Ok, so park reservations have been made for our late-April trip. Travelling is myself, DW, DS11, and DS4. Last trip was 2019, so before Galaxy’s Edge, MMRR, and of course, the pandemic. Usually our trips have been for 5 nights, but this time we splurged for 8. Staying at the Beach Club (possibly switching to Yacht, but same thing). Our typical way of touring is to rope drop most days, take a midday break, and then hit the parks again at night - we also like mixing it up so for the most part we’re not in the same park for both morning and evening. We tend to do our heaving blitzing in the morning, and have more laid back evenings.
Usually I like to “build up” to MK, so I typically put that on the 2nd full day or so…
Any case, here’s my itinerary and was wondering what people thought:
Tue 4/19: Arrival day (land at 12:45): Drop off bags, take Skyliner to DHS
Wed 4/20: Epcot morning, break, Epcot evening
Thurs 4/21: MK morning through late afternoon, Disney Springs evening
Fri 4/22: DHS morning, MK Evening
Sat: 4/23: Sleep in a bit, late morning and afternoon at AK, Epcot evening
Sun: 4/24: DHS morning and evening
Mon: 4/25: MK morning, Epcot evening (We love a relaxing Epcot evening on our last day)
Tue 4/26: Breakfast at resort, then departure
That’s a lot of DHS time with a 4yo. I’m basically a 4yo bc I don’t really like the thrill rides there and I cannot imagine spending that much time there. I might trade one of those segments for more AK time bc animals. Also if you do the Wilderness Explorer stuff it can take up a good bit of time and if your kids are like me it will be very important to obtain allllll the badges.
It’s going to be a tough balance. DS11 is a huge Star Wars fan, which is why we look at a lot of DHS time. But I kind of see your point, we don’t want to bore DS4.
Which begs the question - how easy is it to change park reservations day of if we decide to change things up mid-trip (outside of December)?
DS11 absolutely loves Epcot. DS4 was too young to remember, so we’ll see. Re AK, I don’t know - I absolutely love it, but the thing that gives me pause about it is there’s not a lot in the way of attractions that will appeal to my family. Looking at it:
FoP- makes DW motion sick
KJ- awesome, will definitely do
EE - Love it but DS11 for some reason is a little skittish about it (even though he likes other WDW coasters)
Navi- I haven’t done this one yet, so no opinion on it…
Dino- Scared the shit out of DS11 on our last trip
ITTBAB - DS4 doesn’t like bugs
Triceratops Spin - fine for DS4 but nothing too exciting
Kali - Depends if we want to get really wet
*FotLK - yes, please
Now, of course AK is fun for all the animals, Wilderness Explorers, the trails, etc. but I don’t know how much time that will occupy. I’m also willing to swap another half-day for AK jf we feel like we want more time there… If anyone has suggestions of other things to do beyond the attractions with two kids, would love your ideas.
Absolutely must not miss Feathered Friends in Flight show. 10/10 must do. Also you can watch the kites crash into the ground in those new shows too. The Animation Academy out at Rafikis and the petting zoo. I don’t do FoP or Dinosaur (or frankly anything in the Dino area) and I can easily fill more than 1 half day. There’s that boneyard play place in dinoland too.
Also I’ve never done KRR and you should definitely ride NRJ. It’s short, but beautiful and that song with get stuck in your brain.
The train to Rafikis Planet Watch and the activities there (including the drawing class if DS11 would be into that) is a great diversion for kids. Done after an early KS, and followed by FotLK, that could easily take a whole morning, then lunch and out for a break. Then you still have the entire rest of the park for a different day.
Only observation: were you planning to take advantage of EETPH at MK? I see you have an EP evening on your last Monday. Assume you might take advantage?
Just to throw in a dissenting opinion - I have young kids (DD5, DD2, and DS9mo) and we never spend much time at AK. We typically spend a day at AK and two days each at EP and HS. If your kids really like non-attraction activities - trails, Boneyard, etc., then AK is great - but my kids like rides! Some of my kids’ favorites are MMRR, SDD, FEA, and RRA so we spend a lot of time at EP/HS.
Also - I love AK and plan to spend a ton of time there when DH and I go on a kid-free trip in August… but we’re always done by lunch when we take the kids.
