How Do YOU Determine Which Park to Visit on Which Day?

[mi*vida*loca]

Start and finish with MK. Epcot on day two and the second to last day. Mixture of everything in between depending on EMH. We like both AM EMH and PM EMH but don't try to do 1 am at MK and then 8 am at AK the following day. We have PH's also. I hit one park for RD, midday pool break and evening park with FP+.

 

[hjvigz72]

Preface this all by saying that we always get hoppers, we're not rope droppers and we don't look at crowd calendars. Although a Disney vacation requires a certain amount of planning and scheduling, we still want it to be a vacation and not be too stressful.

We plan our days around our ADR's- mostly because they are scheduled so much further out than anything else and unfortunately, park hours change from 180 days out to the time you arrive. Once they are in place, that's typically our park for that day unless we find closer to getting there that we can swap some ADR's. With that said, if our ADR's are in HS for example and MK is open late - we'll hop over to MK to get some late night rides in. No one in our party is under 10 so it's totally feasible for us. We also always try to leave some sleep in/pool time on the days after those late nights.

This December will be our first time with the FP+. Not really sure how much I'm liking the structure of extra planning. But- busiest time of year, I'm sure that the wait times will be so ridiculous that we'll be glad we have them.

 

[hjvigz72]

Preface this all by saying that we always get hoppers, we're not rope droppers and we don't look at crowd calendars. Although a Disney vacation requires a certain amount of planning and scheduling, we still want it to be a vacation and not be too stressful.

We plan our days around our ADRs- mostly because they are scheduled so much further out than anything else and unfortunately, park hours change from 180 days out to the time you arrive. Once ADRs are in place, that's typically our park for that day unless we find closer to getting there that we can swap some ADR's around based on park hours. Sometimes if we don't have ADRs in the parks, we kick back or leave that day open to choose a park. With that said, if our ADR's are in one park and another is open late - we'll hop over to get some late night fun in. No one in our party is under 10 so it's totally feasible for us. We also always try to leave some sleep in/pool time on the days after those late nights.

This December will be our first time with the FP+. Not really sure how much I'm liking the structure of the extra planning. But- busiest time of year, I'm sure that the wait times will be so ridiculous that we'll be glad we have them.

 

[loves to dive]

Another one who doesn't look at calendars, EMHs or the phase of the moon. Generally where we are staying determines where we go. If we are just staying in an Epcot resort, normally we'll hit AK on our first full day just because that is the one park you have to ride a bus to get to no matter where you stay so we get it out of the way. Then we just kind of decide in the morning when we get up or the night before. We don't make FPs in advance, just do it the night before or the morning of. If we are awake and up, we will head to a park for rope drop or EMH and if we are awake and not dog tired, we'll head to a park for evening EMH. We always have PHs (I have an AP my son gets PHs for however long we are going to be there). If we are doing a split stay with the first night or two at a moderate and the rest at an Epcot resort, we'll do MK or AK when we get there, usually between 2 and 4 (we drive down from Georgia) and do the other the next day. After we move to the Epcot resort, we pretty much stick to Epcot and HS, again with no concrete reason why we go to which park when. We are two adults so MK is usually a half day park for us but frankly, we've never been when we've stayed at one park all day, we always hop around so it's entirely possible we will visit 3 parks in a day or 2 parks in a day or a park in the morning, head to another park, go back to the resort to swim or soak in the hot tub and head back to the park we spent the morning or afternoon in.

 

[niffer5150]

i don't use crowd calendars really. they get a glance but are largely ignored.

we always start a trip with MK. next day, we do the most important meals/events next at whatever park they may be at. illness usually takes 3 days or so to show up if you've caught something. i've missed too many special things because someone sneezed in my face as soon as we arrived. then i try to stagger out what parks are left with our MK days. next trip we are doing 9 days. 5 MK, 2 epcot, 1 HS, and 1 AK. i keep in mind, AK is a big walking day and HS is a half day so we pair it with DS and laundry at the hotel. we finish with MK.

 

[crazymomof4]

I really miss EasyWDW crowd calendars

ME TOO!!!

 

[thelittlemermaid2]

We usually have hoppers, so we start with the nighttime shows and make sure we will be able to see them all. Then we put in all the parks with EMH, I know the crowds are a little bigger because of that but we value the extra time in the parks!

 

[PlutoTheDog89]

Depends on a variety of factors. We always do MK on Christmas Day. On NYE, we don't do anything until the evening when we go to EPCOT.

Between those dates, we let our ADRs control where we go. We kno we like to do Animal Kingdom one day, so we book an AK restaurant or Boma one day. On the day we have 'Ohana, we'll spend our night at MK. When we do Rose and Crown, we'll spend our night at EPCOT for Illuminations. Usually when we do EPCOT at night, we do DHS in the daytime and vice versa.

 

[Oneanne]

For many, many years I religiously did EPCOT first, because I read in a book prior to my first trip that that was the best thing to do. Now it's totally random: I never use the trip planning guides but do avail myself of EMH's, so will look at the schedules for those: also will try to do a park early on the day after its been open late. Then it's based on which days I get ADR's and for which restaurants in which parks. My touring style has changed a lot over the years, and now I'm very go-with-the-flow and usually have very few must-do's, so crowds have to get pretty crazy before it bothers me.

 

[georgina]

I don't bother with crowd calendars. I like morning extra magic hours at Mk and Ak, so will work them in if possible. I like evening magic hours at MK and HS, so will try for those. We always get hoppers; I have hit 3 parks in one day on a shorter trip. I always aim for rope drop no matter which park I am going to.

 

[kevind2112]

I can't look at crowd calendars. We typically go down for the busiest times of year, because we are insane. Thanksgiving twice, and this year Christmas. I glanced at the calendar and saw all RED. We survived two crazy but amazing Thanksgivings in the parks, and we'll survive Christmas week as well.

Dining reservations are made, fast-passes have been booked. We will spend Christmas Eve at Magic Kingdom, and Christmas Day at Epcot. We even managed to grab a Candlelight package for Christmas day. It will be crazy packed, but it will be fun, because we love Disney. Just being in the parks is enough for us. We're lucky that the kids love the sights and sounds as well as getting on the rides. If it gets too crazy in the parks, we love resort hopping, and seeing how each decorates for the season.

If I had taken a crowd calendar as gospel when we planned our first trip way back when, I probably would have freaked out and cancelled, and missed out on all the great memories we've made over the years. Just go! Go and enjoy!!!

 

[kwdw]

I don't look at crowd calendars at all and my strategy varies by trip.

The variables I use are extensive. Short trip or long trip. Who am I traveling with. Time of year and when it gets dark. Whether or not I have a car. Base ticket vs. annual pass year. My plane flight arrival and departure times. Important ADRs or FPs. MK party season or not. EMH (I like morning ones, while I tend to avoid parks with evening ones). Whether I have to go to work the next day after my trip. F&W or F&G season. December holiday events. Fantasmic nights and how long it's been since I've seen it. What resort I am staying at.

Sometimes this means I end up at MK on a very crowded day. But as long as I have my known FPs for the day and an ADR planned for my sanity sake, it's fine. A crowded park day can still be a blast with the right attitude and plan. If its a day where the crowds drive me nuts unexpectedly, I go do something else. I go resort hopping or to Disney Springs or to the pool or take a nap and go back later or if I can hop - head to another park.

My trip planning isn't focused on crowd level - it's focused on getting things done I want to do that trip. Sure - I consider expected crowd level as a factor - but it's just one variable.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

Depends on our ADR's and what days Fantasmic! is being shown at DHS.

 

[ciera321]

I really miss EasyWDW crowd calendars

Yep, me too!

 

[Epcot242]

Don't usually use crowd calendars. Depends on where we end up staying, but it mostly comes down to park hours and where we're dining. This trip, I tried to have ADRs lined up with EMH at a park either where we're eating or near it. Then the timing of the meal sort of dictates when we go to the park and how long we stay at our AM park.

 

[Naterfan]

I have some simple rules:
- never go to Magic Kingdom on Monday

Why are Monday's so bad. People flying on Sunday and Monday being the first day of the vacation?

 

[mindeola]

We tend to go in the order the parks were created. No reason for it. We have just always done it this way. I have to start in MK and end in MK. I do not care if that is a Monday or not.

 

[Wood Nymph]

Why are Monday's so bad. People flying on Sunday and Monday being the first day of the vacation?

It has been the busiest day for MK for a long time. There have been many reasons given and I'm not aware of all of them.

 

[Praying Colonel]

If we're staying offsite (or staying onsite and not taking advantage of EMH), we avoid parks on morning EMH/EMM, evening EMH and parties. After that we're not especially picky, although we generally prefer to be at a park the morning after it's had an evening EMH because historically we find they have generally lower crowds.

 

[SunniKC]

I can't look at crowd calendars. We typically go down for the busiest times of year, because we are insane. Thanksgiving twice, and this year Christmas. I glanced at the calendar and saw all RED. We survived two crazy but amazing Thanksgivings in the parks, and we'll survive Christmas week as well.

Dining reservations are made, fast-passes have been booked. We will spend Christmas Eve at Magic Kingdom, and Christmas Day at Epcot. We even managed to grab a Candlelight package for Christmas day. It will be crazy packed, but it will be fun, because we love Disney. Just being in the parks is enough for us. We're lucky that the kids love the sights and sounds as well as getting on the rides. If it gets too crazy in the parks, we love resort hopping, and seeing how each decorates for the season.

If I had taken a crowd calendar as gospel when we planned our first trip way back when, I probably would have freaked out and cancelled, and missed out on all the great memories we've made over the years. Just go! Go and enjoy!!!

We did just the opposite lol....Eve at Epcot and Day at MK and did the Candlelight on Christmas Eve--by far one of my favorite Christmas Eves.