Need advise on Two and a half days at Disney parks!!

[Yano]

we used to go to WDW every year, but couldn’t for the past few years so some things such as FP+ and the nee rides (FOP) are new to us.
This trip will be the first time to visit universal, so we are splitting our trip in half. As for the Disney part:
We will be staying in grounds. So I can reserve FP 60days b4 the trip Also,I got Park hopper tickets so baisically I have 5time slots at parks :
1. After noon on 18
2. Morning and afternoon on 19
3. Morning and afternoon on 20.
My question is: what parks would you go to each day and what rides would you chose?cant really make my mind
Thank you

 

[tehSAC]

What month?

 

[Jordanne Morrow]

It really depends on personal preference, if you're taking kids, and what time of year you're visiting, but I can give you advice based on the most recent trip to WDW my boyfriend and I took:

We spent a week in Orlando in Oct last year, two days dedicated to Universal (1 day at Islands of Adventure), 1 day at Universal Studios (including Halloween Horror Nights). Then we spent 2 days at Disney:
1 Day - Animal Kingdom - our first time seeing Pandora. We spent the morning in Pandora, Fast Passed FOP and standby Na'vi River. Lunch at the Canteen in Pandora. Then the afternoon we Fastpassed Everest & Dinosaur, standby Kilimanjaro Safari, and watched the Lion King live show. Dinner at Yak & Yeti. Then ended the night with the Rivers of Light show.
2 Day - Epcot - This time of year they are having the food and wine festival, which my boyfriend and I love! We don't do many rides in Epcot, usually only test track and the Tres Caballeros ride in Epcot. Our main focus is the food/drink stands. We also like doing one of the wine tastings (this year we attended a wine tasting for Skywalker Vineyards. I always purchase spots for the wine tasting online in advance).

We picked these parks because they are mine and my boyfriend's favorite parks, so it can be really up to your preference. We don't like Magic Kingdom very much because it's usually overrun with children (Rides we like at MK - Space Mountain, Thunder Mountain, 7 Dwarfs). We do like Hollywood Studios but just couldn't fit it into this trip (Favorite Rides: Tower of Terror, Star Tours, Toy Story Midway Mania. My boyfriend also loves Rock N Rollercoaster).

In my opinion, with all the construction, I would do Hollywood Studios for your half day. The I would spend the other days at Epcot and Animal Kingdom.

Hope this helps!

 

[Yano]

What month?

August

 

[Mainahman]

August

Ive been in august, and the middle of the day is the hottest. We would always rope drop a park, go until lunch, go swim in the pool, and hit another park or same park at night. Its going to depend on where wou want to go. Magic Kingdom is usually a must just to be there. For us we LOOVE EPCOT and Animal Kingdom. While we like DHS, we only go for Toy Story Mania, and usually leave and hop somewhere else once that is done.

 

[juniorthomas]

August

• Are you interested in resort amenities or are you planning to 100% in-park everything?
• Are in-park meals a priority / do you have any specific dining reservations that you'd need to plan around?
• Are you traveling with kids under 40"? (If so, your options at DHS are a bit limited. You can definitely make a half day of it, but I'd consider prioritizing other parks first.)
• Are you a park open to park close type person, or you do like breaks?
• What kind of rides do you prefer - action or classic?

Without knowing anything, I'd suggest a full day at MK and a full day at Epcot/DHS, followed by a half at DAK. Of course, any of your answers could really change this equation. Also, EMH will play a role too.

 

[Yano]

There is EMH for HS on the 19th and for AK on the 20th and all my kids are tall enough to ride any ride
After thinking about it and trying to make the best out of my FP I think this is roughly how we will do it:
1. Day of arrival 18 go to MK since it’s the only day they open till 10
2. On 19th go to HS in the morning to take advantage of EMH till noon then back to hotel for rest... after noon Epcot
3. On 20th go to AK for EMH and stay till noon then back to hotel for a rest then for the night part go to one we feel we didn’t have enough of....
what do you guys think?

 

[Yano]

What month?

Late August

 

[DarthVader]

There is EMH for HS on the 19th and for AK on the 20th and all my kids are tall enough to ride any ride
After thinking about it and trying to make the best out of my FP I think this is roughly how we will do it:
1. Day of arrival 18 go to MK since it’s the only day they open till 10
2. On 19th go to HS in the morning to take advantage of EMH till noon then back to hotel for rest... after noon Epcot
3. On 20th go to AK for EMH and stay till noon then back to hotel for a rest then for the night part go to one we feel we didn’t have enough of....
what do you guys think?

That seems like a decent itinerary, of course your Fastpasses may dictate some of your plans, i.e., FOP may only be available at noon, but you can adjust as needed

Personally, my family is big on MK, so we would dedicate more time there, and not the arrival day, but you need to make some compromises since you only ave three days dedicated to the WDW

 

[Yano]

Late August

Yes, 18 to 21. 18 only afternoon and 21 is not a Park day since we will be going to our hotel at universal.
Baisically 18 afternoon
19 and 20 full days with Hotel break around 1:30

 

[Dutch Inn '76]

Having just done WDW & Universal, I know that I need:

Two days at the MK, 1.5 days at Epcot, 1 day at AK, and a half-day at HS. ...and one day total at USO.

But that's just me.

 

[DisneyDaver]

There is EMH for HS on the 19th and for AK on the 20th and all my kids are tall enough to ride any ride
After thinking about it and trying to make the best out of my FP I think this is roughly how we will do it:
1. Day of arrival 18 go to MK since it’s the only day they open till 10
2. On 19th go to HS in the morning to take advantage of EMH till noon then back to hotel for rest... after noon Epcot
3. On 20th go to AK for EMH and stay till noon then back to hotel for a rest then for the night part go to one we feel we didn’t have enough of....
what do you guys think?

Looks like a good plan to me. As pointed out by another poster above, you may need to adjust based on FP+ availability. I suspect you will want FP+ for FOP at AK and Slinky Dog at DHS and those may be tough to get for morning times.

Also, you didn't ask, but I think you will want at least 2 full days at Universal (not sure how many you have scheduled).

 

[Yano]

Looks like a good plan to me. As pointed out by another poster above, you may need to adjust based on FP+ availability. I suspect you will want FP+ for FOP at AK and Slinky Dog at DHS and those may be tough to get for morning times.

Also, you didn't ask, but I think you will want at least 2 full days at Universal (not sure how many you have scheduled).

Yes we will be staying for three nights on universal property to take advantage of the free FP there, and we will take three day park to park basically their park hopper option

 

[DisneyDaver]

Yes we will be staying for three nights on universal property to take advantage of the free FP there, and we will take three day park to park basically their park hopper option

That's what I did when I went with my extended family of 6 adults an 3 kids (ages 5, 7 and 10) in 2014. We stayed at the Hard Rock Hotel and all had a blast! 3 days with the Express Pass was a great way to leisurely explore both parks. Note - Volcano Bay was not open when we were last there, but it might be worth checking out now if your group likes water parks.

 

[Yano]

That's what I did when I went with my extended family of 6 adults an 3 kids (ages 5, 7 and 10) in 2014. We stayed at the Hard Rock Hotel and all had a blast! 3 days with the Express Pass was a great way to leisurely explore both parks. Note - Volcano Bay was not open when we were last there, but it might be worth checking out now if your group likes water parks.

Cool, I’m glad you guys had a blast. The water park is an option to consider. Depends on what my kids want... we will be a party of 6, me, DH And our four kids, our youngest is 10. When we went to Disney last time she was 4 or 5 and we had to use baby swap a lot,I’m excited that we can all go on all the rides now
I’m getting excited just thinking about it.
Thank you for your advice and input

 

[Dutch Inn '76]

Having just returned from two full days at Universal, I don't see how you can fill THREE days there. We ran out of things to do on the second morning.

 

[DisneyDaver]

Having just returned from two full days at Universal, I don't see how you can fill THREE days there. We ran out of things to do on the second morning.

We were very happy spending 3 days at Universal, but I think it depends on one's approach. We went to the parks for a few hours in the mornings, had lunch and pool time in the afternoon at the hotel, went back to the parks for a couple hours late afternoon, and then had dinner at Citiwalk. We did everything at a very leisurely pace. The kids spent a fair amount of time in the Harry Potter areas with their wands trying the various "magic" tricks throughout the areas. They also wanted to do a number of rides multiple times (Despicable me, Transformers, Spiderman).

 

[Yano]

We were very happy spending 3 days at Universal, but I think it depends on ones approach. We went to the parks in the for a few hours in the mornings, had lunch and pool time in the afternoon at the hotel, went back to the parks for a couple hours late afternoon, and then had dinner at Citiwalk. We did everything at a very leisurely pace. The kids spent a fair amount of time in the Harry Potter areas with their wands trying the various "magic" tricks throughout the areas. They also wanted to do a number of rides multiple times (Despicable me, Transformers, Spiderman).

This is my plan exactly. We definitely want to take it easy. Also, we always take a couple of hours to rest in the hotel right after noon time.
It’s our first time in Universal and all my kids are huge Harry Potter’s fans. We have all read the books several times , and As a family we make it a point to watch all the movies every year around Christmas. So I’m sure we will spend a lot of time in Harry Potter land. And my kids love the thrill rides so I’m sure they will want to ride several times on the rides they liked throughout the parks.

 

[Dutch Inn '76]

Our favorite thing at Universal was the "Toothsome Chocolate Emporium." It's right outside the gates, so no need for admission. The food was great, the service was good, and the steampunk/chocolate decor was unique. I'm looking more forward to going back there than I am the rest of USO. Good golly the desserts and milkshakes are awesome.

 

[Yano]

Our favorite thing at Universal was the "Toothsome Chocolate Emporium." It's right outside the gates, so no need for admission. The food was great, the service was good, and the steampunk/chocolate decor was unique. I'm looking more forward to going back there than I am the rest of USO. Good golly the desserts and milkshakes are awesome.

That sounds awesome