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

[Candycane83]

Yep, I think @Lisa F is doing the same thing for 12/3, AK (AM EMH) then HS. I'm splitting my HS days too 12/3 EPCOT for late lunch at Biergarten (3pm) then SWAGS, then 12/5 AK AM EMH, then F! at night. I'm also finding that the only meal I would want there is H&V for character dining.

 

[Lisa F]

I'm almost having trouble explaining to myself what I don't like about these days, so I'm sure I'm not explaining it well. It seems there are a couple reasons. The main reason right now is dining, since I'm on that topic. I'm not as interested in the dining options at HS as I am at Epcot. I'm only considering Hollywood Brown Derby F! package and SciFi, but I haven't been able to get them both on one day at times that make any sense. That early SciFi lunch evades me still! I literally have 3 HBD F! ADRs (12:40, 1:55, and 4:15) and 1 SciFi @ 3:05. I think my goal is to keep the 4:15 HBD early dinner and get an early lunch at SciFi (11:00 or very near). Even then, they feel a little close together timewise, but we could eat a little lighter at lunch. I really just want an alcoholic oreo milkshake.

I'm not concerned with getting to see Illuminations. We have 2 other nights in Epcot where we can see Illuminations.

for whatever it is worth, pretty sure you can get milkshakes at the bar by 50's prime time cafe as well (tune in lounge?) though not the oreo. They do not have alcoholic milkshakes on the menu there but to be honest, I had one at Sci Fi and I would not waste the money on it. the other flavors are so heavy you couldn't taste it (or feel it). they could have given me a plain oreo shake and I wouldn't have known. You can always add a glow cube if it is a deal breaker. the pb&j milkshake at 50's PT is awesome. They may be able to throw a shot of something in it if you want them too but like I said, a shot in a milkshake gets lost (jmho, like I am this big booze expert lol).

 

[JamieOak]

Yep, I think @Lisa F is doing the same thing for 12/3, AK (AM EMH) then HS. I'm splitting my HS days too 12/3 EPCOT for late lunch at Biergarten (3pm) then SWAGS, then 12/5 AK AM EMH, then F! at night. I'm also finding that the only meal I would want there is H&V for character dining.

I have AK AM EMHs scheduled, which I'm rethinking purely because I kind of don't want any mornings earlier than 9am after our 2nd WDW day. We have at 8am or earlier start times for our 3 universal days and first 2 WDW days. I think if I took the AK out of the 12/3 schedule completely and got a later start at Epcot, eat lunch there, I'd like my days a lot better. Then I just have to settle with 1 full day in AK and hope we get to do everything we want.

 

[Lisa F]

I have AK AM EMHs scheduled, which I'm rethinking purely because I kind of don't want any mornings earlier than 9am after our 2nd WDW day. We have at 8am or earlier start times for our 3 universal days and first 2 WDW days. I think if I took the AK out of the 12/3 schedule completely and got a later start at Epcot, eat lunch there, I'd like my days a lot better. Then I just have to settle with 1 full day in AK and hope we get to do everything we want.

I think you should get everything you want with a full day in AK. I am getting everything I want (except maybe finding Nemo) with EMH, 9:20am TH breakfast, 3pm Y&Y dinner... so I have a lot of time taken out and am done basically by 3pm. If you stay there through closing you should be able to fit the rest in, esp if you only have one TS meal there that way.

and I hear you on the mornings, we are doing EMH first two mornings and then shifting later. I will run out of steam.

also SWaGS, even hours are extended, will be an early night so we can get up early the next day.

 

[Lisa F]

I'm almost having trouble explaining to myself what I don't like about these days, so I'm sure I'm not explaining it well. It seems there are a couple reasons. The main reason right now is dining, since I'm on that topic. I'm not as interested in the dining options at HS as I am at Epcot. I'm only considering Hollywood Brown Derby F! package and SciFi, but I haven't been able to get them both on one day at times that make any sense. That early SciFi lunch evades me still! I literally have 3 HBD F! ADRs (12:40, 1:55, and 4:15) and 1 SciFi @ 3:05. I think my goal is to keep the 4:15 HBD early dinner and get an early lunch at SciFi (11:00 or very near). Even then, they feel a little close together timewise, but we could eat a little lighter at lunch. I really just want an alcoholic oreo milkshake.

I'm not concerned with getting to see Illuminations. We have 2 other nights in Epcot where we can see Illuminations.

ALSO go with your gut. on paper it seemed like evening EMH was the way to go at Epcot but when I was doing my FP+ and thinking about my days I reverted back to the old schedule with maybe doing illuminations then calling it a night and rope dropping the next morning... i feel I can get more of the rides we want at RD and during the day (it gives me flexibility on ellen, which will be closed for EMH) and also doing EMH adds a lot of walking from the international gateway clear to future world and back at night when we are tired This way if we do illuminations we pop in, grab a nice spot at the bridge with maybe an ice cream macron sandwich and park for 45 minutes. much more relaxing.Also I can schedule my nighttime FP+ at MK in advance which makes me feel a lot more confident in my plans.

If it doesn't FEEL right it probably isn't even if you can't articulate why.

 

[Lisa F]

seriously got nothing done at work today (a lot of phone calls and a client meeting, that's it). I am too excited about my FP+ to focus when I am constantly interrupted by the phone.

ARGH. have to run out for more meetings too!

 

[JamieOak]

I think you should get everything you want with a full day in AK. I am getting everything I want (except maybe finding Nemo) with EMH, 9:20am TH breakfast, 3pm Y&Y dinner... so I have a lot of time taken out and am done basically by 3pm. If you stay there through closing you should be able to fit the rest in, esp if you only have one TS meal there that way.

and I hear you on the mornings, we are doing EMH first two mornings and then shifting later. I will run out of steam.

also SWaGS, even hours are extended, will be an early night so we can get up early the next day.

We do only have 1 TS meal in AK for lunch. Dinner is up in the air with ROL and potential extended hours. Either Flame Tree QS or I have a backup ADR at Flying Fish for 8:30pm. It's later for dinner than I'd like, but that's a long day for us. A hurtle for us timewise is the Wild Africa Trek is 3 hours out of our park touring in the early morning. 8-11am. So we won't actually start our park touring until the busy hours. I'll be relying on my FPs and SDFPs to make it manageable. On TPs with 6 FPs being used, I am getting in everything we want to do. And that's including some things we could skip if necessary and it wouldn't be the end of the world.

I am trying to do the same by shifting to later mornings over the trip. Universal will be 8am starts because that's their version of EMHs to do the Harry Potter stuff that doesn't offer express pass lines. But I don't think we'll be doing any really late nights at Universal. Parks close at 9pm and I'm not even sure we'll be in the parks all day or if we'll leave at dinnertime and be done after a late dinner. Then our first 2 WDW days we have to be at the gates at 7:30am for early things. Wild Africa Trek, then EMM. After that, I don't want anything before a 9 am start! Even then we only have 1 true sleep in day. But I think it'll be kind of easier if we stay on a bit of a schedule than mixing late and early mornings too much.

 

[Lisa F]

We do only have 1 TS meal in AK for lunch. Dinner is up in the air with ROL and potential extended hours. Either Flame Tree QS or I have a backup ADR at Flying Fish for 8:30pm. It's later for dinner than I'd like, but that's a long day for us. A hurtle for us timewise is the Wild Africa Trek is 3 hours out of our park touring in the early morning. 8-11am. So we won't actually start our park touring until the busy hours. I'll be relying on my FPs and SDFPs to make it manageable. On TPs with 6 FPs being used, I am getting in everything we want to do. And that's including some things we could skip if necessary and it wouldn't be the end of the world.

I am trying to do the same by shifting to later mornings over the trip. Universal will be 8am starts because that's their version of EMHs to do the Harry Potter stuff that doesn't offer express pass lines. But I don't think we'll be doing any really late nights at Universal. Parks close at 9pm and I'm not even sure we'll be in the parks all day or if we'll leave at dinnertime and be done after a late dinner. Then our first 2 WDW days we have to be at the gates at 7:30am for early things. Wild Africa Trek, then EMM. After that, I don't want anything before a 9 am start! Even then we only have 1 true sleep in day. But I think it'll be kind of easier if we stay on a bit of a schedule than mixing late and early mornings too much.

I would not mix them, it is too hard on your body.

but I do think it is reasonable to be more ambitious on your early mornings earlier in the trip and let it slide as the trip goes by.

12/3 we are doing EMH at AK, probably leave the resort at 7:30 or so
12/4 we are doing EMH at HS, probably leave the resort more like 7:15 or even earlier
12/5 we are doing RD at Epcot so leave around 8:15
12/6 is our "rest day" and we have breakfast at 9:35 so probably leave the resort a bit after 9 to drive over
12/7 is another RD at Epcot day so leave around 8:15
12/8 is another "rest day" and we have breakfast at 10:00am at whispering canyon cafe so probably leave 9ish to go to MK and take boat to WL
12/9 is MK day and we plan to show up first thing for our CP breakfast at 9:50 so prob leave around 9ish
then 12/10 is our departure day and I have an 8am Kona cafe but seriously considering swapping it out for 8:15 Boma. I LOVE Boma, meh on Kona but figured it is convenient... they don't even have mickey waffles there though. Our flight is at 12:25 so I'd want to leave WDW by 9:30 at the latest, that should be plenty of time to eat at Boma. we'd need to leave the poly around 8am to get to boma for that ADR and I planned (either way) to drop our luggage with the southwest counter in the resort around 7:45 with either plan - I gave myself more time with Kona because you never know when there will be slow service/kitchen... with Boma, it is at our own pace.

Am I crazy to swap? excited for Boma, Kona is ok but not exciting.

 

[JamieOak]

I would not mix them, it is too hard on your body.

but I do think it is reasonable to be more ambitious on your early mornings earlier in the trip and let it slide as the trip goes by.

12/3 we are doing EMH at AK, probably leave the resort at 7:30 or so
12/4 we are doing EMH at HS, probably leave the resort more like 7:15 or even earlier
12/5 we are doing RD at Epcot so leave around 8:15
12/6 is our "rest day" and we have breakfast at 9:35 so probably leave the resort a bit after 9 to drive over
12/7 is another RD at Epcot day so leave around 8:15
12/8 is another "rest day" and we have breakfast at 10:00am at whispering canyon cafe so probably leave 9ish to go to MK and take boat to WL
12/9 is MK day and we plan to show up first thing for our CP breakfast at 9:50 so prob leave around 9ish
then 12/10 is our departure day and I have an 8am Kona cafe but seriously considering swapping it out for 8:15 Boma. I LOVE Boma, meh on Kona but figured it is convenient... they don't even have mickey waffles there though. Our flight is at 12:25 so I'd want to leave WDW by 9:30 at the latest, that should be plenty of time to eat at Boma. we'd need to leave the poly around 8am to get to boma for that ADR and I planned (either way) to drop our luggage with the southwest counter in the resort around 7:45 with either plan - I gave myself more time with Kona because you never know when there will be slow service/kitchen... with Boma, it is at our own pace.

Am I crazy to swap? excited for Boma, Kona is ok but not exciting.

I was looking at Boma, but it didn't really fit in the schedule since AKL won't really be easy for us to get to. I'm not really qualified to give any advice on timing though. I've been allotting 90 minutes, even for buffets. But we are fast eaters, so I would think we could be out in 60 minutes easily.

 

[JamieOak]

I just got a CRT on 11/30 @ 8:30pm. Closer than my other ADR at 9:45pm to what I was trying for, but still a little late with Wishes at 10pm. Does anyone have any experience with either getting out of CRT right as the fireworks are going to start, or even watching the fireworks from inside the restaurant if you can score a window table?

 

[mexxican]

My Fp+ opens up on Wednesday at 7am. Is it easy to do on the MDE app, because it's the same time that the Luke's Diner (Gilmore Girls) pop-ups are opening up and I'm not missing that!

 

[Mal6586]

My Fp+ opens up on Wednesday at 7am. Is it easy to do on the MDE app, because it's the same time that the Luke's Diner (Gilmore Girls) pop-ups are opening up and I'm not missing that!

Gahhh I'm so jealous! I hope it's fun!! There is literally only 1 in Mississippi, and it's 3 hours away. No Luke's for me!

 

[Talby]

I just got a CRT on 11/30 @ 8:30pm. Closer than my other ADR at 9:45pm to what I was trying for, but still a little late with Wishes at 10pm. Does anyone have any experience with either getting out of CRT right as the fireworks are going to start, or even watching the fireworks from inside the restaurant if you can score a window table?

Sigh. I so rarely have any real personal experience! haha But I DID read quite recently that's it is pretty magical to see the fireworks from inside the castle. Really cool perspective through the stained glass apparently. I believe they dim the lights and pipe in the music as well. Pretty sure you have another night to see Wishes? I think that vantage point from inside the castle would be awesome, but I might want to view them from outside too. I love how persistent you are with snatching up those ADRs! lol Persistence pays off!

 

[JamieOak]

Sigh. I so rarely have any real personal experience! haha But I DID read quite recently that's it is pretty magical to see the fireworks from inside the castle. Really cool perspective through the stained glass apparently. I believe they dim the lights and pipe in the music as well. Pretty sure you have another night to see Wishes? I think that vantage point from inside the castle would be awesome, but I might want to view them from outside too. I love how persistent you are with snatching up those ADRs! lol Persistence pays off!

I have heard/read mixed info on it now. I'm not going to cancel until I find a BOG or CRT earlier and hopefully I do. There's still a lot of time.

I have to be persistent. I only have 1 out of 7 days actually firmed up for dining!

 

[Talby]

I have heard/read mixed info on it now. I'm not going to cancel until I find a BOG or CRT earlier and hopefully I do. There's still a lot of time.

I have to be persistent. I only have 1 out of 7 days actually firmed up for dining!

LOL!! Too funny! This planning process is something else! Just a few short months ago, I had no clue the amount of fun that went into planning a Disney vacation! And I'm exhausted!! lol!! I'll need to rest up so I can enjoy the fruits of my labor. There's been so much happening on the cancellations thread. Add your persistence to increased opportunity, and those seem like good odds. What dates are you looking for for the BOG/CRT?

 

[rasadkowski]

I'm wondering what you guys think of this....using a fp for Under the Sea..
a "what are you thinking!?" big fat "nay"
or
a "ehh...it's alright, I guess if you really want to see the ride and you're headed to that area at a high traffic time of day" "yay"
???

 

[rasadkowski]

I love reading through the posts today. I can feel everyone's excitement from making fp! Its fun reading everyone's thoughts and plans and all the new little changes people are considering making!
I feel like I'm on the other side of the fence!!

 

[pigletgirl]

I'm wondering what you guys think of this....using a fp for Under the Sea..
a "what are you thinking!?" big fat "nay"
or
a "ehh...it's alright, I guess if you really want to see the ride and you're headed to that area at a high traffic time of day" "yay"
???

What time and day? If its a non party day, you may need it.

 

[rasadkowski]

What time and day? If its a non party day, you may need it.

This would be for Sunday 12/4 I think that's a party day? It would be for around 1130.
and thanks, that would make me feel a tiny bit better about getting one

 

[pigletgirl]

And, once you use it, you can find a SDFP! (of course when you've used your 3. )