Which days for which parks (including Sea World and Universal)

[mill4023]

I'll be in Orlando from April 28 - May 7 with my wife and 4 kids (DS10, DD7, DD4.5, DD1).
I'm having a hard time deciding what order to do all the parks.

Unless a really good code comes along, we'll be staying off-site at the Fairfield Marriott at Marriott Village. I was able to get 9 nights for a grand total of $468 through AAA, so as much as I would like to stay onsite, I can't justify spending an extra $1000 that could be used for souvenirs and nice meals.

We'll be arriving on the morning of the 28th and leaving in the late afternoon on the 7th. So we will have 8 full days and 2 half days.
Th(1/2), Fr, S, Su, M, T, W, Th, F, S(1/2).

Here's what we would like to do:
1 day Universal
1 day Sea World
1 or 2 days Magic Kingdom
1 day Animal Kingdom
1 day Epcot
1 day Disney-MGM Studios
1 day either Blizzard Beach or Typhoon Lagoon

Sea World can be any day except Wed, Thu, Fri. My cousin is a trainer there and those are his days off. We definitely want to go when he is working so we can get the personal tour with the whales.

I'm worried we are packing too much activity and not enough rest time.
But being on the west coast and having 6 people to buy plane tickets for, I don't know when we'll get another chance to go and I don't want to miss anything. We have been to Disneyland 3 times in the past 7 years, most recently last summer. So we could probably do just one day at the MK. But on the other hand, that will definitely be the highlight of the trip for my 4 yr old and last summer, I felt like one day wasn't enough at DL.
So I don't know if we should keep it to 1 or make it 2 days. Maybe 2 would actually be more relaxing because we wouldn't feel rushed.

Either way, I'm not sure whether I should do MK at the beginning or end of the trip. If we do it at the beginning, I'm afraid that everything else will seem less exciting, especially to the 4 yr old. But if we save it for the end, I'm afraid that she will spend the whole first part of the trip asking when we can finally go to MK.

Any opinions, thoughts, ideas, secret tips, etc. on how to best plan this trip would be appreciated. Which order? Which days? How much time per park? Any parks that really only require 1/2 day? If so, would it be worth it to buy hoppers?

I get a discount on MYW tickets from my employer. I was planning on getting 7 day base tickets and buying separate tickets to the water park.
I'll have 3 10+'s and 2 3-9's
Here are my options:
7 day base tickets - $859
5 day hopper - $997
7 day Premium (hopping plus water parks) - $1234

 

[Magic2000]

We'll be visiting in June and we'll be doing some of the same things!!!

We usually do Magic Kingdom on our first full day there!! Excitement gets to us and we HAVE to have our MK fix!!! Then you can mix in the other parks, and we always save Magic Kingdom for our last day too!!! When you go to Epcot, be sure to have your children do the Kids Stops where you decorate a mask and each country stamps the mask! My little girl loves to visit each country and she makes sure we don't miss one either!!! Don't miss Illuminations at Epcot!!! We visit Disneyworld often, so sometimes we do MGM in a half day, and sometimes we do Animal Kingdom in a half day. If this is your first visit, you may want to allow a whole day for each, then if you finish early, you could head back to your hotel and swim/relax, or go shop at Downtown Disney.

We're going to do Sea World and the dolphin swim at Discovery Cove.

My best suggestion would be to avoid Magic Kingdom on a Saturday!!!!!!

Have a great trip!!!!

 

[mill4023]

I had thought about doing MK on the first day and on the last, but I didn't know if it would be better to do 2 days in a row to kind of keep the same theme going.
We are very excited. I grew up going to Disneyland every couple years and always thought it was truly "the happiest place on earth". I always wanted to go to WDW but never got a chance. So I'm thrilled that I have a chance to take my own kids now.

 

[cinamin27]

Please also keep in mind that Universal Orlando consists of 2 seperate parks. Universal Studios & Universal Islands of Adventure. both parks require seperate admission unless you purchase the 1 day 2 park ticket & I think the ticket costs almost $80. You may want to do some research on which Universal park you want to visit if you do not plan to spring for the 1 day 2 park ticket if you are only planning 1 day at universal.

Maybe you can do your first 1/2 day either TL or BB. since it is a Thursday, I dont think it would be too overly crowded if you get there in the late morning or early afternoon (of course depending on what time they close). We usually did AK & MGM in the same day so that is also a thought for one of your 1/2 days.

Have fun!!!

 

[mill4023]

From what I've seen, although both Universal parks are obviously not as young kid friendly as Disney, US seems to have more stuff to keep the 4 year old entertained than IOA. So we were planning on just doing US and skipping IOA. Anyone have opinions on this?

We could do a water park on the first day, but we are coming in on an overnight flight and getting into the airport at 9am, so although my kids may be ready to go, my wife and I will probably need to take it easy on that first day. How relaxing or tiring are the water parks?

 

[Wishing on a star]

I guess you realized that you have stumbled upon the Million Dollar question!!! The big 50th Celebration begins on May 5th... That could greatly impact on which days to go to the different Parks. There is speculation about early Park closings on May 4th... Disney could deviate from the normal expected EMH hours.... Also, there are Grad Nites going on thru April 30th or the first of May... not sure exact dates... Where this would affect Park Hours and Crowds.

Here is what you should do.

1. Wait for Disney to release the May Hours... They should be released by March first.

2. When these hours are released, Since you are staying off-site, Pencil in your Days at the Disney Parks so that you avoid the EMH days for Disney Resort Guests... It might be Okay to plan to go on days that a Park is closing early, (unless you feel you really want the extended time to pack everything in).... Example, the first day at MK might be a good day to enjoy MK, even if it is closing early, then the second Day at MK, you could go when the Park is open late, Wishes, etc... Pencil in Epcot and or AK on non EMH days.

What it boils down to, DISNEY and their planned hours and offering of evening shows like Wishes and Spectro should come first. That is what would dictate my plans.

3. Then pencil in your other plans... I have heard to avoid MK on Mondays, Maybe SeaWord would work for Monday. I imagine that a Monday would not be the most popular day for large groups of kids on 'end of the year field trips' to Sea World? Maybe you could post on the SeaWorld forum about the best days for this Park.

4. I imagine that the weekend days may be hardest to plan, as I think EVERY park and attraction in the area will be swamped with locals as well as visitors.

Really, the only thing to do is to take all this information, with a sheet of paper with each day listed... and then start penciling in until you come up with a plan that works for you!

We had already planned for MK for May 4th and 5th... (before learning of the big celebration.) Had already booked Discovery Cove earlier in the week. (Monday, since I have been advised to avoid MK on that day.) But, I am definately thinking I may have to get out my Pencil and Paper and rework our plans too!!! No way do I want to do MK on Wednesday if this is a usual EMH evening, along with other parks being closed early for press-events before the big May 5th Celebration Kick Off.

Happy Planning!

 

[mill4023]

I'm trying to avoid the really crowded days at each park, but it is so hard when everyone seems to have a different opinion about which days are most and least crowded.

We would really like to do MK on the first full day(Friday) but it looks like it will be an EMH day and it's also a Grad Night so it will be closing early.
According to Len and the UG, Saturday is a good day to go, but according to everyone here and every other source on the internet, Saturday is one of the most crowded days at MK. The UG's information seems to be based on traveling statistics and doesn't seem to take the locals into account.
Sunday is either very crowded or not crowded at all, depending on who you listen to.
Mondays are supposed to be crowded according to almost everyone.
The only really good day that everyone seems to agree on is Tuesday.

So right now, I'm thinking MK on Tues or Thurs. But we want to go twice and really want to go sooner than Tues.

So, anyone have an opinion on who is the most accurate at estimating crowd levels? Or should I not even worry about it at this time of year when the UG estimates a crowd level of 3 for most days we will be there.

 

[Wishing on a star]

Yep!!! That is why you have really hit upon the million dollar question!

That is why it is essential to see what Disney will do with their hours and EMH schedule for May.

I think that at this time of Spring, that Saturdays/Weekends will be busy at the Parks... During the Summer, when people are on long vacations, I don't think that the difference on Saturdays might be quite as bad. But I think this is a peak time for locals and others who have been waiting for Spring. (who wants to wait until the heat of Summer if they don't have too.) Water Parks should be busy with everyone wanting to get a start on the Summer WaterPark/Swimming season.

You mention wanting to go to MK before Tuesday, and THAT is the exact reason why the Weekends and Mondays are thought to be crowded!!! Everyone who begins their vacation traveling down to Disney on Friday and Saturday wants to do the same thing. Overall, I wonder if it really matters if you Do MK first, or wait... Depending on the EMH hours, maybe you could consider making MK the final'e of your trip? Especially if those are the days that you are not wanting to go to SeaWorld.