We pick things up at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, mid-morning, on a busy Saturday after first visiting all three Toy Story Land rides.

So far, I’ve accomplished:

1. Slinky Dog Dash: 8:45am – 9:15am
2. Alien Swirling Saucers: 9:20am – 9:50am
3. Toy Story Mania with FastPass+: 9:54am – 10:17am

Given the crowds – the line to ride Slinky Dog Dash fills the entire queue and spills out of the Land before 9:15am – I’m doing relatively well for myself. You can read all about the rope drop procedure and what to expect from Toy Story Land first thing in the morning in this post.

Continue reading “Disney’s Hollywood Studios Rope Drop Touring After Toy Story Land”

We return to Disney’s Hollywood Studios to check out the opening procedure and to see what it takes to ride Slinky Dog Dash in standby first thing. On our last visit, we didn’t have a tremendous amount of success, due in part to the fact that one half of Swirling Saucers was down with technical problems and Toy Story Mania was also running at reduced capacity. Hopefully, we’ll have better luck this time. And if not, you’ll have better luck on your own visit. Of course, we’re still at Hollywood Studios either way.

It’s 7:58am on the morning of Saturday, April 20th, a Peak day on the Disney pricing calendar and the day before Easter. From the website’s magnum opus, “Does It Really Matter Which Day of the Week You Visit Each Walt Disney World Theme Park?” we know that, on average, Saturdays are the busiest day of the week to visit any Park. When it comes to touring plan creation, planning for the worst case scenario is a big part of it.

Continue reading “Disney’s Hollywood Studios Slinky Dog Dash Rope Drop Touring”

We’ll be putting off dealing with the Frontierland crowd for a moment. This is 11:35am, so we’re still about 90 minutes away from peak crowds as we pick things up after Part 3, where we visited Big Thunder and Splash Mountain with FastPass+, along with a discussion of how to go about our business during the most crowded part of the of day. Part Two focused on FastPass+ availability and how to blend additional FP+ opportunities into your day, alongside the anytime attractions, along with stops at Pirates of the Caribbean, Jungle Cruise, and Liberty Square Riverboat. Part One got us going with what to expect from an 8am rope drop during a holiday week when your first stop is the most popular ride in the Park. We visited Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, Peter Pan’s Flight, and Haunted Mansion, all with virtually no waits.

Things aren’t necessarily horrific as we head towards Adventureland. I’m seeing a sickening amount of available space, ripe for the filling.

Continue reading “Disney’s Magic Kingdom Easter Week Afternoon Crowds and Wait Times”

It’s April 15th, 2019, or the Monday before Easter, as we head back towards Frontierland via Liberty Square just after 10:30am. Nothing says liberty quite like the freedom to go to Walt Disney World on the second busiest week of the year. On the other hand, if our options were to go to Disney World from April 15th to 21st, or to Hollywood Studios on seven straight days from August 29th to September 4th, then maybe they made the right decision. Or if their options were to go to Walt Disney World from April 15th to 21st, or to Hollywood Studios any other day of the year, then it still makes a lot of sense that we’re here and not there. I certainly don’t judge.

In Part One, I covered what to expect from a regular 8am open, followed by the rush to Seven Dwarfs Mine Train first thing. Despite some of the heaviest afternoon crowds of the year, the 8am rope drop ended up being better than the usual 9am rope drop, in large part because your average guest isn’t going to be able to do what it takes to get here in time for an 8am open. Part Two continued our touring plan, focusing on why we do the things that we do, with stops in Adventureland for Jungle Cruise and Pirates of the Caribbean, along with a pleasant ride on the Liberty Square Riverboat.

So far, this is what I’ve accomplished:

1. Seven Dwarfs Mine Train: 8am – 8:19am
2. The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh: 8:20am – 8:27am
3. Peter Pan’s Flight with FastPass+: 8:30am – 8:38am
4. Haunted Mansion: 8:40am – 8:53am
5. Jungle Cruise: 9am – 9:16am
6. Pirates of the Caribbean: 9:20am – 9:43am
7. Liberty Square Riverboat: 10am – 10:22am

Things went surprisingly well  – I was expecting to finish up with Pirates of the Caribbean closer to 10:15am. My own success means that you could move considerably slower and still experience the first six priority attractions before it’s time to use our second FastPass+ of the day, which is at Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. Liberty Square Riverboat can be visited at your convenience later in the morning or afternoon.

As a reminder, here’s what wait times looked like over the course of the day:

Continue reading “Magic Kingdom Disney World Easter Week Late Morning Touring Strategy and Crowds”

We pick things up just before 9am on Monday April 15th, 2019, in Liberty Square amidst low crowds. It’s the perfect opportunity to stop for a moment and thank capitalism for the fact that not only are we here during the second busiest week of the year, but it’s also the second most expensive week of the year to visit. What’s more American than that? We’re continuing from Part 1, which covered what to expect from rope drop on a busy day with an 8am open.

As a reminder, this is what I’ve accomplished so far:

1. Seven Dwarfs Mine Train: 8am – 8:19am
2. The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh: 8:20am – 8:27am
3. Peter Pan’s Flight with FastPass+: 8:30am – 8:38am
4. Haunted Mansion: 8:40am – 8:53am

The regular 8am open continues to be of great benefit. Obviously, if the Park opened at 9am, I would not only have visited zero attractions at this point in the morning, but I’d still be waiting in front of Cinderella Castle to be let into any of the Lands. Instead, I’ve already visited four priority attractions and I’m on my way to a fifth. It’s the perfect opportunity to stop and think about all of those suckers sleeping in and trying to relax on vacation, probably dropping in to a nice restaurant at their resort to enjoy a leisurely breakfast with a couple of mimosas and a round of lobster eggs benedict. Maybe they’re laughing, talking about all the fun they’ve been having this week, when they could be out here sprinting from Mad Tea Party to Liberty Square because the boat’s leaving in 30 seconds but I’m four minutes away. What a bunch of idiots.

Continue reading “Disney World Easter Week Magic Kingdom Morning Touring Plan”