touring question

kctinkerbell

Mouseketeer
Joined
Oct 22, 2003
We are going in March and plan on using Early Entry for MK. We know this will be a busy time and we are trying to plan ahead so we don't stand in line all day.

Since we will be doing EE on our MK day do you think it makes sense to do as much as possible in Fantasyland and Tomorrowland, then use the touring guides from Unofficial Guide???? These touring plans seem very helpful, but I want to get the most out of our early hour as well. Help we are newbies and this is our first trip.

We have two children 6 and 4 and this our first family vacation.

kctinkerbell
 
I'd get the popular stuff out of the way quick, because EE days at the MK are usually stuffed full of people.

I've been known to stay away from EE parks on their respective days, because it seems as if everyone and their mother (literally) flocks to them.

But if you're quick, I don't see a problem. :earsboy: :earsboy:
 
Hi kctinkerbell,

Let me know what plan you're going to use, and I'll see what we can suggest.

Len
 


Here's how we handle EMH at MK (our kids are 6, 5 and 4).

Get to MK at 7:45.

Go right to Dumbo, but....Have 1 adult go get Fastpass for buzz (sometimes they have the machines open...your return time won't be until after the park open though...ie 9:10-10:10am)

Meet up at Pooh, ride pooh

Peter Pan

Snow White

Tea Cups

Carousel

Small World

PARK OPENS

Haunted Mansion

Use FastPass for Buzz

TTA

Maybe (if time and open) Carousel of Prgress

Toontown opens

Goofy's Barnstormer

Autographs

Maybe Catch Cinerella's surprise Celebration (in front of castle)
Maybe eat lunch in the park

Then, you have 2 choices: 1) stay for the 3pm parade....to kill time between lunch and the parade, you could do rides that usually have short lines (Small World, Tiki Room, Country Bears, Carousel of Progress, TTA..ar do the Cinderella show in front of the castle) OR 2) get out of MK. It's going to be PACKED. Either way, I would use another morning to do the other half of the park (Adventureland/Fronteirland).

This has always worked well for us.

Jess
 
I really appreciate all the advice. I just know it is going to be busy while we are there and this being our first time, I want to try to avoid long lines if possible.


Len,

We will be there on a Thurs for EE. We plan on getting to the park before 8:00a.m.

We have two children 6& almost 4 who are going to be really excited about this trip. They have been asking to go for 2 years!!!

I was thinking that we would try to do as much as possible in one day. We have a chance to come back later in the week, but only for 1/2 day or so I really wanted to just do the favorites the 2nd time around if possible. We can go do a nap and come back later in the afternoon if we need to. I'm not going to drag around tired children, we will watch how they are doing and adjust from there.
We were thinking about following the Magic Kingdom One-Day Touring Plan. What do you think Len??? How does Early Entry affect this plan?

By the way I love the book and eveyone seems to agree the plans really do decrease your wait time.


kctinkerbell:Pinkbounc :bounce: :Pinkbounc :bounce:
 
The unofficial guide is fantastic. I don't follow their plans exactly, because our tour is a cross between having young kids and a thirll seeker tour. We do have young kids (4, 5 and 6), but they like to go on all the thrill rides. So we have to hit everything from Dumbo to Splash Mountain. Also, we have to be careful about too much criss-crossing because the kids get tired. I do take their plans, as well as their recommended times to hit each attraction and make my tour based off of that. It works GREAT. We never wait in lines and we go during peak times (Easter/Summer). I give that book all the credit....without it, we would get half the attractions done in twice the time, and be much less happy doing it.

Jess
 


My only tip besides getting there early and hustling to your first ride is to go on the Speedway and Dumbo first thing. When I was there recently I brought my 4yo on Dumbo fist and tried to skip over the Speedway. He saw it and wanted to go, but by then (and this was a "slow" day) there was already a long line. I ended up going back the next day because he really wanted to do that ride. If you want to head to Fantasyland first then one of you can run and get a fastpass for the Speedway and go once you are done with Fantasyland. The other rides can get lines early, but the Speedway is such a slow loading ride that it backs up early (same with Dumbo and Astrorbitor).

It's tough because there are a lot of rides that your kids will want to ride and MK gets busy so early. Don't miss the Philharmagic (I think that's what it is called) show--it was very good.

T&B
 
Yes unofficial guide is very good
Yes do dumbo first (you might consider having both kids get in line with dad, let a few people get in line (forget how many exactly) then have mom get in line too. Then when dad and the kids finish their ride, the kids get in line with mom and she rides with both of them. This way the kids get to go twice with minimal line wait. If the kids want to ride it again, ride it now. then tell them no more dumbo for the rest of the day.

then get in line for pooh, send someone for buzz fastpass,

after pooh, hit speedway if you have time before your buzz fastpass expires

some advice: don't ruin a great day by trying to do too much. just say to yourself (and the kids) "we'll do it next year when we come back"

enjoy.
 
OOPS...when copying over my tour plan,I forgot to add Philharmagic....it wasn't open on our last trip (July).

Jess
 
Hey kctinkerbell,

The One Day Touring Plan for Parents with Small Children does include an afternoon break (we assumed around 3 hours), and it's probably your best bet for seeing the most attractions in the least amount of time.

If you're following that plan, I think it's easily adaptable for Early Entry. Steps 1 through 9 will almost certainly work. (I'm reluctant to post the plan here. Not only is it copyrighted, but these things take literally tens of thousands of dollars and months of research to develop - the rest of you, please follow along in your books on page 763. ;) )

For EMH, I'd follow step 9 with Steps 15 and 16. When you're done with those, go back and do steps 10 through 13. Pick up with Step 17 after your mid-day break.

Sorry to be so cryptic. Send me an e-mail if none of this is clear: testa@ncat.edu. Hope this helps!

Sincerely,

Len
 
Len,
I have my trusty Unofficial Guide right here and let me just say you are the most helpful person EVER!!!!!!!

Thanks to all of you for your fabulous advice.

You are really helping to plan a newbie's first trip:)::yes:: ::yes::

kctinkerbell
 

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