Need help with itenerary - 1st trip with family!!

[reneeinnc]

We are planning our 1st trip in Oct. and I am overwhelmed with all there is to know. If we are going to be there 6 full days (Mon-Sat, staying at HIFS, offsite) and planning to do 4 days at WDW, 1 day at Sea World and 1 free day, what order would you recommend? Are there certain days of the week that would be better to do Sea World and avoid WDW? Should we do MK 2 days in a row? Then I thought we'd do a day at MGM and split AK and Epcot on the 4th day. Any advice would be very helpful!!!

 

[MichaelH]

My wife and I usually take a day for MK and a day for Epcot. We then usually split a half a day at AK and MGM. We never have a problem with AK and MGM in a half a day, however we only do certain things in each and does not take us that long. I would use the final day for another day at MK. Lots more to do in MK to me than the others.

We usually do the following at AK and MGM:
AK: safari ride, rapids ride, Countdown to Extinction, Tough to Be a Bug
MGM: ToT, RR, Star Tours, Back Lot Tour(?)

Hope this helps

 

[lisakay]

The first thing I'd do is find out what each person really wants to do...then go from there. We have found that we like EPCOT the best, so we spend at least one full day there (and usually several evenings!). Animal Kingdom is a 1/2 day trip - especially since you're going in October. We were a AK a week ago and although it was somewhat crowded, it was not unbearable. I've found that MGM can usually be done in a 1/2 day - use fastpass for RnR & ToT. The Magic Kingdom will be where you spend the majority of your time....there is so much to do!

Not to discourage you, but we were at Sea World last weekend and it was somewhat disappointing. We had minimal lines for Journey to Atlantis and almost no line for the Kraken, but felt that the park was not as clean as it has been in the past....people tend to complain that WDW is falling down on their cleaning jobs - well, visit Sea World and you'll think WDW is spotless! We were able to do and see everything we wanted to in a day.

I can't comment on Universal or IoA, but I would imagine that it'll take at least a day for each - there are so many rides!!

I would advise you not to overplan and enjoy!!

 

[we3luvdisney]

Two suggestions:

1. Be very flexible
2. Buy some ponchos

We have been to Disney in October and had to worry about rain showers.

 

[colleen mcmaster]

Do AK in the morning. Get there at soon as it opens (they open earlier than other parks). We usually run to the safari first thing before the animals (and people) get too hot - though this may not be a problem in Oct. Do Epcot at night. MGM and Epcot have more things for older kids and MK has more for younger kids IMO. Since you're off-site, you can't use the EE days so avoid those days at each park. Buy your tickets before you get to the parks to avoid lines. We often spend an off day at Downtown Disney. If you have younger kids, there are fountains to play in and a Legoland store with a big play area. Also many restaurants and a huge Disney store - may want to get souvenirs here so you don't have to carry them at the park. I think I'd do one MK day at the beginning and one at the end. That way your family can talk about what they liked best and decide what they want to do again on the second day. If you hit the parades the first day, you can spend that time the second day going on rides - the lines aren't as long during the parades. Have FUN!

 

[cheri goode]

We make sure that we do not go to a park on it's early entry day, it tends to be
more crowded all day! Here is the list of the early entry days and parks:
Try not to go to these parks on these days:


Magic Kingdom - Mon, Thurs, Sat. avoid these days
Epcot - Tues and Fridays avoid these days
MGM - Wed and Sunday - avoid these days
A.K. - no early entry

 

[reneeinnc]

thank you for all the very helpful tips!