Struggling with Itinerary

[Steve Disco]

Hi everyone,

Trying to pull together a reasonable itinerary for our trip starting on 8 August for 21 nights.

We are 3 families, 6 adults, 6 kids (aged 6 to 10) and planning on buying 14-day tickets for both Universal and Disney. We plan to spend one night in Hard Rock Hotel to get hold of Express Passes and one night in a hotel around Cocoa Beach to incorporate one day at the beach and one day at KSC. Other than that we are staying in a villa off-site (Oak Cove?)

We would like to have 1 or 2 character meals and also have 1 or 2 days in the water parks, as well as our rest days.

I'm still not sure how long we should be spending in each park...

1. Is it better for us to do full days/evenings with in-park breaks or try to factor in returns to our accommodation (4/5 hours absence from park - including travel)

2. Is the following a reasonable number of days for each park:
MK - 2, AK - 2, Ep - 2, HS - 1, Universal - 4, Water Parks - 2
This would allow for Seaworld, KSC, Cocoa Beach and 4/5 rest days.

Any advice gratefully received!

[Johnsonsontour]

The only thing with August is the humidity so depends on how far your Villa is if you want to return for a break. We used to go into a park early morning, leave after lunch to have a meal, either out or back at villa to have a swim, then off to different park again in evening or shopping .

We love Universal, 4 days is plenty if your spending full days there, you may find 3 enough

[mseagle]

Not really sure where oak cove is but we find a good idea to come away from the parks around lunchtime when they start to get very busy and especially if you are wanting to return for the evening fireworks and fantasmic at MK and HS particularly. Your days feel about right - 3 days for Unjversal and IoA would seem about right. Assume water parks are 2 of 3 including Volcano Bay. But yep give yourself some space and some downtime. Have fun !

[Mortimer Mouse]

How exciting.I love this stage of the planning, so I've put together the start of a plan of what I would do (any excuse to make a plan!) , if it was our family trip, using the busy day guide and having experienced our last two trips that same time of year as yours.

Don't underestimate the effect of the heat and humidity. It makes touring the parks (and just walking from the car parks to the gates) much more draining and will zap your energy, so we definitely take it at a slower pace and try to minimize criss-crossing the parks.

You can benefit from the parks having longer opening hours, so there is no need to suffer the busy middle part of the day when the sun is at it's hottest, the parks are at their busiest and it is no longer enjoyable and more of an endurance test to stay longer
!
It helps to have mentally prepared for it, so I would often remind the kids that it would feel like opening an oven door and walking into it .

Because of this we like to either get to the park for opening and stay until lunchtime'ish, or go around 3pm and stay for the evening. I love the summer evenings in the parks, as you no longer have the glare of the sun and the parks are all lit up, all twinkly and magical.

As you have a big group, it can be hard to get people up and out of the door early, but it is really worth the effort, especially for the first few days when jetlag is on your side.

Fri 9th August - Go out for breakfast, shop for the villa and have a pool day. You're there for 3 weeks, so no need to rush off to the parks and it's nice to get your bearings, plus the kids will be happy they can use the pool straight away.

Sat 10th August - MK aim to leave the villa by 7:30am, so you enjoy the sights and smells of Main Street before the official opening at 9am. Stay until you've had enough. Consider an ADR (late breakfast or early lunch) as a chance to recharge your batteries.

Sun 11th August - AK leave the villa by 8am. You are often let into the park earlier than advertised

Mon 12th August - HS again, get there before opening

Tues 13th August - BB or TL

Wed 14th August - Epcot for opening. Concentrate on Future World rides

Thursday 15th August - Pool in morning. MK from 3pm to 9pm. Stay for the fireworks

Friday 16th to Sat 17th KSC and cocoa beach

Sun 18th August - evening at Universal. Parking is free after 6pm, so I would have a little taster of Universal, get your tickets activated, enjoy a ride or 2 and watch one of the evening shows.

So hopefully that's enough to get you started. I would book your Hard Rock stay for the week of 19th August on whichever date is cheapest. This is a great time to visit Volcano Bay, as it's the best use of early entry and you'll get LOADS more done that when the park opens to the general public, plus it's alot easier to get there from the hotel than have the faff of offsite parking and bus palava.

I wouldn't bother with Seaworld tickets as single day, single use tickets are the worst value for money. Save them for another trip.
Consider using the money for the opportunity to see MK at Halloween, by buying MNSSHP tickets. It looks like it might be on Tues 27th August.

I would also, one evening, consider booking an ADR for 6pm at one of the Boardwalk hotels and then walking into Epcot afterwards to watch the fireworks. It will make leaving the park afterwards SO much easier. The Kitchen Sink at Beaches and Cream in the Beach Club is always impressive for newbies, and the Boardwalk area is a lovely area to visit.

Your Disney ticket also include use of the crazy golf courses plus a trip or 2 to Disney Springs is a must.

We tend to have 4 or 5 half day visits to MK, 3 or 4 to Epcot, 3 to HS, 3 to AK. This enables us to see all the evening shows, which are pure Disney.

There is so much to do which is why so many of have to go back. You could book an airboat ride, however, the alligators tend to stay under the water alot at this time of the year to keep cool.

Have a great trip and Happy Planning.

[Steve Disco]

Originally Posted by Mortimer Mouse

How exciting.I love this stage of the planning, so I've put together the start of a plan of what I would do (any excuse to make a plan!) , if it was our family trip, using the busy day guide and having experienced our last two trips that same time of year as yours.

Don't underestimate the effect of the heat and humidity. It makes touring the parks (and just walking from the car parks to the gates) much more draining and will zap your energy, so we definitely take it at a slower pace and try to minimize criss-crossing the parks.

You can benefit from the parks having longer opening hours, so there is no need to suffer the busy middle part of the day when the sun is at it's hottest, the parks are at their busiest and it is no longer enjoyable and more of an endurance test to stay longer
!
It helps to have mentally prepared for it, so I would often remind the kids that it would feel like opening an oven door and walking into it .

Because of this we like to either get to the park for opening and stay until lunchtime'ish, or go around 3pm and stay for the evening. I love the summer evenings in the parks, as you no longer have the glare of the sun and the parks are all lit up, all twinkly and magical.

As you have a big group, it can be hard to get people up and out of the door early, but it is really worth the effort, especially for the first few days when jetlag is on your side.

Fri 9th August - Go out for breakfast, shop for the villa and have a pool day. You're there for 3 weeks, so no need to rush off to the parks and it's nice to get your bearings, plus the kids will be happy they can use the pool straight away.

Sat 10th August - MK aim to leave the villa by 7:30am, so you enjoy the sights and smells of Main Street before the official opening at 9am. Stay until you've had enough. Consider an ADR (late breakfast or early lunch) as a chance to recharge your batteries.

Sun 11th August - AK leave the villa by 8am. You are often let into the park earlier than advertised

Mon 12th August - HS again, get there before opening

Tues 13th August - BB or TL

Wed 14th August - Epcot for opening. Concentrate on Future World rides

Thursday 15th August - Pool in morning. MK from 3pm to 9pm. Stay for the fireworks

Friday 16th to Sat 17th KSC and cocoa beach

Sun 18th August - evening at Universal. Parking is free after 6pm, so I would have a little taster of Universal, get your tickets activated, enjoy a ride or 2 and watch one of the evening shows.

So hopefully that's enough to get you started. I would book your Hard Rock stay for the week of 19th August on whichever date is cheapest. This is a great time to visit Volcano Bay, as it's the best use of early entry and you'll get LOADS more done that when the park opens to the general public, plus it's alot easier to get there from the hotel than have the faff of offsite parking and bus palava.

I wouldn't bother with Seaworld tickets as single day, single use tickets are the worst value for money. Save them for another trip.
Consider using the money for the opportunity to see MK at Halloween, by buying MNSSHP tickets. It looks like it might be on Tues 27th August.

I would also, one evening, consider booking an ADR for 6pm at one of the Boardwalk hotels and then walking into Epcot afterwards to watch the fireworks. It will make leaving the park afterwards SO much easier. The Kitchen Sink at Beaches and Cream in the Beach Club is always impressive for newbies, and the Boardwalk area is a lovely area to visit.

Your Disney ticket also include use of the crazy golf courses plus a trip or 2 to Disney Springs is a must.

We tend to have 4 or 5 half day visits to MK, 3 or 4 to Epcot, 3 to HS, 3 to AK. This enables us to see all the evening shows, which are pure Disney.

There is so much to do which is why so many of have to go back. You could book an airboat ride, however, the alligators tend to stay under the water alot at this time of the year to keep cool.

Have a great trip and Happy Planning.

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Thanks so much for this - we had planned to settle in on the first day with shopping and relaxation. I think i am trying too hard to cram absolutely everything in - i love planning but this is on another level lol. We have pencilled in Hard Rock for the weekend 18th August and Cocoa Beach/KSC during weekend 24th to maximise our Disney passes.

[caitlinsmummy]

If you plan on staying at a universal hotel to get the express passes 2 days will be enough at universal. I'd say possibly 3 days for MK and Epcot just for a leisurely look around not in the hustle and bustle of everything if that makes sense?

Also I would do half days as it can get very hot and humid. We loved the days we had a morning in a park, afternoon in the pool then out on the night. It breaks the day up a bit. Xx