Which park on which day?

[Hbk]

Hi everyone! My husband and I will be visiting Disney for the first time Sept 25th - 29th. That's Thursday - Monday and it's during the wine and food festival.

We have the park hopper tickets for 4 days and also tickets for both water parks. So... We have 5 days and I'm wondering how to plan them. My mother in law, who has been several times, suggested 1 day for Epcot, 1 for Hollywood studios, 1 where we split day between magic and animal kingdom, 1 for water parks.... And then 1 day for.... Maybe Epcot again? Or whichever ends up being our favorite?

I would love suggestions on what park is best on what day.... Or, are certain parks best in the morning or afternoon? Also, which park do you think absolutely needs 2 days (I'm sure they all do!!).

Any help is appreciated- it's so overwhelming to try to plan!

Thanks!

[conan617]

Your plan sounds just fine. It's all a matter of personal preference. For instance, I need more MK time than half a day but that is what I like.

I will actually be arriving at WDW the Saturday you are there. MK has EMH that night until 1am (park hours subject to change). Be sure to consider using the extra time or hop over as later in the night the park is definitely more manageable.

What ever you decide, you're still going to WDW and will love everything you choose. If you don't get to see something, you have an excuse to go back

[conan617]

Edit - sorry. MK has EMH if you are staying on site. You didn't mention if you were staying on-site..I just assumed...again sorry

Epcot will be busier on the weekend due to F&W but if that is one of the reasons you are going you will love it!

Don't get to stressed over the planning. Planning is part of the fun!

[faline]

Keep in mind that you will NOT be able to do "everything" in one trip so don't even try to get it all in. Refer to a good guidebook. Birnbaum's Official book is good - especially for someone who hasn't been before. Decide on your "must do " rides for each of the parks you will visit. Since many of the most popular rides will have the longest lines, do plan on using the fastpass+ system whenever possible - making your ride reservations as far in advance as possible. Decide on your "must do" dining and make those reservations in advance as well.

Take into account park hours. If you are the type who will stay in the park from opening to closing, you may want to plan your park days in a way that optimizes the park hours. Keep in mind, many folks do not purchase the park hoppers and go to the park that has either early morning or late evening hours so they can maximize the number of hours they have available to them in that park.

Remember, to enjoy the atmosphere and surroundings of the park instead of rushing from attraction to attraction trying to check off your list as many attractions as possible. You miss much if you spend all your time on rides and standing in line.

[MississippiDisneyFreak]

I would do one Epcot, one magic kingdom and one to split HS and A K

[gottaluvtink]

If it were my first time, unless you are water fanatics, I would skip the water park. There is so much to do in the parks. I figure there are water parks everywhere, but not Disney Parks! I need at least a whole day in each park, and I have been over 20 times. It's all about preference. Maybe you should research each park and see what you think you would most like to do.

[Janmac]

Try to keep in mind that the parks are huge and are several miles away from each other. As previous posters have said, you won't get to see everything during your stay. Magic Kingdom (MK) has over 50 attractions; seeing all of them in one day takes some stamina and long operating hours.

Our local public library has several Disney guidebooks on the shelf for check out. Get a book and pick a few must do things - based on your likes and abilities. Perhaps the best thing to do is familiarize yourself with what is there in the way of attractions that interest you, especially the maps and pictures. And then be sure, when you do get to Disney World, to be flexible and go with the flow. There are lots of little extras that you may stumble across.

One idea is to not visit all 4 parks. When we have brought newbies with us who have only 5 days, we have left off one park. Sometimes Animal Kingdom and sometimes Disney Hollywood Studios (DHS), depending on the folks. We started going to WDW back when MK was all there was. Then MK and Epcot. We could easily take 3 days to do those two parks. Seems every time another park opens we have to add more days to the trip.

During busier times or when MK and DHS close early we like to do Epcot most evenings. Epcot stays open til 9 and has wider walkways, handling the crowds better. We generally do one or two pavilions in the Future World area followed by two or three pavilions in the World Showcase area. By the end of our week, we've seen all of Future World and World Showcase that we want to see.

We used to go to the park that had Early Extra Magic Hours (Early EMH) but now we avoid the park that has EMH and go to another park for the morning. When that park gets to the point of too annoying - either heat, or crowds or both - we leave for our resort for a couple of hours. We do a water park when we have lots of days of vacation. Otherwise, we use the resort pool.

As for how many days per park, one person might feel AK is a half day park while another might spend two days there. We usually walk thru Maharajah Jungle Trek in maybe 10 minutes. My cousins could spend all morning on just this trail. On another trip we went first thing to Conservation Station so my grand niece might see the vets doing something. She stood for 2 hours at the viewing window watching, mesmerized, while they examined and x-rayed a komodo dragon.

I would suggest 1 morning in each park, with evenings mostly at Epcot, leaving a morning for repeats. I would also suggest that you be at your park of the day about 30 minutes before the park opens. You can experience most attractions with very little wait in the first hour or two.

Good luck and enjoy!

Jan

[DisneyLovinFool]

I`m not sure if your staying on Disney to get the extra magic hours but we usually plan our days around those. Such as If Magic Kingdom is having extra magic hours on Monday then thats the day we will go to Magic Kingdom.
We are spending a whole day at Magic Kingdom and possibly another half day...there is so much to see and do! Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios we usually do together in one day BUT of course if its your first time then you might want to take longer. Epcot also takes about a day. With the park hopper though its good to know you can move around as you want!

[MouseHouser]

During September, crowds are less of a problem, yet it always pays to avoid lines. The best advice for picking a less-busy park on a given day of the week is to stay away from parks that have Extra Magic Hours that day. They tend to be MUCH busier than the other parks.

On the other hand, if extra hours is something you might really enjoy, as many do, then go for it. September is a good month for it.

If you click on the "info central" tab above, and then go to "crowds," you can see which days are the busy days for each park.

[ibelieveindisneymagic]

The only thing I can add to the great information you've already received is to avoid Epcot on the weekend. I couldn't believe what a zoo it was during the F&W festival.

I also agree with skipping the waterpark, unless you're a huge waterpark fan. There is so much to do on a first trip (and we still haven't done EVERYTHING after many trips), that the main parks will offer so much!