10 days enough to see all parks? (with previous Disney Park experience)

[Jord]

So me and my gf are planning a WDW vacation and think we have some idea about how long we should spend at the different parks. I would like to hear your thoughts on it and if we under- or overestimate the time we plan to spend as well as the order. An important note is that we're familiar with Tokyo Disneyresort which may help.

-Magic Kingdom. (2 days)
We're already pretty familiar with Tokyo Disneyland so when looking at Magic Kingdom there are a lot of rides we're already familiar with which only have minor variations like the language or added stuff to the queue. That being said, there are a lot of rides that are new to us, like the Monsters Inc laugh floor, Stich's Great escape, and the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. We're also looking forward to the new Fantasyland expansion. (Well, sort of new since it opened in 2014 I believe)

-Blizzard Beach (1 day)
Blizzard beach looks awesome. We love water parks and we think it's a great way to unwind from all the MK madness.

-Hollywood Studios (1 day)
Hollywood Studios has some rides we're very much looking forward too such as the Twilight Zone verson of the ToT, MuppetVision and the Rock'n Rollercoaster. That being said, the park in itself looks less interesting than the other parks and we think there's not that much to see compared to the other parks.

-Epcot (2)
We're very interested in Epcot. It looks unique, awesome and has some rides that seem really good like Test Track and Journey into Imagination. Our interest leans more towards Spaceship Earth than the World Pavilion part. WP will be nice to walk through but doesn't peek our interest that much.

-Typhoon lagoon (1 day)
Seems like a another great place to wind down, although it does seem less exciting than Blizzard Beach.

-Animal Kingdom (2 days)
Looks like there's a lot to see there but we do wonder how much it will add when compared to a regular zoo. Expedition Everest seems like a must do. The Dinosaur ride also looks nice and although we aren't Avatar fans, the Pandora land does look beautiful.

So when we add it all up it comes down to 9 days. Make that 10 so you have one extra day just in case. Would that be enough to fit our needs?

[sbk1234]

For big Disney fans on a first trip, I'd say 10 days is generally a good start. Some people go for less, I always want more.

It varies from person to person, of course, based on likes and dislikes, but I personally wouldn't allocate my time in quite the same way as you mentioned. I would allow the most time in Epcot and Magic Kingdom. I've never been to Tokyo Disneyland, but I'm intimately familiar with Disneyland in California. There are many, many differences between it and Magic Kingdom. Enough that to me it's will be like a brand new experience. The differences in many rides are more than just "stuff added to the queue."

Personally, one day was enough for Animal Kingdom, but that was before they opened Pandora, so I don't know if that would extend your time significantly. As for it being like any other zoo, it has a much greater immersion than any zoo. Really, some of Disney's best environment work here. Since I live in Los Angeles, and we have a first rate zoo, I didn't really focus on seeing the animals, but the unique Disney experiences. IMHO, Kilimanjaro Safari, Dinosaur, Kali River Rapids, It's Tough to be a Bug, are all not to be missed.)

The biggest disappointment for me was the Studio. We didn't actually spend one full day there. My favorite attraction there, The Great Movie Ride is now gone, as is the Animation Department from way back when, and the tram tour. These differences are noticeable. I don't know if they're still running the Muppets. Mind you, they are in flux right now with lots of construction going on. I expect once Star Wars Galaxy Edge is completed, it will become a two day park. However, the park also has two of my favorite restaurants on property: Fifties Prime Time Diner, and Sci-Fi Dine-In. Both are a lot of fun.

For me, personally, a half-day was enough at the water parks. My personal favorite was Typhoon Lagoon, based mainly on the theming. Blizzard Beach always messed too much with my head, that I was swimming in the hot Florida weather, surrounded by snow. I also liked the swim through aquarium at Typhoon Lagoon, which they don't have at Blizzard Beach. Keep in mind, that Florida weather can be very unstable, and change in a matter of minutes. So it is possible that your swim day could get rained out. Or the rain may only last an hour or two.

I'd also recommend time for just exploring the different hotels on property. Each of them is beautiful, heavily themed, and well worth seeing. You're likely going to need some down-time from the parks to recharge your batteries. There are also other activities on property like shopping, horseback riding, boating that can help create great memories.

Whatever you choose, do your research before you go, so you know what you really want to see and do. And be sure to post a trip report here with lots of photos. Hope that helps.

[mpabis525]

10 days is plenty. We were able to do it all in 3 days without water parks last year. However, we sped through things and rain wiped out some others.

If you are going for 10 days, do you have extra room in your family for one more?

[leopardchucks]

Even on your "off days", I'd recommend booking your 3 fast passes for the day. That way you can just pop into a park for a short time, ride some stuff and pop out somewhat quickly. Theres no repercussion for not using them.

[sbk1234]

Even on your "off days", I'd recommend booking your 3 fast passes for the day. That way you can just pop into a park for a short time, ride some stuff and pop out somewhat quickly. Theres no repercussion for not using them.

If you do that, though, keep in mind that they will use one of your admission tickets no matter how long you are in the park, even if it's just for one or two attractions. Even if you just step one foot in and then leave, so be absolutely sure that you want to use your park tickets when you go in.

[leopardchucks]

If you do that, though, keep in mind that they will use one of your admission tickets no matter how long you are in the park, even if it's just for one or two attractions. Even if you just step one foot in and then leave, so be absolutely sure that you want to use your park tickets when you go in.

Ooops. You're right, sbk1234. I was under the impression the OP was getting 10 day hopper + tickets. Yeah. Just stepping in to any park counts as a "day ticket". Im doing something similar on my trip= purchased 10 day hopper + tix for my 12 day trip. We've ultimately decided to get the 10 day Plus because it really is silly cheap per day after you hit that 7-8 day threshold. I figured it was worth it for us to just add those "extra" days for the three fast passes alone.

[jcruise86]

Yup, but how about less time at WDW & some time at a beach or at the Wizarding Worlds of Haarry Potter? The advantage of the ten-day trip is that you'll be able to make Fastpass reservations for the last days of your trip before those planning shorter trips. Making all the reservations for WDW attractions & restaurants seemed almost as complicated as planning a trip to multi-city trip to Europe, but as a Disney freak I kind of loved doing it.

SBK1234's post (#2) above is excellent, btw.

Where are you staying?
I'd go with the Animal Kingdom Lodge, though it will mean some bussing if you aren't renting a car. WDW hotels now charge for parking, btw. Tour the restaurants at the Animal Kingdom Lodge and do have a hotel day break as SBK1234 suggested.
If access to parks is a priority, maybe stay at the Polynesian (monorails to the MK & EPCOT) or the BoardWalk Inn or the Beach Club.
The most fun thing we did at WDW was renting the mini-(not too fast) speed boats at the Polynesian.

HAVE FUN!!!

[sbk1234]

Following up on jcruise86's comments about paying for parking. one way to go is to not rent a car at all, but to use Uber or Lyft. Depending on the size of your group, you will definitely save money. One thing we did on our trip two years ago was use the Disney transportation early in the day, but at closing, when the busses are a nightmare, we Ubered back to our hotel. It was real easy and saved a LOT of time and hassle. We did this with a group of five and saved more money than if we rented a car, and that includes the rides to and from the airport. With just two of you, it will be even more cost effective.

[3IAlienKid]

So me and my gf are planning a WDW vacation and think we have some idea about how long we should spend at the different parks.

So it's been a few months since you posted. Have you gone yet? How was it?

So when we add it all up it comes down to 9 days. Make that 10 so you have one extra day just in case. Would that be enough to fit our needs?

10 days is perfect. My first trip to WDW was 10 days 9 nights. Although there were a few things missed, I felt like it was the perfect amount of time for a first timer.

sbk1234 made a lot of observation I feel the same about, such as Animal Kingdom being not quite a full day park way back when, though that may be different these days. I also agree that it is fun to see some of the hotels. Spent a whole day visiting those.

[savarese04]

Glad you had a great time! I will say that my first time at WDW, we did 14 days and that was plenty to see all the parks AND we visited every resort to check them all out. It was quite relaxing and hardly ever felt rushed. Just another data point for those that might be looking at this thread in the future.

[Jaymi]

i'm going for 10 days and plan on at least doing a full day in each park and having a park hopper for access to all parks just in case we want to go back to a park at night to check out a show like the fireworks.

[sbk1234]

i'm going for 10 days and plan on at least doing a full day in each park and having a park hopper for access to all parks just in case we want to go back to a park at night to check out a show like the fireworks.

thats how I would do it

[DisneySpaceAce]

I managed to do most of what I wanted in 4 days (I didn't do water parks, and we did a day per park). I do kinda wish we had more time at MK, but the crowds and waits were nuts that day, and my wife was worn out after 3 prior days at WDW, 2 days at Universal, and a few days at a work conference before.

[HiddenMickey87]

I didn't feel like 10 days was enough, but given our schedule, that was all we could swing, and that was with one rest day and a rest day on departure. I'd say allot at least one rest/resort day per 5 days of the trip. You'll need to rest your feet, and also take time to enjoy your resort and other resorts if you wish.

If you're including water parks, yes you'll see everything in 10 days, but it will feel rushed. DHS for the moment is a 1-day park. You could see most of AK in 1 day, but after experiencing it myself, I agree with others who say its best to have a second day to linger and enjoy the details. Epcot and MK I feel deserve 4 days. You could see them all in 2-3.

So I guess it depends if you want to blitz through or savor and linger? I'm in the latter category myself.