tips for ONE day at MK?

[bnrthomas2011]

his will be my first trip as an 'adult', I'm charge of my family. last one was in '06 and i was just along for the ride pretty much. our actual vacation will take place on the DCL, but we are spending one day at MK. i'm looking for any tips or advice to fit in as many things while still enjoying our day with our *gulp* 2 & 4 year olds. i have no plans of seeing everything, but i would like to get a nice sampling of what the park has to offer. i am so nervous to be the one in charge, lol. any personal experiences, guidebooks, etc. would be appreciated. also, any info on being a single rider? i would be the only one doing any bigger rides.. is it worth it to take the time to wait on line?

thanks!

 

[SEA333]

We went for only one day in 2011 - my first trip since Epcot was being built, LOL, and DH and the kids had never been. We were in FL on a bigger trip, and knew that we had to include MK in for at least a day!

My kids were older (11, 7, and 6), but we went in knowing that we were not going to be able to see and do everything. We threw the touring plans and pre-planning into the garbage and went with the flow. We let the kids lead...don't know how that would work with yours since they are younger, but I would definitely consider wandering and going on rides with short waits when you see them rather than trying to cram everything in. After about 1/2 of the day, DH looked at me and said "You were here when you were little...what do you remember that you really want to do?" I said Peter Pan, Snow White, and Haunted Mansion. We made sure we did those (Peter Pan was the longest wait of that day at about 25 minutes) and everything else was truly a bonus. We finished the night with Wishes, and it was the most magical day we have ever had as a family. Not a fastpass or touring plan or ADR in sight.

Last November when we went, we used FP+ for Peter Pan, Haunted Mansion (my kids' favorite from the trip before and the one they asked to do multiple times each time), and Space Mountain, which my younger two were too young for last time but loved this time. We did some of the same things as the first time, but also walked by some of the fun attractions we did the first time and tried new things...again, pretty much just wandered and did what we wanted, when we wanted, depending on how long the line was. Again this time, we didn't wait more than 20 minutes for anything. I was surprised, too, because it was a Sunday when we were there. I thought it would have been busier.

We are not really "high-expectation" kind of people, so we went into each experience with a "if we can do it, we will do it, if not, we won't" kind of attitude, so maybe it is all perspective and what exactly you expect to get out of it. We were pretty happy with both visits.

 

[MandiC]

I'm going to be honest. Peter Pan was a disappointment (mainly cause it was talked up so much and the long waits) to me, I thought The Little Mermaid was better and the rides are similar enough that if you are short on time you wouldn't miss much by doing one and not the other. Might depend on if your 4 year old is a boy or girl
If you are going after the Mine Train opens I am sure that will be a must. If your 4 year old is a little girl Enchanted Tales with Belle is wonderful. We all liked Mickey's Philhar Magic. Buzz Lightyear was fun. I can't recall if Barnstormers had a height limit, if the kids aren't tall enough you probably won't want to do that one alone. Space Mountain would be fine as a single rider if the wait isn't long (it really wasn't the day we were there, we went twice cause the wait was only 20 minutes after we did all our 'musts' in Tomorrowland). The cars fit 3 and are single file, since a lot of people go in pairs or groups of 4 it seemed they were looking for single riders to come ahead in line to fill the spots so your wait might be even shorter than the posted wait. Big Thunder Mountain was very fun, one of our favorites but the waits were long. You'd want a fastpass for it (maybe you could get a fastpass for that at the same time your family gets a fastpass for a character meet) I didn't see any single riders but I don't think you'd have a problem. Splash Mountain wasn't open when we were there (so maybe that made the Thunder Mountain waits longer?)
I got the Passporters book before and liked looking at the rides but I have a hard time making set plans so I just made a list of what rides we really wanted to do in each 'land'. We did 2 days in MK, (one day was Fronteirland, Adventureland and Liberty Square; the next day we did Fantasyland and Tomorrowland) but I bet if you are okay not seeing everything and pick the things you really want to do you can fit it all in.

 

[bella2117]

I'm going to be honest. Peter Pan was a disappointment (mainly cause it was talked up so much and the long waits) to me, I thought The Little Mermaid was better and the rides are similar enough that if you are short on time you wouldn't miss much by doing one and not the other. Might depend on if your 4 year old is a boy or girl If you are going after the Mine Train opens I am sure that will be a must. If your 4 year old is a little girl Enchanted Tales with Belle is wonderful. We all liked Mickey's Philhar Magic. Buzz Lightyear was fun. I can't recall if Barnstormers had a height limit, if the kids aren't tall enough you probably won't want to do that one alone. Space Mountain would be fine as a single rider if the wait isn't long (it really wasn't the day we were there, we went twice cause the wait was only 20 minutes after we did all our 'musts' in Tomorrowland). The cars fit 3 and are single file, since a lot of people go in pairs or groups of 4 it seemed they were looking for single riders to come ahead in line to fill the spots so your wait might be even shorter than the posted wait. Big Thunder Mountain was very fun, one of our favorites but the waits were long. You'd want a fastpass for it (maybe you could get a fastpass for that at the same time your family gets a fastpass for a character meet) I didn't see any single riders but I don't think you'd have a problem. Splash Mountain wasn't open when we were there (so maybe that made the Thunder Mountain waits longer?) I got the Passporters book before and liked looking at the rides but I have a hard time making set plans so I just made a list of what rides we really wanted to do in each 'land'. We did 2 days in MK, (one day was Fronteirland, Adventureland and Liberty Square; the next day we did Fantasyland and Tomorrowland) but I bet if you are okay not seeing everything and pick the things you really want to do you can fit it all in.

Peter Pan is more sentimental for me. Makes me think of me and dad going to disney when I was a little girl.

 

[bnrthomas2011]

i have two boys, but princesses and super heroes are usually tied for favorites on any given day we are going mid sept and from what i have seen, parks shouldn't be busy at all. i like the idea of making a list of musts for each land.. i may do that tonight! i am really excited to start this disney love with my kids and want our day to go smoothly. sounds like i need to let my inner control freak go! thanks for all of the advice.

 

[bledsoedoc]

Have fun and let go! We have never used a guide and just like previous poster we go with the flow. We let our son lead the way. We watch line times. We don't criss cross all over the park. We take a late lunch or early dinner at a ts for some down time and conversation. Reset and start out fresher afterwards. Use fp+ for your top 3 must do' s and spread them out if they are in different lands. That way you can casually walk from 1 land to the next enjoying rides and sites and shows along the way, not feeling rushed and arriving at next fp in plenty of time. Goodluck.

 

[ErinTwinmom]

Get there 30min before they open even if that means leaving for a mid day nap and coming back. It will be peak crowds around nap time anyway. If your kids will sleep in the stroller even better. Then you single rider and parent swap a ride or to while they nap.
The four year old needs a stroller.
If I only had one day with kids that age I might get reservations for breakfast with pooh before the park opens so you can get in even sooner and do some characters with no line while your at it.
Check out the unofficial guide (my library had it) and then ignore every thing it says about fast pass. Rather read the info on traffic patterns and loading speeds and it can really help you make better choices. In the same book check out the dumbo or drop touring plan for family's with small children. I don't use it all day but I do like it in the morning.

Two cents