Help me decide..

[diznefreak]

We are headed to WDW for a surprise trip for the kiddos March 14-21.This will be a once in a lifetime trip for us. We are in AZ and have been to DL many times but can't wait for the kiddos to see WDW. Our kiddos are 13,10,8. We arrive on the 14th and are staying at POR. Currently we have 6 day 1 park per day passes. My question is if we should add on another day to head to MK on our arrival day? I only am now considering this because they have added the EMH until 1 am!! Is that too much on a travel day? We arrive at MCO at 3pm. Currently this is our park plans..

March 14 - Travel day.
15- Epcot
16- AK
17 MK
18-Epcot
19-DS
20- MK

 

[KenHutch]

Well is doesn't cost that much more to add a day and MK that late at night is magical (Splash Mountain, Big Thunder). If its a one and done you might want to see MK at night like that.

 

[MainMom]

My only consideration would be how tired are my kids going to be And will it affect your next morning at Epcot? If the answer is no, go for it. If it’s yes, then just do a pool evening and a nice dinner and you’ll be well rested for your first day.

 

[disneydreamer1980]

What time would you all be getting up that travel morning? How about the next Epcot morning? If you think you could enjoy it without being overly tired that day or the next, go ahead, it’d be a magical start to your vacation.

 

[DWillowBay]

I see you don't have a HS day scheduled. Maybe on your arrival day, you go to DS that evening/ night (that way, if you're tired, you can leave without feeling like you've lost money) and put HS on your current DS day. If you finish with HS early, you can always head back to DS, if you want. Just my two cents. No matter what you decide, have a great time and enjoy every minute!

 

[DisneyWishes14]

After running ourselves ragged trying to cram things in on past trips, my vote would be to do something a bit more relaxing on your arrival day. If your flight lands at 3 pm that means it departed around 9 am AZ time, is that correct? That's just a really long day with a time change to boot. I would hang out at POR or take the boat to Disney Springs for the evening. If you arrive and the bug to go to MK strikes then, you can always upgrade onsite and grab some FP+ for the evening. They probably would be for less popular attractions, but it would still give you a chance to tour the park. Personally, I wouldn't do it.

 

[belledreamer]

I see you don't have a HS day scheduled. Maybe on your arrival day, you go to DS that evening/ night (that way, if you're tired, you can leave without feeling like you've lost money) and put HS on your current DS day. If you finish with HS early, you can always head back to DS, if you want. Just my two cents. No matter what you decide, have a great time and enjoy every minute!

I agree with this. I mean, it can be done and we've done it before (taking the first flight out and in Epcot for a full park day by 11am) but it is absolutely exhausting and since you already have two days for MK, I honestly don't think you'll need a third.

 

[mamamelody2]

I see you don't have a HS day scheduled. Maybe on your arrival day, you go to DS that evening/ night (that way, if you're tired, you can leave without feeling like you've lost money) and put HS on your current DS day. If you finish with HS early, you can always head back to DS, if you want. Just my two cents. No matter what you decide, have a great time and enjoy every minute!

I totally agree with this!

 

[heather913]

Unless you really love shopping I would skip DS entirely or go arrival night. I don’t think it is worth an entire day.

 

[anicholson75]

I would add a day and do HS on arrival. Since you have preteens and a teen, I would think they would love RnRC and ToT! I wouldn't worry about F! since you've most likely done that at DL (and that version is the best!)

 

[senadler]

I would probably add the day and head to the MK. With hours until 1 AM, which will feel much earlier to you, you can really get a lot done with shorter lines. However, I would only do this if I could sleep in a bit and not have to head to Epcot early in the morning. I see you have another Epcot day planned, so that might be doable.

 

[Dsny4fun]

I would also change your DS day to HS....go to Disney Springs on your arrival day...have a nice dinner...do a little shopping and turn in early to start the next day refreshed. If you finish your HS day early or any of the other days since you have 2 MK and 2 Epcot, you could always go back to DS and the boat ride back to POR is always nice

 

[DisneyWishes14]

We are headed to WDW for a surprise trip for the kiddos March 14-21.This will be a once in a lifetime trip for us. We are in AZ and have been to DL many times but can't wait for the kiddos to see WDW. Our kiddos are 13,10,8. We arrive on the 14th and are staying at POR. Currently we have 6 day 1 park per day passes. My question is if we should add on another day to head to MK on our arrival day? I only am now considering this because they have added the EMH until 1 am!! Is that too much on a travel day? We arrive at MCO at 3pm. Currently this is our park plans..

March 14 - Travel day.
15- Epcot
16- AK
17 MK
18-Epcot
19-DS
20- MK

A lot of people are suggesting DHS, but, I'm assuming when you say you have 6 day base tickets and you refer to "DS" you actually mean Disney Hollywood Studios and not Disney Springs, is that correct?

 

[diznefreak]

You all are amazing!! Thanks for your replies. Disneywishes14 is correct I have DS which I meant DHS. So yes, I'm just stuck if we should on head to Disney Springs on our arrival day or add another day to head to MK for the evening. We usually spend 4 days with PH at DL so I just worry that 2 days won't be enough at MK. The time change will be at an advantage to us but just not sure if it will be too much. I just know we will be so excited to go. We could do DS on our day we leave because our flight isn't until 5pm that day.

 

[sharonabe]

You all are amazing!! Thanks for your replies. Disneywishes14 is correct I have DS which I meant DHS. So yes, I'm just stuck if we should on head to Disney Springs on our arrival day or add another day to head to MK for the evening. We usually spend 4 days with PH at DL so I just worry that 2 days won't be enough at MK. The time change will be at an advantage to us but just not sure if it will be too much. I just know we will be so excited to go. We could do DS on our day we leave because our flight isn't until 5pm that day.

If it helps for future posts, most of us use HS for the Studios and DS for Disney Springs.

Arrival days are difficult. In order to arrive at MCO at 3:00, I assume you're leaving around 8:00 a.m. your time which means you're waking at 5:00 a.m. or so. Going to MK for the late EMH will be a VERY long day for all of you. That doesn't mean it can't be done, but it does mean you may want to make your next day a later start day. In order to be at EP for rope drop that day, you will need to be AT the bus stop no later than 8:00 a.m. which will be 5:00 a.m. again according to your body clocks.

IF you can go without FP+ for that arrival day, I would just wait until you get there to decide. You would have your FP+ for all your other days, and to keep them, you'll need to upgrade your ticket BEFORE you enter MK, but at least you'd know if you have the stamina once you get there.

 

[Ladyfish77]

Since you can add a day anytime during your trip, keep your original tickets. If you decide to enter a park on your first day, then you can always add a day later in the week! That way you aren't paying now for something you might not use. If you want FP you will need to get extra day now, but why not just go and enjoy what you can and get FP on day of if you decide you want them.

 

[agavegirl1]

Since you can add a day anytime during your trip, keep your original tickets. If you decide to enter a park on your first day, then you can always add a day later in the week! That way you aren't paying now for something you might not use. If you want FP you will need to get extra day now, but why not just go and enjoy what you can and get FP on day of if you decide you want them.

Let your own fatigue level be your guide and go with this.

 

[NinaBella]

With your kids ages, I would go to MK for the EMH on the arrival day. I would watch the parade, fireworks, etc and make it an easy day (not scheduled or lightly scheduled) to enjoy the atmosphere since you probably will have fast passes scheduled for the other days.

 

[Haley R]

We never go to a park on arrival day but that’s just our preference. We would rather explore our hotel (if staying onsite) and have a nice dinner or go swimming. Dh and I don’t really like ds but it’s nice to go there for a half day and eat dinner and look around.

 

[loves to dive]

Let your own fatigue level be your guide and go with this.

I agree with this, just decide when you get there and get settled in and see how tired everyone is. Know that you can't see and do everything at WDW anyway so don't even attempt it, you are setting yourself up for failure if you try too much or over plan.