This look a like a great plan with lots going on - a few comments. This is more than we could manage (as a family with three teenagers) - we usually find by the 4th day we need some down time. Your family is, of course different to ours, but be flexible when you are there if the pace is too much. On ADRs they look fine to me apart from the Weds and Thurs. I have been to V&A and my advice would be to eat lightly on that day. On the Thursday you have Crystal Palace at 11 and the Mama Melrose at 4 - these seem close together to me and they may be too much food. My only other comment isnāt the day you move to the cabins - I donāt not understand why you would dive their and then get a bus back to AK. Why not go to AK and then take the car to the cabins, saving you a journey.
I hope you have a great trip
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I will speak to the car piece a little bit as we always have a car. If you have the car, you might as well use it! I know there is a camp of folks who prefer to never set foot in their car on āvacationā but I guess Iām in the camp of rather not set foot on a bus! My husband doesnāt mind driving and I donāt mind driving after heās enjoyed Biergarten! I also liked to be able to just keep the stroller in the car rather than in the room.
Anyway, yes, the recommendation is to drive to all parks except MK. We actually do drive to MK even. I like the monorail/ferry (donāt have to fold the stroller) and have never found those waits to be too long and they are more consistent than buses. For the other parks, the parking lots are adjacent so there should be no need to park at a resort. The car will be very available. If you are there for rope drop then you wonāt even need a tram. If you come in the afternoon, ask if you can look for a spot up front. 90% of the time you can get a front row.
I agree w/ the logistics of the last two full days. The morning you leave AKL I would pack up the car and eat either at AKL (Boma or CS?) or something at AK. Trekking over to the FW, then WL for breakfast only to come back to AK seems like a lot of unnecessary travel.
I would also not trek to the Fountain for lunch on your last MK day. Maybe do lunch at Whispering Canyon or one of the other MK resorts if you would like a TS in the middle of the day. You could also swap out BOG for lunch and do breakfast at 1900 PF. The characters at breakfast are really fun.
I do get your Akershus breakfast before your MK day. Taking the monorail over to MK seems logical and it is a different monorail experience than the loop by MK.
Thank you so much for the input!! Frozen is a must for us. And this late in the game (71 days) I donāt think I can get a later ADR at GG. I am looking into the dessert party, but so far I can only get a reservation for 4 instead of 8.
I have a sweet tooth that, when at home, I rarely indulge. Fruit tends to serve as a treat in our house. When we are at Disney it is my intention to go overboard!! The Fountain is on the list because I couldnāt get an ADR at B&C. Also, I really want a grasshopper shake!! Itās going to be a pain to go there no matter when I put it in the schedule. They donāt take reservations so maybe Iāll just leave it openā¦maybe we go Monday, maybe Saturday, maybe not at all.
My boys would like a princess meal and Akershus is cheaper and apparently has better food. My non-adventurous mom would not enjoy lunch or dinner there, so breakfast it is. Plus, I think it would be fun to experience the monorail.
I hesitate to switch HS and AK because we have MNSSHP on Friday (so late night), and HS is going to be such an early morning.
I can move Mama Melroseās to 5 on Wednesday (donāt hate me for holding onto two ADRs!!), but we would have to give up Disney Junior Live. It closes down for good the week after weāre there. Have you been? Is it it missable? Honestly, my kids would probably never know if we skipped it, but my mama guilt would remind me!!
I know that driving all the way to the cabins on Saturday morning seems silly, but breakfast at Whispering Canyon just looks so yummy!! Banana bread french toast!! I can switch to Boma that morning, I just donāt know if I would be as satisfied with the meal.
Boma is available that morning, but I donāt like the menu as much. When planning this trip I started by going through almost every menu at Disney and chose the items that I really want to try. Banana bread french toast sounds too delicious!! I know it seems silly to trek for meals, but for me, food is a big deal. I chose BOG breakfast because of the croissant doughnut. As I mentioned in another comment, I am planning to indulge every whim of my sweet tooth on this trip!!
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Regarding the valeting, I meant at our resort. I have no idea what resort parking is like. I donāt want a 10 minute trek to and from the car each time!!
I am going to join in for the mid-day break. I have been in August twice, and didnāt want to do the break to āwaste the timeā however, the heat was just brutal. Completly wore everyone out. The adults as much if not more than the kids and the adults were in their early 30s. Even if we didnāt swim, we would go back, take a shower, change into cloths that were not sweaty LOL If we didnāt go back everyone was worn out and cranky by 3
I believe Kidani has an underground parking garage, so your car should really just be an elevator ride away.
I also just took a look at your plan and donāt want to sound super negative, but I would not survive this plan. By day 3 or 4 I need a rest day and if Iām reading correctly, you are doing DHS until 10pm and then getting up for MK rope drop the next day? How does your 1 year old sleep? We took our son at 1 year and he did not sleep through the night in the hotel. We had a tough time making rope drop and we never, ever stayed in a park past 6/7pm. Heās almost 3 now and I donāt think I would do night events with him yet. These seem like really long days (even with naps and breaks).
I know it is tempting to fit it all in, but I think something will likely have to give at some point. Kidani has a really great pool and atmosphere and I donāt see you spending any time at the resort at all really! I think you might end up bummed about that. And/or have a 6yo begging to spend more time with the giraffes!
We are very fluid about sleep. We sleep when we are tired. Most nights bedtime is between 9 and 10, for all 3 kids. DD1 is actually the last one to fall asleep most of the time. They generally wake up between 7 and 8. Naps happen as needed, often on the go. DS6 almost never naps and DS3 naps once or twice a week usually. DD1 takes a couple of naps a day usually, and will sleep very happily in the carrier. If weāre feeling burnt out Iām ok with giving up HS on Wednesday evening and just going for Fantasmic! I donāt want to give it up, I donāt want to give up anything, but Iām sure Iāll survive 
My first summer visit was w/ dd for her 7th birthday in July (we return next month for her 17th!). Before that we had always visited in the fall and went rope drop to park closeā¦even with little kids (also night owls).
I had to completely scrap my plans for every afternoon after the first day.
The heat sucks the energy out of you and the sun is relentless. We were exhausted, hot, and crabby by about noon/1pm. Just going back to the resort and sitting in the room with the air conditioning was blissful (showering was also awesome!).
While I know itās a PITA, and it means less time in the parks, that midday break is really essential during the summer.
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I was also going to say something about the resort. If you are going to pay the price to stay at that resort, you should spend some time there. You really should schedule a hotel day. I donāt - but I stay in a value because it doesnāt seem worth it to spend the money and not spend any time at the hotel.
First, I think weāre dopplegangers because this excel sheet makes me swoon.
Iām a DVC member and AKL is my āhomeā so we stay there a lot. The only recommendation I have for you is around travel. AKL is truly out in the middle of bum-***k nowhere. It takes so long to get to the parks (other than AK). The bus service has improved significantly over the past couple of years, so the wait for a bus to show up isnāt 45 minutes (usually 15-25min), but the ride could be. For example, on Monday- Epcot, if you start walking out of the park at 1:30, by the time you get into your room, itāll be at least 2:45. (walking time included). That leaves you with 2 hours at most to relax, which is going to go by in a flash, keeping in mind itās going to take you just as long to return to a park. Wednesday at MK is even worse, with very little time between. MK and AKL are the furthest from each other, with a lot more travel time to buffer for. If youāre comfortable with it, we either relax in the parks (on super boring attractions, like the people mover and hall of presidents - there are attractions like this in every park), or we go to a nearby hotel and take over their lobby or lounge area. All of the hotels have out of the way quiet areas where you can go to decompress for a little while. And they have in-resort activities as well for the kids, if they arenāt napping. So on Wednesday, I would take a bus to the Boardwalk Inn/Villas and hang out there for a few hours before going to HS. They have a super quiet lounge to the right of the main lobby with a bar, tables, a couch and board games. You can walk or take a boat to HS.
I think youāre going to have a fantastic time!
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Ugh. So it sounds like I need an alternate set of plans with longer breaks just in case. I think I have it in my head that since weāre Texans we will be less affected by the heat!!
well - the FL heat is very, very humid. I think that Texas is much dryer. It is a bit of a cliche - but very true, that dry heat is different. You basically feel like the air is just pressing down on you all day in FL
Only my husband and I will be leaving on Thursday evening, so the kids and everyone else will have a substantial afternoon there. On arrival day we will get there around noon, so should have a few hours then too. And, if I cancel Wednesday evening before Fantasmic! that would score us another afternoon. Seem like enough?
Itās pretty humid here too. Dry heat is further west. Florida may be way worse though, itās been a couple of decades since I was there.
So it sounds like driving our car would be a lot faster most of the time, right? I think I prefer the idea of not going all the way back to AKL for every break. Can you use pools at resorts that you are not staying at?
I am in RI, where it gets pretty humid in the summer also - but nothing like FL, Just be aware and maybe have a few āalternateā plans if the heat is getting to you.
I just talked myself out of a desert party when I go in Sept. It is mid-way through my trip and I needed to have at least one night that I was ok skipping if I was losing my energy LOL
That sounds good - I am all about the parks - but the kids (always surprising to me) tend to like to spend some time in the resorts.
I have started to put things in my plans as ānice to doā between the āmust dosā so if things go off course I can just skip something, but donāt end up missing out on something I really want.
At MK, I like everything LOL - but I do put in things like Mickeyās philharmagic - which I am ok missing if I have been in a longer line than expected, saw a surprise character I just had to meet, or was desperately in need of ice cream 