Please help me rethink my plans

[buggy2727]

I got so much good advice on my "afternoon breaks" thread and am now trying to figure out a better plan of attack. Star Wars dining screwed up my plans!!! I'm struggling a little because I feel "locked in" to certain days due to ADR's and other events. We've never done Disney with our kids so if you don't mind, please share your thoughts.

We are going from May 2nd to May 8th (Fri - Thurs), we arrive mid day and depart late morning so we really have 5 full days for the parks. Our kids are DS-8, DD-6 & DD-4.5 and we figured 2 days at MK with one day for each of the other parks. We do have park hoppers and will also have a stroller Oh and we'd like to see the nightly shows at MK, DHS & Epcot.

MK - We have an ADR for CRT at 8:05am on Saturday, our first day. We will spend the rest of the day there but will not stay for MSEP or FW with the early start, first day, etc... Our 2nd day has to be Tuesday, since Saturday is a high crowd day, Sunday EMH, Monday rated one of the busiest days at MK and Weds no MSEP, it's Tuesday by default. We'd love to RD to see the morning "opening", the "ceremonies" at Mickey's Toon Town and get a jump on rides. If we RD, we will definitely take an afternoon break. If we stay with this plan then we have Sun, Mon & Weds left.

DHS - Right now, I have an ADR for H&V at 8:25. Plus since Jedi Training is a must, we have to be there at RD anyway. Another "hang up" I have is we are planning DHS for "May the 4th". Last year they had some "special" events on this day for the Star Wars anniversary that they didn't announce until a week before. So for now, I'm stuck with this park on Sunday. If we can move the day, it has to be Wednesday since there are EMH on Monday. Anyway, another "issue" I have is the new SW dining. I couldn't get a ressie on May 4th for Sci Fi bfast which means this will have to be another day, which really stinks because that will be another early morning. I will keep trying though. I don't think keeping DHS on Sunday will be terrible since the day before will be an early night - however being here at RD, trying to see all the various "shows" and then staying for Fantasmic will be a long day. We will work some type of "break" in here for sure.

Here's where things get tricky - IF we do MK on Sat & Tues, find out cool stuff is going on at DHS on Sunday for May the 4th - that only leaves Mon & Weds for Epcot and AK. AK has EMH both those days.... From everything I've read, if you do a park with EMH in the AM you have to do RD otherwise stay away! So that's an early morning but also an early finish. My other issue is the SciFi Star Wars breakfast. If I'm unable to change my ressie to May 4th, I will have to make this another day which means ANOTHER early morning day! Most advised to do Sci Fi bfast with my Epcot day since you can enjoy Epcot later in the day and AK you can't. Another reason is if we paired it with AK EMH, we won't be there at RD and that's not recommended! We *could* do a later bfast ressie for Sci Fi and then head over to Epcot but that would most likely put us there right in the middle of afternoon crowds. So I have some tough decisions to make and am trying to find the best balance. I know we are trying to cram a lot into 5 days but if anyone has any advice or suggestions, I'd appreciate it. I've been staring at the plans for weeks, almost had them set and then they announced SW dining and now I'm trying to re-fit the puzzle pieces!

 

[Spunky946]

First of all take a breath. You are way over thinking this.

5/3. Mk with early crt. Fairly early night.
5/4. Early hollywood and vine, want to see fantasmic. I'd definitely take a break here. You will never make open to close. I'd see the 9 show and leave right afterwards.
5/5. I'd do Epcot here, but not try to make rope drop. Use it as a rest morning. Make fast pas plus for a little late in the day and take a break before illuminations.
5/6. Since you have hoppers, I'd do ak this am getting there close to rope drop, but it's a 9 am, so it won't kill you. Stay until you are done, we are usually done early. Take a break and then mk for the evening entertainment,
5/7. You could do rope drop mk if you think you can manage it and then take a break and either return or hop to another park.

You can't really do late nights and early morning, so something might have to give. Oh and mickeys toon town is closed, that's where the new dumbo is.

 

[buggy2727]

First of all take a breath. You are way over thinking this.

5/3. Mk with early crt. Fairly early night.
5/4. Early hollywood and vine, want to see fantasmic. I'd definitely take a break here. You will never make open to close. I'd see the 9 show and leave right afterwards.
5/5. I'd do Epcot here, but not try to make rope drop. Use it as a rest morning. Make fast pas plus for a little late in the day and take a break before illuminations.
5/6. Since you have hoppers, I'd do ak this am getting there close to rope drop, but it's a 9 am, so it won't kill you. Stay until you are done, we are usually done early. Take a break and then mk for the evening entertainment,
5/7. You could do rope drop mk if you think you can manage it and then take a break and either return or hop to another park.

You can't really do late nights and early morning, so something might have to give. Oh and mickeys toon town is closed, that's where the new dumbo is.

Oh damn! I just read somewhere about mickey's toontown and a little "ceremony" they do when that section opens. Now I see it was closed in 2011! Where the heck did I see that info on the "ceremony"?!

I know I'm getting way to obsessed!! The Sci Fi bfast is the killer since I can't get that on my DHS day and that means another early ADR!

 

[MandiC]

MK does have an opening ceremony but none of the other parks do (I think, the only one I am unsure of is AK, we had an ADR that morning). I do think the opening ceremony is worth going to, really sets the mood for the day
I think Spunky laid the plan out well. The only thing I'd change is instead of park hopping to MK, I'd park hop to Epcot since your Epcot day will be short. But you can get the hopper and since you will have already done Epcot/MK by that day you can decide then. OR you could take that afternoon to rest depending on how you are all feeling that day.
Honestly we did lots of Rope Drop (and earlier with ADRs) to park close and while I wouldn't do it again in the future we survived. It was rough waking the kids in the AM but they mostly did okay and luckily we got home on a Friday so they had all weekend to catch up on sleep LOL

 

[AThrillingChase]

I have been during nearly every time of year, but did early May last year. It honestly wasn't crazy busy. So yes, I think you are overthinking as well!

RD is very valuable, but like others I have gone around 9:30 and stayed through close in the summer when MK is open until 1am. TS dinners help, as do shows, to sit down for awhile and rest while still doing an attraction. And try going back to your resort for a few hours around 12-3 on a couple of days. RD is great, but not if it leaves you worrying the entire time and not enjoying the trip

May 4th will be crowded, but most of the extra crowd will be there for Star Wars characters, events, etc. so it shouldn't increase most of the wait times by too much.

I agree that Epcot can be a bit of a sleep in day. Just get FP+ for that afternoon and spend the evening at world showcase where crowds are less of a concern. Also for park hopping days, keep in mind Epcot is the easiest to hop between MK with the monorail or HS via walking. Any other hopping combinations will require busses.

Have fun! And keep in mind you won't remember one ride in 10 years, but you will remember the memories!

 

[lovetogowdw]

It seems like one of the things you're most concerned about is not waiting in lines and maximizing your "fun" time, so your dates should really pay off. It isn't crazy yet.

One thing that has helped me with last minute planning decisions for an upcoming trip is to take a "pulse check" the week just prior -- utilizing a couple of the apps for wait times. (There are several available.) I'll get on the apps just long enough to check out my possible park(s) choices for that day of the week at various times during the day to see what's trending in wait times where. Then I make note of the "best" and "worst" wait times. Clearly from week to week there are variations, but for overall trends, I've noticed a lot. Like the Nemo ride at Epcot can have quite a line in the mornings, but a 5 minute wait after 8 pm. If I'm trying to decide which park we might go to during certain time blocks, I look for what would make sense based on that time of day over the week prior.

It only takes me literally like 3-4 minutes to jump on the apps and make a few notes a few times a day - usually like 10 am, 1 pm, 4 pm, 7 pm check points.