If MK opens at 9am......

[cruisnfamily]

and you have to meet for a tour at 9:45am outside of the town hall would you:

Sleep In and arrive for your 9;45am meeting and tour

~OR~

Arrive at the gates about 8:45am and try to hit some rides before the tour knowing that after 12pm when the tour is over the lines will be long?

If you choose the second choice....which land would you head for and how much (realistically) could you get done between 9 & say 9:35 when you'd have to head for the tour?

Thanks for the advice from the experts!

 

[snuggles]

Now thats a tough one. If you can be there early and ride something near Town Hall I might give it a shot. I wouldn't get in any long lines though. Wouldn't want to miss your tour.

 

[RobinMarie]

If you choose the second choice....which land would you head for and how much (realistically) could you get done between 9 & say 9:35 when you'd have to head for the tour?

Hard choice:

A) Frontierland and do BTMR and Splash Mountain OR B)Tomorrowland Space Mountain and Buzz Lightyear. Doing A or B would be all I'd expect to get done by 9:35am.

 

[wdwguide]

Unless you are on a busy schedule, I would recommend sleeping a bit longer and having a good breakfast before the tour. For one thing, you never know when there will be an unexpected delay on a ride (although that is pretty rare at the MK).

If you don't have another morning to return to the MK, that (very) small risk may be worth taking. You can probably squeeze in three or four rides during that half hour that you would later spend a couple of hours waiting in line for, especially in Fantasyland.

 

[cruisnfamily]

Originally posted by wdwguide
Unless you are on a busy schedule, I would recommend sleeping a bit longer and having a good breakfast before the tour.

If you don't have another morning to return to the MK, that (very) small risk may be worth taking. You can probably squeeze in three or four rides during that half hour that you would later spend a couple of hours waiting in line for, especially in Fantasyland.

This is our only day in MK this trip. We are FL Residents and have been there many times so it's not like we have to do every single thing in the park but we certainly need to hit some of the kids favorites. I would kind of like to hit 1-3 rides before our tour but I'm not sure how realistic that is.

More opinions?

 

[wdwguide]

Considering those circumstances, I would plan on being there by 8:45. If you are planning to do Fantasyland during your trip, I would recommend starting there, because the rides are close together, they are short, they get very busy in the afternoon, and they pretty much all have non-air conditioned switchback lines, which are twice as painful to wait in during the afternoon heat than a nicely themed queue like Splash Mountain.

If you are there for the rope drop (best on the bridge that passes by the right side of the castle from the hub - it's less crowded there), you can start with Pooh and continue with Snow White and Peter Pan, which should all be walk-ons during that time. Unless it's a very busy day, you can probably fit in a spin on Dumbo, and/or the Tea Cups as well while you are there.

I wouldn't bother with It's a Small World - its lines stay reasonably short all day.

 

[cruisnfamily]

This is great!

Thanks guys!

Any other opinions?

 

[lentesta]

I agree with WDWGuide in that Fantasyland offers the best chance to get some attractions out of the way early. Depending on the attractions you've selected, and the order in which you see them, you may be able to get 3 attractions done in 35 minutes. Two certainly. What Fantasyland attractions did you have in mind?

Sincerely,

Len

 

[Safari Steve]

I agree w/ WDWGuide. Fantasyland is going to be more satisfying during that first 30 minutes. Don't wear yourself out to see everything there, though. You will be zipping all over the park on that tour.

 

[DISNEYBIGGDOGG]

It would be great if it was an EE day. I say go for it and either go to tomorrowland and ride Space Mountain a couple of times or head to frontierland and ride BTMR and Splash Mountain

 

[jaysue]

I would go with Fantasyland or Tommorrowland for the period you are looking at...and get there at least 15 minutes ahead of official opening since they might open the gates and let everyone who wants to get in, get to the rope drops on the bridges out of the hub - in this case, the rope drop crowd to Fantasyland will be smaller than to Tommorrowland

For Fantasyland, assuming short short lineups, Snow White, Peter Pan, Winnie the Pooh might be doable or a mix of 1 or 2 of these plus something like the Teacups - avoid It's a Small World/Carrosuel since those are ok to do later in the day

Thanks
jaysue

 

[JulesMom]

I would get there early and ride a few things. It usually not that busy at opening.

 

[cruisnfamily]

OK, since you asked, I'll kind of lay out my plans for the day you guys tell me what I should try to hit first thing and what I should hit later.....And by the way, I just love to hear everybody's different opinions! Thanks for all your help.

Ok, the Date is Tuesday June 3rd
This is not an EE day for MK. MK closes at 7pm for Enight which we are not attending.
We are staying at CBR
We have reservations for the Family Magic Tour which goes from 10-12 but we have to meet up at the town hall at 9:45am
Just to complicate things, we have a PS at CRT for 1:05pm
This will be our only day in MK this trip.
Kids are 7 & 10...DS7 & DH will not ride any thrill rides, DD10 & I will ride some
If we could see everything we wanted in one day, here's what we would see:

Adventureland
Enchanted Tiki Room
Jungle Cruise**
Pirates of the Carribbean**

Fantasyland
Cinderella's Golden Carousel
It's a Small World**
Peter Pan's Flight
Snow White's Adventure

Frontierland
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
Country Bear Jamboree
Tom Sawyer Island

Liberty Square
Haunted Mansion**

Main Street
Walt Disney World Railroad

Mickey's Toontown Fair
Goofy's Barnstormer

Tomorrowland
Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin**
Extraterrorestrial Alien Encounter
Space Mountain
Tomorrowland Transit Authority

So, there you have it, if we could make a wish, it would be to see all of this on this day which is obviously not possible. I have put a star beside the things that we can't live without seeing.

Just tell me if you would which things you would hit before your family magic tour if you think it is possible.

And everybody is being so great...I really appreciate it and I try to post whenever I have experience with something to pay you all back.

 

[lentesta]

If I had some computer software and a history of wait times and FASTPASS distributions at the attractions.....oh wait, I do!

Okay, I ran your list through the touring plan software. Below is the touring plan. If you're careful about time management, and you're a little lucky, it may be possible to see everything in one day. I'm not guaranteeing anything.

Couple of quick notes: I've assumed an hour for lunch at CRT. But if you can get out in 50 minutes, all the better. I've also assumed 30 minutes on Tom Sawyer Island. If you're running late, I suggest skipping Tom Saywer Island or the Country Bear Jamboree. There's only so much you'll be able to do.

With that, here's the plan:

----------------
- Touring Plan -
----------------
1. Arrive at the entrance to the Magic Kingdom 30 minutes prior to opening.
2. Ride Buzz Lightyear.
3. Ride Peter Pan's Flight.
4. Around 9:45 a.m., take the Family Magic Tour until noon.
5. Obtain a FASTPASS for Big Thunder Mountain RR.
6. Tour Tom Sawyer Island.
7. Ride Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.
8. Dine at Cinderella's Royal Table at 1:00 p.m.
9. Obtain a FASTPASS for Space Mountain.
10. Ride the WDW Railroad - Frontierland.
11. See the Country Bear Jamboree.
12. If possible, obtain a FASTPASS for the Jungle Cruise.
13. See Enchanted Tiki Birds.
14. Ride Pirates of the Caribbean.
15. Ride the Jungle Cruise.
16. Ride Space Mountain.
17. Ride the Tomorrowland Transit Authority.
18. Experience Alien Encounter.
19. Obtain a FASTPASS for The Haunted Mansion.
20. Enjoy Cinderella's Carousel.
21. See Snow White's Adventure.
22. Ride It's a Small World.
23. See The Haunted Mansion.
24. Depart the Magic Kingdom.

Hope this helps. Let me know if you have any questions.

Sincerely,

Len

 

[cruisnfamily]

Originally posted by lentesta
If I had some computer software and a history of wait times and FASTPASS distributions at the attractions.....oh wait, I do!

Okay, I ran your list through the touring plan software. Below is the touring plan.

OH MY GOODNESS! This is much more assistance than I expected. Thank you so much!

If I can get DH {He is usually our "guide" at WDW}to go along with the plan, we'll try it. I wonder if he'll like relinquishing the decision making power or not?

This particular 4 day trip was supposed to be just a relaxing quick visit but with all the extra's we've packed in, we'll need a vacation from our vacation!

What time approximately does this plan have us done at MK? Do you think we'd be killing ourselves(and the kids) if we attempted to hit a 10:30pm Fantasmic show this night.....or are we gonna be wiped out? We've never seen Fantasmic and were planning to try it if (and only if) we aren't too tired after our day at MK.

 

[Safari Steve]

and get there at least 15 minutes ahead of official opening since they might open the gates and let everyone who wants to get in, get to the rope drops on the bridges out of the hub

Early Breakfast ressies begin going into the park at 8am.
Regular Turnstiles open around 8:30 and guests are held in the plaza in front of the train station for 25 minutes.
About 8:45, the opening show starts.
Opening show ends/entry plaza holding ropes drop around 8:55.
Just before 9am, bridge ropes are dropped.

This has been the pattern for at least the last 6 months, and it seems that it will be the pattern for some time.

So, yes, arrive a bit early, but don't expect the park (or Main St.) to open early unannounced. Main St. generally opens about 5 minutes before the rest of the park now.

Just a heads-up.

 

[cruisnfamily]

I'm sorry to report that we just weren't up to the task. After 2 8-10 hour days in the parks and Disney quest, we just weren't able to take on the whole MK, even with the help of a touring plan. The following is what we did instead:

Originally posted by lentesta
----------------
- Touring Plan -
----------------
1. Arrive at the entrance to the Magic Kingdom 30 minutes prior to opening.
2. Ride Buzz Lightyear.
3. Ride Peter Pan's Flight.

We did arrive at 8:30 am and headed to Buzz immediately after the rope drop. We opted to ride Buzz twice instead of doing Peter Pan.

4. Around 9:45 a.m., take the Family Magic Tour until noon.

We did this....it was fantastic! And we rode Small World with Peter Pan so that was another ride crossed off the list.

5.FASTPASS for Big Thunder Mountain RR.
6. Tour Tom Sawyer Island.
7. Ride Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.
8. Dine at Cinderella's Royal Table at 1:00 p.m.

After hop, skip, and jumping around MK we were too wiped out to run around Tom Sawyer Island and nobody wanted to ride BTMRR. So, instead we saw the sword in the stone ceremony and rode Cinderellas Carousel. We headed over for lunch 30 mins early and were able to get in at 12:30.

9. Obtain a FASTPASS for Space Mountain.
10. Ride the WDW Railroad - Frontierland.
11. See the Country Bear Jamboree.
12. If possible, obtain a FASTPASS for the Jungle Cruise.
13. See Enchanted Tiki Birds.
14. Ride Pirates of the Caribbean.
15. Ride the Jungle Cruise.
16. Ride Space Mountain.
17. Ride the Tomorrowland Transit Authority.
18. Experience Alien Encounter.
19. Obtain a FASTPASS for The Haunted Mansion.
20. Enjoy Cinderella's Carousel.
21. See Snow White's Adventure.
22. Ride It's a Small World.
23. See The Haunted Mansion.
24. Depart the Magic Kingdom.

Couldn't muster up the energy for all of this so instead we did decided to hit our "must do" attractions and head back to CBR. We did Pirates, Jungle Cruise, & Tikki Birds with almost no waiting at all. We then did the Haunted Mansion and caught the end of the parade. We were going to ride the train around the park and stop at Toontown but the kids vetoed this idea in favor of leaving the park immediately to rest in the hotel room for a few hours because they(and we) wanted to go to Fantasmic tonight. So, we headed out of the MK having accomplished everything everbody wanted to accomplish but not hitting it all this trip. Oh well, there's always next time!

Thanks Len for taking the time to make up this plan for us but unfortunately, we just couldn't do it. Next time I'm going to order a "commando" type plan for the first day of our trip and try to remember how exhausted we are by day 3. I was very impressed by how flexible you were able to be when making that plan up and will remember it next trip.

 

[cruisnfamily]

by the way, I will be writing a trip report but probably not today, we're still recovering. I'll try to get it done in the next day or so though.

Thanks everybody!