What is the best way to figure out which day is best to go to which park? We are going 10/10-10/14 and morning only 10/15. Want to go to all 4, adult and 7 year old. Probably MK on two days. Would like extra time at Epcot too. Probably will go to halloween at MK.
It seems like I first need to pick which day for which park before I can make my customized touring plans. Want to see as much as possible but will not go on any coasters, spinners, or fast rides, child easily scared and has never seen a disney movie (well parts of frozen). thanks for any assistance!
I would start out with a goal of watching 1 Disney movie with your 7 year old every day for the next 10 days! It will be a fun way to countdown the last few days before your trip and then your son will know the characters some before he gets there.
I usually look at the crowd calendar/hours on touringplans.com and then based on what the crowd levels look like each day and the hours for each day - I decide where I want to be. Make sure to check and see if Wishes, Electrical Parade, Fantasmic, etc. is showing on the day you are planning to do that park if they are something you want to see.
Do you have a park hopper?
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Welcome to Lines!
First issue is if you are staying on-site or not. If you are NOT staying on-site, AVOID any park with morning EMH. If you ARE staying on-site, and you think you can be there when the park opens (referred to as “Rope Drop” or “RD”), then selecting a park with AM EMH could be beneficial to you.
Next issue id if you have park hoppers. I have an AP and can always “hop”, but in reality, I only do it occasionally. For a relatively short trip, I would probably not pay extra for them myself; looks like you have 5 days, so that’s 1 park per day with a 5th day to go back to your favorite (probably MK). If you DO have PH tickets, I doubly recommend using the AM EMH benefit, with the option to change parks later in the day (or after a mid-day break).
A note about going to the MK on Halloween - there will be a Mickey’s Not So Scarey Halloween Party that night, which mean the park will close at 7 PM, unless you purchase a separate (expensive) party ticket. Personally, I would choose a different park for that day (and would make sure to schedule the MK for a day when there ISN’T a party so you can see the castler show and fireworks).
If you let me know if you’re (a) staying on site, (b) have PH tickets, and © if you will have a full day on the 10th, I could provide you with some more concrete suggestions.
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As others have suggested, I usually start by looking at Touring Plans predictions for crowd levels. If there’s a big difference during the days I plan to visit, then that will usually guide where I’m going. Depending on who I’m traveling with, I may also consider what their first and last experiences in the parks should be.
Looking at the crowd calendar for your visit, it looks like 10/10 and 10/13 would be good days to visit the Magic Kingdom or the Studios. 10/12 looks like a good day for Epcot (though you may want to visit World Showcase when it first opens before people start “enjoying” the Food & Wine Festival later in the day), and crowds at the Animal Kingdom are pretty steady throughout. Being a long holiday weekend, it’s going to be pretty busy everywhere except for Friday and Tuesday.
Do you know which day you plan to attend the Halloween Party? If you’re arriving in the afternoon and going on Friday, 10/10, then you can get in the Magic Kingdom at 4:00 using your party ticket (without using a regular park admission day), so that might be a good way to get things started. If you are going to the party on Monday, 10/13 and don’t have park hopper tickets, then you may want to go to the Studios in the morning, then take a break, and head to the Magic Kingdom around 4:00.
Just a few ideas. Hope this helps.
Welcome! If you do decide to get tickets to a party I would get them as soon as you decide what night. Someone posted last weekend that they were very upset that the party was sold out. It does not happen every party but if it is something you want to do, do not count on waiting until party time to buy tickets.
Thanks for all the advice. We are staying at a disney resort, not sure if it is realistic for us to be up and to the park early enough for EMH. We are there full day on 10/10 and half day 10/15. Didn’t get hopper because I know I can add it if needed. Not sure if we will do the MK halloween or not (and that could serve as a hopper) or which of the days we would do it (not sold out yet). Hope that helps folks with advice. Thanks again!
Halloween party is a separate hard ticketed event so you wouldn’t be able to use a park hopper to attend. Not sure if that is what you meant but wanted to point out.
I was worried we couldn’t make AM EMH our first trip (kids were 2 and 5) and pulled it off almost every day of the trip. It was worth getting up early to get so much done before the parks got really busy.
Have you booked any Fast Passes?
If you do plan to do the party, depending on your goals you can get a TON done during MNSSHP. The rides are walk on. Given you are talking about 10/10 - 10/14 assume you don’t have FPP.
My approach:
- Check the crowd calendar. I like EMH for the night (we never wake up before 10am) and I will choose a late night option if available
1A. ADRs - I don’t waste time running all over the world for ADRs. Choosing the parks near any reservations is as important as late night to me - Weather - day of weather matters to me. If it is absolutely going to rain, and rain all day, I avoid AK - which is the least appealing in the rain to me.
I know everyone is different, but the candy at MNSSHP is absolutely not worth collecting. We would get some to snack on, but the park is so nice with fewer people and decorated - rides, including 7DMT and A&E m&g all walk ons
I am in a smilar situation with young kids, first visit, easily frightened, etc. Something I’ve been doing to prepare them for the characters and experiences is getting books at the library that tell the stories (Little Golden Books are awesome) and looking up some of the main scenes and songs from the classics on youtube so that I can easily control what they are seeing. Many of the Disney movies are for older than preschool age, IMO, b/c the villains are very scary and some of the scenes are pretty disturbing. It’s working out well… my daughter LOVES Snow White and Ariel and hasn’t seen their movies yet!
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