Late October Short Trip

[DisneyFirstTimer10]

We are taking our daughter and her best friend down to Disney for her 16th birthday. We have a short trip planned- arriving Thursday mid-day and flying home early Monday towards the end of October. We’ll be skipping MNSSHP this trip due to the added cost with already expensive tickets. Right now we are thinking of a 3 Day Park Hopper and would love some advice on how to split up the days. There are MNSSHP each day of our trip except for Saturday.

Currently we are thinking-

Thursday- arrive at noon, head to resort. Swim. Then DS to walk around and dinner

Friday- RD MK. Possible break in afternoon at resort. Evening in Epcot. Its F&W so we know it’ll be crowded!

Saturday- RD AK, evening in MK for fireworks

Sunday- RD Epcot, evening in HS. Or flip this around?


Would love your thoughts!! Staying at AKV.

 

[Cybertruck]

What a wonderful birthday present. October is a very busy month for Food & Wine with the cooler weather. If your plan is to sample as many of the booths as possible I recommend EPCOT early in the day. Long lines will impact your ability to get it all completed at night. I recommend Sunday evening over Friday at EPCOT. I also recommend your daughter and her friend review all the menus before the trip and make a list of must have items.

AKV is great choice for birthday adventure. It will be a wonderful lifetime memory for her!

 

[Gentry2004]

We are taking our daughter and her best friend down to Disney for her 16th birthday. We have a short trip planned- arriving Thursday mid-day and flying home early Monday towards the end of October. We’ll be skipping MNSSHP this trip due to the added cost with already expensive tickets. Right now we are thinking of a 3 Day Park Hopper and would love some advice on how to split up the days. There are MNSSHP each day of our trip except for Saturday.

Currently we are thinking-

Thursday- arrive at noon, head to resort. Swim. Then DS to walk around and dinner

Friday- RD MK. Possible break in afternoon at resort. Evening in Epcot. Its F&W so we know it’ll be crowded!

Saturday- RD AK, evening in MK for fireworks

Sunday- RD Epcot, evening in HS. Or flip this around?


Would love your thoughts!! Staying at AKV.

As long as you know Friday night in Epcot will be busy in World Showcase, I think the rest of the parks are chosen very strategically! The front of Epcot will likely still be fine. Have a fun trip.

 

[Anna131517]

AKV is pretty far from 3 of the parks. I personally wouldn’t want to go back during the day because it will waste a lot of time. Also, 16 year olds should be good for a longer day, and they might not be interested in rope dropping. I’d focus on doing more in the evening and less in the morning with that age group. That being said, you might be able to do a park the evening you arrive, maybe EP or even AK, and then spend full days at the other parks without hopping.

 

[DisneyFirstTimer10]

As long as you know Friday night in Epcot will be busy in World Showcase, I think the rest of the parks are chosen very strategically! The front of Epcot will likely still be fine. Have a fun trip.

Thank you!!!!

 

[MickeyMice]

try to make your MK morning the day of a party, crowds should be lower.

maybe do a MK to HS day, and then dedicate a full day to epcot to minimize commuting? epcot is large, it takes time to get around. though international gateway to HS isn't a bad hop.

 

[LAS2AMS]

IMO, you’re trying to do too much during those three days. If it were me, I’d pick the three parks I wanted to visit most and spend the evenings at AKL - it’s a beautiful resort and you’re spending a lot of money to stay there. Nothing like relaxing in the pool after a long day at the park.

AKL is literally on the edge of WDW property — apartments and retail outlets are literally feet away (and very visible) from Kandi Village. The drive to MK is about 20 minutes. The walk from your room, wait for the bus, ride over to the MK, getting into the park, etc averages over an hour. Especially if it’s crowded when the park closes, and you need to wait a couple busses.

Going from the parks to the resort to a different park wk consume a lot of time. Access to a car is very useful in this area.

 

[MickeyMice]

i agree with the above. i would not plan for midday resort downtime between two parks at AKL unless, maybe, the first park was AKL. but yes, i have been guilty of overscheduling myself while staying at AKL, missing out on what makes AKL amazing, and also adding extra crazy long AKL hallway walks to my day.

 

[R&RsMom]

We have done trips this length recently, including park hopping. It’s busy, no denying. Unlike others, I think a break is fine, even to AKL. It helps us recharge. I think you might want to flip your last day to give yourself morning time at HS. It feels to me like you could get quite a bit done at Epcot over 2 evenings, even other Food and Wine crowds.

 

[LAS2AMS]

We have done trips this length recently, including park hopping. It’s busy, no denying. Unlike others, I think a break is fine, even to AKL. It helps us recharge. I think you might want to flip your last day to give yourself morning time at HS. It feels to me like you could get quite a bit done at Epcot over 2 evenings, even other Food and Wine crowds.

Of course it’s doable, especially if you visit WDW often enough that the trips blur together. But the OP is a Disney newbie looking to maximum their time and investment. Reality is, park hopping adds cost while consuming a lot of time. Just as a midafternoon break at the AKL from MK would consume about four hours. Again, fine if you’re a Disney regular but not so cool if this is a special, one-off trip.

 

[lampshadehead]

This sounds good. I was going to suggest more time at HS. But since you are going in the morning to Epcot (where you would have already visited on Friday) you won't need to spend lots more time there. Remember that you can take the Skyliner to hop over to HS from Epcot.

 

[WLWildlife]

OP, I'm not an expert, but I think your plan looks good. You know your family best, and if mid-day breaks work for your family, then do it. My family park hops daily and we always take an afternoon break. I would get the teens thoughts on rope drop since many of them aren't early risers. Enjoy your trip

 

[Lou'sMommy]

What a wonderful trip! It will be a great memory for your daughter.

I am concerned with your plan to go to Epcot on Friday night. If you are planning on staying at the front of the park, it should be okay. However, my family loves the world showcase and tends to spend a lot of time there. As it gets later on a Friday night, it will be very crowded and perhaps with rowdy crowds who are drinking to excess.

When my daughter was around 16 went during her October fall break. She loves Epcot so we spent a lot of time there. We made the mistake of being in the world showcase after dark on a weekend night. She leaned up against a wall overlooking the lake (maybe near Morocco? ), and she came away covered in someone else's vomit. It was a pretty horrible experience. Since then we try to avoid weekend nights at Epcot, especially later in the evening.

 

[jazzsmith]

Your plan looks like a great way to make the most of a short trip! Splitting your days between MK, Epcot, AK, and HS is smart, especially with the Park Hopper. For Sunday, flipping Epcot to the evening could be a good idea to enjoy a more relaxed pace with dinner at one of the World Showcase spots. I’ve seen some Disney Plus reviews mention watching park-related content before trips, which could get everyone even more excited for the visit. It’s going to be an amazing birthday trip for your daughter.