I LOVE planning my family's Walt Disney World Vacations. It is the best part of my year. I start in January, planning our December trips to Florida. With so many details, and so much advice out there about HOW-TO and WHEN-TO and WHERE-TO-STAY...well, let's just say there is a plethora of resource on this topic.
I always start with the Birnbaum's Guide. I buy a new one every two years and review the newest ones by paying a little visit to my nearby AAA office. In about 15 minutes time, I am updated. I purchase a new one every two years for my personal use at home. 2012 is shaping up to be a period of much change at WDW and so this means that I cannot rely on past itineraries...plus my children are changing now too.
SO! We "RoadTrip-it" from RI to FL. This takes 22 hours of driving over 2 days time. Day 1 is SUNDAY.
Day 1. SUNDAY
- Arrive at Resort, 2pm...check-in and unpack.
- 4pm Stroll around Resort (All-Star Movies) and see the giant Icons. Make our plans for playtime at resort.
- 6pm board BUS to Magic Kingdom and spend nightime there until park closes.
Enter park at Main Gates and Board The Train at Main Street. Take a scenic train tour around the entire park! This is for the kids' benefit to remind them of all the places they have visited before and loved...it is so easy to forget. SADLY, we will be missing our favorite spot, ToonTown.
After the round trip return to Main Street and leave train. There are character meet and greets at Town Hall on Main Street now that the Judges Tent is no longer here. If the children are interested and the lines are not too long, we can see who is around to meet. Then, a stroll up Main street and perhaps just in time to see the Mickey & Minnie Dance Show at the Castle. Turning left, and heading through the castle gates , we enter Fantasyland. My goal on this trip is to ride the following attractions immediately!:
1. It's a Small World
2. Haunted Mansion
3. Pirates of the Caribbean
(in Adventureland, not FantasyLand)
It is a little goal, but the lines could be long, so I expect we may wait 45 minutes in each. By going on these attractions Sunday night eliminates the wait for them on a regular full day visit and guarantees my kids will be more patient...after all, they just sat in the car for 8 hours to get here right?? They need to stand in a line!
Assuming the park will be closing at 10pm, we have from 7pm to 10pm to accomplish these 3 rides that are close together.
This is out of sequence, but next I will talk about the full-day at Magic Kingdom that will follow in a few days from the above time.
MAGIC KINGDOM FULL DAY ITIERARY
- Breakfast at Resort
- Grab earliest bus over to MK (approx 8am)
- Enter Park and stroll Main Street, turning right to enter the Bridge to TomorrowLand!
- Head Directly to BuzzLightyear Attraction and then Stitch and The TomorrowLand Metro!
- I want to ride Space Mountain! And then The Tomorrowland Speedway (for Lex)
This brings us to early afternoon because of the lines
- Lunch at Cosmic Ray's Starlight Cafe
- Alice in Wonderland Teacups ride
- Carousel
- Fantasia
- Pooh's Thoughtful Spot
- Peter Pan's Flight
- Snow White's Scary Story Ride
- Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
- TinkerBell's Shop!
This will be evening...Lex will be exhausted so we will need to find some way for him to rest. We could let him sleep in the carriage while we wait in line to visit Ariel (Mermaid) at her Grotto or browse gift shops or board the Steamboat. There are street shows to catch and the lights will start going on.
After the Little one has had his siesta, we should head to Adventureland for the Jungle Cruise (better done in the daytime btw) and take a liesurely boat tour. Line for this could be long...Then the Enchanted Tiki Room if the lines are not too long. We could skip that because we have done it before. While in Adventureland, maybe the Magic Carpets of Alladin? Then to Frontierland and the Hall of Presidents, The Swiss Family Robinson TreeHouse and Tom Sawyer Island (by boat). If we decide to go for it, there is The ThunderMountain Railroad and Splash Mountain.
This Treehouse has always fascinated me! Lex has never walked it and I have never seen it in the nightime.
By this time, it is evening and the Fireworks will begin soon. After all the walking and rides and lines, we will all be feeling very exhausted. We like to grab a snack at the Liberty Square area and then stroll...If we can find a place near the Tomorrowland Bridge and the Rose Gardens, that is a favorite place of mine to watch the castle change colors and to see the Fireworks display.
So this is one way to catch the higlights.
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