Tearing the plan down and starting over! Help please!

Walt Disney World
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Trip: 2 middle aged adults with our young adult son and his GF. She hasn’t been since childhood (first trip with us) Swan May 6-10. Last minute trip. Arriving end of day Wed May 6, no time for anything that day. (Well, my husband and I get there at dinnertime. They arrive late.)

Original plan: 3 full no hop park days (Ep, DHS, MK in that order) and Disney springs on Sun 5/10, flights at 6pm.

Priorities: as many thrill rides as possible, some time at Flower and Garden, and all 3 evening shows. Willing to pay for LLMP and Ind LL (RoTR, GoG, Tron, 7DMT.)

After much planning and discussion here, I am considering the following changes: adding a 4th park day on Sunday instead of Disney Springs, and adding park hopper if it allows us to enjoy more headliners in a slightly less stressful way. We like to take a break anyway, so going back to a different park might be the best way to utilize LLMP.

Does everyone think this is an improvement? I don’t mind spending on those 2 upgrades, as I would have planned a longer trip if everyone could have made the time, but that wasn’t an option. This is by far the shortest trip we have done. We have actually never skipped a park!

We still won’t do AK, so now I am tasked with figuring out how to structure our park days. Does anyone want to make a recommendation? Here are park priorities:

DHS: Slinky, ToT, TSMM, and F! as well as RoTR. Secondly, maybe 2 shows if possible, such as frozen, little mermaid, villains show, and or BaTB.

Epcot: TT, Soarin’, LwTL, and of course, GoTG with ILL (would love to do this twice perhaps if visiting Epcot twice.) Would love to fit in Frozen if possible. Remy is optional. Also want some time at the festival booths. Illuminous.

MK: Buzz, SM, Tiana, BTMRR, Tron, 7DMT (will pay for those Ind LL.) Of course, also as many of the second tier rides as possible, like POTC, IASW, little mermaid.

We have access to early entry.

So, basically, 3.5 days for Ep, DHS and MK. What would you do? Thank you!

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I will alway take more park days if given the option! A rest day is nice for a longer trip (>4days).

I like the hopping option as well, but it’s not necessary. The nice thing is that you can repeat Tron and GotG multiple times with LLSP.

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Do you have to all go to the parks together? I ask because you will be there in time to go to MK for deluxe hours on Wednesday.

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And since those extended hours are 10pm to midnight, the younger couple may do too.

Although it may not be worthwhile for them depending how late they arrive.

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The annoying thing about the dates we are stuck with is that we miss all extended hours and parties, 2 things I love to incorporate into our trips. My husband and I could do it Wed on our own, but frankly, we don’t need it. I am more concerned about prioritizing the young folks’ fun. They don’t land until 10pm, so definitely out of the question for them.

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Yes. I am trying to organize myself, but it seems like park hopping is better for us because we do like to repeat favorites, versus just doing everything the park has to offer. I even considered a premier pass or two, but again same issue. That doesn’t really help us do what we like to do.

I really have to try to wrap my brain around the 3.5 park days upgrade and what that let’s us accomplish, and then look at the hopping and see if it helps us enjoy more of our favorites.

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I would add the extra day, You can get a lot done before having to go to the airport. I’m torn on the park hopper. It’s nice to have the flexibility but may not be worth cost. We easily spend all day at MK and Epcot so wouldn’t have time to park hop those days. Also wouldn’t park hop on the airport day, so that leaves maybe park hopping on one day.

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First, take a breath. Everything is going to be okay. :blush:

For shorter trips, the first step is accepting that you won’t be able to do everything. Looking at your list, I think you’ve done that as what you have is completely doable. MK will be a little packed - check out BG1 to help grab some drops / make it easier to pick up new LLs.

I would create some plans in TP to help wrap your brain around timing. When I am park hopping (which is pretty much always), I do separate plans fo daytime and evening.

I don’t know if you need hoppers per se, but they give flexibility if someone wants to go do more at Epcot instead of HS, etc. The only downside if you’re taking midday breaks imo is that you might pay for it and not use it (which also is okay!). And of course it will let you pop back in to do GotG again. :grin:

Normally, I’d have a rest morning after 2 evening shows, so keep in mind that people may be tired and hurting a little by day 3. People may not want to be out until 11 and then up for EE the next morning… Use Lyft if buses are slow.

For DS versus another park - are there specific restaurants or shops you want to do at DS? Like if it’s a requirement to go to Gideon’s, make sure you get over there. :blush:. That said, you can also go over during a mid day break if people are up for it (I would consider Lyft to save time). If you don’t have anything specific that the group wants there, I would skip it this trip.

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I totally understand the urge to rework and add more time!!

Personally, I rarely use park hopper unless I want to end a night with dinner at EPCOT or it’s day when I can start at 7am and end the day at midnight. Then hopping feels “worth it” to me.

IMHO - I would stick with either 3 full no park hopper tickets OR add that 4th day of tickets and not hopping. I would pick one oark and stay until 2pm or so until you need to go get your bags and go to airport.

Furthermore, if this is a trip where the focus is on DS and GF I would make that day AK versus repeating stuff. If she hasn’t been since a kid she may not have seen all of WDW - including AK.

AK opens earlier than the other parks and has thrill ride options with a few shows and such. AK is viewed as a “half-day” park by a lot of people. It’s a great departure day park!

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I always second and third guess my plans. Then I make TPs of all the options. And I usually end up back where I began. :upside_down_face: I’m sure you will all have a great time regardless. Also missing a few things just means you’ll have to go back soon.

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I have been leaning toward no park hoppers, so thanks for that confirmation. I love the AK idea. The GF does remember the “Yeti ride” and loves thrill rides. However, we won’t be in bed until well after midnight Saturday, so we won’t get there super early. I think that would be fine though, given the limited options at AK right now. I haven’t checked the crowd calendar yet either.

I also was considering, instead of a park day, going to animal kingdom lodge for brunch at Boma and seeing some animals. The other option if I do get the 4th park ticket, is to let everyone do what they want that day, whether it is wandering Epcot for a while or getting up early for AK. I wish I could be spontaneous about this, but that may not be a good idea. I am kind of waiting for the MK final hours/parade hours for Saturday to help me finalize the plan.

Or, maybe we will just do brunch nearby, ask for a late checkout, and get some pool time.

Thank you for the great suggestions! I will chat with my son about all of this soon and get his thoughts.

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Ha ha, yes, that is me too!

All along a bigger trip was supposed to be in 2027, after new stuff had opened. I casually told my son I wanted to go to Disney this spring for a few non-park days for some r and r, and asked if they wanted to join. The plan was to stay at a DS area hotel, visit resorts, etc. for a little affordable dose of the magic. And somehow, here we are!!

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Hi again! Hooray, some good news about park hours for my dates of May 6-10. More hours at DHS and a 2nd fantasmic, and MK opening at 8 and closing at 11! This makes me feel so much better about our short trip, especially since my son really wanted to do evening rides at DHS and F! too. So, here are my thoughts now. Would love input!

Wed: arrive late, no time for anything

Th: Ep with LLMP and ILL. Arrive for early entry if kids want Frozen and/or Remy. Otherwise, arrive a little later, with plans for TT, Soarin, and whatever. Combined rides and some festival, optional break at Swan (for me, not optional), dinner at La Hacienda, Luminous. Lots of time to divide up during the day.

Fri: DHS with LLMP and ILL: will need input from my son on this. Either: a couple of early hours, lunch at favorite ABC commissary, break, return for evening LLs and 2nd F! show at 10:30.

Or: sleep in, brunch, pool, late arrival, dinner at ABC Commissary and stay through.

Must-dos are RoTR, ToT, Slinky, TSMM. A couple shows would be nice. I guess option A will make rides much easier, but B will make the trip easier and more sustainable. Son prefers nighttime ToT and Slinky so I think either way I am trying to book them later.

(a small part of me is still debating about premier pass for the kids this day, which guarantees them the rides they want at their convenience. definitely not a necessary splurge, but maybe for one day for 2 it is worth it.)

Feedback on DHS plan is very welcomed!

Sat: MK with ILLs and LLMPs Hours are 8am-11pm!: arrive as early as everyone is willing, do rides for a couple of hours. Brunch at GF, Uber to swan for nap. (This was funny to me. I offered a couple of options in and out of the park to the kids, and they said whichever one is the “brunchiest.” Those early 20 somethings love their brunch!) So, break like 11-3. Return and stay through (need a dinner plan. Pinnochio VH for pizza and gf pizza maybe.) HEA at 10, and hopefully, 10:30 parade (not updated yet.) If kids want to skip parade and do rides instead, they can, but they are excited about the fireworks together! Young love.

Sun: right now, leaning toward a non-park day after 3 very full long days and a late night at MK. However, I am happy to add a day to our tix while there if people want to either wander Epcot or do a couple hours at AK, for example. Flights are at 6. I would be happy with pool, brunch, late checkout…but I am also happy to entertain whatever the young folks want to do, separate or together. Now that the plan is looking clearer, I will solicit their input on Sunday. Disney Springs is still on the table, though I expect it will be very crowded.

Thanks for reading and helping! I was actually feeling a little discouraged about things, but these hour/entertainment changes are exactly what I was hoping for, and I think they improved our trip immeasurably given a couple of our priorities this time around.

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Yes, it’s always nice when that happens!

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I think your trip sounds super fun and flexible enough that no one will feel too rushed or too worn out.

It looks like DHS is a crowd level 3 on Friday so hopefully lines won’t be too bad even if you can’t get LL for everything.

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Thanks! I do wonder if the predicted crowd levels will now go up. I imagine Disney is adding hours and entertainment for a reason. We shall see. Either way, I think we will do fine.

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