4 basic park tickets.

[PrettyFlower2]

Hey dis people! I have 4 basic park tickets for days leading up to thanksgiving. Traveling with DH and DS (7 years old) and DS almost 3 yrs old). We are staying at Contemporary BLT. My little guy still naps so I could easily bring him back to the room for an afternoon nap. Should we do two MK days since we can have a short walk to park or do Animal Kingdom? I love AK and would rather skip HS but my older kid wants to meet Star Wars characters. Or just do one day at each park? Thanks

 

[TheOneWithTheTriplets]

Base park tickets are tough during party season. Do you want to be able to see Happily Ever After in the park? If so, you'll need to go to MK on a non-party day, which means the park will be much more crowded all day. If you aren't worried about fireworks, you can generally get more done in MK on a non-party day with the early close, because the early close scares a lot of people away.

Is there any way you can swing hoppers? Because then you can do MK on a party morning, take the little guy at nap time, then bus to AK for an at least an afternoon/evening there.

If you have to stay one park per day, I'd look at AK and think about how much your kids would want to do there. Are they going to be interested in both of the shows? Will 7yo do Everest, Flights of Passage, Dinosaur? Is anyone going to have strong feelings about meeting or missing Moana? I don't think you'll go wrong doing two MK days or one at each park. If you only do one MK, though, you have to really think about your priorities and what you're willing to miss versus being OK with missing AK altogether.

 

[PrettyFlower2]

Base park tickets are tough during party season. Do you want to be able to see Happily Ever After in the park? If so, you'll need to go to MK on a non-party day, which means the park will be much more crowded all day. If you aren't worried about fireworks, you can generally get more done in MK on a non-party day with the early close, because the early close scares a lot of people away.

Is there any way you can swing hoppers? Because then you can do MK on a party morning, take the little guy at nap time, then bus to AK for an at least an afternoon/evening there.

If you have to stay one park per day, I'd look at AK and think about how much your kids would want to do there. Are they going to be interested in both of the shows? Will 7yo do Everest, Flights of Passage, Dinosaur? Is anyone going to have strong feelings about meeting or missing Moana? I don't think you'll go wrong doing two MK days or one at each park. If you only do one MK, though, you have to really think about your priorities and what you're willing to miss versus being OK with missing AK altogether.

Thanks for the response. There is probably zero chance they will be able to make it for fireworks. They are ready for bed around 8pm. They do not care about Moana. My older one likes all the thrill rides.

 

[TheOneWithTheTriplets]

Thanks for the response. There is probably zero chance they will be able to make it for fireworks. They are ready for bed around 8pm. They do not care about Moana. My older one likes all the thrill rides.

Ok, so, knowing that you're not worrying about fireworks or later hours, and given that 7yo likes thrill rides, I vote one day in each park but be particular about how you do MK.

If you do a party day and you're able to be in the park ready to go at a presumed 7:30am EE, you're going to find lower crowds and be able to get a lot accomplished. You could do a double RD of Space at 7:30am, BTMRR at 8am to knock out two of the mountains right off the bat and then make your way around the park, focusing on your family's specific priorities. If 3yo is going to nap midday, then make sure you grab a rider swap for whichever of those rides you think 7 would prefer, so he can reride midday when 3 is napping and lines are longer.

 

[PrettyFlower2]

Ok, so, knowing that you're not worrying about fireworks or later hours, and given that 7yo likes thrill rides, I vote one day in each park but be particular about how you do MK.

If you do a party day and you're able to be in the park ready to go at a presumed 7:30am EE, you're going to find lower crowds and be able to get a lot accomplished. You could do a double RD of Space at 7:30am, BTMRR at 8am to knock out two of the mountains right off the bat and then make your way around the park, focusing on your family's specific priorities. If 3yo is going to nap midday, then make sure you grab a rider swap for whichever of those rides you think 7 would prefer, so he can reride midday when 3 is napping and lines are longer.

thanks so much for the advice! I am really not trying to cram everything in and trying to be realistic this trip. I realize we are going during an extremely crowded time and plan on buying LL and genie plus for our days. I am prioritizing BTMRR, pirates, jungle cruise, tron, SDMT, dumbo, Haunted mansion. Do you think we could do all that on a party day plus leave room for ferry boat and train? I’m sure my 7 year old will want the speedway too even though I can’t stand that ride. Don’t care much for space mt either but he’ll prob want to do that too.

 

[PrettyFlower2]

Also, on a party day what’s the latest we could make reservations at Cindy’s for dinner before they kick us out lol

 

[TheOneWithTheTriplets]

Also, on a party day what’s the latest we could make reservations at Cindy’s for dinner before they kick us out lol

You can make the reservation right up to 6pm, eat in the castle, and then be escorted out.

 

[TheOneWithTheTriplets]

thanks so much for the advice! I am really not trying to cram everything in and trying to be realistic this trip. I realize we are going during an extremely crowded time and plan on buying LL and genie plus for our days. I am prioritizing BTMRR, pirates, jungle cruise, tron, SDMT, dumbo, Haunted mansion. Do you think we could do all that on a party day plus leave room for ferry boat and train? I’m sure my 7 year old will want the speedway too even though I can’t stand that ride. Don’t care much for space mt either but he’ll prob want to do that too.

That's not a huge list and a lot on the same side of the park. I think you could do that no problem on a party day with G+ and LL. Tron VQ, 7D LL, pull JC as your first G+, you can do thunder and pirates, maybe HM standby before lines build. Very doable.