…for like the 100th time day. A few things pop up as I work my way through the parks…
Cooling towels. My son’s baseball team uses them in tournaments but seems, awkward perhaps, for the parks. Haven’t seen any in the videos i’ve watched but do people actually use them in the parks? And if so, just use the bathroom sinks to cool them?
Looking to leave MK in the early afternoon for a rest before MNNSHP that evening. Any guess on how long the trip and/or return trip from AofA might be via the busses? Guess Uber\Lyft might be quicker???
Other than the MNNSHP-specfic shows and parades, do you actually prepare a ‘plan’ during the MNNSHP? Or just pick rides/things of interest ‘on-the-fly’ while in the park?
Are same-day FP options available during evening extra magic hours? IF so, are they needed or just more drain on the phone battery?
Memory Maker. Wife says we have to get it. So really, the question should already be answered but…We don’t plan to do any character meets and greets (unless no line) or meals. Just rides and shows. With that, is the package worth it? Are there enough picture opportunities outside the rides to justify the money?
Our kids are 10/12. During my planning trips to MK, I have not planned any time in Storybook Circus (Dumbo area if i’m not referencing it correctly) or any other smaller child rides. Am i’m neglecting something? Should they (us, i’m 54!!) ride those type rides (insert list here) from a nostalgic standpoint? Our first trip so I’m trying real hard…
SDD is not in any of my plans. Couldn’t get a FP. Will my children be scared for life?
We took them our first trip and used them once. They got too warm too quickly.
I don’t have an answer for you.
Never did a party, but I hear a priority plan is a good idea.
There are no FPs during EMH.
We like Memory Maker. We do a lot of character meets, but there are also a lot of really cool spots to get pictures around the parks, the Magic shots are pretty neat, and we like the ride photos. And you could be surprised. Your family may end up wanting to meet some characters. But MM is more of a personal preference.
My kids are 6 and 9. They do like some of the kiddie rides. My DH and I do not like Barnstormer, but Dumbo is pretty cute. If they have never been to DW, I would at least do Dumbo. We also like the Magic Carpets.
No your kids will not be scarred for life. You could try to rope drop it if you really wanted to ride it.
We used cooling towels for the first time in July. They stayed nice and cool for ages. DH even dunked his in one of the ice baths that they sell bottles of water from, with permission from the cast member of course. I just used the sinks in the bathrooms to wet mine.
We also used cooling towels in June and they stayed cool for so long. We also cut ours in half length wise (they didn’t fray) so they weren’t so bulky.
We stayed at AofA and the buses to And from MK were always about 20min, no more. We did have to wait a bit after HEA to catch a bus home, but everybody did!
We got Memory Maker and loved it. We did do Character Meals and BBB and our kids are 11,11,6,5. They actually loved finding a photographer for “magic shots” and loved the video of us on 7DMT. Worth it!
It was our first trip, too, and we went while Toy Story Land was just opening (near the end of our trip) and didn’t go at all. My kids had the best time - they loved everything g we did and didn’t feel like they missed out on anything. We didn’t show the videos of rides ahead of time and only told them about a couple of rides, so that if anything was down…no big deal.
Although I’ve never done MNSSHP, I’ve done MVMCP once several years ago (2014) and a plan was not necessary back then. We pretty much walked onto anything we wanted with very minimal wait. However, reports are that the parties are much more crowded lately, so I am making a plan for the MVMCP we are doing this year. Nothing major, but at least a basic plan of what order we want to hit the lands in and what major attractions we don’t want to miss. That will at least keep us from wasting time standing around asking “what do we want to do next?”
Memory maker has been worth the money for us even though character meet and greets aren’t really our thing either. As others have said, there are lots of great places to get family shots and ride photos throughout the parks that don’t involve characters.
Hope you have a wonderful trip! The first one is so exciting!!
I’d recommend taking a Minnie Van back and forth. Because of the drop off locations, Uber/Lyft won’t be much better than the bus. If you do use the MVs, factor in about a ten minute (maybe even 15 when heading back to MK) wait between the time you order it , and it shows up. Sometimes if can be a few minutes, but a lot of the time it was 10-15 minutes.
If you aren’t doing MM because of the money, you might want to see if you can join a share. There are several Facbook groups where you can find people with similar dates.
We got a really nice family MM photo in Animal Kingdom. It doesn’t really look Disney and we printed an 8x10 and had it framed. A professional family photo in my town would have cost almost as much so I think memory maker was worth it
We left MK for a break at AoA before MNSSHP last year. We left around 2ish and went back around 5:30. I don’t remember exactly how long it took but I don’t remember it being bad. Hardly a wait for the bus in either direction. Bus was not crowded at all. We don’t take long breaks because my kids get antsy but it was nice to have a couple hours in the room. We plan on doing the same again this year but will probably spring for a cab on the way home after the party. That was an awful long crowded trip with sleepy kids
I like a loose plan for MNSSHP. We go to Frontierland for the first parade and head back to tomorrowland bridge for fireworks. Ride anything we want along the way.
So I guess I’ll pack a couple cooling towels. Wonder if I can make a shirt out of a few……???
MM….it’s not the money: When I can buy a used car for what I’m spending on this trip, what’s a couple hundred more dollars right?? Course DW
So, do normal cabs also run at Disney or just MV, Uber\Lyft and the buses? Do the MVs run after the last event during MNNSHP? After the MNNSHP I would gladly opt for a MV if it takes us directly to the resort. By that time of night\early morning, we’ll be more than ready for bed.
I have a ‘plan’ for the parades\shows\fireworks during the Halloween party. But I should add the rides that we want to do by lands perhaps. Frontierland\Liberty Square or Main Street for the Halloween parade? Pros\Cons? What about the Festival of Fantasy parade (we’re coming back to MK later in the week)?
As for SDD, I couldn’t get a FP for it but did get TSM (1225-125) Last FP of the day. I was so nervous the morning of selection it’s a wonder I got anything. Each time I experiment and add SDD to my TP, it gives me a 47 minute wait. At 9:05am. Not sure what’s up with that but it really screws up the morning. I’ll ask the kids once we get in park if SDD is a must ride. If it is, pretty sure my TP will become useless.
Rolling eyes moment: We’re about 32 days out. DW just told me she and another woman were talking and the woman was talking about how wonderful the Chef Mickey meal is. So DW comes up to me and asks if we are doing it. I said, no. She then tells me she wants to so go ahead and book it. She’s so cute.
I just wanted to add that my 15 and 17 year old both enjoyed Dumbo and Barnstormer a few weeks ago. While they are for the younger set, they are still fun. Both we could miss if we were pressed for time - but we can never miss Magic Carpets - simply for the nostalgia.
We used towels while standing in the hot sun in August - and a quarter towel per person would be ideal (cut longways). You just need it to drape off your neck.
And what we like about Memory Maker is that we don’t have to take our own photos. The photographers are just about everywhere now, and the photos for the most part are decent.
Rope drop HS if you are thinking of doing Toy Story land. We are so glad we did it - 5am wake up call and all! It was wonderful to be able to ride everything within an hour.
So, in the really real world, SDD can actually be done without an extremely long wait if we arrive at HS at (please insert your time here) for RD. The park opens at 9:00 the day we have planned.
