AK and DHS in a day: How much is possible

[Laura's Dad]

On our upcoming September trip I was thinking about hopping from AK to DHS using FastPass+ at DHS. We have a free dining discount for four days and planning on spending a full day at the MK and a full day at Epcot for the Food and Wine celebration. We had planned on doing only two days at the parks, but I am more of a doer than my wife and daughter. I am thinking about adding a day to my pass to go to the AK and to DHS. This will be during the 3rd week of September with a projected crowd of 3. Here are my plans for your review/critique:

AK EMH @ 8 am

Kilimanjaro Safaris
Expedition Everest
Dinosaur
It's Tough to be a Bug
Finding Nemo show
Maharaja Jungle Trek
Gorilla Falls trail

Go to DHS

FP+ for Toy Story Midway Mania, Tower of Terror, Star Tours
Do Rock and Roller Coaster with single rider line
See a couple of shows

I have a couple of questions for the experts:

1. How much will I be able to get done at the AK during EMH? Would it make more sense to do Everest and or Dinosaur first since they are shorter attractions time-wise and do Kilimanjaro Safaris 3rd?

2. What time should I try to schedule my DHS FastPasses for? I don't want to spend all day at the AK but I really enjoy both parks.

Any help would be appreciated

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

We find that the safari gets busier than EE. But you are right EE is a shorted ride. It is quite a trek to EE so get there quick, ride EE straight back for KS. Then dinosaur. I am not sure how much time will be left or what time the next show would be.

I would aim to have lunch at DS , you have to allow transfer time. Then FP+ I would say on TSMM first starting at 1:30 pm... Then see what you can get for the rest. For me DHS has nicer places to eat.

 

[g-dad66]

You're definitely right to put Dinosaur third because waits will build more slowly for it.

Doing the Safari or Everest first is sort-of a tossup for me, but I think I would do the Safari first, because of the park layout. As OP mentioned, it's quite a walk back to Everest, then to go to Safari, you're going all the way to the other end of the park, and then back almost as far again to get to Dinosaur. You'll do much less walking (and save a bit of time) by going to the Safari first.

If you plan to spend the entire day at the parks, I would make the DHS FP+ for the late afternoon/early evening, so you don't have to rush to get there from Animal Kingdom. If you get to DHS in the early afternoon, you could do shows such as Beauty and the Beast, Indiana Jones, Little Mermaid.