So… since I was last about the forum, our plans have solidified somewhat, and I’m now here to ask for feedback on how to best structure our park days.
We will be starting with a four-night cruise, then moving to the parks and staying at POP. Late April 2023! Two families:
- Me, my wife, our son aged 2.5 years
- My wife’s dad and stepmom and their 4 yo son and 5 yo daugher who is Frozen-obsessed (Yeah, my son has an aunt and uncle a couple years older than him. It’s wild.)
Aaaaaaaaaaaanyway!
They don’t want to spend the six days in the park we’re doing (MKx2, EPx2, AK, HS). They only want to do three days (MK x 2, EP x 1).
At this point, I have no idea what rides are going to be a definite no for them. Borderline rides like Pirates I’m just not sure about. I feel pretty certain HM is a no. We definitely won’t be doing roller coasters, except maybe Barnstormer, and the adults might do Tron and GotG. I think they’ll get their fill of character meets on the cruise, so we won’t need to do those in the parks. (Fingers crossed.) We’ll be focusing on QS dining and being there for rope drop, but I seriously doubt we will be in any park past 7 PM.
Here’s my plan at this point, attractions in no particular order:
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MK1: Hit up Tomorrowland and Fantasyland, not necessarily in that order. 1-3 hours break midday for lunch/nap (probably in the parks as going back to the hotel has not worked for us this summer). If desired, one set of adults will return to MK in evening for grownup rides and fireworks while the other watches their kid(s).
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MK2: Same as above, but all the other lands except TL and FL. Catch the parade on this day.
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EP1: Hit up Nemo/TTwC, Soarin (maybe), FEA (DEFINITELY), Remy, Three Caballeros, Figment, SE, Moana water thingy. GotG maybe, but might save it for EP2, depends on how badly the other parents want to do it.
Do we think we can do this without G+? I really don’t want to spend my whole day fretting over balancing the chaos of the kids and people I’ve never Disneyed with before while also trying to juggle G+ and figuring out on the fly where we are going next.
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So, you’re doing 6 days in the parks and they are doing 3?
If you are looking at a 1-3hr break in the park, I would consider a TS meal for lunch.
You could even venture out of MK to Whispering Canyon at WL or Steakhouse 71 at the Contemporary (or something at one of the other MK area resorts… Trail’s End, GF Cafe?). Both are less crowded, and in/near open areas where kids could crash or play as needed.
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I think I was hoping to avoid TS just because I don’t know what to expect with three kids under 6 and I didn’t want to have to lock in reservations. But I definitely think monorailing off to resorts for lunch, for instance, could be a great idea.
I would recommend Genie +, just because we had a great experience with it. In Epcot, you’ll get your moneys worth with Remy, FEA and Soarin (depending on crowd levels of course). In MK, it sounds like you aren’t doing some of the big rides with long waits, so you would probably be fine without it.
By 2023, it’s likely to have changed too, perhaps significantly. I believe you can’t add it to your package until the day of now (with today’s rules), so at least you have awhile to think about it.
When my kids were in that age range (they are 16 & 20 now!) we needed the down time of a TS for either lunch or dinner, especially because they would only nap on the go, if at all.
(Going back to the room didn’t work for them. They fell asleep on the bus and woke up once we arrived, and wouldn’t fall back asleep at all.)
The TS made us stop and sit down for an hour. Just make sure there is something on the menu for everyone. WDW is used to squirmy kids at TS tables. 
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I was hoping we could get EP done with rope dropping FEA and doing an ILL for Remy. People have said Soarin’ lines haven’t been so bad? But I haven’t been since before COVID.
Maybe by 2023 we’ll be back to FP+. Hahahaha. I find it so hard to advance plan with G+ 
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I would say rope dropping FEA is very feasible. I imagine it will depend on if Remy goes back to ILL–right now, as you probably know, it’s LL. There has been talk that it will remain LL after 8.7.
I’m sure you could go to Soarin after FEA and have a reasonable wait.
Same. We just got back from the beach and the first day we tried to take our son back to the room. Nope. Basically he didn’t nap that day. But if we stayed at the beach and let him sleep in the cabana, or on a lounge chair, he was golden for 2 hours of napping. Of course, who knows what things will be like next spring. It’s a moving target, trying to guess 
I was thinking about a TS lunch at BOG because of the theming, though I’m wondering if my MIL is going to want CRT. I’ve never been, but I have mostly heard the price is even less justified there than usual at WDW.
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Did BOG dinner in 2018 and CRT breakfast in October. Both were nice. For a first visit I would give a nod to the castle unless they are huge B&B fans.
That said, neither meal would be relaxing. Both push everyone through as quickly as possible, whereas the other suggestions would give you some time and space.
It comes down to what you think best fits the personalities of the people you are traveling with.
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I might let my MIL make that call, explaining to her the atmosphere difference between BOG/CRT and a resort TS. She wears the proverbial pants.
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We did BOG dinner in 2018, and BOG lunch in May. It’s still a beautiful place, but I’ll be skipping it next time. Too pricey, and the experience has went downhill drastically. It had been one of my favorites.
CRT–we had done it in the past, and we did it again in May. I’ll be skipping this one too.
I promise I’m not that hard to please, just that both meals were pricey and not really very good this year. I would give CRT the edge if the princesses come back.
By 2023, things may be better for you.
Also worthy of consideration (I’ve never been myself), is Chef Mickey’s. It’s close in there, and people seem to rave about it.
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Yeah, we did Chef Mickey’s once. It was good for character meets, but I’m hoping they’ll get their fill of that on the cruise The food was forgettable, but decent. I really loved Akershus in EPCOT, and I was thinking about that for them, but eh… see above cruise point.
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I would highly recommend dinner at 1900 Park Fare if it is opened by the time of your visit.
Consistently the best princess interaction we have had on property, food is good, and in a large spce that is fairly relaxed.
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My kids love Crystal Palace when they were 2 and 4. Both the characters and the food. They’re coming back in September. Do an early lunch so the kids won’t have lost it and then you can tack on an extra rest.
We found Tomorrowland to be pretty quiet and shaded for a stroller nap. Once asleep we sat under the fans and shade at Cosmic Rats and enjoyed a soda.
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BOG is prix fixe for lunch and dinner, with the Beast walking through. No windows to the outside world. To me, it’s like eating in a mess hall in a cave - unless you’re in the dark West Wing. I like CRT better, just because IT’S THE CASTLE, and has windows. It’s still expensive, of course. I think currently you just meet Cinderella near the entrance, I’m not sure if any other princesses have returned yet, or when they will. Akershus has not yet reopened, but maybe it will by the time you are there.
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From Pop skyliner you can easily rope drop Remy and then head to FEA with minimal wait.
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