Scooterbritches
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Mar 24, 2010
- Messages
- 96
I’m headed to WDW next week with my two DDs. I wanted to share my plan with you, in hopes that it might help someone who is struggling a little bit with mobility, but not to the point of needing a wheelchair. I’m going at a very busy time, but my youngest DD is still in high school and cannot miss school.
I have arthritis in my back that is exacerbated by standing and sitting for long periods of time. At this point in my life, I’m not yet relying on any mobility devices, but that may be in my future. Right now, exercise and walking in combination with not sitting or standing for too long loosen things up.
I’ve been spending the last couple of months researching how I can make my time in the parks easier on me and I think the best solution so far is to limit my time in lines. I have been researching when ride lines are shortest and tricks to stay ahead of the game.
I have not been to any kind of theme park since this began as a problem for me so I’m not quite sure what to expect. I will have to be flexible for sure! I will have a rollator that I will be borrowing from my dad, which I will keep with me for use during long waits in line. I may even keep it with me even during short waits in line because a line might end up being longer than we anticipate due to ride closure. I don’t feel a wheelchair or ECV will work for me right now because I have to get up and down so often and walking will be good for me. I feel a manual wheelchair will be just an extra heavy thing that I will have to lug around and maneuver which could possibly irritate more than alleviate my situation. The rollator is more light weight and made for walkers, plus it has the seat on it. I feel it is the best I can hope for as far as helping me through my days.
I have been using Touringplans.com and their app to help me assess when it’s best to ride a certain ride. It has been fun to use and the reviews I’ve seen have all been positive and lead me to believe that their research is pretty close.
Anyway, the research I have been doing regarding lines has led me to finalize this plan. I hope I can make it make sense for you. When I return, I will post a trip report and let you know my thoughts. I will be going to MK and DHS so that is where my focus is.
1) Decide what rides are important to you and list them according to how long their lines get. Here are the ones that can get long waits that I can help you with in each land:
Fantasyland – sdmt, Anna & Elsa meet and greet, Peter Pan
Tomorrowland – Space Mountain and Buzz Lightyear (sometimes)
Adventureland – Jungle Cruise (sometimes)
Frontierland – BTMRR and Splash
Liberty Square – Haunted Mansion (sometimes)
DHS
TSMM, R&RC, TOT, GMR (sometimes), Star Tours (sometimes)
2) Make your FP reservations to include 3 of these rides beginning at about 12 noon.
3) Plan to arrive at rope drop. This is the time that the lines have the least wait. Evening is not as good as morning for this. (An exception to that I have found is with SDMT. Everyone goes to it at rope drop and the lines seem to decrease late at night after parades. Another thing I’ve noticed in my research is that Space Mountain line builds very quickly and tends not to go down at night like SDMT does so that ride needs to be done very first if you didn’t FP it.)
4) Try to get as many of your must do’s that you were not able to FP done during the first two to three hours after rope drop. Since DHS has tiered FPs, try to get a FP for TSMM and use the single rider line at R& RC.
5) Eat an early lunch at 11 or 11:30 (lines for food are less at this time, plus lines for attractions have built by this time.)
6) After lunch it should be time for your first FP. You will have some time in between FP windows that you can either rest, watch entertainment or ride a low key ride with a minimal line. These are:
Fantasyland – Mickey’s Philharmagic, Railroad, Carousel
Tomorrowland – Monster’s Inc. Laugh Floor, Peoplemover, Carousel of Progress
Adventureland – Swiss Family Treehouse, Enchanted Tiki Room, A Pirate’s Adventure
Frontierland – Country Bears, Railroad
Liberty Square – Liberty Square Riverboat, Hall of Presidents
In DHS there are a lot of shows. Shows are easier to navigate without lines. Unless it’s an extremely busy day you can show up about 10-15 minutes prior and be seated right away. So my plan for this day is to hit the rides that I wasn’t able to get a FP for in the morning and schedule the shows in the busier afternoon with my FP rides in between shows.
7) Your FPs should be completed by 2:30ish. At this point, you could return to your hotel for a rest or a swim, continue to ride low key attractions or reserve another FP. I am staying in the park (hopefully, depending on how I feel) because it will probably be many years before I get to come again.
8) Use your 4th FP and make a 5th reservation.
9) Eat an early dinner at 5ish. (If you left the park, eat dinner outside the park and return to the park after.)
10) Use your 5th FP.
11) Secure a spot for Celebrate the Magic, Wishes and the parade.
12) After parade, see how long the line is for SDMT.
13) Return to your hotel very tired, but hopefully not in too much pain!!
On the day I visit, the park opens at 8:00 a.m. Lines will be very short then and I should be able to get in 3-4 attractions with minimal waits. Including my FPs, that gives me 6-7 attractions with minimal waits. If the park opens at 9:00 when you come, the park will not be as empty, but the lines will still be well under 30 minutes and you could count on at least 2 attractions with minimal waits.
I’m excited to try this plan. I have not been to the parks since the introduction of the FP+ program. In the past, my family and I have ridden our favorites numerous times, using the paper FPs. I believe FP+ makes doing that a bit more difficult since you can’t make your original FPs of the same attraction more than once, but I’m thinking it will open up opportunities to ride low key attractions that I’ve ignored in the past. I’m getting older and will probably enjoy Hall of Presidents and Peoplemover more than I did in the past!
So here’s my individualized plan:
Wednesday, March 30 – Magic Kingdom, 10 out of 10 crowds expected
FPs I was able to get: Space Mountain (1:20), Peter Pan (2:20) SDMT (4:55) I would normally have made SDMT earlier in the day, but I originally didn’t get it and had BTMRR reserved at 12:05. SDMT opened up a few days ago and I grabbed it.
Between 8-10 I will try to ride the following: Buzz, Jungle Cruise, Pirates, Splash, and BTMRR. I’m expecting lines to pick up by the time I ride HM and UTS. Around 11:30 we will eat lunch at Columbia Harbor House.
After lunch it’s Liberty Boat, Swiss Family Treehouse and the Railroad. Then I will begin my FPs with Peoplemover, Philharmagic and Hall of Presidents in between.
We will eat an early dinner at Cosmic Rays followed by IASW, Winnie the Pooh, Pirate Tutorial and A Pirates Adventure. Then I will settle down in one place for Celebrate the Magic, Wishes and the Parade.
If the app and my other research is correct I should wait under ½ hour for each attraction, and most of them should be under 20 minutes.
Thursday, March 31 DHS 9 out of 10 crowds expected
FPs I was able to get: TOT (12:20), Star Tours (1:10), TSMM (3:10)
I also reserved a late lunch at 50’s Prime Time at (2:30) so I could take advantage of lower crowds in the morning.
Between 9-12 I will hopefully get R&RC (using single rider line), VLM (if you get a morning showing for this you’re more likely to be able to fit in the theatre and not have to wait for next showing), GMR, Beauty and the Beast and Muppetvision.
Afternoon: FPs, lunch and fitting Indiana Jones and Lights, Motors Action shows in between.
This is an optimistic plan, I am aware, and most whose situations are more advanced than mine will not be able to tolerate such a full day, and if you have trouble with walking (which I don’t) then a wheelchair will certainly be a better option to ease your fatigue. You can still follow the basic premise of this plan and be able to stay out of the “long lines club” even with a wheelchair which will help minimize your active time in the park so you can choose how to spend that extra down time that you will hopefully get by following this plan.
This plan could also work for someone who just wants to optimize their time in the parks.
When I return, I will post a TR with both positive and negative feedback regarding my plan. I’m hoping its most positive!
UPDATE: My 16 yo DD has just been diagnosed with a sprained MCL. She will be wearing a knee brace in the parks. According to the doctor, she’s ok walking (we shall see how it goes), but needs to be careful with any stair climbing. I may end up renting a wheelchair after all, for her. My poor 27 yo DD would have to take the brunt of that in the heat because I certainly can’t push my DD and I’m not wanting to rent a more expensive ECV. This might be an interesting trip!
I have arthritis in my back that is exacerbated by standing and sitting for long periods of time. At this point in my life, I’m not yet relying on any mobility devices, but that may be in my future. Right now, exercise and walking in combination with not sitting or standing for too long loosen things up.
I’ve been spending the last couple of months researching how I can make my time in the parks easier on me and I think the best solution so far is to limit my time in lines. I have been researching when ride lines are shortest and tricks to stay ahead of the game.
I have not been to any kind of theme park since this began as a problem for me so I’m not quite sure what to expect. I will have to be flexible for sure! I will have a rollator that I will be borrowing from my dad, which I will keep with me for use during long waits in line. I may even keep it with me even during short waits in line because a line might end up being longer than we anticipate due to ride closure. I don’t feel a wheelchair or ECV will work for me right now because I have to get up and down so often and walking will be good for me. I feel a manual wheelchair will be just an extra heavy thing that I will have to lug around and maneuver which could possibly irritate more than alleviate my situation. The rollator is more light weight and made for walkers, plus it has the seat on it. I feel it is the best I can hope for as far as helping me through my days.
I have been using Touringplans.com and their app to help me assess when it’s best to ride a certain ride. It has been fun to use and the reviews I’ve seen have all been positive and lead me to believe that their research is pretty close.
Anyway, the research I have been doing regarding lines has led me to finalize this plan. I hope I can make it make sense for you. When I return, I will post a trip report and let you know my thoughts. I will be going to MK and DHS so that is where my focus is.
1) Decide what rides are important to you and list them according to how long their lines get. Here are the ones that can get long waits that I can help you with in each land:
Fantasyland – sdmt, Anna & Elsa meet and greet, Peter Pan
Tomorrowland – Space Mountain and Buzz Lightyear (sometimes)
Adventureland – Jungle Cruise (sometimes)
Frontierland – BTMRR and Splash
Liberty Square – Haunted Mansion (sometimes)
DHS
TSMM, R&RC, TOT, GMR (sometimes), Star Tours (sometimes)
2) Make your FP reservations to include 3 of these rides beginning at about 12 noon.
3) Plan to arrive at rope drop. This is the time that the lines have the least wait. Evening is not as good as morning for this. (An exception to that I have found is with SDMT. Everyone goes to it at rope drop and the lines seem to decrease late at night after parades. Another thing I’ve noticed in my research is that Space Mountain line builds very quickly and tends not to go down at night like SDMT does so that ride needs to be done very first if you didn’t FP it.)
4) Try to get as many of your must do’s that you were not able to FP done during the first two to three hours after rope drop. Since DHS has tiered FPs, try to get a FP for TSMM and use the single rider line at R& RC.
5) Eat an early lunch at 11 or 11:30 (lines for food are less at this time, plus lines for attractions have built by this time.)
6) After lunch it should be time for your first FP. You will have some time in between FP windows that you can either rest, watch entertainment or ride a low key ride with a minimal line. These are:
Fantasyland – Mickey’s Philharmagic, Railroad, Carousel
Tomorrowland – Monster’s Inc. Laugh Floor, Peoplemover, Carousel of Progress
Adventureland – Swiss Family Treehouse, Enchanted Tiki Room, A Pirate’s Adventure
Frontierland – Country Bears, Railroad
Liberty Square – Liberty Square Riverboat, Hall of Presidents
In DHS there are a lot of shows. Shows are easier to navigate without lines. Unless it’s an extremely busy day you can show up about 10-15 minutes prior and be seated right away. So my plan for this day is to hit the rides that I wasn’t able to get a FP for in the morning and schedule the shows in the busier afternoon with my FP rides in between shows.
7) Your FPs should be completed by 2:30ish. At this point, you could return to your hotel for a rest or a swim, continue to ride low key attractions or reserve another FP. I am staying in the park (hopefully, depending on how I feel) because it will probably be many years before I get to come again.
8) Use your 4th FP and make a 5th reservation.
9) Eat an early dinner at 5ish. (If you left the park, eat dinner outside the park and return to the park after.)
10) Use your 5th FP.
11) Secure a spot for Celebrate the Magic, Wishes and the parade.
12) After parade, see how long the line is for SDMT.
13) Return to your hotel very tired, but hopefully not in too much pain!!
On the day I visit, the park opens at 8:00 a.m. Lines will be very short then and I should be able to get in 3-4 attractions with minimal waits. Including my FPs, that gives me 6-7 attractions with minimal waits. If the park opens at 9:00 when you come, the park will not be as empty, but the lines will still be well under 30 minutes and you could count on at least 2 attractions with minimal waits.
I’m excited to try this plan. I have not been to the parks since the introduction of the FP+ program. In the past, my family and I have ridden our favorites numerous times, using the paper FPs. I believe FP+ makes doing that a bit more difficult since you can’t make your original FPs of the same attraction more than once, but I’m thinking it will open up opportunities to ride low key attractions that I’ve ignored in the past. I’m getting older and will probably enjoy Hall of Presidents and Peoplemover more than I did in the past!
So here’s my individualized plan:
Wednesday, March 30 – Magic Kingdom, 10 out of 10 crowds expected
FPs I was able to get: Space Mountain (1:20), Peter Pan (2:20) SDMT (4:55) I would normally have made SDMT earlier in the day, but I originally didn’t get it and had BTMRR reserved at 12:05. SDMT opened up a few days ago and I grabbed it.
Between 8-10 I will try to ride the following: Buzz, Jungle Cruise, Pirates, Splash, and BTMRR. I’m expecting lines to pick up by the time I ride HM and UTS. Around 11:30 we will eat lunch at Columbia Harbor House.
After lunch it’s Liberty Boat, Swiss Family Treehouse and the Railroad. Then I will begin my FPs with Peoplemover, Philharmagic and Hall of Presidents in between.
We will eat an early dinner at Cosmic Rays followed by IASW, Winnie the Pooh, Pirate Tutorial and A Pirates Adventure. Then I will settle down in one place for Celebrate the Magic, Wishes and the Parade.
If the app and my other research is correct I should wait under ½ hour for each attraction, and most of them should be under 20 minutes.
Thursday, March 31 DHS 9 out of 10 crowds expected
FPs I was able to get: TOT (12:20), Star Tours (1:10), TSMM (3:10)
I also reserved a late lunch at 50’s Prime Time at (2:30) so I could take advantage of lower crowds in the morning.
Between 9-12 I will hopefully get R&RC (using single rider line), VLM (if you get a morning showing for this you’re more likely to be able to fit in the theatre and not have to wait for next showing), GMR, Beauty and the Beast and Muppetvision.
Afternoon: FPs, lunch and fitting Indiana Jones and Lights, Motors Action shows in between.
This is an optimistic plan, I am aware, and most whose situations are more advanced than mine will not be able to tolerate such a full day, and if you have trouble with walking (which I don’t) then a wheelchair will certainly be a better option to ease your fatigue. You can still follow the basic premise of this plan and be able to stay out of the “long lines club” even with a wheelchair which will help minimize your active time in the park so you can choose how to spend that extra down time that you will hopefully get by following this plan.
This plan could also work for someone who just wants to optimize their time in the parks.
When I return, I will post a TR with both positive and negative feedback regarding my plan. I’m hoping its most positive!
UPDATE: My 16 yo DD has just been diagnosed with a sprained MCL. She will be wearing a knee brace in the parks. According to the doctor, she’s ok walking (we shall see how it goes), but needs to be careful with any stair climbing. I may end up renting a wheelchair after all, for her. My poor 27 yo DD would have to take the brunt of that in the heat because I certainly can’t push my DD and I’m not wanting to rent a more expensive ECV. This might be an interesting trip!
