Help tweak my trip.

[eatntae]

Hello everyone. I'm new here, please be gentle

My girlfriend and I are making our first trip to WDW August 23-27 for our 4 year anniversary, and we're staying at AS Sports. 5 day tickets with free dining, flying in and using DME. Here is how we have it planned out so far.

23-Aug - Arrive at MCO at ~11am, and head over to Epcot as soon as we can, and attempt to get on Soarin' (from what I've read, outlook not good), and the other main attractions. Have a ADR for Rose & Crown @ 7:10 pm. Tried to reserve Le Cellier, but all booked for dinner. After dinner, catch Illuminations.

24-Aug - MGM. Main thing we want to catch is Fantasmic at this park. ADR for 50s Prime Time Cafe @ 5:35 pm.

25-Aug - Magic Kingdom day. This day is pretty much set in stone since it is the only night of our stay showing Spectromagic. Try to catch Wishes afterwards. ADR for 'Ohana @ 5:40 pm.

26-Aug - Magic Kingdom again. EMH morning day. ADR for Crystal Palace @ 8:15 am. Catch Wishes if we didn't see it the previous day, or again if we liked it that much. Go back and do other things again and/or get things we missed.

27-Aug - Epcot again. Catch things we missed the first day. ADR for Le Cellier at 1:00 pm. Flight departs MCO at ~8:00 pm, so I'm under the impression that we have to be at the pick up spot ~5:00 pm.

We really don't have an interest in Animal Kingdom, so I'm not looking for suggestions on that. I guess my biggest concern/question is our Magic Kingdom days. 24-Aug has EMH in the evening, whereas 26-Aug has EMH morning. Would it be wise to switch those two days around, so that we can take advantage of the EMH evening at MK? From what I've read so far on these boards, I'm under the impression that the EMH are very crowded, so I'm not sure if it would be worth it to go to MK on the 24-Aug. I suppose another option would be to upgrade to Park Hopper passes, but as much as possible, we want to limit our extra expenses (I know, I know, good luck us ). If anybody thinks it will benefit our trip greatly, we'll give it more consideration.

Also, regarding transportation, how often to buses travel from the parks to the resorts? Is it round the clock transportation? We want to make sure we make it back to our pick up spot for DME on our departure date.

Sorry for the lengthy post but we just want to make sure our trip worthwhile with as few problems as possible. We wish we could stay longer and be better prepared, but it just wasn't in the cards.

Thanks in advance for any and all replies!

 

[wilma-bride]

It looks good to me. Tbh, if MK has EMH on 24th Aug evening, hopefully when you go on 25th, if you get there early the crowds might be low.

Have a great trip

 

[TXTink]

Well, lets see!

You said the biggest thing at MGM y'all wanted to see is Fantasmic, it is a great show! Be prepared for large crowds. My favorite thing at MGM is Rock n Roller coaster! And, the other big ride there is Tower of Terror. Be sure and ride those!!

And, be sure and use Fastpass at ALL the parks. Go to the rides that you have chosen as the "must do's" first and use the Fastpass.

If you can fit it into your budget I would highly recommend the park hopping tickets. We never stay at one park the whole day, but that's just us, I'm sure plenty of people do...I just love the hopping option. If one park gets crowded you can leave and head to another one! That way you aren't pegged into a schedule you made up from home without being able to project which park will be crowded on which day.

Also, it sounds like you are a young couple so this may not be an issue for you, but we like to go back to the resort everyday from about 2 in the afternoon till around 5. We rest or get in the pool, it rejuvenates us for the evenings in the parks. It is still going to be pretty hot in Florida in August! And, don't forget about those afternoon showers! Be prepared for that! Although we love the rains, they cool things down and clear the parks at the same time!

(I wish you could fit in Animal Kingdom....it is a wonderful park! We love it there! And, if you could fit in the park hopping tickets, you could spend at least a half day there. )

As for the busses, they run from the parks to the resorts about every 20 minutes from an hour before park opening time until an hour (or more) after park closing. We have never had a problem catching a bus. The only time it is hard is right after a parade or fireworks show, they can be really crowded after those! The All Stars are pretty far away from the parks, so give yourself about an hour in travel time, just to be sure you get places in time.

Y'all have fun on your anniversary! It sounds like you are will on your way with all the planning! (By the way, Le Cellier is WONDERFUL!!)

Have fun!!

 

[Lanie]

I also think that you should see Animal Kingdom...my boyfriend is not a big fan of zoo, but he liked AK. The fact that it can be done in 1/2 day is also a thing to consider...

Other than that I think it looks good! We did not need afternoon breaks, but that is netirely up to you guys...

Have a great trip!!!

 

[eeyore45]

I think you should try and switch your adr for Ohana - if you have only one chance to see Spectro, well then maybe not... well my thought is, you leave at 5 to get to Polynesian (take the boat btw !! Its a nice relaxing ride over to the Polynesian!!) My thinking is its so relaxing you may not want to go back to the MK for the parade, once you leave the heat and the crowds, you may chose not to go back!! So I would try for an ADR in the park, CRT...

and I'll add a vote for at least a half day at AK - Travel Channel showed The dinosaur ride,( and the technology used for that ride looked really great!) we've been to AK on 2 different days, never made it there!! We loved the Safari ride, Kali River Rapids, and The Lion King Show... but only you can decide on that!!

 

[eatntae]

I think you should try and switch your adr for Ohana - if you have only one chance to see Spectro, well then maybe not... well my thought is, you leave at 5 to get to Polynesian (take the boat btw !! Its a nice relaxing ride over to the Polynesian!!) My thinking is its so relaxing you may not want to go back to the MK for the parade, once you leave the heat and the crowds, you may chose not to go back!! So I would try for an ADR in the park, CRT...

We thought about that too. However, we can't think of another day to try out 'Ohana. As far as AK, I don't think we'll try it out this time, unless we somehow find a way to rearrange funds and upgrade to Park Hopper passes.

Thanks for the input everyone!

 

[TXTink]

We thought about that too. However, we can't think of another day to try out 'Ohana. As far as AK, I don't think we'll try it out this time, unless we somehow find a way to rearrange funds and upgrade to Park Hopper passes.

Thanks for the input everyone!

Whatever you do, don't miss Specto!

If you change your minds on the hopping option, you can always upgrade your tickets there!

Have a great time!!