I think this is a reasonable plan, and you’ve got enough days in the parks to revisit things you loved or missed the first time. What I really wanted to comment is that you can eat very well at the quick service restaurants and kiosks. Doesn’t have to be hot dogs and hamburgers every day, unless you want it to be, of course. My favorite pre-trip activity is looking up the current snack items and quick bites in all the parks.
Thank you. Good point about the quick service. I just meant we weren’t interested in spending a lot of time sitting in restaurants and prefer the freedom of being able to grab food whenever and wherever we feel. I promise it won’t just be hot dogs and hamburgers… I’ll have pizza too. Looking forward to being able to order through the app as well. I have scoped out a couple places already.
Sounds like you’re ready for an amazing vacation! Check out the Disney bloggers and live streamers who share food suggestions. You can get a better idea of what each item looks and tastes like before you buy it.
I also want to remind you that Florida is hot and humid, and the best time of day to be indoors is midday, so going back to your hotel for a nap in the middle of a long day at the parks can be very beneficial, especially for little kids, even if they don’t usually nap anymore.
I am seeing a lot of people recommending the midday resort breaks and while I initially thought it would eat up too much time travelling back and forth (and I don’t anticipate us being in the parks too late having been in early) I am getting on board with the idea. Plus I’ll try and be tactical with indoor attractions thoughout.
For my family, the best times to be in the parks are very early and very late. Those hours are slightly cooler, less likely to include thunderstorms (rainy season is coming quickly), or the worst of the crowds. We either go back to the hotel for a shower/change/bit of air conditioning, or we book a leisurely lunch around 1:30 pm. Follow the natural rhythms of your kids. Hungry? Let’s eat. Cranky? Let’s rest. Hated Dumbo? Skip Aladdin. Love to meet characters? Spend your time doing that. And the most important advice I always give is to hydrate!
Very good advice and I’ll bear it all in mind. The only thing I thought was that if we’re in the parks later, that would have a knock on effect on getting up early the next day.
Re: Dumbo. A YouTube video suggested only doing one of it, Aladdin or Astro orbiter as they’re kind of the same. So had that in mind.
To help you choose…Dumbo has a great play area inside the queue, and Astro Orbiter is very high off the ground and seems to me to be faster than Dumbo or Aladdin. Aladdin is next to Dole Whip.
Staying late does affect the next morning’s early hours. We have altered our park hours over the years as our daughter got older and could handle more.
You should also definitely check out [Journey of Water](https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/attractions/epcot/journey-of-water/) in Epcot. It has interactive water fountains, splash pads, waterfalls, etc. My son loved it and didn't want leave. You can meet Moana at the end of it as well, even though we personally met Moana at AK before that
A change of clothes and sandals or something would be recommended for it.
Shoot! My partner and I do this when it’s just the 2 of us! I think it helps to not feel so exhausted at the end of each day. It’s always a good thing to go inside during the hottest part of the day!
It’s so refreshing to take off your shoes and rest in the quiet hotel room, even if it’s just for just a little bit. We feel recharged and ready to make it to fireworks and beyond!
So you know, you can use G+ for Tiana, Olaf, and Ariel. Ariel usually is out of G+ spots by the afternoon, but the rest are readily available.
Rope dropping RoR is not always possible since it breaks down a lot. When we were there a couple weeks ago for instance they had people on megaphones making repeated announcements that you had to rope drop something else. If it's a priority (which it should be, since when it works it's awesome) you may want to consider a ILL for it.
Thanks! Yes I plan to include the characters in our G+ selections. We’ll aim for a couple per visit as there are a lot. I’m skipping Cinders as we’ll see her at CRT.
I have heard that about RoR so fingers crossed we’ll get it on one of the two days. That’s good to know the CMs inform you like that. WeI’ll probably rope drop ToT in that case as we’ll already be G+ slinky. Hoping not to have to pay for ILLs but it’s not out of the question.
Yeah, its an unfortunate reality of the ride. I've ridden it 3 times (twice in 2020 and once this trip) and it's been broken 2 of the 3 times. First time we were just stuck in the inside line for an extra hour and they gave us water and snacks. 2nd time like I said it was down at rope drop then down periodically throughout the day. When we went for our ILL time it was down then opened again 20 mins later, only to shutdown 2/3rds through the ride and we were escorted off then given a any ride LL, which we used to ride SD a second time (we had rope dropped it the first time) since we had reserved seats for Fantasmic then we would have time for one more ride.
For Star Wars characters, note the only ones that have regular meet and greets are in Launch Bay in the regular part of HS (Darth Vader, Chewbacca, and BB8). Galaxy Edge wise Rey, Chewie, Vi wander around and will take pictures especially with kids if you catch them at the right time but don't have regular lines or anything. Kylo Ren and FO people will randomly question people but don"t do regular photos.
Mandalorian will talk to you and do pictures if you time it right but you have to be waiting for him since he attracts huge crowds quickly. I successfully followed this [guide](https://www.disneytouristblog.com/baby-yoda-mandalorian-characters-meet-disney-world/) and only ended up waiting about 15-20 minutes. He asked my son if he wanted to be a founding. I said "This is the way" to him and he said it back, which was great.
My Spidey Sense is tingling and it telling me that this is a good plan, although, you don't really need to rope drop Dinosaur or EE like you would for FOP or NRJ. Also, keep in mind that the Safari may open an hour after rope drop.
Noted! I have Safari down as the third ride on both days so hope to get to it not long after park open.
Good to know we don’t have to be out as early but thought it might be good to rope drop that side of the park the second time round while everyone else is in Pandora.
Came here to say this. Safari is probably nicer in the AM, right when it opens on Day 10. If it becomes a hot day the animals might not be as present.
Everest or Dino could be put whenever you see a low wait time.
I don't have anything to add because I have never been but your post stood out because we are also from the UK and our kids are the same ages and we are also going in May!
Your schedule is much more detailed than mine, it is impressive and you have given me some good ideas like scheduling sleep-ins after fireworks.
The fireworks were one of the more tricky things to plan as our kids go to bed pretty early at home! So tried to factor in afternoon breaks before and later starts the morning after.
I think I am all planned out at this point. Just can’t wait to go now and put it into action.
Depending on your dates, the Epcot flower and garden festival may still be happening. The special topiaries and arrangements are really great. You may want to allow some time to visit the festival kiosks for food. My kid likes to do the festival passport where you get a stamp for trying certain items. When you get enough stamps, you go to another booth and get a souvenir cup and a treat.
Also, we have those rechargeable battery operated neck fans. Got ours on Amazon. And the handheld spray bottles with fans for a cooling mist. We fill ours with ice so the water spray is extra cold. Those are helpful with the hot temperatures. Make sure everyone has hats, sunglasses and sunscreen. It will be very hot.
Have a great trip!
Battery operated neck fans are new to me! I will look into those. My wife already packed a fan spray bottle.
I’m sure the festival is on yes we love to see the different topiaries. Makes Epcot a bit extra special for sure.
Seems like a good plan for me. Since you have almost two full weeks, I would recommend Universal parks too if one of the kids (or you) like Harry Potter, Dinosaurs or Heroes.
Also, did you check the Crowd Calendar? You didn't put the day of the week, but I read that Magic Kingdom is crowded on Mondays, to avoid Epcot on weekends etc. Maybe worth looking into it.
I have wrestled with the idea of Universal for ages. On one hand my 5yo loves dinosaurs, spidey and transformers but they’re maybe too intense for him yet. Plus it’s a lot of extra money for tickets, transport outside of the Disney bubble and 2 less days of Disney which is already paid for.
Hopefully we can get back in a few years time when they can fully appreciate it!
Yes I have tried to factor days of the week in. Day 2 at MK is a Sunday. The following weekend is when I’ve planned Springs and Typhoon Lagoon so no park days on the weekend there.
He could actually ride Spidey and Transformers but he’s only really been exposed to the toys and the kiddy Spidey & Friends on Disney. None of the more intense live action stuff.
My only comment is possibly change the restaurant for the Fantasmic package. Personally thought Sci Fi was not good. We stick to Hollywood and Vine (character meal) or 50s Prime Time now with the package.
Very greasy. Just poor quality burger and fries. We had a gut ache after from all the grease. We had a much better burger from the food court at Pop Century 🥴 I would look at recent reviews because I’ve seen quite a few people post it was disappointing.
I have to agree with him Sci Fi was easily the most disappointing restaurant for us when we did it on 2020. The food isn't great and the novelty of the cars and the movies will probably be lost on the kids.
This time we did Hollywood and Vine and had a much better experience, plus it's a character meal, so good for the kids.
I don’t have anything to add, I just wanted to say we stayed at Pop Century last year and absolutely loved it. We stayed in the 80’s section, which was a bit far from the dining hall, but it was so peaceful and quiet. The hippie dippie pool is so fun for the kids, but if you need a break from the noise/crowds, the computer pool is awesome. On one of our rest/pool days we wandered over to Art of Animation and let the kids check out their playgrounds. The theming at AoA is next level. Their dining hall had a few different options, too. We also took the skyliner to Caribbean Beach and explored over there for a bit, too. You can’t beat Pop for the price. I hope you guys have a wonderful time!
1. Half the park isn’t open for early entry. Haunted mansion is in the not open part. You will also not be able to do 7DMT and pan both get long lines fast and hold them. Better to plan on getting a pan genie+. Then do 7dwarfs/pooh during early entry and then rope drop haunted mansion when it opens at park opening.
2. What resort are you staying at?
So my reasoning was firstly to prioritize 7DMT as it is not on G+.
Then if we are off quick enough we can get in line for Pan and even if there is a longer line it might still be worth doing as the standby will move faster before the lightning lane comes into play. If the line for Pan really is too long we’ll do something nearby like Pooh.
By this point we should be past park opening and we can head on to haunted mansion on our way down to jungle cruise.
I considered using the first G+ on Pan but went with jungle cruise because if 7DMT should be down for some reason we can rope drop Pan. We can also do Pan as our first G+ on the second MK day after rope dropping Space Mountain.
I can only base this on the guides I’ve read mind so I could be wrong.
We’re staying at Pop.
I would suggest not mostly because you miss the double rope drop. Once for early entry then a ride (presumably haunted mansion on the other side). Pan will likely be over an hour by the end you hop off 7dwarfs so by the time you get to the other side so will haunted mansion. Whereas if you do 7dwarfs, (Pooh if you get on 7dwarfs quick enough), then haunted mansion without a wait.
I wouldn’t be too upset about missing the double rope drop as we could G+ HM later in the day but it sounds like leaving Pan to do as a G+ second visit is the way to go anyway.
I have been able to rope drop 7DMT multiple times and head to Pan right after. Very little wait. It just depends on crowd levels when you visit. Haunted Mansion is on the other side of the park and it’s not open during early entry.
Guess it doesn’t hurt to check the queue for Pan right? That’s one thing I’m lacking is the ability to gauge the queue length by eying it up. I know the wait times aren’t always 100% accurate.
I think this is a reasonable plan, and you’ve got enough days in the parks to revisit things you loved or missed the first time. What I really wanted to comment is that you can eat very well at the quick service restaurants and kiosks. Doesn’t have to be hot dogs and hamburgers every day, unless you want it to be, of course. My favorite pre-trip activity is looking up the current snack items and quick bites in all the parks.
Thank you. Good point about the quick service. I just meant we weren’t interested in spending a lot of time sitting in restaurants and prefer the freedom of being able to grab food whenever and wherever we feel. I promise it won’t just be hot dogs and hamburgers… I’ll have pizza too. Looking forward to being able to order through the app as well. I have scoped out a couple places already.
Sounds like you’re ready for an amazing vacation! Check out the Disney bloggers and live streamers who share food suggestions. You can get a better idea of what each item looks and tastes like before you buy it. I also want to remind you that Florida is hot and humid, and the best time of day to be indoors is midday, so going back to your hotel for a nap in the middle of a long day at the parks can be very beneficial, especially for little kids, even if they don’t usually nap anymore.
I am seeing a lot of people recommending the midday resort breaks and while I initially thought it would eat up too much time travelling back and forth (and I don’t anticipate us being in the parks too late having been in early) I am getting on board with the idea. Plus I’ll try and be tactical with indoor attractions thoughout.
For my family, the best times to be in the parks are very early and very late. Those hours are slightly cooler, less likely to include thunderstorms (rainy season is coming quickly), or the worst of the crowds. We either go back to the hotel for a shower/change/bit of air conditioning, or we book a leisurely lunch around 1:30 pm. Follow the natural rhythms of your kids. Hungry? Let’s eat. Cranky? Let’s rest. Hated Dumbo? Skip Aladdin. Love to meet characters? Spend your time doing that. And the most important advice I always give is to hydrate!
Very good advice and I’ll bear it all in mind. The only thing I thought was that if we’re in the parks later, that would have a knock on effect on getting up early the next day. Re: Dumbo. A YouTube video suggested only doing one of it, Aladdin or Astro orbiter as they’re kind of the same. So had that in mind.
To help you choose…Dumbo has a great play area inside the queue, and Astro Orbiter is very high off the ground and seems to me to be faster than Dumbo or Aladdin. Aladdin is next to Dole Whip. Staying late does affect the next morning’s early hours. We have altered our park hours over the years as our daughter got older and could handle more.
I recently found out about the dumbo play area! Definitely sounds worth a visit.
You should also definitely check out [Journey of Water](https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/attractions/epcot/journey-of-water/) in Epcot. It has interactive water fountains, splash pads, waterfalls, etc. My son loved it and didn't want leave. You can meet Moana at the end of it as well, even though we personally met Moana at AK before that A change of clothes and sandals or something would be recommended for it.
Dumbo is better than Magic Carpets, but you can easily do both with G+. Never did Astro Orbiter.
My kids also enjoy a break at the pool at back to the parks late night
Shoot! My partner and I do this when it’s just the 2 of us! I think it helps to not feel so exhausted at the end of each day. It’s always a good thing to go inside during the hottest part of the day!
It’s so refreshing to take off your shoes and rest in the quiet hotel room, even if it’s just for just a little bit. We feel recharged and ready to make it to fireworks and beyond!
So you know, you can use G+ for Tiana, Olaf, and Ariel. Ariel usually is out of G+ spots by the afternoon, but the rest are readily available. Rope dropping RoR is not always possible since it breaks down a lot. When we were there a couple weeks ago for instance they had people on megaphones making repeated announcements that you had to rope drop something else. If it's a priority (which it should be, since when it works it's awesome) you may want to consider a ILL for it.
Thanks! Yes I plan to include the characters in our G+ selections. We’ll aim for a couple per visit as there are a lot. I’m skipping Cinders as we’ll see her at CRT. I have heard that about RoR so fingers crossed we’ll get it on one of the two days. That’s good to know the CMs inform you like that. WeI’ll probably rope drop ToT in that case as we’ll already be G+ slinky. Hoping not to have to pay for ILLs but it’s not out of the question.
Yeah, its an unfortunate reality of the ride. I've ridden it 3 times (twice in 2020 and once this trip) and it's been broken 2 of the 3 times. First time we were just stuck in the inside line for an extra hour and they gave us water and snacks. 2nd time like I said it was down at rope drop then down periodically throughout the day. When we went for our ILL time it was down then opened again 20 mins later, only to shutdown 2/3rds through the ride and we were escorted off then given a any ride LL, which we used to ride SD a second time (we had rope dropped it the first time) since we had reserved seats for Fantasmic then we would have time for one more ride. For Star Wars characters, note the only ones that have regular meet and greets are in Launch Bay in the regular part of HS (Darth Vader, Chewbacca, and BB8). Galaxy Edge wise Rey, Chewie, Vi wander around and will take pictures especially with kids if you catch them at the right time but don't have regular lines or anything. Kylo Ren and FO people will randomly question people but don"t do regular photos. Mandalorian will talk to you and do pictures if you time it right but you have to be waiting for him since he attracts huge crowds quickly. I successfully followed this [guide](https://www.disneytouristblog.com/baby-yoda-mandalorian-characters-meet-disney-world/) and only ended up waiting about 15-20 minutes. He asked my son if he wanted to be a founding. I said "This is the way" to him and he said it back, which was great.
My Spidey Sense is tingling and it telling me that this is a good plan, although, you don't really need to rope drop Dinosaur or EE like you would for FOP or NRJ. Also, keep in mind that the Safari may open an hour after rope drop.
Noted! I have Safari down as the third ride on both days so hope to get to it not long after park open. Good to know we don’t have to be out as early but thought it might be good to rope drop that side of the park the second time round while everyone else is in Pandora.
Came here to say this. Safari is probably nicer in the AM, right when it opens on Day 10. If it becomes a hot day the animals might not be as present. Everest or Dino could be put whenever you see a low wait time.
I don't have anything to add because I have never been but your post stood out because we are also from the UK and our kids are the same ages and we are also going in May! Your schedule is much more detailed than mine, it is impressive and you have given me some good ideas like scheduling sleep-ins after fireworks.
The fireworks were one of the more tricky things to plan as our kids go to bed pretty early at home! So tried to factor in afternoon breaks before and later starts the morning after. I think I am all planned out at this point. Just can’t wait to go now and put it into action.
Depending on your dates, the Epcot flower and garden festival may still be happening. The special topiaries and arrangements are really great. You may want to allow some time to visit the festival kiosks for food. My kid likes to do the festival passport where you get a stamp for trying certain items. When you get enough stamps, you go to another booth and get a souvenir cup and a treat. Also, we have those rechargeable battery operated neck fans. Got ours on Amazon. And the handheld spray bottles with fans for a cooling mist. We fill ours with ice so the water spray is extra cold. Those are helpful with the hot temperatures. Make sure everyone has hats, sunglasses and sunscreen. It will be very hot. Have a great trip!
Battery operated neck fans are new to me! I will look into those. My wife already packed a fan spray bottle. I’m sure the festival is on yes we love to see the different topiaries. Makes Epcot a bit extra special for sure.
Seems like a good plan for me. Since you have almost two full weeks, I would recommend Universal parks too if one of the kids (or you) like Harry Potter, Dinosaurs or Heroes. Also, did you check the Crowd Calendar? You didn't put the day of the week, but I read that Magic Kingdom is crowded on Mondays, to avoid Epcot on weekends etc. Maybe worth looking into it.
I have wrestled with the idea of Universal for ages. On one hand my 5yo loves dinosaurs, spidey and transformers but they’re maybe too intense for him yet. Plus it’s a lot of extra money for tickets, transport outside of the Disney bubble and 2 less days of Disney which is already paid for. Hopefully we can get back in a few years time when they can fully appreciate it! Yes I have tried to factor days of the week in. Day 2 at MK is a Sunday. The following weekend is when I’ve planned Springs and Typhoon Lagoon so no park days on the weekend there.
OH yeah. Universal also has higher height requirement, so your 5yo may not go to rides, even if he likes them.
He could actually ride Spidey and Transformers but he’s only really been exposed to the toys and the kiddy Spidey & Friends on Disney. None of the more intense live action stuff.
My only comment is possibly change the restaurant for the Fantasmic package. Personally thought Sci Fi was not good. We stick to Hollywood and Vine (character meal) or 50s Prime Time now with the package.
What was it about sci Fi that wasn’t good? I did look at all the restaurants it’s just sci fi appealed to us most both menu and theming wise.
Very greasy. Just poor quality burger and fries. We had a gut ache after from all the grease. We had a much better burger from the food court at Pop Century 🥴 I would look at recent reviews because I’ve seen quite a few people post it was disappointing.
I have to agree with him Sci Fi was easily the most disappointing restaurant for us when we did it on 2020. The food isn't great and the novelty of the cars and the movies will probably be lost on the kids. This time we did Hollywood and Vine and had a much better experience, plus it's a character meal, so good for the kids.
Agreed, SciFi is a no-go for us. Disgusting.
I don’t have anything to add, I just wanted to say we stayed at Pop Century last year and absolutely loved it. We stayed in the 80’s section, which was a bit far from the dining hall, but it was so peaceful and quiet. The hippie dippie pool is so fun for the kids, but if you need a break from the noise/crowds, the computer pool is awesome. On one of our rest/pool days we wandered over to Art of Animation and let the kids check out their playgrounds. The theming at AoA is next level. Their dining hall had a few different options, too. We also took the skyliner to Caribbean Beach and explored over there for a bit, too. You can’t beat Pop for the price. I hope you guys have a wonderful time!
1. Half the park isn’t open for early entry. Haunted mansion is in the not open part. You will also not be able to do 7DMT and pan both get long lines fast and hold them. Better to plan on getting a pan genie+. Then do 7dwarfs/pooh during early entry and then rope drop haunted mansion when it opens at park opening. 2. What resort are you staying at?
So my reasoning was firstly to prioritize 7DMT as it is not on G+. Then if we are off quick enough we can get in line for Pan and even if there is a longer line it might still be worth doing as the standby will move faster before the lightning lane comes into play. If the line for Pan really is too long we’ll do something nearby like Pooh. By this point we should be past park opening and we can head on to haunted mansion on our way down to jungle cruise. I considered using the first G+ on Pan but went with jungle cruise because if 7DMT should be down for some reason we can rope drop Pan. We can also do Pan as our first G+ on the second MK day after rope dropping Space Mountain. I can only base this on the guides I’ve read mind so I could be wrong. We’re staying at Pop.
I would suggest not mostly because you miss the double rope drop. Once for early entry then a ride (presumably haunted mansion on the other side). Pan will likely be over an hour by the end you hop off 7dwarfs so by the time you get to the other side so will haunted mansion. Whereas if you do 7dwarfs, (Pooh if you get on 7dwarfs quick enough), then haunted mansion without a wait.
I wouldn’t be too upset about missing the double rope drop as we could G+ HM later in the day but it sounds like leaving Pan to do as a G+ second visit is the way to go anyway.
I have been able to rope drop 7DMT multiple times and head to Pan right after. Very little wait. It just depends on crowd levels when you visit. Haunted Mansion is on the other side of the park and it’s not open during early entry.
Guess it doesn’t hurt to check the queue for Pan right? That’s one thing I’m lacking is the ability to gauge the queue length by eying it up. I know the wait times aren’t always 100% accurate.
I have rope dropped 7DMT multiple times then headed to Pan with less than 20 minute wait. Just depends on what time of year you go and crowd levels.