Only Have One Day...

[o2bacelt]

And it is the week between Christmas and New Years. I know it is going to be crazy. My daughter is performing in Tampa the end of the week and we have a one day excursion in our itinerary. We haven't been since 2009, so there is a lot that is new, we know we want to spend some of the time in Magic Kingdom seeing the expansion in Fantasyland. We were thinking about adding on the park hopper to our ticket and hopping over to the studios to do Star Tours and maybe Toy Story Mania. We also thought about a quick trip to EPCOT instead of the Studios.

Here's the rub, I won't have a ticket until the morning of, at least that's what I think, so no getting fastpasses early. I was looking at a lunch/dinner res. I'd love to go to Be Our Guest but so far everything is booked.

I'm just looking for tips to navigate as much as possible in our very short time to visit. Hopefully I can start us toward a longer trip in 2017 but we're willing to take what we can get this year.

Thanks!

 

[HeatherL1985]

I have never been when it's that busy but here's what I've noticed:

You'll get so much more out of your day if you rope drop. Fastpasses may be slim pickin's but it's not impossible. As soon as you get in - hit a kiosk and pick three experiences. If you'll be using MDE, it doesn't really matter which 3 you pick since you can modify on your phone. There's usually a flurry of availability as people drop, swap and pick up different fastpasses on the fly so it's worth it to check your phone while in line to see what's come open.

As for reservations, people love to hoard two or three reservations and wait until the last minute to pick which one they're going to keep. As a result, you should keep checking 24-48 hours out so you can pick up something someone else has dropped.

Good luck and have fun!

 

[kasii88]

For reservations keep checking. Last year i got my be our guest reservation about two hours before we ate. people cancel all the time!!

 

[adisneyaunt]

It will be very busy and hopping would be off my list. Spend as much time in your fav park rather than in transport time. A total immersion seems like time better spent! Rope drop at MK is great way to start the day... Then go straight to ur fav attraction and choose your fp while ur on line using the app. Best of luck! Beautiful time to "see" Disney!
Hope you ll see lots, ride some great rides and make some magical memories.

 

[Mome Rath]

And it is the week between Christmas and New Years. I know it is going to be crazy. My daughter is performing in Tampa the end of the week and we have a one day excursion in our itinerary. We haven't been since 2009, so there is a lot that is new, we know we want to spend some of the time in Magic Kingdom seeing the expansion in Fantasyland. We were thinking about adding on the park hopper to our ticket and hopping over to the studios to do Star Tours and maybe Toy Story Mania. We also thought about a quick trip to EPCOT instead of the Studios.

Here's the rub, I won't have a ticket until the morning of, at least that's what I think, so no getting fastpasses early. I was looking at a lunch/dinner res. I'd love to go to Be Our Guest but so far everything is booked.

I'm just looking for tips to navigate as much as possible in our very short time to visit. Hopefully I can start us toward a longer trip in 2017 but we're willing to take what we can get this year.

Thanks!

I always get a hopper, esp. when crowds are up because sometimes it just gets too much and you feel you have to leave a park or lose your mind. lol You'll have to be a little more picky with lines as you don't have a lot of time (for example if you don't get a FP for Toy Story and you don't rope drop Studios, then the line will eat up quite a bit of time relative to the time you have). Your biggest challenge will be to prioritize everything and be ok with not seeing all the new stuff this go around. With that said, make sure not to try to pack too much in your "must do" category because you'll want to take a little breathing time just to really look around and enjoy the decor. Definitely keep looking for the BoG ADR, but also consider doing a quicker walk up joint to get a bite to eat since you're so low on time.

 

[Accident]

Here's the rub, I won't have a ticket until the morning of, at least that's what I think, so no getting fastpasses early.

This week might be rough but generally this is not a bad thing. locals generally have no warning they are coming and it is friendly to more fastpasses starting to appear near noon so make sure your phone is changed and use the mde app to look while there. Keep in mind if you can turn a bunch of 20 minute lines into 5 minute lines you get your time back for that 30-60 minute wait.

as far as bog, your just going to keep looking.