When to go where?

[SheridanLedding]

Hey everyone!

I'm one of three planning a trip for eight. We are all members of the

NOTRE DAME CLASS OF 2008!!

and we will be graduating next summer!

So this is our celebration of our senior year and our college friendships! We're going for fall break, October 21-28!

My part of the planning is Activities and Entertainment (we have Tickets/Flights/Hotel and Food as well, that's the three of us) and my biggest question right now is, when's the best time to hit the big attractions? Especially the ones with extensive waits, like the MGM Backstage Tour. We're planning to make good use of fastpass, but I thought if anyone had some good ideas of when these lines were a little less unbearable, it could ease our trip. Anyone have any suggestions?

[irish1967]

I've never been in October - but I think that the best way to hit the number 1 ride (for you) in each park is to go first thing in the morning (be ready to jump on when the ride opens...)

of course, that will be dependent on how late you stay up the night before

Have a great time! I wish we had thought of a trip like this my senior year...

Irish1967 (that has to do with my heritage, not my athletic allegiences) but...

I graduated SMC - class of 1989
DB graduated ND (1988 and now is a professor at ND - I won't tell you any more than that in case you had him and hate him!)
DB graduated ND (1992)
DSIL - SMC 1990
DDad graduated ND (1960)

and various aunts, uncles, cousins...

[maizey05]

How fun for all of you! I usually always go in Oct. It's not crowded usually, so you're in luck. When you go to AK, you might want to run right to Expedition Everest and grab a fastpass, then go see the other attractions. During our trip last year, the longest wait was for Splash Mountain. I'd grab a fastpass for there too, shortly after entering the park. Also, since you're the "entertainment master", you might want to get a place to sit and watch Spectromagic early. Our favorite place to watch, is Frontierland. At Epcot, Test Track had a semi-long wait time, so you might want to get a fast pass for that one. Happy planning to you.

[septembergirl]

I would try the Unofficial Guide. You can check it out online.
Whatever park you choose each day, get there early! Even in really busy times you can get so much during the first hour or so. Then the crowds will be greater as the day goes on.

[epceddie]

I was at WDW last October and the crowds were very manageable. Epcot was a little crowded because of the Food & Wine Festival, but we had no trouble getting a table at (the soon to be closed) Alfredo's in italy.
If you're staying on site, take advantage of the extra magic hour in the mornings.
One park per day will also be open for up to three extra hours at night, so that's another option.
If you're staying off site, I'd avoid the EMH park of the day and visit another park early in the morning.
Entertainment wise, don't miss the Wishes fireworks in the MK or Illuminations in Epcot. They're both outstanding, as is the Fantasmic show at Disney/MGM Studios.
You might also want to get tickets to Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party, which are on sale now.
They close the MK early and only people with wristbands can go on the rides. We walked onto just about everything last year, including Splash Mountain, the Haunted House, and Buzz Lightyear.
I also recommend getting a copy of the Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World. It's filled with great information about everything Disney.
I'll be honeymooning with my new bride the exact same days you'll be there, so here's hoping we both have great weeks.

Have a blast! Go Irish!

[SheridanLedding]

Thanks for all of the replies! A lot of good help there!

irish1967: Now I'm curious about your DB! Good to know there are fellow Domers out there willing to help us have an awesome time!

maizey05: I never would have thought it was so hard to find a spot for SpectroMagic! I'll make sure to take a good look at the route plan ahead of time and strongly consider FrontierLand!

septembergirl: I'll definitely find the unofficial guide, thanks!

epceddie: I thought Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party looked fun, but my group gave me the "Are you joking? Costumes and trick-or-treating? We're 21! We'll be at Pleasure Island, have fun with Mickey!" However, I'm not sure they registered that they would have access to the rides during those hours, I'm going to look at that closer and pitch it to them again, thanks! Congratulations on the wedding and (for both our sakes) I hope your honeymoon is beautiful!

We are on-site and planning to take advantage of Extra Magic Hours as well as the Food & Wine Festival (Isn't that what college seniors do?) Any other insider tips would be greatly appreciated! We have some experienced WDW vacationers in our group (our Food planner for one, but he's kinda one track...) but I haven't been in several years, and I'm used to having my Theme Parking Parents plan it all out for me!

[MsMin]

One good thing is LSU's fall break is the week before so you won't have a lot of LSU fans to contend with
If you are staying onsite do checkout the evening EMH's when you can ride the thrill rides over and over. I've only done MVMCP but lines have never been long for the rides then. Just don't spend your time in long lines w/o a f/p. If the park has emh's in the a.m you may want to switch parks.
Hope you have a great time.

[RocknRoller94]

Any ride's okay as long as you get FAST PASSES.
I always get Passes in the morning, go ride the weiny rides, then come back at the right time.