please tell me your park attack method for each

[Mrs.viv07]

here is the deal as much as i have studied these boards along with other sites, i pretty much have down pat where we are going when and how long it will take
here is my list
ADR's made
times of parades/shows in itinerary
park choosen for each day we are there
maps studied to "know" where major attractions & ADRS are in the park

BUT.....

i am still debating what to do once we actually arrive at each park
i don't want to waste time looking at maps trying to figure out where to go next. if you experienced ones caould please give me a rough idea of what to head to at each park MK,MGM, EPCOT, AK it would be soooo helpful.

we have a 5yo with us

thanks again!

 

[MARY-IN-OH]

I signed up for Tour Guide Mike (TGM), he helped me with exactly what you are looking for. There is a link to his site right here on this board, if you want to find out more!
Good Luck!

 

[mom22boys]

Have you checked out *****************, the UG (Unofficial Guide), or TGM (Tour Guide Mike) yet? I have found all three to be excellent sources on touring the parks. Obviously the idea is to avoid the crowds and long lines!!! My best #1 tip is to get there at park opening! The parks are so enjoyable during the first two hours of opening.

Edited: Whoops looks like I broke a rule! Didn't know I couldn't post the name of that other website. Sorry.

 

[THpoohbear]

The UG has these great touring plans. I'm leaving for my first trip in one week! And I'm planning on using them. Their claim is using their touring plan will help you save about 4 hours worth waiting in line time per day during busy seasons.

 

[klwdisney]

our strategy? do what we want...

We walk up the main strip, then go left. if something has a long line, we'll either get a fastpass if the return time isn't crazy or we'll come back another day.

Never had a problem no matter what time of year we've gone. If we miss stuff totally due to crowds, it's just an excuse to come back for another trip.

Last year was the first time since 1997 that we'd gotten the chance to ride BTMRR. That made that ride THAT much better when we did ride it!

Call us crazy but we definitely prefer the more laid back approach to park touring to the "jam-packed itinerary, over-planned, sweating bullets over kinks in the plan "method. I am informed of park times and fireworks days and that's about it. We wing it when we get there.

 

[Frantasmic]

We just did this two weeks ago:


Animal Kingdom at opening, hit Everest first, then the Safari, then the Kali Rapids, do the trails there if you want. Hit Dinosaur and Primevel Whirl. Put in a FP to Everest again sometime in that time frame.

MGM EMH: Tot, RnR, Star Tours, Muppets, Movie Ride, Car Show, pick your choice of the other shows then. See Fantasmic

MK, Hit Fantasyland at rope drop go to Tomorrowland then Toon Town, then Liberty Square, Frontierland and Adventureland

EPCOT, go to Soarin' first ride and get fast pass, go ride Mission Space, get FP for Test Track, go through Wonders of Life Pavillion if open, Energy if interested, ride Soarin', finish up with the Nemo stuff at The Seas and the Imagination rides. Wander through World Showcase. See Illuminations

 

[Disneywoz]

One thing to remember is you have a 5 yr old. Planning is not going to work because they are going to see something and want to ride that next. My recommendation is to take the laid back approach. At MK, go to Fantasyland for the rope drop, and see what they want to do. Then head one way or the other, but don't fret, relax and enjoy the World. If this is your child's first trip the last thing you want them to remember is not getting to do a ride they wanted to do because the line was too long. Be flexible and explain lines and the potential to come back a little later to ride something, but by all means enjoy the park. Remember, they don't know what they are missing, so enjoy what you do ride and don't worry about what you miss. My DW has to keep reminding me of that also.

 

[gbrogers]

This is my second trip to WDW, and I totally agree with the laid back approach. We take things at our kids' pace. If I miss something that I wanted to do, there is always the next trip. At least it gives me an excuse to plan the next trip.

The only thing we really make a point of doing is the Safari at AK. We ride that first because the animals are more active in the morning. Other than that, we'll check showtimes so that we get in the general area of the show early.

 

[Teresa Pitman]

Our strategy is to aim for our favourite rides first.

In MK, touring with the grandchildren, we start by getting on the train and riding back to Frontierland, then walking through to Fantasyland. We do all their favourite rides there, then go over to Adventureland where they have some more favourites. Usually by then it is lunch time, and we eat before crossing through the hub and going to Tomorrowland.

In AK, we walk back to the Safaris first, then work back through Asia and Dinoland and then to the front of the park, It's Tough to Be a Bug, and then they are usually ready for some sitting-down shows (Lion King, Pocahontas).

MGM - walk to the back for Lights, Motors, Action, doing Star Tours on the way if the line isn't too long (those are my grandson's two favourites), and work back to the front of the park. Again, we try to do Ariel and Indiana Jones in the afternoon when they are ready for a rest.

Epcot - we usually do FW and WS on two separate days. First day in FW, we head for Soarin first, then Ellen's Energy Adventure, then Test Track. This time we will probably do the new Living Seas ride after Soarin instead of Ellen (although those dinosaurs are very popular with my grandson).

Now we would do something quite different if it was all adults going, or adults and older kids. But I find that by making sure to do the "top three" or so rides first, then you can be more relaxed for the rest of the day and if it is not a busy time you might even get to do the rides more than once.

Teresa

 

[Karnak]

One thing to remember is you have a 5 yr old ...

Be at the Magic Kingdom gates at least 30 minutes before official opening, and when you enter the park MAKE A QUICK BEELINE STRAIGHT TO DUMBO !!!

Hope y'all have a great time.

Enjoy.

 

[jgates]

The Dumbo alternative is when there is a parade. We have seen it quite empty when we have been there in the summer and they have an evening parade.

 

[LisaBi]

Mine is easy! (Keep in mind that my last 3 trips have been one-on-one with DS, now 13, who has Down Syndrome and his very unique ideas of how to tour each park.)

MK: Head straight to Space Mountain. Then to the Buzz Lightyear ride. Repeat. Stop if a character is seen anywhere between the front gate and SM or SM and Buzz. Go to Mickey's Philharmagic. Maybe stop at Teacups. Back to SM. Repeat. Fantasyland? Frontierland? AdventureLand? Never heard of them. Don't see any parades. Leave well before fireworks.

MGM: Head straight to either GMR or Beauty and the Beast show. Then to the other. Then to Star Tours. Again, stop for any characters encountered en-route. Also maybe stop for any street performers encountered. Repeat. Return to hotel.

AK: What's that?

Epcot: Head straight to Test Track. Ride multiple times. (Sit and twiddle thumbs near entrance if waiting on FP Return. Do not take in other attractions.) Play the Playstation games in Innoventions. Drag child out of Innoventions and over to ride Soarin'. Ride Test Track. Repeat. There is no such place as World Showcase.

Oh yes - buy and eat a Nestle's Ice Cream sandwich anywhere they are found.

Now do you see why I'm doing a solo trip?

LisaB

 

[cwnhokie]

Get there early, get there early, get there early! You can do so much in the few precious hours in the morning. You can always go take a nap later when everyone else gets there. We make a list of the must dos for each of us in each park, get those done, then rest and consult the UG for their suggestions for what to do next. Don't make it too planned or someone will end up frustrated.

 

[DisneyBlonde]

I totally agree! We always get there early and can knock out so many rides in the first few hours. When the park starts to get crowded and really hot (usually between 1 and 2) we go back to the hotel...swim, eat, relax. We head back to the parks later on.

 

[pepe of ohio]

our strategy? do what we want...

We walk up the main strip, then go left. if something has a long line, we'll either get a fastpass if the return time isn't crazy or we'll come back another day.

Never had a problem no matter what time of year we've gone. If we miss stuff totally due to crowds, it's just an excuse to come back for another trip.

Last year was the first time since 1997 that we'd gotten the chance to ride BTMRR. That made that ride THAT much better when we did ride it!

Call us crazy but we definitely prefer the more laid back approach to park touring to the "jam-packed itinerary, over-planned, sweating bullets over kinks in the plan "method. I am informed of park times and fireworks days and that's about it. We wing it when we get there.

I totally agree ,we basically pick a park too, and just head out and always travel clockwise, no science here, and take what comes to us. We skip what we don't like and mostly, we go off season value time and stay 8-12 nights and seeing everything is easy. Do not like lists or charts to follow, do not like to be locked into a tons of ADR's and constantly watching our time and we go back to the resort, we always stay deluxe to use the ammenities there.

 

[Nite0wl71]

In MGM--get FP for RNR then go on TOT, usually twice, after that go on RNR and get FP to TOT, watch Beauty and the Beast then we get out of that section. The rest of the park is in no particular order.

AK--FP for EE and get in line to ride, head to Dinoland to ride PW then on to Dinousar which we usually ride twice.

EPCOT--Soarin first then FP for later, Turtle Talk, the last time we rode Nemo after this then FP for Test Track and then I wait while every one else goes on MS

MK--I go get FP for SM, then we go to Fantasyland, we usually ride everything but Dumbo in the first few hours then to Tommorrowland. FP for Buzz after that we head over to the other side of the park.

We also do all the other rides in the lands while waiting for the FP's.

 

[alicenwonder99]

Be at the Magic Kingdom gates at least 30 minutes before official opening, and when you enter the park MAKE A QUICK BEELINE STRAIGHT TO DUMBO !!!

Hope y'all have a great time.

Enjoy.

I totally agree!! Get to Dumbo before the lines get too long. Then finish up the rest of the rides in Fantasyland. We then like to head over to Toontown and do the Goofy Rollercoaster (Barnstormer), tour Mickey & Minnie's houses, visit the characters, then take the "secret" path to Tomorrowland. We'll do Buzz, COP, and TTA before we hit Cosmic Ray's for lunch.

If it's hot, head back to the hotel for a swim. If it's cool out (and MK is closing early), stay at the park and hit the other lands. I only have a "plan" for MK in the morning.

I'm clueless for the other parks. We're usually the family walking around discussing what to ride next (and missing alot)...lol.

HTH

 

[twinz]

WE go with the flow...we are on vacation, we have too many schedules to follow when we are not in Disney, so we do what we want when we want. We do plan on theparks by parades/fireworks, but once we arrive we are there for the WHOLEEEEE day! No leaving for us.

 

[ricktib]

Another vote for being there when the park opens. Immediately go to the E-ticket rides, then enjoy the rest of your day.

 

[mamaprincess]

Get to each park at opening and go to the most popular rides first is a strategy we use. Get fast passes early on crowded days because some of the really popular attractions will run out of fastpasses by mid afternoon. Avoid the parks with EMH mornings because they tend to be more crowded than the parks that open on the regular schedule. We tend to be able to rap things up by mid afternoon with much use of fast pass and doing as much as we can in the morning. Riding popular attractions during parades or fireworks is also a good strategy if you have seen them before. Just get to the area of the rides that you want to ride before the people start lining up for the parades/fireworks, otherwise you will be caught in a sea of parade goers and unable to make your way to any of the rides.

MK: Fantasyland is most popular, so if you hit it at opening you'll be able to get it all done without much wait. Go in order of what you want to do first. Usually for us it's Mickey's Philharmagic, Peter Pan's Flight, Small world, Pooh's Honeypotts, Snow White then tea potts. Get in a visit to Ariel's grotto if you have a princess before the line gets crazy because it can't be fastpassed. You can however fastpass Peter Pan, Philharmagic, smallworld, and pooh I believe. If you like dumbo get it in early or during a parade. It is a sentimental fav with many folks and the line can be rediculous. The same is true for Peter Pan.

We will then hit Haunted Mansion, then splash, Big Railroad Mountain, then Pirates, We hit tommorow land last. Buzz, then space. We fast pass as needed. 40 minutes or more wait time is to much. We watch to see when we are next able to get a fast pass and we get it right away. We use our fast passes as soon as we are able if we are not having great luck with short lines else where.

We have always been able to do what we wanted to do no matter the crowds.

MGM The Great Movie Ride line wiill surprise you with how long it can be! Go early during a parade or fastpass it. RnR fastpass it ride Tower first head over to Beauty and the beast then What ever else you'd like in the vacinity like Little Mermaid and Playhouse Disney both of whom can have long lines if you wait for the masses to come. By then you can fastpass something else and then go use your fastpass on Rockin Roller coaster.

AK: Safari is best seen first thing because the animals are awake in the morning so you'll see more of them. We fast pass everest then hop on safari.
We may then hit kali and if we can get it's tought to be a bug in before our fastpass comes due we do it. Then we hit Everest with our Fastpass. We might FastPass it again. Dinosaur is one to try to get in early. If you have to fast pass it do so and then go over to Festival of the lion King. If your child like Pocahontas, see her show then it may be time for your Dinosaur ride.

Epcot:
Saorin first thing. Then Fast pass it for later because it's awesome and the lines are rediculous. If you have Nemo fan's head over to the living seas and ride Nemo then hit Turtle Talk with Crush. Head over to Test track and do it or fastpass it if you are able then ride Mission Space. We would then do I shrunk the audience and anything else until it was time to ride use our fast passes for test track or Soarin'.

Maelstom in norway at times can require a fastpass. El rio del tiempo usually does not so if we need to, we fast pass Maelstrom and go ride El Rio Del Tiempo in Mexico. We always get in a ride in Spaceship Earth. I think we will have to try body wars and other things in that pavillion if it is open while are there.

The key is smart use of Fastpass and getting to the parks at opening, prioritizing your must do's and getting those done. You can get anything done in the morning and when you know what rides tend to have the longest wait times. Don't wait to ride those later.