We have a quick weekend trip planned next month. I'm a regular Disney goer but traveling with someone who goes less often and wants to get the most out of the trip. We only have 2 days in the park. We are staying at the Dolphin and plan on rope dropping Epcot then moving to MK in the early afternoon. I don't normally get lightning lanes but I'd like to get everyone's thoughts on these two options.
Attraction goals: Epcot - Soarin, Test Track (Single rider), GotG, SSE
MK - Buzz, BTMR, Tiana's, Pirates, Tron, SDMT
1) MPLL MK - we'll be waiting in line at Epcot but if for the number or rides we'll do, it might be manageable. My hope is that I should have decent LL's ready when we transition to MK later in the day.
2) MPLL Epcot - Our morning should hopefully be faster but will there be enough LL's at MK after we scan into our first ones to make it worth while?
If you buy LLMP for Epcot, you could book LL for Soarin', TT, and SSE. Since you are staying at the Dolphin, you can book LL starting at 7am 7 days before your arrival.
As soon as you use one of them, then you can start booking LL #4 in MK.
You could almost certainly get a fairly early LL for SSE. Once you use one of the LL, you could also then modify the rest.
You can also use rope drop for one of the headliners. You can also buy an ILL for GoG. During EE, the biggest crowd will head to GoG. It might not be that big of a crowd, but if you head to Soarin' there will be minimal wait. TT single rider is also pretty quiet early in the day, but i'm not sure they oen it during Early Entry.
Also, there is always the risk that one or more of the rides you want will be delayed that morning.
At present, I predict that you will find it challenging to get a LL for BTMRR, but WDW always used to do mid-day drops for BTMRR, you may well land one of them if you are willing to do some refreshing. Looking today, at 10:30am, LL are still available for all the rides in MK except BTMRR. You should be able to get a LL for Buzz, Tiana's, PotC, and a number of additional attractions not on your list in MK.
Three of the rides you want are ILL's. You can only buy 2. If you hop mid-day to MK, the standby for 7D will probably be around 75 minutes. In the heat. Personally, I don't feel it is worth that, but you could wait for it or buy the ILL if you wanted. It is usually about $12 per person. TRON will also have a posted 75min wait, but that may well be an inflated wait.
As long as your first LL is for a time before 10:30am, then you should be able to get decent LL in MK, because you will start booking MK as soon as you use your first LL in Epcot. If, when you go to book, the Epcot options you are offered don't look good, then you could book LL in MK instead.
I almost always park hop when I buy LLMP, and usually have very good luck in my 2nd park.
Another thing to keep in mind though is that your trip is in July. In summer, I ALWAYS take an afternoon break. If you try to slog out the whole day, the heat may well get to one or both of you. The weather could also be a factor, as afternoon storms are common. All the coasters close during lightning storms, including BTMRR, TRON, Tiana's. On the other hand, if you start booking MK as I advise, you should easily be able to have 3 LL lined up for MK before you go there. It is now 11am, and I could currently book PotC for 4:30, Buzz 8pm, Tiana's for 9:20pm. IME also, the wait for pirates doesn't tend to be very long late at night.
If your weekend is the 4th of July though, then your waits might be a bit longer than normal. Last year, WDW was fairly quiet that weekend, but traditionally it used to be very busy. I imagine Soarin' will be busy on July 4th.
