My sister and I did a short trip last year during Pro Bowl Weekend. We arrived late Friday night and stayed until Sunday evening. Now, we went in with the mentality of "we've been here a million times. Let's enjoy the Pro Bowl festivities." We were also AP holders at the time, so "swinging by" the parks made sense and we weren't wasting our tickets if we only went to see the fireworks at night.
We've also gone on a 5-day trip. I know that's one more day than you, but we went with newbies and kids, so we felt pressured to fit every. little. thing. in.
The first thing you need to ask is: how often have you gone? When is the next time you'll be going? When is the last time you visited?
This will help you put things into perspective. On past trips, we used to fall victim to "planning with our eyes, not our legs". Every trip we felt the need to fit in as much as possible and midway through the trip we'd be exhausted and sorta over it. When we took a step back, we realized that we had been every year, we were planning on going back next year; and we had been six times in the past two years. Skipping a ride or show this time may be okay.
When was the last time you went?
What's "new" to you. For us, Toy Story Land was brand new. For others, Pandora is also new. Unfortunately for some, it's been a while and Fantasyland is new. Consider what's new and prioritize that first.
When is the next time you'll be back?
This is an important one. Disney is going through a lot of changes over the next few years...heck...over the next few months. I mean, even if you plan on coming back in a year or two, you'll wanna take a long, hard look at what can be going away. We decided that our Christmas trip would be the last big trip for a while (at least until 2021), so we pushed to get everything in. We had been every year for Christmas since 2009 and needed a break. Not to get grim, but my dad passed on January 26th. We won't be back for a while anyway... but had we not fit in Illuminations or things we predicted could be gone come 2021, we would have felt really, really guilty (esp. that dad would have not experienced it)
Double check the date that Illuminations is ending (all I'm seeing is Summer, 2019.) If it's still running, make this a priority.
I think your biggest mistake so far was asking us "what's something you HAVE to do each trip"... no, what's something YOU have to do each trip? That's the question! It's your trip (and a shorter) one, so make the most of it.
We managed to get a lot done in 2 days; we managed to get a lot done in 5 days. Here's some tips:
- Uber/Lyft is your friend. I know, I know... Disney transportation is free! BUT, Disney transportation often takes a while. Commuting from your hotel to the parks or park to park can take a while. With the exception of Magic Kingdom, we often splurge and take Uber when we wanna get somewhere for Rope Drop or quickly, and especially when we need to get to a dining reservation at another resort. It's worth the price if it means we get there fast. We took an uber to Animal Kingdom one morning and were the first ones there.
- We rank our rides based on favorites, hardest to get, and nostalgia. Unfortunately many of them intertwine like a venn diagram, but we prioritize: FoP, 7DMT for FP+... then always go for Thunder Mountain, TSM, etc. No trip is complete without a ride on the Peoplemover or the railroad (if it's open).
- Split DHS/Epcot. It's the best way to get the parks done. One morning go to DHS for rope drop. Have a FP+ for Slinky, ToT, and RnR. Go for rope drop and get on the TSM, then Alien Swirling Saucers while everyone runs to Slinky. Then grab breakfast at Woody's Lunch Box. Then do RnR, ToT, see a few shows, etc. Then go to Epcot in the afternoon. Tackle some food booths at F&W, then stay the night until Illuminations. You can flip it another night. Go to Epcot in the afternoon, go to a few food booths, then go to DHS at night for Fantasmic! and the Star Wars Fireworks. This tends to be the best bet for seeing the two parks.
- You can get MK done in 2 days, easily. I know a lot of people claim it takes about 3, but we've done it in 2. Plan early FP+ selections. Like...done within the first three hours of being in the park, then select a 4th. It will be busy that weekend and you may wind up with a FP+ for Goofy's Barnstormer, but that's 15 minutes back on your day.
- Day 1 at MK: Go for rope drop or (hopefully) morning EMH: Tackle Tomorrowland. Everyone will be rushing to 7DMT, but hopefully you can score a FP+ at some point during your trip. Go right to Space Mountain, then Buzz, then PeopleMover. Done. Grab a few photos in front of the castle and get that beautiful golden hue, then head to Pirates. We usually have a FP+ for Thunder, 7DMT, and Jungle Cruise. Jungle Cruise gets sneaky crowded. I'd trade Jungle Cruise for Peter Pan, though. Get as much as possible done and finish the day/night with HEA.
- Day 2 you can do Animal Kingdom in the morning: FoP FP+, EE FP+, and Kilimanjaro FP+. Try and get some FP+ for MK later that day.
Your other 2 days will be split between DHS and Epcot.
I think that's a pretty solid 4 days.