Need advice from the experts

[Laney's Mom]

My family will be visiting for the first and probably only time on Sept.4-7. I have a 13 year old daughter and 8 yr old son and my husband. I want to see all we possible can but I also don't want to be stressed out. My daughter has Down syndrome and she recieved this trip through an organization who sends kids with special needs to WDW. I have been studying your site for a few months and am duly impressed! Anyway, with the Nights of Joy thing in mind and knowing I want to stay away from Magic Kingdom those 2 days I need advice on if we should do MK on Thursday, the 4th of Sept. or on Sunday the 7th. I see Thursday is an EE day. Is this a good thing or bad thing? We plan to go to each of the parks 1 day but we are flexible. We are having a character breakfast at Ohana on Saturday but not til 10:30 so that blows a lot of Saturday and we have to be back to All Star Music for a pizza party on Thursday night so we can't stay late at MK if we go then. Any advice would be appreciated. Also do you think the FTP is going to make this usually slow time a busy time?

 

[trracers]

I arrived the Thursday after Labor Day last year and spent Friday morning in the MK. We walked onto everything. We covered everyone of our favorite rides before lunch! It was amazing. We rode Buzz several times without having to get up....no line, so they just let us keep going around. Didn't see the Night of Joy crowd until much later in the evening...perhaps they arrived late Friday. At least check it out on that Friday...maybe it won't be as bad as you think....I am hoping for that kind of day all week!

Have a great time!

 

[donna in Oz]

Are you staying on-site? If so, I'd really try to take advantage of EMH and go early.

If not, you might want to avoid the MK on Thursday.

The Animal Kingdom is not necessarily a full-day park. Since you have a limited number of days to cover LOTS of ground, you might want to think about going to the AK early, then leaving in the early afternoon and hopping back to the MK. ]

This would give you more than a full day in the Magic Kingdom, no matter which day you choose, and I think you'll find it would be more than worth the inconvenience of hopping from park-to-park.

Any chance of making your PS for breakfast at Ohana any earlier? That's the 2nd thing I'd consider: you'll be spending some valuable park time eating breakfast, so the earlier you can be finished, the better.

But the main thing to remember is Have A Magical Time!!! And even though I do think the FTP has increased crowds, the parks were planned with this in mind. Make sure you understand how FastPass works and know before you leave what your absolute must-see attractions are. Above all, don't expect to see EVERYTHING. Virtually impossible on almost any trip, let alone when you have a very short timeframe.

And don't expect that this will be your only trip . . . I hope that you are so overwhelmed with the magic that you'll start planning for your next trip before you're even home again. This has happened to more than one group of visitors! Even if your next trip has to be several years away, the anticipation is great!

 

[jcemom]

WELCOME TO THE DIS!

You'll probably get enough different opinions to make your head spin! LOL Here's my contribution to the head-spinning:

Thursday: Animal Kingdom (they close at 5:00 - plenty of time to make it to your pizza party, and you can hop to MGM if you finish AK early, and if you have time)

Friday: Magic Kingdom through lunch, then hop to MGM for the afternoon, catching Fantasmic at 8:30

Saturday: I, also, would suggest trying to move Ohana up to an earlier seating if possible (is there a particular reason for this PS at this time?) Epcot today, trying not to make this a late night...

Sunday: Magic Kingdom for early entry (that's why no late-night last night), then Epcot for dinner and Illuminations at 9:00 (you may want a break between as this would be a long day without it)

There really are quite a few ways you could plan this, depending on what attractions are most important to your family. Having only 4 days, that late Ohana PS kind of throws things off a bit. If there are any alternatives to it, let us know...

 

[Dan Murphy]

I just wanted to stop and welcome you to the DIS, mom, and do hope you stop back often when you return. And Donna says it so well.........

And don't expect that this will be your only trip . . . I hope that you are so overwhelmed with the magic that you'll start planning for your next trip before you're even home again. This has happened to more than one group of visitors! Even if your next trip has to be several years away, the anticipation is great!

. Please stop by the Community Board and say hello. My very best to you and your family, may the magic of Disney bite you bad, LOL.

Dan

 

[Laney's Mom]

we can't miss the character b-fast as we are going as a group with other families with kids with special needs. This really will be a good time for all of us to get to know each other better too. I was thinking of doing Epcot after that on Saturday because it is the park we are least interested in. Maybe I am wrong in thinking that though

 

[jcemom]

Originally posted by Laney's Mom
we can't miss the character b-fast as we are going as a group with other families with kids with special needs.

I thought it may be something like that.
I also would choose Epcot on that day for that reason, but many people say their children love Epcot. However, when time is limited, it all comes down to making tough choices. With some luck and pixie dust, you will get to go to Disney again someday and can do anything you've missed then. The important thing now is to make the best vacation you can with the time you have, right? (Just grab FastPasses for Test Track first thing.)
You may want to consider picking up a good guide book -- The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World 2004 just came out -- and making a list of the most important rides to you and your family. Then you can try others if there's time. It costs around $17 and in my opinion is well worth the money.
Or, if you don't want to do that, try http://wdwig.com/themeparks.htm where you can look at pics and read descriptions of everything there.

Above all, relax, and HAVE FUN! (I know you will!)