Early May Trip Plan (Advice welcome-never been to AK or Epcot)

[Nicnicnic.nic]

I am going on a trip with myself, DD4 ---and also very recently added my husband and DS2 to the trip (husband and I separated in Sep 2022 but started...I guess you can call it reconciling or dating again this past December and the original plan was just like last time was to leave DS2 with husband so I can take DD4 but things have been going well so a couple weeks ago I invited them and he said he wanted to go. he has no interest in WDW but wants to spend family time together). We will be driving from VA to WDW. Leaving at night on May 5th (taking turns with husband for the 11hr drive but hoping the kids will sleep the whole time) and arriving at CBR in the morning. I've only really been to WDW once before and that trip was last year with just myself and DD3 at the time. Last time we stayed at AoA and we visited CBR to use the playground and just look around. The pool looked really nice and I liked having the skyliner last time and the price was within budget. I called and requested trinidad and 1st floor. I want the new mermaid room! It looks so nice. We will have the DDP (due to kids offer).

So we will be there May 6-May 11. 4 day tickets with park hopper.

This will be a lot of firsts for us. Husband has never been. DS2 has never been. DD4 and myself have never been to AK or Epcot and we have not gone to any of these restaurants except for cape may. I plan to buy standby skipper also...which I have never done before. But I didn't like having to be on my phone so much last time and I really want to be able to stack LLs in the evening. Here is the plan. Please any advice. I'm ok not doing everything. We will hopefully be back every year or every other year until the kids don't like it anymore. I don't want to rush the kids and I want to have enough time for pool and naps. DD4 is currently being phased out of naps but Im sure she'll need them while at WDW. DS2 is not great at napping unless in the car.

Monday (May 6)

-arrive at CBR around 7am: check in, look around, playground

-850am: Cape May breakfast (went here last time with DD4 and liked that we can take the skyliner and the characters and the food...but if availability opens up I do kinda want to try Ohana breakfast...but transportation to get there would be a pain so I'm not sure)

-arcade, pool time, maybe shower and nap in room depending on when we get a room, coffee at le petit at riviera, dinner at centertown market (but i want to get the pudding at banana cabana for dessert), and 6pm campfire

Questions for Monday: (1) Should this be a park day since we get here early (and could get here earlier since we are driving it's flexible)? If its a park day, I'd cancel cape may. (2) If we keep this a resort day, and we could get the ADR, should we cancel cape may and eat breakfast at ohana?

Tuesday (May 7)

Animal Kingdom!!!!! (I'm so excited for this park!!! It just looks so beautiful from the vlogs)

7am LL- safari
rope drop navi then meet moana (a lot of sadness from DD4 on last trip that she did not meet her so I want to make this a priotiy), then hopefully we can use our safari LL (and book DINOSAUR LL for DD4 and myself), then dinoland rides and play at the boneyard, lunch at restaurantosaurus (kids are very picky eaters and I am prioritizing QS with indoor seating and food I know they will eat), then hopefully we can use LL for DINOSAUR

rest and pool time

345pm: bus for MK

hoping that standby skipper will have stacked LLs for us: pirates, HM, JC, and some fantasyland rides. plan to bring some food for the kids so we dont have to worry about stopping to eat since had a hard time last time finding food DD4 will eat at MK last time. thinking about cheezits, uncrustables, and popcorn chicken for the kids packed food. and I will probably using some snack credits (I want dole whip and maybe an egg roll) dont know how late we will be able to last. maybe around 9 or 10. DD4 is a night owl but DS2 starts to break down around 7pm sometimes push it to 8pm but I hope he can nap in the stroller...we will see

Questions: nothing specific but if anyone has advice. again Ive never been to AK before and never park hopped before and never used standby skipper so complete novice here

Wednesday (May 8)

Epcot

7am LL: remy
rope drop FEA then meet Anna/Elsa then walk around world (get a snack at les halles maybe...) and do Mexico ride (DD4 likes the new 3 caberellos show on disney plus)
1120am ADR: Akershus
then do remy on our way out
(using the skyliner so entering and leaving from world showcase)

rest and pool time

leave again for epcot around 430

living with the land ride
555pm ADR: Garden Grill

and these are the rides we'd like to do after dinner: soarin (just me and DD4), the seas, turtle talk with crush, look at the aquarium

Questions: (1) what is the best way to get to FEA for rope drop from the skyliner...from what Ive been reading theres 2 ways to get there (2) besides remy and soaring, how do you think we should prioritize LLs for the other rides? seems like they are usually walk ons?

Thursday (May 9) [no genie plus today, just dont think we need it for our plans]

Epcot

rope drop moana journy of water and meet moana again maybe? then spaceship earth and just kinda walk around and leave around 1030am

lunch at primo piatto starts at 11am

pool and rest time

leave at 345 for AK

either watch the 430 nemo show or dinoland (i think the kids will really like the boneyard and the little rides there) or look at animals. gonna leave it up to what the kids say they want

535pm ADR: Tusker House (so excited for this one)

Questions: (1) AK closes at 6pm this day so we will probably still be at tusker house at 6...what happens...do they just tell us how to leave? anyone know if the park closes at 6..what time the gift shops at the front will close? because I'd like to browse a little after dinner but not if that would be bad manners but if they are open anyway i would like to

Friday (May 10)

Hollywood Studios (we are only spending a little time here since we spent a whole day here last time and are just hitting what DD4 liked a lot last time and then some stuff we didn't get to do last time)

7am LL: MMRR

rope drop TSM and ***

brunch at woodys lunch box (can i really get the brisket sandwich in the morning? it was soooo good last time but we wont be around here except in the morning)

then meet Ariel and disney junior dance party

pool and rest time

leave for MK at 345

520:Bibbidi bobbidi boutique!!!!!!!! (did this with DD4 on DCL and she loved it but this will be the first time at WDW)

stacked LLs for meeting princesses, fantasyland rides, tommorrowland rides

dinner at cosmic rays

Saturday (May 11)

pack up and check out

1040 ADR: Topolinos

pool time

leave when the kids seem ready for a nap

Questions: (1) driving up to VA but will need to stop somewhere 2-3 hrs away from Orlando when they wake up from their nap to let them out of the car so any suggestions?


Thank you for reading along and thanks in advance for any advice

 

[Nicnicnic.nic]

So now thinking of just having the kids nap in the car while we drive around a little bit but then staying at WDW until around 7pm on Saturday so we get more time there....

 

[kylenne]

I plan to buy standby skipper also...which I have never done before. But I didn't like having to be on my phone so much last time and I really want to be able to stack LLs in the evening.

Save your money and just set an alarm on your phone every 2 hours. There is no need or reason to be on your phone all the time. Especially if you're stacking. Insane to me that people spend money on this.

Monday (May 6)

-arrive at CBR around 7am: check in, look around, playground

-850am: Cape May breakfast (went here last time with DD4 and liked that we can take the skyliner and the characters and the food...but if availability opens up I do kinda want to try Ohana breakfast...but transportation to get there would be a pain so I'm not sure)

Booking an ADR that early for your arrival day is playing with fire imo. If you end up hitting traffic you're going to have issues and starting your vacation with that kind of stress is not magical. I would never ever do a breakfast ADR on arrival day. We have done brunch before, but only at our actual resort or somewhere within easy walking distance, like the Grand Floridian Cafe when staying at GF or Poly, and it was in the early afternoon when we planned to make it to property around 10:30am or so. I would be okay with a lunch, but dinner is much safer if you have to have an ADR on arrival day.

Questions for Monday: (1) Should this be a park day since we get here early (and could get here earlier since we are driving it's flexible)? If its a park day, I'd cancel cape may. (2) If we keep this a resort day, and we could get the ADR, should we cancel cape may and eat breakfast at ohana?

I wouldn't do either of these (see above). But 'Ohana is objectively an even worse plan than Cape May. You're not going to be able to just leave your car at the Poly and go to MK after you eat at 'Ohana, so you'll need to park at the TTC and walk over. And I like this plan even less than Cape May tbh. In general I am incredibly wary about making hard plans involving reservations on an arrival day, especially involving resort-to-resort travel that's not a simple matter of walking or hopping on a boat, monorail, or Skyliner. Personally I would honestly just do QS breakfast at CBR, if you have to travel go to Riviera QS and save the character breakfast for another day.

Tuesday (May 7)

Animal Kingdom!!!!! (I'm so excited for this park!!! It just looks so beautiful from the vlogs)

7am LL- safari
rope drop navi then meet moana (a lot of sadness from DD4 on last trip that she did not meet her so I want to make this a priotiy), then hopefully we can use our safari LL (and book DINOSAUR LL for DD4 and myself), then dinoland rides and play at the boneyard, lunch at restaurantosaurus (kids are very picky eaters and I am prioritizing QS with indoor seating and food I know they will eat), then hopefully we can use LL for DINOSAUR

Kilimanjaro Safaris opens at actual park opening, not at Early Entry, and it is very easy to hit Navi first, head to Discovery Island for Moana, and then track back to do the safari in standby. We did it Memorial Day week last year. Sometimes the safari does have a delayed opening because the animals aren't ready, in which case just hang around and ask the CMs if they have an ETA.

G+ is absolutely unnecessary at AK, especially at the time of year you're going. I would not waste a LL there, just concentrate on stacking for the second half of your day at MK. Dinosaur only starts to spike midday when you will be long gone. The whole morning it's basically a walk on, and so is everything else on G+ unless it's a hot day and everyone wants a good soaking on Kali.

hoping that standby skipper will have stacked LLs for us: pirates, HM, JC, and some fantasyland rides. plan to bring some food for the kids so we dont have to worry about stopping to eat since had a hard time last time finding food DD4 will eat at MK last time. thinking about cheezits, uncrustables, and popcorn chicken for the kids packed food. and I will probably using some snack credits (I want dole whip and maybe an egg roll) dont know how late we will be able to last. maybe around 9 or 10. DD4 is a night owl but DS2 starts to break down around 7pm sometimes push it to 8pm but I hope he can nap in the stroller...we will see

Questions: nothing specific but if anyone has advice. again Ive never been to AK before and never park hopped before and never used standby skipper so complete novice here

Again, Standby Skipper is a waste of money. G+ is not hard to use nor does it keep you inordinately on your phone. Watch Ear Scouts on YouTube, Rob breaks it down very simply and has videos on how to utilize it when park hopping. As far as MK goes, tbh Fantasyland is a ghost town in the evenings because its target demographic (y'all lol) generally can't hang that late. Most of those rides aside from Peter Pan will have little to no wait in the early evening and Mine Train is an ILL.

Also be mindful the Adventureland egg roll cart closes before the park, so if that's a priority you will likely want to hit that when you first come in.

Wednesday (May 8)

Epcot

7am LL: remy
rope drop FEA then meet Anna/Elsa then walk around world (get a snack at les halles maybe...) and do Mexico ride (DD4 likes the new 3 caberellos show on disney plus)
1120am ADR: Akershus
then do remy on our way out
(using the skyliner so entering and leaving from world showcase)

rest and pool time

leave again for epcot around 430

living with the land ride
555pm ADR: Garden Grill

and these are the rides we'd like to do after dinner: soarin (just me and DD4), the seas, turtle talk with crush, look at the aquarium

Questions: (1) what is the best way to get to FEA for rope drop from the skyliner...from what Ive been reading theres 2 ways to get there (2) besides remy and soaring, how do you think we should prioritize LLs for the other rides? seems like they are usually walk ons?

Skip G+ for this day. It's a waste of money at Epcot if you're not going during a super busy time (and you're not). You're essentially going to be paying through the nose for Remy and a bunch of walk ons. The only ride besides Remy and Frozen that sees ugly waits is Test Track, which you're not doing.

Rope drop from the IG has you held on the bridge between UK and France once you tap in, and you will need to pass France to get to Norway anyway, so the best thing to do is just rope drop Remy and then ride Frozen second. Even if you're moving slow with kids, it won't be a terrible wait as long as you are at or near the front of the rope drop pack--you will want to be at the Skyliner station 90 minutes before the start of Early Entry to ensure you are on one of the first gondolas out. Sometimes they run it early (Ear Scouts has done at least one EE video rope dropping from the Skyliner). And you will still be ahead of the non-Early Entry guests because all of them are coming in from the front entrance and making a beeline for Remy because they don't know any better.

Soarin often drops to a 20 minute posted wait that is more like walking straight in and 5 actual minutes of waiting in the preshow area, especially later in the afternoon. I would save it for when you come back for Garden Grill.

Questions: (1) AK closes at 6pm this day so we will probably still be at tusker house at 6...what happens...do they just tell us how to leave? anyone know if the park closes at 6..what time the gift shops at the front will close? because I'd like to browse a little after dinner but not if that would be bad manners but if they are open anyway i would like to

If you have an ADR that goes after park close it just means you will leave the park when you leave the restaurant. CMs will block off pathways to other areas of the park and gently direct you towards the exits. Shops do tend to stay open a little later than the rest of the parks as a rule but I doubt you will be out of Tusker House in enough time to shop on Discovery Island. Just go home.

brunch at woodys lunch box (can i really get the brisket sandwich in the morning? it was soooo good last time but we wont be around here except in the morning)

The menu is nearly exactly the same all day at Woody's, the only difference is in the morning they have the breakfast totchos in addition to the regular items. I would mobile order as soon as you get to the park to secure a slot. You don't have to push the order through immediately when you order it, just click the "I'm here" button when you're ready to eat and your slot has arrived.

In general I think you're deeply overestimating the need for G+ on this trip. You aren't doing thrill rides so that knocks out a bunch of the rides that really benefit from it, and you're also going at a really slow time of year. May is shoulder season and it's basically dead at the parks. I'll be blunt: I'm very anti Standby Skipper because it's exactly the kind of third party app Disney has been cracking down on recently (and in fact back end changes they've made have rendered it broken a number of times in the past). It's far better to actually learn how the system works instead of paying extra money on top of G+ for a frankly unnecessary crutch that can just as easily be snatched away and then leave you lost. You don't need to be on your phone any longer than it takes you to check wait times in the app on a day you're not utilizing G+. It's an overblown complaint tbqh.

 

[Nicnicnic.nic]

Save your money and just set an alarm on your phone every 2 hours. There is no need or reason to be on your phone all the time. Especially if you're stacking. Insane to me that people spend money on this.



Booking an ADR that early for your arrival day is playing with fire imo. If you end up hitting traffic you're going to have issues and starting your vacation with that kind of stress is not magical. I would never ever do a breakfast ADR on arrival day. We have done brunch before, but only at our actual resort or somewhere within easy walking distance, like the Grand Floridian Cafe when staying at GF or Poly, and it was in the early afternoon when we planned to make it to property around 10:30am or so. I would be okay with a lunch, but dinner is much safer if you have to have an ADR on arrival day.



I wouldn't do either of these (see above). But 'Ohana is objectively an even worse plan than Cape May. You're not going to be able to just leave your car at the Poly and go to MK after you eat at 'Ohana, so you'll need to park at the TTC and walk over. And I like this plan even less than Cape May tbh. In general I am incredibly wary about making hard plans involving reservations on an arrival day, especially involving resort-to-resort travel that's not a simple matter of walking or hopping on a boat, monorail, or Skyliner. Personally I would honestly just do QS breakfast at CBR, if you have to travel go to Riviera QS and save the character breakfast for another day.



Kilimanjaro Safaris opens at actual park opening, not at Early Entry, and it is very easy to hit Navi first, head to Discovery Island for Moana, and then track back to do the safari in standby. We did it Memorial Day week last year. Sometimes the safari does have a delayed opening because the animals aren't ready, in which case just hang around and ask the CMs if they have an ETA.

G+ is absolutely unnecessary at AK, especially at the time of year you're going. I would not waste a LL there, just concentrate on stacking for the second half of your day at MK. Dinosaur only starts to spike midday when you will be long gone. The whole morning it's basically a walk on, and so is everything else on G+ unless it's a hot day and everyone wants a good soaking on Kali.



Again, Standby Skipper is a waste of money. G+ is not hard to use nor does it keep you inordinately on your phone. Watch Ear Scouts on YouTube, Rob breaks it down very simply and has videos on how to utilize it when park hopping. As far as MK goes, tbh Fantasyland is a ghost town in the evenings because its target demographic (y'all lol) generally can't hang that late. Most of those rides aside from Peter Pan will have little to no wait in the early evening and Mine Train is an ILL.

Also be mindful the Adventureland egg roll cart closes before the park, so if that's a priority you will likely want to hit that when you first come in.



Skip G+ for this day. It's a waste of money at Epcot if you're not going during a super busy time (and you're not). You're essentially going to be paying through the nose for Remy and a bunch of walk ons. The only ride besides Remy and Frozen that sees ugly waits is Test Track, which you're not doing.

Rope drop from the IG has you held on the bridge between UK and France once you tap in, and you will need to pass France to get to Norway anyway, so the best thing to do is just rope drop Remy and then ride Frozen second. Even if you're moving slow with kids, it won't be a terrible wait as long as you are at or near the front of the rope drop pack--you will want to be at the Skyliner station 90 minutes before the start of Early Entry to ensure you are on one of the first gondolas out. Sometimes they run it early (Ear Scouts has done at least one EE video rope dropping from the Skyliner). And you will still be ahead of the non-Early Entry guests because all of them are coming in from the front entrance and making a beeline for Remy because they don't know any better.

Soarin often drops to a 20 minute posted wait that is more like walking straight in and 5 actual minutes of waiting in the preshow area, especially later in the afternoon. I would save it for when you come back for Garden Grill.



If you have an ADR that goes after park close it just means you will leave the park when you leave the restaurant. CMs will block off pathways to other areas of the park and gently direct you towards the exits. Shops do tend to stay open a little later than the rest of the parks as a rule but I doubt you will be out of Tusker House in enough time to shop on Discovery Island. Just go home.



The menu is nearly exactly the same all day at Woody's, the only difference is in the morning they have the breakfast totchos in addition to the regular items. I would mobile order as soon as you get to the park to secure a slot. You don't have to push the order through immediately when you order it, just click the "I'm here" button when you're ready to eat and your slot has arrived.

In general I think you're deeply overestimating the need for G+ on this trip. You aren't doing thrill rides so that knocks out a bunch of the rides that really benefit from it, and you're also going at a really slow time of year. May is shoulder season and it's basically dead at the parks. I'll be blunt: I'm very anti Standby Skipper because it's exactly the kind of third party app Disney has been cracking down on recently (and in fact back end changes they've made have rendered it broken a number of times in the past). It's far better to actually learn how the system works instead of paying extra money on top of G+ for a frankly unnecessary crutch that can just as easily be snatched away and then leave you lost. You don't need to be on your phone any longer than it takes you to check wait times in the app on a day you're not utilizing G+. It's an overblown complaint tbqh.

thank you for all the info and advice!! (and now probably not going to buy standby skipper)