Disney in 4 days! Park hoping questions!

[Chantelle Reid]

Me and my husband are going back to Disney for the first time since 2011. Alot has changed! I've been there plenty of times growing up but this time we have 4 days post cruise. I've booked a 4 day park hopper plus, were staying on resort at Art of Animation. Some must dos are: - eat at be our guest
- see magic kingdom fireworks
- go to all 4 parks
- it's in January so go to which ever water park is open.

How would people recommend I do this? I have the park hopper and I love most of the rides in the parks. Which parks are half day parks? Could Blizzard Beach be a half day park? Were there from the 6th anf checking out on the 10th early am.

We want to see as much as possible in these 3.75/4 days. Also we are not going with the dining plan but any restaurant recommendations in the parks would be great for all 3 meals.

 

[dprincessmom]

All of the parks now have a nighttime show and since it's been a while since you were there, I would likely try and plan to be there in the evenings (one park per night).
We are rope dropper, midday rest, close park people and with parkhoppers, I would likely rope drop one park, finish the day at another.

Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon aren't guaranteed in January, it is sometimes too cold for them to open. If I were you, I would hold off on buying that ticket. For us, Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom can be half day parks, but we go a lot and hit the things we know we like. Check the park hours and try and hit extra magic hours to get a little more park time.

For lunch/dinner at Magic Kingdom we like Skipper's Canteen; Epcot we have always had luck at Coral Reef (but you will find mixed reviews) also Garden Grill is a family favorite. If you are looking to get the most park time, you might consider doing mainly counter service meals, as this will take less time.

 

[dachsie]

I would forego the waterpark as well. My upcoming trip will be my first one to park hop so can really help you there except as the OP suggested, rope drop one and end in another. You might consider just doing AK or HS on your arrival day and just stay there for the nighttime stuff since its a shorter day.

Restaurants I would suggest are BOG in MK - but do the QS lunch so you don't spend much time. Yak & Yeti in AK and get a Landry's card so you can get priority seating or Tusker House for the characters and the food. I would say Sci Fi in HS or better yet, hop over to EP and try Biergarten, Chefs du France, or Rose & Crown

 

[maryj11]

I would make a whole day for MK and then the other 3 could be half day parks. Our favorite restaurants are MK BOG lunch or Liberty Tree Tavern-AK Yak &Yeti or Tuskers House - HS Sci Fi or Prime Time and Epcot Teppan Edo

 

[gharter]

If you haven't been since 2011, as mentioned, a lot has changed.
Personally, I would skip the water parks. The weather in January can be iffy for a water park.
Every park has an evening show and they are worth seeing, especially the ones you haven't seen before.
The only park that I considered a half day park was Hollywood Studios and with Toy Story Land, that may be a full day now.
Personally, I would spend my 4 days at the parks and not the water parks.
Restaurants, there is a huge variety and it depends on the type of food you like, how adventurous you are, whether you are looking for counter service or table service, signature or no signature meals.
Menus are available online and I would suggest spending time looking at them and the prices, to help you decide on your dining options.
Be Our Guest, if you are not aware will be going pre-fixe for dinner at the end of this month. Breakfast and lunch will still be ala carte if that makes a difference. When you get to making your dining reservations, I would do that one first as it has been very challenging at times. With the change in dinner, nobody knows how that will effect availability.

 

[jsbowl16]

I would do 1.5 days in MK with the other half of that day in AK. Then I would do Epcot for a full day and HS for your .75 day. Plan to use FP for your one full day at MK, Epcot, HS and then your half day at AK. Do AK at night because then you can do rope drop and get on a lot of rides without FP during that half day MK morning. I would try to see all of the night time shows except for RoL since you will only have a half day in AK.

Just my two cents on how I would plan out my four days.

 

[heidijanesmith]

I agree with above posters, skip the water parks.

I went this January and the parks are not open very late. MK closed at 8PM. It was crowded and cold.

I would take advantage of morning EMH if at all possible, especially at MK.

We love AK; Pandora at night is spectacular and not to be missed.

 

[wdwjeffc37]

I would rope drop the park with AM EMH and hit all of the headliners first thing. Have a beat the crowd early lunch. Get headiner FP+ for the early evening at the park with PM EMH. Take a short break around noon and be prepared to close down the PM EMH park. As others have said all of the parks have an evening show of some kind so you should make an effort to see them. Remember, rope drop and FP+ are going to be your best friends (on FP+ refresh, refresh, refresh, then refresh some more to take full advantage). Have fun! Cheers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Remy is Up]

My first question would be what days of the week will you be there? That in itself determines a ton because EMH hours in the AM dont change a whole lot. Evenings are spotty. Typical schedule when there are no festivals or special night parties in an off season are Sunday- EMH AM Studios, Monday EMH AM AK, Tuesday EMH PM Epcot, Wednesday EMH PM MK, Thursday EMH AM Epcot, Friday EMH AM MK, Saturday EMH AM AK. That may or may nto change now that TSL is open but it doesnt appear as if it will. They may just use the AK theory and open early each morning for a couple of months. If you knwo what days you will be there, using EMH to your advantage, using FPs to your advantage, and then when there using Refresh to your advantage will give you a lot of freedom to do the most you want to do and not feel rushed.

 

[bumbershoot]

With only 4 days I personally wouldn’t hop. I’d hit each park 100%, one per day.

 

[k5xs]

As someone else posted, a lot depends on which days of the week you will be there. MK tends to be insanely busy on Saturday and Sunday. The Epcot crowds get crazy in the evenings.

And I agree with the comment to NOT park hop, but I would add the qualifier "unless you find the park you've gone to gets too busy."

I don't think any park is really a "half day park," depending on how many attractions you want to experience. You can easily spend a full day in each park and not experience it all.

Eateries: So many choices. For counter service our favorites are:

- MK: Columbia Harbor House, Cosmic Ray's, Be Our Guest (lunch)
- Epcot: Electric Umbrella, Japan counter service (Udon noodles with tempura shrimp), Italy's Via Napoli (and we will walk up to Chefs de France and usually get in)
- Hollywood Studios: Commissary
- AK: Pizzafari

Have a great time!

 

[shanew21]

I would devote at least 1 full day to MK, if not 1.5 days.

Rope dropping is crucial. It's the single biggest tip I can give. You will get so much more done in the first 2 hours than you will the following 5 hours.

Personally, I would skip the water park. 4 days is pushing it as it is for the main 4 parks since you haven't been on any of the new stuff since 2011.

The Pandora addition to Animal Kingdom is an absolute must-do. Flight of Passage is a top 5 ride in all of Orlando, IMO. The entire land is also gorgeous at night.

Even with Toy Story Land, I think HS is only a half day park unless you really like shows. However, this assumes you have fastpasses for Slinky Dog, Rock n Roller Coaster, and Tower of Terror. Without those, the lines will push that to a full day park I think.

 

[Clojel]

Ditto skipping the water parks! January isn't really "hot", even in Florida. I generally prefer the Park Hopper b/c of the flexibility but if I were you, I would take a look at the rides/attractions at each park and make a list. You'll probably find pretty quickly that 1 or 2 parks has a lot more interest to you and your husband than the other parks. If it looks about even between the 4 parks, then you could forego the PH and just do a full day at each. If its lopsided, opt for the PH and choose your time spent at each park accordingly.