Help plan our trip!

[pixiegal]

Okay, I am having a complete block. We are going to be at WDW from 9-21 through the 30th. We plan on doing two MNNSHP parties. The one on the 22 and the one on the 29th. We want to do one day of Universal and my DH wants to do one day of Sea World (although I am not sold on Sea World). Tell what you would do and when you would do it. Our kids are 5, 7, 13 and 14. The oldest is severely autistic so we would need to get as many priority seating appointments as possible. In the past we always did a lot of character meals but I am not sure if we "need" to do as many. Our 14 year old would love them. We are thinking of nixing the princess meals. None of us ate the breakfast at Epcot and the princesses were very standoffish when we went to the castle. Not to mention there is no way we would get the castle meal this late anyway. :lookaroun

Hints? Thoughts? Ideas? Tips? I am always looking for ways to make our experience different and a little more magical every time we go.

I think I am overwhelmed right now. By this time we usually have our trip all planned and the meals all set.

ACK!

help

 

[cdunbar]

I live very close to seaworld and I know for a fact that they just got a new shamu show, and from what Ive heard SeaWorld is by far the best for those traveling with handicapped indivduals, I have taken my grandmother who has to be in a wheelchair to seaworld several times b/c she enjoys the park so and we never had priority seating problems b/c she was handicapped. I hope this helps:wave:

 

[mousermerf]

A) Why two MNSSHP? You're going so early they'll probably be very uncrowded. I couldn't imagine needing twice to hit a parade and see the fireworks.

B) Drop kick the princesses to the curb. They're stressful because here's so much pressure, and as you learned, sometimes that can make it dissapointing. Look into other generally good and fun meals. Do you have special dietary needs or is it just the quieter atmosphere you're trying to get? There are a lot of special meals to be had at WDW that don't have princesses or characters. Eat at Coral Reef and see the fishies Have a good lunch at Kona Cafe. There are lots of "smaller" places that offer great atmosphere and often entertainment too - Biergarten in Germany and Marakesh in Morocco come to mind.

Oh, Garden Grill is a great character meal for folks jaded on the other ones. It's quiet, intimate (due to the booth structure) and the characters really seem to take their time there.

You seem really upset about the meals.. Rethink the die-hard strategy and look at a more leisurely pace. I think you'd benefit from some time outside of the parks taking in other activities like touring some of the resorts and shopping. Maybe rent a boat? Do a fishing excursion? Family surrey bike ride?

 

[Frontierland CM]

One big tip for me would be to take advantage of the extra magic hours. Also, if the Magic Kingdom is running 2 performances of Spectromagic, watch the second one, it's always less crowded. I used to work in the Magic Kingdom, so if you have any questions let me know. Have a wonderful time :sohappy:

 

[pixiegal]

I live very close to seaworld and I know for a fact that they just got a new shamu show, and from what Ive heard SeaWorld is by far the best for those traveling with handicapped indivduals, I have taken my grandmother who has to be in a wheelchair to seaworld several times b/c she enjoys the park so and we never had priority seating problems b/c she was handicapped. I hope this helps:wave:

Oh thank you for the ideas on Sea World. That will help so much.

 

[pixiegal]

A) Why two MNSSHP? You're going so early they'll probably be very uncrowded. I couldn't imagine needing twice to hit a parade and see the fireworks.

B) Drop kick the princesses to the curb. They're stressful because here's so much pressure, and as you learned, sometimes that can make it dissapointing. Look into other generally good and fun meals. Do you have special dietary needs or is it just the quieter atmosphere you're trying to get? There are a lot of special meals to be had at WDW that don't have princesses or characters. Eat at Coral Reef and see the fishies Have a good lunch at Kona Cafe. There are lots of "smaller" places that offer great atmosphere and often entertainment too - Biergarten in Germany and Marakesh in Morocco come to mind.

Oh, Garden Grill is a great character meal for folks jaded on the other ones. It's quiet, intimate (due to the booth structure) and the characters really seem to take their time there.

You seem really upset about the meals.. Rethink the die-hard strategy and look at a more leisurely pace. I think you'd benefit from some time outside of the parks taking in other activities like touring some of the resorts and shopping. Maybe rent a boat? Do a fishing excursion? Family surrey bike ride?

Doing 2 MNSSHP because we are Halloween Fanatics and *love* the party. Not to mention our oldest tends to get a little tired easy. This way we can hit everything. If we miss anything one night we can get to it the next. My son is severely disabled so he perseverates a lot and when he is done with being somewhere we can't stretch it at all.

We did Coral Reef last year and loved it! :sohappy: We are definately going to do that again! Thanks! I agree about Garden Grill. The nice thing about our youngest girl being 7 is she isn't die-hard into princesses as much as she wants to experience the parks more. So, the princess meals aren't a must like they were in the past. *whew*

I agree that spending some time away from the parks would be good. We decided this weekend to hit Unversal Studios. It looks like they have a great deal going right now with getting free kid tix and with getting additional days as well. Plus our oldest is a Suess lover and we think that he will love the attractions. Plus the nick-toons! :sohappy: Has anyone done that character meal? (Maybe I should ask that in the right forum. LOL)

Thanks for your thoughts!

 

[pixiegal]

One big tip for me would be to take advantage of the extra magic hours. Also, if the Magic Kingdom is running 2 performances of Spectromagic, watch the second one, it's always less crowded. I used to work in the Magic Kingdom, so if you have any questions let me know. Have a wonderful time :sohappy:

Oh thank you so much! That is something I didn't think of before. Crowds are hard for my oldest. While he does pretty good, when he has had enough...he has had enough. (isn't that true with all of us? LOL)

Thanks again! If you have anything else you can help with (shows, etc.) I am totally open to hearing them!:wave: