Just Got Back: An Alternative View

[Max Rebo]

The first one or two(if you hustle), yes. Beyond that, not what we found June 6 thru 13.

I think he meant the "first one or two" rides you go to, not the "first one or two" people in the gate.

 

[HenDuck]

This is a fascinating thread!

I am so very grateful to the OP for starting this thread. I keep wondering if we will really be able to do ANYTHING after 11:00 a.m. in any of the parks. I doubted whether we'd be able to do anything in the evenings after a mid-day break.

We have early risers and one late riser in our extended family. Trying to drag the late riser to the parks before rope drop every morning will only lead to conflict and hostility. Being able to make use of the later hours will work for all of us, since we will definitely have a nap every day. And after a nap, we can all definitely stay til closing.

The other reason I am enjoying this thread immensely is that I had no idea it would become such a hot topic. People are really protective over their idea of the perfect touring strategy. Having no touring strategy of my own, I have no opinion, but am thoroughly enjoying the other posts.

Thanks again for eveyone's input! I plan on filing them all away for future use.

 

[4eyedbuzzard]

I think he meant the "first one or two" rides you go to, not the "first one or two" people in the gate.

Thanks. Yes that is what I meant. And that doesn't mean that arriving early is a completely bad decision. It definitely is better than trying to tour the parks within a 10am to 6pm time timeframe! But when we were there, by the time you got off the second attraction there was definitely little further benefit to having arrived early except at Epcot due to FP availability at Soarin and TT, and to a lesser degree AK as I noted. You might get one more decent FP return after the second attraction in the 1 to 2 hour range. So arriving an hour early amounted to an equivalent wait of perhaps 30 minutes average in a regular attraction queue for two attractions and getting a decent FP return time on the third. That's not bad at all! If you could on average wait only 30 minutes for the biggest attractions at WDW during peak times you would be way ahead of the average and have a great trip. We didn't do badly at AK going early, getting in our third major attraction(Safari, EE, and KRR) by 11:30 am via FP, but it certainly wasn't like you were going to be able to experience "all the major attractions by noon when the crowds are reaching maximums" as is too often claimed by some. The crowds were huge and standby queues over an hour as early as 10am during our stay. We did see and talk to several people using TGM, UG, etc at many of the parks, and you could tell from the discussions and body language that most were definitely not "on schedule" during the week we were there. But hey - NO ONE WAS! The guides can be a great asset, but they aren't foolproof. The can predict average attendance and crowd levels, but on any given day or week, things can be very different and you have to be able to adapt.

"The best battle plans rarely survive the first shot", and no touring plan is going to get you on everything without some normal queue waiting at times when the parks are mobbed early. Oh, and I'm not protective of or defending my touring plan, as I have none (lol) other than knowing to some degree what I want to see, using FP's to their full advantage, not crisscrossing parks unless absolutely necessary, and of course going when the queues are the shortest!

We went with the full pre-trip intent of getting to the parks before rope drop or at latest at rope drop every day(selecting parks by recommended least crowded non-EMH) days, returning to our resort during the afternoon, and then going back at night. The reality we found was that literally thousands of other people were going very early reducing the effectiveness of the early part of our plan, and that commuting back and forth to the park was tiring as it ate up a lot of time(even though we were only 10 minutes to our WH villa from AAA parking) and made for a lot of extra entrance/exit walking in 90°+ heat. It just didn't prove to be as productive during our timeframe as staying late. In order of productiveness, the most productive times were: the last two hours, the first hour, parade times, dinner time. It's interesting that the week after we were there people found AK uncrowded in the am. It just goes to show that whatever you do for a plan, just be ready to change it and adapt as necessary. When in Rome, do as the Barbarians do! Sometimes you just have to party all night and attack in the evening.

 

[Diznut84]

4eyedbuzzard said it exactly as I would.

To answer the earlier posed question, in the past we've usually avoided the EMH Evening park like the plague. But this trip we found them to be only about 10% more crowded than normal (compared to more like 35% more crowded than normal on our earlier trips).

All in all, touring late was a bigger bang for the buck THIS TRIP. Next time, I'll test it out at the beginning of the trip to see if early touring or late touring is better. IT IS NO LONGER A GIVEN THAT MORNING TOURING IS SUPERIOR.

I'm excited for all of you are planning your trips for the summer months. Maybe I'll try and sneak another one in...

Some have suggested that you can't tour during the peak seasons and avoid lines. Trust me, you can. TGM has been dead on during our previous trips. This is the first time that we have noticed that evenings were superior for touring than mornings, though...

Have a Disney Day!

 

[Luvmyfam3]

We are leaving next week with a bunch of teenagers, so late evenings are no problem. But, we only have 5 mornings, but 4 parks and 2 waterparks (waterparks are big with teenagers). So, which of these would you say would be the best for evenings only? So far, AK is being left for only evening with no morning time, but I want to make sure we're doing the best thing.

This thread has been awesome for my planning!!! Thanks so much for those of you who have contributed!!! You're awesome!!!

10 more days to go!!!

 

[DisneyDadof3]

It's interesting - we fastpass EE at arrival - usually get a return time (assuming park opening at 9:00) of 10:10-10:15 or so. I then meet the rest of the crew over at the Safari - which we basically have a 5-10 minute wait for at most. Starting with the Safari, it's a nice relaxing day of moving around the park. We do this fairly comfortably with a double stroller and kids of 9,4, and 2.

 

[Diznut84]

We are leaving next week with a bunch of teenagers, so late evenings are no problem. But, we only have 5 mornings, but 4 parks and 2 waterparks (waterparks are big with teenagers). So, which of these would you say would be the best for evenings only?

Couple of questions:
1) Are you staying onsite? (EMH Availability)
2) Have you been to WDW before? Do you plan to go again?
3) Will you have park hopping available?

The easiest 1/2 day parks are AK and MGM. Most shows, though, are only offered during the day (i.e. Lights Motor, Beauty and th Beast, etc.).

Many rides in EPCOT Future World (Universe of Energy, Figment, etc.) close around 7pm.

If you go to AK in the evening, you want to make sure you don't miss either EE (the BEST ride at WDW for a teenager) or the Safari. The safari typically closes earlier than the rest of the park (it is usually posted at the site).

If the kids enjoy BIG waterslides, the lines for Summit Plummet and Slush Gusher (Blizzard Beach) are very long in the late morning. There is EMH morning EVERYDAY at the water parks, and it makes a HUGE difference for both of these. I've found it easier to wake my "tweeners" to go to a waterpark than the theme parks...

 

[Luvmyfam3]

Couple of questions:
1) Are you staying onsite? (EMH Availability)
2) Have you been to WDW before? Do you plan to go again?
3) Will you have park hopping available?

1) Yes, we're staying at Saratoga Springs so the EMH will be available to us. We're planning to use it for the waterparks, but I was using the TGM/UG theory to avoid them for the parks.

2) I'm a DVC member, so my daughters and I have been several times. Our best friends are coming along and they've never been....and probably won't be able to go again. We want to make this time special and see/do everything we possibly can for them.

3) Yes, I bought park hopper because I don't like feeling stuck at one park all day.

Btw, we aren't really into parades. If we happen to be there during one...fine. But we don't go out of our way to see them...if that helps. Like I said, I have AK down for only pm, but my only concern is to be able to ride EE there! (knowing my kids, they will want to ride it at least twice!) I'm hoping that the OP'ers theory will hold true and we'll be able to ride several things with little waiting time the last couple of hours at AK, if that's the best park for that..

Thanks for your help!! Kim

 

[Diznut84]

Sounds like you've got a good plan! I would "test out" the EMH Evenings to see if they work for you. My daughter and I stayed until 2am one morning at MK and it was WONDERFUL! They reopened the FastPasses at 11pm. We walked on Buzz so many times it was funny (we both even got 999,999 on the same round!).

Your hunch about AK might be right on. There are plusses and minuses to every plan. The plusses of AK in an evening is that it is a smaller park (i.e. has a smaller number of attractions - the park itself is monstrous). The downsides are that it is extremely hot, and the safari closes earlier than the rest of the park.

Other things to think about is what you will be doing the next day and/or if you can get everyone to rest in the afternoon. The ideal (an actual nap in the midafternoon!) is optimal, but difficult with teens.

If it were me, I would consider testing out sleeping in, going to a water park in later morning, back to the room for showers, over to an EMH evening park in late afternoon for a) gathering fastpasses, b) riding a ride, c) eating, d) riding all of the remaining headliners until the end of EMH Evening. The last half of EMH Evening may be better an anything in the morning (that was our experience). And with travelling with teens, the right rides are usually operating during EMH Evenings (i.e. EE, Dinosaur, Mission Space, Soarin', RNR, TOT, Space, Big Thunder, Splash Mountains, and Pirates).

These are just my views. Of course, the principles of summer touring are constant: Have a great attitude no matter what happens, and if anyone gets crabby, realize it is usually too much heat, too little sleep, and not enough to drink. Adjust immediately!

Have a GREAT time! Hopefully some of this rambling might help!

 

[Luvmyfam3]

Thanks Diznut84!! You most definitely did help out! I guess I need to work on my flexibility gene I kind of like to have everything in general laid out beforehand and only adjust the little things...doesn't look like that will be the case this time!! I guess that's part of what makes Disney World so special! Every one finds their own magic! It'll be great no matter what!

Thanks again!! Kim