Another POP, MLK Weekender here!

[Mom2Ben02]

One thing I am wondering - if MK is open late on Saturday, and EE on Sunday, do I avoid both days??? I have excel sheets up the wazoo, can't figure it out! Please post your itineraries if they are done!

16 days! Woo-hoo!!!
Karen

 

[luvsTink]

That's IT! I must go find me a lime green ribbon because we will be all over the POP on MLK weekend

Here is my plan for what it is worth. We are going part commando part rational. we will be at each park before it opens each day but we will take a break every day. Saturday is our longest followed by our earliest...but hey, ya gotta do what ya gotta do


Jan 16: arrive 10 pm, check in and sleep

Jan 17, Saturday: Animal Kingdom with early lunch at Tusker house. Rest between 4 - 5. Early dinner at Chef Mickey's and then MK (this is the night it is open the latest) and late Spectro (10:00)

Jan 18, Sun: EE at MK, late Breakfast at Cindy's (10:30) then to hotel and then to Whispering Canyon followed by illuminations at Epcot

Jan 19, Mon: Morning at Epcot, lunch?? Break, early dinner at MGM....H&V and fantasmic

Jan 20, Tues: Morning at MGM, lunch at 50's, Break, Evening at MK for Wishes (and walking onto rides when everyone else is watching Spectro

Jan 21, Wed: MK, Early lunch at Crystal Palace. Plane departs at 7:00 pm


Will it work? We shall see!

Anne

 

[luvsTink]

Those of you that have done MLK weekend, when do you suggest MK?

Anne

 

[annej]

We were there last year for the weekend and the following weeek. We did AK on the Sunday and MGM on the actual Holiday Mon. It was crowded but not unbearable. The resort was much more crowded on Mon. than Sunday. We avoided MK until Wed and it was great! If you have the luxury of the whole week, the crowds were way down by tuesday and the trip was FANTASTIC!!!

 

[Pryncess'mom]

We are going only for the weekend, check in around 9 on Jan 16, checking out on Mon the 19th. Staying at Pop Century. We are doing MK on Sat ( I know, I know the crowds!! No choice though!!) and EPCOT on Sunday. DTD and shopping on Monday until our flight leaves for home. Probably doing things somewhat commando, but since this will be my DD 3rd trip in 6 years, we really have seen everything at least once. If we can't amke something, no biggie. We have to do EPCOT on Sunday because FL Aunt is coming up to visit with us in park! Still, we will have a great time simply because it is DISNEY!!

Can't wait.


Deb

I will be looking for lime green, luvsTink!!!

 

[pjlla]

Bear with me while I explain......
Arriving evening of 1/16.

Originally to be at SeaWorld 1/17 and AK 1/18. Found out that Spectro was playing Sat and Tuesday at MK and we were scheduled to have a day off on Tuesday. Didn't want to miss Spectro so changed SeaWorld to 1/18 and AK to 1/17 with plans to hop to MK after AK closes to see Spectro.

Originally were going to be at MGM on Mon. 1/19, but found out that the MLK crowds can be a problem, so rescheduled day off to Monday and MGM to Tuesday (I think???).

Have to be at MK on Wed 1/21 as we have CRT reservations for 8:05am! Epcot on Thurs and MK again on Friday (like to have our last day be at the MK!).

Hey, "luvsTink" I will be looking for you and your green ribbon at the AK and Spectro on 1/17!! And again Tuesday at MGM (why aren't you staying for Fantasmic??).

Anyhow... that's all....................P

 

[luvsTink]

P...
We will be at MGM Monday night for fantasmic. Somehow I got it in my head to split the parks up (different days and nights) primarily so we can stop mid day for a rest. Everything I read says it will make us happier campers.

Anne

 

[pjlla]

Just keep in mind how short the park hours are during that time of year (except during the MLK weekend). AK will be closing at 5 and MK will be closing at 6 most nights you are there. Epcot FW closes about 7pm and WS closes around 9. So unless you have small children who need to nap, I would keep my mid-day breaks short. When we went in 1/2002 my kids were 4 and 6 1/2. We didn't take a true break any day we were there, but made sure we had some rest time during the afternoon (in the shade with a cool drink or ice cream) and they stuck to as close to their normal bedtime as possible (in bed most nights by 8pm... some nights as early as 6:30!). We are not super-active, go-go-go type people, and we were all able to tolerate that schedule very nicely. We did take one day off mid-week, slept in a bit, and took it easy.
........I'll be looking for you there!!................P

 

[luvsTink]

good morning!
Park hours for MK over the MLK are 10:00 on Sat., and 7:00 the rest of the week (except Tues is 7:30 because of Spectro I think). I am becoming concerned about the breaks (actually, I am becoming frighteningly obsessive about the whole thing! )

Do you "park hop", does it seem reasonable to change parks each day when the hours are that way? My research (boy, I have lost it!) suggested that some parks are busier in the am vs pm so I figured it would be good to switch. For instance, Sunday is EE at MK but it would be expected that MK would be very crowded by noon.

Maybe I should just go lie down

Anne

 

[Harambe]

We park hop each day. Some days, like Sunday Jan 18, we are going to do MK (EMH) then "hop" back to our resort for the day. As soon as the crowds are unbearable, we'll leave.

Pjlla makes a good point with the shorter hours, but simply scheduling a relaxing lunch, and taking a nice bus or boat ride to another park is usually all you need! This is how we fit in the nighttime shows.

 

[Harambe]

OMG - I checked my plans for our vacation and remebered that I changed it so that we would be at AK on the Sunday - not MK! We are able to do MK on Thursday (1-15) and Tuesday (1-20) so we are not going over the weekend. I totally forgot!

 

[AimeeM]

Add me to the list of Pop Century staying, MLK week vacationers!!! We will be there from jan 16-23. I read somewhere that you could get a lime green paint sample in the shape of mickey's head somewhere, but I cant find it!!! So far, my schedule looks like this...

Jan. 16th, Friday, land in orlando at 11:20 am, take ******** to Pop, check in and head to Magic Kingdom. Im hoping that it wont be too crowded on Friday!!

Jan. 17th, Saturday, Animal Kingdom. I know everywhere will be crowded saturday and sunday, but I figured there is so much to walk around and see, and shows to watch at AK, that it wont be like we are standing in lines all day for rides. The best rides and shows have fast passes, so Im hoping this will be a good move. Then we will hop over to Magic Kingdom and see Spectro and Wishes!

Jan. 18th, Sunday, Still staying away from Magic Kingdom during the day today too. Its also extra magic hour for MK on Sunday! We will head to Epcot all day. Again.. lots of walking around and things to see. It never feels reallay crowded at Epcot because its soo big! Illuminations at night!

Jan. 19th, Monday, MGM today. Im hoping the MLK crowds will be thinning by midday Monday. Its AK early entry too, so maybe everyone will go there instead! haha Fantasmic at night!!

Jan. 20th, Tuesday, FINALLY... Magic Kingdom!! Stay all day and see Spectro again.. or hit some popular rides instead. I want to see wishes again. I want to watch it once, and tape it once!

Jan.21st, Wednesday, Back to MGM Im sure we will miss some things with the crowds still there on Monday. Im not sure I can talk DH to watch Fantasmic again, but maybe he can take my 2 year old DS back to the room, and I can watch it again with my 2 DD's ( 8 & 10)

Jan. 22nd, Thursday, I was planning on Epcot all day, but I may attempt MK for just a few hours and then hop to Epcot for the rest of the day.... our last day... boohooo.. I hate leaving!!!

Hows that sound?? I will be looking for green ribbons as well! Ive yet to see one in our past 7 trips!

 

[Pryncess'mom]

We will be checking in around 9 PM on the 16th! You can get a lime green mickey head from Home Depot paint departments. I have mine ready to go!!!

Deb

 

[chuckd]

Is Sunday or Monday going to be more crowded????

 

[luvsTink]

So where do you put the paint chip??

Aimee - I have read that Tuesday is a busy day at MK because of locals. But you clearly have alot of experience

It seems like there will be a few of us at AK on Saturday. I will be looking for green symbols! I am starting to get my touring plans down and each decision just gets me more excited!

Anne

 

[Armadillo4]

Count me in as another POP, MLK weekender here! LOL! I can't believe there's a thread just for people staying at POP for this weekend.

Anyway, I get in really early on the 16th @ 6am, off a red-eye flight from the west coast. Hopefully, this will give me a chance to check-in at POP before the masses arrive. It will also allow me to do EMH at AK on the 16th. If I get sleepy in the afternoon, I'll just retire back to POP for a nap. If I still have energy, I'll hop over to MGM.

On Saturday, I'll actually venture over to Universal, as I've never done either of their parks. But I hope to come back in the early evening to Epcot for dinner and Illuminations.

On Sunday, I'll be at MK, but I've got a special plan to deal with the crowds. I made reservations for the 9am Keys to the Kingdom tour. I've heard nothing but great things about this tour. Hopefully, being guided around the park by a CM will make the crowds seem bearable. I think two rides are part of the tour and the CM takes you right to the front of the line. Plus, lunch is included, so we won't have to worry about waiting for a table or standing in line for counter service. Depending on the crowds, I'll stay at MK once the tour is over, or hop to another park, or head back to POP for a swim or nap.

Monday will be Epcot in the morning and MGM in the afternoon before our return flight that evening.

I can't wait! Just a couple more weeks. And everything I'm reading about POP makes it even more exciting! Now, I just need to find some lime green ribbons...

 

[AimeeM]

Pryncess'mom- Thanks! I looked in Lowes! Now I will be stopping in Home Depot!

luvstink- Im going to tie mine to the stroller. I will have a rented one. I tried renting one in October when we were there and it was soooooooo nice not having to drag a stroller on the bus at night! Although I have a lot of experiene for a Notherner, lol, I havent read that Tuesday will be crowded. I thought just the opposite.. everyone will leave on Monday, and Tuesday will be dead. I was hoping all the locals would make a weekend out of it and Specto is being shown twice on Saturday!! Lets keep our fingers crossed for NO LOCALS on Tuesday. If it gets too crowded, we can always hop somewhere else, but I bet it wont be bad! I love planning for Disney trips!!

Armadillo4- Ive hear that tour is really good too! Im going to try it one of these trips! Thats a good idea to do it on a really busy day!! Good Thinking! You and I are officially into the "13 days" countdown! Im at 13 days, 22 hours and 54 minutes!! You are ahead of me by a few hours! I cant wait to be in the magic again!!!

 

[AimeeM]

Does anyone know which building they are staying in yet?? Has anyone requested. or want a certain year? Iknow that preferred is the 60's, but we arent staying in preferred this time. 80's & 90's are the furtheset away but have a pool. 70's has no pool but is closer to the food court, and 50's is on the other side of preferred with a pool. 70's bldg has the cool giant foozeball ( table soccer) game in the court yard!!! It looks soooo awesome. I dont know where i want to stay!!!

 

[miche61]

Just want to join in and say we'll be there too!! The kids will be excited and I can't wait!!!

We are avoiding the parks totally on MLK though. We've got that day planned for relaxing at the resort, and doing laundry, and exploring the rest of the world.

 

[luvsTink]

Aimee and all-
I have made a few requests (non smoking, connecting, one king, one 2 doubles) and I figure that will be a miracle in itself if we get them all! I know we will get connecting but the other two are up in the air. I would love to stay in 70's (cuz of my age ) but I am afraid to complicate things! I am assuming because of our above requests our rooms will be preassigned and I think if I request at the check in things could get all messed up.

My understanding is that now some resorts are ignoring fax's. So, I will not be doing that either.

I will be looking for lime green!

anne