Please critique my July schedule/fast pass plan!

[Amy Hammack]

Family with older children going on July for the first time. We will have 6 day hoppers. The first 2 days we are able to utilize EMH and the other 4 days we will be offsite and avoiding those parks. We will also have SDFP abilities. I'm struggling with the best times to plan for FP. I will likely have better luck using SDFP to score rides, rather than hoping for a 4th FP and scheduling my FP rides early, correct? We won't be doing any TS dining.

7/21: AM EMH at MK (Friday)
Will hit the mountains first since they are our favorite rides at Disneyland.
Fast passes for Space, 7DMT, and Splash. I am thinking at 12, 1, and 2 and then we can take an afternoon break when the crowds get heavier. We can hop to another park afterwards if we want.
Other rides we want to ride at MK during our trip: BTMR, Pirates, jungle cruise, haunted mansion, mickeys philharmagic, Little Mermaid, people mover, buzz, small world, monsters inc. and the new fireworks.

7/22: AM EMH at AK (Saturday)
Heading straight for FOP.

Fast passes for Safari, Na'vi and Everest starting at 11. I've gone back and forth about when to do the Safari and Rapids ride. Any recommendations would be appreciated. I considered heading to the Safari after FOP. May take afternoon break and check out another park that night.
Other rides we want to do at AK during our trip: dinosaur, walking trails, and rapids

7/23 Epcot (Sunday)
Rope drop test track and then to Frozen Ever after.

Fast passes for Soaring, Spaceship Earth, and The Seas 12, 1, and 2ish. Mission Space will be closed so as you all know there aren't very good choices for 2nd tier rides.
Other rides we want to do at Epcot: Living with the land, turtle talk, gran fiesta, figment, caurosel of progress, and agent p/explore the world showcase(cool club!).

7/24 DHS (Monday)
Rope drop Toy Story

Fast passes Tower of terror, rock n roller, and star tours from 12-1 again I am thinking.

Other rides: muppets, great movie ride, Indiana jones show, and Star Wars night show.

7/25: day off

7/26 Wednesday
Rope drop Epcot to for sure hit test track and soaring again.

Fast passes for AK starting at 4?
Rapids, FOP and Everest. I go back and forth between doing the safari around sunset this day, so we aren't soaked all day after just arriving on the rapids. Any rides that are better at night?

7/27
Rope drop DHS and want to for sure hit rock n roller, ToT and Star Tours again.

Fast passes starting around 4? At MK
Space, big thunder and splash.

Any advice on timing is appreciated! We are newbies. Thanks for reading this long post.

 

[TXDisneyFan1]

I think you have done really well for your first trip! I like to eat lunch earlier than the masses (around 11) to avoid the crowds and do my fast passes earlier in the day right when the masses of people begin to show up. (Of course, we usually rope drop)

Sorry I couldn't be more critical.

 

[iona]

One thing to note on your first day is that Splash & Big Thunder aren't open until 9am so, assuming you're going to start with Space Mountain, you might want to squeeze in Buzz (seeing as it's on your to do list) during EMH too.

 

[Amy Hammack]

One thing to note on your first day is that Splash & Big Thunder aren't open until 9am so, assuming you're going to start with Space Mountain, you might want to squeeze in Buzz (seeing as it's on your to do list) during EMH too.

I didn't realize that not all of the rides are open during EMH! That's really good info. Thank you. Is 7DMT?

 

[Amy Hammack]

I think you have done really well for your first trip! I like to eat lunch earlier than the masses (around 11) to avoid the crowds and do my fast passes earlier in the day right when the masses of people begin to show up. (Of course, we usually rope drop)

Sorry I couldn't be more critical.

What times do you schedule for? After lunch?

 

[mesaboy2]

I didn't realize that not all of the rides are open during EMH! That's really good info. Thank you. Is 7DMT?

Yes. Most everything in Fantasyland and Tomorrowland is.

 

[ChasingLeslie]

Personally, I'd suggest moving all your FPs 1-2 hours earlier. It's great to be able to book extra FPs in the middle of the day when it's hot and the lines are less tolerable.

For Epcot, I'd do Frozen first, Test Track second.

 

[Amy Hammack]

Personally, I'd suggest moving all your FPs 1-2 hours earlier. It's great to be able to book extra FPs in the middle of the day when it's hot and the lines are less tolerable.

I was considering starting them at 11 but then was worried about having time for lunch or a snack.

 

[ChasingLeslie]

Does it make a difference even with using SDFP? I was considering starting them at 11 but then was worried about having time for lunch or a snack.

What do you mean SDFP...? (All I can think is seven dwarfs FP).

I always prefer early FPs so I can book more. You have an hour to use them, so it shouldn't interfer with snack or lunch plans.

 

[Amy Hammack]

Same

What do you mean SDFP...? (All I can think is seven dwarfs FP).

I always prefer early FPs so I can book more. You have an hour to use them, so it shouldn't interfer with snack or lunch plans.

Same day fast pass. There's a separate thread about it

 

[Shanti]

Family with older children going on July for the first time. We will have 6 day hoppers. The first 2 days we are able to utilize EMH and the other 4 days we will be offsite and avoiding those parks. We will also have SDFP abilities. I'm struggling with the best times to plan for FP. I will likely have better luck using SDFP to score rides, rather than hoping for a 4th FP and scheduling my FP rides early, correct? We won't be doing any TS dining.

7/21: AM EMH at MK (Friday)
Will hit the mountains first since they are our favorite rides at Disneyland.
Fast passes for Space, 7DMT, and Splash. I am thinking at 12, 1, and 2 and then we can take an afternoon break when the crowds get heavier. We can hop to another park afterwards if we want.
Other rides we want to ride at MK during our trip: BTMR, Pirates, jungle cruise, haunted mansion, mickeys philharmagic, Little Mermaid, people mover, buzz, small world, monsters inc. and the new fireworks.

7/22: AM EMH at AK (Saturday)
Heading straight for FOP.

Fast passes for Safari, Na'vi and Everest starting at 11. I've gone back and forth about when to do the Safari and Rapids ride. Any recommendations would be appreciated. I considered heading to the Safari after FOP. May take afternoon break and check out another park that night.
Other rides we want to do at AK during our trip: dinosaur, walking trails, and rapids

7/23 Epcot (Sunday)
Rope drop test track and then to Frozen Ever after.

Fast passes for Soaring, Spaceship Earth, and The Seas 12, 1, and 2ish. Mission Space will be closed so as you all know there aren't very good choices for 2nd tier rides.
Other rides we want to do at Epcot: Living with the land, turtle talk, gran fiesta, figment, caurosel of progress, and agent p/explore the world showcase(cool club!).

7/24 DHS (Monday)
Rope drop Toy Story

Fast passes Tower of terror, rock n roller, and star tours from 12-1 again I am thinking.

Other rides: muppets, great movie ride, Indiana jones show, and Star Wars night show.

7/25: day off

7/26 Wednesday
Rope drop Epcot to for sure hit test track and soaring again.

Fast passes for AK starting at 4?
Rapids, FOP and Everest. I go back and forth between doing the safari around sunset this day, so we aren't soaked all day after just arriving on the rapids. Any rides that are better at night?

7/27
Rope drop DHS and want to for sure hit rock n roller, ToT and Star Tours again.

Fast passes starting around 4? At MK
Space, big thunder and splash.

Any advice on timing is appreciated! We are newbies. Thanks for reading this long post.

It rains (and sometimes has thunder/lightning, which shuts down many outdoor rides) almost every afternoon in July. I recommend booking FPs for outdoor rides like Splash Mountain for before noon, when the weather is much less likely to cause a ride shutdown. Afternoon ride shutdowns don't happen every day in summer, but they do happen occasionally (& happened multiple times on our last July trip), which is why I'm recommending caution.

 

[ChasingLeslie]

@Amy Hammack - hmm, never heard that abbreviation before!

@Shanti - weather will do whatever it wants, but I wouldn't say it rains every day in July. We were there last July for eight days and only had rain one afternoon (for about 1-2 hours) and one night (after 7pm).

 

[EmisMom]

Your plan sounds great. One thing to note: Carousel of Progress is in MK not Epcot. Have a magical trip!!

 

[TXDisneyFan1]

What times do you schedule for? After lunch?

Sometimes I plan the thrill rides right before lunch and then the tamer rides right after lunch so I can go back to the resort around 2 for our afternoon break.