Itinerary Help !

[DisneyJade]

grrr!!! i'm so frustrated! i just wrote this whole post and then accidentally closed the page before i sent it !!!

okay, here we go again.
here's the deal with this trip - my mom and I are primarily going for a convention at CSR. the convention sessions will take us away from the park during the hot/crowded/middle hours of the day. We will only be in WDW for 3 1/2 days. we have 4 day tickets with the park hopper option. we are primarily interested in big-ticket rides and plan to eat on the go, for the most part.
schedule in bold is not changeable. schedule in italics means we're in desperate need of advice. and i know you're all just the folks to give that advice!!
so, here goes:

Day 1 (Tues, 8/8)
6/630- should be checked into CSR and registered for convention by 6:30
7pm - MK - Space Mt., Buzz, Pirates, light dinner, FIREWORKS

Day 2 (Wed, 8/9)
8am - AK (morning EMH) - Safari, Everest, ITTBAB, Dinosaur, light lunch
Back to Resort by 1pm for sessions
4pm - Epcot - World Showcase, sit-down dinner, ILLUMINATIONS
OR... we could take advantage of MGM evening EMH this night and try to see some of the longer attractions like Millionaire, Muppets and Indiana Jones (p.s. we are probably skipping Fantasmic this trip, so that's not a factor. No flames please
Back to Resort by 10pm for more sessions

Day 3 (Thur, 8/10)
8am - MK (morning EMH) - Thunder, Splash, Haunted
Back to Resort by Noon for lunch, pool and afternoon sessions
6pm - ***help !!! we won't be back at the parks until 6pm on this day. should we take advantage of Epcot EMH to ride our target attractions in Future World (Soarin', Mission Space, maybe TestTrack, Honey I Shrunk, Body Wars, light dinner and Innoventions - yes, I like Innoventions!! ). or am I just kidding myself that the lines will be shorter for these rides during evening EMH? Our other option is, again, to go to MGM and ride some of the longer attractions.
Back to Resort by 10pm for more sessions

Day 4 (Fri, 8/11)
8am - MGM (morning EMH) - RnR, ToT, One Man's Dream, Millionaire, Muppets
Back to Resort by Noon for lunch and more sessions
3pm - ***help !! we are getting an early start to our afternoon park outing on this day. should we park hop to catch up on any rides we missed or would that be wasting precious time? What are the chances we'll have actually fit all our big ticket rides in at this point? If, by some miracle, we have finished our "list" -- I would be happy to head back to AK on this afternoon for a late Safari and relaxing animal watching. Advice???
Back to Resort by 10pm for more sessions

Day 5 (Sat, 8/12)
9am - depart CSR for airport (no time to park hop)

 

[Goofy4]

I'm confused... "Back to Resort by 10pm for more sessions". Seriously? 10pm?

"or am I just kidding myself that the lines will be shorter for these rides during evening EMH? " My best guess is that yes, you would be kidding yourself. I would avoid Epcot on that day and work the rest of your schdule around that.

I would try to lay out a Fast-Pass strategy in the A.M., some of which may even work for you when you return in the evening. Without a fastpass or 2 in the evening, your stand-by waits may be very very time consuming. I think it will be quite busy.

And yes, I think park hopping would be time-consuming -- =unless you would want to make an Epcot to MK monorail ride part of the fun.

 

[BlindTyldak]

Okay, first big thing you should note: you're going to have trouble catching nighttime events and then returning to the resort by 10 PM. For example, Illuminations starts at 9 and ends around 9:20. It will take you a minimum of 15 minutes to get to the bus, unless you are trained for marathon running. If you catch the first bus, it will still sit for about 5 minutes to load, then take about 10 minutes to get to the resort, then have its stops around the resort before you drop at El Centro. Then you still have to get to the convention room. If you run, you might be only 10 minutes late.

I really hate to say it, but my first tip would be to write off Illuminations. Second would be to leave all parks by 9 just to be safe, because you never know when you might have a 20 minute wait for a bus to show up.

Day 2, I'd do Epcot and the rides you want to see. Most people will be getting ready for Illuminations and you'll beat them to the busses. Since you'd be leaving before you'd get any advantage of EMH at MGM all you'd do is just get the crowds without the benefit.

Day 3, MGM for your evening, you'll be riding while everyone else is seating for Fantasmic, not to mention your chosen rides will be very light at that time anyway.

Day 4, park hop your brains out. Start at MK and ride the big things you missed (you'd get there as the parade was running, so you'll have a crowd to fight for a bit up Main Street, but if you scoot along the actual storefronts you should be good), monorail to Epcot and hit what you missed there, leave via International Gateway and walk to one of the Epcot resorts and catch a bus to MGM or AK. If you finished Epcot, walk to the Contemporary from MK and bus to whatever park you wish.

Just my two cents, have fun!

 

[DisneyJade]

goofy4 -- yes, 10pm. it's a "fun" convention, not business, so the events go on late. ...thanks for the tip on eve EMH and for the FP am to eve strategy. we may take advantage of that, especially on the last day!

BlindTyldak -- Ouch!! No Illuminations? that's a toughie. but you make an excellent point about the busses. i think one of my late events i can be late too. if it's that day, we can still make illuminations, otherwise, maybe we could just catch the first half, then make for the exits ahead of the crowd?
also, awesome point about evening EMH with early departure times. I've heard the crowds don't think out until after the first hour. probably only worth it if we actually SKIPPED an evening conference event, which is a no-no. best point made yet against evening EMH.