First time in a long time. ADRs after break?

[pkelly6]

Hi! Planning a trip to WDW 9/28-10/4 with our two girls (4 and 7 at time of travel). I haven't been in 12+ years, and am finding all the information to be overwhelming. Hoping you can help finesse these plans or let me know what I am totally missing.

Here's what I'm thinking...
Sun (arrival) MK
Mon AK
Tue Down day (possible pirate outing for kids and MNSSHP, will see what dates are actually offered)
Wed Epcot
Thur MK
Fri Whatever girls want to do again
Sat travel home

I'm one of those that can open and close a park, but these three (kids + DH) are not as inclined. DH apparently hates WDW. I finally told him I'm taking them, you can come or you can stay home. :/

I'm considering a break each afternoon and am wondering thoughts of doing ADR each night around 4:00 to get my family moving again. Is that too early/late?

We will have parkhoppers, so would it be better to do one park in the AM and then another in the PM?

What resort has best pool area for kids?

Debating between All Stars Movies and Caribbean Beach for lodging. What would you recommend? Could we split the stay? First 3 nights in ASM, last 3 in CB? Will Disney let us move half way through stay? Doesn't seem to be an option on line to do that; do I have to call?

Also, is it worth trying to do a park on last day or should we plan to swim/shop? We don't leave MCO until 9:00pm or should we postpone travel home until following morning?

Would kids be interested in Hollywood Studios at all? I didn't plan on trying to hit that as I'm (trying) to keep this as freeform as I can (very against my nature!).

Thanks! Sorry for any ramblings. I'm just very excited!!

 

[Tinkerbell397]

Congratulations on your upcoming trip. We were in Disney this past September around the same time and is is a great time to go....light crowds during the week but more crowded on the weekends. The weather is still very hot and humid so an afternoon break for pool time is a very good idea. I will try to answer some of your questions.
Hollywood Studio..... my least favorite park.....compared to the other parks....much smaller in size so I would do that park during the week hoping for thinner crowds. I also find it very hot for some reason....maybe it's the size. Your kids will enjoy The Great Movie Ride provided there are not long lines as the queue is a reel of old (1920-1980's) movies....they kids might not enjoy that. They will like Toy Story Mania and The Muppets Movie. For a meal...you should try The Prime Time Cafe....fun fun fun.
You can do a split stay so I would call to arrange with a Cast Member. I have not stayed at either resort you listed so I cannot advise although I have heard that CB has a very fun pool for kids.
I think the kids will be so excited to be in Disney that they will be up and ready to go into the parks early but don't push it. I have seen parents pushing crying kids though the park....no fun for anyone. As far as your husband is concerned...once he sees his kids in Disney, he will love it. My friend's husband was the same way. One trip and he is a changed man....they go every year.
Definitely go into the park on your last day. Just be sure you check out by 11....leave your luggage with the front desk and enjoy! That last day takes a bit of planning to be sure you have everything you need as you won't have a room to return to once checked out. You will get an message under your door the day before you leave telling you what time DME will pick you up so allow yourself plenty of time to return to your resort. DME usually picks up 3-4 hours before your flight.
Let your kids set the pace.....watch them for cues that they are beginning to get tired and go back to the hotel for a break before a meltdown. And you can split up....if your year old has more stamina, once of you can take the 4 year old back to the hotel for a rest.
Stay turned to this board for more ideas....everyone is very helpful.

 

[PrincessNelly_NJ]

Hi! Planning a trip to WDW 9/28-10/4 with our two girls (4 and 7 at time of travel). I haven't been in 12+ years, and am finding all the information to be overwhelming. Hoping you can help finesse these plans or let me know what I am totally missing.

Here's what I'm thinking...
Sun (arrival) MK
Mon AK
Tue Down day (possible pirate outing for kids and MNSSHP, will see what dates are actually offered)
Wed Epcot
Thur MK
Fri Whatever girls want to do again
Sat travel home

I'm one of those that can open and close a park, but these three (kids + DH) are not as inclined. DH apparently hates WDW. I finally told him I'm taking them, you can come or you can stay home. :/

I'm considering a break each afternoon and am wondering thoughts of doing ADR each night around 4:00 to get my family moving again. Is that too early/late?

We will have parkhoppers, so would it be better to do one park in the AM and then another in the PM?

What resort has best pool area for kids?

Debating between All Stars Movies and Caribbean Beach for lodging. What would you recommend? Could we split the stay? First 3 nights in ASM, last 3 in CB? Will Disney let us move half way through stay? Doesn't seem to be an option on line to do that; do I have to call?

Also, is it worth trying to do a park on last day or should we plan to swim/shop? We don't leave MCO until 9:00pm or should we postpone travel home until following morning?

Would kids be interested in Hollywood Studios at all? I didn't plan on trying to hit that as I'm (trying) to keep this as freeform as I can (very against my nature!).

Thanks! Sorry for any ramblings. I'm just very excited!!

If you plan on eating breakfast, lunch, and dinner.. I would space your meals out every 4 - 5 hours or so,
8 am breakfast (estimating about 30 minutes to eat) - 12 pm lunch (estimating about 30 minutes to 45 minutes to eat) - 5 pm dinner.

I would definitely take advantage of morning extra magic hours, mid day break, then spend the night at another park.

Value pools are fun shaped and the decor of value resorts can be very attractive to children. However, since you plan on relaxing at your resort and taking mid day breaks, I would spend the money and stay at a moderate. I feel that Coronado and Caribbean Beach have the best pools in the moderate category. But since you have two girls, I would recommend Port Orleans Riverside for the Princess Rooms and boat transportation to DTD. And yes you can do a split stay, they will switch your luggage for you as well.

I would hit MK again since DME wont pick you up until 6 or 7.

I would definitely spend sometime at Hollywood Studios. Your kids would enjoy Toy Story, Muppets,and the shows! I would recommend Sci-fi Dine In (as a kid who never go to experience drive in movies, it was the one memory from my first Disney trip at 4 years old that I still remember!)

 

[Family B]

Hi-

I'll share what I know about that week, since I'm planning for the same week and this will be our 3rd time going during September/October. My DS is 10 and DD will be 6 at the time of the trip.

We've never used Park Hoppers on any of our trips. It seems like it would be a waste with how we tour. We pretty much get to the park near Rope Drop and stay the entire day. If we do take a break we go back to the same park. The time lost in transportation is just to valuable to us to be jumping parks. We put the extra money towards doing special activities.

The MNSSHP scheduled hasn't been released yet. Based on LY, it sounds like Sunday & Thursday are the days for this week. (I didn't note in my trip planning about Friday since we are heading home that day.) This made our schedule different than what we would normally do.

You may want to re-think Sunday if there is a Halloween Party that day with the early closing. We usually start that day late (love MK at night) but with the MSNNHP it's not a good use of a day for us. We decided to do Hollywood Studio's that day. We are hoping the FP+ will be an advantage in scheduling so that we can just do an evening at this park. We don't find it to be an all day park and I would agree, it feels hot.

I'd avoid Epcot on Sunday/Friday/Saturday because of F&W. We found it really took some of the fun out of Epcot because of the crowds those days.

I've not found a bad pool where my kids are concerned. My DS has one request and that is a slide, which isn't found at a Value Resort. I looked more into the location/theme and food court choices since we tend to eat at the resort at least once a day.

I found early dinners or late lunches to be a life saver. Typically it was about the warmest most miserable part of the day so to know we were going to be in the AC was a relief.

Dining Options with kids:
Whispering Canyon - Great Breakfast and fun with kids.
Hoop Dee Do - So much fun and the food was good.
Be Our Guest - You can't beat the environment. This is one of the best themed restaurants. We thought the food was good.
Cinderella Royal Table - I'd only recommend this because of your girls. It's just a must do one time. We did pre-park opening on our last trip.
Ohana - We try and schedule this during MSNNHP - just to see the Fireworks.

We have done split stays but it does take away a bit from getting settled and relaxing.

We try and pick one "extra" each time, these are a few favorites:
Pirates League - My DD wants to try this over BBB. My DS loved his experience. (We've done BBB a few times, my DD just isn't all that girly. I'd still recommend BBB for girls, it's so much fun.)
Pirates & Pals Firework Cruise - I can't rave about this enough. We did this on our arrival night last trip (with Grandma & Great-Aunt). The kids had a blast and the adults still rave about this experience.
GF Sense Spa - DD had a mani/pedi. It was a great way to get off our feet for a while.
Main Street Barber Shop - Both kids did this two trips ago. I saw a lot of men getting their hair cut.
MSNNHP - Best Fireworks and Parade - We haven't done it but one time, but would in the right trip.

In the past I've planned everything myself. Last year I switched and had a TA. This was a huge lifesaver. She watched discounts got every ressie we wanted when we wanted. I'm using her again this year. Given how long it has been since you last went, it might be worth having something help with the planning. I use the ones that sponsor this board. With all the changes with FP+/Magic Bands I just think the TA in so valuable.