MK: First or Last? This is my Question

[tickerbelle]

I am more excited than words can express about my upcoming DW vacation. We are going for long enough to spend one full day on each park.
In my research I have found numerous people advising that you bring a first timer (my husband) to MK on the last day of your visit. Because if you do it first the magic is a little lost in the other theme parks for the rest of your days (or put differently: the MK raises the bar a little too high).
I am most excited about the MK and am unsure if I should ignore the advice and do it first anyway or wait and enjoy it the day before I leave, sealing my vacation with wishes.....

 

[iheartdisney91]

yes same with us once we did the full parks once then we go back to the magic kingdom!

 

[wannabeBelle]

If your tickets are not park hopper, the risk of saving your favorite park for last is that the weather may not cooperate with your schedule. How bad would it be if your special trip was "dampened" because of extremely bad weather on the day you saved for your most special park.

I know you can go in the rain, but you know it is different. If the weather is bad enough, the parades don't run, certain rides go down sometimes. . .

Go ahead and plan on Magic Kingdom first. I suspect your husband won't be disappointed in the other parks, as there are generally more mature attractions available to make up for less pixie dust at the other parks. :wave:

I couldnt agree more. I have my favorite things at each park, but I do tend to spend the majority of my time in EPCOT ( Off Kilter Stage area) and MGM ( 50's Prime Time Cafe, Mulch Sweat & Shears and Rock N Roller Coaster)
I do recommend that you not limit yourself and add on the Park Hopper. The flexibility that it adds is a great thing. I recommend that to all of my clients. If you arent sure you could always add that feature onto your ticket at the 2nd park that you go to on any given day. Belle

 

[RedGear]

we will never go to disney without the park hopper opition, i love it! we always go to mk first, and usually do everything after that and we do come back to MK !!

 

[dzlandSr]

For our family, the park hopper option is a must! That way if a specific attraction is down, we can check back on a different day to see if it is back up and running for us to enjoy. First day (or evening) we always start off with the Magic Kingdom. Then, as stated by lots of our friends here, we too always spend our last day at the Magic Kingdom. At park closing I never want to leave......

 

[CoffeeJedi]

definitely take the park hopper option and do 2 parks a day, with a rest in between
each park gets busy at different times of the day, for example, MK tends to be mobbed in the morning, but slacks off in the afternoon before picking up again in the evening. MGM seems to have the opposite trend though, so you can do MGM in the morning, then take a long lunch, and head over to MK around 2:30, and you'll find that some of the crowds have subsided

 

[DopeysGirl1226]

A park hopper is definately the way to go when visiting Disney World. But you should also take advantage of the EMH for MK. Its helps a lot! I've heard and expierenced the MK is always more croweded on Mondays.

:animwink:

 

[flowerlady]

For our family, Our tradition is that we always must go to Walt Disney World on the first day of our trip....something about riding that train around the park.....that makes me feel like Im home again...:king:

 

[PintoColvig]

Park hopper, park hopper, park hopper!

I never feel like I'm at WDW until I go under the train station and see Main Street and the Castle revealed in all its glory. Also, on my last day, I try to hit MK one more time. As I depart on the bus from MK, I'm always looking for one last glimpse of the castle. I did it as a kid and I still do it.

 

[CoffeeJedi]

For our family, Our tradition is that we always must go to Walt Disney World on the first day of our trip....something about riding that train around the park.....that makes me feel like Im home again...:king:

pssssssssst
i think you mean the Magic Kingdom

 

[SallyShine]

If your tickets are not park hopper, the risk of saving your favorite park for last is that the weather may not cooperate with your schedule. How bad would it be if your special trip was "dampened" because of extremely bad weather on the day you saved for your most special park.

I know you can go in the rain, but you know it is different. If the weather is bad enough, the parades don't run, certain rides go down sometimes. . .

Go ahead and plan on Magic Kingdom first. I suspect your husband won't be disappointed in the other parks, as there are generally more mature attractions available to make up for less pixie dust at the other parks. :wave:

The weather is not the only thing that can ruin your MK visit. We all came down with the flu :hurl: during our April trip. We saved MK for the last day and we were too sick to enjoy it. We ended up only spending 3 hours there (had planned for the whole day). We also missed Wishes. It was dissapointing, to say the least.

 

[domndebs]

We usually head to Epcot first and AK before going to MK. Even when you've wated months for your holiday, to wait a few more days once in Orlando makes that first sight of the Castle from the Ferry or Monorail even more special. We've finished our past visit's with Illuminations at Epcot, however, unless they change/update Illuminations before Aug 07, when we go next year will definatley finish with Whishes - best park finish at WDW!

 

[godisney]

What park to visit first?

:wave: If you are staying on property, go by the early opening schedule. We get up really early and try to be first in park. We stay in that park until around 11:00 a.m. or so, and then try to hop to another park to have lunch and walk around. We try to stay out of MK around afternoon time because it tends to be the busiest time for that park. Each park has such great things to offer that you can't go wrong in any park, but park hopping is the best bet because it can get tiring staying in one park the whole day. Epcot is a great place in the afternoon to grab a cold beer and walk around the pavillions for a while just to rest and recoup before going full force again. There is often entertainment set up all around the lake.
When we first arrive at Disney, it is usually around 11.00 in the afternoon. We either go to MGM or Epcot, depending on which park opened early. For example, if Epcot opened early that day, we will go to MGM because Epcot might be more crowded. We ALWAYS save Magic Kingdom for the first late afternoon. We go around dinnertime for there is something so magical about seeing the castle at that time and the crowds are not so great. Try to go after the 3:00 parade is over, and that crowd has dispersed. We ALWAYS have to do Space Mountain on our first day! It's a family tradition! And we always end our trip with Space Mountain. Have a great time, and enjoy what each park has to offer. The transportation system is great, so don't be afraid to hop from park to park if you can.

 

[Peachyyy]

I always go to MK first! :sohappy:

Two more weeks and I can't wait!!!

 

[godisney]

The whole world is an experience. I don't think you can separate it into individual parks. If I were in your shoes, I would bring my husband to Magic Kingdom in the early evening of the first day. The crowds are not so great, and it is a magical time to go. I would go on some of the main attractions- Space Mountain is a must for the first day. Splash mountain is great as the sun is setting! I wouldn't overwhelm a first timer on the first day, I would give just a taste of the magic! Then, I would follow the early opening schedule if you are staying on property. I try to avoid MK during lunch time, and we hop on over to Epcot, grab a cold beer and walk around the Pavillions for a little while. There is always entertainment going on. We end our trip with an early visit to MK, and our last ride on Space Mountain!

 

[jmvd20]

Seems like every time we have tried to plan beforehand where we will be on each day it never happens. The first few days of our vacations we normally just hop around the parks and find one that is the least crowded and spend the rest of our day there. But towards the end we have to get all of the must do attractions in so that doesn't work all the time. I normally do more than one park each day no matter what.

We also like eating at world showcase :slurp: so we tend to end up at EPCOT most evenings, that it is why it is imperative that we get the park hopper

 

[KaliSplash]

We all agree that park hopping is the way to go.

But the original poster said they did not have park hopper tickets. Yes, those can be added, at additional cost.

If you can possibly afford it, I'd do that.

If not, I'd go in reverse order of creation. Animal Kingdom, Disney-MGM, Epcot and Magic Kingdom. Expedition Everest will let you start your vacationwith a bang. The Magic Kingdom will make sure it ends well.

 

[MinnieMommy]

I think the "go to MK the last day" is really a suggestion for families with younger children. When my nephews went the first time to WDW (7 and 5), my cousins took them to MK the first day of the trip. The rest of the days when at Epcot or MGM the boys kept saying "can't we go back to Disney?" They just didn't understand that the whole place was Disney.

I agree with everyone else, get hoppers and visit the MK the first day and maybe in the evening of other days.

I agree! Everything I have read talks about saving MK for last if you have children visiting for the first time. Then EPCOT, MGM, and AK won't be a dissapointment to them compared to MK attractions! Hit MK first! Fun, Fun, Fun! :sohappy:

 

[jmvd20]

We all agree that park hopping is the way to go.

But the original poster said they did not have park hopper tickets. Yes, those can be added, at additional cost.

If you can possibly afford it, I'd do that.

If not, I'd go in reverse order of creation. Animal Kingdom, Disney-MGM, Epcot and Magic Kingdom. Expedition Everest will let you start your vacationwith a bang. The Magic Kingdom will make sure it ends well.

Sorry I din't notice that, I guess by the time I got to the end of the thread I forgot the OP.

If I was going to one park per day I think I would do MK last, we typically end our vacation with wishes, can't have much of a better ending than that!

 

[HoW]

I took my fiancee down to Disney for the first time last year and we started with MK and then ended our trip by spending the morning there before we headed home. She said that was the way to go. She was so hyped from the first day at MK that even if any of the other parks had let her down in some fashion, she was already well into the magic to notice. That was kind of my thought process, if the magic sets the stage at the beginning of a trip, you're less likely to be let down in the middle somewhere, and even more upset when you have to leave!

 

[swimmom]

We always try to get a real early morning flight out so that we can go to MK the first day for the afternoon & evening and then later in the trip we spend another whole day in the MK. If you can't spend part of your first day in the MK then I would go later in the trip, but not on a morning EMH day.