Frequent Visitors: What is ok for you to skip now?

[semperwdw]

I skip any ride that has more than a 20-30 minute wait, unless I have a fast pass.

 

[Zippa D Doodah]

My family and I are a bunch of weirdos. We have been a bunch of times but still love staying at the parks all day long. We usually don't have much of a plan beyond using FPs though. I mostly skip rides like Teacups and Aladdin. I tend to miss most parades and some fireworks, although I am looking forward to ROL and HEA on our upcoming trip. I am also having a nostalgic urge to see Fantasmic this time

 

[Parker Clan]

We also are fortunate enough to visit each summer so we always have the philosophy if we miss it this year we will do it the next. Still haven't gone on Frozen and I've been to Epcot several times since it's opened. Didn't FP it this year either. We may try and get on it on our Epcot EMH night but no biggie if we don't. Just like others there are must do's for us... Like BTMR. It was closed for refurb last summer so we will ride multiple times. ToT is my fave ride so I have to ride it at least once or twice at night each trip. Stuff like that. I feel ok knowing we will go back each year and do whatever we missed at some point

 

[bettybooplove]

Hollywood Studios:
•Any of the shows
•Toy Story Mania (it's cute but not worth the wait)

Animal Kingdom:
•Any of the walking trails
•The Bug show
•Any of the shows
•Dinosaur
•Triceratop Spin
•Kali River

Epcot:
•Anything related to Nemo
•Spaceship Earth
•Frozen Ever After

Magic Kingdom:
•The parade
•Country Bears
•Tom Sawyer
•Philharmagic
•Aladdin
•Jungle Cruise
•Carousel of Progress
•Little Mermaid
•Enchanted Tales
•Stitch
•Laugh Floor
•Buzz

 

[mi*vida*loca]

I think next trip we will be skipping most character meets and character meals. I have to meet Mickey though!

 

[dreiwhit]

We skip some of the shows, like Fantasmic, Illuminations and the MK evening show. We'll also skip the parades at MK.

We also skip some of the character meet & greets, since my daughter has already met and gotten an autograph from most of them.

We skip rides like stitch, 7DMT, Space Mountain, Swiss Family Tree House, etc, just because we've been on them before and they weren't our favorites.

 

[BrianL]

There's nothing set, but I can pretty much skip anything depending on mood and circumstances. An exception to this is Haunted Mansion. That's always on the list!

I'll still ride and enjoy anything.

 

[scoobygrl79]

We go yearly (DVC), and take it slow in the parks, so we have a "have fuj with the family" mindset more than a "conquer the park at all costs" mindset.
We kinda keep priority rankings in mind, and it's no big deal to miss a low priority attraction. In a few years, a missed attraction becomes more of a, let's do ... this year since it's been a while.

Some of our lower ones are large time commitments like Ellen, Animal Kingdom train.. for a while CoP was a low priority. I guess with summer trips we enjoy that air-conditioned break more.

I'm stuck in that "conquer mode"( like you called it) and really wishing I could talk myself out of it.

 

[ucfknight]

Most everything is skippable for me at this point except FoP if I'm in AK. We make our FP+ for the 3 rides we want, or at least the 3 rides we most want based on what is available. After that we try to tour based on what additional FP we can get after the first 3 and what the crowds are like that day. If it is packed we'll try to take in more shows. If it is empty we'll go from ride to ride as quick as we can. The wait times on the MDE app are great for planning where in the park we'll hit next.

 

[scoobygrl79]

We don't need to do every theme park during every trip. I think one of the advantages of doing short, frequent trips is that you feel freer to only focus on what really appeals to you at that time, instead of needing to do it all. We know we'll be coming back. This can result in a more enjoyable trip. We also don't need to do every fireworks show. We typically do one fireworks show per trip now.

How do you define short and frequent? If that worked for you, I'd give it a shot, however, right now our circumstances allow a visit about every 9-12mos. Each trip lasting 7-9 days on average. Maybe cutting down to every 6 mos for 4 day trips only will do the trick?

 

[scoobygrl79]

Yes, I now feel comfortable not going hard from morning til closing. I can enjoy the parks in a relaxed way. Like @Keels, I'm also perfectly happy grabbing a drink and just hanging out in the atmosphere, whether it's at Illuminations or on the Boardwalk or admiring nightfall at Animal Kingdom. The theme parks are much less about checking off rides and more about the theme.

Bryanb are your trips more adult oriented? Sounds very relaxing and really enjoyable, although I think it will be a while before I'll get to tour like that.

 

[Nick6300]

MK - Astro, Stitch (only because wife won't go), Tea Cups, Dumbo, Swiss Family, Aladdin, Tom Sawyer, Tiki, Country Bears, move it shake it and fantasy parades
EP - Ellen, Circle of Life, France/China movies (but we love Canada's), Mission Space (wife couldn't do Orange and now both)
HS - Muppets, movie preview, Star Wars monument
AK - Rafaki, Tough to be a Bug (again, wife), P. Whirl, Triceratops, Boneyard, we try not to get caught in a parade

We also skipped many finishing fireworks shows/Disney Springs on 1 day/wknd trips. But still tried to do most everything, even the likes of Presidents, Carousal (good napping opportunity), Figment.

 

[piccolopat]

We're at the point that if we don't have a FP+, it depends on the line. If it's for something we really like, we will wait up to about 30 minutes. If it's a "meh" attraction, perhaps 10 minutes or so. We plan our meals, usually lunch and dinner table service, to give us a reprieve from the crowds and heat. We always get FP+ for our must haves.

 

[Gentry2004]

Jungle Cruise. Don't get the popularity. I won't RD it or use an initial FP for it. May ride it if I can get a fourth for it, if nothing better is available.

 

[BuckeyeBama]

Our kids are now older (youngest is 17), so no more "must dos". We sleep in, have a swim and get to the parks when we wish. We eat wherever we want, often outside of WDW. If a ride is down or closed, we hit it next trip. If a line is too long and we don't have a FP, we move along to something else.

I have toured WDW in every way that there is to do it, and loved each style as it fit our life at the time. Don't be afraid to try a new way to tour WDW.

 

[DisneyFansInNYC]

We go at least once or twice a year. What we do each time is try to do at least several things that we never did before - especially restaurants. We have our go to places but love to try new things. We don't try to do everything anymore - it gets too hectic - we love enjoying the hotels also.

 

[GeneralTso]

We skip stuff all the time. It depends on the wait, weather, etc. We always skip Ellen/Stitch/Mission Space/kiddie rides at MK.

We don't have little kids though, and that makes a huge difference. When we are there with our adult kids, they go off and do their own thing if it's something we aren't interested in.

I always feel bad for people that seem to be doing the death march through the parks. They have a checklist and they are moving through that list. I realize some folks live and breathe by the touring plans. I'm the opposite of that and that's the beauty of it, it doesn't matter how you do it as long as you're having fun.


I hate seeing little kids melt down in the evening or super late at night. It's terrible and the parents are melting down too. Nerves frayed, overheated and wanting to get their money's worth. How is that a fun vacation? I've watched parents literally slap their kids upside the head. I've seen kids act like monsters and their parents just look away. It's kinda nutty. I just mind my own business and focus on my visit and what I want to do.

 

[hkkatie]

I love this thread. We are planning our first trip to WDW next summer, and I was just pouring over the map of Epcot trying to figure out how to see it all in one day. But this thread reminded me that it's ok if we don't see and do everything. I don't want to be stuck in the "go go go" mode either. If we just slow down, enjoy the atmosphere, take time to look around, we'll find plenty of joy in the trip.

 

[BeerMe]

Unless I have FP+s for MK, I'm not stepping foot in there. I've done everything I need to do in "Strollerville" and I'm pretty OK with that. If I do have FP+s (and it's usually just one, maybe two)

I agree completely! In the other parks there isn't anything we regularly skip - it all depends on wait time and FP+ availability.

In MK when we go, we also do Jungle Cruise, Pirates, People Mover, Haunted Mansion and Carousel of Progress - not always with a FP.

 

[Shanti]

How do you define short and frequent? If that worked for you, I'd give it a shot, however, right now our circumstances allow a visit about every 9-12mos. Each trip lasting 7-9 days on average. Maybe cutting down to every 6 mos for 4 day trips only will do the trick?

We now tend to go once or twice a year (see my signature) for 4-5 nights per trip. We haven't really planned it that way- that's just how it's worked out with scheduling and the longing to return to WDW and such. I almost never plan trips out more than 4 months in advance. One thing that helps with short trips is flying in during the morning on arrival day, and not flying out until the late afternoon on departure day. That cushions your trip with packing/unpacking time outside of your main vacation days, which helps the trip not feel hurried.

Orlando is a 2 and 1/2 hour nonstop Southwest Airlines or Jet Blue flight away, which makes it easy for us to do frequent trips. But I'd also like to do a longer, 7-9 night trip in the future. It's just a matter of planning and scheduling, but we have other types of vacation plans, too, so... We have totally enjoyed our short yet sweet trips, and we don't spend them all running from attraction to attraction in the theme parks nonstop (although we do enjoy that, as well). We value resort time, waterparks, nice meals, etc. as part of the experience, too.