I am currently planning a trip for my family of 4 and my best friend’s family of 5. Kids will be 11,10,9,8,7 at the time of travel. We will be arriving on Friday March 24 2023 and departing Saturday April 1 (not doing parks on arrival or departure day). That leaves us with 7 glorious days to see Disney!
I am trying to get a “skeleton” plan down so that I can make our park pass reservations (we will not have park hoppers) but I am finding it so difficult!! We are hoping to do a water park one day as well although I will purchase a 7 day ticket in case that does not work out.
I feel like I want to start and end our trip at the Magic Kingdom because that is what everyone thinks of when they think of Disney. I would love to end our trip with the fireworks. That being said, these days would be a Saturday and a Friday. Perhaps these are not great days for magic kingdom? Is there better days of the week to tour certain parks?
Day 1 (Sat) - Magic Kingdom
Day 2 (Sun) - Animal Kingdom
Day 3 (Mon) - Water Park
Day 4 (Tues)- Hollywood Studios
Day 5 (Wed) - Epcot
Day 6 (Thurs) - “Rest day” (Pool and Disney Springs but maybe make a reservation for HWS in case we want to go for a couple of hours)
Day 7 (Fri) - Magic Kindgom
What do you think of this?
Even with 7 days it feels rushed to me! I feel like HWS will be hard to accomplish in a day!
If you’re only going to do one park twice MK is definitely the one. Since your trip is t they long you might want to skip the water park- how important is that especially since you’re having a poo/rest day. Where are you staying? So many resorts have nice pools that are nice you might not even need a water park. Or scrap the rest day and do the water park since they can be a more relaxing day.
Thanks for that advice. I think our kids would Love a water park but that being said they would love the pool and what they don’t know won’t hurt them either! You pay so much for the resort that it is nice to enjoy them for a day! We are staying at POR (would have access to POFQ pool as well of course). So if we reduce to one “rest day” of either the pool or water park - which second park would you add the second day for? HWS?
As of right now, and this is obviously subject to change, there is extended hours for deluxe guests on Mondays at EP and Wednesdays at MK. If you’re deluxe, it might be worth working those in somehow. In fact I would say it’s absolutely going to be worth it at MK, especially at spring break; it would be nice to have those hours when the park will be far less busy.
Also, are you flying in and out? Definitely should consider not making plans for arrival day especially as the airlines are so wonky right now; I would think about only having a half day at most on departure day for anywhere so think about which park you’d need the least amount of time at on that last day.
I do like the idea of keeping the water park day early so you have the option of using the rest day for water park if the water park day isn’t good weather. Both water park day and rest day should be as low key as possible though, or you’ll risk running this crew right into the ground from exhaustion.
At all three of the parks you’re doing one day at you’re going to need to set priorities as there’s no way you’ll do it all, even if you went from rope drop to close. So you’ll need to sit with your group and set up these priorities and have a few backups just in case.
I think it depends on your interest l’s and priorities. If you’re really interested in most of the rides at HS it’s with considering HS. We’re not thrill ride people so there isn’t a lot for my family to do but the lines are insane so 1 day for everything is tough. Personally I love Epcot and could spend 2 days there exploring the WS but that’s just my preference.
Thank you! I should have clarified on the OP that we are staying at POR (so not a deluxe). We are flying in on Friday 24th and will not be doing a park that day. We are driving out on Saturday to go spend a week on the beach!
Yes, there is so much to see and do which is why I feel that some rest days are important. We will do rope drop but having those early mornings and late nights is exhausting and I can only imagine how exhausted everyone will be after just one day! lol
For my family, now with two teenagers who don’t like mornings much, I front load our trip with the rope drops and gradually give them more and more sleep/later arrivals, but then snag one more rope drop at the end. Just food for thought.
Fluregarden - yes I supose you are right and that is great advice. Most of us are thrill seekers and the kids will all do the big thrills at HWS. Pretty much everything there is on our must do list LOL so I think two days at HWS is probably necessary - or at least a day and a half.
Great Strategy!! I remember from when we were there years ago that rope drop was so worth it! As painful as it was to get out of bed that early, it really allowed you to get some of those big rides done quickly. But yes…as the trip goes on those mornings certainly get harder and harder LOL
I, for one, consider our water park day our rest day. With that said, I haven’t traveled on Spring Break.
But water parks don’t open as early, and you can often feel like you’ve done in time to then spend a few hours at DS. Then you could do a second HS.
Without knowing your family and travel party, it’s hard to say if you’re rushing things and packing too much in. My family could do that pace and be fine.
I wouldn’t feel like I needed to begin and end at MK. I’ve rarely began or ended at MK and none of my kids have ever said, “The trip would have been better if we’d…” One time our two MK days were back to back, and another trip they were a full week apart on Tuesdays.
It’s too early to tell what the hours are going to be. But I would be more concerned about a MK day that ended at 11PM followed by an AK rope drop for 7:30AM opening, for example - I’m not saying yours is. I don’t know when you can truly consider hours “set in stone.”
This. So true.
And I agree, I’m using a water park day as sort of a rest day - I plan to find shade, grab a drink, and rest all day while the kids do the rides with their dad (lol).
With 7 day tickets, I recommend a Park Hopper because you have more time to be flexible. Rather than have to commit to two full days to any given park, you can do 1 1/2 days at a few of them, etc. Maybe you want to do 2 days at MK, 2 days at HS, 1 1/2 at EP, and 1 1/2 at AK, for example. This can help you feel less rushed/more relaxed during your time in each park.
As far as days of the week, the stats are showing there is very little difference between any given day, so I wouldn’t worry about that. Instead, look at potential special events. Cast member appreciation days, holiday parties, Extended Evening hours…those things may impact which park you want to hit on any given day.
Thanks Ryan. That is very helpful advise! I worried that park hoping would be too much and eat up too much time (add to the exhaustion) but I will definitely consider it!
Also - glad to know which park on which day doesn’t matter much too. Thanks!
Yes! I don’t think our families would survive doing that lol…there would be many meltdowns and many exhausted kids/parents lol. I think we will be more of a rope drop and finished early evening type of group. At the latest we would be leaving right after the nighttime show.
Yes…and no. It can eat up time. But at the same going hard every day from morning to night is exhausting. Taking a break (or a couple breaks) during the day helps you recharge. So using those hopping times to take a break from the parks and recharge for a full evening in another park can actually make things easier…plus you might even get more done. (Lines are shortest in mornings and evenings after dinner, so hopping on taking a break midday allows you to be fresh for the times when crowds are at their best!). Plus, as I said, there is less pressure. Let’s say you managed to get everything done at HS except two things. You don’t necessarily need another full day there, so having a half day to finish off those two things allows you to not stress as much if you don’t get through everything. And if you DO get through everything, you can use that extra 1/2 day (or whatever) for something else…re-rides, pool time, DS, hopping to a different park, etc.
I don’t generally recommend hoppers if you have 4-6 days of tickets. But once you hit 7 or more, I feel hoppers are worth it to help make the days feel more relaxed.
