Dividing MK into Two

[Blissful123]

Do you divide MK into two if you have two days to spread things out? Our FPs are pretty meh given that it's a last minute trip. Random times, no SDMT. I was thinking of doing one day at Fantasyland and Tomorrowland and then the next day at Frontierland and Adventureland.

We will do rope drop and use EMH but i'm assuming all bets are off and that we must bee-line it to SDMT? Where do you move from there? Would you stay close by and just comb through Fantasyland before moving on to Tomorrowland? Or do you target the rides you want and move freely between the lands?

And what about day 2? Would you head to Frontierland and then Adventureland? Or again, pick and choose the rides you like rather than proximity.

Thanks all!

 

[katherine52478]

I divide the park based on who I’m traveling with. With kids, I tend to do a Adventureland/Frontierland/Liberty Square and then Fantasyland/Tomorrowland/Main Street.

I try to get FP for BTMR, Haunted Mansion and maybe Peter Pan or Splash. We rope drop Jungle Cruise, Magic Carpets, Pirates and then hit our FP. We also do the Pirates Adventure scavenger hunt, the shooting gallery and eat around this area.

For the other day, we get FP for Buzz, SDMT or Peter Pan and SM. We rope drop PP or SDMT and then hit Winnie and other lower wait rides before hitting our FP. We explore Main Street on the way out. We have eaten in Tomorrowland or left and ate at the hotel.

 

[TinkSassy]

I'm close to Katherine's version but we love Fantasyland so we start at PP both days!

One day we will FP 7DMT or PP, Winnie and ETwB - RD either 7D or PP (whichever one we don't have a FP for) and then ride the rest of Fantasyland, Storybook Circus and then Tomorrowland picking up FP as we go.

Next we will FP HM, BTMR and Pirates and then RD PP (any other 2nd rides in FL as we want) and then follow the back way out to HM and BTMR and around into Adventureland.

We don't do Splash (as none of us love big drops or water rides) or Space as we have back issues and that one is way too rough (wish they would fix the track).

This pretty much lets us do everything and see all the major entertainment in 2 days - including fireworks, parades and the castle show.

 

[katherine52478]

I'm close to Katherine's version but we love Fantasyland so we start at PP both days!

Well I would LOVE to do PP all my days but my son is 13 and will only (reluctantly - I.e. be bribed) go on once per trip. But it’s my tradition to ride with him since we started when he was 4!

I did sneak in an extra one at After Hours last trip but it was his birthday so he had to since I gave him life.

 

[mdsouth]

Another one who loves Peter Pan! Peter Pan and It's a Small World are my top two rides at Disney that are must dos for me! Earlier this month I was in an actual plane and it was dark. I had a window sink and the plane was banking/turning and there was a river with some town lit up. It was beautiful and for a moment it felt like I was in Disney on Peter Pan! It was just so similar to the flight over London scene.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

Do you divide MK into two if you have two days to spread things out? Our FPs are pretty meh given that it's a last minute trip. Random times, no SDMT. I was thinking of doing one day at Fantasyland and Tomorrowland and then the next day at Frontierland and Adventureland.

We will do rope drop and use EMH but i'm assuming all bets are off and that we must bee-line it to SDMT? Where do you move from there? Would you stay close by and just comb through Fantasyland before moving on to Tomorrowland? Or do you target the rides you want and move freely between the lands?

And what about day 2? Would you head to Frontierland and then Adventureland? Or again, pick and choose the rides you like rather than proximity.

Thanks all!

We tour with proximity of rides and attractions in mind. Otherwise, you are criss-crossing the park and exhausting yourself. What FP+ do you have, currently?

 

[Blissful123]

This is so helpful! Thank you so much, all. @katherine52478 we have three smallish kids. 4, 7 and 10. Your plan sounds very smart. Oh my I love PP too and that's super sweet that you have a tradition with your son <3

@TinkSassy I think we will be skipping Space and Big Thunder as both hubby and I are huge chickens.

@mdsouth my youngest will love it's a Small World. First time he will be old enough to remember I think!

@DisneyWishes14 here's what I have:

Day 1:
Winnie 9:45
Buzz 11:20
Little Mermaid 12:25

Day 2:
Aladdin 10:25
Jungle Cruise 11:30
Splash Mountain 2:25

 

[katherine52478]

Are you trying to get any meet and greets with the princesses or characters? If so, I would suggest getting an FP for that if you could in place of Little Mermaid. You don’t want to hold up your additional FP waiting for LM.

You can also try to move up your 2nd and 3rd FP the morning of so they are closer together. That would make it easier to get additional FP.

For Day 1: rope drop PP or SDMT. It will probably be shorter at PP. Then you can hit other Fantasyland rides like Dumbo, Barnstormer, Little Mermaid, Princess meet and greets, etc. You have until 10:45 to enter Winnie so you can get a lot done in those first 2 hours.

Right after Winnie, you can do Buzz and Peoplemover (our must-do) and anything else in Tomorrowland.

For Day 2: You can rope drop SDMT then head right over to Liberty Square for HM and then Adventureland for Pirates before you hit your FP. You will be in that area through lunch and then ready for Splash at 2:25.

This is all based on a 9 am opening. If there is extra magic hours, that changes things!

With those ages, I would take adventure of the extras such as the Pirate Adventure, Sorcerer’s, shooting gallery, etc. Don’t forget to mobile order if you are eating any QS!

 

[Blissful123]

@katherine52478 you're amazing! Logistically that all makes sense.

My daughter has declared she does not want any princess meet and greets We did a lot of that the last time we were there. Thank goodness because now she's too cool for princesses. She said she might be open to Enchanted Tales.

I do have some character dining booked for lunches. We must do Crystal Palace and I have BOG lunch too though there's no characters there I don't think? We have Tusker Place booked as well for AK.

We have never done Peoplemover or any of the extras you suggested so thank you!!

 

[katherine52478]

No characters at BOG lunch (even at dinner, it’s only the Beast). BOG lunch is quick service with a reservation so you can order online ahead of time or at the kiosk when you get there. They bring the food to your table but it is seat yourself!

If you complete two of the pirate adventure maps, you get an anytime FP for Pirates of the Caribbean. And the maps are really cool so I think all of your kids would like it. It is only in Adventureland so it’s not too much walking.

I only have a son so I never got to do anything Princess. I am going on two trips in February and each trip is with a 6 year old niece (one is my husbands family and one is my sisters family so nieces on both sides). We have a princess breakfast at the castle for both trips so I will finally get my girly activities!

 

[Blissful123]

Ordering ahead of time wasn't even on my radar so THANK YOU! This is perfect.

And all three of mine would definitely love the pirate stuff. I'm going to do some more reading. The last time we went they did the pirate makeover but it was a crazy long wait. By the time we did that they were too tired to do more rides and the waits were too long.

Ohhh enjoy the princess centred trip in February! I'm so grateful we experienced it at least once. Not sure why she thinks she's too old now. I'm 43 and still ok with it. lol

 

[DisneyWishes14]

This is so helpful! Thank you so much, all. @katherine52478 we have three smallish kids. 4, 7 and 10. Your plan sounds very smart. Oh my I love PP too and that's super sweet that you have a tradition with your son <3

@TinkSassy I think we will be skipping Space and Big Thunder as both hubby and I are huge chickens.

@mdsouth my youngest will love it's a Small World. First time he will be old enough to remember I think!

@DisneyWishes14 here's what I have:

Day 1:
Winnie 9:45
Buzz 11:20
Little Mermaid 12:25

Day 2:
Aladdin 10:25
Jungle Cruise 11:30
Splash Mountain 2:25

Any chance you can switch Buzz and Little Mermaid around? If you could get Winnie and LM in before heading to Tomorrowland, you'll save yourself some walking! Early in the AM, I would go to 7DMT, PP, small world, then head to your Winnie FP+ (and try to get the LM one in there!) You may want to try to fit Philharmagic and the carousel in between Winnie and LM as well. Do your kids have any interest in Dumbo or Barnstormer? Once you tap in for your 3rd FP+, make sure to go on the app to see what you can pick up as a 4th!

I think Day 2 looks good, though I would consider switching Aladdin out for Pirates or Haunted Mansion if either of those interest you. Aladdin should not be crowded first thing in the am.

 

[Poohspaleeyore]

We do one and a half days

We Usually rope drop first day .when kids were younger we did fantasyland and tomorrowland on first day (doing rides and meet and greets and character breakfast) and then on the second day we would Arrive later in the day and do adventure-land and frontierland and watch nighttime parade or do a dessert party for fireworks.

This year we are going to attempt to do all four lands in one day as well as breakfast at CP. we plan to just do specific attractions since we were able to purchase extra fast passes. on the second half day which in essence will be a whole day that just begins later in the day around four and ends around midnight. , we will do haunted mansion and a SDMT fast pass and the Christmas party and just see which rides we want to ride again And watch the parade and fireworks. Kids are older and not necessarily into meet and greets. Although the amount of characters at the party is abundant.

I have found that touring plans differ greatly depending on temperature and age of our children. our first trip was when my niece and daughter were six and five half days were all they could withstand in parks. It changed as they got older.

 

[Delirium]

We divide it into 3.

• Adventureland, Frontierland, and Liberty Square one day
• Tomorrowland & most of Old Fantasyland on another day
• New Fantasyland and some Old Fantasyland attractions (Pooh and Carousel) are always a late night.

 

[HeiHei2018]

If you have time, see if you can swap out the rides with short lines a day or two before you go. We rearranged our 2nd MK day after our first. DD7 said she preferred rides to princesses and then was on cloud 9 after the Cinderella meet. We met all the characters. We like to hit as many rides as possible before 1st FP. Maybe PP, HM, IASW, carousel, LM, Dumbo (play area doesn't open until 10, so we went back later), Barnstormer, Speedway. The Minnie/Daisy/Pluto/Donald meet usually opens a little before 10 if you want some pictures with little wait.

 

[dreiwhit]

We plan for two days at MK, and we split the park down the middle. One day on each side.

However, we have been known to cross over after we've done everything we want to do on that side for the day.

 

[dd1525]

Not sure what month you are planning to go but I just spent 3 days between the 4 parks this past week. Didn’t have any notably great FPs before trip but was able to get SDMT while at MK yesterday. Just have to keep checking on the MDX app. I think the best thing is not to go in with a super strict plan because FPs can pop up and save you a lot of time in the long run. Enjoy!

 

[MomOTwins]

Meh, you really don't need to worry too much. We have never had more than one day in any park on a given trip (not much time off of work for me so it was always 3-4 day stays), and we have always managed to do pretty much every ride with the refresh strategy and rope drop.

 

[Blissful123]

Thanks all. I am going to make some of those suggestions and try to tweak my FPs day of as well. It never fails...I get swept up in the youtube videos describing the line-ups and start to panic. Don't even get me started on my lack of FP for FOP etc. Stay calm, stay calm.

It's been a few years since we went but I found a lot of restaurant res popped up the night before too so i'm trying to not stay too rigid in my plan.

Refresh and rope drop. That's my mantra here. I also need to get a battery pack for my phone I think because I remember it dropping very quickly. lol

 

[DavidNYC]

MK is by far the easiest park to get additional FP for so I'd really base it on what I get. Although it's a large park, if you're spending a day there you really don't need to split it up. It's far more important to just have some plan so you're not jumping back and forth from one side to another. But otherwise, plan your FP and then see what other FP open up.