Questions about upcoming June trip

[PiratesMansion]

Hello!

My friend and I are headed to WDW in early June. We are in our late twenties. I have a few questions about our trip.
We are staying at ASM. We both have 7 day Hoppers with the Waterparks and minor attractions.

1. Both of us bought our tickets from authorized sellers (Mine from UT, his from PS). Do we need to do anything to get our tickets to work with MagicBands? If I am linked to the bands, can I use my MB and my original card stock ticket interchangeably?

2. We are heading to both water parks. I don't think he has been to either of them. I went to BB in 98 but have never been to TL. Which water park should we do first? Are they less crowded on certain days of the week?

3. We want to do the nighttime Safari, but we also have the ROL dining package (show starts that night at 9:15). Google says sunset is around 8:30 the day we are there. What is the best way (time?) to see the nighttime safari and make it in time to the dining package seating?

4. I am thinking about taking an off day and exploring some of the resorts, particularly those near MK and Epcot. Will they let us park in the hotel lots without a dining reservation?

5. AK touring question: Right now, my thought is that we should get there at 8, do the Avatar boat ride (coming back later for the Flight ride with our FP reservations), then head to the Safari. Is that doable or will the line for the Safari already be crazy? If it is workable, would it be best to do Everest next and then Dinoland?

6. I am are currently booked at Homecomin', Raglan Road, and Frontera Cocina. I'm thinking I might have to drop at least one of these. Which of these three would you drop?

7. We are driving to WDW separately, so we will each have our own car. How does the free parking work if you're staying onsite? Is that info loaded onto the MB?

Thanks, any help is appreciated!

 

[DaniMoon]

We are also going in June. I don't have the answers to all your questions but here is my plan for a couple of your questions.

3. I have a FP for the Safari from 7:15-8:15 pm and plan to get in line to ROL around 8:30 pm (we also have the ROL Dining package). From everything I had read of the boards is that we should still get in line 30-45 minutes before the show even with the package.

5. One of my AK plans look similar to yours. Avatar river ride, KS and then Everest (I have FP for Everest later in the day but will change it up if I can get on earlier). I don't think the Safari should be too terrible. We have several times in the past rode KS, did the gorilla trail, and do the safari again and the line the second time through was not more than 20 minutes.

Have a great trip.

 

[hiroMYhero]

1. Link your tickets to your MDE Profile and your linked MB or the plastic ticket can be used to enter the park or FP lines.

4. Yes; tell them you are touring the resort.

6. I would drop Frontera only because I live in CA and quality Mexican Restaurants are everywhere.

7. Because you are an onsite guest, you can park at your resort and all of the parks free of charge. Your resort info is linked to your MDE account.

 

[PiratesMansion]

Thank you both for your responses!

 

[LSUfan4444]

Both of us bought our tickets from authorized sellers (Mine from UT, his from PS). Do we need to do anything to get our tickets to work with MagicBands? If I am linked to the bands, can I use my MB and my original card stock ticket interchangeably?

You need to link the tickets to your My Disney Experience account which can be done lone with the numbers on the back of the hard ticket.

We are heading to both water parks. I don't think he has been to either of them. I went to BB in 98 but have never been to TL. Which water park should we do first? Are they less crowded on certain days of the week?

Whichsver bus comes first...seriously. It won't make a difference (especially since your're doing both)

We want to do the nighttime Safari, but we also have the ROL dining package (show starts that night at 9:15). Google says sunset is around 8:30 the day we are there. What is the best way (time?) to see the nighttime safari and make it in time to the dining package seating?

Why not go after RoL? I prefer dusk and would personally recommend like a 7:30 Safari FP but if you want to go at night, Id suggest after RoL.

I am thinking about taking an off day and exploring some of the resorts, particularly those near MK and Epcot. Will they let us park in the hotel lots without a dining reservation?

They should but I don't now if I would drive to the MK resorts. My suggestion would be to park at the TTC then monorail to each of the MK resorts you want to see. If you want to see the Epcot resorts you can either drive over to one of them and stay there while you explore all three or take a bus from MK to one of the resorts then back.

AK touring question: Right now, my thought is that we should get there at 8, do the Avatar boat ride (coming back later for the Flight ride with our FP reservations), then head to the Safari. Is that doable or will the line for the Safari already be crazy? If it is workable, would it be best to do Everest next and then Dinoland?

Yes, Safari will likely have a substantial wait by that point. Id FP+ Flight of Passage, Safari and Everest then hit the things in Dinoland standby or with additional FP+

I am are currently booked at Homecomin', Raglan Road, and Frontera Cocina. I'm thinking I might have to drop at least one of these. Which of these three would you drop?

Frontera Cocina