Two-day Magic Kingdom- split the park in half?

[riddlemethis]

Hi everyone,

I've been working on creating some draft trip plans and I'm wondering if anyone has an opinion on trip planning with two-day trips.

We are visiting in April, doing MK -> HS -> AK -> Break Day -> Epcot -> MK in that order.

I am thinking that we could split Magic Kingdom in half- do the right side the first day, left side on the second day, with the addition of the buzz light year spin of course.

I've seen some two-day trip plans that include walking the entire park on both days. We have 2 boys ages 6 and 8, of which one will not enjoy all the walking.

Half and half? Good or bad?

 

[pitpat]

absolutely split it in half. Besides much less walking, it makes your FP situation more manageable. there are only a handful of attractions on each side that are the main FP priorities. Then everything else falls into place. You will have more time to enjoy your surroundings as well instead of running back and forth.

 

[riddlemethis]

Yay validation! Thank you <3

 

[dreiwhit]

Yes. We did something similar, but we broke MK into three days and arrived at Rope Drop each day. We got everything done we wanted to get done, and rode some rides multiple times. I had set our FPs up just to do that. We broke it up into three days ONLY because we would have to leave no later than 7 when Mickey's holiday party started, and we wanted to get most of the rides done by 4pm when the party crowd started coming in. On a non party day that isn't heavily crowded, you could definitely combine our three days into two.

Our three day plan was: First day after rope drop we went over to Tomorrowland and rode Buzz Lightyear twice, followed by Carousel of Progress and People Mover. There was hardly anyone there at that time. We then went over to Adventureland and Frontierland and did pretty much everything in those lands, including Haunted Mansion.

Second MK day was Fantasyland. We did everything there except for 7DMT (daughter hates it) and Barnstormer. Many things we rode twice.

Last MK day was Tomorrowland. We rode everything we rode on day 1, some multiple times. My son and I also went back to ride POTC again.

All of that also included doing pretty much every character meet & greet available, except for Gaston.

 

[beck00]

Without a doubt! We have two girls, spend majority of one day in Fantasyland and the rest in Tomorrowland. The second MK day we hit up Frontierland, Liberty Square, Adventureland and even re-ride things from other 2 lands if we have time/lines aren't too long. Much more enjoyable than running all over and we feel like we get to do everything we want with the exception of one or two things.

We've done 3 days before as well, and liked that pace even more!

 

[riddlemethis]

We do have a free day we could always go back and do more things... mwahahaa

 

[Elsaalltheway]

You could do that, but if I may, I would also suggest combining HS and AK. With younger children you could probably take care of HS in just a few hours. There are only 12 things at the park, and with their ages I don't see them wanting to do ToT or RnR. Some of the shows may be out too. It is also an option.

 

[IrishNYC]

We split the park. East side one day, west side the other, and if we're there long enough we just go back and see whatever we want with not too much of a plan.

 

[DavidNYC]

If you're there a full day while you can plan FP on one side each day - just keep options open. As long as you're not darting back and forth from extreme ends of the park, it's not so huge to cover in a day. If you have 6-8 year olds there are likely rides they'll want to do both days. More important to have a plan in your head that doesn't involve unnecessary walking as opposed to a strict half and half touring plan.

 

[mrsR123]

Absolutely! Although we often end up going everywhere by the end of the day, I typically plan FPs for one half of the park each day.

 

[mrzrich]

By the way, if you use the railroad effectively, walking can be minimized if you ever do have to cross the park for some reason. I especially like to use it when I leave the park mid day. It drops me right at the front of the park. No need to navigate through the crowds on main street. Sometimes when I arrive after my mid day break, I hop right on the train to take me to the back of the park, again avoiding the main street madness.

 

[sdomino11]

I have two boys (7 & 9) and I agree with your plan 100%! If I had that amount of days I'd follow your plan exactly. We love 7DMT so much that it's included on both our MK days (it's central enough to not increase walking significantly) but otherwise we split the park into right side and left side. I don't agree with a pp that you could easily combine AK and HS. We do shorter days there than at MK but there's still so much we love that I could never squeeze both parks into one day. Have fun!

 

[AZMermaid]

My kids will be 5 and 6 on our trip and we are doing just that. Day 1 is Adventureland/Frintierland and then taking the train to Tomorrowland. Day 2 is Fantasyland and finishing Tomorrowland. Day 3 is repeats- focusing on Fantasyland and Fronteirland.

 

[riddlemethis]

You could do that, but if I may, I would also suggest combining HS and AK. With younger children you could probably take care of HS in just a few hours. There are only 12 things at the park, and with their ages I don't see them wanting to do ToT or RnR. Some of the shows may be out too. It is also an option.

I definitely thought about it, but we opted not to park hop since it's our first time and we want to take everything slow. If we finish early enough in the afternoon, we're going to hit up the pool at Beach Club and walk around out there or resort hop. This will be their first big excursion so don't want to push them (or me honestly) too hard. Depending on the level of fun they have, maybe next trip we will park hop.

 

[riddlemethis]

I have two boys (7 & 9) and I agree with your plan 100%! If I had that amount of days I'd follow your plan exactly. We love 7DMT so much that it's included on both our MK days (it's central enough to not increase walking significantly) but otherwise we split the park into right side and left side. I don't agree with a pp that you could easily combine AK and HS. We do shorter days there than at MK but there's still so much we love that I could never squeeze both parks into one day. Have fun!

Yayy!! I am hoping and praying that our youngest will get on 7DMT. He is scared of just about anything that comes off the ground and moves ( i.e. dumbo, terrified of carousels even! But is in love with ferris wheels..... don't ask me why?) So we are hoping with some positive reinforcement by the end of the trip he will be ready to try 7DMT or barnstormer. We have made it very clear that we won't push him too much so we will see.

 

[riddlemethis]

By the way, if you use the railroad effectively, walking can be minimized if you ever do have to cross the park for some reason. I especially like to use it when I leave the park mid day. It drops me right at the front of the park. No need to navigate through the crowds on main street. Sometimes when I arrive after my mid day break, I hop right on the train to take me to the back of the park, again avoiding the main street madness.

Love this idea as well. How often do the trains come around?

 

[mrzrich]

Love this idea as well. How often do the trains come around?

Usually every 7 minutes. They are being refurbished until March 2

Remember stops next to Splash mountain and near Barnstormer.

There is a walkway between the barnstormer and Space mountain easily accessible from the train station

 

[hes122]

This is my plan for my trip next month. PPO breakfast at BOG followed by Fantasyland and Tomorrowland on day 1. Day 2 will be Adventureland, Frontierland and Liberty Square. Once we get through the things we want to on each day, we 'll float to the other areas as we desire.

 

[Babe the Blue Ox]

Yayy!! I am hoping and praying that our youngest will get on 7DMT. He is scared of just about anything that comes off the ground and moves ( i.e. dumbo, terrified of carousels even! But is in love with ferris wheels..... don't ask me why?) So we are hoping with some positive reinforcement by the end of the trip he will be ready to try 7DMT or barnstormer. We have made it very clear that we won't push him too much so we will see.

Those kids might surprise you when they see how much fun the parks are. My fondest Disney memory is chasing my then 3 year old daughter back to the entrance of Space Mountain moments before midnight with her screaming "One more time Daddy" all the way.

Enjoy your trip.

 

[riddlemethis]

Those kids might surprise you when they see how much fun the parks are. My fondest Disney memory is chasing my then 3 year old daughter back to the entrance of Space Mountain moments before midnight with her screaming "One more time Daddy" all the way.

Enjoy your trip.

Oh man if only!! So far they are NOT roller coaster riders. I plan on changing that with the 8 year old (he showed promise at the state fair and rose their mini-coaster... which sucked) but the 6 year old will shut down if he thinks something is even remotely scary. This child is terrified of a carousel. lol! I am sure we will find something he enjoys!