Help me plan!

[brittany lee]

My husband, almost 5 year old and I will be celebrating out youngest daughter's 3rd birthday while at DW with it being our first time We want it to be an extra special trip staying at the Royal Rooms at Port Orleans Riverside from Dec. 3rd-7th with 4 park days and park hoppers. I'm a bit of a planner so am I out of my mind planning it out hourly with some give time in each day?

 

[brittany lee]

Day One 7:00 rise and shine
8:00 leave for Animal Kingdom
9:00 Rope drop straight to Kilimanjaro Safari
10:00 Festival of Lions
11:00 it's tough to be a bug
Explore until 12:30 for lunch at Flame Tree
1:00 Leave Park go to Resort
2:30 Leave for Hollywood
3:20 Disney Junior Live
4:00-5:00 Fast Pass for Toy Story Mania
5:30 Fast Pass for Frozen Sing Along
6:30 Head to Reservations at Minnie's Holiday Dine at Hollywood and Vine with Fatasmic package for
8:30 Fatasmic show
9:15 head back to Resort

 

[Ted Daggett]

When my kids were little, they hated Bugs Life. When my daughter was 4, she screamed hysterically when the lights went out, and we had to take her out of the show. It gets very dark in there.

 

[epcotisbest]

Day One 7:00 rise and shine
8:00 leave for Animal Kingdom
9:00 Rope drop straight to Kilimanjaro Safari
10:00 Festival of Lions
11:00 it's tough to be a bug
Explore until 12:30 for lunch at Flame Tree
1:00 Leave Park go to Resort
2:30 Leave for Hollywood
3:20 Disney Junior Live
4:00-5:00 Fast Pass for Toy Story Mania
5:30 Fast Pass for Frozen Sing Along
6:30 Head to Reservations at Minnie's Holiday Dine at Hollywood and Vine with Fatasmic package for
8:30 Fatasmic show
9:15 head back to Resort

Way too structured and nowhere near enough time at Animal Kingdom. So much to see and do there, why rush it? And yes, there are always screaming, frightened children at It's Tough to be a Bug. Personally, I'd skip it with a three-year-old.

 

[ratherbeinwdw]

It's Tough to be a Bug is very scary for little ones. Huge spiders drop from the ceiling in the almost complete darkness and hang right above your head. There are other things that would be a spoiler to tell you now. I recommend you go in first and make the decision of whether to bring in your older child.

 

[ratherbeinwdw]

There is a really good animal walkthrough right behind Kali. Make sure and do that one.

 

[brittany lee]

We have 4 park days and I would like 2 full days at Magic Kingdom so we need to split days. Would you spend more time in Epcot, Hollywood, or AK?

 

[PinnySmart]

Way too structured and nowhere near enough time at Animal Kingdom. So much to see and do there, why rush it? And yes, there are always screaming, frightened children at It's Tough to be a Bug. Personally, I'd skip it with a three-year-old.

Exactly! IMO your schedule leaves absolutely no room to even have fun. You are going to be in and out so fast you kids won't know what hit them. A good plan is a necessity but going about it so militarily is not recommended. Especially leaving the beauty of AK to rush to DHS. There is no way to see and do everything in 4 days. I know you want to pack it all in but I think the plan you have for your first day is going to wear your kids out. Rushing through the parks just to try and hit everything is really a disservice to your family. Slow down and enjoy it. If you don't your 4 days will be gone so quickly you won't even know you've been to Disney.

 

[PinnySmart]

We have 4 park days and I would like 2 full days at Magic Kingdom so we need to split days. Would you spend more time in Epcot, Hollywood, or AK?

AK. Epcot and DHS are shells of their former selves. I just can't see a 3 and 5 year old having that much to do at Epcot. All kids are different though so yours might.

 

[SAV]

I agree that your schedule is far to planned out and regimented. Nothing will ever go exactly as planned. So I think you will be stressed out more when the plan doesn't happen.

Even with the closures, I'd still recommend to slow down and do a full day at each park. Especially since you are all first timers. Each park will have plenty to do since you haven't seen any of it before. Each park is great in its own way. And if you feel you are done at a specific park, then make your decision to hop to MK to get extra time there.

Regarding it's tough to be a bug, I think it will be too scary for the 3yo for sure and possibly for the 5yo.

At Epcot, the kids will enjoy Finding Nemo, The Seas pavilion, Soarin', mine liked Living with the Land, and Test Track. And then there are different attractions and entertainment in many of the countries and the pavilions themselves. It is very easy to spend a full day at Epcot exploring.

I think your DHS day would be the easiest to cut out early and head to MK.

 

[brittany lee]

I agree that this is strictly just a if it happens it happens if not that is ok! We will play it by ear there and times really aren't an issue but we know those listed are the things we want to do. We considered skipping Epcot but they will have frozen open then.

 

[CAPTAIN HOOK]

at Port Orleans Riverside from Dec. 3rd-7th with 4 park days and park hoppers.

Where are you staying BEFORE Day 1 ?? If you're at POR then consider adding another day to your park tickets. A first time visit is going to give you way too much to experience with just 4 park days. You're planning to burn yourselves out trying to cram everything into 4 days and that will lead to cranky kids and annoyed adults. You're there to RELAX and HAVE FUN - you're not tackling an assault course

 

[brittany lee]

We are coming in on the 2nd staying at POR through the 7th with park days on the 3rd,4th,5th, & 6th. I believe we will add another park day on the 7th to slow things down.

 

[brittany lee]

I think I have come up with a better plan since we will add one day I think we will do AK a whole day with late safari and river of lights. Then day 2 Epcot. I've read rumors there will be an Elsa and Annah meet and greet( my youngest lives frozen) there with the new Frozen ride. (If we could see them at Epcot my 5 year old could fast pass rapunzel at mk) Maybe Akershus for a princess birthday breakfast,dinner at Teppdan Edo? Day three sleep in and chill around the resort then finish with an afternoon at Hollywood for Minnie's holiday done with fatasmic package show. Then last two days at magic Kingdom. One of those nights will be a short night because we don't plan to attend the mvmcp.

 

[WDW_Emily]

I think I have come up with a better plan since we will add one day I think we will do AK a whole day with late safari and river of lights. Then day 2 Epcot. I've read rumors there will be an Elsa and Annah meet and greet( my youngest lives frozen) there with the new Frozen ride. (If we could see them at Epcot my 5 year old could fast pass rapunzel at mk) Maybe Akershus for a princess birthday breakfast,dinner at Teppdan Edo? Day three sleep in and chill around the resort then finish with an afternoon at Hollywood for Minnie's holiday done with fatasmic package show. Then last two days at magic Kingdom. One of those nights will be a short night because we don't plan to attend the mvmcp.

This sounds great! I have done akershus for breakfast before and it is awesome! Get an early reservation and then you can leave and go right to the frozen ride and meet and greet when done with breakfast.

Since DAK was originally a half day, here are some things you could do to make it a full day now. Fast pass safari, and one of the shows. How tall is the 5 year old and what is their tolerance for rides? She might enjoy some things in dinoland like primeval whirl or dinosaur. For the little one there is triceratops spin in dinoland. I think animal kingdom is also one of the best places to meet characters because it's more shaded than other parks and the lines are smaller. I also recommend doing some of the trails. There are three main trails you could do tree of life, maharaja in Asia, and pangani in Africa. My favorite is maharaja in Asia there are tigers, bats, A Komodo dragon, etc. if you skip the trail there is no other way to see these animals.