Our perfect 3 days at WDW - am I dreaming?

[bwr827]

We’ve got 3 days in early December. Will buy park hoppers and multi-park Genie, and ILLs.

Our top rides, must do and hopefully more than once:
1. Flight of Passage
2. Guardians
3. Rise
3. Tron
4. Safari
5. Big Thunder (not available, so sad)
6. Everest - haven’t tried, we wimped out last visit, now a must-try

Midday breaks will be quick service lunches at select resorts to see the holiday decor.

Other meals/snacks as convenient and on the fly (breakfast usually just groceries in room, plus granola/protein bars in our belt bags).

Okay, here goes… our perfect itinerary. Please poke holes!

Day 1: Wednesday - Magic Kingdom and Epcot

1. 6:30am buy multi-park Genie Plus
2. 7am - book Tron virtual queue and morning ILL and LL for one of Jungle Cruise or Haunted Mansion (3 devices simultaneously)
3. Rope drop Seven Dwarfs
4. Buzz Lightyear
5. People mover
6. Estimated: book 1st 2-hour LL at Epcot (Remy’s)
7. Tron ILL (estimated timing)
8. WDW Railroad
9. LL (Jungle or Mansion), book next LL at Epcot (Frozen)
10. Book 2nd 2-hour LL at Epcot (TBD)
11. Standby Jungle or Mansion
12. Mickey’s Philharmagic
13. EXIT PARK — monorail to Grand Floridian for late quick service lunch, rest
14. Monorail to TTC then to Epcot
15. ALTERNATIVE BREAK: Boat to Wilderness Lodge for quick service lunch, bus to Epcot
16. **Book 1pm Guardians virtual queue (wherever we are at 1pm)
17. Book 3rd 2-hour LL (Soarin)
18. Hit LLs at Epcot - fill time with Gran Fiesta and Living with the Land as applicable
19. Quick dinner at park
20. Guardians virtual queue
21. Guardians standby line if possible
22. EXIT park, bus to All-Star Music

Day 2: Thursday - Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios

1. 6:30am buy multi-park Genie Plus
2. 7am LL Slinky Dog and ILL for Rise
3. Rope drop Flight of Passage
4. Navi River Journey
5. Book 1st 2-hour LL: Runaway Railway
6. Safari
7. Everest
8. Lion King show
9. Book 2nd 2-hour LL: Millennium Falcon
10. EXIT PARK - bus to Animal Kingdom Lodge for quick service lunch, rest
11. Bus to Hollywood Studios
12. Book 3rd 2-hour LL: whatever available
13. Frozen singalong
14. ILL Rise of Resistance (whenever applicable)
15. LL Runaway Railway, book next LL
16. Rockin Rollercoaster
17. LL Slinky Dog
18. LL Millennium Falcon, book next LL
19. Rockin’ Rollercoaster
20. Star Tours
21. Nighttime standby Slinky Dog
22. EXIT PARK - bus to all-star Music
23. Pack for checkout

Day 3: Friday - Animal Kingdom, Epcot, Hollywood

1. 6:30am buy multi-park Genie Plus
2. Check out, leave bags with bell services
3. 7am virtual queue Guardians, LL Slinky, ILL Flight of Passage
4. Rope drop Flight of Passage (note: if ILL for Rise fails on day 2, rope drop Rise at Hollywood instea)
5. Safari
6. Everest
7. Book 1st 2-hour LL (Railway or Millennium)
8. ILL Flight of Passage
9. EXIT PARK - bus to Epcot (no time for resort visit lunch)
10. Ride Guardians virtual queue
11. Lunch at Epcot
12. Book 2nd 2-hour LL at HS
13. EXIT PARK - Skyliner to Hollywood
14. Fill time until Slinky
15. Ride LLs as applicable
16. Get in line for Rise just before close (if ride isn’t down)
17. EXIT PARK - bus to all-star Music
18. Uber to Cabana Bay, check in
19. Next day - Hagrid’s rope drop!

 

[thanxfornoticin]

Wow, good luck. I'm exhausted just reading your plans!! Personally, I'd take an approach that had less changes of parks to try and get the important things in once - trying to get to a couple things twice (like FOP) will be challenging for you. But you have things laid out as you want to do them, and I think you could accomplish most of it! Hope your energy levels are still good for Universal!! Those rope drop mornings and later evenings can be tiring by day 3!

 

[bwr827]

Wow, good luck. I'm exhausted just reading your plans!! Personally, I'd take an approach that had less changes of parks to try and get the important things in once - trying to get to a couple things twice (like FOP) will be challenging for you. But you have things laid out as you want to do them, and I think you could accomplish most of it! Hope your energy levels are still good for Universal!! Those rope drop mornings and later evenings can be tiring by day 3!

We might find ourselves needing a slower pace and could adjust the plans accordingly at night in the hotel room. That’s a fun part of the trip, talking about the next day’s activities while laying in bed.

Re: energy left for Universal, we find those parks much more laid back, especially because 90% of our focus there is Wizarding World. And it’s even easier to take a long midday break each day at Universal.

Thanks for your thoughts!

 

[Tom_E_D]

We’ve got 3 days in early December. Will buy park hoppers and multi-park Genie, and ILLs.

Our top rides, must do and hopefully more than once:
1. Flight of Passage
2. Guardians
3. Rise
3. Tron
4. Safari
5. Big Thunder (not available, so sad)
6. Everest - haven’t tried, we wimped out last visit, now a must-try

Midday breaks will be quick service lunches at select resorts to see the holiday decor.

Other meals/snacks as convenient and on the fly (breakfast usually just groceries in room, plus granola/protein bars in our belt bags).

Okay, here goes… our perfect itinerary. Please poke holes!

Day 1: Wednesday - Magic Kingdom and Epcot

1. 6:30am buy multi-park Genie Plus
2. 7am - book Tron virtual queue and morning ILL and LL for one of Jungle Cruise or Haunted Mansion (3 devices simultaneously)
3. Rope drop Seven Dwarfs
4. Buzz Lightyear
5. People mover
6. Estimated: book 1st 2-hour LL at Epcot (Remy’s)
7. Tron ILL (estimated timing)
8. WDW Railroad
9. LL (Jungle or Mansion), book next LL at Epcot (Frozen)
10. Book 2nd 2-hour LL at Epcot (TBD)
11. Standby Jungle or Mansion
12. Mickey’s Philharmagic
13. EXIT PARK — monorail to Grand Floridian for late quick service lunch, rest
14. Monorail to TTC then to Epcot
15. ALTERNATIVE BREAK: Boat to Wilderness Lodge for quick service lunch, bus to Epcot
16. **Book 1pm Guardians virtual queue (wherever we are at 1pm)
17. Book 3rd 2-hour LL (Soarin)
18. Hit LLs at Epcot - fill time with Gran Fiesta and Living with the Land as applicable
19. Quick dinner at park
20. Guardians virtual queue
21. Guardians standby line if possible
22. EXIT park, bus to All-Star Music

Day 2: Thursday - Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios

1. 6:30am buy multi-park Genie Plus
2. 7am LL Slinky Dog and ILL for Rise
3. Rope drop Flight of Passage
4. Navi River Journey
5. Book 1st 2-hour LL: Runaway Railway
6. Safari
7. Everest
8. Lion King show
9. Book 2nd 2-hour LL: Millennium Falcon
10. EXIT PARK - bus to Animal Kingdom Lodge for quick service lunch, rest
11. Bus to Hollywood Studios
12. Book 3rd 2-hour LL: whatever available
13. Frozen singalong
14. ILL Rise of Resistance (whenever applicable)
15. LL Runaway Railway, book next LL
16. Rockin Rollercoaster
17. LL Slinky Dog
18. LL Millennium Falcon, book next LL
19. Rockin’ Rollercoaster
20. Star Tours
21. Nighttime standby Slinky Dog
22. EXIT PARK - bus to all-star Music
23. Pack for checkout

Day 3: Friday - Animal Kingdom, Epcot, Hollywood

1. 6:30am buy multi-park Genie Plus
2. Check out, leave bags with bell services
3. 7am virtual queue Guardians, LL Slinky, ILL Flight of Passage
4. Rope drop Flight of Passage (note: if ILL for Rise fails on day 2, rope drop Rise at Hollywood instea)
5. Safari
6. Everest
7. Book 1st 2-hour LL (Railway or Millennium)
8. ILL Flight of Passage
9. EXIT PARK - bus to Epcot (no time for resort visit lunch)
10. Ride Guardians virtual queue
11. Lunch at Epcot
12. Book 2nd 2-hour LL at HS
13. EXIT PARK - Skyliner to Hollywood
14. Fill time until Slinky
15. Ride LLs as applicable
16. Get in line for Rise just before close (if ride isn’t down)
17. EXIT PARK - bus to all-star Music
18. Uber to Cabana Bay, check in
19. Next day - Hagrid’s rope drop!

You ask for someone to poke holes, so I'll poke holes.

While I've seen a rumor Big Thunder Mountain may have an extensive refurbishment in its future, nothing official has been announced yet, so you may be able to do it in December.

I wonder if you understand the Genie+ rules. If you book your first LL at 7:00, and use the 2-hour rule to book your second, that'll be two hours after park opening. That's 11:00 on a day the first park (i.e. the one you book our first ride at) opens at 9:00. I get the sense you were expecting to book your second one at 9:00. Also, you can book another LL right after tapping into one only if it was your most-recently-booked one. On Wednesday, step 9 has you booking Frozen right after tapping into JC or HM. However, you have already booked Remy at the 2-hour mark (of course this assumes it's already after 11:00), so you can't book another until you hit the 2-hour-after-booking-Remy mark (or tapping into Remy earlier than 1:00). Frozen may not be available to book a LL for at 1:00. (It isn't always available at 11:00.)

To sign up for the 1:00 VQ for Guardians, you have to have already entered Epcot. You can't do it from wherever you are at 1:00 if you haven't yet entered Epcot. Guardians won't have a standby line if it still has a VQ.

On Wednesday, you say you're doing both the Tron VQ and ILL, but only show yourself riding it with the ILL.

Have fun. It looks like you are planning a busy week.

EDIT: In addition to a Frozen LL maybe not being available as your third LL of the day on Wednesday, a Remy LL may not be available as your second. It's often "sold out" by 11:00. (I'm assuming you won't be using "refreshing" or "drops" to get those LLs after they become unavailable.)

 

[Miffy]

If you really want to ride JC, book that instead of HM for your LL selection and, if you aren't absolutely determined to do BLSRS and Peoplemover, I'd RD 7DMT and then go over to HM. With luck, you won't have a long wait.

JC almost always has a longer standby line than HM. As far as Peoplemover goes, unless you have a nostalgic reason for riding it, I'd really really really skip it. As for Buzz, my experience is that the weapons often don't work. HM, in contrast, is, imo, the best attraction at MK. So I'd do the don't-miss before the meh-whatevers.

As for your DHS plan, all I have to say is good luck. It's possible you'll be at WDW on the lightest attendance day of the year and that would make your plans work.

BTW, even RDing DAK, you will have to race to FoP to be able to have a short wait. If you're not at the front of the early-entry line and also don't sprint, you will be waiting quite a while. FoP is where I'd spend my ILL$ bucks and RD Na'vi instead. Use your LL for safari, which can get a long line on a crowded day.

You could get really lucky and it could pour rain. If this happens, you'll have a walk-on to practically everything you want to do.

But from what I've gleaned from your post, you're expecting to jam 5 days' worth of intense park touring into 3 days of hectic madness with ideal conditions (e.g., getting to FotLK at the right moment that you won't have to wait in a long line and also the show will start immediately). People must do it, so maybe you can too.

Please report when you return! Even though I've pointed out some possible barriers to your achieving your plans, I actually hope you can pull it off!

 

[bwr827]

Thanks for the tips and watch points! I did misunderstand some of the Genie rules, and I assume some of these plans will be derailed by various factors. Hoping I can refine this into the ballpark of doability with a few lucky puck bounces.

 

[bwr827]

We are “try to be front of the line” rope drop people, so we should have reasonable luck with the first ride or two.

Even though being extra early for rope drop means a lot of waiting, the anticipation and excitement makes that wait feel much better than waiting in a ridiculous standby queue.

 

[bwr827]

Brief update: I presented a revised version of the above itinerary to my wife and kids (incorporating some of the helpful advice).

Paraphrased reaction: What are you, nuts, dad?

Long story short, we’re dropping Epcot from the 3-day plan, and forgetting about park hoppers.

Saving money and most likely our temperaments by relaxing the expectations.

 

[Rallard21]

I'd have to agree with some of the other posters thoughts. This is a really cool plan if G+ worked the way we wanted it to work! Epcot is such a problem with G+ that getting those LL is so tough. Also your Guardian LL might end up being much later than you thought. G+ at MK and HS will be worth it you'll enjoy the one park at a time plan. You'll enjoy your sanity of not rushing or missing out on some of your main attractions.

GOOD LUCK have fun!

 

[bwr827]

Thanks, Rallard! Agreed.

The final sticking point was reluctance to miss Guardians. But park hoppers cost approx $470 CDN extra, and no single ride is worth that.

 

[DanceDisney23]

I’m glad you listened to your wife and kids. Trying to follow such a rigid schedule with little room for error would have been a very frustrating experience.

Rides go down (one extreme day at MK last summer we counted at least 7 rides down at one time or another, for hours, often 4 or 5 at a time, most of which were on our to do list.) Lines are longer than expected. LL aren’t available or only available at an inconvenient time. Boarding groups can be called later or earlier than expected. VQ wait times can be quite long. You might have planned to eat when nobody is hungry. There is a lot that can derail your plans. The best thing is to have a loose plan for 2-3 must dos and bring a lot of flexibility.

 

[bwr827]

I’m glad you listened to your wife and kids. Trying to follow such a rigid schedule with little room for error would have been a very frustrating experience.

Rides go down (one extreme day at MK last summer we counted at least 7 rides down at one time or another, for hours, often 4 or 5 at a time, most of which were on our to do list.) Lines are longer than expected. LL aren’t available or only available at an inconvenient time. Boarding groups can be called later or earlier than expected. VQ wait times can be quite long. You might have planned to eat when nobody is hungry. There is a lot that can derail your plans. The best thing is to have a loose plan for 2-3 must dos and bring a lot of flexibility.

We had an amazing time last year with one park per day. I think the key is mindset and expectations, which my clockwork itinerary would have set up for disappointment.

The most challenging time on our last trip was a roughly 2-hour period in which we had a collision course of sunk cost in an awful Soarin’ standby line, an “expiring soon” ILL for Guardians, and a dinner reservation for Space 220 that I’d woken up at 4:45am 6 months earlier to secure.

Stress levels shot up and we ended up running to avoid missing Guardians and dinner.

 

[Rallard21]

Epcot right now is so hard even with G+. The big rides go so quick and TT is down so often. I think they need one or two more attractions to eat up some people. BUT food is always a draw!!!

 

[nighttowll]

This was my Epcot Day last week.

Got LL for Remy at 7, return time 6:30 pm
Got Guardians at 1, return time at 8pm
Got Frozen at 11:00, return time at 8 pm
Dinner reservation 7 to 9

Seeing a problem here? You have no control over return times, so even though I was successful in getting both Frozen and Guardians, I couldn't do either.

Arrived for early entry, did Soar'n, Living with the Land, and Seas with no wait. Used a LL for Spaceship Earth after lunch and booked another ride on Soarin as well. Did TT single rider, probably a 20 minute wait, but it had been down all morning and was super backed up. All the LL were gone by 11 for it. Pretty much no LL left for anything you'd need one for except Soar'n. We had two ADR this day, and we did take a short hotel break late afternoon for about 3 hours. Rode Remy that night, and that's really all we had time for. I had wanted to do Moana and the 3 Caballeros, plus walk around the countries some, but no time.

 

[bwr827]

Epcot right now is so hard even with G+. The big rides go so quick and TT is down so often. I think they need one or two more attractions to eat up some people. BUT food is always a draw!!!

They really do need two more on the level of Frozen. And well-placed throughout the park.

My kids are generally picky about food, so we de-prioritize food except when the stars align and we happen to be in the right place at the right time.

 

[Tom_E_D]

This was my Epcot Day last week.

Got LL for Remy at 7, return time 6:30 pm
Got Guardians at 1, return time at 8pm
Got Frozen at 11:00, return time at 8 pm
Dinner reservation 7 to 9

Seeing a problem here? You have no control over return times, so even though I was successful in getting both Frozen and Guardians, I couldn't do either.

Arrived for early entry, did Soar'n, Living with the Land, and Seas with no wait. Used a LL for Spaceship Earth after lunch and booked another ride on Soarin as well. Did TT single rider, probably a 20 minute wait, but it had been down all morning and was super backed up. All the LL were gone by 11 for it. Pretty much no LL left for anything you'd need one for except Soar'n. We had two ADR this day, and we did take a short hotel break late afternoon for about 3 hours. Rode Remy that night, and that's really all we had time for. I had wanted to do Moana and the 3 Caballeros, plus walk around the countries some, but no time.

I can empathize. When I was there in January, I got an afternoon Remy as my first LL, an 8:00 Frozen as my second. Later, I got a Soarin' (Test Track not then available), which I was later able to modify to Test Track (return time sometime around 8:00). I rode Soarin' using standby line. If everything else went smoothly, using the LLs for both Frozen and Test Track in the hour before Luminous at 9:00 would have been okay. But, of course, Remy was down when it was time for me to ride it and didn't come back up until around 7:45 (I still had my MEP, aka anytime pass, that I got for it), and my boarding group for Guardians was called at 7:50. Given the choice between Frozen and Test Track, or Remy and Guardians, I chose Remy and Guardians. I didn't have time for three rides and get to see Luminous. As a result, Remy was the only LL I used that day. And I didn't do a table service meal. I ate quick service.

 

[Rallard21]

I can empathize. When I was there in January, I got an afternoon Remy as my first LL, an 8:00 Frozen as my second. Later, I got a Soarin' (Test Track not then available), which I was later able to modify to Test Track (return time sometime around 8:00). I rode Soarin' using standby line. If everything else went smoothly, using the LLs for both Frozen and Test Track in the hour before Luminous at 9:00 would have been okay. But, of course, Remy was down when it was time for me to ride it and didn't come back up until around 7:45 (I still had my MEP, aka anytime pass, that I got for it), and my boarding group for Guardians was called at 7:50. Given the choice between Frozen and Test Track, or Remy and Guardians, I chose Remy and Guardians. I didn't have time for three rides and get to see Luminous. As a result, Remy was the only LL I used that day. And I didn't do a table service meal. I ate quick service.

This sounds similar to our experience a few weeks ago. I could LL LWTL or SE but Frozen, TT both gone. Even when trying to edit LL frozen never came back up. Only got Remy out of the LL. Still love Epcot and Way of Water was very fun. Just super tough.

 

[Miffy]

We've come to think of G+ at Epcot as a sort of ILL$ for Frozen. RDing Soarin', LwtL, Nemo, and SE works out fine. Then we usually book a G+ for another go at SE and have lunch somewhere in there.

Having G+ at DAK will come in handy as well, especially if you love the safari as much as I do--this way you can do it twice. And also, you won't be hopping, so you can really take in all (or most of) what DAK has to offer, including all the walking trails, Rafiki's Planet Watch (assuming you like to pet goats--and who doesn't?), maybe do Na'vi River Journey twice, and if you RD FoP and stay the whole day, ride it again before closing, when, at least in my experience, the wait times are highly inflated.

I like your new plan. This way you can go back to your resort midday and rest up and go back at night to MK and DHS.

 

[bwr827]

We've come to think of G+ at Epcot as a sort of ILL$ for Frozen. RDing Soarin', LwtL, Nemo, and SE works out fine. Then we usually book a G+ for another go at SE and have lunch somewhere in there.

Having G+ at DAK will come in handy as well, especially if you love the safari as much as I do--this way you can do it twice. And also, you won't be hopping, so you can really take in all (or most of) what DAK has to offer, including all the walking trails, Rafiki's Planet Watch (assuming you like to pet goats--and who doesn't?), maybe do Na'vi River Journey twice, and if you RD FoP and stay the whole day, ride it again before closing, when, at least in my experience, the wait times are highly inflated.

I like your new plan. This way you can go back to your resort midday and rest up and go back at night to MK and DHS.

Last year we spent the whole day at Animal Kingdom without a break, since they close early. But that did allow us to ride Safari twice, and Flight five times (one rope drop, one ILL, three standby).