Park hopper newbie

[ELG13]

Ok guys, it was cheaper for me to get the park hopper plus water park instead of just the water park ticket. So now I feel like I have too many options and it's beginning to feel too busy! We were planning on splitting a day with ak and hs and doing Epcot after the water park. That being said, which park is better at night, or has the better night show, ak or hs. Right now we are planning on rope dropping ak and doing the Safari and a few little things (we weren't too impressed here on our last trip) and having lunch here ( the kids LOVED pizzafari) and then heading to HS where we have our first fp at 315. Is this practical? We have 6 of us with the youngest being 4 and 7. Is Andy's lunch box worth it? Maybe a late lunch there? We will have to do dinner at HS which I'm not too thrilled with.

 

[nickys]

I wouldn’t start re-planning just in order to park hop for the sake of it!

However, hopping to HS from AK if there isn’t a whole lot you want to do at AK is fine. I usually use park hoppers to do night time shows, which we don’t always plan ahead of time. We maybe have a couple of alternate nights, depending on how we feel and how much of a break people want.

So back to your plan. Have you seen Fantasmic and/or the Star Wars show before? Any big SW fans in the family. Usually the timing is such that you can’t do both the same night - you could maybe use the park hoppers to see the other one another night if you have time.

Now that the opening mania has died down, TSL seems to have had reasonable wait times even for Slinky. I’ve seen someone on here say around 30 minutes stand-by is fairly typical and they’ve been several times. You may well be able to get TSMM as an FP.

I liked Sci Fi on my last trip. It was hard to get a time that fitted in with everything else, but maybe late lunch would work in your favour. 50’s Diner? If you really don’t want to eat at DHS, though, why not go to Flame Tree before hopping?

 

[ELG13]

I wouldn’t start re-planning just in order to park hop for the sake of it!

However, hopping to HS from AK if there isn’t a whole lot you want to do at AK is fine. I usually use park hoppers to do night time shows, which we don’t always plan ahead of time. We maybe have a couple of alternate nights, depending on how we feel and how much of a break people want.

So back to your plan. Have you seen Fantasmic and/or the Star Wars show before? Any big SW fans in the family. Usually the timing is such that you can’t do both the same night - you could maybe use the park hoppers to see the other one another night if you have time.

Now that the opening mania has died down, TSL seems to have had reasonable wait times even for Slinky. I’ve seen someone on here say around 30 minutes stand-by is fairly typical and they’ve been several times. You may well be able to get TSMM as an FP.

I liked Sci Fi on my last trip. It was hard to get a time that fitted in with everything else, but maybe late lunch would work in your favour. 50’s Diner? If you really don’t want to eat at DHS, though, why not go to Flame Tree before hopping?

No star wars fans so we just planned on doing fantasmic. We have fp for tsmm, and then me and the hubs are doing tot and rnr with our oldest. I didn't really see much else I would need a fp for. We had adrs for sci fi last time but ended up backing out of out hs day and doing another mk day. I had a fp for the saucers but it seemed to be unanimous that Toy Story Mania was better Suited for what we wanted than the alien saucers. I dont think we will do Epcot after blizzard beach. My husband thinks it may be too much but I told him it would just be a relaxing night. No fast passes (ok one for frozen) and dinner and watch the show...is that too much you think?

 

[nickys]

No star wars fans so we just planned on doing fantasmic. We have fp for tsmm, and then me and the hubs are doing tot and rnr with our oldest. I didn't really see much else I would need a fp for. We had adrs for sci fi last time but ended up backing out of out hs day and doing another mk day. I had a fp for the saucers but it seemed to be unanimous that Toy Story Mania was better Suited for what we wanted than the alien saucers. I dont think we will do Epcot after blizzard beach. My husband thinks it may be too much but I told him it would just be a relaxing night. No fast passes (ok one for frozen) and dinner and watch the show...is that too much you think?

Doing Epcot at night like that is a great idea IMO. That’s the kind of thing I do. On a couple of nights, I’ll book maybe FEA or Soarin and Spaceship Earth. Then watch Illuminations, wander back round WS on the way out.

I love evenings like that. We might do it on one or both nights, sometimes we just don’t bother! At least one of the boys will often come with me, DH rarely does - he prefers to stay put once he’s comfortably settled in a lounge somewhere. And sometimes I’ll join him.

Thing is, there’s no harm in booking that FP if it doesn’t affect your plans for the rest of the day. If you find you don’t feel like it, then you don’t have to go. But the beauty of the park hopper is you can do that even on a whim one night.

 

[eliza61nyc]

Yep, I think you are trying to cram in a lot BUT I am not a "commando" tourer. You're going to do ak at rope drop and spend maybe 1/2 day there then head over to HS?
Now personally TSL is brand new and it seems like you are just going to go in, ride one ride and the blow out? Are you planning on seeing any of the shows (Indiana Jones or beauty and the beast)?
My family is the type they want to do everything that is new. definitely would not miss the slinky dog rollercoaster. Again it depends on your family.

 

[MomofPrincessGrace]

No star wars fans so we just planned on doing fantasmic. We have fp for tsmm, and then me and the hubs are doing tot and rnr with our oldest. I didn't really see much else I would need a fp for. We had adrs for sci fi last time but ended up backing out of out hs day and doing another mk day. I had a fp for the saucers but it seemed to be unanimous that Toy Story Mania was better Suited for what we wanted than the alien saucers. I dont think we will do Epcot after blizzard beach. My husband thinks it may be too much but I told him it would just be a relaxing night. No fast passes (ok one for frozen) and dinner and watch the show...is that too much you think?

Get a FP for Fantasmic. We did, and had AMAZING seats. We didnt feel like we had to rush to get there to get good seats.

 

[ELG13]

Yep, I think you are trying to cram in a lot BUT I am not a "commando" tourer. You're going to do ak at rope drop and spend maybe 1/2 day there then head over to HS?
Now personally TSL is brand new and it seems like you are just going to go in, ride one ride and the blow out? Are you planning on seeing any of the shows (Indiana Jones or beauty and the beast)?
My family is the type they want to do everything that is new. definitely would not miss the slinky dog rollercoaster. Again it depends on your family.

We are gonna do a low key ak 1/2 day, and we have fast passes at HS that evening. I haven't been able to get a slinky dog fp yet but I keep checking!

 

[ELG13]

Doing Epcot at night like that is a great idea IMO. That’s the kind of thing I do. On a couple of nights, I’ll book maybe FEA or Soarin and Spaceship Earth. Then watch Illuminations, wander back round WS on the way out.

I love evenings like that. We might do it on one or both nights, sometimes we just don’t bother! At least one of the boys will often come with me, DH rarely does - he prefers to stay put once he’s comfortably settled in a lounge somewhere. And sometimes I’ll join him.

Thing is, there’s no harm in booking that FP if it doesn’t affect your plans for the rest of the day. If you find you don’t feel like it, then you don’t have to go. But the beauty of the park hopper is you can do that even on a whim one night.

See that's what I was thinking. And Epcot is close to the cabins where we will be. It's not a busy park...i kind of compare it to Disney springs with attractions and less stores lol.

 

[HwdStudio]

See that's what I was thinking. And Epcot is close to the cabins where we will be. It's not a busy park...i kind of compare it to Disney springs with attractions and less stores lol.

Since when is Epcot not a busy park?

 

[ELG13]

Since when is Epcot not a busy park?

Ok sorry... I just didn't think I'd be like MK on a Saturday during a Tuesday night in September.

 

[DarthVader]

My $.02 is if you can avoid park hopping then you'll be better off, YMMV and everyone is different but my family and I prefer avoiding that, but sometimes it cannot be helped. My last trip, we had to park hop because how the itinerary lined up with dinner reservations. I just couldn't the them to jive.

 

[ELG13]

My $.02 is if you can avoid park hopping then you'll be better off, YMMV and everyone is different but my family and I prefer avoiding that, but sometimes it cannot be helped. My last trip, we had to park hop because how the itinerary lined up with dinner reservations. I just couldn't the them to jive.

Yeah this is our first time park hopping and I'm a little nervous but I want to try. I think we may do Epcot the day we get in instead of after BB. Go to a good dinner and relax. I think me and the hubs are going to Disney after hours on Thursday. It's a little pricey but we wusually end of buying a ticket for an extra day anyways just for a few hours at night after the kids go down so...we shall see!

 

[NeedMoreMickey]

If you are going in September Epcot will be busy because of the F&W Festival. In March we rode the safaris at sunset and it was wonderful. By the time we got around to the lions they were active and roaring at each other. If you went to Epcot in the morning on the day you are finishing at HS you can take the boat that runs between parks. On your water park day finish up at AK catch the animals at sunset and watch the Tree of Life Awakenings or Rivers of Light. Seems like a lot of kids like the band/dance party that happens on a stage area near Flame Tree Barbecue.

 

[ELG13]

If you are going in September Epcot will be busy because of the F&W Festival. In March we rode the safaris at sunset and it was wonderful. By the time we got around to the lions they were active and roaring at each other. If you went to Epcot in the morning on the day you are finishing at HS you can take the boat that runs between parks. On your water park day finish up at AK catch the animals at sunset and watch the Tree of Life Awakenings or Rivers of Light. Seems like a lot of kids like the band/dance party that happens on a stage area near Flame Tree Barbecue.

Ohh good suggestions!!

 

[DarthVader]

eah this is our first time park hopping and I'm a little nervous but I want to try

Nothing to be nervous about, but rather, can you avoid doing it save money? It can be a nice feature, but how we go to WDW, we try to stay at a given park for the entire day, so moving from park to park doesn't fit your preferences.

 

[JillC LI]

We will have to do dinner at HS which I'm not too thrilled with.

You don't have to do dinner at DHS if you are there for the second part of the day. You could walk (or take the boat) to the Boardwalk area, and there are tons of things to do and places to eat there. Then get the bus back to your resort from either EP or DHS (or uber from the Boardwalk area).

 

[ELG13]

Nothing to be nervous about, but rather, can you avoid doing it save money? It can be a nice feature, but how we go to WDW, we try to stay at a given park for the entire day, so moving from park to park doesn't fit your preferences.

It was cheaper to get them so we don't HAVE to use them.

 

[ELG13]

You don't have to do dinner at DHS if you are there for the second part of the day. You could walk (or take the boat) to the Boardwalk area, and there are tons of things to do and places to eat there. Then get the bus back to your resort from either EP or DHS (or uber from the Boardwalk area).

Well the way our fp worked out we kind of have to.

 

[nickys]

Well the way our fp worked out we kind of have to.

What about trying the HBD lounge? Unless you have small children who may not appreciate the menu. Plus of course you may need a specific time to fit around both FPs etc.

Otherwise I tend to go to the Backlot Express. There are usually some decent enough options like the Caesar salad ....

 

[ELG13]

What about trying the HBD lounge? Unless you have small children who may not appreciate the menu. Plus of course you may need a specific time to fit around both FPs etc.

Otherwise I tend to go to the Backlot Express. There are usually some decent enough options like the Caesar salad ....

Hbd lounge? We have a 4 and 7 yr old that regularly request sushi so they are decently adventurous eaters lol!!