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Disney World Advice Needed

By BadgerMom Aug 23, 2018

I decided to plan an impromptu trip to Disney World on the tail end of our Florida trip this fall. We'll be getting into Orlando on a Saturday afternoon, staying the night at Art of Animation Saturday and Sunday, and going to Magic Kingdom on Sunday. We fly out of Orlando on Monday evening. DS is 4, and we will be going/staying with my parents. We will have a rental car and an umbrella stroller. It's supposed to be a 6/10 (Moderate) crowd day at Magic Kingdom according to Undercover Tourist. I haven't been to Disney in years and I know a lot has changed.

Any advice/tips/tricks?
Any dinner suggestions for Saturday night and/or brunch suggestions for Monday?
Any words of wisdom on how to spend a single day at Magic Kingdom with a 4 year old?
Any advice on using the FastPass+ system?

Thank you!

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Tags: disney

14 comments

Hypatia
kiwi / 500 posts

Aug 23, 2018

Have you looked at Touring Plans? It's a $10 subscription for a year but it will help you with all those questions! I currently have a sub, so if you let me know your date, I can tell you what their crowd calculator says (they are more thorough in gathering their data than any other site).

This is their best guide to MK in one day (hopefully it shows up for you, I'm logged in to the site so I don't know if it's members only):

https://touringplans.com/plans/37170

Depending on when you'll be going this fall, be sure to buy tickets in advance to the Not So Scary Hallowwen Party, which is usually on Sundays)otherwise you'll have to leave the park early).
BadgerMom
persimmon / 1385 posts

Aug 23, 2018

@Hypatia: Thank you! I ran across that site yesterday but wasn't sure it was worth the subscription fee. Glad to know you think it will help! We're planning to hit Magic Kingdom on October 28th.
LindsayInNY
bananas / 9229 posts

Aug 23, 2018

I would look into a character dinner. We did Chef Mickey's at the Contemporary (since we stayed there) BUT I think there are in-park options too. We also used FastPasses for the adult rides mostly. We would kid swap since DD was too short for most of the rides. Each person gets 3 FastPasses and you can't select others until all 3 are used. So don't space them out all day or you won't be able to select more.

Have fun!!!
Miss Ariel
nectarine / 2210 posts

Aug 23, 2018

I'm a big fan of easywdw. It has suggested tour plans there plus it's all free!
BadgerMom
persimmon / 1385 posts

Aug 23, 2018

@LindsayInNY: Unfortunately the only Chef Mickey res available is at 9:20pm... Boo! I'll check and see what is available in the park.

@Miss Ariel: Great, thank you!
SteelerGirl
cherry / 247 posts

Aug 23, 2018

@BadgerMom: We will be in Magic Kingdom exact same day as you! The best advice I heard was to go left to right rather than right to left. Most people tend to start in tomorrow land and end up in frontierland. If you go in reverse you will have lighter crowds. We plan to start in frontierland and do those rides without fast passes, and save our three fast passes for fantasyland rides later in the morning.
Charm54
cantaloupe / 6885 posts

Aug 23, 2018

I would probanly look into Early Morning Magic - it’s $69 but you get a great breakfast and the ability to ride the 3 most popular rides in Fantasyland with 0 wait. I haven’t done it yet but heard awesome reviews. It’s usually held on sundays I think.

I’m also guessing Mickey’s Not So scary halloween party will be happening on your date (since it’s so close to a Halloween) which means the park will close at 6. So if you wanted to see the fireworks/stay for the evening you would have to buy an extra ticket for the party.

The good news is the crowd lines are generally really low throughout the day on party days because a lot of people are turned off by the 6pm close.

My suggestions for character brunch would be Cape May Cafe at the Beach Club Resort or Chef Mickey’s at Contemporary Resort. Boma at Animal kingdom Lodge is delicious but it doesn’t have characters. You can tour the resort though and watch the animals after brunch which is fun.

Arrival dinner I would look at going to Disney Springs because it’s easy to get to ... our favourites are Boathouse and Raglan Road. T Rex and Rainforest Cafe are fun for kids.

Have fun!!
SteelerGirl
cherry / 247 posts

Aug 23, 2018

@BadgerMom: Also, I'm sure you know this but book your first three passes ahead of time! If we're same day, then it should be August 28 as the first day you can do it. We will be signing on at the exact moment we're able to.
LindsayInNY
bananas / 9229 posts

Aug 23, 2018

@BadgerMom: Keep checking! Reservations always open up. Crystal Palace in MK is Pooh and Friends too.
Hypatia
kiwi / 500 posts

Aug 23, 2018

@BadgerMom: Here's the crowd calender for that day. MK will be a lot less busy than other parks that day because of the Halloween party, which costs extra and is a ticketed event. But you should totally do it. You can stay until like midnight.

There are no extra morning hours for MK that day, but considering you could be there from 9 am you midnight it's not a bit deal. That touring plan I linked emphasized get thing there super early and stuff, but if you do the party, there's absolutely no need. The park won't be that crowded during the day because other people will be going to other parks, and then only people with special tickets will be allowed in after 6 PM, so it will be so dead that you'll be able to ride whatever you want.

Based on what I've read from how Touring Plans makes their predictions, I trust them more than other sites. I know that when we went two years ago, the TP predictions were spotted on but the other sites weren't (they overestimated the crowds).
BadgerMom
persimmon / 1385 posts

Aug 23, 2018

@SteelerGirl: Ha! That’s funny. Maybe we’ll be in line together and never know it!

@Charm54: Thank you! Thanks good to know about the party day and the lack of crowds. That will make swallowing the $240 combined ticket a little easier. Boma would be a great idea for Monday so we can kill some time at the resort before our flight.

@LindsayInNY: Will do! Glad to know things open up.

@Hypatia: Thank you for pulling that for me, looks like we’ll have a pretty easy crowd day!
Hypatia
kiwi / 500 posts

Aug 23, 2018

@BadgerMom: No problem! You can Google the Halloween party for more info, but you might want to have your DD bring her costume since a lot of other people wear theirs. Just be sure to Google the rules if you plan on going in costume too (afaik kids can wear anything, but adults can't wear masks, scary stuff, etc).
BadgerMom
persimmon / 1385 posts

Aug 23, 2018

@Hypatia: Thanks for the heads up! DS has decided he wants to be a tornado lol. So maybe we’ll have to pick out a special Disney costume that is easier to pack...
Hypatia
kiwi / 500 posts

Aug 23, 2018

@BadgerMom: Oops, I meant DS. I must be projecting because your trip sounds awesome.

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