Evening Fastpass selection advice needed

[cdurham1]

My 7 year old daughter and I (single dad) will be at Disney World the week of Columbus Day. One day, we will be going to the water park(s). After we take our afternoon nap, we will want to go to one of the other parks.

We will be rope dropping each of the 4 parks during the week (MK twice). Taking MK out of the equation, which park and rides would make sense to get fastpasses for that evening? My 30 day window doesn't open until Sept. 6, so I have some time to research.

FoP, Slinky Dog Dash, and Alien Saucers seem to be out of the question as the availability is going to be gone by the time my window opens.

My 7 year old is mostly interested in the attractions as opposed to character meet and greets. I covered the character interactions with some strategically placed ADRs. She wants to do every attraction and is tall enough for everything.

As a side note, I told her we were going about a week ago. She has been taking us on long walks every day since then in order to "train for Disney World." Ha. 7 year olds are so cute and wise.

All suggestions appreciated!

 

[StacyStrong]

I would do an evening safari, Lion King, and Everest at AK.

 

[looking4themouse2]

I would do 7DMT BTM and maybe Navi’ river journey- although this suggestion is based merely on speculation as I’ve not had the opportunity to ride it yet

 

[PrincessP]

Thinking back on my kiddos at age 7, I would choose either

1) HS (Alien Swirling Saucers, ToT, and Rock n Rollercoaster) because it will be fun to see TSL at night apparently. Then with only 2 of you, try to change that AS FP to Slinky Dog. If you check regularly, you may very well find availability for 2.

Or

2) AK (safari, EE, and Na’vi River). AK is a must see at night now. Time your safari FP for a window that allows you to enter FP queue 30 min prior to sunset. Josh from easywdw.com suggested that. We did that on our trip in June, and it was perfect! Most activity we have seen with animals, and still sunlight out to see them. And with the NRJ, keep trying to change it to FoP. Again, with only 2 of you, you may find availability eventually.

 

[mom22boys]

Thinking back on my kiddos at age 7, I would choose either

1) HS (Alien Swirling Saucers, ToT, and Rock n Rollercoaster) because it will be fun to see TSL at night apparently. Then with only 2 of you, try to change that AS FP to Slinky Dog. If you check regularly, you may very well find availability for 2.

Or

2) AK (safari, EE, and Na’vi River). AK is a must see at night now. Time your safari FP for a window that allows you to enter FP queue 30 min prior to sunset. Josh from easywdw.com suggested that. We did that on our trip in June, and it was perfect! Most activity we have seen with animals, and still sunlight out to see them. And with the NRJ, keep trying to change it to FoP. Again, with only 2 of you, you may find availability eventually.

I second this plan! Great suggestions!

On a personal note, EE is awesome at dusk and twilight! The lighting is fantastic. Also, if you get lucky, as it gets close to park close you might get multiple rides on it with minimal wait time. One time during the Rivers of Light show, my kids rode EE back to back 6 or 7 times. I couldn't keep up with them. After the third ride I was done!

Hope you have a magical trip! And, enjoy those "training" walks with your daughter. So sweet!

 

[Delirium]

Everest at night is the best experience among anything you could get at any of the non-MK parks. That said, without being able to get FOP, that would leave you with a Tier 1 choice of Na'vi River, which really is not Tier 1 status. And, at 30 days, it's probably what you will get on your primary AK day as well, and would not be worth duplicating. In addition, from a tier 2 standpoint, the safari at night can be a letdown more often than not.

Epcot FPs generally lose out to other parks in these comparisons because the Tier 2 lineup is so bad.

So, if your daughter enjoys thrill rides like RNR & TOT, I would definitely go with Hollywood Studios. Add to that, while you likely will not be able to get Slinky Dog, you can get a premier Tier 1 ride in Toy Story Mania (assuming you would pick it over Alien Saucers). Throw in Fantasmic! as a nighttime spectacular (better than Rivers of Light at AK) and HS would be my choice.