I have been to Disneyland three times since my last WDW trip (Oct 2018), so I’m good with G+ and virtual queues. Hopefully they don’t roll out changes in the next 36 days…
Details:
Group of 4 - me, DW, DS7, and my mom
Staying at CBR
Arriving 2/13 (not a park day)
Departing 2/20 (character breakfast and then airport)
6 day park hoppers
I was able to get all of the dining I wanted - Skipper Canteen, Oga, Space 220 Lounge, SRT Fireworks, Sci-Fi, Wine Bar George (date night), Le Cellier Broadway Package, MK Dessert Pre-Party, and Topolinos. It sounds like a lot, but we like to have one meal a day planned. I also booked Up Close with Rhinos.
I’m struggling a bit to make touring plans with the big unknowns of G+ availability and virtual queues. I’m tempted to wing it somewhat but worry about big crowds.
I’m also hesitant to make TPs since I don’t believe the current park hours. Disney says 9a-6p for AK and 9a-9p for everything else all six days. That seems likely to change unless the crowds are lower than expected.
I’m sure there will be more, but a few questions to start…
From CBR, I’m planning to be at the Skyliner at least an hour before EE for HS/E and at the bus stop at least 75 minutes before EE for MK/AK. Does that sound right?
What’s the best way to knock out HS? We would like to do everything once, but I don’t see us just wandering around enjoying the park like we would at the others. It also seems the worst for big crowds, so I was thinking we should complete this before some of the Presidents Day crowds arrive. Maybe stack some LL for Wednesday evening and then do a Friday RD? Be done after Sci-Fi lunch Friday?
At AK does it make more sense to buy ILL for FOP instead of buying G+? It feels like we could get most of the important G+ rides done during EE if we’re not worried about FOP. Might be a lot of walking though. I’m tempted to make the call based on how close we are to the front of the rope, but would ILL be sold out by then?
Of the two, you get more bang for your buck at FOP. But I often buy both cause why not? Depends on your budget. But you can get away without G+ at AK for sure.
No, they are available well into the day and there are drops, including 12:47pm when you can get a near-immediate return time.
Both stacking and RD are good strategies for HS so I kind of like the idea of doing one day of each. That way you can pick up whatever you missed from the first day. Good plan.
This should be plenty and honestly is a little overzealous for my tastes, but not wrong. I would typically be at the Skyliner or bus stop about 35-45 minutes before EE. I’m never at the front of the pack but I’m at the rope before drop.
I think you are absolutely better trying to knock out HS before the President’s Weekend crowd hits. It’s school vacation week in several of the Northeast states, so we have gone to WDW the past several years at this time. We have since shifted to arrive President’s Day and hope the crowds start to disperse slightly throughout that week. That weekend will be quite crowded based on my past experience.
I love going to WDW during president’s week. In the past I have gone to HS 3 mornings in a row without Genie+ and done every attraction. That allowed me to focus on other parks for Genie+ later in the day (stacking in the morning or skipping Genie+ too).
I like this plan. What would you do Wednesday morning/afternoon? Maybe AK (where G+ is less important) so you could stack for the evening at HS?
This past October we stacked HS LL (with a lot of help from modifying) for 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm and rode MMRR, SDD, TSM, A2S and MFSR that evening. If you do something like that, then on Friday RD you could do the rest of HS. Note: I think RnRC will be still undergoing refurbishment during your trip. You should check on that.
MK Wednesday morning because of Skipper’s lunch reservation. But we will go back to CBR to rest after lunch. So I’ll probably have four hours to stack HS.
I should have mentioned I’m planning to return to the hotel for breaks every day but Saturday, which is AK day (should be done before dinner).
Does Les Halles open for RD? I’d like to grab something after rope dropping Remy. Pretty decent walk to the next attraction regardless of the plan.
For the Epcot morning, I’m planning to grab a BG for Guardians and a LL for TT at 7. RD Remy and then walk toward TT/Guardians, stopping at either Soarin or Frozen if there’s time. But we will have G+, so maybe it makes more sense to get to Guardians as early as the BG allows?
I noticed this morning the AK opening changed from 9am to 8am for every day of the trip. No other changes. Is it normal to only update one park at a time? And is there a number of days/weeks in advance when the park hours are basically “locked”? I think I read somewhere that the updates usually happen on Fridays.
The current hours (8am-6pm for AK, 9am-9pm for everything else) to me seem short for predicted CL8 days.
No, they usually update for all parks for a given operating day. And it seems AK had very short hours for some reason, so they probably needed to be adjusted. That said, I’ve seen additional changes happen closer to a trip even when I thought changes were done, so keep your eyes peeled if there are hours you want to be extended.
DS hasn’t done any of them before, just some of the “datapad” stuff while waiting on ROTR at DLR. I’m leaning Duck Tales to have something to hold his interest in World Showcase, since the adults like to browse those pavillions.
We all loved Kim Possible and Phineas and Ferb adventures in World Showcase in the before times so I assume Duck Tales will be a lot of fun too, and it’s on my plan for this spring.
I’ve read great things about Wilderness Explorers. Most kids seem to enjoy it, but mine are weirdos and did not enjoy interacting with the CMs as it’s kind of 1:1 interaction.
We’ve done Pirate’s in MK and it was a good diversion. We didn’t find the Batuu adventure as fun as it was more crowded, although we are not super SW fans so YMMV.
We have really been enjoying the Animal Kingdom show on Disney+, so I think this trip will be our first time spending more than a day in that park. My tentative plan is to stack LLs for Friday afternoon (and hope the park closing pushes out to 7pm).
Then EE the next morning to knock out whatever rides are left and spend the rest of the day seeing shows and exploring at a relaxed pace. Probably won’t buy G+. We also have Up Close with Rhinos that morning.
