1 Day at MK - worth it?

[wisblue]

Why do you suppose that was?

Sounds like someone having a good plan and knowing how the FP system works can have a great time and do a lot more than 3 things in a day. We do that by getting to the park early and using our 3 FPs later in the day when crowds get longer.

Your approach may have been different, but the result was the same. I didn't count up the attractions, but it seems like you did about as much in a day at the MK as we would if we spent a full day there.

 

[mom2rtk]

Sounds like someone having a good plan and knowing how the FP system works can have a great time and do a lot more than 3 things in a day. We do that by getting to the park early and using our 3 FPs later in the day when crowds get longer.

Your approach may have been different, but the result was the same. I didn't count up the attractions, but it seems like you did about as much in a day at the MK as we would if we spent a full day there.

Nope. It required more than having a good plan. But it did require knowing a lot about how the FP system works.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

We will be in FL for President's Day week and were not planning on doing Disney this trip. We did a 10 day WDW trip last year and will do something similar in 2017. My parents rent a house 12 minutes away every winter so we come down for our Feb. break every year. Disney exhausted us last year but we did 10 days over the course of a 12 day trip so we were thinking we'd just do other FL stuff this Feb. since we'd be back again next Feb. Now we are thinking of doing just 1 day at MK. We would go 2/18, which Josh has rated as a 7 and a best day for MK, 9am - 9pm. The only reason we're not definitely doing it is the cost - 500+ for our family of 5, plus parking. As far as I can tell, there's no discounts for a 1 day ticket. And I forget when I can get fp+ as an offsite guest - is it 30 days out or have I already missed it? Thoughts? I know the kids would be ecstatic for a surprise day at MK but I'm not sure the cost with the President's week crowds are worth it. If we did MK, we'd get rid of a few other activities we were thinking about for the trip which would pay for about 1/2 of the MK cost. We're already doing 1 day at LEGOLAND - I was able to get 1/2 price tickets on Black Friday. What do you think - should we just look forward to next year at Disney or do 1 day this trip?

Well, if you were going based on crowds and lines and stuff---you will likely find you got more of your "money's worth" at legoland because it simply isn't all that busy. I do find it a bit of a haul to get to. A year and nearly a month ago, we went as homeschoolers and spent less than $90 on 6 tickets. Kids has a blast. I was limited in rides due to my pregnancy. I found it okay. Kids loved it. But I was glad I didn't pay more.

Flipside--we had Disney seasonal and annual passes. We also, on that one day at legoland scored free day passes they handed out to guests. It has to be used by the end of February.

Kids kept asking when we were going back to Disney. We never did make it back to legoland.

When we lived out of state and came down for a cruise (before we even knew we would be moving back to Florida), we did both a single day at IOA and a single day at MK. For MK, FP+ was in place and we didn't book until the day before. We found the day visit worth it for both as we did for legoland.

You know your family. If they are fine with not going to MK, stick with your original plans. If they would miss going, I think it could be worth it. You just have to set our expectations accordingly. This is not code for prepare to be disappointed as some might say. Just means you prioritize what you would want to hit and realize that something like an ADR or staking it a parade spot an hour ahead of time, might mean missing out on some other things.

Mine train wasn't open when we went in Feb 2014. We did a lot that one day. But we didn't do the parade nor Tom Sawyer's island. We did have an ADR at Be our guest. Unfortunately, we didn't finish until just as wishes was starting. But we did want to check out BOG for dinner and lucked out with finding an ADR within a month or so of our trip. So we knew that meant missing out on some things. Usually I wouldn't do an ADR on a single day because of the time suck.

 

[Thing 1]

We have done it. We have family about 4 hours away and sometimes will head down for a week-end. It really would be better if we did annual passes but we just have not made the timing and budget merge yet. We will arrive Friday night, sevenish to our value resort room. Friday night we go to DDT. We are at the park well before opening and stay to close. We rarely do that on longer trips. We don't plan a TS but sometimes we will end up doing a walk up if we are tired and there is something open. We crash in our room for the night and the next morning eat mickey waffles in the food court and do something like resort hopping and leave around noon to head back to relatives home. Not a cheap or frequent week-end but it is worth it for us.

 

[hsmamato2]

O

Nope. It required more than having a good plan. But it did require knowing a lot about how the FP system works.

I read your (entertaining) trip report.... we just did a longer trip at Sanibel-then Disney too! (loved Sanibel) I also love your quick trip ideas,esp. that one REALLY long MK day...it sounds fun! ......However...... I have a question......HOW did you get like 8-9 FP+ in one day? That alone makes your TR not a 'usual' one day visit. And that's something that most of us going for one day also don't know anything about ( at least I don't) but it seems it's a secret you're not really into sharing(?) as others have asked this also.

 

[hsmamato2]

I like all these 'one day' ideas for a quick trip...... I am thinking this might be something to try!

 

[mom2rtk]

O

I read your (entertaining) trip report.... we just did a longer trip at Sanibel-then Disney too! (loved Sanibel) I also love your quick trip ideas,esp. that one REALLY long MK day...it sounds fun! ......However...... I have a question......HOW did you get like 8-9 FP+ in one day? That alone makes your TR not a 'usual' one day visit. And that's something that most of us going for one day also don't know anything about ( at least I don't) but it seems it's a secret you're not really into sharing(?) as others have asked this also.

You're right it wasn't a typical day. But it's a day anyone can accomplish if they do their research here on the DIS and want to go to the trouble. It's not a big secret. I just didn't want to derail the thread completely. Magic Bands associated with other MDE accounts can be used to book same day fastpasses when you enter the park that day.

I really feel like one day in the MK is worth the cost. 2 days, not so much. So we either go for a 1 day visit or for at least a week (to get the cheaper out days on the ticket). So when we do a one day visit, it's always to the MK, and it's always as long a day as we can stand. If I could tolerate the heat we would be there park open until park close (even if it's late EMH). So we have to balance our desire to do a lot with our desire to handle the heat.

We have done the same thing many times before (stopped in the MK one day on our way to or from Sanibel). I actually enjoyed it more when we did it with legacy fastpass because we were able to keep some spontaneity in our touring, even though it was just one day. This time we still got a lot done (thanks to the extra magic bands) but it did feel very regimented. On balance, we had fun and felt like we got our money's worth. I have no complaints on that front. But I still prefer the experience we had with legacy over what we experienced with extra magic bands. However, I still find that far preferable to the standard FP+ experience.

 

[dlavender]

On balance, we had fun and felt like we got our money's worth. I have no complaints on that front. But I still prefer the experience we had with legacy over what we experienced with extra magic bands. However, I still find that far preferable to the standard FP+ experience.

I know its OT, but my family shares this sentiment. We didn't use extra magic bands or anything, and got what we wanted 2 weeks out with FP + (which was surprising on a 9 level day), but legacy was better. Still worth it for a one day visit, just have to keep a plan.

 

[msb578]

Actually, mom2rtk, one of your posts a while back has stuck with me. I think you referred to the non-MK parks as "filler". I agree with this.

I know it's not popular to say this, but I consider the cost of one-day MK admission to be reasonable. There is so much to do there. On a recent visit our family stayed at Sports for five nights and only bought one-day MK tickets. We just did other stuff, and didn't miss the other parks. Even though the cost per day drops with multi-day tickets, days 2 and 3 are still basically full price, and that was more than we were looking to spend on that particular vacation.

On an upcoming trip we're doing MK only before a cruise on the Dream.

 

[hsmamato2]

Thanks momrtk for the advice..... I actually love all the parks.....so I will have a hard time deciding on just one if I do a one day ticket...or just pay to hop. we shall see what happens.... but I love the ideas outlined!

 

[mom2rtk]

Actually, mom2rtk, one of your posts a while back has stuck with me. I think you referred to the non-MK parks as "filler". I agree with this.

I know it's not popular to say this, but I consider the cost of one-day MK admission to be reasonable. There is so much to do there. On a recent visit our family stayed at Sports for five nights and only bought one-day MK tickets. We just did other stuff, and didn't miss the other parks. Even though the cost per day drops with multi-day tickets, days 2 and 3 are still basically full price, and that was more than we were looking to spend on that particular vacation.

On an upcoming trip we're doing MK only before a cruise on the Dream.

We haven't been to the other 3 parks in 3 years. And I haven't missed them a bit. Sure, I'd like to see them again. But as long as DL doesn't mess up their FP system there TOO much.... we'll keep heading west.

We stayed for 3 nights at POR last summer. I loved getting to slow down and enjoy some of the non-park stuff. Because when we go for longer (and pay for multi-day tickets) we really make the most of our time in the parks and end up skipping a lot of stuff outside the parks.

One day in the MK before a cruise really sounds like the best of both worlds!

Our second son graduates college in 2017 and already said he'd like to go back to Sanibel that summer. We've enjoyed our 1 day stops in the MK so much that I imagine we'll do the same thing again then.

 

[mom2rtk]

Thanks momrtk for the advice..... I actually love all the parks.....so I will have a hard time deciding on just one if I do a one day ticket...or just pay to hop. we shall see what happens.... but I love the ideas outlined!

I'm glad it helped. Sometimes a one time visit is just want it takes to tide you over between longer trips. I hope you find a plan you are happy with!

 

[Planogirl]

We've done the one day at MK thing too. We had a good time but I give more credit to familiarity with the park and not needing to see it all. FP+ was just an annoyance that we dealt with.

 

[Muskegon78]

Sounds like someone having a good plan and knowing how the FP system works can have a great time and do a lot more than 3 things in a day. We do that by getting to the park early and using our 3 FPs later in the day when crowds get longer.

Your approach may have been different, but the result was the same. I didn't count up the attractions, but it seems like you did about as much in a day at the MK as we would if we spent a full day there.

Using the fp later in the day prevents you from getting 4th, 5tj, 6th, etc, fp after that at the kiosks. We plan to be done with our first 3 by 12:30 so we can book more

 

[kathy884]

I do one day at Disney annually -- usually my one day per year is at the MK. It's worth it to me. We have a blast.

 

[ArwenMarie]

We've done 1-day tickets at MK. We had a great time. It was kind of like to a contest to see if we could get $400 worth of entertainment out of one day. The kids said they never saw me moving so fast as that day. We had two TS ADRs and that helped a lot.

 

[Hannahinwonderland]

I'll chime in and say I've done a couple one-day trips to MK, usually in the peak summer season. I only had to spend money for one person as it was me and friends, but it was well worth it every time. Even though we weren't able to make any FP+ in advance, we still had a fantastic time!

 

[wisblue]

Using the fp later in the day prevents you from getting 4th, 5tj, 6th, etc, fp after that at the kiosks. We plan to be done with our first 3 by 12:30 so we can book more

That's one approach, but on very busy days there may not be much good available in the afternoon anyway. We also often like to hop to other parks and use the FPs there. But, when we are staying in one park, we still like to start them later (like early afternoon after lunch) and take advantage of the shorter standby waits early.

 

[kathy884]

I can see that cost per day would seem high if you usually do multiday tickets, and your perception of value is what you are looking at here. Only you can really make that judgment.

I only do one day at Disney per year, so am used to spending a lot per day. It's also not all that unusual for me to spend the $100 pp price or even more on a Broadway show ticket, a concert, an island excursion, so a full day's entertainment at a world class theme park for $105 pp doesn't feel overly outrageous. Is it expensive? Yes. It's not something I'd do every day. It's not cheap or free entertainment. But if it's in the ole vacation budget, it's certainly fun. And vacations are frivolous/fun. I typically have a certain vacation budget and the fun part is deciding what frivolous / fun things are worth doing / what do I want to do that works with by budget. If I'm in Orlando for a mini trip the MK for a single day usually makes the cut.

It's so true too that the more people the higher the cost for sure. When it's just me and my son in Orlando without DH and the extended family, it's easier to budget a few of the more expensive things. That's too my typical mini Orlando trip. When we have an extended family group of 10 or more and it's over $1000 for an add on day to the MK it's not necessarily a done deal. We then are more conscious of what other family members consider worth doing and usually go with the flow -- It's often two days at SeaWorld (We love that park and second day is just $10), a day at the beach, a trip to Gatorland, and two resort days (lots of fun, fairly economical, and not quite as whimsical, as we are talking a lot of people and a lot of money, and some of the people wanting to keep spending down)