Critique my MK Plan

Walt Disney World
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Link: Magic Kingdom 2019
Traveling Group: 6 adults and 1 two year old (she is the priority)
Dates & Times: Jan 19, 9AM-11PM, no EMH

Other notes:

  • We have a PPO BOG so that should let us take care of 7DMT before our plan officially begins.
  • Step 7 Character Meets - This is our first time doing characters. Not blocking off a ton of time. Priority will be stepsisters. We have Pooh @ 1900 PF for breakfast before leaving. So if we do not get to him at MK, that’s fine.
  • Step 8 Meet Cinderella - We may end up dropping this. DN (niece) is going to the Princess Promenade at Grand Floridian the day before. So if that satisfies the Cinderella meet, I’ll replan. My thought is we will do Philharmagic in its place.
  • Hoping to pick up SDFP for Meet Mickey and Buzz Ride.

Popular Rides/Attractions We Are Intentionally Skipping:

  • Rapunzel and Tiana, Under the Sea, and Ariel’s Grotto as DN does not know these movies yet.
  • Jungle Cruise because of time. We are doing AK the second day so she will get her animal fill.
  • HM and POTC - age and just not her thing yet.
  • BTMRR and SM will happen after fireworks. With hours extended to 11PM, I may end up creating a separate after fireworks plan.
  • PPF is closed for refurb.
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My only thought, and you know your group best, is that this seems like a LONG day for a 2 year old without many breaks. Having recently gone with DS1 and DD5, plus my 3 y/o niece, I would be scared to attempt that long of a day. We were all park-ed out by dinner time, which for us was anywhere from 4:15 to 6:30 each night. By the end of our week-long trip, my son was getting better at napping in the stroller or with us holding him (had dinner at BOG while holding him most of the time on our last night in MK), but early in the week it was rough. But it looks like you picked out good rides that she should be able to enjoy! :slight_smile: Have fun!!

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Thanks for that! We are only doing a short trip for two park days (MK and AK). We took her to Cedar Point in Ohio last summer and she was an absolute champ from open to close for two days. So hoping that she’ll do similar here. We are DEFINITELY planning a slower second day at AK though (thank goodness for animal trails and shows) and will DEFINITELY have to reel it in when we bring her back in 5 years for a full week!

If you did characters with yours, curious how it went. Character greets may go out the window if they end up freaking her out :no_mouth:

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Seems overall reasonable but of course depends on the kid. I didn’t see lunch on the schedule. Are you just packing in snacks for everyone?

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Yes with BOG we will have pretty big breakfast and then are doing snacks some brought in perhaps some purchased there until an early dinner.

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Ah, sounds good. I didn’t realize Mickey and Minnie were greeted together at Town Square Theater but it begins just the day before you plan to be there. I’d try to get a FPP for that if possible. It is going to be popular because it’s “new” and one of the few places to meet Mickey and Minnie together. A 23 minute wait for that right after the parade sounds kinda low to me.

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Agree my only concern is having such a long day. My almost 2 and 5 year old were done byn12-1 ready for a break. I think because sleep is off and crankiness can appear quickly!
Maybe just be flexible In case she needs some down time. Looks like your going to hit the major stuff! Also it’s a small world was great for putting my daughter to sleep calming boat ride!

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My concern too - hoping average park goers won’t be aware yet since it is only second day of it happening. But I will be hunting FPPs as soon as we tap for
splash. Right now availability looks good - hopefully it will stay that way.

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We did a lot of characters…the 3- and 5-year-olds loved all of them. I was worried about my little guy, but he was great! He was indifferent to the face characters (probably didn’t see them as “characters”), but loved the rest. Especially the ones with noses he could grab…like Mickey and Pluto :grin:

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A few thoughts based on my recent visit with my 3.5 year old daughter …

(1) I built more time than you into my MK day plans for walking times, potty breaks and snacks … and I still ended up needing to drop 1/3 of the attractions in my plan.

(2) Every kid is different, but I can tell you that my daughter is a trooper, doesn’t nap and has spent full days with me at museums without tiring out … but Disney is different … its exhausting. I learned on the first day that she needed some down time (not a nap, but a couple hours each afternoon to sit at the resort and watch tv, read, color, have a snack etc).

(3) Are you bringing stroller? Finding a spot in stroller parking at each ride and getting in and out of the stroller takes time … not a ton of time … but enough to interfere with a tight plan. I figure an extra 3-4 minutes per attraction which adds up.

(4) Potty breaks will be needed and can take some time between finding the closest restroom and walking there and back.

(5) My daughter’s favorite part of the trip was meeting characters. And she learned that in addition to being at meals, you could meet characters “alone” in the parks. When she asked to meet Mickey, I said “We met Mickey at Chef Mickey’s yesterday” … she said “I want to also meet Mickey in the park where he is alone.” Now, 2 y/o is different than 3.5 y/o, but you may find she likes the character meet and greats more than the rides and want to switch some things up. Also, we had a disappointment … the Fairy Godmother and Stepsisters took turns at the meet and greet location (ie each was there for a period of time and had a break while the other was there). My daughter really wanted to meet the Fairy Godmother … when we were 3 people from the front of the line, it was time for the Fairy Godmother to take a break and the Stepsisters to take her place. My daughter had a meltdown (fortunately, her only meltdown of the trip). The Stepsisters imitated her meltdown which made for some hilarious photos, but the bottom line was that some characters can get switched at the last minute so be aware of that possibility.

(6) The wait times in your plan seem really low. As an example, your plan shows a 3 minute wait for ETWB with a FP. We waited 15 mins for ETWB with a FP on a CL 3 day. A 10 minute swing in a few lines chews up 30 minutes.

(7) I doubt you will be able to get a 3:40 (or even later) Meet Mickey FP as a 4th FP after you check in for Splash at 1:00 pm. I was in MK in November for a CL 3 day and a CL 2 day and on both days Meet Mickey was gone for the entire day when I checked for a 4th FP around 1:30.

Please don’t take the above the wrong way. I hope your plan works out as planned. I just wanted to give you some input based on my recent trip to help avert potential disappointed in advance.

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Thanks for the valuable feedback! DN (niece) has done 2 days (open to close) in amusement park. So I am super curious to see how she does in Disney. We are only there for two days (one in MK and one in AK), hence the packed schedule, and we are off schedule. Our late afternoon dinner at Wilderness Lodge is best I could do for a realistic break.

Working to our advantage is that she is none the wiser about Disney World. We leave in less than 3 weeks and she literally has no idea - doesn’t actually even know that WDW exists, much less that she can and is going there. My planning approach has been to load up the plan and then, if needed, pull stuff out as we tour - she won’t at all know what she is missing. I’m very curious to see how she holds up.

For stroller parking, curious if you moved the stroller each time. I’ve had lots suggest to just park in one area (ex: park in Fantasyland) and then do all nearby, not going back to get it until you are done and moving areas of the park. Would be curious to know your experience there. I initially was worried about stroller time, but then revamped with that suggestion.

Also, with your CL, was CL 3 the predicted level? Did it change? I did CL 5’s and 6’s (that was predicted and ended up being true) last time and with the rare exception what was predicted was accurate. I was also able to snag multiple SDFPs (inc Mickey) at that CL. Did you use the modify/refresh tricks when looking for passes? Also curious if you updated your plan in real time. I did not do that on the last trip but am considering this time. Wondering if that was a tool you used while navigating a plan combined with a toddlers whimsical and physical (potty breaks) needs.

Sorry for the thousand questions, just trying to figure out what has been tried and tested, etc. Thanks!

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A couple of thoughts:

  • You say that DN is the priority on this trip, but that being said, she is under 2 and over time will probably remember very little, if anything about this trip. I fully understand getting enjoyment seeing the park through the eyes of a young child, but maybe schedule in a few more things for the adults and do a rider swap. This will also give DN a little down time to unwind and take in the general atmosphere of the park.
  • I wouldn’t skip certain attraction just because DN does not know the movies - she still will enjoy them, and it will make the movies all the more interesting when she sees them.

BTW, excellent use of the notes function in the plan - many people do not take advantage of this. :slight_smile:

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I will be sharing your feedback with my fam!

DN is 2.5 and loves rides. So everyone has insisted on doing things she will enjoy. For the most part, that overlaps with adult priorities as well, but I might create a super secret alternative plan with some of the more grownup rides (namely SM and BTMRR) in the late afternoon when we get back. I’m confident she will make it to the parade, but I think she might zonk out in her stroller after we leave for dinner and return.

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Thanks for the clarification - in the plan there is a note about her being under 2, which made the plan seem particularly aggressive to me. What a difference a year makes… :slight_smile:

The Golden Rule of touring plans - he who makes the plan, rules. :smiley: I have seen so many trip reports with extended family groups where no one would step up and take the lead and things went south quickly. I would make the “super secret alternative plan” THE PLAN, and when someone says “I thought we were going to do X now” I would mutter something about long wait times posted in the app and “Oh, look! BTMRR is right here and the line isn’t too bad!”

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In regards to the stroller. We would park by the carousel and do everything around there. But would move when we went to the mermaid ride. Same for other lands in MK.

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Whoops! Found my typo! Thanks :slight_smile:

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have all the adults been to Disney many times? If not then I would plan the trip around the adults as who knows what rides and characters DN will prefer

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We were in MK last month for a predicted CL 4 that ended up being a CL 2 and a predicted CL 1 that ended up being a CL 3.

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We parked the stroller at the Carousel for the attractions in the same area … IASW, PPF. breakfast at CRT, Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique. We parked at ETWB for ETWB and Pooh. But Under the Seas and Dumbo were a bit of hike so moved the stroller to each of those.

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Yes, I did modify/refresh, but still couldn’t land Mickey as a 4th FP. We got 4th/5th FPs on our 2 MK days for IASW/Pooh/Dumbo/Magic Carpets. There were a number of others available but not Meet Mickey.

I did not update my TP plan on the website in real time, but I did use the Lines App to see current wait times and modified our schedule a bit based on current wait times.

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