Help four adult first timers pick the best days for each park please!

[NuMystic]

4 Adults visiting for the first time.

We'll be checking into Port Orleans French Quarter on the 14th of Jan and then leaving on the 18th.

Non park-hopper park tickets for 5 days so we've got:

14th - Should be all checked in at POFQ by around 4-4:30pm
15-17 - All day/night
18th - Only until 4pm (6pm flight)

Have access to TouringPlans crowd calendar but being that it's completely different than EasyWDW's I could use some guidance from the experts here!

Definitely want to visit all four parks.

Any help, insight, and advice would be appreciated!

 

[I M Fearless]

I would definitely recommend Josh's EasyWDW site instead of Touring Plans. His crowd calendar would be best to decide which parks which days.

Then look for his cheat sheets. Absolutely the easiest way for a new person to get the most out of their days.

Start with the "hard landscape" for the day... which park you'll go to and when, then put in any dining reservations or fastpass reservations, or particular things that happen at a certain times only e.g. parades, fireworks, shows

Then use Josh's colour coded maps to prioritize which attractions you will try to visit in which order, around the stuff you have to do at a certain time. If you head to the things that will have the longest waits earlier in the day you will likely save yourself time. The cheat sheets are excellent for this purpose as they show which attractions will always be walk-on at 2pm.

Don't stress, you won't see it all, you'll just have to enjoy what you do see. Much better to see a small portion of Disney and really enjoy it rather than try and cram too much in and stress yourselves out.

Allow plenty of time for park hopping and getting around, the place is vast, twice the size of Manhattan.

 

[NuMystic]

Thanks so much! Will definitely check out those cheat sheets as soon as I've nailed down which parks we'll be visiting on which days.

Allow plenty of time for park hopping and getting around, the place is vast, twice the size of Manhattan.

We don't have park hopper tickets so we'll only be hitting one park per day, but will definitely keep this in mind as it relates to getting to and from the Resorts and any restaurants we dine at outside of the park we're visiting for the day.

On that note, if it has any impact on the advice others may offer we do have the Dining plan (1 table, 1 counter, 1 snack) and will likely be doing a table service Dinner on on the 14th-17th to get the most value out of it.

 

[I M Fearless]

If you haven't already done it, make dining reservations if you want any sit down meals as opposed to fast food type meals. Also find out about and make some fastpass plus reservations for each park. There are detailed threads about this.

I would recommend spending 2 days at Magic Kingdom as you have the most to see there in terms of the number of attractions.

With no Park Hoppers, I would do the following:

Wed - head to Magic Kingdom for the fireworks and some attractions after check in.
Thurs - Full day Epcot
Fri - Full day Magic Kingdom
Sat - Full day Animal Kingdom (maybe have an earlier night to be packed and ready for the morning)
Sun - Hollywood Studios - Get there at 8:20am

You will struggle to see everything in Epcot and Magic Kingdom so prioritize what you want to do. With careful planning you should be able to see most of Animal Kingdom and a fair amount of Hollywood Studios if you arrive first thing.

If you feel like you need a break maybe book a sit down meal or two during the middle of the day.

 

[I M Fearless]

As you have the dining plan, you definitely want to make Advance Dining Reservations (ADR's) now, many restaurants get booked up months ahead so don't waste any time in getting this organised.

If you have a My Disney Experience account on the Disney World Website you make your ADR's using that.

 

[NuMystic]

Thanks for all the invaluable insights!

I M Fearless it's CRAZY that you posted that exact itinerary as that is EXACTLY what I came up with on my own poring over the crowd calendars and reading up on EMH.

EMH are just not going to work for us because if being at the gate for Rope Drop is as much of an advantage as everyone says it is, then being out of bed, showered, having coffee and getting to the park by 8:30 is already going to be a big enough feat for us! Trying to accomplish that by 7:30 am is wading deep into this-doesn't-feel-like-a-vaction-at-all territory.

So with that in mind I'm currently considering this plan:

14 MK 4-8pm
15 EP 8:30am-9pm
16 MK 8:30am-11pm
17 AK 8:30am-7pm
18 HS 8:30am-3pm

Pros:
- Some have said the MK is the park that will most benefit from extra time so we could catch Wishes and a few things on the night we arrive then have dinner at one of the resort restaurants after it closes.
- All of the above are "recommended" on the EasyWDW Crowd calendar with three being their 1st choice and also either ideal or not too bad according to TouringPlans Crowd Calendar.
- I've heard HS is considered by many to be a half day park this time of year so it seems well suited for our last day which is cut short?
- None of the above are EMH days which we wouldn't be taking advantage of anyway so we're spared any extra crowds that brings, and will instead aim for rope drop at the regular opening time every day while getting a bit more sleep.


Cons:
- HS on the day we leave means we couldn't do Fantasmic (if we go against the crowd calendars we could swap HS and AK)
- For the first night since we're arriving late Epcot would get us one more full park hour before closing.
- Some have suggested starting and ending with MK is a great thing for first timers, though I'm concerned that with the early closing on the 14th and having to check out in the morning and leave the park on the 18th by 3pm we're not even getting a full combined day to experience MK.

On swapping AK and HS for the last two days, AK on the 18th and HS on the 17th are predicted to be heavier attended parks at both TouringPlans AND EasyWDW Crowd Calendars. Even being the slow season since these are our weekend days that may still be a significant consideration? (Touring Plans rates AK 9/10 crowd heaviness on the 18th and HS on the 17th is marked 7 vs 6 at all the others... EWDW lists them both as 2nd to worst in red those days)


Thoughts? Critique? Things I'm missing? Improvements to be made? I'm All Ears!

 

[I M Fearless]

I understand your position on not wanting to miss Fantasmic, it is a show worth seeing.

That said, you really have a double edged sword.

On the one hand, you could swap the park days and go to AK on the Sunday and HS on the Saturday. The problem with this is that Disney have 28,000 hotel rooms onsite and with so many guests heading to the park due to EMH it makes touring so much busier during the day that you will end up getting much less done because of it.

So although you would get to see Fantasmic you would loose out by potentially not having as much time to do other high priority attractions due to the time spent in lines and the lack of availability for fastpasses. Not only would this problem affect the Saturday, but it would also affect the Sunday at AK where it is also EMH. There are other shows that are also really worth seeing, one example is The Festival of the Lion King at AK. So while I do enjoy Fantasmic I personally wouldn't want to compromise two of my park days in order to see it. Studios on a Saturday is pretty horrendous in my experience, which is a fair amount - I have spent two months at Disney this year.

Unless you plan to be in AK from the start of EMH or in HS until the end of EMH (which would be ridiculous being that one is Sat night and the other is Sunday morning) I really think that attending the parks on the days when they will be so busy is going to be counter-productive for you. As you have said getting 4 adults up and out the door in good time is hard enough on vacation.

I think if Fantasmic is an absolute must-do, I would be inclined to see if it is on Wednesday instead, and head there instead of MK. That said, you are then going to leave yourself less time for touring MK and I agree with everyone else that it is quite magical to make your first day in Disney in the number one theme park, there's nowhere else quite like it.

Personally I think I would be inclined to do the Main St Electrical Parade and Wishes on the Friday night in MK - they are both on that day. Then Wednesday I would spend the evening after check-in doing some fastpasses in MK and getting the lay of the lands so to speak, and then I'd head straight to one of the Monorail resorts for food at 8pm getting out of the park before the masses leave following the fireworks. I'd concentrate on being at Epcot for 8:30am to make the most of the next day there. Epcot is an enormous park with a lot of walking.

I think you have to appreciate the vast size of the place as a whole, and just getting from one place to another consumes a lot of time, it's impossible to see everything properly in 5 days, particularly when you are new to it.

My advice would be not to try to see everything, but really to take enough time to enjoy properly what you do experience. Much better to have a slightly more relaxed pace which allows you to take in the detail of all that is there. I'm sure you'll get much more out of it.

What's the worst that can happen? You come back?

 

[NuMystic]

Thank you SO much for your thoughtful and enlightening replies. Absolutely am committed to not trying to "see it all" and plan on carefully curating so that we can enjoy what we do rather than running ourselves ragged.

Absolutely with you on MK for those first few hours on arrival and then full day on Friday. That just makes too much sense to compromise.

On the AK/HS swap for our final two days I just want to clarify one thing with regards to EMH that you said:

Unless you plan to be in AK from the start of EMH or in HS until the end of EMH (which would be ridiculous being that one is Sat night and the other is Sunday morning) I really think that attending the parks on the days when they will be so busy is going to be counter-productive for you.

I'm seeing morning EMH on both days in that scenario not Sat evening EMH at HS on the 17th? Not sure that it would really change the wisdom of your position either way though.

While I mentioned my aversion to morning EMH, I'm only reconsidering that stance for the final day because I'm now hearing that we may need to be departing the park as early as 2pm to use the Magic Express for our 6pm flight.

With such an early departure this seems to be the one case where it might actually be worth it if we aimed for being there at 7:30 rope drop for AK on Sunday? (unless the crowd differential completely undermines any gain there)

So with the EMH clarification which would you personally recommend:

- AK on Saturday (7pm park close on our last full day hurts a bit as I enjoy evenings the most) and then HS from rope drop on Sunday with a 2pm departure.

- HS Saturday with heavy crowds and not doing morning EMH since MK is open until 11pm the night before which will be great fun. On top of that we’d be leaving HS early not long after Fantasmic to get dinner at one of the resort restaurants and a full night’s rest in preparation for… An extra early morning EMH rope drop at 7:30 to make the most we can of our last day with an early 2pm departure.

The only other change up I can see might be:

- HS on Thursday the 15th instead of Epcot as our first full day which sounds "okay" if not necessarily ideal. then Epcot on Saturday until 9pm which the EasyWDW crowd calendar description text declares the most recommended for the day (though it's not in the far left position on the graphical calendar?) . Still leaves AK on our final day with high crowds but with an early start with a 7:30 rope drop to make the most of a day cut short at 2pm.

This quote from the crowd calendar description gives me a bit of hope about that:

If you are Extra Magic Hours eligible and certain that you can arrive by 7:30am to take advantage of it, then you can have a tremendous amount of success touring before 10am, but the afternoon is going to be busier than recommended days.

Being that we’ll have to leave by 2pm anyway it sounds like we’ll miss a good chunk of the worst of that and many seem to consider AK to be the park to sacrifice if you have only a half day to devote to one? (then again my wife is from South Africa so AK may hit a lot of nostalgia buttons for her... sigh)

Speaking of rope drop, what time do we need to leave our rooms at POFQ to make rope drop for 9am park days on Thurs, Fri and Sat using disney transportation? Same question if we do brave the wee hours of the morning on Sunday at AK?

 

[Skysdad]

Our dates are close (i'm arriving on the 13th) and our MK and AK days are the same. I decided on HS on the day I arrive with these thoughts in mind.
1. Its gonna be a long first day starting at 6am just to get there
2. HS is a half day park and very few things that interest me
3. I have never seen Fantasmic and made this a priority for this trip
So after check in and lunch at the hotel I'm heading to the studios for dinner at mamas and then Fantasmic figuring I'll be done early and back to the hotel for a cocktail and to bed at a decent hour.

I'll also throw in my 2 cents about EMH, I avoid those parks! The crowd calendars always have them as the most attended on the day of EMH.

Have a safe and magical trip!

 

[LovesTimone]

4 Adults visiting for the first time.

We'll be checking into Port Orleans French Quarter on the 14th of Jan and then leaving on the 18th.

Non park-hopper park tickets for 5 days so we've got:

14th - Should be all checked in at POFQ by around 4-4:30pm
15-17 - All day/night
18th - Only until 4pm (6pm flight)

Have access to TouringPlans crowd calendar but being that it's completely different than EasyWDW's I could use some guidance from the experts here!

Definitely want to visit all four parks.

Any help, insight, and advice would be appreciated!

I have a few suggestions, again just suggestions.

On the 14th checking in around 4 to 4:30, by the time you get to your room, and get settled in, it will be about 5:30 then walk time to the bus, wait time for a bus, ( at time POFQ shares a bus POR which will add time to your ride time to the parks). Off the bus and through security.. time wise you will be looking at somewhere between 6:00 and 6:30 possibly later depending on the how the buses are running, even if you just throw your stuff in the room you will still be pushing the same time line give or take 30 minutes. I might opt for not heading into the parks tonight and taking the boat to DTD ( the boat leaves from POFQ to DTD it is a wonderful ride down so relaxing) for dinner and maybe an adult beverage, lots to see and check out. You might want to hit the pool too. Also with one less day on the park tickets, you might want to add in park hopper, you will have to run the numbers to see what the cost will be, it will not effect your dinning plan as it is based on number of nights stay. When we arrive later in the afternoon, we like to hit the pool, DTD or the Boardwalk, the 1st evening then head to bed early for the next day

Are all 4 adults in 1 room? I ask this as with only 1 bathroom hitting rope drop might be hard , for everyone to be ready to go.

For my family I would hit AK on the last day before you fly out, for us its not a whole day kinda park, hit the things you want to see 1st, then check the time and go from there. If you are on magical express, be there before time and ready to go.

Transportation is a process whether you drive or ride a Disney bus, give yourself at least 45 min to 1 hour to get to where you are going. I know that it seem a long time, but it really will take about this amount of time.

Most of all realize that you are not going to see everything this trip, and enjoy the moments that you are having. Let your inner Kid out... Have a magical trip

 

[I M Fearless]

I would agree to allow at least an hour from POFQ to get to the parks:

Personally, I'd go to the bus stop at 7:30am on my MK day, to board the bus by 8am, be at MK 8:20am latest, get through bag check and get a spot. Opening show is just after 8:45am and it's nice to be there first thing, so much easier to tour.

Epcot/HS are slightly nearer so maybe make it to the bus stop by 7:45am. The trouble is if you go out much after 8am and you've just missed a bus, you could wait until 25 past, and then risk missing rope drop. I prefer to be there a few minutes early and not be rushing.

1 hour in the morning is worth 4 hours later in the day in terms of what you get done!

I didn't realize it was EMH on Sat AM in HS, but I would still avoid HS park on an EMH day, there are so few popular attractions there it isn't worth the hassle when it is busier.

I do like your plan to do EP on the Saturday and AK on the Sunday though, with HS moving over to the Thursday. That could work well. AK is fairly good during EMH and if your leaving soon after noon it wouldn't be a big problem.

If you got to AK in time for EMH in the morning on the Sunday you'd have success by heading to Expedition Everest and Kali Rapids in the first hour, and then head over to Kilimanjaro Safari about ten minutes before the park opens to everyone. You would still have your 3 Fastpasses which you could use 9am - 12pm and be back by 2pm to leave POFQ on DME.

Basically Epcot is easy, get there for Rope Drop head to Test Track or Soarin (the one you don't have a fastpass for - get a fastpass for the one you don't go to first)

Similar at HS: Head to Toy Story or Rock n Rollercoaster and get a fastpass organised for the other one.

I would personally keep Magic Kingdom for your first night, firstly because i would be too excited, and secondly it will give you a good test run for the morning on Friday. Also with your 3 fast-passes to use on Weds you can still knock off some priority attractions.

I think with the time scale you have to see everything, park hoppers may waste more time than is beneficial. They are handy if you want to do EMH and then leave for a quieter park, but as you're fairly new to it I think you'd be well advised to have a slightly less frantic plan and enjoy the experience.

Commando touring is not everyone's cup of tea!

Is Fantasmic on during Thursday night? If so you could do MK Wed evening, HS on Thursday, MK full day on the Fri, Ep Sat, AK Sun with EMH. That could work well. At least if you get up super early on the Sunday you could rest on the plane!

 

[NuMystic]

Is Fantasmic on during Thursday night? If so you could do MK Wed evening, HS on Thursday, MK full day on the Fri, Ep Sat, AK Sun with EMH.

It is indeed on for Thursday night so this is exactly the itinerary I'm going with. Thanks so much with the insightful critiques which got me here!

Basically Epcot is easy, get there for Rope Drop head to Test Track or Soarin (the one you don't have a fastpass for - get a fastpass for the one you don't go to first)

Since MK is open until 11pm on Friday I was thinking we'd do rope drop then skip the peak afternoon hours to rest at our resort and head back to MK for the evening.

Of course this would make rope drop the following morning very difficult especially if we do the late parade. So this is the next tough choice I could use help with.

Leave MK on Friday a few hours before park close so we can rope drop at Epcot in the morning, or enjoy the full late night at MK and sleep in so that Saturday would be our only non-rope drop day. Epcot is open until 9pm that night.

If you got to AK in time for EMH in the morning on the Sunday you'd have success by heading to Expedition Everest and Kali Rapids in the first hour, and then head over to Kilimanjaro Safari about ten minutes before the park opens to everyone. You would still have your 3 Fastpasses which you could use 9am - 12pm and be back by 2pm to leave POFQ on DME.

Actually have a bit more time than that. Our flight is at 6pm so leaving AK at 1:30-2pm should be enough time to get back to catch our 3pm shuttle yes?

I would personally keep Magic Kingdom for your first night, firstly because i would be too excited, and secondly it will give you a good test run for the morning on Friday. Also with your 3 fast-passes to use on Weds you can still knock off some priority attractions.

Our friend arrives at the airport at 3pm and then we'll be relying on Magic Express to get to our resort. I'm guessing that means we may very well not make it to MK until 6pm (or later) even with just dump our bags at the front desk.

Guessing that also means we can only use 2 FastPass slots? (6-7 & 7-8). No Parade on Wed night but there is Celebrate the Magic at 7:45 and Wishes at 8.

Thanks once again for the incredible crash course you've offered!!!

 

[NuMystic]

Next thing I could use help with is figuring out where to schedule our 4 table service dinners ADRs. We're not big breakfast people and will use our Counter Service credits for our brunches/lunches.

Two that we want to make for sure are:

Boma
Trail's End (for a special Chef TJ prepared meal for our vegan guest)

There's a 7:50pm ADR available on Wed for Crystal Palace if we want it or we could save that for our full day at MK on Friday and hit one of the non-park restaurants.

Thinking that the early HS park close on Thursday and 7pm Fantasmic should also make hitting an out of park restaurant pretty easy if we don't do the buffet at Hollywood & Vine in which case Sanaa and Ohana are also in the running for outside dinner ADRs.

We're not at all the "must eat at 6pm" types so if it makes the most sense flow wise to have our big meal of the day at 3pm or 9pm we can effortlessly do that and fill in the gaps with our snack and counter service credits. Especially if this has an impact on crowd flow. I'd just as soon take advantage of shorter lines and lighter crowds while folks that do adhere to lunch at 12-1 and Dinner from 6-8 are busy fighting for table space. Not sure if that's really a notable factor at WDW but I've certainly seen it when traveling elsewhere.

As far as Counter Service the only thing I already have in mind is Be Our Guest on Friday since we're long past getting a reservation for dinner there.

Thoughts and suggestions very welcome!

 

[I M Fearless]

Next thing I could use help with is figuring out where to schedule our 4 table service dinners ADRs. We're not big breakfast people and will use our Counter Service credits for our brunches/lunches.

Two that we want to make for sure are:

Boma
Trail's End (for a special Chef TJ prepared meal for our vegan guest)

There's a 7:50pm ADR available on Wed for Crystal Palace if we want it or we could save that for our full day at MK on Friday and hit one of the non-park restaurants.

Thinking that the early HS park close on Thursday and 7pm Fantasmic should also make hitting an out of park restaurant pretty easy if we don't do the buffet at Hollywood & Vine in which case Sanaa and Ohana are also in the running for outside dinner ADRs.

We're not at all the "must eat at 6pm" types so if it makes the most sense flow wise to have our big meal of the day at 3pm or 9pm we can effortlessly do that and fill in the gaps with our snack and counter service credits. Especially if this has an impact on crowd flow. I'd just as soon take advantage of shorter lines and lighter crowds while folks that do adhere to lunch at 12-1 and Dinner from 6-8 are busy fighting for table space. Not sure if that's really a notable factor at WDW but I've certainly seen it when traveling elsewhere.

As far as Counter Service the only thing I already have in mind is Be Our Guest on Friday since we're long past getting a reservation for dinner there.

Thoughts and suggestions very welcome!

Crystal Palace is a good option as you can rock up at 7:50pm and not waste ride time. No problems there.

Trail's End is one of my favourite restaurants on property, a real hidden gem.

Sanaa is amazing, much prefer it to Boma actually, not that there's a problem with Boma, it's great, I just like some of the other Buffets more.

Be Our Guest is a fabulous restaurant theme wise - the food is reliably good, but not outstandingly so, I think the location in MK and theme is what makes BoG sooooo popular as well as the newness factor. You may be able to get a Fastpass for quick service meal on your Mk day though. Find the Be Our Guest FP thread for details of how to get one of those.

I would stay clear of Hollywood and Vine - there are better dining options in my opinion.

Table service meals generally need reservations. You can save time at quick service locations by avoiding 12pm-2pm and 5pm-7pm.

The rides tend to get busy from 10:30am onwards, with the busiest time from 1pm - 5pm say. As the evening goes later so it gets quieter, more significantly so when the nightime entertainment starts.

I would perhaps have a break on your Friday afternoon and return to the park in the evening.

Epcot rope drop is not too bad provided you head to one of the two headliners, you'll get a good chance to do most of the other stuff.

The dining plan is epic - so much food it is a relentless feast!

 

[I M Fearless]

I would still make a fp+ 5-6pm 6-7pm and 7-8pm

You can run 15 minutes late and still get in, so just make sure your first one is an attraction you can easily do again on Friday. Something like Pirates of the Caribbean is easy to get as a 4th fastpass.

 

[I M Fearless]

And yes if you leave AK at 1:30pm you'll easily be back at POFQ by 3pm - just make sure you're packed in the morning as you'll have to check out and leave your luggage with Bell Services.

 

[NuMystic]

Thanks SO much for the continued help. You've offered insights I hadn't even considered on more things than I can count at this point.

Epcot rope drop is not too bad provided you head to one of the two headliners, you'll get a good chance to do most of the other stuff.

Did you mean to say that missing Epcot rope drop is not too bad?

That was the choice I was weighing, Staying until the late park close on Friday at MK (11pm) and probably not being asleep until 12:30am would make Epcot rope drop brutal.

 

[I M Fearless]

Yes, that is kind of what I was getting at, there are two priorities at Epcot:

Test-track and Soarin

You can only get a Fastpass for one of the two.

It is therefore necessary to head to the other one as soon as possible when you arrive. However, if you were to get to Epcot by 9:30am you would likely find that the queue for Test Track would not be horrendous by then. Typically it would be around 30 minutes at that point I would think. Obviously the later it gets the longer the line gets.

Personally, I think the time is better spent in MK the night before getting through the attractions there.

If you get a fastpass for Soarin', Mission Space and Spaceship Earth at Epcot you should have no problem getting the rest of the attractions done. Just head for test track first thing or if you don't want to see illuminations, go to test track at 8:50pm.

 

[NuMystic]

Thanks SO much Thom.

Since we are wanting to make Illuminations, would you suggest trying for it first thing upon arrival (which could be as late as 10am if we do the 11pm MSEP) or as late as possible with enough time to still make Illuminations?

 

[I M Fearless]

Thanks SO much Thom.

Since we are wanting to make Illuminations, would you suggest trying for it first thing upon arrival (which could be as late as 10am if we do the 11pm MSEP) or as late as possible with enough time to still make Illuminations?

No problem, if you are aiming for illuminations I would recommend getting to a viewing position by 8:40pm latest which would prevent you heading to test track then.

With that in mind, I would recommend heading to Test Track as early as possible in the day once you get to Epcot - make that a priority, the queue tends to get busiest between 11am - 5pm.

My advice would be to try and catch the 11pm MSEP the night before at the Entrance to Magic Kingdom (Town Square) - if you position yourself on the railroad side of the sidewalk, as soon as the parade has rolled through head out of the park for your resort bus. This way you will be well ahead of 90% of the other guests leaving after the parade. This will cut down the time you are likely to take getting back to your resort. People generally leave the park right after a parade or right after the fireworks - a huge amount of time can be saved at WDW by predicting what everyone else is going to do and taking that into account.

This way you can spend time on the rides during the 9pm parade, catch the projection show at 9:45pm followed by the fireworks at 10pm, I usually dart into a nearby attraction (Buzz Lightyear or Pirates of the Carribean) can often be walk on that time of night - keep an eye on the lines online here: http://www.easywdw.com/waits/ ) and then head back to Town Square to get a spot for the 11pm parade.

If you get back to POFQ before midnight it will facilitate a more eager start the next morning. That being said, provided you get a FP+ for Soarin, Mission Space and Spaceship Earth, most of the other rides will be fairly easy to accomplish either with additional fastpasses later in the day or by using the standby line. Test Track is the only headliner in Epcot (apart from Soarin) which is likely to see very long lines.