Advice on our first day plans!

[cissy]

I hope you all can give me some advice on the plans I have made for our upcoming Disney trip. I am going to list one day per day and see what everyone thinks but here is the overview:

December 10th: arrive and go to MK
December 11th: MK
December 12th: Epcot
December 13th: Epcot
December 14th: AK
December 15th: MK
December 19th: MGM am then leave late pm

Okay, it will be me, hubby and two daughters, ages 5 and 6.

10th: Arrive at airport at 10:15 and taking Magical Express to Poly.

Hopefully we will be at MK by 1:00pm at the latest

Go to Adventureland and do the following attractions:

Jungle Cruise
Carpets of Aladdin
Tiki Room
Swiss Family Treehouse
Pirates of Car.
Splash Mountain
Thunder Mountain
Tom Sawyer Island

Also hit Tommorowland:
Buzz Lightyear
Laugh Floor
Carousel of Progress

We also plan on seeing parade at 3pm, eat at Peco's Bill's and try a Dolewhip!!

The park has EMH that night so we plan on staying for the Spectro Parade at 8pm and Wishes for 9pm.

Is this doable? Are we pushing it with the last three attractions? We want to leave plenty of time for the girls to stop and see things or even see some shows. That is why we are doing 3 days in MK. We don't want to rush them through the park.

Thanks for any help!!

[Nala27]

I'm assuming everything you mentioned doing in the MK you plan to spread over 3 days and not 1, right? Because that seems like a ton to do it one day - especially the first day after arriving in Disney.

[cissy]

I was planning on doing all the attractions listed in Adventureland on the 10th. According to the Unofficial Guide, we should be able to do all of MK in 2 days so I did not think that doing Adventureland was unreasonable for the first day. I am only worried that doing the Tomorrowland stuff may be too much. But you have me worried! Is it unreasonable to expect to be able to do those attractions in 7 hours before the fireworks????

[Nala27]

I guess you could do it...and you know how fast/slow your family moves within the park so I would say go for it. You'll be going back the 11th to MK again so whatever you don't do the 10th you'll still have time to see.

For me personally, traveling in the morning, then being in the parks all day until after the 9pm Wishes would be alot..........but that's me.

[dahunter1129]

That seems like a lot for the first day with two little ones...how long is your flight? I think if you want to make EMH you should pace yourselves a little more, and don't be upset if the kiddies get tired. I always hope my DS will nap on the plane...no such luck. Go with your plan, but be flexible, and "listen" to your kids. The first day can be overwhelming, they may just want to check stuff out and not ride at all. Have a great time!

[cissy]

Well, we could go back to Poly and see the fireworks from the beach. I was going to play it by ear with the kids.

[cissy]

Direct flight is 1 hour, 40 minutes.

[Chicago Wookiee]

I'm pretty aggressive when it comes to touring the parks. Your plan looks more like mine than a family with two small children.

I wouldn't change it for myself but I would add in the need to have someone go ahead and get some fast-passes for Splash Mountain and Space Ranger Spin so you don't have to wait in stand-by lines all day.

[stephaniesfive]

Im exhausted just reading your plan. First of all, you have been reading the "Unofficial" book. Good, because there is alot of really dependable advice. If you are wanting to go to the parks as soon as you get off the plane and are checked in at the Poly, you might want to consider not going on the express. When my husband and I go (we have been five times, we have five kids, we are going again in August) we always take a town car service. You really are not paying that much more (for us it is less because they do not charge per person) and they pick you up directly and you are not sharing a ride with anyone else at any other hotel. They take straight to your hotel (unless you want them to stop at a grocery store).

Second, you might want to wait to go to MK your first day after 4pm, (see the parde on your 2and day).Remember that at 1:00pm, the crowds are going to be gridlock, and no chance of thinning until around 4:00pm, make sure you check you fast pass times before you get one. You don't want to get a fp at 1pm and not be able to use it until 5pm, which will mean that you won't be able to get another one anywhere else. Re-read your UOTWDW again, it is worth it. stephsfive

[cissy]

Okay, I really am confused. I have read the UGuide twice, the Uguide kids book twice and done a lot of research. But you all are saying that the Magic Kingdom can't be done in two days? Because I am suggesting that we only do Adventureland and we have 7 hours to do it. Also, it is mid December and my understanding is that the crowd level is not bad.

I guess my confusion is that if we can't do Adventureland in 7 hours, how is it remotely possible to do the entire MK park in two days as the Uguide suggests?

Now I am thinking we will scrap MGM on Sunday and do the MK park over a four day period.

[Nala27]

I don't think anyone is saying MK can't be done in 2 days...the impression I take away from the posts is that your first day of plans is alot to do especially with young children. The only thing I can say from my personal experience with young children.......whatever you might plan to do somehow changes once you're at the park.

[petesimac]

I hope you all can give me some advice on the plans I have made for our upcoming Disney trip. I am going to list one day per day and see what everyone thinks but here is the overview:

December 10th: arrive and go to MK -- this is good; it's what we do when we go; gives a nice taste of Disney magic!
December 11th: MK -- you may want to hit one of the other parks instead of going right back to MK a second straight day; stretch out your MK experience throughout your stay; instead, maybe go to MGM since there are so many kid-related things to do there.
December 12th: Epcot -- maybe back to MK today
December 13th: Epcot -- this is good
December 14th: AK -- this is good
December 15th: MK -- this is good
December 19th: MGM am then leave late pm -- instead, maybe go back to Epcot for a 2nd nearly full day (since you will have already done MGM -- plus, going to MGM earlier in the week, you will get to see Fantasmic, which you would otherwise miss if you stick to your original schedule)

Just my two cents -- see bold type above.

[Wendi]

OK, I am in the minority, but I think it is doable... even with kids! I usually make out an itinerary with 2 attractions per hour. Most attractions don't take 30 minutes to get through, but some might... it is a good average that works for me. I have found that the plan works well for me and we usually have a good cushion of extra time to do other attractions, shop, rest, or just do things that weren't planned.

If you are planning on staking out a really good spot for parades, fireworks, etc and are going to camp out for a few hours then you may not be able to fit it all in. I have the type of child who absolutely cannot stay in one place for that long so it's not even an option for us to camp out and wait any longer than 30 minutes - we just find a spot up to a half an hour in advance and usually have a decent view.

[pirateship]

Cissy, Your plan sounds doable to me. The biggest thing I have learned going over the years, especially when the kids were young, to plan, but be flexible. The Unofficial guide is great, but I think WDW has been getting busier and you never know about the crowds. Try and hit the things the kids are most interested in and if a line is too long skip it. Also, we learned this the hard way our first time with the kids, save time for characters and autographs. Send Hubby for fast passes for either Splash or Thunder. Also, you might want to have rain ponchos and/or a change of clothes for Splash, it is now getting people pretty wet. You also, should get FP for Buzz. Fantasyland seems to be the one that gets pretty crazy.

[cissy]

Thanks for all the input. I am glad that some of you see this as doable! Maybe we will skip the afternoon parade and hit some of the headliners as the Uguide suggests that crowds tend to flock to the parade.

I will post our next days schedule this afternoon and see what everyone thinks. This is GREAT information and I really appreciate it!!

[efoxx]

But you all are saying that the Magic Kingdom can't be done in two days?

Couple of things.
first of all the Uguide as well as all other books are written from a standpoint of going during the most crowded time of year, not the least crowded time. two days during the time you are there are more then adequate. in fact your afternoon's adventureland plan will probably leave you some free time if it's an EMH.

after reviewing your plans the only suggestion I could make would be this...

December 10th: arrive and go to MK
December 11th: MK
December 12th: Epcot
December 13th: MGM
December 14th: AK/Epcot
December 15th: Epcot
December 19th: MK am then leave late pm
There a few reasons for this
1. you want an evening at MGM so you can see Fantasmic. this is a must see that your children will remember for years to come.
2. by dividing up your time rather then doing one park two days in a row it will give you some feeling that the trip is a bit longer, it will also allow more flexibility without the risk of not getting to a park.
3. the last two days are more of split days start out at Epcot in the morning then head up to the MK in the evening, or vice versa. most important though you want your last day free to decide where everyone else wants to go back and see. but your last day should not be for something new, you may realize to late that you didn't give yourself enough time.

BTW spend the money and get park hoppers AK always closes early, so you may wish to head to another park when you are done there. I suggested Epcot so you can visit WS, but you could also go to MGM that night for Fantasmic.

[cissy]

Thanks for the tips! I am leaning a lot about posting and I probably should have posted my ADR's as well as they are set.

I am glad you think the first day is doable. I was getting pretty worried because I thought I had greatly misunderstood the time frame required to do the attractions.

Appreciate all the advice!

[Wendy3]

Are you planning a mid-day break for your kids back at the Poly? When my kids were younger, they couldn't go all day and into the evening without a break. We could go all day ending late afternoon, or break during the day and then go back for evening. Actually, now that they are teenagers, they still can't go all day and all night (they sleep till noon then close the parks).

[scoobydooby]

Cissy - if I was you I would do fantasy land then tomorrow land back to back on an extra magic hours morning, making sure you arrive at the park at least 20 mins before it opens. You should get through everything without too much of a que. If you pick up a fast pass for splash first thing and BTM before lunch you will probably be able to slide these rides in too, and still be out of the park by 2ish. If you plan to cover Adventurland another morning, also arriving half an hour before rope drop, you should also clear that without queing for too long. This leaves your first afternoon free to be a bit more relaxed. You would have time to go to Toontown Fair and do the Barnstormer and que for the princesses and do some stuff with shorter lines like swiss family treehouse and tom sawyer island. Just my thoughts, based on copious reading of TP's like you and something simalar worked a treat for us at a very busy time. I would be worried if you have such a heavy first day on top of a flight with little ones you may be paying for it for the rest of the week. Hope you have a ball!

[stephaniesfive]

Cissy, Sorry if I sounded negative with your plan, I do think it is doable, however, I worry that you might be pushing it a bit to much on your first day. Remember that the UOfficial always starts its tours before the park opens! Never in the middle of the day. Also remember that on EMH days, that park will have more people in it than the other parks, and even though you are traveling in the middle of December, WDW is always crowded (my opinion). We have gone all different times of the year over the course of 14 years and we have found that WDW just keeps getting more and more crowded. Now when you have a crowd level of 4 (and it is never lower than that) that usually means an hour and a half wait at peak hours, which just so happens to be exactly when you plan on showing up at MK. And probably at that time of day all the fast passes will have a return window of 2 or three hours later
Im not trying to put a damper on your vacation, I have just found that it is good to go to WDW with very realistic ideas of how it is going to be. What if you checked in the Poly, rested a bit and than went to the gate, find a good spot for the parade (eat some ice cream) and then, after the parade, tour the Castle and Tomrowland on that first afternoon. There really isn't any thing better than getting to WDW and going straight to the MK and just taking it all in. You don't necessarly have to "tour hard", just enjoy the fact that you are in the most magical place on earth (seeing the parade will really get you in the mood). Then, the next day, tour the heck out of MK. My husband and I call it the "First day Magic Kingdom Blow Out Day"

Well, no matter what, you and your family will have fun!
Steph