Critique my trip plan

[quoo]

Hi - I'm new here, so please let me know if this is the wrong place to post this.

My husband and I haven't been to Disney since we were teenagers, and we're heading down there the end of august with our 2 sons, for my eldest's 7th birthday (48"), the youngest will be 3 and a few months. He's currently 37 1/2 inches tall - what are the odds of him gaining half an inch in 2 months to be able to ride slinky dog dash?

We're staying at the Polynesian

We arrive at Orlando at 10:02am (domestic flight) and we're taking the magic express.

Arrival Day:
5:10pm dinner at Saana
(No other plans, but we have the +fun package, so might use this this day or just chill at the polynesian)

Day 1 - Epcot:
(I know it's food at wine, kinda looking forward to this)
7:30 Kona Cafe
9:45 - 10:45am Fast pass, Spaceship Earth
11:15-12:15pm Fast pass, Test Track (I'm planning to either rider swap or wander around with the little guy)
12:25 PM - 1:25pm The Seas with Nemo (moved from later)
Dinner (something counter service or from the food & wine stands)


Day 2 - Magic Kingdom:
7:50 am - Chef Mickey's
10:00-11:00am - Fast pass, barnstormer for me and the little guy
10:15-11:15am - Fast pass, Space mountain for my husband and eldest
11:25am-12:15pm - Fast pass, Speedway, for all of us
2:20pm Pirates League for the boys
3:35-4:35pm - Fast pass, pirates of the caribean
(I'd also like to squeeze in splash mountain, but again, the little guy is too small for this)
8:15pm - O'hana dinner

Day 3 - Hollywood Studios
(Fast passes for this day were challenging! We really just want to see toy story land, and maybe some star wars, I'm also not sure about the breakfast reservation, my kids don't really watch disney junior but it gets us into the park early. Edit: Canceled the breakfast reservation, it looks like they're saying there's extra magic hours this morning)
10:00am - 11:00am - Fast Pass, Star Tours (little guy can't do this)
11:15am-12:15pm - Fast Pass, Muppet Tours 3d
2:45 Midway Mania Fast Pass (I need to see if something earlier opens up)
5:15pm - 50's Prime Time Cafe Reservation

(We had a slinky dog fast pass, but my son is still on the short side, and the FP time was so late in the day I wasn't sure about it - I think we may try to go first thing if he grows a bit in the next few weeks)


Departure Day -
8:30am Supercalafragastic Breakfast at Park Fare
3:40pm - Domestic Flight

I also want to add a cake or other special birthday celebration to one of these - I'm not sure which one makes the most sense. I will definitely be asking for a birthday pin for my son.

Anyway thoughts? Any horrible mistakes? We'll be bringing an umbrella stroller for the 3 year old. Some of these reservation times are weird because I really want to do that thing (like slinky dog dash) but great time slots weren't available.

 

[Ben E N]

For days 1 and 2, push your 3rd fastpass up to as close to the 2nd one as possible. Once you scan in for your 3rd, you can book a 4th, but not beforehand.
Day 3, muppets really doesn't need a fastpass. If there's anything else you may want, I would book that instead.

You have a lot of fun character meals planned, and should have a blast.

Buy thick soled shoes for your little one just to give them than 1/2" push if needed.

 

[quoo]

Oh, our departure flight's not til 3:40 so I assume we'll have some time to kill that morning. Although it always takes me longer to pack than I expect.

Let me see what I can do with that last fastpass. I booked muppets on day 3 because I couldn't find anything else! I wish I could get slinky dog earlier:/

 

[NYCgrrl]

Hi - I'm new here, so please let me know if this is the wrong place to post this.

My husband and I haven't been to Disney since we were teenagers, and we're heading down there the end of august with our 2 sons, for my eldest's 7th birthday (48"), the youngest will be 3 and a few months. He's currently 37 1/2 inches tall - what are the odds of him gaining half an inch in 2 months to be able to ride slinky dog dash?

We're staying at the Polynesian

We arrive at Orlando at 10:02am (domestic flight) and we're taking the magic express.

Arrival Day:
5:10pm dinner at Saana
(No other plans, but we have the +fun package, so might use this this day or just chill at the polynesian)

Day 1 - Epcot:
(I know it's food at wine, kinda looking forward to this)
8:10am Supercalifragilistic Breakfast at 1900 Park Fare
9:45 - 10:45am Fast pass, Spaceship Earth
11:15-12:15pm Fast pass, Test Track (I'm planning to either rider swap or wander around with the little guy)
5:55pm Garden Grill Reservations
7:05-8:05 The Seas with Nemo

Day 2 - Magic Kingdom:
7:50 am - Chef Mickey's
10:00-11:00am - Fast pass, barnstormer for me and the little guy
10:15-11:15am - Fast pass, Space mountain for my husband and eldest
11:25am-12:15pm - Fast pass, Speedway, for all of us
3:35-4:35pm - Fast pass, pirates of the caribean
(I'd also like to squeeze in splash mountain, but again, the little guy is too small for this)
8:15pm - O'hana dinner

Day 3 - Hollywood Studios
(Fast passes for this day were challenging! We really just want to see toy story land, and maybe some star wars, I'm also not sure about the breakfast reservation, my kids don't really watch disney junior but it gets us into the park early.)
8:00am - Hollywood and Vine Disney Junior Play & Dine
10:00am - 11:00am - Fast Pass, Star Tours (little guy can't do this)
11:15am-12:15pm - Fast Pass, Muppet Tours 3d
5:15pm - 50's Prime Time Cafe Reservation
6:35-7:35pm - Fast Pass, Slinky Dog Dash

Departure Day -
8:55am - Kona Cafe Breakfast

I also want to add a cake or other special birthday celebration to one of these - I'm not sure which one makes the most sense. I will definitely be asking for a birthday pin for my son.

Anyway thoughts? Any horrible mistakes? We'll be bringing an umbrella stroller for the 3 year old. Some of these reservation times are weird because I really want to do that thing (like slinky dog dash) but great time slots weren't available.

Let me start by saying I feel pretty confident saying you and your family will loveeeeee Poly. So far it's our favorite hotel at WDW and where we have spent most of our stays. Should you need help picking a room/longhouse just ask.

Now on to your trip schedule:

Arrival day looks good but depends on your arrival time. The earlier you get to the hotel and your room the easier it'll be to want to get to Sanaa @ AK. The monorail hotels are "good ish" for bus transport (you'll be spoiled by the easy boat and monorail transport) to AK but if you feel the least bit behind schedule opt for a Minnie/Lyft/Uber/Mear taxi to the restaurant. The bell captain can arrange it and it'll cost about ..20 bucks for the 4 of you. Most if not all have car seats but be sure to request. Don't book straight back after dinner. Wander around the resort for animal sightings and general feel whose theming is quite different from Poly.
Go ahead and take the bus back to get a feel of how the system works. A resort day can be a good thing as well so just go with your family's flow...nothing has to be set in stone on arrival day to my way of thinking.

Day 1 looks great from a logistic POV.

Day 2
Somebody in this house swiped my map to MK, (DGD is the usual suspect)so I'll not comment on distances btw FPs since if nothing else you've at least an hour between each ride. Don't forget that the train travels through much of MK and can make moving around faster. There is also an internal bus but I've never been on it though it looks like fun. Do try to squeeze in Splash Mountain if you can.

Day 3

Don't forget Toy Story Mania. Predates the new Toyland and a perennial favorite for all ages. you might want to opt in for this over the Muppets since I don't think a FP is needed for it but could be wrong. Those w/ younger children can say better than I. I've never eaten at Prime Time but many sing it's praises. We like HBD/HBL or ABC Commissary at different price points and want of A/C. Of course the beauty of WDW is there is something for most everyone.


Day 4
Great way to end the trip BUT keep in mind that if you need time to pack up room service is a blessing and serves the best of all the available Poly restaurants.
I'm in wuvvvvvvv with Sprinkles for a special occasion (or just feeling gluttonous...oops) but DS isn't or your schedule and they don't deliver. I'm sure others can steer you in the right direction re: b'day cake.

Have fun.

 

[quoo]

My kids LOVE muppets. So that’s on there if only for that. I also kinda love the new muppets movie too. But I hope we can squeeze all the other toy story rides in there. I think I’m going to stalk the slinky dog fast pass to see if we can get an earlier time. It’s crazy, my 60 day fast pass just opened and it’s already down to just evening slots.

I’m researching platform shoes and pompadour hairdos

 

[quoo]

I was wondering if we could do DS after Saana or before? but maybe we’ll just want to explore. I was planning on getting a Minnie van for this. We’re also bringing a midfold and ride safer travel vest because we already have them, and it’s great to have the backup if we end up needing them.

 

[quoo]

Also for MK - space mountain is right by the speedway. Barnstormer is just a bit up from them. I think this distance is a bit greater than the map indicates but since it’s been a long time since I was last at MK I’m a little fuzzy.

Pirates is all the way on the other side of the park, but we will try squeeze in splash mountain (the little guy also can’t do this:/) and I want to see the tiki room and the Swiss family treehouse because I think I missed them last time I was there.

 

[NYCgrrl]

Also for MK - space mountain is right by the speedway. Barnstormer is just a bit up from them. I think this distance is a bit greater than the map indicates but since it’s been a long time since I was last at MK I’m a little fuzzy.

Pirates is all the way on the other side of the park, but we will try squeeze in splash mountain (the little guy also can’t do this:/) and I want to see the tiki room and the Swiss family treehouse because I think I missed them last time I was there.

Good on you for knowing the lay of the land! Sez you are a good organizer and user of your time .

Pirates is close to the mountain range I think. Or is that Haunted Mansions? Ah well the places I don't make FPs at are OK to find along the way, LOL.

I know you said Muppets is big in the family life but that doesn't mean you necessarily need to secure it with a FP. Take a look at what TP has to say about it before committing one of the "3 pieces of gold" to it. For instance, @ MK we always reserve FPs for three of 4 rides: the mountain range and 7DMT. We've been on and enjoyed others such as HM and Pirates but have no problem waiting up to 30 minutes for them on standby.

Arrival day is laid back so if you want to go to DS after Sanaa why not?

 

[mjkacmom]

What time do the parks open? We eat breakfast in the room, and arrive at the parks a half hour before they open. The first two hours are the least crowded (and coolest). We like to schedule a late breakfast for lunch, I’d schedule a couple of fast passes after lunch, and then head back to the resort for a swim/rest. We then head back to a park around dinner time.

 

[quoo]

With the only one toy story land FP tile that seems to be in place (am I doing this wrong) there’s not much else at Hollywood studios that’s appropriate for my kids I think. Thus the muppets FP. Unless I can leave it unused and get another toy story ride FP somehow?

The parks open 8am the first two days, 9am the last. My breakfast reservations overlap this but the kids are really looking forward to these. I may see if I can move them up maybe? But 8am is also a good breakfast time for us, and the kids are big breakfast eaters. And I don’t function without coffee. So I dunno. I’d rather do a big breakfast and then a quick lunch.

 

[Ben E N]

With the only one toy story land FP tile that seems to be in place (am I doing this wrong) there’s not much else at Hollywood studios that’s appropriate for my kids I think. Thus the muppets FP. Unless I can leave it unused and get another toy story ride FP somehow?

The parks open 8am the first two days, 9am the last. My breakfast reservations overlap this but the kids are really looking forward to these. I may see if I can move them up maybe? But 8am is also a good breakfast time for us, and the kids are big breakfast eaters. And I don’t function without coffee. So I dunno. I’d rather do a big breakfast and then a quick lunch.

Correct that you can only do 1 toy story ride. With SDD being your third late in the day, there's not much you can do with the second. You can't make a 4th until all 3 are used. I am in similar shape with my kids coming up. One Toy Story ride is a must, but what else is there for them? Not much at all.

 

[quoo]

I think I'm going to keep our character breakfast at hollywood studios that morning then - even though the 6 year old is pretty much too old for it, and the almost 3 year old doesn't watch disney junior just because it'll help us hopefully beat the lines.

I moved our supercalafragilistic breakfast to the last day so that it's not interfering with epcot breakfast! I think we'll do room service this day, or counter service and then just snack at epcot and take advantage of the extra magic hours.

And I guess I'll stalk fast pass times to see if I can move that one up... or if my kid doesn't grow much over the next month or so.

Also I've read elsewhere you can check in up to 15 minutes early for dining reservations? So If I can't move chef mickey's up, at least we can check in as early as 7:35?

 

[jalapeno_pretzel]

Do you know for sure your older one will be okay with the thrill rides? If you're not sure, I would start with the smaller coasters before doing space mountain.

I wouldn't want to leave poly and head over to akl for dinner the first night. I would rather pick something right there or at least on the monorail.

 

[quoo]

I think so? He's done smaller coasters and we've watched some you tube videos, specifically of space mountain.

I could be wrong, but I think we have a lot of time on the arrival day, and this will be our only chance to see AK as we're not doing a park day. We don't have a very long flight either, it's under 3 hours, really probably closer to 2 if there aren't loads of delays getting out of NYC.

 

[quoo]

(Also I couldn't get O'hana on the first night, I tried!)

 

[NYCgrrl]

I think so? He's done smaller coasters and we've watched some you tube videos, specifically of space mountain.

I could be wrong, but I think we have a lot of time on the arrival day, and this will be our only chance to see AK as we're not doing a park day. We don't have a very long flight either, it's under 3 hours, really probably closer to 2 if there aren't loads of delays getting out of NYC.

The morning flights from NYC tend to be on time.... we generally take the one somewhere between 7:30 and 8:30 AM out if LGA via JetBlue. We arrive @ MCO around 10:30 AM and get to Poly about 1-1/2 hrs later.It's the late return flight that can be late disembarking (you'll be there taxiing on the ground waiting for a gate to open.........sigh LGA is such a mess right now).

Given how relatively easy it is to get to AKL from Poly via a Minnie it still boils down to how you feel. Going to Saana on arrival day is doable and does make good sense from this hotel.

Never worry about eating @ 'Ohana when staying at Poly. You can order pretty much the same meal from room service minus the ice cream for dessert. This is what we have done for all our past trips so since we are not staying at Poly for our 4th of July trip this year we actually made a ressie this time, LOL.

 

[quoo]

Thanks! We do have a reservation, just not on the first night. That's great to know about the flights - ours have similar timing, I think our flight leaves at 7:30, arrives at 10 from LGA, but with Delta though. Hopefully the kids aren't exhausted. We originally had a late morning flight but the time changed. I plan on basically taking them onto the plane in their pj's and letting them change into mickey tshirts when they wake up properly. My eldest is a morning person and will probably wake up for this. My youngest is like me and hates mornings. He's so adorably grumpy and just wants to go back to sleep.

 

[quoo]

Ah. Now you guys have me worried we don't have enough time to chill at the Polynesian and enjoy it.

 

[SwanVT2]

Hi - I'm new here, so please let me know if this is the wrong place to post this.

My husband and I haven't been to Disney since we were teenagers, and we're heading down there the end of august with our 2 sons, for my eldest's 7th birthday (48"), the youngest will be 3 and a few months. He's currently 37 1/2 inches tall - what are the odds of him gaining half an inch in 2 months to be able to ride slinky dog dash?

We're staying at the Polynesian

We arrive at Orlando at 10:02am (domestic flight) and we're taking the magic express.

Arrival Day:
5:10pm dinner at Saana
(No other plans, but we have the +fun package, so might use this this day or just chill at the polynesian)

Day 1 - Epcot:
(I know it's food at wine, kinda looking forward to this)
Room service / counter service breakfast?
9:45 - 10:45am Fast pass, Spaceship Earth
11:15-12:15pm Fast pass, Test Track (I'm planning to either rider swap or wander around with the little guy)
12:25 PM - 1:25pm The Seas with Nemo (moved from later)
5:55pm Garden Grill Reservations


Day 2 - Magic Kingdom:
7:50 am - Chef Mickey's
10:00-11:00am - Fast pass, barnstormer for me and the little guy
10:15-11:15am - Fast pass, Space mountain for my husband and eldest
11:25am-12:15pm - Fast pass, Speedway, for all of us
2:20pm Pirates League for the boys
3:35-4:35pm - Fast pass, pirates of the caribean
(I'd also like to squeeze in splash mountain, but again, the little guy is too small for this)
8:15pm - O'hana dinner

Day 3 - Hollywood Studios
(Fast passes for this day were challenging! We really just want to see toy story land, and maybe some star wars, I'm also not sure about the breakfast reservation, my kids don't really watch disney junior but it gets us into the park early.)
8:00am - Hollywood and Vine Disney Junior Play & Dine
10:00am - 11:00am - Fast Pass, Star Tours (little guy can't do this)
11:15am-12:15pm - Fast Pass, Muppet Tours 3d
5:15pm - 50's Prime Time Cafe Reservation
6:35-7:35pm - Fast Pass, Slinky Dog Dash

Departure Day -
8:30am Supercalafragastic Breakfast at Park Fare
3:40pm - Domestic Flight

I also want to add a cake or other special birthday celebration to one of these - I'm not sure which one makes the most sense. I will definitely be asking for a birthday pin for my son.

Anyway thoughts? Any horrible mistakes? We'll be bringing an umbrella stroller for the 3 year old. Some of these reservation times are weird because I really want to do that thing (like slinky dog dash) but great time slots weren't available.

Personally, I would not plan an 8:15 dinner after a full day at MK with a 3 year old (even 7 year old). Your kids will be exhausted! Sorry to be a wet blanket. I'm sure you want to fit in this meal, so how about your first night instead as a prelude to the week?
I agree that you do not need a FP for the Muppets. Also, just an FYI, Barnstormer might not need a FP that early in the morning. DD and I were not terribly impressed with Barnstormer either. It is literally one loop and done, so I would not waste a FP on it. How about Enchanted Tales with Belle? I know you have 2 boys but the special effects are incredible and the kids get to play parts in a reenactment of the story. Boys were in our group and having fun! Use a FP for this!

 

[quoo]

Barnstormer is for my just turned 3 year old while the older kid and my husband ride space mountain. I liked barnstormer last time I was there, but I'm a dork I think my aunt turned my then 3 year old cousin over to me as I was happy to ride it multiple times with him.

I think our boys will be fine with an 8:15 dinner. I'm planning to head back to the hotel after pirates to chill for a bit. I think Fantasyland will have to wait for another trip.