comments and more questions

[chop456]

Wow! Is this a helpful place! I am planning my August vacation and without this Board, would have missed out on so much! Thank You!

I am staying off-site (I know, I know!) and am wondering if I should stay away from EMH parks. I know to avoid the early entry parks. Does it hold true for the evenings?

How early do you need to get to your priority seatings? Does the TTC open early enough?

How long does it take to tour AK? Do I need an entire day? How about MGM?

Thanks! Beth/WI

 

[Serenity]

We have stayed off site many times. Sometimes you just get too good of a deal to pass up. Staying on-site at WL for first time in Dec and really looking forward to it.

I would stay away from Early Entry parks. That is what we have done in the past and it has worked out fine.

For PS, you just need to check in 5 min or so before. The TTC is open early enough -at least that we have found. We have had very early (first seating) breakfast PS at CRT and CP before and never had a problem with transportation.

I find AK to be almost a full day. It really depends on if you want to see all hte shows and if you do Conservation Station. They have an animal petting area as well as a window where you can watch them perform medical screens on the animals while you ask questions. My husband could spend all day there. If you don't do Conservation Station, it is possible to see most of the shows and ride the big attractions in about 6 hours. Just depends on how you tour.

Good luck.

 

[Vivianne]

I went to AK this past Thursday. Supposedly to a moderate crowd. I saw plenty of families with children. Once school is over for NE, the crowds will probably be larger.

I recommend you plan for the attractions you really want to see and leave the rest for the end of day. The Festival of the Lion King show is a must see attraction. Since I had missed this show on a previous visit, I made sure I was in line 45 min before the show (this was the first of two shows for EMH). It was really worth the wait.

 

[debkorb1]

I am staying off site too at the Sheraton Vistana! I'm sure we'll survive while we spend a few precious hours away from the Disney magic

Firstly, STAY AWAY FROM EARLY HOUR! The parks will be crowded by the time you are allowed in (even if you arrive an hour before opening) - the first hour/hour and a half are crucial. Also, by noon on EMH days the parks can be lethal and the crowds are above average all day, so I would just avoid the park altogether - its only one early entry park a day so just enjoy the other three!!!

I would put aside a day each for both MGM and Animal Kingdom. For MGM arrive 45mins to an hour before opening, leave at noon/1 O'clock and take a nice long break in the middle of the day. Then return in the evening around the dinner hour (for me 6pm) - there are some great places to eat. If there are two showings of Fantasmic you can tour in the less busy evening before Fantasmic at 10.30.

With Animal Kingdom you can't take a midday break but if you arrive before opening you can get it all done in a leisurely day.

Enjoy!

 

[Disney Fool]

Hi there and welcome to the DIS! Sometimes it gets tricky staying off-site; yes, avoid EMH, but watch out about leaving the park and going back to the resort in August. In the latter part of the month, the parks start to close earlier. So if you're going the last two weeks of August, it may not be in your best interest to leave the park for the afternoon. In that case, you may want to stretch your activities out . For example, AK is HOT, HOT, HOT in August. It's so hot, you'll welcome any rain. ( I don't know what it is about that park, but when the weather is hot and humid, AK is hotter and more humid) For that reason, get there early in the morning, do the safari and any other activities, and leave the park after a few hours. Save other activities in the park for another day. You may not need to go back home, though At Epcot, for instance, there are some air-conditioned buildings you can go into and refresh yourself.
You will lose time traveling off site and back during the day. If it's a slow time, there's no problem; it gets harder during a busy season, and you wind up losing time from parking your car, to standing in line for the tram, and traffic outside depending on where you stay. Good planning will help.