I need some expert advice about adding a 4th day

[mrsmcnoggin]

Okay, so I have been going round and round about this in my head and trying to decide what the best thing to do would be. We are not familiar with any of the disney parks, as neither my husband or I have been to one since the late 90's and I'm sure a lot has changed, so I am asking you guys (the experts) what you would do. We are going to have 3 day park hoppers April 23-25. We are debating between upgrading to 4 days and spending a 1/2 day on Sunday the 21st also in the parks. We are driving and will be in anaheim about 2:00 pm. We are staying at the HoJo and can't check in till 4:00 pm. We have 3 kids, DD7, DS4, DD1. We are deciding if it would be worth the extra money to go to the parks on a busy Sunday late afternoon/evening. I know then we would get to see the fireworks in the park (Not sure I want to stay late to watch fantasmic, as i don't want to wear my kids out at the beginning of our trip and they are used to going to bed at 8 pm.) Or we could go to the beach, play in the HoJo waterpark, see the fireworks from the HoJo that night and take it easy on a Sunday before we really start touring the parks the next day. Any advice would be super helpful!!!

 

[coaches24]

Okay, so I have been going round and round about this in my head and trying to decide what the best thing to do would be. We are not familiar with any of the disney parks, as neither my husband or I have been to one since the late 90's and I'm sure a lot has changed, so I am asking you guys (the experts) what you would do. We are going to have 3 day park hoppers April 23-25. We are debating between upgrading to 4 days and spending a 1/2 day on Sunday the 21st also in the parks. We are driving and will be in anaheim about 2:00 pm. We are staying at the HoJo and can't check in till 4:00 pm. We have 3 kids, DD7, DS4, DD1. We are deciding if it would be worth the extra money to go to the parks on a busy Sunday late afternoon/evening. I know then we would get to see the fireworks in the park (Not sure I want to stay late to watch fantasmic, as i don't want to wear my kids out at the beginning of our trip and they are used to going to bed at 8 pm.) Or we could go to the beach, play in the HoJo waterpark, see the fireworks from the HoJo that night and take it easy on a Sunday before we really start touring the parks the next day. Any advice would be super helpful!!!

Im no expert but I think you are going at a good time being so late in April. I would think Spring breaks will be over and the parks will be less crowded. But thats just my guess.

As for whether to add an extra day Im biased as I just did this. We are going at the end of May and orginally I bought the 3 day park hopper but after looking at the number of things we want to do I decided I wanted that extra day so I upgraded to a 4 day park hopper. So we are going to use our first day (memorial day) in the park as our day to see shows, do our character meal, BBB for our 3 year old DD and stuff like that. Then the last 3 days (Tue/ Wed/ Thu) we can concentrate more on rides and such. So I am all for adding that extra day. We will be driving down on Memorial day but we are hoping to be able to park our car at the hotel early and leave everything in the car as we go to the parks, then take a break in the after noon to check in. We have 2 adults and one child and it cost us 58 total to add the one day so I thought it was well worth it.

Im one who wants as much time in the parks as possible though. We dont really go anywhere else down there so DL is it for us.

 

[skiingfast]

I think it would be well worth it to add a day. Sunday evenings are slower than Saturday and Friday as people won't want to stay up late when they have to work the next morning. Though it really doesn't empty until after the fireworks.

I would also keep the kids up, they sat in the car all day anyway. Plus can't you sleep in the next day?

It will be past Spring Break so no worries about those crowds.
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2843112


Take the chance to see the fireworks from in the park, it's much better.

 

[cgh]

How about just playing it by ear? Go, and see if you want to head into the park, or want to hang out at the pool?

Also, another option is Goofy's Kitchen and/or walking around Downtown Disney. When we arrived on a Sunday, we did Goofy's Kitchen and the pool. It was perfect for us.

 

[elliefusmom]

We did this exact thing last summer. We got there about 2pm, checked into Hojos, left our luggage in their storage and decided to go and check to see how much it would be to upgrade to a 4 day. I can't remember exactly but I remember thinking it was "cheap" . We knew we weren't going to get to go on the big rides and that fast passes would be for late in the evening. We referred to it as our "bonus day" and watched parades, wandered around and had a great time. I would just wait and decide when you get there....but i bet everyone will be so excited that you will upgrade to a 4 day!

Have a great time!

 

[mrsmcnoggin]

Thank you for the advice!! I was kinda leaning towards going for the 4 days. I do have to decide in advance. We have kind of a unique ticketing situation and so it would be best to decide in advance. Just wasn't sure exacly what to expect on a sunday afternoon/evening.

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

I also recommend upgrading to the four days.
Sunday - stay kind of late and enjoy Sunday evening nightlife at the park
Monday - sleep in & make sure kids are rested, spend the day at the parks
Tuesday - take advantage of Magic Morning, if you have that option, go back to the hotel & rest/play in water area in early afternoon, return to the park in late afternoon
Wednesday - play it by ear at the parks

You're going to have a blast!