What Park to Go to First: Something Else to Consider...256

In my last post I discussed which park I like to visit on our first day.  For me it is an easy choice, I want to be at the Magic Kingdom. But I had two great comments from Kathy and Jenn that pointed out the other issues one should consider when deciding which park to hit first.

Kathy said "I base my decision completely upon what day of the week we're talking about! (Going for the lowest crowds.)"  A great place to go to see what the crowd level is going to be on a particular day is at Touringplans.com.  Click on "Crowd Calendar" and you can find out the crowd level  for a particular day. To get full access you do have to subscribe for $10.99.  With that subscription you also get touring plans and the Lines App for your phone.  Crowd level can make a huge difference in how much of the park you get to see and experience.  This is definitely something you need to consider as you plan your first day and all following days.

Jenn from DisneyBabies brought up another great point saying, "I do normally pick the first park based on crowd calender/emh..."  Extra Magic Hours or EMHs allow guests staying on Disney property the opportunity to experience one designated park for either an hour before official park opening or up to three hours after regular closing time.  No matter if you are staying on property or not, EMH will have an effect on your visit.  You will want to avoid visiting parks that offer EMH if you cannot or will not be taking advantage of them.  The park with EMH will be busier than the other parks, but if you do it wisely, getting to the park 15 to 30 minutes before the morning hours begin and closing down the park in the evening,  you can also get a good deal of touring done during those extra hours.  (And there is nothing like being in a nearly empty Magic Kingdom at 2am.)

Thanks for the great points Kathy and Jenn, and be sure to check out their blogs for more great information.
The Many Adventures of a Disney-Lovin' Spectrum Mom and Disney Babies Blog.
Thanks for reading.

What Park to Go to First?..258

So how do you determine which park to visit on which day?  I have heard it recommended that if you are a first time visitor you should visit the other parks, Animal Kingdom, Hollywood Studio and Epcot before you visit the Magic Kingdom.  The thinking is that your family will be more impressed with the other parks if they are not comparing them to the Magic Kingdom.  Thus you save the best for last!

My only problem with the theory is that I have never been able to do it or recommend it.  The moment I get on property I want to walk down Main St., be surrounded by the smells of the bakery and popcorn

Planning the Perfect WDW Vacation...Pt 2...

The Mission Statement.

I am on part 2 of my series titled Planning the Perfect WDW Vacation.  Maybe that is not the best name for a series because let's be honest, planning a perfect anything is difficult.  Planning a perfect vacation, any vacation, is pretty close to impossible and to plan THE perfect Walt Disney World Vacation has to be, well, impossible.  So, why did I use the word Perfect?  It just sounded so much better than, Planning the... Semi-Perfect, Not that Bad or I've Had Worse, WDW Vacations.  Thus I ask for a little leeway or slack as I try to navigate the planning process for our Disney vacation.  

Over the next several post in this series I want to address how to schedule our days so you know which parks to do on each day.  I also want to look at creating our own touring plans for each park and lastly, how to make sure we make time to relax.  However, in this post I first want to address our mentality or attitude on our vacation.  

Sad Moments

Planning the Perfect WDW Vacation...Part 1...270

With the hotel question answered, I turn my attention to scheduling. Now that I know we are staying for nine days I can begin to play with our overall schedule for our trip. I will not assign the parks to specific days until I know the Extra Magic Hours for May and June. (Information about Extra Magic Hours Here)  There are several factors that I consider as I put everything together.  Do we want the Park Hopper Option?  How can we balance early mornings and late nights?  Which parks, rides, and attractions are most important to the family?  Lastly, this is a vacation, how can I make sure we have time to relax?

318...Random WDW Tips

I have some friends who recently took their first family vacation to the World.  I showed them all the resources that I use to plan our trips.  (That info can be found in blog post 370)  A couple of nights before they left they sent me their itinerary.  It was amazing!  If I get permission I will post it.  They still had a few questions and so I sent an email that had just some basic and very random tips.  Below you will find those tips:


Just a couple of thoughts...

-the Rapunzel and Flynn Rider Meet & Greet is kind of like a show.  I guess they take groups of kids back at a time.  I have heard they have pretty long lines too.

-Captain Hook and Smee are usually around Pirates of the Caribbean

-Eat at Pecos Bill's; their fixin's bar is amazing.

-When waiting for the parade, try to get right up to the curb or tape so no one can get in front of you.  You may want to ask a cast member if you are in an ok spot just to be sure.  I like watching the fireworks from Main St.  Try for somewhere in the middle.  We usually start camping out an hour or two before the parade, and get some ice cream.  My mom goes shopping and we just hold the seats.

My daughter, dad, son, wife, me and my middle daughter

322...The One Word of Advice.

If I had to give you one piece of advice to make your Walt Disney World trip a success it would be get to the parks early!  This is especially true during the summer.  I would recommend about 30 minutes before opening.  I understand you are on vacation and you want to relax.  There will be time for relaxing and sleeping or napping but not in the early morning hours at WDW.  You will be amazed at how much you can get done in those first few hours.  As it starts to get closer to noon, your progress will begin to slow incredibly.

Early morning at Magic Kingdom

354...The Five Best Attractions at Magic Kingdom

As you begin your WDW planning I would highly recommend discussing what attractions are most important to the members of your family or group.  It is unrealistic to think that you are going to see and do everything that the World has to offer in one trip.  With that in mind, this post will look at the five attractions at the Magic Kingdom that I think are not to be missed.

5.  Peter Pan's Flight - This ride is a classic.  My favorite moment is flying over London and seeing the cars and town below.  It is a very short ride with a usually long wait but to me there is just something magical about flying through the movie.

370 Days...My Resources

When it comes to Walt Disney World, planning is EVERYTHING!  Some of us do it as a hobby but if you have any hopes of getting your money's worth, you have to plan.  A friend of mine recently returned from a trip to the World.  After their first day there they assumed that I was an idiot and WDW was not as magical as I had told them.  I can imagine them standing on Main St. overwhelmed, stressed and confused. All those people rushing by them knowing where they are going but my friends were stuck like deer in headlights.  How do you prevent that?  Planning!

First, I think the greatest guidebook out there is the Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World.  It's huge.  It may actually be more intimidating than the parks themselves but I promise you if you master that book, the parks will bow before you and bend at your every command. (Maybe a little overstated but it really is a good book)  The book reviews everything about Disney and also gives you touring plans for maximizing your time in the park.

My favorite websites are...

http://allears.net/index.html
http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/themeparks.htm
http://www.disboards.com/

If you have questions, those three sites should be able to answer everything.

I also listen to two great podcasts, WDW Today and anything by Lou Mongello.

Lastly, be sure to order your planning DVD from Disney and also get your custom maps.  (Both free...They may be the only free things you get from Disney, take them!)

So that is where I begin.  After years of listen to and reading this information I have become a pretty knowledgeable Disney fan but usually when I give an answer I am quoting one of those sources.  Hope they don't mind.