Initial plan and setting expectations

[whitestavern]

Background: Visited WDW four times in five years; last visit was in 2014. All were great trips, I believe due to careful planning. This trip is last minute because dh and I were supposed to be traveling to southern Spain this spring, but now he can't get away from work. So the trip is just me and my 25 yo daughter, who's currently in grad school. Would love some feedback on my initial itinerary. Please be honest so I can set the proper expectations. I've been reading some recent threads and am nervous we are going to be disappointed.

We are staying at AKL in a regular room for the first three nights, then moving to DVC at Jambo for 3 and Kidani for 1. Will continue trying to get DVC for the first three nights to keep expenses down. We are excited about staying here, have only stayed onsite once (timeshare swap in OKW). Flying in late morning on 5/9. Our trip looks to be fairly low crowds, though again, after reading some threads here, I'm thinking there are still going to be a LOT of people in the parks.

May 9 (arrival day): head to HS mid afternoon. Hoping to do Runaway Railway, Muppets, Star Tours, Millenium Falcon, and Rise by closing without insane waits. We have a reservation at 6:20 for Oga's but will just be having a drink to check it out. Grabbing a bite to eat at some point at HBD lounge or Docking Bay 7.

May 10: RD EP: Guardians, Mission Space, Frozen, Reflections of China, Gran Fiesta, Nemo, Turtle Talk, Soarin', Journey of Water(?), Canada movie, Remy, France movie, Land, Spaceship Earth. We will only do attractions with 30-ish min or less wait time as we'll be returning later in the week. Current plan is to eat/drink at the Flower & Garden festival booths.

May 11: RD IOA: (taking Uber; any tips welcome). We will be purchasing an Express Pass for just IOA. Hoping to do Spider Man, Ripsaw Falls, Bilge-Rat Barges, Skull Island, Jurassic River Adventure, VelociCoaster, Hippogriff, Forbidden Journey, Hagrid before heading over to USF (4:00ish?) No EP for USF. Hoping to see Dreamworks Imagination Celebration, Rip RIde Rocket, Race Thru NY, ET, and Gringotts (only d will be going on the bolded rides so single line for her).

May 12: EP: leisurely am at AKL, maybe breakfast at Sanaa. This is EEH at EP so we'll try to hit things we missed on 5/10 or ones we want to do again. Otherwise just soaking up the atmosphere. Will take the Skyliner to Riviera for an early dinner at Topolino's Terrace.

May 13: RD HS: Slinky Dog Dash, Tower of Terror, Toy Story Mania, Rock n' Roller Coaster and any we didn't get to do (or repeat) from 5/9.

May 14: RD MK: This is EEH so it'll be a long day. Space, Buzz, Tiana, Pirates, Mermaid, Barnstormer, TTA, Carousel of Progress, TRON, Philharmagic, then break for (hopefully) Trader Sam's. Dinner at Skipper's Canteen. Back for fireworks, Small World, Jungle Cruise, Haunted Mansion Peter Pan, Pooh, Mine Train.

May 15: RD AK: Na'vi RIver Journey, Everest, Kilimanjaro, Dinosaur, KRR, Lion King (10?), Winged Encounters, Avatar (buying LL for this one). Planning late lunch at Satu'li or Nomad.

Would love any input on the itinerary, suggestions for fun and yummy places to eat that would work well with this plan. Help me set reasonable expectations so we are not disappointed. I really do not want to buy any more LLs. If we can't do most everything we want to do without crazy waits, I'm okaying walking away from the trip. Tnx!

 

[scrappinginontario]

I think you will have a great time!!! Much has changed since your last visit and much is for the positive! Yes, there will be people there but your dates are during a 'normal' time of the year so crowds will be manageable.

My biggest suggestion to you is to keep an eye on the wait times for attractions between now and then. Prepare yourself so you have an idea what you may encounter.

If you're only going to ride attractions with waits that are 30 mins or less, there are some of the headliners that you will be choosing not to ride which is unfortunate. The headliner attractions come with waits from park open to park close. It's just reality and why they are referred to as 'headliners'. For us we prepare for that and then enjoy our time in line rather than miss many great attractions!

You will be able to join the line of one attraction each night just before closing and it will have a shorter wait but that's only one per night and only the nights where you're there at park closing and not watching fireworks.

Disney artificially inflates the wait times of major attractions close to park closing to discourage people from getting in line. Ignore the posted wait times and hop in line. The majority of times you'll be riding in a far shorter amount of time than the posted wait time.

 

[CAPSLOCK]

Input on the Universal day:

A note in case you weren't aware - you WILL be drenched on Bilge-Rat Barges and Ripsaw Falls. There are lockers but they are not free for the water rides - there's a covered cubby in the center of the Barge for your stuff but for peace of mind I like to put my stuff in a waterproof shopping bag inside the cubby, then you don't have to worry about it. Unless your phone is waterproof, it should not ride in your pocket. And your shoes will be fully soaked if they remain on your feet on these two rides.

I'm not sure there is a single rider on Jurassic Park River Adventure?
And depending on the line, VelociCoaster may be faster to do via normal EP vs trying to do single rider. I feel like when I'm in the single rider line, it's super slow while they pair odd parties, but when I'm in the regular line the single rider line is flying along.

Single rider line for Rip Ride Rocket can be painfully slow, and the roller coaster isn't fantastic. It's just a roller coaster, no theming to speak of. She might consider switching that out with Mummy - which is MUCH better theming/story, much better single rider, and generally a better coaster. At any rate, Transformers & especially MiB have really fast single rider lines if she does want to hop on those. Mummy's is medium-fast (usually still less than 10min), just because more people use it I suspect.

You're taking the Hogwarts Express between parks?

 

[gottalovepluto]

EP day- GOTG, Frozen and Remy all at 30 mins or less is not going to happen. You might be able to use SR at Remy if you aren’t committed to riding together to get that in 30 mins or less. To do GOTG with less than 30 min wait you need to be on the first bus out of AKL and able to keep up with the crowd crush that is rope drop.

Alternatively- buy SPLL for GOTG, RD Frozen, SR Remy

 

[Mouse Tracker]

Your 5/9 HS afternoon seems doable but may help with LLSP for Rise, your using a lot of park "standby time" for the 2 eating stops.

I think you will benefit with purchasing LLMP for 5/13 HS day (pre booking Tot, TSM, RnR)

If your not into Fantasmic then definitely head to Rise before park close.

MK day you may need to LLSP Tron and 7 Dwarfs.

Although your plan looks pretty ambitious - it's worth a try but be prepared for ride breakdowns

 

[hes122]

Another thing about your Universal day - Hagrid is not included in the Express Pass, so you'll want to get there as early as possible so that your standby wait isn't as obnoxious.

 

[whitestavern]

Wow, thanks for all the responses. I needed a dose of reality to set my expectationsI pulled the plug and purchased airfare today, so we for sure going. I guess we are going to have to suck it up and sit in lines; I really do not want to spend more $$ on LLs. I'm sure it will fun, and hopefully the long waits will be limited to the better rides.

To respond to some comments/queries:
--Re: Universal/IOA, good to know how wet you get on some of those rides. We thought it might be refreshing since May will likely be hot. But drenched is not going to be fun, so I can probably talk my daughter out of those. Also great input on the single rider lines there. The ONLY reason she wants to do Rip Ride Rocket is because I guess it is closing?? We've done Mummy and MIB but I'll share with d that maybe Transformers would be more fun/interesting. I've heard Hagrid's is great at night - would that be a better option as far as a wait? We will be arriving very early for RD, so if that's the best shot, we'll do it then.

--Yes, we'll be taking Hogwarts Express from park to park. Originally we were ONLY going for the HP stuff, but since I believe it's a 2 crowd level that day, we added more attractions. There are probably quite a few we can toss off the list if its busier than expected.

--Re: Epcot. Was planning on arriving an hour prior to RD GOTG and did figure we'd have a fairly long wait for Frozen. Remy we were going to try to do later by checking line app throughout the day/evening. We have two days there so hopefully at some point we can do it without waiting an hour. We for sure will not do the fireworks both nights.

--Re: our arrival day at HS. I'm going to skip the meal there, but d does want to see Oga's. Any guess as to what would be a good time to go there for a quick drink? We are not doing Fantasmic.

--Re: MK day. We were thinking maybe TRON would be a good choice for closing (midnight that night). But since it's so late, maybe we'd be better off with 7 Dwarves? Do fewer adults ride that vs TRON? Again, if we have to wait in a few long lines, it will be fine.

 

[CAPSLOCK]

I've heard Hagrid's is great at night - would that be a better option as far as a wait? We will be arriving very early for RD, so if that's the best shot, we'll do it then.

Yes, at night is awesome & not "taking up" park time if you hop in line right before close.
Do you have early entry? Without early entry, first thing in the morning is the worst lines for Hagrids - you are behind all the early entry crowds. Lunchtime or afternoon is better.

Jurassic Park River Adventure gets you an enjoyable level of wet - I'll wear shoes and leave the phone in the pocket for that one. You get splashed but rarely drenched and generally your bottom half stays reasonably dry.

 

[zdad59]

A few random thoughts.....

• Plan, Plan, Plan. I obsess about it too...PRE TRIP. Once we're on the trip it acts as a guide, not an absolute. Doing a lot of pre-trip planning (for me at least) allows me to turn my brain mostly off while I'm on vacation. Helps me a lot.
• Looking only for less than 30 minute waits is going to be tough, especially for high interest rides. Be flexible, especially for things like Guardians. Sure it may be 60 minute wait, but there is a lot to see and do in the pre show. Guardians in particular is SOOO worth it. The best ride in Disney we think.
• At universal, Velosicoaster is the best roller coaster we've ever ridden. Do what it takes to ride it, especially if you're a coaster person. If you're not, it may be too intense.
• One "secret" at Universal, check and see if you can get a free behind the scenes tour of some of the rides. The way you do it is to as a cast member at the entrance to the ride. If they have cast member availability, they take you away for a cool tour. They will end it by putting you at the front of the line for the ride. We did the Jimmy Fallon ride and Fast & Furious. And on both rides, we got the opportunity to sign a piece of the ride background, so our names are forever there....a nice touch. Hulk coaster and The Mummy will also do tours. Again, they can only do it if they have cast member availability.
• In your plan, put a break back at the hotel into each day's plan. It will help you re-energize for the evenings.
• You didn't note if you have park hopper tickets or one park per day tickets. Hoppers are more expensive but give you a lot of flexibility, especially if you track wait times on the app.
• You are staying at a deluxe hotel so you'll have access to Extra Evening Hours (EEH) on Monday and Wednesday at one of the parks. Typically, MK one day and EP the other. You'll likely see lower wait times then than mid day for the high interest rides.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

I would say watch some rope drop videos or strategies on Youtube. I like Mammoth Club's videos. Molly is doing a series right now (last did it a year ago when G+ existed) of RD at each park and how she navigates it. So far she has Epcot and DHS posted. She's also doing a series on PM/evenings in the park. I just watched one for Animal Kingdom.

If we rope drop, I like to make a plan (with plan B for breakdowns) for the first 2 hours of park open which is usually the first 3-4 attractions. Then from there I go with the flow. I feel by getting the most into those first 2 hours can really set up the rest of your day for success.

 

[whitestavern]

Thanks for all the additional tips and suggestions. We may have scored 3 nights at BWV, which will be great because those are our HS and EP days. We do not have Park Hopper tix. We are spending more $$ on this trip than I have on my last two 2-week European vacations, lol.

Love the tip about the ride tours at Universal! Will definitely look into those. No early entry there, unfortunately. But will be getting Express Pass for IOA (haven't decided if we'll need it at USF but are thinking no).

I am nervous about the drops on the new coasters. I can do Splash and Everest, but I'm not sure about GOTG. I hate the stomach dropping feeling. Did ToT once but hated it. Not sure I could do it again, especially since you can't anticipate when it's coming and prepare for it.

We do have some breaks we'll be taking as D will need to work a bit on this trip. She won't be able to nap, but she's young and doesn't need much sleep. At least she can get off her feet and away from the stimulation for a few hours.

Thanks for the suggestion on the rope drop videos. I will give them a watch!

I joined TP last year because we thought we might go then. Lucked out I guess that it's still active. Any feedback on how their plans stack up? This is our first time using them. They are showing fairly short waits, except at HS. D has a friend who did a trip this past Nov and said she did everything multiple times at HS, didn't even spend the entire day. I'm not seeing how that's possible based on the TP I put together, which is why I added an additional afternoon there.

 

[_19disnA]

Disney parks are going to be WAY more crowded then they were 10 yrs ago so be realistic about what you will be able to do compared to prior visits. Our last trip to Disney was at least 10 yrs since a prior trip and it was obvious how much more expensive & crowded the parks were compared to the past. The most popular rides/shows have the longest lines. We found either early/late in the day crowds tended to be lower and resulted in lower wait times.

No amount of advance planning will make any park less crowded. I would estimate it takes about 2x as long to do the same number of rides/shows compared to what it was like 10 yrs ago. Doing the parks all day long for multiple consecutive days will be exhausting and involve MILES of walking/dealing with large crowds. I would plan for some rest time and don't think it is realistic to try to visit a park every day you are there.

Park hopper tickets are helpful in the event one park is overly crowded. On one of our weekday visits to AK, it was wall to wall people and combined with their narrow walkways, it was virtually impossible to move around. Glad we had park hoppers and left to go to a different park that was far less crowded. We also try to do one section of the park at a time and avoid zig-zagging all over the park just to save a few minutes in some ride line. Racing off to some ride at the other end of the parks just adds more miles of walking and remember that everyone else is using that same Disney app to decide where to go next.

We also found listed wait times at the ride entrances tended to be unreliable and all over the map, some too short and others clearly too long. If that is the same data shown on the app, doubt it will be any more reliable. Decide for yourself based on how fast the line is moving and how long it is if you think that ride is worth waiting for. Otherwise do other things and return later. A lot of the Disney pre-shows are just there to give you something to do while waiting in line and often times it seems like they try to create the illusion you you aren't waiting in line for so long. To us, the reality is we are still waiting in line and the 'pre-show' is just another area to wait before you actually get on the ride.

 

[whitestavern]

Ugh, that's disappointing to hear re: the wait times, and it's not the first place I've read about this. It makes it very difficult to figure out whether to get in a line or not. I'm gearing myself up for worst case scenario, but I know we're going to have a ton of fun even if Disney fails us.

 

[stitchfan75]

I would say watch some rope drop videos or strategies on Youtube. I like Mammoth Club's videos. Molly is doing a series right now (last did it a year ago when G+ existed) of RD at each park and how she navigates it. So far she has Epcot and DHS posted. She's also doing a series on PM/evenings in the park. I just watched one for Animal Kingdom.

If we rope drop, I like to make a plan (with plan B for breakdowns) for the first 2 hours of park open which is usually the first 3-4 attractions. Then from there I go with the flow. I feel by getting the most into those first 2 hours can really set up the rest of your day for success.

I absoluetly love Mammoth Club. I've been watching her "best day ever" series and highlighted RD Remy or Frozen, MP the other and then Fancy Ride LL GotG.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

I love Mammoth Club and Molly especially. I've never been one to watch any videos on the parks or listen to podcasts but DD19 and I do watch her videos. We only started this past year.

Her RD for DHS gave me a different take. I never thought of trying to see characters so early but it makes sense. We only want to see Mickey and Minnie but we will stop there after RD RnRC, ToT and MMRR (hopefully). Another day we may RD Rise.

I also liked her RD of AK video from a year ago so I'm interested to see what she plans to do with the next video.