Planning my trip

Jeffercake · 27 Jun 17, 04:50 PM

Hi,

We have booked with Virgin to go to Disney April 2018, staying at POFQ and have upgraded to DDP. We are 280 days out but I want to be very organised so when its time to do all the bookings and fastpasses I know what my first (and second, third and fourth! ) choices are.

We are there for 2 weeks and have a visit to Discovery Cove booked and we would like to go to SeaWorld too.

So, the first of my many many questions!

1/ how long does it take (approximately) from landing to getting to hotel.

2/ how early can I find out what will be on when (fireworks / showtimes / movies / campfires etc) so I can figure out what parks to do when.

3/ how many rest days would you recommend for 2 adults and 1 child.

4/ any tips for flying with a 7 year old who won't stop talking and hates sitting still!

grinner82 · 27 Jun 17, 05:24 PM

1. Depends who you fly with ( Most fly into Orlando International , Thomson fly into Sanford) Also depends when you land, time of day, number of flights at the same time etc. Also depends on how you get to your hotel. Car, Disney Express etc. Usually dont book anything on the first day but 3-4 hours ish.

2. Park hours are usually released by the 180 day mark so you can book your ADRs ( this will be your main focus of planning) since you get character meals with the DDP. But not all. For example I made 10 reservations at 180 days and another 10 on a rolling day by day basis, however only last week was the dining package for Rivers of light released so its by no means a sure thing. Check portorleans.org for camp fire within the resort. Keep an eye on park hours, they do change as well! Sign up to the DIBB and it will email you changes.

3. Dont do rest days, there is not enough time, and thats with three weeks! Use water park days as a slow day. Use these days for evening shows and grab some FPs after.

4. He can move if he wants but wont get very far! Ipad works well usually.

LaughingPlace · 27 Jun 17, 05:56 PM

Originally Posted by Jeffercake

Hi,

We have booked with Virgin to go to Disney April 2018, staying at POFQ and have upgraded to DDP. We are 280 days out but I want to be very organised so when its time to do all the bookings and fastpasses I know what my first (and second, third and fourth! ) choices are.

We are there for 2 weeks and have a visit to Discovery Cove booked and we would like to go to SeaWorld too.

So, the first of my many many questions!

1/ how long does it take (approximately) from landing to getting to hotel.

2/ how early can I find out what will be on when (fireworks / showtimes / movies / campfires etc) so I can figure out what parks to do when.

3/ how many rest days would you recommend for 2 adults and 1 child.

4/ any tips for flying with a 7 year old who won't stop talking and hates sitting still!

1 depends if you get lost haha! We've done touchdown to hotel in about 2.5/3 hours normally

2 I think it's about 180 but they often fiddle with hours even up to a few months before!

3 I would say it's not about rest days but about pacing yourself and having down time, pool/mini golf/sleep can all help avoid burnout!

4 one great idea I hear is a little present/gift every hour on the plane. Nothing huge but something like sticker book one hour, colouring next, play doh next etc.

Unexpectedpenny · 27 Jun 17, 06:36 PM

This April we were at POFQ within 2 hours but sometimes it can take just that in immigration so a difficult one to answer.

Www.portorleans is a great website for POFQ info and the movie/campfire information is normally put up the month before.

Jeffercake · 27 Jun 17, 07:06 PM

This is great thanks.

So I'll plan nothing for arrival day, if we do feel like it we can explore Disney Springs.

Space the main parks out with the water parks (and a day at the malls)

Love the present idea, especially if they are well wrapped (mean mummy). I'll start gathering little bits from squiggle and claires (little girl heaven!) as well as some puzzle books and sticker books and some make up. I'm hoping that as we are leaving our house around 6am she'll be quite tired and nap on the plane too, but not counting on it, as there will be the Disney excitement to contend with.

Do you know what Virgin are like to fly with? We have already booked extra legroom seats as my other half is quite tall.

Unexpectedpenny · 27 Jun 17, 07:32 PM

Originally Posted by Jeffercake

This is great thanks.

So I'll plan nothing for arrival day, if we do feel like it we can explore Disney Springs.

Do you know what Virgin are like to fly with? We have already booked extra legroom seats as my other half is quite tall.

That's exactly what we did when we arrived at POFQ. The boat down to DS is lovely!

We always fly with Virgin and *touch wood* never had a problem.

Jeffercake · 27 Jun 17, 07:52 PM

Brilliant, I'm going to start putting together a rough outline plan with where we want to eat in the next few weeks.

And obviously we need to do BBB (my daughter is already saving pennies to do a package)

Thanks for your help, I'm sure I'll be back daily with more questions

27 Jun 17, 04:50 PM	#1
	27 Jun 17, 04:50 PM Jeffercake Surfing at Typhoon Lagoon
Jeffercake Surfing at Typhoon Lagoon Join Date: Jun 17	Planning my trip Hi, We have booked with Virgin to go to Disney April 2018, staying at POFQ and have upgraded to DDP. We are 280 days out but I want to be very organised so when its time to do all the bookings and fastpasses I know what my first (and second, third and fourth! ) choices are. We are there for 2 weeks and have a visit to Discovery Cove booked and we would like to go to SeaWorld too. So, the first of my many many questions! 1/ how long does it take (approximately) from landing to getting to hotel. 2/ how early can I find out what will be on when (fireworks / showtimes / movies / campfires etc) so I can figure out what parks to do when. 3/ how many rest days would you recommend for 2 adults and 1 child. 4/ any tips for flying with a 7 year old who won't stop talking and hates sitting still!

27 Jun 17, 06:36 PM	#4
	27 Jun 17, 06:36 PM Unexpectedpenny Imagineer
Unexpectedpenny Imagineer Join Date: Apr 13	This April we were at POFQ within 2 hours but sometimes it can take just that in immigration so a difficult one to answer. Www.portorleans is a great website for POFQ info and the movie/campfire information is normally put up the month before.

27 Jun 17, 07:06 PM	#5
	27 Jun 17, 07:06 PM Jeffercake Surfing at Typhoon Lagoon Thread Starter
Jeffercake Thread Starter Surfing at Typhoon Lagoon Join Date: Jun 17	This is great thanks. So I'll plan nothing for arrival day, if we do feel like it we can explore Disney Springs. Space the main parks out with the water parks (and a day at the malls) Love the present idea, especially if they are well wrapped (mean mummy). I'll start gathering little bits from squiggle and claires (little girl heaven!) as well as some puzzle books and sticker books and some make up. I'm hoping that as we are leaving our house around 6am she'll be quite tired and nap on the plane too, but not counting on it, as there will be the Disney excitement to contend with. Do you know what Virgin are like to fly with? We have already booked extra legroom seats as my other half is quite tall.

27 Jun 17, 07:52 PM	#7
	27 Jun 17, 07:52 PM Jeffercake Surfing at Typhoon Lagoon Thread Starter
Jeffercake Thread Starter Surfing at Typhoon Lagoon Join Date: Jun 17	Brilliant, I'm going to start putting together a rough outline plan with where we want to eat in the next few weeks. And obviously we need to do BBB (my daughter is already saving pennies to do a package) Thanks for your help, I'm sure I'll be back daily with more questions