So please help me form a play by play...

[ThreeMusketeers]

Dec 3, will be our first trip to Disney World with our 3 yo daughter. We had planned to do MK first. The rest of the family wants to be there as they are taping the parade..(i could care less) But now with all the talk of Main st. being blocked off, and all these alternate routes, I am scared. Can anyone give me directions around the park to avoid the Main st. Jumble when we first walk in?? We will want to get to Fantasy Land first...and does this mean no Cinderellabration that day and what not??? Should we just skip MK our first day and celebrate our first day at a less crowded park?? (we do have another day at MK planned towards the end of our trip. ) ANd since the parade is on the 3rd. Will that mean that that whole following week will be extra busy as well???

Thanks a bunch!! I appreciate it.

Signed...
Apprehensive in NY

 

[Jackie H.]

I am sure you will get opposite opinions, but I would avoid MK on 12/3. I haven't checked to see that this is the actual date of the tapeing...I'm taking your word for that. But if it is then, I would try another park.

I always followed the idea of not taking our kids to MK first when they were small, also. Once they see that castle, they sometimes don't want to try anything else. EPCOT is a great park....my favorite, actually...but it is not as visually stimulating to most children. If you visit there first, it may avoid a lot of "I want to go to MK!" pleas. I think your DD would enjoy EPCOT if she wasn't comparing it to MK. And I usually avoid MK on Saturdays too.

But all that being said, if you are there a week you will most definately want at least 2 days in MK. So "one day later in the week" won't be enough.

Can anyone give me directions around the park to avoid the Main st. Jumble when we first walk in??

I don't think this is possible. If you go in the front gates (the only way in that I know of besides working there) and there is a parade or a crowd on main street then you are stuck in it. The only possible route is to go through the stores (they are all connected inside like one big giant store) on the left hand side going in. This will get you to the end of main street, but they will be crowded as well and you will still have a mob of folks to deal with between Crystal Palace and the castle.

Edited to add: I almost forgot about the train.....you could go in the gates and immediately get on the train to another area - if the other areas were truely not busy this would work. It would still be packed from the entrance to the train and maybe a long wait for the train - I don't know.....

I don't know who all is going, but if everyone else wants to be a part of the taping...you and DD could go to another park.

Just my thoughts.....

 

[dcmbshafe]

I have seen recommendations in the past not to do MK first if you're planning on doing the other parks, the theory being that all of the others will pale in comparison to MK in the eyes of the younger kids. Of course, a lot of people love to do MK first to set the mood for their trip.

I'm not sure what the logistical issues will be as I don't know when the taping will start. For sure, the only way to avoid Main Street is by taking the train around and getting off at either Frontierland or Mickey's Toontown. But they usually don't run the train when a parade is going on, so I don't know what impact this will have. If the train isn't running and the parade is going on and you absolutely must be in MK that day, the best method of traversing Main St. will be through the shops on the left hand side as you face the castle.

I'm sorry I don't have a lot of firm answers to all of your questions, but I would guess that it shouldn't be overly crowded in the parks that week. So, your best bet might be to do another park first and then hit MK later when you don't have the extra logistics to worry about.

 

[CTillberg]

I would still go to MK that day - (we will be there!) - because nothing is better than starting your trip at the MK and seeing your child's expression when they see the Castle and all things that are really Disney. I think it is the most magical way to start your vacation.

From what I have heard, they will be taping the parade over a period of 3 days with a lot of time during each float as they set up things or run it again so they can get it just right. So the actual parade is going to be very slow and drawn out. I would imagine the train will be running although I don't know for sure, because the tapping process will last a majority of the day. I believe the usual afternoon prade times have even been changed to something later to accommodate the taping.

Personnally, I am planning to get to the park at opening so that there should be minimal crowds on Main street. (I am not planning to watch the parade taping.) We plan to hop to Epcot (because kids, and us adult, love rif=ding the monorail!) in the afternnon, earlier if the crowds are bad, later if they are not.

So I say, get to MK early and hopefully you have a hopper ticket and can always go try another park if it gets too crowded.

 

[missymagic]

I have been to the MK on a parade tape day but just walked past that section (or take the train) to Fantasyland, then toon town & tomorrowland. We try to split the part in 2 and we avoided most of the parade craze and fiished everything else another day. I love park Hopping...