Basic park strategy

[Deb Thomas]

I need some advice on experienced WDW visitors on basic strategy for seeing the theme parks. My 3 kids (5,7,9) and I have 4 days at the parks (getting a 4 day Hopper, skipping the water parks).

Generally, do people feel it is better to do the EE or avoid those parks on EE day because of crowds?

Also, do people recommend gutting it out and staying all day or scheduleing a mid-day pool/nap break? Is the travel time back to the resort (POR) too long to make this a good option?

Thanks for all of the advice!

 

[3for Me]

I think a lot depends on 1) your children and their tolerance for "going at it all day" and 2) when you are going. If you are going soon, the heat will still be around until October or November and that will factor in to your decision.

I would schedule a mid-day break with a sit down meal if you decide to go all day with no break back at the hotel. That way everyone can cool down, get off their feet and get re-charged for the rest of the afternoon.

The first couple of days you are more likely to get away with this strategy, but as the week wears on, the kids (and you) may lose a little of your spunk!

As for EE, I have been hearing mixed reviews lately, although when we go in the off-season it is definately worth it because of shortened park hours - again you may have to base this decision on time of year!

Hope this helps!

 

[Grumpy92]

I agree the afternoon break is a must not just for your mouskeeters but for you as well. The biggest mistake guest make isoverplanning and doing a park marathon determined to ride and do everything.

It is best to be flexible. Hit the parks early, use the EE and then do lunch. I would suggest returning to your hotel getting something to eat there, then take a nap or go for a swim. Later return for dinner and a few more attractions at the park. For many this is a way to recharge your batteries. OFten the lines are shorter and you wont have to put up with the heat.

Also get a mind set that you are not going to be able to do every ride in the park. Pick everyones top three and target those. Then with the time left just enjoy the park, hit a few more rides, find a shady spot and people watch while you cool down with a dolewhip.

As for transportation just factor in that it will take you sometime. But think of it as a great opportunity to rest your tired legs and feet.

 

[disneydebi]

I've never done an actual EE, but on our last trip we had a PS at Cindy's that allowed us into MK early on an EE morning, and I was impressed with how much we got done even after our breakfast. We walked right on Pirates, Haunted Mansion, Buzz, and were able to get FP's for Space Mountain, BTMRR and Splash while the FP times were still decent. I have to say that around 11:30 am the park got PACKED (shoulder to Shoulder in some areas - it was mid-July). If you are going during a busy time, I think it really helps because by mid day it's hard to get on rides.
My DH was against getting to the parks to early (he's on vacation after all - didn't want to be up at the crack of dawn), but after that experience, he has seen the light... I think in the future (especially for MK) we will utilize EE when we can. We did a lot of Park hopping and while it helped with crowd management, I found the vacation felt more hurried, and fragmented then when we spent most of our time in one park, or just did one in the morning and one in the evening (after a break). We were off site this time, and going back to the vacation home was a bit of a pain if we wanted to take a break... never going off site again.

 

[kdibattista]

We normally go off season and we don' t have any kids so I'm not sure how much help I can be but we definitely avoid EE and we definitely take a mid-afternoon break. Actually, we are normally done the park by 1:00 (that's the great thing about offseason!!!), head back to the hotel and take a nap or just relax and then go back out around 4:00 or so for dinner. We then head over to DTD/Pleasure Island for the night.

 

[Cindy'sCastle]

I like EE since you can ride just about all the ones that are opened at that time without the waits. Then when that park starts to get crowded-we usually would hop over to another one. I always take a midday break, back to the room for lunch and to chill out, maybe a nap, then it's back to the parks. I feel like my kids can recharge better (and me) that way.

Cindy

 

[Deb Thomas]

Thanks everyone for the good advice so far. I forgot to mention that I am travelling Oct 19-22. Is this still considered off season? I'm hoping the crowds won't be too bad. I do know that there is a Wine and Food Festival at Epcot and don't know how that will affect things. Thanks again and keep the advice coming. It's invaluable!