help me plan our first WDW trip

[DLfan4]

Hi. This will be our first trip to WDW, actually first trip to Florida. (We have been to Disneyland California )

There are 4 of us. me., DH and two teen girls. we are going in Mid July.

since going to Disneyland California we have been hooked on disney. so when this trip first was being planned i thought we we just do the 4 parks. But then my friend went and told us how amazing the waterpark (TL) was. We love waterparks, and we are going in July so i was gonna do a few days at Disney parks with the waterpark option added. Then another friend posted pictures of Harry Potter and the kids thought it looked amazing and asking if we could go there.

we dont know yet if we can go for 11 days or 8 days.

** if we plan option A : go for 11 days ( 2 days of travel) with 9 full days at parks. so if we do the 9 days at parks, should we do :

1) 4 days at WDW parks ( 1 day at each park), 2 days at the Universal ( 1 day at each park), and 3 days of WDW waterparks
2) 5 days at WDW parks ( 1 day at each, and 2 days at MK), 2 days at universal, 2 days at waterparks
3) 6 days at WDW parks (1 day at epcot, 1 at HS, 2 at MK and 2 at AK), 2 days at universal, 1 day waterpark
4) 6 days at WDW parks, 1 day at universal (hopper), and 2 waterparks.
5) another suggestion

**if we plan option B: go for 8 days (2 days of travel) with 6 full days at parks. so if we only have 6 days in the parks, should we do:

1) 4 days at WDW parks ( 1 day at each park), 2 days at the Universal ( 1 day at each park). no waterparks.
2) 4 days at WDW parks ( 1 day at each,) 1 day at universal (hopper) , 1 days at waterparks
3) 5 days at WDW parks ( 1 day at each, 2 at MK), 1 day at universal (hopper)
4) 3 days at WDW parks ( only doing 3 of the 4 parks), 2 day at universal, 1 day at waterpark
5) another suggestion

 

[pennylane16]

On our most recent trip to WDW, we took one day for Universal with the park hopper & fast pass thing for the lines. If you can, I'd spend 2 days at Universal - we felt like 1 wasn't enough. Also, if you are considering it, I recommend their version of a fast pass. It's pricey, but we avoided super long lines.
Also, we loved both water parks, TL & BB, and would highly recommend visiting both if you have time!

My vote is A.2, B.2 because of you have more time, 2 days at Universal & 2 days for water parks are great, but if you're short on time, I'd personally prefer to visit all 4 wdw parks while still spending a day each at the other 2. We crammed in as much universal as we could into 1 day, and while I'd do 2 if possible, we still fit a lot in that one day and it is doable.
Either way, good luck & enjoy your trip!

 

[HydroGuy]

I vote for Option 5.

WDW will wear you out if you do not take days off. Days off will mean laying by the pool or going to see a movie at Disney Springs in air conditioning with little physical activity. Rest, rest, rest. Otherwise you will be so tired you will be slogging through the parks - no fun.

A good rule of thumb is 2 park days then one day off. Especially in July (when I have never been - closest is mid-June).

As part of your off days, you might use water parks for a few hours. But all day at the water parks? I suggest not.

For WDW, I and most others suggest 6 park days:

2 MK
2 Epcot
1 AK
1 DHS

However, with Pandora/Avatar opening May 27, AK will be tough all in one day. If you do it in one day, you will be wiped out. Try to do AK on a day before a rest day.

On your 11 day trip (9 non-travel days) you could do the 6 WDW park days, add 2 rest days, and then 1 day at Universal for your 9 days. Maybe go to TL and BB water parks for a few hours on rest days. But I suspect your head will be spinning.

If you only have an 8 day trip (6 non-travel days) I suggest you skip Universal and save it for another trip.

Be careful on the park you choose on the day after arrival. Depending on where you are coming from you will be jet-lagged and tired from travel. A big park day with early arrival on park Day #1 is hard. I used to try to always do AK first because it was the easiest park to visit and you could leave early when tired. Not anymore. Consider planning a sleep-in day on Day #1 and starting after lunch at either MK or Epcot - one of the parks where you plan to spend 2 days.

If you are staying off-site, AVOID PARKS WITH EMH (Extra Magic Hours). There is NO debate about this.

If you are staying on-site, it is more debatable. But I would still skip EMH parks.

My two cents. Hope you have a blast!

 

[Ambehnke]

I say #3 both versions. You will need at least 2 days for Magic Kingdom. I consider waterpark days rest days and you can always rest midday which you will probably need anyway with the July heat, possible rain, and crowds. I wouldn't take a whole day off from a park when I'm in Orlando with so much to do no matter how long I was there. There's too much to do!! But that's just us and our touring style.

 

[IndianaRRT]

I have to second an earlier comment about AK. If you would like to see Pandora on this visit, you need to factor 2 days for AK. For a while, everyone and their 17th-cousin-4-times-removed is going to be at Animal Kingdom for that. If you are planning another visit in the next year and you're going to wait to do Pandora things until then, one day MAY be enough depending on your touring plan. The crowds and heat are important factors.

 

[Klayfish]

I disagree that WDW will wear you out if you don't take entire days off and focus on resting. Yes, WDW is massive, incredibly so. And yes, if you try to hoof it for 8 straight days park open to park close, you will wear out. No doubt. But no way would I agree you need to take an entire day off. A lot of that depends on your physical condition, obviously. But if you're in decent shape, you can be in the parks every day. Just be smart about it. Plan a day where you're in the park at 9am and out by 2pm and then chill out the rest of the day. When you're in the parks, get plenty of a/c (most rides are indoors), sit and relax for your lunches and dinners, etc...

As for what parks and how many days, that's completely dependent on what interests you. DW and I went to Universal once and have no plans to go back. It has nothing we're really interested in. I've never seen/read anything about Harry Potter, I have no interest in that genre. Nor do I have any interest in superheroes...yawn. But that's just my own opinion. I love the water parks. So for me, I'd sacrifice Universal Day(s) for water parks. But that's just my own take. If you have a crowd interested in Universal, definitely go. If you want to try to get a taste for everything, nothing wrong with that. Go for option 3, in that case.

 

[laughinplace199]

I'd go with #3 for plan A or #2 for plan B.

I disagree with the poster who said WDW will wear you out. We never take a day off from the parks and we're fine. We definitely take breaks from the parks mid-day though. A swim and/or nap at the resort is a great way to refresh and recharge.

Another thing to consider is that a water park doesn't have to use up your whole day. You could do TL from 10-3 and then hit a park that evening for dinner and rides.

Universal will be tough to do in one day, but it's possible to hit the major stuff. I'd definitely recommend getting their express pass so that you can skip many of the lines.

 

[loves to dive]

I'm going to go sort of against the grain here. If you are DL vets, MK might not need more than one day, especially with teenagers. I'd do half day at the water park and then half day at the parks in the late afternoon/night. That way you could do one full day at MK then a night there. In the summer most of the parks are open late. I'd try to hit Universal in just one day if all you are going for is Harry Potter, get their version of the park hopper but know with just one day, you are really just about going to be doing Harry Potter and not much else. We are not huge Universal fans, we've tried it twice but we don't/can't ride many roller coasters or simulator type rides so there isn't as much to do for us. We have never taken an entire day off from the parks, even when my son was a toddler but we almost always take a few hours break at some point in the day, it's never planned just happens. We are big park hoppers, we have never been without them, that might come in handy with teenagers. If the park you are at is too crowded, just hop on over to another one. One word of caution, do not try to over schedule. WDW is chock full of experiences, I have been going for over 30 years and have yet to see and do everything so knowing it's impossible going in is going to make life easier. I say pick you 3 FPs and then go from there, the good thing about WDW is it's not all about the rides so make sure you take time to relax and enjoy the place.

 

[riddlemethis]

It is going to be really really hot! I would go with the park-hopper option and do the waterparks after half-days in the parks.

You could do universal in one day, especially with older children. My hub and I went recently, got there late, and then did every single ride- but we did cut it very close and jumped into a line before the last go-round. IOA has wonderful roller coasters an thrill rides. The only pull for me for the Universal Studios side is the one newish coaster and the other half of harry potter stuff. I did a two-day pass for Universal before and I got bored around noon on the 2nd day because I had finished everything I wanted to do. So I would do 1 day Universal, 6 in the disney parks/waterparks, and then 1 day to resort hop, eat, and swim. 2 days for MK, 2 days for AK /waterparks, 1 day for Epcot and 1 day for HS/Waterparks.

If you DO get to stay 11 days, I would do an extra day at the water parks/disney springs.

 

[DisneyMaleficent50]

My votes:
3) 6 days at WDW parks (1 day at epcot, 1 at HS, 2 at MK and 2 at AK), 2 days at universal, 1 day waterpark

One change here though. Ticket prices get cheaper the more days you add so it would be like 20 to add a 7th day to tickets and remove the waterpark as a day. Reason:If you are doing parkhopper it is only 15.00 to add the waterpark option. You get 7 days at the waterparks for this. If you get to the waterparks when they open you can do everything from 9-10:15-10:30ish at 1030 till about 6 waterparks are slammed. So maybe take the waterpark day off and do it in the morning and add a second evening with fastpasses at a park. Ak you will not need 2 full days to do it so maybe do the other waterpark one morning and do fastpasses for the evening at AK.

Just my 2 cents



5 days at WDW parks ( 1 day at each, 2 at MK), 1 day at universal (hopper)

 

[DisneyMaleficent50]

Above all do not make the rookie mistake of taking on the florida summer heat and humidity for 11 straight days spending all day at the parks. I have had guests from Arizona where it was 110 degrees complaining about the 87 degree day in Florida. The humidity is no joke......Parkhopping is your friend.....Do a morning park at rope drop with a midday break. Save fastpasses for when you go to your evening park. Midday breaks will allow you to not need a day off to recuperate. WDW food is also considered a theme park. Our plan always includes our sit down meal for the day to be lunch. This way we can escape the heat and relax and enjoy the meal as our next activity will be 6 hours away.

FYI it is not uncommon during July for it to still be like 80 degrees at midnight. Be prepared and stay hydrated!!!

 

[BigredNole]

I won't go into details on which parks or park for which days. My only advice is if you plan to go to US/IoA, by all means stay at one of the 3 main resorts. The "front of line" pass cannot be passed up. It is FP on steroids. It will allow you to do both parks completely in 2 days. Plus, the resorts are all excellent. You have 3 to choose from: Portofino, Royal Pacific, and Hard Rock. All 3 are very nice, just take the one with the lowest price. People will say you can "buy" the pass. However, it ranges in price based on the season and it is only good for 1 turn on each of the rides. The pass will be $40-$70-ish each. Multiply that by 4 and you have the price of a room. Just head over to the resort early morning (6:30-ish), check-in, walk/boat to US park for the 1-hour pre-open for WWOHP, and have a blast.

 

[DLfan4]

Thank you all for the great suggestions and tips. it is greatly appreciated.

 

[Sparkly]

I actually wouldn't do Universal for this trip tbh, it's very expensive to do both. If you do, 2 days- one for US, one for IOA are a good start. Staying in a hotel there you can easily do all you want in 2 days,