Major changes in plans - please help - AK scheduling & MNSSHP questions

[disneyfam31]

We were supposed to have had our trip to WDW last week and unfortunately, that was canceled at the last minute due to some very sad circumstances. We were able to cancel everything without much of a penalty and we are in the process of rescheduling our trip for the end of August. I was able to re-book the original hotel, and get many of the FP and dining reservations we had planned previously. In working through our new schedule, we have come across a few issues and trying to figure out our approach.


1. We will be there during the first MNSSHP on August 25th. We think this event would be a lot of fun as we have never been to a party during our past trips. If we attend the party and see the fireworks, would it be a completely different fireworks show for HEA? We were planning to see the HEA show / fireworks in person one night at MK and watch them again from Cali Grill another night ... but now if we attend the party and see the MNSSHP fireworks in person, I'm worried we will miss not seeing HEA in person. Any thoughts? Do we really need to see both up close?


2. Given that we will likely go to MNSSHP now and spend almost two full days in MK, we need to reduce some time we would have spent at AK. We will definitely be spending one afternoon and evening in AK and looking at another half day, morning and early afternoon in AK. We previously had two nights in AK - with both Pandora rides secured on FP (only have Na'vi right now), and we had dinner plans for Yak & Yeti and Tiffins (ROL pkg). If you had to choose - would you rather have dinner at Tiffins with the ROL pkg or Yak & Yeti and take a chance on possibly not seeing ROL (I will not wait in line for an hour to see this show.)?


3. I've been watching threads on Pandora and we are worried about the Avatar ride and getting on that since I can't seem to secure a FP. I will keep checking, of course, but wondering how long we would have to wait if we go straight there at rope drop without FP?


Thank you in advance for your help!

 

[siskaren]

The Halloween party will have HalloWishes, which is completely different from HEA. You definitely need to see HEA up close since it involves a lot of castle projections.

 

[LSUfan4444]

If we attend the party and see the fireworks, would it be a completely different fireworks show for HEA?

Yes

We were planning to see the HEA show / fireworks in person one night at MK and watch them again from Cali Grill another night ... but now if we attend the party and see the MNSSHP fireworks in person, I'm worried we will miss not seeing HEA in person.

if you had to watch one from Cali Grill definitely make it the daily HEA and watch the party fireworks from inside the park. OR, cancel the cali grill ADR and use that money on your party tickets.

Do we really need to see both up close?

Need, no. Is HEA better up close than from a nearby resort, YES. The projections are a vital piece of the show and it just doesn't play the same at Contemporary.

If you had to choose - would you rather have dinner at Tiffins with the ROL pkg or Yak & Yeti and take a chance on possibly not seeing ROL (I will not wait in line for an hour to see this show.)?

Tiffins RoL package for sure.

how long we would have to wait if we go straight there at rope drop without FP?

Depends on how early you get there and how fast you walk. The earlier you arrive at the park the less time you will wait at the queue but it may not reduce your overall wait by that much. Whether you are waiting for the park to open or waiting at the attraction you're still waiting. I prefer to arrive earlier so (even if the wait is actually longer) because it allows me to do more with my morning.

 

[disneyfam31]

Thank you for your replies! Your feedback is very helpful.