Calling all MK Experts! Advice please?

[VolcanoJen]

Hello Mouselovers!

DH and I were able to swing a last-minute (sorta) trip to Orlando February 8-14. Yay!!! Since we're going out to DL and DCA at the end of March, we can barely afford the February trip, but figured we could swing it if we stayed off-site (sigh.... it's gonna be ok!) and drove (from Ohio! Yikes!). The primary focus of this trip is going to be US/IOA since we've never been there, and you just can't beat their "5 Days + CityWalk for $90" deal they have on their passes right now. Since we'll only have 4 full days of vacation, we've decided to spend 3 laid-back days at US/IOA and 1 day at MK, since we just can't imagine driving all the way to Orlando and not saying hi to the Mouse! Wouldn't that be rude?

Well, I've never been to WDW in my adult life without having a hopper-pass of some kind, so I'm clueless as to buying a one-day/one-park pass. I know we can't buy them anywhere in advance, and I'm dreading the long time-wasting lines at TTC. I've actually never been to the TTC or driven to MK because we've used the monorail from the Poly, so I'm not even sure what to expect. We want to make the absolute most of our only day at MK, so my questions are this:

- Mon, Tues, Wed, Thur: which would be the best day for MK?
- Where do we buy our one-day tickets? Is TTC the only option?
- Our hotel is very close to AK, so conceivably, could we go to the ticket window there, buy a one-day pass, but wait until the next day to use it at MK? Are the tickets only good the day you buy them? Would this be a good way of avoiding the line for tickets at TTC? Am I being silly? (DH sez YES! YES! YES!!)
- Do the One Day tickets allow you to use FastPass?
- What's the earliest we should plan on arriving at TTC if that's our only option? What's the latest we could possibly arrive and still have a decent day?
- What sort of crowds can we expect Feb. 9-13? We're leaving for the long drive home on Valentine's Day.

Gosh, that was a really long question, wasn't it? Thanks so much to everyone for helping us out in our Disney-or-Die-In-One-Day-Magic-Kingdom-Whirlwind-Tour!!

Jennifer in Cincinnati

 

[btuftee]

I'll answer what I can...

>- Mon, Tues, Wed, Thur: which would be the best day for MK?

All the sources seem to indicate that the MK is busiest on Mondays. Thursday is also the Extra Magic Hour for MK, and as a rule, parks are more crowded on their early entry days. I'd say Tues or Wed.


>- Where do we buy our one-day tickets? Is TTC the only option?

According to this page, http://www.wdwig.com/ticket.htm it looks like you can get your 'one day-one park' ticket at any of the theme parks (TTC for the MK, main gates everywhere else), Downtown Disney Guest Relations, or any Disney Resort.


>- Our hotel is very close to AK, so conceivably, could we go to the ticket window there, buy a one-day pass, but wait until the next day to use it at MK? Are the tickets only good the day you buy them? Would this be a good way of avoiding the line for tickets at TTC? Am I being silly? (DH sez YES! YES! YES!!)

The only kind of Disney tickets that ever have any kind of expiration on them are the so-called Length of Stay passes (ultimate park hoppers), which are tied to your check-in and check-out times while staying on-site. For all other park tickets, you can buy your tickets today and use them in 2005, if you like. Instead of going to the TTC or AK, I'd advise buying at Downtown Disney (you can park for free).


>- Do the One Day tickets allow you to use FastPass?

Yes. Fastpass is available to all guests inside the parks.


>- What's the earliest we should plan on arriving at TTC if that's our only option? What's the latest we could possibly arrive and still have a decent day?

The crowds will probably be light in mid-Feb (dunno what effect Pres Day will have on admissions). But personally, I like to attack the parks early. I've always found it to be a good rule of thumb to arrive about 20 minutes before the 'official' opening time. Still, with light crowds, you could probably arrive around lunchtime and still hit all the MK favorites.


>- What sort of crowds can we expect Feb. 9-13? We're leaving for the long drive home on Valentine's Day.

Hopefully light ones. You're going the week before President's Day, so I wouldn't guess the crowds would be built up by then. But since I've never personally gone in Feb, I can't say for sure. Last year, my parents went during the first week of Feb, and had very light crowds, no waiting on just about everything. Hopefully you'd have the same experience as they did.

 

[Madi100]

The only thing I can comment is the time that you are going. We went on those exact dates last year. We stayed at a resort with the cheerleaders, so it seemed busy, but we rarely saw them in the parks. Once the cheerleaders left, Mardi Gras people arrived. See when Mardi Gras is this year. People from New Orleans take vacations during that time. MK was disappointed swapped with them. We weren't bothered at all by Presidents Day, because we left before hand.

 

[SnackyStacky]

Fear not. Mardi Gras falls on March 4. I don't specifically know when they do celebrations for it, but March 4th is the actual Mardi Gras date.

 

[NLK]

I don't think you really need 3 days for IOA and US. We went and you can easily do everything in IOA in a day, with time to spare. Which means you can get a nice evening at City Walk. I think you can do the same for US, but it's been a few years since we were there and they have added more rides. You can take your time and still get everything done. Do not go to MK on Monday. It's way to packed. I'd see if I could do 2 days at WDW and 2 for the other parks. Have a great trip

 

[VolcanoJen]

Thanks everyone for your thoughtful and informative responses! I think 3 days at US/IOA is a little bit overkill too, but DH sez he actually wants to "relax" (ha!) on his vacation and he's hoping I don't run him madly around the parks. I would love to spend 2 days at WDW, but at $50+ a day and no park hoppers for such short trips, it just doesn't make sense economically when US/IOA is offering 5 days + CityWalk for $90! We won't even use all the days, but it's an amazing bargain.

I have always wished Disney would offer hoppers for short stays, but that's just never gonna happen, I guess...

- Jennifer

 

[JOC]

Have you looked into buying the 3 day park hoppers? Central Florida Tickets has the 3 day park hopper (1-888-678-8899) and Ticketmania has the 3 day park hopper with one plus option (1-877-822-7299). These tickets aren't available online; you have to call them to purchase.

 

[kilee]

They also have the discount on the one park per day tickets. I believe it is $5.00 off per day for 2 days one park per day and $10.00 off per day for 3 days one park per day. If you know you aren't going to park hop this could be an option. They do expire so many days after you buy them. I think it's around 4 days for the 2day pass, and 6 for the 3 day pass.
Also, I believe the discount is $5.00 for each day, but I can't be quoted on that. We did this last year because we knew we would not park hop.

 

[lejaf]

You can buy the longer hopper if you want and save the un-used days to be used during your next trip.

 

[zaxmom]

If you are driving, you can stop at the Ocala Disney Visitor Center and buy tickets. I believe this applies to one day as well. Maybe not. On our last trip, we drove over to TTC on our first night there and just told them we were there to buy tickets. They told us where to go to park and did not charge us for parking. We bought our tickets (with no line), and hopped on the monorail and looked at the resorts. You could easily make an evening out of this, since UO and IOA close pretty early, and have dinner or go to Downtown Disney or something.
3 days will be a nice pace for Universal. Take leisurely lunches at City Walk and relax. We found the prices for fast food at the parks was so overpriced, that we got a much better value going to Hard Rock or Margaritaville and being served and getting free drink refills and maybe even getting a vegetable beside french fries. Have Fun!

 

[VolcanoJen]

Thanks Zaxmom! What a great reply, I really appreciate your suggestions and I think that's exactly what we'll do!

These boards are truly the BEST - what a wonderful community of Helpful, Friendly Mouse Lovers we are!

By the way, we just upgraded our hotel to the Hilton Disney Village! We were able to get $55 (!!! That's great, right?) on Priceline, so I cancelled the other ressies. This way, I'm hoping we can get at least *some* of that "Disney" feel even though we plan to spend most of our days at US/IOA. Of course, just watch, we'll probably *never* get out of The World now that we're staying within throwing distance!

I'll be sure to post a full report(s) on the appropriate page(s) upon our return! Thanks again to the wonderful DIS boards!
- Jennifer