Complicated Question on Which Park for Which Day

Walt Disney World
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Ok - I need some fellow nerds to weigh-in. Please, stick with me. This is not a big question, but it’s a big deal to me… especially with my FP day coming up in a couple of weeks.

Necessary Background Info:
We’re going on on a 8 night trip in late May, staying in a Ft. Wilderness Cabin. 7 days of park tickets.

Basic Question:
I’m trying to figure out which day to do Hollywood Studios and which day to do Animal Kingdom.

Dilemma:
As of now, I’m planning Friday May 25th for HS (day 6 of our trip) and Saturday May 26th for AK (day 7 of our trip)… HOWEVER I’m considering switching these, but I can’t decide and I need some help. It seems like a really simple decision, but I’m totally torn.

I originally liked these dates because 5/25 is a Crowd Level 6 day for HS and 5/26 is a CL 6 for AK. Also I tried to plan our AK day for the latest possible day in our trip because I’ve heard that the later in the trip you plan your day at AK, the more likely you are to get FP+ for FOP.

However… I’m now considering switching these dates.

Why?

5/26 is now EMH for AK, with that park opening at 8AM for onsite guests. That should be amazing right? Well, not for us. There is no way in hell that I’ll be able to get my family of 6 from Ft. Wilderness to AK by 7:30 that morning. No way. We’d have to get up at 6AM, and be out the door by 6:30, and I simply cannot see that happening.

So switch the two, right?

But I’m hesitant to do that because while Friday 5/25 is a CL 5 for AK (yay!), Saturday 5/26 is a CL 8 for HS (boo!). Make sense? The other way it was Crowd Level 6’s for both parks, but if we do AK on Friday and HS on Saturday, it’s a 5 and an 8. Ugh. Also, I was trying to schedule our AK day for as late as possible in our trip to ensure that we get that FOP FP jelly.

So… in effort to draw out a long post about a small piece of Disney-nerd minutiae even further, let me repeat the options:

Option 1
Friday 5/25: Hollywood Studios (CL 6) hours: 9AM - 9:30PM
Saturday 5/26: Animal Kingdom (CL 6) hours: 8AM (which we won’t make in time) - 9PM

OR

Option 2
Friday 5/25: Animal Kingdom (CL 5) hours: 9AM - 9PM
Saturday 5/26: Hollywood Studios (CL 8) 9AM - 9:30PM

Which combo should I do? I need help deciding.

Thanks in advance for caring about something that I literally cannot get anyone else in my life to give me feedback over… not even my wife.

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Fellow overplanning nerd here to help! I would switch to option 2 if you won’t make it by 8am on 5/26. AK is mobbed in the morning thanks to Pandora, you do not want to be late! Plus the crowd levels are not definites, so try not to let them make you stick to a plan that doesn’t work for you (like going to AK late). Being on time for rope drop, and a fantastic plan will ensure you a great day, regardless of crowd level. You will get FOP fastpasses easily for any day after 3 or 4, so that will not be an issue. We are going for Easter and have FOP FPP on days 1,2, and 6.

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Thanks @Wahoohokie. That’s the kind of advice I needed.

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I agree, I’d do option 2. I don’t know anything firsthand (it’s been 20 years since my last WDW trip) but from what I’ve read, it’s actually better to avoid AK on EMH days because it is getting so crowded due to the draw of Pandora.

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I’ve read on here that Kenny the Pirate’s crowd calendar is pretty reliable. On 5/25, he has AK as the best park to visit and HS as the worst park, and then on 5/26 it’s the opposite.

So with this and the other comments, I’d switch to your option 2 as well if you know you won’t arrive early enough to take advantage of EMH.

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I would also go with option 2. With a good touring plan the crowd levels won’t be too much of an issue even if HS turns out to be busier. The one day difference shouldn’t be a disaster as far as FoP is concerned. :slight_smile:

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Thanks, y’all. I was leaning toward changing it to option 2… I just needed to talk it out with some trusted advisers. Very helpful.

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Option 2 because Toy Story Land was thought to open that weekend and that might be why the CL is so high.

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Good point.

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As many others have said, Option 2 seems like the best option. If you can’t get to the EMH, I would avoid the park since it’ll already be flooded with guests from other resorts. And even with a CL of 8 at HS, its still a doable park if you have your FPP set accordingly. And if you have park hoppers, then you could always leave HS if it becomes overwhelming and go back to another park that you wanted to see more of. But I will say that HS has my favorite evening entertainment.

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I agree for the basic reasoning that if you cant get there for EMH skip it. My family is normally early risers except me. At Disney they were all oversleeping and I was the one dragging everyone out of bed. Even non EMH morn8ngs. Disney is just SO exhausting. And I totally understand this dilemma though, which park, which day???

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Let me throw another wrench in your ideas. Why are you waiting to go to those parks so late in the trip? If you go to HS or AK and really like something, you won’t have much time to go back. I’m assuming you don’t have park hoppers, but if you do, I would try to hit each of those parks earlier in the trip and then go back to it later and re-ride things you really loved or hit rides you missed on the first trip.

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I presume it’s for FP+ reasons - it’s easier to get a FoP FP at 60+5 than at 60 days even.

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Good question. Like @MouseGirl42 said, it’s partly because of FP for FoP, but it’s mainly that we have a day and a half of Flower & Garden at Epcot and a day at Typhoon Lagoon (which will be a new experience for our family) already planned.

Here is the schedule for our trip. I’d love to get your feedback if you get a minute.