How much can we expect to fit in at MK?

[bhartman]

I'm taking my kids (5 and 7) to WDW for a few days in September. We'll be going to MK on Friday 9/11 and they're closing at 7 for Night of Joy. We plan to be there for rope drop and stay until about 5 (I want to leave before it gets crazy crowded with youth groups). I'm just wondering how much we can expect to see and do during this time. We'll be moving at a pretty relaxed pace, as we'll be stroller free.

I started working on a personalized touring plan and I felt like I was cramming too much into it. So what's a realistic expectation? How many rides and attractions can we fit in? What are the must-sees and what things can we/should we skip?

Thanks for your help!

 

[LaurenT]

It depends on what's on your list. Are you staying on property? If so, you'll be able to FP 7DMT and A&E which means that at rope drop, while everyone runs to those, you can do five or so rides in the first hour (depending on the ride, small world will take longer than Peter Pan ... Splash will take longer than BTMRR. ) Figure out which rides you want to do in priority order and then post that list and we can be of more help....
Are your kids too short for anything? You'll skip those.
The only thing o wouldn't miss is Mickey's Philharmagic ... But that's me. Others hear will have their own favorites.

 

[bhartman]

Yes, we're staying on property. I hope to get 7DMT, Splash, and ETWB fastpasses. I asked my kids and they said they don't really want to meet any characters. We met a bunch of characters last time we went, but that was over 2 years ago, so I think it's weird that there aren't any they want to meet.

I think the only thing my youngest is too short for is Space Mountain. Here's a list of our top ride picks.

7DMT
Peter Pan
Barnstormer
Winnie the Pooh
Little mermaid
it's a small world
Dumbo
Buzz
Astro Orbitor
BTMRR
Splash
Jungle Cruise
(Sadly, POTC will be closed when we're there.)

These are some of the shows/parades/attractions they would be interested in:

ETWB
Philharmagic
Festival of fantasy

Then I figured we might choose some of these low-key attractions, but I don't know which ones are worth our time:

Peoplemover
Tom Sawyer Island
Country Bears
Enchanted Tiki Room
Swiss Family Treehouse

I just feel like that's a lot to squeeze into such a short day.

 

[lroger01]

Can you afford a subscription to touringplans.com for $13? They have an app where you can list the attractions you want, the speed you want to tour, any ADR's or planned breaks, and it will spit out the order you should ride everything in. If you put in too much, it will tell you.

Also for the crowd thing after 5pm. You could plan your Fast Pass rides during that time. You'll get on without waiting even if the crowds build. Also, if you want to eat at a restaurant, make your ADR for just before 7pm. You'll be escorted out after eating, but won't waste riding hours eating dinner.

That day should be low crowds. Many people will see the short hours and choose to go elsewhere.

 

[lillyshula]

I bet you could fit in your top rides and shows with no problem. You could probably even fit in your low key attractions as well. Tom Sawyer and Country Bears are ones we never do, but Tom Sawyer would be a relaxing "let the kids run around" area. September is a lower crowded time of year to visit, but you may have a few crowds here and there on even a level 4 day. Last June my husband and I did a half day at MK and we were able to ride POTC, Jungle Cruise, Splash Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain, Haunted Mansion, Peter Pan, Winnie the Pooh, Philharmagic, Seven Dwarfs, Little Mermaid and Space Mountain all between 1:30pm and 8:00pm. This was a level 9 day.

Take advantage of the rope drop and you can hit several of your rides with little to no wait in the first hour or two. Try to do the attractions in some order so your aren't running from Tomorrowland to Adventureland to make a FP+ ride in 10 minutes!

 

[tink9702]

Assuming you score FP+ for the three you want I'd start my day with Peter Pan, Winnie the Pooh and the fantasyland/tomorrowland rides. You should get in about 4-5 rides in the first hour. I honestly think you can fit everything you listed as must do. If you finish all of those then hit the maybe rides as you have time. We think peoplemover is nice and the kids love Tom Sawyer Island too. We didn't like Country Bears or treehouse as much.

 

[LaurenT]

I agree with Peter Pan first, but then I'd go around to tomorrowland and get Astro orbiter done, it loads slowly and will have a decent wait later on. Then do buzz and head to storybook circus. Do barnstormer and dumbo and catch the train over for splash and BTMM. Then you can do Jungle Cruise and head back to fantasyland for Pooh, Mermaid and small world. It's not on your must do list ... But I will again put in my plug for Mickey's Philharmagic! That competes your must do list. If you're there at rope drop, if you add in ETWB and 7DMT I think you'll have those all done by 2 pm, assuming an occasional break for snack and restroom.

 

[minnie mum]

I think your plan is doable, especially if you stay until 7:00. But contrary to the PP, I would recommend that you use your FPs for rides starting between 10:30- 11:00. Then you can get your 4th, 5th FPs for later in the afternoon. You can leave your "anytime" attractions for last.

I'd recommend that you look at the cheat sheets for MK on easywdw.com. They provide guidance for prioritizing your fps and give very good ideas on how to plan out your park day. Its free, and I've found it reliable on our last few trips.

Start out in Fantasyland and get through some of those rides standby before the lines get too long. Then do your first 3 FPs. Have lunch and continue on, getting FPs for those rides likely to have the longest standby lines. You can often get MORE done on a party day because of shorter lines due to light crowds. Most guests will be hitting the parks with longer hours.

Tom Sawyers Island is a great place for the kids to run around. We love the Peoplemover- we ride it multiple times each trip. The other low key attractions are OK, but are missable if time is short.

 

[Jewel3k]

We were there on the Saturday of the Night of Joy weekend last year. It felt like no one was there. We did not even use fast passes that day as we saved them for hopping in the evening to EPCOT. Looking at my touring plan we did all of Tomorrowland, 1/2 of fantasyland, Mikey and Tinkerbell and left around 2 for a break. We could have done a lot more if we hadn't rode Space Mountain several times and Buzz Lightyear 5 or 6 times. Touring plans is great for seeing how many rides you can fit in a day. With fast passes and no rerides we could have accomplished a ton more.

 

[bhartman]

Thank you all for your help! I created a plan on touringplans.com and I think I can get to just about everything we want to and still have a fairly laid-back day. Since it will just be me (my husband won't be with us), I don't want to be rushing around the park with two kids like a crazy person.