ALL FOUR PARKS IN 2 DAYS FOR PEOPLE WHO LOVE RIDES ONLY!
My family consists of DH37, DS11, DD9, and me (36). We have been to MK several times, but have never attempted AK, MGM, or Epcot. We refuse to go to the parks when everyone is out of school. So our kids get pre-homework from all their teachers and off we go! Weve always gone in October, so May 10-13 will be different. Why these dates? Less crowds, better weather, etc. We originally planned to go to two parks in two days. But when we started researching all the big rides at each park, we knew we had to have a taste of all of them. So we left on a Wednesday evening, did MK and AK on Thursday, did MGM and Epcot on Friday. And then flew home on Saturday. WHEW! We did it and didnt feel too rushed.
Ive never read a trip report that had all four parks in two days. I tried to find one before leaving and never accomplished it. So I knew I wanted to post one when I returned. I read 8 books before leaving, and studied these boards vigorously. I was prepared. I also had the kids pick out their favorite rides to do before we left. And explained to them we couldnt do it all. So we picked our favorites, and made a plan on paper. I cant say enough about preparedness. It saved us many times! I also used cheat sheets for each park that I had written down for helpful hints I got from the books and this board. For each park I went to, I stuffed them in my pocket and referred back to them. It is just so hard to concentrate in those parks. So the cheat sheets were a lifesaver!
Wednesday: We left Kansas Citys airport at 6:50 p.m. flying Southwest. Late flight so the kids could stay in school. It originally got delayed for two hours, then later it was only 25 minutes. We arrived in Orlando at 10:43 p.m. I checked my watch, by the time we found Magical Express counter on the first level it was 10:55. Very quick and painless this time of night. Once we stood in line it took 2 minutes for a bus. We had to wait for the bus to completely load with all passengers and luggage, so it took a total time of 14 minutes from the beginning of standing in line until the bus took off for the motels. At this time of night, the each bus had to stop at about 3 or 4 motels. Luckily we had picked POP because of recommendations on this board. It is the closest to the airport so the first stop on the trip. We stepped foot inside of POP 45 minutes after our plane landed.
POP: We stayed in the 50s building. It was a great location. The room was very small. The outside door almost touches the bed when you open it. But for our purposes it was great. Because we were going to be in the parks all day anyway. We requested extra pillows and they brought them directly to us! Off to bed. Our luggage was delivered at 1:30 a.m. POP told me they knock on doors until 2:30 a.m. After that they hold them.
We had the wake-up call set because this board told us that Mickey calls you (a recording). And had recommended to put it on speaker so all the kids could hear it. But the speaker phone didnt work well in our room and it kept cutting out.
Off to the parks.
ALL about the rides. We don't care much about seeing characters, dining at the most fabulous places, etc. We care about the rides.
We did MK for EMH on Thursday morning. All recommendations were to avoid this park on Thursday. I disagree. Avoid it on Thursday afternoon, not Thursday morning. I thought the DIS had told me that Main St. would be open for shopping before rope drop. I was disappointed that it wasnt. Made it to rope drop at 8 a.m. Perfect! We headed for Tomorrowland. For Early morning extra hours, only Tomorrowland and Fantasyland are open. This means you need to make it to the second rope drop for Splash Mountain at 9 a.m. So we had one hour in Tomorrowland. That was our plan. So we went directly towards Space Mountain and walked on. Then we did it again. It was so fun! Then we went to Buzz. We walked right on also. We werent too impressed. I learned on these boards that if you shoot the back of the robots hand when leaving the room it gives you lots of points. It didnt work for us. Then we went to Autopia. We had a 5-6 minute wait. It was now 8:55 a.m. so we headed over to the rope drop for Splash Mountain. We waited 1 minute for the drop and off we went. I headed right to the FP machine. I got our FP and then we rode Thunder Mountain Railroad two times with no wait. It was now time for Splash Mountain FP so we used it. We also walked right on this ride. We rode it again because there wasn't much of a wait yet. After this we stopped for fruit and ice cream on our walk to Haunted Mansion. We rode once with no wait.
By now it was around 10:30 and the park was starting to pick up! Lots of guests arriving. We road the train to Toontown since the streets were getting harder to maneuver. There was no wait. It arrived right when we got there. We got off at Toontown. I asked the CM how long for Mickey? She said maybe 10 minutes. So we all got our pics with Mickey Mouse! This is where we started our photopass card. I would highly recommend this! The photographers have cards they give you the first time you take a pic. From then on, you just hand a photographer your card every time you see them at the park. We got some great keepsake shots!
We walked on the secret path to Tomorrowland and got a FP for Space Mountain. The return time was only about 30 minutes later, so we ate near it. Im not sure the name of the restaurant but it wasnt that fabulous. It was counter service. Then we rode Space Mountain with no wait. I got another FP for it to use in the evening when we returned to the park. (Great hint!) We got in line for Stitch. It was the longest wait of our vacation. (About 25 min) The worst ride Ive ever been on. No thanks. The rest of you can enjoy that one. The lines were getting a little crazy now............so we headed towards the front of the park. It looked like it was going to downpour. We took another photopass pic in front of the castle on the way out. It was now 1:30 p.m. Off to AK. To transfer from MK to AK you have to take the Monorail from MK to the TTC, then catch a bus. It took about 40 minutes for transferring.
ANIMAL KINGDOM IN THE AFTEROON:
It was raining during the transfer so lots of people were leaving AK. When we entered the park, the CM checking our tickets said "It's a great raining day for you....the animals love to come out and play when it rains. So head directly to the safari."
So if it is raining...there's a tip for you. We stayed until evening EMH so the park closed at 8 p.m. Normally it would close at 5 p.m. I stopped at Guest relations to get my Yetivision certificate
to redeem for my free EE ride picture. I played the Yeti game online before leaving town and got my free certificate. It took a long time to play it because of my slow computer, but it was worth it!
The Guest Relations CM was very informative on ride wait times and if any FP
were left for EE. No FP left. Too bad. Since it was still downpouring, we went to Dinosaur first since it was indoors and at the front of the
park. No wait. Probably due to the downpour. It was a nice ride. It stopped raining by the time we came back out of the ride. I love those
QUICK Florida rains!
So we road Primeval
Whirl. We waited 12 minutes for this ride. We
loved it! We rode it again and waited 15 min.
Our main goal for AK was to ride EE. So we
went to check the wait times. It was 60 minutes. No way were we waiting for that. I would get new FP when evening EMH started. Or so I thought. This board had told me they would open the machines at evening EMH. That was wrong information. They didnt for us that day. They said we wouldnt need them.
We headed towards the Kali River Rapids. It had only a 15 minute wait. Most people were still wearing rain ponchos from the downpour of earlier, so we just put ours on too. Without them, we would have been soaked! I had asked on this board before we went if there was a storage place for my backpack or lockers nearby. I never got a clear answer. There are no lockers but in the middle of the ride there is a place to put large or small carry items. I had a stuffed backpack that fit nicely inside of it. It was pretty waterproof because it has velcro secured lid over it. I also brought a garbage bag to put my backpack inside of. This worked like a charm! My camera stayed dry and everything else.
So we went to Kilamanjaro Safari. It said a 60 minute wait, it only ended up being a 25 minute wait. When we were done we caught the parade. It wasnt at all like the crowds at the MK parades. You could easily get a seat at this one! And it was good.
By this time, EE had about a 10 minute wait because the park was closing down for the guests who didnt have wristbands for EMH. I
rode EE twice in a row with the second time being a 7 minute wait. I was shocked. The boards had steered me wrong on this! They
were saying 70 minute waits on EMH nights. Plus there was no FP machines open. Luckily we didnt need them. The Yeti will be on the right side. But both sides are able to see him well because he gets so close. But if you sit on the left, when you get to the top where the Yeti has ripped the tracks, you wait about 6 seconds there. Turn to your left and look behind the coaster, you can watch the tracks flip! You can't see this on the right side though. The ride is amazing. I am
prone to motion sickness though, and that in the dark and twisting motion was when I had to stop. So the rest of the family rode it 5 more times back to back. Hardly any wait. One time I timed my DH and DS so I could go shopping. I came back after 25 minutes and met them. They said they rode it twice in those 25 minutes.
We headed for Dinoland and ate dinner at the McDonalds there.
The DH and kids rode Primeval Whirl 2 more times. I opted out to get my head to feel better after EE.
Then we went to a Bugs Life movie. It was fun. Pretty intense for younger kids. Lots of kids in this theater were crying! We walked right onto this ride. No wait. It was now 7:50 and we decided to beat the crowds out of the park since it closed at 8. So off we went to catch a bus to the TTC. Then to the monorail back to MK for the Spectromagic parade and fireworks.
The transfer only took 30 minutes this time. So we rode Space Mountain with our expired FP. Then we went to watch the Spectromagic Parade. We found that it would have been a waste of time to get there early for good seats, because nice people let my kids near the front row. A little pixie dust flew our way!
This board advised me to watch the fireworks from the end of Main St. We did this to try to avoid the rush. I was disappointed that they didnt dim the lights at the end of Main St. like they do everywhere else in the park. I took the opportunity to run to First Aid to get free band-aids for our sore feet and blisters! I read on this board to take blister medicine and I didnt. This was a big mistake!
Then back to Pop Century. The wait for a bus was VERY long. Probably 25 minutes because this park is just so crazy at closing. In retrospect, we should have skipped the fireworks and went back to POP early. We arrived back around 11:30 or so.
Day three and four report to follow.
WHAT DIS TAUGHT ME:
1.GO EARLY GO EARLY GO EARLY! You get so much done in such little time! Rope drop is so important.
2. Be prepared! Make a plan! Get all your family to agree to it before leaving! Stick the plan on a piece of paper. One for each day. Stick it in your pocket for quick reference.
3. Go in off-season. Its worth taking the kids out of school.
4. Do BOTH rope drops at MK on early EMH days! Wow! Did that every pay off!
WHAT I MISSED READING ON DIS:
1. I wish I would have watched the fireworks at MK more towards the front entrance train station. I was close by being at the end of Main St. Just not close enough. So many people in that bus line!
3. First Aid gives out free band-aids.
4. I thought evening EMH would have FP at AK and they didnt on Thursday! Evening EMH at AK is well worth it!
5. Main St. wasnt open before early EMH. They let us walk through Main St. 10 minutes before rope drop, but no shops were open. We wanted to eat at the bakery before hand.
6. That Concierge at POP doesnt open until 7 a.m. to get your park tickets for Will Call. I wanted to be on the 7 a.m. bus to MK but couldnt be!
Stay tuned for days 3 and 4!
My family consists of DH37, DS11, DD9, and me (36). We have been to MK several times, but have never attempted AK, MGM, or Epcot. We refuse to go to the parks when everyone is out of school. So our kids get pre-homework from all their teachers and off we go! Weve always gone in October, so May 10-13 will be different. Why these dates? Less crowds, better weather, etc. We originally planned to go to two parks in two days. But when we started researching all the big rides at each park, we knew we had to have a taste of all of them. So we left on a Wednesday evening, did MK and AK on Thursday, did MGM and Epcot on Friday. And then flew home on Saturday. WHEW! We did it and didnt feel too rushed.
Ive never read a trip report that had all four parks in two days. I tried to find one before leaving and never accomplished it. So I knew I wanted to post one when I returned. I read 8 books before leaving, and studied these boards vigorously. I was prepared. I also had the kids pick out their favorite rides to do before we left. And explained to them we couldnt do it all. So we picked our favorites, and made a plan on paper. I cant say enough about preparedness. It saved us many times! I also used cheat sheets for each park that I had written down for helpful hints I got from the books and this board. For each park I went to, I stuffed them in my pocket and referred back to them. It is just so hard to concentrate in those parks. So the cheat sheets were a lifesaver!
Wednesday: We left Kansas Citys airport at 6:50 p.m. flying Southwest. Late flight so the kids could stay in school. It originally got delayed for two hours, then later it was only 25 minutes. We arrived in Orlando at 10:43 p.m. I checked my watch, by the time we found Magical Express counter on the first level it was 10:55. Very quick and painless this time of night. Once we stood in line it took 2 minutes for a bus. We had to wait for the bus to completely load with all passengers and luggage, so it took a total time of 14 minutes from the beginning of standing in line until the bus took off for the motels. At this time of night, the each bus had to stop at about 3 or 4 motels. Luckily we had picked POP because of recommendations on this board. It is the closest to the airport so the first stop on the trip. We stepped foot inside of POP 45 minutes after our plane landed.
POP: We stayed in the 50s building. It was a great location. The room was very small. The outside door almost touches the bed when you open it. But for our purposes it was great. Because we were going to be in the parks all day anyway. We requested extra pillows and they brought them directly to us! Off to bed. Our luggage was delivered at 1:30 a.m. POP told me they knock on doors until 2:30 a.m. After that they hold them.
We had the wake-up call set because this board told us that Mickey calls you (a recording). And had recommended to put it on speaker so all the kids could hear it. But the speaker phone didnt work well in our room and it kept cutting out.
Off to the parks.
ALL about the rides. We don't care much about seeing characters, dining at the most fabulous places, etc. We care about the rides.
We did MK for EMH on Thursday morning. All recommendations were to avoid this park on Thursday. I disagree. Avoid it on Thursday afternoon, not Thursday morning. I thought the DIS had told me that Main St. would be open for shopping before rope drop. I was disappointed that it wasnt. Made it to rope drop at 8 a.m. Perfect! We headed for Tomorrowland. For Early morning extra hours, only Tomorrowland and Fantasyland are open. This means you need to make it to the second rope drop for Splash Mountain at 9 a.m. So we had one hour in Tomorrowland. That was our plan. So we went directly towards Space Mountain and walked on. Then we did it again. It was so fun! Then we went to Buzz. We walked right on also. We werent too impressed. I learned on these boards that if you shoot the back of the robots hand when leaving the room it gives you lots of points. It didnt work for us. Then we went to Autopia. We had a 5-6 minute wait. It was now 8:55 a.m. so we headed over to the rope drop for Splash Mountain. We waited 1 minute for the drop and off we went. I headed right to the FP machine. I got our FP and then we rode Thunder Mountain Railroad two times with no wait. It was now time for Splash Mountain FP so we used it. We also walked right on this ride. We rode it again because there wasn't much of a wait yet. After this we stopped for fruit and ice cream on our walk to Haunted Mansion. We rode once with no wait.
By now it was around 10:30 and the park was starting to pick up! Lots of guests arriving. We road the train to Toontown since the streets were getting harder to maneuver. There was no wait. It arrived right when we got there. We got off at Toontown. I asked the CM how long for Mickey? She said maybe 10 minutes. So we all got our pics with Mickey Mouse! This is where we started our photopass card. I would highly recommend this! The photographers have cards they give you the first time you take a pic. From then on, you just hand a photographer your card every time you see them at the park. We got some great keepsake shots!
We walked on the secret path to Tomorrowland and got a FP for Space Mountain. The return time was only about 30 minutes later, so we ate near it. Im not sure the name of the restaurant but it wasnt that fabulous. It was counter service. Then we rode Space Mountain with no wait. I got another FP for it to use in the evening when we returned to the park. (Great hint!) We got in line for Stitch. It was the longest wait of our vacation. (About 25 min) The worst ride Ive ever been on. No thanks. The rest of you can enjoy that one. The lines were getting a little crazy now............so we headed towards the front of the park. It looked like it was going to downpour. We took another photopass pic in front of the castle on the way out. It was now 1:30 p.m. Off to AK. To transfer from MK to AK you have to take the Monorail from MK to the TTC, then catch a bus. It took about 40 minutes for transferring.
ANIMAL KINGDOM IN THE AFTEROON:
It was raining during the transfer so lots of people were leaving AK. When we entered the park, the CM checking our tickets said "It's a great raining day for you....the animals love to come out and play when it rains. So head directly to the safari."
So if it is raining...there's a tip for you. We stayed until evening EMH so the park closed at 8 p.m. Normally it would close at 5 p.m. I stopped at Guest relations to get my Yetivision certificateto redeem for my free EE ride picture. I played the Yeti game online before leaving town and got my free certificate. It took a long time to play it because of my slow computer, but it was worth it!
The Guest Relations CM was very informative on ride wait times and if any FP
were left for EE. No FP left. Too bad. Since it was still downpouring, we went to Dinosaur first since it was indoors and at the front of the
park. No wait. Probably due to the downpour. It was a nice ride. It stopped raining by the time we came back out of the ride. I love those
QUICK Florida rains!
So we road Primeval
Whirl. We waited 12 minutes for this ride. We
loved it! We rode it again and waited 15 min.
Our main goal for AK was to ride EE. So we
went to check the wait times. It was 60 minutes. No way were we waiting for that. I would get new FP when evening EMH started. Or so I thought. This board had told me they would open the machines at evening EMH. That was wrong information. They didnt for us that day. They said we wouldnt need them.
We headed towards the Kali River Rapids. It had only a 15 minute wait. Most people were still wearing rain ponchos from the downpour of earlier, so we just put ours on too. Without them, we would have been soaked! I had asked on this board before we went if there was a storage place for my backpack or lockers nearby. I never got a clear answer. There are no lockers but in the middle of the ride there is a place to put large or small carry items. I had a stuffed backpack that fit nicely inside of it. It was pretty waterproof because it has velcro secured lid over it. I also brought a garbage bag to put my backpack inside of. This worked like a charm! My camera stayed dry and everything else.
So we went to Kilamanjaro Safari. It said a 60 minute wait, it only ended up being a 25 minute wait. When we were done we caught the parade. It wasnt at all like the crowds at the MK parades. You could easily get a seat at this one! And it was good.
By this time, EE had about a 10 minute wait because the park was closing down for the guests who didnt have wristbands for EMH. I
rode EE twice in a row with the second time being a 7 minute wait. I was shocked. The boards had steered me wrong on this! They
were saying 70 minute waits on EMH nights. Plus there was no FP machines open. Luckily we didnt need them. The Yeti will be on the right side. But both sides are able to see him well because he gets so close. But if you sit on the left, when you get to the top where the Yeti has ripped the tracks, you wait about 6 seconds there. Turn to your left and look behind the coaster, you can watch the tracks flip! You can't see this on the right side though. The ride is amazing. I am
prone to motion sickness though, and that in the dark and twisting motion was when I had to stop. So the rest of the family rode it 5 more times back to back. Hardly any wait. One time I timed my DH and DS so I could go shopping. I came back after 25 minutes and met them. They said they rode it twice in those 25 minutes.
We headed for Dinoland and ate dinner at the McDonalds there.
The DH and kids rode Primeval Whirl 2 more times. I opted out to get my head to feel better after EE.
Then we went to a Bugs Life movie. It was fun. Pretty intense for younger kids. Lots of kids in this theater were crying! We walked right onto this ride. No wait. It was now 7:50 and we decided to beat the crowds out of the park since it closed at 8. So off we went to catch a bus to the TTC. Then to the monorail back to MK for the Spectromagic parade and fireworks.
The transfer only took 30 minutes this time. So we rode Space Mountain with our expired FP. Then we went to watch the Spectromagic Parade. We found that it would have been a waste of time to get there early for good seats, because nice people let my kids near the front row. A little pixie dust flew our way!
This board advised me to watch the fireworks from the end of Main St. We did this to try to avoid the rush. I was disappointed that they didnt dim the lights at the end of Main St. like they do everywhere else in the park. I took the opportunity to run to First Aid to get free band-aids for our sore feet and blisters! I read on this board to take blister medicine and I didnt. This was a big mistake!
Then back to Pop Century. The wait for a bus was VERY long. Probably 25 minutes because this park is just so crazy at closing. In retrospect, we should have skipped the fireworks and went back to POP early. We arrived back around 11:30 or so.
Day three and four report to follow.
WHAT DIS TAUGHT ME:
1.GO EARLY GO EARLY GO EARLY! You get so much done in such little time! Rope drop is so important.
2. Be prepared! Make a plan! Get all your family to agree to it before leaving! Stick the plan on a piece of paper. One for each day. Stick it in your pocket for quick reference.
3. Go in off-season. Its worth taking the kids out of school.
4. Do BOTH rope drops at MK on early EMH days! Wow! Did that every pay off!
WHAT I MISSED READING ON DIS:
1. I wish I would have watched the fireworks at MK more towards the front entrance train station. I was close by being at the end of Main St. Just not close enough. So many people in that bus line!
3. First Aid gives out free band-aids.
4. I thought evening EMH would have FP at AK and they didnt on Thursday! Evening EMH at AK is well worth it!
5. Main St. wasnt open before early EMH. They let us walk through Main St. 10 minutes before rope drop, but no shops were open. We wanted to eat at the bakery before hand.
6. That Concierge at POP doesnt open until 7 a.m. to get your park tickets for Will Call. I wanted to be on the 7 a.m. bus to MK but couldnt be!
Stay tuned for days 3 and 4!
I could never find the answer from DIS, but their hours were 7a.m. to 10 p.m. That was hard for me to catch them. So out the door we went without even thinking about it. All the more reason to write things down that you want accomplished on a piece of paper before leaving home. Then put it in your pocket on that day!
We could have slept a LOT longer. We waited for a VERY long time for departure. 
With Southwest you can't check your luggage at the hotel. Only certain participating airlines allow this service.
