2 days, 4 parks and a Dream

[cinderkelly]

Hi all, was wondering if you could let me know if 3 days in one park is do-able or just plain nuts. My family of 5 will only have 2 days to spend in the parks in Sept. before we set sail on the Dream and we all have certain attractions we want to get in at each park. This is our very first DW trip so I want to make the most of the little time we have !
Here is my plan:
Thursday- fly into Miami and drive to MK ( cheaper for us) so we will have a car available. non park day
Friday - AK for EMH to ride ExE and KS only, hop to DHS around 9:30 or 10:00 and stay until maybe 4:00? I Will FP+ TSMM and will take our chances on wait times on the rest. Since DHS closes fairly early that day, then hop to Epcot for the rest of the day and do Soarin, TT, SE spend a little time in WS and whatever else we can squeeze in.
Saturday - MK from rope Drop to Wishes
Sunday - sail away

My kids, 21, 16 and 6 and DH are all game, my main question is, since we have a car is it easier/faster to drive to each park or bus it? Having never been there before I have no concept of how long it will take to drive & find parking at each park. We are staying at AoA Nemo suites.

We have the QS dining plan, so no ADR's to worry about. ( yea free dining!)

Thanks and I hope I got most of those acronyms right

 

[LSUfan4444]

Friday - AK for EMH to ride ExE and KS only, hop to DHS around 9:30 or 10:00 and stay until maybe 4:00? I Will FP+ TSMM and will take our chances on wait times on the rest. Since DHS closes fairly early that day, then hop to Epcot for the rest of the day and do Soarin, TT, SE spend a little time in WS and whatever else we can squeeze in.
Saturday - MK from rope Drop to Wishes

If it were me, I would not sacrifice a rope drop morning at Hollywood Studios on a non extra magic hours day to do two rides (one of which offers a single rider option) in another.

Even though it involves more traveling..I would start my day at Hollywood Studios and knock out the Big Boys, then head over to Animal Kingdom, then back to Epcot, especially since you're driving and can get from one park to another fairly easily.

 

[Daddy Mack]

If it were me, I would not sacrifice a rope drop morning at Hollywood Studios on a non extra magic hours day to do two rides (one of which offers a single rider option) in another.

Even though it involves more traveling..I would start my day at Hollywood Studios and knock out the Big Boys, then head over to Animal Kingdom, then back to Epcot, especially since you're driving and can get from one park to another fairly easily.

If AK opens at 8 am and HS opens at 9 am, then you can ride EE and AS and still come close to make the opening at HS. I rode EE five times in the first 30 minutes at early morning rope drop last week. I also did all 4 parks in a day. There is a thread about it somewhere.

Epcot is the problem. I might consider skipping Epcot on Friday, hitting MK late at night Friday, starting with Epcot on Saturday, then hitting MK again when done with Epcot.

 

[JanaDee]

Hi all, was wondering if you could let me know if 3 days in one park is do-able or just plain nuts. My family of 5 will only have 2 days to spend in the parks in Sept. before we set sail on the Dream and we all have certain attractions we want to get in at each park. This is our very first DW trip so I want to make the most of the little time we have !
Here is my plan:
Thursday- fly into Miami and drive to MK ( cheaper for us) so we will have a car available. non park day
Friday - AK for EMH to ride ExE and KS only, hop to DHS around 9:30 or 10:00 and stay until maybe 4:00? I Will FP+ TSMM and will take our chances on wait times on the rest. Since DHS closes fairly early that day, then hop to Epcot for the rest of the day and do Soarin, TT, SE spend a little time in WS and whatever else we can squeeze in.
Saturday - MK from rope Drop to Wishes
Sunday - sail away

My kids, 21, 16 and 6 and DH are all game, my main question is, since we have a car is it easier/faster to drive to each park or bus it? Having never been there before I have no concept of how long it will take to drive & find parking at each park. We are staying at AoA Nemo suites.

We have the QS dining plan, so no ADR's to worry about. ( yea free dining!)

Thanks and I hope I got most of those acronyms right

You know Miami is anywhere from 3 and a half to 4 and a half hours drive, right?

 

[practicallyperfect77]

You can do it. I did all 4 parks in 1 day using Disney transportation. I was abke to ride all big rides withbthe exception of TT (I easily could have using single rider line but don't care for that ride as much). The only one I waited for was Soarin' (I only had FP+ and those were being used in HS so endured a 70 min wait for Soarin'). This was Dec 3 I believe so crowd level predicted 4. I'm sure it's lower in Sept. If you do stick with AK first you might do KS first and then EE. KS seems to get lines much before EE.

 

[cinderkelly]

You know Miami is anywhere from 3 and a half to 4 and a half hours drive, right?

Lol, yes we do know that. Our flight arrives at 8:00 am and we will take the day to drive and relax. Thanks!

 

[cinderkelly]

If AK opens at 8 am and HS opens at 9 am, then you can ride EE and AS and still come close to make the opening at HS. I rode EE five times in the first 30 minutes at early morning rope drop last week. I also did all 4 parks in a day. There is a thread about it somewhere. Epcot is the problem. I might consider skipping Epcot on Friday, hitting MK late at night Friday, starting with Epcot on Saturday, then hitting MK again when done with Epcot.

MNSSHP is on Friday so MK closes to non party goers @ 7:00, bummer..

Thanks everyone for your strategy inputs! I love reading other options!

 

[LSUfan4444]

If AK opens at 8 am and HS opens at 9 am, then you can ride EE and AS and still come close to make the opening at HS.

The key is to not come close to making RD at Hollywood Studios, but ensuring that you do. That way you can keep FP+ at Epcot, ensuring Soarin (via FP+) and Test Track (via single rider).

If you are not at Hollywood Studios for rope drop (for an 8:45 opening) and do not have a FP for Toy Story, any time gains you made by going to Animal Kingdom first are now null and void. And because you will want/have to go do TSM first, now you will be in longer lines at the rest of the HS attractions.

That is why it is so important to be at Hollywood Studios for RD and a 8:45 opening. Walking through the turnstiles at 9:05 just messes you all up.

 

[wareagle57]

I'd do AK at park closing instead of RD. Do HS at RD-3, then AK from 3:30-5. That's plenty of time to ride EE and KS. Then Epcot from 5:30-10.

 

[cinderkelly]

The key is to not come close to making RD at Hollywood Studios, but ensuring that you do. That way you can keep FP+ at Epcot, ensuring Soarin (via FP+) and Test Track (via single rider). If you are not at Hollywood Studios for rope drop (for an 8:45 opening) and do not have a FP for Toy Story, any time gains you made by going to Animal Kingdom first are now null and void. And because you will want/have to go do TSM first, now you will be in longer lines at the rest of the HS attractions. That is why it is so important to be at Hollywood Studios for RD and a 8:45 opening. Walking through the turnstiles at 9:05 just messes you all up.

Does anyone know approximate travel time between HS and AK in own car or bus? It's like the Amazing Race!

 

[LSUfan4444]

Does anyone know approximate travel time between HS and AK in own car or bus? It's like the Amazing Race!

It's less than 5 miles travel distance. Actual time would depend on where you park, bag check or not at Hollywood Studios, etc.

 

[cinderkelly]

I'd do AK at park closing instead of RD. Do HS at RD-3, then AK from 3:30-5. That's plenty of time to ride EE and KS. Then Epcot from 5:30-10.

Do lines get shorter at AK near the end of the day? My original thinking was to get in those 2 attractions at AK during EMH, but if it's better to do DHS @RD that is ok too. I'm sure toy story gets crazy as the day goes on, wasn't sure how the lines build at AK later in the day

BTW you guys are all awesome!!

 

[LSUfan4444]

Do lines get shorter at AK near the end of the day? My original thinking was to get in those 2 attractions at AK during EMH, but if it's better to do DHS @RD that is ok too. I'm sure toy story gets crazy as the day goes on, wasn't sure how the lines build at AK later in the day

BTW you guys are all awesome!!

Yes, absolutely. Especially if you are going after May 31 and there is no more afternoon parade.

When the park closes at 5, you can just about ride Everest over and over again the last 15 minutes or so without even getting off.

 

[CAS239]

Does anyone know approximate travel time between HS and AK in own car or bus? It's like the Amazing Race!

It's about a 5 minute drive when factoring in red lights. Hollywood Studios is closer to AK than the other two parks

 

[practicallyperfect77]

Do lines get shorter at AK near the end of the day? My original thinking was to get in those 2 attractions at AK during EMH, but if it's better to do DHS @RD that is ok too. I'm sure toy story gets crazy as the day goes on, wasn't sure how the lines build at AK later in the day.

BTW you guys are all awesome!! /QUOTE]

Historically floods of folks leave AK after the parade which meant very shirt lines. I believe parade is done June 1 so will be interesting to see if folks still leave. I agree with the PP that it is key to get to HS before RD. I left Pop around 8am and was maybe the 11th person in line at 8:13. By 8:30 there were hundreds of people behind me. I was able to walk on to TSM. Depending on what all you want to donin HS, you could be done there in a couple hours too. I have not experienced this myself, but have heard animals are more active in the morning vs the heat of the day on KS. Something else to think about.

Another thing to think about is traveling. HS and Epcot are so close together I'm not sure I would move the car as you can take the friendship boat b/t the parks. But if you start at HS, then AK then back to Epcot you're doing lots of driving too.

 

[CAS239]

And I would switch around your Hollywood studios and Animal Kingdom. Fastpasses at HS are going to go a lot faster than AK. If you plan on getting a FP in park for Toy Story after about noon, your return time is going to be around park close, if they're still available. You get to HS at rope drop, you can knock a bunch out, especially with early FP's, then head to AK.

 

[Daddy Mack]

Still think you should do AK first, even if it means arriving 5-10 post RD at HS. That is free time since the park is the only one open. Last week the gates opened at 7:50. Get there early, get a good parking spot, ride the 2 rides, head to HS, and don't take a bag to get in quicker. Keep the FP for TSM, hit TOT and RNR first, and you could be out of HS by 1 pm easy. Head to Epcot and see if any FPs are left or Soarin or Test Track.

 

[practicallyperfect77]

Still think you should do AK first, even if it means arriving 5-10 post RD at HS. That is free time since the park is the only one open. Last week the gates opened at 7:50. Get there early, get a good parking spot, ride the 2 rides, head to HS, and don't take a bag to get in quicker. Keep the FP for TSM, hit TOT and RNR first, and you could be out of HS by 1 pm easy. Head to Epcot and see if any FPs are left or Soarin or Test Track.

I think I'd probably go with your plan too. I think LSU was thinking save FP+ for Epcot and hitting TSM at RD with little wait. This would work too. I do believe I have read accounts of folks being able to get an FP+ for Soarin' and TT later in the day. And maybe....just maybe....Disney will change it up again and allow us to prebook in more than one park. In my opinion this would really help out the OP.

 

[CAS239]

Still think you should do AK first, even if it means arriving 5-10 post RD at HS. That is free time since the park is the only one open. Last week the gates opened at 7:50. Get there early, get a good parking spot, ride the 2 rides, head to HS, and don't take a bag to get in quicker. Keep the FP for TSM, hit TOT and RNR first, and you could be out of HS by 1 pm easy. Head to Epcot and see if any FPs are left or Soarin or Test Track.

^this.

If you're at AK for early magic hours and ONLY riding Everest and Safari, then do that and head to HS..you should be able to be there by rope drop. Make sure you have your fastpass for TSMM. As long as you want to ride them all, head straight to Rocking Rollercoaster since you won't have a FP for it since you'll want your FP for Toy Story. At rope drop you can basically get right on RnR since most people head to TSMM.

 

[Daddy Mack]

I think I'd probably go with your plan too. I think LSU was thinking save FP+ for Epcot and hitting TSM at RD with little wait. This would work too. I do believe I have read accounts of folks being able to get an FP+ for Soarin' and TT later in the day. And maybe....just maybe....Disney will change it up again and allow us to prebook in more than one park. In my opinion this would really help out the OP.

Yeah the ideal solution allows use of 3 FP anywhere and then the choice is Test Track, Soarin, and TSM. I dream of this day.