Need Help Figuring Out Park Day Schedules for 11/30 - 12/3

[Amunet]

Hello!
Okay, so I'm used to thoroughly planning and utilizing Fastpasses so that I can ride all or most of the rides I would like on my trip. I haven't had to stand in line without Fastpasses since ... Disneyland 1995 (I was 7), lol so I will definitely need help figuring out the best plan to maximize rides with the least waiting time possible.

Below are my rough plans for 2 adults, staying at AoA, and will have a car. The purpose is to celebrate my graduation so we will be taking photos of me with my diploma/hood in each park.

Please please PLEASE correct, give opinions, etc.​

*= Must ride/experience

Magic Kingdom - Monday 11/30 | 9am - 8pm
Not sure whether to ride the bus or to drive.
- Plan to arrive around 8am for Rope Drop
- Go straight to Mine Train*
- Winnie the Pooh ride*
- Ariel Ride*
Then, if wait times are not bad, any of these other rides:
Buzz Lightyear*, Space Mountain, Pirates
- Lunch/Early dinner around 3pm
- Thunder Mountain RR at closing
~ Sprinkled through here would be trying lots of the holiday snacks/food* and taking a graduation photo*

Hollywood Studios - Tuesday 12/1 | 10am - 7pm
Using Lyft/Uber to drop off at gas station, will have tried 7am RotR Queue
- Plan to arrive at 9am for Rope Drop

Okay, this park I am so confused about where to run first. I know many will go to the new Mickey & Minnie ride but we don't mind if we miss it, so doing that just before park close would be fine.

- I'm thinking go to Slinky Dog* first? We have not been to HS since Toy Story Land was built
- Toy Story Mania*
- Smuggler's Run*
Then, depending on wait times through the day:
RocknRollercoaster, Star Tours, & Swirling Saucers
- Hollywood & Vine reservation @ 4:05pm
- RotR sometime in the day if able to get into any queue (either at 7am or 2pm)
~ Eating lots of holiday sweets* & graduation photo* sometime in here


Epcot - Wednesday 12/2 | 12pm - 9pm
Drive to park
- Plan to arrive at 11am for Rope Drop
- Straight to Frozen Ever After*
- Test Track*
- Eat all the food/participate in Olaf scavenger hunt*
- Graduation photo*


Animal Kingdom - Thursday 12/3 | 9am - 5pm
Drive to park
- Plan to arrive at 8:30am for Rope Drop
- Straight to FoP*
- Navi River*
Then depending on wait times:
Everest, Safari, & Dinosaur
~ Also partaking in some holiday treats*
- Graduation photo*
- Drive to Disney Springs after done at the park (unsure if it will be all day or not)
- Morimoto reservation @ 8:30pm


Also, how busy is Disney Springs on Sunday evenings?

So that's what I have so far. I definitely need a lot more help with Hollywood Studios since we haven't been in a while. Though, we have visited the Star Wars area and were able to ride RotR at Disneyland in January this year so will not be heartbreaking if we don't make a queue and it is not important to spend tons of time in the land since we already did so at Disneyland.

 

[holden]

Do you have your park reservations booked? You cannot enter a park without a reservation.

On your MK day I'd Uber/Lyft to The Contemporary and then walk to MK.

On your DHS day...if you don't mind missing MMRR, I'm wondering if you should do RNR first? I don't think you'd wait long at all if you did. Then move on to TSL. You'll wait for SDD either way, but going to RNR first will eliminate a wait for that later in the day.

At EP...use the single rider line for TT if you don't mind not sitting together.

At AK...personally I think Navi is ok to skip. I'd rather get on EE than wait for Navi. Check out a video of it on youtube to decide if it's worth it.

I've read that DS is very busy in the evenings on weekends.

 

[dachsie]

So for HS, I would do MMRR first. SDD is really cool at night, so I would plan on doing that one as your last ride. Also, MMRR still has long waits in eve so getting it out of the way first, you may still have time to get SDD right afterwards then the rest of TSL.

 

[Amunet]

Do you have your park reservations booked? You cannot enter a park without a reservation.

On your MK day I'd Uber/Lyft to The Contemporary and then walk to MK.

On your DHS day...if you don't mind missing MMRR, I'm wondering if you should do RNR first? I don't think you'd wait long at all if you did. Then move on to TSL. You'll wait for SDD either way, but going to RNR first will eliminate a wait for that later in the day.

At EP...use the single rider line for TT if you don't mind not sitting together.

At AK...personally I think Navi is ok to skip. I'd rather get on EE than wait for Navi. Check out a video of it on youtube to decide if it's worth it.

I've read that DS is very busy in the evenings on weekends.

Yes, all my reservations are booked, that's why each date has a park.

Is RnR a long wait later in the day?

For Test Track, that's a good idea if my S/O wants to ride more than once.

Nope, going on Navi, never rode it since it opened so it is a must do.

Thanks for your feedback!

So for HS, I would do MMRR first. SDD is really cool at night, so I would plan on doing that one as your last ride. Also, MMRR still has long waits in eve so getting it out of the way first, you may still have time to get SDD right afterwards then the rest of TSL.

How is Slinky cool at night?
So you are suggesting doing MMRR first then hop over to SDD?

Thank you!

 

[glocon]

I would add HM at MK. And Soarin and SE at EP. agree with SDD at night when the lights are glowing on it- way cool.

 

[yulilin3]

MFSR queue dies down dramatically ar thr end od thre night, MMRR really never does. I would rope drop MMRR if it's a priority, if it's not then SDD

 

[dachsie]

How is Slinky cool at night?
So you are suggesting doing MMRR first then hop over to SDD?

Thank you!

The way it's all lit up at night is really cool. Yes I would RD MMRR then SDD and then go back at night for SDD

 

[nkereina]

Magic Kingdom - Monday 11/30 | 9am - 8pm
Not sure whether to ride the bus or to drive.
- Plan to arrive around 8am for Rope Drop
- Go straight to Mine Train*
- Winnie the Pooh ride*
- Ariel Ride*
Then, if wait times are not bad, any of these other rides:
Buzz Lightyear*, Space Mountain, Pirates
- Lunch/Early dinner around 3pm
- Thunder Mountain RR at closing
~ Sprinkled through here would be trying lots of the holiday snacks/food* and taking a graduation photo*

Just FYI that generally speaking, the parking lots for the parks open roughly 45-60 minutes. Arriving at 8am or any time before will likely result waiting in a line of cars (assuming you're driving). We took Uber to TTC at 8am, which has a separate drop off area for ride share. They let us onto the monorail from TTC around 8:30, so we were in the park by 8:40. Parks are opening earlier than the posted opening times, but if you're driving or taking Uber, you also have to consider the time the lots open.

When we were there two weeks ago, Mine Train was down until around 9:15am. Not sure if that's typical in the morning or if there was some kind of issue. We did Big Thunder first thing and came back to Mine Train later for about a 45 minute wait.

Hollywood Studios - Tuesday 12/1 | 10am - 7pm
Using Lyft/Uber to drop off at gas station, will have tried 7am RotR Queue
- Plan to arrive at 9am for Rope Drop

Okay, this park I am so confused about where to run first. I know many will go to the new Mickey & Minnie ride but we don't mind if we miss it, so doing that just before park close would be fine.

- I'm thinking go to Slinky Dog* first? We have not been to HS since Toy Story Land was built
- Toy Story Mania*
- Smuggler's Run*
Then, depending on wait times through the day:
RocknRollercoaster, Star Tours, & Swirling Saucers
- Hollywood & Vine reservation @ 4:05pm
- RotR sometime in the day if able to get into any queue (either at 7am or 2pm)
~ Eating lots of holiday sweets* & graduation photo* sometime in here

IMO, there's no need to be dropped off at the gas station. Now that you don't have to be in the park prior to 10am for a boarding group, I would take advantage of the Skyliner from AOA. Once the line starts moving, it goes quickly. Alternatively, just take Uber straight to DHS.

We did MMRR first one day - it was posted 45 minutes, but we waited 30. But if that's not a priority for you, Slinky Dog is a good choice. We did Slinky Dog first on our second DHS day and had a 10 minute wait. From there, we went to Smuggler's with a 10 minute wait. Toy Story Mania had pretty low waits throughout the day, so I think you could circle back to that one at any point.

Epcot - Wednesday 12/2 | 12pm - 9pm
Drive to park
- Plan to arrive at 11am for Rope Drop
- Straight to Frozen Ever After*
- Test Track*
- Eat all the food/participate in Olaf scavenger hunt*
- Graduation photo*

As I mentioned above, parks are opening earlier than their posted times. I believe Epcot opened around 10:15ish when we went. We were in line for Test Track by 10:30. Also, out of curiosity, why drive there? The Skyliner from AOA will have little to no wait to Epcot.

We opted to do Test Track first thing and then FEA at closing. We waited about 35 minutes for TT in the morning and it was over a 90 minute posted wait. In the evening for FEA, it was a 60 minute posted and we waited about 40.

Animal Kingdom - Thursday 12/3 | 9am - 5pm
Drive to park
- Plan to arrive at 8:30am for Rope Drop
- Straight to FoP*
- Navi River*
Then depending on wait times:
Everest, Safari, & Dinosaur
~ Also partaking in some holiday treats*
- Graduation photo*
- Drive to Disney Springs after done at the park (unsure if it will be all day or not)
- Morimoto reservation @ 8:30pm

We got to AK around 8:30 and timing worked out pretty well. We got caught in a line at the temperature check. FOP had a 45 minute posted wait when we arrived, and we waited about 30. The wait for Navi was around 60 minutes by the time we got off FOP, because I imagine everyone goes straight there after FOP. We tried later and ended up waiting 30 with a posted 45 minute wait.

Also, how busy is Disney Springs on Sunday evenings?

Disney Springs is busy every night now that the parks are closing early. We visited Disney Springs three times during our trip, all weeknights, and it was packed like a Saturday night each time. Stores are keeping track of capacity, and World of Disney has a long queue that extends along the backside of the store that people must wait in to enter. It does move very quickly. There was one day during our trip that we got to Disney Springs around 3pm, and it was noticeably less busy and World of Disney was not utilizing the queue at that point yet - seems like they start it when things start to get busier in the evenings.