Umm...am I missing something??

[Karmel96]

We (2 families of 2 adults and 2 kids-2 9yr olds, 1 12 yr old and 1 13yr old) are going to Disney this Decemember (early in the month). I'm the planning guru of the bunch and am already looking at what places we may want to make our ADR's, even though our 180 isn't until the beginning of June.

Which leads me to this post-how can I make our ADR's (starting in June) when the hours for the parks won't be available until July? (I think?) We are not getting park-hoppers and I know there are a few places that we are looking to eat at that are in the parks, especially Epcot. I'd hate to make an ADR that we'd then have to cancel b/c we won't be in that park that day, or not make an ADR for a place that we really wanted to eat at but can't get in b/c we waited too long after our window opened up.

I know that we won't be there when it's super busy, but you never know what may fill up quickly!

Any tips/suggestions? Or did I miss the obvious? (wouldn't be the first time...)

 

[Thumper_Man]

DW and I will be there around the same time you are. Right now the WDW website lists 7 months of operating hours.

1. April
2. May
3. June
4. July
5. August
6. September
7. October.

So if the pattern holds true. November hours should be posted in May, and December hours posted in June.

I provided a link to last year's hours. I've noticed on my past trips, that the hours are generally the same as they were the year prior. I'm planning my ADR's around last year's hours and hoping for the best. Here's the link: http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/hours/dec11.cfm

 

[TiggerTrigger]

The calendar w/hours,etc. is typically posted a little more than 6 months in advance. So, hours for Dec should be posted at some point(likely towards the end) of May. We went in December back in 2010 and I know for a fact that the calendar posted in May and I had plenty of time to fine tune my plans before day 180 hit. So, you should be just fine.

 

[CapnJacksGirl]

Even if your trip month's hours aren't posted, you can do a search for that month of the previous year. They are usually pretty close and can give you a good starting point. I've used that a couple of times in the past when my ADR day is at the beginning of the month and the hours haven't been released yet. Worked out fine. I think I only had to make a change once and it was pretty easy to do.

 

[gabzee]

The park hours are posted are posted about 6 months in advance. They typically post it a little bit before the 6 months mark so you should have time to organize. I would suggest that you know how many days you want to spend at each park and where you want to eat so when the park hours are released you can just do some last minute organizing.

 

[realhousewife]

You should be fine. Remember that some folks coming from abroad stay for 14 days, so they need to be able to make adrs' for their entire stay 6 months in advance. They don't require you to make only one day of adr's at a time. Start looking around May 10th and you will see them adding the hours.

 

[smitch425]

This is the calendar you need to keep your eye on. Currently, it shows hours for Dec 2011, but as soon as it is updated, it will automatically switch to 2012. This is the travel agent calendar that is put out by Disney. It is the most updated and accurate calendar you can find. Much more reliable than the one listed on the Disney Parks site. Add it to your favorites and keep checking for it to update to 2012. It should switch to 2012 by the third week of May. Here is the link...

http://media.disneywebcontent.com/S.../pdf/ParkHours/WDW_Operating_Calendar_dec.pdf