MK itinerary too ambitious???

[cindy101010]

Hi everyone,
I am planning our first first to WDW next year, I like to be super organised so I have created a touring plan. We are staying at AKL and have a Disney dining plan which will hopefully make things easier
We will be travelling from the 26th April - 11th May 2016. I have checked crowd calendars and it seems the 'best' two days to visit MK in terms of lower crowds will be 28th April and the 3rd May, we have two boys aged 3 & 7.
I am a little worried my touring plan sounds a little too ambitious, I can start making ADR's soon so any input or help from you disney experts would be greatly appreciated!!
First day;
8.05 am ADR Crystal palace breakfast
9.05 am Buzz lightyear space ranger spin
9.25 - 9.45 am Tomorrow land Speedway
9.50 - 10.20 am Many adventures of Winnie the Pooh
10.30 - 11am Barnstormer using FP
11 - 11.15am Dumbo
11.25 - 11.45am Journey of the little mermaid using FP
12 - 12.25pm Severn dwarfs mine train using FP
1pm ADR Be our guest for lunch
And maybe if we can fit it in between or if we feel up to it after lunch (we may even be able to get another fast pass);
Mad tea party
Astro orbita
Monster inc. laugh floor
Meet Buzz light year
Petes silly sideshow
I have tried to minimise the amount of walking we have to do with two young children in tow, our boys aren't bothered about meeting the princess' which saves lots of time (and fast passes).
Day 2
Arrive at park 8.15 am
9.00am Splash mountain
9.20 - 9.40am meet Toy story characters
9.45 - 10.10am Big thunder Mountain using FP
10.20 - 10.45am pirates of the caribbean
10.50 - 11.20 Jungle cruise
11.25 - 11.45 The magic carpets of Aladdin
12 - 12.45pm Lunch at Peco Bill's
1pm - 1.15pm It's small world using FP
1.20pm - 1.40pm Peter Pan using FP
2pm Mickey's Philharmagic

I am sorry it is so long winded, I would just like to get a rough idea of what to expect. We shall return another day to watch wishes and maybe do an extra few fast passes when we return one evening.

 

[bigorangeandy]

I think that it is ambitious especially day 1 at MK. Your starting early, needing to get to the bus stop to get to the Magic Kingdom in time for a 8am breakfast. For fast passes you will only be able to have one FP in each hour window, such as from 10:05 to 11:05, then the earliest your next could be would be 11:10 to 12:10.

 

[JourneysEnd]

I think BTMR is going to be closed for refurbishment at that time frame. You might want to check the schedule.
I wouldn't waste a FP on Small World myself. I think Winnie usually has a longer wait then Mermaid.
FP will need to be one each hour. Sounds a little too ambitious for my taste. Best of luck.

 

[jlsHouston]

Add 30 minutes to WInnie the Pooh unless it's a FP selection. I think the plan is ambitious but doable, depends on your kids. My daughter was a park ninja and would hustle my 2 grandkids through the park zigging and zagging more than you outlined and would accomplish about the same number of rides in those hours in your plan...

 

[disneylover97]

It looks like you have spent a lot of time planning, which is my favorite part about going to Disney As far as your schedule I do believe you can complete it all! I would leave a little room for unanticipated ride wait times and spontaneous breaks. I think the most important thing is to soak up everything while you are there, if you miss a ride of two it won't be a big deal. It is ok if you don't complete everything this trip, it's just an excuse to come back I truly hope you have an amazing time in the World, best wishes.

 

[PinnySmart]

You seem so organized so I think your plan can be accomplished as long as you are flexible. If things start running behind just take a deep breathe and remember where you are and just do the next thing on your list. The crowd calendars can be useful but sometimes they are way off IMHO. Some things may take a little longer and some a little less. I personally wouldn't use a FP for Small World or Mermaid. Same goes for The Seas with Nemo and Imagination in Epcot if you are going there. There are a few things I see that are missing like Belle's Enchanted Tales and The Haunted Mansion but you probably did that on purpose. Belle's Tales is so well done that I hate for you to miss it. It is much more than a meet and greet. There are some really cool elements inside. Actually some of the best magic on property is in there. I won't spoil it but if I were you I would definitely try to go through it. As for The Haunted Mansion, you may feel that it isn't a good fit for your family and I totally understand. My kids have riiden since they were in diapers but all kids are different. Have a great trip!

 

[CAPTAIN HOOK]

I am planning our first first to WDW next year,

If this is your first WDW visit then you're being way too ambitious and militarised. Even the Second World War Nazi invasion of Europe wasn't as planned as much as this !!!!
You have two youngsters who will want to experience as much as possible, but they're also going to want to spend time experiencing the sights and sounds inbetween the rides.
Slow your schedule right down (perhaps where you're only planning one ride each hour) and take time to enjoy everything without burning everyone out before lunch

 

[cindy101010]

Add 30 minutes to WInnie the Pooh unless it's a FP selection. I think the plan is ambitious but doable, depends on your kids. My daughter was a park ninja and would hustle my 2 grandkids through the park zigging and zagging more than you outlined and would accomplish about the same number of rides in those hours in your plan...

A park ninja!! Yes I'm liking that idea

 

[cindy101010]

Thank you all so much for your great advice
OK so I am going to scale day 1 back a little and instead of using fast pass for mermaid I will use it for Winnie the pooh and plan the fast passes for each hour (I didn't realise that). I will take out BTM (I did not know that was going to be closed) and instead of using FP on day 2 for It's a small world and BTM use them to speed up the rest of the day.
We are travelling from the UK so we will be up early in our first few days and I wanted to take advantage of the fact that we are going to be bright eyed and bushy tailed at 8am
I am definitely going to schedule Belles enchanted tales in now - I thought it was just a princess meet & greet and as my boys aren't to fussed about meeting princess' I overlooked it, but I have added it to my 'to do list'
I am going to breathe and relax but I'm just so excited that I want to see it all .....Eeeeekkkkk !!

 

[slowjoe170]

You may want to allow more than an hour for the Crystal Palace character breakfast. A lot of people gather for the early morning breakfast there, especially if it's on a morning where the park opens at 9:00a.m.(photo opportunities down Main St and the Castle without all of the crowds in the picture), so you may not be seated at exactly 8:05. Also, the characters trickle out slowly and make the rounds of the dining room, stopping at each table for photos, which also takes a while. If you want to get photos of your kids with all of the Winnie-the-Pooh characters there I would definitely allow more than an hour. When picking your fast passes always go for the most popular ones first, as they fill up quickly. The Mine train is one of those, along with Toy Story Mania. As someone else mentioned, just going form ride to ride you may miss all of the little Disney touches in between. Slow the pace down and take it all in. It's definitely a good idea to have a rough plan of action, but there are too many variables to have that tight of a schedule. You'll constantly be running to catch the next thing in time. Also, some of the rides have height limits. You may want to check them online first to makesure everyone qualifies. Also, depending on the time of year that you go, the Florida sun and humidity take their toll over the course of your trip. I didn't see the people mover on your list. This is an excellent way to see Tomorrowland from above, there's almost never a line, and it's 10 minutes off of your feet, which is gold after a day of walking. Enjoy

 

[Disneyhead'71]

Erase the times for everything but the ADRs and use the rest as an outline.

 

[MickeyMomV]

You may want to allow more than an hour for the Crystal Palace character breakfast. A lot of people gather for the early morning breakfast there, especially if it's on a morning where the park opens at 9:00a.m.(photo opportunities down Main St and the Castle without all of the crowds in the picture), so you may not be seated at exactly 8:05. Also, the characters trickle out slowly and make the rounds of the dining room, stopping at each table for photos, which also takes a while. If you want to get photos of your kids with all of the Winnie-the-Pooh characters there I would definitely allow more than an hour.

I second this as we were just there for a 8am breakfast about a week and a half ago. It only took about 5 minutes to get seated because you are one the first reservations of the day. However, once seated they will let you know that the characters are on a 90 minute rotation. I want to say from the time we were seated is was 80-90 minutes before we seen everybody and were ready to go.

 

[FrostyNaples]

....you can always spot those about to miss a FP+, they are running around with their heads cut off, everyone in tow, with the most unhappiest faces.

This kind of structure quickly implodes

The biggest most common mistake, is not allowing enough time to get where you need to go. Everything from the buses, to bobbing and weaving through the crowds, zig zagging to/from attractions not near each other, fitting in ADR's etc.

Space - It - Out

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Erase the times for everything but the ADRs and use the rest as an outline.

This. An itinerary that detailed is destined for failure. Not "might fail," but "100% definitely will fail." It's better to go in with reasonable expectations of flexibility so that when the failures do occur, they don't mess up the rest of the day.

 

[DisneyFans4Life]

Erase the times for everything but the ADRs and use the rest as an outline.

This is a great idea! ADRs and FPs are good ways to "plan" out your day, but the schedule you have is pretty rigid and is going to give you anxiety when you're unable to stick to it. Lines may end up being longer than usual, so just go with what the day and crowds gives you. This is your first trip to WDW and I know you want to get in as much as you can, but just be careful that you don't try to cram too much and miss out on enjoying your vacation. With as many days as you will be here, you may decide to do MK for a third day or a half day.

 

[ScarletBegonias]

Echoing the Crystal Palace comment by a previous poster. We were there for nearly 2 hours even though we got there super early. We had to wait about 1hr and 15 minutes before we saw the first character, so I think only allowing an hour there is REALLY optimistic, unless you don't care to see the characters.

 

[ratherbeinwdw]

As a commando, I think your plan is fine. You will be able to do it all, as long as you tweet those fastpasses to one hour slots. We've done that schedule plus more in the same time period when my daughter was younger. As to enough time for CP, your fastpass will be for an hour, so if you get one for 9:05, then you have until 10:05, that gives you plenty of time at CP if you have to wait to be seated or wait for the characters. Also, for PP, even with fastpass, it sometimes takes a while to get on. Maybe add some wait time to that one.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

The OP might benefit from a TouringPlans.com subscription. They'll do a custom plan and optimize it for waits and whatnot.

 

[MotherofaPrincessLover]

I had a schedule all laid out for when I went to MK and then pretty much ended up not following it. I would refer to it just to make sure we hit all of our must do attractions. I have a feeling once you get there your schedule will go out the window. Definitely have a plan of action as an outline, but things will change. I mostly think I enjoyed making the plan and imagining I was there...

 

[DisneyJoe]

The OP might benefit from a TouringPlans.com subscription. They'll do a custom plan and optimize it for waits and whatnot.

Precisely. Get a touringplans.com subscription, create a personal touringplan for each day, and then click "optimize". Use their Lines app, and you can adjust and re-optimize as your day progresses. It's much easier and relaxing that way. If something takes longer than expected, re-optimize, and all will be adjusted for you. I love it.