Early Entry, Best Days, Worst Days....Oh my!

[Sandy Feet]

Getting down to the nitty gritty now! These are the main factors I'm using to determine our itinerary for the last 2 weeks of August, staying off-site. Do I have this right? You should've seen me last night with my colour-coded spreadsheets!

2 days at MK
2 days at Epcot
1 day at AK
1 day at MGM
2 or 3 days at Uni/IOA
1 day KSC
plus 2 half day visits to water parks
(yes, I know SeaWorld isn't in there not sure we can swing it this time.)

EARLY ENTRY DAYS:
Since we're off-site EE days might not be so good for us. Correct?
Sunday - Magic Kingdom® Park
Monday - Disney's Animal Kingdom® Theme Park
Tuesday - Disney MGM Studios
Wed - Epcot®
Thur - Magic Kingdom® Park
Fri - Disney's Animal Kingdom® Theme Park
Sat - Disney MGM Studios

UNIVERSAL:
Good Days: Tues, Wed, Thurs

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER:
Good day: Tues

MUST SEE:
fireworks, some parades

 

[BCKatie02]

I would have automatically said that you were right to avoid the EMH parks before going, but after being there I'm not so sure. We went to MGM on Saturday (EMH day) and the lines were not so bad. We went back on Monday (non-EMH day) and the lines and crowds were much worse. It seems as though it really just depends on the specific day.

 

[miste76]

Wow, I think I would go nuts trying to keep to a plan. I would change my mind too many times while I was on the trip. Hope you have fun, you sure do deserve it after all this planning!

 

[wdwgoofeeee]

Early Mornings are only for Disney resort guests.
Suggest you skip the EMH parks since you cannot participate.

 

[SnoWhiteRabbit]

Yes, the general rule is to avoid EMH if you are not going to for the EMH. The planning will pay off! You can still be flexible -- but it does help very much to arrive with a game plan!!

Once you figure out which park, you can make some PS if you want. I also tried to have a rough idea of what we wanted to do each visit. For example 2 days at MK - 1 for Tomorrowland and Fantasyland another for Frontierland and Adventureland, etc.

I also usually tried to have an idea of the first two or three attractions for each day. I was very flexible, but I knew heading into Fantasyland, Dumbo and Peter Pan were good to catch first, and to see about grabbing a Winnie the Pooh FP. Other than that we would stop where we wanted when we wanted, but it was very good to have a few starting points!!


Hope that helps. Sounds like you have a great trip planned! Enjoy the pre-trip planning.

 

[LoveThoseLabbies]

Our experience last week was that the EMH days were a waste of time...twice as many people, while less than half the rides open. We had much better luck doing the day after EMH day strategy....go to MK on Monday, AK on Tuesday, etc. Never waited more than 20 minutes for a ride until after 12 noon, even the biggies.

Also, there seemed to be a time in the late afternoon when the parks emptied somewhat. We had good luck between 4-7 also.

Park most crowded and the lines the longest between 12 and 4, and 7 and closing.

 

[Sandy Feet]

Thanks Everyone for all your replies.

Thank you SnoWhiteRabbit. This was very helpful
"........Once you figure out which park, you can make some PS if you want. I also tried to have a rough idea of what we wanted to do each visit. For example 2 days at MK - 1 for Tomorrowland and Fantasyland another for Frontierland and Adventureland, etc................have an idea of the first two or three attractions for each day. I was very flexible, but I knew heading into Fantasyland, Dumbo and Peter Pan were good to catch first, and to see about grabbing a Winnie the Pooh FP. Other than that we would stop where we wanted when we wanted, but it was very good to have a few starting points!!............."

Thanks LoveThoseLabbies, who said
"....... a time in the late afternoon when the parks emptied somewhat. We had good luck between 4-7 also. Park most crowded and the lines the longest between 12 and 4, and 7 and closing.........."

 

[LoveThoseLabbies]

Sandy: I think a lot depends on the age of your kids and what rides they want to ride. If they are young, you may want to start in FantasyLand, where pretty much all the rides are for the younger set. If they are older, they probably would want to conquer the 3 Mountains in the MK.

I would say whatever you do, without any doubt in my opinion, the most important thing to do is to get there about 15-30 minutes before the parks open. The first hour or maybe 2 gives you a chance to do the rides with almost no wait. In FantasyLand for example, you can knock out at least 5 or more in the first hour if you hustle.

Everyone knows to get there early, but surprisingly very few do. I think the attitude is 'I'm on vacation, so I'm not going to get up early and rush myself." My response is "When I pay over $200 for 4 of us to go to the park, we are going to try to get the most out of it. Even if it means getting up a little earlier than we would like." Those who sleep late, go on 4-5 rides all day and wait in lines of up to 90 minutes. There is no ride in the world worth waiting in line 90 minutes for.

Also, when it rains don't look at it as a bad thing. The crowds thin considerably. Bring a rain poncho, and enjoy the freedom of having empty parks. When it is 90 degrees, who cares about being a little wet. Also cools after rain.

Sounds like you have a great plan. You'll do fine. Have a great time. My family did. In fact we went on far more than I expected.

 

[anditoo72]

I posted this on another thread and I thought it might be useful to you. This is just how I plan on hitting the parks

How I picked what parks to go to. I looked at which one was the busiest for that day. Then I looked at which parks have Early Entry that day often that particular park will get very busy also. Then I chose what ever park was left for example. BTW I got this information from Unofficial Guide and www.allearsnet.com

Sunday busiest park is MGM / Early Entry is MK- so choose AK or Epcot

Monday Busiest is MK and AK/ Early Entry is AK- choose Epcot or MGM

Tuesday Busiest is Epcot and AK/ Early Entry is MGM obvious Choice is MK

Wednesday Busiest is MGM and AK/ Early Entry is Epcot- Choose MK

Thursday Busiest MK/ Early Entry MK- Any other park

Firday Busiest is Epcot/ Early Entry AK- MK or MGM are good choices

Saturday Busiest is AK/ Early Entry is MGM- Choose MK or Epcot
Hope this info is helpful.

 

[ColoradoDis]

I'd suggest getting to KSC early as well. When we went in May, it was really crowded from lunchtime on.

 

[Sandy Feet]

Using the same planning strategy as anditoo72, I made a chart, color-coded of course , containing best days to visit based on the same info: busy days EE days. Then added parades and fireworks times. Then added PS arrangments. Looked at it and realised we had a PS in Epcot for one of only two nights Spectromagic is on. Re-arranged that PS onto a good Epcot day so we would have both evenings free to see Spectro in case we were too tired on one of the nights.

Now, I have a chart recommending which park for each day, and where we have to be on certain days for PS's. This may seem way to simple, but I figure each night we can see how we feel and where we want to go the next day. I was trying to plan the whole thing in advance and it got to be too stressful!