Steffii
Falling in love with Disney again as an adult <3
- Joined
- Apr 23, 2024
Hi everyone! I finally decided to join instead of lurking for weeks. I would love some advice on our current plan and strategy to maximize our short stay in Orlando. Three of us adults are going from October 26-31 as we thought it wouldn't be as hot as the summer and would be at the tail end of any major rain. We learned about DVT point rental and are staying at the Grand Floridian (split stay Oct 26-27 then October 27-31 in different room categories due to availability, but it was so worth it as we saved almost 6k off rack rate!!!). We would like to minimize standing in line so will definitely get Genie+ and ILL every day.
October 26th (1/2 MK day) - 7AM - get ILL for Tron and 7 Dwarves for the afternoon (we can do this on the day of check in correct?), fly out and arrive at MCO at 10:30AM, check in/drop off bags at resort at noon, get LL for Jungle Cruise or Space Mountain then head over to MK. Get late lunch at Skipper's Canteen, LL for Haunted Mansion, SM and Astro Blasters over the next few hours. Spend the rest of the time in the park riding rides and shopping. Dinner at California grill at 7:45PM to hopefully catch fireworks then back to GF.
We didn't feel the need to spend a whole day at HS since we are from LA and go to Disneyland a couple times a year.
October 27th (AK and HS day) - 7AM - get LL for Slinky, ILL for Avatar FOP and ROTR. Probably won't rope drop AK since Kilimanjaro Safari is not part of early entry anyway. Start at 9AM at the safari, ride FOP whenever it is our time, single rider Everest, Dinosaur then explore the park for a couple of hours, during this time get LL to Runaway Railway, Smugglers and Toy Story Mania. Uber to lunch at Sanaa at 1:30PM, then head to HS by about 3-3:30PM. Ride rides, Oga's in the late afternoon and Ronto wraps for snack. Open dinner plans, may eat at GF so we can rest right after.
October 28th (Epcot day, hopefully extended evening hrs) - 7AM VQ for GOTG, LL for Remy, ILL for GOTG. Haven't decided if rope drop is worth it since it'll be a long day. Mostly a walking around day eating a ton. LL for test track? Will it reopen by then? Lunch at Via Napoli (open to other suggestions) then back to GF for a 3 hr nap/swim. Return to park around 5PM, dinner at Takumi Tei at 6PM, then enjoy extended hours, VQ for GOTG if it was really good.
October 29th (Universal day) - trying for V&A dinner reservations
October 30th (MK day, hopefully extended evening hrs) - LL for ???, ILL for Tron. Rope drop 7 dwarves if we liked it enough before. LL and ride similar rides from Oct 26ths. Lots of walking around and shopping. Lunch at Cinderella's Royal Table. More rides in the afternoon. May nap for a couple of hours. Trying for V&A reservations this day also just in case Tuesday doesn't work. Then back to the park for extended hours. 6PM VQ for Tron if it was really good.
What do you think? Am I missing out on any great rides/experiences? Should I rope drop more? I like eating, which is why there is so many food things on there. My husband likes rides and my sister likes shopping. We are used to walking long distances and love it.
Finally, I am a little nervous about V&A reservations, esp with the split stay and ADR rules. I called Disney reservations and the CM said that they can bridge reservations to extend the ADR (in my case by 1 day) if it doesn't automatically do it at 6AM when the 60 + X goes into effect. The number opens at 7AM however. Anyone have any luck with this?
Thank you very much for your help!
October 26th (1/2 MK day) - 7AM - get ILL for Tron and 7 Dwarves for the afternoon (we can do this on the day of check in correct?), fly out and arrive at MCO at 10:30AM, check in/drop off bags at resort at noon, get LL for Jungle Cruise or Space Mountain then head over to MK. Get late lunch at Skipper's Canteen, LL for Haunted Mansion, SM and Astro Blasters over the next few hours. Spend the rest of the time in the park riding rides and shopping. Dinner at California grill at 7:45PM to hopefully catch fireworks then back to GF.
We didn't feel the need to spend a whole day at HS since we are from LA and go to Disneyland a couple times a year.
October 27th (AK and HS day) - 7AM - get LL for Slinky, ILL for Avatar FOP and ROTR. Probably won't rope drop AK since Kilimanjaro Safari is not part of early entry anyway. Start at 9AM at the safari, ride FOP whenever it is our time, single rider Everest, Dinosaur then explore the park for a couple of hours, during this time get LL to Runaway Railway, Smugglers and Toy Story Mania. Uber to lunch at Sanaa at 1:30PM, then head to HS by about 3-3:30PM. Ride rides, Oga's in the late afternoon and Ronto wraps for snack. Open dinner plans, may eat at GF so we can rest right after.
October 28th (Epcot day, hopefully extended evening hrs) - 7AM VQ for GOTG, LL for Remy, ILL for GOTG. Haven't decided if rope drop is worth it since it'll be a long day. Mostly a walking around day eating a ton. LL for test track? Will it reopen by then? Lunch at Via Napoli (open to other suggestions) then back to GF for a 3 hr nap/swim. Return to park around 5PM, dinner at Takumi Tei at 6PM, then enjoy extended hours, VQ for GOTG if it was really good.
October 29th (Universal day) - trying for V&A dinner reservations
October 30th (MK day, hopefully extended evening hrs) - LL for ???, ILL for Tron. Rope drop 7 dwarves if we liked it enough before. LL and ride similar rides from Oct 26ths. Lots of walking around and shopping. Lunch at Cinderella's Royal Table. More rides in the afternoon. May nap for a couple of hours. Trying for V&A reservations this day also just in case Tuesday doesn't work. Then back to the park for extended hours. 6PM VQ for Tron if it was really good.
What do you think? Am I missing out on any great rides/experiences? Should I rope drop more? I like eating, which is why there is so many food things on there. My husband likes rides and my sister likes shopping. We are used to walking long distances and love it.
Finally, I am a little nervous about V&A reservations, esp with the split stay and ADR rules. I called Disney reservations and the CM said that they can bridge reservations to extend the ADR (in my case by 1 day) if it doesn't automatically do it at 6AM when the 60 + X goes into effect. The number opens at 7AM however. Anyone have any luck with this?
Thank you very much for your help!