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

[Iowamomof4]

I'm dropping Crystal Palace breakfast, 12/6 (Tuesday), 10:30 am for 6 people. Anyone want it?

 

[Mintycake]

another good review of the SWaGS dessert party on that thread over there. Nothing unexpected. Crowded (which we knew) and pushy people for the booze. I'm seriously going to bring a pile of big paper plates for our group so we don't have to make multiple trips to the buffet lol. I will be driving car to AK in the morning and then back to car (either direct to HS or if it's late enough stop by BWV first) so I don't have to carry them all day. those tiny plates are for the birds. I will have enough for all!

Did I mention you're my personal hero? LOL

So with less than a week to FP+ I have been trying to get my @ss in gear to do some planning. I started with Epcot because FEA is my first priority so this is what I have so far. Let me know what you think for my day 1 of epcot:

7:30am Cape May breakfast
walk to IG to be there for 8:45am. Head to Joy/Sadness
Joy/Sadness/Baymax (DH to Test Track single rider line)
Character spot (FP+ just in case?)
The Land Pavillion - ride Soarin (standby)
Ride The Land
Behind the Seeds tour (if time)
Lunch @ Sunshine Seasons OR Imagination(Figment) - I am not sure how long the above will take so will it be lunch already?
Pixar shorts
Walk to Mexico (not sure how long this will take from Pixar?) - ride the boat ride
FEA (FP+)
Meet Anna and Elsa
Leave park for a break
Come back for dinner (I have a Tokyo Dining reservation but I think I will drop it and we will just grab something at either France bakery or Yorkshire Fish and chips)
Watch Illumnitaions (should I FP this or watch from the UK/France Bridge? It's my understanding that the FP area is all the way around (headed to Futureworld) and that's a lot of walking. I'm thinking of staying close to the IG and then being able to jet out of there as soon as Illuminations is done.

Does this seem too crazy?

Day 2 at Epcot we will probably do this:
Either 8:25am Akershus and head right to Meet Elsa and Anna (yes, DD wants to do this twice) and then FP+ FEA OR
sleep in and go to Epcot for 10:50am Akershus brunch (and meet E&A before this)
Wander around World Showcase, meet Snow White in Germany, Belle in France, Mulan in China, Jasmine in Morroco (you see where this is going, right)
Lunch will depend when we eat at Akershus - if we do early we may grab lunch at Katsura grill and/or snacks at various countries
Leave at 4:30pm for DD to go to Kids club at BC
DD and I will head back to Epcot and do Ellen's Energy and Spaceship Earth (if we don't have time to do it on day 1 - I'm not sure if DD would like it) and then eat at Epcot. I'm going to drop my Beaches and Cream dinner and Teppan Edo and eat maybe at Tangerine Cafe (we both love middle eastern food) or maybe the mexican QS. The kids club is open until midnight but I think we'll pick up DD at around 9:30pm so we can get enough rest for the next day.

Criticism, comments, praise, all welcome.

 

[areno79]

@areno79 I'm having technical issues so I need to post here. I would go with option A. It doesn't seem like you're saving any money with option D? (unless I misunderstood something--completely possible!) I think simplicity is worth its weight in gold, particularly on vacation. Option A just seems like the simplest alternative and there's no followup effort required for you (returning the car; maybe it'd be nice in the moment upon arrival, but then the next day you have it hovering over you as something you have to take care of. Ick! lol). I can't help but think of the "flow" that is referenced so much with planning, and I think option A has the smoothest flow. Personally, simplicity and great flow would be worth it to me, even at a little bit of extra cost. If we were talkin' 100s of dollars, no. But in this instance, I don't think it's quite THAT much. Disney decisions are hard!

Thanks for the vote @Talby
Actually our Little Miss Knowledge @Lisa F had a great idea about bringing a second suitcase with waters and snacks, then buying milk or perishables at the AoA store.

another good review of the SWaGS dessert party on that thread over there. Nothing unexpected. Crowded (which we knew) and pushy people for the booze. I'm seriously going to bring a pile of big paper plates for our group so we don't have to make multiple trips to the buffet lol. I will be driving car to AK in the morning and then back to car (either direct to HS or if it's late enough stop by BWV first) so I don't have to carry them all day. those tiny plates are for the birds. I will have enough for all!

Great idea about the plates! DH and I will likely have our refillable mugs with us everyday anyway because I'll imagine we'll grab drinks on the way to the bus stop in the morning.

 

[Lisa F]

Thanks for the vote @Talby
Actually our Little Miss Knowledge @Lisa F had a great idea about bringing a second suitcase with waters and snacks, then buying milk or perishables at the AoA store.



Great idea about the plates! DH and I will likely have our refillable mugs with us everyday anyway because I'll imagine we'll grab drinks on the way to the bus stop in the morning.

I think this is why they don't give the chewey steins out until after the buffet is done . everyone is gonna think I'm a pig going up there with my dinner plate sized paper plate but honestly this is what I call "amortizing the overhead." I am not making multiple buffet trips. I'll grab a plate of stuff and then enjoy the company lol. I will try to get black plates so we are less obvious. I can sell any extras to other people, lol.

I guess I should start making a packing list now!

 

[Talby]

Thanks for the vote @Talby
Actually our Little Miss Knowledge @Lisa F had a great idea about bringing a second suitcase with waters and snacks, then buying milk or perishables at the AoA store.



Great idea about the plates! DH and I will likely have our refillable mugs with us everyday anyway because I'll imagine we'll grab drinks on the way to the bus stop in the morning.

Ahhhh....sorry! I have serious catching up to do on this thread! I think @Lisa F could make a mint as a Disney vacation planner!

 

[areno79]

@Mintycake Sorry I'm not much help with planning Epcot. I feel like no matter what I'll be crisscrossing and doing a lot of walking. I do think since you're unsure, it's a good idea that you're planning to do QS for some meals; that gives you some flexibility.

 

[Lisa F]

Ahhhh....sorry! I have serious catching up to do on this thread! I think @Lisa F could make a mint as a Disney vacation planner!

haha all she had to do was substitute "know-it-all" for knowledge to be more accurate. @Wood Nymph has corrected me on a few things. I know what I know but there is definitely some stuff I don't know! It is one of those things that is a labor of love for me, I am excited about my own trip and happy to share with people going same time I am but if I did it for a living I'd grow to hate it... I work with people all day and I am so exhausted at night from it!

 

[Meeko5]

I think this is why they don't give the chewey steins out until after the buffet is done . everyone is gonna think I'm a pig going up there with my dinner plate sized paper plate but honestly this is what I call "amortizing the overhead." I am not making multiple buffet trips. I'll grab a plate of stuff and then enjoy the company lol. I will try to get black plates so we are less obvious. I can sell any extras to other people, lol.

I guess I should start making a packing list now!

color me sad I leave on the 3rd and can't join this awesome black plate "amortizing the overhead" SW dessert party! you guys are awesome haha

 

[Iowamomof4]

I'm dropping Crystal Palace breakfast, 12/6 (Tuesday), 10:30 am for 6 people. Anyone want it?

I'm also going to drop 'Ohana dinner for 6, 12/4, 8:40 pm. Let me know if you want it. I'd like to get rid of both of these sometime today.

 

[Iowamomof4]

@rasadkowski I think you're in this thread... Anyway, if you want that TH PPO breakfast on 12/6, I'm ready to drop it.

 

[pigletgirl]

48 hours till FP's! I think I'm ready. At this point I'm the most excited in the house (granted DD1 doesn't know yet)! We leave tomorrow for AZ, so I'll be on here intermittently. I will report which ones we end up with.

 

[Lisa F]

Did I mention you're my personal hero? LOL

So with less than a week to FP+ I have been trying to get my @ss in gear to do some planning. I started with Epcot because FEA is my first priority so this is what I have so far. Let me know what you think for my day 1 of epcot:

7:30am Cape May breakfast
walk to IG to be there for 8:45am. Head to Joy/Sadness
Joy/Sadness/Baymax (DH to Test Track single rider line)
Character spot (FP+ just in case?)
The Land Pavillion - ride Soarin (standby)
Ride The Land
Behind the Seeds tour (if time)
Lunch @ Sunshine Seasons OR Imagination(Figment) - I am not sure how long the above will take so will it be lunch already?
Pixar shorts
Walk to Mexico (not sure how long this will take from Pixar?) - ride the boat ride
FEA (FP+)
Meet Anna and Elsa
Leave park for a break
Come back for dinner (I have a Tokyo Dining reservation but I think I will drop it and we will just grab something at either France bakery or Yorkshire Fish and chips)
Watch Illumnitaions (should I FP this or watch from the UK/France Bridge? It's my understanding that the FP area is all the way around (headed to Futureworld) and that's a lot of walking. I'm thinking of staying close to the IG and then being able to jet out of there as soon as Illuminations is done.

Does this seem too crazy?

Day 2 at Epcot we will probably do this:
Either 8:25am Akershus and head right to Meet Elsa and Anna (yes, DD wants to do this twice) and then FP+ FEA OR
sleep in and go to Epcot for 10:50am Akershus brunch (and meet E&A before this)
Wander around World Showcase, meet Snow White in Germany, Belle in France, Mulan in China, Jasmine in Morroco (you see where this is going, right)
Lunch will depend when we eat at Akershus - if we do early we may grab lunch at Katsura grill and/or snacks at various countries
Leave at 4:30pm for DD to go to Kids club at BC
DD and I will head back to Epcot and do Ellen's Energy and Spaceship Earth (if we don't have time to do it on day 1 - I'm not sure if DD would like it) and then eat at Epcot. I'm going to drop my Beaches and Cream dinner and Teppan Edo and eat maybe at Tangerine Cafe (we both love middle eastern food) or maybe the mexican QS. The kids club is open until midnight but I think we'll pick up DD at around 9:30pm so we can get enough rest for the next day.

Criticism, comments, praise, all welcome.

wrapping my head around this. My biggest problem is that I have no sense of how long the character stuff takes since it falls into the "too long" category and we don't do it.

my first blush comment is that is a lot of characters all at once and DD is going to get bored waiting in line after line after line.
so I would do Joy/Sadness/baymax first which say takes an hour at most and then I'd do soarin'/land/behind the seeds. I LOVED behind the seeds when I took it but have doubts how much kiddo would like it - I seem to remember it being a longish tour (half hour or so) So say it takes you an hour to do characters then an hour to do soarin' and living iwth the land, that puts you right at 11am for check in for 11:15 behind the seeds which dumps you out at sunshine seasons right in time to do an earlyish lunch, which will be good after earlyish breakfast. with 3 meals in the day you probably don't want two of them to be huge anyway.

then i would FP+ the character spot for 11:45-12:45. it is a LITTLE bit of zig zagging because you have to go back through the center of the hub but not a lot. Then I would FP+ figment for 12:45-1:45 and FEA 1:45-2:45 and do figment and pixar shorts before heading to mexico and norway.

I think you are not getting out much before 3:30 if you do this though. I'm not sure what time you wanted to leave before dinner and how much time out of park you wanted to spend.

if you wanted to cut I would cut behind the seeds and that moves everything back by at least 45 minutes. The problem is you'd probably be too early for lunch at sunshine seasons, however both mexico and norway have lunch QS options you might want to consider. OR to be honest everything is so close in that area you could do soarin' first, then figment and pixar, then the character spot, then back to the land for livin' with the land and lunch. Future world is pretty compact if you are doing things all on one side IMO.

So I guess that's just something to think about.

I would not take the time (and energy) to walk to the FP+ location for illuminations if you are staying at BC and exiting the park through international gateway. the bridge is my favorite spot to watch Illuminations from.

for day 2 I would not pair PPO akershus with illuminations the night before. I would do the brunch and give yourselves flexibility to do anna & elsa beforehand or if you don't do it after. If you do brunch at 10:30 you might want to do a late lunch at around 3ish so DD is fed and happy for the kids club. Tangierine Cafe is hands down my favorite QS in epcot so I am on board with that. Morocco is an excellent illuminations viewing spot as well, or if you really want to do the FP+ spot you may want to do it tonight when you're not dragging a tired little girl with legs half your length around.

 

[TiggerManiac]

Oh, my goodness! That went much better than I expected. I got everything I wanted within about 5-10 minutes of the time I had planned, with the exception of FEA. I wanted 4:30 but ended up with 6:50, right after our dinner at Akershus. We can listen to the Norway Storytellers at 6:30, do FEA, then have plenty of time to line up at 7:45 for the 8:15 Candlelight Processional.

I'm so glad to hear everybody else got what they wanted too, pretty much at least.

Here are my plans:

Nov 28 at Epcot: 8:00 Garden Grill
8:45 PPO Soarin'
10:00 Pixar Short Films
11:15 Mission Space (yuck, for my husband, he can use my band and ride twice)
1:30 QS Lunch at Tangierine Cafe
5:20 Dinner at Akershus6:50 Frozen Ever After

Nov 29 at Universal for Harry Potter

Nov 30 at HS: 11:25 TSMM
12:00 QS lunch at Starring Rolls (SUSHI!!!)
1:35 Star Tours
5:30 Frozen Sing Along
??? QS dinner somewhere
6:45???? SW Galactic Spectacular (hopefully)
7:00 head over to MK for EMH
10:00 Wishes

Dec 1 at MK: 8:00 Keys to the Kingdom Tour (includes lunch)
2:25 SDMT
3:25 Splash Mtn
4:25 Space Mtn
5:30 Dinner at 1900 Park Fare
7:00 MVMCP??????

Dec 2 at AK: Rope drop Kilimanjaro Safari
9:50 Expedition Everest
4:05 Dinosaur
5:05 Kilimanjaro Safari (dusk; time when people are saying lions are very active)
6:00 Yak and Yeti
????? ROL (hopefully)

Dec 3 at Universal (Mannheim Steamroller concert at night)

Dec 4 at MK: 8:00 BOG
9:00 7DMT and Peter Pan (PPO or as soon as they open)
10:55 Haunted Mansion
12:30 QS at Pecos Bill's
12:45 Pirates
3:00 Festival of Fantasy Parade
3:45 Muppets Present
4:05 Buzz Lightyear
5:00 Dinner at BOG

Dec 5 at Epcot: 9:55 Soarin'
10:55 Mission Space (again, for dh)
QS lunch somewhere
6:00 Spaceship Earth
7:35 Dinner at Boma


I've also scheduled time to see all the Christmas storytellers at Epcot and some of the various entertainment offerings, including Voices of Liberty.

Wow, teaching crochet classes the past two weekends really got me behind in reading this thread. Over 30 pages later, I'm now totally caught up. But I was reading so fast, I have a feeling I may have missed some info. At least I did manage to download the lovely graphic tags we can use to recognize each other.

 

[Lisa F]

color me sad I leave on the 3rd and can't join this awesome black plate "amortizing the overhead" SW dessert party! you guys are awesome haha

I should actually bring a big platter. wouldn't that be a hoot? we can raid the buffet and then have our own little buffet at our own tables lol.

nah I will stick with disposable plates for individuals!

 

[Lisa F]

Oh, my goodness! That went much better than I expected. I got everything I wanted within about 5-10 minutes of the time I had planned, with the exception of FEA. I wanted 4:30 but ended up with 6:50, right after our dinner at Akershus. We can listen to the Norway Storytellers at 6:30, do FEA, then have plenty of time to line up at 7:45 for the 8:15 Candlelight Processional.

I'm so glad to hear everybody else got what they wanted too, pretty much at least.

Here are my plans:

Nov 28 at Epcot: 8:00 Garden Grill
8:45 PPO Soarin'
10:00 Pixar Short Films
11:15 Mission Space (yuck, for my husband, he can use my band and ride twice)
1:30 QS Lunch at Tangierine Cafe
5:20 Dinner at Akershus6:50 Frozen Ever After

Nov 29 at Universal for Harry Potter

Nov 30 at HS: 11:25 TSMM
12:00 QS lunch at Starring Rolls (SUSHI!!!)
1:35 Star Tours
5:30 Frozen Sing Along
??? QS dinner somewhere
6:45???? SW Galactic Spectacular (hopefully)
7:00 head over to MK for EMH
10:00 Wishes

Dec 1 at MK: 8:00 Keys to the Kingdom Tour (includes lunch)
2:25 SDMT
3:25 Splash Mtn
4:25 Space Mtn
5:30 Dinner at 1900 Park Fare
7:00 MVMCP??????

Dec 2 at AK: Rope drop Kilimanjaro Safari
9:50 Expedition Everest
4:05 Dinosaur
5:05 Kilimanjaro Safari (dusk; time when people are saying lions are very active)
6:00 Yak and Yeti
????? ROL (hopefully)

Dec 3 at Universal (Mannheim Steamroller concert at night)

Dec 4 at MK: 8:00 BOG
9:00 7DMT and Peter Pan (PPO or as soon as they open)
10:55 Haunted Mansion
12:30 QS at Pecos Bill's
12:45 Pirates
3:00 Festival of Fantasy Parade
3:45 Muppets Present
4:05 Buzz Lightyear
5:00 Dinner at BOG

Dec 5 at Epcot: 9:55 Soarin'
10:55 Mission Space (again, for dh)
QS lunch somewhere
6:00 Spaceship Earth
7:35 Dinner at Boma


I've also scheduled time to see all the Christmas storytellers at Epcot and some of the various entertainment offerings, including Voices of Liberty.

Wow, teaching crochet classes the past two weekends really got me behind in reading this thread. Over 30 pages later, I'm now totally caught up. But I was reading so fast, I have a feeling I may have missed some info. At least I did manage to download the lovely graphic tags we can use to recognize each other.

I miss a ton of info even when I'm following along in real time, lol. Especially when I'm on my phone.

Congrats on getting everything you wanted!

 

[TiggerManiac]

We leave bright and early tomorrow morning for our one-week beach trip down in Gulf Shores, AL. I'll be spending most of today getting everything packed, the house cleaned, and taking my FIL to his monthly doctor visit. So I'm sure I'm going to get behind on reading again. But I can catch up on the 5.5 hour drive down tomorrow!

 

[rasadkowski]

@rasadkowski I think you're in this thread... Anyway, if you want that TH PPO breakfast on 12/6, I'm ready to drop it.

Yes! That is wonderful! Thank you so much for remembering me!

 

[Wood Nymph]

Watch Illumnitaions (should I FP this or watch from the UK/France Bridge? It's my understanding that the FP area is all the way around (headed to Futureworld) and that's a lot of walking. I'm thinking of staying close to the IG and then being able to jet out of there as soon as Illuminations is done.

I agree with @Lisa F about watching from the bridge. When we stay at the BC we just watch it from the bridge or from a spot in the France section.

7:30am Cape May breakfast
walk to IG to be there for 8:45am. Head to Joy/Sadness
Joy/Sadness/Baymax (DH to Test Track single rider line)
Character spot (FP+ just in case?)
The Land Pavillion - ride Soarin (standby)
Ride The Land
Behind the Seeds tour (if time)
Lunch @ Sunshine Seasons OR Imagination(Figment) - I am not sure how long the above will take so will it be lunch already?
Pixar shorts
Walk to Mexico (not sure how long this will take from Pixar?) - ride the boat ride
FEA (FP+)
Meet Anna and Elsa

The character meet and greets shouldn't have long lines first thing in the morning. Everyone will be rushing to the tier one rides.

haha all she had to do was substitute "know-it-all" for knowledge to be more accurate. @Wood Nymph has corrected me on a few things. I know what I know but there is definitely some stuff I don't know! It is one of those things that is a labor of love for me, I am excited about my own trip and happy to share with people going same time I am but if I did it for a living I'd grow to hate it... I work with people all day and I am so exhausted at night from it!

We have been to Disney a lot lately and it seems like we have done almost every configuration of trip you can think of.

In fact, we are going to WDW on Saturday and I haven't thought about the Dec fp+'s yet.

Let me know what else I can check out for people besides everything that is open during EMH at Epcot and park maps for those who have sent me their addresses.

 

[Lisa F]

I agree with @Lisa F about watching from the bridge. When we stay at the BC we just watch it from the bridge or from a spot in the France section.


The character meet and greets shouldn't have long lines first thing in the morning. Everyone will be rushing to the tier one rides.

We have been to Disney a lot lately and it seems like we have done almost every configuration of trip you can think of.

In fact, we are going to WDW on Saturday and I haven't thought about the Dec fp+'s yet.

Let me know what else I can check out for people besides everything that is open during EMH at Epcot and park maps for those who have sent me their addresses.

morning EMH open stuff at AK too, please. specificially what is open in dinoland. I know Dinosaur (though that is still closed? so it won't be listed) but what other stuff is. I appreciate it! the online sources all have differing info.

ALSO if you can snap a photo of the current Oasis Canteen (in DS near indiana jones) menu... it appears that they changed it back to funnel cakes from their brief foray into chicken nuggets if you look at the disney website menu but allears hasn't updated since June. A snapshot would also let me know what counts as snacks on DDP. I would appreciate it if you are there and think of it!

 

[Wood Nymph]

morning EMH open stuff at AK too, please. specificially what is open in dinoland. I know Dinosaur (though that is still closed? so it won't be listed) but what other stuff is. I appreciate it! the online sources all have differing info.

Hopefully the Times Guide that they hand out in the parks will have the AK EMH. We will be going to AK in the evening.

Do you want info on the restaurants, too?