Is it wise to visit Disney for one day?

GoldmanTrust said:

Hey guys,

We are going to Universal in the end of September. Staying for two weeks at Cabana Bay with 3 park explorer tickets for the whole time.

We are a family of three. My wife and I along with our 7 year old girl.

She is a huge Harry Potter fan, so we are looking forward to our visit (2nd two week Universal stay - also did September last year. And we also went to Universal Hollywood in earlier this year).

We are coming in from Scandinavia, so it's a long trip. I was thinking, while we are there, if we should do one day at Disney.

I used to go there as a kid (spent my summers around Orlando when I was growing up). I think I kind of miss it. Have some great memories and I would like my daughter to experience something similar.

Is there any possibility to do only one day? How crowded is it compared to Universal? Does it require all kinds of planning? What park should we visit, if we do one day?

Thanks for reading!

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Yes, one day at Disney can be awesome. It sounds like you haven't visited in a long time & the rest of your family might never have been. In that case, I'd recommend against park-hopping and instead just spend the whole day at Disney World's premier park, the Magic Kingdom.

Get your tickets over a month in advance so that you can schedule FastPasses (which put you at the front of ride lines). You'll get to schedule 3 FastPasses 30 days in advance. You'll probably want those advance FastPasses to be for Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, Space Mountain and Splash Mountain. This is assuming that you are all able and willing to ride roller coasters. Once you've used those 3 FastPasses, you can get additional FastPasses for other rides, one at a time.

Once you've decided when you're going, make a reservation for at least one table service restaurant. MK has some very nice ones. Cinderella's Royal Table (in the castle, with princesses) would probably be the most memorable. Crystal Palace and Be Our Guest are very special, too. If you have trouble getting a reservation, get a free Basic Access account at Touring Plans to use its free reservation finder tool. This tool is very effective at getting hard-to-find reservations.

On the day you go, try to arrive at the Magic Kingdom at least 30 minutes before its scheduled opening time. The first hour after opening is the best for getting on rides, followed by the second hour. I recommend walking straight to the Peter Pan ride and riding it first. Do not schedule any restaurant meals for those first two hours after park opening. You want to spend those hours on the rides.

Have fun!

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All right. It's 1:20 am in Florida and we just got home from MNSSHP. Definitely worth it. It was a wonderful night. We were able to do almost all the rides (Pirates 3 times, seven dwarfs, Peter Pan, Space Mountain 4 times, Buzz, Big Mountain, the Safari thing and some more I am forgetting.

We didn't put our emphasis on getting the candy we were more focused on the experience.

Magic Kingdom is really a good park. My daughter is a thrill seeker and she measures most rides in how big the drops are and how fast you go. But she definitely got caught up in what Disney is about. Although on our way home she said that she still prefers Universal and IOA.

Thanks guys for your wonderful tips, we really enjoyed the night. This is a great way to enjoy Disney, the ticket was around 80 dollars. We showed up at 4 pm, so we got full 8 hours in the park (way longer then we do at Universal. We like to spend 3-4 hours max each time and come often).

I recommend MNSSHP for everyone.

Btw did no fast passes and didn't have an app (if there is one). We just powered through.

So glad u had such a wonderful time. Disney certainly has some magic in the air

I'm glad you enjoyed it! MNSSHP is a great event!