Please critique my August plans!!

[missmickey]

Hi! We will be heading to Disney August 13th-22nd. We are a family of 4 - Me, my husband and two daughters ages 10 and 8. We have been to Disney twice in the last 5 years with extended family, so this will be our first time with just the 4 of us. We are excited to go at our own pace this trip! I currently have park hoppers, but thinking I could drop that based on my days.

I would love some input on the plan I came up with. What looks good? What should I change? What doesn't see doable based on your experience. Should I add anything?

Thurs. 8/13 - Arrival
Staying one night at Animal Kingdom
Spend the day at the pool or Disney Springs
6:40 Sanaa POO

Fri. 8/14 Dining Plan Plus starts
9:35 Boma
Head to Yacht Club standard room for the remainder of our trip
Pool day
4:10 Artist Point
Head to Epcot or explore the Boardwalk in the evening

Sat. 8/15
8:50 O'hana
Magic Kingdom morning
mid day break
back to MK
8:50 California Grill (hoping to see fireworks from here)

Sun. 8/16
Leisurely morning
Head to Animal Kingdom
1:15 Rainforest Cafe
7:30 Yak and Yeti
**I'm really not feeling Rainforest and don't want another character meal. I was thinking maybe Yak and Yeti lunch then dinner at Ale and Compess or another place near our hotel???

Mon. 8/17
Pool day with lunch and dinner at Epcot
12:30 Via Napoli
6:45- San Angle Inn

Tues. 8/18
Get to Hollywood Studios EARLY
12:10 Mama Melrose Fantasmic Package
6:40 50s Prime Time

Wed. 8/19
9:40 Garden Grill
Stay at Epcot
6:15 Hoop Dee Doo

Thurs. 8/20
10:15 Bon Voyage
Disney Springs
Dinner snack around Epcot

Fri. 8/21
9:40 Cape May - Minnie's Bash
pool
MK at 4:00
5:00 Crystal Palace
MNSSHP

Sat. 8/22 Go home

Thanks so much!

 

[holden]

The only comment I have is that a table service lunch and dinner on the same day would be too much food for my family. I think a TS breakfast and dinner are fine, but lunch and dinner are closer together. Whenever we do a TS breakfast we aren’t hungry for lunch. We usually just grab a snack instead of lunch.

 

[CJGamer]

I'd really think about the heat during the day. August can be brutally hot. Knowing that- as an example- Monday the 17th, if it were me- I'd get up and head to epcot early, have your lunch at Via Napoli, and then head back. Then do pool, and dinner back at epcot. That may be what you meant- but just to be sure.
The day before- the 16th for me is the one that thinking that way could be a problem. You are planning to be at AK all day long. It tends to be the hottest park during the day in the summer. I love park hoppers because you could do you leisurely morning and walk over to epcot for a lunch, and back to the room during the heat (or pool) and go to AK at like 5- hit a ride or 2 then have your dinner and a lot more rides. I don't like to underestimate the factor that is the heat during the day. I think for a long trip- with park hoppers, the only way to make it fun is to be inside or at a pool from 1:30-5:00. Really use the cooler (relative) morning and sundown time......
Back to the AK day- we've done Rainforest a number of times- as our kids were young and really liked it. The food- meh. I'd just assumed hit one of the 2 really good QS options- Flame Tree or Satuli Canteen and get better food.

 

[Deploraboo]

Artist pointe is gonna be way out of the way from Yacht Club and/or AKL. Unless you absolutely have to see Dopey and Grumpy, try Akershus in Epcot, or a breakfast character meal at Topolinos. I always try to tie dining plans to resorts because time is at a premium when at Disney.

 

[mousiemom]

the only thing i see too is the 17th & 18th where you have those 2 sit down meals. it's so much food! and the heat! try to space them out more. just going so much and doing all the dining plans, you live and learn, we had so much fun doing all the character dining when our dd was little, but now that's she 19, we love the quick service dining and that is plenty of food, and we are big eaters. have fun! the planning part is so much fun to me!! The halloween party is the best!!

 

[Erica Ladd]

Food is different for everyone. Artist Point was worth it to me. If you are gonna eat I’d eat where it pleases you.
The only place that might concern me is the pool day right after a split stay since you will have to pack a day bag because you might not have access to your YC room until true check in trine. What if someone gets cold or it starts raining etc. I like the convenience of being able to access my room for sure before, during and after my pool time whether or not I need it! Will you have a car and therefore access to your suitcases at least?
ETA - also I may be wrong but aren’t California Grill and Hoop Dee Doo both 2 credits? Then I count 17 TS credits but it’s been a long day and my head is cloudy!!

 

[DisneyWishes14]

Hi! We will be heading to Disney August 13th-22nd. We are a family of 4 - Me, my husband and two daughters ages 10 and 8. We have been to Disney twice in the last 5 years with extended family, so this will be our first time with just the 4 of us. We are excited to go at our own pace this trip! I currently have park hoppers, but thinking I could drop that based on my days.

I would love some input on the plan I came up with. What looks good? What should I change? What doesn't see doable based on your experience. Should I add anything?

Thurs. 8/13 - Arrival
Staying one night at Animal Kingdom
Spend the day at the pool or Disney Springs
6:40 Sanaa POO

Fri. 8/14 Dining Plan Plus starts
9:35 Boma
Head to Yacht Club standard room for the remainder of our trip
Pool day
4:10 Artist Point
Head to Epcot or explore the Boardwalk in the evening

Sat. 8/15
8:50 O'hana
Magic Kingdom morning
mid day break
back to MK
8:50 California Grill (hoping to see fireworks from here)

Sun. 8/16
Leisurely morning
Head to Animal Kingdom
1:15 Rainforest Cafe
7:30 Yak and Yeti
**I'm really not feeling Rainforest and don't want another character meal. I was thinking maybe Yak and Yeti lunch then dinner at Ale and Compess or another place near our hotel???

Mon. 8/17
Pool day with lunch and dinner at Epcot
12:30 Via Napoli
6:45- San Angle Inn

Tues. 8/18
Get to Hollywood Studios EARLY
12:10 Mama Melrose Fantasmic Package
6:40 50s Prime Time

Wed. 8/19
9:40 Garden Grill
Stay at Epcot
6:15 Hoop Dee Doo

Thurs. 8/20
10:15 Bon Voyage
Disney Springs
Dinner snack around Epcot

Fri. 8/21
9:40 Cape May - Minnie's Bash
pool
MK at 4:00
5:00 Crystal Palace
MNSSHP

Sat. 8/22 Go home

Thanks so much!

8/14 - check in isn't until 3 pm and there is no guarantee you will have a room earlier than that, so I'm not sure how you plan to clean up after being in the pool and changing to go to Artist Point?

8/17 - I would do lunch at YC/BC that day. It's going to be a pain to walk back and forth into EP for two meals if you are trying to enjoy the pool.

8/19 - you may want to consider heading back to YC to freshen up before HDDR. As PPs have noted, it's really hot in August. I understand that makes transportation a little more difficult. If you go this route, consider splurging and taking a Minnie Van to HDDR that evening.

 

[Daisy7425]

I would take more advantage of rope dropping. I see only one early park morning on your plans - HS. If your'e going to be up for O'hana anyway, then I would skip the huge breakfast and go to the parks. I'd schedule sit down meals for lunch to escape the heat.

I think you don't need the park hoppers with this plain either. I hope you have a great trip! We will be there on 8/23!

 

[Mickey of the Villages]

Dear OP you put a lot of thought into these plans - well done. Give some thought to whether large sit down breakfasts are on strategy for park-going in the hottest time of the year. A bagel or bowl of cereal may feel better as a breakfast when facing a lot of walking in very hot/humid mornings. It is also much faster and may allow you to get a later start or enjoy a ride or two instead.

 

[missmickey]

Oh my gosh!! Thank you all so much for all the advice/input/ideas. I am going to spend some time rearranging things tomorrow.

The only comment I have is that a table service lunch and dinner on the same day would be too much food for my family. I think a TS breakfast and dinner are fine, but lunch and dinner are closer together. Whenever we do a TS breakfast we aren’t hungry for lunch. We usually just grab a snack instead of lunch.

Good point. Maybe if not switch to breakfast I should try to put more time between the lunch and dinner.

I'd really think about the heat during the day. August can be brutally hot. Knowing that- as an example- Monday the 17th, if it were me- I'd get up and head to epcot early, have your lunch at Via Napoli, and then head back. Then do pool, and dinner back at epcot. That may be what you meant- but just to be sure.
The day before- the 16th for me is the one that thinking that way could be a problem. You are planning to be at AK all day long. It tends to be the hottest park during the day in the summer. I love park hoppers because you could do you leisurely morning and walk over to epcot for a lunch, and back to the room during the heat (or pool) and go to AK at like 5- hit a ride or 2 then have your dinner and a lot more rides. I don't like to underestimate the factor that is the heat during the day. I think for a long trip- with park hoppers, the only way to make it fun is to be inside or at a pool from 1:30-5:00. Really use the cooler (relative) morning and sundown time......
Back to the AK day- we've done Rainforest a number of times- as our kids were young and really liked it. The food- meh. I'd just assumed hit one of the 2 really good QS options- Flame Tree or Satuli Canteen and get better food.

Thank you! So many good thoughts. Im going to change my my AK day to starter earlier. I think sometimes I underestimate the heat! I should probably make sure most of my days are set up like that.

 

[missmickey]

Artist pointe is gonna be way out of the way from Yacht Club and/or AKL. Unless you absolutely have to see Dopey and Grumpy, try Akershus in Epcot, or a breakfast character meal at Topolinos. I always try to tie dining plans to resorts because time is at a premium when at Disney.

My girls are really excited for this one. I didnt realize it was such a hike though. Maybe we will have to take a taxi or Uber to save time. Is Topolinfo’s the Bon Voyage breakfast? We have that one booked! I’ve read it’s great

the only thing i see too is the 17th & 18th where you have those 2 sit down meals. it's so much food! and the heat! try to space them out more. just going so much and doing all the dining plans, you live and learn, we had so much fun doing all the character dining when our dd was little, but now that's she 19, we love the quick service dining and that is plenty of food, and we are big eaters. have fun! the planning part is so much fun to me!! The halloween party is the best!!

Thanks! We cant wait for the Halloween party! someone else mentioned the lunch/ dinner sit downs. I’m going to try to put a few more hours between them.

Food is different for everyone. Artist Point was worth it to me. If you are gonna eat I’d eat where it pleases you.
The only place that might concern me is the pool day right after a split stay since you will have to pack a day bag because you might not have access to your YC room until true check in trine. What if someone gets cold or it starts raining etc. I like the convenience of being able to access my room for sure before, during and after my pool time whether or not I need it! Will you have a car and therefore access to your suitcases at least?
ETA - also I may be wrong but aren’t California Grill and Hoop Dee Doo both 2 credits? Then I count 17 TS credits but it’s been a long day and my head is cloudy!!

8/14 - check in isn't until 3 pm and there is no guarantee you will have a room earlier than that, so I'm not sure how you plan to clean up after being in the pool and changing to go to Artist Point?

You are totally right!!! I swore I counted at least three different times! Ugh.

I never even thought about not having our bags available or the room ready on that pool day. I’m going to have to look at that! Oh boy, I’ve got some work to do

 

[missmickey]

I would take more advantage of rope dropping. I see only one early park morning on your plans - HS. If your'e going to be up for O'hana anyway, then I would skip the huge breakfast and go to the parks. I'd schedule sit down meals for lunch to escape the heat.

I think you don't need the park hoppers with this plain either. I hope you have a great trip! We will be there on 8/23!

When you do that do you do quick service dinners? When you have table service lunch and dinner on the same day, how many hours do you try to put between them? Enjoy your trip!

Dear OP you put a lot of thought into these plans - well done. Give some thought to whether large sit down breakfasts are on strategy for park-going in the hottest time of the year. A bagel or bowl of cereal may feel better as a breakfast when facing a lot of walking in very hot/humid mornings. It is also much faster and may allow you to get a later start or enjoy a ride or two instead.

Thank you! I’m going to be Revisiting these plans tomorrow and make some changes so we can be at the parks early on a few more days.

 

[TheOneWithTheTriplets]

I agree with what others have said about being more aware of the heat and that you probably have too much food. Then again, my family weren't big eaters on our trip: one big meal and then snacks or sharing QS the rest of the day was plenty for us.

4:10 Artist Point

I loved this meal so I'm not going to dissuade you from going, but you will have to pack a "shower and change" bag and use the facilities by the pool to get ready. It's unlikely you'll have your room in time to get over here.

8:50 O'hana
Magic Kingdom morning

If you do this, you don't get to RD MK, which is not only the best time to hit a few rides back to back but also the coolest time of the day. I'd try for a late breakfast at Crystal Palace instead. RD, tour for 90 minutes, then eat.

5:00 Crystal Palace
MNSSHP

I wouldn't want to use that much of your party time at a sit down dinner. We did a 2pm Chef Mickey ADR before our MNSSHP which let us fill up first and then go have fun. Or, bump the Cape May to the latest breakfast they offer and treat it more like a lunch.

 

[Erica Ladd]

I like your idea of an earlier lunch and later dinner if those are the meals that suit you and the restaurants you want! If you don’t go up to the buffet 3 times and don’t order the biggest items on the menu you will still get the experience of the places you want to enjoy so go for it! As a general rule I think we put at least 6-7 hours between 2 sit downs but that is very possible to do an early breakfast-late lunch or early lunch- later dinner. Good luck!!

 

[figmentfinesse]

8/15 is a 6pm MK closing day for a private event, just a heads up. We are almost date buddies! 8/12-8/21 for me.

 

[Tomh]

We are frequent August travelers, with 12 Disney World August vacations under our belt.

Generally, our TS meals are either lunch, or breakfast and supper. We try to avoid two TS meals back to back. If we are doing TS for breakfast it will be a PPO meal, so that we can be in the park, and going right when it opens.

August is a fairly busy time of the year in the parks, at least for the first part of your trip. Being a step ahead of the crowds is a good thing. We always try to be at the park for park opening, allowing us to take advantage of the short lines for the first hour or so. We schedule our meals, and FP accordingly, so breakfast is either a PPO TS meal, or we eat in the room, or occasionally grab something outside of the park at a food stand, or on Main Street in MK (where you can get into Main Street before the rest of the park opens). Likewise, our first FP will be for either 9:30 - 10:30, or for 10:00 - 11:00.

Lunch, whether it be QS, or TS, will almost always be somewhere with indoor seating so we can take advantage of the air conditioning, and cool off from the mid day heat some. At AK, we love to have lunch at Tusker House. I know it is another character meal, but it is an hour or more out of the heat in the middle of the day, without having to walk all the way back out to the park entrance, and the food is good.

 

[DisneyFansInNYC]

Thurs. 8/13 - Arrival
Staying one night at Animal Kingdom
Spend the day at the pool or Disney Springs
6:40 Sanaa POO

Fri. 8/14 Dining Plan Plus starts
9:35 Boma
Head to Yacht Club standard room for the remainder of our trip
Pool day
4:10 Artist Point
Head to Epcot or explore the Boardwalk in the evening

Mon. 8/17
Pool day with lunch and dinner at Epcot I would do a breakfast or earlier lunch or later dinner and do the pool in between
12:30 Via Napoli
6:45- San Angle Inn

Wed. 8/19 You want to leave much time to get to Hoop Dee Doo.
9:40 Garden Grill
Stay at Epcot
6:15 Hoop Dee Doo

Excited for your trip and we will be there partially around the same time and have CG for the same night. MK closes early that day (not sure for what reason) so I hope that the Fireworks will be around the same time so we can see them from CG.

With our kids schedule we have done August for many years now - it is HOT but we manage. Again like others have said we don't do TS lunch and dinner. If we do Breakfast then we do a late lunch/early dinner. Or we eat quick at the hotel and do a TS late afternoon.

As for your night at AKL - I would do AK either the 13th or the 14th - since you are near there anyway. When we do split stays we schedule the parks we are closer to on those days. I am sure it is hard to move Artist Point to another day - but I would do AK while Disney moved our bags. AK has many great QS locations so maybe you can do Artist Point a little later or another day.

As for Artist Point - our older daughters and their friends just ate there and said it is one of their top restaurants. They loved the interaction with the characters and said the food was excellent. So we are doing it on our trip as well. Our DDs and friends Disney bounded. One dressed like Snow White, another like Dopey, one like the Evil Queen and another like Grumpy - they had so much fun.

The Bon Voyage breakfast is at Trattoria al Forno on the Boardwalk - right across for YC. It is a great meal and great character interactions. We really enjoyed it.

You have most of our favorite meals, Sanaa, Boma, Bon Voyage, California Grill and Ohana. Enjoy!

 

[Mambo Junkie]

I, too, am going in August. This trip we are cutting back on TS dinners. Too much food, and too much time taken away from attractions. I have 2 park breakfasts planned. both before park openings. Both for strategy and for lesser crowds, at least for an hour. We have Bon Voyage on check out/travel day and Storybook on DS/check in day. For HS, we have a Fantasmic Mama Melrose, but may drop that. On that park day, we will be in early as will everyone else if they keep with the BGs for RotR and will have early fps for a couple of rides, and MMRR whenever we can get it. After our initial fps, we have Droid Depot, lunch and Savis planned to beat the heat of the day. Should we change our minds, we may leave and come back for Fantasmic. It will be hot and crowded, which makes for a very long day. We have planned breaks on our MK and EP days, and AK we only have FOLK Tiffins planned. One of the most enjoyable meal experiences I have ever had.
For your family, it looks pretty solid, especially if you are foodies, but I do agree with the "too much food" advice. We once had a 1:00 lunch at Coral Reef, then dinner atAkershus at 6:00 and we weren't even remotely hungry. Lucky for us it was Christmas, and Akershus had a huge waiting list, so we were able to walk up and give our reservation to a standby family. Had this not been the case, then I would have honored the reservation solo to avoid the no show fee.
That said, character meals are a great way for the kids to see the characters.

 

[courtky]

I know some people have already commented on it, but I'd also like to weigh in on the food. I went for the first time ever in January with my boyfriend and we're both big eaters. My schedule looked similar to yours and we thought we'd be fine. We ended up dropping a few dinners because we were still pretty full from lunch and we would just grab a snack around the park if we felt a bit hungry. Disney has some great snacks you should save room for!

We didn't do any breakfasts because we wanted as much time in the parks as possible, but if they're a must do for you then do them! Especially if it's to meet characters.

Also, most days we ate lunch and by the time the end of the night came around, we were so worn out that we just said "to heck with a sit down meal" and just went back to our room and ate at the food court/doordashed a meal Lol.

aaand side note: Via Napoli is delicious.

 

[SG131]

I also agree with PPs way too much food for an August trip. Also, I would do a park on you switch day. You don't know if you'll get into your room and even if you do, you won't have your luggage unless you take an Uber and cart it over yourself. I mean you know your kids best, but personally, I think it would be torture to be in Disney for almost 2 days before you get a chance to go to a park.

You're pretty light on park time. Since you've only gone twice in the past two years and your kids are older I might try for a little more time in the actual parks. Are your kids young foodies that wouldn't mind missing out on park time to sit in a restaurant so much? I personally would rather get a little more out of the day unless it was an adult only trip or had just gone lately. Are they pool obsessed and will want to spend so many days of the trip at the pool or disney springs, or will they be antsy to see the park?