park planning question

J

Jester1023

New Member
so we are taking our 7 year old daughter on her first disney trip at the end of August we are going from 8/24 through 8/30(not going to parks on 8/30 afternoon flight)

so this is what we have planned out I just need others opinions on what they would do with a 7 year old girl at the end of the trip

8/24 early arrival MK
8/25 HS (MH) - Fantasmic
8/26 AK (MH) - Rivers of Light
8/27 split day Epcot most of day MNSSHP -MK evening

this is where I am not sure what direction to go we want to finish up our last two days in MK hitting Downtown disney one of these two days we don't plan on staying at the MNSSHP super late so me thoughts are to hit MK Wed then Thurs Morning eating at Ohana going to MK for A bit covering
anything that we want to do again or may have missed then going to DTD in the afternoon either bringing my daughter to Bippity Boppity Boutique on Wed or Thurs .

My DTA seems to think I should do the lighter day Wed following the party and do the full day thurs my thoughts are though we are going to be tired Wed we are not staying all night at the party and by thurs we may be ready to just start winding down with the trip having a nice breakfast at Ohana hitting MK then doing DTD to finish up our last day maybe hitiing Rain forrest Cafe for dinner then going back to the resort to finish up our trip.

I get my TA's point we may need that break on Wed but on the flip side by Wed night we may be spent and may want to have Thurs be our light day vs having Wed as our light day and then cramming everything in on Thurs.

just wanted to field some opinions thanks
 
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D

DisneyJoe

Well-Known Member
What is MH?

What resort are you staying at? Do you have any mid-day breaks back to your resort of a swim or rest? Sometimes it is tough, especially in August heat, going from open to close.
 
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JohnD

JohnD

Well-Known Member
Jester1023 said:
so we are taking our 7 year old daughter on her first disney trip at the end of August we are going from 8/24 through 8/30(not going to parks on 8/30 afternoon flight)

so this is what we have planned out I just need others opinions on what they would do with a 7 year old girl at the end of the trip

8/24 early arrival MK
8/25 HS (MH) - Fantasmic
8/26 AK (MH) - Rivers of Light
8/27 split day Epcot most of day MNSSHP -MK evening

this is where I am not sure what direction to go we want to finish up our last two days in MK hitting Downtown disney one of these two days we don't plan on staying at the MNSSHP super late so me thoughts are to hit MK Wed then Thurs Morning eating at Ohana going to MK for A bit covering
anything that we want to do again or may have missed then going to DTD in the afternoon either bringing my daughter to Bippity Boppity Boutique on Wed or Thurs .

My DTA seems to think I should do the lighter day Wed following the party and do the full day thurs my thoughts are though we are going to be tired Wed we are not staying all night at the party and by thurs we may be ready to just start winding down with the trip having a nice breakfast at Ohana hitting MK then doing DTD to finish up our last day maybe hitiing Rain forrest Cafe for dinner then going back to the resort to finish up our trip.

I get my TA's point we may need that break on Wed but on the flip side by Wed night we may be spent and may want to have Thurs be our light day vs having Wed as our light day and then cramming everything in on Thurs.

just wanted to field some opinions thanks
Click to expand...

First, I looked at a calendar so that we can be clear which day is which then took what you wrote and consolidated it into your itinerary:

Sat 8/24 early arrival MK
Sun 8/25 HS (MH) - Fantasmic
Mon 8/26 AK (MH) - Rivers of Light
Tue 8/27 split day Epcot most of day MNSSHP -MK evening
Wed 8/28 MK or lighter day?
Thu 8/29 Ohana breakfast then MK? Disney Springs (DS) in afternoon/evening? Or all day MK?

Several things: I've done Epcot and MNSSHP on the same day. Easy access by monorail. Just don't plan on rope drop for Epcot because of the time you'll be spending at the party later. Schedule FPs in Epcot for later in the morning / afternoon. Don't rush to get there. I'd start planning your exit out of Epcot about 2pm to give you time to get to MK before allowing guests to enter the party at 4pm.

I tend to agree that maybe planning a lighter day on Wednesday might be better. You will have been at MK the night before, although you want to emphasize shows, fireworks, M&G, parade over attractions at the party, while it doesn't hurt to do a few. My suggestion is that DS (formerly DTD) day should be on Wed. You could still get an early morning 'Ohana breakfast on Thursday and spend the rest of the day in MK.
 
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J

Jester1023

New Member
Original Poster
John D that is correct
Disney Joe

we planned on going back to the resort mid day we are staying at AOA sorry forgot to mention that important piece of the equation.most of the restraunts we are doing either (B) or (D) with the exception of AK we may do lunch at Tusker house AK for the rivers of light pkg or maybe an early dinner.All other days we do plan on taking mid day breaks hitting the parks early then going back later in the day.we do want to stay for one of the MK parades maybe the first day we'll see how our body's handle the heat

thank-you

p.s MH are Magic hours sorry
 
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nickys

nickys

Premium Member
i agree that your lighter day should be the Wednesday, after the party. If you’re doing breakfast at Ohana, make it a late one. You never know how your daughter will be at the party; she may surprise you and you end up staying longer than expected.

So on Wednesday, late breakfast at Ohana, over to MK for three Fp rides. concentrate on one land, maybe Adventureland, FPs for Pirates, Jungle Cruise something else you didn’t do on day 1 at MK, Splash or BTMRR which aren’t far away.

Then go to Disney Springs for dinner. You could book for BBB at DS instead, probably easier to get. You know you need to book this right at 180 days?

Then on Thursday do MK. The last thing you want is to drag your daughter away from MK half way through the last day of your trip! She may be sulking all afternoon. MK is Disney for a lot of people, especially young kids.

Be aware when planning that both DHS and AK open earlier than the actual EMH start time. At AK they will lead people in groups to Pandora, and by the stated opening time the line for FoP will likely already be posted at over an hour. You may not get an FP for that ride, since it’s your 60+2 day. Same for DHS where they will open early and take people towards TSL. If she wants to do Jedi Training then I would sign up for that first thing or immediately after riding Slinky (if you don’t have an FP for it and arrive early enough to get that done relatively quickly).
 
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J

Jester1023

New Member
Original Poster
nickys said:
Be aware when planning that both DHS and AK open earlier than the actual EMH start time. At AK they will lead people in groups to Pandora, and by the stated opening time the line for FoP will likely already be posted at over an hour. You may not get an FP for that ride, since it’s your 60+2 day
Click to expand...

You make some valid points Nicky's I will probably take my ta's advice,she helped my brother with his trip and she was on point with everything.

not sure what you mean by letting people in before the posted MH so they will start letting people in to those two lands pandora & TSL even earlier than the magic hour posted time?also when you say 60 + 2days not sure what you mean by this not that I planned on doing FOP but wouldn't I book FP 60 days before hand whats the + 2 days

Thank-you for your opinions and thoughts
 
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nickys

nickys

Premium Member
Jester1023 said:
You make some valid points Nicky's I will probably take my ta's advice,she helped my brother with his trip and she was on point with everything.

not sure what you mean by letting people in before the posted MH so they will start letting people in to those two lands pandora & TSL even earlier than the magic hour posted time?also when you say 60 + 2days not sure what you mean by this not that I planned on doing FOP but wouldn't I book FP 60 days before hand whats the + 2 days

Thank-you for your opinions and thoughts
Click to expand...

Yes. They will usually open the gates at AK maybe around 8:30 for a 9am opening, and a similar amount of time earlier for an EMH. They lead people to Pandora at that point (anyone else waits near by). So you really want to be at the park an hour before the stated opening time (EMH or otherwise).

Same for DHS, they will lead people to Toy Story Land before the stated opening time.

Because you stay onsite you can book all your FPs at 60 days before check-in. So your second day, the day after check-in, is 60+1, the next day is 60+2 and so on. Typically people find FPs for Flight of Passage at AK and Slinky Dog at DHS are possible on their fourth day, or 60+3.
 
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J

Jester1023

New Member
Original Poster
As far as park opening goes DHS for ex: MH are 8:00 park opens at 9:00 so they would start letting people in staying on sit about 7:15/7:30 fot TSL sorry just trying to understand

as far as the second part not quite understanding when my 60 day window hits wouldn't I book my FP's on a day by day basis I arrive on the 24th so I would book my fp's for 8/24 60 days ahead then for the 25th book them 60 days from that day and so on and so on.From the way I am reading your post you can book all your fast passes 60 days ahead of your stay so some of the fast passes I may desiring may already be gone being you can book all your fast passes for your trip 60 days before your trip.So 60 days from my first check-in day which is 8/24 I can book FP's for my whole stay 8/24-8/30.

Am I reading this correct?
 
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nickys

nickys

Premium Member
Jester1023 said:
As far as park opening goes DHS for ex: MH are 8:00 park opens at 9:00 so they would start letting people in staying on sit about 7:15/7:30 fot TSL sorry just trying to understand

as far as the second part not quite understanding when my 60 day window hits wouldn't I book my FP's on a day by day basis I arrive on the 24th so I would book my fp's for 8/24 60 days ahead then for the 25th book them 60 days from that day and so on and so on.From the way I am reading your post you can book all your fast passes 60 days ahead of your stay so some of the fast passes I may desiring may already be gone being you can book all your fast passes for your trip 60 days before your trip. So 60 days from my first check-in day which is 8/24 I can book FP's for my whole stay 8/24-8/30.

Am I reading this correct?
Click to expand...

Yes. 60 days before your check-in day, you can book your FPs for all your onsite days (if you have tickets for all days).
 
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J

Jester1023

New Member
Original Poster
Got it thanks,that puts a little bit of A clinker into things but I am hoping because of the time I am going the last week of August I will still be able to get some of my desired FP's

thanks for the info
 
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nickys

nickys

Premium Member
Jester1023 said:
Got it thanks,that puts a little bit of A clinker into things but I am hoping because of the time I am going the last week of August I will still be able to get some of my desired FP's

thanks for the info
Click to expand...

It won’t affect your planning negatively, it’s a good thing!

The only FPs you will find difficult to get are FoP (which you said you won’t be doing), Slinky, maybe 7 dwarfs and Frozen. But you can book 7 dwarfs on your later MK day. Frozen should be OK too.
 
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J

Jester1023

New Member
Original Poster
Thank-you my main concern is getting Frozen as thats a must ride for my daughter,Again going the last week of August I am hoping the crowds won't be as bad as other times.The weather will be brutal just hoping the crowds won't be.I know there is never a dead time for Disney from what I've read though the last week in August is better than most as far as crowds go.

thank-you
 
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nickys

nickys

Premium Member
Do you know about fastpass tiers at Epcot, AK and DHS?

Also for a 9am opening at MK, everyone is allowed onto Main St and down to the Hub from 8am onwards, before the opening show down at the Castle. If there is EMH, then the gates usually open 10-15 minutes early, so 7:50ish. So you can plan accordingly.
 
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