Leaving in 8 days...give me your opinions!

[cegrad]

Ok, we are leaving in 8 days for our first trip to Disney. I have done a ridiculous amount of research, here's our plan and a few questions for the veterans. Oh yeah, 'we' are DD, age 9 and fearless, DH, age 30 and still a kid at heart, and myself, age 29 and in real need of a vacation!

We have a 7-day pass with pluses but no hopper. We are willing to purchase it on-site if we find that we need it. We are going against the suggestion of not visiting a park on EMH day. We are going to each park on their respective EMH evening.

Saturday - Arrive at POP around noon (we are driving), check-in and go to Magic Kingdom. Skip the afternoon parade and ride the most popular rides (Splash, Space, HM, POTC). Dinner at Columbia Harbor House. Watch Spectromagic and Wishes.

Sunday - Rope drop at MGM, Lunch at Sci-Fi, afternoon at Disney Quest if we get through the park and need a break from the sun, back to MGM for parade and dinner at 50's Prime Time Cafe, watch Fantasmic.

Monday - Blizzard Beach at opening and spend the day. Dinner at 1900 Park Fare. We may go to a park that evening or we may shop at DTD.

Tuesday - Rope drop at Animal Kingdom. Lunch at Pizzafari, dinner at Tusker House.

Wednesday - Rope drop at Magic Kingdom, spend the day!! Lunch and dinner at counter service in the park, probably Pecos Bills and Cosmic Rays. Catch the afternoon parade, rides during Wishes.

Thursday - Rope drop at Epcot, lunch at counter service (need recommendations), afternoon at Typhoon Lagoon. Back to Epcot in the evening for dinner at Coral Reef and Illuminations.

Friday - Park of our choice based on the weeks experience. We haven't even decided when we are going to leave, maybe at noon and drive all the way home, or maybe later in the afternoon and we'll stop overnight on the way. It probably depends on how much money we have left.

We don't necessarily have a plan of attack for the parks but I thought it would be best of pick one ride in each park and go straight to it and get a fastpass first thing. And that's my question to you, if you had to pick one ride in each park to get a fastpass for what would it be. My current thoughts are:

Magic Kingdom - Space or Splash (can't decide)
Epcot - Test Track
MGM - TOT or RnR
Animal Kingdom - Kilimanjaro Safaris

Any and all comments are appreciated! Thanks.

Kelly

 

[jmclester]

Park schedule looks fine. If you do decide to get the park hopper option I would encourage you to reconsider the EMH option. I have actually gone to the EMH parks and ridden as many as 3 major attractions in the first hour. Then you can hop to a non EMH park when you see it getting crowded (usually around 10-11am). Another reason to hop: You may not want to spend an entire day at AK or Blizzard Beach.

Fast Pass tip: If you are looking at a choice between 2 FP rides be sure to check the times on both. Compare the queue line time of each with the FP return time and then strategize. In other words, try to make it where you can wait in the queue for one ride while your FP is maturing for the other ride. Does that make any sense? Basically said, study your surroundings and strategize before getting a FP because you have to wait two hours before getting another.

Keep this in mind from my FP experience:
Splash Mt crowds lighten in the evening and Space Mt crowds get heavier.
Need to get a Test Track FP as early in the day as possible...they run out!
RnRC and TOT are usually a tie...toss a coin or do the EMH and ride both of them twice each (they are so close together you can) then go walk on Star Tours!!
KS is probably the only ride you will FP at AK.

Good luck on your first (of likely many) trips to the World!

 

[Degli]

Wow,
Now that's a schedule. You may find out that as much as you would like to do all this sometimes it doesn't work out this way. Try to do it since it's your first trip....but with a 9yo she may want to just "go back to the pool and swim". I can almost assure you that this will happen. The hot sun and all the running will get to all of you. we have 2 children and everyday it came down to this at some point. Remember relaxing is a good part of any vacation. Good luck. I'm jealous!

 

[cegrad]

Thanks for the comments...we will definitely want to do the full day at BB, we are waterparks fools. If it looks like we'll run out of things to do at AK we'll probably just hang out at the pool midday and then go back and do it all again. By the middle of the week we will probably need a rest anyway.

Sounds like we need to hit Space first thing in the morning and save Splash for the evenings.

 

[cegrad]

Degli~You are probably right which is why we chose to go to parks with evening EMH. If we decide that we need to go back and swim/nap then we won't feel bad about losing time in the park since it will be open late. After lunch on most days we'll probably decide to head back for a few hours. We are an on-the-go family in general so the fast pace won't be too bad.

 

[meuseman]

duplicate

 

[meuseman]

Don't forget that Sunday at MGM will be a Star Wars Weekend. It will be pretty crowded, so build that in to your thought process.

 

[LovePug]

Have a great first trip ! The one thing I'd worry about is: if you're staying for EMH evening at MK on Wednesday, rope drop the next morning might be difficult. I know I'd never be able to make it, but maybe your family is absolutely full of energy . I think many first-timers underestimate the sheer size of WDW. Try to fit in some downtime. Your itinerary sounds fun, but exhausting . Just try to remember to be flexible to some extent so you don't make yourself crazy and cranky trying to fit everything in.

 

[LovePug]

I forgot to mention...I like the Electric Umbrella at Epcot for counter service. I had a turkey sandwich on pretzel bread that was a nice change of pace from burgers on the last trip.

 

[mommystieg]

Hi We are leaving in 5 days and driving also. Be aware that the first Saturday in June is Gay Day at MK and they usually expect very large crowds.

 

[larklynn]

We went the first week of may and had a great time our dd is a little younger then yours at 9 but she loved the hair wraps at the market place and loved goofey's glaciers there. She loved the mickey bars and the cookie ice cream sandwiches.

 

[cegrad]

Hi We are leaving in 5 days and driving also. Be aware that the first Saturday in June is Gay Day at MK and they usually expect very large crowds.

As far as I know they have changed their schedule for this year. I just checked again at www.gayday.com and they are at IOA on Saturday and MGM that evening after 9:30, MK on Sunday and AK on Monday. You might want to check the schedule on their website before you leave.

larklynn~I know my daughter would love the hair wraps, we will have to check that out.

Lovepug~I've heard mixed reviews about Electric Umbrella but that is on our list for lunch along with Liberty Inn at The American Adventure.

 

[clutter]

Hey, we're there the same time!!

If you decide to park hop, we're big park hopperes because we stay out late, you might want to change Fantasmic to a non-emh evening so you can do the emh. Last time we were there (come to think of it, it was january, so that would make a difference) we bounced back and forth between ToT and RnR. (We being me and my no-fear dd 8.)

As for fast pass - MK space mountain. If you're there late at night, or on an emh night, we've ridden it to the bitter end cycling around. MGM - RnR. And make sure to hit Kali early. We went after park opening last summer and it was a walk-on. Two rides later, there was a 30 minute wait.

Oh, yeah, you gotta invest in the hair wrap. We went down for a short trip in January, and my dd's wrap is STILL in. I told her she could leave it for the trip, get a fresh one on the other side, but as soon as we got home, the old one was gone. The wrapper this last time told me that if a kid picks black and white as two of their colors, she can do a lot more with it.

 

[siouxi31]

I agree to spend the extra and get hoppers so if a park is crowded you can go somewhere else if you desire. My other suggestion is to build in a break in the middle of the day. Maybe you would prefer to go back to your hotel for lunch and a swim to freshen up?

 

[clutter]

Also, the 5th is the last day for the Flower and Garden Festival. Again, if you get a hopper, you might want to "hop" over.

 

[band_man]

As far as I know they have changed their schedule for this year. I just checked again at www.gayday.com and they are at IOA on Saturday and MGM that evening after 9:30, MK on Sunday and AK on Monday. You might want to check the schedule on their website before you leave.

There are 2 different groups scheduling events this year. You have to check both schedules. One is at Mk on Sat the other on Sun.

www.gayday.com and www.gaydays.com

 

[rifamtrav]

Cegrad, are you on the dining plan? I was wondering because you said you were looking at counter service at Epcot. Have you checked out allearsnet.com for their menus? There are several counter service in the world showcase that look interesting, but it would depend on your tastes. After spending several morning hours at Future world part of epcot, it might be nice to slow the pace down and stroll the countries.
As for which ride to fastpass, I know this is insane but when I'm at WDW, I tend to be all pumped up but know that my family isn't, so sometimes I pick one thing to fp, run with all the tickets while they stroll more leisurely to something else to wait in line. This might work well epsecially at MK EMH mornings, say one of you heads off with all tickets to fp space mountain, the others head over towards Splash/BTMR to wait in line. You shouldn't cut in lines but if you're fast and they stop or stroll down main St. you will be there to catch up with them. FPs are good for 1hr so even if you get a time that is very early at Space, you should still have 1hr minimum to get in splash and BMTR then head to space. Ok, too much running around, how about FP at Space while the other head to Fantasy land.... I know, too much scheming, but I need the exercise....

The best part of your plan is the idea to hit everything first thing "rope drop" you will find that is the key to surviving the crowds. Have a great time

 

[band_man]

You have obviously put in a lot of time planning your schedule. And that is good. One of the things to keep in mind is that you simply cannot see it all. It has taken us years to take that to heart. Before that our trips to WDW were like marathons or military missions. We were worn out by the end.

Now we take it as it comes and see what we can see and have a much better time. That said, if it was my first time I would try to see as much as possible. Just too hard to resist.

Have a great trip !

 

[TiggMan]

cegrad,

Epcot counter recommendations are in the Land and the outdoor Mexican cantina. The counter service in the Land is all new, and the menus we saw were quite enticing. We always like to stop at the Mexican cantina and enjoy a relaxing snack by the lake under the umbrellas.

At AK, we like the Flame Tree Barbecue. The barbecue pork is terrific.

As an alternative to pre-selecting your eating stops, we sometimes like to just "graze." A snack from somewhere that looks enticing gets you to enjoy several different tastes while allowing you to continue to get to other attractions without having to stop to sit and eat.

FPs:
MK - Space Mountain. Later in the morning, Splash and BTM have been pretty easy to get on, and once the FP for Space runs out, you can get another for either of these two, depending on which one is a longer wait.
AK - KS definitely.
MGM - Either one, again, depending on the wait.
Epcot - Soarin'. This is the newest ride, and has experienced long lines. It seems every one is heading there first.

As far as your schedule, remember, you are on VACATION. We have been to the World 15 times, and still have not seen everything. Take your time, enjoy, and relax, otherwise, you may need a vacation when you get home from your vacation.

 

[mommystieg]

As far as I know they have changed their schedule for this year. I just checked again at www.gayday.com and they are at IOA on Saturday and MGM that evening after 9:30, MK on Sunday and AK on Monday. You might want to check the schedule on their website before you leave.

From what I have read on here there are two different websites
http://gaydays.com/calendar/ and http://www.gayday.com/schedule/2005/default.asp

I also read on here from people that normally attend the event that Saturday is still the "official" Gay Day at MK so expect larger than normal crowds that day. HTH