Help me decide a plan of Attack

[CluelessDad]

Three day passes w/hopping, four parks. Two adults and two teens. Mid April, Fri-Sun.

Fri-EMH@MK W/Evening Hours at Hollywood
Sat-EMH@Epcot
Sun-EMH@Holleywood

Everything I read is stay away from EMH, but what about extra evening hours?

I know that one can not see all at Magic Kingdom in a day and that's fine.
If I remember AK is not really a full day.
Holleywood and all of it's closures for remodel, can't be a full day anymore.
Epcot can be a full day if I recall.

How would you go about planning for getting the most out of such a short visit?

Thanks,
Clueless Dad

 

[g-dad66]

Lots of things to consider when selecting the best days.

Question: I'm not seeing any Saturday EMH at Epcot in April. I'm seeing morning EMH at Animal Kingdom (calendar at http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/hours/april16.cfm) What are your dates in April?

 

[Mouselovejess]

I would def try emh, that was you can decide if its right for your family. H.S. and A.K. can be attended in the same day. But schedule a break in the mid afternoon for rest. WdW Prep school has a lot of pointers for planning! Check her out if you have time! Really helped plan our trip this past September.

 

[sharonabe]

With such a short trip and two teens, I would attempt to take advantage of both morning and evening EMH. You'll need some down time in the middle of the day to catch your breath, but for us, that would be a longer lunch and some shows or a boat ride. We would not head back to the resort if we only had 3 days. You can rest when you get home!

 

[BalooFan]

I would take advantage of early EMH, and if you are concerned about crowds, leave the park in the early afternoon and hop to another park for the evening (with or without a resort break between parks). Discuss with your family what they want to do and plan accordingly, rather than depending on others' opinions of what is a "half-day park." Familiarize yourself with the park maps, so you have a good idea of the layout and won't waste your time being lost. This will also help you schedule your FastPass+ in a logical order, so you aren't backtracking or crisscrossing the park. You can make your FP+ selections for the length of your stay 60 days prior to your arrival through My Disney Experience. If you want table service meals, be sure to make dining reservations.

 

[IrishNYC]

Ditto what the above says about what anyone else says is a "half day park". There are no half day parks for my family. We like to soak it all in, no rushing, enjoying more than just the rides.

 

[vicb]

My "kids" now in early 20's hated morning emh... just too early for them on vacation. We did however always insist on rope drop at a non-emh park. As teens (and now) they happily do eve. emh hours. Best for eve. emh hours is HS and MK. We enjoy Epcot eve. emh but never feel terribly productive in terms of getting on rides.

I don't see AK on your plan, are you skipping it? It has never been our fav park but last trip we hopped in from Epcot just to ride Everest which your teens might enjoy.

Even when we "plan" to only stay a half day in any park it seems to get dragged out.

So, I would do rope drop at a non-emh park, get a bunch of rides in then use my FP+ at a second park later in the afternoon.