First family trip to Disney World

[Davin_Felth]

Sorry, forgot this in my other post. Are you forgetting the time difference? Midnight FL time will be 9 pm Washington time, whereas, 8:00 A.M. FL time is 5:00 A.M. Washington time which means you'll be getting up in the morning more like 3-3:30 A.M. Washington time.

My DW normally gets up that early at home, so it'll be an easy adjustment for her. The trick will be getting to bed at a decent time the day we arrive. I'm hoping we'll make the transition well.

 

[KittyKitty]

3) We're from Washington State, so rain doesn't bother us. But, ponchos are on our packing list.

FYI: It's a different kind of rain from what we have here in the NW. It comes down in buckets for a short period of time. So get lots of quick drying clothes from REI!

 

[Davin_Felth]

Do your kids like/are interested in Harry Potter? I'm just wondering if you may want more universal time for all the potter stuff outside of rides. The great thing is you'll have express pass, so rides will be quick. The interactive wands and shops are also neat to experience because they look exactly like the movies. And if you were looking at 2 waterpark days, maybe look at Volcano bay. The hard rock pool is really neat with a slide and sand volleyball area and music underwater.

I'm probably the biggest HP fan in the family, my DD11 has just started reading the books. Considering making the day we check out of the hotel at Universal a 2nd day in the park, for at least part of the day. The family is mostly a big Disney fan family though, and I'm a big Star Wars nut (convenient that Disney bought it).

 

[Disney_traveler]

I'm probably the biggest HP fan in the family, my DD11 has just started reading the books. Considering making the day we check out of the hotel at Universal a 2nd day in the park, for at least part of the day. The family is mostly a big Disney fan family though, and I'm a big Star Wars nut (convenient that Disney bought it).

That sounds like a good plan to me! That way if there's anything you missed or wanted to do again you could OR y'all might say you're ready to head to Disney to hang out there. Some flexibility is awesome, but hard to come by at WDW. I hear DL is more flexible, so you have experience there to compare

 

[scrapquitler]

Here's a revised schedule based on comments so far. I'm already considering that I might need to bump the travel up one day earlier, so we could do Magic Kingdom EE on the first Friday. We already book our rooms, so I'll have to reschedule those if so...

Day 0 (Wed, Aug 15) Travel Day
Day 1 (Thur, Aug 16) Universal
Day 2 (Fri, 17) Checkout/Rest/Food Shop/Disney Springs/Check In
Day 3 (Sat, 18) Animal Kingdom (EE)
Day 4 (Sun, 19) Hollywood Studios (EE)
Day 5 (Mon, 20) Animal Kingdom (EE)
Day 6 (Tue, 21) Rest Day (sleep in, water park for a few hours)
Day 7 (Wed, 22) Epcot
Day 8 (Thur, 23) Epcot (EE)
Day 9 (Fri, 24) Magic Kingdom (EE)
Day 10 (Sat, 25) Rest Day (sleep in, water park for a few hours)
Day 11 (Sun, 26) Flexible
Day 12 (Mon, 27) Magic Kingdom
Day 13 (Tue, 28) Travel Home

I really wouldn't want to wait until day 9 to go to the Magic Kingdom. To me that IS Disney.

 

[Davin_Felth]

I really wouldn't want to wait until day 9 to go to the Magic Kingdom. To me that IS Disney.

Yeah, I'm not thrilled with waiting until day 9 either. I wanted that to be the first day and last day at WDW for us. I'm seriously considering moving the trip to a day earlier, do Universal Aug 15/16, then MK on Friday the 17th.

 

[Davin_Felth]

So, here's another revision on our schedule.

Day 0 (Tue, Aug 14) Travel Day
Day 1 (Wed, Aug 15) Universal
Day 2 (Thur, Aug 16) Checkout/More Universal until mid-afternoon/Food Shop/Check In PO-Riverside
Day 3 (Fri, 17) Magic Kingdom (EE)
Day 4 (Sat, 18) Animal Kingdom (EE)
Day 5 (Sun, 19) Hollywood Studios (EE)
Day 6 (Mon, 20) Animal Kingdom (EE)
Day 7 (Tue, 21) Rest Day (Sleep in, few hours at a water park)
Day 8 (Wed, 22) Epcot
Day 9 (Thur, 23) Epcot (EE)
Day 10 (Fri, 24) Magic Kingdom (EE) / Afternoon flexible
Day 11 (Sat, 25) Rest Day (Sleep in, few hours at a water park)
Day 12 (Sun, 26) Magic Kingdom
Day 13 (Mon, 27) Travel Home

I think Day 9 & 10, after our mid-afternoon break we may decide we want to swap to another park, depending if there are other things we want to do again.

Thanks again for all the advice!

 

[disneyvoice]

You should be fine with the second day you added for AK. AK is the park we always think we will only need a short amount of time for but then always end up needing two days. The thing about AK is that there is so much to do and see that isn't necessarily a big headliner attraction. There's so much to see in the Oasis but it is easy to blow right through it trying to get to headliners and then easy to forget to go back to it. We love the Flights of Wonder bird show. Plus we like to really take our time on the animal paths and talk to the CMS about the animals. I think AK also has some great "street" entertainment.

 

[CJN]

Yeah, I'm not thrilled with waiting until day 9 either. I wanted that to be the first day and last day at WDW for us. I'm seriously considering moving the trip to a day earlier, do Universal Aug 15/16, then MK on Friday the 17th.

Hello fellow NWers!
I think you're giving up an extremely valuable asset by not taking advantage of your express pass availability on your checkout day at Universal. For us, we'd split that day between Universal in the morning/afternoon, go get checked in at WDW and then maybe end the day with a nice evening at MK if not too tired. Also, you'd never catch us spending a day so early in our trip at Disney Springs but then we're not shopping people either. MK wins out every time over DS.

And, btw, we usually don't have much trouble adjusting to the time difference. Travel day is generally so tiring that we're ready for early bed, which makes it all that much easier to get up the next morning. Just don't find yourself ever saying, "Well, back home it'd only be 'xxxx o'clock' right now...."

As for the rain - yes, it can be different in Florida but ultimately rain is rain and getting wet is getting wet (or staying dry is staying dry ) and I fully expect my fellow NW brethren will easily cope with it

 

[Davin_Felth]

Hello fellow NWers!
I think you're giving up an extremely valuable asset by not taking advantage of your express pass availability on your checkout day at Universal. For us, we'd split that day between Universal in the morning/afternoon, go get checked in at WDW and then maybe end the day with a nice evening at MK if not too tired. Also, you'd never catch us spending a day so early in our trip at Disney Springs but then we're not shopping people either. MK wins out every time over DS.

And, btw, we usually don't have much trouble adjusting to the time difference. Travel day is generally so tiring that we're ready for early bed, which makes it all that much easier to get up the next morning. Just don't find yourself ever saying, "Well, back home it'd only be 'xxxx o'clock' right now...."

As for the rain - yes, it can be different in Florida but ultimately rain is rain and getting wet is getting wet (or staying dry is staying dry ) and I fully expect my fellow NW brethren will easily cope with it

I was concerned with doing only 1 day at Universal as well, and the feedback given today has convinced me to change it. I've swapped the plans so we arrive on the 14th, do a full day at Universal on the 15th. On the 16th, we'll check out of the hotel then head back to Universal for a good chunk of the day then head to WDW in the afternoon to check in there. Also, since we have the boat from the resort to Disney Springs, we'll do that later in the trip. I imagine it's very similar to Downtown Disney and DisneyLand, so I'm sure we don't need a ton of time there.

 

[tlmadden73]

4) Even after Toy Story Land opens, isn't there only around 7 rides in DHS? Shouldn't that be fairly easy to do in one day?

Well .. There would be 6 rides (Star Tours, TSMM, Tower, RnR Coaster, plus the two new Toy Story rides). GMR will probably still be closed and not converted yet to the new Mickey ride.

BUT .. there are also a ton of shows at DHS. Just trying to schedule those can take a full day just based on limited show times: Plus most of them take 30 minutes or so.
Indiana Jones
Frozen
Beauty and the Beast
Pixar Live (if that still exists next year)
Little Mermaid
Muppetvision 3D
Jedi Training (whether participating or just enjoying watching other kids in it).
Star Wars Galaxy Far Far Away (if that still exists next year)
Fireworks
Fantasmic at night.
Plus just all the Meet and Greets and walking through the Launch Bay.

One Man's Dream ... PROBABLY will be gone to make way for the entrance to Toy Story Land.

Long story short though --- there is NO idea what DHS will be like in 2018 or 2019. They may start to close other attractions as no one knows yet what the future is for the other "old" attractions that don't seem to fit anymore with the new theme of the park - Star Tours, Indiana Jones and the whole Launch Bay/Animation Courtyard area.

 

[sharonabe]

Also, since we have the boat from the resort to Disney Springs, we'll do that later in the trip. I imagine it's very similar to Downtown Disney and DisneyLand, so I'm sure we don't need a ton of time there

Disney Springs has some GREAT restaurants. Since you're at POR, I'd be heading over to DS for dinner on my transfer night!

 

[Davin_Felth]

Well .. There would be 6 rides (Star Tours, TSMM, Tower, RnR Coaster, plus the two new Toy Story rides). GMR will probably still be closed and not converted yet to the new Mickey ride.

BUT .. there are also a ton of shows at DHS. Just trying to schedule those can take a full day just based on limited show times: Plus most of them take 30 minutes or so.
Indiana Jones
Frozen
Beauty and the Beast
Pixar Live (if that still exists next year)
Little Mermaid
Muppetvision 3D
Jedi Training (whether participating or just enjoying watching other kids in it).
Star Wars Galaxy Far Far Away (if that still exists next year)
Fireworks
Fantasmic at night.
Plus just all the Meet and Greets and walking through the Launch Bay.

One Man's Dream ... PROBABLY will be gone to make way for the entrance to Toy Story Land.

Long story short though --- there is NO idea what DHS will be like in 2018 or 2019. They may start to close other attractions as no one knows yet what the future is for the other "old" attractions that don't seem to fit anymore with the new theme of the park - Star Tours, Indiana Jones and the whole Launch Bay/Animation Courtyard area.

Ok, so there's more there than I remembered. I just remembered seeing a Indiana Jones and stunt car show (Which I do believe reading has recently closed). I wonder if I can convince my DW that we need to add another day to our trip.

 

[MrJT]

FYI: It's a different kind of rain from what we have here in the NW. It comes down in buckets for a short period of time.

This isn't always true. It is August, and if a hurricane or tropical storm passes through, it could rain for DAYS. When I was there in August of 2008, Tropical Storm Faye hovered over Orlando for like 4 or 5 days!

 

[absolutmey]

Yeah, I'm not thrilled with waiting until day 9 either. I wanted that to be the first day and last day at WDW for us. I'm seriously considering moving the trip to a day earlier, do Universal Aug 15/16, then MK on Friday the 17th.

Over a year out, my days wouldn't be stuck in stone anyway. Make sure to check crowd calendars for Aug 2018 when it gets closer to your trip - park hours also may change closer to the date. Also, consider that some of your ADRs might be more difficult to get on the days you've set. So if you have restaurants or character meals that are "must do" for your family, it might throw a wrench in your daily plans too. It's really hard to move around your days after ADRs and FP are scheduled. Just my 2 cents

ETA: Oh, I hope you have a wonderful time!!

 

[tlmadden73]

Ok, so there's more there than I remembered. I just remembered seeing a Indiana Jones and stunt car show (Which I do believe reading has recently closed). I wonder if I can convince my DW that we need to add another day to our trip.

You definitely could hit a lot of the big highlights in a day (especially if you do a full day) and not interested in a few of the shows (I go to DHS every time but have never done Beauty and the Beast or Little Mermaid as they haven't interested me).

Chances are that the FP tiering could make getting on all the rides challenging without long waits too .. especially with a brand new land open. Odds are all three rides in Toy Story Land will be Tier 1 plus Rock-N-Roller coaster.

Personally .. I don't see 2 Days worth of stuff at AK to do .. even with Pandora. Since the park is open into the night now, it feels like you can squeeze it all on if you Fast Pass the big attractions (Flight of Passage, Safari, Expedition Everest).

When AK used to close at like 5-6, (before Pandora) it was easy to do everything there with time to spare unless you enjoy spending more time than most watching the animals in the walkthroughs.

 

[Monykalyn]

Haven't looked at the extra magic hour days, and I know you said your kids probably more early risers than late, but the parks are very different at night. Maybe sleep in on a park day and go to the late extra magic hour at MK, and Epcot (if both later shows still running). Also hopefully the star wars fireworks at DHS still running if you are SW nut (like my family).
Very nice with the longer trip you get to relax a bit! We did that almost exact trip in 2015 and it was so nice to be able to relax and tour knowing we had time to get to the things we wanted