There must be a better way!! Help on schedule that includes Kennedy? aka Operation: GET TO MK

[ArielSparrow]

Okay, so here are my issues with my current schedule:

(1) Kennedy would be best on Friday, to cut down on the driving. Right now, I'm essentially choosing 2 extra hours of driving to maximize my time at AK
(2) We could add one more day to our ticket for $5, and want to use it for an hour or so at MK. Where Kennedy is at right now, we could make it to IoA (we also have an extra day for this) or Epcot but not MK.

Here are some facts:

• We haven't seen Pandora yet and AK was our favorite even without it
• We don't have enough incentive to dedicate a day to MK at the expense of the other parks, but if we could fit in a brief visit, we'll take it
• We are staying offsite and would be renting a car or utilizing Lyft (haven't decided yet, prices are close)

I felt like it was perfect until I was looking at tickets and realizing I could get an extra ticket for $0-5. I am flying from the NW and a half day for any other park is not an option. I wish MNSSHP wasn't Friday or I could just cancel my Hoop-De-Doo ADR that night and go to MK instead. I'm only rethinking so I could use that extra ticket, so going to the party isn't an option.

EDIT: the crowd ratings are based on UT

 

[MommaBerd]

A couple of questions:

1) How long do you want to spend at Kennedy?
2) If you add a day to your ticket, would you use it to enter a different park on the same day as another park? Or just go for a few hours on a different day?

 

[ArielSparrow]

A couple of questions:

1) How long do you want to spend at Kennedy?
2) If you add a day to your ticket, would you use it to enter a different park on the same day as another park? Or just go for a few hours on a different day?

1) Ideally the whole day. We're space nuts and last time one day wasn't even enough!
2) You know, that's a good question. I assumed I had the freedom to use two tickets on the same day if I wanted to. However, MK closes at the same time or earlier than the other parks, so I didn't see a way to make that work.

 

[goodeats]

You can not use two days to do two different parks on the same day. The system won’t allow it. It would be cheaper to do that than to add the hopper.

 

[ArielSparrow]

I also keep wondering if I should cancel my AirBnB in Merritt Island and book one in Kissimmee instead. I'd lose the cancellation fees but that would free up the morning of my cruise. I know some people go to the parks before embarking, but I haven't looked into the logistics of that. I wouldn't want to miss out on ship time.

 

[ArielSparrow]

You can not use two days to do two different parks on the same day. The system won’t allow it. It would be cheaper to do that than to add the hopper.

Good to know. So I guess the Disney days are out. It wouldn't have worked that way anyway. They can, however, be shifted around. Which is mainly why I'm posting here, to see if anyone sees something I don't. Every order I try is less than ideal. I had already accepted missing out on MK, so I want to make sure I visit the other parks on the best day possible.

 

[dachsie]

What time are you flying in? if early you could spend a few hours at MK on the 21st

 

[ArielSparrow]

What time are you flying in? if early you could spend a few hours at MK on the 21st

I would be getting the earliest flight I can find. Right now the earliest I can find is landing at 4:45p. MK closes at 6p that day. If a 6a PST flight pops up, that would be getting me there at 3p EST. That's wheels down, but with bags and transportation and everything, I'm not sure what time I would get into the Parks.

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

With landing at 3 p.m you are looking at getting into MK till 4:30 - 5p.m. by the time you get off the plane, get your bags, get the rental car and drive over there. Park at TTC catch the boat or monorail go through bag check. so that gives you 60 minutes in the park. n Plus I would not want to leave my bags in the car in the Florida heat if you have toiletries so you might want to take them to the resort in which case you will have about 30 minutes at the park.

 

[mitsukoshi samurai]

I think disney stops letting day guest at 4p.m on party days

 

[MommaBerd]

You can not use two days to do two different parks on the same day. The system won’t allow it. It would be cheaper to do that than to add the hopper.

Thanks for responding @goodeats! That’s exactly why I was asking.

I am curious as to why you planned your week the way you did. For example, why did you put your Universal days in the middle of the Disney days? Why didn’t you originally plan to do Kennedy on Friday? You said you are trading driving for extra hours at AK. And I see in your notes that you can get in at 8. How are you getting that extra hour?

If you based your plan on hours of operation, I hope you realize those can (and probably will) change between now and your trip. If you based it on crowd predictions, I would only use that as a guide, not gospel.

If it were me, I would do all my Disney days together and move Kennedy to Friday. But, it’s not easy to make changes/recommendations without knowing why you selected certain parks on certain days. For example, you could have ADRs that you don’t want to change.

 

[ArielSparrow]

I think disney stops letting day guest at 4p.m on party days

Ooh, that would be good to know.

I am curious as to why you planned your week the way you did. For example, why did you put your Universal days in the middle of the Disney days? Why didn’t you originally plan to do Kennedy on Friday? You said you are trading driving for extra hours at AK. And I see in your notes that you can get in at 8. How are you getting that extra hour?

If you based your plan on hours of operation, I hope you realize those can (and probably will) change between now and your trip. If you based it on crowd predictions, I would only use that as a guide, not gospel.

If it were me, I would do all my Disney days together and move Kennedy to Friday. But, it’s not easy to make changes/recommendations without knowing why you selected certain parks on certain days. For example, you could have ADRs that you don’t want to change.

Each day I chose the park that had the best hours and crowd rating. I posted here in case someone sees an order that makes more sense.

For AK, that's just a planning note to myself regarding rope drop. I have a Tusker ADR but it might be better to join the masses at Pandora.

I know hours and crowds can change, but that's all I have to go by. Last time we wished we had two days at AK, and that was before Pandora. So my biggest concern is maximizing AK since it's not a place I like to feel rushed. After that, it's HS but I just want to see Toy Story Land, but I don't need to ride the rides. Much of the SW stuff is new to me but it looks manageable.

I do have ADR's but they can all be changed. They were picked after making the schedule and I'm not super dedicated to them. Why put all the Disney days together? Just for theming purposes? I separated them last time but that was because we changed hotels for the 2nd week.

 

[ArielSparrow]

Oh, and I know the crowd predictions are just a guide, but they worked so well last time, I didn't want to deviate. Of course, I don't know what it was like at the other parks, but for all the ones we chose, we basically walked onto everything.

 

[ArielSparrow]

I could switch it so it's: AK-Epcot-DHS-Universalx2-bonus AK-Kennedy. This doesn't solve the MK issue, but at least cuts down on driving.

If they don't let in day guests after 4p on party nights, then it seems the only option would be to move my AirBnB either to the Friday I arrive or at least something in Kissimmee, and then go to MK in the morning before embarking.

 

[mitsukoshi samurai]

Then you’re risking missing the ship between traffic and returning the rental

 

[ArielSparrow]

Then you’re risking missing the ship between traffic and returning the rental

If we rent a car. Lyft and shuttles are looking more attractive.

I heard plenty of people squeeze a park visit or something in before embarking (earliest is at 11a but I think there's a bigger window and it could be 1p) but you're right and overall it does look like MK just isn't feasible.

 

[mitsukoshi samurai]

How about when you return from the cruise

 

[FoxC63]

I think disney stops letting day guest at 4p.m on party days

Ooh, that would be good to know.

On party nights, MK closes at 6pm. Without a party ticket you are allowed into the parks up to 6pm. In all honesty I would use a party ticket to enter in at 4pm and not a regular park ticket. This would give you time to settle in without feeling rushed. Party ticket price could be cheaper as well.

 

[ArielSparrow]

On party nights, MK closes at 6pm. Without a party ticket you are allowed into the parks up to 6pm. In all honesty I would use a party ticket to enter in at 4pm and not a regular park ticket. This would give you time to settle in without feeling rushed. Party ticket price could be cheaper as well.

It's not less than $5 The only reason we were considering it was the difference between 4 & 5 days was $5. However, now we've decided to go down to 3 Disney days (we're doing a Disney cruise so we're going to address some of our other interests while on land).

 

[ArielSparrow]

How about when you return from the cruise

I thought about it but it wouldn't be worth the hour drive each way plus we have a long flight.