Starting to second guess my park strategy! Advice?

[clynngibson]

This is my first time to WDW. It will be me, DH, DD5, DS1, and my parents. My strategy so far in planning has us going to touringplans Best Park each day (with the exception of DD's bday, because MK is the ONLY park a princess should have her birthday in! lol)

So that put us in each park as follows: Epcot, AK, MK, DHS, MK, Park of choice.

Now I'm thinking that DD and DS (and who am I kidding...me too!) would be much more excited to go to MK on the first day. It's a 6.something crowd level.

Do you think the excitment and magic of MK is worth the higher crowds for the first time round the WDW block?

 

[momjeeps]

This is my first time to WDW. It will be me, DH, DD5, DS1, and my parents. My strategy so far in planning has us going to touringplans Best Park each day (with the exception of DD's bday, because MK is the ONLY park a princess should have her birthday in! lol)

So that put us in each park as follows: Epcot, AK, MK, DHS, MK, Park of choice.

Now I'm thinking that DD and DS (and who am I kidding...me too!) would be much more excited to go to MK on the first day. It's a 6.something crowd level.

Do you think the excitment and magic of MK is worth the higher crowds for the first time round the WDW block?

In your situation I would definitely do MK first. I vowed I would always make it our first park when we finally got to go. But our first park day is Thanksgiving and there's no way I'm doing MK that day. But we've been to DLR lots of times so we will live. We're doing MK our second day.

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[Mike7468]

Not sure of the dates of when your going so not much of a help.
I could not see being there for three days before we went to the MK. Thats the crown jewel of disney. We always get park hoppers, we dont spend full days at AK or DHS. Alot of people sa those are half day parks. Ive never gone with touring plans or anything like that, we just go, if its to crowded we deal with it. Good Luck.

 

[Nancyg56]

I have never understood why the MK must be the first park visited. I love the Castle, I love MK. But WDW is Disney, no matter which park you see first. There are special elements that spark that feeling in children withing each park. We have never gone to the MK on our first day and my DGD has been mesmerized each visit. I think that planning has a lot to do with ensuring that the kids are enchanted but it really is possible.

With all that said, if you want to take the kids to Mk because it is important for you or them to experience that magical walk onto Main Street and see that glorious Castle in the distance then go for it! I don't think a 6 would deter me if that is what I wanted to do. You will have a blast with the kids no matter what!

 

[cmh314]

You may also want to check out the Easy WDW site. They also give crowd predictions on their calendar and expain why they would or would not recommend a particular park that day. It sometimes (often?) differs from the touring plans recommended parks. It also depends on how you will spend your day. If you're not showing up to the park until 11am and touring during the most crowded part of the day, I think its more important to pay attention to the crowd prediction calendars. But if you're going to get there at (or a little before) park opening, have a good touring plan and know how to utilize fast pass (which can all be learned on this site) that is much more beneficial than "picking the right day." So, I say if you want to visit MK the first day of your trip - do it! Just get there first thing in the morning and have a good plan to hit the most important rides first and enjoy your day.

 

[mjp12831]

I have never understood why the MK must be the first park visited. I love the Castle, I love MK. But WDW is Disney, no matter which park you see first. There are special elements that spark that feeling in children withing each park. We have never gone to the MK on our first day and my DGD has been mesmerized each visit. I think that planning has a lot to do with ensuring that the kids are enchanted but it really is possible.

With all that said, if you want to take the kids to Mk because it is important for you or them to experience that magical walk onto Main Street and see that glorious Castle in the distance then go for it! I don't think a 6 would deter me if that is what I wanted to do. You will have a blast with the kids no matter what!

Agreed with this in it's entirety

 

[allerobed]

I went to the Easy WDW recommended parks on my recent trip and it was perfect. Got there early, saw everything with little to no waits, and was able to chill at the resort pool in the late afternoon, then get to my dinner destination and a park later on well restex. Animal Kingdom was first, I don't see the need for Magic Kingdom to be the first park visited.

 

[Sheaboys]

We did DHS as our first park. The older 3 were only 7, 5 and 3, the last time we went and ds4 and ds5 (6 and 3) had never been.

We did this because DHS had Extra Magic Hours in the am, and thought it was best to get there and get Toy Story Mania out of the way and TT. We stayed until early afternoon, headed back to resort. Then to Epcot for our dinner at Garden Grill, which featured Mickey! Hung out a bit at the park, left early, to get a jumpstart on the MK the next day.

It was perfect.

 

[LynneIL]

When we went for our honeymoon, I planned Epcot for the first day and MK for the second day. We’re going to do something similar this trip with the kids. I think we’ll get to MK on the third day.

I like to plan Epcot first because it is the most educational / boring in some ways. I don’t want to start out with the best park and then have the other ones be a letdown. So – I start with Epcot and which is good and then move to the other parks which are better.

 

[ghtx]

I have never understood why the MK must be the first park visited. I love the Castle, I love MK. But WDW is Disney, no matter which park you see first. ...

...Animal Kingdom was first, I don't see the need for Magic Kingdom to be the first park visited.

I totally agree with this. In fact, especially when you have young kids, I think there's a good argument to be made that you don't want to go to MK first. Basically:

I like to plan Epcot first because it is the most educational / boring in some ways. I don’t want to start out with the best park and then have the other ones be a letdown. So – I start with Epcot and which is good and then move to the other parks which are better.

There you go.

 

[1GR8DISNEYFAN]

Since you are doing MK twice I think it would be great to go on your first day. Just make sure you get there before RD to watch the pre opening show, and if it were me I would go straight to Fantasyland. We have always been during the summer when crowds were 6's and do 2 MK days, one of them we go straight to Fantasylan after RD, ride all the rides there and enjoy that area before it gets to crowded and then do the rest of the park, the second MK day we do the mountain rides first with fast passes. When you have little ones, it is a lot more fun to experience Fantasyland when it is not so crowded. It is amaizing how uncrowded the park can feel if you get there early. We have always returned to the resort for an afternoon break and back to the park for the evening. But that is when it is so hot and humid it is almost a must to enjoy yourself. Hope you have a great first visit, there is nothing like it!

 

[DakotaRose]

Do you think the excitment and magic of MK is worth the higher crowds for the first time round the WDW block?

No, but to each their own. MK will be special whether it's first or last. And the other parks will each be special in their own way, too. MK might be more magical if your kids don't have to wait in lines as long and can enjoy more attractions. It's your first time, so I really think you'll have great memories no matter how you plan your trip.

 

[BigMommaMouse]

We follow the best park advice for deciding which day where.

Believe me Disney Magic is all of the World not just the MK.

MK is my favorite Park.

 

[Neverland98]

I understand the desire to see the Magic Kingdom! However, when we went in 2010 with my husband, three children, and grandparents, we went to other parks first - DHS, Epcot, etc. - due to timing of certain events (EMH, ADR's, etc.) (We did have park hoppers, so we did hit MK just for the evening parade early on)....BUT...it was so exciting to wake up a few days into the trip and realize that TODAY is Magic Kingdom day! I don't know why...but I was SO excited. It kind of added a new excitement partway into the trip.

And, my children (5, 7, and 8, at the time) did not CARE which park we went to because ALL of them had their own special elements.

So, I think you don't NEED to change your plan. I think your children will love the other parks, too. And, it will make the mid-trip MK visit even more magical.

Whatever you decide, have a very magical trip! Take lots of photos!

 

[xipotec]

Hehe our first day is a non park day, second is HS. I plan on trying to convince family to just stop by MK that night for wishes, since we have 9 ticket days and only plan on 6 park days...

Any suggestions on how to convince them besides whining ? Bribery???

 

[ghtx]

Hehe our first day is a non park day, second is HS. I plan on trying to convince family to just stop by MK that night for wishes, since we have 9 ticket days and only plan on 6 park days...

Any suggestions on how to convince them besides whining ? Bribery???

How about "Are you really going to let me waste three days of a nine-day ticket?"

Why, BTW, do you have a 9-day ticket if you only plan on visiting for 6 days? Is it a NE ticket?

 

[princessSunshine]

I totally agree with this. In fact, especially when you have young kids, I think there's a good argument to be made that you don't want to go to MK first. Basically:



There you go.

I agree whole-heartedly with all that's said above. The first time we took our DS's we purposely didn't take them to MK first, we didn't want the other parks to be a "let-down" compared to MK (now after 4 fours of going, one DS's favourite park is Epcot, the other DS loves AK - who knew) And we always follow the crowd calendar at Easy WDW to decide which park to get to.
That said - to each their own, if your DD REALLY would enjoy seeing the castle first, go for it, but you may not be able to do as much on a lower crowd day. Have fun, and include and enjoy some stop and smell the roses moments.

 

[Nancyg56]

Hehe our first day is a non park day, second is HS. I plan on trying to convince family to just stop by MK that night for wishes, since we have 9 ticket days and only plan on 6 park days...

Any suggestions on how to convince them besides whining ? Bribery???

You have the tickets so just plan on going. People feel differently once they arrive. Unless you are planning to get up at the crack of dawn the next day just have your plan in place and let them know early enough that you all have time to sneak in a peak of Wishes and then skedaddle. If they are all a tired hot mess you just skip it.

On our trip I want very much to get in to see MSEP but it is not working out well for us. I know what time if happens and where we will be on those evenings when we are close by. If we can work it in and my DGD is not exhausted we will just go. Sometimes it is best to keep some of your extra details to yourself and if an opportunity presents itself you are ready. I prefer those "if we can and if we want to" kinds of plans to the written in stone touring plans some folks use.

 

[Bob1510a]

I use the same strategy in planning my parks using touring plans, but do not always go with the lowest attendance park. My family loves to go straight to MK on the first day even if it is just for a few hours and then we switch to a slower park if the crowd levels prevent us from doing a bunch of rides.

Either way you go, you are going to have a blast, it truly is the most happy place on earth.

 

[mjp12831]

Hehe our first day is a non park day, second is HS. I plan on trying to convince family to just stop by MK that night for wishes, since we have 9 ticket days and only plan on 6 park days...

Any suggestions on how to convince them besides whining ? Bribery???

Why don't you change your reservation to reduce the ticket days to 6 then? You can always add on during the trip if you decide you will do more, but I don't see the point of buying more tickets up front then you intend to use.

As for convincing - we spend every available moment in a WDW park with the logic that every minute spent there is like gold, and when your time is up you usually leave wishing you had more time, so why wouldn't you max??