Please help me refine my plan!

[hookem59]

Me, DW, DD (11) and DS (10), staying at Fort Wilderness 2-6 August. First trip for DS and DD. Planning to take advantage of the EMH each day. Park hopper tix, but only planning one park per day.

SO, here's an overview of the plan:

3 August (Sunday) - Magic Kingdom
Enter at RD, hit 7DMT then use FP+ for A&E (9:10). Doing the Family Magic Tour 10-12, and have FP+ for BTMRR (12:15) and SplMtn (1:25). Back to the resort for 4-5 hours after that. Want to hit most of the rest of the rides after Wishes, and planning to stay until closing (2 AM). Considering the Pirate Cruise for Wishes (something to compensate DS for going along with DD to see A&E), but wonder if we will be able to see either of the MSEPs if we leave the park for the Pirate Cruise.

4 August (Monday) - Hollywood Studios
After the late night, not planning to arrive until 11:30 or so. Have FP+ for TSMM (11:30), Star Tours (12:55) and ToT (4:20), plus the Fantasmic ADR at Hollywood & Vine at 4. Looking at the wait times, maybe the FP+ for Star Tours could be put to better use on something else, but not sure. HS is open late for EMH, but don't know if we'll need the extra time.

5 August (Tuesday) - EPCOT
Enter at RD and hit TT first, then maybe Spaceship Earth. FP+ for Soarin' (9:25), Turtle Talk (10:25) and Mission: SPACE (11:25). Doing the EPCOT Seas Aqua Tour 12-3, and have an ADR at Biergarten at 3. Want to do as much of Agent P's Adventure as we can, but plan to be out of the park around 6 to join the grandparents at the resort.

6 August (Wednesday) - Animal Kingdom
Enter for the morning EMH and work our way through a few rides on our way to Kilimanjaro Safaris (9:25 FP+). Also have FP+ for Expedition Everest (10:25) and Kali River Rapids (12:15). Have an ADR at Rainforest Cafe at 11 (meeting the grandparents), and need to leave the park by 3 or so to get to the airport.

OK, so what are your thoughts on (1) doing the Pirate Cruise and still being able to see the MSEP, and (2) my FP+ selections and any recommended changes. Fire away!

 

[slickpoetry]

Back to the resort for 4-5 hours after that. Want to hit most of the rest of the rides after Wishes, and planning to stay until closing (2 AM).

That's a typo, right? The park closes at midnight.

 

[Fivesacharm]

That's a typo, right? The park closes at midnight.

That's not a typo. August 3rd has EMH @ MK so the park closes at 2AM

 

[catherines_mama]

AK day. If you have Rainforest lunch at 11am and Kali ADR 12:15. Is that 12:15-1:15? I worry you are cutting that close. Id try to change that to 1:00-2:00. You'd still have time to do some dinoland stuff dry off change and leave by 3pm. But it gives you time to ride Kali.

AK doesn't have a lot of "rides" to do on the way to safari. But you might consider Tough to be a Bug and that Lion long show will be back by then, there in Africa to maybe hit after the Safari.

 

[hookem59]

AK day. If you have Rainforest lunch at 11am and Kali ADR 12:15. Is that 12:15-1:15? I worry you are cutting that close. Id try to change that to 1:00-2:00. You'd still have time to do some dinoland stuff dry off change and leave by 3pm. But it gives you time to ride Kali.

AK doesn't have a lot of "rides" to do on the way to safari. But you might consider Tough to be a Bug and that Lion long show will be back by then, there in Africa to maybe hit after the Safari.

It is 12:15-1:15, but that's good advice to push it back a little. Sadly, ITTBAB is closed that day, so there's really not a lot to do in AK that day, but we figure it can be a relaxing way to end the trip.

 

[hookem59]

Well, figured out the answer to my first question on my own: not possible to do the Pirate Cruise and make it to either of the MSEP shows that night. Still on the fence about the cruise....

 

[mommy-3]

Just wondering why you have park hoppers, but aren't using them

 

[hookem59]

Just wondering why you have park hoppers, but aren't using them

Really, the only day we could use the hopper option is Sunday, because there are other schedule limitations (grandparents, flights, etc.) driving us to shorter days in the parks Monday through Wednesday. We could use our 4 or so hour break from MK on Sunday to go to another park, but I think that time will be better spent chilling out at the resort so we can get our second wind and make it through the rest of Sunday night (a VERY long one!).

 

[mom2AidanAndEli]

Really, the only day we could use the hopper option is Sunday, because there are other schedule limitations (grandparents, flights, etc.) driving us to shorter days in the parks Monday through Wednesday. We could use our 4 or so hour break from MK on Sunday to go to another park, but I think that time will be better spent chilling out at the resort so we can get our second wind and make it through the rest of Sunday night (a VERY long one!).

Makes sense, but why pay for park hoppers if you know you won't use them? Why not just get base tickets?

 

[mcconnellfam96]

Me, DW, DD (11) and DS (10), staying at Fort Wilderness 2-6 August. First trip for DS and DD. Planning to take advantage of the EMH each day. Park hopper tix, but only planning one park per day.
I would save yourself a few bucks and remove the park hopper option from your tickets if you know you are not going to use it!
SO, here's an overview of the plan:

3 August (Sunday) - Magic Kingdom
Enter at RD, hit 7DMT then use FP+ for A&E (9:10). Doing the Family Magic Tour 10-12, and have FP+ for BTMRR (12:15) and SplMtn (1:25). Back to the resort for 4-5 hours after that. Want to hit most of the rest of the rides after Wishes, and planning to stay until closing (2 AM). Considering the Pirate Cruise for Wishes (something to compensate DS for going along with DD to see A&E), but wonder if we will be able to see either of the MSEPs if we leave the park for the Pirate Cruise.

4 August (Monday) - Hollywood Studios
After the late night, not planning to arrive until 11:30 or so. Have FP+ for TSMM (11:30), Star Tours (12:55) and ToT (4:20), plus the Fantasmic ADR at Hollywood & Vine at 4. It is possible that a 4:00 dinner reservation will cause you to miss your FastPass+ window (4;20-5:20) for ToT. I would push that time slot back to something more like 5:00-6:00). Looking at the wait times, maybe the FP+ for Star Tours could be put to better use on something else, but not sure. HS is open late for EMH, but don't know if we'll need the extra time.

5 August (Tuesday) - EPCOT
Enter at RD and hit TT first, then maybe Spaceship Earth. FP+ for Soarin' (9:25), Turtle Talk (10:25) and Mission: SPACE (11:25). Doing the EPCOT Seas Aqua Tour 12-3, and have an ADR at Biergarten at 3. If your Seas Aqua Tour doesn't end until 3:00 - will you make it to an ADR all the way in Germany at 3:00? Maybe you could push your ADR back to 4:00? Want to do as much of Agent P's Adventure as we can, but plan to be out of the park around 6 to join the grandparents at the resort.

6 August (Wednesday) - Animal Kingdom
Enter for the morning EMH and work our way through a few rides on our way to Kilimanjaro Safaris (9:25 FP+). Also have FP+ for Expedition Everest (10:25) and Kali River Rapids (12:15). Have an ADR at Rainforest Cafe at 11 (meeting the grandparents), and need to leave the park by 3 or so to get to the airport.

OK, so what are your thoughts on (1) doing the Pirate Cruise and still being able to see the MSEP, and (2) my FP+ selections and any recommended changes. Fire away!

Have a fun time!

 

[hookem59]

Makes sense, but why pay for park hoppers if you know you won't use them? Why not just get base tickets?

Oh, gotcha. They're the special military tickets that include the hopper option at a lower price than the base tickets.

 

[hookem59]

Have a fun time!

Thanks, Jen. Good call on moving the ToT FP+. As far as the Biergarten ADR, I padded the schedule a little bit, so we should have 15-20 minutes between the end of the tour and the ADR. When I made the res, that time was the only one that worked with our schedule, but I'll check again and see if anything's opened up. Worst case is that we're a little damp still when we get to the Biergarten, but we'll make it work (German beer, dontcha know!).

 

[Mikie]

Well, figured out the answer to my first question on my own: not possible to do the Pirate Cruise and make it to either of the MSEP shows that night. Still on the fence about the cruise....

You could have one parent use the A&E FP with DD and try to score a different one for DS since you're interested in "compensating" him for putting up with A&E.

 

[hookem59]

Have a fun time!

Thanks, Jen. Good call on moving the ToT FP+. As far as the Biergarten ADR, I padded the schedule a little bit, so we should have 15-20 minutes between the end of the tour and the ADR. When I made the res, that time was the only one that worked with our schedule, but I'll check again and see if anything's opened up. Worst case is that we're a little damp still when we get to the Biergarten, but we'll make it work (German beer, dontcha know!).

OK, changed the ToT FP+ to 5:05. As far as the Biergarten reservation, if I make it any later it'll push us from lunch to dinner, with apparently much higher prices. We'll find a way to make it work!

 

[hookem59]

You could have one parent use the A&E FP with DD and try to score a different one for DS since you're interested in "compensating" him for putting up with A&E.

That's a good idea, but the problem is that I kind of want to do the Pirate Cruise myself, so I may not be able to use my son as an excuse....