Advice for MK needed

[Momto2boys14]

We're going to MK April 4th, with two boys ages 9 and 11. We're only doing 1 day at this park, so what are some "must do's?" We're tossing around the idea of doing two days, maybe another Disney park, but aren't sure. AK isn't high on our list because we live near a huge safari and Six Flags Atlanta, so are thinking we can skip it.

We know we won't see everything, and that is ok, but we want to see/do as much as we can. Arriving at rope drop is on our plan, any other advice? The boys love all rides so anything is open. We're also staying off-site.

Thanks!

 

[wareagle57]

Six Flags Over Georgia is my closest park and I'm a season pass holder. What safari are you near? Regardless, I would put AK as my last choice unless you were doing park hoppers. If you do another park, I would highly suggest Hollywood Studios as Epcot isn't much of a kid park. If they are too young for thrill rides though, maybe consider AK or Epcot.

Plan on getting to MK 30 minutes BEFORE rope drop. Transportation into the MK is tricky and takes longer than you might expect. And if you end up even 30 minutes late it will make a huge difference. You can knock out about 50% of the "must dos" before noon if you are there at rope drop. It's rumored that FP+ for off-site guests might be available this week. If so, that will help you a lot.

If not, go to Peter Pan first and then find a kiosk to make your FP+ reservations. If your kids are old enough for all the thrill rides, I would try to reserve Big Thunder Mountain, Space Mountain, and either Haunted Mansion or Pirates. The next choice would be Jungle Cruise. Splash Mountain will have pretty low waits this early in the day. If you make Big Thunder your second ride, I might even skip it for FP reservation. If your boys have an interest in Enchanted Tales with Belle then make that first priority over Space and Big Thunder.

If you are going to do the Tiki Birds, Country Bears, Carousel of Progress, People Mover, Hall of Presidents, Rail Road, or Tom Sawer island save them for 1-5 PM hours. And stop for lunch either by 11 or after 2. I prefer after 2 because I don't like stopping while the lines are still relatively short and I can wait.

Rides I would consider a must do (in order) that I haven't already mentioned are:

It's a Small World
Dumbo (strictly nostalgic purposes)
Tea Cups (same as above)
Winnie The Pooh
Buzz Lightyear Spacer Ranger Spin
Mickey's Philharmagic
Monster's Inc Laugh Floor
Tomorrowland Speedway
Stitch's Great Escape
Prince Charming's Carrousel

That's roughly 24 rides/attractions. At a commando pace I think it's possible to do most of them. If you want to see parades it might take away from a ride or two, but I believe the FoF parade is during the 1-5 hour so it shouldn't take away form the must see rides. If you want to see the Electric Parade and Wishes that will take away from some late night ride time (about 2 hours)

I hope this helped. Just make sure to keep the fastest pace on the first 2 and last 2 hours of the park hours. Those are the lowest wait times. Take it slow the rest of the time, especially the 1-5 hours.

 

[corinascot]

Wareagle gives good advice! One thing that surprised Dh and I when we took our 9 year old DS for the first time was how much he wanted to meet the characters. I didn't think he would be interested in that at all.

 

[Momto2boys14]

Thanks! That's a huge help.
We have been to the safari at Pine Mt, and have been to Six flags so many times we're bored with it, lol. I know Disney is very different than those places, though. My 11 year old rode Goliath for the first time last year but hasn't quite gotten the nerve up for Superman, so he does like thrill rides, but is fine with the easy going ones also.

Corinascot- Like you, I also don't think mine would be interested in the characters so thanks for letting me know it is a possibility!

 

[wareagle57]

Thanks! That's a huge help.
We have been to the safari at Pine Mt, and have been to Six flags so many times we're bored with it, lol. I know Disney is very different than those places, though. My 11 year old rode Goliath for the first time last year but hasn't quite gotten the nerve up for Superman, so he does like thrill rides, but is fine with the easy going ones also.

Corinascot- Like you, I also don't think mine would be interested in the characters so thanks for letting me know it is a possibility!

As a thrill enthusiast who thought Disney was too kiddie until I matured enough to love it, Goliath is much more thrilling than Superman. I've ridden over 120 coasters across the country and Goliath is in the top 10 easily. So your 11 year old should be find with Superman.

 

[Momto2boys14]

As a thrill enthusiast who thought Disney was too kiddie until I matured enough to love it, Goliath is much more thrilling than Superman. I've ridden over 120 coasters across the country and Goliath is in the top 10 easily. So your 11 year old should be find with Superman.

That's what I told him but it's the laying down part that has him nervous. I think he would if I went with him but my love of thrill rides went away when I had kids.

FP+ Question: I'm sure he would love space mountain, so is it possible to get him a FP for it, but not me, yet still stand in line with him?

 

[wareagle57]

That's what I told him but it's the laying down part that has him nervous. I think he would if I went with him but my love of thrill rides went away when I had kids.

FP+ Question: I'm sure he would love space mountain, so is it possible to get him a FP for it, but not me, yet still stand in line with him?

You can make different FP+ reservations but I don't believe you will be allowed to stand in line with him. But since I doubt you are making a different FP+ reservation for just yourself, you might could make one for Space and wait with him and then just tell them you don't want to ride when you get up there? Not sure. That has to happen all the time with kids right? Anyone know?