Hi everyone- I don't post much, but I do a lot of research here. Primarily my family and I ( dw, ds18, ds17, ds14, and dmother) go to DL. We have been there many times and have always enjoyed getting prepared for our trips here on MP. January we will be taking our first trip to WDW!!!!!!! I love to plan but must admit I am getting a little overwhelmed with this trip.

We are staying off-site at Silver Lakes Resort. I understand that it is very close to AK using some back entrance. My question is will we need to drive to the various parks each day or can we park at AK and use Disney transportation to get to the other parks. We will not be getting park hoppers so will only be doing one park per day. I am sure it is easier to drive but, I hate driving and dealing with traffic (it is very unDisney-like).

I have tried to search for the answer but can't find it, my apologies if you have all discussed this to death.

Little confused here... if you dont have park hoppers, why would you go to other parks in a particular day? Are you just thinking that you would park at AK each day and be done with it?

If that is the case, I would skip that idea and just drive to your park of the day. Besides, because AK tends to close earlier than the others, you would be better off as transportation to AK will become limited after their operating hours. If you want to go to the different resorts during the day, use Disney Transportation.

Thanks for the advise, good point about AK closing early, I hadn't thought about that. :rolleyes:

Hi everyone- I don't post much, but I do a lot of research here. Primarily my family and I ( dw, ds18, ds17, ds14, and dmother) go to DL. We have been there many times and have always enjoyed getting prepared for our trips here on MP. January we will be taking our first trip to WDW!!!!!!! I love to plan but must admit I am getting a little overwhelmed with this trip.

We are staying off-site at Silver Lakes Resort. I understand that it is very close to AK using some back entrance. My question is will we need to drive to the various parks each day or can we park at AK and use Disney transportation to get to the other parks. We will not be getting park hoppers so will only be doing one park per day. I am sure it is easier to drive but, I hate driving and dealing with traffic (it is very unDisney-like).

I have tried to search for the answer but can't find it, my apologies if you have all discussed this to death.

Congratulations on the upcoming trip! I wouldn't bother parking at AK and then having to take a separate form of transportation to the other parks, if you're going to drive there, why not just keep going? You should also check to see if your hotel offers shuttles to the parks. Many of the nearby hotels offer shuttles.

Also, I am not aware of any back entrance to AK, I don't think any of the parks have more than one entrance, but I could be wrong.

Another consideration so that you don't have to drive more than you want... make your ADRs at the parks you are visiting for the day, or at their nearby resorts. It is easy to hit the monorail resorts from MK (and Epcot too).

Since your parking question has been answered ---

Are you SURE you don't want park hoppers? Are 3 teenagers going to be happy calling it a day at 5 when AK closes? (I haven't checked the calendar - just guessing) It really can be a good investment.

Also, have you made your ADRs? Restaurants can fill up, and if you're limited in the ones you can hit because of your non-hopping, Dining is a MUCH bigger concern at WDW than at DL.

Also, when you're planning your park days, AVOID parks with Extra Magic Hours (you can see the full list when you go to the official calendar on the WDW website, and click on the words "Extra Magic Hours"). You aren't eligible, so totally avoid them. Also, there are limited showings of Spectromagic (nighttime parade in MK), Wishes (fireworks in MK) and Fantasmic (in a theater in the Studios) during the off season, so click on the numbers of the dates to see the schedules for those types of things as well as the parades.

I know, I have to get going on the ADRs, thats a problem I've never had at DL!
We decided not to get park-hoppers so that we have scheduled/ mandatory down time. (I tend to run a tight ship on vacation and the family requested time to relax, the nerve!)

Here is our plan, what do you think:
Fri- travel, get in late
Sat.- IOA ( I know, not Disney, but high on the wish list)
Sun- AK
Mon-HS (Fantasmic night)
Tue- MK
Wed- Epcot
Thu- open to repeat whichever land we want more time in
Fri- travel, leave early

I think this plan avoids extra hours and I thought IOA would be the least crowded choice on Sat?? If not, I am open to suggestions. Once I know where we will be each day, ADRs are next on the list. So far I think I really want to go to Ohana one night but am undecided about any others.

Drince-- GO BEAVS!!!!

After rechecking the schedule- Spectromagic is only on during the days with extra hours, except Saturday. Is it better to go MK Sat and not miss Spect? My family are not huge parade people but they love the Electric parade at DL.

Maybe IOA is better during the week anyway?

This may sound like a a dumb question but what and where is IOA?:confused:

it' s Universal Island of Adventures.

January it can pretty quiet in Florida. Any theme park on the weekends will have their locals visiting. Also you might find that you don't need down time during the day because the parks are not open late. When my boyfriend and I went in January we stayed at the parks all day and then at night just hung around and relaxed.

You would have to ask your family the importance of Spectromagic to them. The only parade to me that I love to see is Boo To You (their Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party parade).

Ohana is great by the way. I think your boys will LOVE Sci Fi. My cousin (male) and my boyfriend love it there. It's dark and you sit in a car by twos. You watch old sci-fi flicks and it really feels likes you are in a drive-in. The food isn't fantastic, but it is really about the ambiance. Another reason why my boyfriend and cousin like it is because it's dark and quiet. Gives you an hour to unwind from the park.

I think Spectromagic will not be a priority for the boys but grandma and DW will probably want to go. (and you know if mama ain't happy....);)

Sci-fi sounded really cool to me too I think we'd like that. It is so hard to decide what I want to eat 3 months in advance!! That is this weeks goal, food. Wish me luck.

I would also try ESPN Zone for the boys. I remember we went there the first time we took my boyfriend and he went to the bathroom and came back like 20 minutes later. I asked him if he was feeling all right and his eyes widened and he said "there are tvs in the bathroom! TVS IN THE BATHROOM! That's awesome! I wasn't leaving!"

To me it is a cool place to hang out but the food is eh, but my boyfriend loves it because it gives him some sports time on our Disney filled vacation. Also they cut back on their menu so we head there for some appetizers at night. Do not go there on a Saturday, Sunday, or Monday due to football. You will never get a table.

If your boys don't care for sports but are more of the movie bunch then I would head to Planet Hollywood. A bigger menu and lots of action going on.

Both restaurants don't take ressies and you don't need park admission to go there which might be of interest on the day you are at Universal.

We have visited in January twice and the parks are not too crowded, so if you plan right you may not need park hoppers. Go to DD or dinner at Animal Kingdom Lodge after AK closes early. Must avoid the park that is having EMH. I would say that going to MK on Saturday to see Spectro would be okay, cuz IOA would be better on a week day than a Saturday. Because of the roller coasters it may get locals on a Sat. We were there in January 2007 on a Monday and Wed and had no crowds.

When i worked at AK there was no "back entrance" (that could have since changed) but even CM's had to enter through the front entrance . . .

but again i could be in error.

When the OP mentioned "Back entrance by AK" I thought they were referring to an entrance other than the 'main one' onto WDW property from offsite. Not an actual back entrance to the Animal Kingdom (especially since you don't need to go INTO the AK if you're just parking your car there for the day)