Pleas help me explain it's not worth it...

Hey everyone,

I am still planning my Orlando trip that is 4 months away. I am stuck with a little things that I am hoping someone can help me with. Again being that I am taking my 75 yo grandmother, 56 yo mother, 10 yo cousin, 6 yo daughter, and 11 yo nephew...I had this planned out, please tell me if that is way too much (overdoing it):

On Second day: Epcot all day

On Third day: Animal Kingdom in the morning with the Jammin Parade @4pm and then off to MGM until the Fantasmic Show

On Sixth day: Character Breakfast and MK all day

Now here is what I put together as a food menu so we have set in mind what we will be doing so we won%26#39;t overspend.

2nd day: Breakfast at buffet (G.Corral, Panderosa, etc) and lunch/dinner at one of Epcot%26#39;s countrie%26#39;s (but which one is inexpensive)

3rd day: For breakfast we can go out to eat or I could cook in since we have a full kitchen in our suite and for lunch eat somewhere I guess in between at AK or MGM (right after the parade, but where and how much)

6th day: Breakfast taken care of but being that we will be at MK all day, I don%26#39;t want to leave, so where can we go for lunch/dinner?

Since we will be at those parks all day on the dates listed above, I am trying to explain to my mom and grandmother that there has to be a reasonable priced place to eat at one of those parks rather than us leaving for lunch or dinner and then being that they are older, they might not want to come back to the parks b/c tiredness and fullness) and usually all the best parts (parades, fireworks, shows etc) happen at the later part when the parks are about to close.

Someone please help me.

Pleas help me explain it's not worth it...

That may be the exact reason they want to go home. At their are the may not be into the full disney experience. You may have no choice but to drop them home and then return with the kids.

You have to be flexable becasue of their inflexability. I will be very difficult to make everyone happy. If your mom is capable, let her take you grandmother home and you stay on with the kids.

Yes there are a lot of food place, but ask you mom what she wants to do. If she thinks she will be tired tell her there is the option to rent a motorized wheelchair. Walk with a blanket so you grandmother can stay warm if you plan to stay late to watch the fireworks.

If its one thing I%26#39;ve learned on my many trip to disney, is not to plan everything down to a particular day, as weather is unpredictable and well as you never know how tired you will be the next day.

Pleas help me explain it's not worth it...

Well, ';reasonably priced'; is a relative term, but coming from Boston, you may be fine, considering what restaurants charge there.

Sit-down dinners at the parks are going to run you around $25 each for adults and you%26#39;ll need reservations for them ahead of time. Counter service will run you about $10 each and need no reservations, but choices are more limited on variety of food (mainly burgers, chicken fingers, pizza, and stuff like that).

Also, with an older crowd, I wouldn%26#39;t try to do theme parks two days in a row. Can you not do the parks on day two, day four, and day six? Trying to do Epcot on day two, then the other parks on day three will be very hard to do unless the older adults are in very, very good shape. They need a day to rest, especially after Epcot, because it is so big; two parks in one almost.

Hope this helps.

Thank you, that was very informative and appreciated. My mom has been sick since January so I am just praying that she gets well soon and my grandmother (76yo)...man she is a trooper...she still works 40+ job and though she may have some arthritis, she is excited b/c this is something she hasn%26#39;t done in like 20-30 years (we are more worried about my mother), but this is what I had can someone just rearrange it to what they feel is best...I don%26#39;t want to over do my mom and nanna:

1st day: arrive in around 515pm, get car,. do some light grocery shopping, grab some Mickey D%26#39;s for lunch/dinner, check in to resort, and relax

2nd day: Breakfast (either i cook it or we eat out), Epcot all day...lunch somewhere in between, watch parade...ah never mind (don%26#39;t think it will be all that exciting), come back to resoret and relax

3rd day: breakfast (again either I cook in or we go out), AK from 8-3, then AK parade @ 4, and off to MGM (I really want to do it for the show Fantasmic...don%26#39;t know what MGM really offers), but I was thinking b/c Cirque Du Soliel is out of budget right now...after the parade we can go home rest and come back about 2 hours before the show, does that sound okay???

4th day: bkfst, seaworld, lunch/dinner, resort for relaxing

5th day:check out of resort and into Marriott (i did the timeshare promo..so got 2 bdrm for 149 for 4 nights/5 days), go have brakfast, rest day for mother and nanna while me and the kids go to Disney WaterPark, come back and change and go do other recreational things (putt-putt, skull kingdom, etc) come back to hotel and rest

6th day:character breakfast and MK all day, come back around 10ish and rest

7th day: TAKE IT EASY DAY! breakfast at Marriott resort (free), go to mall from 12-2, go to DD/DQ from 3-5, then me and kids can catch a movie while mother and grandmother go back to resort

8th day: brkfst, SeaWorld (9-2), come back to resort and rest for departure next day

9th day: leave back for MA

Too much or okay? I know it may not even fall into place like this b/c of other things like weather, feelings, etc...but this is what I presented to mom and nanna and they agreed (boy re-reading this I sound like a drill sergent)...LOL

Too bad you%26#39;re not staying on site where some could go back at their leisure. Since you%26#39;ll be there in August when it%26#39;s very HOT and HUMID even you will probably want a mid day break. If the older people get to hot see if you can stop in for a few minutes at the Baby Care centers located in each park so they can cool off a bit.

As far as cheap eats go:

MK: Casey%26#39;s Corner for quick counter service, the Plaza restaurant you%26#39;ll probably need a reservation, but what we%26#39;ve done is run in as we%26#39;re going past it to put in a reservation for a little later. Their sandwiches are huge and can be split by two people. It%26#39;s also air conditioned which is a plus on a hot day. We%26#39;ve never done this, but you could probably get a carry out and eat it outside.

MGM: Planet Pizza

EPCOT: The counter by the Rose %26amp; Crown for fish %26amp; chips in England, also the counter service La Cantina De San Angel in Mexico

Animal Kingdom: Haven%26#39;t enjoyed any quick, cheap eats there except for ice cream. Last time we ate at the Restaurantosaurs and no one was happy with it. My plan if we eat there next time is trying the Flaming Tree BBQ.

Leaving the parks just to eat can waste a lot of time. It%26#39;s good that you%26#39;re planning, but just keep in mind that plans change.

Don%26#39;t know your dates, but did you see Disney%26#39;s special vacation package of Disney%26#39;s Value Resort, tickets and dining plan for $453 per adult based on dbl occ. Offer Code YWS for dates 8/13 - 9/30/06, booking by 06/04/06.

i saw that you are going to seaworld twice - any reason for that? i personally think once is enough as Disney is much more fun. MGM is great, and your kids might want to go back for second day....or another day at Magic Kingdom or Animal Kingdom? MGM info: MGM has two extremely fun thrill rides: Tower of Terror and Rock%26#39;n Rollercoaster....not sure if your 6 yr old will be tall or brave enough to do them though. Must sees: the Great Movie Ride, Star Tours (if you can stomach virtual reality motion), the Back Lot Tour, the Muppet 3D movie. I%26#39;m sure i%26#39;m missing some good ones, but those come to mind. I love almost everything about every Disney park and i%26#39;m in my 30%26#39;s. a unique place to eat lunch at MGM is the Sci-Fi Drive Inn restaurant. the food is ok, but inside you eat in ';cars'; while you watch cartoon clips on a big screen. it%26#39;s dark and cool in there and it really looks like you are outside at a drive-inn movie, but of course you%26#39;re inside in the a/c. hope this helps....you%26#39;re gonna have a blast!

Thanks LoveVacations

The dates are 8/1 to 8/9. But so far did it sound okay. I explained to my mom that there is a lot of activity going on and she can take the car while me and the kids do the i-trolley (i enjoyed it last year), but she said no, so I will be considerate and try to get the big things that are important out of the way (like parades, favorite rides they wanted to try out, resting areas, etc) in case they want to call it quits.

Did you get to read my other post about Car options, if not please take a look on that and give me your input on that, I would really value it.

TexasHam,

The only reason I am doing SeaWorld twice is b/c last year when I went I really didn%26#39;t get to do all the shows (we only did Shamu, which my lil girl loves recaping to the rest of the gang to prepare them), but also it was running this special that you buy one day and get the second free, now its offering you buy one day and get six consecutive days free from 1st day, which isn%26#39;t bad for around 110 for both of us (me and lil girl). I just don%26#39;t want free stuff to go to waste...what shall i do then...My mom has never been to either Disney nor Seaworld (same for lil cousin [10] and nephew[11]), but my grandmother can%26#39;t stop speaking of them (she enjoys the ghost house at MK, which i never been to and Seaworld, but she hasn%26#39;t been in 20-30 years)...any ideas???

well, then go to Seaworld twice, because you probably won%26#39;t do everything in one day and if it%26#39;s ';free'; then why not...i hear ya. the ghost house is called the Haunted Mansion, which is a very fun ride. Did you see the movie with Eddie Murphy? A lot of the gags are in the movie. Maybe you could rent it first, so that when you go to the ride it will be extra fun although the special effects at the ride aren%26#39;t quite as good...but it%26#39;s still fun. Also at MK, you%26#39;ve gotta see the PhilharMargic show - one of the best 3D movies i%26#39;ve ever seen - i think FastPass is available for it. you%26#39;ll learn to FastPass the major attractions to save you time.

Sounds like a plan to me. If we%26#39;re going for a week we usually plan on a couple days of just down time, but that%26#39;s us. I%26#39;m sure I saw it in one of your other posts of which Marriott you%26#39;re going to, but I don%26#39;t remember. We stayed at Marriott Grande Vista in November and had a blast. Didn%26#39;t want to leave. Yes, you%26#39;ve probably seen by now that I did see and respond to your post about the car.

Thanks you guys,

I have been watching the travel channel and recording things we want to see. My grandmother wants to do SW, Haunted Mansion @ MK, and anything with serene rides. My mom is just worried about the walking but i told her we can rent a scooter and anything that serene rides...with the kids they are opt for anything.