***1st Week of December Thread ADR Plans, Park Hours, and dealing with Pop Warner***

[nicynot]

Whats up with touring plans adjustment of their crowd predictor? I know they've been known to go up, but jeesh...

 

[Mintycake]

Hi everyone sorry for being so quiet....mainly because 1) I had a killer contract to finish up (now done) which kept me super busy and 2) I did not get any notifications again for this thread! GRR!

So after lots of scrolling I'm caught up.

Lots of good points made by everyone. Here's my ADR list! Travelling with DH and DD (6) and we don't have hoppers

Dec 2 - arrival late - dinner at QS on Boardwalk (we are staying at BC)
Dec 3 - HS day: 8:05am PPO Hollywood and Vine, 12:25pm Mama Melrose Fantasmic (will cancel for SW Fireworks if available!), 4:15pm 50s prime time diner
Dec 4 - MK: 8:10am BOG PPO, 5:45pm Kona cafe dinner (date night, daughter at Lilo's playhouse. Am thinking of cancelling and maybe just having snacks at Tambu lounge/Trader Sams)
Dec 5 - Epcot: 7:30am Cape May Cafe, 4:10pm Teppan Edo (may drop this for QS).
Dec 6 - Epcot: I have 3 Akershus reservations: 8:25am, 10:50am and 1:25pm. I think I will drop the first and last and keep the 10:50am. The plan will be to RD Soarin and/or Joy Sadness (depending on which one we RD on the day before). We will FP+ FEA both days. Then we can relax and enjoy "brunch". 6pm Beaches and Cream reservation (date night again, DD in Sandcastle club). DH and I were thinking of just having dessert at B&C and then nibbling our way through World Showcase. THOUGH - I have been thinking....what if we decide to do the MVMCP that night instead and cancel the kids club? Not sure.
Dec 7 - MK: 1:45pm BOG lunch (may cancel if we don't want to do castle again), 5:25pm Skippers Canteen (may cancel, DD does not like menu)
Dec 8 - MK: 7:30am Ohana (trying to move this up to 9:00am if possible), 6:35pm 1900 Park Fare dinner
Dec 9 - early departure

What I'm trying to figure out is how to solve the issue of too many late night/early mornings. We have a reservation on Dec 7 for the Pirate Cruise for DD (which I heard might be pirate camp now? still need to figure it out). I'm concerned about Dec 8 - as Dec will be a late night at MK and then really early Ohana breakfast...but because of crowds and Xmas party we are trying to squeeze in as much as we can at the MK. It's the only night we'll have to see Wishes (unless we buy hoppers and go over Dec 5.) Hoppers and MVMCP would be close in price.

 

[Talby]

Whats up with touring plans adjustment of their crowd predictor? I know they've been known to go up, but jeesh...

I received an email from Touring Plans about this. Disappointing indeed. I'm hoping for an adjustment to the adjustment!

 

[Talby]

You're a good mom keeping your promise! I am sure your trip will be wonderful (and some tears will probably be shed at the end again and hopefully more promises )

@Lisa F I agree wholeheartedly with this comment. You know what I think is extra awesome? Not only will he have all those magical memories for a lifetime, but he's also going to always remember that his mom keeps her promises.

 

[Talby]

Hi everyone sorry for being so quiet....mainly because 1) I had a killer contract to finish up (now done) which kept me super busy and 2) I did not get any notifications again for this thread! GRR!

So after lots of scrolling I'm caught up.

Lots of good points made by everyone. Here's my ADR list! Travelling with DH and DD (6) and we don't have hoppers

Dec 2 - arrival late - dinner at QS on Boardwalk (we are staying at BC)
Dec 3 - HS day: 8:05am PPO Hollywood and Vine, 12:25pm Mama Melrose Fantasmic (will cancel for SW Fireworks if available!), 4:15pm 50s prime time diner
Dec 4 - MK: 8:10am BOG PPO, 5:45pm Kona cafe dinner (date night, daughter at Lilo's playhouse. Am thinking of cancelling and maybe just having snacks at Tambu lounge/Trader Sams)
Dec 5 - Epcot: 7:30am Cape May Cafe, 4:10pm Teppan Edo (may drop this for QS).
Dec 6 - Epcot: I have 3 Akershus reservations: 8:25am, 10:50am and 1:25pm. I think I will drop the first and last and keep the 10:50am. The plan will be to RD Soarin and/or Joy Sadness (depending on which one we RD on the day before). We will FP+ FEA both days. Then we can relax and enjoy "brunch". 6pm Beaches and Cream reservation (date night again, DD in Sandcastle club). DH and I were thinking of just having dessert at B&C and then nibbling our way through World Showcase. THOUGH - I have been thinking....what if we decide to do the MVMCP that night instead and cancel the kids club? Not sure.
Dec 7 - MK: 1:45pm BOG lunch (may cancel if we don't want to do castle again), 5:25pm Skippers Canteen (may cancel, DD does not like menu)
Dec 8 - MK: 7:30am Ohana (trying to move this up to 9:00am if possible), 6:35pm 1900 Park Fare dinner
Dec 9 - early departure

What I'm trying to figure out is how to solve the issue of too many late night/early mornings. We have a reservation on Dec 7 for the Pirate Cruise for DD (which I heard might be pirate camp now? still need to figure it out). I'm concerned about Dec 8 - as Dec will be a late night at MK and then really early Ohana breakfast...but because of crowds and Xmas party we are trying to squeeze in as much as we can at the MK. It's the only night we'll have to see Wishes (unless we buy hoppers and go over Dec 5.) Hoppers and MVMCP would be close in price.

Loving your plans @Mintycake! I'm finding I have similar issues for certain nights/mornings. It's very hard to find the right balance of doing everything we want to do while at the same time ensuring adequate rest to be able to enjoy all those things! When I figure out the secret to finding that balance, I promise I'll share it.

 

[JamieOak]

To balance the early mornings and late nights, I'm planning to have some down time in the afternoon on certain days. Most days we are park hopping anyway. It's just me and my husband. He can fall asleep anywhere anytime I swear, but I am not so gifted. So I'm worried that I won't be able to power nap. Maybe I should start practicing??

I'm open to ideas as well!

 

[Lisa F]

To balance the early mornings and late nights, I'm planning to have some down time in the afternoon on certain days. Most days we are park hopping anyway. It's just me and my husband. He can fall asleep anywhere anytime I swear, but I am not so gifted. So I'm worried that I won't be able to power nap. Maybe I should start practicing??

I'm open to ideas as well!

I think you have four choices to do the parks and not completely burn out:

1) morning person. Get up early, do EMH, rope drop etc, stay as long as you can (through dinner) then leave. maybe catch some of the earlier nighttime shows
2) night person. Get up early your first day and tour til you drop and sleep in later and later every subsequent day, getting to the parks when you can and staying til there is nothing left to do.
3) morning person with breaks into night person - get up for EMH or RD and stay til around lunch. Leave for the afternoon and take a real rest (nap) and come back for evening stuff. lather, rinse, repeat.
4) morning through night person with days off - get up early, tour hard all day, close down the parks. You can do this for a couple of days in a row and then crash for a day and do nothing but eat and swim.

I am doing some combo of these. Some days we are doing the "morning person" thing with early nighttime shows. Some days we are doing the night person thing (after a previous late night). mostly we are doing the morning throught night thing but I have two days off with nothing until dinnertime into nighttime.

You can't do morning through night every day with no breaks anywhere and survive a week. You will at best burn out and become a night person as the time goes on... or have an unplanned break and just not go one day.

BUT you have to figure out how to take breaks. no one can go 7 days in a row open to close iwth no breaks. maybe you can but the amount of endurance required would make it less enjoyable

 

[Karla07559]

I'm not sure if it's been mentioned here but Pop Century for those of you staying there will be undergoing refurbishments starting in August and go through next year I believe. People are starting to get emails about it. I believe they are limiting work to between 10 am and 4 pm. For me this makes almost no difference because I don't plan on being in the hotel during this time but for you afternoon breakers you might need to take this into consideration.

 

[JamieOak]

I think you have four choices to do the parks and not completely burn out:

1) morning person. Get up early, do EMH, rope drop etc, stay as long as you can (through dinner) then leave. maybe catch some of the earlier nighttime shows
2) night person. Get up early your first day and tour til you drop and sleep in later and later every subsequent day, getting to the parks when you can and staying til there is nothing left to do.
3) morning person with breaks into night person - get up for EMH or RD and stay til around lunch. Leave for the afternoon and take a real rest (nap) and come back for evening stuff. lather, rinse, repeat.
4) morning through night person with days off - get up early, tour hard all day, close down the parks. You can do this for a couple of days in a row and then crash for a day and do nothing but eat and swim.

I am doing some combo of these. Some days we are doing the "morning person" thing with early nighttime shows. Some days we are doing the night person thing (after a previous late night). mostly we are doing the morning throught night thing but I have two days off with nothing until dinnertime into nighttime.

You can't do morning through night every day with no breaks anywhere and survive a week. You will at best burn out and become a night person as the time goes on... or have an unplanned break and just not go one day.

BUT you have to figure out how to take breaks. no one can go 7 days in a row open to close iwth no breaks. maybe you can but the amount of endurance required would make it less enjoyable

Yes, you've outlined the options pretty good I think. I'm also considering doing a mixture of days as well. I still don't even have my park days assigned yet, but I did finally start and I've just begun thinking of these things. I definitely am not going to plan to go to the parks from open to close everyday for 6 days, but I am trying to guess at what a good balance will be for us. Just knowing us, we're going to need a vacation (staycation?) after our vacation to wind down, no matter what I plan! Thanks for the advice!

 

[Mintycake]

Have you seen this? Seriously considering for Dec 7
http://www.**************.net/2016/...erland-themed-wishes-fireworks-viewing-party/

 

[Mintycake]

I think you have four choices to do the parks and not completely burn out:

1) morning person. Get up early, do EMH, rope drop etc, stay as long as you can (through dinner) then leave. maybe catch some of the earlier nighttime shows
2) night person. Get up early your first day and tour til you drop and sleep in later and later every subsequent day, getting to the parks when you can and staying til there is nothing left to do.
3) morning person with breaks into night person - get up for EMH or RD and stay til around lunch. Leave for the afternoon and take a real rest (nap) and come back for evening stuff. lather, rinse, repeat.
4) morning through night person with days off - get up early, tour hard all day, close down the parks. You can do this for a couple of days in a row and then crash for a day and do nothing but eat and swim.

I am doing some combo of these. Some days we are doing the "morning person" thing with early nighttime shows. Some days we are doing the night person thing (after a previous late night). mostly we are doing the morning throught night thing but I have two days off with nothing until dinnertime into nighttime.

You can't do morning through night every day with no breaks anywhere and survive a week. You will at best burn out and become a night person as the time goes on... or have an unplanned break and just not go one day.

BUT you have to figure out how to take breaks. no one can go 7 days in a row open to close iwth no breaks. maybe you can but the amount of endurance required would make it less enjoyable

Yup. On our hs and epcot days we are taking a midday break after lunch. I think for mk its not worth the travel time (guessing 45 min one way? Correct me if I'm wrong). So one mk day is a late day and two are early. I just wish I could reverse the two but the pirate cruise is messing everything up as its only offered mon wed and fri.

 

[Talby]

Yup. On our hs and epcot days we are taking a midday break after lunch. I think for mk its not worth the travel time (guessing 45 min one way? Correct me if I'm wrong). So one mk day is a late day and two are early. I just wish I could reverse the two but the pirate cruise is messing everything up as its only offered mon wed and fri.

Really glad you mentioned this about the Pirate Cruise. It's on my radar; just need to adjust an ADR in order to make it happen but I did not realize it was only Mon/Wed/Fri. Thanks!

 

[Lisa F]

Have you seen this? Seriously considering for Dec 7
http://www.**************.net/2016/...erland-themed-wishes-fireworks-viewing-party/

It looks very cool. It's basically an a la carte dessert party outside the park probably at a spot where people were viewing anyway. But I'd have to miss the MSEP to attend and it is one of my favorite parades so... no lol. I will watch the fireworks from in park. It sounds like a great thing to do if you have the night off and are staying at a monorail resort.

 

[Lisa F]

Yup. On our hs and epcot days we are taking a midday break after lunch. I think for mk its not worth the travel time (guessing 45 min one way? Correct me if I'm wrong). So one mk day is a late day and two are early. I just wish I could reverse the two but the pirate cruise is messing everything up as its only offered mon wed and fri.

if it's creating that much trouble with your flow can you talk DD out of it? I had to edit back my plans a bit.

 

[Mintycake]

if it's creating that much trouble with your flow can you talk DD out of it? I had to edit back my plans a bit.

Yes am thinking about doing this. It was also to give dh and I some couple time but we already have 2 date nights! I think either a kids club night or pirate cruise will be pared back.

 

[Mintycake]

It looks very cool. It's basically an a la carte dessert party outside the park probably at a spot where people were viewing anyway. But I'd have to miss the MSEP to attend and it is one of my favorite parades so... no lol. I will watch the fireworks from in park. It sounds like a great thing to do if you have the night off and are staying at a monorail resort.

My dd loves Alice so I think we will try it...I wonder if they do it on party nights too?

 

[PolyRob]

My dd loves Alice so I think we will try it...I wonder if they do it on party nights too?

I think it is just Wednesdays right now, so it would not coincide with a party night. I have a friend staying at the Villas at the Grand Floridian Sunday and leaving Wednesday so she is bummed she can't try it out!

Who knows, Disney could change the party dates, or completely get rid of it by December!

 

[Iowamomof4]

I think it is just Wednesdays right now, so it would not coincide with a party night. I have a friend staying at the Villas at the Grand Floridian Sunday and leaving Wednesday so she is bummed she can't try it out!

Who knows, Disney change the party dates, or completely get rid of it by December!

100% to the bolded. Don't count on it being available when we go. It's possible they'll still be running it, it's just as possible it will have faded away.

 

[Lisa F]

Yes am thinking about doing this. It was also to give dh and I some couple time but we already have 2 date nights! I think either a kids club night or pirate cruise will be pared back.

This is another way to look at it and I hope I'm not annoying you with all of my advice It's a family vacation. You can plan adult only time any time at home, but Disney is special. If it works out, great, especially if you can do something you couldn't otherwise do with your daughter. Like I think one night you are planning to walk around the world showcase and she would not be into that = good use of couple time at Disney. But if you are both struggling for things to do in your free time and also stressing about how to fit other stuff in, I would forgo some of that and do everything you want to do that is special to Disney then plan plenty of couple time at home. JMHO of course and I don't mean to offend

 

[Talby]

I think you have four choices to do the parks and not completely burn out:

1) morning person. Get up early, do EMH, rope drop etc, stay as long as you can (through dinner) then leave. maybe catch some of the earlier nighttime shows
2) night person. Get up early your first day and tour til you drop and sleep in later and later every subsequent day, getting to the parks when you can and staying til there is nothing left to do.
3) morning person with breaks into night person - get up for EMH or RD and stay til around lunch. Leave for the afternoon and take a real rest (nap) and come back for evening stuff. lather, rinse, repeat.
4) morning through night person with days off - get up early, tour hard all day, close down the parks. You can do this for a couple of days in a row and then crash for a day and do nothing but eat and swim.

I am doing some combo of these. Some days we are doing the "morning person" thing with early nighttime shows. Some days we are doing the night person thing (after a previous late night). mostly we are doing the morning throught night thing but I have two days off with nothing until dinnertime into nighttime.

You can't do morning through night every day with no breaks anywhere and survive a week. You will at best burn out and become a night person as the time goes on... or have an unplanned break and just not go one day.

BUT you have to figure out how to take breaks. no one can go 7 days in a row open to close iwth no breaks. maybe you can but the amount of endurance required would make it less enjoyable

We seem to be a combination of these as well. I was looking things over last night and it occurred to me that our trip was lopsided on the tail end. Very go, go, go the last couple of days. I got an ADR I had been hoping for and that forced me to switch a bunch of stuff around and now we're more balanced. Does a light bulb ever go off when you're planning and it feels like "ahhh..yes, this is right"? I second guess myself so much, but I'm feeling much better about the balance of our vacation after switching some things up. The light bulb went off. Though I suspect it'll blink on and off a time or two when it's time to add FPs to the mix! lol

EDIT: Or on? Does the light bulb go on when something clicks! lol--should have thought that through first!