5 days til Disney! Still trying to make a plan!

[3DisMunchkins]

Our first day is Saturday, a grad nite. We won't get to the parks until about noon. We have 3 first time visitors to DL so I really feel like we'll go to DL first even with the Grads. We may hop over to DCA later in the afternoon. We'll have to go check into hotel at 4.
I would like to do PTN and Fireworks on the first day, but it is a grad nite. Also wondered if the early WOC is less crowded because grads get one later???
Any advice on this or other touring options?
thanks!
Jana

 

[gottalovepluto]

Personally the one time we tried to do fireworks & PTN on a grad nite it was The Night From DL Hell. I would never recommend it to anyone. It was a weekday after Memorial. Tons of families, tons of grads. The grads were literally shoving their way around, they were absolute jerks. Our family fought our way through to Plaza Inn, barely found a patio table and literally hunkered down through the first PTN & until the fireworks crowd exited. We watched the late PTN and that I CAN recommend. It was a lot less crowded! Now, not all grads are like that, some nights are they're great & well-behaved, some nights they're flashing the camera on splash mountain & shouting non-family-friendly words every chance they get. It's a coin flip.

In your shoes I would do WOC & hit up the late PTN the first night. BUT- get your WOC FP as soon as you hit the park. On the grad nites there is only one WOC showing. Oh- and so no, WOC won't be "less crowded". It just will be crowded with families instead of grads. A normal summer night runs 2 WOC showings to absorb the crowds but grad nites leave all the day visitors with only 1 option.

 

[DollBabyKG]

I know I'm a curmudgeony jerk for this, but I just have to say I HATE GRAD NIGHTS. 3 of our 4 Disney days are Grad Nights this year, and it's upsetting me to no end.