psychoell Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 Hello All, Long-time reader, first-time poster. I am heading to the US from Australia in February and spending a week in Orlando from 1 - 8 Feb. At this stage, I'm planning on hitting up the following parks: 1. Islands of Adventure 2. Universal Studios Florida 3. Busch Gardens Tampa 4. Sea World 5. Magic Kingdom 6. Hollywood Studios or Animal Kingdom (still deciding) Just wanted to get some people's opinions on how long I can expect queues to be at this time of the year. The only other time I've visited is in the period between Halloween and Thanksgiving previously and the parks were dead. Should I expect similar/better/worse? Is it worth investing in Quick Queue/Express Pass etc? Also, which parks are better to visit during the week vs on a weekend. I've heard BGT is the better option for a weekend, but am not sure. Thanks for your help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SharkTums Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 ^You left Epcot off your list. I assume this means you're a credit whore and have pushed Epcot off to the side since "they don't got no creditz". I cannot help you with your questions until Epcot is put in your itinerary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir Clinksalot Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 ^ And so right ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psychoell Posted January 24, 2011 Author Share Posted January 24, 2011 LOL. It's actually more a question of time and the fact that I did Epcot on my last trip but missed a few other parks (ie: Seaworld and BGT). So it basically was chopped in the end for that reason. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SharkTums Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 Well now that you have explained your terrible itinerary I suppose I can try and help a bit! Crowd level should be very similar to what you experienced in October. A bit more foreign than US tourists will be there but you probably won't notice. For that week I wouldn't buy the fastpass options ahead of time, but I would be prepared to get them if needed on the day of. For example at Busch or Sea World if they're only running one train on stuff and there's a wait it may be worth it to grab the pass. At Universal you probably won't need it except for Harry Potter stuff. I would haul ass to that area of the park first, get it all done, then the rest of the park should be quite manageable. Personally, I would hit the parks that have the best fastpass options on the weekend so I would have that option if it were difficult. Just getting to the parks early in the morning though may get you ahead of the crowd and you won't need them. As to your MGM (I will never call it Hollywood Studios) vs. Animal Kingdom, that one is kind of difficult. It's not secret I don't like Minimal Kingdom, but MGM is really kind of sucking lately. My suggestion would be to add the park hopper option to your ticket so you can hit ALL four parks (EPCOT!!!!) and don't have to choose! For the money you were willing to spend on skip the line passes you could probably add parkhopping! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meteornotes Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 I would recommend Animal Kingdom for two reasons: - Dinosaur - Eating at Yak & Yeti But seriously, getting a park hopper and getting to the gates before the parks open should allow you to get to some of the major attractions before the parks get busy. I'd really recommend it. dt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcjaco Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 ^You left Epcot off your list. I assume this means you're a credit whore and have pushed Epcot off to the side since "they don't got no creditz". I cannot help you with your questions until Epcot is put in your itinerary. Elissa, will you marry me? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SharkTums Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 ^I was really hoping you and/or Scott would see my response! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psychoell Posted January 25, 2011 Author Share Posted January 25, 2011 Thanks for all the help guys! (Definitely didn't mean to offend the Epcot lovers out there. It really is a beautiful park. It just doesn't seem to have added any new attractions since I last went - with the exception of seeing Michael Jackson in 3D and the thought of that scares the crap out of me). Had never really considered trying to do more than one Disney park in a day, but I think it's worth a go! My problem is my trip is about 2 days short of hitting every major Florida park. But a park hopper may help me solve that problem! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PAL Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 AK has Everest. That's a credit, a great one for a Disney park. Like others say, get a park hopper. We did both AK and MGM (Elissa's right) on Thanksgiving of all days. Take two parks; they're small. Heck, take three and end your day at Epcot. (No Express Pass at Forbidden Potter - a weekday would be so much less of a hassle) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoopLover Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 Make sure you visit Epcot. There is so much to see and do (even if not much of it is rideable!) If you do go to Epcot though, make sure that you do all the rides and movies in the countries. Maelstrom is better than people say (excluding the weird post show movie) and the Fiesta Tour of Mexico is like It's a Small World without the themetune. Only my opinion. As for the queues, I have never been in February but when I was there in Summer I waited for over three hours to board Soarin! Enjoy your trip wherever you go! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piers Posted January 26, 2011 Share Posted January 26, 2011 I waited for over three hours to board Soarin! I'm sorry to hear that. What a waste of three hours... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoopLover Posted January 26, 2011 Share Posted January 26, 2011 ^I know! but I got a few rides on Test Track with hardly any queue so I can't complain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beatle11 Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 ^When I visited, it was a 3 hour wait, or 20 minutes single rider. I'd be pretty happy too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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