More for Less: A Theme Park Planning Strategy

[Angel Ariel]

I know what you're saying about breaks, but it's really hard to do this when you don't have that many days of park touring available. In the past, we never took a break. This time, however, it's a total shift in touring style. I have FP+ reservations for 4-6pm at Epcot and MK. So we'll visit the parks from about 3:30 until closing. We love illuminations and Wishes. I'm hoping that this works for us and that some of the SB lines for favorites are manageable (less than 20minutes).

That's exactly how we feel. With 4 day tickets, I want to spend as much time in the parks as possible. Thankfully DD always napped in the stroller well, so we never had to take her back to a hotel to nap. It'll be interesting to see how she does in November (she's been on a total nap strike for the past week so I wouldn't be surprised if she's done with naps come November). We prefer and tend to use TS dining as an opportunity for in park breaks (getting out of the hustle and bustle of the crowds, taking our time eating/enjoying the restaurant). If DD isn't napping but still needs a break from stimulation, I'm more likely to do things like ride the peoplemover a few times, or go see Hall of Presidents, or just go find a quiet spot on Tom Sawyer island away from crowds - maybe get on the boat for a few circuits of Rivers of America - than I am to leave the parks to go back to our hotel.

 

[Angel Ariel]

Two separate groups of people not doing the same attraction. If there are three of you, couldn't you have 9?

Yes, you could...it just wasn't apparent from the spreadsheet. Thanks for clarifying.

 

[wisblue]

I know what you're saying about breaks, but it's really hard to do this when you don't have that many days of park touring available. In the past, we never took a break. This time, however, it's a total shift in touring style. I have FP+ reservations for 4-6pm at Epcot and MK. So we'll visit the parks from about 3:30 until closing. We love illuminations and Wishes. I'm hoping that this works for us and that some of the SB lines for favorites are manageable (less than 20minutes).

And see, our approach to that is a few hours in the morning, then the break, and then the hours in the evening. Even if you don't want to fight the crowds at rope drop, you could arrive at around 9:30 and stay until about 1, then take a break somewhere and return to the park around 5 and be there for your FPs and the nighttime entertainment. The main thing is that you would be avoiding the parks in the middle of the day when they are the most crowded.

Of course, a lot of this depends on where you are staying and how easily you can get around. When we had small kids we stayed at the Polynesian and returned there, and the kids loved the monorail rides. Now that we have DVC we might be at BLT or one of the EPCOT resorts, making those breaks easier when we are at the nearby parks. Or sometimes the break just involves going to DTD for lunch at Earl of Sandwich or a monorail to Poly for lunch at Captain Cook's. All I know is that I usually feel better at 6 PM when I haven't been in a park since 9 AM or earlier. As always, just a personal preference.

 

[Cormoran]

We're staying at the Swan, but I still don't think the midday break works for us. Once we escape the massive sensory overload that is the theme parks, it's just not in us to go back for more. I'm hoping to spend the first half of our days in quiet pursuits like walking around the boardwalk (quieter than the theme parks) or visiting a botanical garden. It may sound boring, but we love to walk and see things.
For us, DLR is much more conducive for midday breaks. Last October, it was really hot on our last day so we walked over to DTD and went to the movies for our break. It was great. When the movie let out the heat of the day had subsided.

 

[cakebaker]

"And see, our approach to that is a few hours in the morning, then the break, and then the hours in the evening. Even if you don't want to fight the crowds at rope drop, you could arrive at around 9:30 and stay until about 1, then take a break somewhere and return to the park around 5 and be there for your FPs and the nighttime entertainment. The main thing is that you would be avoiding the parks in the middle of the day when they are the most crowded."

This is exactly how we do it too. I'd rather stick pins in my eyes than do an opening to close in the parks and our little one couldn't take it anyway. We like park opening ( being at opening does not mean you have to fight the crowd) and most especially love the late night hours in the parks on EMH nights. Even when we picked a resort that wasn't the most convenient compared to other resorts, we found it worked really well. This next trip, we're staying at Wilderness Lodge, which while not as convenient as the Poly, it's still pretty darn convenient- there are lots of transportation options to get to and from the parks. The Poly is on our bucket list- almost made it there this time, but have to have 2 rooms and the discount at WL was just too good- maybe next trip.

It makes it much easier for us to split our group up if we choose to. Last trip, I got really tired, didn't feel like hanging out at the MK during EMH's so me and the little guy headed back on our own to the resort. No one had to worry if we'd get there or how to manage getting the ones staying back to the room.

 

[WillAustin]

All I know is that I usually feel better at 6 PM when I haven't been in a park since 9 AM or earlier. As always, just a personal preference.

We do the break too on most days. It gives us a chance to rest or swim and be refreshed for the evening.

 

[Planogirl]

We vary our days. We don't take breaks much in the first few days because our energy level is high. After that we take longer breaks with little planned in the evenings except maybe parade and fireworks. We also work in a non-park day around the middle of the week to spend time somewhere quieter. Our final few days are usually very busy.

I love those spreadsheets! I wish that I had the patience to make one of those.

 

[jade1]

I would say, though, that hopping from one Disney park to another (possibly with a stop at the resort in between) seems different than hopping from a WDW park and driving to USO to enter a park there. But, we have never tried it, so maybe it wouldn't really be that different in terms of what kind of break it would provide. Obviously, unless you have APs that give you unlimited admission and free parking at both places, the economics would be significantly different.

It's easy-but we need to do that one in reverse. US/IOA being a one day and done we like to get through what we can in the AM and early afternoon. Plus FP+ is then better to have waiting for us at WDW for the evening.

Also the night shows at WDW are far superior and since we stay at WDW resorts, it's much quicker to the room than leaving US/IOA to get back there. That and WDW parks are open much later as well.

We had plenty of time to get to these FP+'s after UNI, although we did skip Star Tours.

Most everything was an hour plus (except we hit Transformers and Mummy going in at about 30 min ea, train wasn't too bad either) so we did wait far more in lines than any at WDW, but we only did a few rides a day almost always with FP+. The WDW shows/parades/fireworks/dining/drinks/atmosphere things were amazing enough alone.

Anyway we did hit RNR and TOT and Fantasmic that evening with no wait for one amazing end to an awesome day.

 

[Laketravis]

Also the night shows at WDW are far superior....

Definitely. We're not big on doing Wishes or Illuminations every night, though, so once or twice per trip is good for us. And USO almost always closes much earlier than MK during busy seasons so often it's still possible to go to a late night MK where we could have FP's waiting for us after closing down US/IoA.


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[WillAustin]

Most everything was an hour plus (except we hit Transformers and Mummy going in at about 30 min ea, train wasn't too bad either) so we did wait far more in lines than any at WDW, but we only did a few rides a day almost always with FP+. The WDW shows/parades/fireworks/dining/drinks/atmosphere things were amazing enough alone.

Was this without using express pass at Universal?

 

[Laketravis]

I've updated the first night's itinerary to reflect heading straight to MK from MCO and utilizing valet parking at CR. Both of those suggestions should save a significant amount of time and the $20 for valet parking is inconsequential compared when compared to overall savings. In fact, since it appears that valet parking at one resort is good at any resort on the same day, I'll look and see if that helps any other days. Incidentally, resort valet parking is complimentary if you have a handicap plate or sticker.


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[grimley1968]

I've updated the first night's itinerary to reflect heading straight to MK from MCO and utilizing valet parking at CR. Both of those suggestions should save a significant amount of time and the $20 for valet parking is inconsequential compared when compared to overall savings. In fact, since it appears that valet parking at one resort is good at any resort on the same day, I'll look and see if that helps any other days. Incidentally, resort valet parking is complimentary if you have a handicap plate or sticker.
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I've read on other threads that sometimes the CR valet lot can fill up and it won't be available. But I would guess that's only on very crowded days at MK. It might be good to still budget the time needed to park at the MK lot, ride the tram, monorail, etc. If you can still valet park, consider the time savings a bonus. Also, if CR's lot fills up, the Poly offers valet parking (probably GF too, but I've never actually seen it to verify).

 

[Laketravis]

Shorter park visits each day are really starting to make sense for a variety of reasons already posted and that's where being able to reserve some attractions in advance really helps. Going back to the resort to relax and maybe get some pool time is fine, but we found that could start getting old after a few days also. So we came to love park-hopping but then the same day FP+ availability in each park was disappointing, which led to thoughts of including more parks into the mix. But that required more park tickets, thus the exercise in economics to see if we can do both at the same or lower cost and perhaps substantially lower enough to render future visits in the same year ridiculously inexpensive. And so here we are talking about a WDW park and a USO park on the same day. The anticipation that it might be a huge hassle or inconvenience traveling between the two park systems once per day is something we will definitely determine. Hopefully it could compare favorably to leaving a park mid-day to go to DTD for a sandwich, especially if we are stopping to eat along the way.


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[SmithSmith]

Lake, I see a potential problem on Day Two. You scheduled an early dinner from 3-5, and have Capital Grille and Texas de Brazil as possible restaurant candidates. However, CG doesn't open until 5pm on Saturdays & TDB serves brunch on Saturdays until 3pm and starts dinner service at 4pm.

 

[Laketravis]

Lake, I see a potential problem on Day Two. You scheduled an early dinner from 3-5, and have Capital Grille and Texas de Brazil as possible restaurant candidates. However, CG doesn't open until 5pm on Saturdays & TDB serves brunch on Saturdays until 3pm and starts dinner service at 4pm.

Dang it, and I was really looking forward to one of those two options. Okay, well, let's accept that challenge and see what can be done about it; I managed to move all FP's up an hour, so that gives us an additional hour at USO, moves early dinner up from 3-5 to 4-6 (for TDB) and now the FP's are still in the same order but each start an hour later.

And I've updated the itinerary for Day Two.

Cool.



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[Laketravis]

Or sometimes the break just involves going to DTD for lunch at Earl of Sandwich....

How long does it take you to get from a park to DTD and back?

 

[wisblue]

How long does it take you to get from a park to DTD and back?

We would almost never go from a park to DTD and back to the same park. Also, if we are going to EOS for lunch we would usually spend more time strolling around DTD, something that is a must do on any trip that includes my wife and/or any of my daughters (in other words, all my trips).

If we are staying at our home resort (SSR) we would just walk there from DTD and spend some time at the resort. When we stay at SSR we always request Congress Park because of its proximity to DTD. If we are going to a park from DTD we usually walk over to the SSR Congress Park bus stop and go to the park from there.

So, I don't know exactly how long the whole process takes from one time to the next, but I just look at it, including the bus rides, as part of the break.

 

[jade1]

Was this without using express pass at Universal?

Correct, we did not pay extra for those, or for onsite rooms.

 

[dayvewc]

How long does it take you to get from a park to DTD and back?

Whenever I go from a park to DTD, it's generally from DTD back to my resort for the evening rather than back to another park. Not sure about the "and back" but from the time I leave a park (front gate) to the DTD parking lot is usually in the 15-20 minute range. Finding a place to park at DTD can take another 20 minutes or better, that is where the time-sink will occur.

I agree with wisblue that it might be quicker to take a bus to SSR, then walk over to DTD from there.

 

[MrInfinity]

I've been trying to reverse the order of my FP's to make 7DMT the last one (10p-11p) so the likelihood of missing it was greatly reduced by I've now run into my first "All FastPasses Have Been Distributed" condition for 7DMT at the Day 24 mark. I've no choice but to keep them in their current order or lose it

Didn't you not even like SDMT? I would just axe it and do something you like.