2 Days, 4 Parks, Now staying onsite!

[sarahk0204]

A little background: Family is myself, DH, DD 20 and DS 20. We moved DD to WDW in January so that she could do DCP. We didn't have time for any park days, but we did go to Disney Springs the Sunday of Marathon weekend. It was crazy crowded, and DS, who has anxiety, was miserable. It was so sad, because we have been bringing the kids to WDW since they were little, have been many times, own DVC, etc.

However, DS decided he wanted to give Disney another try. We are going to move DD back home in May, and we are going to squeeze in 2 park days with hopping. We are staying offsite so that we can help DD pack and load her vehicle. Our 2 park days will be midweek in early May, so that should help with the crowds somewhat. DS last visited in December 2020 (when the post reopening crowds weren't quite so crazy), and we rode FOP and RoTR. He is interested in the thrill rides, so TRON, GoTG, RoTR, and FOP for sure. We will have G+, and I will try for VQ and purchase ILL$ if I can get them. He will be getting a DAS pass, so we will be able to pre-book 2 attractions per day (not those 4 of course, and not ones like EE or Space Mountain) but some like Dinosaur or Pirates.

DS has also requested some ADRs. I realize staying onsite and rope dropping would allow us to maximize our opportunities, but the goal for this trip allowing DS to have an enjoyable Disney experience. We will use Genie+ in combination with DAS times to do whatever DS wants. My tentative plans:

Day 1: Breakfast at "Ohana, then Epcot for the first part of the day. I will try for a VQ for GoTG at 7:00 AM. I can't buy a ILL$ until park opening, but I will do that if I don't get a VQ. I know I might only have later times to choose from at that point. We will use the pre-booked DAS time for either Test Track or Mission Space, and possibly another DAS time depending on what DS wants to do. We will then park hop to MK. I will buy a ILL$ for TRON (which I will also do at park opening because I know they sell out). I know the evening spots could be gone by park opening, and an afternoon daylight spot would be fine. I just hope I can get a GoTG ILL$ for morning and a TRON ILL$ for afternoon. We will have a second pre-booked DAS time for maybe BTMR, and I am sure we will get a DAS time for Space Mountain that day. We will have an ADR for Crystal Palace for dinner.

Day 2: Start at DHS. I will book an ILL$ for GoTG at park opening. Probably a pre-booked DAS time for Tower of Terror. Genie+ or a DAS time for Smuggler's Run. In the afternoon we'll hop to AK. I will buy a ILL$ for FOP. We will have a second pre-booked DAS time for maybe Dinosaur, and we'll get a Genie+ or DAS for EE. We will have an ADR at Boma for dinner.

What might be a problem with this plan is putting both GoTG and TRON (both new to us rides with no standby line) on the same day. Since Boma isn't in a park (and is reasonably close to our hotel), we don't have to do AK in the second half of the day necessarily. One other combination that might work is DHS in the morning with MK in the afternoon/evening and then Epcot in the morning with AK in the afternoon. 'Ohana breakfast could be either day. We will drive our own car.

Thank you everyone, for any advice you can give me on this plan. Anxiety stinks, and I just want DS to be able to have a more positive Disney experience (and yes, he is getting good treatment and medication).

 

[Leahc117]

We are doing a similar plan in a few days. 2 park days with Epcot/MK the first day and HS/AK the second. I like your plan for Boma after AK since that’s the park that closes first. I’m not sure how DAS works but if you can use it more in the first park while stacking G+ for the later park you could use that strategy. We also want to get the big thrill rides done and are otherwise ok with a more stress free approach- we’ve done most everything before and just have a few favorites to hit this trip. We are staying onsite and will be paying for G+ and ILL when necessary. I can let you know how it goes!

 

[sarahk0204]

Thank you! Looking forward to your report. Yes, stacking G+ for the afternoons makes sense.

 

[sarahk0204]

Thank you! Looking forward to your report. Yes, stacking G+ for the afternoons makes sense.

What might be a problem with this plan is putting both GoTG and TRON (both new to us rides with no standby line) on the same day.

So I've been looking at Lightning Lane sellout times on Thrilldata, and there is really no rhyme or reason to how the ILL$ sell out. What sold out within 30 minutes of park opening yesterday is still available late this afternoon, and vice versa. I don't think it is going to matter if I have Epcot and MK on the same day or not. I can make ADRs next week, and it looks like "Ohana breakfast is going to be the hard ADR to get. Our Epcot day will likely be determined by whichever day I end up snagging the 'Ohana ADR, and we will do DHS on the other morning with MK and AK in the afternoons for sure.

 

[sarahk0204]

I can make ADRs next week, and it looks like "Ohana breakfast is going to be the hard ADR to get. Our Epcot day will likely be determined by whichever day I end up snagging the 'Ohana ADR, and we will do DHS on the other morning with MK and AK in the afternoons for sure.

ADR and ticket update: I got a later morning 'Ohana ADR for our first day, with a Crystal Palace dinner ADR, and a Boma dinner ADR for our second day. DD has worked enough hours to accumulate some comp tickets, so we assigned those to family members and made park reservations. We have Epcot for Day 1 where we will rope drop and have time to do a few things before taking the monorail to the TTC and walking to the Poly for the 'Ohana ADR. Then we will probably go back to Epcot for a Guardians ILL$. If we get an ILL$ for earlier, we will do that before breakfast. Since we are staying offsite, we have to wait until park opening to buy the ILL$. We will eventually hop to MK that day. Day 2 will be HS in the AM and AK in the PM.

The next thing will be DS getting his DAS pass and making his advanced selections, but that will be a few weeks from now. He did get his MDE account set up and linked to mine and DH's (needed to assign the tickets), that part is done at least.

DH and I are headed down to visit DD in a couple of days (DS is staying home and working and cat sitting), so I will be able to try out Genie+ and VQ and ILL$. This trip is onsite, so not exactly the same parameters, but at least I'll be more familiar with using MDE for all of that. I imagine that DD will be a helpful resource as well.

 

[sarahk0204]

After visiting DD and discussing things with her, we realized that we don't need to stay offsite in May (she is super organized and will not need much help moving out of her apartment), and I booked a 2BR at SSR. Now we will have onsite advantage for ILL$. We will have to switch our park reservations to MK for the first day because DD can't get a park reservation for Epcot. She can hop there, though, so our first day will now be MK, 'Ohana late breakfast, Epcot for GotG, then back to MK for Crystal Palace dinner. But staying onsite means we can use Disney transportation from our hotel.

While visiting DD last week, DH and I bought Genie+ for our MK day. It worked great! I was also able to get a boarding group for TRON. I will likely still do ILL$ for the trip with DS.

I bought ILL$ for Rise for DH, DD, and me for our DHS day. Now I have tried out everything I wanted to in MDE, and I feel much better about using those tools in May with DS.

 

[lanejudy]

Day 2: Start at DHS. ... Probably a pre-booked DAS time for Tower of Terror. ... In the afternoon we'll hop to AK. ... We will have a second pre-booked DAS time for maybe Dinosaur...

FYI -- the 2 DAS Advanced Selections must be booked for the same park. And also to suggest that you have a back-up plan if the DAS Advanced Selections times don't work for your plans; there are lots of reports from folks who end up not using theirs because the times didn't work with their in-park plans.

 

[sarahk0204]

FYI -- the 2 DAS Advanced Selections must be booked for the same park. And also to suggest that you have a back-up plan if the DAS Advanced Selections times don't work for your plans; there are lots of reports from folks who end up not using theirs because the times didn't work with their in-park plans.

Thank you! That is good to know.

I am already planning on buying Genie+ and ILL$ for both those days, and I wasn't going to get too hung up on Advanced Selections. They don't include many of the thrill rides that DS is interested in anyway, so if there isn't anything available that he wants to pre select, perhaps we will just say "no thank you" to preselection and just be ready to use DAS while we are in the parks. (And I know it could be overkill to have DAS and Genie+, but I am just looking for DS to have the best park experience he can.)

Thank you again!

 

[sarahk0204]

DD just let me know that more park reservations opened up for Epcot, so we now have Epcot Day 1 with a late morning ADR at 'Ohana. If we are done at Epcot, we will just hop to MK for the afternoon and evening. Day 2 is a park reservation at HS. We have a dinner ADR at Boma, so we will end at AK, but we can hop whenever we are ready. Maybe we will drive on Day 2, but we can take Disney transportation on Day 1 - bus from SSR to Epcot, then monorail to 'Ohana and MK with bus back to SSR.

DS and I are going to apply for his DAS pass tomorrow, as we are now within the 30 day window.

 

[sarahk0204]

And the first day we tried to apply for DAS was the day that Disney announced the upcoming changes to DAS. Everybody was trying to get on the chat to ask questions, and chat closed for the night before we could get in.

We were able to get on a few days later. DS was granted DAS for our trip. He was allowed to request advanced selections by filling out a form, since our trip happens before the changes to DAS go into effect. He put down his choices for the parks we have reservations for (Epcot and DHS) for morning. If he receives any, we will try to use them if we can.

Because of the upcoming changes to DAS, we were worried that DS would not be considered "worthy" of accommodations. We prepared him and ourselves for that possibility. However, the CM was very kind, and told DS that his situation was something they could help with. I think we are very fortunate that our trip is occurring before the changes.

DD has worked enough hours that she receives 3 more tickets, so we are considering going to a park on our arrival day. May 6 has extended evening hours at Epcot for Deluxe resort guests, so that would be our plan. DH and I did this with DD in March, and we did the 6 pm drop for VQ for GotG. Since our 'Ohana reservation at 11:00 AM cuts into our Epcot morning, doing some of Epcot the night before would make things go smoother.

 

[Shughart]

I mean obvs that's up to you, but with only 2 days to hit 4 parks, 3 ADRs is going to slow you down quite a bit.

 

[MickeyMice]

agree that you have a lot of ADRs booked for such a packed schedule. personally i would try to schedule ADRs for lunchtime (as midday is always the hottest, most crowded, and IMO most anxiety inducing time of the day).

i would also research dinosaur before committing time to it. it kind of sucks, breaks down all the time, is loud and shaky in all the wrong ways.

AK makes more sense to me as a morning park because it's open early and always closes first. it may be marginally faster to get from AK to boma, but it's still a bus ride, same as any other park.

 

[sarahk0204]

I mean obvs that's up to you, but with only 2 days to hit 4 parks, 3 ADRs is going to slow you down quite a bit.

Oh, it totally is, but it is the balance we want so that DS can have a successful trip. Our goal isn't do as many things as possible, but do what DS wants and have him enjoy Disney (as opposed to our January trip, after which I was convinced he was never going to want to come again).

We've always done some ADRs on our trips, and avoiding the stress of finding somewhere to sit for a CS meal helps balance the time a TS meal takes. But yes, if this were a ride all of the rides in the shortest time trip, ADRs don't make much sense.

I'm glad we were able to switch to staying onsite, as that helps in terms of Disney transportation and ILL$ purchasing times and Early Entry. That gives us a little more time to justify the ADRs.

 

[sarahk0204]

agree that you have a lot of ADRs booked for such a packed schedule. personally i would try to schedule ADRs for lunchtime (as midday is always the hottest, most crowded, and IMO most anxiety inducing time of the day).

i would also research dinosaur before committing time to it. it kind of sucks, breaks down all the time, is loud and shaky in all the wrong ways.

Yes, we were big lunchtime ADR fans when the kids were little and we had the DDP. That worked well for taking the midday break after lunch and going back to the resort. Our 'Ohana reservation is close to lunchtime, but we will be park hopping instead of taking a resort break. DD wishes I could get 'Ohana earlier in the day because 3 ADRs for all you care to enjoy meals is a lot of food. These are what DS requested, though, and he has a bigger appetite than his sister.

We have ridden Dinosaur before, and it is one that DS enjoys. We are definitely letting him choose the rides, and are planning on doing his favorites vs Mom's or Dad's, as DH and I got to do our favorites in March. Luckily DD will go with DS on the rides that DH and I would prefer to skip (TOT, I'm looking at you).

 

[Matrixleos]

Good luck @sarahk0204 sounds like a fun itinerary so far. We'll also will be doing a 4 park over 2 days visit in late May and looking forward to reading how your day goes.

FYI, about Dinosaur, if it's one of your DS favorite rides then definitely do it. That ride will be closing soon and they will be converting that ride to an Indiana Jones attraction. That whole Dino Land area will shut down (building permits were already filed) and they will convert it to a South American theme with new additional attractions from Encanto, Coco and Indian Jones being added. Concept art for the new land looks pretty amazing!

 

[MickeyMice]

sounds like you thought things through! good luck and hope he enjoys the trip.

 

[sarahk0204]

sounds like you thought things through! good luck and hope he enjoys the trip.

Thank you!

And we did go back and forth about AK in the morning vs afternoon for all of the reasons you stated. Since we are leaving early the next day to move DD home from her CP (the original reason for this trip), we needed an earlier ending to that night anyway. Much easier to have an ADR in the AK area close to park closing and end our day early than to leave a park that will still be open for a long time and feel like we are missing out.

 

[sarahk0204]

DD has worked enough hours that she receives 3 more tickets, so we are considering going to a park on our arrival day. May 6 has extended evening hours at Epcot for Deluxe resort guests, so that would be our plan. DH and I did this with DD in March, and we did the 6 pm drop for VQ for GotG. Since our 'Ohana reservation at 11:00 AM cuts into our Epcot morning, doing some of Epcot the night before would make things go smoother.

Well, actually DD miscalculated, and she will not be receiving any more tickets. We may return to Epcot after 'Ohana if there is something DS still wants to do there. Otherwise, we will hop to MK. I do use Touring Plans, although I use it to check rides off the list rather than following the plan to the letter. However, it gives me a prediction of how long things might take. With the touring plans I made, we have extra time in MK and are a little short in Epcot, so returning to Epcot after 'Ohana would be fine. If DS decides that he needs a break, that is fine too.

We can just chill at SSR on our arrival day. Dinner from Artists' Palette and maybe an evening swim sounds nice.