Itinery or not?

[Guest]

Hi all,

Myself, my husband and our two children Mark aged 13 and Lucy aged 10 are just SO excited to be going to Orlando for our first ever trip.

We are staying for 3 weeks in a villa with a pool in Kissimmee, from March 11th until April 1st.

We have a dolphin swim/discovery cove day booked on the Sunday 13th...so we though that our first day we would just check out the local area and find our bearings and probably do a bit of retail therapy.


We have 7 day Disney premium passes, and 14 day 4 park flex tickets, as our Discovery cove ticket includes Busche Gardens for 7 days... I have also pre paid for three dinner shows, Medieval Nights, Dixie Land, and Pirates.

Those of you experienced Orlando visitors
would you advise that we sit down and organise a day by day itinery?... or does it work just winging it?.


Any help would be appreciated, it all so exciting yet almost scary the thought of trying to see as much as we can, while at the same time feeling like we have had a holiday!

Lisa
p.s where do you get the holiday countdowns from?

[Guest]

Hi, and welcome to the DIBB!

We did our first trip in 1999 and had no probs without and itinerary, but there were only the two of us. With kids, I'd think a plan is necessary to ensure that you fit everything that you want to do in. Don't forget to leave yourself some rest days too and it's not a bad idea to have a couple of 'spare' days near the end of the holiday so that you can revisit any parks that you especially liked or did not manage to do fully.

In short, don't plan it to death but make sure that you get the most out of your park tickets. Most of all, have fun. The anticipation is all part of the holiday!

I'm sure someone will be along to tell you about countdwons soon. I'm a bit of a technophobe!

T. xx

[Mike]

Hi Lisa... welcome!

You can get your countdown sorted HERE ... regarding itinerary or not.. yes, I'd do a fairly relaxed plan that spaces the fun well over your time in Florida, and allows lots of breaks and time to be impulsive (revisiting a favourite park, for example). Have a read of the various members' Trip Reports to get an idea how much you are likely to fit into a day.

Don't worry about what you haven't done... enjoy the things you do... it is likely that you'll want to go back, and it will all be there next time!

My favourite tip... get up early, get to the parks before they open, whizz through the 'biggies' then chill from lunchtime!

Mike

[Guest]

Hi again,

Thanks for the help.

I think I may have to get some itineray ideas down on paper.

Just not sure where to start, especially with such things as quietest days to visit what parks and how many days to allow for each park.

Lisa

[Villainlover]

on the homepage in the menu on the left hand side there is an option for crowd levels if you click this there is a colour coded guide which I used
It matches what is said in The Brits Guide and it worked for us apart from MK which was really busy on a 'quiet 'day. But that may have been cos of the Stitch Previews which were on at the time...

[Mike]

Lisa... re: how many days per park?

Just my own opinion, based on our first couple of trips (and of course this will vary depending upon personal/family tastes.. we're Epcot freaks now, and need at least 60% of our time there!)

Magic Kingdom... has more attractions than anywhere else,(forty-odd, I think) and is busier in the main, so at least two full days to get most of the stuff done...

MGM Studios .. quite do-able in a (full)day, but lots of stuff worth revisiting for.

Animal Kingdom... completely do-able in a medium length day (get an early start and you'll be done by lunchtime/early pm! Not kidding.. have a read of my June BBB Trip Report.. linked below)

Epcot... well, what can I say! We could live here!. Seriously though, I'd allow two good days at Epcot.

Islands of Aventure... one day should do it here

Universal Studios ... same as Islands (but for both, with your kids' ages, there should be loads at Universal and Islands to revisit for)

Seaworld .. one day will do it, but you can normally upgrade your pass on entry for free to get a second day for nowt!

WaterParks... 1/2 day each will do it, longer if you chill after the slides etc. Makes a good 'split' day, combined with shopping etc.

Hope this gets you started. No doubt others will strongly disagree with everything I've said!

Mike

[Anne]

Ohh I disagree with Mike

AK, we've always done from opening to closing and then 1/2 day there as well.

US/IoA we did 1 1/2 days at each park

Seaworld, we did 2 days and then went back to do Krakken and Journey to Atlantis in the dark.

Waterparks, don't bother with those as you've a pool at the villa and just go shopping instead

Definately check out the times for the fireworks and parades as Wishes and Spectromagic at MK and Illuminations at Epcot are not to be missed.

[Mike]

Originally posted by Anne


Waterparks, don't bother with those as you've a pool at the villa and just go shopping instead

See more...

Shopping?

...(fingers in ears) Nyerr-nyerr, Nyerr-nyerr, Nyerr-nyerr, I can't hear you...Nyerr-nyerr, Nyerr-nyerr,

[Sue]

Waterparks are a must, for a chill and just to admire disney's theming - not Wet and Wild IMHO, its all concrete and steel. The villa pool cannot compete with Blizzard Beach

[Anne]

Originally posted by MikeJones
Shopping?

...(fingers in ears) Nyerr-nyerr, Nyerr-nyerr, Nyerr-nyerr, I can't hear you...Nyerr-nyerr, Nyerr-nyerr,

See more...

Think Simon needs to have a word with you as he's the worst of all of us!