It’s finally happened. I drank your Kool-Aid a year ago and have been talking about what an amazing time my family had and today, I found out the CFO of my firm is going to HS for one day on Monday, 3/23 (CL 10) with his wife, in-laws, and three boys: 11, 9, 6. They’re staying off site and have, of course, planned nothing.
From him, I got that they’ll do roller coasters but aren’t die hards. They’re essentially going to HS for Star Wars. I know the complexities of planning for HS when you can’t plan on RotR, but I want to be able to give them something to start with. He said they could manage an all day affair (current park hours are 9-8:30) - but they’re doing 2 days at Universal (staying onsite there so have Express Pass) on Tuesday and Wednesday. I know “doing it all” probably isn’t an option. I did a quick optimized TP adding in all the headliners, Jedi training, the Darth Vader meet and greet, and lunch at Docking Bay and it still isn’t certain if they’ll get to everything (and that’s with no breaks, no dinner, etc.).
So help me put together a solid set of recommendations for him (i.e. help me impress my boss!). Here’s what I’d think is the “essential” HS for Star Wars lovers and kids that age. Agree? Disagree? Anything you’d add or take off?
RotR if possible
MFSR
Droid Depot
Star Tours
Jedi Training
Meet Darth (maybe Chewy? but since he wanders around Batuu, thought I’d leave him out)
Star Wars show - would you just do one of the Galaxy Far, Far Away shows that play throughout the day on the main stage? Would you do Galactic Spectacular? Or would you tell them to get to bed early to manage US? (as my boss said, his kids know nothing - so they won’t know what they’re missing…)
SDD
TSM
MMRR if it works
ToT/RnRC - since they’re not “huge” coaster fans, was thinking of leaving RnRC off and just doing ToT
Recommended Meals:
Docking Bay for lunch/dinner depending on plan optimization
maybe suggest Prime Time or Sci Fi given their ages if they want a sit down meal? (and there’s a reservation available…)
FYI - When MMRR opens the speculation is the Galaxy Far, Far, Away show will be leaving as it blocks that area. It was announced today the last shows will be 2/22/20.
IMHO - I might not recommend Jedi Training. For someone who hasn’t planned anything getting them to understand they need to go somewhere & sign up for a show might be too much for them to handle.
What about Fantasmic! instead of SW: Galactic Spectacular? I know they are big SW fans, but is that the ONLY part of DHS they want to experience?
I agree with skipping Jedi training, but would never pick Fantasmic over SW: Galactic Spectacular. It’s really really cool. I also would skip RNR. It’s a really rough ride and considering their ages + depending on their size, the kids’ heads may get thrown around. See what kind of FPP he can get, I think ultimately that will drive what they are able to do. I would add in Olga’s if he can get a reservation and allow for an hour just wandering the SW land itself. On another day if they have time, I also recommend The Void in Disney Springs.
On the nighttime shows, I question whether I should recommend any of them since they have two more full park days ahead of them… but at least it’s an option!
Oga’s is booked all day it looks like - and I worry about kids having to stand in there… I mean, I’d go back in a heartbeat but maybe I’m just biased because I know I’d enjoy it more without my kids
Thanks for the confirmation on RnR.
But what’s with the negativity from you and @darkmite2 on Jedi Training? Is it just the complexity of sign ups? I was excited for my daughter to do it but she chose not to - met the Incredibles instead. But he (my boss) specifically mentioned the Jedi Training, so wondering if there’s something underwhelming about it I should be aware of?
I didn’t mean to come across as negative. My concern isn’t the show but from what you’ve said about your boss & lack of planning interest makes me assume that they are more “free spirits” that want to just show up and see where the day takes them. So as you’ve mentioned it is the complexity of teaching them how to do it and that they need to get there ASAP in the morning.
I’ve planned multiple trips for other ppl to show them how great TP works. For some they are instant believers, for others they’ve gotten there and after an hour decided to just wander around. So these days, when I help others, I try to add in as few “extra steps” as possible.
Your first post doesn’t say if your boss has been to WDW before or not, so I always assume it’s a first-time visit and try not to overload ppl.
Yes, what @darkmite2 said. It can get a little hairy with the BG process for RotR, adding in another “day of” event that has to be planned around may be a lot to manage. If Mr. Boss is asking about it specifically though, then totally add it in!
Oh and also with 7 people, they’d likely get a table at Olga’s. It’s too many for the bar, and the stand up tables are tight with 6. You could try reservation finder, but I don’t know how successful it is with that particular location.
Reservation finder has a good shot to find something at Oga’s. We had a party of 6 and were trying to shift the time a bit forward and saw many openings come across in the meantime. It was one of my husband’s favorite experiences at Disney. Make sure they’re prepared to stand. They put us at the bar.
My family (DH, DD18, DS15, twin DS10s) was glad to check the box on ToT but no one was interested in doing it again even though we saw FP4s for it. With just one day, I’d skip that and RnRC and just give them a Star Wars immersion experience with a dip into toy story land.
I’d put MMRR, ToT, and RnRC at the bottom of the list as “if you happen to have time and/or can pick up extra FPs”.
Check how they feel on meet & greets. My kids really weren’t interested in waiting in lines to do that and preferred just interacting with those roaming in Galaxy’s edge. There are cool Star Wars displays at Star Wars Launch Bay that we checked out without doing the meet & greets or the film. My boys loved jedi training and you still sort of meet Vader that way.
Definitely docking bay 7 for food. I’d do galactic spectacular too.
His boys are the perfect ages for Jedi Training. Mine loved it! I would definitely include it if they expressed an interest. Once my kids were a little older they were too cool/self conscious to do it again, so I would tell them not to miss the opportunity. If they know what to expect in terms of sign up and the event itself it’s not too intimidating.
I’m with @darkmite2 on this one - with Jedi training. Some of the people I’ve helped plan get with the touring plan-FPs-RD idea while others nod and smile and wander around. Some people would rather wander and wait 90 in line than plan - which is a 4 letter word to them.
One of the biggest hurdles in giving advice to others about Disney is recognizing who you’re giving advice to.
With a group of newbies this size, they’ll get less done. One or two might even be planners until the group dynamic changes due to multiple generations.
This is not meant to be negative. I’d probably give your boss two or maybe three lists of attractions worth doing - mostly centered on Star Wars. One being a pared down, one attraction per hour kind of thing. With a relatively new park map if you’ve got one.
Another being more detailed with brief tips on how and where to sign up for boarding groups or Jedi training.
The third one might be best non Star Tours attractions. Our great granddaughters rode Rock n Roller Coaster for the first time last September. The 7 yr old enJOYed the ride immensely. The 8 yr old tolerated it. This is after screaming in terror on Aladdin’s Magic Carpets a few days prior.
I try to remind myself that everything they do is new to them. They won’t miss stuff they don’t get to. Lots of times the best tips I’ve given are things like how far apart in minutes and miles the parks are from each other tho that doesn’t apply here. Or tips on staying cool. Or navigating bag check. Or Photo Pass. Or it’s about the memories. Little things like posing for pix on the speeder are what will be remembered.
Unless they know about the Jedi Training, I would skip that. The 11 and 9 year olds will probably not be interested and the 6 year old will just want to be with his brothers.
I would train him on getting BGs. Are they willing to be in the park by opening? Not just getting to the park, but in and waiting?
My teens loved RnR and I did it too, but I will never do it again. It was too intense. That said, you mentioned they will be doing Universal, so maybe they can handle the aggressive roller coasters.
Definitely mention that he needs to gear up to get his FPs and make recommendations. He won’t have a lot of chance for the number 1 item, but let him know to look for it anyway. You might even have to do an MDE training session, but at least, at work you can book a room and just mark your time as “training”.
Get them to choose a restaurant for dinner. He’s the CFO - you can suggest Brown Derby.
I wouldn’t skip Jedi training if any of the kids are Star Wars fans. It was one of our son’s highlights. He is six. You can do rides anywhere. Your kid can’t fight with Kylo anywhere else.
