naive newbie

[innosource]

hi everyone!

so my boyfriend and i quickly booked a "last min" trip to disneyworld when we saw there was a deal on jetblue.

we can only for 4 full days..and after joining the discussion boards...i realized its not enough days! any suggestions on how i should i plan?

i know magic kingdom is the biggest and animal kingdom is the smallest..but is hollywood studios even worth going to? is mk doable in one day? im feeling anxiety! and can already feel the aches and pain coming on from so much planning and walking.

 

[LovinRafiki]

On our first trip we did 4 and a half days with flights and it was totally do able! We went to MK the first day we got there because of EMH. On your first day in I would suggest hitting the park with EMH so you can do more with it being open later. For us AK was a half a day. DHS is TOTALLY worth it! It was our favorite park by far! I know alot of OP seem to not love it but we did. So I would say give it a try. Park Hoppers would be a must for you. We did 1/2 days all over and felt very satisfied with what we were able to do/see in our short time. Plan ahead with park hours and such, but don't freak out about your plan when your there. Enjoy yourself and do what you want to do! Remember its your vacation! Most of all HAVE FUN!!!

 

[Hootch]

you should realize is that if you had a week and a half you wouldn't get everything done. So plan and enjoy what you do get done.

I agree with the advice to get park hoppers. It should be about a $50 add on per ticket, but it allows you to move between parks. This past trip we started our trip at DHS and finished what we had planned by 2:00. (We didn't do Tower of Terror because I couldn't get anyone to go with me.) DAK may be the same way. That way you may be able to get a day and a half at MK and/or Epcot.

Familiarize yourself with the park layouts. Look at what rides you want to do and where they're located. The parks are large and criss crossing can be time consuming.

Familiarize yourself with Fastpass. Fastpass gives you a certain time range to return (you can usually return after the end of the time range). When you return you go to a standby line that is much shorter. A lot of people have one person go to a fastpass machine (located near the attraction entrance and requires your park ticket to get one) while the other gets in a line. This past trip my son and I headed to Big Mountain Thunder Railroad for fatspasses while my wife and I went to Peter Pan (long lines - go early in the morning). My son and I got there before the PP line opened. You cannot go from attraction to attraction to getting fastpasses. The next time you can get a fastpass is printed on your fatspass and is usually the beginning return time or two hours whichever is earlier.

Show up at park opening - some people don't like to get up on vacation. Lines can be shorter.

This past trip we went for five days. We had a set list of things we wanted to do. By the end of the fourth day we had done everything on the list at least once. That doesn't mean we did everything there is to do. We were realistic. The last day we did what the kids wanted to do again which ended up taking us to three parks.

 

[TheWog]

Epcot is the largest park by far, not MK. I would go through and pick out your "must dos" and then work from there. You can do MK in a day, depending on the level of "detail" you want to have. Utilize the Fastpass system to your advantage and go from there. As long as you know you can't do everything you won't be disappointed. We have been twice for a total of something like 17 or 18 days and still have not seen the World Showcase at Epcot and have only been on Soarin' once. Just hasn't worked out. We stayed for 10 days in April/May and didn't go on Soarin' once because of lines. 11:00 at night and still a 50 min wait. I think Hollywood Studios is absolutely worth it. DS and I love Rockin' Roller Coaster and Tower of Terror. Probably two of our favorites. Toy Story is also a great ride, but be sure to FP it come back later if the line is too long. Get your fast pass in the morning because they will run out around midday. As others have said get the park hoppers. use EMH to your advantage and just relax. It isn't going anywhere. have fun. Have you picked up a guide book? There are some good ones out there to help you. Some will tell you you will have to get advance dining reservations (ADRs), but you don't. Unless you want a meal in a particular restaurant you will do just fine with counter service or your resort or potentially walk ups. If you have a restaurant in mind check in to reservations, but you will be able to eat regardless.

 

[tinkbutt]

AK is the largest park it can fit all the other three parks inside it and still have room left over!

 

[JCTigger]

when are you going? that might affect how crowded the parks are but as long as you plan carefully and dont hope to get everything done in just one trip you will be fine... it just means you need to go back for another trip... if either the mvmcp or mnsshp is going on go to that it is worth the extra money to have the time and low crowds in mk

on top of all that just remember to have fun you are on vacation at the most magical place in the world (besides the other locations hehe)

jill

 

[cnktruitt]

I completely agree with adding on the park hopper feature. What my family likes to do is go to either AK, MK or HS for the day portion, return to the hotel for swim & shower, go to EPCOT for dinner every night & hit the attractions there. Sometimes we cut a day short at AK or HS to run to Blizzard Beach and might end up at Downtown Disney for dinner instead of Epcot. It really depends on what you like to do & how busy you want to be. AK has some really terrific attractions like the safari & river rapids as well as a lot of animal exhibits. HS has a lot of shows as well as the Tower of Terror. MK has everything! Whatever you decide......get you ressies in now, things are booking out so be flexible.

You're going to have a great time no matter what......don't forget the sunscreen

 

[Piglets Mommy]

I think the 2 biggest pieces of advice I can give are:
1. Go into it knowing there is no way you can see everything...even if you had 2 weeks, there would be things you wouldn't get to.
2. If you each pick about 3 things in each park that you really want to get to, and do those first, then everything else will be a bonus.

As others have said, get parkhoppers, utilize fastpass, and grab a guidebook in advance to pick what is most important to you. Try to remember that you are on vacation, and "go with the flow" You will have a great time...you will be in Disney!!!

 

[chartle]

Just so you know, you can only do EMH (extra magic hours) if you are staying at a Disney Resort or a very few on property hotels like Shades of Green (don't know the whole list so I won't try).