Back to Disney after 10 years! Is this trip plan going to go well?

[D.Duck]

Going to stay at Yacht Club on August 6th for one night before taking the rest of our trip to the Sheraton Vistana Resort. We are getting a "free" timeshare week from the in-laws, so I couldn't pass up that price. It's me, DH, DD (17), DS (14), DS (13). It's our second time at Disney, first time on property stay. We haven't been in 10 YEARS!! We have a simple plan in place for now, just getting started with dates set and everything. What do you think? We really want to do MK, EPCOT, and UNIVERSAL. I'm planning my days by green lights on crowd levels on Undercover Tourist. My DD claims she dislikes theme parks now, so we have a reluctant teenager on our hands, and it's going to be hot in August, so I tried to work in some flexible days for other activities. I'm not sure if DHS or AK would be a hit.

Sat.
Flying in, get rental car, make a stop on the way to Yacht Club (Garden View room)

Stormalong Bay for the afternoon
ADR 5:30 Cape May Café Buffet
Disney Springs for the evening after dinner
9:00 Watch Illuminations from the beach/lighthouse area
ADR 9:40 Beaches & Cream Soda Shop (teenagers are always hungry)

Sun.
ADR 7:30 Cape May Character Breakfast
EPCOT
ADR 1:15 Coral Reef
EPCOT 'til we drop
Do we need a dinner ADR, or just eat offsite?
We can leave our car at YC after checkout all day, right?
We have never been to Epcot, so we don't know how long it will take for teens to enjoy this park.

Mon.
UNIVERSAL STUDIOS

Tues.
Resort time in the morning, let teens sleep in, and more Universal for the afternoon/evening (right now it's buy 2 get one day free)

Wed.
Cocoa Beach, Kennedy Space Center (never been here, so advice is welcome)

Thurs.
ADR 7:40 Chef Mickey's (may not keep this as we already did Cape May and teenagers don't like getting up early; will it make us late for rope drop?)
MAGIC KINGDOM
ADR 11:10 Be Our Guest
ADR 6:10 Liberty Tree Tavern

Friday
Bass Fishing Or Gatorland, other Orlando activities (recommendations?)
+ resort time

Sat.
UNIVERSAL ISLANDS OF ADVENTURE

Sun.
Depart

I obviously have a lot more planning to do, but this is the basic sketch so far. We want to make the most of our stay at Yacht Club (on my birthday!) while we can.

 

[D.Duck]

Should we go to Hollywood Studios on day of arrival? We will probably get to the resort around 12:00/1:00. Or, should we just enjoy stormalong bay? I'm not sure how long HS would take for hitting the highlights?

Is it possible to enjoy the pool for a few hours then hit HS 3:00-9:00?

 

[D.Duck]

Maybe I am just talking to myself right now, but I think we will just do the resort on the first day as planned and maybe do HS another day. We really want to enjoy Stormalong Bay at the YC/BC. Also, the first day we will stroll the Boardwalk not Disney Springs.

 

[DisMom456]

Saturday: Stormalong Bay is fantastic, especially to unwind on your travel day, looks good to me (with BW instead of DS).
Sunday: Do your kids like thrill rides? I know HS is undergoing a lot of changes, but it still has Tower of Terror, Rockin' Rollercoaster and the Toy Story ride. I think either park could easily be 1/2 day and you can use Stormalong Bay (and parking) your whole check-out day.
Mon-Wed: I only have Disney experience
Thursday: I would say go ahead and ditch Chef Mickey's and go for rope drop, especially if you have BOG at 11:10 (otherwise you may not be ready to eat!)

Have fun!!

 

[D.Duck]

Thank you, DisMom456! When I look at this outline, it looks like a fast vacation week.

I wish we didn't have to wait 'til August. I appreciate your feedback as we don't have the experience as so many others with all of the parks.

We were going to have a Garden Grocer order delivered to the Sheraton Vistana Sunday evening, but I just found out Garden Grocer does not deliver to Sheraton Vistana Resort anymore. We could find another delivery place or have the order delivered to YC on Sunday (checkout day) in the afternoon and pick them up on our way out. I was hoping to avoid the grocery store, but I guess we could also just play it by ear since we have the rental car.

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

We were going to have a Garden Grocer order delivered to the Sheraton Vistana Sunday evening, but I just found out Garden Grocer does not deliver to Sheraton Vistana Resort anymore.

Garden Grocer does deliver to the Disney hotels. You could have them deliver the non-refrigerated items to your hotel the first day, and maybe do a quick stop for any milk or refrigerated items on our way to the new hotel. I would say have the delivery on your check out day, but I don't know if YC would have an issue with that. I know they keep cold items cold until they delivery them to your room.

Stormalong Bay for the afternoon
ADR 5:30 Cape May Café Buffet
Disney Springs for the evening after dinner
9:00 Watch Illuminations from the beach/lighthouse area
ADR 9:40 Beaches & Cream Soda Shop (t

I don't think you could make it to Disney Springs and back and see the fireworks. Def plan on just walking the boardwalk instead. I have not been to Stormalong Bay as of yet but it looks amazing and I want to plan a stay so that we can spend a whole day at that pool!

My kids are younger but I would think teenagers would enjoy Hollywood Studios. I would think 1/2 a day would suffice for that park. Animal Kingdom only if they like Animals... We love it but My oldest is an animal lover.

EPCOT
ADR 1:15 Coral Reef
EPCOT 'til we drop
Do we need a dinner ADR, or just eat offsite?
We can leave our car at YC after checkout all day, right?
We have never been to Epcot, so we don't know how long it will take for teens to enjoy this park.

For your EPCOT day, you don't "Need" an ADR for dinner But there are so many good restaurants in EPCOT. There are lots of thinks to grab along the way from the counter service places and kiosks. I would saw to just snack your way around the world. Plus that way, you won't feel like you HAVE to stay at the park for a dinner reservation. You can play it by ear with the teens.

I would think the teens would like Soarin' and Test Track, def seem like they would appeal to older kids.

Can't wait to hear how the planning goes!

 

[D.Duck]

Thanks, StarWarsMomofGirls! I appreciate all the responses. It helps a lot!

I got an ADR at La Hacienda de San Angel for 8:15 on the evening we do Epcot. That is supposed to be a great viewing place. I don't really like having to plan every meal time, but I guess it is the Disney way. Would this reservation time have us seated at a table by 9 p.m. for Illuminations. What if other diners linger and don't leave their tables ?

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

My sister in law did La Hacienda de San Angel on there last visit this past summer. And she said it was really good food and a great view. We have personally never tried to time dinner with fireworks but Disney tends to seat not to long after your reservation time. I would think you would def be seated by 9:00. Disney must have a way of nicely shoo-ing folks out if they linger too long. Some, probably want to get out of the restaurant to find a spot elsewhere.

I always look at the dinner reservations as making my time once we are there easier. I am always the one planning and picking where we will eat. It is nice to know that we have a place to sit and eat once a day. No wondering around wondering where to eat while everyone is hungry and crabby.

 

[D.Duck]

So, I have revised quite a bit! Here's my new plan. Any feedback is welcome as I'm not sure about fitting it all in. We did add two Disney parks to the original plan, deciding to do all 4 parks instead of so many "off" days.


Sat. (happy birthday!)
Flying in early, get rental car, online check-in YC, head to MK

Casey’s Corner lunch, do our MK Fastpasses: Jungle Cruise, Pirates, Big Thunder Mtn.
3:00-5:00 Stormalong Bay
ADR 5:30 Cape May Café Buffet
Walk over to see the boardwalk
8:00-9:30 Illuminations Cruise

ADR 9:40 Beaches & Cream Soda Shop

Sun.
ADR 7:30 Cape May Character Breakfast
EPCOT
FP: Soarin’, Mission Space, Turtle Talk

12:00 Via Napoli OR 1:15 Garden Grill
5:40 Garden Grill OR 7:40 Via Napoli


^^^I need to choose which meals to keep!

Mon.
HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS

ADR 50’s Prime Time Café

ADR Hollywood & Vine dinner


Tues.
Universal STUDIOS/IOA (focus on Harry Potter)

Wed.
Cocoa Beach OR Typhoon Lagoon in the morning?

ADR 4:30 Boathouse

After dinner, explore Disney Springs and/or CityWalk


Thurs.
MAGIC KINGDOM
FP: Peter Pan, 7DMT, Splash Mountain

ADR 11:10 Be Our Guest
ADR 6:10 Liberty Tree Tavern

10:00 View Wishes

Friday
ANIMAL KINGDOM

FP: Safari, Everest, Kali River Rapids

Lunch QS @ Flame Tree BBQ


3:00-7:00 Blizzard Beach


Sat.
UNIVERSAL IOA/STUDIOS (focus on non-Harry Potter)