Celebrating my Un-Birthday Disney Style-April 2010-New 5/3 - The TR has started!

[mousescrapper]

my inkling would be that the park would get busier as the day progresses...if you are PH and going to Mk particularly because of a eve EMH...you head to the park dinner or later OR if you are not PH and want to stay for eve EMH...wouldn't you head to the park later in the day anyways

I'm gonna PM you too...

J-

 

[momtwoboys]

I'm reading along too!! We are heading to WDW in April too, with our 2 boys. 16-24th! I booked on Southwest within minutes and am glad I did!!! WOW now those same flights are crazy expensive or not even available! We are leaving out of Hartford CT.

 

[mousescrapper]

Where did you get your EMH and parade/fireworks schedule?

I couldn't find anything for April 2010, just reference back to this year....

anyways not to confuse you... but based on what I can see I'd do this:

try to skip the hoppers this trip and just add the WP & M option or see my thought below....

Your plan:
Itineary #3:
Monday: Epcot/DHS – 11am Teppan Edo
Tuesday: AK/MK – 5:00 Chef Mickeys, 10ish? Wishes
Wednesday: Waterpark & HDDR??
Thursday: AK/Epcot – Illuminations?
Friday: Waterpark & HDDR or ?? (Zach & I may do something else while Tim & Alex go to the waterpark??)
Saturday: MK (Crystal Palace pre-park opening) & DHS or whatever??

my ideas:
Monday: AK day You know your kids love it here...what better way to start off!
Tuesday: DHS day and H & V or Sci-Fi not having a late night previously..you should be able to make RD!
Wednesday: MK, Chef Mickey's and Wishes...use CM as you park break, relax in the lobby or walk around by the lagoon, ride the mono.
Thursday: Waterpark and HDDR..can you buy just two 1 day passes if you think only Tim and Alex would go and then if you really need the hoppers you're not spending too much?
Friday: Epcot Day and Teppan Edo
Saturday: MK & Cyrstal Palace do you really have time to hop if you are leaving today?


JAT....


what it comes down to, what are your goals or wishes for this trip....hit the stuff you missed and favorites? try new things? R n R ? Do the boys know? what would they like? I actually felt more at ease this last trip w/ not hopping and bouncing around...just a steady pace for each day. Now granted we are thinking PH's for next year, but mainly for 2 reasons 1) Matt and I are getting annual passes to use on the 2011 trip too and they are PH's and 2) we want to take advantage of some of the Holiday stuff going on at Epcot and DHS on our last 2 days...but know those parks will be extra crowded because of that...so "hopping" in to do just the evening things is our thinking right now.



J-

 

[DisMomAmy]

my inkling would be that the park would get busier as the day progresses...if you are PH and going to Mk particularly because of a eve EMH...you head to the park dinner or later OR if you are not PH and want to stay for eve EMH...wouldn't you head to the park later in the day anyways

I'm gonna PM you too...

J-

That was my feeling too - we would just be there for the morning then we would take a mid-day break and hop somewhere else. I guess I just needed somebody else to tell me the morning would be OK. As a general rule we avoid all EMHs - but I suppose we don't really need to if we plan carefully. Reading your second post now...

Thanks for the pm!

I'm reading along too!! We are heading to WDW in April too, with our 2 boys. 16-24th! I booked on Southwest within minutes and am glad I did!!! WOW now those same flights are crazy expensive or not even available! We are leaving out of Hartford CT.

Our departure flight went down $10 (and I already rebooked and now have a $40 credit) but our return flight has gone up since I booked - which is the one I was worried about. It really is crazy this year!! I paid more than I ever would have in the past but I think it's worth it for the direct flights on Southwest.

 

[DisMomAmy]

Where did you get your EMH and parade/fireworks schedule?

I couldn't find anything for April 2010, just reference back to this year....

anyways not to confuse you... but based on what I can see I'd do this:

try to skip the hoppers this trip and just add the WP & M option or see my thought below....

Your plan:
Itineary #3:
Monday: Epcot/DHS – 11am Teppan Edo
Tuesday: AK/MK – 5:00 Chef Mickeys, 10ish? Wishes
Wednesday: Waterpark & HDDR??
Thursday: AK/Epcot – Illuminations?
Friday: Waterpark & HDDR or ?? (Zach & I may do something else while Tim & Alex go to the waterpark??)
Saturday: MK (Crystal Palace pre-park opening) & DHS or whatever??

my ideas:
Monday: AK day You know your kids love it here...what better way to start off!
Tuesday: DHS day and H & V or Sci-Fi not having a late night previously..you should be able to make RD!
Wednesday: MK, Chef Mickey's and Wishes...use CM as you park break, relax in the lobby or walk around by the lagoon, ride the mono.
Thursday: Waterpark and HDDR..can you buy just two 1 day passes if you think only Tim and Alex would go and then if you really need the hoppers you're not spending too much?
Friday: Epcot Day and Teppan Edo
Saturday: MK & Cyrstal Palace do you really have time to hop if you are leaving today?


JAT....


what it comes down to, what are your goals or wishes for this trip....hit the stuff you missed and favorites? try new things? R n R ? Do the boys know? what would they like? I actually felt more at ease this last trip w/ not hopping and bouncing around...just a steady pace for each day. Now granted we are thinking PH's for next year, but mainly for 2 reasons 1) Matt and I are getting annual passes to use on the 2011 trip too and they are PH's and 2) we want to take advantage of some of the Holiday stuff going on at Epcot and DHS on our last 2 days...but know those parks will be extra crowded because of that...so "hopping" in to do just the evening things is our thinking right now.



J-

Thanks for your thoughts! I pulled together my schedule based on last year's schedule for April, plus the currently published hours for October - January.

I have thought about skipping the hoppers and just doing the WP&more option. One problem is that Magic Kingdom will close at 6 (I think it's 6) on our last two days. I definitely want to spend one of those days at MK & would like to be able to park hop after it closes. (We are actually leaving Sunday morning so we have the full day Saturday.) The other thing is that, as you said, the kids love AK, and we will want to visit more than once. If we don't get hoppers and we are doing waterparks we'll only be able to visit once. But it does seem crazy to buy hoppers and waterpark+ tickets! It's crazy expensive!!

As far as the waterparks go, Tim wants to add that option so that at least he & Alex can visit both waterparks. Zach & I may skip the second waterpark, depending how it goes. Maybe he'll surprise us and love it! We'll see...

I am going to ponder our ticket options a little more though...

 

[eandesmom]

my inkling would be that the park would get busier as the day progresses...if you are PH and going to Mk particularly because of a eve EMH...you head to the park dinner or later OR if you are not PH and want to stay for eve EMH...wouldn't you head to the park later in the day anyways
J-

My thoughts, will you really go to the water parks 2 days? and all 4 of you? If not then the + more is not a good value, it is a better deal to just buy the tix separate.

 

[DisMomAmy]

My thoughts, will you really go to the water parks 2 days? and all 4 of you? If not then the + more is not a good value, it is a better deal to just buy the tix separate.

That seems to be the question... I really need to figure out the best ticket option. I'm guessing that Tim & Alex will go to both waterparks and Zach & I will just go to one. Or maybe I should just plan one waterpark day and stick with that plan??


Any thoughts on which waterpark would be better?

 

[jordanyosh]

Thanks Jordan! I'd love to go to a late night EMH sometime, but we are early birds and the kids would never make it! Plus, since we are staying off-site we won't be eligible to stay this time. What I'm worried about is how busy the park will be during the regular hours (primarily the morning hours) due to the EMH later that night. Will the park be busier all day with people who don't have park hoppers? Or will it just get busy later in the day? Any thoughts on that?

I guess I should've remembered that you were staying offsite this time. Sorry.

Yes, people who have base tickets will stay in a EMH park all day. However, you're right, they may arrive later in the day....

 

[eandesmom]

Personally I think one water park day is enough...I've only been to TL so can't compare.

I'm hoping to avoid the water park issue next trip but we will see.

As an EMH family I will say, we always arrived later in the day. For PM EMH's that is.....

 

[mommytothreeboys]

I think the whole waterpark question really depends on your family. We added the WP+ option this past trip and felt like we got our money's worth and then some. We visited BB for an entire day, TL for 1/2 day and went to DisneyQuest. If you are only going to visit one park for one day, it's better to pay the regular one-day admission. I played all this out in my head before adding it too!

Do your kids love the water? How about you and Tim? Do they do the slides?

Both parks have their advantages. BB is newer, easier to navigate, and has several activities the family can do together. (Teamboat Springs, toboggan races, lazy river) TL is a little older, but has the cool wave pool (if you like that kind of thing!). It also has the shark reef and CrushnGusher...best waterslide ever!

I'll be interested to see what you decide!

 

[jordanyosh]

I prefer TL to BB because...well, let's face it, I'm getting old. The slides at TL are more mellow (mostly). I also LOVE the tropical feel to TL. BB is fun and has a great theme, but TL kinda takes me away a little......very relaxing if it's not a zoo.

 

[momtwoboys]

We have never attempted the water parks, so I'll be interested to hear how you like it. Although I think we will be there around the same time right?? Our younger son is Asperger's and still uses a life vest in the pools at the hotel.. maybe one day we will split up and my husband could take our older guy! I also wish that the park hopper feature wasn't so darn expensive it is better though to focus on one park per day we have found! Can you tell me if this time of year is crazy crowded?? We have always done the first week in May... this will be our first April trip

 

[mrsksomeday]

Amy I can't believe I didn't see this PTR!! I think it is wonderful that you are getting your own celebration time, you deserve it! I can't wait to see what you come up with. I am sending pixie dust about the DVC too!

 

[Glite]

I'm here too.

 

[DisMomAmy]

I guess I should've remembered that you were staying offsite this time. Sorry.

Yes, people who have base tickets will stay in a EMH park all day. However, you're right, they may arrive later in the day....

That's OK... Since this is our first time off-site since I've stayed on-site twice (once with mom, once with the family) we'll have a clear sense of our preference after this trip.

Personally I think one water park day is enough...I've only been to TL so can't compare.

I'm hoping to avoid the water park issue next trip but we will see.

As an EMH family I will say, we always arrived later in the day. For PM EMH's that is.....

I would avoid the waterparks if it were my choice, but maybe I can convince DH that we should just visit one.

Thanks for the EMH info.!

I think the whole waterpark question really depends on your family. We added the WP+ option this past trip and felt like we got our money's worth and then some. We visited BB for an entire day, TL for 1/2 day and went to DisneyQuest. If you are only going to visit one park for one day, it's better to pay the regular one-day admission. I played all this out in my head before adding it too!

Do your kids love the water? How about you and Tim? Do they do the slides?

Both parks have their advantages. BB is newer, easier to navigate, and has several activities the family can do together. (Teamboat Springs, toboggan races, lazy river) TL is a little older, but has the cool wave pool (if you like that kind of thing!). It also has the shark reef and CrushnGusher...best waterslide ever!

I'll be interested to see what you decide!

Sounds like BB may be the park for us then. Nobody really likes the wave pool... we have a waterpark near us that has a wave pool and the kids never want to go in it. Plus Zach really only likes the rides he can ride with another person. Alex is a daredevil he likes the wedgie ride that goes straight down! I'll have to do a little more research before then...

When you visited TL for a 1/2 day, did you go to another park that same day?

I prefer TL to BB because...well, let's face it, I'm getting old. The slides at TL are more mellow (mostly). I also LOVE the tropical feel to TL. BB is fun and has a great theme, but TL kinda takes me away a little......very relaxing if it's not a zoo.

I think TL would be my preference but I'm getting old too. I suspect the kids might like BB better though.

 

[mommytothreeboys]

Sounds like BB may be the park for us then. Nobody really likes the wave pool... we have a waterpark near us that has a wave pool and the kids never want to go in it. Plus Zach really only likes the rides he can ride with another person. Alex is a daredevil he likes the wedgie ride that goes straight down! I'll have to do a little more research before then...

When you visited TL for a 1/2 day, did you go to another park that same day?

We did visit a park the same day. We went to TL from 10-2 then went to Epcot for the rest of the day. With a quick stop at POR to change, of course!

 

[DisMomAmy]

We have never attempted the water parks, so I'll be interested to hear how you like it. Although I think we will be there around the same time right?? Our younger son is Asperger's and still uses a life vest in the pools at the hotel.. maybe one day we will split up and my husband could take our older guy! I also wish that the park hopper feature wasn't so darn expensive it is better though to focus on one park per day we have found! Can you tell me if this time of year is crazy crowded?? We have always done the first week in May... this will be our first April trip

I think it depends which week you are there in April. I was there the first weekend of April with my mom in 2008 and it was quiet, but once you get into mid-April there are a lot of school vacations. Luckily ours is a week later than most so it quiets down. What are your dates?

Amy I can't believe I didn't see this PTR!! I think it is wonderful that you are getting your own celebration time, you deserve it! I can't wait to see what you come up with. I am sending pixie dust about the DVC too!

Thanks Tracy! You are getting so close!!

I'm here too.

Thanks for reading Glen!

We did visit a park the same day. We went to TL from 10-2 then went to Epcot for the rest of the day. With a quick stop at POR to change, of course!

If we do a second park this will definitely be our plan! Glad to hear it's do-able!

 

[momtwoboys]

well, our dates are April 16-24th. I know its our school vacation in Mass. but I don't want to go in the summer, and we can't go when we usually have gone in the past (first week of May!) Our older son started Middle school, and we can't put that stress on him to miss a week Hope for the best...........

 

[DisMomAmy]

well, our dates are April 16-24th. I know its our school vacation in Mass. but I don't want to go in the summer, and we can't go when we usually have gone in the past (first week of May!) Our older son started Middle school, and we can't put that stress on him to miss a week Hope for the best...........

I completely understand that - when Alex was in preschool we went in March and then when he was in first grade we went in October. I don't think school would mind if we pulled them out since Alex is in 3rd and Zach is in kindergarten but it disrupts their routine too much. Starting this past April we decided to go with school vacation weeks.

I think you'll probably be OK since Easter is in early April this year.

 

[DisMomAmy]

The toughest part of this whole itinerary is figuring out what everyone is going to want to do... There is still the whole unknown factor of whether or not Jeff, Karen & the kids might come join us for two or three days at the end of our week?? Plus, if they aren't going to join us, I suspect we might want to stay with them through most of the day Sunday - moving our Gramma visit day to later in the week.

Based on what I've been told so far... Here is the plan:

Monday 4/26 - Epcot & DHS (lunch at Teppan Edo)
Tuesday 4/27 - AK/MK (dinner at Chef Mickeys then Wishes)
Wednesday 4/28 - Waterpark day (5pm HDDR)
Thursday 4/29 - DHS/Epcot (H&V or Sci Fi?) (Backup diner ADR at Teppan Edo) Illuminations?)
Friday 4/30 - AK/open afternoon/evening (park? pool? waterpark?/Plan B for HDDR)
Saturday 5/1 - MK/DHS - (Crystal Palace early breakfast)

The backup ADR at Teppan Edo is in case we end up at Gramma's on Monday. Once we know for sure I'll cancel the extra one. The plan B for HDDR is my second choice night if I can't get an ADR for Wednesday night. I would definitely rather have it early in the week because if Jeff joins us it will most likely be on Thursday or Friday through Saturday. I will only make one HDDR ADR - hopefully Wednesday.

The itinerary itself isn't set in stone by any means but it's a good foundation for my ADRs. (I also heard a rumor that Fantasmic may be going back to a nightly schedule because revenue is down at DHS... surprise, surprise... so we MAY try to add that in somewhere?? Or we may just stick with Wishes & Illuminations this time??

So to summarize, here is my ADR wish list for next week:

Monday 4/26 - Teppan Edo - 11:00 lunch
Tuesday 4/27 - Chef Mickey's - 5:00 dinner
Wednesday 4/28 - HDDR - 5:00 dinner
Thursday 4/29 - still debating H&V or Sci Fi?? Backup ADR for Teppan Edo - 5:00ish dinner
Friday 4/30 - nothing
Saturday 5/1 - Crystal Palace - 8:00 breakfast

I think we'll probably go with a late breakfast (in place of lunch) at H&V rather than Sci Fi - I don't really like the lunch menu there. But we'll see?

So that's the plan!! What do you think??