Strategizing for an offsite stay with no LL?

[Artygal90]

What's your best park touring strategy for someone who can't use either Lightning Lanes or Early Entry? *edited to add - I decided to switch to a Disney Springs hotel that has a bigger room, better shuttles, and early entry, for less money. However still not planning on getting any LLs*
SO much Disney park touring advice is based on maximizing these two perks, which I definitely have done before. However, this time I am taking a 3-day budget trip with my dad in early December to see Christmas and Star Wars stuff....so no party tickets, no Lightning Lane passes (except possibly for Rise and Guardians since those are must-dos), no ADRs or dining packages, staying offsite so no early entry, etc. It's been 5+ years since we went so I know there are lots of new things to see.

My only plans so far are to take advantage of lower crowds on party days. We would do MK on Friday, DHS on Saturday, hop to Epcot those evenings, and then do AK on Sunday before leaving for the airport around 6 pm. Or if we don't do a hopper, we would do Epcot on our last day. Besides that, I don't know how to begin putting together a rough plan for how to fit in all or most of the e-tickets that we both want to do at all 4 parks. I know we won't do everything but would love to go on a few rollercoasters.

I usually plan out every ADR, FP+, Genie+ strategy, LL stack, Disney resort hotel reservation, park hopping strategy, etc., in previous Disney trips, so this is new territory for me! I appreciate any advice!

 

[sdk1231]

What's your best park touring strategy for someone who can't use either Lightning Lanes or Early Entry? SO much Disney park touring advice is based on maximizing these two perks, which I definitely have done before. However, this time I am taking a 3-day budget trip with my dad in early December to see Christmas and Star Wars stuff....so no party tickets, no Lightning Lane passes (except possibly for Rise and Guardians since those are must-dos), no ADRs or dining packages, staying offsite so no early entry, etc. It's been 5+ years since we went so I know there are lots of new things to see.

My only plans so far are to take advantage of lower crowds on party days. We would do MK on Friday, DHS on Saturday, hop to Epcot those evenings, and then do AK on Sunday before leaving for the airport around 6 pm. Or if we don't do a hopper, we would do Epcot on our last day. Besides that, I don't know how to begin putting together a rough plan for how to fit in all or most of the e-tickets that we both want to do at all 4 parks. I know we won't do everything but would love to go on a few rollercoasters.

I usually plan out every ADR, FP+, Genie+ strategy, LL stack, Disney resort hotel reservation, park hopping strategy, etc., in previous Disney trips, so this is new territory for me! I appreciate any advice!

Salute on doing a budget trip. One suggestion: My daughter was a CM at Star Wars Galaxy's Edge (she now works at the Grand Floridian) and from her we learned to adjust our DHS visits to evening, when crowds get lower. We've done that multiple times with good results. I also personally prefer DHS at night, I love the park when all the neon signs are lit up. SWGE has a super cool atmosphere at night. Have been to DHS at Christmas and it's festive lit up at night. MK party day is probably the best in terms of finding lower wait times, sound strategy there. I'm sure you've already thought of it, but my family has had luck riding single rider on the rides that offer it, if you don't mind not being together. We never buy LL for Epcot or DAK (just don't seem to need it). We DO buy ILL for for the must-do's, like Guardians. Your toughest are definitely going to be MK and DHS. Party day and evening visit for those two parks should be helpful. Good luck! I'm sure it'll be a great trip.

 

[loves to dive]

There are a lot of factors that need to be considered. Specifically what rides in each park are "must dos" for both of you? How old/able/willing is Dad to get around? Has Dad ever been to WDW? Will you have your own transportation?

I have never bought either ILL's, single LL's or the new multipass and have been able to get everything done that I want. Note, I said that I want. I don't want to do a lot of what might be "must dos" for others. For example: FOP is usually a no for me, makes me a little woozy. You can do Guardians and Rise without paying for them but Guardians is the luck of the draw since you have to do a Virtual Que. Guardians can be done at either rope drop or later in the evening.

For shorter trips, PHs are a must for me. What I do. I arrive somewhere between 1 and 3 (depending on traffic and how fast I drive down from Georgia) If my room is ready I go and unpack, if not I head to a park, usually Epcot for me. I eat something and ride a few of the rides at the front of the park then head over to another park. I have an AP so I still have to make a park reservation so park #2 is usually whatever park I have a reservation for the next day. I can get any where from 2 to 4 rides at park #2. Next day back to park #2 to finish riding whatever are must dos for me. I can then either head over to park #3 and do some rides, head back to my room for some rest or whatever. Next day it's back to park #3 to finish up there and later in the day to park #4. So in 2 1/2 days I've done all four parks, probably had a rest in the afternoons.

It looks to me like you might have all day Friday and Saturday and part of a day on Sunday, right? Your MK party morning looks good, I'd leave the park before 4 or whatever time party guests are allowed to enter. Personally, I'd leave earlier than that but MK is my least favorite park. If you have hoppers maybe hop over to HS or Epcot. Heck, if you are willing to go all day and not take a break, you could even hop over to Epcot for a few hours then hop over to HS. Saturday, finish up at whatever park you hopped to on Friday and move over to either Epcot or HS. AK on Sunday is solid since it tends to open the earliest and close the earliest and if you just want to ride rides and not actually walk around and enjoy the park and see any shows, you can know those out in a few hours. Who knows when Dino is closing. EE has a good single rider line if you are willing to split up.

 

[Artygal90]

Salute on doing a budget trip. One suggestion: My daughter was a CM at Star Wars Galaxy's Edge (she now works at the Grand Floridian) and from her we learned to adjust our DHS visits to evening, when crowds get lower. We've done that multiple times with good results. I also personally prefer DHS at night, I love the park when all the neon signs are lit up. SWGE has a super cool atmosphere at night. Have been to DHS at Christmas and it's festive lit up at night. MK party day is probably the best in terms of finding lower wait times, sound strategy there. I'm sure you've already thought of it, but my family has had luck riding single rider on the rides that offer it, if you don't mind not being together. We never buy LL for Epcot or DAK (just don't seem to need it). We DO buy ILL for for the must-do's, like Guardians. Your toughest are definitely going to be MK and DHS. Party day and evening visit for those two parks should be helpful. Good luck! I'm sure it'll be a great trip.

I do love a good single rider line. I have a question about DHS specifically if your daughter can answer - do Jollywood Nights have the same “party day” effect on DHS crowds as Mickey’s Christmas Party does on MK crowds? I was wondering how pronounced the difference is. I’m sure Jollywood is less popular than MVMCP. Of course I know it’s new so she may not know.

 

[Artygal90]

There are a lot of factors that need to be considered. Specifically what rides in each park are "must dos" for both of you? How old/able/willing is Dad to get around? Has Dad ever been to WDW? Will you have your own transportation?

I have never bought either ILL's, single LL's or the new multipass and have been able to get everything done that I want. Note, I said that I want. I don't want to do a lot of what might be "must dos" for others. For example: FOP is usually a no for me, makes me a little woozy. You can do Guardians and Rise without paying for them but Guardians is the luck of the draw since you have to do a Virtual Que. Guardians can be done at either rope drop or later in the evening.

For shorter trips, PHs are a must for me. What I do. I arrive somewhere between 1 and 3 (depending on traffic and how fast I drive down from Georgia) If my room is ready I go and unpack, if not I head to a park, usually Epcot for me. I eat something and ride a few of the rides at the front of the park then head over to another park. I have an AP so I still have to make a park reservation so park #2 is usually whatever park I have a reservation for the next day. I can get any where from 2 to 4 rides at park #2. Next day back to park #2 to finish riding whatever are must dos for me. I can then either head over to park #3 and do some rides, head back to my room for some rest or whatever. Next day it's back to park #3 to finish up there and later in the day to park #4. So in 2 1/2 days I've done all four parks, probably had a rest in the afternoons.

It looks to me like you might have all day Friday and Saturday and part of a day on Sunday, right? Your MK party morning looks good, I'd leave the park before 4 or whatever time party guests are allowed to enter. Personally, I'd leave earlier than that but MK is my least favorite park. If you have hoppers maybe hop over to HS or Epcot. Heck, if you are willing to go all day and not take a break, you could even hop over to Epcot for a few hours then hop over to HS. Saturday, finish up at whatever park you hopped to on Friday and move over to either Epcot or HS. AK on Sunday is solid since it tends to open the earliest and close the earliest and if you just want to ride rides and not actually walk around and enjoy the park and see any shows, you can know those out in a few hours. Who knows when Dino is closing. EE has a good single rider line if you are willing to split up.

Your trips sound fun! If I lived close enough to have an AP I would be there way more often.

My dad just turned 64 years young this year We’ve been together to WDW just once in 2018 for a similarly short trip. He’s quite active but does like a nap if he’s going to be out late, so I don’t know if we should plan on closing down any parks this trip.

His must dos are the classic MK attractions and everything Star Wars (he saw A New Hope in theaters 10 times the year it came out). My must dos are Guardians and the holiday specific offerings, especially at Epcot. Also we have family in the area and would like to get together with them while we are there. I adore AK but in writing this out I’m realizing it hasn’t added anything new since we were there last that I feel like I *have* to see. Maybe it would be better to save the $90 on hoppers and not force ourselves to run all over the resort cramming everything in. I’ll see what he thinks.

Yes we are flying in late Thursday and have all day Friday, Saturday, and most of the day Sunday for the parks. I figure if we are walking out of a park to get in an Uber by 6 pm we are in good shape to make our 9 pm flight at MCO. Not planning to get a rental car since the hotel has a free parks shuttle and I hate driving on vacation

 

[loves to dive]

Your trips sound fun! If I lived close enough to have an AP I would be there way more often.

My dad just turned 64 years young this year We’ve been together to WDW just once in 2018 for a similarly short trip. He’s quite active but does like a nap if he’s going to be out late, so I don’t know if we should plan on closing down any parks this trip.

His must dos are the classic MK attractions and everything Star Wars (he saw A New Hope in theaters 10 times the year it came out). My must dos are Guardians and the holiday specific offerings, especially at Epcot. Also we have family in the area and would like to get together with them while we are there. I adore AK but in writing this out I’m realizing it hasn’t added anything new since we were there last that I feel like I *have* to see. Maybe it would be better to save the $90 on hoppers and not force ourselves to run all over the resort cramming everything in. I’ll see what he thinks.

Yes we are flying in late Thursday and have all day Friday, Saturday, and most of the day Sunday for the parks. I figure if we are walking out of a park to get in an Uber by 6 pm we are in good shape to make our 9 pm flight at MCO. Not planning to get a rental car since the hotel has a free parks shuttle and I hate driving on vacation

I think the entire Pandora section of AK might be new since you were there but otherwise nothing new. They do have some really great puppets that roam during the holiday season that are really cool to see. I hate to see anyone skip AK but I get it.

As far as shuttles from offsite resorts. You will need to add some extra time in for those. Depending on the resort, they don't run as often as the WDW buses do and in some cases you have to make reservations for them. At MK you are going to be let off at TTC so keep that in mind as well.

If you do MK on that party day, I'm thinking you are going to have a pretty good bit of down time, which is not a bad thing but something to keep in mind without hoppers. You certainly can stay in the park until the party starts but know it is going to start to get crowded at least a hour or two before the party starts.

If Galaxy's Edge is the only must do at HS, again, you are going to get done pretty quick, especially if you rope drop. Of course, there is plenty more to see and do at HS but I'm guessing Dad isn't going to be too thrilled with watching Beauty and Beast or Frozen sing along. I think HS is best at night during the holidays. Their retro decorations are just beautiful and when it's all lit up I'd almost say it's better than MK at night. Oh, speaking of. If you are MK on a party night and leave early, you are going to miss seeing all the lights. Epcot might be the less impressive as far as decorations goes but the story tellers in World Showcase are a lot of fun to watch and they will most likely have Festival of Holiday booths as well. When you get ready to leave MK or need a break on that day, hop over to Grand Floridian to see the Gingerbread House and the beautiful tree.

 

[sdk1231]

I do love a good single rider line. I have a question about DHS specifically if your daughter can answer - do Jollywood Nights have the same “party day” effect on DHS crowds as Mickey’s Christmas Party does on MK crowds? I was wondering how pronounced the difference is. I’m sure Jollywood is less popular than MVMCP. Of course I know it’s new so she may not know.

Hello! I'm just back from a quick weekend trip. No LL for my family this trip (except buying ILL for Guardians for one daughter). We did MNSSHP on our arrival night (Friday night). We enjoyed the Halloween atmosphere, parade and fireworks and rode everything we wanted to ride as walk-ons, including walking on Tiana's twice and Tron once. Like your dad I'm a fan of the "classics" and we rode all except for HM which always has a long line at the Halloween party. We did the parade, fireworks, but skipped the stage show. Had a similar experience last year at the Christmas party. Rode everything we wanted, watched the parade and fireworks, totally enjoyed the holiday vibe. After doing a party, we're "done" with MK and can focus on other parks. On Saturday we went to DAK and then hopped to MK for Happily Ever After fireworks. On Sunday we did Epcot during the day (food and wine) and skylined over to DHS at about 5pm. Rode everything we wanted in both parks.

And that made me think... I'm sure you've considered it, so pardon me if I'm suggesting something obvious, but have you thought about swapping a regular day ticket for an MK party ticket? Perhaps for your short trip, since your focus is Christmas offerings and the MK classic rides... you might want to exchange one day of regular park ticket for an MK Christmas party ticket. You can get so many rides done during the MK party, and the parade and fireworks and holiday atmosphere are great.

As for your Jollywood Nights question... not sure if that party has the same effect on day crowds as the MK parties have. Daughter worked there pre-Jollywood. But I kind of doubt it. DHS tends to clear out in the evening as people leave to go to nighttime fireworks shows at MK and Epcot.

Your dad will love Star Wars Galaxy's Edge. I too, saw the original in the theaters a million times and am a bit of a Star Wars geek (enough of a geek that I have a lightsaber). That said, I don't spend a ton of time at SWGE. First, it's quite small. And... during the day it's hot and crowded. At night it's practically empty and has great lighting. Much more pleasant. I rode Rise once. It was cool, but I've never had any desire to ride it again. Probably because it's based on the new movies and made me very slightly motion sick. My kids love it.

Anyway... I just had a great weekend with no LL. I think it was successful for me because I swapped out a regular park day ticket for an MK party ticket. Better value (for me). Last thing... I'm not quite your dad's age, but in the ballpark. My "kids" are 19 and 23. I find it hard to walk the parks all day long and keep up with them, so I rent an ECV. With the ECV, I can go all day til park close and run rings around my kids instead of dragging behind them and slowing them down. The ECV rental price is offset by the value it brings to me by extending my park shelf-life. Plus it's fun to drive around. Not sure if your dad would need or want one, but might be something to keep in mind.

 

[Artygal90]

Hello! I'm just back from a quick weekend trip. No LL for my family this trip (except buying ILL for Guardians for one daughter). We did MNSSHP on our arrival night (Friday night). We enjoyed the Halloween atmosphere, parade and fireworks and rode everything we wanted to ride as walk-ons, including walking on Tiana's twice and Tron once. Like your dad I'm a fan of the "classics" and we rode all except for HM which always has a long line at the Halloween party. We did the parade, fireworks, but skipped the stage show. Had a similar experience last year at the Christmas party. Rode everything we wanted, watched the parade and fireworks, totally enjoyed the holiday vibe. After doing a party, we're "done" with MK and can focus on other parks. On Saturday we went to DAK and then hopped to MK for Happily Ever After fireworks. On Sunday we did Epcot during the day (food and wine) and skylined over to DHS at about 5pm. Rode everything we wanted in both parks.

And that made me think... I'm sure you've considered it, so pardon me if I'm suggesting something obvious, but have you thought about swapping a regular day ticket for an MK party ticket? Perhaps for your short trip, since your focus is Christmas offerings and the MK classic rides... you might want to exchange one day of regular park ticket for an MK Christmas party ticket. You can get so many rides done during the MK party, and the parade and fireworks and holiday atmosphere are great.

As for your Jollywood Nights question... not sure if that party has the same effect on day crowds as the MK parties have. Daughter worked there pre-Jollywood. But I kind of doubt it. DHS tends to clear out in the evening as people leave to go to nighttime fireworks shows at MK and Epcot.

Your dad will love Star Wars Galaxy's Edge. I too, saw the original in the theaters a million times and am a bit of a Star Wars geek (enough of a geek that I have a lightsaber). That said, I don't spend a ton of time at SWGE. First, it's quite small. And... during the day it's hot and crowded. At night it's practically empty and has great lighting. Much more pleasant. I rode Rise once. It was cool, but I've never had any desire to ride it again. Probably because it's based on the new movies and made me very slightly motion sick. My kids love it.

Anyway... I just had a great weekend with no LL. I think it was successful for me because I swapped out a regular park day ticket for an MK party ticket. Better value (for me). Last thing... I'm not quite your dad's age, but in the ballpark. My "kids" are 19 and 23. I find it hard to walk the parks all day long and keep up with them, so I rent an ECV. With the ECV, I can go all day til park close and run rings around my kids instead of dragging behind them and slowing them down. The ECV rental price is offset by the value it brings to me by extending my park shelf-life. Plus it's fun to drive around. Not sure if your dad would need or want one, but might be something to keep in mind.

Your trip sounds like so much fun! Glad you had an awesome time especially without LL!

I did consider doing the Christmas party but it won’t work with our budget (also I would still want a 3 day hopper to see the parks during the day on Friday). I feel like we can get most of what we want done at MK during the low daytime crowds on the party day, and hop back Saturday night if we *have* to see the Christmas lights.

You make good points about GE being better at night…I’m leaning towards going there Friday evening to enjoy the lower crowds, cooler temps, and nighttime ambience. I actually ended up switching to a Disney Springs hotel so I can get early entry after all, and plan to take advantage of it at MK on Friday, HS on Saturday, and possibly AK on Sunday.