Input Please... 1st Trip ADR schedule

Arrival Day - MK
8:35am - BOG
5:20pm - Boma or 8:00pm 1900 (worried this may be too late for first day, considering cancelling both to just see how we are feeling) -
First off for me travel and arrival days are a basket full of what if's... flights delay's, if you are riding DME that takes some time to get to your resort, car rental takes time, or if you use uber still some wait time, then add in all the traffic more time. If you are driving road delays, and depending on how far you are driving with little ones that have been cooped up in a car for what for grown ups seem like forever, it will be double for them.... Check in, is your room ready or not. If it ready you will want to get in and get settled... Along with that you have two young children, who will be off their normal schedule, and more than likely over tired... For us when the kids where little we really did not plan anything to much. If we were arriving early we would eat breakfast out side of the park, one of our favorites was Perkins the kids loved the muffins there, and we would get 6 or 8 to go for breakfast in the mornings in room, I would bring along ziploc or plastic container, plus the cost was much less that at the parks... Our kids loved the pools so a lot of time we would just hit the pool and do QS at the resort, Disney springs is full of stuff to see and plenty of places to eat. If you are going into the parks I would just lean to a late lunch or early dinner leaning toward QS, or see if you can start your Disney adventure with dinner at Chef Mickeys, then head back for a good night sleep.


Day 2 - EP / MK
Trying to get a 5:00 ish dinner at 1900 then go to MK for evening (open til 10).
Currently have, but likely to cancel 9:20am Akershus and 1:50pm Coral Reef
Akershus for breakfast with the princess is really fun and we prefer breakfast there over dinner. Coral Reef is an amazing venue, and while some reviews are not great for the food, we have had dinner here several 5 or more times, and food and service have been on point each visit...

Day 3 - MK / EP
08:50am - BOG (will we be able to get in with all PPO early?)
5:00pm (or 7:55pm) - Akershus (do you prefer dinner vs breakfast?) -
9:40pm - B&C (for the kitchen sink)
For breakfast - Crystal Palace breakfast with Pooh and Friends is always fun, and the breakfast assortment is really good, as well as character interaction. You might want to hit up 1900 park fare for dinner, on this day which will give you more princess... I would look at eating ice cream at 9:40pm with little ones, for my DD when she was around this age at that time it would be to much sugar... maybe work it around for a midday stop for a snack.

Day 4 - HS
9:40 - H&V w/ F! (doing this mostly for Dis Jr., wanting to move to 8am for PPO and not conflict with 1030 FP for Frozen SAL)
6:20 - 50 PTC or 7:35 1900 (MK open til 12 with EMH) Not sure we will have enough to want to return to HS in evening or go back to MK
Breakfast with Disney Jr, was really fun we did it with our whole family and my DGS Loved it... the food was good, and the character interaction was really great... A good lunch spot for us is Sci-Fi dine in theater, really fun and burgers and milkshakes, yum... this is a spot I would pay out of pocket for.

Day 5 - AK
7:15pm - Yak Yeti - With kids I would for go this and do dinner at Rainforest that is right outside of AK... Flame tree for lunch is a good choice...

Day 6 - Departure
12:05 - Chef Mickey's - For us I would try to work Chef Mickeys early in the trip, just so you are not rushing and can enjoy your meal and character interaction... with out feeling you need to hurry up and hit the road, or what time you will be picking up DME to head back to the airport,
 
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Arrival Day - MK
8:35am - BOG
5:20pm - Boma or 8:00pm 1900 (worried this may be too late for first day, considering cancelling both to just see how we are feeling) -
First off for me travel and arrival days are a basket full of what if's... flights delay's, if you are riding DME that takes some time to get to your resort, car rental takes time, or if you use uber still some wait time, then add in all the traffic more time. If you are driving road delays, and depending on how far you are driving with little ones that have been cooped up in a car for what for grown ups seem like forever, it will be double for them.... Check in, is your room ready or not. If it ready you will want to get in and get settled... Along with that you have two young children, who will be off their normal schedule, and more than likely over tired... For us when the kids where little we really did not plan anything to much. If we were arriving early we would eat breakfast out side of the park, one of our favorites was Perkins the kids loved the muffins there, and we would get 6 or 8 to go for breakfast in the mornings in room, I would bring along ziploc or plastic container, plus the cost was much less that at the parks... Our kids loved the pools so a lot of time we would just hit the pool and do QS at the resort, Disney springs is full of stuff to see and plenty of places to eat. If you are going into the parks I would just lean to a late lunch or early dinner leaning toward QS, or see if you can start your Disney adventure with dinner at Chef Mickeys, then head back for a good night sleep.


Day 2 - EP / MK
Trying to get a 5:00 ish dinner at 1900 then go to MK for evening (open til 10).
Currently have, but likely to cancel 9:20am Akershus and 1:50pm Coral Reef
Akershus for breakfast with the princess is really fun and we prefer breakfast there over dinner. Coral Reef is an amazing venue, and while some reviews are not great for the food, we have had dinner here several 5 or more times, and food and service have been on point each visit...

Day 3 - MK / EP
08:50am - BOG (will we be able to get in with all PPO early?)
5:00pm (or 7:55pm) - Akershus (do you prefer dinner vs breakfast?) -
9:40pm - B&C (for the kitchen sink)
For breakfast - Crystal Palace breakfast with Pooh and Friends is always fun, and the breakfast assortment is really good, as well as character interaction. You might want to hit up 1900 park fare for dinner, on this day which will give you more princess... I would look at eating ice cream at 9:40pm with little ones, for my DD when she was around this age at that time it would be to much sugar... maybe work it around for a midday stop for a snack.

Day 4 - HS
9:40 - H&V w/ F! (doing this mostly for Dis Jr., wanting to move to 8am for PPO and not conflict with 1030 FP for Frozen SAL)
6:20 - 50 PTC or 7:35 1900 (MK open til 12 with EMH) Not sure we will have enough to want to return to HS in evening or go back to MK
Breakfast with Disney Jr, was really fun we did it with our whole family and my DGS Loved it... the food was good, and the character interaction was really great... A good lunch spot for us is Sci-Fi dine in theater, really fun and burgers and milkshakes, yum... this is a spot I would pay out of pocket for.

Day 5 - AK
7:15pm - Yak Yeti - With kids I would go for go this and do dinner at Rainforest that is right outside of AK... Flame tree for lunch is a good choice...

Day 6 - Departure
12:05 - Chef Mickey's - For us I would try to work Chef Mickeys early in the trip, just so you are not rushing and can enjoy your meal and character interaction... with out feeling you need to hurry up and hit the road, or what time you will be picking up DME to head back to the airport,

Thanks for the feedback!

We are looking at possibly arriving later and staying longer to hit the park on Day 6 instead of Day 1. So I will probably cancel Day 1 ADRs and look for something at a resort (Chef Mickey, 1900, Ohana, etc) if it fits our timing. This is something I will finalize as we get closer and other plans continue to come together.

I have cancelled the CR lunch on Day 2 as it was also a CP show; since we don't plan to stay in EP that night, it is not worth 2 TS.

I am definitely still looking for a B&C at an earlier time, but it seems like these ADR are pretty hard to come by.

I was also able to get an 'Ohana ADR at 5:05pm on Day 2. Will there be time to get to HS Jingle Bam after and maybe even catch VotLM show or other attraction?

What is the travel time from/to MK & 1900? With a 7:35pm dinner on Day 4, could we leave the park around 6:45/ 7 and be back in time for HEA fireworks at 9?
 
Thanks for the feedback!

We are looking at possibly arriving later and staying longer to hit the park on Day 6 instead of Day 1. So I will probably cancel Day 1 ADRs and look for something at a resort (Chef Mickey, 1900, Ohana, etc) if it fits our timing. This is something I will finalize as we get closer and other plans continue to come together.

I have cancelled the CR lunch on Day 2 as it was also a CP show; since we don't plan to stay in EP that night, it is not worth 2 TS.

I am definitely still looking for a B&C at an earlier time, but it seems like these ADR are pretty hard to come by.

I was also able to get an 'Ohana ADR at 5:05pm on Day 2. Will there be time to get to HS Jingle Bam after and maybe even catch VotLM show or other attraction?

What is the travel time from/to MK & 1900? With a 7:35pm dinner on Day 4, could we leave the park around 6:45/ 7 and be back in time for HEA fireworks at 9?


I am not a strategic planner, so some of my feedback is simply how I roll, and not necessarily how folks who can really manage time well will offer.

'Ohana is unpredictable. You most likely can get in close to your ADR time at 5PM, and hopefully be out by 6:30, so I think you could get to Jingle Bam with no issues. But sometimes 'Ohana runs late. Or slooooooow. As long as you are aware, and will be okay if you miss something, keep the ADR. I would chance it if I really wanted 'Ohana, but I don't get upset about much in WDW.

Day 4 is not as likely. I cannot see any way to leave the park by 7, get to 1900 PF for a 7:35 ADR ( you should check in a god 10 minutes early) be seated, dine, meet all the characters and be back in the MK, in place for HEA. You are talking 90 minutes for dinner and travel time after checking in.

At some point you should decide what are your "must do" attractions, events and meals, and then let the others tha are making the schedule tight go. For instance, if I had kids I woudl drop 'Ohana and eat in DHS or on the Boardwalk, and then be sure to be back in place for Jingle Bam. We booked H&V in order to be sure I was able to enjoy the show because it is on my "want to do" list. It did nto make my"must do" list but it is up there.

I would also drop 1900 PF because we like fireworks shows, and I think that for this one you need to be "center stage" to have a good view. That means you cannot just arrive and be in a great spot. This one needs a little buffer of time IMO.

For your family, you should decide what you really want to do, which dining, Fireworks, or Parades make that cut and be realistic about what you can do and how your family will feel if you miss something in particular. It is not worth being stressed for much while on a family vacation, especially one at CHristmas time in WDW.

In the end food is just food, so we tend to find something in the area, rather than jump through hoops to get from one park to a dining venue to another park. Your priorities may be different, so you shoudl look at them and be honest about where each item on your list lies so that you can make a plan that works well for you.
 


Thanks for the feedback!

We are looking at possibly arriving later and staying longer to hit the park on Day 6 instead of Day 1. So I will probably cancel Day 1 ADRs and look for something at a resort (Chef Mickey, 1900, Ohana, etc) if it fits our timing. This is something I will finalize as we get closer and other plans continue to come together.

I have cancelled the CR lunch on Day 2 as it was also a CP show; since we don't plan to stay in EP that night, it is not worth 2 TS.

I am definitely still looking for a B&C at an earlier time, but it seems like these ADR are pretty hard to come by.

I was also able to get an 'Ohana ADR at 5:05pm on Day 2. Will there be time to get to HS Jingle Bam after and maybe even catch VotLM show or other attraction?

What is the travel time from/to MK & 1900? With a 7:35pm dinner on Day 4, could we leave the park around 6:45/ 7 and be back in time for HEA fireworks at 9?


With dinner at 7:35 I would leave the park around 6:30 no later than 6:45 - You can go by monorail - use the resort monorail, or by boat which is a nice ride and relaxing ride to the resort. This way you are not rushed and can look around the resort a bit... As far as getting back into the parks in time for fireworks, you will be running it very close... but if you have a wait time to get your table, or the character have not made it to your table these things will definitely affect your timing... As a suggestion I would enjoy the meal and character to the fullest, if you see your not going to make it back in time... then you might want to head to the Poly and watch the fireworks from the beach... Even if you make it back into the park for fireworks, you will more than likely not be able to get up front, if you like viewing from this spot... so take that into consideration when you are deciding,... as a suggestion I would look at your plans and see what you can come up with for another night or two as an alternative option. This way your not stressed about hurry up and eating to make the fireworks, and can enjoy your meal and watching your kids with the characters... Have a magical time...pixiedust:
 
I am still hoping to move up 1900 to wround 5/530. This way we can go straight to dinner from our afternoon break and maybe even have time to do a few rides or m&g before fireworks. But we will discuss priorities and backup plans.

'Ohana seems fun, but we there are a lot of good options, so we will have to consider which ones to save. Right now Akershus, 1900, BOG and B&C are on the top of my list.
 

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