Busy Parks Last Day Plan

[slpeters]

So we're coming down to the wire. Our trip is in 16 days!

We have seven park days and our crowd levels seem solidly mid, which we are hoping to largely fix by taking afternoon breaks. But our last day is that Monday of Thanksgiving week and I'm worried about the crowds. It seems like it's going to be a mad house and I'm really worried that we will having a less than magical final day and having that be what we remember.

So I'm trying to come up with a pretty bulletproof day. Luckily, we should have pretty much all of our must-dos done by that day with the exception of Na'vi and FOTL. I would love any suggestions for potential chinks in the armor.

Morning at AK (EMH rope drop @ 7):
Na'vi River (maybe twice if we like it)
It's Tough to be a Bug
Discovery Island Trails
Kilimanjaro Safari
Gorilla Falls Exploration Trail
Tam Tam Drummers @ 9:05
Maybe a snack somewhere in Africa
FOTLK @10
Cocktail at Dawa Bar?
Maybe find a character meet to do?
Oasis Exhibits on way out

Lunch at Sanaa 11:55

Resort time/nap?

Evening at MK (4:30?-Midnight?)
WDW Railroad
Dinner at Skippers Canteen (5:15 Reservation)
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (FP 5:30-6:30)
Seven Dwarfs Mine Train (FP 6:30-7:30)
Liberty Square Riverboat @ 7:30
Space Mountain (FP 7:30-8:30)
TTA Peoplemover
Dessert Party for HEA and OUaT
Planning on just wandering around for the last hour or so

The only things I'm really married to are Na'vi rope drop (won't have done it yet) and FOTLK (keeping 11 as a backup if things go off the rails).

Does it seem doable? Does it seem like it would minimize the effects of the crowds?

Just really want the last day to be magical...

 

[mousehouse23]

Are crowds that bad the Monday before Thanksgiving? I didn't realize.

It looks like a nice plan. Maybe a little tight early in the morning. I guess it depends how much time you want to spend looking at animals on the two trails. That's easy enough to adjust on the day of, though.

Great FP+ lineup for MK. I love that you're taking the time to slow down and savor MK at night with the Riverboat and the TTA. And you can't beat a dessert party to cap things off!

Have a wonderful trip!!

 

[stinkpickle]

I would try to bump up that 5:15 dinner reservation. Making that BTMRR FP window might be tight. That day at MK last year was pretty busy.

 

[slpeters]

Are crowds that bad the Monday before Thanksgiving? I didn't realize.

It looks like a nice plan. Maybe a little tight early in the morning. I guess it depends how much time you want to spend looking at animals on the two trails. That's easy enough to adjust on the day of, though.

Great FP+ lineup for MK. I love that you're taking the time to slow down and savor MK at night with the Riverboat and the TTA. And you can't beat a dessert party to cap things off!

If we're going to spend more time on the trails I wonder if we need to bump up the Safari to not have to wait much. Hmm... On the other hand I like just doing each section (Pandora, Discovery Island, Africa) once, less walking.

Have a wonderful trip!!

I think you're right about the morning. If we do the Tam Tam drummers at 10:55 it will give us more time on the trails and a cocktail to drink while we listen to the performance. Win, win!

I would try to bump up that 5:15 dinner reservation. Making that BTMRR FP window might be tight. That day at MK last year was pretty busy.

I think that's a good idea. I was reluctant to eat earlier because well it just seems so early (at home we generally eat between 7 and 8) and was afraid we wouldn't be hungry but given that we have the dessert party later there are worse things than an early, light dinner.

Thanks so much for the suggestions!

Anyone know how long I should allow to get from AK to AKL for Sanaa?

 

[DisTXMom]

Will Liberty Boat be running at 730? I thought it closed early with Tom Sawyer's island around 5pm. If your heart is set on that, you should double check the hours. We are there at that same time. Hope crowds hold off until Monday. We are also planning breaks to escape crowds.

 

[slpeters]

Will Liberty Boat be running at 730? I thought it closed early with Tom Sawyer's island around 5pm. If your heart is set on that, you should double check the hours. We are there at that same time. Hope crowds hold off until Monday. We are also planning breaks to escape crowds.

On Monday the 6th it is open until 8. They haven't posted the 20th so that is definitely something to watch--I suppose if they do close early we flip the boat and the railroad. It's sort of a running joke that we always find a "boat ride" when we go on vacation so, even though there will have been other boat rides by then, I would like to do the river boat the last night. If it is the last cruise of the evening that doesn't make it hard to get on, does it?

 

[slpeters]

My husband thinks this is hysterical. His comment just now: "first you have software to tell you which rides to ride when, now you're crowd sourcing our itinerary?!"

 

[DisneyWishes14]

So we're coming down to the wire. Our trip is in 16 days!

We have seven park days and our crowd levels seem solidly mid, which we are hoping to largely fix by taking afternoon breaks. But our last day is that Monday of Thanksgiving week and I'm worried about the crowds. It seems like it's going to be a mad house and I'm really worried that we will having a less than magical final day and having that be what we remember.

So I'm trying to come up with a pretty bulletproof day. Luckily, we should have pretty much all of our must-dos done by that day with the exception of Na'vi and FOTL. I would love any suggestions for potential chinks in the armor.

Morning at AK (EMH rope drop @ 7):
Na'vi River (maybe twice if we like it)
It's Tough to be a Bug
Discovery Island Trails
Kilimanjaro Safari
Gorilla Falls Exploration Trail
Tam Tam Drummers @ 9:05
Maybe a snack somewhere in Africa
FOTLK @10
Cocktail at Dawa Bar?
Maybe find a character meet to do?
Oasis Exhibits on way out

Lunch at Sanaa 11:55

Resort time/nap?

Evening at MK (4:30?-Midnight?)
WDW Railroad
Dinner at Skippers Canteen (5:15 Reservation)
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (FP 5:30-6:30)
Seven Dwarfs Mine Train (FP 6:30-7:30)
Liberty Square Riverboat @ 7:30
Space Mountain (FP 7:30-8:30)
TTA Peoplemover
Dessert Party for HEA and OUaT
Planning on just wandering around for the last hour or so

The only things I'm really married to are Na'vi rope drop (won't have done it yet) and FOTLK (keeping 11 as a backup if things go off the rails).

Does it seem doable? Does it seem like it would minimize the effects of the crowds?

Just really want the last day to be magical...

I agree with either moving that Skipper's reservation earlier, if you can or changing the BTMRR FP+, if you can. Perhaps move BTMRR to post- OUaT? Unless you didn't want to go all the way over there after the show. If you move Skipper's, I would try to put it closer to 4:30/4:45 pm.

 

[slpeters]

I agree with either moving that Skipper's reservation earlier, if you can or changing the BTMRR FP+, if you can. Perhaps move BTMRR to post- OUaT? Unless you didn't want to go all the way over there after the show. If you move Skipper's, I would try to put it closer to 4:30/4:45 pm.

I didn't even think about moving BTMRR. I think I had it in my head that like our other MK fireworks night it was EMH, meaning no FP after 10, but it's not! Thanks for the suggestion. I just moved BTMR!

 

[cgattis]

Haven't read the whole thread yet, but afraid I'll fall asleep before I reply if I don't do it now! LOL I don't think you'll find the Monday before bad at all. We were there last year from the Saturday before through Thanksgiving day. Sunday was MK and we did everything we wanted to do. We did MK again on Wednesday and it was noticeably much more crowded.

 

[mamamelody2]

Our last day is Sunday the 19th and I'm concerned it's going to be crazy, too!