Disney Planners - need help

[ashfern]

So, DH just dropped on my lap planning a DW trip for the week of Sept 18-22. We're thinking 4 days, one per park and will be driving down. What's the latest scoop on the parks? It's been 6 years since we've been.

[HomeAgain]

Hit up the disboards.com  They have a ton of information.

 

Right now Hollywood Studios is under construction, so you may want to pull up a list of closures before you go.  The Magic Kingdom got a fabulous new restaurant last (?) year near the Jungle Cruise if you like non-park food.  I had the pho and it was very good.  I cannot remember the name exactly, I think it was the Skipper's Canteen, but not sure.

[Liza Q]

Also. The FS at EPCOT are tiered so you can get one from group A and 1 from group B. If you want a FP for the new Frozen Ride, you won't be able to get one for Test Track or Soarin' or, I think, Illuminations preferred area. You can get 3 FPS per day in advance.

 

PLUS. At this late date there may not be many of the hard-to-get FPs left. Make an acct on My Disney Experience and see what's available when on your dates. Choose FPs based on how long the lines are likely to be - at MK that tends to be 7 Dwarfs Mine Train and Peter Pan, the Mountains. Toy Story and a few others at DHS. Everest and probably anything in Pandora because it is new at AK.

 

Check to see if there is currently a Free Dining special for those dates. If so, a lot of restaurants may be quite full already. Take a look at any character meals you want asap.

 

This website has a lot of free help - I also like the DISboards but I find this site a bit more organized. I also love Touring Plans but that's not free and may not be worth the $$ for just a month.

 

http://wdwprepschool.com/

[zoobie]

I make an insane chart with the opening/closing hours of each park to plan it out. I would avoid MK on Mondays. Look at where the Extra Magic Hours are and avoid them. The Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party will be happening while you're there, so that will affect MK traffic. It's typically lower on the day of a party, but you have to leave the park by 7 unless you get the extra ticket. I personally enjoy those events. The parades and fireworks are amazing. If you'll be there Monday-Friday, the Tuesday night party would have the lowest attendance and get you the best experience. Monday the 18th will be extra crowded at MK because it's a Monday and because there's no party. EasyWDW used to have a great calendar for choosing days, but it's not cooperating with me this morning. I can't tell if it's not still doing it or if it's a web issue.

[ashfern]

Thanks. I did find the "best" days to visit each park. DH made reservations for a 3/2 house that's only $80 per night. I need to decide if I want to make t-shirts for the kids like I did last time we went. They're cute but take awhile.

[whitestavern]

There is a new-ish pass that is a 4 park Magic Pass, one park per day, meaning a ticket for each park for one day. You cannot go to one park two days and skip a park. I believe it's cheaper than traditional 4 day passes, but you should compare with Undercover Tourist (who traditionally have the lowest prices).

Edited August 20, 2017 by whitestavern

[Lanny]

We were in DW 4 days at the end of April 2016. Like you we thought one day in each park. Thankfully we let the ticket person Upsell us to the 4 day Park Hopper. One day we were in 2 parks. One day we were in all 4 parks. That was the day we planned to be in Epcot the entire day. Enjoy the trip

 

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[Pegasus]

LOTS of changes in the last six years. I hope you have an awesome time. Consider skipping Hollywood Studios and spending 2 days at any of the other three parks.  Magic Kingdom and Epcot always need at least 2 days to do thoroughly and AK now has the new Pandora land and rides.  I've always found HS a half-day park and now several of their attractions are closed. 

 

Be sure to download the My Disney Experience app to your mobile phone. You can use it to change or look for new Fastpasses while you are in the parks.  Having a portable phone charger is very helpful as you can really run through your phone battery while at the parks. 

 

Also, several of the quick service restaurants now allow you to order your food via the mobile app. This can be a HUGE timesaver over waiting in line to order and pay. You have to have a credit card on file.  Order anytime and then once you go to that restaurant, just click on the "I'm Here. Prepare my order" button. The app will let you know when your food is ready and you just pick it up at the counter.

 

Here's the ones that currently offer it:

 

• ABC Commissary
• Backlot Express
• Columbia Harbour House
• Cosmic Ray's Starlight Café
• D-Luxe Burger
• Electric Umbrella
• Flame Tree Barbecue
• Liberty Inn
• Pecos Bill Tall Tale Inn and Cafe
• Pinocchio Village Haus
• Pizzafari
• PizzeRizzo
• Restaurantosaurus
• Satu’li Canteen

 

[Pegasus]

EasyWDW used to have a great calendar for choosing days, but it's not cooperating with me this morning. I can't tell if it's not still doing it or if it's a web issue.

 

Josh at Easy WDW stopped doing the calendars because Disney stopped publishing their actual park hours and events early enough to allow the calendars to be accurate. He decided he would rather not provide them than to offer inaccurate information.  Like most Disney experts, he emphasizes that having a good touring plan is more important than choose the "right" park.

[PeterPan]

If you register at TouringPlans.com (small fee), you can use their app, see their crowd calendars, etc. 

 

Epcot has their food and wine festival right now. Epcot and AK are both crowd level 3 for the 18th, so you might start there.

 

Magic Kingdom is having the MNSSHP (halloween party) on the 19th. That day Epcot is a 4 and HS and AK are 3s.

 

The 20th everything is really good with MK at 4, Epcot and HS at 2, and AK at 3.

 

Hmm, the 21st the crowd levels go up to 5s, wow. Oh, it's a holiday.

 

The 22nd is another of the MNSSHP. The other parks are Epcot 3, HS 6, AK 5.

 

Even though the crowd levels can adjust very quickly as things happen, it still gives you an idea. I really liked having the Touring Plans app. With that and the Disney app for in the parks, you're really set.

 

Star Wars Galactic Spectacular is AMAZING, really stellar. When we did it in January, we were actually able to do Fantasmic with the VIP seating (dining deal) AND make the Star Wars Galactic, both in the same day. We just zoomed from one to the other. But I think they're closer now, 30 minutes apart instead of an hour. With them being half an hour apart, that would be two days. If you buy park hopper tickets, you can see all the parks *and* catch both the shows at HS. 

 

The jedi training at HS is fun, but we waited a ton of time for it. It really was fun, but I'm not sure it was THAT fun. It would have been more fun to have gotten more rides in. If you're there 4 days, you might have that calculus, sigh.

 

You have girls? Boys? We did a pirate makeover in MK, but you would be amazed at how many girls were getting mermaid makeovers. It's just the eye make-up, not as expensive, and it's really, really lovely. Like if you were picking a splurge and didn't want to blow the bank, it would be a great splurge. You get to be inside the private area where they go (really amazing, very ornately decorated), and it's a wonderful experience. You call ahead to schedule, and you do it by phone.

 

 

Edited August 21, 2017 by OhElizabeth

[PeterPan]

[PeterPan]

Disney World Dining Reservation Finder

 

I used this dining res finder. You might be shocked what you'll get, if you put in the searches. Or just keep looking, especially a day or two before. 

 

I do agree on putting your time into MK with the ages it looks like you're taking. You could go to HS in the evening, just for fantasmic. We LOVED Fantasmic. You can see it on youtube and see for yourself to decide.

 

We did the detective stuff in Epcot, and that really made it for ds. He would have been BORED STIFF in Epcot without that. Agent P's World Showcase Adventure | Walt Disney World Resort  That's the link. You download it to your phone or use the ones they give you. I think they reset after like 2 missions if you use theirs. You can only check them out till a certain time in the day, and you have to sign up at the booth. Once you have it going on your phone, you can go all the way into the evening. We really, really liked these! They were super amazing, and they would be fab with your 12 and 9 yos. Like they could do them totally independently and just zoom around in an area, solving them, while you eat at the booths with your 3 yo. That would so work and be awesome. 

 

It takes about 1 hour to do one of the detective things for a country and there were, um, 6? I forget. We did all of them. They were all stellar honestly. You can do them in any order you want. Just tell them the one you want to start with. I think we started with England. Then it lets you just keep picking and going forward. They'll cry when it's over. They're crazy fun. They end up going in the shops, getting clues from workers, and just all sorts of amazing, magical stuff happens.

 

The map games in MK are good, but they're a little younger. They're also sort of repetitive. We did them, but the Epcot ones were more magical. I would maybe just do one or two of the pirate map games in MK, not all of them. They're not a full hour either, more like 30 minutes, iirc. They were fun, yeah. 

 

Are you going to break up into groups? Are you getting magic bands? Definitely go for the magic bands. 

 

The Beauty and the Beast restaurant wasn't there 6 years ago probably. It's Be Our Guest. If you don't want to pay that much, still try to get in!!! If you can get ressies at all, just go in and do dessert, kwim? We did dessert one day, like mid-afternoon, lunch another, dinner another. We got to eat in all the rooms that way. And maybe try for a ressie with 2 and take the one who really loves B&B or something. But the desserts are definitely scrumptious and not super expensive.

 

Yes to ordering food ahead!!

 

Hmm, what else. Have a super fun time! I so wanted to go. Plane tix are cheap then and I had a vision. Now my father isn't feeling well and doesn't want to go, sigh. It was definitely our happy place. :)