Sorry Jonny 5 - we haven't been to this one - but when looking at reviews and photos it looks like a side view of the fireworks - I think if you are interested in projections this may not be the party for you - but the fireworks themselves looks like you would have a great view.

I don't think you will see too much of a difference on Memorial Day - in fact 2 of the local annual passes are blocked on holiday weekends - so you will not be fighting with the local holiday people. We have seen this helps with overall crowds.

Unfortunately there doesn't seem to be a definite date yet - just 2026 - Disney tends to keep these pretty close to the vest until a month or two out.

Hey Ellen - great question - I will say that we have ALWAYS done Brown Derby as our Fantasmic meal - mainly because we felt it was worth the money and we would have eaten the courses anyway. Brown Derby is consistent and is typically a nice break from the hectic day at the parks. If your son is an adventurous eater this is a great choice. H&V will most likely be Christmas characters when you are going so if that is something you are interested in getting pictures of - unique holiday costumes. Then that might make a difference for you. I personally would only go to H&V during special times of the year to get these unique costumes - otherwise it is just a buffet. A Disney buffet is better than just about any buffet - but still a buffet. Hope this helps - Jess

In general - later in the day is harder to get the big ticket lightening lanes - but the 2nd tier are almost always available. I think the best solution is always to get your initial must dos as your planned if possible and then just play it by ear the rest of the day - it is possible to get LL all the way up on to park close for a lot of rides. Also if you combine shows, short waits and LL from noon - close you can do a lot.

I really think you should prioritize which rides you want. Maybe for one of the later days in the trip do the HS MP to get slinky dog if it really is a priority! More my family Rise is our only real HS must do_ so we very rarely get MP there. I find you really don’t need MO at AK if you early entry.

We used DVC rental twice and had good success

We have never had a problem with getting dropped off we have had a problem trying to park. If you were nervous about it mini van would definetly work and they could go to MK directly

We have seen the buses go much earlier - I don't think you will have a hard time getting there by bus - just watch the bus times in the APP and go down at 7 am. IF you decide to Uber/lyft - I would go to Contemporary - and get dropped off and walk over - much faster than the TTC drop off.

I agree with Craig - I think Value with 1 quick service then saving $1000 will give you money for any snacks and other food you want - I find we never really want a full meal during the days

I had this EXACT situation last trip with my family - as I am a AP holder and they are not - I went ahead and just got there lightening lanes - and then when I can me got as close as possible. - then day of I tried to modify to be together. In general - we were able to get the first one close and then after the first one I modified all of the lightening lanes together and it worked fine after the first ride. Hopefully I am not too late

So we basically did this last trip - we started at Animal Kingdom and after Safari at 830 - I changed all my lightening lanes to Epcot after 1 - we had 3 back to back including Frozen at 6 pm. It worked great and I was able to ride what I wanted with no waits

You can only get three at a time now UNLESS you have a ride closure during one of your lightening lanes and you get an experience redemption. However you can “stack” those three later in the day - you can’t overlap them until the morning.

The only thing throwing me off is your Tucker house reservation - if you could push that to 830 or 9 then you could get Navi and safari in easy with early entry. It is one of our favorite buffets with characters but if you are ride focused and trying to hop early you may feel rushed. If you want FOP I would either get there very early to be in the front of early entry or try for a single pass

Like Craig - let us know if you need testers - we have an Easter and July trip We are renting dvc points for our next trip and it is always a good way to stay deluxe at moderate prices

In theory at midnight the night of you could move one of your non-frozen ones to a 9 am if available and leave frozen alone! But you should also have time to walk around maybe do three Caballeros before frozen

If you are a late night family then it is a great choice - the only down side is if you get stuck in a long line or pre show then you may only get one or two rides - I would make sure you have enough time before extended hours to do a lot of your must dos and then just use it as that extra ride on the hard to get rides

I would not split the party and use your 7 day window to get the hardest to get rides and then build your day around it. I have heard podcasts with people in large groups and they have been successful with llmp.

Can you do it - yes in theory I have done it only for my son after he decided last minute to not ride something. But he still walked the queue and then used the “chicken exit” I would just tell the cast member when you get there. However in general this seems like a waste - there are so many good options hopefully you can find one you want to ride.

I went with a group of 5 -it takes a little more time but eventually expect to get what you need. I would be willing to wait in one or two lines a day - but you should still be good.