Newbie needs help

[mamahope1]

For your trip, the EMH hours are:

Wed - Oct 28 - Magic Kingdom open late (10p - midnight) and Animal Kingdom open early (8a - 9a)
Thurs - Oct 29 - Epcot stays open late (9p - 11p)
Fri - Oct 30 - Animal Kingdom opens early (8a - 9a)
Sat - Oct 31 - Hollywood Studios opens early (8a - 9a)
Sun - Nov 1 - Hollywood Studios stays open late (7p - 9p)

Really helpful. We dont get there till 4 on Oct 28. Think we could spend 3-4 hours at DHS and leave at 8 and go to MK.
Oct 29- We are at MK
Oct 30 yay we are at AK.
Oct 31 We are at Epcot with mom and kiddo leaving to go to Halloween party.
Nov 1- DTD- we leave at 4 pm.

Do you thunk we should switch out the 29th for the 31st even though those two are leaving early for Halloween party?

 

[englanddg]

Yikes, not sure I can. We get there at 4 on Day 1 which is why we thought DHS might be best. Day 2 is a full day as is Day 4 at Epcot, but on day 4, my daughter and grandson are going to the halloween party. Do you think we should do Epcot on day 2 and the MK on day 4, even though it closes early for the Halloween party. Will those things you suggest still be going on? We haven't even gotten there and we already need more time...

Well, first, don't fret about needing more time. I go for 2 - 3 weeks at a time, and have for years, and STILL haven't gotten to experience everything. There's just way too much at WDW! (in a good way!)

The Halloween Party is a lock. Got it (and I wouldn't change it, especially if you have already bought the tickets, and if you haven't, you need to buy them...like...right now. Today. Because, on Halloween, they WILL sell out and you won't be able to get them at the gate.)

DHS is fine for day one with a late arrival. As someone else noted, book a late Fastpass for Toy Story Midway Mania. Your 6 year old will probably be tall enough for Tower of Terror and Star Tours as well, so that's what I'd use your other two FPs for (if they aren't tiered off, I can't recall offhand).

Really nothing wrong with your plans, but you won't get to see fireworks on the 29th or the 1st due to the Halloween Party running those days (on the 31st they'll have a special fireworks and nighttime parade, and it's a hoot!)

 

[englanddg]

For your trip, the EMH hours are:

Wed - Oct 28 - Magic Kingdom open late (10p - midnight) and Animal Kingdom open early (8a - 9a)
Thurs - Oct 29 - Epcot stays open late (9p - 11p)
Fri - Oct 30 - Animal Kingdom opens early (8a - 9a)
Sat - Oct 31 - Hollywood Studios opens early (8a - 9a)
Sun - Nov 1 - Hollywood Studios stays open late (7p - 9p)

Really helpful. We dont get there till 4 on Oct 28. Think we could spend 3-4 hours at DHS and leave at 8 and go to MK.
Oct 29- We are at MK
Oct 30 yay we are at AK.
Oct 31 We are at Epcot with mom and kiddo leaving to go to Halloween party.
Nov 1- DTD- we leave at 4 pm.

Do you thunk we should switch out the 29th for the 31st even though those two are leaving early for Halloween party?

Nope, I'd keep your schedule as is...all sounds very doable. Only thing I'd add is after AK closes at 6p, head over to a MK area TS meal (Chef Mickey's maybe?) and then over to MK to catch the nighttime parade/shows. They will be different than the ones that play on the 31st.

-edit-

Actually, you could try and see those same shows on the first night (28th) as well.

That said, you will need to resort hop to get from HS to MK, so you may have to leave HS a bit before 7...like, 6:30 or so...

But, if you don't mind missing the shows, and want to take advantage of the EMH at MK that night (which I think is a FANTASTIC idea), the ride lines are incredibly short during the fireworks, etc. So, if you do the fireworks later in the week (twice, actually, once on the 30th for the standard shows, then again on the 31st for the Halloween shows), then you have a real chance to knock out a TON of rides between 8p and midnight at MK!

 

[mamahope1]

Whew. I think I need an aspirin. You are all very gracious and helpful!

 

[englanddg]

Whew. I think I need an aspirin. You are all very gracious and helpful!

It can seem overwhelming, but dont worry too much. Everyone has their own ways of doing Disney, and there really is no WRONG way!

That said...make ADRs and book your FP+. I'd call for the ADRs. 407.WDW.DINE. The Agent there can help you choose restaurants that are either in the parks you plan to visit, or near them (like at a Monorail Resort).

For FP+ there are some great walkthroughs of it, but I recently booked mine and screenshots of what to expect can be found on that trip report link I posted earlier. Page three I think.

 

[mamahope1]

I was told I cant get my FP until 60 days before. True?

 

[englanddg]

I was told I cant get my FP until 60 days before. True?

Correct. Youll be able to start reserving them through MDE at midnight on the 60th day out from your check in date.

 

[mamahope1]

What is MDE? Can the AAA and I do it?

 

[MataHari22]

What is MDE? Can the AAA and I do it?

My Disney Experience. They have an app, but you can also use the website.

https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/plan/my-disney-experience/

 

[englanddg]

With your Dining Plan, assuming you got the DDP with 1 Quick Service, 1 Snack and 1 Table Service...

You'll get a bank of credits per person calculated by each night of your stay. You are staying 4 nights, so your bank will be 4 QS Credits, 4 Snack Credits and 4 Table Service credits multipled by the number of people in your party (assuming you are all in one room, it's really tied to your room...so if some of them are in a different room, they'll have a separate pool of credits).

You can use these credits at any time after check in through midnight of your checkout day, in any order you see fit. So, you can have 2 QS meals one day, and 2 TS meals the next day. Doesn't matter.

So...Playing with your schedule for giggles.

28th

Arrive at 4 (about when does your plane land? Are you taking the Magical Express?)
Head to HS.
Book FP for at least Star Tours and Toy Story Midway Mania.
HS closes at 7.
Hop a bus to Contemporary from HS.
Dinner at Chef Mickeys. (4 - 1 TS credit = 3 TS)
Take the monorail from Contemporary to Magic Kingdom.
Skip the night shows and do rides while the other guests are distracted, then take advantage of extra magic hours until tuckered out!

29th

Magic Kingdom until early afternoon, then head back to CBR.
Get FP for Peter Pan, Seven Dwarfs Mine Train and Splash Mountain.
Have lunch and pool time at CBR (4 - 1 QS credit = 3 QS)
Head to EPCOT for dinner (what sort of Food do you like?) and Illuminations. (3 - 1 TS credit = 2 TS)

30th

Early EMH at Animal Kingdom
Lunch at Flame Tree BBQ (3 - 1 QS credit = 2 QS)
Fastpasses for Everest and Safari (if you want to do it twice, at EMH there will be not much of a wait.
Park closes at 6p.
Snag a bus to Grand Floridian, then take the Monorail to MK.
Dinner at Crystal Palace (or Ohanas at Poly, so you'd take a Poly bus, or 1900 Park Fare if youd rather eat at Grand Floridian) (2 - 1 TS credit = 1 TS)
Main Street Electrical Parade, castle projection show and Wishes Fireworks. You may want to look into the dessert party for this night as a special treat.

31st

Epcot
Fastpasses for Soarin, Test Track
Lunch at a Quick Service at World Showcase. (2 - 1 QS credit = 1 QS)
Dinner at a Table Service at Epcot. (1 - 1 TS credit = 0 TS)
Family splits up for Halloween!

1st
DTD
Lunch at a Quick Service to use your final QS credit (I'd suggest Earl of Sandwich) (1 - 1 QS credit = 0 QS)
When does your flight depart?

 

[englanddg]

What is MDE? Can the AAA and I do it?

You'll need to set up your MDE.

Go to Disneyworld.com and create your account. Without it you will not be able to make FP+ reservations in advance. You should go ahead and create that account ASAP. You will also need to create an account (you can create them as "family members" under your account) for each of the other members of your party.

From there, you can customize your magic bands, do FP+, check ADRs (though, I still call for that, the website is wonky at times), online hotel check in, manage resort charging privileges, etc.

 

[MataHari22]

I hear you about reservations. We tried to book to Be Our Guest 8 months ahead of our visit and it was already reserved to capacity. I just want to make sure the restaurant we are going to is IN the park we are in. I am not sure if I did that correctly. Thank you again, very kindly!

Dining reservations open up at 180 days, you cannot make them 8 months ahead of time.

My daughter is already taking her son to the not so scary Halloween party. I have had the dining plan explained but I do not necessarily get it. DUH! Perhaps suggest where we should eat depending on where we are. Day 1 - DHS (want to see Fantasmic) , Day 2 - MK, Day 3- AK want to Safari), Day 4 Epcot Day 5- DTD. And we have a 6 year old. If you look at my first post you can see where we think we are going as of now, but I am very open to suggestions.

You can look at the link below and filter the restaurants by park. You can also filter by whether they are table service or quick service. You can also view the menus at each restaurant and see what appeals to you.

https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/dining/

As for AAA making your actual FP+ selections, I'm not sure if they do. I know people here have posted that some of their Disney certified travel agents will do it, but I don't think it's a common practice for TAs to do. Also, keep in mind that if you want one of the popular attractions like 7 Dwarfs Mine Train or Meeting Anna & Elsa, it's advised that you book right when your window opens. I don't know if I could trust someone else to do it for me. Lol.