Are my Contemporary Resort Park Hopper touring plans realistic?

Walt Disney World Touring Plans
1

Long-time lurker, first-time poster! Our family of five (2 adults, 3 kids) are only a few days away from our mid-July trip, and I wanted to get a reality check and feedback on our itinerary for our 5-day Park Hoppers while staying at the Contemporary Resort.

These were built around crowd calendars and the idea that a mid-day break is important for our kids (ages 4, 5, and 8). The basic idea was to split the day between one nearby parks (MK, EP) and one “far away” park (AK, HS), with a mid-day break at CR.

We’ve left out some signature rides that we don’t expect our kids to be into (Pirates, Haunted Mansion, Tower of Terror), but are I’d love to know if I’m missing any others that are must-see. I’m open to any feedback and suggestions, but especially want to know:

  • Are the transit times from parks to resort and back again realistic?
  • Is the BREAK length long enough for our kids’ age?
  • ideas for shortening wait times at Na’vi (MON PM), Kali (TUE AM), Test Track (WED AM), and Jungle Cruise (FRI PM)

MON AM (EP)
08:20am - 09:00am: Garden Grill Breakfast
09:00am - 02:00pm: Touring Plan (RD Soarin’, No FPs)
02:00pm - 02:30pm: EP to CR (Monorails)

02:30pm - 03:30pm: BREAK (first night at CR; we’ve checked in online and I hope the room is ready)

MON PM (AK)
03:30pm - 04:00pm: CR to AK (Bus)
04:00pm - 09:00pm: Touring Plan (FPs: Dinosaur, FOP, KS)

TUE AM (AK)
09:00am - 12:15pm: Touring Plan (No FPs, RD EE)
12:15pm - 12:30pm: AK to AKL (Bus)
12:45pm - 01:45pm: Lunch at Sanaa
01:45pm - 02:30pm: AKL to CR (Bus to MK, Walk to CR)

02:30pm - 03:45pm: BREAK

TUE PM (MK)
03:45pm - 04:00pm: CR to MK (Walk)
04:00pm - 09:00pm: Touring Plan (FPs: SpaM, SplM, BTMR; staying for HEA)

WED AM (EP)
07:45am - 08:00am: CR - Poly (Monorail)
08:00am - 09:30am: Breakfast at Ohana’s
09:30am - 10:00am: Poly - EP (Monorails)
10:00am - 01:30pm: Touring Plan (No FPs)
01:30pm - 02:00pm: EP to CR (Monorails)

02:00pm - 03:30pm: BREAK

WED PM (HS)
03:30pm - 04:00pm: CR to HS (Bus)
04:00pm - 10:15pm: Touring Plan (FPs: ST, RnRC, SDD; staying for Fantasmic)

THU AM (MK)
08:30am - 09:00am: CR to MK (Walk)
09:00am - 12:45pm: Touring Plan (FPs: 7DMT, PPF, Buzz)
12:45pm - 02:00pm: Lunch at BOG
02:00pm - 02:30pm: MK to CR (Walk)

02:30pm - 03:30pm: BREAK

THU PM (EP)
03:30pm - 04:00pm: CR to EP (Monorails)
04:00pm - 09:30pm: Touring Plan (No FPs, 8pm SRT reservation, staying for Illuminations)

FRI AM (HS)
08:30am - 09:00am: CR to HS (Bus)
09:00am - 02:00pm: Touring Plan (No FPs; lunch at Backlot)
02:00pm - 02:30pm: HS to CR (Bus)

02:30pm - 03:45pm: BREAK

FRI PM (MK)
03:45pm - 04:00pm: CR to MK (Walk)
04:00pm - 09:15pm: Touring Plan (FPs: SplM, BTMR, 7DMT; staying for HEA)

2

My first question would be: what are your goals for your break time? Your breaks seem very short to me.

Second, I am unable to view your plans, so I can’t weigh in on that. I would say specifically for your first day: It can take a while to walk from wherever you are in Epcot to even get out of the park to the monorail. Then you may have to wait for a monorail. Ride the first monorail, exit, potentially wait for the second monorail. Then ride that monorail, stopping at Poly, GF, and MK before you get back to CR. I would budget a minimum of 45 minutes travel time, and it could take longer if you get unlikely waiting for monorails.

That said, you may end up with no break. If your room isn’t automatically ready, you’d have to go to the desk, and then turn around and leave again. Even if your room is ready, you’d hardly have time to get to it before turning around again to get to the bus.

Also, other days, make sure to budget time for security before boarding the monorail. It could take more than 15 minutes to get through security, wait for a monorail, and ride to Poly for example.

We love staying at CR or BLT for park hopping purposes. Often going back to MK in the evening since it’s easiest to get to. Your walking time to MK is probably more than adequate, including time to walk and do security. But, anywhere else where you have to rely on public transportation can take longer and have delays. We’ve often driven to HS and AK to minimize travel times when at CR.

Sorry to be a downer, but don’t want you to be stressed out that you can’t get where you wanted in time or miss out on things you wanted to do.

3 Likes
3

First thing that stands out is your break is very short… for a break to be worth it I think you need 3hrs. Agree what’s your goal for your break? If it’s just to change clothes or grab something it’s enough. But actual down time… you might need more.

1 Like
4

I figured a quick stop back at the room. Maybe a nap. My gut was starting to feel I wasn’t leaving enough time, which drove me to post.

Ah, bummer. I checked the “Publish” button on the plans, but it looks like it isn’t working. Plan for first day was to wrap up Epcot at Sunshine Seasons for a quick snack. That sorta close to the entrance, right?

Yeah, expected this was a flaw. Figured if the room wasn’t ready, we could flop down on the big couches on the convention level.

Good to know, thanks.

No apology necessary; truly appreciate the advice!

1 Like
5

Your breaks are too short. Definitely. I have been there, done that & ended up super stressed! I would allow for at least 3hrs for a break if you’re planning to do something back at the resort. If you just need an A/C break or rest then maybe ride the monorail a few loops instead?

For travel time, I would allow an hour by bus, 45 min by monorail.

For rope drop in general, I would aim to be at the park 45 min before opening. On Thursday morning, everyone is let into the hub at 8am, so maybe aim to be there earlier if you plan to hit a big ride first.

Your plans are not public. If you go to your plan at the top you can select to “publish.” It will give you a new URL you can post.

Welcome to forum!

1 Like
6

Including transit time? Or actual break time?

7

“A/C break or rest” is exactly what I was thinking (though we saw a vid of the CR pool last night and are kind of tempted to dip our toes…) My boys love the monorail at Disneyland; doing the loop sounds like a great idea!

Ah, that’s what I was doing wrong. Links fixed, thanks!

1 Like
8

I am not wise enough to help you. I am just really impressed with your planning

1 Like
9

So when I went I planned 1-3 for a break. We were late leaving park #1 and by the time we got to our hotel we were left with a short break 20 mins before having to go park #2. Just my experience we were at the Poly. We had two days like that abd the days 3 and 4 afternoon plans were abandoned. My kids were about 2 and 5. If your kids are
Older it would be easier I think.

1 Like
10

Overall comments on TP:
-You’ve got zero free minutes in there. It’s not realistic. So I would just be aware that you’re likely going to have to skip some stuff. Think ahead about what is skippable & what your most important priorities are. Try to build some margin into your day if you can.
-Be flexible. A plan is great, but don’t be married to it!
-Your plan has you going full throttle for 5 days straight. The heat is exhausting. It’s a ton of walking. I would just try to incorporate some more wiggle room if you can.
-You’ve put a ton of time & effort into your plans. Don’t be afraid to use your months of research to adjust & adapt on the fly. :slight_smile:

Monday:
-Lunch at Sunshine Seasons will take more than 20 minutes. I promise :slight_smile:
-I would hesitate to wait 39 minutes for Spaceship Earth. Did you optimize your TP?

Tuesday:
-Touring Plans underestimate how long rider swap takes. I always just add it to my TP twice instead because it gives me a more accurate estimate of waits.
-Are you just riding the Wildlife train there & back or are you planning to do some of the activities there?
-Consider riding PeopleMover after dark (maybe after HEA?). It’s a really special experience!
-How important are the fireworks to you? To get a good view of the castle projections, you’ll probably want to stake out a spot 45-60 min beforehand. The projections are a pretty integral part of the show, so if you haven’t seen it, I would try to get a good view!

Wednesday:
-I would see how you feel about waiting that long for Test Track the day of. You could probably snag a 4th FP for it on Thursday if you refresh MDE.
-You’ll want to try to get to Fantasmic at least 15-30 minutes before the show. You might not get in 5 minutes before.

Thursday:
-I would RD Pooh & plan to use your SDMT fastpass near the end of your window (closer to 10). OR if you’re close to the rope, then ride SDMT standby & use your fastpass to get a second ride.
-As soon as you’ve used your first 3 fastpasses, look for a 4th at MK or prebook a 4th for Epcot. This is where I would try to get a Test Track fastpass. If you check the pinned post, there is information about same day “drops” of fastpasses.

Friday:
-You’ll want to try to get to Indiana Jones at least 15 min before the show if you can.
-Same comment as before about HEA. Maybe one adult & 2 kids can stake out a spot for HEA while the other adult & kid go grab food for the family. You can eat while you wait for HEA to start. Just an idea.

All of this to say, it’s your trip so take my advice with a grain of salt. So many fun things planned! I can’t wait to hear about your trip once you return.

3 Likes
11

Now that I can actually see your touring plans… they look fairly reasonable, you added bathroom breaks (my kids love the “potty ride”). A few of the meals may need more time (only 20 minutes at Sunshine Seasons?)

The other thing that stands out is your touring plan times don’t match up with the travel times in your post. For example, you have leaving AK at 12:15, but your touring plan doesn’t end til after 12:45.

I’d just recommend double checking your transportation times against your touring times.

2 Likes
12

I think you significantly estimating (a) how long it will take you to get to and from the parks (other than MK), and (b) how long of a break the 2 younger kids will need at the resort.

I have been to WDW many times on adult only trips, but my first trip with kids was last fall (DD3.5 who wasn’t a napper and DS1). It was an eye opener in terms of how long things take at WDW with kids (even finding a washroom for a potty break). There are often waits when taking WDW transportation and lots of walking to and from transportation.

As an aside, are you going to be using strollers? I would high recommend them for the 2 younger kids. The parks are big (especially EP and AK) and you will lose a lot of time walking without the strollers.

By the time you leave a park, walk to transportation, take the transportation back to CR, get an adequate break in for the 2 younger kids, get ready to head back to the park, and do the wait/ride/walk for WDW transportation back to the park, you will likely arrive at the park much later than you are planning. This happened to me on our second day and we ending up arriving at Epcot at 4:45 pm (instead of 3:00 pm as planned). As a result we missed (and didn’t get to use) 2 of our FPs. This was frustrating to me for a bit until my wife talked some sense into me. I then changed my remaining Touring Plans.

We are going back to WDW this fall and staying at BLT. This time I will be building in much more time for transportation and breaks.

I would recommend either building in more time for transportation/breaks or being prepare to adjust and cut out parts of your Touring Plans. For example (if I were doing your Monday schedule), if my Touring Plan at Epcot ends at 2:00 pm and I start my walk toward the exit then, I would not plan on entering AK until at least 5:00 pm.

2 Likes
13

Understood. I’d like to hold out for our FP rides and a few others, but I’m pretty flexible with everything else. I’m open to serendipity, and our kids’ sometimes surprising preferences (favorite ride at Disneyland: the tram ride from the parking lot!)

I figured after an all-you-care-to-eat breakfast, lunch would just be a small snack item or two from the bakery, rather than a full QS meal. Maybe even eat them as we’re walking back to the park entrance. Should we still allot more than 20 minutes?

You know, I hadn’t recently, because the plan seemed to involve too much walking. But I just tested it with slider set all the way to “minimize walking”, and it cut the wait to 9 minutes! Thanks for the reminder!

That’s good to know. Thanks!

Pretty much just the train ride, because my boys love trains. Not really interested in the activities.

Thanks for the tip; I’ll see if we can make room for this.

Ugh. Not that important to me, especially since we have a Tower View room. Might not hang around for this.

Was thinking the same thing … guess we’ll make the call when we’re in line.

Our Hollywood & Vine reservation is the Fantasmic package. Think I read we have to arrive at least 15 minutes early. I’m kind of counting on a 4th FP to speed up one of the T1 Toy Story Land attractions; if that’s a no-go we’ll try again Friday morning.

I’ll keep those scenarios in mind, thanks! And I’m totally banking on same-day drops for MK or EP on Thursday.

Good to know. I figure we can cut short some of the Star Wars stuff earlier in the day to make time.

That’s a fantastic idea!

Thanks for all of your feedback; this is exactly the kind of constructive criticism I’m looking for!

14

Thanks. I tried to schedule bathroom breaks before long waits; the last thing I want is to hear “I need to go potty really bad!!!” while in line.

Re. Sunshine Seasons, I’m just planning on a few snack items to eat on the go. I figure we’d still be pretty full after the Garden Grill breakfast.

OK, I’ll double-check. For that particular day, I had the train rides in there just in case there’s a miracle and we have some spare time. We’re willing to drop everything after Kali Rapids to make sure we make our Sanaa reservation.

15

Oof, I can relate. We did Disneyland a few years ago when our boys were younger (~10 months, 2.5 years, and ~4 years), and we ended up a little disappointed at how little we got done. Part of the reason why I’m attacking WDW with touring plans. :smile:

Short answer: yes, we’re planning on bringing a double stroller. Maybe even two strollers so all our kids can have rides.
Longer answer: I tried to account for this by setting our touring plans pace to “Relaxed”. I also tried to organize a given day in just one part of a park: so for EP, we’re doing Future World on Monday morning, and World Showcase on Thursday evening. Also, I’m genuinely surprised (and maybe a little proud) at how resilient my boys are. We’ve been practicing taking long walks since March, and our first big test was a family trip to the National Mall in DC during a warm week in April. We averaged over 7 miles a day of walking (no stroller), and no big break mid-day. While I did push them a little too hard one day (9 miles), they otherwise did just fine. Yes, it’s not the same as Orlando in July, so I’m heeding the advice to bring strollers and take a longer mid-day break. But I think my boys are up for it.

As it happens, most days our first “post-break” step is something we’re willing to drop. I’d claim extreme cleverness, but the truth is it just happened to work out that way, I think. :sweat_smile:

You actually bring up something I’m a little confused about with touring plans: I assumed the “Walking Time” for the last step is the time it takes to get from that step back to the entrance to the park. So a plan ending at 2:00pm actually places us at the park entrance at 2:00pm. Is that not how it works?
In any case, if we do end up walking into AK at 5pm, I’m totally fine with missing the Nemo Musical and going straight to our Dinosaur FP.

16

I think the minimum break at the resort I’d recommend is two hours (not counting travel.) I think a lot of of people leave 4 hours for travel and rest time. Our goal was to leave at 12:30 most days and be back at 5 with our son napping every day and us all eating a quick dinner in our condo before heading back. We often left the park a little later than intended, so that’s something to keep in mind too.

1 Like
17

Have a great trip. It looks really, really fun!! The only caution would be that you have late nights (at least for my 4 and 10 yr old) followed by early mornings every day of the trip. No sleep in day. Even staying at CR, you likely won’t have lights out for kiddos after HEA till 10.30pm. I’d Balance how late you stay out with your next day’s plans. 4 or 5 straight nights of 10pm of later lights out followed by 7am or earlier morning wake up could be tough.

You might be prepared for a scenario where some of your family may not want to return to another park one day farther in to your trip… You can consider splitting up (we did) and maybe take your oldest while your spouse and younger kids stay by pool.

DC sounded great. My kids love DC!

18

I tried doing 2 full park days on a 5 day trip with DS5 & DS7. The boys were not really enjoying much after 1 pm on the full park days other than sit down shows in the AC. The days with pool time between 1-4pm went much better. I’d strongly consider a pair of strollers, getting a double for the younger pair. The 95 degree heat can be bad, but 95 degree heat + carrying kids that have had enough is rough.

We sat through some evening shows on that trip, but the kids were always asleep before the shows ended, if not before. The heat takes a lot out of them.

19

It could take 20 minutes just to get your food. It is a super busy food court!

Re: fireworks
Since you’re not sure you want to wait, it’s a great time to ride outdoor rides. Peoplemover, Bug Thunder, Splash, etc are all fun to ride during fireworks!

2 Likes
20

I’ve been wondering about this myself and was surprised no one else called it out. Might rework things for a more leisurely morning.