Am I Being Too Ambitious?

[DisneyDoesMyHair]

if using boat to Fort Wilderness that is a 20m minute ride to keep the youngest awake. plus time to get where you are staying you will not be walking from boat. if you decide to drive remember you will need to take either a ferry or monorail to your car and then drive to resort. been there and it did not work

It’s going to be trial and error for us. On past family trips, we always go back to our hotel for midday naps. However, this is our first trip to Disney, and logistics are WAY more complicated. Keeping my fingers crossed our little one can adapt.

 

[Betty Rohrer]

It’s going to be trial and error for us. On past family trips, we always go back to our hotel for midday naps. However, this is our first trip to Disney, and logistics are WAY more complicated. Keeping my fingers crossed our little one can adapt.

I will use an example of something from home. how would your little one do at near naptime to take a stroller walk for 20 minutes or a car ride of same length and either stay asleep or go back to sleep for a good nap. we have stayed at Fort Wilderness with littles. from MK it is about a 10 minute walk with stroller from back of park to gate and you are not going to be close to gate when ready to leave. then walk from gate to boat dock and hopefully the boat is loading and about ready to leave. about a 20 minute ride to Fort dock. then unload from boat and walk to either golf cart or bus depot so you can head to site/cabin. ride to site. you are now looking at 40 minutes to get to site. add I haven't said anything about boat whistle when docking which will happen sleeping little or not. have done this for a number of trips with number of young grandkids and none were we able to get to nap at site as always went down before we got there and would not go back to sleep. hope you have better luck

 

[si-am]

I wouldn't do that much down time/ resort time, but I know everyone enjoys different things. The one thing that jumped out to me was the late morning Epcot arrival, then leaving after lunch, then going back for the evening fireworks. I think I'd try to bring or rent a stroller (city mini with big shade) so the 4 year old can chill out/ rest in that, and just stay at Epcot for the day if you are arriving late. You'll hardly see Epcot otherwise. Walking around the countries is really enjoyable for the kids when you get different snacks, play Agent P, and buy the passports so they can visit the Kidcot stations and get their stamps. Don't miss the desserts at Les Halles! We got a tray of a whole bunch of desserts - then cut them, sampled, and voted on our favorites. It was fun and they were all so good.

This was the only thing that stood out to me as well. A late morning Epcot plus leaving after lunch won’t give you enough time there to make it worth your while. Epcot is really a 2 day park if you want to see it all— you can’t do much in half a day.

I do like all the “down time” you’ve planned. You don’t have to do parks every day to enjoy Disney!

 

[SG131]

The naps I think are going to be essential for my youngest. I am a “go all day” kind of theme park tourist, but my family are not.

Maybe you could plan some times where one parent goes back for nap with the 4 yr old if she won’t sleep in the stroller and the other stays with the 11 year old to ride some of the bigger rides or something that the younger one can’t do. Unless the 11 yr old much prefers the pool. That worked out well for us at ages 4 and 7. There were a couple rides like TOT that 4 yr old was too scared of or FOP that she wasn’t tall enough for.

I get some kids will sleep in a stroller and some won’t. It’s esp hard somewhere as exciting as Disney. But maybe then since all you’re doing a midday break every day maybe you don’t need a full resort day.

 

[cadawson]

OP - Why don't you rent a car from the airport instead of relying on Minnie Vans/Uber? With all your going back and forth, especially dining and getting to FW from AK, you might appreciate having the car. You didn't really talk about the transition times from one resort to the next. You'd be able to put your luggage in the trunk while you hit the parks or resort, especially if your new room/cabin isn't ready when you have to check out of your previous location. We've had really good luck with getting a week-long rental from Costco at a great discount. While staying at FW is very relaxing, it is a huge place to get around and you'll want to plan extra time for that. Sounds like a fun trip!

 

[dbb727]

Overall I think your plans look great, every family tours differently and I sympathize that it can be hard (not impossible but hard) to change some of the more difficult to book ADRs and FPS.

I would suggest though that it’s a wasted opportunity to not visit AK while staying in such close proximity at AKL. Personally, I’d upgrade tickets from a 4 to 5day and do at least the morning at AK on Monday (and Mondays are using AM EMH there I think?). Unless Ohana and stitch are a must do, i would personally choose park time over breakfast. It’s usually not much more for a 4 vs 5 day ticket, although thats subjective. I really love how peaceful and calm AK is in the mornings, the animals are more active and the weather cooler before the sun is high in the sky. Plus it’ll give you a feel for the park and layout and shows that you won’t be able to see during DAH. Go back to hotel at lunch and swim and relax, then the next day you’ll experience the different vibe of AK at night.

Agree with other posters that on your EPCOT day, a late start makes sense but then consider just staying in parks as long as possible since you have a rest day next anyhow. You may not make it til fireworks, but you’ll get more accomplished overall.

 

[dbb727]

We have budgeted this in, just in case. Did you guys use the Minnie vans?

We did Minnie vans a few times because we required two car seats. Since you would just need one, you can also consider an Uber XL+car seat, about equal cost possibly cheaper for some routes.

The minnievan service was great for having car seats and friendly CM driver, but I still found it stressful to use because the Lyft app would search and search for 10+min without finding us a ride and then time out, and I was panicked we would miss our ADRs. This was in Sept during low season, although prob busy pickup times(PPO and dinners). Hopefully they have more cars in the fleet now, but just allow extra time or use Uber

 

[ThankingThePhoenicians]

Afternoon breaks are certainly doable! Yes - it is a lot of backwards and forwards and does miss out the afternoon for park times but I honestly think its worth it to be able to do the early mornings and late nights. If you go for EMH too you can definitely get multiple rides done before lunch (in the past we've been able to do all of Fantasyland and half of Tomorrowland before leaving the park for the afternoon).

The plan looks good and as long as you're prepared for having to move resorts and a lot of travel, it sounds like you'll have a great time!

 

[nkereina]

Saturday, Arrival day at AKL:
Apprx 2 pm flight arrival, explore resort, hit the pool, ADR at Chef Mickeys for 6:50 pm

If your flight lands at 2pm and you're using DME, you can reasonably expect to be at the resort 3:30-4pm. I would leave AKL for Chef Mickey's by 5:30-5:45pm. This doesn't give much time for pool and cleaning up for dinner, so just mentioning this for timing. I'd probably skip the pool and just unpack, get settled, and explore the resort.

Also, if you are using DME and plan to use the yellow tags for luggage delivery, expect your luggage around 6:30-7pm. I would have any bathing suits and clothes for dinner in your carry on bags, or skip the yellow tags and collect your luggage yourself at the airport. If you grab your own luggage, I would tack another 20-30 minutes onto your arrival time at the resort.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

You mentioned you rented DVC for the first and last stay - any chance you can switch your Ft. W stay to AKL and just stay put in that resort until you switch to WL? You would probably have to switch rooms, but that would be far more convenient than switching all the way over to Ft. W.

In terms of Minnie Vans, we use them a lot and they are, typically, very convenient. We used them at least 5 times on our last trip. There was only one morning where I ended up canceling one to AK because our wait time for the Minnie Van was 20 minutes and an AK bus came along before that.

 

[AggieDizzer]

I don't think it's too ambitious. Sounds like a good plan. We always try to have a "rough outline" for what we want to accomplish each day, including our ADR's and fast passes - and then from there just see what the day holds. A big mistake a lot of people make is over booking their day, then finding themselves frustrated and exhausted at the end of the trip because they could not hit everything on their to-do list.

I am also a big fan of the midday break. Take a nap, jump in a pool, have a cocktail...I always feel WAY better in the afternoons after taking a chance to recharge the batteries!!

Have fun on your trip!

 

[annemce118]

I think changing resorts three times is too much, especially with 4 children! Wow! I would hate to pack and repack. Whatever you choose to do, have a great time!,

 

[cruisin5]

DVC check-in is "after 4 pm"

I too suggest skipping Chef Mickey's. Try for Cape May breakfast on the morning of HS. Goofy will be there!

 

[Cindy's Mom]

Chef Mickey's was our night of arrival tradition too, but we didn't enjoy it as much until the kids were much older. Travel days are long days and there might be too much stimulation for you 4yo and he/she might become a little cranky. Our touring style is similar to yours. every other day is a park for use, and we don't go a park until day 3. day 1, travel day: day 2, resort day; and then we hit MK day three.

There have been times we've gone to WDW and never even went to a park. 3 nights in a Deluxe is heavenly.

 

[DisneyDoesMyHair]

I will use an example of something from home. how would your little one do at near naptime to take a stroller walk for 20 minutes or a car ride of same length and either stay asleep or go back to sleep for a good nap. we have stayed at Fort Wilderness with littles. from MK it is about a 10 minute walk with stroller from back of park to gate and you are not going to be close to gate when ready to leave. then walk from gate to boat dock and hopefully the boat is loading and about ready to leave. about a 20 minute ride to Fort dock. then unload from boat and walk to either golf cart or bus depot so you can head to site/cabin. ride to site. you are now looking at 40 minutes to get to site. add I haven't said anything about boat whistle when docking which will happen sleeping little or not. have done this for a number of trips with number of young grandkids and none were we able to get to nap at site as always went down before we got there and would not go back to sleep. hope you have better luck

Whew! I’m hoping for better luck. My DS sleeps through anything and everything, including being moved. I’m thinking if he falls asleep on the way back we should be fine.

 

[DisneyDoesMyHair]

This was the only thing that stood out to me as well. A late morning Epcot plus leaving after lunch won’t give you enough time there to make it worth your while. Epcot is really a 2 day park if you want to see it all— you can’t do much in half a day.

I do like all the “down time” you’ve planned. You don’t have to do parks every day to enjoy Disney!

Thank you! I do worry about “missing out,” but I’m trying to balance this with overdoing it. This is only our second theme park visit as a family, with the first being Dollywood. Just trying to keep it relaxed. We have three very specific things planned in Epcot, and the rest will be icing on the cake if we get to see/do.

 

[DisneyDoesMyHair]

Maybe you could plan some times where one parent goes back for nap with the 4 yr old if she won’t sleep in the stroller and the other stays with the 11 year old to ride some of the bigger rides or something that the younger one can’t do. Unless the 11 yr old much prefers the pool. That worked out well for us at ages 4 and 7. There were a couple rides like TOT that 4 yr old was too scared of or FOP that she wasn’t tall enough for.

I get some kids will sleep in a stroller and some won’t. It’s esp hard somewhere as exciting as Disney. But maybe then since all you’re doing a midday break every day maybe you don’t need a full resort day.

This is a great idea, and one I am certainly considering. My DH and DD can stay in the parks while I go back with DS to nap each day.

 

[DisneyDoesMyHair]

OP - Why don't you rent a car from the airport instead of relying on Minnie Vans/Uber? With all your going back and forth, especially dining and getting to FW from AK, you might appreciate having the car. You didn't really talk about the transition times from one resort to the next. You'd be able to put your luggage in the trunk while you hit the parks or resort, especially if your new room/cabin isn't ready when you have to check out of your previous location. We've had really good luck with getting a week-long rental from Costco at a great discount. While staying at FW is very relaxing, it is a huge place to get around and you'll want to plan extra time for that. Sounds like a fun trip!

I don’t think I’ve quite wrapped my mind around an hour + commute to everywhere in Disney. We would really like to be car-free this trip, so we will be relying 100% on Disney transportation and Uber/Lyft. I’m sure after the first two days I will find my feet and readjust my plans accordingly.

 

[DisneyDoesMyHair]

We did Minnie vans a few times because we required two car seats. Since you would just need one, you can also consider an Uber XL+car seat, about equal cost possibly cheaper for some routes.

The minnievan service was great for having car seats and friendly CM driver, but I still found it stressful to use because the Lyft app would search and search for 10+min without finding us a ride and then time out, and I was panicked we would miss our ADRs. This was in Sept during low season, although prob busy pickup times(PPO and dinners). Hopefully they have more cars in the fleet now, but just allow extra time or use Uber

Thank you for the tips!

We did Minnie vans a few times because we required two car seats. Since you would just need one, you can also consider an Uber XL+car seat, about equal cost possibly cheaper for some routes.

The minnievan service was great for having car seats and friendly CM driver, but I still found it stressful to use because the Lyft app would search and search for 10+min without finding us a ride and then time out, and I was panicked we would miss our ADRs. This was in Sept during low season, although prob busy pickup times(PPO and dinners). Hopefully they have more cars in the fleet now, but just allow extra time or use Uber

thank you for the tips!

 

[stephnerninnie1984]

I think it sounds great as well! I love the reatbdays you have planned. However you said your kids are 4 and 11 right? They may not NEED a mid day break everyday. I know my 4 year old refuses to nap while at Disney. Even going back to the hotel she is very aware she is missing out and won’t do it. So we just push through and she either crashes during fireworks or sleeps very well at night. She knows if she starts whining or complaining it’s over and back to the hotel we go!

Of course you know your kid best. I was terrified the first time we “pushed though” and stayed at the park but honestly she did great! You may want to consider this especially on Epcot day where you are arriving late anyways.

Sounds like you have an awesome trip planned with so many memories in the making! Have a good time!