Category — i. Itineraries for Walt Disney World

EPCOT DAY 1: FIRST SATURDAY AGENDA

Check in, get settled if your room is ready, and be at Epcot as soon as you can.

FIRST THINGS

(Note: this is from the FastPass+ Basic December Seven Night Itinerary, Saturday Arrival. The itinerary works only for the three weeks after Thanksgiving. For itineraries for other dates, see this.)

• Arrive at your hotel, following the instructions in your Disney’s Magical Express packet if you are using it to get from Orlando International to your Disney Resort. Check in
• Unless you are arriving late, your room will likely not be ready, but you can leave your bags. First change into clothes more appropriate for the weather–which your To-Do List reminded you to pack in your carry-ons. You can ask to be called or texted later to find out your exact room
• If your room is ready, and if you have time–you want to be at Epcot as soon as you can–get food and supplies (bowls, napkins, scotch) for your breakfast in the morning, which you will be eating out of your room. Also get (from the counter service restaurant)  “Refillable Mugs,” which you will be able to re-use at your resort for free drinks over your entire stay
• Head to Epcot as soon as you can

AT THE PARK

• Your plan today is to see as many of Epcot’s attractions as you can to free time on your second visit, see the parts of World Showcase that are most fun in the evening, and see the lovely Christmas decorations at the nearby Epcot resorts–while exiting the park before the end of Illuminations, the park-closing show that you will see on Thursday night. You should also have FastPass+ for Soarin’, Spaceship Earth and a third ride. Those arriving late may have to thin the below to just Soarin’, World Showcase, and the Epcot resorts
• Go through the turnstiles and pick up a park map and “Times Guide”–a schedule. Use your Spaceship Earth FastPass+ and then see Turtle Talk with Crush, Living with the Land and Soarin (FP+)
• Then sample Innoventions to get a sense of how much time you might want to devote to it Thursday.
• Head to World Showcase, and see the pavilions starting with Mexico and going clockwise.
  • Each pavilion will have some or all of Christmas displays and storytellers as part of Epcot’s Holidays Around the World celebration, shopping, special exhibits, a ride, a movie, and other special events—such as acrobats in China.
  • Check your map, times guide, and the pavilion itself, to see what each pavilion has.
  • For scheduled events like the acrobats, etc., sequence what you do when among items that are not scheduled (shops, exhibits, and rides), and bounce back and forth between nearby pavilions, so that you don’t have to wait long for the scheduled item
• Have dinner
• Continue touring World Showcase clockwise until about 8:30p
• Leave Epcot via the International Gateway exit between France and the UK and walk around Crescent Lake, visiting the lobbies and Christmas decorations at the Beach Club, Yacht Club, and BoardWalk Inn
• Be back in Epcot by 9.30p, and instead of staying for Illuminations–which will have started about now, and which you will see on Thursday–return to the exit by Spaceship Earth and head back to your hotel–thus beating the post-Illuminations crowds.

BACK AT THE HOTEL

Buy food, supplies (bowls, spoons, etc.) and refillable mugs for breakfast in your room at your hotel counter service or gift shop, if you did not have time, or a room assignment, earlier.

PREVIEW OF TOMORROW

You will visit Disney’s Animal Kingdom.

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MAGIC KINGDOM DAY 3: FRIDAY AGENDA

Today you will continue your visit to the Magic Kingdom. You’ll see Fantasyland and Liberty Square, and end the day at nearby Fort Wilderness for the Hoop-Dee-Doo Revue dinner show.

You should have FastPass+ for the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, Enchanted Tales with Belle, and the Haunted Mansion. Other fixed points in your schedule: you have lunch reservations at Cinderella’s Royal Table, the afternoon parade at 3p, and need to be leaving the park by 5.15p at the latest to catch the Fort Wilderness boat for your 6.15p Hoop-Dee-Doo Revue reservations.

(Note: this is from the FastPass+ Lower-Crowd Seven Night Itinerary, Saturday Arrival Variant. It does not work all weeks–use the comment form to check in on yours!)

FIRST THINGS

Be at the park by 45 minutes before open.

AT THE PARK

• Enter the turnstiles when the park opens, grab a map and Times Schedule, and head to Peter Pan. Ride it
• See it’s a small world, the Carrousel if you wish, Mickey’s Philharmagic,  and Winnie the Pooh while you are in the area
• If you missed the Tomorrowland Speedway or Astro Orbiters in Tomorrowland Wednesday, and they are important to you, see now before lines build
• See Dumbo
• See the Barnstormer if it looks like fun and lines aren’t too long
• See the Mad Tea Party
• Fit together Under the Sea: Journey of the Little Mermaid, your FastPass+ for Seven Dwarfs Mine Train and Enchanted Tales with Belle, and your lunch at  Cinderella’s Royal Table
• See the 3p parade by grabbing a spot around 2.30 between the Castle and Liberty Square
• Fit the Hall of Presidents and Liberty Belle Riverboat around you FastPass+ for the Haunted Mansion.  If time is pressing, postpone the Hall or Liberty Belle until tomorrow
• Around 5p, then head for the main entrance and look for the boat docks right in front
• Take the boat to Fort Wilderness (not the Wilderness Lodge), and follow the crowds to the Hoop Dee Doo area, and check in for the 6.15p show.
• See Hoop-Dee-Doo!
• Ask outside for the best way to get back to your hotel.  Most likely you will return by boat to the Magic Kingdom, and catch a bus or monorail there.  But special buses may be running…

PREVIEW OF TOMORROW

Tomorrow you finish your visit to the Magic Kingdom, and head home!

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EPCOT DAY 2: THURSDAY AGENDA

Take the morning off, then head to Epcot.  Arrive based on how much you want to see before dinner.

FIRST THINGS

(Note: this is from the FastPass+ Lower-Crowd Seven Night Itinerary, Saturday Arrival Variant. It does not work all weeks–use the comment form to check in on yours!)

Be at  Epcot by 6.30p–much earlier if you missed stuff on Monday, or want to see more of World Showcase or Innoventions.

AT THE PARK

• Your plan today is to see what you missed Monday, see parts of World Showcase that are most fun in the evening, and see Epcot’s park-closing spectacular Illuminations using FastPass+. You should also have FastPass+ for Spaceship Earth and Mission: Space, and dinner reservations for either Akershus or San Angel Inn at around 7p.
• Go through the turnstiles and pick up a park map and “Times Guide”–a schedule. Use your Spaceship Earth FastPass+ and then see Ellen’s Energy Adventure. Use your Mission: Space FastPass+
• Head to World Showcase, and while keeping an eye out for your dinner reservation at around 7p, see the pavilions starting with Mexico and going clockwise, touring the same way you did Monday
• Have dinner at whichever you chose to reserve between San Angel Inn inside the Mexico pyramid or the Akershus Royal Banquet  Meal in Norway at 7p
• Continue touring World Showcase clockwise until about 8:30p
• Start making your way to the Illuminations FastPass+ area right where Future World and World Showcase intersect. Hit the bathrooms if needed on the way, as you don’t want to so pause after Illuminations
• Watch Illuminations, and if you are parked, taking the monorail, or taking a bus back to your hotel, immediately at its end start walking briskly to the park exit (on the far side of Spaceship Earth) to beat the crowds.  The value of your Illuminations FastPass+ is that 1. it puts you in the best viewing spot for Illuminations, and 2. it puts you in the viewing spot nearest the park exit
• Return to your hotel

PREVIEW OF TOMORROW

Tomorrow you continue your visit to the Magic Kingdom.

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MAGIC KINGDOM DAY 2: WEDNESDAY AGENDA

Today you have the early morning off, have brunch at Chef Mickey’s at the Contemporary Resort near the Magic Kingdom, and then continue your visit to the Magic Kingdom, seeing Tomorrowland and then touring some lower-wait attractions in Adventureland and Frontierland.

You should have FastPass+ for Space Mountain, Buzz Lightyear, and the Jungle Cruise. The other fixed point in your schedule is Chef Mickey’s.

(Note: this is from the FastPass+ Lower-Crowd Seven Night Itinerary, Saturday Arrival Variant. It does not work all weeks–use the comment form to check in on yours!)

FIRST THINGS

Be at the Contemporary Resort in time for your meal at Chef Mickey’s. For most, this will mean a bus to the Magic Kingdom, then walking or taking the resort monorail to the Contemporary. Check at your resort front desk for the best route.

AT THE PARK

• After your meal, walk or take the monorail to the Magic Kingdom
• See Space Mountain (FP+)
• Fit around your Buzz Lightyear FastPass+ lower wait rides in Tomorrowland–the Carousel of Progress, Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor, Stitch’s Great Escape, and the Tomorrowland PeopleMover.
• Around the time of the 3p afternoon parade, check waits at Astro Orbiter and the Tomorrowland Speedway.  If the lines look OK, and the rides seem fun, see them
• Go to Adventureland and fit the Swiss Family Treehouse and the Enchanted Tiki Room around your FastPass+ for the Jungle Cruise
• Once off the Jungle Cruise, if you skipped Astro Orbiter and the Tomorrowland Speedway because of waits, try now for a fourth FastPass+
• Find the passage into Frontierland and see the Country Bears
• Find the rafts near Big Thunder Mountain and see Tom Sawyer Island
• Have dinner at a counter service at either the Magic Kingdom or back at your hotel

PREVIEW OF TOMORROW

Tomorrow you have the morning off, then continue your visit to Epcot.

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ANIMAL KINGDOM: TUESDAY AGENDA

Today you  visit to Disney’s Animal Kingdom. You have no scheduled meals.

Note: this is from the FastPass+ Lower-Crowd Seven Night Itinerary, Saturday Arrival Variant. It does not work all weeks–use the comment from to check in on yours!)

You should have FastPass+ for Kilimanjaro Safaris, Kali River Rapids, and Festival of the Lion King.

FIRST THINGS

• Pack spare clothes, as you will get soaked on Kali River Rapids
• Be at the park by 45 minutes before open

AT THE PARK

• Enter the park, grab a times guide, and compare the times of Flights of Wonder and Finding Nemo The Musical to your FastPass + schedule, figuring out when to see these. Target the first Nemo
• Head to Expedition Everest and ride
• Head to DinoLand and see DINOSAUR
• If they look like fun, see Primeval Whirl and Triceratops Spin
• Working around the show times for Fights of Wonder and Finding Nemo, see these shows and  Maharajah Jungle Trail and It’s Tough to Be a Bug
• Eat lunch at Flame Tree Barbecue
• Head to Africa and see Kilimanjaro Safaris (FP+) and Festival of the Lion King (FP+), with Pangani Forest Exploration Trail in between
• Rafiki’s Planet Watch is a minor adventure accessed by the Wildlife Express Train. If interested, and you have time (including the train allow 45 minutes), see it before your Kali FastPass+
• See Kali River Rapids (FP+)

PREVIEW OF TOMORROW

Tomorrow you continue your visit to the Magic Kingdom.

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EPCOT DAY 1: MONDAY AGENDA

Today you will begin your visit to Epcot, and have the evening off. You have no reserved dining today.

You should have FastPass+ for Soarin’, Turtle Talk with Crush, and a third ride.

(Note: this is from the FastPass+ Lower-Crowd Seven Night Itinerary, Saturday Arrival Variant. It does not work all weeks–use the comment form to check in on yours!)

FIRST THINGS

Be at the park by 45 minutes before open. 

AT THE PARK: MORNING

• Enter the turnstiles when the park opens at about 8.45, grab a map and Times Schedule, and head to Test Track. Ride it.
• Go into Innoventions East and check out The Sum of All Thrills.  If it looks like fun, ride it
• Head to the other side of Future World and see the attractions in the Imagination Pavilion–Captain EO and Journey Into Imagination with Figment
• Two of your FastPass+ for today are all on this side of the park.  Using them see Soarin and Turtle Talk with Crush.   Fit in The Seas with Nemo and Friends, Living with the Land, and Circle of Life around the FastPass+ rides. If lines are too long for Living with the Land, add it later as a fourth FastPass+. Note that as you ride each FastPass+ ride you can move the next to an earlier time, if available.
• Have lunch while you are in this area of the park at Sunshine Seasons in the Land Pavilion on the same level as Soarin
• Next is the of World Showcase, starting in Canada and progressing counter-clockwise.
  • Each pavilion will have some or all of shopping, special exhibits, a ride, a movie, and other special events—such as acrobats in China.
  • Check your map, times guide, and the pavilion itself, to see what each pavilion has.
  • For scheduled events like the acrobats, etc., sequence what you do when among items that are not scheduled (shops, exhibits, and rides), and bounce back and forth between nearby pavilions, so that you don’t have to wait long for the scheduled item
• If the kids are bored by World Showcase, check out Agent P’s World Showcase Adventure
• And you are almost done if you wish to be! Check out Innoventions on your way out of the park to decide how much time you will want to devote to these on Thursday
• Alternatively, simplify Thursday by seeing more of World Showcase, Ellen’s’ Energy Adventure, and Innoventions

PREVIEW OF TOMORROW

Tomorrow you visit Disney’s Animal Kingdom.

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