Should we try to squeeze in HS for Star Wars weekend?

[Kelly014]

Hi all! Me, my husband and our DD (who is four) are going to Florida for vacation in May. We are visiting family in St Augustine for the latter part of our trip so we only have a few days in Orlando. We get there Thursday May 29th in the afternoon (Coronado Springs Resort) and on Friday May 30th we are going to Magic Kingdom. Saturday May 31st we will be at Universal for the day and then we are off to St Augustine.

I realize that you could spend days at Magic Kingdom and still not see it all. But DH (and DD and I to a lesser extent) is a HUGE Star Wars nut. At first we thought it would be too expensive to buy tickets for two parks on one day but then I found the park hopper option which puts it more in our price range.

We are super excited for MK but are not bent on seeing as much as humanly possible. We have a character breakfast in the morning, an Anna and Elsa fast pass mid day, and as long as we squeeze in a few rides and get some autographs I know DD will be happy with that. I would also kind of like to see the fireworks show in the evening.

So after all that, here are my actual questions:

1. Is it nuts for us to think we can do Magic Kingdom for part of the day, Hollywood studios for a few hours in the afternoon, then perhaps Magic Kingdom again in the evening? It would purely be for Star Wars related things, no tower of terror or other rides.

2. Is Star Wars weekend worth it? I've never been, but doubt we will be back to Disney for at least a few years so I would kind of like to experience it. DH said it's fine if we don't go but I know he would be like a little kid in a candy shop if we could fit it it.

DD is pretty go with the flow, if she gets too tired there's a good chance she will nap in the stroller. Originally I had thought about going back to the hotel in the afternoon for a break, but her taking a nap would have to be something she randomly does...try to lay that child down in a bed in the afternoon and she catches on in no time, so I am not sure our break would involve much napping anyway. Except DH, that man can fall asleep in seconds.

Anyway, sorry this turned out a bit long! Any advice is very appreciated!

 

[TDC Nala]

What exactly do you want to fit in from SWW in a couple of hours at the middle of the day?

If you don't get there at the time where there is a show (the ones they have may not be exciting for your child), waiting in line for characters would take awhile, you'd likely be too late for the parade. So I think you're down to shopping, or seeing the roaming characters.

 

[Kelly014]

What exactly do you want to fit in from SWW in a couple of hours at the middle of the day?

If you don't get there at the time where there is a show (the ones they have may not be exciting for your child), waiting in line for characters would take awhile, you'd likely be too late for the parade. So I think you're down to shopping, or seeing the roaming characters.

I have nothing specific on my list, that is half of what I am trying to figure out really. This is something DH just chatted about last night so not something I've researched much! If we go for a few hours mid day would most of the things available to see have long wait times? Or are there areas we can browse/shows we can see/other SW related things we can do in a limited amount of time?

 

[TDC Nala]

I think you need to see a schedule, maybe one from last year (although there are going to be some changes from last year). Unless he wants to drop into the store, there wont' be much you can do in a couple of hours at midday.

 

[jtowntoflorida]

Everyone in my family are huge Star Wars fans. My daughter and I took a trip to Orlando to participate in one last year. We are not going this year because my daughter wants the whole family to go, and my son is only 4. IMO, it's too much for a 4 year old. It's hot, extremely crowded, and lines are long. With an older kid you can expect a little more from, but IMO, SWW are a recipe for meltdowns from a preschooler. YMMV, and I'm sure many, many people have taken preschoolers and toddlers to SWW with success.

If you hop to SWW in the afternoon, you're going to be getting there during peak lines and peak heat. If you spend 3-4 hours there, you'll maybe be able to meet a character or two after waiting in line in the blazing sun (most SWW character lines aren't shaded) for an hour each and possibly see one show that is probably not going to be very interesting for a young child. It would not be worth it to me. If you're just going to "take in the atmosphere" and don't actually expect to meet any characters, it would probably be OK, as long as you're OK contending with peak crowds and peak heat.

 

[Kelly014]

Thank you both! Sounds like it may not be worth it. We don't particularly care for meeting anyone, the shows would be neat but I don't want DD to be bored. I think I was thinking it was more of a "world" but given that it's just a weekend thing it makes sense that it's not set up that way. Thanks for the input!

 

[5Hfan]

I think trying to do both MK and HS for Star Wars in one day is way too much. At the very least, I would consider going to HS first thing for rope drop, do a few stars wars things, then leave and head over to the MK if you really need it to work...

The Star Wars stuff is great for fans, but it really is an all day (or weekend) endeavor to wait in all the character lines, the shows, parade etc. Heck we did two days and still didn't see/do all that we wanted! and it was HOT and CROWDED (we were there on the last SW weekend in June).