1st Time - how much can i fit in a day?

[be1985]

Our first time is this October, going with our 5 year old son. Apologies for all the questions!

How many rides, along with a sit down lunch can we fit in a day? I imagine we will head back to the resort (AKL and Polynesian) about 3pm. We are early risers so most days could make the early openings.

I was thinking 3 or 4 rides and then do a few of the parades/ see some of the other entertainment? Is there a resource that shows how long it takes to walk from one part of the MK to another? Or one part of the AK to another?

I'm assuming for a sit down lunch somewhere like Yak and Yeti or Garden Grill we should schedule an hour?

[dollydaydream7]

You can it a lot in if you plan we did it with 4 boys And managed a lot.
We are early risers too so would either be at park for rope drop or book an early ADR for breakfast in the park so we are in when rides open. Garden grill at Epcot is a good one as is tuskers. Don't book your fastpasses for the first 1.5/2 hours after park opens as queues are smaller then so use that time to ride using queues then start fast passes after that. We tend to do a quick lunch as again most people eat at the same time so ride queues can drop around lunch time slightly. I'd suggest making bookings for sit downs so you're not disappointed if you can't get in.

[AliceCooper9]

MK if you arrive at park opening you could do at a lot of rides by 3pm.
Book FP at 9am 10am 11am and do other rides close by. Then you can do rolling FPs at 11am.

Epcot not as many rides and larger distances to travel. It is better tackled over 2 days. The Tier system will strict how many popular rides you can get done. But you could get maybe 4/5 rides in.

HS SWGE will have a lot of queues. Also the Tiers system will restrict the number of rides. Maybe 4/5 attractions

AK again not as many attractions beside each other so maybe 4/5 attractions

Lunch I would usually schedule 1 hour. Character dining 90 mins.

Usually I would do the character M+Gs/outdoor rides in the morning because when in rains in the afternoon they all close down.

The MDE app has distances and directions.

[vampiress88]

This was our first day in MK in June with our girls 3&4

We under estimated the time it took to get from car park to MK. We should have been at the castle for 8.45. But that didn’t happen.

Castle at 9.10

Meet Ariel
Little mermaid ride
Belle -FP
Tiana & Rapunzel
Cinderella & Elena -FP
(30mins for snacks)
Petes -Daisy & Pluto
Splash mountain-FP
(30min for snacks)
BTM
Magic carpets -FP snagged
(30 mins waiting for royal friendship fayre show that didn’t start)
Winnie Pooh -FP snagged
(15mins wait for Merida that didn’t happen due to weather)
Pirates -FP snagged
(From 2.15-3 we had snacks and waited for parade but it got cancelled due to the rain)
Small world -FP snagged
Philharmagic
(20 mins snacks)
Meet Gaston
Dumbo
Buzz -FP snagged
Laughing floor -FP snagged
Meet tinker bell -FP snagged
(20mins at guest relations)
Out by 6pm

You can do a lot if you work out how to use the fastpass system and yes the app works out the distances to walk too.

[llynnnn]

Try and plan your route and fast passes so you don't waste time (and valuable energy!) zig zagging across the park like we did in Epcot the 1st time we went. You can get a lot more done this way

[grant_w]

If you don't mind using your phone a lot while you are there you tap in at your first FastPass, and while you are waiting to go on it, modify your next Fastpass to a nearer time, then you can do it as soon as you finish your first ride and not have to wait til the hour is up.
We did this and got FP after FP with no waiting in between

[Tinkermom]

You can fit in loads but try and remember that 5 year olds see the world differently than grown ups. There is so many new and interesting things to see around Disney, it’s so much more than just the rides and shows. Give the little ones time to take it all in, they often spot many things that adults don’t. Enjoy!

[be1985]

Thanks everyone for replies. We definitely want to soak in all the Disney Magic and try and do a decent amount of rides each day as well as just enjoy the parks, snacks, and being together. I've already got an idea of the FPs we will do each day, and will have some ideas of back ups on the day.

[LLOB]

Sounds sad but study the maps... for example we ate at MK BOG then got a fast pass for SDMT Near by, then we saw ariel who Is in the same area. Try to avoid walking from one side of the park to the other. I always tried to zone off the parks so cover one zone then move to another. X

[jothp]

I would also advise you to study the maps and to read as much as you can here and on other Disney sites. If you are planning to be at the park for rope drop then be aware that you are often allowed to enter the park before the advertised opening time and there are some rides (such as SDMT and FOP) that you need to be at the park at least an hour before the advertised opening time to end up with a short wait once the park actually opens. Other rides you can easily arrive at the entrance around opening time and still have a short wait.

We tend to plan to get 2 or 3 (sometimes more depending on the park and what we are riding!) rides done in the first hour/90minutes and then book our FP from 9.30 or 10. I always book our FP for three consecutive hours. We ride the first FP towards the end of the window and then do the second straight away. Then we often fit in a show/character meet/ride that doesn't generally have long queues before the final FP. After that it is usually getting on for lunchtime. As you can probably tell we try to be quite busy in the morning and then have a much more relaxed pace in the afternoons/evenings. I will say that everybody is different and it may take a bit of trial and error to find the way of planning that works best for your family. If what you are trying isn't working for you then you can always change things around when you are there.

Another way to get an idea of what you might get done is to read through trip reports of what other people have managed to do.