Plan feedback for a post-Thanksgiving trip

Hello! I would love some input on our upcoming trip. I’ve honestly been procrastinating on planning because 1. Everything has been changing so quickly and 2. I could honestly not plan in detail another trip & handle the cancelling again. But with the cases decreasing (too slowly, but take was you can get) and the likelihood of 2/3 of my children being vaccinated we are going to pull the trigger & go (while being as cautious as we can).

Here is the general outline:
-Staying at AoA Little Mermaid rooms (I know they’re in the middle of nowhere and the walk is long, but my kids are obsessed with Ariel. They don’t stay little for long :slight_smile: )
-Travelers include myself, DH, DD7, DD5, DD2, and my parents.
-Trip dates are 11/26-12/5. Ended up being a bit longer than expected thanks to SW flight changes.
-DH & I have APs, probably for the last time ever. I’ve been twice (May & July 2021) for food & adult focused trips. Everyone else has 8 day convention tickets with the bonus water park day.
-DD7 is 46 inches now! So she can ride the 44 inch height rides. She can be a bit tentative, but so far is interested in everything except for Everest. No naps for her & she can go-go-go on long days without any issues.
-DD5 is 39.6 inches. We are hoping she sprouts another centimeter in the next month & will be able to try some 40 inch height rides, but are going in with open minds that she probably won’t make the cut. She no longer naps but requires quite a bit of nighttime sleep. She is not going to do well with more than 1 short night before needed a day to catch up.
-DD2 is only 33 inches tall, so the only ride she gains is ASS. Oh well! She still routinely naps, but as a third kid she’s just going to have to go with the flow. Worst case scenario, one of us can do stroller nap for her or take her back to the resort to rest.

We land around 6:45pm on 11/26, so no plans for that day except to settle in at the airport and get some rest!

11/27- AK day. Hope to rope drop, but we’ll be fine if we don’t. I would prefer to start at MK, but I’m not sure I can handle the Thanksgiving crowds. We may possible go to Blizzard Beach this day instead if the weather is nice. If we go to AK, we’ll have lunch at Tusker House at 1pm. I don’t anticipate staying later than 3pm.

11/28- MK. I have a Chef Mickey breakfast for 7:20 that I’m trying to move later. So far, no luck. If I can’t then we will cancel so we don’t miss ETPE time. We will probably stay at MK all day until our 5:00 Beaches & Cream dinner reservation, then skyline back to AoA.

11/29- HS. Rope drop with a late H&V breakfast. I don’t love the food, but my kids love the characters. We will likely take a mid-day break before our 6pm Ohana reservation & watch Enchantment tonight.

11/30- EP. So far it’s still listed as an 11am opening, so we’ll do ETPE and still have plenty of time to sleep in. We have lunch at Space 220 today. We will likely leave mid-afternoon and eat dinner at AoA and have an on-time bedtime to make up for any lost sleep.

12/1- AK. Or another option for Blizzard Beach. It’s so hard to plan a water park when you have no idea what the weather will be like. We’re fine with clouds, but 2 years ago it was quite cold for most of our trip. Either way, we plan to Skyline to Epcot for dinner at Via Napoli at 5:30.

12/2- MK. We will RD. lunch is at CRT at 12:45. I know it’s expensive, but my kids love it so much. I keep seeing glimpses of how my 7yo is already outgrowing certain things, so I’m really trying to soak up all of the magic while we can!

12/3- HS. Likely RD & hit what we’ve missed. Lunch at 50’s Prime Time at 12:10. DH & I have CG dinner at 7:30 for a date night this night.

12/4- EP. 8:40 breakfast at Topolino’s before heading to the park. I’m hopeful to get to do a few countries & kidcot stations. It’s right up my 7yo’s alley! We may do fireworks again tonight. Or I may just take the older 2 into MK to reride some favorites. We’ll see!

12/5- Departure day. Our flight is at 3pm, so I don’t really see much park time happening. I guess maybe if we end up with an extra day of tickets. We contemplated going to Trail’s End to eat and then tour the Christmas decorations at the campsites. Is that worth it in the daylight hours? Or maybe we should do a Christmas decoration resort tour instead?

We are honestly just thrilled to be able to go again. My kids have been AMAZING through everything. DH & I have worked insane hours during the pandemic, in person. I have some ADRs I’d like to change, but there is almost no availability. The kids are super excited about a water park, so hopefully we can fit that in on a nicer weather day.
Most days I think we’ll tour until mid-afternoon, then head back to the resort to swim if it’s nice, eat dinner, and get to bed on time.

Any feedback on if Harmonious is worth keeping kids up late to watch?
If available, we might try a fireworks cruise? Any feedback from families with young kids?

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I have no planning opinion but wanted to say staying here for your girls will make a life long memory. That’s more important sometimes than location. Have all the fun!

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Don’t have any planning advice, as I’m having my own struggles with with the same week. G+ being the biggest issue. To get or not to get for at least some days is the question. We have hoppers and will be in some of the same parks when you are going. We are doing rope drops and evenings and leaving the parks most days in the afternoons. My kids are a bit older (DS13, DS13, DS9), so I’m hoping they can handle the schedule. DH thinks we will be fine.

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No feedback on plans except that it sounds wonderful for you and your family & I’m happy you get to go. I will say that our Epcot day on 11/20 has been switched to a 10am opening so be aware that it likely may happen. We were hoping to keep the 11am as we fly in that day and the timing worked better but I’ll still try for a Remy BG on the plane to help there.
Our trip is a mother/daughter: myself and DD24 and we are so excited but also still working on plans. She’s in vet school and has the week off. Oh and we also have convention tickets.

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8 park days, AFTER the Thanksgiving crowds leave, I think you’ll be fine and have a great trip.
The only good feature of G+ is that it can be a day-of purchase. So I’d hold off on that $15 per person, and make a decision later. WIth 8 days, and moderate crowds, you’ll have plenty of time to see everything with your kids. Have some phone app games for the lines you do have.

When you say “move to later”, what time are you thinking? My experience is all pre-Covid, but I find Chef Mickey’s is about a 90 minuted experience from the time we arrive. I would not want to miss out on taking advantage of the lower crowds at MK in the morning so I recommend lunch time Chef Mickey’s. That way, I am leaving MK for a lunch break as the crowds and lines build up.

Yup. The other day DD6 said she doesn’t love princesses anymore.

With kids the ages of yours, I think 3 days at MK and 1 day at Epcot is preferable to 2 days at MK and 2 at Epcot. Or at least go with the your later plan and spend the afternoon at MK after Epcot in the morning.

In late November/early December, the temperature is so hard to predict that I would plan on skipping Blizzard Beach for purposes of making my touring plans. I find for this time of year the best water option is to hope for some warm afternoons where we can swim at the resort. If it turns out that the temperatures are warm for a day, then you have the option to pivot and switch a day to Blizzard Beach.

I hope y’all have the best time! I’ll be there the same week and don’t even have park reservations yet. I grab random dining reservations I want if I see them pop up and right now I’m going to Epcot just about every day😕

I think BB is going to be the hardest thing to fit in. I always go this week and temps can swing from 90s to 30s in a couple days.

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The weather will be the most interesting. We have gone in May and September and there obviously aren’t any cold days then. I’m glad we are driving just in case we need an extra suitcase for our layers.

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I have a few Disney sweatshirts and bags for exactly that reason. :rofl:

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We’re there the exact same dates! (And same parks 3 of the days!) Looks like you’ve got a good plan!! We have a Stormalong Bay day planned without much option of moving it since we have a split stay….here’s hoping we both get good weather days for water play!

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Yes it’s so hard to plan when the weather is variable like that. In 2019 we did a short split with BCR at the end of our stay. Good thing it was at the end because our first half had temps down to 40 degrees and they closed to pools!

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We will be there the same week with 11yo and 3yo plus myself and husband. 3yo is 39 inches currently so we are hoping between his sneakers a growth spurt he can make the 40" requirement for rides. I think he will love them!

We are morning people by nature so will rope drop, at least 3yo and parent will head back to Yacht Club for a nap, maybe everyone if lines are long, then back to parks for dinner/evening. We’ve made it for fireworks ONE time in 5 trips due to our early morning natured selves. We are hoping for more fireworks this trip- definitly Epcot since we are walking distance and maybe MK. We will not be at the hub for MK fireworks though, that is too crowded for us even pre-COVID.

Considering G+ for MK and HS, but will make decision daily v purchasing for entire trip. We are not line people, my oldest won’t wait for anything more than 25 minutes which I am 100% on board with. I do not foresee purchasing ILL for anything. We’ve done Rise numerous times and while it is fun, I’m not paying $1 extra to ride it or waiting 30 minutes, so it may not happen this trip.

I’m also in healthcare and have had a helluva an 18 months and the first six months of 2022 look to be super busy in our family. I’m hoping for relaxation and fun. I’m sure there will be whining at some point because…kids. This is also our first trip since I’ve been diagnosed with Celiac disease so navigating that will be an extra step.

I love hearing what other people have planned. Thanks for sharing!

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