Plan so far

gazza5 · 17 Aug 17, 12:48 PM

So travelling 9th to 23rd Nov. Got a few things booked already, we always do a bit of shopping first day, relax a bit. Plan so far (we have quite a few blank days at the moment - should we just go with the flow on these days?) Is too much planning a bad thing?

Daughter is 4 - hence the princess stuff!

Thurs 9th - Travelling
Fri 10th - Shopping / eat away from disney early ready for next day
Sat 11th Animal Kingdom (expecting it to be busy), Rain forest cafe booked evening meal - may / may not see firworks
Sun 12th Nothing for the day (Epcot?) Planet Hollywood booked evening meal
Mon 13th Magic Kingdom, Cinderella castle meal booked 1pm
Tues 14th Epcot, Coral Reef restaurant booked 13:10 Fireworks
Weds 15th Animal Kingdom or hollywood studios
Thurs 16th Magic Kingdom, 12:30 Be our guest / Firework MK (long day)
Fri 17th nothing planned
Sat 18th Hollywood studios, 7pm Mama Melrose, see fireworks after
Sun 19th rest day
Mon 20th nothing planned (Possible Basketball game 7pm evening)
Tues 21st Epcot T-Rex Cafe 5:30pm
Wed 22nd magic kingdom
Thurs 23rd (thanksgiving) Chef Mickey 8:55, shopping, fly home

List of things still not done, car hire, airport parking, book tickets for the christmas party at Magic kingdom (not sure which day yet - worthwhile booking?)

AliceCooper9 · 17 Aug 17, 08:14 PM

Plan looks good.

With Disney IF you want specific times and restaurant/rides you should book dining and FP+ before you go. You can cancel them if you change your plans.
Unfortunately there is no such thing as too much planning with Disney.

Are you staying onsite/offsite?

gazza5 · 18 Aug 17, 11:12 AM

Staying on site at Disney Caribbean Beach Resort - not bothered about the works going on, and also with the credit we get it worked out cheaper than the cheapest resorts.

May use the car for the odd day if we plan on doing some shopping in the afternoon rather than getting the bus back, pick up car etc.

Been reading lots of trip reports to make sure we don't miss anything.

How many days should we roughly spend in each park?

AliceCooper9 · 18 Aug 17, 11:43 AM

Nice. Credit is great

Rough estimation
Hollywood Studios - 1 to 2 days.
Epcot is huge and to fit in the Soarin', Test Track and Frozen with FP. 2 days
Animal Kingdom - 2 days to make sure you can get on Pandora rides
Magic Kingdom - For the rest of the days

I would generally schedule 2 days for all the parks. In case you miss something, the ride is down, weather is bad or you what to do a ride again.

Estimate roughly how long you will be in a park.
I usually estimate up between 60-90mins for ADR depending on restaurant, 60mins for a show, 30 mins for character M+G, 45mins for ride. Something like that.

Some people are finished in HS in hours because they only do the big rides.
We take up to 2 days as we try to do everything.

Guest · 19 Aug 17, 08:09 AM

I would probably have the middle Saturday as a nothing planned day rather than the Monday or Friday near it.

**Mexy02** · 19 Aug 17, 09:22 AM

The 12th at Epcot will be heaving as it the final weekend of food and wine , crowds should calm down a little after that , then start peaking again towards the end . Are you not doing typhoon lagoon ? mvmcp? Your dd would love Father Christmas in the parade

not sure when gp Father Christmas meet and greet starts in Disney springs either as you are going as we return.

gazza5 · 21 Aug 17, 09:29 AM

Thanks for the tips, we may move Epcot then, we have thought about typhoon lagoon etc, but it really depends on the weather.

We have solely booked disney, we did san diego in February so went to SeaWorld and legoland there, hence no seaworld in orlando this time for us.

Busch gardens I would like to do but we may see how we go with disney.

I think we will be on the frozen ride a lot, and my daughter loves meeting all the characters, loves big thunder mountain as well - prefers the thrill rides.

We did think about trying to avoid animal kingdom for the weekends with the new pandora world etc, may change our first day to going into one of the parks - it all depends on how we travel, if we are up at 5am (high possibility) maybe a morning in magic kingdom - although we could do epcot that day instead of the sunday.

Lots to think about. We will have a car, hence some eating in the evening will be done on international drive.

Guest · 21 Aug 17, 09:40 AM

Hi we were at rainforest cafe AK two weeks ago it was the worst meal ADR we had all holiday, from getting our table, long wait then over an hour for food to arrive just main meals no deserts, so fed up asked for the bill half hour later no bill so got up and walked out, surprise our server turned up with bill. Food was ok nothing special left no tip as service was terrible. Wish we had listened to people on here and booked something else. T Rex was much better lovely service and food was great. We did busch gardens but alot of the rides we down its old and tired looking wont be going back. Rest of holiday looks great enjoy the planning its a must.

gazza5 · 21 Aug 17, 02:53 PM

My missus won't have a bad word said about Rainforest cafe - me myself really not bothered about it - overpriced in my opinion, was ok the first time but now find it boring, the rainforest thing to me is pants now.

Still we will have cheaper restaurants to eat out at down international drive etc, I know there is a chilli's not far from downtown disney (disney springs - stuck in the past me!) and a tgi fridays, but we like going to international drive and having a little walk after.

And go to uno steakhouse, maybe olive garden as well. Plus cheesecake factory, Black Angus steakhouse etc. Getting hunrgy just talking about them.

gazza5 · 12 Sep 17, 04:37 PM

SO our plans have changed a bit but not much.

We now have Mickey Xmas party on Thursday 16th Nov, expensive but thought why not - this is the last time for a while in terms of disney.

So plan is now as follows:

Thurs 9th - Travelling
Fri 10th - Magic Kingdom due to magic hours, Shopping in afternoon and probably eat international drive before early night
Sat 11th Animal Kingdom (expecting it to be busy Fp Navi River Journey, Safari, Lion King show)), Rain forest cafe booked evening meal - may / may not see firworks
Sun 12th Nothing for the day at present, shopping no doubt Planet Hollywood booked evening meal
Mon 13th Magic Kingdom, Cinderella castle meal booked 1pm (FP 7 Dwarfs train, Big Thunder Mount, Tales with belle)
Tues 14th Epcot (FP Frozen, Nemo & Turtle talk), Coral Reef restaurant booked 13:10 Fireworks
Weds 15th Animal Kingdom (FP River rapids, Avatar Flight (me only), Dinosaur)
Thurs 16th Magic Kingdom (FP Meet Repunzal, Little Mermaid Journey, Meet ariel), 12:30 Be our guest / Firework MK (long day)
Fri 17th Epcot (soarin fast pass - will have to q for test track)
Sat 18th Hollywood studios (FP Frozen sing along, Voyage little mermaid,Beauty / beast show), 7pm Mama Melrose, see fireworks after
Sun 19th rest day
Mon 20th nothing planned Animal Kingdom / Epcot
Tues 21st Epcot / Hollywood studios T-Rex Cafe 5:30pm
Wed 22nd magic kingdom
Thurs 23rd (thanksgiving) Chef Mickey 8:55, shopping, fly home

The monday and tuesday are flexible days depending how much we get done / want to do.

17 Aug 17, 12:48 PM	#1
	17 Aug 17, 12:48 PM gazza5 Proud to wear my Ears
gazza5 Proud to wear my Ears Join Date: Feb 15	Plan so far So travelling 9th to 23rd Nov. Got a few things booked already, we always do a bit of shopping first day, relax a bit. Plan so far (we have quite a few blank days at the moment - should we just go with the flow on these days?) Is too much planning a bad thing? Daughter is 4 - hence the princess stuff! Thurs 9th - Travelling Fri 10th - Shopping / eat away from disney early ready for next day Sat 11th Animal Kingdom (expecting it to be busy), Rain forest cafe booked evening meal - may / may not see firworks Sun 12th Nothing for the day (Epcot?) Planet Hollywood booked evening meal Mon 13th Magic Kingdom, Cinderella castle meal booked 1pm Tues 14th Epcot, Coral Reef restaurant booked 13:10 Fireworks Weds 15th Animal Kingdom or hollywood studios Thurs 16th Magic Kingdom, 12:30 Be our guest / Firework MK (long day) Fri 17th nothing planned Sat 18th Hollywood studios, 7pm Mama Melrose, see fireworks after Sun 19th rest day Mon 20th nothing planned (Possible Basketball game 7pm evening) Tues 21st Epcot T-Rex Cafe 5:30pm Wed 22nd magic kingdom Thurs 23rd (thanksgiving) Chef Mickey 8:55, shopping, fly home List of things still not done, car hire, airport parking, book tickets for the christmas party at Magic kingdom (not sure which day yet - worthwhile booking?)

17 Aug 17, 08:14 PM	#2
	17 Aug 17, 08:14 PM AliceCooper9 Apprentice Imagineer
AliceCooper9 Apprentice Imagineer Join Date: Apr 15	Plan looks good. With Disney IF you want specific times and restaurant/rides you should book dining and FP+ before you go. You can cancel them if you change your plans. Unfortunately there is no such thing as too much planning with Disney. Are you staying onsite/offsite? Edited at 08:15 PM.

18 Aug 17, 11:12 AM	#3
	18 Aug 17, 11:12 AM gazza5 Proud to wear my Ears Thread Starter
gazza5 Thread Starter Proud to wear my Ears Join Date: Feb 15	Staying on site at Disney Caribbean Beach Resort - not bothered about the works going on, and also with the credit we get it worked out cheaper than the cheapest resorts. May use the car for the odd day if we plan on doing some shopping in the afternoon rather than getting the bus back, pick up car etc. Been reading lots of trip reports to make sure we don't miss anything. How many days should we roughly spend in each park?

18 Aug 17, 11:43 AM	#4
	18 Aug 17, 11:43 AM AliceCooper9 Apprentice Imagineer
AliceCooper9 Apprentice Imagineer Join Date: Apr 15	Nice. Credit is great Rough estimation Hollywood Studios - 1 to 2 days. Epcot is huge and to fit in the Soarin', Test Track and Frozen with FP. 2 days Animal Kingdom - 2 days to make sure you can get on Pandora rides Magic Kingdom - For the rest of the days I would generally schedule 2 days for all the parks. In case you miss something, the ride is down, weather is bad or you what to do a ride again. Estimate roughly how long you will be in a park. I usually estimate up between 60-90mins for ADR depending on restaurant, 60mins for a show, 30 mins for character M+G, 45mins for ride. Something like that. Some people are finished in HS in hours because they only do the big rides. We take up to 2 days as we try to do everything.

19 Aug 17, 08:09 AM	#5
	19 Aug 17, 08:09 AM Guest Guest
Guest Guest	I would probably have the middle Saturday as a nothing planned day rather than the Monday or Friday near it.

21 Aug 17, 09:29 AM	#7
	21 Aug 17, 09:29 AM gazza5 Proud to wear my Ears Thread Starter
gazza5 Thread Starter Proud to wear my Ears Join Date: Feb 15	Thanks for the tips, we may move Epcot then, we have thought about typhoon lagoon etc, but it really depends on the weather. We have solely booked disney, we did san diego in February so went to SeaWorld and legoland there, hence no seaworld in orlando this time for us. Busch gardens I would like to do but we may see how we go with disney. I think we will be on the frozen ride a lot, and my daughter loves meeting all the characters, loves big thunder mountain as well - prefers the thrill rides. We did think about trying to avoid animal kingdom for the weekends with the new pandora world etc, may change our first day to going into one of the parks - it all depends on how we travel, if we are up at 5am (high possibility) maybe a morning in magic kingdom - although we could do epcot that day instead of the sunday. Lots to think about. We will have a car, hence some eating in the evening will be done on international drive.

21 Aug 17, 09:40 AM	#8
	21 Aug 17, 09:40 AM Guest Guest
Guest Guest	Hi we were at rainforest cafe AK two weeks ago it was the worst meal ADR we had all holiday, from getting our table, long wait then over an hour for food to arrive just main meals no deserts, so fed up asked for the bill half hour later no bill so got up and walked out, surprise our server turned up with bill. Food was ok nothing special left no tip as service was terrible. Wish we had listened to people on here and booked something else. T Rex was much better lovely service and food was great. We did busch gardens but alot of the rides we down its old and tired looking wont be going back. Rest of holiday looks great enjoy the planning its a must. Edited at 09:44 AM.

21 Aug 17, 02:53 PM	#9
	21 Aug 17, 02:53 PM gazza5 Proud to wear my Ears Thread Starter
gazza5 Thread Starter Proud to wear my Ears Join Date: Feb 15	My missus won't have a bad word said about Rainforest cafe - me myself really not bothered about it - overpriced in my opinion, was ok the first time but now find it boring, the rainforest thing to me is pants now. Still we will have cheaper restaurants to eat out at down international drive etc, I know there is a chilli's not far from downtown disney (disney springs - stuck in the past me!) and a tgi fridays, but we like going to international drive and having a little walk after. And go to uno steakhouse, maybe olive garden as well. Plus cheesecake factory, Black Angus steakhouse etc. Getting hunrgy just talking about them.

12 Sep 17, 04:37 PM	#10
	12 Sep 17, 04:37 PM gazza5 Proud to wear my Ears Thread Starter
gazza5 Thread Starter Proud to wear my Ears Join Date: Feb 15	SO our plans have changed a bit but not much. We now have Mickey Xmas party on Thursday 16th Nov, expensive but thought why not - this is the last time for a while in terms of disney. So plan is now as follows: Thurs 9th - Travelling Fri 10th - Magic Kingdom due to magic hours, Shopping in afternoon and probably eat international drive before early night Sat 11th Animal Kingdom (expecting it to be busy Fp Navi River Journey, Safari, Lion King show)), Rain forest cafe booked evening meal - may / may not see firworks Sun 12th Nothing for the day at present, shopping no doubt Planet Hollywood booked evening meal Mon 13th Magic Kingdom, Cinderella castle meal booked 1pm (FP 7 Dwarfs train, Big Thunder Mount, Tales with belle) Tues 14th Epcot (FP Frozen, Nemo & Turtle talk), Coral Reef restaurant booked 13:10 Fireworks Weds 15th Animal Kingdom (FP River rapids, Avatar Flight (me only), Dinosaur) Thurs 16th Magic Kingdom (FP Meet Repunzal, Little Mermaid Journey, Meet ariel), 12:30 Be our guest / Firework MK (long day) Fri 17th Epcot (soarin fast pass - will have to q for test track) Sat 18th Hollywood studios (FP Frozen sing along, Voyage little mermaid,Beauty / beast show), 7pm Mama Melrose, see fireworks after Sun 19th rest day Mon 20th nothing planned Animal Kingdom / Epcot Tues 21st Epcot / Hollywood studios T-Rex Cafe 5:30pm Wed 22nd magic kingdom Thurs 23rd (thanksgiving) Chef Mickey 8:55, shopping, fly home The monday and tuesday are flexible days depending how much we get done / want to do.