A “Better late than Never” Trip Report: Tips for Firstime Visitors with a 5 yo & 6 yo. PT2

D-Day: MK day 1 of 2.
We had a breakfast ADR at BOG. The ONLY good thing was that we got in the park early enough that DH & DS6 got to ride 7DMT without FPP! BOG was a let-down in all aspects, I just don’t understand the hype about this place. Not worth a repeat visit for us. Again I set up the TP with minimum of walking and at a very relaxed pace. We had did the Carroussel, Dumbo, Little Mermaid and Barnstormer all without FPP after 7DMT. Then we had a couple of FPP for Winnie and Peter Pan and Haunted Mansion. In between we got Small World in, which DS5 HATED! He hid with his hands cobering his eyes and ears the entire time… Never saw that one coming. DS6 was unfazed by Everest, got scared on HM. We had ADR for lunch at Liberty Tree Tavern: it was ‘meh’. But as a family we were a bit tired and strung out. The kids were tired and wanted to leave and were being really annoying, as kids will be when tired… So we ate lunch, around 2:30 and left the park for the day. They went in the swimming pool and played on their tablets. DH and I went do DS that night and had some drinks at the Hangar bar: AWESOME!

Day 4 was another day off: which we spent partly at the walk in clinic due to an infection my DS5 caught somewhere. We went shopping and I did some laundry wjile DS5&6 played video games at the Arcade in AoA.

MK day 2 of 2
Got in the Park around 10:30-11:00 and started in Adventureland, had FPP for Pirates, Jungle Cruise and Alladin’s Carpet. Lunch at Skipper Canteen was soooo good and had a bit more of a relaxed and enjoyable Park day. We also did Buzz Lightyear with a FPP I caught later on. We caught a bit of the FOFP, which was a ‘must do’ but didn’t quite make it, next time. We also had fun with the Move it Shake it party, some great pictures through Photopass, which I also had included in our package. Kids ended up disappointed with the Speedway ride….

Take-aways:

  1. As a first timer you really are planning ‘blind’: which might make the whole experience a bit more stressed? It’s like they say in the TP Book: decide what will work for your family. For us it was try and stay relaxed, even though we might not make all the attractions we wanted. We are able, hopefully to go back next year, so we’ll plan in those we haven’t ahd a chance to see or experience. The boys will be bigger again so it will be different again.
  2. FPP: really worth getting the hang of it. We had FPP when standby was >90 mins for Jungle Cruise and Pirates (>120)
  3. Photopass: I thought it was worth the cost, you get pretty decent pictures (and a LOT) so you needn’t worry about Cameras’s and not everybody being in the picture at once etc.
  4. Disney Dining Plan: was NOT worth it for us. Simply because we couldn’t eat that much, even though we had initially ADR’d Character Meals that we ended up cancelling sunch as Chef Mickey’s and MBYBBQ. The portions are big and 1 kid hardly eats while the other one eats like a grown up. Next time we’ll just pay as you go, especially the gratuity was killing me sometimes easy $40-55 at a time with 4 alcoholic beverages added to the meals!
  5. Loved AK: definitely a ‘full-day’ Park and that was before Pandora.
  6. Did not do a Park a day, once again family relax/vacation/good time was a priority, not getting all attractions in 1 day. On a 6 day stay we did 3 Park days. No waterpark cause it wasn’t all that hot, ar least not hot enough for a water park. We’re from the Caribbean, so ‘not that hot’ means something different for people from up north probably.
  7. Getting early to the park has its merits, especially to get on rides with no FPP availablity!
  8. Best eats (for those who care): Tusker House(AK), Jungle Navigation Ltd (MK), Moriomoto (DS) and honorabel mention ‘cause the wings were as yummy as the cocktails and overall ambiance/décor: Jock’s Hangar Bar (DS)
  9. Prepare for a slight post-trip depression: “what do I do now…?” So I started planning our next trip: August 2018.
6 Likes

Thanks for sharing!

Getting on 7DMT early basically is the whole reason for BOG breakfast hype! We loved our dinner there though, the food was great.

1 Like

It really is a case of touring how your family want to tour, much better to do that than have epic meltdowns, and not enjoy the experience. We have never Rope dropped or done a TP, but that’s our way and we always have a fab time! And you are right, each time you go, your kids will be at different ages, so will experience different things, so it makes every trip different.
And I’m with your DS5 about IASW…shudder!!!
Thanks for sharing :grinning:

1 Like