Going to parks later in the day??

[Laura Kelly]

This is our family's first trip (including mine), so I need lots of help.
We're staying at the wilderness lodge, have 4 days in parks, No park hopper!
Day 1 MK
Day 2 AK
Day 3 HS
Day 4 MK
(We're skipping Epcot, I know it's blasphemous, but I don't feel my kids would enjoy it)
Planning on being at MK at rope drop, but the other parks seem like they don't take as much time to get through. We're wanting to do breakfast at Ohana one morning, but I don't want to be rushed to make rope drop. And the only things im really interested in at HS is tower of terror and fantasmic.
Is it a terrible idea to maybe leave AK around 4:00 to get to dinner at 1900 PF? Does that give us enough time in AK even if we're late starters (10-11isj)
HS day, was planning on letting the kids get some pool time in at the hotel and then getting to HS around 3 and ending with Fantasmic. Is it even worth going that late? Am I really off the mark and not spending enough time in the parks?
Also, on day 4 I was considering getting DD (4) a res at BBB early and then having breakfast at CRT, DS (8) won't be interested in the pirates league, anything else special for him and dad to do while we're at the boutique?

 

[BrittyRo]

This is our family's first trip (including mine), so I need lots of help.
We're staying at the wilderness lodge, have 4 days in parks, No park hopper!
Day 1 MK
Day 2 AK
Day 3 HS
Day 4 MK
(We're skipping Epcot, I know it's blasphemous, but I don't feel my kids would enjoy it)
Planning on being at MK at rope drop, but the other parks seem like they don't take as much time to get through. We're wanting to do breakfast at Ohana one morning, but I don't want to be rushed to make rope drop. And the only things im really interested in at HS is tower of terror and fantasmic.
Is it a terrible idea to maybe leave AK around 4:00 to get to dinner at 1900 PF? Does that give us enough time in AK even if we're late starters (10-11isj)
HS day, was planning on letting the kids get some pool time in at the hotel and then getting to HS around 3 and ending with Fantasmic. Is it even worth going that late? Am I really off the mark and not spending enough time in the parks?
Also, on day 4 I was considering getting DD (4) a res at BBB early and then having breakfast at CRT, DS (8) won't be interested in the pirates league, anything else special for him and dad to do while we're at the boutique?

Personally my feelings (which is all I can offer haha):
If you are getting to AK at 11 and leaving at 4 it might be rough to get everything in, just because there is so much stuff there (that people don't consider) like the animal trails and all the shows (FN, LK, FoW, ITTBAB) and then there's the rides (EE, KRR, Safari, Dinosaur, PW). You might feel rushed and that you didn't get to everything with that amount of time (this is only my opinion of course)
For HS we just went and we got there at 10:30 and we were ready to leave by 8. We stayed until 8:30 to watch Fantasmic because I LOVE it. There really isn't that much left BUT showing up at 3 makes it hard to get the shows in (BB, LMA, IJ, DJ) in addition to the rides...

 

[bsbrady]

This would all depend on what time of year you are going. If you are going when crowds are high, 11-4 may not be enough time to everything you want to do in AK. Its a big park. Lots to see and you dont want to feel rushed. If MK rope drop is important Im not sure how you will make rope drop if you have breakfast at Ohana.

 

[richmo]

Yeah, leaving out Epcot is blasphemous. There's a good chance your kids would enjoy it and Illuminations at the end is very cool.

Anyway...I think your AK day should be fine. Not sure if you're going back to Wilderness before heading over to the Grand Floridian for dinner. If you do, give yourself plenty of time.

On DHS, going in at 3 should be ok as long as you have your FP+'s lined up. For Fantasmic, remember you'll need to get there early, so plan that in (unless you're going to the second one, if they have it that night).

On your day 4 MK, maybe DH/DS could just go to MK early and you could meet them at CRT for your reservation...or, they could go over to Fort Wilderness and wander around, maybe take the tour at Wilderness Lodge, or maybe rent a boat. Just tell them to do something...

My main concern with all your goings on is that you have a decent amount of running around. If you don't have a car and are using Disney transportation, just make sure you allow enough time to get from point a to point b.

 

[Laura Kelly]

Thanks for all your input! Always helps to have different perspectives

 

[KathyM2]

Yep, I'm with richmo, not going to Epcot lol. It's personal preference...but I still like Epcot better than HS.

Anyway....to answer your question...personally if you aren't going to spend a full day in the park but want to get the most in, I'd still try to make RD and spend the morning at a park and do your pool time etc in the afternoon instead of other way around. By 11am...the parks are usually rammed. At least that was the case for us.

We did all our non-FP+ must do rides at RD, then our FP+...and then by then it was so crowded we wanted to get the heck out. You can't really do much of anything between about 11-4pm without a FP+ or without waiting forever...at least that was our experience recently.

But if you'd prefer to be in the parks later in the day instead - just make sure to wisely plan your FP+ rides and have low expectations of what else you will be able to accomplish. If you are ok with a slower pace and don't have a lot of "must do's" then that might work out ok for you. But I know with my kids they always see things they want to do but waits were way too long later in the day.

 

[bsbrady]

You might want to look more into the park hours for the days you are planning. Thats what I usually do and plan around that,

 

[worm761]

Touring like that is where FP+ comes in super handy. You can still ride the rides you want with little wait! We are not rope drop people unless it happens by accident. Meaning, I don't care if I am at the park that early. We have been often enough and plan to continue going often enough that we just do what we feel like doing when we feel like doing it. You can and will still have a good time. Just know what your priorities are and do those first.

 

[LiveToTravelNicely]

WDW is a huge place, and you aren't going to come even close to experience everything in this trip. I've been to WDW (as an adult) over the period of 4 weeks now, and I still have new things to experience on our next trip. That being said, if you aren't going to do "everything" at AK, then you should be fine with your 11-4 time frame. It sounds like you want to take your time and enjoy specific things vs. commando'ing it through every park. On our first trip to WDW, we were so tired by our AK day that we went to AK, rode the Safari, and hopped back to the Poly for a pool day. Did we miss a lot of cool stuff at AK? Absolutely yes. Did we regret the decision? Nope. I think you have to pick and choose. Instead we made AK our top priority on the next trip. I suggest you plan to go back if your family and you like WDW after this trip. Also, I do think your kids will like Epcot, so save that for your first day on trip #2.

I'd do Ohana on your Pool + DHS afternoon/evening day. You could do bkfst at 9, pool from 11-1/2ish, DHS at 3 til Fantasmic.
Get to MK for rope drop to see the welcome show. It's really cool.
On BBB day, have your DH and DS go experience some rides that DD isn't interested (or is too short) to ride, or they could rent a boat on Seven Seas Lagoon or Bay Lake.

 

[ZoZo]

Yep, I'm with richmo, not going to Epcot lol. It's personal preference...but I still like Epcot better than HS.

Anyway....to answer your question...personally if you aren't going to spend a full day in the park but want to get the most in, I'd still try to make RD and spend the morning at a park and do your pool time etc in the afternoon instead of other way around. By 11am...the parks are usually rammed. At least that was the case for us.

We did all our non-FP+ must do rides at RD, then our FP+...and then by then it was so crowded we wanted to get the heck out. You can't really do much of anything between about 11-4pm without a FP+ or without waiting forever...at least that was our experience recently.

But if you'd prefer to be in the parks later in the day instead - just make sure to wisely plan your FP+ rides and have low expectations of what else you will be able to accomplish. If you are ok with a slower pace and don't have a lot of "must do's" then that might work out ok for you. But I know with my kids they always see things they want to do but waits were way too long later in the day.

This is great advice. You might want to swap your strategy with some rope drops, then take an afternoon break for pool time. You can get two to three times as much stuff accomplished in the morning, before the crowds build, than you can after 11:00 or so. Most folks aren't willing to get up early on their vacations, so the first couple of hours at any park are golden! Usually very short lines.

There is so much to do at each park - and if you've never been before, it's easy to underestimate the amount of time things will take. Plus, you might be really surprised at the things you end up really liking! As others have said, there are several shows at AK that are worth going to (FOTLK, Flight of Wonder, Nemo). There are great animal trails, the safari ride, and EE - plus other fun things to do. FYI, I spend two whole days at AK alone each trip!!!

It would be a shame to go to a park late, assuming that you know which attractions you want to do, then wish (after the fact) that you'd given yourselves much more time to do things. To me, it would be a much better strategy to get to the parks at rope drop, then plan for an afternoon break. Then, if you decide you just HAVE to have more time at that park (because there's so much to do!), you can decide to skip the afternoon break or take a shorter break.

That's just my two cents. I've been on seven WDW trips over the last several years, each trip lasting seven days or more. I have a terrible time fitting in all of the things that I want to do in seven days!!! And I'm pretty much an "open to close" type of person, rarely taking a break. I always try to schedule a day off mid-week, but always end up filling it with all of the stuff I didn't have time for. Go figure!

 

[Jenny Sanders]

My husband and I slept in every day last year and booked FP+ for the afternoons and it worked out perfectly!!!!