Need Help with Plans/Strategy!

[PlutoIsHerFav]

We will be there in less than two weeks for a last minute trip! We've had decent luck snagging FP+ and ADR (on DDP). Traveling are two adults and our 6 yo and 2 yo daughters. We've done a one day MK trip back in November, but this will be our first multi-park trip. It is still a limited time frame, so I could really use help on the best plan of attack to hit our "must dos". Any suggestions are appreciated! I'll list our current times and then the other things that we really want to hit. Let me know if we're missing something we should consider. We have some flexibility to move FP+ and ADR, but obviously times are limited. Keep in mind that characters are super important to my kids!

Our current FP+/ADR:
AK
(EMH 8-9)
9:20 Meet Fav Disney Pals
11:25 Kilimanjaro Safari
12:45 Tusker House
3:35 Na'vi River
6:25 Pizzafari (family-style: not a must)
9:15ish River of Lights

Epcot
10:05 Spaceship Earth
11:55 Akershus lunch
1:25 FEA
2:35 Turtle Talk
EMH (9-11 pm)

MK
9:15 Peter Pan
10:10 BOG breakfast
11:15 Pooh
3:00 Festival of Fantasy Parade
4:30 Crystal Palace
6:25 SDMT
9:15 Fireworks
(street party is 11, 12:30 or 5:45)

Wants:
AK
Lion King show
Everest (adults & 6 yo, so need rider swap)
Kali River - maybe?
Donald's Dino-Bash (no times listed)
(I'd like to do FOP, but not sure it's worth trying to fight crowds?)

Epcot
Meet Mickey & Minnie (other classics too, but M&M top priority)
Soarin'
Test Track (but Soarin' takes precedent)
Mission: Space (?)
Meet Anna & Elsa
Figment
Explore World Showcase

MK
Big Thunder
Space Mountain (adults only)
Barnstormer
Buzz
Little Mermaid
Small World
PhilharMagic
Carousel
Pirates of the Caribbean (not sure my girls will like)
Splash Mountain
Muppets Present
Tom Sawyer Island
Could throw some characters in there ;-)

 

[FastPass Dad]

My first piece of advice is to move your FPs to the mornings (unless you much prefer the relaxed schedule). The sooner you use them, the sooner you can hop on the app to grab others. We usually schedule ours for 10-11-12. That gives us time to hit a few at rope drop, use the FPs by lunch and then spend the afternoon riding everything else. Of the stuff you have listed under your "wants", almost all of them will be available the day of but you can't get them until you use your first 3.

 

[PlutoIsHerFav]

My first piece of advice is to move your FPs to the mornings (unless you much prefer the relaxed schedule). The sooner you use them, the sooner you can hop on the app to grab others. We usually schedule ours for 10-11-12. That gives us time to hit a few at rope drop, use the FPs by lunch and then spend the afternoon riding everything else. Of the stuff you have listed under your "wants", almost all of them will be available the day of but you can't get them until you use your first 3.

Thank you! I definitely would if I could. There are no additional SDMT FP+ available, so we're kind of stuck. We weren't able to get a FP+ for SDMT and were unable to ride it in Nov even with rope drop as it was down (not willing to wait 90 plus min). It's a must for us this trip. There's also not an earlier Na'vi River or FEA. I could drop Turtle Talk and move it earlier, but wasn't sure if I should leave the morning open to try and get on Soarin' and Test Track? Any suggestions are appreciated!

 

[MrInfinity]

I kind of like your mornings a bit more clear. You will get a lot done... at Epcot it's reasonable that you could do all of the Land pavilion (Soarin, LWTL) and then the Seas pavilion (Nemo, Turtle Talk) and it would be a very pleasant morning for you and your (very young) kids. I would ditch the FP for Turtle Talk. After you do Soarin in the morning and go over to the Seas you'll have your run of the place with no waiting. Drop TT and grab Mission Space. 11:05 would be a great time given you're walking back from Spaceship Earth toward Akershus and it's on the way. After Frozen you do not want to be crossing back to the front of the park (Turtle Talk) as that's a long unnecessary walk. After Frozen you'd have a couple choices... Continue around the World Showcase or go back to Test Track and wait it out Standby. Play the afternoon by ear and see what you're in the mood for then!

AK... I think you could fit the Lion King show in after Tusker House. You're right there so it makes sense. Then you'll walk over to Pandora via the back route.. After Pizza (or wherever you eat) you'll have time to fit in Everest before the Rivers of Light.

FOP... Easy enough. This is an EMH morning, so just get there at 8. No need to line up early, if you're there around when they open, you'll get onto the ride by the end of EMH which is all that matters. The line goes fast between 8 and 9 because there are no Fast Passes.

MK... Looks like pretty much everything here is on your want list. This is why the Magic Kingdom is usually a 2-day park, minimum. To pick up Thunder, Splash and Space Mountains -- all without FastPass could involve some waiting! I would prioritize some Lands here. Given your FPs, I'd do Fantasyland-Adventureland-Frontierland and leave Space Mountain for another trip. I'd hit up Fantasy in the morning (like you're doing) then migrate toward the left to the other lands for the afternoon. Go on what you can, working things in around the parade and Crystal Palace.

I would also second @FastPass Dad s idea of dropping the SDMT. That's a 6pm pass which will prevent you from taking any other fast passes ~all day long~. I don't think that's a good sacrifice. SDMT is a must do for you, but I think overall you'll do better hitting it at rope drop. Or wait it out later, knowing that you'll get 2 or 3 fast passes to other things by not taking your 1 on that.

Last, I'll note you have 3 days of open-to-close action here plus Extra Magic Hours on 2 of the 3 days. If I was planning this for myself, on day 2 I'd have a half-day. Some time to get back to the hotel and swim. Maybe this means for Epcot you don't stay for that late EMH. Late Epcot EMH is not great anyways in my opinion. World Showcase is shutting down and it's really just time to get on Test Track or Soarin.

 

[PlutoIsHerFav]

I kind of like your mornings a bit more clear. You will get a lot done... at Epcot it's reasonable that you could do all of the Land pavilion (Soarin, LWTL) and then the Seas pavilion (Nemo, Turtle Talk) and it would be a very pleasant morning for you and your (very young) kids. I would ditch the FP for Turtle Talk. After you do Soarin in the morning and go over to the Seas you'll have your run of the place with no waiting. Drop TT and grab Mission Space. 11:05 would be a great time given you're walking back from Spaceship Earth toward Akershus and it's on the way. After Frozen you do not want to be crossing back to the front of the park (Turtle Talk) as that's a long unnecessary walk. After Frozen you'd have a couple choices... Continue around the World Showcase or go back to Test Track and wait it out Standby. Play the afternoon by ear and see what you're in the mood for then!

AK... I think you could fit the Lion King show in after Tusker House. You're right there so it makes sense. Then you'll walk over to Pandora via the back route.. After Pizza (or wherever you eat) you'll have time to fit in Everest before the Rivers of Light.

MK... Looks like pretty much everything here is on your want list. This is why the Magic Kingdom is usually a 2-day park, minimum. To pick up Thunder, Splash and Space Mountains -- all without FastPass could involve some waiting! I would prioritize some Lands here. Given your FPs, I'd do Fantasyland-Adventureland-Frontierland and leave Space Mountain for another trip. I'd hit up Fantasy in the morning (like you're doing) then migrate toward the left to the other lands for the afternoon. Go on what you can, working things in around the parade and Crystal Palace.

Last, I'll note you have 3 days of open-to-close action here plus Extra Magic Hours on 2 of the 3 days. If I was planning this for myself, on day 2 I'd have a half-day. Some time to get back to the hotel and swim.

Thank you for your help/suggestions!!

Epcot - that makes sense. I haven't done this park since I was a kid, so have no frame of reference. I'll see if I can get a Mission Space FP for the morning. If not, does it make sense to just keep the two FP? How bad are the Mickey and Minnie character line? When should we try and hit this given the importance to my kids?!

AK - I've never done this park, so again not frame of reference! What should we attempt during the EMH? Someone told me to go to the Safari and drop the FP since everyone will go to Pandora, but I'm afraid of losing that FP.

MK - yes, I know, LOL!! We want it all! We considered giving up Epcot, but since we just did this park 8 months ago, we decided to stick to one day. We did a lot in Nov, but did not make it to Adventureland. My 6yo is a thrill seeker (except scared to ride Space Mountain - but my personal fav). So for her Big Thunder, Barnstormer are important. We don't want our 2 yo sitting too much, so we're trying to balance. My 6 yo has no interest in pirates, etc.

Our plan is:
Day 1: arrival (dinner DS)
Day 2: AK
Day 3: Epcot
Day 4: off/pool day
Day 5: MK

We are thinking Epcot won't be a late night, maybe leave mid-afternoon.

 

[clutter]

Honestly, I'd totally splurge on hoppers and go to DHS sometime in the afternoon of your Epcot day, especially instead of evening EMH. Keep trying for either Soarin or TT in the morning, and do standby for Turtle Talk. While Epcot has so many great things for young kids (my dd enjoyed KidCot at that age), DHS has Beauty and the Beast show, Little Mermaid, Toy Story Land and Fantasmic!. I love the parks at night, but Epcot EMH has never been a big draw for us.

I think you will get a lot done at AK. One other possibility afterwards is mini-golf at Winter-Summerland. We love that. Christmas in August...

I'm insanely jealous you got a BOG this late. I've been trying for a couple months to add one in late August for my 21yo dd and 26yo niece and am having no luck.

p.s. Pluto was dd's fav when she was little. Still is for me!

Now that I see your second post, I'd add another day to do DHS. That way you can keep most of your days shorter, then play going back to parks for evenings by ear. But I've never been successful with a rest day, especially on a short trip. There's too much fun to be had - even without riding rides!

 

[PlutoIsHerFav]

Honestly, I'd totally splurge on hoppers and go to DHS sometime in the afternoon of your Epcot day, especially instead of evening EMH. Keep trying for either Soarin or TT in the morning, and do standby for Turtle Talk. While Epcot has so many great things for young kids (my dd enjoyed KidCot at that age), DHS has Beauty and the Beast show, Little Mermaid, Toy Story Land and Fantasmic!. I love the parks at night, but Epcot EMH has never been a big draw for us.

I think you will get a lot done at AK. One other possibility afterwards is mini-golf at Winter-Summerland. We love that. Christmas in August...

I'm insanely jealous you got a BOG this late. I've been trying for a couple months to add one in late August for my 21yo dd and 26yo niece and am having no luck.

p.s. Pluto was dd's fav when she was little. Still is for me!

I've really driven myself crazy about the whole DHS. We originally planned this trip for June prior to TSL opening so we didn't have it a lot of consideration as we had friends go with similar age girls and felt it was a letdown. We had to cancel and then ultimately booked this trip last minute, so we stuck with the original plan. My DH would probably (definitely) kill me for adding a park hopper or trying to use our off day for another park, lol! I so want to see TSL land, though! I'll have to take a look again at what else they could do!

Where is this Winter-Summerland?! My 6 yo loves mini-golf and we all love Christmas any time of year!

I couldn't get BOG last Nov either so it was on my "must" list with SDMT - I used the Touring Plans reservation tracker suggested on here and had it within hours of entering!! (I had been checking multiple times a day the last few weeks too)

 

[PlutoIsHerFav]

For Epcot: Would it make since to rope drop Soarin, then hit the Character Spot (Mickey, Minnie) and then head to our 10:05 Spaceship Earth? From there, prior to our 11:55 ADR at Akershus, should we try for TT or Mission Space?

 

[winnieofpooh]

AK - I've never done this park, so again not frame of reference! What should we attempt during the EMH? Someone told me to go to the Safari and drop the FP since everyone will go to Pandora, but I'm afraid of losing that FP.

If FoP is a top priority, that's where you should go for EMH. Yes, everyone will run there, but it's also one of the only times (besides right before closing) that you can ride it with little to moderate wait. If it's not a top priority, you can accomplish basically everything else in the park during EMH. Your friend is right that everyone will go to Pandora. We were able to walk right onto Everest twice during EMH, and probably could've done more. You could safely accomplish Safari, Everest, and Kali River during EMH. You can always keep the Safari FP or make it for the early afternoon. It's always a different experience, so I love riding it multiple times because you can see different animals each time.

For Epcot: Would it make since to rope drop Soarin, then hit the Character Spot (Mickey, Minnie) and then head to our 10:05 Spaceship Earth? From there, prior to our 11:55 ADR at Akershus, should we try for TT or Mission Space?

That makes sense to me! Mission Space will have a much shorter wait - we've never had to wait more than 15 minutes in the stand by line. TT will most likely have an hour+ wait. If TT has under an hour wait, you could accomplish both before the ADR.

 

[clutter]

Winter-Summerland is in front of Blizzard Beach, which is fairly close to AK. You would take the Blizzard Beach bus, but we usually end up with a car and drive. If you were to Uber, it's not far. It's not cheap, but one course is Christmas and one is Beach Boys. Can't go wrong!!!

I just can't see taking a rest day at Disney for a 4 day trip. But with a 2yo, it may be a good idea. Maybe once you are there you can work on him. (Leave him with the 2yo, and take your 6yo! [insert evil grin]) Epcot won't be a long day, rest that afternoon! lol. You can always decide to add a park when you're there.

As for Mission Space - are you doing the Green or Orange? Green usually doesn't have a line. I did MS the first year it opened, and it is the ONLY ride I thought I'd get sick on ever in my life. So now I do the Green, but they recently changed it the story, so it's no where near as good.

 

[Brenda Wood]

I would love to hear how your trip goes - we are planning Jan 2019 and our daughters will also be 6 and 2. Any tips of what worked well (and not so well) with a 2 yr old would be amazing. Have a great time!

 

[PlutoIsHerFav]

If FoP is a top priority, that's where you should go for EMH. Yes, everyone will run there, but it's also one of the only times (besides right before closing) that you can ride it with little to moderate wait. If it's not a top priority, you can accomplish basically everything else in the park during EMH. Your friend is right that everyone will go to Pandora. We were able to walk right onto Everest twice during EMH, and probably could've done more. You could safely accomplish Safari, Everest, and Kali River during EMH. You can always keep the Safari FP or make it for the early afternoon. It's always a different experience, so I love riding it multiple times because you can see different animals each time.

Thank you for this! I guess my question is should FoP be top priority?! lol We aren't into Pandora itself, but are always up for a good ride - so is it a significantly great ride?! I've read mixed reviews about whether or not my 6 yo would like it or not. If it wasn't a really long wait I'd like to try it, otherwise sounds like a great time to knock off some other things on our list and have a more leisurely day. We could possibly even work in a midday break back to the resort (Pop) to come back for River of Lights?

What's best to do around Soarin' and TT for my 2 yo as we'll have to do rider swap? She will not be cool just sitting in the stroller.

I just can't see taking a rest day at Disney for a 4 day trip. But with a 2yo, it may be a good idea. Maybe once you are there you can work on him. (Leave him with the 2yo, and take your 6yo! [insert evil grin]) Epcot won't be a long day, rest that afternoon! lol. You can always decide to add a park when you're there.

As for Mission Space - are you doing the Green or Orange? Green usually doesn't have a line. I did MS the first year it opened, and it is the ONLY ride I thought I'd get sick on ever in my life. So now I do the Green, but they recently changed it the story, so it's no where near as good.

Maybe I can work on him! However, he really only wanted two park days and two rest days, ha! We're afraid of two young kids plus August heat making for a miserable, whiny trip.

We'll do Green for MS - I doubt my 6 yo could handle the Orange! I love a thrill, but have gotten more prone to dizziness in my age. Ha!

I would love to hear how your trip goes - we are planning Jan 2019 and our daughters will also be 6 and 2. Any tips of what worked well (and not so well) with a 2 yr old would be amazing. Have a great time!

Absolutely and thank you! January will be a much more pleasant time of year!

 

[clutter]

Thank you for this! I guess my question is should FoP be top priority?! lol We aren't into Pandora itself, but are always up for a good ride - so is it a significantly great ride?! I've read mixed reviews about whether or not my 6 yo would like it or not. If it wasn't a really long wait I'd like to try it, otherwise sounds like a great time to knock off some other things on our list and have a more leisurely day. We could possibly even work in a midday break back to the resort (Pop) to come back for River of Lights?

FOP is amazing, but the soaring sensation is pretty intense. I would not recommend for your 6yo as a first ride on the trip. See how she does on EE first. (And I know what its like to have a thrill seeking kid. I waited until 7 for Space Mountain because of the single seat, but that was on me, not her.)

What's best to do around Soarin' and TT for my 2 yo as we'll have to do rider swap? She will not be cool just sitting in the stroller.

There are all sorts of fountains at Epcot. A fun one is by the imagination ride (which maybe she could do), which reminds me, the Pixar Shorts are excellent! I haven't been in Innovations lately, but they used to have some cool stuff there.

Maybe I can work on him! However, he really only wanted two park days and two rest days, ha! We're afraid of two young kids plus August heat making for a miserable, whiny trip.

Or maybe you will have an awesome, fun trip! What do you DO on a rest day? I'm only good for an hour or so at a pool, so I just don't get it. I like being in the parks, even just to people watch or wander around. Also your 6yo would probably LOVE Tower of Terror. Mine started riding it at 4 or 5.

We'll do Green for MS - I doubt my 6 yo could handle the Orange! I love a thrill, but have gotten more prone to dizziness in my age. Ha!

Then you shouldn't need FP+


Absolutely and thank you! January will be a much more pleasant time of year!

 

[PlutoIsHerFav]

Thanks again, so helpful! If we don't rope drop FoP, is there another reasonable time to try it? Maybe we'll run to Everest first and then decide.

Yes, I totally believe we're going to have a fun and awesome trip! We just want to have reasonable expectations and not over-exhaust them. My girls could spend all day in the pools, but not me. We are going to do a character meal that day, pool time, hopefully a long nap, and then maybe some resort or DS exploring.

 

[winnieofpooh]

Thank you for this! I guess my question is should FoP be top priority?! lol We aren't into Pandora itself, but are always up for a good ride - so is it a significantly great ride?! I've read mixed reviews about whether or not my 6 yo would like it or not. If it wasn't a really long wait I'd like to try it, otherwise sounds like a great time to knock off some other things on our list and have a more leisurely day. We could possibly even work in a midday break back to the resort (Pop) to come back for River of Lights?

What's best to do around Soarin' and TT for my 2 yo as we'll have to do rider swap? She will not be cool just sitting in the stroller.

I absolutely loved FoP, and it's arguably my favorite ride in all of Disney. I'm not an Avatar fan either, but it's just visually stunning and the tech involved in the ride is insane. It does have a more intense flying sensation than Soarin, but if she does well with other roller coasters I think she'd be ok? I don't have kids though so take my opinion with a grain of salt. Your best bets to ride it are either at rope drop, or right before the park closes. Any other time during the day will be a long wait.

There's a ton to do near Soarin and TT! Soarin is in the Land pavilion, which also houses Living with the Land and the Circle of Life show. It's also semi-close to Nemo, but you'll probably want to save that until you head over for Turtle Talk.

Near Test Track, there's not a whole lot. MouseGears store is fairly close, and is my favorite place in all of Disney to shop. Electric Umbrella is semi-close if you wanted to sit inside or grab a bite to eat. Innoventions is nearby as well.

 

[CML's mom]

I've really driven myself crazy about the whole DHS. We originally planned this trip for June prior to TSL opening so we didn't have it a lot of consideration as we had friends go with similar age girls and felt it was a letdown. We had to cancel and then ultimately booked this trip last minute, so we stuck with the original plan. My DH would probably (definitely) kill me for adding a park hopper or trying to use our off day for another park, lol! I so want to see TSL land, though! I'll have to take a look again at what else they could do!

Where is this Winter-Summerland?! My 6 yo loves mini-golf and we all love Christmas any time of year!

I couldn't get BOG last Nov either so it was on my "must" list with SDMT - I used the Touring Plans reservation tracker suggested on here and had it within hours of entering!! (I had been checking multiple times a day the last few weeks too)

What is Touring Plans reservation tracker?

 

[PlutoIsHerFav]

What is Touring Plans reservation tracker?

It's from touringplans.com. Someone on another thread alerted me to it when I was talking about how much I wanted a BOG ADR! I googled it, signed up and within hours was alerted of an ADR availability. You then have to log into your actual Disney account, search for the ADR and book it. So, it's not a guarantee as it could be snagged, but it certainly helped me out!

 

[CML's mom]

It's from touringplans.com. Someone on another thread alerted me to it when I was talking about how much I wanted a BOG ADR! I googled it, signed up and within hours was alerted of an ADR availability. You then have to log into your actual Disney account, search for the ADR and book it. So, it's not a guarantee as it could be snagged, but it certainly helped me out!

Thank you. I just signed up for it specifically for BOG. How far from your trip did you get it?

 

[CML's mom]

It's from touringplans.com. Someone on another thread alerted me to it when I was talking about how much I wanted a BOG ADR! I googled it, signed up and within hours was alerted of an ADR availability. You then have to log into your actual Disney account, search for the ADR and book it. So, it's not a guarantee as it could be snagged, but it certainly helped me out!

I got BOG already!!!!!!!! Thank you. For October!

 

[PlutoIsHerFav]

I got BOG already!!!!!!!! Thank you. For October!

Yay!!!