Midday arrival at MK...

[Soupermom]

I'm trying to finalize our schedule for June and need a little advice. Background facts...family consists of DH, DD10, DS6 and ME! Spinning rides are out, rollercoasters are in.

On Tuesday June 8th we will be going early a.m. to AK and then leaving to hotel.. ASMo for a break. I then want to go the MK for the afternoon/evening and finish the day with Wishes. This is not an EMH day for MK. This will be my kids first visit to the MK so I'd like to make it good, but we will have at least 2 other 1/2 days in this park during our visit so we don't have to see it all this trip.

My question is...When should I arrive in the afternoon and where should I go? I know the parade starts at 3pm and ties up traffic/stops the train. We do not want to see this parade...would rather go on rides/attractions! I'm thinking we should get in and head towards tomorrowland...maybe by train? When do the trains stop before the parade, which way do they run? Would it be better to go by foot? I'm guessing I should head to tomorrowland, Fantasyland, and maybe the back part of Liberty square towards evening. I was hoping to end up in Frontierland for dinner at Pecos Bills and then should we watch Wishes from the Plaza Pavilion? Isn't that in Frontierland? Thanks for any help you can give!!!!!!!!




To clarify...This will be our second day at WDW, the day prior will be spent at Epcot. We will be returning to the MK later in the week, in the morning, so we can take in any missed attractions. This really would be the best park for us on this particular afternoon, so I'd appreciate any suggestions on how to make it work. We don't really care either way about seeing the evening parade, but I do want to see wishes. More info. in post below. TIA for any help you can give!

 

[kilee]

The train doesn't stop in tomorrowland. Personally I would head towards Fantasyland during the parade. The lines tend to die down alittle during the 20 minutes before the parade until it ends-- why not hit a few rides here- especially considering the parade doesn't come through here. My other reasoning is that Fantasyland is always so busy from 1 hr after opening up to closing. Have to take advantage of low crowds there whenever you can. I would arrive at the park by 2-2:15 to make for easy travel up Main Street.

I don't know the answer to the train-- I'm sure someone will though.

 

[tar heel]

We've been at WDW in early June for the past five years, and I think you should be prepared for pretty much the entire park to be very crowded. The least crowded area is generally Adventureland, so switch there if it's so crowded you can't move in the other parts of the park. We generally do mornings evenings but never afternoons in MK

AK, on the other hand, tends to clear out in the afternoon. Since you want your children's first trip to the MK to be magical, I would probably go there in the a.m., AK in the pm and back to MK in the evening.

 

[Lora]

Originally posted by Soupermom I'm thinking we should get in and head towards tomorrowland...maybe by train? When do the trains stop before the parade, which way do they run? Would it be better to go by foot? I'm guessing I should head to tomorrowland, Fantasyland, and maybe the back part of Liberty square towards evening. I was hoping to end up in Frontierland for dinner at Pecos Bills and then should we watch Wishes from the Plaza Pavilion? Isn't that in Frontierland? Thanks for any help you can give!!!!!!!!


[/B]

A few things.

Plaza Pavillon is toward Tomorrowland near the hub.
The train goes clockwise stopping in Frontierland first and then Toontown. You could get off at Toontown and walk the back way (quiet path) to Tomorrowland if you want. If it's really busy and the train is just coming into the station when you're getting there, that may work. Otherwise, you could just walk up Main Street and head over to Tomorrowland.

My question to you would be, how many days do you have? Would you be able to do some of the less popular rides when you arrive that afternoon and save most of the big ones when you can get an early start in the morning?

 

[jcemom]

The train stops in Frontierland and Toontown, then back to Main Street, in that order. There is a path from the Toontown stop that runs along the train tracks and brings you out at Space Mountain in Tomorrowland if you want to go that way. I don't really think it would be faster as you have to go all the way around the park by train to get to Toontown, but it's a pleasant ride and saves some walking.

The Plaza Pavillion is in Tomorrowland, not Frontierland. You may want to eat at either the Plaza Pavillion or Cosmic Ray's if that's the area you're looking to be in at dinner time.

We didn't really ride much in the evenings, just went for dinner and fireworks, so I can't help you with what areas are best for rides, sorry.

 

[Soupermom]

Isn't AK in the afternoon terribly HOT?! I thought since it wasn't an EMH day, the MK would kind of okay by late afternoon. Am I way off?

It sounds like we should arrive by 2:15 and walk to Fantasyland/tomorrowland. If we work our way counterclockwise towards Frontierland, can we make it to Frontierland for dinner at Pecos Bills, finish some attractions and then hed back to the Plaza for Wishes? Is this a good place to watch...I thought I read that here on the boards. I plan on following the UG for most days, but this afternoon has me stumped. It will be our first day there, but as I said we'll have 2 more 1/2 days (mornings) in the MK if we miss something big, but I'd like to at least get on a few "E-ticket" (does anyone else use that phrase anymore?) rides on our first day.
Sorry this has gotten a little long...just trying to make a good impression on the kids! Thanks for the train info. everyone!

Maybe Len can comment on my ideas??

 

[Soupermom]

Maybe I should arrive later...like 4pm? When DOES it clear out???

 

[tar heel]

Some days MK does NOT clear out until closing. I think in general it clears out a bit after the afternoon parade, though, especially if there is not an evening parade. Doing e-ticket rides without a long wait, however, is not very likely. I think you will have to concentrate on things that tend not to have long lines until evening at least: Country Bears, Pirates, sometimes Jungle Cruise, sometimes Haunted Mansion, Tomorrow Land Transit Authority, Small World, for example. You also can treat the train as an attraction -- it's easy to get on. Toward closing, you might have some luck with Buzz Lightyear (line moves fast) or the mountains.

The reason I suggested flipping your schedule is because it's your first day. I'm afraid your children would find it frustrating having to wait a long time for everything when the attractions look for so cool and they haven't done them even once yet. AK IS very hot in the afternoon, but it really does clear out in the afternoon. We have found our best times there to be roughly 3 to closing -- we try not to spend more than three consecutive hours in AK.

 

[Soupermom]

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