First Timers - Help on Which Parks to Visit Each Day Please! (4 + 1/3 days)

Given that you want to avoid the EMH parks, then that plan is probably as good as any. The next step would be to make Personalized Touring Plans for each day and Optimize them to make sure that you will be able to do everything that you want to. This is especually important for Day 4 at HS, as you have to leave there early (possibly earlier than 3pm, depending on how you are getting to the airport).

Re getting up early to hit RD for RD, expecially on mEMH days, I like to think of it as if WDW was in a different time zone. If you were in Paris you wouldnā€™t be saying that it doesnā€™t feel like a vacation because you are getting up at 2am, because you are getting up at 8am Paris time. Just pretend that WDW is a couple of hours ahead of EST - you arenā€™t getting up at 6:30 , you are getting up at 8:30 ā€œDisney timeā€. :wink:

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I was thinking your last full day and evening in MK, not the day you depart. The first day and last night at MK is just our thing. Itā€™s probably more important to us because we have kids.

Sounds like you are making good progress. If you still want to see Fantasmic, try doing two sets of TPs to see what each would look like. Even on a high crowd day, AK with a good TP is okay, especially starting at RD. Creating TPs really help you figure out what you want to do and how much time you need.

Good luck.

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Thank you so much everyone for your help. It was invaluable in highlighting a number of things we werenā€™t taking into consideration.

So here is our daily itinerary (with park hours while noting our late arrival and early departure limitations on Wed/Sun):

W 14 MK 6-8pm
Th15 HS 9am-7pm
Fr16 MK 9-11pm
Sa17 EP 9am-9pm
Su18 AK 8am-2pm

We will probably aim for rope drop most days and the only EMH weā€™ll be doing is Sunday Morning since it will make such a big difference with our very early departure that day.

Here are the areas I could use some extra insight:

With only a couple of hours after arrival on Friday what would you suggest? That night thereā€™s 7:45 Celebrate the Magic and 8:pm Wishes, and weā€™ll have two FastPass slots we can use as well to knock a few attractions before our full MK day on Friday. Also as far as dinner we could use that night to enjoy one of the resort restaurants after the early 8pm park close, or thereā€™s a 7:50 Crystal Palace ADR still available.

MK is open until 11pm on Friday night and weā€™re lovers of night time entertainment but weā€™ll have to make a choice then. Enjoy the extra late hours at MK and have Sat Epcot be the one day weā€™ll sleep in a bit, or leave MK a few hours early to take advantage of Epcot Rope Drop. Being that weā€™re getting a couple of extra hours at our Wed Arrival that doesnā€™t seem like too terrible a sacrifice though?

Finally could use help plotting our Dining Plan ADRs and/or breaks. Going to keep most of the dining pretty loose with the only 2 Dinners we definitely want to do being:

Boma
Trailā€™s End (for a special Chef TJ prepared meal for our vegan guest)

Thereā€™s a 7:50pm ADR available on Wed for Crystal Palace if we want it or we could do that on our full day at MK on Friday and hit one of the non-park restaurants on Wed night.

Thinking that the early HS park close on Thursday and 7pm Fantasmic should also make hitting an out of park restaurant pretty easy if we donā€™t do the buffet at Hollywood & Vine in which case Sanaa and Ohana are also in the running for outside dinner ADRs.

Weā€™re not at all the ā€œmust eat at 6pmā€ types so if it makes the most sense flow wise to have our big meal of the day at 3pm or 9pm we can effortlessly do that and fill in the gaps with our snack and counter service credits. Especially if this has an impact on crowd flow. Iā€™d just as soon take advantage of shorter lines and lighter crowds while folks that do adhere to lunch at 12-1 and Dinner from 6-8 are busy fighting for table space. Not sure if thatā€™s really a notable factor at WDW but Iā€™ve certainly seen it when traveling elsewhere.

As far as Counter Service the only thing I already have in mind is Be Our Guest on Friday since weā€™re long past getting a reservation for dinner there.

Thoughts and suggestions very welcome!

Am I right that you have the regular dining plan? So, you have five table service meals, and five counter services plus snacks? You also are paying for it, right? Are you sure you will see Wishes on your other day? Is a character meal more important to you?

Paid regular Dining Plan but only 4 Table Service meals with a 4 night stay right? (W/Th/Fr/Sa)

Being fireworks lovers weā€™d definitely like to see Wishes so itā€™s just a matter of deciding whether it will be Wed or Friday. If itā€™s a factor MSEP is only an option on Friday.

As an adult party Character meals arenā€™t a massive priority (though my wife wants to meet at least a few princesses at some point lol) and Pooh isnā€™t a particular draw for us either, but thought it would be nice to experience at least one Character meal. A buffet dinner having good reviews for both omnivores and herbivores combined with a character was the reason it made the list. Itā€™s certainly the one of the three that we could most easily drop in favor of something else though. Boma and Trailā€™s End are non-negotiable. :blush:

What about 1900 Park Fare. It has an 8:55 table for 2 on the 14th?

You would have to watch the fireworks at the end of Main Street, but you jump on the resort momorail, or can you take a boat? You should be able to make it and someone can correct me but I think it is Cinderella.

Hollywood Brown Derby is 2 credits. I really like it but if you puck that you only have that, Boma nad Trailā€™s End.

Ah, thank you! Didnā€™t realize that Brown Derby was 2 credits which is a bit too rich for my blood. So thatā€™s off the list!

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Have you booked your Be Our Gueat linch,fast pass?

Not yet, doing all of my dining reservations later today. Why do you ask?

There is a whole thread about booking BOG lunch FPs. It works different and you should log on and set that up as soon as possible. Have fun with your ADRs!

Alright ADRā€™s are in, though I think I may need to adjust for travel times if I havenā€™t given myself enough leeway. Weā€™ll be using Disney Transport and are staying at POFQ.

Wed Night Weā€™ve got a 9:15 reservation at Sanaa. (only other time free is 8:45) Is that enough time to get there from MK if we ended the evening with 7:45 Celebrate the Magic and Wishes at 8pm? Of course we can do both on our Friday MK evening but being that weā€™re only going to have a couple of hours at MK on our first night I thought it might be nice to end it with a literal ā€œbangā€ for my wifeā€™s first visit to Disney. Of course I imagine there are plenty of attractions that may do that as well?

Thursday weā€™ll be finishing HS with the 7pm Fantasmic. How long will it take to get to Boma following that? Current reservation is 8:30 at Boma. (7:45, 8:45 still open)

Friday with the super long day at MK from starting with Rope Drop and ending with MSEP at 11p the plan is to head back to the resort to rest/sleep through some of the afternoon high crowd hours and then eat before heading back to the park for the evening. Our reservation right now is at Trailā€™s End at 4:30 but every 15 min. slot is free all the way up through 7:30pm if thatā€™s too early. 5-5:30 might be a bit more appealing but wasnā€™t sure what the ideal time to aim for being back at MK is touring plan wise. Also can you give me advice on how much time to budget for getting from POFQ to Trailā€™s End via Disney transport? Iā€™ve heard that it can take much longer between Resorts than between Resort and Park?

Saturday at Epccot where we will probably get a later start due to the very late night before weā€™ve got a 4:35 reservation at Coral Reef with the only other time free being 8:05pm with nothing left in between. Early dinner was the plan in any case since weā€™re heading straight to sleep after Epcot for EMH rope drop the next morning at AK for our last half day.

Will you consider taking a cab? In theory you could make Sanaa if you watch Wishes from the end on Main Street, walk out of the park and the bus is waiting, you get right on and it leaves. I think you should walk to the contemporary and take a cab. I would also take the later Boma and plan to be ready to walk past the buses at HS and grab a cab if there are hundreds of people at the buses. When you are leave a park at closing there are thousands of people leaving at the same time. You could wait for three or four buses. Animal Kingdom buses are easier since they only go to one resort, but you need to be prepared.

I would budget 90-120 minutes to travel from FQ to Trails End.

Ouch. So glad I asked! How much would cab fare be for those trips? And the 90-120 minutes between FQ and Trailā€™s end really hurts as well. Are we going to face the same heading back to our resort from the restaurants on Wed and Thurs nights too? Just how much time would we be saving on those commutes if we had our own car rental?

Weā€™re quite committed to Boma, Sanaa and Chef TJ at Trailā€™s End though the days and times could be shuffled if it makes things easier. We figured that HS being the earliest night would be a good fit for a leisurely buffet dinner afterwards.

Sanaa and Trailā€™s end could easily swapped if it made more sense time or travel wise. ADRā€™s are available every 15 mins at Trailā€™s end on Wed night following MK so thatā€™s easy, and Sanaa has a 5:10 available on Friday which we could do during our MK break.

The Coral Reef veg entree has good reviews and the atmosphere sounds appealing but weā€™d definitely consider swapping this one out if thereā€™s a superior 1 credit TS meal weā€™re missing out on Saturday. (Which is Epcot, though I suppose we could hit an out of park restaurant for an early dinner during the peak Afternoon crowd time)

I would rent a car. It is so easy to get around and guarantees you can make your ADRā€™s. Driving from POFQ to Trailā€™s End will then be a few minute drive. No way I would devote 90-120 minutes any day to transportation! I know many like the buses, but I just canā€™t figure out why. Your vacation is too expensive to spend so much time waiting for transportation with hordes of people. Just my opinion of course. Rent a car, you wonā€™t be sorry!

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For trails end the only way I can think is to take the bus to MK and then the boat. I would give myself at least and hour for the first part, 30 fir the second . The general rule is that a cab costs 20-25 a trip. Yes, your best best from AKL after dinner will be a cab. Run your numbers. You will need about 5 cab rides. A rental may work but then you need to get to parking and that will not help at MK.

I have never been to Coral Reef. There are a lot if mixed reviews. Many of the other choices may not have goood vegetarian options. Via Napoli or Restaurant Marrakesh might be good options.

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I do not think a rental will solve the Sanaa problem. They will have to get to the TTC after Wishes.

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You are right on that one. Unless you do what I do and park at the Contemporary :smile:.
@DanteAmor I would try to make your ADRā€™s close to the park you are in. So Trailā€™s End on MK day. Most first timers cannot picture how large WDW is, and how much time it takes to get from place to place. We have learned over the years to schedule ADRā€™s in or very close to the park we are visiting. I know this doesnā€™t always work out, but just a thought for future trips.

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What is the ā€œTTCā€?

Definitely leaning towards renting a car. The extra days for the rental itself will only be $122 more than dropping it off when we arrive. So thatā€™s already covered by 5 cab rides alone. Add the bonus of cutting down our Airport/Resort RT a bit vs Magic Express and itā€™s looking VERY attractive. Even with an additional expense for parking. How much are we looking at in parking over the course of our stay?

Can you elaborate on parking at the Contemporary Wahoohokie? Details please!

Doing trailā€™s end on Wed is no problem at all like I noted above but that will then make Sanaa during our Friday MK break so is that much of an improvement? (scheduling is then wide open for Trailā€™s End Wed and would make Sanaa a 5:10 on Friday. What time would we likely be getting back to MK from that for that evening then?

Also again we donā€™t HAVE to do Wishes on Wed night we can easily schedule that for our Friday evening if it makes more sense and helps us leave the park before the throng while others are still watching the fireworks. Would love some advice on the Pros/Cons there.

With and without doing Wishes on Wed what would be the ideal time to schedule Trailā€™s End on Wed after MK if weā€™ve got our own rental?

Likewise whatā€™s the best time for our Boma reservation following Fantasmic on Thursday?