Need help with morning strategies!

[Arura Tonks]

Hi. We are going to the park on a Wednesday when it is scheduled to open at 9:00. At 9:20 we have our first fast passes! Some in the family are heading to Enchanted Tales with Belle while others are heading to the Buzz Lightyear (in MK) ride for 9:20 fp. Originally we thought we would rope drop Splash Mountain and then hop on Thunder Mountain first thing in the morning, but looking at the map that might be really pushing it. . . What would your strategies be for this itinerary. ( later that morning we have fps for peter pan and space mountain, we plan on joining our cousin for a night ride on 7 dwarf mine train during an emh).
Some must do's kids have mentioned: meeting Gaston and Belle, Buzz, and Aladdin and Jasmine if possible, all the "thrill rides..mountians, 7 dwarf mine train, etc", pirates, jungle cruise, philar magic, astro orbitor, and people mover. Also we have an evening reservations to have dinner at Whispering Canyon Cafe over at the Lodge.
(We will be meeting more characters at Animal Kingdom the following day)

Anyway.. Trying to strategize a morning plan.. I figure the afternoon and evening will work itself out. Thanks for all Disney pro tips! I haven't been there since I was a kid in 1994!!! It's my kids and hubby's first time ever.

 

[DisneyGirlMI]

If you don’t have a FP for Seven Dwarfs I would head there first thing. That line builds quickly and rarely dies off. Your Buzz FP is good until 10:20, so that would give you time and depending on how long you wait for SDMT, you may be able also ride Astro orbiter on your way to Buzz. I would not go all the way to Splash and/or BTM before your FP as that is as far from Buzz as you can get and, without the railroad running, it is a LONG walk. Also, on some days Splash and BTM don’t open at the same time as the rest of the park. I’ve seen them block off Frontierland until 9:30.

 

[Tiggerlover91]

Hi. We are going to the park on a Wednesday when it is scheduled to open at 9:00. At 9:20 we have our first fast passes! Some in the family are heading to Enchanted Tales with Belle while others are heading to the Buzz Lightyear (in MK) ride for 9:20 fp. Originally we thought we would rope drop Splash Mountain and then hop on Thunder Mountain first thing in the morning, but looking at the map that might be really pushing it. . . What would your strategies be for this itinerary. ( later that morning we have fps for peter pan and space mountain, we plan on joining our cousin for a night ride on 7 dwarf mine train during an emh).
Some must do's kids have mentioned: meeting Gaston and Belle, Buzz, and Aladdin and Jasmine if possible, all the "thrill rides..mountians, 6 dwarf mine train, etc", pirates, jungle cruise, philar magic, astro orbitor, and people mover. Also we have an evening reservations to have dinner at Whispering Canyon Cafe over at the Lodge.
(We will be meeting more characters at Animal Kingdom the following day)

Anyway.. Trying to strategize a morning plan.. I figure the afternoon and evening will work itself out. Thanks for all Disney pro tips! I haven't been there since I was a kid in 1994!!! It's my kids and hubby's first time ever.

I find that MK can be better "covered" if you visit lands close to each other. On our first day in MK in June when we go, we'll be doing Frontierland, Adventureland, and Liberty Square. That just keeps things in a central area and makes working FPs a lot easier. On our second day, we're doing Tomorrowland and Fantasyland. That stops you from having to criss cross the park and rushing from one FP to another. My son and I plan to do A LOT of meet and greets this time, so I definitely made sure to keep our lands close to one another. For Mickey/Minnie and Tink up in Town Square, we can visit that on either day as we have to walk by it coming and leaving the park. Maybe we'll do Mickey & Minnie on one day and Tinkerbell on the other now that I mentioned it!

 

[MainMom]

If you don’t have a FP for Seven Dwarfs I would head there first thing. That line builds quickly and rarely dies off. Your Buzz FP is good until 10:20, so that would give you time and depending on how long you wait for SDMT, you may be able also ride Astro orbiter on your way to Buzz. I would not go all the way to Splash and/or BTM before your FP as that is as far from Buzz as you can get and, without the railroad running, it is a LONG walk. Also, on some days Splash and BTM don’t open at the same time as the rest of the park. I’ve seen them block off Frontierland until 9:30.

When have they blocked off Frontierland?

 

[Arura Tonks]

We only have one day there unfortunately, but there are night time extra magic hours and that is when we will be meeting some family members to ride 7dmt together ( they were not fortunate enough to get 60 days out fps like we were and we strongly desire to do that one together at night).

 

[Tiggerlover91]

We only have one day there unfortunately, but there are night time extra magic hours and that is when we will be meeting some family members to ride 7dmt together ( they were not fortunate enough to get 60 days out fps like we were and we strongly desire to do that one together at night).

So do as I suggested with the lands, but in the AM and PM.

 

[DisneyGirlMI]

When have they blocked off Frontierland?

We’ve been held back by the people with the rope before and had them walk us back to the Splash area and it was close to 9:30 before we were back there.

 

[jsbowl16]

Fatpasses are actually good for one hour and 15 minutes after the listed start time so your Buzz fastpass will work until 1035 and not a minute later.

 

[Arura Tonks]

Yes. It's The enchanted Tales with Belle that has us in a hurry. My daughter's absolute FAVE is Belle and we aren't doing hollywood studios or epcot this first trip. This is her MUST do. Lol Maybe we can hit splash mountain if it rains. Lol

 

[Turkey Lurkey]

Piggybacking my question on to this thread so as not to start a new one...

Our family has a tradition of doing Akershus breakfast to start off our first day of our Disney Trips. On our upcoming trip at the end of August, I booked an 8:05am ADR for it, but it's also on a morning EMH day for Epcot. With this in mind, do we get a FP for the Frozen ride, or do y'all think we still would be good heading there right after breakfast and and save that FP for something else? It's projected to be a 2/10 crowd level at Epcot that day.


TL

 

[Arura Tonks]

I think we discussed it and are going to try to rope drop 7dmt since it's smack in the middle of our fps and on our must do list. Family will join us. Maybe we should EMH Splash and Thunder Mountain that night?

 

[twinprincesses09]

How about rope dropping space mountain, then you could probably still hit Buzz Lightyear with little wait, then on to Enchanted tales with Belle and use your FPs for something else. Gaston starts meeting at about 10am, so I would do that after ETWB. Not sure when your Peter Pan FP is, but you could use the other 2 for Splash Mt and Big Thunder in the early afternoon. Then try to pick up additional FP for Pirates, Jungle Cruise, etc after using those 2. Aladdin and Jasmine meet in Adventureland, so meet them while in between additional FPs. (Enjoy a Dole Whip while waiting in line for them!) We always take advantage of evening EMH at MK to hit a lot of the smaller fantasyland rides with short waits- Little Mermaid ride, Ariel m&g, barnstormer, dumbo, etc. Then get in line for Seven dwarfs a few minutes before closing.

Also, Splash isn't open for evening EMH, but Big Thunder is.

 

[Arura Tonks]

Twinprincess09 Thanks so much for these ideas!

 

[maryj11]

I think we discussed it and are going to try to rope drop 7dmt since it's smack in the middle of our fps and on our must do list. Family will join us. Maybe we should EMH Splash and Thunder Mountain that night?

Last year we did evening EMH 10:00 to 12:00. There were pretty long lines and they didn't die down until about 11:30-11:45. I know morning EMH is probably less crowded.

 

[StarSpeckledSky]

I'd rope drop Seven Dwarfs if you don't have FP for it if I were you.

 

[hsmamato2]

our last trip we hit mine train towards the end of the evening close to closing, the sign said the line was 45 mins but it was only about 20 and we had fun as a family going thru the line together!

 

[kniquy]

I figure the afternoon and evening will work itself out. Thanks for all Disney pro tips! I haven't been there since I was a kid in 1994!!! It's my kids and hubby's first time ever.

At 9:20 we have our first fast passes! Some in the family are heading to Enchanted Tales with Belle while others are heading to the Buzz Lightyear (in MK) ride for 9:20 fp.

I am not sure if you mentioned the ages of your travaling party, just because traveling with a stroller or smaller children can make you move a little slower.

As for your plan -- be there and in line by the liberty square bridge by 8:45. From there I might be inclind to hit BTM first then go over to Splash. you have an hour window for your FP so technically you have until 10:20 to enter the line (and there is usually a few minute grace period of 5 or 10 minutes if you are late). So i would think if you are on those first 2 rides and off by 9:30-9:40 then you split up and those going to SM can cut across the hub area over to tomorrow land and others can just go from frontier land over through liberty square are over to Enchanted tales. You all should be able to ride/watch bell and be done in time for your next FP. The only hold up might be Bell because it is a show - you may or may not hit it right when the show is starting. But if your next FP is starting at 10:20 then you have until 11:20 to enter the line.

7DMT might be a little tough to get day of. You will see the majority of people will flock over to PPF and 7DMT at RD so heading to Frontier land is a great strategy. If your kids can handle it head back to MK after dinner and try to hit 7DMT closer to park close or during the fireworks, so if this means changing your dining reservation time you might consider it. If you don't want to waste the time traveling back and forth to a resort for dinner (really need to plan for at least 2 hours) then consider a reservation in park. Liberty Tree tavern is really good and the ooey gooey toffee cake is to die for!

 

[Meshell2002]

I just found out we are going to a conference and will be in MK one day this June. I have FP for Space/ Buzz mid day, so I want to RD some Fantysyland attractions, We would either want to hit 7DMT or Tales with Belle first (we may have to pick just one and I know this is summer crowds). any suggestions? I had planned on carrying snacks and letting them eat snack/ counter service for lunch. My DH will join us from his conference for dinner at Liberty Tree and we will probably hit HM/ frontierland as stand by. Are there any firework viewing areas behind the castle? My kids are now 12,10, and 6, I'm going to try no stroller since the 6yo can keep up with my pace (she would not if she was with DH the whole day but I will be the only adult until dinner and I will tire out before her )

 

[Arura Tonks]

We would either want to hit 7DMT or Tales with Belle first (we may have to pick just one and I know this is summer crowds). any suggestions? )

The reason I didn't even try for 7dmt fp is my dd just absolutely LOVES Belle! As her Mom I figure her eyes will light up so big when she gets to have the immersive experience and Character meet and greet with Belle. Space Mountain was the number 1 ride wish for both kids (yes! They made me a list and did some research..9 and 11 years old. Lol). Peter Pan was one of my faves as a kid so I wanted my kids to experience it with me. This may be a once in a lifetime ordeal for us! I am trying to choose at least one likely favorite experience for each of us. That's how I made my decisions. EMH happens to fall on our day so hopeful for some pixie dust to get 7dmt, Splash, and Thunder in. You guys are great!

 

[g-dad66]

Hi. We are going to the park on a Wednesday when it is scheduled to open at 9:00. At 9:20 we have our first fast passes! Some in the family are heading to Enchanted Tales with Belle while others are heading to the Buzz Lightyear (in MK) ride for 9:20 fp. Originally we thought we would rope drop Splash Mountain and then hop on Thunder Mountain first thing in the morning, but looking at the map that might be really pushing it. . . What would your strategies be for this itinerary. ( later that morning we have fps for peter pan and space mountain, we plan on joining our cousin for a night ride on 7 dwarf mine train during an emh).
Some must do's kids have mentioned: meeting Gaston and Belle, Buzz, and Aladdin and Jasmine if possible, all the "thrill rides..mountians, 7 dwarf mine train, etc", pirates, jungle cruise, philar magic, astro orbitor, and people mover. Also we have an evening reservations to have dinner at Whispering Canyon Cafe over at the Lodge.
(We will be meeting more characters at Animal Kingdom the following day)

Anyway.. Trying to strategize a morning plan.. I figure the afternoon and evening will work itself out. Thanks for all Disney pro tips! I haven't been there since I was a kid in 1994!!! It's my kids and hubby's first time ever.

You should be able to do both Splash and Big Thunder at Rope Drop with virtually no wait for either one, and have plenty of time to get to your 9:20-10:20 (actually 10:35 as others have mentioned) FP.