Theme Park planning

[Soprano]

I must confess when I first joined this board, I thought people who were planning their holiday like Operation Desert Storm were a little eccentric, so put it mildly. Now it seems I too have caught the bug. In the past I have just done whatever suits us on the day, but now after learning a lot of invaluable information on this great boards, I will be hitting the parks more or less when they open.

My park/shop/rest days are sorted and very flexible and can change with weather and energy levels.

It's the actual theme park attractions I am planning. Well, only the first hour or so.

EPCOT: Arrive just before opening, get a fast pass for Soarin'. Perhaps even queue up for Soarin', how long would the queue be? If its too long, get the FP, then head to Test Track and queue up, as this is a busy ride right? I know nothing about Soarin', only it seems to be the number one attraction right now. After those two rides done, start to relax!

MGM: FP for ToT, hit RNR, or vice versa.

MK: Have CRT res. bkfast for 8.20. Finish by 9(?) Get a FP for Peter Pan, and queue up for Dumbo. I understand these two are VERY busy.

We have a 3 and 4 yo with us, so they need to see these rides before they get busy. They both are over 40", so can do most other rides.

Anyone else plan like this? Would like to hear suggestions for MK as last time in '04, we ignored a lot of rides due to the kids being too small.

 

[JohnnySharp2]

Hi,

Soarin and Test Track are 2 of the biggest Disney attractions going so yes, would advise head for 1 of them soon as you get there and get FP for the other (like you say if it is busy).

As far as general planning goes I must admit we do very little, we have a good idea what we will do on our first couple of days and after that we just see how we feel, being regular visitors helps.

We are actually spending our first few nights next year in Miami/Fort Lauderdale so will be fully ready and refreshed for Orlando when we arrive there.

Our theme park days really are governed by our young son (he is autistic, a lovely bonny playful boy but just cannot talk) - we tend to just get Joshua on all the rides he likes , usually like you say by getting to the park in question early.
Anything we get on is a bonus, to be honest , I get as much fun taking Joshua on Woody's Nuthouse Coaster as I would by myself on any of my favourite rides , Spiderman for example.
I think getting there early is the best bet of you have special plans or rides you want to get on, it also means you can miss the busiest and hottest times of the day - very important if like us you have to go during school holidays.
Early evening can also be a good time as a lot of people are leaving the parks at that time.

For MK , we head straight to Fantasyland for Peter Pan/Snow White/Winnie The Pooh and Dumbo's carousel, followed by Pirates Of The Caribbean and then when it opens at 10 (why exactly..!!) , Goofy's Barnstormer and then hop on the train for a ride around the park...all as you will have gathered for Joshua's benefit.
The only problem to this is he often likes to go on the same ride several times, he doesn't understand what a queue is (where our GAC card comes in useful)....be slightly wary about Snow White as that could possibly scare very young children.

We usually always leave a park at lunchtime and then see how we feel later on in the day, we often go shopping or just relax at the villa, have APs for Universal and MYW passes for Disney.

 

[AlanUK]

Hi,

We always tend to go to the parks early and with a preconcieved idea of what rides we are going to head for. Generally we find making use of the early part of the day when the lines are shorter allows you to slow down later on as the day gets hotter

Looking at your plan it is not disimilar to the way we would do things, although our plan tends to include multiple mornings and evenings in each park so perhaps we are less pressured than some others to fit rides in.

As far as the MK goes, if you have little ones then getting to Fantasyland early and getting on the rides can prove to be invaluable as the lines here can get huge with long waiting times. That said though, as Johnny points out often the children like to do the same ride more than once which inevitably leaves you waiting in a line at some point during the day

 

[mandymouse]

Hey Soprano

Yes I think some of us on here are slightly loopy and eccentric, so I hope you'll fit in OK Your itinerary looks very much like ours, especially the way you have organised your rides. Have fun with your planning

 

[JohnnySharp2]

Hey Soprano

Yes I think some of us on here are slightly loopy and eccentric, so I hope you'll fit in OK Your itinerary looks very much like ours, especially the way you have organised your rides. Have fun with your planning

My wife thinks I am bonkers...a thread I was involved in about buying Heinz Beans and dodgy gravy probably proved it

 

[Miffy2003]

Looks good to me!

I wish my 3 & 4 years olds were as adventurous as your's though

We LOVED CRT. It was a completely magical experience.

 

[Travelbug12]

I'm sorry but I am one of those dessert storm types and I swear by it. The prices you are paying to enter these parks I feel every minute counts. I spend months making a detailed itinerary. That being said, a lot of times I don't follow it. Your best move is sometimes using instinct and going with the flow. Still, the most important place to have an idea of what you're doing is Magic Kingdom, this is the worst of all parks by far with crowds. I know it sounds really crazy, but if you run, yes run at opening to tomorrow land and work counter clockwise you can do probably in the first hour: BUzz lightyear 2x, tea cups, winnie the pooh, dumbo, snow white, peter pan and its a small world. These are the highligts that any little kid wants to see then run to toon town fair and go on the roller coaster if they want and get some autographs. Sounds awful, but you could be done and back at the pool in three hours. Of course if your children can't do this its not worth it, just remeber, dumbo is probably the longest line with peter pan coming second, you can use fast pass for winnie the pooh. There is a book called the unofficial guide to disney (american) that gives five "touring plans" for the magic kingdom alone. I never usually follow the plans i make, but just thinking about it seems to get you more organized.

 

[JohnnySharp2]

I'm sorry but I am one of those dessert storm types and I swear by it. The prices you are paying to enter these parks I feel every minute counts. I spend months making a detailed itinerary. That being said, a lot of times I don't follow it. Your best move is sometimes using instinct and going with the flow. Still, the most important place to have an idea of what you're doing is Magic Kingdom, this is the worst of all parks by far with crowds. I know it sounds really crazy, but if you run, yes run at opening to tomorrow land and work counter clockwise you can do probably in the first hour: BUzz lightyear 2x, tea cups, winnie the pooh, dumbo, snow white, peter pan and its a small world. These are the highligts that any little kid wants to see then run to toon town fair and go on the roller coaster if they want and get some autographs. Sounds awful, but you could be done and back at the pool in three hours. Of course if your children can't do this its not worth it, just remeber, dumbo is probably the longest line with peter pan coming second, you can use fast pass for winnie the pooh. There is a book called the unofficial guide to disney (american) that gives five "touring plans" for the magic kingdom alone. I never usually follow the plans i make, but just thinking about it seems to get you more organized.

I believe at all theme parks you are discouraged not to run - just my opinion but I do think that running to the attractions is a bit over the top.
If it works for you then fine, just not for us.

We went most recently in August, it was the middle of the month though when crowds were lighter. Having got to MK early we were able to do all Joshua's rides (some ridden more than once) comfortably...I am not suggesting we could have done that at busier times, however, if we do miss out on a ride we can ensure we do it later in the day or a couple of days later.

I do agree that sometimes the theme parks can be an assault course, like I say we have never felt the need to run - however, if it works best for you than fair enough - it's your holiday after all