KennythePirate’s Fastpass+ enabled Magic Kingdom TWO Day Touring Strategy for Characters and Rides
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Updated: 9/7/2014
The Magic Kingdom is HUGE and has a lot of attractions to do. I recommend that you plan to schedule at least two days to take it all in and not feel stressed.
I recommend that you arrive 30-45 minutes before this park opening. Make your way all the way to the LEFT. You’ll see a bunch of people at the rope, but they don’t realize that the little rope on the side opens too. You’ll be able to walk right up.
This plan was designed to be able to ride every ride and meet every character and allow time to see the parades, shows and fireworks in two days without much backtracking or rushing around. If the park closes at 11:00 PM or later, you won’t have any problem riding most rides after 9:00 PM with little or no waits. The four attractions for which you’ll find a wait all day will be Meet Anna and Elsa, Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, Peter Pan’s Flight and Space Mountain, so we’ll use FASTPASS+ for those.
What should I do about Anna and Elsa?
Option ONE – USE Fastpass+. I highly recommend that you find a FP+ for these ladies! Find a time, any time, and then insert the meet into this schedule as it fits your day. If you have difficulty locating a FP+ during your trip, you may want to try this trick on How to Get Difficult to Find Fastpasses
Option TWO – WAIT! If you choose to be among the people pulling hamstrings running the 1/4 mile from the Train Station to the Castle Rope, you better stay the LEFT at the rope. They are now forcing EVERYONE to turn left around the Prince Charming Carousel. People are waiting 2 or 3 hours to meet these ladies. The rope drop procedure can take 7-10 minutes to get to the Castle.
Shouldn’t I run to Space Mountain first?
Nope, if you want to see the characters, especially the princesses, you’ll need to take on Fairytale Hall one day and meet Merida first the other day. You’ll see that the plan has been proven with times beside each item.
Shouldn’t I run to Peter Pan’s Flight first?
Peter Pan’s Flight is a very short, it’s a 3 minute long, ride in the dark. For some reason people are willing to wait in line 1 to 2 hours just to experience this attraction. If you are planning to meet the Princesses at Fairytale Hall, you’ll only find a short wait afterward on the slowest of days. I recommend that you schedule a Fastpass+, so you won’t have to wait in line or run to get there.
Guests are allowed to choose any 3 of the following attractions: |
Ranked by order of Priority:
These events could be ranked higher if they are a priority to you, but they won’t help you with this plan
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Kiosks Locations: |
Reserve Fastpass+ for the following: |
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2. Day TWO
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| KennythePirate’s Fastpass+ enabled Magic Kingdom TWO Day Touring Strategy for Characters and Rides |
This plan has been tested on some of the busiest days and proven to work at a walking pace!
| Day ONE: Fantasyland & Tomorrowland |
| MEET: Rapunzel and Cinderella |
| RIDE: The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh |
| MEET: Ariel |
| RIDE: Under the Sea: The Voyage of the Little Mermaid |
| MEET: Gaston |
| RIDE: Barnstormer |
| RIDE: Dumbo |
| MEET: Daisy Duck and Minnie Mouse |
| MEET: Goofy and Donald Duck |
| MEET: Alice and or White Rabbit |
| MEET: Tremaine Family |
| RIDE: Mickey’s Philharmagic |
| MEET: Tigger and Pooh |
| MEET: Fairy Godmother |
| Lunch Break at Cosmic Ray’s or Pinocchio’s Village Haus. If you choose to visit Be Our Guest for lunch, you may wish to move your FP+ times down a bit more. |
| RIDE: Mad Tea Party |
| RIDE: Seven Dwarfs Mine Train 1:00 FP+ |
| RIDE: Carousel of Progress |
| MEET: Buzz Lightyear (Line closes 2:00) |
| RIDE: Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin 2:00 FP+ |
| Break Time |
| RIDE: Tomorrowland Transit Authority – Peoplemover |
| RIDE: Monsters Inc Laugh Floor Comedy Club |
| RIDE: Space Mountain 3:00 FP+ |
| MEET: Anna and Elsa – fit this element into the plan as you can acquire Fastpass+ |
| Evening Attractions |
| WATCH: Incredibles Super Dance Party |
| WATCH: Celebrate the Magic |
| WATCH: Main St Electrical Parade |
| WATCH: Wishes |
| Optional afternoon or evening attractions |
| RIDE: Tomorrowland Speedway |
| RIDE: Astro Orbiter – best to ride late at night |
| RIDE: Stitch’s Great Escape |
| MEET: Mickey Mouse – late at night or right after parade or fireworks |
| MEET: Mary Poppins (Easier to meet at Epcot) |
| MEET: Pluto and Marie (arrive just before afternoon set begins) |
| MEET: Stitch |
| WATCH: Dream Along with Mickey |
| WATCH: Move it, Shake it, Celebrate it |
| WATCH: Royal Majesty Makers |
| WATCH: Storybook Circus Clown Wowzer |
| WATCH: Storybook Circus Giggle Gang |
| Day TWO: Adventureland and Frontierland |
| MEET: Merida |
| MEET: Aladdin and Jasmine |
| RIDE: Jungle Cruise |
| RIDE: Magic Carpets of Aladdin |
| RIDE: Pirates of the Caribbean |
| MEET: Woody & Jessie |
| RIDE: Big Thunder Mountain Railroad 10:30 FP+ |
| RIDE: Walt Disney World Railroad |
| LUNCH: Pecos Bills or visit Tom Sawyer Island |
| RIDE: Splash Mountain 11:30 FP+ |
| MEET: Chip n Dale |
| RIDE: it’s a small world (could be ridden at night or use FP+ if wait time exceeds 20 minutes) |
| MEET: Peter Pan and Wendy |
| RIDE: Peter Pan’s Flight 1:45 FP+Book 4th Fastpass+ for Haunted Mansion after 3:00pm |
| RIDE: Prince Charming Carousel |
| WATCH: Festival of Fantasy Parade (The new parade is very popular. Try to find a shady spot at least 1 hour early!) |
| RIDE: Haunted Mansion (Ride at night if wait exceeds 20 minutes) |
| Optional afternoon or evening attractions |
| RIDE: Country Bear Jamboree |
| RIDE: Enchanted Tiki Room |
| RIDE: Hall of Presidents |
| RIDE: Liberty Square Riverboat |
| RIDE: Tom Sawyer Island |
| SHOW: Captain Jack’s Pirate Tutorial |
| SHOW: Frontierland Hoedown |
| SHOW: Notorious Banjo Brothers and Bob |
| Evening Attractions |
| MEET: Tinker Bell & Friend – great time to go is right after evening parade or fireworks. |
| MEET: Tiana with Naveen begins meeting with Naveen around 4:45 PM. Arrive a little before a set for the shortest wait. |
| WATCH: Enchanted Tales with Belle – the later you go, the shorter the wait. You could substitute for Tomorrowland Speedway at 1:00 PM and ride that late. |
Thanks for the great touring plans. By any chance to you have a printable schedule of the magic kingdom plan that lists exactly where you can find the different characters?
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Locations and meet and greet times are on http://www.characterlocator.com
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I love your site Kenny! I especially enjoyed your dream job features. I usually have a great plan but booked a quick trip in October to go with my neighbor. I can’t get a FP for A&E or Mine Train at this point. Should we head to Mine Train at rope drop? If so, what is the wait like since I am guessing thousands of others have the same plan.
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Mine train at rope drop and Anna/Elsa about 30 minutes before park closing.
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Hi Kenny, I have just discovered your site and can’t thank you enough for the amazing detail you put in your posts! Reading your day plans has just made my life so much easier.
Greatly appreciated thank you 🙂
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Glad you found them helpful!
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Hi Kenny, at my 60 day window I was unable to get a FP+ to meet Anna and Elsa and the system doesn’t seem to want to let me look for a single FP unless I cancel one we already have made. My question is, we are going to be eating breakfast in the castle at 8:15 on a Friday at MK. If we finish before 9, will we be able to leave and go get into line early to meet them, or will they make us wait in the castle until the rope drop is over, or worse yet, escort us out to the mass crowd.? Thanks!
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You don’t cancel, you Change Experience. Seems like a lot of money to spend on a meal that should take 1.5 hours to rush out and try to save time on this. Just go 45 minutes before park close and you’ll be fine.
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Hi Kenny! We’ll be visiting MK for 2 days in October. Do you think you’ll change or update these plans by then?
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I’ll be updating this week
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Hi Kenny! First off, thanks SO much for helping to make our holiday a success! Love the app 🙂
Can you help us meet Merida tomorrow?
It’s morning EMH. On a normal day your plan recommends getting to her at rope drop – what do I do with EMH?
Ideally we want to make the most of that extra hour for Adventureland as we haven’t seen much of it at all so far. I don’t want to be waiting in line for the hour?! Can we still meet her ok, or will the other EMH people be staking spots that make the line huge?
(Ok this is last minute I know, sorry!)
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I would arrive at 8:45am and at least have one person hold a spot. If you find a long line already, visit in the late afternoon
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Hi Kenny,
Like I had mentioned last time, my friends and I have been using your site, posts, and touring plans religiously to plan for our upcoming trip. Again and forever, thank you! My question this time around is: If there are no FP+ available for Anna and Elsa, and aside from running to their meet and greet, do you have any other suggestions for meeting the two and not waiting forever? Are they available for the evening extra magic hours, or is it just morning? And how do you suggest we change our plan to accommodate the (likely lengthy) meet?
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Nick, the only ways to avoid waiting are fp+ or out running everyone at rope drop. Within a few minutes of rope drop the line grows to multiple hours and stays that way. They don’t remain all day, so there’s no other way. If you want to wait, do it after completing one of my plans.
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Sounds intense! 😡 And the tactic with running to get in line is that as long as one of us is there, we can hold a spot for the others to catch up, right?
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Yes, it is intense. Yes, but be polite when catching up and do it quickly
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Kenny, we have MK planned for 10/31/14 and an appt for Pirate League at 9:10am. My DD8/DD12 are not concerned with meeting Merida and wanting to know if you suggest just following the rest of day 2 plans? We also have ADR at Cindy’s for 5:55pm followed by Halloween party and want to make sure we aren’t too rushed.
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I would visit Merida and show up a little late for Pirate’s League. I wouldn’t do the 6:00 dinner. You’re wasting time at the party. I would do late breakfast or lunch.
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Hi Kenny
I have a question and the swap switch over rider practice for watching the baby. With Fast Pass, how would this work? Would they allow another child back on so that I can have company on the ride?
Thanks
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Child swap allows up to 3 total riders on the actual swap.
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Kenny,
First of all, awesome website. I am going to Disney to run in the Expedition Everest Challenge and with the discounted park tickets including in the Everest Travel Package, you are not able to book FastPass+ in advance. Are there any touring plans that do not utilize FastPass+?
Thanks!!
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All tickets are eligible for FP+, you may just have to book in park. With that said, I’ll be writing non-FP plans later.
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Awesome! Thanks Kenny for your hard work!
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Ooh wasn’t thinking we would have time to do another ride/attraction before that! Awesome advice as always!
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Any suggestions on how to work a third day in? Our first full day will probably have a late arrival because we get in late night before. Then our second and third MK days will plan for RD. How would you alter this for a late arrival?
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Just do things in the afternoon that require no wait and shows and follow this plan the other two days.
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Thanks, your advice is always so helpful!! I booked our FPP today since we hit our 60 day mark. Made FPP for ETWB, PP, and Ariel’s Grotto for day 1 because I know these things will be “priority” for my DD6 on our first day in MK. Booked A&E meet and greet for our second day in MK (day 5 of our trip) for very early in the day (got 9:25-10:25 time frame). Thinking of going to the Cinderella side of the Princess Fairytale Hall and then should be done in time for our A&E FPP and can proceed with the rest of the TP. I am loving these plans! Can’t wait to see updates for HS to include rides!
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Yes on Cindy. You’ll actually have time to ride the Carousel or Winnie the Pooh before your FP is ready too.
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Hi Kenny
What are the waits like for meeting the characters at Pete’s Silly Slideshow in the evenings? I was thinking about heading there after an early dinner, say 7-8pm ish?
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Depends on the day. Could be 30 minutes or nothing. Later you go the less the wait.
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I am trying to book fast passes individually for each ride/character and it keeps suggesting 2 other FP for my daily 3 total. Is there a way to decline the other 2 FP and just get the one I asked for? I don’t want it to automatically replace the first FP I booked because the suggested times are later. I hope that makes sense. TIA!
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you Must Choose 3. You Can Always adjust your times or change the other rides
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What kind of lines am I looking at for Merida if I don’t get to her until 10 or 11am? We have a breakfast reservation one of our MK mornings, so we won’t be at rope drop the second day.
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Around an hour is normal, but could be longer. Could you move the brekkie to after her meet?
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Breakfast is at Chef Mickey. Well I am hoping to get a FP for 9am for E & A and then we could go straight to Merida. That be better?
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Hey Kenny,
Thanks so much for making my planning a more pleasant and hassle free experience. We will be in WDW May 3-11, and I have 3 full days (the 4th, 7th and 8th) planned for the MK. Of course 2 of those days are built around your awesome plans, but in planning the third, I’m wondering whether you think I should make room for the 7DMT. Do you feel it will be open by this point and that FP+ will be available?
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Provided there aren’t any delays 7DMT should be open during your visit. It is supposed to be FP+ enabled, but they haven’t announced if it will be available as soon as it opens. I’ll keep you informed on it as I learn details.
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Thank you! I am so anxious for confirmation of an opening date. I just want to be able to calm down about it already 🙂
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Supposed to be May 2nd
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Just wondering if you know which rides have interactive waits? When I search I see that Dumbo, Winnie the Pooh, Haunted Mansion and Splash mountain do–is that all? I know they all have “stuff to look at”…
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Big Thunder and Space do, but Splash doesn’t. I don’t ever play them because I don’t wait 🙂
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Haha-thanks! Just thinking my kids will actually enjoy the play areas at Dumbo and Pooh!
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Have fun playing
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We are doing our first ever disney trip at the end of May. Are there things in MK we should skip? That our 10, 7, 4 won’t like? Also we should do A&E one day and and Merida the next. Both at the beginning?
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Yes do each one of those at park opening. You’ll need FP+ for the new 7 Dwarfs Mine Train then. Just dump Tomorrowland Speedway and do that late at night. I couldn’t tell you what your kids would want to skip though.
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Your advice is awesome. Thank you so much. If we do those right after rope drop we shouldn’t need to fast pass them right?
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Thank you! DD wants to see them twice but I am going to cancel one. Just don’t know what day to cancel with my touring plans.
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Kenny- I will be at MK May 13th and May 14th. I am trying to follow your touring plan but now with the addition of A&E, Mine Train and Tinker Bell moving I am up in the air. What would your advice be? I have A&E FP+ at 9:30am the first day and A&E fastpass at 9:15am the next day. Not sure where to fit it all in.
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I’ll let you know well before then what changes need to be made. You’re going to see them twice? If you want to meet Merida, you need to do that at rope drop one of those days.
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We are ordering military discount park passes and I didn’t realize we couldn’t get fast passes without the tickets first. It can take 3-4 weeks for our tickets to arrive in the mail and I just called today. We leave 5/11 for FL. If we can’t get Fast passes for the stuff on your list does it adjust the order? We have 2 girls, 5yo and 2yo so Elsa and Ana have to be on our list, I see that you suggest heading there right away correct?
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At this point you must stay at a WDW resort to pre-book FP or be an Annual Passholder. Regular Tickets can’t yet link to the system, but should be able to do so soon. If you can’t get the FP, just move the item to the late evening.
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Yes, right away for Anna and Elsa
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Hey there…just recently found your site…love it!!! Thank you for all of your time and tips!!! We will be visiting WDW for new years eve. (first visit) Can you give me any idea what the schedule is like at that time of the year? Are the fireworks at midnight or do they stay on the regular schedule? What time does that park usually close on new years eve? Any tips would be so helpful!!! Thank you!!! Sandy
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Usually two fireworks for NYE with the second at midnight. INSANELY crowded at MK that day. 1:00 am is normal.
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Kenny, I have three boys at 7,5, and 4. My princess is 2. I was thinking of cutting the princess attractions to a minimum because I doubt the boys will care. Which of the princess attractions would you say would still prove entertaining for boys?
I was thinking of doing two days at Epcot but now with your plan for MK, maybe it should be two days there instead. My four year old needs to grow an inch by May to make it to 40inch rides. I’m not sure what to do. Any advice? Please?
Thanks
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Little boys enjoy Enchanted Tales with Belle because they can be in the show. Under the Sea with Ariel is a great ride. Many boys avoid the actual princess meets though. Which other things were you thinking of skipping. I can answer more specifically
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I don’t know how common this is now, but Disney emailed me right before my trip last week and said they were testing Fast Pass + for Be our guest for lunch and wanted us to try it. We walked up at 12:05 and were sitting by 12:20. Plus, it didn’t take away any Fast Passes from the rides. I highly recommend it if you want to have lunch there at a normal lunch hour and not wait over an hour just to get in!
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Kenny – how would you alter this to try to fit in Elsa and Anna now that they are scheduled to move to Fairytale Hall?
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Do them first and Rapunzel and Cinderella second
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Thanks. That was going to be my big question…how will Anna & Elsa impact this because I hear that their lines are always 2 -5 hours. Was planning on making the Princess Fairytale Halls and Belle my Fast Pass+ for one day and then doing everything else the other 2 partial days I was planning on going back to MK. My 11 year old is more about character hunting than roller coasters or kiddie rides. Dark rides yeah.
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oh sorry forgot this.. I downloaded the App. It shows lady and the tramp are there to visit. I don’t see them on your schedule; Are they not really there or are you not recommending them
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No, read the details. It says in the tips that you can get their autograph, not meet them 🙂
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looks great I will be there late in the year with a 3 year old. We will cut out some of the scary rides and take our time but I can see us following this schedule Thanks
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Kurt, what rides would you eliminate? I might help me develop a better plan targeted just for little ones.
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Hi,
Why does it say meet Rapunzel and (Jasmine)? Is Jasmine moving into to the Fairytale Hall?
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Jasmine filled in for Snow White that morning. It’s officially Rapunzel and a visiting princess
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So there was a “crown” icon? Wonder if Tiana or Mulan will make appearances.
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It leaves the door open to any other princess if needed
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Is there a reason why when I select my FastPass+ that it doesn’t give me the options to choose the parade or Wishes? Am I doing something wrong?? lol
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Because they usually open up a short time before the actual date.
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Just got back from Disney and did two days in MK and this schedule pretty much lines up with what we did. Missed a bit in the afternoon since my 4 year old does better with a nap, but otherwise it lines up and I felt it worked well.
One note from when we were there, the line for Tiana was quite long. They were roping it off right after she walked up and they were suggesting arriving 40 minutes before a showing. We got there about 20 minutes before, and were near the last group to see her. Sadly Naveen didn’t show. (It was the 8PM time I believe.) This may have been due to Mardi Gras crowds and her increased appeal to the New Orleans visitors (which included my group).
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Sorry to hear that Naveen skipped out on you!
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On the plus side, Tiana talked a little trash about him for not being there. Almost made it worth it. 🙂
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He deserved it
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Kenny, as always thank you for your thoughts!! With the new FoF Parade we are going April 26-May 3, which I think will be a pretty ‘low crowd’ compared to some of the upcoming days. Do you think we still need to find a spot 1hr before and would you suggest back towards Frontierland being a better (less crowded) place to view? Thanks for any info!!
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I’ll try to update you from time to time. Parade starts in Frontierland, so it may fill faster there than it used to
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Thank you for this plan–it is great to have one that includes meeting characters! We are going in May and my kids will be 4, 3 and 11 months old-so we won’t be doing all the “scary” rides-so hopefully that will help out even more and give us time to just explore. Just wondering your opinion though-we do have several character dining meals booked-chef mickey’s, crystal palace, Hollywood and vine and Cinderella’s table. Is it still worth meeting characters in the park if you will see them at those meals? Our Cinderella meal isn’t until the last day of our trip and my two princess crazy girls will probably want to see their favourites sooner?
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My kids would enjoy it, especially if they wore different costumes. Just skip the scary rides on the list and move to the next one.
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What “scary” rides are you avoiding from the plan?
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The roller coasters for sure, Monsters Inc, Buzz Lightyear 😦 I have my doubts for a lot of the rides, but we’ll see if my girls surprise me. They are not terribly adventurous, but it helps when they see other people around them trying things and being ok. Meeting characters will be a major part of the trip and some of the classics like dumbo and the carriage. Thanks for the advice–you are completely right about seeing different costumes and just having the opportunity for more interaction with their favourites!
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Buzz isn’t a scary attraction. It’s quite whimsical actually. The main thing is the HAVE FUN
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As someone who just went with a four year old, she greatly enjoyed both the character meals and the character meets. The character meals were good to keep her interested throughout the whole meal. The meets were nice as it felt a little more intimate, they spent a little more time with her, and the photopass photographer was a nice bonus. I will say, characters we didn’t meet at meals had a higher priority.
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