is 4 days enough?

[Johnfish]

I am planning a vacation for my self and my 15 yo son. Its his first visit. I visited WDW in 1985 so it kinda like my first visit also. Anyway We are planning a trip in august (12th to the 20th). we will be staying in wdw friday thru sunday and than 2 nights at US/IOA, and 1 at sea world. Is 4 days enough time to see the 4 WDW parks without going totally theme park comando? We want to see as much as we can but not be worn out by the time we get to universal.

Any thoughts would be appreciated

TIA

John

 

[my3princes]

You are going to the WDW parks over the weekend which is the busiest time. If you want to see everything you will probably not have enough time. Since your son is 15 you may find that there are attractions that you really don't care to see. I would suggest getting a guide and reading up on the attractions and shows and deciding what you really are interested in, do those things first then if you have time remaining hit other things.

 

[karylrocks]

If I were you I would go over all the attractions and decide what you really want to do because you won't have nearly enough time to do everything. Also, be prepared that it is very hot and humid in August, and can get pretty crowded. Use Fastpass when you can, be careful which parks you visit on each day (look at http://www.wdisneyw.co.uk/bestday.html), do some research to find other time-saving tips.

 

[OneMoreTry]

It will be hard to do everything in 4 days without getting tired. You will have to leave some things out. Your best bet is to get to the parks early when waits are shorter. Leave the second half of your Animal Kingdom day to return to another park and either catch what you missed or repeat rides you really like. going to parade and fireworks are very time consuming, but in my opinion the best attractions at WDW.

Unsolicited advice: Go to enjoy each other's company above doing the rides and the rest will fall into place.

 

[LAinSEA]

I realize that vacations are often all about sleeping in...however, you and your DS will see so much more if you are at the gates of each park when they open them. Read up and have a plan. For example - do the rides you want to do first thing and then see some shows in the afternoon. If you are staying onsite, take a break back at the hotel in the hot part of the afternoon and swim, refresh, then go back late afternoon/early evening. (Even though we've never been in the "busy" season, mid-afternoons were more crowded and every other pre-schooler was having a meltdown. After the first day - we decided that getting out of the parks mid-afternoon was good for our sanity.)

Involve your son in the planning. Your trip sounds fantastic. Have a really great time.

-Laurie

 

[Fooboy]

ABSOLUTELY! You're vacation sounds absolutely fantastic! I have not been to sea world or IOA but DisneyWorld I can tell you that you and your kid WILL have to wake up early to take advantage of the short waits and efficiently see as much of the parks as you two can. It is important to soak in all of the sites and excitement of the parks but don't burn out. After all, it is a vacation for you two. August is still a little time away so that gives you time to go over plans and ways to execute them with your son. It'll be great "quality time" to be with the offspring and build up the excitement even more. I found that the planning itself may be stressful yet fun. I would recommend the Unofficial guide for yourself to look over since it's ALL words and stuff. I would recommend the Passporter for your son. He can check off all of the attractions that he wants and then you two can decide what to do and what can be bypassed. Please take full advantage of FASTPASS at WDW. It'll be one of the crucial actions that you must take. Remember that if you get a fast pass that is scheduled for a much later time, you can go ahead and get another one for some other attraction. So, grab some passes, get some hot dogs, take some pictures with you DS and then finish your rides back to back. Your son will LOVE IT!!! I've addicted to the Mouse since I was 5. I'm 23 now and the magic has never receded to anything. In fact, it's grown so much stronger. I love the place. You two will have a WONDERFUL time together. August will be a hot season so remember to have plenty of water and WEAR SUNBLOCK and a HAT!!!!!!!!!!! The Floridian sun is unrelenting so be prepared. With that aside, the world is massive and FULL of magic. Im going to say it again. You and your son will LOVE IT!!!! Good luck with your decisions. If you need any help or advice about the rides or anything, feel free to send me a PM and I will assist to the best of my ability.

foobs

 

[Johnfish]

Thanks for all the input. I did check out the uk site for the busiest days. Based on that info I have a tentative plan to visit the parks on this schedule

Friday MGM
Saturday AK
Sunday Epcot
Monday MK

Tuesday and wednesday is universal because tuesday nite I got a great discount room at RPR (119). That was the best I could do for that week. Then SW on thursday.

Should I try and rearrange things and do wdw later in the week? It seems to me that it being summertime it wont be that big a difference week day or week end. I was told to do US/IOA after disney because we would be spoiled by the FOTL we get staying on site.

John

 

[Johnfish]

bump

 

[lindajo]

Originally posted by Fooboy
Remember that if you get a fast pass that is scheduled for a much later time, you can go ahead and get another one for some other attraction.
foobs

Hi Fooboy,

I hope you don't mind that I picked out just a small portion of your quote, but I was always under the impression that once you got a FP, you had to wait until that one expired before they would allow you to get another. How much later does it have to be for them to let you have another FP? We usually don't need FP, but this would be nice to know if we do. Thanks for the info.

 

[my3princes]

I think that you can get a new fastpass as soon as the first time on your current fastpass has arrived or after 2 hours of getting a fastpass.

 

[Fooboy]

Originally posted by lindajo
Hi Fooboy,

I hope you don't mind that I picked out just a small portion of your quote, but I was always under the impression that once you got a FP, you had to wait until that one expired before they would allow you to get another. How much later does it have to be for them to let you have another FP? We usually don't need FP, but this would be nice to know if we do. Thanks for the info.

Yes, i was wondering if i was unclear about that. You cannot get a FP immediately after obtaining one. If my information is correct, you can get another when your reserved time comes or two hours after the initial FP, whichever comes first. However, do confirm for I may be completely wrong. I hope this helps!

foobs

 

[bigbabyblues]

We found that MGM didn't hold as much for us as the other parks did, and we only stayed there about 5 hours. However, we didn't ride ToT and RnRC wasn't open yet, so that may have made a difference.

I agree with the poster who suggest that you get a guidebook and read about the attractions, shows, and rides and see what would interest your family, that way you at least know what your biggest hope-to-do things are, and you can get those in. I like the Unofficial Guide to Disney, and I've also heard that the Passporter is a great book too.

Enjoy your trip, above all, you're going to Disney World!!!

~Steph

 

[TINK61]

Since your son is a teenager, he may want to bypass such time consuming ques as Dumbo and Peter Pan, and probably most of Fantasyland, and Toontown, however, I'm 42 and it is still a must for me. That might save some time - just check out the guide book and formulate a plan and try to stick to it (yeah, right), but try, it will save some time. Sounds like a fun vacation.

 

[Straitlover]

REgarding the Fast Passes and when you can get another one:

I believe that if your return time is several hours later, there will be a time printed on your FP telling you when you can get your next one, usually a couple of hrs later. However, I've heard some people say that some of the rides (HM being one) will let you get a FP as soon as 15 minutes after you get that one! Best bet is to make sure you read the entire FP so you don't miss an opportunity to get your next one as soon as you can.

 

[Johnfish]

I booked csr for 4 days. Im going to try and add a 5th day in the day before we go to CSR by getting a 40 $ deal on Priceline and getting 5 day PHPs. Then use the fifth day to catch up on some of the missed thing and maybe a 1/2 day a tyhpoon lagoon.

Does this sound more resonable?

John

 

[ErikdaRed]

You can also just do one day at Universal. Since your staying onsite one day with front of the line access is enough to see everything in both parks, some rides multiple times, with some time to spare before closing.

 

[Antonia]

You are so fortunate to be going to Universal after WDW - did you say that you are staying on-site? If so, you will finally be relieved from standing in long lines, because you will have front of the line access at Universal. At 15, your son will probably love Universal. You could get the 5 day bonus pass for $89 online and spend more than 2 days there.

 

[EsmeraldaX]

Originally posted by ErikdaRed
You can also just do one day at Universal. Since your staying onsite one day with front of the line access is enough to see everything in both parks, some rides multiple times, with some time to spare before closing.

This is true. I was at US/IOA the first week of March and I wasn't even staying on site and got to do just about everything in one day. Although, your son at 15 might be more into thrill rides and repeating them than I was

A good plan of action is to go through the guide books, write down your MUST SEES for each park. AK can usually be done in 1/2 day. MGM can usually be done in 1/2 too, although I highly recommend you stay for Fantasmic, which means staying at MGM till it closes.

Have a GREAT trip!

 

[georgina]

I'm taking my 14 year old DD for 4 days this summer. We have been several times before, so it is a slightly different situation. There is no way she would get up early for the early entry days, so we are going to a park that does not have early entry that day. At MK, we will probably concentrate on Pirates of the Caribbean, Splash Mtn, Big Thunder Mtn RR, Haunted mansion, Space Mtn, and Buzz Lightyear (although if you are going to Universal, Men in Black is more fun for us than Buzz). At MGM, she loves Tower of Terror and RockN Rollercoaster, and I'll want to do Millionaire and the Muppets. At AK, we will have just a few things to see too. She loves the World Showcase at Epcot, so we will spend a full day there. At age 15, I would think 4 days would be plenty to do the theme parks, she is starting to like IOA more than Disney anyway.

 

[Tigger&Belle]

I would allow at least 2 days for Universal. There is a lot to see there and your 15yo will love it. My older kids prefer Universal to WDW and they haven't been back to WDW in a few years. I like both UO and WDW and will be visiting WDW several times this year with my 4yo.

You are wise staying onsite at Universal and RPR is a beautiful resort. You should be able to see most everything in two days. Don't miss the Horror Make-up show in the Universal Studios--it's easily overlooked, but a funny show.

T&B