First Time Planner - Help me plan a day at MK??

[magicmountainmama]

We visited Disney in 2011 with NO PLANS! I had no idea people planned these things & we didn't utilize fast passes or child swap! Yikes!! So I'm going all out with my plans for this trip & I'm hung up on Day 1 of our 2 days at MK. Please help!!

We are: Me & DH (age 40), Grandpa (70), DS13, DS9, DS2 (but almost 3)

Here's what I have for Day 1 (Monday, 9/11 with a crowd level of 4 according to Touring Plans):
Rope Drop Space Mountain, Buzz, & Speedway. Hoping to ride Buzz a few times before the lines are long.
Head towards Barn Stormer/Fantasyland & do whatever has short lines
Dumbo FP 9:30-10:30
Small World FP 10:40-11:40
Filling in with shows/rides as we go
Grab a QS lunch
Take the train to the front
Meet Mickey at Town Sq FP 12:40-1:40
Back to hotel for nap/break (Wilderness Lodge)
Back to MK in the late afternoon through the evening, with Grandpa taking DS2 back to hotel for bed around 7ish


Day 2 - We're doing EMM, so I don't need to FP those rides & we plan to rope drop BTMRR & HM, with FP for Pirates, Jungle Cruise, & another ride on BTMRR

I don't want to waste our FPs on Dumbo & Small World if they're not necessary, but I also don't want to stand in line more than 15-20 minutes if it's avoidable. Trying to keep a good balance of things for the big kids & things for the little one (and minimize walking all over!).

What would you do differently? Tips, tricks? Any advice is much appreciated!!

 

[sharonabe]

Looks pretty good to me.

 

[barbliny]

You will most likely 'be wasting' fastpasses on SW and Dumbo that early in the morning - they should have very short stand-by lines that early in the morning. Maybe a Dumbo FP might be advantageous - I don't usually go into that corner early in the morning anymore.

I would consider using that 9:30 - 10:30 FP on Speedway instead. This will keep you on schedule to get to Barnstormer quickly.
If you don't mind not having the ability to try for a 4th fastpass for a few hours - I would consider using the other FP for an additional ride on SM when you return to the park in the afternoon. I know when my kids were these ages - SM was an over and over again ride (still is more than 10 years later). Even on a lower crowd day there can be considerable waits for Space Mountain on your return.

 

[travelgirl77]

It does look good, however, I have some suggestions that you may or may not want to take, but thought that I would offer them up:

If you can get in at RD, you can really do a lot of the rides with shorter waits for a good two hours. I scheduled all of our FPs for the afternoon, so that may be an option for you. Also, we rode Dumbo and Small World without FPs and I think the longest wait was 20 minutes. You may want to try to snag a FP for Peter Pan as that has horribly long waits, but is a nice ride for all ages. Also, I don't know if you can get it, but I would try to get a FP for the mine train as opposed to two rides on BTMRR. I found it smoother than BTMRR and less jerky (you know what I mean?). Overall though I think your plan is sound! Just offering up some alternatives! Have a great time!

 

[barbliny]

It does look good, however, I have some suggestions that you may or may not want to take, but thought that I would offer them up:

If you can get in at RD, you can really do a lot of the rides with shorter waits for a good two hours. I scheduled all of our FPs for the afternoon, so that may be an option for you. Also, we rode Dumbo and Small World without FPs and I think the longest wait was 20 minutes. You may want to try to snag a FP for Peter Pan as that has horribly long waits, but is a nice ride for all ages. Also, I don't know if you can get it, but I would try to get a FP for the mine train as opposed to two rides on BTMRR. I found it smoother than BTMRR and less jerky (you know what I mean?). Overall though I think your plan is sound! Just offering up some alternatives! Have a great time!

Those rides, and Pooh, are included in EMM (ticketed event before park opening) - OP mentioned they are doing that on Day 2. EMM allows for tons of rides on PP, 7DMT, and Pooh.

 

[SA mom]

I suggest subscribing to www.touringplans.com. They can really help you. It's about $15 for the year.

 

[mamamelody2]

That plan looks really similar to our plan from last year on September 18. Although we didn't have our FPs until later. Buzz twice, then Space Mountain, Tea Cups, Barnstormer, Dumbo. Pretty much no lines at all. It was great!