Post your MGM touring plans Please!!!

[Aristomommy]

I am pretty good at getting a lot done at the other parks, but MGM always turns out to be a headache for me. Last trip we got the two biggies out of the way first and didn't wait in lines. Actually DH and I rode RnRC 3 times before ToT while MIL watched the kids. Then we were trying to scramble all the show times and spent 30 minutes "discussing" the best plan. Ended up with a lot of "dead time" in btw shows and waiting for our lunch time at Sci-fi.
This time I am determined to make this a smoother day for us. MGM has become my least fav. park and I want to enjoy it more. We have DD7 and DS1.5 with us, so all the preschool and kids stuff is a must, but DH and I will babyswap for the bigger rides also. Please help!!!

 

[LBKMAMA]

We did better this past year, but I still feel like I miss things and walk around alot looking for stuff....still haven't made it to Beauty show. I have learned that you don't usually have to wait in Playhouse line (at least in Dec) just show up right around the time and you can get in. I'm interested in this thread...hopefully some of you pros have some helpful hints.

 

[Aristomommy]

Glad to see I am not alone. Hopefully we'll get some good suggestions!!!

 

[rlovew]

The hardest part about MGM is you have to plan you time there around the shows and know about when those shows will be before you can plan. Also because of the shows there does tend to be a bit of waiting time but there are certain things (like the end of the animation gallery and the gallery before Walt that you can spend a bit of time in and use as inside places to wait out other shows. Also unless you have a family with a large variety of ages that will all be going on everything lots of families are better off spilting up for some of this, at 15 if my parents had dragged me into Playhouse Disney or my brother to Beauty and the Beast or my little sister on ToT none of us would have been happy. Saying this I will look back at my last time schedule and make a fairly generic schedule but I know in March the park was only open until 7:30 most nights.

 

[mickeysaver]

For help with showtimes, check out Steve Soare's site, which can be a lifesaver when trying to piece all these show's schedules together.
Happy Planning! Maggie

 

[Aristomommy]

For help with showtimes, check out Steve Soare's site, which can be a lifesaver when trying to piece all these show's schedules together.
Happy Planning! Maggie

Are these times pretty much the same all year round? I know the parks are open differently on season vs. off season, but the shows should follow the same pattern during the day, right? That would make it easier to plan, I think.

 

[clonetothebone]

Are these times pretty much the same all year round? I know the parks are open differently on season vs. off season, but the shows should follow the same pattern during the day, right? That would make it easier to plan, I think.

I found an old Times Guide from July 2003 and the times where esentially the same as what Steve Soares posted for Easter Week this year. I don't think they change much except maybe for EMH.

 

[rlovew]

When I went in March the shows for LMS were off by 30 minutes (eralier) from the posted times now and last June they were about 30 minutes later- those time alone can make a big difference in your touring plan if you don't want to take some time to wait it out.

 

[rlovew]

Okay based on the schedule for now when the park is open from 9am to 8:30pm, this is how I would tour the park in an attempt to hit everything in one day- which by the way I rarely do, even when taking someone new we generally have some things that we would skip.
1. Be at the rope drop
2. Get FP for RnR
3. Ride ToT (I do them in this order because of the time it takes to get RnR started in the morning)
4. Playhouse Disney 9:30 show (at this time unless in is an EMH day you should be able to walk in about the time it starts.)
5. Little Mermaid FP
6. Ride RnR (should be about 10:20 when you get off)
7. Animation Tour or Little Mermaid depending on your FP, then switching (If you need to based on your FP times you can leave the Animation before doing the drawing and come back later going in through the Animation Gallery.
8. Beauty and the Beast 11:30 show (try to be in the theatre by 11;20 for the preshow)
9. Lunch 12-12:45- eat at the places on Hollywood Blvd
10. Indiana Jones 1pm show
11. Star Tours (If the wait is more than 10 minutes grab a FP and do Muppets first)
12. Muppets
13. LMA 2:45 show
14. Honey I shrunk the kids Playground (until 4:15) Unless you need to go back and do Star Tours or the Muppets
15. Sounds Dangerous
16. Get a Parade Spot near the Chinese Theater
17. While everyone else follows the parade get in line for the Great Movie Ride
18. Dinner 5:45- 6:20
19. WWTBM 6:40 show
20. Narnia
21. Backlot Tour
22. Walt Disney One Man's Dream
23. Fantasmic

To be honest it is hard to fit in everything for the day unless you get lucky with timing (getting to an attraction just as it is taking in the people for the next show. This is really a park where you need to decide on what you really want to see and go for those things. For example I would never watch both Indiana and LNA on the same day but I have seen them both before. I have no plans to visit playhouse Disney for a few years yet, and without a daughter if I dragged DH to both Beauty and the Beast and Little Mermaid in one day he'd kill me, although he would be perfectly happy to sit and read and wait while I watched them both telling me to come find him when I was done.
16. Get a Parade Spot near