too much MK spread? (please help)

[toonaspie]

Looking at my basic plan for four days of parkhopping and I'm realizing that it might be too much in regards to Magic Kingdom.

Permit me to explain. Having booked FPs way too late, I was unable to get anything I wanted for MK so I focused on the other three parks. I thought I could spread MK across several days given that 2 of the 4 days at WDW were party days meaning that the lines would be less crowded during the day.

This is my intended plan as it stands.

9/21
MK arrival day (party day).
Evening @ DAK w/FPs

9/22
Epcot w/FPs
Evening @ MK to see HEA

9/23
MK during day (party day, ADR for BOG @ 1pm)
Evening @ DHS w/FPs

9/24 ??? departure day (Around 3-4pm)

My challenge here is to figure out how to do the two biggest things in MK w/ the shortest amt of wait and no FPs. I'm talking of course about Peter Pan and SDMT.

TP has MK 9/21 projected as level 1. I can only guess that we'll make into MK by sometime between 11am-Noon depending on how long DME takes. We'll probably be starving by this time due to our early flight.

9/22 is the only night we'd be able to see HEA while we are there. Projected level 5. No way in heck would we even try for PP or SDMT unless it were to be done after HEA while we wait for crowds leaving to thin out.

9/23 has MK at level 2. We could rope drop on this day but I am uncertain if we can even get up in time for this given we will be at MK late the night before.

Is it too much to do MK three days spread out in short spreads like this? I'm wondering if it's even worth it to try for MK on Sat night to see HEA knowing how busy it could be there. I'm thinking we could do the shorter wait attractions before Fireworks. What do you guys think?

 

[Babs1975]

I would definitely do a rope drop at MK for 7DMT and PP. Is there an EMM offered at MK during your trip? That would be ideal to bang out those 2 rides plus Pooh multiple times!

 

[toonaspie]

I would definitely do a rope drop at MK for 7DMT and PP. Is there an EMM offered at MK during your trip? That would be ideal to bang out those 2 rides plus Pooh multiple times!

If there were my dad would never go for it. Mainly cause of the price tag.

 

[MischaOz]

9/22 has an 11pm close so you should also be able to do some rides with shorter waits after HEA.

 

[Shanti]

Don't assume party dates will be less crowded. They might or might not be.

 

[Spunky946]

IMO you can never have enough time at mk. It’s my personal favorite. I’d ride it after hea on the late closing night if you can’t make rope drop. I’ve found wait times to be greatly exaggerated at the end of the night.

 

[gharter]

I would RD on the 23rd and do 7DMT. Keep refreshing your FPs. You might be surprised what comes up. Also, right after HEA, you may be able to go back and do PP. While some stay late, a lot leave right after HEA.

 

[Babs1975]

If there were my dad would never go for it. Mainly cause of the price tag.

Hmmm...bummer. Literally best money I ever spent at Disney.

 

[danceintherain]

Is there no availability for any FPs at MK on the 23rd? If you can't get your highest priority attractions, then you can at least guarantee short waits for a few other things.

For me, I tend to go down the list in my head of priorities, even beyond an individual park.
SDMT and Peter Pan are much higher priorities than fireworks to me, so I would skip the fireworks and plan on rope drop the next morning. (you can always change the plan if something changes)
Soarin and FEA are both higher priorities than SDMT (definitely) and Peter Pan (probably). Mostly, because I've done both of the latter, and my kids care more about the former. So, even though Peter Pan is my favorite attraction, if I couldn't fit it in, I'd still enjoy the trip.

It's probably not possible to make a perfect plan without knowing exactly how things are going to fall out. I usually have all of my traveling companions make a list of their top attractions. If we can hit the top 2-4 for each person at each park, then I consider the trip a success, even if we don't get a lot else done.
It may be perfectly fine to wait in line for over an hour (or more) for one attraction, because that's the only way to get it in.

 

[toonaspie]

Sorry it took so long to reply, as I've been sick.

Summing things down. My plan is to just go to MK first on 9/21 just to see what the crowds are like and what we could accomplish. If it gets bad then we'll just head over to Animal Kingdom earlier than planned.

The FPs for DHS on 9/23 aren't high priority (table scraps from not getting anything TSL). If I have to, I can just cancel those and use FP+ to grab whatever I can in MK during the day and head over to DHS and grab what I can at night. Zero chance of us getting FPs for SDD or Saucers, but those aren't high priority rides for us either. We will also try and do either SD or PP at MK if we can after HEA ends. That's the idea to aim for anyway.

Rope drop is not a guarantee with my parents but we shall see what we are able to accomplish in the first couple of days.

On a side note: just to show how late/pathetic I was with FP booking, the only two major FPs I was able to snag were FEA and NRJ. The latter I got through dumb luck/timing I guess.

 

[scrapquitler]

Looking at my basic plan for four days of parkhopping and I'm realizing that it might be too much in regards to Magic Kingdom.

Permit me to explain. Having booked FPs way too late, I was unable to get anything I wanted for MK so I focused on the other three parks. I thought I could spread MK across several days given that 2 of the 4 days at WDW were party days meaning that the lines would be less crowded during the day.

This is my intended plan as it stands.

9/21
MK arrival day (party day).
Evening @ DAK w/FPs

9/22
Epcot w/FPs
Evening @ MK to see HEA

9/23
MK during day (party day, ADR for BOG @ 1pm)
Evening @ DHS w/FPs

9/24 ??? departure day (Around 3-4pm)

My challenge here is to figure out how to do the two biggest things in MK w/ the shortest amt of wait and no FPs. I'm talking of course about Peter Pan and SDMT.

TP has MK 9/21 projected as level 1. I can only guess that we'll make into MK by sometime between 11am-Noon depending on how long DME takes. We'll probably be starving by this time due to our early flight.

9/22 is the only night we'd be able to see HEA while we are there. Projected level 5. No way in heck would we even try for PP or SDMT unless it were to be done after HEA while we wait for crowds leaving to thin out.

9/23 has MK at level 2. We could rope drop on this day but I am uncertain if we can even get up in time for this given we will be at MK late the night before.

Is it too much to do MK three days spread out in short spreads like this? I'm wondering if it's even worth it to try for MK on Sat night to see HEA knowing how busy it could be there. I'm thinking we could do the shorter wait attractions before Fireworks. What do you guys think?

We generally spend part of almost every day at MK. I do not think there is such a thing as “too much MK”. I would keep looking for same day FP for 7DMT and PP, and I’d also plan to do them at the very end of the night, esp if one of your nights is a pm EMH night.

 

[toonaspie]

We generally spend part of almost every day at MK. I do not think there is such a thing as “too much MK”. I would keep looking for same day FP for 7DMT and PP, and I’d also plan to do them at the very end of the night, esp if one of your nights is a pm EMH night.

Oddly enough that Sat night is NOT an EMH night. Just an longer night but an early fireworks show. Good for us since we don't wanna be there all night.

We do plan on using same day FP if possible. Our last FP at Epcot that day will be at 1pm and it's for FEA, which I can't afford to drop but we'll see how it goes.

I'm also a bit nervous cause this will be our first time using FP+ with the MDE app. Don't know what antics could result.

 

[toonaspie]

I'm reconsidering whether or not to go to MK at all on Friday. I felt it would be a missed opportunity considering how low crowds will be. Does it feel like too much running around if we only go to MK for a few hours then go to Animal Kingdom on our arrival day? Should we just do DAK all day since we might not get to the parks till noonish? More input is appreciated. I leave in a week!

 

[stsomewhere]

I would only go to Animal kingdom on your first day.

 

[toonaspie]

I would only go to Animal kingdom on your first day.

I'm starting to think you're right. For one thing I realize it's a really long distance drive between our resort and Magic Kingdom. Crazy long. And we're dependent on the buses. I had my intended DAK days scheduled between Friday and our last day Monday. It might result in us rushing things too much. Plus this would be my parents first time at DAK. They would want to take it all in. We might go back on Monday morning anyway to try and RD Flights of Passage. That's a maybe.