Afternoons or Evenings at Disney

[Seeker615]

Hello

I am attending a conference in October. It will be Monday-Wednesday. We are being offered cheap Disney tickets that we can use after 1pm till closing or even cheaper tickets for after 5 till closing.

I know the Halloween Party is happening on certain nights but we were looking to head to EPCOT and Hollywood Studios. Will it be worth it to go over for a few hours? Will we be able access the rides and attractions?

 

[hakepb]

Asking a bunch of Disney fans will get an overwhelming yes

And most would probably head to Epcot to buy a bunch of food and drink samples during Food&Wine.

In terms of rides... without advance FP+ and without rope drop it will be difficult to do many/any headliner attractions.
Epcot has many more (non-headliner) attractions with reasonable standby waits. Spaceship Earth, Nemo, Living with the land, Mexico and shows in the countries.

You may still be OK with Test Track single rider and Soarin might have somewhat reasonable standby waits.

Hollywood Studios is currently an unknown with Toy Story land opening this July. (A few more rides, but new rides normally have looong waits)

 

[Seeker615]

Can I reserve rides even if I get my tickets elsewhere?

 

[hakepb]

Can I reserve rides even if I get my tickets elsewhere?

Yes, If you have a valid ticket (even from authorized 3rd party) you will be able to add the code to your MDE account. When you have valid tickets in your account, you can make advanced FP+ reservations. (Subject to on-site/off site booking Windows)

 

[mi*vida*loca]

I would definitely do it. I think you will be fine with rides and FP+. My son went last month and did all of his FP+ for the week (as did most of his senior class) once he arrived. He got everything he wanted except FOP. He also got some additional FP+ for headliners like RnRC, Test Track and Soarin. He did wait in a two hour line for FOP and said it was well worth the wait.

 

[Shellyred8]

My determining factors would be: what is the price difference between the two and what time will I be finished at the conference each day to be able to go to the parks.

If I was finished at the conference each day by 1pm and the difference in price was minimal, I would go for the 1pm ticket. But if I wasn't finished at the conference each day until mid-afternoon, I would get the 5pm ticket.

Have a great trip!

 

[sponica]

If I was down for a conference, you'd find me at epcot afterwards.

 

[Babe the Blue Ox]

In terms of rides... without advance FP+ and without rope drop it will be difficult to do many/any headliner attractions.

I'm not sure I agree with this. The lines for the headliners in the evening can be even shorter than in the morning. For example, on our last visit the posted wait time for Test Track was 40 minutes at around 8 pm but the actual wait was only 10 minutes. The line for Soarin was even shorter but we didn't want to ride it again. I checked Frozen just a couple of days ago and the posted wait was only 20 minutes close to closing time. The actual wait was likely only 5-10 minutes.

 

[hakepb]

I'm not sure I agree with this. The lines for the headliners in the evening can be even shorter than in the morning. For example, on our last visit the posted wait time for Test Track was 40 minutes at around 8 pm but the actual wait was only 10 minutes. The line for Soarin was even shorter but we didn't want to ride it again. I checked Frozen just a couple of days ago and the posted wait was only 20 minutes close to closing time. The actual wait was likely only 5-10 minutes.

I agree that headliners can be shorter at the end of a day (and a great idea if you want to ride instead of watching Illuminations) , but I doubt the waits will be that low during F&W.

 

[clm10308]

I did this last October. I did one evening in Disney Springs and then one evening at Epcot. I got the after 5pm ticket because the was no way I could leave the conference much earlier. I took uber from my conference hotel to Disney. I was able to get a FP for Soarin as my first ride. I don't remember Doing any other rides that required a FP. i was able to extend my stay after the conference and attend the Halloween party one night and then had a full Saturday at Animal Kingdom. I will admit I was wiped out after that, but I couldn't resist when work paid for the airfare and the first hotel stay along with food during the conference. I used my DVC points to stay on site the last 2 nights.

I had a fun time turning in receipts from the parks for some some of my meals.

 

[Babe the Blue Ox]

I agree that headliners can be shorter at the end of a day (and a great idea if you want to ride instead of watching Illuminations) , but I doubt the waits will be that low during F&W.

I’ve never been to F&W, but is it busier than the holidays? Touring Plans wouldn’t take me back before January 1, but on that day the posted waits during the last hour of operation were:

Frozen 20
Soarin 10
Test Track 15

It looks like a guest would have plenty of time to ride all 3 in less than an hour and still make it to Illiminations.

The point is that even during the busiest times, the waits for the headliners get really short toward the end of the day. You can get a lot done without FP+ and you certainly don’t need to be there for rope drop.

 

[Seeker615]

I did this last October. I did one evening in Disney Springs and then one evening at Epcot. I got the after 5pm ticket because the was no way I could leave the conference much earlier. I took uber from my conference hotel to Disney. I was able to get a FP for Soarin as my first ride. I don't remember Doing any other rides that required a FP. i was able to extend my stay after the conference and attend the Halloween party one night and then had a full Saturday at Animal Kingdom. I will admit I was wiped out after that, but I couldn't resist when work paid for the airfare and the first hotel stay along with food during the conference. I used my DVC points to stay on site the last 2 nights.

I had a fun time turning in receipts from the parks for some some of my meals.

Your plan sounds like what I had in mind. I will be arriving a day before the conference so realistically I could hit one of the parks that afternoon. classes and sessions do not end until after 4 so I would have to use the 5pm pass. I didn't realize it was Food and Wine at EPCOT. Hopefully things will not be too crowded. I am leaning toward a few hours at the studios one evening or maybe just purchasing the Mickey Halloween Ticket. Can you still get in early with that ticket?

After the conference we are heading over to Seaworld and Discovery Cove for a few days.

 

[Seeker615]

One other question. We have considered staying three nights at Disney after the conference. It would be Thursday-Sunday. Most park time would be Friday and Saturday. Too busy to enjoy on those days?