Bad idea to arrive late at MK memorial day week ?

[maryj11]

We will be going to MK the Wednesday after memorial day also SDMT opening day. We did have our plans to arrive at rope drop, ride as many rides as we can and we have our first fastpass starting at 11:00. Now that the park is open until 12:00 am we thought about arriving at around 10:00 am and staying til closing because we enjoy MK at night. I just thought sleeping a little later would help us to be able to make it until closing. I'm not really very interested in going back to the resort for a break like most say to do rope drop and go back to the resort for a nap or to rest. It will be 2 adults and one 11 year so we wont have any little ones. We have been to MK several times and have rode pretty much everything , so riding everything is not a must.
Is this a bad idea to sleep a little longer and arrive late when it could be a crowded day ?

 

[brielise]

Since we will be on our honeymoon we've already decided rope drop is not a priority for us. This could be a horrible mistake since we generally don't go at peak seasons so we could be in for a shock and have to make some changes.

But when we do do rope drop, we tend to go back to the hotel in the middle of the day to relax. Even if it's just to get out of the heat. We don't have kids, and usually don't take a nap, but we sit by the pool or whatever else just to get away from the crowds.

If your main goal was to ride rides, I would say not doing RD would be a major issue, but if you're ok with just being in MK and maybe doing some of the less traveled rides then you should be alright. Still, 10 to midnight is a long day for anyone without taking a break! So maybe plan a TS in there or something so you get some time to take it easy!!

 

[brielise]

Also, it sounds like our trip plans are identical! In an earlier post we both said we're doing Epcot Monday, and now we're both doing MK Wednesday! Must have used the same crowd calendars?? haha

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

We will be going to MK the Wednesday after memorial day also SDMT opening day. We did have our plans to arrive at rope drop, ride as many rides as we can and we have our first fastpass starting at 11:00. Now that the park is open until 12:00 am we thought about arriving at around 10:00 am and staying til closing because we enjoy MK at night. I just thought sleeping a little later would help us to be able to make it until closing. I'm not really very interested in going back to the resort for a break like most say to do rope drop and go back to the resort for a nap or to rest. It will be 2 adults and one 11 year so we wont have any little ones. We have been to MK several times and have rode pretty much everything , so riding everything is not a must.
Is this a bad idea to sleep a little longer and arrive late when it could be a crowded day ?

I've got teenagers and this is pretty much how it's going to work for them except they'll be arriving in the parks around noon.
I got tired of trying to 2nd guess that strategy so I've decided to quit fighting it and booked our FP+ for the afternoons.

If we end up in lines, so be it. At least the teens won't be so grumpy hopefully.

I'll still be getting up and getting to the park by 10am most days. At least that's the plan for me so far. If I'm tired sometimes maybe I'll be getting to the park with my teens. LOL

 

[maryj11]

Also, it sounds like our trip plans are identical! In an earlier post we both said we're doing Epcot Monday, and now we're both doing MK Wednesday! Must have used the same crowd calendars?? haha

Yeah we used easywdw Are you going at rope drop for MK ?

 

[maryj11]

I've got teenagers and this is pretty much how it's going to work for them except they'll be arriving in the parks around noon.
I got tired of trying to 2nd guess that strategy so I've decided to quit fighting it and booked our FP+ for the afternoons.

If we end up in lines, so be it. At least the teens won't be so grumpy hopefully.

I'll still be getting up and getting to the park by 10am most days. At least that's the plan for me so far. If I'm tired sometimes maybe I'll be getting to the park with my teens. LOL

Well we will hopefully be able to get extra fastpasses after we use the first 3, then in the mean time do the less popular rides that we usually skip. We do have a sit down dinner reservation. I guess we can all always take a ride around the monorail loop for a break. Who knows we may go back to the resort and swim. I just dont want us to have to get us extra early for rope drop then be tired all day.

 

[TimothyG]

I don't think it is a bad idea. You seem to be aware that lines are shortest at rope drop and get longer throughout the day. The trick is to work FastPass+ to your advantage by using entitlements frequently and getting more entitlements at a kiosk for as long as you can.

Sometimes the queues are the most under appreciated part of an attraction. They are a HUGE part of the attraction. For many attractions, Disney spends tons of money to meticulously theme them and give you things to do (excepting some attractions like Soarin'). Everest, for instance, has so many things to read and look at. The new 7DMT looks to have an incredible queue area. So don't let longer wait times discourage you!

 

[Princess_Nikki]

Also, it sounds like our trip plans are identical! In an earlier post we both said we're doing Epcot Monday, and now we're both doing MK Wednesday! Must have used the same crowd calendars?? haha

Funny. My DH is convinced since all of us here at the DIS use the crowd calendars, that we will all end showing up at the same time, thus null and voiding the purpose of the crowd calendar. Hoping his logic is not only wrong, but that not all of us really use that calendar.

 

[Daddy Mack]

We will be going to MK the Wednesday after memorial day also SDMT opening day. We did have our plans to arrive at rope drop, ride as many rides as we can and we have our first fastpass starting at 11:00. Now that the park is open until 12:00 am we thought about arriving at around 10:00 am and staying til closing because we enjoy MK at night. I just thought sleeping a little later would help us to be able to make it until closing. I'm not really very interested in going back to the resort for a break like most say to do rope drop and go back to the resort for a nap or to rest. It will be 2 adults and one 11 year so we wont have any little ones. We have been to MK several times and have rode pretty much everything , so riding everything is not a must.
Is this a bad idea to sleep a little longer and arrive late when it could be a crowded day ?

I would hit rope drop, leave in the afternoon, and then come back. Because SDMT is opening that day, you might very well be able to ride whatever you want (except for SDMT or Anna/Else) for 2 hours. I would use schedule FPs for the 11 am -2 pm time slot, making sure that Peter Pan is one of those if that is something you want to ride. I would then play around with extra FPs for awhile, schedule another one for the night, leave, and then come back to close the park.

 

[brielise]

Yeah we used easywdw Are you going at rope drop for MK ?

Yep, that's what I used! We weren't planning to, especially since we have a day at MK Tuesday thanks to our ADRs, but I am a little more concerned about the crowd levels now. We have a FP+ for 7DMT in the afternoon and an ADR at Tony's at 2. Originally MK was supposed to be least crowded on Wed so we weren't worried about showing up in the afternoon and were planning to do HS in the morning... but depending on how things go we might have to rethink that.

Funny. My DH is convinced since all of us here at the DIS use the crowd calendars, that we will all end showing up at the same time, thus null and voiding the purpose of the crowd calendar. Hoping his logic is not only wrong, but that not all of us really use that calendar.

Yea, I say to DH 'Well, the crowd calendar says...' And he's like, 'You know that you're not the only one that can read those right? So if everyone reads them..." Basically the same exact thing! This is the first time I'm able to utilize them because DH's mom likes to go to the park with EMH, so I guess we'll see if this works better!!!

 

[maryj11]

Funny. My DH is convinced since all of us here at the DIS use the crowd calendars, that we will all end showing up at the same time, thus null and voiding the purpose of the crowd calendar. Hoping his logic is not only wrong, but that not all of us really use that calendar.

That is funny I have used the easywdw before and it works for me .

 

[maryj11]

I would hit rope drop, leave in the afternoon, and then come back. Because SDMT is opening that day, you might very well be able to ride whatever you want (except for SDMT or Anna/Else) for 2 hours. I would use schedule FPs for the 11 am -2 pm time slot, making sure that Peter Pan is one of those if that is something you want to ride. I would then play around with extra FPs for awhile, schedule another one for the night, leave, and then come back to close the park.

Yeah I was thinking after we used the first 3 you can get 3 more but you can't get 3 at once just one at a time so hmmm I need to rethink this again .

 

[maryj11]

So do you think ride wait times will be low after 11:00pm ? Will this work as well as rope drop ?

 

[maryj11]

I don't think it is a bad idea. You seem to be aware that lines are shortest at rope drop and get longer throughout the day. The trick is to work FastPass+ to your advantage by using entitlements frequently and getting more entitlements at a kiosk for as long as you can.

Sometimes the queues are the most under appreciated part of an attraction. They are a HUGE part of the attraction. For many attractions, Disney spends tons of money to meticulously theme them and give you things to do (excepting some attractions like Soarin'). Everest, for instance, has so many things to read and look at. The new 7DMT looks to have an incredible queue area. So don't let longer wait times discourage you!

I wont let longer wait times discourage us, we will just have to deal with it. I wont wait for a ride longer then an hour though.
They do have wifi in the parks right ? We could get on disboard or facebook or something while waiting in line

 

[TimothyG]

I wont let longer wait times discourage us, we will just have to deal with it. I wont wait for a ride longer then an hour though.
They do have wifi in the parks right ? We could get on disboard or facebook or something while waiting in line

Yes, all parks have wifi. There are some spots where you can't get a signal (the last leg of the Soarin' queue is one that comes to mind), but overall it is available.

Make sure to take an external charger to the parks! It is a new must have for me and it really helped my phone last an entire park day!

 

[maryj11]

Yes, all parks have wifi. There are some spots where you can't get a signal (the last leg of the Soarin' queue is one that comes to mind), but overall it is available.

Make sure to take an external charger to the parks! It is a new must have for me and it really helped my phone last an entire park day!

Ok thanks do you charge them at the park and if so where ?