Opinions & Advice: 1-Day Itinerary for 2 Middle-Aged Adults

SDSavage

Earning My Ears
Joined
Jul 11, 2019
Hello, Friends -
I'm a Disney veteran tho it's been 10 years since I've been back. Taking my hubby for a first-time visit, and I'm hoping I could get your expert opinions on what changes if any I should make to this itinerary. We're there for a conference mid-July (Monday, 7/22) and have only this one possible day in MK due to schedule constraints. But as we have no little ones in tow and we're not up demanding physical rides, there's lots of unnecessary attractions we can skip.
Here's what I have for us so far, with FastPass reservations noted. I feel like it's "morning-heavy" and I might need to re-arrange.
Thoughts? Recommendations? Many thanks!
8:00 AMBreakfast: The Plaza Restaurant
9:00 AMEnter Adventureland (Rope Drop)
9:15 - 9:30 AMPirates of the Caribbean
10:00 - 10:30 AMSplash Mountain
11:00 - 11:30 AMBig Thunder Mountain Railroad
11:30 - 11:50 AMHall of Presidents
11:50 - 12:50 PMHaunted Mansion (*FP*)
1:10 PMLunch: Liberty Tree Tavern
1:40 - 2:40 PMPeter Pan's Flight (*FP*)
2:45 - 3:45 PMSeven Dwarfs Mine Train (*FP*) (Add FastPass for Small World)
Small World (*FP*)
5:00 PM and LaterDinner in Tomorrowland
Carousel of Progress
Tomorrowland Transit Authority
Back to Main Street
 
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Breakfast I scheduled at 8:00 am so I could get us in the park earlier and not sweat the crowds closer to 9, but I've also found out that Main Street opens at 8 anyway, so I may change that plan & save some money. Thanks!
 
Since you have no fast passes for the morning attractions it will be tough to get everything done in the time you are allotting. I haven’t been down in July lately, but I would think standby lines will be at least an hours wait for Splash and BTM.
 


Breakfast I scheduled at 8:00 am so I could get us in the park earlier and not sweat the crowds closer to 9, but I've also found out that Main Street opens at 8 anyway, so I may change that plan & save some money. Thanks!
Breakfast will put you at a pretty serious disadvantage, crowd-wise.
 
Since you have no fast passes for the morning attractions it will be tough to get everything done in the time you are allotting. I haven’t been down in July lately, but I would think standby lines will be at least an hours wait for Splash and BTM.
It's funny, I had read some advice in Mousehacking not to bother wasting FP's on morning slots if you were starting at the West side of the park.
"This area of the park is relatively slow to get going in the morning, so you have the chance to cover a wide range of great rides—Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Splash Mountain, Jungle Cruise, Haunted Mansion, and Pirates of the Caribbean—with short waits. We try and schedule our FastPass+ times for 11AM, 12PM, and 1PM."
I take it maybe that's not the case?
 


It's funny, I had read some advice in Mousehacking not to bother wasting FP's on morning slots if you were starting at the West side of the park.
"This area of the park is relatively slow to get going in the morning, so you have the chance to cover a wide range of great rides—Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Splash Mountain, Jungle Cruise, Haunted Mansion, and Pirates of the Caribbean—with short waits. We try and schedule our FastPass+ times for 11AM, 12PM, and 1PM."
I take it maybe that's not the case?


That is definitely my experience, but we travel as off-peak as possible so I'm sure what summer wait times are like.

If the breakfast reservation was just to get you in early, I'd cancel it. Grab a lighter, portable breakfast at the park and save money and belly room for a snack or two later in the day.

If you are at AdventureLand at RD, I think your first 3 rides are fine, you actually have an hour for Splash since you have an unassigned 30 min between the mountains. So you might be pushing it, but I think you'll be close to your plan.
The thing that jumps out at me is that you don't have nearly enough time noted for Hall of Presidents, Haunted Mansion, and getting to lunch on time. You have 20 minutes total for HofP and it's 25 minute show not including time waiting in the lobby before you can be seated. Also keep in mind that on a busy day you may have to wait a good bit past your reservation time before you can be seated for lunch, so you may be getting to PP close to the end of the fp window.

I wouldn't necessarily change your written plan, but be prepared to save HoP for after lunch, maybe even after Fantasy Land. I hate criss crossing the park much but it wouldn't be a terrible detour to hit HofP after FantastyLand and then head over to TomorrowLand.
Definitely do not give up your PP or SD fps!
 
I think it looks fine. The only suggestion I would make is, I would actually head over to BTMRR and Splash first as, in my experience, those lines build faster than POTC. I would then walk over to Pirates and proceed with your plan from there.
 
Personally, I like to get my FPs early, starting around 10 am. Once I tap in on the first, I try to refresh and move up the second, then do the same for the third. By noon I are usually done with the first three, then I go for the 4th, 5th, etc. Depending on the crowd levels determines my success on getting the extras. I would rather do most any ride with a FP than wait in line for a popular attraction for an hour or two. (My max standby wait time is 30 minutes. I’m not a patient person!).

I agree with Shelly, you may be able to get thru the morning as planned. But it really is going to depend on crowd levels. You can always check wait times on the app this coming Monday. That may give you a better idea as to what you might expect.
 
We start our fast passes early, usually somewhere between 9:30 and 10. Doing that, we can typically get an additional 10 to 12 fastpasses throughout the rest of the day. We very rarely have to wait in line for more than 20 minutes, and never more than 30
 
We start our fast passes early, usually somewhere between 9:30 and 10. Doing that, we can typically get an additional 10 to 12 fastpasses throughout the rest of the day.
So if you were me, would you forfeit the afternoon FP's for HM, PPF and SDMT and switch them to BTMRR, SM and POTC for the morning, and then pick up those original rides as FP's later in the day?
 
So if you were me, would you forfeit the afternoon FP's for HM, PPF and SDMT and switch them to BTMRR, SM and POTC for the morning, and then pick up those original rides as FP's later in the day?
No keep your FP and do what this poster said
I think it looks fine. The only suggestion I would make is, I would actually head over to BTMRR and Splash first as, in my experience, those lines build faster than POTC. I would then walk over to Pirates and proceed with your plan from there.
. Also keep in mind that you might not get every thing on your list and that is fine you might get more done too. Just enjoy the fact your back at your happy place.
 
No doubt, right?!?! He wants us to go back for a full visit once the initial rush of crowds thins out a bit at Galaxy's Edge - we're lifelong Star Wars fans and he's losing his mind the conference was scheduled before the opening ;)
 
Hello, Friends -
I'm a Disney veteran tho it's been 10 years since I've been back. Taking my hubby for a first-time visit, and I'm hoping I could get your expert opinions on what changes if any I should make to this itinerary. We're there for a conference mid-July (Monday, 7/22) and have only this one possible day in MK due to schedule constraints. But as we have no little ones in tow and we're not up demanding physical rides, there's lots of unnecessary attractions we can skip.
Here's what I have for us so far, with FastPass reservations noted. I feel like it's "morning-heavy" and I might need to re-arrange.
Thoughts? Recommendations? Many thanks!
8:00 AMBreakfast: The Plaza Restaurant
9:00 AMEnter Adventureland (Rope Drop)
9:15 - 9:30 AMPirates of the Caribbean
10:00 - 10:30 AMSplash Mountain
11:00 - 11:30 AMBig Thunder Mountain Railroad
11:30 - 11:50 AMHall of Presidents
11:50 - 12:50 PMHaunted Mansion (*FP*)
1:10 PMLunch: Liberty Tree Tavern
1:40 - 2:40 PMPeter Pan's Flight (*FP*)
2:45 - 3:45 PMSeven Dwarfs Mine Train (*FP*) (Add FastPass for Small World)
Small World (*FP*)
5:00 PM and LaterDinner in Tomorrowland
Carousel of Progress
Tomorrowland Transit Authority
Back to Main Street

I like your start in adventure land/frontierland, we do that and have great luck riding all those rides early with little to no waits but we switch it and do BTMR and Splash first and then work counter clockwise through MK towards Pirates, main street and tomorrowland.

But like other posters mentioned, breakfast at the plaza will not help with that plan. You may end up finishing your meal later than 9am. Also, if you only have one day in MK, spending time eating two sit down meals is a time waster. I'd keep the lunch always over a breakfast just to have a dedicated meal/tables indoors and escape the heat. The FP time frame looks ok but you may want to consider splitting your day some given the heat or at least schedule in some indoor attractions/shopping to beat the heat.

It's definitely AM heavy but after you use up your last FP+, you can wing it for evening time and having a party of 2, you'll probably be able to get some more FP+ after mine train. Evening is kind of a toss up sometimes since you never know how your FP+ will go but it's less stressful IMO if you hit what you really want to in the morning and then can relax and just enjoy the park in the evening.
 
2 adults--- you should have no problem doing that itinerary and probably will be able to do a lot more. With a 9:00 a.m. park opening, being at the Plaza at 8:00 a.m., you probably will be out and at the front of the rope drop crowd heading to Adventureland. If you go straight from ride to ride, I wouldn't be surprised if you might even get those first 3 rides done by 10:00 a.m. If it were me, since it is mid July and likely crowded, I would probably try to hit those 3 rides first as their lines will definitely be long later in the day, and then you can browse the areas. I do agree with the others that you might start with BTMM or Splash and work back to POTC--- actually if you start with Splash, then you can have the wind dry you off on BTMM.

I absolutely would not get rid of your PP or 7DMT FP+ . Those are the hardest ones to get at MK in my opinion. We are always trying to get another one for one of those 2 as a 4th, as they are my DD's favorite rides in MK. If you could move them earlier and tweak your plans maybe, but I wouldn't count on those 2 as a 4th. You can scan in for 7DMT 5 minutes early. You will probably be hitting PP at about the end of your time period if you keep your Liberty Tree ADR, but if at all possible I would scan into 7DMT at the earliest possible time and then start looking for a 4th. With 2 people, you might be able to get some decent ones as 4th, 5th, etc.
 
I absolutely agree with everything said by ktlm. We are also a middle-aged couple. We go about 2-3 times per year. Your strategy of hitting Adventure and Frontier Land early is solid. Don't change anything. It will be crowded, but you will enjoy it more if you don't try to over-schedule. I would also skip the breakfast, though.
 
Being that you have the fast passes, I wouldn’t change. It would be hard to replace mine train. You will still have plenty of time after the three FPs are done to get extras, as long as it’s not crazy busy. Again, I don’t normally go in July so I’m not overly familiar with crowd levels.

I always go in knowing I have no control over crowds, I am just happy to be there and not at work! If I end up taking breaks and people watching so be it. Enjoy your day!!!!
 
Awesome info, thanks everyone! If I cancel breakfast, what time should we plan on arriving at the front gate, and what is your best recommendation for getting there from the Dolphin? I'm sure the bus is the way to go, just not sure on when we should plan on trying to get there and what it's like being in the park before Rope Drop.
 

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