Mid day arrival MK

[emilymad]

We are planning on going to MK the first Saturday in May. It is unlikely that will arrive earlier than 11. We usually rope drop so I am not sure of the strategy. I was going to make FP+ starting at 1pm figuring that gives us time to maybe do a ride or two and eat lunch. Will the crowds be awful at that time of day? Should I make the FP+ at a different time?

I haven't found refreshing the app to be very successful in the past.

 

[dbb727]

I recently went to a conference so couldn’t go to the parks until after 2pm each day(and it was President’s weekend), yes it’s busy and the ride lines are longer midday but it’s still better than not being at Disney.
The RDers will be getting tired and cranky from the heat, some probably even leaving for midday nap, but you’ll be fresh and energized so do whatever works for your family.

I think you just have to tailor your strategy to avoid the biggest crowds.
-Plan your FP+ 12pm,1pm, 2pm so you’ll be guaranteed with some good rides midday, then you have potential to pick up more in the evening.
-in between those FP, plan to do COP, HOP, Tiki birds, PEopleMover, Laugh floor, Pholharmagic, Tom Sawyer island or whatever high volume/low wait rides/shows appeal to you
-eat before you arrive or plan to mobile order
-Book your FP+ for headliners, so you can hopefully pick up the easier rides as 4th, 5th, 6th later that night (ie Under the Sea, IASW, WTP)
-if fireworks aren’t important to you, that’s a great time to do rides with shorter wait times

Entering at 11 or 12 is still over 8 hours in the park, I wouldnt hesitate to go, have fun!

 

[emilymad]

I recently went to a conference so couldn’t go to the parks until after 2pm each day(and it was President’s weekend), yes it’s busy and the ride lines are longer midday but it’s still better than not being at Disney.
The RDers will be getting tired and cranky from the heat, some probably even leaving for midday nap, but you’ll be fresh and energized so do whatever works for your family.

I think you just have to tailor your strategy to avoid the biggest crowds.
-Plan your FP+ 12pm,1pm, 2pm so you’ll be guaranteed with some good rides midday, then you have potential to pick up more in the evening.
-in between those FP, plan to do COP, HOP, Tiki birds, PEopleMover, Laugh floor, Pholharmagic, Tom Sawyer island or whatever high volume/low wait rides/shows appeal to you
-eat before you arrive or plan to mobile order
-Book your FP+ for headliners, so you can hopefully pick up the easier rides as 4th, 5th, 6th later that night (ie Under the Sea, IASW, WTP)
-if fireworks aren’t important to you, that’s a great time to do rides with shorter wait times

Entering at 11 or 12 is still over 8 hours in the park, I wouldnt hesitate to go, have fun!

Thanks! It is so opposite of our normal plan I am feeling lost. We aren't planning on doing the fireworks this trip so we are planning to do some rides then.

 

[Babe the Blue Ox]

We set our first FP at 9:30 so we don’t have to arrive until 10:45. On our most recent trip, we were able to refresh for 10-12 FPs every day. Combining this with staying until closing time when the lines are the shortest of the day and we probably did more on this trip than ever before. Definitely more than we could have done by arriving for rope drop.

You’ll be able to do plenty with an 11 am arrival, but I would book your first FP earlier than 1.

 

[Wild4Walt]

We're not RD people at all - we typically will arrive around noon to the parks. In our experience, Main Street was calm - we did our FP's starting around 1p so we could leisurely enjoy Main Street and take some photos.

For FP's - getting there later in the day could mean big wait times at Splash, BTRR, Peter Pan, Winnie the Pooh, SM and SDMT. If those are high on your list then I would make sure I FP what I can on those.