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 )
-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?