Worth it to go into a park for only 4 hours?

[lunaland]

Hi!

My DM and I are two months out from our trip celebrating her 60th Birthday. The trip actually centers around her desire to see Savannah, Georgia but by flying into Orlando we saved about $1,500 between the flight and rental car. With that savings we added a two night stay at AKL and a day at Discovery Cove. Currently our plans have us arriving at AKL at 7 pm, having dinner, and exploring abit our first night. Second day is Discovery Cove with us back at AKL by 5-ish, reservations for dinner at Sanaa, and thoughts of a Dole Whip at the Poly while watching Wishes. Third day we have breakfast at Boma, then thought we'd ride the Monorails around and explore before Tea reservations at the GF at noon. Then we head to Savannah.

I'm struggling with being so close and not going into a single park, though. I have a DLR AP and try to go as often as possible. We are from Seattle and as an occasional treat I've flown down on the first flight in the AM and back on the last PM flight just to get some park time in. DM likes Disney, but wouldn't be crushed to keep the plans as-is. She does love Pirates and really wants to see Epcot.

I figure we could easily swap out our plans for the evening of Day Two. MK and Epcot are both open fairly late, and I think we could get a good four hours in. I'm just concerned the whole thing will feel really rushed. Those are big parks and I know 4 hours will fly by. Thoughts? DM and I will be back at DLR this year which is "home" so much more than the WDW parks to us. I'll be back at WDW in 10 months and will be doing all the parks.

 

[Alesia]

Personally, I wouldn't. 4 hours would just be frustrating for me.

 

[mom2rtk]

I typically go for it on short trips, but 4 hours would likely just frustrate me.

 

[ChloesDaddy]

4 hours in the evening at Epcot might be nice. Flower and Garden festival is going on, so you could go and take in some food and entertainment along with the topiaries.

If you go to MK, you can focus on what you don't have at DLR, although I agree with PP in this case that it could be frustrating if you want to take in too many of the attractions to do in that time.

 

[cmsb]

I think that 4 hours would be enough time after spending a day at Discovery Cove (especially if it is hot and sunny). If you fastpass 3 attractions that you would really like to experience and keep in mind that you won't get to see and do everything, you could have a nice evening. I love the magic of the parks and just enjoy walking around and taking everything in.

 

[sharonabe]

I definitely wouldn't try to do BOTH parks in that time frame, but an evening in EP is certainly doable. FP or single rider line for Test Trak, a trip through Spaceship Earth, the easy side of Mission Space. If you're willing to forego a sit down dinner, that would give you a little more time. Sample some different things through World Showcase either in the countries or at the Flower and Garden booths. Is it worth the cost, though?

 

[richmo]

I'm usually all for spending as much time at WDW as possible, but, since Discovery Cove also includes Sea World admission for another day, since its already paid for, why not go to Sea World, then hit WDW when you come back in 10 months. If you need your Disney fix, just go to Disney Springs at night.

 

[AllieBoo]

I would definitely do MK for 4 hours. We typically hit one of those parks (usually MK) on our arrival night, for just a few hours and we have always enjoyed it. If your Mom likes Pirates, you can ride that and a select few other attractions that aren't usually crowded and also catch Wishes.

 

[Mikie]

Before reading this, I pictured an ADDITIONAL 4-hour evening on an existing multi-park visit. That would run $10 per person and I'd say an emphatic yes. For your only park visit, I'm just not sure. I'd consider it if Epcot stil has cheaper "after 4" tickets available at the gate and I wanted to explore World Sowcase and flowr&garden

 

[tp1830]

We had a 12:30 Magical Express pickup and got to Magic Kingdom at 9:30 AM.

in that time, we got 7 rides done and half a parade....which to me is a good result.

So i guess if you can swing it and get a lot done, go for it.

 

[alliecat523]

We've done it with only 2 hours to spare. But I'm also an AP holder and we were staying for free with family. I wouldn't pay for park entrance for that little bit of time, but we definitely made the most of it.

 

[DisneyFansInNYC]

I agree with one of the PPs. If I had multi day park tickets then yes I would go for 4 hours. We always do MK on our first night and usually it is about 4 hours. But not to spend over $200 when there are so many other things to do outside of the parks. I like your plans - they sound great.

 

[mickeymom629]

DD and I spent 4 days at WDW 2 years ago (for the Princess Half) and did not go into a park, except for the part of the marathon that took us through E and MK. We stayed 2 nights at AKV and 2 nights at BLT. We enjoyed exploring the resorts and dining in the restaurants, and watched Wishes from the Contemporary (as well as our villa balcony). I think that, with all of your other fun dining plans and being in AKL, you will definitely enjoy yourself enough to not go into a park. (BTW, I had bought DD and I a 1-day at MK pass that we never used, so DH and I just used them on our recent trip).

 

[Chelley00]

If I'm reading right you are thinking about going after your Discovery Cove day? Then I vote no. With all the sun and sand food and snorkling at Discovery Cove, we were completely relaxed and exhausted. We basically went back to our the condo, took showers, ate dinner and crashed.

 

[Ensusieasm]

Hi!

My DM and I are two months out from our trip celebrating her 60th Birthday. The trip actually centers around her desire to see Savannah, Georgia but by flying into Orlando we saved about $1,500 between the flight and rental car. With that savings we added a two night stay at AKL and a day at Discovery Cove. Currently our plans have us arriving at AKL at 7 pm, having dinner, and exploring abit our first night. Second day is Discovery Cove with us back at AKL by 5-ish, reservations for dinner at Sanaa, and thoughts of a Dole Whip at the Poly while watching Wishes. Third day we have breakfast at Boma, then thought we'd ride the Monorails around and explore before Tea reservations at the GF at noon. Then we head to Savannah.

I'm struggling with being so close and not going into a single park, though. I have a DLR AP and try to go as often as possible. We are from Seattle and as an occasional treat I've flown down on the first flight in the AM and back on the last PM flight just to get some park time in. DM likes Disney, but wouldn't be crushed to keep the plans as-is. She does love Pirates and really wants to see Epcot.

I figure we could easily swap out our plans for the evening of Day Two. MK and Epcot are both open fairly late, and I think we could get a good four hours in. I'm just concerned the whole thing will feel really rushed. Those are big parks and I know 4 hours will fly by. Thoughts? DM and I will be back at DLR this year which is "home" so much more than the WDW parks to us. I'll be back at WDW in 10 months and will be doing all the parks.

I love Flower and Garden so much that I would cancel dinner at Sanna and go to Epcot, or even cancel tea and go to Epcot that morning.

 

[North of Mouse]

Worth it to us? Nope!

 

[Tiki Sean]

I've done 3 hours in Paris and thought It was worth it but then again I figured I wouldn't go back.

 

[Oneanne]

Personally I would do 4 hours in EPCOT WS and move one of the TS meals there... but if you would need to purchase a one-day park pass to do it that would be pretty pricey.

 

[DisneyCowgirl]

I would do it if I was adding on to a multi-day ticket or had an AP. I would not pay for a one-day ticket for only 4 hours.

 

[epcotty]

Before reading this, I pictured an ADDITIONAL 4-hour evening on an existing multi-park visit. That would run $10 per person and I'd say an emphatic yes. For your only park visit, I'm just not sure. I'd consider it if Epcot stil has cheaper "after 4" tickets available at the gate and I wanted to explore World Sowcase and flowr&garden

The "Epcot After 4" thing is just a type of FL resident annual pass, not something you can get otherwise