One Day Late Start DL & DCA Plan?

theluckyrabbit

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Joined
Jul 23, 2012
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Background info:
We will be taking friends to the parks on Sunday, 8/05, using the AP promo tickets. Unfortunately, the earliest they'll be able to meet us will be around 11 am. They haven't been to the parks before, but recently visited WDW, so they really just want to tour the parks and hit the highlights. We do have the BB F! package for a late lunch and hope to pull off the triple play (PTN, TF, 2nd F!) that night.
Please suggest a plan (we'll all have MP) for both parks that can handle such a late start. (Everything I've looked at so far requires RD/EE/EMH/MM, which we sooo won't have.) Thank you!!
 
I think you're just going to have to go where Maxpass takes you. Mid-day on Sunday can be a bit of a crapshoot - some weeks, it's pretty nice! Other weeks, it's crazy crowded! It's hard to predict where FP return times will be when you arrive, so it's hard to know which "order" of things to go with. Also, everyone's "highlights" are different - does that mean headliners? Just things unavailable at WDW? By the time you add in a meal at BB and the nighttime entertainment trifecta, you're pretty limited on ride times, and if they want time to just walk around and see stuff, that may be a challenge. Like, do they want to see Toontown because there's no WDW equivalent, or do they just want to hit some good rides (in which case, Toontown is not necessary, you know?)

A few ideas:
1. I'd think you want to use SR for both RSR and Incredicoaster, so I'd focus on FPs for GOTG (if that's one they want to ride?) and then anything over at DL that they want to ride. Space's SR is great, so definitely don't worry about FP for that one. This means that assuming GOTG is on your list, that's the FP I'd plan around... that's our #1 "must-do," and I often pull it around noon because that's where it hits in our typical visit, and our return times have ranged from about 2:00 to as late as 7:00, so that's what I mean by it's a bit of a crapshoot! Anecdotally, I also feel that GOTG is worth "refreshing" the Maxpass page for a few times - it seems to get more cancellation FPs than many rides do.

2. I'd potentially do most of Fantasyland at the end of the night, after Fantasmic, UNLESS it's looking not-too-bad when you get there. I'm assuming you want to do Pirates, so I might start there if you're doing DL first, or else I'd actually probably start at DCA, knock out those single riders and a few others there, and then head over to DL for your BB late lunch and do Pirates after that? I guess that depends on what time that lunch is for - if you can get a GOTG FP for before that, I'd probably do DCA and then head to DL for that lunch; if you can't get GOTG until later; I'd do DL first until lunch, grab GOTG whenever it's up for a later afternoon time, then head over to DCA later in the afternoon, single-ride RSR and IC, use your GOTG FP, stay there until PTN, and then head back over to DL.

This probably isn't your situation, but just in case: I walked up to decent F! viewing for the 2nd show a few weeks ago with no FP or anything. I'm guessing that dining at BB and having prime F! viewing are important to your group, but if it's not, I might consider dropping the lunch and just walking up to the 2nd show... much more flexibility, but also a bit more of a gamble, so obviously, that depends on your priorities. The night I saw F! #2, we bailed when the Mark Twain got halfway around, walked directly onto Pirates (and had a half-empty boat), walked directly onto HM, and then waited about 10 minutes for Indiana Jones at the end of the night, for what that's worth.
 
I think you're just going to have to go where Maxpass takes you. Mid-day on Sunday can be a bit of a crapshoot - some weeks, it's pretty nice! Other weeks, it's crazy crowded! It's hard to predict where FP return times will be when you arrive, so it's hard to know which "order" of things to go with. Also, everyone's "highlights" are different - does that mean headliners? Just things unavailable at WDW? By the time you add in a meal at BB and the nighttime entertainment trifecta, you're pretty limited on ride times, and if they want time to just walk around and see stuff, that may be a challenge. Like, do they want to see Toontown because there's no WDW equivalent, or do they just want to hit some good rides (in which case, Toontown is not necessary, you know?)

A few ideas:
1. I'd think you want to use SR for both RSR and Incredicoaster, so I'd focus on FPs for GOTG (if that's one they want to ride?) and then anything over at DL that they want to ride. Space's SR is great, so definitely don't worry about FP for that one. This means that assuming GOTG is on your list, that's the FP I'd plan around... that's our #1 "must-do," and I often pull it around noon because that's where it hits in our typical visit, and our return times have ranged from about 2:00 to as late as 7:00, so that's what I mean by it's a bit of a crapshoot! Anecdotally, I also feel that GOTG is worth "refreshing" the Maxpass page for a few times - it seems to get more cancellation FPs than many rides do.

2. I'd potentially do most of Fantasyland at the end of the night, after Fantasmic, UNLESS it's looking not-too-bad when you get there. I'm assuming you want to do Pirates, so I might start there if you're doing DL first, or else I'd actually probably start at DCA, knock out those single riders and a few others there, and then head over to DL for your BB late lunch and do Pirates after that? I guess that depends on what time that lunch is for - if you can get a GOTG FP for before that, I'd probably do DCA and then head to DL for that lunch; if you can't get GOTG until later; I'd do DL first until lunch, grab GOTG whenever it's up for a later afternoon time, then head over to DCA later in the afternoon, single-ride RSR and IC, use your GOTG FP, stay there until PTN, and then head back over to DL.

This probably isn't your situation, but just in case: I walked up to decent F! viewing for the 2nd show a few weeks ago with no FP or anything. I'm guessing that dining at BB and having prime F! viewing are important to your group, but if it's not, I might consider dropping the lunch and just walking up to the 2nd show... much more flexibility, but also a bit more of a gamble, so obviously, that depends on your priorities. The night I saw F! #2, we bailed when the Mark Twain got halfway around, walked directly onto Pirates (and had a half-empty boat), walked directly onto HM, and then waited about 10 minutes for Indiana Jones at the end of the night, for what that's worth.

Thanks so much for this reply -- I was hoping you'd chime in on this! You've basically confirmed my hunch about tomorrow. Our guests aren't being very detailed about what they consider "highlights" -- it's very much a "well, whatever you think best" sort of deal. So, since we know they really do want to ride POTC and see BB, we booked a surprise BB F! package. (And that will give us our one break during the peak heat of the day.) And the rest of the day will go according to the fates of MP and SR. We don't know if they like TOT at WDW, so we'll see about GOTG. Since they thought they could roll into the parks around noon and maybe leave around 4 or 5 when they get tired (how much could there be to see anyway?), this could be rather amusing. The favorite movie is "Cars," so in addition to Cars Land, the neon lighting is a must see. PTN will blow them away (they have absolutely no idea what that even is!). We're just hoping they end up having more fun than they expected, no matter what we end up doing! :) Here's hoping for pixie dust!
 
Update: Successful day (even with the heat and humidity)! Started at DCA shortly before 11 am. Got FPs for IC. Rode Monsters standby. Toured Animation Bldg. and Carthay Circle Lounge (Great "Mary Poppins" memorabilia in the cases!). Slowly worked our way over to Pixar Pier. Rode IC -- so fun! Grabbed FPs for RSR -- must have been a cancellation because the return time was fairly soon. Got FPs for BTMRR. Friends didn't want to ride GOTG, so that made things easier. Looked around Cars Land, then made our way over to DL. Took lots of photos on Main Street. BTMRR went down, so used the ME FPs on IJA. Had late lunch at BB -- F! package for the 2nd show. (Food at BB has improved considerably since the last time we were there!) Got a waterside table in the center and a great server -- friends were very happy with the whole experience. Rode POTC right after lunch. Friends loved seeing BB from the boat perspective. Got new FPs for BTMRR with quick return times. Rode and enjoyed as always. Went to SM for SR, but the ride was down. Looked at TT. Then made our way to Cars Land for the neon lighting. Did a little shopping, then found great viewing spots for PTN in front of LM. Friends loved the parade. We left as soon as Mickey went by and walked briskly for the gates. Managed to greet Francisco the cat by GRR. Made it to Main Street (by the Arcade) with about 3 minutes to spare. Friends loved TF, especially the projections. Then made our way purposefully toward NOS to check in to our viewing area. Arrived just a few minutes before the area opened. Went right to the railing and got some rest before F!. Such a fun show! At our friends' request, we finished the night with IASW. Thankful for all the pixie dust and that our friends had a great time. :)
 
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I'm glad your day worked out in spite of the heat (and some ride closures)! Snagging a RSR cancellation is always exciting, and that's a solid block of nighttime entertainment right there! I've made a bit of a game of the "PTN to TF" hustle and tried it multiple times this summer, and it really depends the most on how prompt PTN is, so I'm happy that worked out for you guys!
 
Glad you had a great visit! I thought lower crowds definitely made the heat more tolerable yesterday.
 
Glad you had a great visit! I thought lower crowds definitely made the heat more tolerable yesterday.

Happy Belated Birthday to you! (And A Very Merry Unbirthday today, too!) Agree that, as unpleasant as it was, the humidity actually played out in our favor. The crowds really did seem to be lower for a Sunday all day long.
 


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