First trip questions...

[Cheleg]

Hello everyone,I love this site. I'm learning something new every time I go on here. Bringing my family for our first trip in 30 days!!!
Anyway, just few quick questions I'd like to ask:
1: On our first day we were going to do Epcot in the morning and HS in the afternoon or should I just do HS?

2: We have Mickeys BBQ booked for the fri eve and hope to see illuminations at 10pm in Epcot the same night. Is it easy to get from fort wilderness to Epcot?
My kids ages are 10,9 and 7. Eldest a boy and other two girls.
Thanks

 

[_auroraborealis_]

1. Does anyone in the family like Star Wars? If anyone age 4-12 wants to do Star Wars Jedi Training Academy, you really must be at HS for rope drop (open) in the morning to sign up. You must sign up on-site (no pre-book).

2. You can get to any park easily from most resorts. Since BBQ is a 5:30 showtime, you should have enough time to make it.

 

[dkrauss]

Hello everyone,I love this site. I'm learning something new every time I go on here. Bringing my family for our first trip in 30 days!!!
Anyway, just few quick questions I'd like to ask:
1: On our first day we were going to do Epcot in the morning and HS in the afternoon or should I just do HS?

In my opinion, given the ages of your younglings......I'd switch things up and do HS in the morning (if at all) and them move to Epcot. HS is really a 1/2 day park at best. After you do TSMM, StarTours, and maybe the Muppets........not all that much to do

2: We have Mickeys BBQ booked for the fri eve and hope to see illuminations at 10pm in Epcot the same night. Is it easy to get from fort wilderness to Epcot?
My kids ages are 10,9 and 7. Eldest a boy and other two girls.
Thanks

Depends on your time for the BBQ which I've never done to be honest. The BBQ is at Ft. Wilderness....you'll need to get a bus from there to Epcot..............doable........but depends on when you dinner is scheduled.

Doug

 

[SaintsManiac]

As always, I disagree that HS is a half day park. We spent the entire day there from open to close and didn't do everything.

OP, what time is your BBQ reservation?

 

[Cheleg]

until about

In my opinion, given the ages of your younglings......I'd switch things up and do HS in the morning (if at all) and them move to Epcot. HS is really a 1/2 day park at best. After you do TSMM, StarTours, and maybe the Muppets........not all that much to do
Thanks so much, I really want to see fantasmic so we hope to be in HS in the evening


Depends on your time for the BBQ which I've never done to be honest. The BBQ is at Ft. Wilderness....you'll need to get a bus from there to Epcot..............doable........but depends on when you dinner is scheduled.
The BBQ is scheduled for 5.30

Doug

In my opinion, given the ages of your younglings......I'd switch things up and do HS in the morning (if at all) and them move to Epcot. HS is really a 1/2 day park at best. After you do TSMM, StarTours, and maybe the Muppets........not all that much to do


Depends on your time for the BBQ which I've never done to be honest. The BBQ is at Ft. Wilderness....you'll need to get a bus from there to Epcot..............doable........but depends on when you dinner is scheduled.

Doug

1. Does anyone in the family like Star Wars? If anyone age 4-12 wants to do Star Wars Jedi Training Academy, you really must be at HS for rope drop (open) in the morning to sign up. You must sign up on-site (no pre-book).

2. You can get to any park easily from most resorts. Since BBQ is a 5:30 showtime, you should have enough time to make it.

 

[dkrauss]

As always, I disagree that HS is a half day park. We spent the entire day there from open to close and didn't do everything.

OP, what time is your BBQ reservation?

Not to be snarky..........what did you do all day?

Doug

 

[ConnecticutNonna]

I agree about HS NOT being a half day park, especially with kids...
2 girls = Frozen sing-along (Probably a requirement lol)
Boy = Jedi training, must sign up as soon as park opens though.
All 3 would probably enjoy Jawas trading
Also, Beauty and the Beast, Voyage of the Little Mermaid, and Indiana Jones are all wonderful shows that take time to enjoy. HS is not a park just for thrills, but has some great shows.
Even as adults DH, DGS, his GF and I enjoyed (actually had a blast) at the dance party!
I know it's not the same park it was last year (RIP Lights, Motor, Action) but it's definately longer than half a day.
JMHO

 

[ConnecticutNonna]

Also the PITA part of getting from Mickey's Backyard Bar-b-cue is that you either need to take an internal bus to get another bus to Epcot, or take a boat to WL and then grab the bus to Epcot... OR you could take the boat to MK and then the monorail to Epcot. But, no matter how you do it, plan at least 90 minutes from dinner to park.
Not to dissuade you, I'm sure it's doable, just a pain.

 

[ConnecticutNonna]

Hello everyone,I love this site. I'm learning something new every time I go on here. Bringing my family for our first trip in 30 days!!!
Anyway, just few quick questions I'd like to ask:
1: On our first day we were going to do Epcot in the morning and HS in the afternoon or should I just do HS?

2: We have Mickeys BBQ booked for the fri eve and hope to see illuminations at 10pm in Epcot the same night. Is it easy to get from fort wilderness to Epcot?
My kids ages are 10,9 and 7. Eldest a boy and other two girls.
Thanks

BTW...


to the Dis!!!

 

[SaintsManiac]

Not to be snarky..........what did you do all day?

Doug

We arrived at RD by a happy mistake (managed to get up early enough). Rode RnR with child swap, grabbed Starbucks, did some browsing, Launch Bay, met Chewie, caught performers, DH rode ToT twice using my MB, saw BAtB (they chose DD5 as princess of the day!!), Met Buzz and Woody, rode TSMM, ate at Pizza Planet, met Mickey, Doc and Minnie, did Clubhouse, Frozen Sing A Long, Muppets, GMR, had dinner at Minnie's holiday dine, did Osborne lights, Fantasmic! and I think that's all we managed to get in. Skipped Star Tours due to my nausea last time I rode it. Skipped Indy because I didn't think DD5 would sit through it.

 

[blemon]

Also the PITA part of getting from Mickey's Backyard Bar-b-cue is that you either need to take an internal bus to get another bus to Epcot, or take a boat to WL and then grab the bus to Epcot... OR you could take the boat to MK and then the monorail to Epcot. But, no matter how you do it, plan at least 90 minutes from dinner to park.
Not to dissuade you, I'm sure it's doable, just a pain.

I agree. We were just there. From the BBQ, you need to take the internal bus to the entrance to FW. That can sometimes be quite a wait. And from there you might be waiting up to 20 minutes for the bus to Epcot. If the monorail has been running smoothly, I think the boat to MK (or the Contemporary) and hopping on the monorail really would be the best option. Or a cab. But I think the boat to MK or the Contemporary might be faster than the bus. I felt the the boats ran a bit more frequently than the internal buses.

 

[KrazeeK120]

OP's kids are old enough that they may wish to ride RnRC and Tower of Terror (especially the older 2). I typically only spend a half day at DHS, but I've done everything there I want to do and don't care to re-visit some of the stuff. For someone who hasn't ever been there, I can see spending 3/4 or a whole day there.

 

[ConnecticutNonna]

OP's kids are old enough that they may wish to ride RnRC and Tower of Terror (especially the older 2). I typically only spend a half day at DHS, but I've done everything there I want to do and don't care to re-visit some of the stuff. For someone who hasn't ever been there, I can see spending 3/4 or a whole day there.

I agree about the rides, absolutely, I was pointing out that there is a LOT more to HS than the rides.

 

[KrazeeK120]

I agree about the rides, absolutely, I was pointing out that there is a LOT more to HS than the rides.

Oh, absolutely! I just wanted to mention the rides since no one else had and with kids those ages, they're at least worth discussing.

 

[ConnecticutNonna]

Oh, absolutely! I just wanted to mention the rides since no one else had and with kids those ages, they're at least worth discussing.

Agreed!

 

[Cheleg]

Thank you all for your replies. None of my kids are into Star Wars. I really want to see Fantasmic! so wish to be at HS in the evening. I'm so excited.
Our BBQ is on at 5.30, for approx 1.5-2 hours. Would hate to be rushing in time for illuminations.

 

[tlmadden73]

I assume you have hoppers then ..

But I second what others say here:
1) HS is not a half day park if you have NEVER been there. Plenty to do and see all day long.

2) Getting from Fort Wilderness to Epcot could take a while as you need to do 2-3 (depending) transfers on Disney Transportation to get there. Probably plenty of time to do that, but it could take a LONG while (60-90 minutes would be my guess taking into account wait times) .. plus the time to get into the park and get back to where Illuminations will be.

Honestly .. I would just take the boat from Fort Wilderness to Magic Kingdom and see the night show there that night instead of going all the way over to Epcot. Just see Illuminations on your Epcot day. To me it would just be a waste of time to make the trek from Fort Wilderness to Epcot just for that one show.

 

[glassslippergirl]

If you have another day dedicated to Epcot, I would do Illuminations then. There's no sense wearing yourself out on transportation. Like PP suggested, MK is a much better fit for evening entertainment after Ft. Wilderness.

 

[ConnecticutNonna]

Thank you all for your replies. None of my kids are into Star Wars. I really want to see Fantasmic! so wish to be at HS in the evening. I'm so excited.
Our BBQ is on at 5.30, for approx 1.5-2 hours. Would hate to be rushing in time for illuminations.

Trust me, even if your children are not into SWs, they will love Jedi training and trading with Jawas. Both are so fun and interactive. It's something magical that Disney does that kids really enjoy and remember far more than the 2 minute roller coaster ride! They are the stars of the show!

 

[Cheleg]

Fantastic tips, we're going to do a full day in HS and do the Jedi training.
So I'll prob skip Epcot illuminations as it just seems to take too long. MK has the MNSSHP on same night so we can't go there after BBQ. Does the boat from fort wilderness go to any other resort? Sounds lovely to have a trip on that.