Critique our itinerary and ADRs please :)

[CaroM8]

Who’s going: Myself, husband and 6 yr old princess (all our first trip, possibly the only one)
When: September 24 for 7 nights at CBR
Free DDP promotion, 5 park days, hopper.
We do not want to attend a Halloween party, but obviously they are happening while we are there. Planned 2 days at MK, thought of doing one on a party day to get lower crowds, thoughts? (Not currently set up that way in this itinerary though..)

Arrival day (the 24th) nothing planned as we land in MCO around 7:30pm
Day 2: MK - ADR at crystal palace (not sold on that yet…) maybe ohana dinner instead?
Day 3: Epcot - brunch at Akershus (non negotiable)
Day 4: HS - none of the TS there really seem interesting to us.. we might try Sebastian’s at our resort
Day 5: no parks. Breakfast at Topolinos if we can get a reservation. Maybe dinner at Ohana if we didn’t get to it on day 2?
Day 6: AK - originally wanted to do Tusker but now thinking to maybe hop over to AKL for Sanaa?
Day 7: MK - dinner at Story Book (pretty much non negotiable)
Day 8: departure day. Flight at 2:20pm. Might do topolinos breakfast this day before leaving if we didn’t get it earlier in our vacation..

How does this look? Feel free to be creative and switch out days around if you think it would be better

 

[DJFan88]

Definetly try and get the Topolinos breakfast. If you dont get it initially or before trip, set an alert and you may get it for that last day. Love love love Storybook dining. Characters at both of these places are great.
I didnt have either of these before my last bigger family trip, and alerts for both were going off crazy when i was there, and was able to pick both of these up when i was there easily.
For a fun relaxing portion of your AK day, head over to on their train to do the Animation experience where you draw a charachter.

 

[GillianP1301]

Your thinking to do a MK on a party day is spot on. The pre 4pm crowd is quite light in MK on a party day and you will get as much done in a partial day in those crowds as you will in a full day in normal to heavier crowds. It also frees up an evening to relax and/or enjoy a resort TS dinner.

For your AK day, I vote for Sanaa for dinner over Tusker House, much better food. AK is not open very late, so you could get a post park closure later dinner time so you don't lose out on park time and then spend a nice evening at AKL for dinner and just checking out that resort.

Overall, I think your plan looks great!

 

[Mouse Tracker]

highly recommend a Touring Plan subscription for a first timer. Access to "chat", a lot of insider info, plus you can customize a daily plan.

Park Hoppers give you a lot of flexibility, research Genie+ - if this could be your only trip you should budget for this.

Not knowing your transportation to / from airport, typically Mears picks you up 3 hours before plane departure. Squeezing in a TS breakfast is possible depending on time but could also add some stress if "tight" timeline. (MCO security is nightmarish)

First timers can be overwhelmed by the experience, embrace the technology available, follow forums like on Disboards.

 

[BeachMouse1]

Storybook Dining is a great experience!

 

[AleaDaisy]

My then-5 year old absolutely LOVED Crystal Palace -- probably one of the highlights of her trip. Also, MK quick service is kind of rough, so we liked the options at the buffet. I've heard breakfast is better but we liked the lunch/dinner options just fine!

Second the recommendation for Genie+. Hugely helpful for MK in particular -- we did two days with Genie+ and it was wonderfully relaxing. We got everything we wanted to done and had time for repeats.

 

[gottalovepluto]

For AK have you looked at Yak & Yeti? In Sept I'd want a break from the heat by lunch but wouldn't be done with AK myself that quickly so I wouldn't want to leave the park for lunch.

Y&Y has very little Disney ADR availability. You can get a Landry's card for $25 & receive a $25 on your first meal with it so it's basically free. The card will allow you to call Y&Y direct for a reservation or you can show up whenever you want with a party of 6 or less and receive priority on the waiting list (so like 15 min wait).

I'd shift stuff around to MK on a party morning one day. It gets very busy by afternoon though so keep that in mind it's just those pre-lunch hours that tend to be so quiet.

 

[garris3404]

At MK, go with Crystal Palace
At HS, try 50's Prime Time Café
At AK, try Boma at AKL for dinner (you can get there early and view the animals out on the savannah)