New and planning my first trip!! Need advice!

The best advice I know is to get up early, eat a good breakfast at resort a be at the park 30 minutes before it opens. Or at least 15 minutes before it opens. Magic Kingdom has a nice park opening ceremony where Mickey and other characters ride the train up to the front of park and dance around a little as they announce the park opening. Sometimes then some of the characters join in with the crowd as the crowd is moving quickly down Main Street. The cast members from the shops stand out and wave as people are coming in. It is a really fun way to start the day. Also the first couple of hours the park is open the lines are short and you can race around to some of the best rides and walk on without a wait.

As far as Park hopping it is really just a matter of choice. It can easily take a full day to see Magic Kingdom. Really 2 days if you want to take your time and really see and do everything. If you park hop you could make it into all 4 main parks, but you will spend time on transportation to get from one to another and no way you will exhaust any one of the parks. So like I said it just kinda depends on what you are wanting to do.

Hollywood Studios is smaller and you could easily do everything there in a day.

Character meals are pricey but they are a lot of fun. If you go get an autograph book and have each character sign it. The reason is that is takes them time to sign it and keeps them at your table longer. The character breakfast at the Crystal Palace in Magic Kingdom is very nice. It has Pooh characters. And it is one of the more reasonably priced. Plus it is a beautiful place with a view of the castle. Try to book the earliest reservation possible, you want a time that is well before the park opening. People with breakfast reservations are allowed in early. We were in the front of the breakfast line when the opened it up, and I ran in and got a pick down Main Street with Castle in back ground with not one person on the street, we were the first ones in the park. Those little things are kinda fun.

You also want to read up a little on the fast pass system and use it. We try never to wait in much of a line. The lines in the afternoon get a bit long. Sometimes in afternoon we try to slow down and take it easy and shop or something. Then the lines ease up a bit into the evening. At Hollywood Studios the Toy Story Mania ride is a blast and the fast passes will completely run out for that day very early in the day, so get a fast pass for that as soon as you can.

My icon picture was taken at the food court at All Star Movies.

Melanie to the best Disney forum. If you only have 2 days to spend in the parks I wouldn't spend the extra money on the park hopper passes. You will spend a lot of time riding from one park to another when that time could be well spent in one park. I agree that I would do MK one day and DHS another.

I agree with the others that you could easily spend a full day at each park so a park hopper probably isn't necessary for this trip. I'm super excited you're getting to cross this one off your bucket list!!! You're going to have so much fun!

Hi Melanie and welcome! And congratulations on your newly-wed-ness!

October is such a fun tie to go, what with all the Halloween decorations up. It's very festive

I agree with the others - I don't think I would bother with park hopper passes for a short trip, and would focus on just the 2 parks you are most interested in. You would lose alot of time with transportation.

A few things to keep in mind as you plan your park days.....

Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party (MNSSHP) takes place at Magic Kingdom on select days all through October (it actually begins in September). It requires special event tickets over and above your standard park tickets.

If you don't want to go to that event and don't buy the special event tickets, be aware that you will be gracefully kicked out of the Magic Kingdom park at 7:00 pm, and it will only be open after 7:00 pm to those that bought the special event tickets.

While Disney has not released the actual dates of the MNSSHP yet, the posted park hours for Magic Kingdom on Friday, 10/4 are 9:00 am - 7:00 pm. So it's a good guess that MNSSHP will occur that evening.

Therefore, if you don't plan on spending the additional money (about $60 per person) for MNSSHP, and you aren't getting park hopper tickets, you might want to consider doing Magic Kingdom on Saturday, 10/5, and do Hollywood Studios on Friday, 10/4.

Probably better anyhow, as the posted hours for HS on Friday 10/4 are 9:00 am - 8:00 pm (and extra magic hours starting at 8:00 am!), whereas they are only 9:00 am - 6:00 pm (with no extra magic hours) on Saturday.

Hope that helps!

Welcome.

Allow me to present the alternative view.

I agree that you could forgo the hopper and have a great time, but it comes with a risk. Let's say you go to the MK and it gets crowded, without the hopper you're stuck. With the hopper you could bail on the MK and head for a less crowded park.

Having only two days to visit makes the admissions very expensive. Spending a bit more for the insurance of a hopper means that you won't spend an expensive day standing in lines, you'll be doing cool stuff.

Have a great time.

Hi Melanie -

Congrats on your upcoming trip!! You'll get some great advice on this board!! I just thought I'd throw in my 2 cents. As far as the park hopper, my advice would be if this is your first Disney trip and you're not sure you'll make it back any time soon, the park hopper might be worth the extra money. For example, if the Extra Magic Hours (EMH) are not at the parks you picked for that day (and just a warning - you are going for Tower of Terror 10 miler weekend - Hollywood Studio's hours may be impacted, as they are the "host park" for the race party), you may want to hit up the park that DOES have the EMH so that you get more parks during your stay. For instance, if Epcot opens early on your MK day, maybe you get a few Epcot hours in before heading over to MK. Ultimately, it's up to you. You won't get it all done in one trip, so make it stress free and do what you want and what feels the best to you AND to your pocketbook!! If you can't decide, you can wait until you get to your resort and buy the tickets from the concierge. I would advise if this is a first trip not to schedule too many Advance Dining Reservations (ADRs) so that you're not bound to a schedule and cutting park time short to make a meal reservation - BUT if good food is what you're looking for, there are plenty of suggestions and pictures to tempt your appetite on the board.

Whatever you end up deciding, you'll have a magical time!! Congratulations again!! OH - and make sure you tell the resort at check-in or during your reservation that it's your birthday so you get your special birthday button to wear!! And a first visit button, if it is your first visit!

Welcome Melanie!

I wouldn't do a Park Hopper with just two days. You can easily spend a full day at the Magic Kingdom and at Hollywood Studios. Park Hoppers do allow for flex in your touring strategy, however they aren't a must have for my family.

Welcome!!! October is such a lovely time to go! I agree with everyone else, say no to the park hoppers. You would lose valuable time waiting for buses and driving all over. Once your there if you finish everything you wanted to do and really want to check out another park you can always upgrade your ticket to a park hopper.

welcome and congratulations .

I'm torn on this one! I agree that timing wise it probably won't be worth it to try and make it to more then one park on each day, but I do agree it would really stink to be stuck at an overcrowded park and not be able to leave (we always get park hoppers!) and if you're not planning on doing Epcot without the park hoppers I highly recommend at least shooting over there for lunch one day to experience the Food and Wine Festival!