MK Strategy on a Saturday end of October

[DisneyStarWisher]

We had to reschedule our WDW trip due to Hurricane Ian for the end of October. We had originally planned on attending MNSSHP this week, but I ended up changing to an extra park day (by choice). Now I need to rethink my MK strategy. I want to see fireworks, so I need to go into MK on a Saturday night. The question is when I should do the rest of the park. Here are my options:

Option 1: Arrive at MK Saturday at 2:00 and stay until park closing at 11:00. We will have G+ and will RD DHS that morning.
Option 2: RD MK Saturday, hop to DHS at 2:00, hop back to MK for fireworks. Again, we will have G+. We are also staying at the Poly, so going to MK twice should be fairly simple.
Option 3: Tour MK on a party day from 2:00-6:00. We will have G+. We plan to do F&W for lunch at Epcot. DHS would be afternoon on Saturday before MK fireworks with AK that morning.

We don't have much planned for DHS. Must-dos are MMRR and TSM. If we RD it, we will try to do RotR and SDD, but they aren't musts.

Which plan is best?

 

[TheSouthernBelle]

We had to reschedule our WDW trip due to Hurricane Ian for the end of October. We had originally planned on attending MNSSHP this week, but I ended up changing to an extra park day (by choice). Now I need to rethink my MK strategy. I want to see fireworks, so I need to go into MK on a Saturday night. The question is when I should do the rest of the park. Here are my options:

Option 1: Arrive at MK Saturday at 2:00 and stay until park closing at 11:00. We will have G+ and will RD DHS that morning.
Option 2: RD MK Saturday, hop to DHS at 2:00, hop back to MK for fireworks. Again, we will have G+. We are also staying at the Poly, so going to MK twice should be fairly simple.
Option 3: Tour MK on a party day from 2:00-6:00. We will have G+. We plan to do F&W for lunch at Epcot. DHS would be afternoon on Saturday before MK fireworks with AK that morning.

We don't have much planned for DHS. Must-dos are MMRR and TSM. If we RD it, we will try to do RotR and SDD, but they aren't musts.

Which plan is best?

I don't think anyone plan is the best per se however, the plan that appeals to me would be the one that affords you the most time at MK and without a lot of back and forth. I like option 1 as that seems like the most uninterrupted amount of time and even with RD DHS that morning, you have such a short list for studios you should have ample time there to get done what you want to and not feel like you're missing anything there.

 

[robinb]

Option 4: Do the MK on a party day at rope drop. Park hop to the MK on another day for fireworks.

 

[DisneyStarWisher]

Option 4: Do the MK on a party day at rope drop. Park hop to the MK on another day for fireworks.

That does sound appealing, but the issue with that is that our only other park day is a Thursday and we want to do the F&W Festival for lunch at Epcot. I really hate the 2:00 p.m. PH rule! We don't want to arrive at Epcot until later in the morning, so I would love to PH MK that morning before heading to Epcot! And we definitely don't want to do Epcot F&W on a Saturday.

 

[robinb]

That does sound appealing, but the issue with that is that our only other park day is a Thursday and we want to do the F&W Festival for lunch at Epcot. I really hate the 2:00 p.m. PH rule! We don't want to arrive at Epcot until later in the morning, so I would love to PH MK that morning before heading to Epcot! And we definitely don't want to do Epcot F&W on a Saturday.

Epcot is a zoo on the weekends, that's for sure.

Thursday: Rope Drop MK, PH Epcot for late lunch/dinner & Harmonious.
Saturday: Rope Drop DHS, PH Epcot for late lunch/snacks (Skyliner to Epcot, walk through to the monorail), PH MK for Fireworks.

The lack of crowds at MK on a party day is really too good to pass up.

 

[DisneyStarWisher]

Epcot is a zoo on the weekends, that's for sure.

Thursday: Rope Drop MK, PH Epcot for late lunch/dinner & Harmonious.
Saturday: Rope Drop DHS, PH Epcot for late lunch/snacks (Skyliner to Epcot, walk through to the monorail), PH MK for Fireworks.

The lack of crowds at MK on a party day is really too good to pass up.

Nice plan. The only thing missing is AK. I would have to do that on Saturday afternoon, and that would put me late to the fireworks I'm afraid. Why in the world are the fireworks at 8:15??? I've never known them to be that early.

ETA: I guess I could RD AK, eat at my favorite Yak & Yeti, then hop to DHS at 2:00, do MMRR and TSM, and then monorail to MK. Hmmmm..... Something to consider. I'll have to play around with dining and see.

 

[robinb]

Nice plan. The only thing missing is AK. I would have to do that on Saturday afternoon, and that would put me late to the fireworks I'm afraid. Why in the world are the fireworks at 8:15??? I've never known them to be that early.

ETA: I guess I could RD AK, eat at my favorite Yak & Yeti, then hop to DHS at 2:00, do MMRR and TSM, and then monorail to MK. Hmmmm..... Something to consider. I'll have to play around with dining and see.

You want to do all 4 parks in two days ... okay!

Thursday: Rope Drop MK, PH Epcot for late lunch/dinner, PH to DHS for your couple of rides booked with G+ in the morning.
Saturday: Rope Drop AK, PH Epcot for late lunch/snacks (Skyliner to Epcot, walk through to the monorail), PH MK for Fireworks.

 

[DisneyStarWisher]

You want to do all 4 parks in two days ... okay!

Thursday: Rope Drop MK, PH Epcot for late lunch/dinner, PH to DHS for your couple of rides booked with G+ in the morning.
Saturday: Rope Drop AK, PH Epcot for late lunch/snacks (Skyliner to Epcot, walk through to the monorail), PH MK for Fireworks.

Yep. We have done this for years. In fact, we usually take resort breaks in the afternoons as well. We have been so many times, we don't do everything. This is our last trip for awhile. We plan to do only our favorites.

I like your plan, but I'll definitely scratch Epcot on Saturday. I want to leave Epcot with good memories, and I can guarantee that won't happen on a F&W Saturday.

 

[robinb]

Yep. We have done this for years. In fact, we usually take resort breaks in the afternoons as well. We have been so many times, we don't do everything. This is our last trip for awhile. We plan to do only our favorites.

I like your plan, but I'll definitely scratch Epcot on Saturday. I want to leave Epcot with good memories, and I can guarantee that won't happen on a F&W Saturday.

The food booths are OK on a Saturday, especially in the afternoon. The rest of Epcot is crazy!

 

[DisneyStarWisher]

The food booths are OK on a Saturday, especially in the afternoon. The rest of Epcot is crazy!

I'm confused. Not to say you're wrong, but this is just the opposite of what I've read on these boards and on other sites. I've always read that on the weekends the booths have long lines all day and that Future World is empty.

 

[Her Dotness]

Epcot on a FWF Saturday is extra-risky well beyond its typical Saturday craziness.

I made the mistake of going back into Epcot on a FWF Saturday at around 1:30 once to buy something we'd meant to get but forgot to return for. Never again.

It happened to be Dapper Dan Weekend with numerous people in vintage costume. While it was great fun seeing the wonderful outfits, that event combined with FWF near-end crowds was beyond insane. I'd never before seen Epcot almost shoulder-to-shoulder near the golfball.

I definitely do not advise going into Epcot on a FWF Saturday unless you're seriously intent upon partying.

 

[DisneyStarWisher]

Epcot on a FWF Saturday is extra-risky well beyond its typical Saturday craziness.

I made the mistake of going back into Epcot on a FWF Saturday at around 1:30 once to buy something we'd meant to get but forgot to return for. Never again.

It happened to be Dapper Dan Weekend with numerous people in vintage costume. While it was great fun seeing the wonderful outfits, that event combined with FWF near-end crowds was beyond insane. I'd never before seen Epcot almost shoulder-to-shoulder near the golfball.

I definitely do not advise going into Epcot on a FWF Saturday unless you're seriously intent upon partying.

Thank you. That is what I was thinking. We definitely picked Thursday for a reason. The last time we were at Epcot was the evening of Good Friday. That is a never again for us! You couldn't even move. This trip, we want a pleasurable Epcot experience. Maybe even if it means dealing with more crowds at MK.

ETA: So I guess the choice is going to be doing RD at MK on a party day for low crowds there and doing Epcot that Thursday afternoon/evening with more crowds OR doing MK on a fireworks afternoon/evening with more crowds to be able to do Epcot F&W right at opening where crowds will be low.

 

[robinb]

What are you doing on Friday? Maybe you can swap your Saturday plans for Friday.

 

[DisneyStarWisher]

What are you doing on Friday? Maybe you can swap your Saturday plans for Friday.

I thought of that but then we wouldn’t get to see fireworks. These holiday parties make it so hard to plan!

 

[robinb]

I thought of that but then we wouldn’t get to see fireworks. These holiday parties make it so hard to plan!

Sorry, I didn't look at the party dates so there is one on Thursday *and* Friday. I didn't know that they held a party 4 days a week at the end of October . What a pain.

 

[DisneyStarWisher]

Sorry, I didn't look at the party dates so there is one on Thursday *and* Friday. I didn't know that they held a party 4 days a week at the end of October . What a pain.

I know! It is a pain!

 

[DisneyStarWisher]

After thinking about it some more, this is what I think I want to do:
Thursday: (G+ for JC, Remy, and TSM)
RD MK (lunch at Casey's)
Resort break at the Poly, if time
Epcot at 2:00 (graze at F&W)
DHS for evening (maybe back to Epcot for Harmonius?)

Saturday:
RD AK (lunch at Y&Y)
Resort break at AKV (our home resort)
MK for parade at 3:00 (maybe)
MK for fireworks at 8:15 (dinner at LTT after fireworks or at the Tambu Lounge at the Poly beforehand)

I'm hoping this allows us to get our favorites in while also being a fairly relaxing two days. That's our goal!

I am concerned about the crowds at Epcot on a Thursday afternoon, but I like that I won't have to rush Epcot like I would if we were park-hopping to AK or MK that day since they both close early. I like that we will get to do MK twice and that it shouldn't be too crowded Thursday morning.

Does this sound like a good plan?