Some Vacation Questions

[Aazzdayen]

Hello All,

So, the wife, myself, and two of my daughters (15 & 23) will be heading to Disney World for the week of October 7th. We have 3-day park hopper tickets and will be staying at the Allstar Music Family suite (wife wanted the early access, park transportation) and we opted for the suite for the full-sized fridge/kitchen area. We are also hopping to score some Universal Halloween Horror Night tickets while there. Been trying to do some early planning and wrap my head around some things before we get to close. I appreciate any and all assistance with the below questions and any follow-up questions.

- How is the weather during the week of October 7th?
- How are the crowds at Disney during this time period?
- With the 3-day park hopper tickets and the desire to visit the 4 parks (with MK being the preferred park) how should we split up the parks? We are thinking a full day at MK, and then not sure about the others, or maybe we split MK into 2-days and try to stack lanes, not sure.
- With whatever suggestions that come out of the above question, how should we prioritize genie+? (What rides should we be looking to book and what times should we be trying to book them, keep in mind that the youngest will be 15).
- What items should we be bringing to the park with us? Right now, we plan on water bottles, a cell phone battery bank, rain ponchos, but not sure what else if any.
- Not a Disney question, but does anyone know roughly when Universal Halloween Horror Night tickets typically go on sale?

Also, I had neck surgery last year for some herniated discs and a co-worker said I should inquire about das. Not sure what that is and if it applies to me, any info on that?

 

[qv09vvp]

Hello All,

So, the wife, myself, and two of my daughters (15 & 23) will be heading to Disney World for the week of October 7th. We have 3-day park hopper tickets and will be staying at the Allstar Music Family suite (wife wanted the early access, park transportation) and we opted for the suite for the full-sized fridge/kitchen area. We are also hopping to score some Universal Halloween Horror Night tickets while there. Been trying to do some early planning and wrap my head around some things before we get to close. I appreciate any and all assistance with the below questions and any follow-up questions.

- How is the weather during the week of October 7th?
- How are the crowds at Disney during this time period?
- With the 3-day park hopper tickets and the desire to visit the 4 parks (with MK being the preferred park) how should we split up the parks? We are thinking a full day at MK, and then not sure about the others, or maybe we split MK into 2-days and try to stack lanes, not sure.
- With whatever suggestions that come out of the above question, how should we prioritize genie+? (What rides should we be looking to book and what times should we be trying to book them, keep in mind that the youngest will be 15).
- What items should we be bringing to the park with us? Right now, we plan on water bottles, a cell phone battery bank, rain ponchos, but not sure what else if any.
- Not a Disney question, but does anyone know roughly when Universal Halloween Horror Night tickets typically go on sale?

Also, I had neck surgery last year for some herniated discs and a co-worker said I should inquire about das. Not sure what that is and if it applies to me, any info on that?

Not an expert but I can weigh in a little advice. October weather is great and parks shouldn't be too busy unless you are going around any holiday weekends. Honestly if you want to hit all 4 parks I would drop the park hopper and just buy a 4 day ticket. I love park hopping but it takes time and sometimes its just better to do 1park per day and relax. Enjoy your trip!

 

[bear_mom]

I don't think neck surgery would qualify you for DAS. DAS is for people who can't wait (not just stand - wheelchairs could be used) in lines. When you call for DAS, they don't ask for a medical diagnosis, they ask for what accommodations you will need.

Are you trying to go to all 4 parks + Universal Horror nights in 3 days? That would be WAY too much. How long is your trip? I think 4 parks in 3 days would be a lot and leave everyone tired and feeling stressed/tired.

If that is all I had, and everyone was in the right mindset, I would do one full day at MK. One day I would split DHS and Epcot - they are close together and travel time is short. I would rope drop AK on the 3rd day and then go back to either DHS or Epcot, which ever you feel you missed the most at.

If you trip is long enough, I would do a rest day in there and would do the Universal Horror nights after.

 

[Aazzdayen]

I don't think neck surgery would qualify you for DAS. DAS is for people who can't wait (not just stand - wheelchairs could be used) in lines. When you call for DAS, they don't ask for a medical diagnosis, they ask for what accommodations you will need.

Are you trying to go to all 4 parks + Universal Horror nights in 3 days? That would be WAY too much. How long is your trip? I think 4 parks in 3 days would be a lot and leave everyone tired and feeling stressed/tired.

If that is all I had, and everyone was in the right mindset, I would do one full day at MK. One day I would split DHS and Epcot - they are close together and travel time is short. I would rope drop AK on the 3rd day and then go back to either DHS or Epcot, which ever you feel you missed the most at.

If you trip is long enough, I would do a rest day in there and would do the Universal Horror nights after.

Ya, I didn’t think das applied to me but they were adamant that I inquiry about it.

We are getting there on Oct 7 and leaving on the 12th but the tickets are only good until the 11th. The plan is Tue-Wed-Thu for the parks and Fri for horror nights. Can we do all the big things at HS in half a day? I understand it might be a lot in those 3 days but we’re used to it and should be fine handling the go go go.

For the other post, we didn’t want a 4th day due to the cost difference and the fact we plan on doing the horror nights on the other night.

 

[lanejudy]

Do you have a package booked? If so, your tickets are valid for the full length of your stay. If tickets were purchased separate from a package, you are correct that 3-day tickets starting 10/7 will need to be used by 10/11, but you might be able to modify them to start Tuesday and be good on Saturday.

Dropping the hopper and adding an extra day would be ~$60 more per ticket. But it would give you more time. Though I get your point about resting on Fri. before HHN. I'm not sure if you are arriving early enough on Monday or departing late enough on Saturday to want to enter a park either day. Otherwise just go with expectations in check -- pick what are your "must do" attractions/shows/dining/etc. and know that even with a full week you can't do everything.

As to DAS, it really depends on your needs related to the neck surgery/herniated discs. The first post of THIS THREAD explains DAS. No need to read the whole thread but feel free to ask questions about your concerns.

 

[Aazzdayen]

We’re driving to and from so not planning on doing anything on arrival/departure days. We bought everything separately. Originally we had an airbnb and was going to do 2 days at MK and 1 day at HS. Then my wife found out about the perks for staying on property. Then she also decided she wants to see the animals at AK and I wouldn’t mind going on the Galaxy ride at Epcot. So we got the resort and added the hopper option.
We know we need to do MK and Epcot at the beginning for the virtual queues. Also MK has the most we’re interested in followed by HS. So should we try to reserve rides based on preference or opt to try and stack like these YouTube channels suggest in the later half of the day while doing lines in the first? Below are our preferences based on parks.

MK - (not in order but trying to split by “tiers”)
Tier 1-Haunted Mansion, Pirates, Space Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain, Tron
Tier 2-Peter Pan, Small World, People Mover, 7 Dwarves

HS - Tower of Terror, Rock n Roll Coaster, Any Stars Ride

Epcot - Galaxy

Not sure what is good at AK since I’ve never been. If I left something out that anyone feels is a must then please let me know.

Also, aside from water bottles, phone battery bank, rain ponchos, is there anything else we should bring with us into the parks?

 

[Aazzdayen]

So we’re thinking about making a change. Instead of staying on disney we might opt for an airbnb. Seems like the only perks that we would miss out on are early access and individual lightning lanes. From my understanding virtual queues are available to everyone at the same time and so isn’t genie+ selections. Is there something I’m missing?

Also, not entirely sure what it’ll be like temperature wise that week but do you think Mainers will need a heated pool that week?

 

[glocon]

I think October is still pretty warm in Florida for pool time, and there are always hot tubs if it’s cooler out.

At AK- our must do’s are Avatar Flight of Passage, Expedition Everest and Kilimanjaro Safari, and definitely the Festival of the Lion King.

Hope this helps!

 

[Wayland10]

In our park bags we also carry bandaids or moleskin and a painkiller like Tylenol.
As for the rest-
At Epcot, we also love Soarin’. We don’t adore Test Track, but lots of people do. And don’t underestimate the World Showcase- it’s a great place to explore.
At AK, I agree that the top rides are Flight of Passage and Expedition Everest. Kilimanjaro Safaris and the Lion King musical are the next best. Do the animal trails and take time to visit Nomad Lounge and relax.

 

[francie57]

If you stay off site you can still get Genie+ which would give you the lightning lane access. You can also do the Individual Lightning Lanes for Dwarf Mine Train, Tron, Guardians, Rise of the Resistance and Flights of Passage since that is a separate per person purchase from Genie+

 

[erinch]

If you are going to do HHN on a Friday in October, you will want to budget for the express pass, or be prepared for crazy crowds , long waits and seeing just a few of the houses.

 

[SpicyMcHaggis]

My recommendation would probably be 1 day MK, 1 day Epcot, then morning at AK/afternoon-evening at HS. Genie+ for all three days if possible, prioritizing MK and the HS/AK day if not. AK closes earlier and HS has Fantasmic in the evening, so they pair together nicely. Go to the later showing of Fantasmic and hit rides during the first for lower crowds.

Save a ride with a long wait for the last of the evening, because if you get in line just before the park closes they will still let you ride. Rise of the Resistance is a gamble for this strategy however because of how often it breaks down.

Make sure you don’t plan to go to MK on a Halloween party night unless you plan on buying separate tickets for that, since it will close early for standard guests and you’ll want every available moment.

 

[Aazzdayen]

If you are going to do HHN on a Friday in October, you will want to budget for the express pass, or be prepared for crazy crowds , long waits and seeing just a few of the houses.

If we end up doing HHN we would get the express pass. We are waiting for the schedule and pricing to come out before we decide on that.

We ended up opting door an airbnb, over near windward cay. Our current plan is MK a full day with genie+ and hopefully a virtual queue for tron and ILL as needed, Epcot/DHS split with virtual queue for guardians and genie + to stack rides at DHS, when we hop over, and AK/Epcot since we were told AK closed the earliest and it allows us to see the fireworks at Epcot but not sure if we’ll need genie + on this day.
Our in-between/relax days we are just going to spend lounging at our airbnb pool.
Our bag right now will have ponchos, headache/pain meds, sunscreen, flavor packs for our water, snacks, baggies to keep things dry, battery pack or two for our phones. Open to any other suggestions here.

 

[buzzgirls&dad]

Sunglasses, gum or mints, hair tie, hat or visor, light jacket if it does happen to be cool in the evening. Also with being offsite make a plan for renting a car or using Uber/lyft unless you are driving to Florida. Factor in the cost of parking as well.

 

[CAPSLOCK]

If we end up doing HHN we would get the express pass. We are waiting for the schedule and pricing to come out before we decide on that.

If you decide to do that, I would suggest deciding fairly quickly once the tickets become available. They will raise the prices on both HHN tickets and HHN express, sometimes within 1-2 weeks of them going on sale. So the sooner you buy, the cheaper it'll be. Cheap being relative. It'll be over $100 each for the HHN EPs. Probably well over $100 each, that being the holiday weekend ie the most expensive weekend of HHN.

 

[hertamaniac]

Early-Mid October can still be very hot and humid. It's past the peak of hurricane season, but Ian hit central Florida on Sep. 28, 2022, with considerable damage as a CAT 4. I am not trying to be an alarmist but living in central Florida for 20 years has taught me to be diligent. If one does hit central Florida, WDW is about as safe a location you can be (if that is still an option).

Clothing? Extra socks taken into the parks in case of t-boom flares up and your feet get wet.

 

[Aazzdayen]

Appreciate all the feedback. I was actually born in Florida and lived in Altamonte Springs/Sanford till my teens when we moved to New Hampshire/Maine. I’ll be ready for the heat but my wife will be vocal about it I’m sure.
We are driving down, straight thru. It’s a drive I’ve done a few times and rather enjoy, as long as my timing is good and I get through NY/DC area in the middle of the night. I believe parking at the parks is $25? What about Universal?
I see Universal HHN just released dates and prices. Wow they are expensive. For anyone that has gone, what is the best option for the 4 of us? 2 nights with normal tickets (would be a full schedule for us)? 1 night with normal tickets, can you get through all the houses? Or splurge for 1 night with express pass, which is pretty expensive?
We will arrive In the afternoon on Saturday, and drive back the following Saturday. Our tickets for Disney are only useable between Monday-Fri and if we don’t do HHN then we will make park trips on Mon-Wed-Fri. If we do HHN for 1 night we are thinking Monday will be a full day of MK, Tue HS/Epcot, Wed HHN, Thu pool day at airbnb, Friday AK/Epcot, and go home Saturday. Thoughts?

 

[CAPSLOCK]

HHN thread: https://www.disboards.com/threads/official-2024-universal-studios-hhn-33-thread.3943489/

Universal just upped their parking fee to $32.
You can *maybe* get through all the houses in one night, esp on the Wed, but it will be a lot of walking and you will need to plan to stay through pretty much the whole night to 2am. If you got the scream early and planned right, you should be able to do all the houses. The lines drop a lot in the morning hours. The rest day after will be an excellent idea. Cannot overstate how much walking it is (and just walking, since you are walking to the house, through the house, to the next house, etc - not sitting on rides for little 5min breaks). If it's your only Universal time and you also want to hit some rides, you probably want to up it to 2 nights or the EP.

 

[HopperFan]

I see Universal HHN just released dates and prices. Wow they are expensive. For anyone that has gone, what is the best option for the 4 of us? 2 nights with normal tickets (would be a full schedule for us)? 1 night with normal tickets, can you get through all the houses? Or splurge for 1 night with express pass, which is pretty expensive?

If you have any access to TICKETS AT WORK (Employee Benefit) check those before you buy tickets. I was able to get DD HHN very reasonable through them one year.

 

[Indio]

If you really want to ride Tron and Guardians, I would go ahead and plan to buy the ILL for them. It's a crap shoot getting the virtual ques for both of these. We've been in January and March this year and for 4 people, we got VQ for Tron on the Jan trip and no VQ either trip for Guardians. We ended up just buying Guardians the 2nd trip. Going back in May - will probably buy both again. Also, in October, it will probably be near impossible to do all HHN houses in 1 night if you plan to do any rides, or eat, or use the bathroom, etc, etc, etc!! Like a previous poster said, the houses may seem close together, but the ques are ridiculous - it's a LOT of walking!