Need help picking park days

[stephaniepotato]

This is our first trip to WDW, coming up in mid-September. We’re booked at AOA for 4 nights with 3 Park Tickets with G+ (No park hopper). We’ll have two kids with us aged 4 and infant. Our 4 year old is not super into princess (but does like Frozen). 4 year old is Cars obsessed and the adults love Star Wars so HS is a must park for us.

Option #1 (EPCOT)
Day 1 - HS with mid-day nap break via skyliner (ADR’s: Dinner @ Sci-Fi, quick 9:15pm drinks at Oga’s)
Day 2 - MK with stroller naps only (CRT dinner reservation already booked)
Day 3 - EPCOT with mid-day nap break via skyliner (Space 220 ADR is a must for this day but I don’t have it yet)

Option #2 (MK x2)
Day 1 - HS with mid-day nap break via skyliner (ADR’s: Dinner @ Sci-Fi, quick 9:15pm drinks at Oga’s)
Day 2 - MK with midday nap break via bus (CRT dinner reservation already booked)
Day 3 - MK with no break but leaving early due to party night (BOG dinner at 5:45pm before park closes)

Our 4 year old really likes roller coasters but is borderline if she will make the 40” rides.

I’m so torn if we should spend 2 days at MK to really see it all or if we should do EPCOT since MK will close early - are we really getting our money’s worth if we have to leave at 6?

At EPCOT, we’d plan to do Remy, Frozen Ever After, Anna/Elsa Meet, TT, Soarin’, Mission: SPACE (orange), The Seas with Nemo, SeaBase, Turtle Talk with Crush and then an ILL for Cosmic Rewind.

Thoughts?

 

[stephaniepotato]

This is our first trip to WDW, coming up in mid-September. We’re booked at AOA for 4 nights with 3 Park Tickets with G+ (No park hopper). We’ll have two kids with us aged 4 and infant. Our 4 year old is not super into princess (but does like Frozen). 4 year old is Cars obsessed and the adults love Star Wars so HS is a must park for us.

Option #1 (EPCOT)
Day 1 - HS with mid-day nap break via skyliner (ADR’s: Dinner @ Sci-Fi, quick 9:15pm drinks at Oga’s)
Day 2 - MK with stroller naps only (CRT dinner reservation already booked)
Day 3 - EPCOT with mid-day nap break via skyliner (Space 220 ADR is a must for this day but I don’t have it yet)

Option #2 (MK x2)
Day 1 - HS with mid-day nap break via skyliner (ADR’s: Dinner @ Sci-Fi, quick 9:15pm drinks at Oga’s)
Day 2 - MK with midday nap break via bus (CRT dinner reservation already booked)
Day 3 - MK with no break but leaving early due to party night (BOG dinner at 5:45pm before park closes)

Our 4 year old really likes roller coasters but is borderline if she will make the 40” rides.

I’m so torn if we should spend 2 days at MK to really see it all or if we should do EPCOT since MK will close early - are we really getting our money’s worth if we have to leave at 6?

At EPCOT, we’d plan to do Remy, Frozen Ever After, Anna/Elsa Meet, TT, Soarin’, Mission: SPACE (orange), The Seas with Nemo, SeaBase, Turtle Talk with Crush and then an ILL for Cosmic Rewind.

Thoughts?

Detailed plans:
Option #1 (EPCOT):

https://imgur.com/a/TpvfYNu

Option #2 (MK x2):

https://imgur.com/a/Igb1xPF

 

[coasternut22]

First, I want to say I love your planning spreadsheets. You are my kind of people. I totally respect that.

Next, my vote is for an Epcot day for none other that this is a Walt Disney World vacation and you are there to see and do as much as possible. Because I am a travel planner just like you, I want to get the most out of my money and time. Having a third park will allow this. Epcot all the way.

Now for advice. My kids were stroller nappers and it worked out great. MK is going to be a long day, but that’s okay. Watch the YouTube channel Ear Scouts. This is the best G+ guidance out there right now. He gets all of the MK selections out there and most of the Epcot ones by noon. You can easily get most of Epcot done by noon, take a break, and come back to a few stacked LLs for the evening. For MK, consider not using the 2 hour rule in the middle of the day and use G+ to get immediate return times for some of the smaller fantasyland rides when they have 20-30 minute waits.

The skyliner and resort busses start leaving by one hour before early entry. To be at the front of the rope drop crowd for Remy, you need to be at the skyliner by 6:45 for an 8am early entry. If you arrive at IG by 7:30, you will be at the back of the pack with a 30 minute wait for Remy and a 45 minute wait if you arrive by 7:45. This goes for HS as well as MK.

My kids at 4-5 years old were scared of sci-if. At 9-10 now, they still refuse to go.

With the new G+ rules in place, it will be difficult to time G+ for slinky in the evening. Even if you do, after the 2 hour rule is up at 10:30, it will be difficult to get a ToT by noon. You may have better luck rope dropping Railway, then the Toy Story rides, then refreshing for and stacking a ToT for the evening.

For MK, you have everything planned out in lands. G+ may change this. It is more efficient to go by G+ availability rather than by land. You walk more but stand in line less. Space Mountain does not have a single rider.

You probably already know this, but if you get a boarding group for Guardians, it’s good for the whole day. No need for the ILL, unless you want to go twice. Since you’ll be scanned into the park, if you don’t get the 7am drop, you’ll easily get the 1pm.

That’s about it. I’m sure there’s more. Love your plans.

 

[stephaniepotato]

First, I want to say I love your planning spreadsheets. You are my kind of people. I totally respect that.

Next, my vote is for an Epcot day for none other that this is a Walt Disney World vacation and you are there to see and do as much as possible. Because I am a travel planner just like you, I want to get the most out of my money and time. Having a third park will allow this. Epcot all the way.

Now for advice. My kids were stroller nappers and it worked out great. MK is going to be a long day, but that’s okay. Watch the YouTube channel Ear Scouts. This is the best G+ guidance out there right now. He gets all of the MK selections out there and most of the Epcot ones by noon. You can easily get most of Epcot done by noon, take a break, and come back to a few stacked LLs for the evening. For MK, consider not using the 2 hour rule in the middle of the day and use G+ to get immediate return times for some of the smaller fantasyland rides when they have 20-30 minute waits.

The skyliner and resort busses start leaving by one hour before early entry. To be at the front of the rope drop crowd for Remy, you need to be at the skyliner by 6:45 for an 8am early entry. If you arrive at IG by 7:30, you will be at the back of the pack with a 30 minute wait for Remy and a 45 minute wait if you arrive by 7:45. This goes for HS as well as MK.

My kids at 4-5 years old were scared of sci-if. At 9-10 now, they still refuse to go.

With the new G+ rules in place, it will be difficult to time G+ for slinky in the evening. Even if you do, after the 2 hour rule is up at 10:30, it will be difficult to get a ToT by noon. You may have better luck rope dropping Railway, then the Toy Story rides, then refreshing for and stacking a ToT for the evening.

For MK, you have everything planned out in lands. G+ may change this. It is more efficient to go by G+ availability rather than by land. You walk more but stand in line less. Space Mountain does not have a single rider.

You probably already know this, but if you get a boarding group for Guardians, it’s good for the whole day. No need for the ILL, unless you want to go twice. Since you’ll be scanned into the park, if you don’t get the 7am drop, you’ll easily get the 1pm.

That’s about it. I’m sure there’s more. Love your plans.

Thank you so much for your reply. We’re definitely leaning EPCOT!

The rides listed on the schedule are listed at times when I was hoping to get the return times for (not that I can control that too much) and not when I would be booking. So for SDD, I plan to book @ 7am and would like to ride after our mid-day break. Though, I’ve heard I should plan to do must do attractions earlier in case the ride breaks down and doesn’t open again at the end of the night. So still thinking about that.

A lot of the schedule by the lands is mostly just trying to understand what attractions are in each area that we would want to ride if we’re already in there, since I can’t plan where we will be due to G+.

I’ve also made a G+ scheduling plan for rides to prioritize based on popularity. I’m still fine tuning this, too.

Thank you for the rope drop tip, I definitely don’t see us getting there that early and waiting. I think I’ll mostly plan to utilize G+ and ILL to make it enjoyable with two young ones. They’re pretty good stroller nappers too, though, we’ve never done anything like this before.

That’s good to know about Guardians, too. I actually thought the VQ would be impossible to get so we’ll try that first with either a Remy or Frozen Ever After 7am G+ pick.

I honestly wonder if Disney will be as fun for me as it has been just planning it.

 

[stephaniepotato]

My kids at 4-5 years old were scared of sci-if. At 9-10 now, they still refuse to go.

I didn’t think about the clips being actually scary. Very interesting, I’ll check them out on YouTube. Maybe we’ll do the Hollywood & Vine breakfast and a Quick Service dinner instead of Sci-Fi. Thanks again!

 

[CharissaOKC]

I would also vote Epcot! That is my son’s second favorite park (AK is the 1st).

We love staying at Skyliner resorts and taking a mid-day break so I think that part of your plan looks good.

One thing I will say is that with this short of a trip is to have plans for if it’s raining/storming. The Skyliner will shut down in a thunderstorm.

HS is the most frustrating park to me when using G+. I would just stay flexible and know that it might not all go to plan. I also agree with others that have mentioned Sci-fi. Personally I would cancel that and get quick service. It will give you more flexibility and time to do other things. We like woodys lunch box and all the food in galaxy’s edge. I wouldn’t feel the need to have a TS booked for everyday. They take so much time! You can mobile order a lot of great food and still sit and take breaks throughout the day.

Also this is your first trip and you can’t do it all. Just enjoy it and make memories with your family. Good news is that your kids are younger and they will probably enjoy a lot of attractions that have lower waits.

 

[sponica]

So I'm super torn. As an adult who only went 3 days the first trip, we did 2 MK and one HS (and I was none the wiser).
I would actually keep an eye on the park reservation calendar and on day 3 if you want to go to Epcot, move your 2nd MK day to Epcot if you feel like you don't need a second MK day.

 

[JodyK]

Was going to suggest something similar to above I'd leave my reservations for plan #2 with 2 MK days because MK books up the most so you have flexibility (weather or wanting to go back to MK). In practice though I'd probably want to do plan #1 and Epcot is easier to switch to last minute.

 

[JodyK]

Oh this is also more of a minor detail but I would not plan on that Trolley Car Cafe for that HS morning if you need coffee. The lines are insane at park opening. Maybe glance as you walk by and get lucky but I'd probably have a different coffee plan like Joffreys by Walt Disney Presents.

 

[RoseGold]

I'd swap Sci-Fi for late (or early) lunch at Hollywood and Vine, maybe dinner if you can't get lunch, it's a little more expensive. This gets decent food and seasonal Minnie & Mickey, probably Halloween FUN. The Sci Fi schtick isn't that cool for a little kid. It's just a screen playing boring stuff. H&V is easy to book the day before when people drop it.

I would keep Epcot just because of GOTG. Do little kiddie stuff the whole rest of the trip, but use rider swap to GOTG. I promise, it will be worth it. Your kids are too little for the other ILL$ rides, so this will be the only one you pay for. And don't skip Figment. Your kids are too little for TT.

And I agree coffee in the morning is a struggle everywhere. I'd get it the night before, honestly.

 

[stephaniepotato]

I'd swap Sci-Fi for late (or early) lunch at Hollywood and Vine, maybe dinner if you can't get lunch, it's a little more expensive. This gets decent food and seasonal Minnie & Mickey, probably Halloween FUN. The Sci Fi schtick isn't that cool for a little kid. It's just a screen playing boring stuff. H&V is easy to book the day before when people drop it.

I would keep Epcot just because of GOTG. Do little kiddie stuff the whole rest of the trip, but use rider swap to GOTG. I promise, it will be worth it. Your kids are too little for the other ILL$ rides, so this will be the only one you pay for. And don't skip Figment. Your kids are too little for TT.

And I agree coffee in the morning is a struggle everywhere. I'd get it the night before, honestly.

Yeah I canceled Sci-Fi based on the responses and I snagged a Hollywood & Vine breakfast. We're leaning EPCOT, but may re-evaluate after how our first MK day goes. Crowd calendar is saying our MK day will be 4 for crowd level - so maybe we can get a lot done if the crowds stay low (and the weather cooperates).

Great tip!!!! I could totally grab an cold brew when leaving and then save it for the next morning.

 

[RoseGold]

Yeah I canceled Sci-Fi based on the responses and I snagged a Hollywood & Vine breakfast.

Breakfast has different characters than lunch/dinner. I'd check to make sure it's what you want.