Do you have a park order?

[oblori]

Planning our first trip is messing with my head! I had our park order all mapped out, then MNSSHP was announced, and there are two parties during our seven-day, Saturday-Saturday trip. Taking in one party will be a must-do, so I've been trying to redo our game plan. I am honestly at a loss. Do you usually visit the parks in a certain order? I had planned on doing MK for our first full day, but there's a MNSSHP two days later, so now I'm not sure.
I'm sure I'm overthinking all of this, but isn't that all part of the fun of Disney planning?

 

[Spork24]

We always create a custom order for each trip. We usually try to do MK on the first day as well. (Sometimes it's a half day)

It's not a bad idea to go to another park in the morning and go back to your room around lunch and rest for a couple hours before heading to MK around 3:30-4:00

 

[msk]

I love going to Magic Kingdom on the first day even if it is only for a little while. It just makes me happy. I always have park hopper so that is easy to do. I plan the rest of the parks according to tour events and dining reservations that I want.
Have fun planning - it is part of the fun of going!

 

[Branflakes]

We always go to MK FIRST. No matter what time we arrive, which is typically by 9 am, in the park before noon.
After that, we just go where the fast passes we have booked are. I don't do meticulous planning, just get the rides I want and places I want to eat however it works out.
Because for us, we have never been to WDW and not had a change of plans for one reason or another. So we go with a plan of sorts, but when things change, we just go with whatever the new plan is.

I think anyone can overthink in their planning. I'd say it's pretty typical to go to MK more than once. But since the party is at 7, maybe do a half day at studios or AK or a pool day at your resort, then make your way to MK around 5- 5:30. You'll be there in plenty of time for MNSSHP.

 

[CAS239]

No certain order. I pick what parks we go to based on which parks are doing EMH and we avoid those since we stay offsite. We'll go to one in the morning that might have PM EMH, rope drop that park then leave around noon to eat, then visit a second park that doesn't have PM EMH

 

[oblori]

MK has EMH the morning of our first full day there. Our flight arrives at 1430, so maybe we'll do MK for a couple hours that night. Hmmm.

 

[glassslippergirl]

So I'm not sure what your concern is. Is the problem that you don't want to do MK on the same day as MNSSHP? Or do you want MNSSHP to be your first time seeing MK? Or are you afraid that with adding MNSSHP, you will have too much time at MK with your current schedule?

Without knowing for sure, I'm inclined to say MK is the ideal park for starting your first trip to WDW. It's quintessential Disney. Also, it's always the park we wish we had more time for. Use at least one regular park day to explore and ride (more if you have time); then use MNSSHP to do the Halloween party things like Hallowishes, the parade, special character meets, etc. Take time away from DHS if needed. It's really a shell of itself these days (better days are coming) with just a few must-dos.

 

[ArielDreams]

For some reason we always pick Epcot or HS the first day - never MK. This time we are getting MK and HS out of the way in our 1st 3 days and then focusing on AK for Pandora (we will be split staying and AKL is our second resort) and Epcot because F&W starts halfway through our trip. Basically, there's no rhyme or reason to what we do - just figure out what works best for your family!

 

[mdelano4]

We have done MK first for as long as we have been going. It started with my wanting to see the look on DD's face the first time she saw Cinderella's Castle. She was 5yo at the time and I'll never forget carrying her up Main Street. Since then, that's just what we've always done. I guess I'm just a creature of habit.

 

[NH-to-FL]

When we stayed on site the order was chosen by which park had morning Extra Magic Hour.

When we moved to staying off site we would generally chose Epcot first, followed by AK, MK and then HS. Modified by the desire to avoid the EMH parks.

 

[LSUfan4444]

Planning our first trip is messing with my head! I had our park order all mapped out, then MNSSHP was announced, and there are two parties during our seven-day, Saturday-Saturday trip. Taking in one party will be a must-do, so I've been trying to redo our game plan. I am honestly at a loss. Do you usually visit the parks in a certain order? I had planned on doing MK for our first full day, but there's a MNSSHP two days later, so now I'm not sure.
I'm sure I'm overthinking all of this, but isn't that all part of the fun of Disney planning?

No specific order but definitely try to avoid parks with EMH unless we are there during EMH and in another park the rest of the day.

 

[StuckInKS]

We go to MK first. Then, if we don't have PH or we are traveling with people who don't have PH, the schedule is dictated by whatever park closes latest. For our last trip, this meant MK for 3 of our first 4 days (arrival day, EMH day and MNSSHP).

 

[fbarker]

We normally arrive on Saturday. When we first started going to WDW it was always MK, because that is WDW!! But now, since its Saturday, and I feel that MK is the most popular park and that there is a great chance that more locals will be there for the weekend, we head to HS. That seems to be working although i do miss not seeing the Castle first!!

 

[Gophers]

We always do MK on our first full day since our flights normally get in around noon and then we go to Disney Springs. This is our first trip to Disney with just the wife and I (celebrating 29th anniversary) so we might hit MK that night to see the fireworks. We always end our trip at MK as well. Enjoy the process. You're going to Disney

 

[siskaren]

So I'm not sure what your concern is. Is the problem that you don't want to do MK on the same day as MNSSHP? Or do you want MNSSHP to be your first time seeing MK? Or are you afraid that with adding MNSSHP, you will have too much time at MK with your current schedule?

I'm confused by this too. If you want to do MK on your first full day, why is MNSSHP taking place two days later an issue?

 

[CabesLove]

We always start with Epcot! It's our personal favorite...plus "IllumiNations" totally has my heart and puts us in that Disney mood like nothing else. lol But other than that, we don't really have a set order. Might plan based on EMH, dining reservations, or just what we're feeling that day!

 

[nacho113]

Planning our first trip is messing with my head! I had our park order all mapped out, then MNSSHP was announced, and there are two parties during our seven-day, Saturday-Saturday trip. Taking in one party will be a must-do, so I've been trying to redo our game plan. I am honestly at a loss. Do you usually visit the parks in a certain order? I had planned on doing MK for our first full day, but there's a MNSSHP two days later, so now I'm not sure.
I'm sure I'm overthinking all of this, but isn't that all part of the fun of Disney planning?

If it's your first visit ever, definitely the Magic Kingdom for your first good shower of Pixie Dust.
To us, the Magic Kingdom IS Disney!

We love all the parks, each for their own "personality" but as someone else already stated: the Magic Kingdom is the quintessential Disney experience.

 

[DaisyDuck001]

Back in Epcot's heyday, when Future World was delightfully educational and fun in the edutainment sense, I used to do Epcot first. I am less fond of the current version of Epcot, and as Animal Kingdom has been adding more attractions, it's at least temporarily moved into the "visit first" position. This could change again, to any park. If I am doing a split stay, I try to match the park days (and restaurants) with the most proximity to the resort I'll be staying at during each time. All this is for fun, so I wouldn't worry too much about the sequence of visiting parks.

 

[oblori]

I'm confused by this too. If you want to do MK on your first full day, why is MNSSHP taking place two days later an issue?

Sorry, my post was a bit all over the place. I don't want our first trip to MK to be MNSSHP, and I'd also prefer to space out our first visit there with the party. If i just go to MNSSHP on our last night instead it'd probably work better.
I'm just reading too many blogs and websites at this point, I think. Trying to make the "perfect" holiday for my kids. I know it'll be fabulous no matter what we do and when we do it...i just have to remind myself of that!

 

[DaisyDuck001]

Trying to make the "perfect" holiday for my kids. I know it'll be fabulous no matter what we do and when we do it...i just have to remind myself of that!

As a recovering perfectionist myself, I have found that the best experiences are often the ones I didn't plan. It's good to have a framework for what you'd like to do, but then try to ease up and go with the flow.