Please help with schedule and logistics! Part 1- Animal Kingdom

[lena sanok]

Hello! As my FP booking date gets close and my due date gets closer I figured I need to try and get my rough agenda laid out since I may not have much free time to plan with a new born!

We are coming to WDW May 9-15. Will be traveling with large family group for inlaws 50th. My biggest concern is my immediate family group- DH, 3.5 year old DS and 10 week old DS. (bringing 10 week old is a whole other topic!!)

-I am really struggling with my first day park agenda and could use a lot of advice regarding timing, passes, ect.

Here are the details:
Staying at Contemporary
7:45 AM Chef Mickey reservation
Animal Kingdom visit- will be joined by Inlaws so will have someone to watch baby and 3.5 as needed so we can ride big rides without rider swaps.

-Can you experts help me layout my time that day?
-how long does it take for Chef mickey breakfast experience?
-how long is busride/ logistics to AK?
-Realistically what time could we plan on getting to AK?
-Based on these perimeters, how would you lay out the day and Fast Pass Schedule?

-note have not been to AK since 1998 so pretty much newbies!!

Thank you!!!!!

 

[lena sanok]

Sorry first post- should I include more info?

 

[Disvillain63]

Chef Mickey's really depends on you and your family, but I would probably give it at least an hour to be sure all the characters made it to your table and you got to eat too. I would probably count on about 30 minutes for the bus, if it arrives shortly after you get downstairs to take it to the park. If you just missed it, then it could be longer...up to an hour. Making your first FP for around 9:15 or so should be okay. We try to make our FP one every hour for our first 3 hours, then we can start adding another.

Whatever your MUST DO is should be the first FP you try to get, then work from there. If you plan to do KS, then I would suggest the earliest possible to see the animals most active, or plan on an evening safari. You probably don't need to use a FP for LK or many of the other shows...with the exception of RoL.

 

[Distant]

I would add that your FP window is an hour.
So if you allotted an hour for Chef Mickey's, 15 minutes to walk/ wait for the bus, 30 minutes for the bus ride (it's more like 20), that would put you there at 9.30. But you should allow 30 minutes as a buffer, so that is 10:00.
You could do a FP at 9.30 for something in high demand and be ok until 10.30.
Then do a 2nd FP just after 10.30. That would be a fun beginning to the day.

For planning the rest of the day, do you know about the touring plan app?
There's an annual cost but it maximizes and helps plan your day at the park.
it's a big help.

 

[Crazyredheads]

Hello! As my FP booking date gets close and my due date gets closer I figured I need to try and get my rough agenda laid out since I may not have much free time to plan with a new born!

We are coming to WDW May 9-15. Will be traveling with large family group for inlaws 50th. My biggest concern is my immediate family group- DH, 3.5 year old DS and 10 week old DS. (bringing 10 week old is a whole other topic!!)

-I am really struggling with my first day park agenda and could use a lot of advice regarding timing, passes, ect.

Here are the details:
Staying at Contemporary
7:45 AM Chef Mickey reservation
Animal Kingdom visit- will be joined by Inlaws so will have someone to watch baby and 3.5 as needed so we can ride big rides without rider swaps.

-Can you experts help me layout my time that day?
-how long does it take for Chef mickey breakfast experience?
-how long is busride/ logistics to AK?
-Realistically what time could we plan on getting to AK?
-Based on these perimeters, how would you lay out the day and Fast Pass Schedule?

-note have not been to AK since 1998 so pretty much newbies!!

Thank you!!!!!

I traveled to WDW with my boys when they were babies and toddlers and had a great time each time! With the in-laws there, it will be much easier. Breakfast at Chef Mickey will take about 1 hour and maybe add a good 15 min. depending how fast you eat and get to meet all the characters. By the time you head down to the bus calculate a minimum of 30 min if not more to get to the park (if the bus come quickly). I would guess you can arrive to the park between 9:15 - 10:00.

Personally I would suggest you do Chef Mickey on the same day as your MK day so that you can get to the park quickly right after breakfast. I would even go further and suggest you switch out Chef Mickey on this day for Tusker House character breakfast located in AK since you will meet the same charcters and you will eat better food. Plus all the characters at Tusker House will be in safari outfits which is super adorable and adds to the whole AK experience. That way you can get to the AK earlier and get to the Pandora rides before they fill up with heavy crowds. If you do decide on Tusker House, I would suggest you take an early ADR before park opening around 8:00 AM or plan on a late breakfast/brunch around 10:30 or 10:45.

I would suggest arriving at AK as early as possible so that you can experience at least one of the two rides in Pandora without a FP. You will only be able to book one as they are both in the one tier selection. If you can switch out that breakfast that would be ideal. If you do not want to change your plans then use a FP for Flight of Passage and ride Navi River Journey sometime between 1pm and 5pm when waits are shorter than the morning or evening

Ok now for the layout of your day:

I would plan to use your FP on:
1. Flight of Passage or Navi River Journey (if FoP has no availability) around 10:30-11:30.
2. Kilimanjaro Safari 12:30-1:30
3. Kali River Rapids or Expedition Everest at 1:30-2:30.

As soon as you get to park:
Ride Expedition Everest at 9:50
Ride Primeval Whirl 9:55 (while you do this and Dinosaur, send the in-laws with the kids to Bonyard to play)
Ride DINOSAUR 10:20
Ride Flight of Passage or River Journey with FP+. Explore Pandora 11:00- 12:00
Have lunch. Satu’li Canteen 12:00 - 1:00 PM
Ride Kilimanjaro Safaris with FastPass+
Ride Kali River Rapids or Expedition Everest with FastPass+ (while you do this, get FP for Finding Neemo the Musical for in_laws and kids)
Head back to Pandora to ride one of the two rides for which you were unable to acquire FastPass+
The rest of the day is open to explore the rest of the attractions and the park.

If you do switch out Tusker House for Chef Mickey, I would suggest you head to AK for 8:30. Head straight to PAndora and ride FoP or NRJ first thing in the morning. If you get an ADR for 10:30 at Tusker House, change your FP for FoP to 12:30 - 1:30 and your FP for Kilimajaro Safari to 11:30- 12:30.

Hope that helps.