WDW Commando Club

[Disney Commando]

This next trip it looks like I'm going to do something a little different

Making plans with Brian (twokids0204) on a rope drop meet , most of the meets I have done have been at night before the EMH and then close the park, I think it will be interesting doing a meet during opening, this is where IMO I make my best time, so we will see how things pan out

Brian will pick the day & park

 

[dvczerfs]

I know Dave holds a AP, he is also a DVC member, so I don't know for sure he would know or not

no, sorry, i seen that post the other day. i have never tried to upgrade to an ap. we jumped in on the ap band wagon about 10 years ago and every november i just send them another $800.00. i have seen threads floating around about ticket upgrading and just never paid to much attention to them. if i see one, ill let you know.

 

[Disney Commando]

From what I am hearing the FP system is going to get a overhaul starting March 7th They will now enforce the time on the fast pass to 5 mins prior and up to 15nins after time on pass, instead of honoring then till the end of the day

I'm mixed on this since it will be good and bad , good point might be people will not grab a FP if they know they can't use it for that time, (I know sometimes TSM at a little after 9am it's already up to after 12, I want to be out of there by then)

Bad point, I do like to grab a FP for later in the day when we go past the ride again, or before we switch parks

I do think this will mess up the normal planners plans, but in fact Commandos may be able to use this to our advantage, since it will slow down the one group, it will only be a short period of time before we turn this into our favor

 

[BELLEDOZER]

Sorry that I've been MIA. I'm entering into the 3rd stage of Executrix h#ll at the moment, dealing with my dearly departed DM's estate, and have been dealing with that over the past week and a half. The saving for the trip has been temp suspended until we can re rent the house out. But am still hoping for the 2015 trip. I'm commandoing through the estate matters so that I can work on more pleasant things.
My question is: Is the AP worth it if you are only going to be visiting WDW just once a year?? I know that the AP I had for DL saved us a great deal of money, and was wondering if it we would be saving enough with the AP to warrant picking one up for our trip if we were to go just once. Something to ponder. I would rather think about WDW over the bankrupt estate matters any day.

 

[dvczerfs]

Sorry that I've been MIA. I'm entering into the 3rd stage of Executrix h#ll at the moment, dealing with my dearly departed DM's estate, and have been dealing with that over the past week and a half. The saving for the trip has been temp suspended until we can re rent the house out. But am still hoping for the 2015 trip. I'm commandoing through the estate matters so that I can work on more pleasant things.
My question is: Is the AP worth it if you are only going to be visiting WDW just once a year?? I know that the AP I had for DL saved us a great deal of money, and was wondering if it we would be saving enough with the AP to warrant picking one up for our trip if we were to go just once. Something to ponder. I would rather think about WDW over the bankrupt estate matters any day.

sorry to hear your going through this.
the way we looked at the ap issue, we go to the parks 20 days out of the year. being dvc members, we get $100.00 off per pass. so we pay $800 for 40 days of being in the parks, thats $20.00 per day per person.(2 people)
there are other bennies, room, merchandise ,dining discounts etc...
also, with an ap, the first time you use it, for us it was december 1st, that is the start of your year. every december 1st is your renew date. which a renew ap is cheaper than buying a new ap.

 

[Disney Commando]

Sorry that I've been MIA. I'm entering into the 3rd stage of Executrix h#ll at the moment, dealing with my dearly departed DM's estate, and have been dealing with that over the past week and a half. The saving for the trip has been temp suspended until we can re rent the house out. But am still hoping for the 2015 trip. I'm commandoing through the estate matters so that I can work on more pleasant things.
My question is: Is the AP worth it if you are only going to be visiting WDW just once a year?? I know that the AP I had for DL saved us a great deal of money, and was wondering if it we would be saving enough with the AP to warrant picking one up for our trip if we were to go just once. Something to ponder. I would rather think about WDW over the bankrupt estate matters any day.

Trish, sorry to hear about your loss, hope things all start to work out smoother with the estate

 

[Disney Commando]

Hey we hit page 100

 

[zianha]

Hey we hit page 100

 

[Disney Commando]

Been sick the last few days, kind of in LALA Land with the Meds I have been coming up with a plan for the parks since I can make ADR"S next Mon So the plans might be interesting since I'm meded up I'll post them in a couple days

 

[BELLEDOZER]

Sorry to hear that you've been under the weather Ron. Hopefully you'll be on the mend soon. Hopefully you'll be over the worst of you bug enough to make the ressies. Have a great day!

Trish

 

[twokids0204]

Been sick the last few days, kind of in LALA Land with the Meds I have been coming up with a plan for the parks since I can make ADR"S next Mon So the plans might be interesting since I'm meded up I'll post them in a couple days

Monday or Tuesday?

I thought it was Tuesday...

I've got mine planned out as well.

 

[Disney Commando]

This is the rough plan so far I'm staying off site, so AM EMH's I'm avoiding

Day 1 - Arrivial since I don't know for sure what time that will be this will be our Disney off day, heading to SeaWorld & Aquatica, eating at Sharks Underwater Grill

Day 2- Parking at HS taking bus to TTC and will be at MK for rope drop
Goals - Take in Main Street, cover everything left of HM, Haircut at noon, do some meet & greets (leaving a lot of open time, my son will have no problem filling it)

Dinner- Hope to get a 5pm ADR for Whipering Canyon
Night - HS (This is a PM EMH + Fantasmic is going on)
Goal- Take advantage of the Fantasmic crowd, lines for TSM should get much shorter after 7 when gates open for Fantasmic, hit pre show meet & greet at A&A, Star Tours (got a feeling this will be my sons fav ride this year) during show Hit RNRRC & TOT 8:55 be on line for TSM, then since we don't have EMH's take our time shopping and taking pics

Day 3- Park at Epcot take bus to HS
Goal - Jedi Training sign ups right after rope drop, It all depends on what we got done the night before, but like I said think its going to be a big Star Tours trip this time, But I will not know for sure till we get there

Dinner- Hope for a 5pm EDR at Teppen Edo

Night- Epcot (PM EMH, but can use this on in my favor)
Goal - Since Teppen Edo is in the middle of the WS, I will pick 1 side to hit the shows & meet & greets to get them all done, do the main meet & greet, MS, and whatever else we can do before 8:30, then it time to get to the WS for Illuminations, after that we will shop the WS during EMH's, instead of wasting time during the day

I'll post some more later

 

[Disney Commando]

Monday or Tuesday?

I thought it was Tuesday...

I've got mine planned out as well.

I looked into it, if you are arriving on the 19th you should be at 185

 

[WC*123]

Hi all. Cool club! Found it after following someone's signature line. I can identify with everyone's passion for planning. I seem to take this approach with most vacations...I just works! I also research product purchases to death before pulling the trigger.

I'm not a frequest poster...only when planning for our Disney trips. We last visited during Spring Break 2009 and are headed back for Spring Break 2012. A good plan is a must during this time of year! I'm not sure how we could survive otherwise. We did well last time, but I'm not sure how things will change with the new FP rules. I think following the basics of rope drop, early EMH, will still be our keys to success.

Here is our schedule so far:

Day 1 - Arrive MCO at 4PM. Renting car. Staying at POR. Dinner at the hotel or DTD. Swim and see Yeehaw Bob, relax. Any suggestions on a QS spot in DTD?

Day 2 - AK rope drop. PM Break. HDDR for dinner.

Day 3 - HS EMH rope drop. PM Break. Return to HS for dinner at H&W/Fantasmic package.

Day 4 - EP EMH rope drop. PM break. Return to EP for dinner at Akershus and Illuminations.

Day 5 - MK EMH rope drop (7AM!). PM Break. Dinner at Ohana, return to MK for PM parade and more rides.

Day 6 - Kids Choice Park (as long as its rope drop!). Later, take the resort boat to DTD, dinner at Raglan Road.

Day 7 - MK EMH rope drop (7AM again!). Breakfast at CP at 9:30AM. May check out before we leave for MK in case we want to stay at the park. Flight leaves MCO at 7PM.

It feels like I scheduled the ADRs so long ago. It was hard to decide on park days back then, but somehow they coincide with the EMH schedule. We are trying to skip the hopper add-on. I need to start working on my touring strategies and will definitely check back with this group as we get closer to the trip. It will likely mirror my 2009 plan, but the kids are older now (10,8,&5) and I'm hoping to see different shows.

Anyway, thanks for listening!

 

[Disney Commando]

Hi all. Cool club! Found it after following someone's signature line. I can identify with everyone's passion for planning. I seem to take this approach with most vacations...I just works! I also research product purchases to death before pulling the trigger.

I'm not a frequest poster...only when planning for our Disney trips. We last visited during Spring Break 2009 and are headed back for Spring Break 2012. A good plan is a must during this time of year! I'm not sure how we could survive otherwise. We did well last time, but I'm not sure how things will change with the new FP rules. I think following the basics of rope drop, early EMH, will still be our keys to success.

Here is our schedule so far:

Day 1 - Arrive MCO at 4PM. Renting car. Staying at POR. Dinner at the hotel or DTD. Swim and see Yeehaw Bob, relax. Any suggestions on a QS spot in DTD?

Day 2 - AK rope drop. PM Break. HDDR for dinner.

Day 3 - HS EMH rope drop. PM Break. Return to HS for dinner at H&W/Fantasmic package.

Day 4 - EP EMH rope drop. PM break. Return to EP for dinner at Akershus and Illuminations.

Day 5 - MK EMH rope drop (7AM!). PM Break. Dinner at Ohana, return to MK for PM parade and more rides.

Day 6 - Kids Choice Park (as long as its rope drop!). Later, take the resort boat to DTD, dinner at Raglan Road.

Day 7 - MK EMH rope drop (7AM again!). Breakfast at CP at 9:30PM. May check out before we leave for MK in case we want to stay at the park. Flight leaves MCO at 7PM.

It feels like I scheduled the ADRs so long ago. It was hard to decide on park days back then, but somehow they coincide with the EMH schedule. We are trying to skip the hopper add-on. I need to start working on my touring strategies and will definitely check back with this group as we get closer to the trip. It will likely mirror my 2009 plan, but the kids are older now (10,8,&5) and I'm hoping to see different shows.

Anyway, thanks for listening!

You are member #182 Plans look good, wish I could catch WDW on a spring trip A good QS in DTD is Earl of Sandwich, there are many more depending on your craving

 

[WC*123]

Thanks for the welcome!
Does anyone have a strategy for the MK evening parade, Wishes, or Illuminations during peak crowd levels? During our last Spring Break trip, the crowds were insane on Main Street for the electric parade and Wishes. Leaving the park afterwards was not enjoyable. I know we could stay late, but it may be tough with the early EMH rope drops. I'm leaning towards going to the back of the castle, going on some rides, and waiting for the crowds to thin before leaving.

 

[jmm476]

We did well last time, but I'm not sure how things will change with the new FP rules. I think following the basics of rope drop, early EMH, will still be our keys to success.

Am I missing something? What are the new FP rules?

Day 1 - Arrive MCO at 4PM. Renting car. Staying at POR. Dinner at the hotel or DTD. Swim and see Yeehaw Bob, relax. Any suggestions on a QS spot in DTD?

We really liked Wolgang Puck Express. Not sure if you have dining plan or not, but I think it's one of the best values when you're paying out of pocket. The food is excellent.

QUOTE]

 

[WC*123]

Am I missing something? What are the new FP rules?

The rumored change that will eliminate using fastpasses more than 15 minutes after the return window expires - beginning 3/7. I was hoping to pull fastpasses before taking our break, but it may be a bit tricky to find one that has a window near our return time. It could also change our morning touring strategy. We'll need to wait and see what happens.

Thanks for the Wolfgang Puck Express recommendation. Their menu looks good for a quick serve location.

 

[zianha]

The rumored change that will eliminate using fastpasses more than 15 minutes after the return window expires - beginning 3/7. I was hoping to pull fastpasses before taking our break, but it may be a bit tricky to find one that has a window near our return time. It could also change our morning touring strategy. We'll need to wait and see what happens.

Thanks for the Wolfgang Puck Express recommendation. Their menu looks good for a quick serve location.

Our upcoming trip will be our first during Spring Break and I was planning on using a few FPs late to keep from criss-crossing across the parks, but I guess if the rules really do change, I'll be using the "just in case" back up plan for touring! I liked Wolfgang Puck Express last June, but I'm thinking of trying Earl of Sandwich this year when we're at DTD! I arrive 3/11 so I'll only have a few days heads up on if the FP rules really do change this time!

 

[Disney Commando]

On the FP note, IMO somehow this will actually help us, I'm not certain how, but based on how many FP's I end up giving away or come home with I can't see it being a big setback

Thanks for the welcome!
Does anyone have a strategy for the MK evening parade, Wishes, or Illuminations during peak crowd levels? During our last Spring Break trip, the crowds were insane on Main Street for the electric parade and Wishes. Leaving the park afterwards was not enjoyable. I know we could stay late, but it may be tough with the early EMH rope drops. I'm leaning towards going to the back of the castle, going on some rides, and waiting for the crowds to thin before leaving.

If you want to catch the parade and fireworks at MK without the crowds, it can be done:good vibes For the evening parade the last place you will ever find me is on MS or the Hub, I personally like to catch the parade between the shooting gallery and the Country Bear Jamboree Hall, not as crowded and most likely will find level seating instead of a curb For Wishes I like the fence line near the Crystal place, trick here is to be on the fence line, so that the 1 9ft guy in the park that day wearing a hat, is not in front of you, great angle view with only a river and some ducks in front of you If it's a EMH night maybe hit Jungle Cruise or POTC before heading out

If you want to get out quick I would say to see everything near the Main St Train Station, but that will be a mob scene real quick

For Illuminations there is a quick exit, if you catch the show near the bridge by France, you can just use the exit between France & UK that leads to the Boardwalk, this all depends on where you parked the car but you can always catch a bus there, or watch the fireworks near the WS gateway and try to beat the crowd