2 park days & not sure how to use them?! Help!!

[umieesa]

Hey All,

It's been 7 years since we were last in WDW and I know a lot has changed. I've tried to brush myself up on as much as possible, but this trip is quite last minute (about 12 days away!), so I'm feeling anxiety starting my planning this late!

This trip will just be myself, my 2 kids (16, 11) and my mom will be joining us. I initially purchased a 2 day ticket (1 park per day), but ended up upgrading to the hopper. My kids want to go to DHS, Epcot and MK for sure. AK is the question mark, and this is where I'm having trouble making my plans.

We will be staying at ASMusic if that matters. My initial thoughts were to visit DHS in the morning and then park hop to Epcot by 2 on our first day in the park. Our second day I'm stuck. Should we go to AK in the morning and then hop to MK or should I skip AK completely for the fear of being too rushed at MK? Especially since that's really only 6 full hours at MK. Plus, I don't want to burn my mom out. If it was just the kids and I we can zip around the park no issue, but even though my mom is in good health I know she will tire out quickly.

We want to see the fireworks at both EP and MK, that's why I'd ideally like to be at those in the latter half of the day. Because I have the hopper I feel compelled to use it. FYI we will be visiting on a Wednesday and a Thursday if that also matters.

Is there another way to plan it that I'm missing?! We will have a rental car, so I don't know if we should drive between parks (especially DHS and EP) or take the buses. It's our first time at an All-Star, but most of our other preferences were already sold out.

Any help is much appreciated! TIA!

 

[Miffy]

I can't answer all your questions, but for sure there will be plenty of replies to your post, however, since you haven't been to WDW in 7 years, you haven't experienced Avatar Flight of Passage, which is, in my opinion (shared by many) the best ride in all four parks. Also, the Pandora area is beautiful, even if you never saw the movie Avatar. So I would not skip DAK if I were you.

And you also haven't seen Star Wars Galaxy's Edge at DHS. Rise of the Resistance is another must-do and Galaxy's Edge itself is pretty amazing. Likewise, Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway is just adorable.

Genie, Genie+, and Individual Attraction Selection will be available during your stay. Even though these things cost extra, you might want to take advantage of them since you're going to be there for only 2 park days. There are a few threads on Genie, etc., so check them out for more info.

Also, in case you're not aware of this, you can park hop only after 2 p.m. And you need to make park reservations for your first park of the day.

Hope this was of some help.

 

[Calee]

As much as it hurts me to say this, For me personally if I only had 2 days, I would not try to make it to all 4 parks. That is a LOT and you will lose valuable time getting back to the front of the park, walking to your mode of transportation, getting to the other park, walking to the front gates, getting through security, getting through the gates, then finally getting back to the attractions you want to see. Also considering what you said about your mom, this will all add to the walking, rushing, etc.

If it were me, I would add on a 3rd day of tickets instead of the park hopper (or of course a 3rd day WITH a park hopper, if the budget allows!), and focus on one park per day, skipping AK (as this is the one your kids have the least interest in). I love all 4 parks, but I think it diminishes the enjoyment of any of them to feel rushed.

Between DHS and Epcot, it may be easier/faster to take the skyliner from one park to the other.

 

[Nabas]

My initial thoughts were to visit DHS in the morning and then park hop to Epcot by 2 on our first day in the park. Our second day I'm stuck. Should we go to AK in the morning and then hop to MK or should I skip AK completely for the fear of being too rushed at MK? Especially since that's really only 6 full hours at MK. Plus, I don't want to burn my mom out. If it was just the kids and I we can zip around the park no issue, but even though my mom is in good health I know she will tire out quickly.

You're going to do a ton of walking at WDW. It's unavoidable. Consider renting a wheelchair.

I'd stick with your plans to only do MK on the second day. There are a lot of attractions there. Based on what you describe, trying to jam in DAK will be tough.

We will have a rental car, so I don't know if we should drive between parks (especially DHS and EP) or take the buses. It's our first time at an All-Star, but most of our other preferences were already sold out.

If you do not plan to return to the All-Star on your first day for an afternoon break, then take the bus in the morning to DHS, and then take the Skyliner to Epcot in the afternoon once you are finished with DHS.

For the MK, it generally is better to always take the bus.

 

[umieesa]

Thanks for your feedback so far. I should note that the first day we plan to visit a park we will be coming from another hotel, so I'm not sure if we should get an early start and check in to ASM and then take the buses or if it's still better to drive between parks (DHS and EP). If we don't check in first, how would that work with complimentary parking and early entry for resort guests?

I didn't realize until you mentioned it that the Genie+ will come out on the 19th and we plan to visit the first park on the 20th! I think I'll bite the bullet on that just to make better use of our time. From what I've read, it seems to be similar to the Max Pass system at Disneyland. Is that a fair comparison? If it is, then it might be easier to schedule our day having it. Only issue at MK is no lightning lanes for 7 dwarfs or Space Mountain, and so if we get to the park at 2 will we still be wasting a lot of our time in lines for either of those?

Other than Magic Kingdom, I usually use the car to go to the parks, but I'm not sure if things have changed and if this is a slower way to do things or not. If we did combine a morning at AK and afternoon at MK, then I would likely drive to AK and then return the car to the hotel and bus it to MK. Would that make the most sense?

I'm just so torn, and I'm spoiled by usually having more time. 2 days is way too short, but I'll take what I can get!

My mom hasn't been to AK, and I agree it is a visually stunning park. I'm really interested to see Pandora, but like Calee said I'm worried about the enjoyment of feeling rushed.

My youngest has barely any memories of our last trip since he was barely almost 4. My older two have been many times, so I feel like this trip really is for the youngest. My eldest (who isn't joining us) had a solo trip with him and I to DL a couple years ago and I wanted to give the younger two a trip of their own, albeit a rushed one.

 

[umieesa]

If you do not plan to return to the All-Star on your first day for an afternoon break, then take the bus in the morning to DHS, and then take the Skyliner to Epcot in the afternoon once you are finished with DHS.

For the MK, it generally is better to always take the bus.

The skyliner is something new for me. I've actually never heard of it until now so I'll have to do some research on that.

If we are coming from another hotel, how early would I have to get to ASM to get the buses to DHS on our first day at the park? Will I need to check in or can I just park my car and hop on a bus?

 

[Miffy]

Only issue at MK is no lightning lanes for 7 dwarfs or Space Mountain, and so if we get to the park at 2 will we still be wasting a lot of our time in lines for either of those?

Yes, you will. The standby line for 7DMT is always quite long unless you get lucky and park attendance is low, which it has been for the last couple of weeks.

 

[Miffy]

The skyliner is something new for me. I've actually never heard of it until now so I'll have to do some research on that.

If we are coming from another hotel, how early would I have to get to ASM to get the buses to DHS on our first day at the park? Will I need to check in or can I just park my car and hop on a bus?

You can check in online and bypass the entire check-in process. You can probably do online check-in right now--it's usually available many many weeks before the actual check-in.

 

[umieesa]

Oh wow I didn't realize I can check in online? Can I do this from the my disney experience app?

Another question, I noticed Art of Animation is available for the day before my stay at ASM. Do you think it's worth it to switch my dates so that we are at ASM the day before we visit a park, then we will be in a better position to visit DHS? With this option though we would be checking out the day we go to either AK or MK, and then would need to check into another hotel the night after visiting MK. I'm probably overthinking things, but I want my kids to enjoy themselves since I'm not sure when we will have a chance to travel again.

 

[Nabas]

The skyliner is something new for me. I've actually never heard of it until now so I'll have to do some research on that.

This is the Skyliner:

If we are coming from another hotel, how early would I have to get to ASM to get the buses to DHS on our first day at the park? Will I need to check in or can I just park my car and hop on a bus?

You can just park your car and jump onto the bus. You'll want to arrive at least 1 hour before official park opening. As an onsite Guest, you'll be able to get in 30 minutes early. But you probably will wait 30 minutes for a bus.

You should check-in online ahead of time. But since you will be driving from another hotel, you'll save a lot of time by simply driving directly to DHS. So I would skip the Skyliner and just use your car.

 

[Miffy]

Oh wow I didn't realize I can check in online? Can I do this from the my disney experience app?

Another question, I noticed Art of Animation is available for the day before my stay at ASM. Do you think it's worth it to switch my dates so that we are at ASM the day before we visit a park, then we will be in a better position to visit DHS? With this option though we would be checking out the day we go to either AK or MK, and then would need to check into another hotel the night after visiting MK. I'm probably overthinking things, but I want my kids to enjoy themselves since I'm not sure when we will have a chance to travel again.

I'm pretty sure you can do online check-in via MDE. I usually use my computer so I can't say for sure, but it seems quite likely. Just go to your plans and you'll see a button to check in, assuming it's available. It's definitely available on MDE online (i.e., on the computer), as I just saw my check-in button the last time I was going over my plans for December.

Re being at AoA: only you can decide if you want to have a split stay. If you could stay there the entire time, it would certainly be easier for you. And, yes, it's easier to get to DHS from AoA.

Is there any chance at all you could squeeze in another park day? I cannot imagine trying to do more than 2 parks in 2 days. Well, I can imagine it, and it's a very intense picture!

BTW, do you have your parks reserved? Just in case you didn't realize this--you have to reserve your park in advance now. You can't just show up.

 

[umieesa]

My stay is already split as it stands, so it's not the end of the world for me. I would've added a 3rd night at AoA but the cost for the last night added $1400 to my total for some reason!

I can't really add a 3rd day because we will need the day before the park to do our covid test, and the other free full day we have was going to be for shopping and Clearwater beach.

The skyliner looks awesome btw! It'll be an experience for the kids in itself!

Decisions, decisions