4 Full Days; Add more ticket days?

[JW1CK]

Hello! My girlfriend(1st timer) and myself(11th time and 1st time in 7 years) leave for WDW in 9 days and are super pumped! Currently we plan on spending 4 full days at WDW (off-site, though) and so far have bought 2 day park tickets. We plan on doing Epcot and MK. Since we are both in our early 20s, we plan on staying at both parks all day and hitting as many rides as we can each day, with a QS break for lunch and dinner in each park. The first full day we arrive I wanted to go resort hopping almost all day. Maybe hit a nice resort restaurant or two, ride the monorails(im a monorail junkie), see fireworks at night from a resort, etc. That leaves one day in the middle of Epcot and MK. We would either use that day to explore even more and relax at our hotel(Embassy Suites) or use it for another park. However, I know both AK/HS have limited rides we would like, so we would probably have to get a hopper just for that day. I can't decide if I should spend the money on the extra ticket with a hopper or use that money to get a couple more nice meals and some fun stuff around WDW. What do you think?

Itenerary:

Sat May 30: Flight to MCO around 3:15pm, DTD all evening.
Sun May 31: Resort hopping day.
Mon June 1: Epcot all day
Tue June 2: Either WDW exploring or HS/AK -- cannot decide
Wed Jun 3: Magic Kingdom
Thu Jun 4: Leave MCO around 1pm

Any suggestions would be great!

 

[taythecray]

The hopper is one price no matter if you use it one day or your entire trip so in my opinion it wouldn't be worth it. My suggestion would be to pick one of the parks, spend however much time you would like there and then do a nice dinner and more exploring once you get done. Either that or spend another day at Epcot or Magic Kingdom (I LOVE being in the parks though)

 

[Lucius Best]

Looking at ticket prices, it's approximately $80 per ticket more to upgrade to 3-day ticket. Only $30 more per ticket to upgrade to a 4-day ticket. And $50 per ticket to add park-hopping.

I would say with a first timer, even though you don't think there are a lot of rides you would like, I like the idea of visiting all 4 parks. The better way would be to upgrade to 4-day tickets. That would be cheaper than 3-day park hoppers. You could spend the mornings in AK/HS (when lines are short and you can quickly hit the rides you want to hit), then leave at lunch to resort hop until dinner.

Sun: AK in morning, then explore MK monorail resorts for lunch&dinner, watch fireworks from Polynesian beach
Mon: Epcot all day
Tues: HS in morning, explore Epcot resorts YachtClub/BeachClub/Boardwalk/Swan/Dolphin, dinner Animal Kingdom Lodge
Wed: Magic Kingdom all day

 

[Jen731]

I agree with Lucius that you might consider changing to a 4 day, visit a park in the morning and then resort hop in the afternoon, especially since it's your girlfriend's first visit. If you really don't want to do AK or HS, you might visit Magic Kingdom or Epcot again. There is too much at both those parks to really finish them in one day each.

Since you haven't been in quite awhile, you might read up on advance dining reservations and fast passes. If you want any special dining or if you want to ride some of the more popular rides, you need to try and see if you can nab those reservations now. That will give you the most bang for your buck at the parks.

Have an awesome time.

 

[hamilkm]

I definitely vote to do all four parks. My boyfriend and I are in our late 20's and are really looking forward to doing all 4 parks when we go in October. We are doing half days at AK and HS because we couldn't imagine not riding RnRC or EE which are some of our favorite rides! Also love the safari in Animal Kingdom!

 

[ArwenMarie]

I would go for the four-day ticket and skip the hoppers.

 

[rwdavis2]

Do the parks and fit resort hopping when possible. Since it's your girlfriend's first trip you won't know what parks she likes until you have tried them all. Do what she wants this time. You've done it all, already. Personally if I only had 4 days in Orlando the last thing I would do is resort hop and hang out at a swimming pool.

 

[itchin2go]

Yeah - I wouldn't spend a whole day resort hopping. I would do a combo of resort exploring with a half day at at park.

I don't think you need a hopper, but if you change your mind, you can always upgrade.

 

[Davey Jones II]

You only have four days, I certainly wouldn't spend any of that time visiting hotels. You will need every second to explore the parks. You also don't know which ones will turn out to be your girlfriend's favorites. I would recommend upgrading to a four day ticket, and let her see all the parks. And try to book some FP+ reservations. You will need to save as much time as possible, and spend as little time as possible waiting in line.

On future visits, assuming your girlfriend enjoyed the trip, I would book at least eight days for WDW (four days is not enough) and maybe add Universal and/or Sea World, too. Just my two cents worth.

 

[msb578]

To me, resort hopping and non-park activities are great for people who've been to WDW multiple times and are "ready" to let go of park commando-ing. I love relaxing at WDW. But for someone's first visit? I can't imagine it not being park-heavy.

 

[Hopefully]

Hello! My girlfriend(1st timer) and myself(11th time and 1st time in 7 years) leave for WDW in 9 days and are super pumped! Currently we plan on spending 4 full days at WDW (off-site, though) and so far have bought 2 day park tickets. We plan on doing Epcot and MK. Since we are both in our early 20s, we plan on staying at both parks all day and hitting as many rides as we can each day, with a QS break for lunch and dinner in each park. The first full day we arrive I wanted to go resort hopping almost all day. Maybe hit a nice resort restaurant or two, ride the monorails(im a monorail junkie), see fireworks at night from a resort, etc. That leaves one day in the middle of Epcot and MK. We would either use that day to explore even more and relax at our hotel(Embassy Suites) or use it for another park. However, I know both AK/HS have limited rides we would like, so we would probably have to get a hopper just for that day. I can't decide if I should spend the money on the extra ticket with a hopper or use that money to get a couple more nice meals and some fun stuff around WDW. What do you think?

Itenerary:

Sat May 30: Flight to MCO around 3:15pm, DTD all evening.
Sun May 31: Resort hopping day.
Mon June 1: Epcot all day
Tue June 2: Either WDW exploring or HS/AK -- cannot decide
Wed Jun 3: Magic Kingdom
Thu Jun 4: Leave MCO around 1pm

Any suggestions would be great!

Are you talking this weekend - like tomorrow???
If you want a nice dinner ADR you need to go online and see what you can still book. Many if not most popular restaurants book completely way in advance.
I would also recommend being at the MK and EC when the open to maximize your ability to ride rides before the lines build. Good Luck This is a holiday weekend and is likely to be very busy

 

[Doug M]

Since both HS and AK can potentially be partial day parks, get 4 day tickets, do each park, and when done at AK and HS do your resort hopping.