Which park is best to do if you can’t plan ahead?

[Immadismom]

We will be on-site 6/20-6/25 for DD’s volleyball tournament. We are doing MK on 6/20 as a family. However, my other DD and I have 2-day passes. My plan is to take her to one of the other parks while DH goes to the tournament one day. However, planning which day is almost impossible, because we only know the first day’s schedule, and each subsequent day is determined the evening before. So, we will have to just decide on the fly.

My preference will be to go on Friday. But, which park should we do? We obviously won’t have fast passes, other than whatever we can snag on the evening before or the morning of. Is any particular park easier to do without a pre-plan? We planned our FP for MK when we got our tickets, so our MK day should be ok. We’re not trying to see it all anyway. And, DD who is going to the park with me is 15, so no meltdowns if we miss one of the newest attractions.

 

[lovethattink]

Maybe you could plan FP for that Friday? If you go a different day you can then cancel and wing it.

 

[epcotobsessed]

If your #1 priority is rides, then not Epcot, but otherwise, Epcot! There is so much to do and see at Epcot without ever getting on a single ride, so I think it's definitely the best park to go to on a whim/with no prior FPs or ADRs.

 

[IndyToThere]

If your #1 priority is rides, then not Epcot, but otherwise, Epcot! There is so much to do and see at Epcot without ever getting on a single ride, so I think it's definitely the best park to go to on a whim/with no prior FPs or ADRs.

Also, doing the Perry Secret Agent thing is fun to do with your kid - you could easily spend your day completing all of the tasks.

 

[MomOTwins]

Agree with Epcot, because it is awesome. Also much easier to get same day FPs there in my experience than at AK or HS.

 

[Klayfish]

Any of them. There is no park that is hard to get FP+ for on day of.

 

[kwdw]

You can typically find pretty good FP selection the night before - so go with your whim at the time.

EP - you can hit Nemo, The Land, Figment, Pixar Shorts without a FP in the morning. Then I head to TT single rider - then off to WS. Plan to ride Spaceship Earth later in the day - on your way OUT of the park. If lucky - you can get a Soarin' or Character Spot FP.

AK - here I would either line up WAY before RD to try to ride FOP - or try to get FP's the night before for FOP or Navi (doubtful) - but you might get Safari, EE, Dinosaur, or Kali. Safari is the one I really hate the line for. EE you can ride single rider. Dinosaur isn't bad all day. Pandora is cool to walk through - regardless of whether you can get on a ride without an hour wait (for Navi) - and the Satuli Canteen is fun for lunch. Walk to animal trails. Take the train out to Planet Watch and enjoy the petting zoo. And FOTLK, the bird show, and Nemo - all things you can do without a FP (but useful, depending on what else is available the night before).

HS - you can probably get a Star Tours FP the night before - maybe ToT. The two shows - Indy and Beauty and the Beast - you don't need FP for. TSM --- well - who knows with TSL opening the 30th. Maybe try to get a lunch ADR at Prime Time or SciFi? Sometimes you can get those the night before.

Personally - I'd probably try for AK. But - really - do with your feelings the night before and don't stress.

 

[annadreamsofdisneyworld]

I've found it really easy to get same day fast passes for most attractions in the morning. I think you should just pick whatever park you like best and get there for rope drop so you will have a few hours of low waits anyway.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

I would probably just wait until you know the day you can go (even if it's the night before), check to see what FP+ are available in the parks and plan from there. If I had to choose now, I would go with EP. There is so much you can do there without FP+ and you can always RD one of the Tier 1 rides without having to arrive hours earlier to get on the newer rides (as you would at DHS and AK).

 

[DisneyFive]

Magic Kingdom or Epcot.

MK because there are so many attractions that you can still get good FP's day of and easily do 4+ FP's.

Epcot because of the World showcase, which doesn't need a FP+ and if you rope drop this park you are sure to get a short"ish" wait for one of the three headliner attractions.

Dan

 

[Immadismom]

Thank you so much for all of the replies! This makes me feel much better about not having a plan until a day or two before. I’m leaning toward EP, but DD is thinking AK, so I guess we might just flip a coin & Go!

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

We will be on-site 6/20-6/25 for DD’s volleyball tournament. We are doing MK on 6/20 as a family. However, my other DD and I have 2-day passes. My plan is to take her to one of the other parks while DH goes to the tournament one day. However, planning which day is almost impossible, because we only know the first day’s schedule, and each subsequent day is determined the evening before. So, we will have to just decide on the fly.

My preference will be to go on Friday. But, which park should we do? We obviously won’t have fast passes, other than whatever we can snag on the evening before or the morning of. Is any particular park easier to do without a pre-plan? We planned our FP for MK when we got our tickets, so our MK day should be ok. We’re not trying to see it all anyway. And, DD who is going to the park with me is 15, so no meltdowns if we miss one of the newest attractions.

I'd say go to whichever one she is going to like better and don't worry about crowds or hitting the right park on the right day. Just arrive prior to opening with a good touring plan. I can't stress this enough. For me that park would be AK. For your daughter, it might not be.

 

[djc9699]

We often leave a day or two open and sometimes change a day we already have scheduled. We have never had a problem getting FP. We have gotten same day FOP and 7DMT. Not a guarantee but with just the two of you, you have a better chance. We actually enjoy the 'unstructured' days more because it allows more freedom in choices and allows more time to take in the atmosphere and little details. Of course, I say this as one who has several days and has headliners booked on other days so not the same as a short trip. But, fun abounds regardless of 60 day pre-planning or same day planning. There is plenty to do either way.

 

[Skippyboo]

If your DD leans towards AK, I would go with that. Epcot if your daughter isn’t that interested will be pretty bored. The ride selection isn’t that great at Epcot so it’s mainly snacks and drinking around the World Showcase.

AK has several natural trails and shows that you can do without having FPs, Pandora draws the crowds to that section but frees up the other areas of the parks.