MGM tips?

[adr315]

Im going to WDW from Dec 30 to Jan 3, and i'll be in MGM on Jan 2, a Wednesday. Does anyone know more or less how packed the park is going to be, and if lines will be over an hour? Also, seeing that i havent been to MGM since 96, i havent been on Rock-N-Rollercoaster, Millionaire, One Mans Dream, Fantasmic, etc.....Anyone have some good tips on visiting MGM, and how to get the shortest lines possible WITHOUT using Fastpass? Also, i hear Fantasmic gets packed. The day i go, Fantasmic is on at 6:30, and 8:00 pm....Which show should i try for and how long before it starts should i arrive? Any help is appreciated. Thanks!

 

[ToTBellHop]

go to the 8 p.m. Fantasmic!. The parks will be packed, but not as bad as this week...a lot of kids go back to school on the 2nd, which means families need to head home. Still, disney would not put on two Fantasmic!s if it didn't think it had to. Why don't you want to use Fastpass? That can be the only way to get on some of the e-rides w/o going insane in the lines...especially if you plan to go on Rock 'n' Roller Coaster and Tower of Terror. I might recommend going on these two rides as the first Fantasmic! plays, or even in the hour leading up to it--people will start lining up for that show at about 5 pm. Then you get a night-ride on Tower of Terror, or if you are lucky, a sunset ride on it (the sun goes right in the doors when they open..very kewl) which is ALWAYS a treat Get to Who Wants quickly in the morning...it's quite popular

 

[Disneyowner182]

considering that Disney studios (mgm) is the least popular wdw park.The place shouldn't be as many people there as the other parks.the longest line will be famtasmic you should get there at least an hour before it starts ,but the other lines won't be as long. :animwink:

 

[JAY-ROD]

Originally posted by Disneyowner182
considering that Disney studios (mgm) is the least popular wdw park.The place shouldn't be as many people there as the other parks.the longest line will be famtasmic you should get there at least an hour before it starts ,but the other lines won't be as long. :animwink:

I think AK is the least popular of the 4! Plus there celebrating Walts 100th year there as well. If you go to fantasmic at least get there 45 to hour early! I would get a fastpass for RnR and then wait in line for ToT. the rest of the park as far as lines or wait shouldnt be that bad!

 

[NowInc]

Originally posted by Disneyowner182
considering that Disney studios (mgm) is the least popular wdw park.The place shouldn't be as many people there as the other parks.the longest line will be famtasmic you should get there at least an hour before it starts ,but the other lines won't be as long. :animwink:

Very untrue considering that its where the 100th b-day celebration is based out of.

Expect it to be pretty packed and plan ahead...and pray it doesnt rain...if it does you can expect a LOT of people rushing into shops and indoor rides causing lots of squishing.

 

[adr315]

thanks

Thanks for the help! The park is open from 9 to 8 the day i go, so i thought up a game plan, i would appreciate it if u can give me some suggestions on how to improve it:

- hop on bus from Wilderness Lodge Villas to MGM at 8:15
- arrive at park at 8:45 (latest), with prepurchased tickets in hand already
-hopefully, be inside the park by 9:15
-Run to Tower of Terror, then Rock-N-Rollercoaster, Beauty and the Beast, etc. , moving upwards and to the left seeing the rest of the park, then at 7, getting in line for Fantasmic

I dont want to use fastpass because i enjoy queue's, because they add to the experience of the ride. If its a ride ive done plenty of times, then i dont mind, but since itll be my first time on many of the rides, i dont want to lose some of the experience by using fastpass.

The reason i dont want to skip around rides, is because im with my family, and they dont like running around all over the place to diff rides just to avoid lines; they like taking a more leasurely pace. Also, does Fantasmic go on if its raining? Im scared that i skip the first show, and then it starts raining, so i wouldnt be able to see it at all.....Any MORE help would be really appreciated. Thanks!

 

[JAY-ROD]

Re: thanks

Originally posted by adr315
Thanks for the help! The park is open from 9 to 8 the day i go, so i thought up a game plan, i would appreciate it if u can give me some suggestions on how to improve it:

- hop on bus from Wilderness Lodge Villas to MGM at 8:15
- arrive at park at 8:45 (latest), with prepurchased tickets in hand already
-hopefully, be inside the park by 9:15
-Run to Tower of Terror, then Rock-N-Rollercoaster, Beauty and the Beast, etc. , moving upwards and to the left seeing the rest of the park, then at 7, getting in line for Fantasmic

I dont want to use fastpass because i enjoy queue's, because they add to the experience of the ride. If its a ride ive done plenty of times, then i dont mind, but since itll be my first time on many of the rides, i dont want to lose some of the experience by using fastpass.

The reason i dont want to skip around rides, is because im with my family, and they dont like running around all over the place to diff rides just to avoid lines; they like taking a more leasurely pace. Also, does Fantasmic go on if its raining? Im scared that i skip the first show, and then it starts raining, so i wouldnt be able to see it at all.....Any MORE help would be really appreciated. Thanks!

Your plan sounds good except fastpass! You wont miss any of the experience by by passing the line! On RnR the line is mainly outside and your not missing anything! One you fastpass is up you by pass that line and head into the building which forms another line, which in my opion starts the whole expereince for me! Same as ToT! You wont miss nothing!!!!!! Trust me!

On fantasmic you can get by with some rain, but if it pours or lightening then its over with !

Good luck

 

[NowInc]

Most rides ques are the same with fastpass....you just are on a line with less people. You may want to look into snagging a fast pass for ToT and then riding RnR or vise versa....trust me...

 

[ToTBellHop]

I'm not going to question your statement that MGM is not as popular as say Magic Kingdom, but it's also very much smaller--whenever I go, in February, it's always packed. Many people feel Tower of Terror and Rock 'n' Roller Coaster are some of disney's best rides, myself included--a lot of people even call it their favorite park. Fastpass is a godsend for anyone on Sunset Boulevard...as for missing queues--as others have said, all you would miss on Rock 'n' Roller Coaster is a few outside fans and a winding line--as for Tower of Terror--there is some outside theming. Since you can have two fastpasses now, I recommend going straight to Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, getting a fastpass, heading to Rock 'n' Roller Coaster, getting a fastpass, seeing which one comes up first (I'd imagine Who Wants), sneak on Tower before the lines being prohibitive, and then do the two fast passes. You do not need to show up for Fantasmic! at 7. The show is about a half an hour, as is, and it takes people EXTREMELY long to get out--go to tower of terror at 7 pm, then get in line for Fantasmic!.
-Cornell Kyle

 

[Maria]

I agree with what the majority are telling you. I also agree that the Studios will be crowded as they are the center of the celebrations... but I am not sure about waiting until the last Fantasmic!. I share your fear of missing it... I would probably go to the first show and then do the rest of the attractions. Take a look at the weather too... if you think it´s going to get too windy later, do the first show. When the wind is too strong they can cancel it too.... it doesn´t need to get lightning, the wind will do it too. I know, it´s hard to decide not being a meteorologist... :animwink:

One thing I would recommend... do not stand in line for an hour if u want to see the first show. Just show up when the queue starts moving... the majority of people wait for the second show, so I would queue for that one, but not for the first one. At least, when I was there, I had no problems that way.

Have a great trip!!

 

[adr315]

thanks again

Thanks again for all the help u guys are giving me, its helping me better organize this trip. Another question: How bad do the lines usually get, especially for attractions like TOT, RNRC, Millionaire, Movie Ride, and Star Tours??? If i were to get a fastpass for RNRC and do TOT and everything else in that area withOUT fastpass, u think that would take very long? Thanks again, lol, i ask too much......

 

[NowInc]

Re: thanks again

Originally posted by adr315
Thanks again for all the help u guys are giving me, its helping me better organize this trip. Another question: How bad do the lines usually get, especially for attractions like TOT, RNRC, Millionaire, Movie Ride, and Star Tours??? If i were to get a fastpass for RNRC and do TOT and everything else in that area withOUT fastpass, u think that would take very long? Thanks again, lol, i ask too much......

welllllll....

Short answer...yes..

You wont be able to do more than 1 attraction before your fastpass time is up and you have to go to it...thats why you snag one (or two) and then go ride another ride and come back...

 

[ToTBellHop]

Disney always recommends seeing the second showing of any nighttime show that is offered at night--including Fantasmic! and SpectroMagic. I've always found the first showing much more busy with families, b/c the little kids get tired by the time the first showing comes around. And I would caution against not waiting in line. I have seen them cut off the line before because they reached capacity. You can't queue line the second showing--the area is not even open until about 7:20, and they let you in then. Obviously your choice, but here's my logic. From my own experiences, you would have to start lining up at like 5:15 if you wanted a good seat for the first show. You would get out at 7:15, giving you 45 minutes of ride time between 5:15 and close. If you go to the second show, you get 5:15-7:20 for rides, which is over two hours, and the lines are extremely short after about 5:45 or 6:00. I would strongly caution against not using Fastpass, as well. Disney has created a system where you basically HAVE to get a Fastpass. Why? Well, because they want you going through the shops as you wait. So, Fastpasses have more or less doubled the stand-by line waits, which is why you almost always see a red "120 minutes" next to Test Track on the Epcot Tipboard. I would take advantage of it. On Test Track, reverse your logic--the Fastpass line goes through the entire queue while the stand-by line skips it, which makes no sense to me...I hate that system and they need to go back to having everyone walk through the main queue building, b/c as fast as you walk through there w/ a Fastpass, you see none of the stuff going on...

 

[Pan]

I can get 2 Fastpasses at the same time with one ticket? When did that change? This is very cool.

 

[ToTBellHop]

few months back...

 

[NowInc]

Yeah..its much more effeciant now. Seeing how most fast passes arent valid for at LEAST an hour..this way you can try and get another one with less of a wait time on another ride.

 

[dizpins14]

January 2nd the lines will be long for the major attractions in all the parks. You are in luck that it is a Wednesday so people probably took off Fri, Sat, Sun, Mon and Tues to go to WDW so the crouds will be down. Go to DREW CAREY sounds dangerous the most overlooked show but it is worth it.