kingdom (morning) ADR at Tusker House 8:10 am
Break (afternoon)
Animal Kingdom/Magic Kingdom (evening)

Thursday May 17th
Hollywood Studios - (morning)
Break (afternoon)
Hollywood Studios (evening)

Friday May 18th
Magic Kingdom (morning) BBB Reservation at 9:25 am
Break (afternoon)
Magic Kingdom (evening)

Saturday May 19th
Magic Kingdom (morning)
Downtown Disney Mid Afternoon then head home

I was able to move our tusker house reservation to the 16th from the 17th. I did this because it was suggested HS was a better option to visit on the 17th than any other days while we were there.

I like your tweaked schedule much more. You are doing the right thing by not trying to do too much park "hopping". Finishing on the last day at MK is smart thing since your 4 yr old will remember his time there most fondly. BTW our family will be arriving on May 19, and our first park will be MK. Maybe we will se you there. have a great time.:wave:

 

[tinkerbell35]

our daughter was 18 months on her first trip an needless to say we did spend most of our time in the MK. You may want to hit the studios early on to get things done early in the day and spend an evening at Epcot. If you like Epcot then do another evening since it isnt open until after 11 am anyway and do an animal kingdom in the morning then to Epcot later. You can do this several times if the kids like both parks. Mk is always a must for us for the younger children it is the most magical. Thats why we did spend spend most of our time there. Most likey we would be doing the same thing this year since she cant wit to go back this summer and is already talking about it daily.Also another thing to look into is the extra magic hours some are open later and some are open earlier. Take advantage of that to. There is also an online forum that you can go to, off hand i cant think of it maybe someone else might know here, that you can check the schedule of what is busier per day as you are there. This will help you avoid the crowds to. Some parks are busier on some days rather than others. Good luck to you. I know Rapunzel is seen just to the west of Cosmic Rays and behind Winnie the Pooh and south west of the teacups. She is usually seen around 1pm at least she was when we where there. There are some apps that you can download, some for free that you can start to use now in order to get an idea of who is where at what times and how long the waits are for some rides during which times during the day. I know we got a fast pass for Mickey;s Philharmagic and got an extra one for Pooh that came out with it. Great bonus for us with our little girl. Have a great time.:wave:

 

[Pan]

You should gave a great trip. Just make sure you really take the mid day breaks. When we had made plans to be at the same park both morning and afternoon, I've been guilty of deciding to just stay the whole day since we were all having such a great time and I thought are young ones wouldn't take a nap anyway. By day 3, my wife and kids hit the wall. And as they say, when the wife isn't happy, no one is happy :lol: Get an early start. Be there when the park opens, and then get out by 11:30 when the crowd starts to build. Have lunch, take a nap or play in the pool, and then head back later in the afternoon.

If your son likes meeting characters, he's at a great age to enjoy this. Even though WS at Epcot has more appeal to adults, its a great place to meet characters as there are less kids around. Pooh and Tigger can be found in England, Aladdin/Jasmine in Morocco, Belle and the Beast in France.

 

[tehSAC]

our daughter was 18 months on her first trip an needless to say we did spend most of our time in the MK. You may want to hit the studios early on to get things done early in the day and spend an evening at Epcot. If you like Epcot then do another evening since it isnt open until after 11 am anyway and do an animal kingdom in the morning then to Epcot later. You can do this several times if the kids like both parks. Mk is always a must for us for the younger children it is the most magical. Thats why we did spend spend most of our time there. Most likey we would be doing the same thing this year since she cant wit to go back this summer and is already talking about it daily.Also another thing to look into is the extra magic hours some are open later and some are open earlier. Take advantage of that to. There is also an online forum that you can go to, off hand i cant think of it maybe someone else might know here, that you can check the schedule of what is busier per day as you are there. This will help you avoid the crowds to. Some parks are busier on some days rather than others. Good luck to you. I know Rapunzel is seen just to the west of Cosmic Rays and behind Winnie the Pooh and south west of the teacups. She is usually seen around 1pm at least she was when we where there. There are some apps that you can download, some for free that you can start to use now in order to get an idea of who is where at what times and how long the waits are for some rides during which times during the day. I know we got a fast pass for Mickey;s Philharmagic and got an extra one for Pooh that came out with it. Great bonus for us with our little girl. Have a great time.:wave:

Thanks for the information!

You should gave a great trip. Just make sure you really take the mid day breaks. When we had made plans to be at the same park both morning and afternoon, I've been guilty of deciding to just stay the whole day since we were all having such a great time and I thought are young ones wouldn't take a nap anyway. By day 3, my wife and kids hit the wall. And as they say, when the wife isn't happy, no one is happy :lol: Get an early start. Be there when the park opens, and then get out by 11:30 when the crowd starts to build. Have lunch, take a nap or play in the pool, and then head back later in the afternoon.

If your son likes meeting characters, he's at a great age to enjoy this. Even though WS at Epcot has more appeal to adults, its a great place to meet characters as there are less kids around. Pooh and Tigger can be found in England, Aladdin/Jasmine in Morocco, Belle and the Beast in France.

When my mother used to take us, we never missed a break. Even at 14 yrs old, a break was perfect. I’m not sure how my daughter is going to act around the characters. She isn’t a fan of Chuck E Cheese, but the face characters I don’t see a problem.

I like your tweaked schedule much more. You are doing the right thing by not trying to do too much park "hopping". Finishing on the last day at MK is smart thing since your 4 yr old will remember his time there most fondly. BTW our family will be arriving on May 19, and our first park will be MK. Maybe we will se you there. have a great time.:wave:

We may still get park hoppers, even if we don’t park hop as a family. I may head off to a park during my daughters nap to hit an attraction that she might not want to do. This trip is for her, so I wont be forcing her to do anything she doesn’t want to do. I’m not going to make her wait for me either if I want to do something.

 

[bmarkelon]

Looks like you have gotten great advice and made wise adjustments. I have to agree with the above poster about Magic Kingdom, we go every year and each trip we always decide to put more focus on MK, it's just the best for young kids. Ours will be 7, 5 and 2 for our next trip in August and we have given Epcot and Animal Kingdom each 1 day and HS 2. The rest of our time will be in MK and poolside at the resort.

But be prepared for the most magical trip ever, 4 is such a great age for the first trip. Happy planning, looks great so far and you are in the right place for the best help! :wave: