Itinerary dilemma

[mickeymom629]

I'm rying to come up with a good itinerary for my group for our December trip. One person has a 3 day ticket and is missing HS. Some have 4 days to do each park once. Grandkids (9,9,6), DH, one of the moms and I have 5 days. Without going into all the details, I'm curious if you would choose the itinerary with "lower" crowds and miss MK night parade and fireworks but see E fireworks and F! or choose the one that will be more crowded but see all night shows. I'm inclined to go with the lower crowds option because we went 2 years ago and hope to go in another 2 or 3 years with everyone. Also, I'm hoping not to have to buy LL or $LL. The other thing good about Plan 2, besides seeing all the night shows, is that we don't have to wake up Thurs and Fri too early.

Plan 1
Tues - ee MK on a party day
Wed - ee AK
Thurs - ee E and stay for fireworks
Fri - sleep in and go to MK midday on a party day or E midday (just me, grandkids and one mom)
Sat - ee HS F! dining package - leave after F! (Jollywood party that we won't have tickets for)

Plan 2
Tues - ee AK
Wed - ee MK and stay all day for parade and fireworks (maybe buy LL)
Thurs - midday to E and stay for fireworks (maybe buy LL)
Fri - sleep in and go to MK midday on a party day or E midday (just me, grandkids and one mom)
Sat - ee HS F! dining package - leave after F! (Jollywood party that we won't have tickets for)

 

[gottalovepluto]

I don’t think MK fireworks and the new night parade are worth buying LL and dealing with bigger crowds for but are the other adults ok with missing the MK fireworks? For some it is the quintessential moment of a Disney vacation.

 

[juxtapose]

I love MK fireworks, but I agree I'd rather have a long day of lower waits than the fireworks. Especially because the fireworks on non-party days are uncomfortably packed. A few years ago, we did a MK party day and non-party day back-to-back and the crowd difference was significant. We only came for the afternoon/evening on the non-party day to see fireworks and do a few rides and wished we'd gone somewhere else.

 

[NickC]

Personally I love the fireworks at WDW---because the rides are less crowded during the fireworks.
I think avoiding crowds is more beneficial, but I guess it depends on how badly you want to see the show.

 

[mickeymom629]

Thanks for the replies! I prefer the plan missing the MK fireworks, also, because I think it will be less stressful.
I'm going to suggest that, for those who want to catch the MK fireworks, we can maybe try to watch them from somewhere outside of the MK after Fantasmic! on Saturday, the night before we leave.

 

[jwalk03]

Personally the nighttime spectacular shows are one of my favorite parts of any park day- so they are can't miss for me. Now i'm all for going to MK on a party day for the lower crowds and then hoping to Epcot for the evening, and then doing the reverse on another day to see the MK fireworks.

Fantasmic is held even on Jollywood Nights before the park closes to day visitors

 

[mickeymom629]

Personally the nighttime spectacular shows are one of my favorite parts of any park day- so they are can't miss for me. Now i'm all for going to MK on a party day for the lower crowds and then hoping to Epcot for the evening, and then doing the reverse on another day to see the MK fireworks.

Fantasmic is held even on Jollywood Nights before the park closes to day visitors

Thanks for that! Unfortunately we won't have hopper passes. We will be seeing Fantasmic on a party night at 6:30, so I'm thinking maybe we could get to the TTC and watch MK fireworks from there if anyone in my group wants to since we will have cars.
I do think there may be a few in my group that won't like missing the MK fireworks. We will be seeing the Epcot fireworks and Fantasmic (Fantasmic dinner package).

 

[mi*vida*loca]

Personally the nighttime shows are part of the trip for us with MK being at the top of my list so I would definitely make it work to be in MK to see them.

 

[jwalk03]

Thanks for that! Unfortunately we won't have hopper passes. We will be seeing Fantasmic on a party night at 6:30, so I'm thinking maybe we could get to the TTC and watch MK fireworks from there if anyone in my group wants to since we will have cars.
I do think there may be a few in my group that won't like missing the MK fireworks. We will be seeing the Epcot fireworks and Fantasmic (Fantasmic dinner package).

There is an outdoor balcony at the contemporary where you can watch them and they even pipe in the soundtrack. That would be better than watching from the TTC. (Not as good as being in the park- but still pretty good)

You do not have to be a guest at the contemporary to watch from there, but you can’t park there unless you are a guest or have a dining reservation. But you could park at the TTC and take the monorail

 

[woodys_girl]

My family would trade the fireworks for lower crowds in a heartbeat. It is not a little bit lower crowds on party days; it is way lower crowds. If you can let go of (in park MK) fireworks, you will be rewarded with a great MK day.