Yes! I can't wait to go on the little mermaid ride
I'm looking forward to that ride as well, but more to the mine ride. Both look great though!
I would wait to decide on your parks until the hours come out for August. here is a website that I found really helpful:
http://www.easywdw.com/category/calendar/july11/. He explains what days are best to visit which park, and why. I would always double check his calendar with Disney's, though. The August 2011 crowd calendar isn't out yet.
Thanks for that calendar. It will be very useful. I already took a look at it, and though August is not out yet, hours seem to be very similar for both July and August. There seems to be a trend of the same park always being green/red on the same days, and for the most part I always choose the best or second best park.
We won't be getting park hoppers, either. I don't like spending a large portion of the day bopping around from park to park. We are avoiding most of the EMH days, except for one where MK is open until 2am. I couldn't resist
I too would love to stay at MK once until 2am. However, if I do that I will only be going to MK in the evening, after spending a day at the water park or DTD. That way I don't need a park hopper, and don't have to suffer the crowds the entire day. I'm not sure it's going to fit our schedule though, but it'll be something we decide last minute. I don't care as much about Epcot EMH, as we did it last time and it was just ok. HS being such a small park, we want to avoid both EMH and Fantasmic days at all cost.
I was very much looking forward to being at Animal Kingdom at night, but they seem to have stopped doing evening EMH there.
I want to start our trip with MK because I think it will help me get into the Disney spirit. I also like to have at least a day and a half for AK. In the past, I have only toured HS in one day, but I have had to skip a lot. This time, we are devoting a day and a half to HS. As for the down time and late night touring concerns, that is up to you. Are you used to going to the parks all day, nonstop? I get a lot of energy at Disney, so I don't really need a lot in the way of downtime. One or two mornings to sleep in (and by "sleeping in" I mean missing rope drop
) and a couple well-placed snack breaks are enough for me. I think it also depends on how you're feeling that day.
I am so sorry about your mom! I hope she gets better!