How many days do I need, and what can I skip?

[MithrilMaiden]

I want to go to Disney World this January. I can go any time between the 1st and 20th. I want to visit all 4 parks, but I don't know how many days to budget for the whole trip, or how long after New Years traffic starts to die down.

I am assuming I can skip some things. I've been to both Anaheim parks and both Tokyo parks, and I'm doing both Paris parks in April. I'd love some advice on what I can skip at Disney World that I'd have done in one of those other parks. That said, I will ride Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean. I have to do those two at all the parks. I also do want to ride Rise of the Resistance. I was in Anaheim when it opened, but couldn't get a boarding group because my cell carrier sucks. I've done Falcon, though, and don't need to do it again. Outside of that, I'll probably want to do most things that are Disney World exclusive.

I know I definately want to do Epcot and Animal Kingdom. Bad. Epcot is legendary, and I hear Avatar is both amazing and has an epic wait time.

How does fast pass work at Disney World? I hear it's different than Anaheim (where I had Max Pass). What do I need to know about how Disney World differs from Anaheim?

 

[midnight star]

Read the fastpass + stickies! I’m used to the DL fastpass system too and that sticky helped me understand it pretty well and I was able to score day of fastpasses! I would focus on booking fastpasses that save you the most time.

As for things to skip, you just have to determine what’s important for you to do. For us when we went, we knew we wanted to make an effort to do rides that DL doesn’t have. So we made sure to get fastpasses for SDMT, SDD, FEA, Fop, expedition Everest etc. and for rides that DL and WDW have we wanted to compare to see how they are. So we also made sure to book fastpasses for Space, Big Thunder. Haunted mansion we actually went there in the morning when the wait was short. Pirates we did midday but was only 30 minutes.

 

[MithrilMaiden]

The only one of those acronyms I understood was Seven Dwarves Mine Train

I have to think whether I want to do Big Thunder Mountain. I'll probably not use a fastpass on it, but if I end up having time, I could do standby. Paris is supposed to have the best Big Thunder by far, and I'm riding that in April, so it's not a priority for Orlando. Seven Dwarves Mine Train sounds more interesting. Likewise, I can skip Space Mountain, Matterhorn, and Splash Mountain. The ones I really need to ride at every single park are Mansion and Pirates.

Looks like my FP window is 30 days out. I'll be staying off property, most likely.

 

[midnight star]

The only one of those acronyms I understood was Seven Dwarves Mine Train

I have to think whether I want to do Big Thunder Mountain. I'll probably not use a fastpass on it, but if I end up having time, I could do standby. Paris is supposed to have the best Big Thunder by far, and I'm riding that in April, so it's not a priority for Orlando. Seven Dwarves Mine Train sounds more interesting. Likewise, I can skip Space Mountain, Matterhorn, and Splash Mountain. The ones I really need to ride at every single park are Mansion and Pirates.

Looks like my FP window is 30 days out. I'll be staying off property, most likely.

LOL oops sorry.

SDD: Slinky dog dash at Hollywood Studios (often abbreviated to HS)
FEA: Frozen ever after at Epcot
FOP: Flight of Passage aka the popular avatar ride with long waits at Animal Kingdom (often abbreviated to AK)

Seven Dwarves Mine Train will be hard to come by at 30 days but I've seen people post scoring fastpasses by refreshing days before and same day. I also recommend Expedition Everest! That one was awesome!!

 

[orangecuse]

The only one of those acronyms I understood was Seven Dwarves Mine Train

I have to think whether I want to do Big Thunder Mountain. I'll probably not use a fastpass on it, but if I end up having time, I could do standby. Paris is supposed to have the best Big Thunder by far, and I'm riding that in April, so it's not a priority for Orlando. Seven Dwarves Mine Train sounds more interesting. Likewise, I can skip Space Mountain, Matterhorn, and Splash Mountain. The ones I really need to ride at every single park are Mansion and Pirates.

Looks like my FP window is 30 days out. I'll be staying off property, most likely.

If you want to stay off site to save money I’d recommend one of the offsite hotels that has 60 day FP+ booking privileges. Its *almost* impossible to get things like SDD 30 days oit (takes serious stalking). The offiste reservation can link to MDE. You could check out swan and dolphin which are walking distance to Epcot/DHS and can see prices as low as the $140s/night with the right timing and discount.

 

[calitook]

I'm a DL veteran (see below... practically grew up there and CM for 3 years...) and I would never skip things at WDW simply because they have a DL counterpart. I think it's fun to compare things and try to spot the little differences.

That said... Small World at WDW is a pale, sad comparison of DL. Not necessarily the attraction itself, but the outside is just laughable in its blandness. Also, Matterhorn is *only* at DL Anaheim, so don't need to worry about skipping it elsewhere... because it isn't elsewhere!

 

[fly girl]

WDW is a beast compared to DLR. I love them both, but they are not the same. Anaheim is chill, no mega planning needed except for a few things. Orlando is plan ahead and be prepared. Plan your trip -- I am not saying down to the minute, but you need to figure out what days for what parks, FP and restaurants you want. Hard to get dining reservations start going 6 months out. I agree, it is insane, but it is what it is. FP+ is totally different than Max Pass. You book 3 FP's 60 or 30 days out, and after the 3 are used you can get 1 at a time. WDW is HUGE!!! It is sprawled out. You cannot jump from Magic Kingdom to Animal Kingdom by a 7 minute walk. You need to plan time for travel to and from places. I think that is the biggest shock for people is how much time you need to allot for travel. Best piece of advice is you need to plan!! And plan some more.

You know going in you won't see it all in one visit. If time is on your side, then I'd say 2 whole days in each park you will cover a lot of ground. I have never done that myself, we typically stay 5 nights giving us 4 days for the parks and we use hoppers. (not as easy to switch back and forth like Anaheim or Paris, but it is nice.)

I have been to all the parks you have been or are going to. Each one has their own special magic that is different than the others. I would say yes, you can skip Dumbo, but with few exceptions the big thrill rides you need to check out. (read below)

Magic Kingdom ~ if you are going in January then there is a huge chance you will miss the one ride I highly recommend, Splash Mountain. It is hands down the best Splash in any of the parks, it is not the same. I know you mentioned Pirates, Haunted Mansion, and Seven Dwarves Mine Train. I'd also do Jungle Cruise, Peter Pan, and yes Big Thunder and Space. No, they aren't the best ones, but they are not the same as the other parks.

Epcot ~ lots of exploring for you there. You will have already done Ratatouille, Soarin', Turtle Talk with Crush, but the rest is new. Soarin' is exactly the same, you could skip to save time.

Animal Kingdom ~ another new park. Lots of exploring. It's Tough to be a Bug will be a repeat if you saw it before they demolished Bugs Land in DCA, and you could skip.

Hollywood Studios ~ Toy Story Midway is same as DL and DisneySEA. Same with Star Tours. Those I would say you can skip as there is nothing really different. You'll definitely want to hit Toy Story Land, Tower of Terror (ride sequence is totally different than other parks), Rock n' Rollercoaster, and Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway.

 

[CynBeth]

I would say make the trip at least 9 days to allow at least 2 days for each of the 4 parks or to spend more time at ones you might want to go back to. I would also recommend staying on property there are different levels of resorts to fit every budget. It will be easier to get to the different parks and you will feel totally immersed in the Disney bubble.