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

[Lisa F]

Don't want to scare anyone, but I just read some rumors about HS from Theme Park Tourist:

1. Last minute Rock ‘n’ Roller refurb may remove Aerosmith branding, like the merchandise
2. Star Wars: A Galactic Spectacular may not be extended past 10/1/16 for fall (Oct and Nov), and may reopen “Late 2016” including scenes from Rogue One for the holiday season (may mean a later booking time?)
3. Star Wars: A Galaxy Far, Far Away may not be extended and not return

All speculation, besides the actual time frame for Rock ‘n’ Roller, but all interesting!

EDIT: The link blanked out so I guess I could not include it. Sorry about that!

here is the exact phrasing:
Over the summer, Disney’s Hollywood Studios premiered the new Star Wars: A Galactic Spectacular nighttime show, and while reviews have generally been positive, many guests have complained throughout the summer that the show is really hard to see from anywhere other than right in front of the Great Movie Ride, and relies too much on projections rather than pyrotechnics.

However, no matter what your feelings are on the quality of Star Wars: A Galactic Spectacular, it looks like Disney may be considering temporarily pulling this show for the fall season (and possibly beyond). According to the official park calendar, the final day that this show is scheduled to be performed will be October 1, 2016. And while it is possible that Disney might just need to update their calendar for the fall, the corresponding dessert party that goes along with this nightly experience is also not available for reservations beyond October 1st, lending credence to the idea that this show is indeed going to be going away for a little while while Disney either switches to a seasonal schedule or pulls it completely for a few weeks or months.

While it may be easy to jump to conclusions here and assume that this show has been completely cancelled, Disney has spent a significant amount of money not only in developing this show, but installing support infrastructure around the park for it as well, which is why we can’t imagine that Disney would cancel Star Wars: A Galactic Spectacular outright. However, a little break at least until the holidays or at least a switch to a seasonal schedule would make some sense, especially since we know that budget cuts are on the way. Perhaps this show will return this winter with new footage from Star Wars: Rogue One?

To me this guy is making a pure guess based on no information other than the fact that it has not been extended past October 1. If he had been watching the way people on the DIS have he would know that this has been the pattern for the better part of the year. To me this is nothing more than a WAG based on incomplete information and a misread of the information he has.

reliance on projections rather than pyrotechnics is probably a choice disney made CONSCIOUSLY and something they consider a benefit. the projections are a sunk cost at this point, pyrotechnics are a continuing cost. The show is less expensive to run on a daily basis with less pyro and if they are looking to cut the budget, wasting all of the money they put into developing the show by running it for 3 months is ridiculous. This was not a last minute fill in like the Jungle Book thing. It was planned and while some long time disney people may not care for the format of it, it generally gets great feedback from guests.

and why would they add new footage in this winter? The movie isn't even premiering until december 16th. They are not going to spend a fortune revamping a brand new show based on the latest movie that isn't even hitting theaters until 2 months later. That just sounds plain old ridiculous to me. IMO this is a rumor of his own making.

 

[areno79]

Don't want to scare anyone, but I just read some rumors about HS from Theme Park Tourist:

1. Last minute Rock ‘n’ Roller refurb may remove Aerosmith branding, like the merchandise
2. Star Wars: A Galactic Spectacular may not be extended past 10/1/16 for fall (Oct and Nov), and may reopen “Late 2016” including scenes from Rogue One for the holiday season (may mean a later booking time?)
3. Star Wars: A Galaxy Far, Far Away may not be extended and not return

All speculation, besides the actual time frame for Rock ‘n’ Roller, but all interesting!

EDIT: The link blanked out so I guess I could not include it. Sorry about that!

I just read this on FB as well. I'm not so concerned about RnRC, but really hoping they extend the SW fireworks!

 

[TiggerManiac]

I can see a lot of restaurants open late 10pm?11pm maybe? As for shops, I'm not sure. I saw someone say on another thread that there is a lot of entertainment at night (which is why I wanted to check it out, along with xmas decorations lit up) but was hoping for someone with first hand experience

I just checked and today, most of the shops at Disney Springs are open until 11:00 pm.

 

[Talby]

For groceries...

We ADORE breakfast but prefer a big breakfast a couple of hours after we are up and running (or an early lunch) Just some light stuff first thing. So, for the room:

Clif bars/protein bars
Fresh fruit (strawberries/bananas/grapes)
Yogurt
Apples and Peanut Butter (I want a knife too @Candycane83 lol!)
Almonds
String cheese
Some kind of carby/snacky stuff for late nights (pretzels/golfish/wheat thins type stuff)
Water
Coffee
Orange juice
I have this awesome little hard boiled egg maker that makes the **perfect** hard boiled eggs. I'm considering bringing this (it's small, round and fits 7 eggs). If so, I'll order a dozen eggs as well!

 

[Candycane83]

For groceries...

We ADORE breakfast but prefer it a couple of hours after we are up and running (or an early lunch) So, for the room:

Clif bars/protein bars
Fresh fruit (strawberries/bananas/grapes)
Yogurt
Apples and Peanut Butter (I want a knife too @Candycane83 lol!)
Some kind of carby/snacky stuff for late nights (pretzels/golfish/wheat thins type stuff)
Water
Coffee
Orange juice
I have this awesome little hard boiled egg maker that makes the **perfect** hard boiled eggs. I'm considering bringing this (it's small, round and fits 7 eggs). If so, I'll order a dozen eggs as well!

Oooh, hard boiled eggs.. I might just need to look into that but I will be overpacking for sure!!! LOL! Yogurt is a good idea to add to my list too, thanks!

 

[Talby]

Really? I thought I read on the Fantasmic page that it was only lunch at Mama Melrose and Hollywood Derby, and then dinner at Hollywood & Vine. Darnit! But you can't change it unless you cancel it right? I'd be afraid to not get it back!

I know!! There is no way I'm clicking "cancel" on my H&V Dinner! That just isn't going to happen. If you really want the F! package, search for it that way. Then if it becomes available, click on it. If it's within the same time frame as your original, it will alert you that you have that reservation and do you want to keep or cancel. So just cancel it at that time. Does that makes sense? (It does in my head, but not sure if it came out right! lol)

 

[SilSprBea]

I know!! There is no way I'm clicking "cancel" on my H&V Dinner! That just isn't going to happen. If you really want the F! package, search for it that way. Then if it becomes available, click on it. If it's within the same time frame as your original, it will alert you that you have that reservation and do you want to keep or cancel. So just cancel it at that time. Does that makes sense? (It does in my head, but not sure if it came out right! lol)

I know. I just called Disney Dining to ask about switching to the F! package and they advised not to cancel it to try and re-booking it as F! She said tons of cast members are making reservations and that it might be gone for me before I can re-book it as F! Ugh, one more thing to add to my daily searches of Chef Mickey, 'Ohana, and BOG. I hadn't even thought about this because I thought it was just available for dinner. NO way I'm cancelling what I have because the Disney Junior lunch trumps F! reserved seating in our book, but it would be nice to get both, LOL!

So, for those that are searching for F! packages keep on the looking our a F! lunch for 4 at H&V on 12/6. I'll now start looking for everyone else.

 

[Talby]

Oooh, hard boiled eggs.. I might just need to look into that but I will be overpacking for sure!!! LOL! Yogurt is a good idea to add to my list too, thanks!

I like the idea of the kids and I getting some protein first thing. This little thing is great; just add some water and plug it in and an alarm goes off when they are ready (10 minutes maybe?). There's a little measuring tool so you can adjust the water based on whether you like soft or hard boiled, but they seriously come out PERFECT every time and super easy to peel. I love this thing. Ours is made by Hamilton Beach.

 

[PolyRob]

Sounds like some changes heading to HS.

PolyRob, love your avatar. DS and I love Stitch!!! Great move. Really sad. Gets to me every time I watch it.

Thank you. Love him and the movie as well! Wish he had a better ride. At least he has a great breakfast! lol

@Lisa F great idea, and thank you for posting the actual verbiage!

 

[Lisa F]

Thank you. Love him and the movie as well! Wish he had a better ride. At least he has a great breakfast! lol

@Lisa F great idea, and thank you for posting the actual verbiage!

I love stitch too. LOVE.

I think the actual verbiage shows how unsubstantiated that idea is and yulilin3 is FAR more knowledgeable on the ins and outs of what is going on at HS than pretty much anyone. She has been watching daily for a year and helping people out on stuff. She is a freaking dynamo. If his only thing is that the show has not been updated past October 1st and there is a new movie coming out... well duh, they have known about the movie forever and still launched it the way it is back in the summer and duh Disney has been releasing this stuff a month at a time for a long time now... even during the high summer season.

 

[SilSprBea]

I was thinking of getting a case of bottled water but I'm wondering if it is even worth it. our flight lands at 5pm and I have 6:45 at Sanaa. I could make it later but I am going to just assume that everything will go smoothly and if not, I can deal with it at the front desk and we will be able to walk up to Sanaa later. Worst case I lose $20 but I think if you are staying at a resort and eating at the resort and your plane is delayed they might be understanding. who knows. But I did not leave time for a grocery stop. A 24 pack of 16.9oz bottles weighs 29 lbs. 24 pack of 20oz weighs 31 lbs (thank you google). Maybe I will just squirrel 14 bottles of water (one per day for each of us) into my 3 suitcases.

Last time at disney i stopped in the little shop and I bought eggos for the kid. He didn't end up eating a single one. We did room service a couple of days and the rest of the time we had breakfast out. I will probably end up buying water in the parks as taking the time to stop at a CS and stand on line for a free cup of ice water that I then have to pour into my filtered water bottle that I need to carry around sounds appealing. We can get a bit of a head start with frozen water bottles in the backpack but then will probably buy as we drink them. Last time we bought 1 at a time and shared it (and finished it). Also the water filter bottles are not inexpensive either, they are around $30 for a good one so that is like 12 bottles of water right there. the savings might not be enough for me to worry about it.

what is everyone's thoughts on water?

We're definitely going to have water. I want my kids to stay hydrated (my son got severely dehydrated last summer at the Grand Canyon and we almost ended up in the emergency room) and I remember the water tasting so bad. I have those Brita filter water bottles that I use and love but I've been told that they don't always eliminate the weird taste the water there has. I also don't want to waste my snack credit on water all the time. That being said, we're driving so I'm just going to get a case of water and bring it with us and make a grocery run one evening for milk and other stuff. I don't think we'll have too much else in our room because we'll probably just eat out on our DP, but will buy some fruit to have and maybe some yogurt and random snacks. We're staying at POR 12/3-12/10 and will have our car, and happy to pick up some water for anyone at the grocery store if you are staying near us on those dates and don't have a car!

 

[Talby]

@SilSprBea I totally forgot we are at the same resort!! We have almost the same dates; we are 12/2 to 12/11.

 

[SilSprBea]

I have a Chef Mickey brunch for 6 people on Saturday 12/10 to cancel. It's at 12:55pm and we're supposed to be boarding the autotrain by 2/2:30pm, so I'm going to have to drop it (plus dinner and brunch is too much). Would any of you be interested in this before I post to the cancellations board? It's a nice one to do on a day off or as a lunch break from the Magic Kingdom Let me know!

 

[Lisa F]

We're definitely going to have water. I want my kids to stay hydrated (my son got severely dehydrated last summer at the Grand Canyon and we almost ended up in the emergency room) and I remember the water tasting so bad. I have those Brita filter water bottles that I use and love but I've been told that they don't always eliminate the weird taste the water there has. I also don't want to waste my snack credit on water all the time. That being said, we're driving so I'm just going to get a case of water and bring it with us and make a grocery run one evening for milk and other stuff. I don't think we'll have too much else in our room because we'll probably just eat out on our DP, but will buy some fruit to have and maybe some yogurt and random snacks. We're staying at POR 12/3-12/10 and will have our car, and happy to pick up some water for anyone at the grocery store if you are staying near us on those dates and don't have a car!

we stayed hydrated (it was HOT and HUMID in FL in September) but I just bought bottled water as I needed it. It was just the expense I was willing to pay lol. I think I will bring some for me to bring 2 bottles in with me in the morning and buy the rest. I just feel like it is a hassle to have to find a QS and wait on line for water there, there are tons more carts and kiosks where you can buy a water with little to no wait.

 

[Talby]

i totally get all of the decisions to not do EMM!! I have a very hard time justifying the cost as well. This is what I'm thinking about it.. I'd really appreciate any feedback! ....
- my girls go to bed very early and wake up around 5.. Maybe even earlier in the winter with the sun setting so I'm planning early mornings early dinners.
- theyve never been to Disney, and for some reason I'm excited to show them Peter Pan. I love reading them that book!
- my daughter is obsessed with pooh. The other day there was this pool floaty hanging in the store. It was the last one, and the man got it down for her. She was so happy she cried. It was really cute. I have never been , but I think she'll like the pooh ride.
-I like the idea of getting in early
- we are breakfast people
-the girls will be ok with waiting in most lines.. I hope so at least. They've never done that before. I'm trying to think of a place where we can practice. I think they'll be excited just seeing other kids around and being in such a different place that they'll be ok. I don't want to bring stuff for them to keep them occupied.
-it's the only extra thing we're doing. I'd love to do mvmcp!! But they definitely won't last. Even if it's really exciting.. Never past 8 830. Plus with all the early mornings all week with one break day. I really really hope to add h&v!. It's early enough I think!! So that'd be the one extra. Unless someone knows another option to consider??


Reasons not to do it:
- nervous about it being so new. Could be a bust
- I get bad motion sickness. Don't want to ride too many times on 7dmt. Does it jerk you really hard a lot??

Sorry so long it's just so expensive. I need to feel it's justified for our family and I value you're opinions. Thanks

So what do you guys think? Would you do this?

I think that an AMAZING and MAGICAL Disney vacation can be had without doing ANY "extras"!! Imagine their little faces when they see the castle or Mickey or any number of things that they will light up about!! Oh my gosh....that alone is SO exciting! "Just" exploring Disney, riding rides, enjoying the various food options, meeting characters, fireworks, parades, the beautiful holiday decorations, making family memories...there is SO MUCH to enjoy without adding any extras. I like @Lisa F's advice about how everyone does Disney different. Even without any extras at all, that still equals an unbelievably great Disney vacation in my book!! I mean...YOU'RE GOING TO DISNEY! WOO-HOO!!

 

[rasadkowski]

I will tell you why I'm NOT doing EMM and maybe that will help you with why you are.

1) I don't want to give up any of my breakfast ADRs. I have ADRs every morning for character meals or early lunch (11:15-11:35)
2) I am not a morning person. Getting there that time of day would be a challenge for me
3) it is happening during the BWV portion of my trip not the Poly portion making it even harder
4) I have 3 separate "days" at the MK which will allow me to utilize FP+ to ride everything I want to
5) I am not a huge fan of 7DMT. We rode it once and it was fine. It was toward the end of our trip. This time we will do it once and it will be fine.
6) It would occur during one of our two break days. we are touring pretty hard most days (transitions are very hard for my child and once he is out and in the parks he does not want to leave... we took NO breaks back in 2014 so I am planning long days with two break days that have only evening activities to give us the chance to rest and I think getting up early on a break day would defeat the purpose)
8) we are already doing MVMCP, SW fireworks dessert party and MAYBE the holiday wishes dessert party (but probably not). I think it enough extras booked for us. Although for one adult and one kid most of the extras are a bit over $100 which is very affordable for us (I can find it in the budget - I have my trip all saved for/paid for) it is more about the other factors I think.

So I guess after listing all of that out the questions you need to ask yourself is how does it impact the flow of your trip? I think you are saying positively given your kids' preferred sleep schedules (for me it would be negative)
How is your budget? if this is the only special thing you're doing then you are fine on it
How does it impact your ADRs? it doesn't sound like you are giving something up for it. Yes it is pricey but any breakfast buffet without characters is about $20 so take that off and it's not SO bad.

I think it is not a bad idea for you. I love peter pan and pooh. I will probably end up using FP to ride both (SDFP in some cases) all 3 times I go

Thanks @Lisa F !! Budget? What budget?!? JUST KIDDING!!!! My husband is NOT thrilled about this at all.... But this is our first day after arriving on sat. I left it open for a cp adr, but no luck with that. I think I'll do exactly that.. Pooh and pan many times.. So on other MK days we can go right to the other second tier rides.
Thanks for giving some factors to really consider . I really appreciate it. If I do end up getting fantasmic, then we'd definitely need park hoppers. I've been going back and forth about those, but I'm really counting on them now with our changes . It will be much more expensive, but, I really hope to get that f! Dinner.
I'm justifying it that I grew up in fl going to Disney all of the time. I want my girls to love it too! It's such a wonderful place, and i think the next time we go will be in about 6 or 7 years

 

[rasadkowski]

I think that an AMAZING and MAGICAL Disney vacation can be had without doing ANY "extras"!! Imagine their little faces when they see the castle or Mickey or any number of things that they will light up about!! Oh my gosh....that alone is SO exciting! "Just" exploring Disney, riding rides, enjoying the various food options, meeting characters, fireworks, parades, the beautiful holiday decorations, making family memories...there is SO MUCH to enjoy without adding any extras. I like @Lisa F's advice about how everyone does Disney different. Even without any extras at all, that still equals an unbelievably great Disney vacation in my book!! I mean...YOU'RE GOING TO DISNEY! WOO-HOO!!

You are all so right!! You know talby, there's a saying around here " you can't do everything but everything you can do will be great!" ( did I get it right @Talby ?)

 

[Talby]

You are all so right!! You know talby, there's a saying around here " you can't do everything but everything you can do will be great!" ( did I get it right @Talby ?)

LOL.!! I LOVE that saying!!

 

[rasadkowski]

@rasadkowskiHow many days do you have for MK and are you doing any PPO breakfasts? I think it's pricey for what it is but I know it's also worth it to many people. I've seen great reports on it If you're on the fence about the cost, my suggestion would be to find a PPO BOG (whatever time you get before 9am, you can still get in by 7:45am and just order cupcake and coffee like me ) and tour at that time. It's not going to be as little lines as EMM but it will be little wait time too from what I understand. You can ride PP and Pooh and then get additional FPs for PP and Pooh for late morning or early afternoon

EDIT: are your kids tall enough for 7DMT? I think that if they would like to ride that, it may be worth it but if not, then it lowers the value of EMM for you.[/USER]

Thanks [USER=569636]@CandyCane83 !! Great factors to consider. And I do have a ppo bog ( totally planning on the coffee cupcake strategy!!!! ) it's just that that ppo bog day may not work for us. With all the extras ( EMM ,, park hopper and hopefully f! Dinner we may not have an extra park day )[/user]

 

[rasadkowski]

I know. I just called Disney Dining to ask about switching to the F! package and they advised not to cancel it to try and re-booking it as F! She said tons of cast members are making reservations and that it might be gone for me before I can re-book it as F! Ugh, one more thing to add to my daily searches of Chef Mickey, 'Ohana, and BOG. I hadn't even thought about this because I thought it was just available for dinner. NO way I'm cancelling what I have because the Disney Junior lunch trumps F! reserved seating in our book, but it would be nice to get both, LOL!

So, for those that are searching for F! packages keep on the looking our a F! lunch for 4 at H&V on 12/6. I'll now start looking for everyone else.

So you can get the Disney Jr Lunch with f! ? That's great! I'd like the holiday dine. But I will gladly look for lunch for you!! What time is lunch ending and dinner starting?!!? So confusing to have to know to book as soon as something pops up !