Theme Park Strategy

[Dis_Fan]

My husband and I have been to disney many times, and are used to planning for just the two of us. In September we will be going to wdw with my parents, neice (Age 8), and nephews (ages 7 & 9). We are planning to hit all 4 parks. We are spending 3 days at MK and 1 day at each of the other parks.

My parents have been dreaming of taking their grandkids to wdw for a long time, and it is very important to them that the trip be about the kids and what they want to do.

So here are my questions:

1. When booking fast passes how much time should I leave between fast passes in order to allow the kids ample time and flexibility to enjoy rides in an area for as long as they want without making us feel rushed to hit our next fast pass reservation?

2. How much time should we leave open to spend in fantasy land assuming the kids want to ride everything?

3. At epcot would it better to book a fast pass to Soarin, Test Track, or Frozen?

4. Do you have any other advice for traveling with kids in this age group?

 

[Robo]

1. When booking fast passes how much time should I leave between fast passes in order to allow the kids ample time and flexibility to enjoy rides in an area for as long as they want without making us feel rushed to hit our next fast pass reservation?
2. How much time should we leave open to spend in fantasy land assuming the kids want to ride everything?
3. At epcot would it better to book a fast pass to Soarin, Test Track, or Frozen?

1. They are a minimum of 1 hour apart, already.
You can leave more time, but it really doesn't matter.
You will also have time either BEFORE or AFTER (or both) all 3 of your pre-booked FP, anyway.
2. 1/2 day to 1 full day, not necessarily all on one day.
3. Frozen.

 

[BrianL]

1. I'd book them a couple of hours apart. Remember that you have a whole 1 hour window to use your FP, so you can either plan to use them right when that opens, or wait until the end. There is also generally a short grace period if you are running a little late (I think up to 15 minutes).

2. Fantasyland is full of slow loading rides. I would try to FP Peter Pan's Flight or Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. If you do this section early in the morning it will be lass crowded and you could be done with it earlier.

3. Frozen will have the longest lines, hands down. an FP is a must if you want to ride it.

4. They are all old enough to ride by themselves (7 and up), should that become an issue. For example, Test Track has a single rider line, so if you feel comfortable letting them, they are old enough to use that.

 

[loutoo]

To answer your questions in a random order:

3. I assume with kids that age you don't want to us the single rider line for Test Track. If that is true, conventional wisdom says that you should FP+ Frozen. Ride Test Track first thing at rope drop and ride Soarin either as early as possible or late in the day.

2. This is a difficult question because it depends entirely on what time of day you do Fantasy land and how you use your FP+s. It looks like you will have 9 total FP+ for Magic Kingdom. Riding every ride in fantasy land standby in the middle of the day could easily take 6 hours or even more. If you go to fantasy land at rope drop and use FP+ on 7DMT and Peter Pan then it could be as little as 2 hours.

1. Again this depends entirely on which land and how you use your FP+. As a general rule I believe that you can accomplish one land before 11 without using FP+ on anything (except 7DMT if that falls in the land) then eat an early lunch and do a second land from 12-3 using FP+ on those rides. In reality you can do all of MK in two days easily even if one of them is a short day. That would leave your third MK day to relax, re-ride favorites, and soak in a little more of the ambience.

4. Be flexible and listen to what they want to do. Feed them BEFORE they are hungry. Try to somewhat stagger attractions by individual interest. Don't make your nephew sit through three hours of princesses in a row and don't make your niece ride three consecutive thrill rides if that isn't her cup of tea. Use shows as breaks to give them some down time and as an escape from the mid day heat. Feed the BEFORE they are hungry. If you are on site don't feel bad about heading back to the resort for a break. Don't run rope drop to park close every day, it can exhaust an adult, even the most active & healthy kids can't take 6 consecutive 14 hour days of activity. Its going to be HOT. Enjoy the resort pool and don't be disappointed if they would rather do that in the afternoon than wait in hour long lines.

 

[Owl X]

1. Each Fast Pass window is an hour. I would book them back to back unless one of the attractions is in an area that you intend to be in later in the day (such as Frozen in WS). Since you can book another FP+ after your first three, you may want to use them earlier in the day. I try to schedule my first FP+ about 60-90 minutes after park opening. That way I can knock out a few rides while the crowds are light and still get all 3 in before lunch.

2. If you are in the MK at rope drop and have FP+s for Peter Pan's Flight & the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, you can knock out the rides in Fantasyland in about 4 hours. I would book Peter Pan's Flight for 90 minutes after park opening followed by Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. You should be able to get in 4 or 5 other rides before your 1st FP+ and a couple rides between your 1st & 2nd FP.

3. You should FP+ Frozen for the early afternoon. That allows you to spend the morning in Future World and eat lunch in the WS. I would hit Test Track right after rope drop followed by Soarin. I would use your other FPs on Spaceship Earth & Mission Space. You should be able to get in most of the other Future World Attractions before lunch.

4. Arrive at a park early and take an afternoon break/nap back at your hotel when it gets hot. Then return at night for a few more rides and a night show. Plan your Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom visits around the show times.

 

[HulaHoopy]

Make sure you include a lot of pool time.

 

[Dis_Fan]

Thanks everyone for the advice!