Questions on upcoming trip plans

[ScullyDu]

Hi all, my family has a trip coming up 4/19-4/28 to Orlando. My kids are complete thrill seekers, ages 6 and 10, who have never been to Disney and are plenty tall to ride anything. My original plan was to do 1 day each at MK and EP for the “Disney Experience.” However, after doing some research I have started to change my plans. I’m thinking of getting a 2 day hopper and hitting as many of the more thrilling attractions as we can. I’m steering clear of any early openings, planning to do RD, and settling on 2 days between 4/23 and 4/27 for lower crowds. Here is a list of what I feel are must rides for us…

MK – SM, Buzz, BTMR, PoC, Splash, 7DMT
EP – TT, MS, Soarin, SE, World Showcase (steady stroll for the sights)
AK – KSE, KRR, Dino, PW, EE
DHS – TSMM, Muppet 3D, ST, Indy, RnR, TZToT (wouldn’t mind sticking around for Galactic Spectacular)

Questions are;
1) Preferred parks to pair up?
2) Is there room for a 2-3 hour break in the early afternoon or am I pushing my luck?
3) I’m I missing something we “need” to do since this is their first trip to Disney?
4) Do extra evening hours tend to have an effect on crowds at RD?

 

[sharonabe]

1) Preferred parks to pair up?
2) Is there room for a 2-3 hour break in the early afternoon or am I pushing my luck?
3) I’m I missing something we “need” to do since this is their first trip to Disney?
4) Do extra evening hours tend to have an effect on crowds at RD?

Well, EP has late EMH on that Sunday, and early EMH on that Thursday. I assume you're off-site, so can't take advantage of them. If you're set on those two dates, my preference would be EP for that Sunday morning and then probably HS for the evening.

Thur, I'd start at AK and end at MK.

You may not get everything on your list done. EP and HS have a tiered FP+ selection. You'll have to decide whether to make your FP+ for your first or second park. If second, then you only have standby for the first. If first, you may only have standby for the second, but there's always a chance for extra FP once your first 3 are done. You definitely don't have time for a midday break. Plan a long lunch to get out of the sun and off your feet.

 

[BrianL]

I would give MK a full day. You may be trying to cram too much in, especially for your first visit. MK has lots of thrill rides and you may think about doing them more than once. Also, the buses can take a while to transfer between parks (waiting for it, then the trip, then back through security, etc.). If you do hop, I'd consider springing for the express transportation to minimize that.

 

[ScullyDu]

Well, EP has late EMH on that Sunday, and early EMH on that Thursday. I assume you're off-site, so can't take advantage of them. If you're set on those two dates, my preference would be EP for that Sunday morning and then probably HS for the evening.

Thur, I'd start at AK and end at MK.

You may not get everything on your list done. EP and HS have a tiered FP+ selection. You'll have to decide whether to make your FP+ for your first or second park. If second, then you only have standby for the first. If first, you may only have standby for the second, but there's always a chance for extra FP once your first 3 are done. You definitely don't have time for a midday break. Plan a long lunch to get out of the sun and off your feet.

Thanks, going to start looking for a lunch spot and maybe a show to see.

 

[ScullyDu]

Alright so I did good with FP+ for MK on Sunday 4/23. Couldn't get 7DMT for the morning so I'm going to have to RD it. Used TP and I should be able to hit everything on my list and be out by 2-3PM. Then on to the second park which I'm leaning towards HS so we can see the SW show to end the night. What are my chances of picking up a early evening FP+ after 12pm or so for this park?

My other two park hop is now going to be Wednesday 4/26. Should I hit EP or AK in the morning? I guess the better question is which park would potentially have FP+ left same day for the evening?