The World in 5.5 days???

[Fooboy]

Hello everyone,
Im just wondering if it is possible to see the important stuff and then some in just 5.5 days with lots of planning??? I've already been many times but this is my girlfriend's first. We're going on the worst week of the year. 12/26-01/01. No kids, just us two (23year olds). Should I have the travel agent add on another day? it really is gonna cost me a bunch if i do. i personally don't think it's worth the money to add but i DO want her to see most of the good stuff and some of the little stuff that makes it all complete. thanks. We're staying at the Port Orleans French Quarter (i remember the location being nice)

Thanks!
foobs

 

[stacy6552]

Thats plenty of time. Youre not going to do a waterpark at that time of the year. Hit the MK, Epcot, and MGM the first three days. Then do AK, which you can bust through early. That leaves you 1 full day and 2 half days to back track and do the things you regret missing or want to do again.

 

[mad4themouse]

It's going to be crowded. You're going to need to go commanado-style if you want to do everything in those 5½ days. Selinger's Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World has some tried-and-true commando-style itineraries that may be very helpful to you.

• Try to work Early Entry into your itinerary as much as possible so that you beat out the guests who are staying off-site.
• Get FastPasses for everything you can and work your itinerary around them.
• Eat meals at "off" hours (like a late lunch at 3 pm) or grab snacks while you go.
• Plan your touring so that you don't end up crisscrossing the parks repeatedly.
• Keep park hopping to a minimum so that you don't waste time commuting from one place to another.
• Save DTD for an evening when you visit the AK (it closes earlier than the other parks).

With that said, you should be able to visit each of the major parks for a full day and you'll still have 1½ days left to go back to see what you've missed or revisit anything that you want to see second time.

 

[lentesta]

Hey foobs, I think that EE may really help you out at Christmas at the MK. It's going to be crowded anyway, and if you get to the MK at 7 a.m., you'll get a lot out of the way by 11 a.m. The Studios might also benefit from EE. Epcot could go either way. Avoid the AK EE during Christmas - it may result in worse waits.

Also, the touring plans in your Unofficial Guide should work pretty well. We've got lots of specific wait-time data from the past two Christmases, so let me know if you have a question on a particular strategy.

Sincerely,

Len

 

[Fooboy]

what's this about not taking advantage of the Animal Kingdom EE? why is that?

 

[stacy6552]

Dont bother with epcot EE. The best crowd beater for epcot is a late start and doing it backwards. Start at 11 in the WS. You can make your way around the world in a few hours and be done before most of the crowds start making their way back from FW. Grab a late lunch and do the front afterwards, when most of the crowds will be back in the WS.

 

[lentesta]

Hey foobs,

The Unofficial Guide research team collects data on every attraction, show and FASTPASS booth in every park, every 30 minutes, from park opening to park closing. It's a lot of data.

We have a professional statistician analyze the data. One of the things he noticed for Christmas 2002 was that the total amount of time spent waiting in line at the AK was about an hour greater during EE than non-EE days. if one was doing a comprehensive tour of the park.

This isn't the result you'd expect. In the MK, for example, EE generally results in about one less hour of standing in line. IIRC, the Studios provided the next-best EE benefit, followed by Epcot. Epcot, though, may change because of Mission:Space, so I think EE there is more worthwhile now than it has been.

Why does EE at the AK result in longer waits? Our best guess is that it's because (1) there are few attractions open early, (2) the relative capacity of those attractions isn't enough to keep up with the increased demand, and (3) there are relatively few attractions in the entire park, so there's more competition to go on the most popular ones.

Note that these findings only apply to peak periods, such as Christmas. But that's relevant to you because that's when you're going.

Hope this helps. Let me know if not.

Len

 

[Fooboy]

wow! i just realized that you helped out with the Unofficial Guide that I have. all of this stressing and planning is making me slow haha! a previous post stated that i should work Epcot backwards. I scheduled our Epcot day based on ur 2003 One Day Schedule. Should this suffice of is the 'backwards' strategy better? I know that I should at the very least get Mission:Space and Test Track out of the way, ASAP. Thnx for ur help, Len

Foobs

 

[Fooboy]

also, Im assuming that E-ticket nights will not apply to the days that Im there. right?

foobs

 

[peachgirl]

While I agree in general that EE isn't worth it as far as rides go at the AK, it does have it's advantages.

We did EE at AK both for Christmas 2002 and this past June. While everyone else was getting in lines for rides, we enjoyed a nearly empty park as far as walking through the trails, etc.

As soon as they opened the Fastpass machines, we got passes for the Safari. By then (just as the park opened) they opened the Jungle Trek and we were able to see all the animals with very few people. By the time we were through with that we were able to get fastpasses for Dinosaur before riding the Kilamanjaro Safari.

Doing it that way we didn't stand in line for the rides, got to view the animals with no crowds and we got to enjoy a near empty park.

I completely agree that EE for Epcot is a waste of time. Hardly anything is open so the lines pile up very fast. Unlike AK, we couldn't find anything to do during EE other than stand in line for rides....something you can do anytime!

 

[lentesta]

Hey foobs,

The Epcot touring plan in the new edition has changed from 2003. Drop me a line (testa@ncat.edu) and we'll see how it affects your situation.

Peachgirl, nice observation. If you've been to the AK a couple of times and would like to linger through the trails, a crisp early morning stroll is fantastic. My only question is, of course, is the coffee bar open that early?

Len

 

[peachgirl]

My only question is, of course, is the coffee bar open that early?

I didn't risk it...we brought ours from the resort with us.

Refillable mugs are a wonderful thing!