Are my MK and AK plans feasible?

[godfather927]

Going for a 5-day trip in less than 2 weeks! The wife and I will have our 9 and 6 yr olds in tow. Been doing tons of research and have used TP and Thrill Data extensively (even going as far as computing avg return times by every time block for all of our G+ rides from the last 30 days.) Staying on-site and will be hitting all 4 parks, but this is what I've got so far for the first two full days...

MK on Sunday:
7am: Book HM for ~10am and 7DMT for ~1pm
*Enter park around 8:30-9am*
9am: Ride Buzz on Standby, then if we have time, maybe Tea Cups or Barnstormer
10am: Tap into HM and book BTM or Splash (whichever has a later return time) for ~2pm
11am: Lunch at Friar's Nook after a quick Tea Cups ride if we skipped it earlier
12pm: Depending on the return times for BTM/Splash, try to book the other as close as possible to the end of the 3pm parade (i.e. for a 4pm return), or if the return window for that 10am booking was around 1pm, then consider squatting on a spot west of Sleepy Hollow and doing the 12pm parade now.
1pm: Ride 7DMT, and then Carousel or anything else nearby that has a super short standby wait
2pm: Book SM for ~7pm, and tap into BTM/Splash
3pm: Parade if we didn't do it at 12pm
4pm: Book Aladdin for ~6pm or Buzz for ~7pm, and ride Splash/BTM
5pm: Dinner at Columbia Harbor House
6pm: Book whatever the kids want to do that we haven't already booked and head over to watch both Cavalcade parades
7pm: Ride SM and anything else we haven't done yet like People Mover or Laugh Floor
8pm: Ice cream and Castle shows

AK on Monday:
7am: Book FOP for ~2pm and Kilimanjaro Safari for ~10am
9:30am: Book Navi River for ~1:30pm
*Enter park around 9:30-10am*
10am: Ride Safari
10:30am: Head to Rafiki's and do Animation Experience, Affection, and Up-Close Encounters
11:30am: Book Lion King for 3/4pm, or Kali 4/5pm (may need to delay booking until desired time slot is available)
12pm: Head back to Africa and get lunch at Harambe Market
1:30pm Friends in Flight and book Lion King or Kali (may be delayed)
2pm: Ride Navi
2:30pm: Ride FOP
3pm: Lion King if booked at 3pm, or watch shows (Kora / Drummers) or do Gorilla Falls until Lion King at 4pm
3:30pm: Book Dinosaur for ~7pm (may be delayed)
4pm: Gorilla Falls or Lion King if booked at 4pm
5pm: Ride Kali and Jungle Trek
6pm: Dinner at FlameTree BBQ and kids play at Boneyard, book Tough to be Bug for ~7pm
7pm: Ride TriceraTop, Dinosaur, and Tough to be Bug
8pm: Ice cream and Tree shows

Note: I know it's a ton of zig-zagging, but that's pretty much unavoidable these days thanks to the very rigid constraints of G+. And I also know trying to predict return times like this is highly variable and I can only select the one time that's available unlike ILLs, but using the computed averages from recent Thrill Data, I'm hoping to get somewhat in the ballpark. But keeping this in mind, I avoided ADRs and tried to build in lots of cushion, breaks, and contingencies to give me the flexibility to rearrange the plans on-the-fly as needed.

My biggest concern is when I might need to delay booking to hit a desired time slot, which might push everything else back a bit, but if we miss a show or have to hustle a bit, it won't be the end of the world. It's a lot to pack in, which is why we're not rope dropping and will have even later mornings on the next three days following this since I'm sure we'll all need it but fingers crossed that the kids can keep up, with enough breaks spread out throughout the day. This is the culmination of weeks of reading, learning, analysis, etc., so hopefully I'm not totally crazy for thinking this is possible.

Any thoughts or feedback?

 

[godfather927]

Well I just heard Everest is opening in time for our trip so I'll have to scrap my AK plan and figure out what to throw out so I can fit that in now.

 

[3gr8boys]

Going for a 5-day trip in less than 2 weeks! The wife and I will have our 9 and 6 yr olds in tow. Been doing tons of research and have used TP and Thrill Data extensively (even going as far as computing avg return times by every time block for all of our G+ rides from the last 30 days.) Staying on-site and will be hitting all 4 parks, but this is what I've got so far for the first two full days...

MK on Sunday:
7am: Book HM for ~10am and 7DMT for ~1pm
*Enter park around 8:30-9am*
9am: Ride Buzz on Standby, then if we have time, maybe Tea Cups or Barnstormer
10am: Tap into HM and book BTM or Splash (whichever has a later return time) for ~2pm
11am: Lunch at Friar's Nook after a quick Tea Cups ride if we skipped it earlier
12pm: Depending on the return times for BTM/Splash, try to book the other as close as possible to the end of the 3pm parade (i.e. for a 4pm return), or if the return window for that 10am booking was around 1pm, then consider squatting on a spot west of Sleepy Hollow and doing the 12pm parade now.
1pm: Ride 7DMT, and then Carousel or anything else nearby that has a super short standby wait
2pm: Book SM for ~7pm, and tap into BTM/Splash
3pm: Parade if we didn't do it at 12pm
4pm: Book Aladdin for ~6pm or Buzz for ~7pm, and ride Splash/BTM
5pm: Dinner at Columbia Harbor House
6pm: Book whatever the kids want to do that we haven't already booked and head over to watch both Cavalcade parades
7pm: Ride SM and anything else we haven't done yet like People Mover or Laugh Floor
8pm: Ice cream and Castle shows

AK on Monday:
7am: Book FOP for ~2pm and Kilimanjaro Safari for ~10am
9:30am: Book Navi River for ~1:30pm
*Enter park around 9:30-10am*
10am: Ride Safari
10:30am: Head to Rafiki's and do Animation Experience, Affection, and Up-Close Encounters
11:30am: Book Lion King for 3/4pm, or Kali 4/5pm (may need to delay booking until desired time slot is available)
12pm: Head back to Africa and get lunch at Harambe Market
1:30pm Friends in Flight and book Lion King or Kali (may be delayed)
2pm: Ride Navi
2:30pm: Ride FOP
3pm: Lion King if booked at 3pm, or watch shows (Kora / Drummers) or do Gorilla Falls until Lion King at 4pm
3:30pm: Book Dinosaur for ~7pm (may be delayed)
4pm: Gorilla Falls or Lion King if booked at 4pm
5pm: Ride Kali and Jungle Trek
6pm: Dinner at FlameTree BBQ and kids play at Boneyard, book Tough to be Bug for ~7pm
7pm: Ride TriceraTop, Dinosaur, and Tough to be Bug
8pm: Ice cream and Tree shows

Note: I know it's a ton of zig-zagging, but that's pretty much unavoidable these days thanks to the very rigid constraints of G+. And I also know trying to predict return times like this is highly variable and I can only select the one time that's available unlike ILLs, but using the computed averages from recent Thrill Data, I'm hoping to get somewhat in the ballpark. But keeping this in mind, I avoided ADRs and tried to build in lots of cushion, breaks, and contingencies to give me the flexibility to rearrange the plans on-the-fly as needed.

My biggest concern is when I might need to delay booking to hit a desired time slot, which might push everything else back a bit, but if we miss a show or have to hustle a bit, it won't be the end of the world. It's a lot to pack in, which is why we're not rope dropping and will have even later mornings on the next three days following this since I'm sure we'll all need it but fingers crossed that the kids can keep up, with enough breaks spread out throughout the day. This is the culmination of weeks of reading, learning, analysis, etc., so hopefully I'm not totally crazy for thinking this is possible.

Any thoughts or feedback?

You really have done a lot of research! Even though I returned recently from six park days using Genie+, I am not brave enough to tell you if your plan will work. However, I can offer a suggestion for how to approach your day (the approach we used). It is really a way to put things in an order of priority and/or geography without getting too focused on the times.

(If I tell you anything that is obvious based out your previous Disney experience, I apologize. Maybe it will at least help someone else)

Take your MK day to start with, before 7a.m. you set up "My Day" with only HM and 7DMT selected. That way, when LL times become available at 7a.m., you aren't scrolling through the attractions. Once you have HM and 7DMT booked, edit your My Day to remove them and select a couple of the next priorities on your list- looks like BTMRR and Splash, so you are ready when you tap into your first LL or 120 minutes past park open (whichever comes first). Book one? take it off the "My Day" list and add the next one or two - Aladdin? Buzz (if the line was too long in the morning)? Ok, so you keep doing that so you can, hopefully, get a good LL time for a ride you want each time you are eligible (without lots of scrolling). THEN while you are waiting for your LL windows, fill the time in that area best you can (you've mentioned several things). With the cut through between Frontierland and Adventureland, a lot of things in those areas are easy walks from each other.

( The approach may not work as well on your AK day because there are a lot of activities in your plan that aren't LL but aren't filler either (because they take awhile or have a set schedule). )

We spent six days grabbing LL for priority rides and then filling the time in between with less popular rides, shows, food etc. Some of our favorite time fillers (aside from rides with low waits) last week were:

MK
Monster's Inc Laugh Floor
Mickey's Philharmagic (twice! so fun)
Mobile order cinnamon doughnut holes (AND COLD BREW COFFEE) from Friar's Nook
Watching cavalcades and parades in Frontierland
Swiss Family Treehouse (yes, my family likes to do this)
Country Bear Jamboree (I admit, the rest of my family doesn't really enjoy this)
Mickey's Magical Friendship Faire

AK
It's Tough to Be a Bug
the aviary on the Maharajah Jungle Trek

HS
we met Olaf with NO wait
Indiana Jones Stunt Show
Katsaka's Mix (popcorn) in Galaxy's Edge
Catching Rey and Chewbacca working on the Millennium Falcon- they will talk to you
One Man's Dream was very interesting (might be a hard sell for the kids)

Epcot
The butterfly house (Flower & Garden festival thing)
The juggler that performs in Italy
Mobile ordering treats from Karmell Kuche in Germany
The maze garden in England


I should point out that we sometimes didn't book a me LL as soon as we were eligible. If our priority rides didn't have an early enough return time (or had no availability), we often played the refreshing game until something better came up. This primarily came in to play in the afternoon/evening.

I hope that helped some...not sure if my "no-touring-plan plan" is how you want to approach things. If nothing else, I enjoyed thinking about the trip. It was a great week!

 

[godfather927]

You really have done a lot of research! Even though I returned recently from six park days using Genie+, I am not brave enough to tell you if your plan will work. However, I can offer a suggestion for how to approach your day (the approach we used). It is really a way to put things in an order of priority and/or geography without getting too focused on the times.

(If I tell you anything that is obvious based out your previous Disney experience, I apologize. Maybe it will at least help someone else)

Take your MK day to start with, before 7a.m. you set up "My Day" with only HM and 7DMT selected. That way, when LL times become available at 7a.m., you aren't scrolling through the attractions. Once you have HM and 7DMT booked, edit your My Day to remove them and select a couple of the next priorities on your list- looks like BTMRR and Splash, so you are ready when you tap into your first LL or 120 minutes past park open (whichever comes first). Book one? take it off the "My Day" list and add the next one or two - Aladdin? Buzz (if the line was too long in the morning)? Ok, so you keep doing that so you can, hopefully, get a good LL time for a ride you want each time you are eligible (without lots of scrolling). THEN while you are waiting for your LL windows, fill the time in that area best you can (you've mentioned several things). With the cut through between Frontierland and Adventureland, a lot of things in those areas are easy walks from each other.

( The approach may not work as well on your AK day because there are a lot of activities in your plan that aren't LL but aren't filler either (because they take awhile or have a set schedule). )

We spent six days grabbing LL for priority rides and then filling the time in between with less popular rides, shows, food etc. Some of our favorite time fillers (aside from rides with low waits) last week were:

MK
Monster's Inc Laugh Floor
Mickey's Philharmagic (twice! so fun)
Mobile order cinnamon doughnut holes (AND COLD BREW COFFEE) from Friar's Nook
Watching cavalcades and parades in Frontierland
Swiss Family Treehouse (yes, my family likes to do this)
Country Bear Jamboree (I admit, the rest of my family doesn't really enjoy this)
Mickey's Magical Friendship Faire

AK
It's Tough to Be a Bug
the aviary on the Maharajah Jungle Trek

HS
we met Olaf with NO wait
Indiana Jones Stunt Show
Katsaka's Mix (popcorn) in Galaxy's Edge
Catching Rey and Chewbacca working on the Millennium Falcon- they will talk to you
One Man's Dream was very interesting (might be a hard sell for the kids)

Epcot
The butterfly house (Flower & Garden festival thing)
The juggler that performs in Italy
Mobile ordering treats from Karmell Kuche in Germany
The maze garden in England


I should point out that we sometimes didn't book a me LL as soon as we were eligible. If our priority rides didn't have an early enough return time (or had no availability), we often played the refreshing game until something better came up. This primarily came in to play in the afternoon/evening.

I hope that helped some...not sure if my "no-touring-plan plan" is how you want to approach things. If nothing else, I enjoyed thinking about the trip. It was a great week!

Thanks for the advice on filler ideas. I'll for sure need to be flexible if I notice the return times start to deviate. I plan to do a "dry run" the week prior just to practice setting up the tip board and seeing what the return times look like at those intervals.

The one area where I probably will be a bit lost on are finding where the good snack and ice cream spots are. These first two parks will be the longest days we will have ever spent in the parks so we'll need to refuel often and take multiple breaks. I've heard the ice cream cookie sandwich at Hollywood scoops is great and so is the ice cream filled brioche at artisan de glaces. We've done the Nutella waffle at sleepy hollow, but curious if there's anything else at MK we should try, or any good spot at AK.

 

[3gr8boys]

Thanks for the advice on filler ideas. I'll for sure need to be flexible if I notice the return times start to deviate. I plan to do a "dry run" the week prior just to practice setting up the tip board and seeing what the return times look like at those intervals.

The one area where I probably will be a bit lost on are finding where the good snack and ice cream spots are. These first two parks will be the longest days we will have ever spent in the parks so we'll need to refuel often and take multiple breaks. I've heard the ice cream cookie sandwich at Hollywood scoops is great and so is the ice cream filled brioche at artisan de glaces. We've done the Nutella waffle at sleepy hollow, but curious if there's anything else at MK we should try, or any good spot at AK.

I do have to say, I am impressed with your planning. I consider myself a planner (and a bit of a control freak), but I don't have the patience to do the work that you've done!

OK- you've given me a fun challenge. Here are my thoughts about snacks/refueling....

First and foremost- ICE WATER! Just in case you weren't aware, any quick service restaurant or stand with fountain beverages will give you free cups of ice water. You do not have to order anything- just walk up to the food pickup area (or tell the host at the entrance, if there is one, what you need). Two of us often stopped to grab two cups each to keep our group refreshed and hydrated.

Second- If you open "Order Food" from the + at the bottom of your My Disney Experience app, it will show the mobile order spots you are closest to first. Useful if folks are getting hangry or you aren't sure where ice water is nearby. IF you are looking for food during typical lunch or dinner times and you know where you want to go, stop and open mobile order (if it's a mobile order QS restaurant) to see if the time windows are current or way out. (Note that most of the offerings in Epcot do not have mobile order.)

Third- whenever we ordered a QS kids meal, we saved the Dasani water bottle for later (grabbed ice water to go with the meal)

Fourth- silicone straws! When you do get a straw in Disney World, it is paper. I carried silicone straws (bought a kit that came with carrying pods and a cleaning brush) to use with frozen drinks.

EPCOT
I was hoping for a treat from Artisan de Glaces last week , but we don't do long lines, especially in the heat. We also skipped the Gelato stand in Italy for that reason. Here are some other EPCOT suggestions.
Sommerfest in Germany has HUGE, yummy soft pretzels. (Not to mention delicious "pretzel bread pudding")
The Kabuki Cafe stand in Japan has shaved ice.
Karmell Kuche in Germany does have mobile order and it is efficient- great for sweets.
I am partial to the bakery in Norway. I've waited in line, but inside out of the sun.
Club Cool!!

AK
Zuri Sweets in Africa has slushies
There are ice cream carts scattered throughout the park

HS
Backlot Express has Blue Rasberry slushies and the (very shareable) Wookie Cookie (Mobile order was quick)
The Katsaka's popcorn stand in Galaxy's Edge is in the marketplace next to Ronto Roasters, as in- the line is in the shade
The Blue/Green milk in Galaxy's edge is not a true slushy, but it is icy and refreshing. (Blue is kind of coconut/vanilla/fruity while the green is more fruity/floral.)

MK
Friar's Nook mobile order really is easy for cinnamon doughnut holes and coffee in the morning.
We managed to hit Gaston's tavern at a quiet time (morning) and sit in his chair. We liked the LeFou's Brew slushy.
Hangin' in Frontierland waiting for a parade or LL- there is a stand across from Country Bear Jamboree with Mickey pretzels and bottled drinks
Our experience- if Aloha Isle is mobbed, even mobile order will take FOREVER (you can ask the mobile order attendant for a refund when you are ready to give up). We circled back another time for a short line.

 

[godfather927]

I do have to say, I am impressed with your planning. I consider myself a planner (and a bit of a control freak), but I don't have the patience to do the work that you've done!

OK- you've given me a fun challenge. Here are my thoughts about snacks/refueling....

First and foremost- ICE WATER! Just in case you weren't aware, any quick service restaurant or stand with fountain beverages will give you free cups of ice water. You do not have to order anything- just walk up to the food pickup area (or tell the host at the entrance, if there is one, what you need). Two of us often stopped to grab two cups each to keep our group refreshed and hydrated.

Second- If you open "Order Food" from the + at the bottom of your My Disney Experience app, it will show the mobile order spots you are closest to first. Useful if folks are getting hangry or you aren't sure where ice water is nearby. IF you are looking for food during typical lunch or dinner times and you know where you want to go, stop and open mobile order (if it's a mobile order QS restaurant) to see if the time windows are current or way out. (Note that most of the offerings in Epcot do not have mobile order.)

Third- whenever we ordered a QS kids meal, we saved the Dasani water bottle for later (grabbed ice water to go with the meal)

Fourth- silicone straws! When you do get a straw in Disney World, it is paper. I carried silicone straws (bought a kit that came with carrying pods and a cleaning brush) to use with frozen drinks.

EPCOT
I was hoping for a treat from Artisan de Glaces last week , but we don't do long lines, especially in the heat. We also skipped the Gelato stand in Italy for that reason. Here are some other EPCOT suggestions.
Sommerfest in Germany has HUGE, yummy soft pretzels. (Not to mention delicious "pretzel bread pudding")
The Kabuki Cafe stand in Japan has shaved ice.
Karmell Kuche in Germany does have mobile order and it is efficient- great for sweets.
I am partial to the bakery in Norway. I've waited in line, but inside out of the sun.
Club Cool!!

AK
Zuri Sweets in Africa has slushies
There are ice cream carts scattered throughout the park

HS
Backlot Express has Blue Rasberry slushies and the (very shareable) Wookie Cookie (Mobile order was quick)
The Katsaka's popcorn stand in Galaxy's Edge is in the marketplace next to Ronto Roasters, as in- the line is in the shade
The Blue/Green milk in Galaxy's edge is not a true slushy, but it is icy and refreshing. (Blue is kind of coconut/vanilla/fruity while the green is more fruity/floral.)

MK
Friar's Nook mobile order really is easy for cinnamon doughnut holes and coffee in the morning.
We managed to hit Gaston's tavern at a quiet time (morning) and sit in his chair. We liked the LeFou's Brew slushy.
Hangin' in Frontierland waiting for a parade or LL- there is a stand across from Country /Bear Jamboree with Mickey pretzels and bottled drinks
Our experience- if Aloha Isle is mobbed, even mobile order will take FOREVER (you can ask the mobile order attendant for a refund when you are ready to give up). We circled back another time for a short line.

Oh man, so much good info here, thank you! Wasn't even thinking about the lines at the hot spots in epcot, how long would you say they typically are for gelato in Italy or Le artisan De Glaces?

If it's more then 10 or 15 min then we'll probably skip it too. Any ideas for breakfast in epcot? The lefse or epelkake look good at that Norway bakery. Which reminds me, I'll have to work on my last two plans soon. Thanks again for all the help so far!

 

[3gr8boys]

Oh man, so much good info here, thank you! Wasn't even thinking about the lines at the hot spots in epcot, how long would you say they typically are for gelato in Italy or Le artisan De Glaces?

If it's more then 10 or 15 min then we'll probably skip it too. Any ideas for breakfast in epcot? The lefse or epelkake look good at that Norway bakery. Which reminds me, I'll have to work on my last two plans soon. Thanks again for all the help so far!

I definitely have no idea how long the le artisan de Glaces or Gelato lines would have taken. Your crew may be willing to find out (It was a busy Spring Break week, maybe the lines will be shorter in general when you are there.)

Les Halles is is a popular breakfast spot- hard to argue with French pastry for breakfast!

Now that Epcot is opening earlier again, maybe Sunshine Seasons will be open for breakfast. Something to check on.

 

[godfather927]

I definitely have no idea how long the le artisan de Glaces or Gelato lines would have taken. Your crew may be willing to find out (It was a busy Spring Break week, maybe the lines will be shorter in general when you are there.)

Les Halles is is a popular breakfast spot- hard to argue with French pastry for breakfast!

Now that Epcot is opening earlier again, maybe Sunshine Seasons will be open for breakfast. Something to check on.

Good to know, thanks again for all the feedback!

 

[Meglen]

Thrill data is great to go off of but I would not plan hour to hour like this due to reasons you posted. My plan has like 7am try to book the ride that is available in the time I want plus is one of the hardest to get. So it would be 2-3 options per set.

I worry with just saying I must get hm for 10am you will suck the fun outta your day due to anxiety or need to get exactly what you want.

Maybe have a 10 min break window and if it doesn't pop up have other options and pivot points.

 

[godfather927]

Thrill data is great to go off of but I would not plan hour to hour like this due to reasons you posted. My plan has like 7am try to book the ride that is available in the time I want plus is one of the hardest to get. So it would be 2-3 options per set.

I worry with just saying I must get hm for 10am you will suck the fun outta your day due to anxiety or need to get exactly what you want.

Maybe have a 10 min break window and if it doesn't pop up have other options and pivot points.

I don't really get anxious with stuff like this, it's the planning and prep that gives me a sense of calm since I have enough info to improvise and adapt on the fly if things deviate. Getting HM for 10am or earlier should be no sweat actually, it's booking BTM and splash close together where I've seen more variance. And in that case, it's more of trying to avoiding doubling back through frontier land, or if a ride goes down late in the day, missing space or splash altogether. But that can obviously happen even without a plan, so sometimes you just gotta roll with the punches. Genie+ doesn't exactly make it easy on us, that's for sure.