A few random questions

[dancer_mom]

Hello all - I am going a little crazy planning details right now but we are visiting at a busy time and we want to be prepared. I thought of a couple questions and was hoping you guys could help.

Trip: end of August (Fri-Sat) Traveling with young kiddos

1. Saturday is a MM and we will only have 2 day passes.... so we want to hit the Casey Jr Train, Canal Boats, Mr. Toads, and Mad Tea Party that morning. I am a WDW vet so could someone tell me what order we should go in? Are these rides even popular enough to have an order planned ahead of time? Thanks!!!

2. After our naptime in the afternoon we were planning on arriving at the park around 3:00pm - riding the train round to toontown. Because there is a parade at 3:30 will toontown be any less crowded? Do characters still meet and greet during parades (maybe they don't to preserve the magic of not being in two places at once???) Is it a horrible idea to do TT at this time of day?

Oh yeah - if we decided to do TT in the morning instead of afternoon do the characters (specifically minnie and mickey) start meet and greets with the park opening or one hour after?

Thanks in advance --- because of all ya'll we are booked in a HOJO kids suite and SOOO excited for our first visit with our kids!!!

 

[Eeee-va]

Here's a great thread on Magic Morning that will tell you the order to see things. Canal Boats and Casey Jr. are not offered during Magic Morning, to the best of my knowledge, but they will probably open at park opening (I assume 8 AM when you visit). Since you're a WDW vet, note that Peter Pan's Flight does NOT have Fastpass, so if it was a priority you should do it first thing.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1675403

I've heard some people say that characters won't appear during their parades but I've also heard some people say they won't. Asking City Hall (maybe on your way out?) is probably the best bet.

Toontown opens 1 hour after the park opens to everyone (2 hours after the MM begins). So probably 9 AM. I think you may find Mickey and Minnie out in Main Street before Toontown opens, but that's not a guarantee.

What are your priorities in Toontown? If you want to do everything there (including meeting Mickey and Minnie and Gadget's Go-Coaster) with a minimum of wait, you might want to get there fairly near its opening time, ideally on Friday or Sunday. (Saturday it will already be busy at opening, but probably still manageable if you get there near its opening.)

I THINK Mickey and Minnie leave their houses at 5 PM (but I'm not sure about that one). I would think Gadget's Go-Coaster will probably have a long line by 3 PM. I've seen wait boards around that time with long lines for Roger Rabbit's CarToon Spin, but if you are in the area earlier in the day, you can snag a Fastpass before you leave the parks and then ride it when you get back. (Roger Rabbit's CarToon Spin is not linked to the rest of the system, so you can get a FP from there even if you already have one for another attraction and your window isn't open.)

Toontown closes at about 8:30 PM every night that fireworks are scheduled, which will likely apply to your trip. If you visit Toontown later in the day--like 7 PM--it will be a lot less crowded than mid-day, and in my experience at least, characters like Goofy and Pluto still come out.

Have a great trip!

 

[dancer_mom]

Thanks for the response - just a couple follow up questions if you have a sec

1. why would toon town already be busy on Saturday morning?

Also does anyone else know for sure if minnie and mickey still meet and greet during the 3:30 parade??? THANKS

 

[DLR29]

Toontown opens an hour earlier (8AM) on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays to those who buy packages and get the special "Mickey's Toontown Morning Madness" perk. Really, it's not a big deal if you don't have it, but it's possible that Mickey and Minnie will already have lines when TT is opened to the public at 9AM.

I personally would not even think to do TT at 3ish. It will be packed like crazy and the two rides will certainly have long lines.

I have a question for you. Why would you want to do Fantasyland on Saturday when it's MM? I would do it on Friday when you have an equal chance with everybody else. Then after you're done with those FL rides, I'd stroll up to TT and hit it in the morning. That is probably the best strategy. TT would open for you at 9AM when the park opens at 8, so you would have time to do those 4 FL rides before going to TT on Friday.

 

[dancer_mom]

Actually - we're planning on FL both days (we have little ones that won't be doing coasters)- the first day we were going to hit our must do's like PP, Alice, Dumbo etc. and then on Sat we thought we would hit ones we weren't as stressed to get to because of the magical morning.

Thanks for the tip on the toontown morning madness - that could definitely be a good reason to do TT Friday morning instead of Saturday morning.

We also won't be going on the rides in TT cause the kids are too little for the go coaster and Roger Rabbit's Cartoon Spin doesn't interest us. We really would just be walking around and visiting the silly houses and play areas etc. Do you think that even with doing those things TT would still be a headache at that hour??? Thanks again everyone

 

[Eeee-va]

DLR29 explained my Saturday=busier Toontown thing.

If Fantasyland rides are good for you and you love the Teacups, why doesn't Roger Rabbit's CarToon spin interest you? If you did Toontown fairly early on Friday morning, you could actually probably ride the ride with no problems and if you like it, then get FPs and then come back at like 3 PM and ride it again.

I would THINK Mickey and Minnie's houses and the play areas will still be pretty busy at 3:30 PM? (Unless Mickey and Minnie are not appearing, in which case the lines would be shorter but less rewarding. ) Your best way to walk around and see the sights would be early in the day or near the end of its "day" (like 7 PM since it will probably close at 8:30). But I don't know if the play areas are still open then, let alone meeting Mickey and Minnie. Mickey and Minnie's houses, however, are still open.

Will your kids be interested in Buzz Lightyear and Autopia? (If so, and you're not doing coasters, then are those going to be the main Fastpasses you get all day?)

If all of Toontown is mobbed at 3 or 3:30, then I'd skip it and either take a 3/4 train ride (stopping in Tomorrowland to do Buzz and Autopia) or else do a 1 1/4 train ride (stopping in New Orleans Square to do Pirates of the Caribbean, Haunted Mansion, and maybe Pooh--all might potentially have long lines but the first two USUALLY move pretty quickly, unless the park is filled to capacity).

 

[dancer_mom]

Thanks for the responses again. I actually was just thinking about that - doing pirates etc. in the afternoon. It's great to get the different touring suggestions.