Disney at a Relaxed Pace

[Shimmer73083]

Is this possible?


My girlfriend and I are going in September 2009 for a four night/five day trip and we want to make the most out of it without rushing around like maniacs.

We went in May over Memorial Day weekend in 2008 and rushed and rushed and rushed.

We know we want to hit all four parks and one water park so my question here is - does anyone have suggestions for taking on Disney World at a relaxed pace? :shrug:

We are staying at CSR and we are in our mid-twenties.

Thank you! :wave:

 

[Shimmer73083]

A Must-See/Eat List

Thank you for all of your suggestions!

We are always looking forward to the different restaurants to try and eat our way through Disney World.

This trip we have on our list to go to T-Rex Friday night after seeing LaNouba. We also want to eat at the Cape May Cafe for the Clambake - maybe between visits to Epcot and MGM? (Sorry, DHS!) And Chef Mickey's is a favorite!

Do you think it is too tacky to go to the Brown Derby just for the cobb salad appetizer? :shrug:

We are also probably going to do Fulton's on our last day there.

So according to this restaurant plan, it probably makes sense to plan what we want to do around eating :lol:

If you had to prioritize attractions in each park, what would you put on your must-see list?

 

[disneygirl76]

Thank you for all of your suggestions!

We are always looking forward to the different restaurants to try and eat our way through Disney World.

This trip we have on our list to go to T-Rex Friday night after seeing LaNouba. We also want to eat at the Cape May Cafe for the Clambake - maybe between visits to Epcot and MGM? (Sorry, DHS!) And Chef Mickey's is a favorite!

Do you think it is too tacky to go to the Brown Derby just for the cobb salad appetizer? :shrug:

We are also probably going to do Fulton's on our last day there.

So according to this restaurant plan, it probably makes sense to plan what we want to do around eating :lol:

If you had to prioritize attractions in each park, what would you put on your must-see list?

It really depends on who often you have been. My DH and I have been often enough that we can skip certain things and not miss them. But here is our never miss, must see list at all the parks.

At AK - EE, walk the paths to see tigers and gorillas, KS, and Dinosaur. Also, I think Lion King show was amazing! It's Tough to Be a Bug is also usually on the list.

At DHS - TT, RRC, TSM, Muppets 3D. We usually also ride Great Movie Ride and Star Tours.

At Epcot - Soarin', Nemo, Test Track, and for me, Maelstrom in Norway! I love that silly ride!

At MK - here is where the list gets long! Peter Pan, Snow White, POTC, HM, Splash Mt, and Big Thunder Mt. - along with Mickey's Philharmagic. Monsters Inc is cool if never seen before and Buzz is fun as well. Space Mountain if it is open - but I think when you are there it will be down for refurb.

 

[Cmdr_Crimson]

To go by a relaxed pace..I follow the man, the myth, the legend that is Dave from the HCOE vacation dvd...Find a Bench..It comes with the park admission..

 

[juscet]

Make a list of things you definitely want to do, if you have time will do this, and things I don't need to do (ex. Stitch's Great Escape). Take a look at the list and go from there. Planning is the key.

 

[fosse76]

If you try to see everything at four parks in five days, there is no way to do it at a relaxed pace.

My suggestion, cut out a park or two, or decide what your priorities are and stick to your plan.

I find that to be absolutely untrue.

If you go at a relaxed pace, you can easily finish both DAK and DHS in one day. DHS you will have to have the correct timing since show schedules can overlap. And you don't have to see everything...some things you may or may not be interested in, so you should never waste time on something you don't want to do just to say you did it.

Depending on the crowd levels, it is entirely possible to do almost everything. I'll give you an example. I arrived at DAK roughly around 10:30am. I headed straight to the Safari...to get a FP so I could catch Flights of Wonder. Along the way I planned to simply look at the animals around the Tree of Life...but most weren't out (there were signs saying as much in each exhibit). So I continued to Africa, got my FP, grabbed a pretzel and soda, and attended the "school" session offered by a CM from Africa. After which I went to Flights of Wonder and then headed to the Safari (all within an hour). I did the Pangani Forest Trail and then headed out to conservation station via the train. Headed over to Kali River Rapids, then the Maharajah Jungle Trek. Over to Everest, Dinosaur, Primeval Whirl and Bug's Life. I decided to skip The Lion King since I had seen it before, and Nemo, and went and rerode Kali and Everest. It still wasn't even 4:00pm. I could easily have fit Finding Nemo and Festival of The Lion King into my schedule but decided against it. Keep in mind, I did this all at a leisurely pace with no plan. It was cold out so no one was riding Kali River Rapids. I probably spent an hour on re-rides...Everest was also a walk-on. But even on days where it has been crowded I managed to do everything...if you utilize FP then you can finish everything.

Same with DHS, though it is a little more complicated. There are more attractions at DHS and timing is important, so just make a schedule of the shows you want to see, work the FPs for the rides you want to go on, and you will have no problems. I always get a park hopper, so when I am done at DAK or DHS I head over to Epcot. The only line I've ever had to wait in was for Soarin'. So if you take a full day at DAK, head over to Epcot when DAK closes, and hit up Future World. Do the stuff that closes at 7pm first...most of that stuff should be walk-ons by then. At any time, if available, get FPs for Soarin' and maybe Test Track. Then, if you spend a full day at DHS, go to Epcot again in the evening at hit up the World Showcase. I've found that if I go to DHS early enough (around 9:30am), I can be done with everything by 4pm...even on crowded days. So you should have plenty of time for World Showcase. That's three parks in two days.

Now, this is based on crowds when peak wait times are around 30-60 min. I don't know how it would work in the summer, since I have no desire to visit during the summer.

 

[cabihler]

a hard choice

a piece of advice, choose if your priortity is rides or wonder. i too love to go to the parks and sometimes do very few rides just to gaze at all of the sites you miss when rushing around to get on the rides. instead i take my time walking 10 paces or so and stop and look around at everything, at the ground level and over my head..... have you ever seen the wishing well on the approach to the castle? even after so many, many visits to disneyworld, over 100 trips with over 700 or 800 entries into the parks i never fail to see something new each trip. just realize that this searching takes time and a slow pace and you will miss riding your favorites over and over again.

 

[unkadug]

I find that to be absolutely untrue.

If you go at a relaxed pace, you can easily finish both DAK and DHS in one day. DHS you will have to have the correct timing since show schedules can overlap. And you don't have to see everything...some things you may or may not be interested in, so you should never waste time on something you don't want to do just to say you did it.

Depending on the crowd levels, it is entirely possible to do almost everything. I'll give you an example. I arrived at DAK roughly around 10:30am. I headed straight to the Safari...to get a FP so I could catch Flights of Wonder. Along the way I planned to simply look at the animals around the Tree of Life...but most weren't out (there were signs saying as much in each exhibit). So I continued to Africa, got my FP, grabbed a pretzel and soda, and attended the "school" session offered by a CM from Africa. After which I went to Flights of Wonder and then headed to the Safari (all within an hour). I did the Pangani Forest Trail and then headed out to conservation station via the train. Headed over to Kali River Rapids, then the Maharajah Jungle Trek. Over to Everest, Dinosaur, Primeval Whirl and Bug's Life. I decided to skip The Lion King since I had seen it before, and Nemo, and went and rerode Kali and Everest. It still wasn't even 4:00pm. I could easily have fit Finding Nemo and Festival of The Lion King into my schedule but decided against it. Keep in mind, I did this all at a leisurely pace with no plan. It was cold out so no one was riding Kali River Rapids. I probably spent an hour on re-rides...Everest was also a walk-on. But even on days where it has been crowded I managed to do everything...if you utilize FP then you can finish everything.

Same with DHS, though it is a little more complicated. There are more attractions at DHS and timing is important, so just make a schedule of the shows you want to see, work the FPs for the rides you want to go on, and you will have no problems. I always get a park hopper, so when I am done at DAK or DHS I head over to Epcot. The only line I've ever had to wait in was for Soarin'. So if you take a full day at DAK, head over to Epcot when DAK closes, and hit up Future World. Do the stuff that closes at 7pm first...most of that stuff should be walk-ons by then. At any time, if available, get FPs for Soarin' and maybe Test Track. Then, if you spend a full day at DHS, go to Epcot again in the evening at hit up the World Showcase. I've found that if I go to DHS early enough (around 9:30am), I can be done with everything by 4pm...even on crowded days. So you should have plenty of time for World Showcase. That's three parks in two days.

Now, this is based on crowds when peak wait times are around 30-60 min. I don't know how it would work in the summer, since I have no desire to visit during the summer.

Seems pretty much rush, rush, go, go to me....not really a relaxing day at the park. :shrug:

 

[jeffk410]

indeed

It seems like you go a good amoutn. So why rush this time. Just take it easy go to more of the shows then you normally do, many fastpasses, take a break during the day. Look for hidden mickeys or other amazingly cool things in the world. Do not worry about seeing everything! Also eat lots of food!

 

[Shimmer73083]

Come to think of it, in all my 25 years going to Disney, I can't ever remember going back to the hotel midday. It will be something new to try! :ROFLOL:

I was telling her the other day that I actually want to go swimming at the CSR pool since last time we were too busy rushing to do it.

I think prioritizing and utilizing FP will definitely be the way to go. Though we do have a few must-sees in each park.

DAK - FOTLK, EE, KS
We want to try the Nemo show and walk around the planet watch area. We haven't explored back there yet.
Plus in DAK we know we can find Eeyore and Minnie Mouse pretty easily.

MGM (DHS) - TTMM, ToT, RnR, Fantasmic!
Fantasmic not being shown every night may throw us off a bit.
Plus, I enjoy the Beauty and the Beast show and would like to see American Idol
Does anyone else tear up at the One Man's Dream film? It gets me everytime!

Epcot - I love the atomsphere in this park! We have to do Soarin and M:S for DG.

MK - Well, everything, haha.

 

[fosse76]

Seems pretty much rush, rush, go, go to me....not really a relaxing day at the park. :shrug:

How was it rushed? I never ran anywhere, I spent my time looking around, the only time I even walked at my brisk, New York pace was when I left the park and headed to my bus stop. Just because I did a lot in one day doesn't mean it was rushed. You just don't want to admit that Disney can be experienced and fully enjoyed in a relatively small amount of time.

****EDIT

And it's not like I finished one ride/attraction and headed to another immediately. I often stopped for a snack between attractions, and definitely browsed the shops. There was nothing rushed about it.

 

[kangaand2roos]

I would suggest that you make a short list of "must do" attractions and events at each park. Be sure to make those things the only mandatory hits each day, thus making the rest of the day a leisurely time of optional events.

That's actually what I was going to suggest. Don't get caught up in the rush of everyone else. The way we have thought of it is, what we get in, we get in, if we don't get it in, it's not like we won't be back to WDW someday.

 

[Susan Savia]

We too always 'hit the parks running', and we are there for 8 full days.
We are always at rope drop in the mornings and ride the most popular rides, (Toy Story, Test Track, etc.) and then go from there. Fast passes allow us a second ride on them with little wait. We do not waste time by returning to our room to nap, eat, swim etc. We can nap and swim at home. If we are tired, we simply take a break, grab a snack and people watch a little while and then we go on. We usually have two dining reservations during our visit and so what ever park they are in (or closest too) we spend our day in that park. For example if we eat breakfast at the Crystal Palace we will stay in the MK most all day. Our favorite park is Epcot and so we always spend our very first day there and our last day and park hop many times back there during the week from the other parks. There are some attractions we skip, and move on to attractions we much prefer. In Animal Kingdom, we arrive at rope drop, ride the Safari, over to Dinosaur and into a few stores, check out some animals and then out of the park to Epcot...by 11:00am. We take our 4th day of our 8 day visit and sleep in, and go to Downtown Disney to shop, and have lunch, go to the Publix for soda restocking and snacks for the rest of the stay and trip home.

 

[unkadug]

How was it rushed? I never ran anywhere, I spent my time looking around, the only time I even walked at my brisk, New York pace was when I left the park and headed to my bus stop. Just because I did a lot in one day doesn't mean it was rushed. You just don't want to admit that Disney can be experienced and fully enjoyed in a relatively small amount of time.

****EDIT

And it's not like I finished one ride/attraction and headed to another immediately. I often stopped for a snack between attractions, and definitely browsed the shops. There was nothing rushed about it.

Oh, I admit that you can go to Disney in a small amount of time and I admit that you can enjoy it also.

However, you cannot go to Disney and try to cram in everything at five parks in as many days in a relaxed manner as the OP has stated "make the most out of it without rushing around like maniacs."

 

[fosse76]

Oh, I admit that you can go to Disney in a small amount of time and I admit that you can enjoy it also.

However, you cannot go to Disney and try to cram in everything at five parks in as many days in a relaxed manner as the OP has stated "make the most out of it without rushing around like maniacs."

I think it's possible, but it very clearly depends on numerous factors. I always go in the off season, so crowds are at minimum. I am by myself, which allows me to move at my own pace. Other people can slow you down. Efficient use of the FastPass...that's the key. I grab a FP and visit nearby attractions, browse the shops, grab a snack, etc. usually the FP return has been within an hour which makes it easier.

 

[Shimmer73083]

I have done MK alone before with the goal of doing everything in one day. Last trip we were in MK for the rope drop and stayed for EMH which equated to about 15 hours straight.

Every night on past trips, we crash and are dead to the World until the alarm the next morning.

We just don't want to crash as hard this time. :brick:

I know trying to take things slower will be a new challenge as we are always overcome with excitement when we get there. I would like to see about returning to the hotel midday for a swim, but I know a part of me will feel like it is somewhat of a waste when we can go swimming anytime and there is so much to see.