Doing the parks in order

[crltkcagle]

The only must we have is MK on our last day!

[Kairi_7378]

We have started all of our trips at Epcot on arrival day. Sometimes we go to MK on the first evening but usually we save our first sight of the castle for our first day at park opening.

[1DisneyNut]

It is almost always Magic Kingdom the first day for us but I make a complete itinerary months before our trip (well my daughter helps now as she is a bit OCD too). As operational hours and extra magic hours are finalized in the month or two leading up to our trip, we review the itinerary and make adjustments if necessary. Once we get there, there is no indecision or bickering over which park on which day. We look at our itinerary and off we go.

[Fangorn]

Never bothered with any of the crowd calendars, never will.

For us, coming from the West Coast, we can't get there until around 5pm at best. That makes park schedules our initial criteria. Which usually means we get to our hotel and then head off to Epcot for some sort of dinner and Illuminations. Although a time or two we've arrived on a day with evening EMH at MK, so we've headed there the night we get in.

Other than that, we pretty much wing it. There are, of course, factors that come into play for us. If we have an ADR for someplace special - and those are few - that will have an impact. We also have the situation where our son and his wife are both entertainment CMs, so we try to catch their shows as much as possible. But at best, they get a schedule 2 weeks out. Typically, our son's schedule will change at the last minute, so flexibility is key for us, and Park Hoppers (or APs) are a must.

Also, we don't do Disney commando-style. We don't have to ride everything. Just being in a park is a wonderful thing.

Steve

[Nut4DW]

EE is our favorite ride so we usually will head over to AK first - then since it closes earlier than the other parks, we can get in a second park on our first day. Typically we will go to EPCOT because I just love illuminations - cannot see it enough while we are there. Since we have started staying at Wilderness Lodge, I will book a late afternoon or evening flight and we will spend the morning of our final day at MK - there is something about saying goodbye that requires me to see the castle just before we leave.....

[Gator]

I could never do the Animal Kingdom first. My parents came out to join us a few years back and that was their first park. I'm sure they were thinking "Disney World aint all that magical." That said, only on our first trip did we hit the MK first. Every trip since then has either had Epcot or DHS first. I'm not sure why, but it always rolls out that way.

[indytraveler]

It depends on how many days we are there. First day could be any one of them.

But, I prefer my last day to be at the MK. Its always sad to turn around and look at the castle for the last time before walking away.

[SandmanGStefani24]

I always do either AK or the Studios as my "opening act" for each trip. I usually don't go to those every trip, so one of them gets things started, and then MK is next, and Epcot is my headliner/closer. Since it's my favorite I always end my trips there.

[snowflakegirl]

I used to insist on doing the parks in order. First day at Magic Kingdom, second Epcot, third HS, fourth AK. I've loosened up on that, but I still spend my first afternoon (we usually get to DW mid morning on our arrival day) at MK most trips and we usually end our trips with a day at Epcot.

[TheVBs]

First day has to be MK for us. After that we usually do Epcot, AK, HS, a water park, then repeat most of the parks. Usually we'll do MK 3 times instead of doing HS twice. We will take EMH and other scheduled things into consideration, but MK first day is a must and we're not too bothered after that.

[buzznwoodysmom]

We don't always do the parks in the same order, but more often than not MK is our first park. And if we are just doing each park once during a trip we often leave epcot (a family favorite) for last.

[Awesome_guy]

Not getting to Magic Kingdom (or the Magic Kingdom layout park at any of the Disney resorts) the first day always just makes me itch to get there... so I generally try to get there either first or at least, that day.

No use counting down to getting there and missing out on the fun of where you're at. It's Magic Kingdom where I feel like I'm "at Disney" though.

Outside of that I'm swayed by EMH, showtimes, convenience, meals and all of that. A good friend always has to end his trips with Peter Pan and I kind of like the idea of having a finale to the trip.

[Dickson Thunder]

As far as full days go, Animal Kingdom since it opened has been our first full day, Epcot next, Studios after that and then the last two days at the MK. If we arrive early enough on our travel day we have pretty much rotated between MK and EP for an afternoon visit.

[lawgirl]

I've never really looked at that schedule. Lately, we've been doing several short trips a year, and usually planning around a party at the MK, and then Epcot for the second full day. That way we get to go more, and I've really enjoyed our scheduling like that.

This time (April) we are going to AK and Epcot. I haven't checked to see if the day we'll be there is supposed to be "crowded" or the best days to go...its just we are going based on our schedule and when our "park" day is going to be.

[Airblue1]

Plan by proximity and ADR's