Best plan without SDMT FP+?

[Princess Roo]

Looks pretty certain we won't get SDMT FP+. We (party of 7) will have only one day in MK (maybe hopping there another evening for fireworks, but not counting on it). It's a low crowd day, but the party closes the park for us at 7. We will be there at rope drop, and probably stay through until close to 7.

Everyone wants to ride BTMR and SM, which I was planning to book two of our FP+ for.
DD7 is OK with not meeting A&E, as long as we meet either Tinkerbelle or Cinderella/Rapunzel. Late in the day we'll re-evaluate and if she wants to wait in line for A&E, I will with her.
Other top priorities are Peter Pan, the Speedway cars, and Buzz Lightyear.

What would you recommend for a touring strategy to include SDMT? And what would you recommend for the third FP+? My mom is a slow walker so we will not be front of the line after rope drop, and I definitely don't want her to feel hurried. (I'm trying to remember that everyone will have a better vacation if I am not rushing them, than if we get on one more ride. )

I was thinking to head right to Tinkerbelle or the princesses and then do all the other non-SDMT Fantasyland things during the first hour or two then head to the cars & mountains and come back to wait in line for SDMT maybe closer to dinnertime? Will the line likely be less, then? I know the line will likely be shortest at the very beginning of the day, but that we'll also be wasting valuable time when the other lines are nonexistent.

Thanks in advance for any advice!

 

[RafikiTiki21]

You could do FP for PP, and aim for Mine Train then A&E or Cinderella/Rapinzel at rope drop. (All four princesses are at the same place but two lines-- see what the waits are for each after mine train and then decide which one to get in).

Tinkerbell could be a good 4th FP option.

Good luck!

 

[RafikiTiki21]

OR get a FP for either princess set, and hit PP just after mine train. Those three are my top suggestions to hit first thing in the morning. If you're there all day on a low crowd day you can likely to get to everything you're interested in, hopefully even another mine train ride.

 

[boufa]

Do NOT wait until closer to dinner time for SDMT. The party guests can enter the park at 4pm on their party tickets, so attendance will jump around that time. Some or Many of them will try to do SDMT (since there are no fast passes during the party) Since you are going to do stand by, I would wait for the initial rope drop rush to cycle through.. maybe an hour or 2, then head over and deal with whatever the wait is. Being a party night, the daytime crowds will be lower than other days that week. You might have a long wait, but its the best you can do.

 

[Indio]

I would get a FP+ for Peter Pan for your 3rd one. That line is SOOOOO long! Even with the stuff they added to the queue, that is always the most boring line. And did I mention it's always the longest line in Fantasyland???

 

[Lucius Best]

Looks pretty certain we won't get SDMT FP+. We (party of 7) will have only one day in MK (maybe hopping there another evening for fireworks, but not counting on it). It's a low crowd day, but the party closes the park for us at 7. We will be there at rope drop, and probably stay through until close to 7.

Everyone wants to ride BTMR and SM, which I was planning to book two of our FP+ for.
DD7 is OK with not meeting A&E, as long as we meet either Tinkerbelle or Cinderella/Rapunzel. Late in the day we'll re-evaluate and if she wants to wait in line for A&E, I will with her.
Other top priorities are Peter Pan, the Speedway cars, and Buzz Lightyear.

What would you recommend for a touring strategy to include SDMT? And what would you recommend for the third FP+? My mom is a slow walker so we will not be front of the line after rope drop, and I definitely don't want her to feel hurried. (I'm trying to remember that everyone will have a better vacation if I am not rushing them, than if we get on one more ride. )

I was thinking to head right to Tinkerbelle or the princesses and then do all the other non-SDMT Fantasyland things during the first hour or two then head to the cars & mountains and come back to wait in line for SDMT maybe closer to dinnertime? Will the line likely be less, then? I know the line will likely be shortest at the very beginning of the day, but that we'll also be wasting valuable time when the other lines are nonexistent.

Well, the good news is that it's a low crowd day, and due to the party, lines will theoretically be shorter in the morning. The bad news is that party guests will start coming in at 4pm, and they may have FP booked for later in the afternoon, so lines will definitely not be short at dinnertime.

Unfortunately, with FP+ limitations and only one day at MK, you're not going to be able to do everything without waiting in some long lines. So it's a matter of prioritizing what you want to do. If 7DMT is a must-do, and you don't have FP, then I would go straight there at rope drop. On our trip (during medium/low crowd period), rope drop ceremony actually started around 8:45am, we walked, did not run to 7DMT and waited about 20 minutes. Your only other option is waiting possibly 60 minutes at some point later in the day, best bet might be right before the party starts. There will be fewer people returning with FP after 6:30pm, so even though the wait might be long, the line will be moving faster.

You mention BTMRR and "SM", I don't know if that's Space or Splash, that makes a difference if I was coming up with a suggested touring strategy. In general, I like the idea of banging out most of Fantasyland in the morning. One option would be to book your 1st FP for Cinderella. Go to Peter Pan at rope drop, then Pooh, then the rest of Fantasyland, then Speedway and Buzz. Use 1st FP at Cinderella at some point before end of 10-11am window. Then use mountain FPs in 11am/12pm windows. Hit a kiosk for a 4th FP for something in afternoon (Pirates, Haunted Mansion, Jungle Cruise?), then have lunch. Afternoon depends on lines, park will be more crowded, good for anytime rides like Tom Sawyer Island, Philharmagic, Laugh Floor, Tiki Room, Wedway. Maybe even get a 5th FP for something. Have dinner, then jump in line for 7DMT before party starts.

If you do 7DMT at rope drop, you're possibly looking at not-insignificant lines for Peter Pan and Cinderella when you get off (20-30 minutes?), and you can only FP one of them. You could use your 1st FP at one of those two, and then try to get a 4th FP for the other if the line is too long when you get off of 7DMT.

 

[Princess Roo]

Thanks for the advice, everyone. I love the DIS, where I can ask questions like this and get thought out answers instead of sweet blank stares from my traveling party.

I guess the issue is whether to waste the first 20-30 precious minutes waiting for 7DMT right at rope drop or go right to Peter Pan, Princesses, etc. then and come back to a more significant 7DMT wait later instead. I think I'm leaning toward 7DMT later. If people decide it's not worth the wait, we'll skip it. We'll be back next year...

That's a good point about the party guests possibly making the line longer after 4PM. Maybe if the line isn't horrid after we finish the other Fantasyland stuff we'll go ahead and wait then, and book all our FP+ for non-Fantasyland things. And if it *is* long, try for 6:30PM instead after the line is moving faster. Can someone remind me, if the park closes to non-party guests at 7PM, do we just need to be in a line by then or actually on a ride?

 

[Lucius Best]

I guess the issue is whether to waste the first 20-30 precious minutes waiting for 7DMT right at rope drop or go right to Peter Pan, Princesses, etc. then and come back to a more significant 7DMT wait later instead. I think I'm leaning toward 7DMT later. If people decide it's not worth the wait, we'll skip it. We'll be back next year...

That's a good point about the party guests possibly making the line longer after 4PM. Maybe if the line isn't horrid after we finish the other Fantasyland stuff we'll go ahead and wait then, and book all our FP+ for non-Fantasyland things. And if it *is* long, try for 6:30PM instead after the line is moving faster. Can someone remind me, if the park closes to non-party guests at 7PM, do we just need to be in a line by then or actually on a ride?

Given that you have only one day at MK, and it is a short day due to the party, I don't hate skipping 7DMT at rope drop. The park starts to get crowded typically 10:30-11am. Spending 20-30 minutes in line for 7DMT takes time away from other rides that will be walk-on at that time of day. If you're there at rope drop, you should be able to do all of Fantasyland as well as Speedway/Buzz before 11am. Also, in my opinion, while 7DMT is cute and a fun little ride, it is also short and not nearly as intense/fun as BTMRR.

I would bet that 7DMT will get long and be 60 minutes shortly after rope drop. Traditionally, for parties and evening EMH, as long as you were in line before 7pm, you were fine. After 7pm they check tickets/wristbands/MagicBands/whatever and will not let you get in any line. However, I am not 100% sure that's still the case. There have been a few threads on here from people who had their late FP+ (window closing later than 6:30pm) moved by Disney to an earlier time, and sometimes a different ride. Apparently Disney wants to stop people from returning with FP right before 7pm, to keep the line moving quicker, and get the non-party people out of the park quicker. It would not surprise me if CMs stopped guests from entering a line before 7pm if the standby line was super long.