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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 Itinerary. 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 of your choice, and dinner reservations for Akershus at around 6.30p. Those arriving late may have to thin the below to just Soarin’, dinner, 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+). If lines are too long for Living with the Land, see it Thursday with a fourth FastPass+
• Then sample Innoventions to get a sense of how much time you might want to devote to it Thursday.
• Head to World Showcase, and while keeping an eye out for your dinner reservation at around 6.30p, 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 at Akershus in Norway at 6.30p
• 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 spend the first of two days at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. You get to sleep in–you want to arrive by noon. Check with your lobby concierge on what time you should be at the bus stop.

MORE FROM THIS ITINERARY

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DISNEY WORLD NEXT WEEK: MAY 17 TO MAY 25, 2014

The material below details operating hours, Extra Magic Hours, parades, and fireworks.

The same stuff is in the image, but organized by park, not by topic.

For more on May 2014 at Walt Disney World, see this.

[Read more →]

I’ve been busy building the daily agendas for all the core itineraires this site offers, revising them for FastPass+.

In doing such for the lower-crowd itinerary, which applies beginning August 16, 2014 (though often with modifications, see this), I realized some minor changes that took even more advantage of FastPass+ flexibility could make it much better.

So I’v re-done it. The new itinerary is here, and the new To-Do List for it is here.

So what’s different?  Specifically, it’s now cheaper and easier. Especially easier.

• With one exception, dining is all the same. Gospel Brunch Sunday morning is now out, so you need to cancel that. But all other scheduled dining remains the same.
• You now have three more mornings off than you had in the old itinerary
• You have to buy one more ticket day–which of course is much cheaper than the Gospel Brunch, so you come out ahead.

Above is the overview of the revised itinerary. And here’s the links:

Any questions or comments? Use the form below.

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MAGIC KINGDOM DAY 3: SECOND SATURDAY AGENDA

Today you will complete your visit to the Magic Kingdom, with Adventureland and Frontierland in the morning, an afternoon break, and the nighttime shows in the evening.

You should have FastPass+ for Splash Mountain, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Wishes.  The other fixed point in your schedule is dinner at the Crystal Palace.

(Note: this is from the FastPass+ Lower-Crowd Itinerary. The itinerary works only for certain weeks. See this to see if it works for your dates.)

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 Big Thunder Mountain. Ride it
• Check Splash Mountain waits. If they are low, get in the standby line and ride it, changing your FastPass+ for it to something you’d like to re-ride. If waits are high, keep your FastPass+ for Splash and instead head to Adventureland
• See the Magic Carpets of Aladdin
• See Pirates of the Caribbean (FP+)
• See Splash Mountain (FP+)
• Take the WDW Railroad back to Main Street
• Head back to your hotel and take the afternoon off
• Be back at the park in time for dinner at the Crystal Palace
• Find the Wishes FastPass+ viewing area in front of the Castle and from that spot watch the Main Street Electrical Parade and Celebrate the Magic
• Then see Wishes
• Head back to your hotel

PREVIEW OF TOMORROW

Tomorrow you finish the Animal Kingdom, and then return home

MAGIC KINGDOM DAY 2: 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.

It’s one of your longer days, but you’ve had the last three mornings to sleep in!

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 Itinerary. The itinerary works only for certain weeks. See this to see if it works for your dates.)

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!

HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS DAY 2: THURSDAY AGENDA

Today you have the morning off. You will then return to Disney’s Hollywood Studios by noon to complete the visit you began Sunday.  You have no reserved dining today.

You should have FastPass+ for Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster, Tower of Terror, and Voyage of the Little Mermaid.

(Note: this is from the FastPass+ Lower-Crowd Itinerary. The itinerary works only for certain weeks. See this to see if it works for your dates.)

MORNING AND EARLY AFTERNOON

• Sleep in and have an early lunch at the hotel
• Arrive at Hollywood Studios by noon

AT THE PARK

• Check the Times Guide to plan when to see Beauty and the Beast (preferably the last show of the day)
• See  Walt Disney: One Man’s Dream
• See Voyage of the Little Mermaid (FP+)
• See Disney Jr Live on Stage
• Fit Beauty and the Beast in among your FastPass+ for Tower of Terror and Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster
• Have dinner
• Get in line for Fantasmic about 30-45 minutes before the show
• See Fantasmic
• Most lines will be short after Fantasmic–if you wish, this will be a good time for re-rides. Try for more FastPass+, or simply check standby lines
• Head back to your hotel when you are ready

PREVIEW OF TOMORROW

Tomorrow you will continue your visit to the Magic Kingdom