So here's the plan!!

[Aimros]

What do you all think of this plan? Keep in mind we are staying off property

Sun: Magic Kingdom (evening extra magic hours)
Mon: MGM (evening extra magic hours)
Tues: off property
Weds: water park
Thurs: AK
Fri: Epcot (evening extra magic hours)

It was difficult deciding which days to go since they happen to all fall on EMH...but we will be there Nov 11-18, so Magic Kingdom on Day 1 to avoid Super Soap Weekend at MGM. Anyway, Im not too worried about the EMH, since they are all at night, but should I be, even in an "off season"?

 

[lovetoscrap]

If you are staying off property then you will not be allowed to take advantage of Extra Magic Hours--they are for Disney Resort guests only and you would have to show a room key to be allowed to stay.

Your best bet is to AVOID The park with EMH because it will tend to busier on an EMH day than on other days because of the resort guests that did not get hoppers and can only go to one park that day. Generally it is recommended that you go to the park that had EMH the day before.

 

[KrazyKowboy]

If you are staying off property then you will not be allowed to take advantage of Extra Magic Hours--they are for Disney Resort guests only and you would have to show a room key to be allowed to stay.

Your best bet is to AVOID The park with EMH because it will tend to busier on an EMH day than on other days because of the resort guests that did not get hoppers and can only go to one park that day. Generally it is recommended that you go to the park that had EMH the day before.

I've got to second the motion !

lovetoscrap is dead on with that advice.

 

[PlutoLuvr]

Agree with the others about avoiding the EMH parks.

We prefer to stay off site, and the only diehard planning I do anymore is making sure we're not in a park on its EMH day.

Also, don't do MK on a weekend day, Monday or Friday. Always reserve MK for a non-EMH Tues, Weds or Thurs.

 

[ADP]

Agree with the others. You will find smaller crowds at parks that don't have EMH on that day. If you are staying on property; which it looks like you are not, then go to a park without EMH during the day and then go to the EMH park at night to enjoy the extra time. Do you have the park hopper option on your passes?

Some folks will tell you to avoid EMH all together; however, I feel it is always a good idea to at least check it out. You never know when the crowds might be lighter than expected. If it is too busy you can always leave. The only thing you lose is 30 to 45 minutes of travel time to the park to check the EMH crowds.

 

[Aimros]

I know we can't take advantage of EMH, thats why I was asking your opinions. I really don't want to change the itinerary...we could probably just hop to another park at night if it gets too busy.

 

[Zippa D Doodah]

My advice would be to attend the park that had evening EMH the day before.

 

[Aimros]

OK how about this then:

Sun: Epcot
Mon: MK (day after evening EMH)
Tues: off property
Weds: open for DisneyQuest or Water park, early dinner ressies
Thurs: Animal Kingdom (want to keep AK on this day since we are going to La Nouba and AK closes early at 5 anyway)
Friday: MGM

That way we will avoid EMH and SSW. Anyway, I think I was just stuck on visiting MK the first day, since it seems the encompassing part of WDW and seeing that castle is going to make the trip. But I realized it might be more enjoyable if less people are there (since it won't be a weekend). Plus we have hoppers so technically we can go to as many parks as we want in a day, I just wanted to generally have a plan so we aren't trying to figure it out that morning. So does this sound better?

 

[mickeysgirl17]

I also agree that it would not be a good idea to go to Mk on Sunday with EMH. It's just way to crowded. I also have been hearing lately that MGM also has been very crowded for Monday EMH. Do you have small children? I would put MK near the end of the trip so that the best would be last. MK is geared toward kids the most out of all the parks. I would use Friday for MK. Even though EMH gives you more time in the parks, it's actually about the same as going to that same park without EMH since the lines are so long that you really don't get to do much more anyway, so I would go to the parks without EMH. Good luck.

 

[MomofKatie]

Based on EMHs, busy days, etc, here's what I'd suggest:

Sun- AK
Mon- Epcot
Tues- MK
Wed- waterpark or offsite
Thur- offsite or waterpark, since you have La Nouba tix (you could explore DTD before LN)
Fri- MGM

 

[mecllap]

Is this your first WDW trip? Do you have kids? Will you have a rental car? Parking is $10.00/day now, I think.
Unless you have a compelling reason for an off-property day, you might want to see if you can change your tickets to add a day or two. One day per park is really not enough -- you can see the highlights of each in a day, and one day may be okay for AK and MGM, but it won't do justice to Epcot and MK. WDW is huge;it can be overwhelming and exhausting. If weather ends up cool, depending on your group -- maybe the water park is not a good choice (I love them, but haven't gone on either of last two trips -- too much else to do).
You can certainly have a great time with one day per park -- but look at it parlty as gathering ideas for your next trip, since you will not be able to do everything (maybe not even everything you think you will be able to do).
Have you looked through all the hints and tips on this board (and others)? There's lots of good advice if your search around (use PhotoPass a lot).
Good luck -- have a great, magical trip!

 

[Aimros]

Is this your first WDW trip? Do you have kids? Will you have a rental car? Parking is $10.00/day now, I think.
Unless you have a compelling reason for an off-property day, you might want to see if you can change your tickets to add a day or two. One day per park is really not enough -- you can see the highlights of each in a day, and one day may be okay for AK and MGM, but it won't do justice to Epcot and MK.
You can certainly have a great time with one day per park -- but look at it parlty as gathering ideas for your next trip, since you will not be able to do everything (maybe not even everything you think you will be able to do).
Have you looked through all the hints and tips on this board (and others)? There's lots of good advice if your search around (use PhotoPass a lot).
Good luck -- have a great, magical trip!

This is my fourth Disney trip. I am going with my boyfriend, my sister and her boyfriend, my grandparents, and my two younger cousins, 9 & 6. The four older kids (ages 17-20) will be staying together mostly. We have rental cars covered, along with a great off property villa, and our tickets are already booked. I have done months and months of research, between reading the boards and books and visiting other websites. I know I won't be able to see everything in one day, I'm not planning on it...My real question was visiting Epcot on day 1, instead of MK. But I am sort of OK with that plan now, I just wanted to see what other people thought. The itinerary is basically set for Tuesday, Weds, and Thurs- those days really can't be changed. So I played with the rest and was able to fit the parks all in on Non-EMH days. I was just making sure we wouldn't be losing any Disney magic going to Epcot on Day 1 instead of MK, but I think we are going to have a wonderful trip no matter what.

 

[mecllap]

Okay -- sorry -- from your low number of posts and based on just the info in your question, I was concerned that you might a "newbie" who needed some extra help -- glad to hear that's not the case -- so, Have fun!

 

[PlutoLuvr]

Aimros, I've started many a vacation at Epcot, and I've never felt like I lost any magic whatsoever by not doing MK first.

Epcot is such a nice, mild, slow park. Your legs and feet will most certainly be ready for the rest of the week if you start out here. This is also a park where no matter what the age, folks can relate to what this park has to offer.

I still believe that crowds will be lower at MK on Tues, Weds or Thurs than they will be on Mon, but if your mid-week days are not flexible, I can understand that, too.

Hope you guys have a wonderful time