MGM - Morning or afternoon

[kbkids]

Which would you do? The kids want to spend a morning at the resort, swimming, playground, etc. My original plan was to do this our first morning, then do MGM in the afternoon because there is just a few things there we want to do, and we do want to see Fantasmic.

But, I'm now thinking - if the Early Magic Hours stay the same - that day will be the early morning for MGM. We ARE NOT morning people, but since it's our first day, we could swing. Should we get up and go to MGM in the morning and then go back to the pool when we're done. We could still go back for Fantasmic that night.

I just am not sure what time we need to get there in the afternoon, if we leave it that way, in order to see what we want to without having too much leftover time that could have been spent at the pool.

The rides/shows we want to see are RNRC, TOT, Playhouse Disney, and the new stunt show - and of course, Fantasmic. We're going the first week in October, so hopefully, crowds won't be a huge factor - but I'm also afraid of FastPasses being gone if we wait until the afternoon to go.

Also, somewhere in there, we've got to make a PS for Sci-Fi - either for lunch or dinner, depending on when we go.

Which option do you think would work better for us?

 

[MelanieC]

I say morning. You can ride TOT & R&RRC plus some of the shows before it gets too busy.

 

[nluvwithmickey]

Well from the look on your counter, looks like you're going in sept. Crowds are pretty low at that time so it could work if you want to go later in the day.

However, nothing beats going to the parks early and getting all your fav. rides done. You could go back to the resort and take it easy for the rest of the day until Fantasmic.

I'd go in the morning....but that'S just me. Let's see what everyone else thinks.

 

[milmore104]

I myself am not a morning person. I do get up at 4am and get my DH off to work. I try to go back to bed but usually can't. When we are at WDW we don't set any alarms. We get up when we get up (ususally between 6&7am) We take it easy. I would say if the kids want to swim in the morning let them. Have a nice breakfast and then when your ready go to MGM for the evening. I am not one to take a mid day break at the resort. It's to much work to get DD and her "stuff" on and off the bus. Not to mention the wait in both directions. IMHO!!!! Hope it helps.

 

[mill4023]

If you think you might want to go on RnR or ToT more than once, you should go in the morning. I don't know how long the waits for those rides will be in the afternoon, but they will definitely be longer than in the morning. Especially with it being an EMH morning. Get there before the rope drop and you should be able to ride RnR and ToT at least once or twice before the first Playhouse show.

I'd also recommend the Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, and Indiana Jones shows. They were all a lot of fun. We spent the whole day at Disney Studios from rope drop until Fantasmic, and I still didn't think it was enough time. It was probably my favorite park.

 

[DISNEYFAMILYOFFOUR]

I say go to MGM in the morning. For us, we like to get to the park when it opens, then spend the hottest time in the day (not to mention the most crowded park times) at the pool. Then we head back out later in the day.

 

[QuickGold]

Morning; You get the benefit of that first hour the park is open when there's little wait on everything.

 

[DisneyJen0504]

AM is my vote.....
But we always visit each park twice during trips, once in the am and once in the pm so we get the best of both.

 

[ely3857]

Mornings always do it for me. I may struggle a little to get up once the holiday is in full swing but if you get as much as possible done in the morning prior to crowds increasing and sun getting hotter then you can laze around the pool in the afternoon with a smug smile on your face!



Jodie

 

[kbkids]

Well, I was all set to change it and go in the morning, and now I find out that the stunt show is only in the afternoons! ARGH!!!

 

[QuickGold]

Well, I was all set to change it and go in the morning, and now I find out that the stunt show is only in the afternoons! ARGH!!!

Get a FP for the 1:00 show, eat lunch at noon, see the show @ 1, and leave.

 

[kbkids]

Get a FP for the 1:00 show, eat lunch at noon, see the show @ 1, and leave.

The problem with that is then we really don't have time to enjoy the resort pool and get back in time for Fantasmic. And we've got a lot of just killing time going on in the morning because there are only a few things we want to do at MGM.

Just so you know, we've been to Disney more times than I can count - so we know what we want to do and see and what we really don't enjoy that much or have just done enough that we don't want to do it on this trip.

I hate to give up Fantasmic, as this may actually be our last trip for a couple of years since we are going to start building a house. If I thought we'd be going back soon, I wouldn't worry about it - but I love this show and so do the kids.

I'm thinking we may just stick with the afternoon now and do the 4:00 stunt show. It scares me to think Fast Passes may be gone when we get there though - that's what I'm trying to avoid.

But - we don't want to see the parade, so we may do TOT and RNRC during that time and hope for the best!

 

[QuickGold]

If you see LMAX at 1, you'll be in the parking lot by 2, and back at your resort by 2:30 or so if you're taking the resort bus. Not sure when you're going but I'll assume F! is at 9. So assuming you wanted to be back at MGM by 8 (giving you an hour to get seats), that would mean you'd need to leave your resort no later than 7:30 which means you'd have 4.5 hours to swim, relax and eat dinner. I think that's do-able, eh?

 

[threeboysmom]

Hi Sheri! (saw your pm today - thanks! - but haven't responded yet - can't seem to pull myself away from the DIS boards!!) But thought I'd chime in here too since I am trying to figure out the same thing as you!! On our MGM day, we can either hang out by the pool, then go to MGM for afternoon/evening and see Fantasmic. OR, go to MGM in a.m., have lunch at Sci-Fi, then leave for pool in the afternoon and come back for Fantasmic. I didn't realize the stunt show was not scheduled for the mornings. I'll have to take that into consideration too....

SOOOOO, I'm probably not too much help in this department since I'm trying to figure it out too!!! LOL!! BUT, we are both going in September - I don't think there's a huge change of fpasses running out for the stunt show. I also don't think we'll need to get to Fantasmic any earlier than an hour before (unless it's the EMH night - Fantasmic will probably be SUPER crowded that night, but not on a regular night).

I did have it settled that we would sleep in, lounge around the pool for most of the day, then head to MGM around 2:00 or 3:00. But THEN I realized the weather in September is still very hot & humid, so now I'm thinking it's probably better to tour the park in the morning when it's relatively "cool", then go back to the pool for the hottest part of the day (from 2:00-5:00). Like another poster said, if you hoofed it right out after the show was over, you'd be back to your resort and at the pool no later than 2:45. You could swim until 6:00 or even 7:00 and head back to Fantasmic, grab seats first, then get some dinner to eat in the time remaining.

I *think* that is going to be our plan anyways! Let me know what you decide! We can compare notes!!

 

[DisneyCP2002]

PM if you really want to do Fantasmic. Also at the time your going, Fantasmic isn't shown every night and it's a wonderful show to see

 

[Terry S]

I would still vote for AM. A lot of the shows stop showing fairly early and you will end up missing some. I guess it depends on what you are looking to do. But let me just say Don't mis LMA!!!!! I would rather miss Fantasmic than LMA!!!

 

[kbkids]

Oh, how I wish 4 hours would be plenty of time to swim, relax, and have dinner. My kids are fish! It's nothing for them to stay in the pool for 4-6 hours here at home. At CSR, it's going to be hard to get them out of the pool at all because of the slide.

The only way I think I can pull it off is to do what Kimberly suggested, get seats first, then go grab some food and bring it back to the ampitheater. We've done that before - at least it makes the waiting time seem to go faster - it's just hard to do with little ones. I'm a nervous wreck trying to make sure they don't spill drinks and stuff on the people around us.

I'll probably stick with the morning plan. I'm going to try to do Sci Fi at 11:00 - so that will give us 3 hours in the morning to do the 3 rides we want to do - more than enough time. Even if it doesn't end up being EMH, we'll still have two hours - I still think we'll be okay. Anyway, then lunch, then the stunt show and rush back to the hotel.

If I just can't drag the kids out of the pool that night, we'll just skip Fantasmic. I hate to do that but it's not the end of the world. We've seen it a million times before.

 

[Amirah95]

My vote is for the morning. Around mid day and the evening MGM gets packed.

 

[threeboysmom]

Well, I guess this thread helps me make up my mind too!! Even though sleeping in and then lounging around the pool sounds SO relaxing.... I guess we'll be doing the same thing, Sheri -- MGM first thing in the morning, Sci-Fi for lunch, stunt show, then back to resort for pool time, before heading back to MGM for Fantasmic.

HAVE FUN!! I forget - how old are your kids?

 

[kbkids]

Well, I guess this thread helps me make up my mind too!! Even though sleeping in and then lounging around the pool sounds SO relaxing.... I guess we'll be doing the same thing, Sheri -- MGM first thing in the morning, Sci-Fi for lunch, stunt show, then back to resort for pool time, before heading back to MGM for Fantasmic.

HAVE FUN!! I forget - how old are your kids?

Oh, my husband is not going to be thrilled when I tell him he's got to get up early and be at the park at opening time, but he'll just have to get over it. I usually only plan one early day when we go because we just are not morning people. But we'll be doing early entry at MGM that day, then an early breakfast at CRT the next morning - hope he doesn't make me go by myself! He'll just have to catch up on his sleep on the cruise - - he'll be that guy on the commercials sleeping on deck.

The kids are 7 and 4. And they definitely take after Daddy - very grumpy in the mornings!