Seeking Advice from WDW PROS!

[theaslip]

We have one day to visit, and I'm curious what people think the best strategy might be. This would be for a Friday in August 2024 (the day before we set sail on DCL) and staying at DCRH. 6 people, 3 kids in their late teens and early 20's + 1 girlfriend (one of theirs, not mine). We have been to WDW hundreds of times (lived nearby for many years with APs), so this is not first-timers trying to do everything in one day. It's a bonus day. MK & Epcot are the priorities. The price difference is nbd.

Option #1 - Start MK, then hop to EC
EE to MK with a park hopper. Do as much as you can (whistle-stop tour of some of the greatest hits with Genie+ or whatever it's called today), have a Lunch reservation at the Plaza, then head to EPCOT (priorities are Soarin', LwtL, SE, AA, IdF (the real one, not the sing-a-long before 7P), Mexico (it's always El Rio del Tiempo to me). Have a dinner Reservation at Via Napoli. Luminous.

Option #2 - Start with EC, then a hard ticket to MNSSHP
It's the same thing in reverse, but here is the catch: It is a MNSSHP with MK closing at 6. We would need to purchase hard tickets for MNSSHP (no big deal), but we would not need to purchase the park hopper option (we would buy one-day tickets at EC and then the tickets for MNSSHP).

Which option would provide the most bang for the buck regarding attractions/crowd/queue times/etc? If we enter MK for the hard ticket event, it is 100% to focus on attractions. It would be wonderful if we could catch any Halloween entertainment, but I don't care about it, nor do I care to celebrate Halloween during the first week of August.

Thanks!

 

[Willow Ufgood]

We have one day to visit, and I'm curious what people think the best strategy might be. This would be for a Friday in August 2024 (the day before we are setting sail on DCL) and staying at DCRH. 6 people, 3 kids in their late teens and early 20's + 1 girlfriend (one of theirs, not mine). We have been to WDW hundreds of times (lived nearby for many years with APs), so this is not first-timers trying to do everything in one day. It's a bonus day. MK & Epcot are the priorities. The price difference is nbd.

Option #1 - Start MK, then hop to EC
EE to MK with a park hopper. Do as much as you can (whistle-stop tour of some of the greatest hits with Genie+ or whatever it's called today), have a Lunch reservation at the Plaza, then head to EPCOT (priorities are Soarin', LwtL, SE, AA, IdF (the real one, not the sing-a-long before 7P), Mexico (it's always El Rio del Tiempo to me). Have a dinner Reservation at Via Napoli. Luminous.

Option #2 - Startt with EC, then a hard ticket to MNSSHP
It's the same thing in reverse, but here is the catch: It is an MNSSHP with MK closing at 6. We would need to purchase hard tickets for MNSSHP (no big deal), but we would not need to purchase the park hopper option (we would just buy one-day tickets at EC and then the tickets for MNSSHP).

Which option would provide the most bang for the buck regarding attractions/crowd/queue times/etc? If we enter MK for the hard ticket event, it is 100% to focus on attractions. It would be wonderful if we could catch any Halloween entertainment, but I don't care about it, nor do I care to celebrate Halloween during the first week of August.

Thanks!

I guess I would go with option #2. I would not buy LLMP and would just do standby. You will have all day to do Epcot attractions. Rope drop Frozen if you can. Make your way around the World Showcase (or whatever Disney is calling it now) and have a light lunch along the way or get a late lunch reservation at Via Napoli and head to the MK to get in at 4 PM for the Halloween Party. If you're not interested in the characters, parade or fireworks you should be able to do a lot of attractions with relatively short wait times.

 

[theaslip]

I guess I would go with option #2. I would not buy LLMP and would just do standby. You will have all day to do Epcot attractions. Rope drop Frozen if you can. Make your way around the World Showcase (or whatever Disney is calling it now) and have a light lunch along the way or get a late lunch reservation at Via Napoli and head to the MK to get in at 4 PM for the Halloween Party. If you're not interested in the characters, parade or fireworks you should be able to do a lot of attractions with relatively short wait times.

I like your thinking. Don't get me wrong, I think the MNSSHP entertainment (parade, show) is fantastic, but choosing that or attractions, we'll do attractions. Thanks!

 

[Upatnoon]

We have one day to visit, and I'm curious what people think the best strategy might be. This would be for a Friday in August 2024 (the day before we are setting sail on DCL) and staying at DCRH. 6 people, 3 kids in their late teens and early 20's + 1 girlfriend (one of theirs, not mine). We have been to WDW hundreds of times (lived nearby for many years with APs), so this is not first-timers trying to do everything in one day. It's a bonus day. MK & Epcot are the priorities. The price difference is nbd.

Option #1 - Start MK, then hop to EC
EE to MK with a park hopper. Do as much as you can (whistle-stop tour of some of the greatest hits with Genie+ or whatever it's called today), have a Lunch reservation at the Plaza, then head to EPCOT (priorities are Soarin', LwtL, SE, AA, IdF (the real one, not the sing-a-long before 7P), Mexico (it's always El Rio del Tiempo to me). Have a dinner Reservation at Via Napoli. Luminous.

Option #2 - Startt with EC, then a hard ticket to MNSSHP
It's the same thing in reverse, but here is the catch: It is an MNSSHP with MK closing at 6. We would need to purchase hard tickets for MNSSHP (no big deal), but we would not need to purchase the park hopper option (we would just buy one-day tickets at EC and then the tickets for MNSSHP).

Which option would provide the most bang for the buck regarding attractions/crowd/queue times/etc? If we enter MK for the hard ticket event, it is 100% to focus on attractions. It would be wonderful if we could catch any Halloween entertainment, but I don't care about it, nor do I care to celebrate Halloween during the first week of August.

Thanks!

I would go to Epcot, then do the party if money were no object AND I had the stamina to do it in August.

A more relaxing take would be to hang out at the resort and just to go the party. You get in at 4 p.m. for the party, so you'd want to be arriving at the gates around 3:45 or so. That gives you time to do some attractions before the party starts. If you invest in lightning lanes instead of an extra park ticket, you might get most of what you want done.

For example, sleep in. Go to pool. Late lunch/early dinner, enter MK.

For planning purposes, I would probably book the party, which may fill up and be unavailable, then see what the weather is and the state of my group if I want to tackle two parks in one day.

I personally would just do the party. I think that would make for a better overall experience.

 

[sponica]

I guess how early do you have to be up to get to Port Canaveral the next day? That would make up my mind for me.

I'm all for the halloween party, but not if it meant getting very little sleep before heading to the port.

And I would probably do *just* the halloween party.

 

[LoveToDisney]

You will have no waits for rides at MK on a party day so that’s my morning pic, them use LLMP and LLSP to reserve rides at Epcot. I can’t imagine a super late night before a cruise. But then I can’t imagine two TS meals in one day either since I’m not a rope dropper. Have fun!!

 

[theaslip]

You will have no waits for rides at MK on a party day so that’s my morning pic, them use LLMP and LLSP to reserve rides at Epcot. I can’t imagine a super late night before a cruise. But then I can’t imagine two TS meals in one day either since I’m not a rope dropper. Have fun!!

Thanks, @LoveToDisney. When you say 'no waits for rides at MK on a party day,' do you mean during the regular operating hours, or during the party? Thanks!

 

[theaslip]

I guess how early do you have to be up to get to Port Canaveral the next day? That would make up my mind for me.

I'm all for the halloween party, but not if it meant getting very little sleep before heading to the port.

And I would probably do *just* the halloween party.

Thanks, @sponica. We are leaving for PC at 10:15 A.M. the next day (1130 A.M. port arrival time). I don't mind going hard; we all just made a trip to London and Paris with DLP, and we were doing 25,000+ steps/day, with tons of massive staircases in the Underground and Metro, going from 7A to 12A most days. Easy peasy! And the DCL is a pretty relaxing week to recover.

 

[sponica]

Thanks, @LoveToDisney. When you say 'no waits for rides at MK on a party day,' do you mean during the regular operating hours, or during the party? Thanks!

Party day crowds are loooooooooooooow because people with single park tickets don't want to go there and not be able to stay all day.

 

[LoveToDisney]

Thanks, @LoveToDisney. When you say 'no waits for rides at MK on a party day,' do you mean during the regular operating hours, or during the party? Thanks!

During the day, waits will be low. Many guests skip MK on party days because of the short hours.