We were able to get FPs for SDD but the absolute earliest time I found was 5:45 pm. There is little to no way we’d be able to do rope drop until that time with our kids, and none of us are particularly enamored with shuttling back and forth a couple of times from our hotel.
Would you: A) Rope drop as much of Toy Story Land as possible or B) Delay getting to the park until midday and reschedule our other FPs to be closer to SDD?
Other considerations: Our kids are early birds. We will be in Epcot the day before HS and it’d be nice to stay a little later than we normally would if we have a lazy morning the next day. We aren’t interested in the Early Morning event. We’d really like to ride TSM as well so anticipated wait times will affect our decision.
I also have a couple of questions. I heard that construction pushed the HS bus stop pretty far from the entrance. Is that true and is it temporary? Also, can you advance schedule a Minnie van? I’m assuming we’ll need one for anything PPO.
Post by curbsideprophet on Feb 17, 2019 20:43:07 GMT -5
I was debating RD TSL with a mid day break, coming back at night for SDD. My kids want to ride it at night. Given how short our trip is I figure a later FP will be all I can get if I can get it at all.
I decided it was not worth the effort to RD and split the day.
We decided to have some pool time in the morning, late Ohana breakfast then head to HS.
Post by TamiTaylor on Feb 17, 2019 21:27:25 GMT -5
Rope Drop TSMM and take a midday break. We RDed SDD the day after Christmas and waited a little less than 30 minutes right at the beginning of the morning. It wasn’t a bad wait. I noticed the TSMM line was about a 5 min wait.
Post by TamiTaylor on Feb 17, 2019 21:29:38 GMT -5
You don’t need to schedule a Minnie Van super in advance. I would look about 10 minutes before you are really wanting to leave. We went at Christmas and never had an issue with getting a Minnie Van. In fact in most cases we had to book it to get to it because they would show up faster than expected.
Do you have other long wait time rides you want to ride as HS that you don't have fast passes for? If not, I would get to the park later and just plan on waiting for TSM for 45-60 minutes. It's not ideal but a mid day break would eat up more than that amount of time.
At which hotel are you staying? I've never thought the buses were terrible and am a big believer in the midday break.
I like your plan B but you should look at the show schedule and take into consideration what your kids want to see. Some shows end earlier in the day. It's possible TSMM would have a shorter wait just before Fantasmic, but I'm not sure.
You can also try to modify your SDD fastpass. You never know what will be available.
When we were there mid-December, I thought the walk to the bus was ridiculously long at HS. I didn't realize this was a new thing due to construction. I was very confused about the set up.
However, we were at AOA, so second to last bus. It wouldn'thave been as bad if we were one of the resorts at the front of the line. Even with thw long walk, DS1 and I did take a break for swimming and dinner and returned in the evening for Jingle bell bam. H and DD stayed the whole day. MIL and DS2 stayed at the hotel after swimming and dinner.