Is this too many plans??

[Kmedders]

Just did my dining reservations over the weekend. We are taking our best friends and their kids (who are also my kids' best friends) on this trip, and I want everything to be perfect. They haven't been, so I want to show them a trip that is a mixture of relaxing and super full of Disney. So now that I have my reservations - here are my plans. Please feel free to critique them. I don't want to have too many plans - that takes away from the relaxing nature of the trip.

31st - arrive, check in at Animal Kingdom Lodge and go to dinner at Raglan Road at 7. I think our kids would enjoy this (4 girls ages 9 and 11)
1st - Epcot day - rope drop, lunch at San Angel Inn at 12:30, F&W festival foods for dinner and snacks. Leave after lunch to swim for the afternoon and come back at night
2nd - I planned a fishing trip for the dads. The moms and kids will sleep in - at noon I have a former cast member surprising the girls with makeovers for the Halloween party this night. Be at the party by 4 - no dinner reservations - just lots of rides and trick or treating around the park.
3rd - Sleep in, swim, eat by the pool - then Disney Springs for shopping and dinner at Homecoming
4th - Beaches and Cream for lunch at 11, swim, then dinner at Ohana at 5
5th - fly home!

Too many plans? not enough?

 

[lostprincess_danie]

I think that's a nice plan. A good balance for everyone to rest and enjoy parks. My one thing is to have a plan for dinner on party night. Check ahead of time what QS locations will be open, some close early on party nights. Have a great trip!

 

[Kmedders]

I think that's a nice plan. A good balance for everyone to rest and enjoy parks. My one thing is to have a plan for dinner on party night. Check ahead of time what QS locations will be open, some close early on party nights. Have a great trip!

oh I didn't realize that! I've never done a party. Thank you! I guess I could always pack some uncrustables in my bag for the kids, just in case.

 

[Figment Mom]

It's not enough park time for me but it's a lovely vacation.

 

[lostprincess_danie]

oh I didn't realize that! I've never done a party. Thank you! I guess I could always pack some uncrustables in my bag for the kids, just in case.

My husband and I do exactly that. Uncrustables saving us from getting hangry.

 

[TheSouthernBelle]

Just did my dining reservations over the weekend. We are taking our best friends and their kids (who are also my kids' best friends) on this trip, and I want everything to be perfect. They haven't been, so I want to show them a trip that is a mixture of relaxing and super full of Disney. So now that I have my reservations - here are my plans. Please feel free to critique them. I don't want to have too many plans - that takes away from the relaxing nature of the trip.

31st - arrive, check in at Animal Kingdom Lodge and go to dinner at Raglan Road at 7. I think our kids would enjoy this (4 girls ages 9 and 11)
1st - Epcot day - rope drop, lunch at San Angel Inn at 12:30, F&W festival foods for dinner and snacks. Leave after lunch to swim for the afternoon and come back at night
2nd - I planned a fishing trip for the dads. The moms and kids will sleep in - at noon I have a former cast member surprising the girls with makeovers for the Halloween party this night. Be at the party by 4 - no dinner reservations - just lots of rides and trick or treating around the park.
3rd - Sleep in, swim, eat by the pool - then Disney Springs for shopping and dinner at Homecoming
4th - Beaches and Cream for lunch at 11, swim, then dinner at Ohana at 5
5th - fly home!

Too many plans? not enough?

I think you're trip sounds amazing! I think you planned some great, fun activities. My girls at that aged love dressing up at Disney.

Is everyone ok with only two park days and one of them only being the party at MK? If I'm in WDW for 5 days and only do two parks, one of which is a party only, I may feel like I missed some things. I know they're totally new to Disney but the last two days of the trip are just food, swimming and shopping. That's great if that's the end game but for me and our kids, but we'd be sad if we only spent one night at MK for a party and a day at Epcot, yet we were at WDW for 5 days.

My impression is that your trip feels front loaded with a lot of activities but then becomes only swimming and shopping and meals at the end. And while swimming and shopping always make their way into our trips, for us, it just would not be enough park time.

I'd keep your 3rd day of swimming and DS for shopping/meals to recover from the late night of the party but then maybe make the 4th another MK day or another park all together. I think it's hard to accomplish and see a lot of MK during a party especially if the kids are TOT and enjoying entertainment. Adding another park day will be a good chunk of change since you only have one full day's ticket but you've already bought the plane tix and have the hotel so that's really the only added expense. I just think it's too much relaxing at the end of the trip and my kids at that age wouldn't be ok with just DS and pool time when a park full or rides is just down the road.

Also, for us, you have too many ADRs, 5 ADRs for 5 days is a lot. I know everyone is totally different but we sometimes don't do any ADRs and other trips we might do 2/3 for a week. With the new G+ system, we try to have few limitations so we can be flexible with our ride times. And the time you need to get to the ADR, check in and eat/get seated, just sucks up a lot of our time we can be riding rides, seeing shows and doing other things.

 

[Kmedders]

I think you're trip sounds amazing! I think you planned some great, fun activities. My girls at that aged love dressing up at Disney.

Is everyone ok with only two park days and one of them only being the party at MK? If I'm in WDW for 5 days and only do two parks, one of which is a party only, I may feel like I missed some things. I know they're totally new to Disney but the last two days of the trip are just food, swimming and shopping. That's great if that's the end game but for me and our kids, but we'd be sad if we only spent one night at MK for a party and a day at Epcot, yet we were at WDW for 5 days.

My impression is that your trip feels front loaded with a lot of activities but then becomes only swimming and shopping and meals at the end. And while swimming and shopping always make their way into our trips, for us, it just would not be enough park time.

I'd keep your 3rd day of swimming and DS for shopping/meals to recover from the late night of the party but then maybe make the 4th another MK day or another park all together. I think it's hard to accomplish and see a lot of MK during a party especially if the kids are TOT and enjoying entertainment. Adding another park day will be a good chunk of change since you only have one full day's ticket but you've already bought the plane tix and have the hotel so that's really the only added expense. I just think it's too much relaxing at the end of the trip and my kids at that age wouldn't be ok with just DS and pool time when a park full or rides is just down the road.

Also, for us, you have too many ADRs, 5 ADRs for 5 days is a lot. I know everyone is totally different but we sometimes don't do any ADRs and other trips we might do 2/3 for a week. With the new G+ system, we try to have few limitations so we can be flexible with our ride times. And the time you need to get to the ADR, check in and eat/get seated, just sucks up a lot of our time we can be riding rides, seeing shows and doing other things.

Yeah - honestly it isn't enough park time for me either. But - the people we are taking are not amusement park people. The dad especially. He doesn't even want to go to the Halloween party - I bought him a ticket just in case he changes his mind, but there is a chance he will want to stay at the resort that night. My family goes 2-3 times a year, so we will make up for the mark time on our next trip.

For the dining reservations - I am leaning toward it being too many as well. I am leaning toward canceling Beaches and Cream. We are going over Labor Day weekend - so super hot. My thought was to have at least one reservation per day to secure a spot in the AC at least once. I could probably add another park day that Sunday - but with it being the day before Labor Day - I wonder if it would be miserably crowded? My thought was to have the park days be on Thursday and Friday to hopefully be there before the huge holiday crowds arrive. Probably wishful thinking..

 

[TheSouthernBelle]

Yeah - honestly it isn't enough park time for me either. But - the people we are taking are not amusement park people. The dad especially. He doesn't even want to go to the Halloween party - I bought him a ticket just in case he changes his mind, but there is a chance he will want to stay at the resort that night. My family goes 2-3 times a year, so we will make up for the mark time on our next trip.

For the dining reservations - I am leaning toward it being too many as well. I am leaning toward canceling Beaches and Cream. We are going over Labor Day weekend - so super hot. My thought was to have at least one reservation per day to secure a spot in the AC at least once. I could probably add another park day that Sunday - but with it being the day before Labor Day - I wonder if it would be miserably crowded? My thought was to have the park days be on Thursday and Friday to hopefully be there before the huge holiday crowds arrive. Probably wishful thinking..

I'd stick with your park plans for sure then. Not much you can do if they're not into something. I'd venture to guess there's a lot of adults that dislike theme parks but you go bc your kids want to and just push on through, it's not like they're at WDW everyday. Nobody wants to cause tension but I'd be bummed if my husband didn't come to the party with me and my kids while on vacation.

I'm with you on the ADRs and having a dedicated AC location each day. As far as the crowds, there's not a lot you can do but plan your day as best you can.

 

[Kmedders]

I'd stick with your park plans for sure then. Not much you can do if they're not into something. I'd venture to guess there's a lot of adults that dislike theme parks but you go bc your kids want to and just push on through, it's not like they're at WDW everyday. Nobody wants to cause tension but I'd be bummed if my husband didn't come to the party with me and my kids while on vacation.

I'm with you on the ADRs and having a dedicated AC location each day. As far as the crowds, there's not a lot you can do but plan your day as best you can.

I agree - I will definitely be putting the pressure on him to go. If nothing else, I'll guilt him into going since I bought him a ticket.

My hope is that I show them that you can do a relaxing trip at Disney and still do the parks, in hopes that they will want to go back at a later date and spend more time in the parks. I think they are picturing a Six Flags experience but with shoulder to shoulder crowds.

 

[TheSouthernBelle]

I agree - I will definitely be putting the pressure on him to go. If nothing else, I'll guilt him into going since I bought him a ticket.

My hope is that I show them that you can do a relaxing trip at Disney and still do the parks, in hopes that they will want to go back at a later date and spend more time in the parks. I think they are picturing a Six Flags experience but with shoulder to shoulder crowds.

OMG, my husband is from the midwest and literarily six flags was his only park experience before he moved to FL. I think that park has since closed down. We had a six flags growing up off of I-95 and sometimes I'm amazed I'm still alive.

My husband now loves Disney for all the memories made with our girls and for the unique experiences but he's opened up to other places too that he initially thought he'd hate.

 

[loves to dive]

It wouldn't be enough park days for me. If you are wanting them to enjoy WDW a full day a DS really isn't doing it. DS is just a big ole high end shopping mall with a little WDW here and there. If the Dad doesn't want to go to the parks, that's fine, no reason why mom and the girls can't go. My hubby isn't a fan and the one time I actually got him to go he did maybe 3 or 4 hours in the morning in the parks if that. We were in our RV at the fort and had our dog with us. He didn't even step foot in Epcot and I think he only went to HS one night for dinner with my son and I and another night for about a hour cause I wanted to ride ToT. That didn't stop my son and I enjoying the parks though, just left ole stick in the mud in the RV with the dog. I think he rode around in the golf cart exploring the Fort alot and one day he and the dog drove the truck around to get gas. I would throw in at least an AK day. I know you are at AKL so you will see some animals but it's not the same as going to the park. I could see girls that age maybe not enjoying HS that much. Just me, you know your friends better than we do.

 

[KSL]

Just wanted to add to make sure you plan time to enjoy all the AKL resort has to offer. I know you have a lot of down=time built in, but you didn't specifically mention exploring the resort, so I wanted to add that in. There are so many wonderful places to watch the animals and you could walk or take the bus over to Kidani, as well (try their pool, watch animals on that savannah, etc.). Not sure if they are still doing it (or if it has returned), but there used to be a night-vision goggles viewing, cast members would do complimentary face-painting, drumming lessons for the kids, etc. Lots of interesting and unique things to see/do at AKL!

 

[Kmedders]

Just wanted to add to make sure you plan time to enjoy all the AKL resort has to offer. I know you have a lot of down=time built in, but you didn't specifically mention exploring the resort, so I wanted to add that in. There are so many wonderful places to watch the animals and you could walk or take the bus over to Kidani, as well (try their pool, watch animals on that savannah, etc.). Not sure if they are still doing it (or if it has returned), but there used to be a night-vision goggles viewing, cast members would do complimentary face-painting, drumming lessons for the kids, etc. Lots of interesting and unique things to see/do at AKL!

Yes! Great point. Definitely need to allow time for the kids to do this.

 

[Kmedders]

It wouldn't be enough park days for me. If you are wanting them to enjoy WDW a full day a DS really isn't doing it. DS is just a big ole high end shopping mall with a little WDW here and there. If the Dad doesn't want to go to the parks, that's fine, no reason why mom and the girls can't go. My hubby isn't a fan and the one time I actually got him to go he did maybe 3 or 4 hours in the morning in the parks if that. We were in our RV at the fort and had our dog with us. He didn't even step foot in Epcot and I think he only went to HS one night for dinner with my son and I and another night for about a hour cause I wanted to ride ToT. That didn't stop my son and I enjoying the parks though, just left ole stick in the mud in the RV with the dog. I think he rode around in the golf cart exploring the Fort alot and one day he and the dog drove the truck around to get gas. I would throw in at least an AK day. I know you are at AKL so you will see some animals but it's not the same as going to the park. I could see girls that age maybe not enjoying HS that much. Just me, you know your friends better than we do.

Ok - I really love the idea of adding in a morning at Animal Kingdom. For me, that's a half day park anyways - so maybe that Sunday morning. Thank you!

 

[RoseGold]

I’d cut one of the non-park days and add a park day. This is a long trip and a lot of work for so little time in the parks. If I want to sit around a resort, I won’t do it at WDW.

I’ve never been to Raglan Road, so grain of salt. I would consider the WL Snow White character dinner at Artist point. You have no character dining in here, and it something distinctly Disney. You could put raglan road on the pool day.

Edit: if dad doesn’t want to go to parks, I doubt he’s going to want to go to a tourist strip mall all day. I would be planning for these kids. Dad can stay and sulk in the hotel, sounds like dad shouldn’t be coming at all. You can call and cancel the party and apply the cost to extending the other tickets. I did it last year when my guests got Covid.

 

[RoseGold]

You are staying deluxe for many nights, there has got to be extended hours in there. You need to use them. I planned around them.

 

[Wayland10]

I’d skip Beaches and Cream on your last day - if you’re staying at AKL, I’d do a Boma brunch unless you’re kids are extremely picky.

 

[Kmedders]

You are staying deluxe for many nights, there has got to be extended hours in there. You need to use them. I planned around them.

They don't have them on the nights we are there.

 

[Kate_45]

I too would add a park on the 4th. I'm not sure that shopping is the best way to convert people to Disney magic though I do appreciate that it is shorthand for lazy day pottering where the mood takes us.

 

[LeeLee'sMom]

Probably add another park day in, you have more than enough downtime to swim and shop but I would think your girls and their girls may be itching to go to another park. Like another poster said, if the dad really doesn't want to go convert their dad's party ticket and add another day to the rest of your party. Also, the girls that age and even older as my niece 15 and daughter 16 would hands down rather eat at Beaches & Cream over Raglan Road. Not stellar food but a fun little vibrant place and fun ice cream.