WDW parks/resorts locations?

[boogiemom]

UPDATED!!!! SCHEDULE CHANGES IN BOLD

I am trying to make a rough plan of action for our upcoming Disney vacation. This will be the first trip to Disney for my family. I have found a calendar that recommends parks for each day. I'm trying to be sure my dining plans don't put me at completely inconvenient locations as far as restaurant/resort locations with the recommended park locations. Can someone please point me to a reference for approximate locations of everything within the Disney property?

Here is our plan thus far. P.l.e.a.s.e. give me feedback if you can.

Sat. 11/6 - arrive mid-day, settle into hotel, explore dwntn disney, dinner 6:30p at Garden Grove

Sun. 11/7 - MK - lunch 2p at Crystal Palace MK: OHANA @ 7:35A - CRYSTAL PALACE @ 2:15P

Mon. 11/8 - EP - lunch 2:45p at LeCellier EP: CAPE MAY @ 7:30A - LE CELLIER @ 2:45P

Tue. 11/9 - HS - breakfast 8:55a at Ohana's TBD: DOWN DAY

Wed. 11/10 - AK - dinner 4:30p at Boma HS: NO DINING SCHEDULED

Thur. 11/11 - Sea World, ? AK: BOMA @ 6:50P

Fri. 11/12 - boys' choice of WDW park to repeat TBD: LAST DAY

Sat. 11/13 - back home...sniff....sniff.... :(

I have ressies for Cape May but not sure which would make the most sense. Options: 1)Mon. at 9:50a, 2) Wed. at 8:50a.


My boys are 5 y.o. and 9 y.o. so we are beyond nap schedules, stroller issues, etc.... They are pretty easygoing and into the typical boy stuff. They are not interested in anything princess-y. How does this look? Do the park recommendations fit with calendars you have access to? Haven't bought tickets to the parks yet but plan to do Undercover Tourist via Mousesavers for 6-days, non- park hopper to save a little $. We are staying off-property but very close and will have a rental car.

Well, am I on the right track? A huge advance "Thank You" for any insights you can share to help make our much anticipated Disney vacation as magical as possible.

[egoldber]

Where are you staying?

The one thing I would definitely change is the Ohana breakfast on your HS day. I would personally do a breakfast at the park vs at a hotel.

Where is the Garden Grove?

[boogiemom]

Thanks, Beth. I was hoping you'd share your Disney veteran expertise. :)

We are staying at the Lake Buena Vista Resort Village and Spa. We were able to do a 3-bdrm. suite for $130/nt. We are traveling with the four of us plus my mother so we need the space.

Any recommendations for when to do Ohana's? If we don't have a character breakfast we plan to do breakfast in the room. We'll have a full kitchen in the suite. The Garden Grove is at the Swan and Dolphin.

[TwinFoxes]

Do you mean Garden Grill? I wouldn't waste a days admission just to eat at a park. If you already have passes for that day, I'd just go to a park.

Ohana is very far from DHS. And with 8:55 ADRs you will miss park opening by a mile. Missing park openings makes for a very different, and much worse park experience. Longer lines and bigger crowds. I would highly recommend changing this one.

I wouldn't do either of the Cape May ADRs for the same reasons.

I would make Boma later if you can. You'll be done with dinner before 6, that is a lot ot time to kill before bedtime. Since you won't have park hoppers you can't go to another park, and AK closes early so you can't go back there.

You may be discover that your 5 year old can't keep up and may need a stroller. I saw lots of bigger kids looking pretty run down getting pushed while mommy or daddy carried the little kid who obviously was supposed to be in the stroller.

Those are my thoughts. Have fun!

ETA: just saw your update re: Garden Grill

[partyof52011]

Sat. 11/6 - arrive mid-day, settle into hotel, explore dwntn disney, dinner 6:30p at Garden Grove This is fine

Sun. 11/7 - MK - lunch 2p at Crystal Palace Fine

Mon. 11/8 - EP - lunch 2:45p at LeCellier Fine[COLOR="Red"]

Tue. 11/9 - HS - breakfast 8:55a at Ohana's [COLOR="red"]These are nowhere near each other. I would eat a quick breakfast in your room and be at HS for opening. Go straight to TSM and get your fast pass. Otherwise you may be out of luck and you don't want to miss TSM

Wed. 11/10 - AK - dinner 4:30p at Boma This is OK but see below

Thur. 11/11 - Sea World, ?

Fri. 11/12 - boys' choice of WDW park to repeat

Sat. 11/13 - back home...sniff....sniff.... :(

I have ressies for Cape May but not sure which would make the most sense. Options: 1)Mon. at 9:50a, 2) Wed. at 8:50a. I'd skip this all together



I would really, really consider getting park hoppers. They make everything so much easier, especially that time of year. AK closes at 5:00 or 5:30. You can go to DTD at that point but it is more fun to go to another park. I'd personally put the cost of the 1 day tickets to Sea World towards park hoppers. Hoppers are also great on that last day. Do one park in the AM and one in the PM hitting your favorite attractions or things you missed the first time.

[Momof3Labs]

'Ohana's at 9am on your DHS day may mean no fast passes for Toy Story Mania, which you definitely want to ride with your kids. Plan to be at DHS close to opening and head straight to Toy Story Mania for your fastpasses.

Cape May is okay, but not worth getting to the parks late. See if you can get a ressie there at 8am, then go straight into Epcot when it opens at 9am.

Move Boma to 6pm or so. 4:30 will mean leaving during the AK parade, I think (I think it starts at 3:30pm, but might be wrong). AKL is a nice resort to check out after eating, so that would be a nice way to finish your evening. Look at the animals, play at the playground, perhaps participate in a children's activity.

Four straight days of parks is hard, too. We usually do 3 days and then take a day off and go to DTD or swim or check out other resorts. So maybe do 3 parks, take a day off, then two days of parks. Skip Sea World.

[boogiemom]

Thank you...thank you....thank you!

Quick question, what is Epcot Future World? The hours for Epcot show Future World opens at 9a but World Showcase opens at 11a. Wondering what the deal is there?

I was hoping that the getting to the park late would be off-set by the supposedly low crowd levels then. It's rated as a "2". You think it will still be necessary to run for fastpasses, etc.?

My kids are not terribly early risers, neither am I, and I figure they will be worn out from all of the fun so I didn't want to have to wake them up too early.

I don't have specific desires re: restaurants but I want to do the main characters if possible. I am doing that part late and don't have a tremendous amount of choices. Bad mommy! :( I'll keep looking though....

[boogiemom]

Really....Sea World is a bust?!?! I thought the kids would like it and it would be a nice break from the Disney parks.....

[TwinFoxes]

Thank you...thank you....thank you!

Quick question, what is Epcot Future World? The hours for Epcot show Future World opens at 9a but World Showcase opens at 11a. Wondering what the deal is there?

I was hoping that the getting to the park late would be off-set by the supposedly low crowd levels then. It's rated as a "2". You think it will still be necessary to run for fastpasses, etc.?

My kids are not terribly early risers, neither am I, and I figure they will be worn out from all of the fun so I didn't want to have to wake them up too early.

I don't have specific desires re: restaurants but I want to do the main characters if possible. I am doing that part late and don't have a tremendous amount of choices. Bad mommy! :( I'll keep looking though....

Future World is where Test Track, Mission: Space, Soarin' etc are. World Showcase is where all the pavillions representing different countries of the world are. There are only a couple of rides in the Showcase section, and no "e-ticket" rides. It has a lot of street performers, interesting exhibits, restaurants, films about various countries, that sort of thing. Great shopping too. ;) The kids can also do Kim Possible missions. I don't know much about that because DDs were too young to do it.

Even though the crowds are a 2, the park hours are also usually shorter. Just something to keep in mind. Getting there at park opening could mean your DCs get to ride a ride more than once, rather than only getting to ride their favorite once, and having to wait in line for a bunch of others.

Re: characters. Even if you don't do a character meal, you can still meet the characters and get photos with them. If your kids are really into the characters (like mine) I would recommend the meals, but if you just want a photo op, go to the character meet and greets at the parks. Also, the parades feature the characters, and at the current "street party" in MK, the characters get off the float and dance in the crowd!

I'm in total agreement re: getting park hoppers. How much more is it? And you couldn't pay me to skip a day at WDW to go to Sea World, but I'm a Disneyholic.

[Momof3Labs]

Low crowds don't matter when every person in the park wants to ride Toy Story Mania over and over again - you'll still want to get fastpasses for that as soon as you get there, or it could be an hour wait for the ride. We were there at a very slow time last time and fastpasses for TSM were all distributed before the morning was over.

And yeah, Sea World isn't worth skipping a day at Disney, IMO. That extra day at Disney will cost you a few bucks a person, versus hundreds of dollars for your party to go to Sea World. It's nice, don't get me wrong, but your trip is too short IMO to spend that much extra money to go there.

[DebbieJ]

You may be discover that your 5 year old can't keep up and may need a stroller. I saw lots of bigger kids looking pretty run down getting pushed while mommy or daddy carried the little kid who obviously was supposed to be in the stroller.


We were there in June and my 6yo rode in a stroller. We were moving fast with DS2 in a stroller and he just couldn't keep up. So glad I read the recommendations here and took our Volo for him.



Four straight days of parks is hard, too. We usually do 3 days and then take a day off and go to DTD or swim or check out other resorts. So maybe do 3 parks, take a day off, then two days of parks. Skip Sea World.

Agreed. We did four straight days of parjk, taking a mid-afternoon nap most days and we were all EXHAUSTED!!! We spent a good amount of time at the hotel pool after checking out on the last day just to relax some before continuing our vacation.


Really....Sea World is a bust?!?! I thought the kids would like it and it would be a nice break from the Disney parks.....

If you want to do Sea World, I would go there first. After being at WDW, you'll probably be underwhelmed.


Low crowds don't matter when every person in the park wants to ride Toy Story Mania over and over again - you'll still want to get fastpasses for that as soon as you get there, or it could be an hour wait for the ride. We were there at a very slow time last time and fastpasses for TSM were all distributed before the morning was over.

And yeah, Sea World isn't worth skipping a day at Disney, IMO. That extra day at Disney will cost you a few bucks a person, versus hundreds of dollars for your party to go to Sea World. It's nice, don't get me wrong, but your trip is too short IMO to spend that much extra money to go there.

Yes, TSM is about the only real ride for kids at DHS, not to mention that adults love it too. DHS was our least favorite park. It is very narrow and cramped and hard to navigate IMO. So you'll want to check out a map and plan ahead to get those fastpasses very first thing. You could even give your DH all the park hopper cards and have him run ahead and get the fast passes while you walk in with kids so you all don't have to rush back there.

Adding to the park hoppers is super cheap. We had three day hoppers and added a fourth day for like $15 TOTAL.

[boogiemom]

I posted the updated schedule in my original post.....am I getting closer?

You all are the best!!! I truly appreciate all of your insights. I've been reading over everything and trying to make all recommended changes. I will buy the MYW tickets but will add park hopper when I'm there if we decide we'll use it. I don't even own a stroller to take anymore but I guess I can rent one if needed.

What else you got?...... :)

I just bought 100 trading pins on ebay for $65. I think my boys will get into that so we should be well prepared. I've bought a bunch of disney trinkets on clearance over the past several months to take with us to try to cut down on pricey souvenirs. This whole process is overwhelming!.........

[partyof52011]

UPDATED!!!! SCHEDULE CHANGES IN BOLD


Sat. 11/6 - arrive mid-day, settle into hotel, explore dwntn disney, dinner 6:30p at Garden Grove

Sun. 11/7 - MK - lunch 2p at Crystal Palace MK: OHANA @ 7:35A - CRYSTAL PALACE @ 2:15P

Mon. 11/8 - EP - lunch 2:45p at LeCellier EP: CAPE MAY @ 7:30A - LE CELLIER @ 2:45P

Tue. 11/9 - HS - breakfast 8:55a at Ohana's TBD: DOWN DAY

Wed. 11/10 - AK - dinner 4:30p at Boma HS: NO DINING SCHEDULED

Thur. 11/11 - Sea World, ? AK: BOMA @ 6:50P

Fri. 11/12 - boys' choice of WDW park to repeat TBD: LAST DAY

Sat. 11/13 - back home...sniff....sniff.... :(




Personally, for me, 2 sit down meals for breakfast and lunch is A LOT. A lot of food and a lot of time. I try to only do one sit down meal a day. I also don't take a day off from the parks especially when I'm only going to be there for 5-7 days. We do take daily afternoon breaks. Get up and go in the AM, break after lunch for swimming/rest, then go again in the evening. Makes things very nice and not exhausting for us.

So, *I* would keep Crystal Palace and Le Cellier. Do HS on 11/9, AK on 11/10. Skip Sea World and move Cape May there and do EP, HS or AK again. Move Ohana to 11/12 and hit MK for a last day hurrah:) Park hoppers would actually allow you to hit all 4 parks again on those two free days doing 1 in the AM and 1 in the PM.

[fivi2]

I think some of it is just going to be up to you and your family and how you tour. Like pp, we aren't huge fans of that many big meals, but you might like them. If you decide you don't, you can always cancel your adrs. (I don't think any of yours have penalties, but double check that). So I guess I'd keep them for now, but if it isn't working for you, be ready to drop some. (or maybe you are dining plan? I don't know about dining plan!)

We didn't see the need for parkhoppers and did not regret not having it. But our dc were younger than yours. A lot of people love parkhoppers, so again it will just be up to your family.

We did not do full down days on our trip, but we left the parks by mid afternoon and did not return. other posters take days off. I don't know when yo are going, but for the most part, my 4 yos liked the pool almost as much as the parks (if not more than the parks).

We found that the World Showcase worked well with a sleep in day. We slept in (ended up getting last minute character brunch adrs) then went to World Showcase after lunch to watch performers, wander around, take it easy. That was a nice relaxing day if you don't want to take a full down day.

There are a million ways to tour. I would just pay attention to your kids and be ready to change. I like having a plan (I definitely planned!) but you need to be flexible. You may love the breaks of long meals. You may hate wasting the time. Your kids may love the rides and want to go go go. or they may want to take in the shows and the pool, and spend a lot of time just taking it all in. You won;t know until you get there!

Have fun!

[TwinFoxes]

There are a million ways to tour. I would just pay attention to your kids and be ready to change. I like having a plan (I definitely planned!) but you need to be flexible. You may love the breaks of long meals. You may hate wasting the time. Your kids may love the rides and want to go go go. or they may want to take in the shows and the pool, and spend a lot of time just taking it all in. You won;t know until you get there!

Have fun!

Very wise words! So much depends on your style. We never took a day off, which is one reason we liked having evening full service ADRs, it gave us a built in down time. We even gave up on going back for naps because the girls wouldn't sleep. They ended up falling asleep in their stroller for a couple of hours, and mommy and daddy took turns riding grown up rides. That wasn't part of our original touring plan!

Again HAVE FUN! That's the most important thing :)

[alien_host]

I thought park hoppers are $50 per person for length of stay, the $3 extra per person is the additional days after buying a 4 day pass. So if a 4 day is $75 (example only) then to add 2 days to make 6 would be $3 or 4 each.

Park hoppers would be $250 for 5 people, for all of your ticket days.

Have fun!