Orlando/Tampa

[Vmarc1279]

Hi all! I need some advice. I will be in the Orlando/Tampa area from wednesday-saturday. I'll get in around 8:30 pm on wednesday. I'm traveling with my family, 5 of us total. I have a few questions. Is 9PM-12AM enough for Magic Kingdom on a weekday? Then, I have 2 full days, and I want to hit Islands of Adventure and Busch gardens. Which one should I do on thursday/friday? Is there a way to work the parks? (back to front?)

 

 

Thanks all!!

[OrlandoGuy]

Hey, Im gonna do my best to answer your questions but honestly, its kinda hard to give a good answer when it comes to Orlando parks in the summer.

 

First off, how much do you want to see in Magic Kingdom? While the park crowds generally thin out around 10, making lines reasonable, 2 hours is not enough to see everything even if everything were to be walk-on. If you get there at 9 pm, I would hit Pirates, Haunted Mansion, and maybe Little Mermaid or Buzz or some other high capacity people-eater...those lines shouldnt be too bad. After the fireworks are over, the park should empty out a bit, but youll still see long lines at Space Mountain. Big Thunder will probably hover around 30 and Splash Mountain could be as low as 15 after 10...I havent been since 7DMT but Im guessing that line will be around 45, and Space Mountain will most likely be at an hour all night. So you have to prioritize which one of the big mountains is most important to you. I will say that the best strategy is to take the ride with the longest line (probably Space) and hop in line at 11:59. That way you dont waste any time in that line and make the most of your time. However, the best way to fully enjoy the park is to give yourself more time.

Also, Im not sure how FP+ works for non-Annual Passholders but you could look into that, and possibly reserve some Fastpass return times before you get there. Go to the Disney website for more info on that, because that can be very helpful if the timing is right.

 

As for IOA and Busch Gardens...I recommend doing BG on Thursday and IOA on Friday. While both days will be crowded, BG's crowds are much more influenced by weekends than IOA, which typically has consistent crowds all summer (BGT is more of a local park while IOA is more a tourist destination). HOWEVER, if there is a heavy chance of rain in the forecast for one of those days, pick that day to go to Busch Gardens. The rain will pass within an hour (2 max) MOST of the time, and the Tampa natives will generally avoid Busch on overcast days. But if the forecast for both Thursday and Friday are the same, pick Thursday for BGT. And get there as early as you can! It will take you about an hour and ten minutes, give or take, to get from Orlando to Tampa.

 

Also, I noticed you only specified Islands of Adventure but I would recommend getting a 2-park pass and hitting Universal Studios as well. This summer has seen un-seasonally reasonable crowds, and both parks are very manageable in one day and very worth seeing...and the 2-park pass is not much more expensive than a 1-park. Go to Islands first thing in the morning and knock out Spider-Man. Make sure you get on the water rides by around 11 because those will get BUSY! Forbidden Journey should hover around 45 minutes all day, with Dragon Challenge being 15-20, so no need to rush to those. Afterward, take the Hogwarts Express (if youre a Harry Potter fan) to the Studios...however if youre not a Potter person, skip it and walk. At the Studios, make sure to get in line for Gringotts (which should be high on your priority list) BEFORE 7 pm, as the line for that closes between 7 and 8 every night so far this summer. Dont do Transformers and Rip Ride Rockit until nighttime, and every other queue should be reasonable in that park throughout the day.

 

 

Hopefully this helps, but like I said your results very well may vary. Unfortunately, schools are still out down here so it will be kinda busy, but this season hasnt been too terrible. I would still try to squeeze in more time at MK and upgrade to a 2-park pass at Universal, but whatever you do, have fun!

[BlahBlahson]

I'll try to be nice...planning failure here.

 

Under 3 hours in the Magic Kingdom is an Utterly Worthless amount of time. You will see absolutely nothing, and this park does not function like you suspect it does "on a weekday". There are over 40 attractions in the park, and a proper visit to that park is MORE THAN 1 day.

 

You could, in alternative, potentially ride a few roller coasters at Fun Spot America on I-Drive during that time. They are open late, with free parking and closer to the airport and the tourist hub.

 

1 day is enough time for each of the other parks you mentioned. Arrive early. Search the forum for more advice.

Edited August 10, 2014 by BlahBlahson

[KBrylczyk]

^^ What these guys said.

 

You're landing at 8:30 and expect to be able to walk into Magic Kingdom by 9?! You have no idea of the area, do you? I'm not sure if you're flying into Tampa or Orlando, but Orlando International is at least a half hour drive to Disney's property. Tampa is an hour if you're in a Lamborghini. That's not taking into account taxiing to the gate, waiting on luggage, getting a rental car, etc. If you're landing at 8:30, your night is lost. Maybe you'll be lucky and find a restaurant that's still open.

[Angle O. Descent]

Ideally, Magic Kingdom is two days, so you'd have to be selective with what you do in one day. A day trip to IOA is manageable.... but so is Harry Potter... pick one of the two. The good news is that Busch Gardens is doable in one day. Good luck

[OrlandoGuy]

oh, I didnt even see that you would be getting in at 8:30 the night you want to go to Magic Kingdom. You might as well just save your money and not bother unless you really dont mind missing a lot and just want to see it. For reference, it takes me an hour minimum to get from OIA (upon landing) to my house, and my house is another 15 minutes from the Magic Kingdom parking lot, which itself is about 15 minutes from the park (considering you have to take the ferry or monorail). Optimistically, youd get to Magic Kingdom in the ballpark of 11 without even having dinner. If you absolutely cant get there any earlier, skip Magic Kingdom and save it for a trip when you have more time.

[robbalvey]

Hi all! I need some advice. I will be in the Orlando/Tampa area from wednesday-saturday. I'll get in around 8:30 pm on wednesday. I'm traveling with my family, 5 of us total. I have a few questions. Is 9PM-12AM enough for Magic Kingdom on a weekday? Then, I have 2 full days, and I want to hit Islands of Adventure and Busch gardens. Which one should I do on thursday/friday? Is there a way to work the parks? (back to front?)

 

 

Thanks all!!

First off, if you are getting into Orlando "around 8:30pm", there is NO WAY you are making it to MK by 9pm. I wouldn't bother at all. I was just at the park last night, actually, from 9pm - Midnight and everything was still 45min - 90min waits. This is summer you're talking about, it's not like the rides are walk-ons, even at night!

 

As for your other two park days, it really doesn't matter which day you hit either of them on. I would recommend getting Express Passes and Quick Queue if you only have one day at each.

[Vmarc1279]

Hi all! I need some advice. I will be in the Orlando/Tampa area from wednesday-saturday. I'll get in around 8:30 pm on wednesday. I'm traveling with my family, 5 of us total. I have a few questions. Is 9PM-12AM enough for Magic Kingdom on a weekday? Then, I have 2 full days, and I want to hit Islands of Adventure and Busch gardens. Which one should I do on thursday/friday? Is there a way to work the parks? (back to front?)

 

 

Thanks all!!

First off, if you are getting into Orlando "around 8:30pm", there is NO WAY you are making it to MK by 9pm. I wouldn't bother at all. I was just at the park last night, actually, from 9pm - Midnight and everything was still 45min - 90min waits. This is summer you're talking about, it's not like the rides are walk-ons, even at night!

 

As for your other two park days, it really doesn't matter which day you hit either of them on. I would recommend getting Express Passes and Quick Queue if you only have one day at each.

 

Ok thanks for all the advice!!!! Also one last quick question, are there any rollercoasters at BGT/IOA where it does matter where you sit? Thanks!!

[robbalvey]

^ Here's an idea. If you're getting into Orlando around 8:30pm, and you're looking for something "roller coaster" to do that night, why not go to Fun Spot in Orlando and ride White Lightning?

 

[OrlandoGuy]

Hi all! I need some advice. I will be in the Orlando/Tampa area from wednesday-saturday. I'll get in around 8:30 pm on wednesday. I'm traveling with my family, 5 of us total. I have a few questions. Is 9PM-12AM enough for Magic Kingdom on a weekday? Then, I have 2 full days, and I want to hit Islands of Adventure and Busch gardens. Which one should I do on thursday/friday? Is there a way to work the parks? (back to front?)

 

 

Thanks all!!

First off, if you are getting into Orlando "around 8:30pm", there is NO WAY you are making it to MK by 9pm. I wouldn't bother at all. I was just at the park last night, actually, from 9pm - Midnight and everything was still 45min - 90min waits. This is summer you're talking about, it's not like the rides are walk-ons, even at night!

 

As for your other two park days, it really doesn't matter which day you hit either of them on. I would recommend getting Express Passes and Quick Queue if you only have one day at each.

 

Ok thanks for all the advice!!!! Also one last quick question, are there any rollercoasters at BGT/IOA where it does matter where you sit? Thanks!!

 

Hulk is awesome in the front, Red Dragon is best in the back while Blue is best in front. Pretty much every coaster at BGT is best in the back except Sheikra which is best up front or row 2 if the front isnt do-able.

[coasterbill]

We went to Orlando in February for 3 full days. We got there on a Thursday around 8PM and left on Monday night.

 

What we did when we got to Orlando on Thursday is exactly what Robb suggested, we went to Fun Spot and had a great time for a few hours. I'm not sure how it is normally but when we were there the place was empty as it was in the 40's (since it was February) so we got 6 or 7 rides on White Lightning without getting up and only got off the ride to go ride some of the flats and the other coaster. We even mixed in a few beers.

 

The next day we went to Universal and managed to ride everything with a park hopper and a universal express pass. The parks were pretty busy but the express pass was amazing. This is obviously pre-Diagon alley and the off season but many rides still had 60-90 minute waits and we walked right on to them. I highly recommend doing something similar (a park hopper and a skip the line pass) there's no reason to only visit one of the parks.

 

The remainder of the trip consisted of Sea World on Saturday, Busch Gardens on Sunday (followed by the other Fun Spot that night to ride the Sky coaster and the coaster) and Daytona beach to credit whore the coaster and have some drinks at the restaurant out over the ocean on Monday. We didn't visit a Disney Park and we had a great time. If we had more time we would have but don't feel the need to force a 2-3 hour Disney trip into one night. All it's going to do is stress you out.

 

Oh and at Busch Gardens Tampa I highly suggest the very back row of Kumba in the seat closest to the unload platform. Personally I'd consider this the best coaster in the park and in that seat it feels like the ride is actively trying to kill you (in a good way).

[aCoasterStory]

At BGT, I prefer

 

Cheetah Hunt in the front (best view & best pops of airtime)

Montu in the back (overall just awesome, and the bottom of the batwing is epic), though the front is a reasonably close 2nd

Kumba in the middle (it rattles my head around less)

SheiKra in the far back right with the OTSR as loose as they'll let you (epic floater air, especially since you get pulled over each of the drops; the view in the front is cool, but the back is the better ride IMHO)

Gwazi from off the ride (generally just brutal, though I will usually end up riding it once each trip).