HS and MK touring plan help

[Nick6300]

For those of you who have visited during re-opening, could you please provide input on how you'd tour HS and MK?

MK - historically we go with the herd to 7D at park opening, Pan, Space - sometimes a few times if walk on, then BTM, Splash, back track to Jungle Cruise, Pirates. It looked like the highest waits are 7D and Splash, and because of proximity to Splash, BTM, and to a lessor extend, Jungle Cruise and Pirates are sometimes higher waits. Do you think it's still better to go to 7D and maybe even Pan before heading to Splash/BTM, or to Splash/BTM at park opening, and either Pirates (a relatively long ride) or Pan (skipping Haunted since it takes so long). Assuming Splash is open right when everything else opens. I think it was only during EMH am hrs that it wasn't open right away.

HS - We'll be at Pop, using the skyliner, and I haven't really seen too many guests arriving by 9:30, more commonly just before 10. Most people head to MMRR 1st, and it can post 120 min early on and drift later. Guess my initial thought was if I can't arrive by 9:30, and the posted wait at MMRR is >45min, maybe either go to SDD, TSM, back entrance to SR, then ToT/RnR. Not sure if it's actually quicker from the MMRR area to go to SDD 1st instead of SR. We would likely go on MMRR near park closing (or a 2nd time around park closing if it gets to be around 30 min in the evening).

 

[maciemouse]

We just got back. And for the first time at MK we started at Pirates and made our way around. There was no zig zagging because there was no need to hurry to one place. We never waited more than 20 minutes for anything. It was so nice and stress free. For HS, we got in line at starbucks while we waited until ten to join the virtual q. We got group four. We did not get on disney wifi. After we were assigned a group we sat and enjoyed our drink until they called us. We did ROTR, Star Tours, Minnie's runaway train, toy story mania, Slinky dog and then we left and took a break. We came back at 5:30 and walked right on to Smugglers run. We went back to Toy Story land, and then ended with RR and TOT. The longest we waited was for Minnie's runaway train. It was about 30 minutes. But it had a 50 minute posted time. I hope that helps. Do Smugglers run in the late afternoon. There is always a long line in the morning.

 

[Nick6300]

We just got back. And for the first time at MK we started at Pirates and made our way around. There was no zig zagging because there was no need to hurry to one place. We never waited more than 20 minutes for anything. It was so nice and stress free. For HS, we got in line at starbucks while we waited until ten to join the virtual q. We got group four. We did not get on disney wifi. After we were assigned a group we sat and enjoyed our drink until they called us. We did ROTR, Star Tours, Minnie's runaway train, toy story mania, Slinky dog and then we left and took a break. We came back at 5:30 and walked right on to Smugglers run. We went back to Toy Story land, and then ended with RR and TOT. The longest we waited was for Minnie's runaway train. It was about 30 minutes. But it had a 50 minute posted time. I hope that helps. Do Smugglers run in the late afternoon. There is always a long line in the morning.

Thanks. Pirates first sound like a decent idea on the way to Splash/BTM. I’m surprised MMRR was posted only 50 in am after your RotR and ST. It must come down quickly after that first hr. That’s pretty favorable with no waits over 30 including SDD.

 

[APiratesLifeForMe2]

We found MK to be incredibly manageable, any ride whenever, nothing terribly long. For HS, honestly it was insanity. We just sent to HS yesterday. We drove and were at the park entrance waiting to get to parking lot before 9:30. Took over 40 minutes to get into the park, by then all boarding groups gone. Immediately MMRR was 50 minutes, SDD around 40, Midway mania 35 and I think R&R and ToT stayed 35 all day. Can’t remember what MFSR was. We rode the aliens, left because crowds weren’t social distancing at all and came back later. Tried again at 2 for RoR, no luck. Got in a 70 minute line for MMRR, then left. Very disappointed in HS right now. Hopefully since you are skyliner that will help tremendously, but prepare for potentially long waits on the rest. We went on a Monday hoping to avoid weekend crowds but no luck.

 

[upbeatred]

MK is awesome, no need for a touring plan. It seems like Splash Mountain has one of the longest lines, so we started there and just went around the park. HS is another story. All the lines are long pretty much from the get go. And if you want to ride ROR you need to get there early even though they have later times for boarding groups, because it breaks down a lot. Ideally it would be good to go very late in the afternoon. Lines were much shorter later. It is crowded, not anything like the other parks.

 

[Nick6300]

@upbeatred and @APiratesLifeForMe2 do you almost wish you would have replaced HS with another park after your experiences, and given just how much lower waits are at AK and MK. I had the thought to try to arrange HS on a Thurs - or some non wknd day too.

 

[APiratesLifeForMe2]

@upbeatred and @APiratesLifeForMe2 do you almost wish you would have replaced HS with another park after your experiences, and given just how much lower waits are at AK and MK. I had the thought to try to arrange HS on a Thurs - or some non wknd day too.

I think we would just attack it differently. The crowds first thing were beyond my comfort level. I would probably do afternoon and hope the 2pm boarding group worked out for us. Our son loves toy story land and Star Wars so just visiting those lands is worth even a short trip for us. However, if it were just me, I would skip it.

 

[ghtx]

We are planning on arriving at Hollywood Studios at rope drop to get the 10am boarding group release. But maybe we will start with something other than Galaxy's Edge or MMRR and come back to those later in the afternoon hoping the queues are actually shorter. This goes against everything I've learned about touring the parks for the past decade! But maybe this is currently the best strategy.

 

[Mamiamjo]

We were at BCV and visited each of those parks twice last week, here's what we did...
MK- We arrived via bus, got through health & security checks and scanned in by 8:50. Each day we went to 7DMT first with almost no wait (there was a line but it never stopped moving so mostly a walk on). Next we did Pooh, then Peter Pan, HM, Splash, BTMR, Pirates by about 10:30-10:40. We stopped for a Dole Whip after those rides and then went to Future World and rode Buzz, Space Mtn (some of our group that wasn't able to ride Space did the Speedway while we were on Space). Next we rode Dumbo, Goofy, Little Mermaid before breaking for lunch. On one of the days we left and came back around 4:00 and rode/saw Philharmagic, Small World, Jungle Cruise and Buzz and Space again.
We were able to do mostly everything with very minimal waits. We used the app to monitor wait times but soon realized most of the times were overstated so the actual waits were much less.

DHS- We arrived via Skyliner, got through health & security checks, scanned in by 9:45. We went directly to MMRR by 9:50. There was a line but they started early so it was moving. At exactly 10:00 we got our BGs for RotR while still in line. We boarded MMRR shortly after 10:00 (about 15 minutes wait which is pretty much as good as it gets for this ride right now). After MMRR, one day we went to RnR & ToT first and then went to Toy Story Land. The next time we reversed the order and went to Toy Story Land first. After those rides we stopped for QS lunch before heading to Muppets & Galaxy's Edge. We rode/saw everything (except Lightning McQueen show) and would've been done by around 2:00 EXCEPT for RotR which was down several times each day which pushed the return time back. While waiting for RotR we rode several rides again. Like MK the wait times on the App were overstated and actual times were much less.

Overall, both parks were pretty easy to do everything.
If you have any questions let me know

 

[bethwc101]

We were at BCV and visited each of those parks twice last week, here's what we did...
MK- We arrived via bus, got through health & security checks and scanned in by 8:50. Each day we went to 7DMT first with almost no wait (there was a line but it never stopped moving so mostly a walk on). Next we did Pooh, then Peter Pan, HM, Splash, BTMR, Pirates by about 10:30-10:40. We stopped for a Dole Whip after those rides and then went to Future World and rode Buzz, Space Mtn (some of our group that wasn't able to ride Space did the Speedway while we were on Space). Next we rode Dumbo, Goofy, Little Mermaid before breaking for lunch. On one of the days we left and came back around 4:00 and rode/saw Philharmagic, Small World, Jungle Cruise and Buzz and Space again.
We were able to do mostly everything with very minimal waits. We used the app to monitor wait times but soon realized most of the times were overstated so the actual waits were much less.

DHS- We arrived via Skyliner, got through health & security checks, scanned in by 9:45. We went directly to MMRR by 9:50. There was a line but they started early so it was moving. At exactly 10:00 we got our BGs for RotR while still in line. We boarded MMRR shortly after 10:00 (about 15 minutes wait which is pretty much as good as it gets for this ride right now). After MMRR, one day we went to RnR & ToT first and then went to Toy Story Land. The next time we reversed the order and went to Toy Story Land first. After those rides we stopped for QS lunch before heading to Muppets & Galaxy's Edge. We rode/saw everything (except Lightning McQueen show) and would've been done by around 2:00 EXCEPT for RotR which was down several times each day which pushed the return time back. While waiting for RotR we rode several rides again. Like MK the wait times on the App were overstated and actual times were much less.

Overall, both parks were pretty easy to do everything.
If you have any questions let me know

for DHS, did you find one way more efficient withRnR &ToT then TSL or reversed?
Or were they pretty similar in wait times either way?

 

[armerida]

for DHS, did you find one way more efficient withRnR &ToT then TSL or reversed?
Or were they pretty similar in wait times either way?

My exact question too, trying to make a plan of attack...

 

[Mamiamjo]

for DHS, did you find one way more efficient withRnR &ToT then TSL or reversed?
Or were they pretty similar in wait times either way?

Not really, if there was any difference it was negligible. The reason we changed order on the second day was that ToT was showing a 45 minute wait (later found out it was half closed for cleaning), by the time we went to Toy Story Land and came back the wait was listed as 15 minutes, but we only waited around 10 minutes. I would recommend looking at the App and see what the posted waits are and if anything is temporarily closed.

 

[Where'sPiglet?]

We were at BCV and visited each of those parks twice last week, here's what we did...
MK- We arrived via bus, got through health & security checks and scanned in by 8:50. Each day we went to 7DMT first with almost no wait (there was a line but it never stopped moving so mostly a walk on). Next we did Pooh, then Peter Pan, HM, Splash, BTMR, Pirates by about 10:30-10:40. We stopped for a Dole Whip after those rides and then went to Future World and rode Buzz, Space Mtn (some of our group that wasn't able to ride Space did the Speedway while we were on Space). Next we rode Dumbo, Goofy, Little Mermaid before breaking for lunch. On one of the days we left and came back around 4:00 and rode/saw Philharmagic, Small World, Jungle Cruise and Buzz and Space again.
We were able to do mostly everything with very minimal waits. We used the app to monitor wait times but soon realized most of the times were overstated so the actual waits were much less.

DHS- We arrived via Skyliner, got through health & security checks, scanned in by 9:45. We went directly to MMRR by 9:50. There was a line but they started early so it was moving. At exactly 10:00 we got our BGs for RotR while still in line. We boarded MMRR shortly after 10:00 (about 15 minutes wait which is pretty much as good as it gets for this ride right now). After MMRR, one day we went to RnR & ToT first and then went to Toy Story Land. The next time we reversed the order and went to Toy Story Land first. After those rides we stopped for QS lunch before heading to Muppets & Galaxy's Edge. We rode/saw everything (except Lightning McQueen show) and would've been done by around 2:00 EXCEPT for RotR which was down several times each day which pushed the return time back. While waiting for RotR we rode several rides again. Like MK the wait times on the App were overstated and actual times were much less.

Overall, both parks were pretty easy to do everything.
If you have any questions let me know

I have a full day and a partial day to potentially get tickets for. Both days are currently showing available for all parks.

Day 1: An August Saturday
Day 2: An August Sunday, but I have a 6p flight, so I'd probably leave the park around 3:30ish to go to MCO. I have a rental car.

I'm thinking Day 1 - MK and Day 2 - DHS. I have not seen Star Wars Galaxy's Edge yet or Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway, and I'd ideally like to ride all three of those new rides.
I'm also interested in Toy Story Mania, Rockin' Roller Coaster, and maybe Slinky Dog and Star Tours. I have been to Toy Story Land.

I'm trying to decide if DHS is worth it for a partial day. I could get a 1-day park ticket and just do MK on the Saturday, and spend Sunday relaxing and shopping at Disney Springs. However, I'm going to WDW after a few days at Vero Beach, so I may have had enough relaxing already. Also, I can shop at Disney Springs on that Friday evening, if at all. I hear it's pretty crowded lately.

 

[Mamiamjo]

I have a full day and a partial day to potentially get tickets for. Both days are currently showing available for all parks.

Day 1: An August Saturday
Day 2: An August Sunday, but I have a 6p flight, so I'd probably leave the park around 3:30ish to go to MCO. I have a rental car.

I'm thinking Day 1 - MK and Day 2 - DHS. I have not seen Star Wars Galaxy's Edge yet or Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway, and I'd ideally like to ride all three of those new rides.
I'm also interested in Toy Story Mania, Rockin' Roller Coaster, and maybe Slinky Dog and Star Tours. I have been to Toy Story Land.

I'm trying to decide if DHS is worth it for a partial day. I could get a 1-day park ticket and just do MK on the Saturday, and spend Sunday relaxing and shopping at Disney Springs. However, I'm going to WDW after a few days at Vero Beach, so I may have had enough relaxing already. Also, I can shop at Disney Springs on that Friday evening, if at all. I hear it's pretty crowded lately.

If you want to do DHS and include RotR, I would give yourself a whole day, especially since the park doesn't currently open until 10 and RotR return times (at least in our experience) have been pushed back to mid to late afternoon. If you don't mind possibly skipping RotR, then 10-3 would probably work out fine.

 

[Where'sPiglet?]

If you want to do DHS and include RotR, I would give yourself a whole day, especially since the park doesn't currently open until 10 and RotR return times (at least in our experience) have been pushed back to mid to late afternoon. If you don't mind possibly skipping RotR, then 10-3 would probably work out fine.

Maybe I should do DHS on my Day 1, the full day on Saturday, and do MK on the partial day? I'd have the extra hour from 9-10, but then I'd need to leave a little earlier, given the parking situation at MK.

Normally for me, DHS is a single day or even a partial single day, and MK gets multiple full days, but everything is topsy-turvy!

 

[Mamiamjo]

Yeah that could work. For DHS, we got BG 29 on the first day and 36 on the second day, but because the ride went down so much, both of the return times were pushed back late afternoon. I think the first day was after 2:00 but the second day was after 3:00. Of course YMMV

 

[Where'sPiglet?]

Yeah that could work. For DHS, we got BG 29 on the first day and 36 on the second day, but because the ride went down so much, both of the return times were pushed back late afternoon. I think the first day was after 2:00 but the second day was after 3:00. Of course YMMV

Thanks. I know when I did After Hours on two different times, I got almost everything done in MK in 3 hours, so maybe 6 is enough to do most/all of what I'd want to do.

If I get done earlier than the entire day at DHS, I could leave and go swimming and/or shopping.