How to handle time?

[tawnilai]

Omg I cant believe that my trip is only like a week away!!! its my first trip to the world but i dont know how to divy up my time!! i have 6 days at wdw so i thot that the first day i would go to animal kingdom then day 2 and 3 would be spent at epcot, then day 4 at mk, day 5 at mgm, and day 6 at mk again, but i dont know how long it takes to see each park and view all the shows. i also want to make time for world of disney too... do i need 2 days for epcot? epcot seems kinda boring to me from what i have read... someone help

[disneycrazy1956]

I know its your first trip but be prepared to change your plans based on omg I want to do that again. we've been 10 times and I have to tell you on our first trip if we weren't doing something we felt we were wasting time and money. mind you we had our DD 3 1/2 at the time so you can only do so much. looking back I say just remember to enjoy your time in the world. We have always made good use of the park hopper feature every time we have gone to wdw you split time between more than 1 park in a day. we like mk and mgm better than ak so we sometimes only do part of a day in ak. also ak is only open until 5 or 6 usually so that is another way to use the park hopper feature after ak closes for the day. we usually go to world of disney one evening and have dinner and shop till we drop. Have a wonderful time

[nicks10]

Maybe its just me, but I dont plan out each individual day. Sometimes its just fun to say "where do we wanna go today?". A few years ago I was a bit skeptical about Epcot as well, but all I gotta say is dont knock it 'til ya try it, cause Epcot is now my second favorite park closely behind MK. 6 days should probably be sufficent to see what you want if you spend most of your days in the parks.

[princessariel]

I think each park is different for different people. I can do everything I want to do in AK in 3-4 hours so a half a day. I can easily spend two whole days in MK and two in Epcot(which is my favorite). I can always do MGM in 5-6 hours. I was having this discussion with a fellow co worker today and he's the opposite. He can do MGM foraa full day and AK in a full day +.

[MandaBella]

I think each park is different for different people. .

You are right. I tend to spend the most time in Epcot (2+ days), then MK (2 days)....AK gets a full day now with me. It didn't always. And MGM is a half day for me now, it wasn't always either. The time I spend in the parks evolved to the point I find myself spending the most time in Epcot nowadays, especially the World Showcase. It really just depends on what you are interested in. I'd definitely have a park hopper so you can hop to another park.

And for someone being more familiar with the DLR, you may want to focus your time on the 3 parks/attractions you don't already have at DL/DCA.

[tawnilai]

that makes sense thanks for all ur guys help.... my disney fam (all the disney lovers of theworld) is always so nice... well we are arriving at 8:30 on thefirst day i figured that we will probably be at the first park at 11am, so it will be animal kingdom. i hope i do have enough time to see all the christmas shows and wat not... im so excited but scared of flying hope all goes well. also im staying at pop and have reservations at le chefs de france, coral reef, crystal palace, 50's prime time cafe, and liberty tree tavern do u think these r good restraunts for my first trip? i still have two more table service meals left so i cant decide where else tp try

[turkeymama]

I haven't done this personally, but a friend of mine did 2 straight days at Epcot (which is almost my favorite, even with 2 young kids) followed by 2 straight days at Magic Kingdom. She says never again will she do those 2 parks back to back all day affairs again. So much walking at Epcot.

I do love Epcot and need at least 2 days to see all the want to see. It is really cool once you discover everything it has to offer.

[disneydarling]

Two Words : Park Hopper!


The PH option is invaluable as it will allow you to do your favorite things more than once and see more than one park in a day - so if you go to AK and do everything you want to you can head over to MK to ride some favorites or see the fireworks

[kngdmhrts3]

just have fun. hakuna matata is th best policy, it all depends on the extra magic hours too...

[Mickey's#1Fan]

here are some good tips:

AK is a good first day park especially if you are traveling because the hours are shorter. Fast pass the safari right away as the wait time is always long and fast passes go quickly. As for the rest of the trip watch the weather the night before and then plan what park you want to go to. You dont want to hit the MK on a rainy day!! At MK try to stick to the lands and do all the attractions you want in that land instead of hopping all over the place it seems to me you loose time that way. Epcot is more of an adult park so if you are traveling with kids i would make it a half day. If not adults love the world showcase sampeling all the countries so relax and take your time. Fast pass Soarin' instantly the line is always 95+ so you will save time. MGM is mostly shows so watch times carefully! Fantasmic! is a night time show that is outdoors but seats fill up fast even though the thearter is huge!!!!!! Make sure you give yourself plenty of time to get there! All parks have a tip board that tells you wait and show times. Be sure to look at this and head to popular attractions with small wait times first. 25 min or smaller is a reasonable wait for a popular attraction. Fast pass all others to jump the line and do something else while you wait for your time to come up. Take advantage of extra magic hours! This allow disney guests on property extra time in the parks!!! Cuts some of the crowd down! Get park hoppers! In case of bad weather resulting in canceling of any shows or parades you can park hop back a different day to catch it!! Also you can hop back to fav attractions on the last day! I do not reccomend hoppin on your day at MK the park fills up fast and is the most popular you want to spend a whole day to soak in the magic! Watch all parades and shows (especially holiday ones) this gives you a chance to rest and enjoy a quick snack! Make dining reservations and get the dinning plan! When you check in be sure to grab brochures maps and show time sheets for each park! This gives you an idea of all show and parade times so you can plan meals and etc around them! Make sure you get to shows and parades early for good viweing especially night time shows and parades!!!

Sum up:
plan each day by the weather
watch for extra magic hours
read the tip boards
fast pass as much as possible
park hop when necessary
watch parades and shows for rest and enetrtainment
line up early for parades and shows (especially nightime!)

it may sound a bit overwhelming at first but anyone can do it! it does take practice lol!!! always be conscious of the time as it really does fly by! other than that have a MAGICAL trip do every thing that makes you happy and enjoy yourself!!!!

[MiraNova23]

Yikes you're gonna arrive at AK around 11am?! If that's the time you have to work around, do something else. AK is best early morning when the animals are out. High noon is too hot. Then again I suppose the season & exact weather have the final say on that philosophy. I would do DTD that first day then, but that's me. & our very first thing is always something that allows for a recovery from the day&1/2 drive. Since you're flying, I would guess either DTD or 1/2 of EPCOT.

[princessariel]

I agree with AK first thing in the morning

[tawnilai]

well i was just leaving room with the time.. we arrive in orlando at 8 but i dont know how far wdw is away from the airport or if we get delayed... we will probably hit animal kingdom first thing our last day but we have to go to ak the first day because i have made reservations at all the other parks for the other days and i want to avoid park hoping as much as possible. we probably dont need to spend a lot of time at mk because i live in california and i see disneyland every ear and my favorite ride there isnt even at wdw's mk. we wont be traveling with kids just me 17 and mty mom 51. but for some reason i dont think epcot will appeal to me that much because i like the whole character thing and would rather be on dark rides then in world show case but ill keep an open mind. thanks for all ur guys help

[nicki12]

When I went(bear in mind I have been to WDW ONCE)we spent the 1st day at Downtown .I spent the 2nd day in MK we spent all day and night there. The 3rd day we went to Epcot and back to MK for the night. The 4th day we went to MGM we spent all day and night there. The 5th AK we spent the day there and the night at MK. We also had park hopper tickets as well.

For you do what you want to if you do make a schedule try not to go off it then everything is confusing. Have a good time!!!!!!!

[MandaBella]

Maybe I'm reading this wrong, but are you a ride focused type of person where getting in and doing as many rides is your plan? If so, you may want to change your approach to Epcot a bit to get the most out of it....especially the World Showcase since it only contains 2 rides. As for characters and Epcot, they are there just like any park. I never felt this park was light on character interaction. Just ask a CM for times...and the countries in WS have various character meeting places. Snow White in Germany, Aurora, Belle, and Beast in France, Pinocchio in Italy, Mulan in China, Aladdin in Morocco, etc. And this time of year you are going, you'll be able to see in addition to the usual Disney Characters the various Santa Claus's in the WS as they tell their stories

I agree with getting to AK early as it is often the hottest park. And if you can get the safari in early and/or get your fast passes for this and Expedition Everest, I think you'll be good and then you can fit inthe shows around them.

Have a great trip! And remember, this is a vacation....don't plan too much ahead, go with the flow and see where your path leads you! I'm excited for you since I remember my very first trip so well.