Preliminary plan for 10 days WDW: What do you think?

[Gurkensalat]

Hi,

my first trip to WDW will be from August 27th to September 5th. We have booked Caribbean Beach and a 14 day park hopper ticket. On park days I plan early entry rope drop and a midday break at the hotel, followed by hopping mostly to another park. Over the Labor Day weekend I do not plan to go much to the parks because of higher crowds. Our main interest are rides and the general park theming; we just want to get to know those parks, but are no Disney fanatics. No interest for characters, medium to low interest for shows and parades. No hard ticket events. Magic Kingdom has lowest priority. My preliminary plan is as follows:

Wednesday, 27th: AK (using our jet lag from Europe for early entry rope drop), after midday break hopping to HS, if not too tired

Thursday: HS, probably with LLMP, after midday break either return to HS or hop to Epcot or go to MK for fireworks and night parade

Friday: Here I am yet undecided. What do you think would be the better option?
option 1: Epcot, after break hop to HS
option 2: MK because of party day. no midday break, but leave around 5-6 pm.

Saturday: Relax at the hotel, perhaps visit another hotel

Sunday: depending on weather forecast
option 1: Typhoon Lagoon, after break Disney Springs
option 2: Hotel hopping tour

Monday (Labor Day):
option 1: Hotel hopping tour
option 2: Typhoon Lagoon, after break Disney Springs

Tuesday:
option 1: MK (party day), after break hop to Epcot
option 2: Epcot, after break hop to HS
This depends on, what we do on Friday

Wednesday: Blizzard Beach, after break go to one of the theme parks, maybe MK for fireworks and night parade, if not done last Thursday

Thursday and Friday: Parks depending on what we liked and what we missed. If MK, then on Friday because of party day.

After that we go to Universal for 6 days, but that is another story...

What do the experts here think? Any comments or suggestions are very welcome! Thank you in advance for your input!

 

[scrappinginontario]

A few thoughts
1. It does not appear your ticket has the ‘plus’ option so you will need to update your ticket to add plus if you want to visit a water park after the first day or, pay full price for a WP ticket. You get free access to a WP ticket on your arrival day.

2. The parks do not get very busy over Labour Day weekend. Really not necessary to avoid the parks that weekend

3. If I’m reading correctly, you have purchased 14 day tickets but only intend to visit the parks for 6 days? For your first visit, you will miss a lot with only 6 park days especially as you plan to take breaks and hop many days.

4. I would recommend trying shows, parades and fireworks. They truly are very well done and greatly enhance a Disney trip.

 

[Gurkensalat]

Thank you for your comments!

The 14-day ticket I bought via the Irish Disney site (I am from Germany). It was part of a special deal (Hotel, 14-day ticket and free dining plan) and priced the same as 7-day tickets (around 550 Euro per person I think), and it includes water parks, mini golf and memory maker. So it was the cheapest alternative for a visit for more than 4-5 days.

Due to your comments I will think about also going to the parks over the long weekend, at least for a few hour perhaps. But I wanted to include some"recovery" days after probably intense park days.

Shows, parades and fireworks are on the list, but just not first priority. Perhaps more during the 2nd week, when I have hopefully done all the rides I want to do.

 

[hardcorestitch]

Thank you for your comments!

The 14-day ticket I bought via the Irish Disney site (I am from Germany). It was part of a special deal (Hotel, 14-day ticket and free dining plan) and priced the same as 7-day tickets (around 550 Euro per person I think), and it includes water parks, mini golf and memory maker. So it was the cheapest alternative for a visit for more than 4-5 days.

Due to your comments I will think about also going to the parks over the long weekend, at least for a few hour perhaps. But I wanted to include some"recovery" days after probably intense park days.

Shows, parades and fireworks are on the list, but just not first priority. Perhaps more during the 2nd week, when I have hopefully done all the rides I want to do.

You bought your tickets from the IRISH Disney site despite not being from there? I know they have a specific website for guests from Germany.

 

[Gurkensalat]

You bought your tickets from the IRISH Disney site despite not being from there? I know they have a specific website for guests from Germany.

Yes, but this kind of offer is not available on the German site. It is thought to be exclusive for UK and Ireland (don´t ask me why). But since Ireland is part of the European Union, they are legally obligated to accept orders from all over the EU. It is kind of a loophole that is not advertised, of course, but works. The offers on the German site are much less attractive. Sometimes it is nice, to be in the EU.

 

[Jperiod]

Are you very active and in shape? We aren't, but are used to 5 day park trips to the smaller DisneyLAND. We were so exhausted during our WDW trips because there was so much more walking and the heat/humidity. We found we really needed a break day after 2 days in the parks. Many times, we just go for a morning or an evening because we just didn't have the energy to go back after a break. I'd highly recommend taking advantage of your 14 day ticket and going for half days. Capitalize on your jet lag and keep early mornings to enjoy lower crowds and cooler days. Add a few evenings to see the night shows and do some outdoor rides at night.

 

[Jperiod]

We also liked have 2 days per park to see everything. Most of the daytime shows are pretty cool and since there aren't many rides in each park, you might catch one here or there if you do more half days. The beauty and the beast stage show at HS and Nemo and Lion King shows at AK are our favorites. When I met my husband, I was a ride only girl, but he showed me how to slow down and appreciate the shows/atmosphere.

 

[Dug720]

I only see AK for half a day. That makes me sad. There is so much to experience there!! It deserves at least a full day!!

 

[hardcorestitch]

Yes, but this kind of offer is not available on the German site. It is thought to be exclusive for UK and Ireland (don´t ask me why). But since Ireland is part of the European Union, they are legally obligated to accept orders from all over the EU. It is kind of a loophole that is not advertised, of course, but works. The offers on the German site are much less attractive. Sometimes it is nice, to be in the EU.

Wow… didn’t know that til now!

 

[Gurkensalat]

I only see AK for half a day. That makes me sad. There is so much to experience there!! It deserves at least a full day!!

Well, I intend to revisit in the 2nd week, but don't know yet on which day, since AK seems not to be that critical with wait times. But I will go there definitely a 2nd time. Each park will be visited at least on 2 days.