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

[Lisa F]

ugh, that discussion on whether they will go back to a not every day schedule for the SW fireworks really had me in a tizzy yesterday, so now I have two plans, both counting RoL out

Plan 1 (my preference, assumes I can do star wars fireworks with dessert party on Saturday)

Saturday: check out AKL Kidani, Check in BWV
9:45am Tusker House
3:00pm Yak & Yeti
SW fireworks w/dessert party (assuming 6:30 is the earliest we'd have to show up there)

Sunday (does not change - can not move any of these ADRs due to availability)
EMH, Jedi Training Academy signup
11:15am Sci fi
5:00pm CA Grill
Illuminations

Monday
11:35AM Coral Reef w/CP package (plan is to show up 15 min before opening and request a table near the tank so the early ADR was very appreciated - this has always been my strategy to at least get in the lower level pretty much guaranteed.)
5pm CP
6:45pm La Hacienda (my child has suddenly put this on his must do list after looking at places for dinner in Epcot with the unexpected early CR CP ADR).
ride mexico ride, get another margarita, stake out a spot in mexico for Illuminations

Plan 2 (NOT my preference in several ways but workable with a little luck and pixie dust)

Saturday: check out AKL Kidani, Check in BWV
9:45am Tusker House
4:15 La Hacienda w/CP
6:45 CP
Illuminations

Sunday
EMH, Jedi Training Academy signup
11:15am Sci fi
5:00pm CA Grill
Illuminations

Monday
9:05 Cape May breakfast
3:00 Coral Reef Lunch
SW fireworks w/dessert party (assuming 6:30 is the earliest we'd have to show up there)

seriously not enamored with the idea of swapping out Y&Y for a breakfast at cape may. MUCH prefer my first plan. So everyone has to keep their fingers crossed that star wars and dessert parties are offered on Saturday night. I felt like I was all set and everything was going so smoothly and now I just feel kind of bummed. And I am embarrassed to admit how many hours I spent trying to rearrange things - it seems so simple but it isn't.

The rest of my week is the same and I am happy with it

Tuesday
9:35am Ohana Breakfast
disney springs
pool
4:30pm Hollywood & Vine w/F! package
Fantasmic!

Wednesday: check out BWV/ check in Poly
RD: Soarin' and maybe the Land if time
10:00am Garden Grill
get into room at Poly
5:00pm Narcoossees
MK for MSEP, Wishes, EMH from 10pm-midnight

Thursday:
9:30am Boma
AK if we feel like we missed anything and need to go back for an hour or two
rest day, Lava pool
3:30pm Ohana
MVMCP
Wishes Dessert Party (on the fence about that)

Friday:
9:50am Crystal Palace
1:55pm Be Our Guest - cupcakes only, maybe soup for me, fries for kid and cupcakes.
6:15pm Hoop Dee Doo Revue

hoping we have a good view of fireworks from lake view room - requested high up so hoping with the beaches closed after dark that we can watch fireworks from our room. Sorry to be so long, I just had to get it out there. I hope at some point they start releasing SW dessert party and fireworks info more than 2-4 weeks in advance. Maybe they will once they see how moving it indoors goes.

 

[Lisa F]

So, here's another question.

I finally found Hollywood & Vine for Minnie's character dinner for 8 people. BUT....my party is 9 people. If I hold one of my 4 year old twins in my lap....do you think they would seat us as a party of 8? Or do you think they would turn us away?

they won't let your kid sit on your lap and they MAY accommodate the extra seat but they may not. I was just reading (and participating I don't know why I do that) in a thread about this guy who made ADRs for 12 and showed up at like 5 or 6 restaurants with 14 and they were accommodated everywhere, but I'm not sure that you can count on that. I would maybe first try to call dining and see if they can get it for you for 9. If they can't, what other people in the thread recommended was calling the restaurant directly a few days in advance and talk to the manager. They reported good luck with being very well taken care of for their already large party being increased. Otherwise if you can't get it changed you just have to show up with the 9 and hope they can take care of you, but no guarantee. It is obviously in Disney's best interest to discourage this or else it would get out that if you want a table for 5, just reserve 2 or 3 or 4, whatever is available - and it could really wreak havoc.

 

[Lisa F]

Wasn't there a Frozen Dessert party last year? Was this during xmas time? Maybe we could check out the timing of that?
ETA: Nevermind, it was to view the lights last year...

they are not going to pass up on the opportunity of $$ for the add on parties. I'm hoping that what they make on the parties makes it worth it to run the fireworks nightly

 

[Mintycake]

So I managed to snag a 8:35am Akershus PPO reservation this morning (totally random, just checked for a lark and there it was) so now I have both breakfast and lunch. But I'm debating what's the best strategy? We have 2 days at Epcot. 1 day will be for Futureworld (RD Joy and Sadness while DH heads to Test Track single rider). I was going to skip Soarin but it looks really cool so I'll have to use my Tier 1 FP+ for Soarin that day. But we have that day scheduled first before Froway day, which I now have breakfast and lunch at Akershus.

I am wondering if it's better to do the breakfast or lunch. I heard that they will let you in early even if you have a later reservation (like we do) but is that for real? The only reasons we'd rather do breakfast is because a) my daughter will more likely enjoy the food and b) PPO to get a jump on the FOE ride (allowing us to ride again with FP+), and the M&G. But the downside would be, we'd need to rush through our breakfast even if we do get in at 8am. And the princess meets are important to DD (and us too, considering what we're paying!). Lunch would be more leisurely and we could enjoy all the princess meets without a rush I'm thinking.

I guess the unethical move would be to get into the park with PPO, skip the breakfast, eat the $30 US, and then go back for lunch. But I don't know if an extra FP+ is worth $30 US (= $50 cad lol). The standby times for the ride are ridiculous (90 min - at RD!) and there's no guarantee we'll even be let on if it breaks down and we do the rush and/or skip breakfast strategy.

 

[Mintycake]

they are not going to pass up on the opportunity of $$ for the add on parties. I'm hoping that what they make on the parties makes it worth it to run the fireworks nightly

I agree....hey @Lisa F if you go to the SW party on Saturday we'll be there too! We'll have to meet up somehow!

 

[Lisa F]

I agree....hey @Lisa F if you go to the SW party on Saturday we'll be there too! We'll have to meet up somehow!

that would be awesome. If they have it, we are there. Let's keep our fingers crossed! I do think this particular party has hit it off way more than they anticipated, which is probably the real reason for moving it into the launch bay. Think about it - they can fit a lot more people without having to have such a large area for viewing (to accommodate tables) when prime viewing locations are so necessary now, so it's a win all around. You feed the people in a large area, theme it up like crazy (it has GOT to be easier to do that thing indoors than out, which is prob why the tomorrowland terrace was chosen for the MK one) and then herd them into a smaller viewing area that is big enough for viewing but not all the tables and stuff. Let's just hope Disney sees it the same way. PLEASE TAKE MY MONEY!!!!!!!!!

 

[Lisa F]

So I managed to snag a 8:35am Akershus PPO reservation this morning (totally random, just checked for a lark and there it was) so now I have both breakfast and lunch. But I'm debating what's the best strategy? We have 2 days at Epcot. 1 day will be for Futureworld (RD Joy and Sadness while DH heads to Test Track single rider). I was going to skip Soarin but it looks really cool so I'll have to use my Tier 1 FP+ for Soarin that day. But we have that day scheduled first before Froway day, which I now have breakfast and lunch at Akershus.

I am wondering if it's better to do the breakfast or lunch. I heard that they will let you in early even if you have a later reservation (like we do) but is that for real? The only reasons we'd rather do breakfast is because a) my daughter will more likely enjoy the food and b) PPO to get a jump on the FOE ride (allowing us to ride again with FP+), and the M&G. But the downside would be, we'd need to rush through our breakfast even if we do get in at 8am. And the princess meets are important to DD (and us too, considering what we're paying!). Lunch would be more leisurely and we could enjoy all the princess meets without a rush I'm thinking.

I guess the unethical move would be to get into the park with PPO, skip the breakfast, eat the $30 US, and then go back for lunch. But I don't know if an extra FP+ is worth $30 US (= $50 cad lol). The standby times for the ride are ridiculous (90 min - at RD!) and there's no guarantee we'll even be let on if it breaks down and we do the rush and/or skip breakfast strategy.

well right now it's hot and heavy in the summer. Kids are all out of school now (we are some of the last to finish and we finished last week). This is PRIME TIME in Florida. Plus the attraction is brand new. Plus it is still experiencing many technical issues at the moment. I think that the story will be quite different in 5 months when they have ironed out the issues, and when it is a slow season. I don't know for sure but I'd expect you to be able to get on in a reasonable amount of time right at RD, especially if you really are there early for RD and are at the beginning of the pack. This is just pure speculation on my part.

I also think that between the third theater being added and the new frozen ride being the newewst, latest and greatest (and that it actually is a GOOD ride, not just relying on the frozen franchise to carry it) that RD at Soarin' is probably a good strategy now. ESPECIALLY if you are coming in from the futureworld side (i will not, I'll be coming in from world showcase, so I MAY attempt frozen one morning at RD... really not sure yet and guess I should put the brain cycles into figuring that all out next). If you want to do Soarin' (and I highly recommend it, it's truly an awesome experience) what i would do is RD joy and sadness one day and then do the rest of future world if Soarin' has too much of a line (it may not yet, who knows) and then RD Soarin' the next day and get FP+ tier 1 for Frozen for both of your epcot days. Then you can ride it twice!

My kiddo loves Soarin' so I am planning to RD it one day and FP it again so we see it at least twice. So my two tier-1 fp rides will be Frozen and Soarin'. I might RD Soarin' twice and then head over to TT afterwards or maybe RD TT the second day. My kid does. not. like. frozen. or. princesses. But he will be going on Frozen at least once with me

He loves Sadness but I have not put it on his radar... waiting for characters is tough for him. It seems to me like the kind of thing that might have shorter waits in the afternoon/early evening when a lot of activity has shifted to world showcase. I have one evening when I have a 5pm dinner at CA Grill. I was going to drive over there then drive back but maybe I will just get an uber from my resort to the CA Grill and then disney transport back to Epcot (kid loves the monorails) so we come in on the future world side. I bet we will have time between dinner and Illuminations to make our way to the WS to stake out an awesome spot to stop at Joy and Sadness on the way. I bet it is empty that time of day when people are at CP and eating dinner etcetcetc. I don't know for sure though, but I do know that my kiddo saw Baymax (which supposedly has a similar wait) with his dad in February with no fuss.

I agree about the rush and the PPO. I have been very careful to not be overly zealous about scheduling things so we don't feel rushed or stressed.

 

[Candycane83]

that would be awesome. If they have it, we are there. Let's keep our fingers crossed! I do think this particular party has hit it off way more than they anticipated, which is probably the real reason for moving it into the launch bay. Think about it - they can fit a lot more people without having to have such a large area for viewing (to accommodate tables) when prime viewing locations are so necessary now, so it's a win all around. You feed the people in a large area, theme it up like crazy (it has GOT to be easier to do that thing indoors than out, which is prob why the tomorrowland terrace was chosen for the MK one) and then herd them into a smaller viewing area that is big enough for viewing but not all the tables and stuff. Let's just hope Disney sees it the same way. PLEASE TAKE MY MONEY!!!!!!!!!

If it's the launch bay, it's already themed for them too, no need to do extra work, LOL!!

 

[Lisa F]

If it's the launch bay, it's already themed for them too, no need to do extra work, LOL!!

Well I mean it just seems like if it is indoors it is easier to have the stuff closeby and on hand to theme it up even more, maybe have characters available or something. For what they charge they could put a little effort in!

 

[Candycane83]

Well I mean it just seems like if it is indoors it is easier to have the stuff closeby and on hand to theme it up even more, maybe have characters available or something. For what they charge they could put a little effort in!

True. But I guess we'll only know once the 10th comes can't wait for reviews!

 

[chasingthtdream08]

HELP! I have been regularly searching for a later dinner at Le Cellier and found one! Originally I had booked a 4:30pm but then was able to find a 5:55pm. It didn't ask me to cancel the 4:30pm one......will the system eventually cancel both out if I don't cancel one? Or are they far enough apart in time that they won't blink an eye? Selfishly I want to keep both just to keep our dinner time flexible depending on our hunger that day but I know evenutally I'll cancel one. If someone could clarify the rule, that'd be great.

 

[Candycane83]

HELP! I have been regularly searching for a later dinner at Le Cellier and found one! Originally I had booked a 4:30pm but then was able to find a 5:55pm. It didn't ask me to cancel the 4:30pm one......will the system eventually cancel both out if I don't cancel one? Or are they far enough apart in time that they won't blink an eye? Selfishly I want to keep both just to keep our dinner time flexible depending on our hunger that day but I know evenutally I'll cancel one. If someone could clarify the rule, that'd be great.

I think as log as it's an hour and 5 mins apart you can keep both.

 

[chasingthtdream08]

I think as log as it's an hour and 5 mins apart you can keep both.

I knew there was a rule, just wasn't exactly sure what it was. Thank you for calming my fears!

 

[Iowamomof4]

I knew there was a rule, just wasn't exactly sure what it was. Thank you for calming my fears!

Yes, you can keep both for now, but you'll have to cancel one of them the day before if you don't want to be charged a no-show fee for one.

 

[Lisa F]

HELP! I have been regularly searching for a later dinner at Le Cellier and found one! Originally I had booked a 4:30pm but then was able to find a 5:55pm. It didn't ask me to cancel the 4:30pm one......will the system eventually cancel both out if I don't cancel one? Or are they far enough apart in time that they won't blink an eye? Selfishly I want to keep both just to keep our dinner time flexible depending on our hunger that day but I know evenutally I'll cancel one. If someone could clarify the rule, that'd be great.

I don't think "the system" cancels anything out. either it will let you book something, or it won't.

 

[Iowamomof4]

Did y'all see the "new" fireworks dessert party for Wishes? https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/d...d-terrace-fireworks-dessert-party-plaza-view/

I guess it's cheaper than the one where you have to stay at Tomorrowland Terrace. Awfully tempting if a person wanted to make sure to have a good spot to view Wishes during a time with tons of parties (like all through the Halloween and Christmas seasons!).

 

[Iowamomof4]

I don't think "the system" cancels anything out. either it will let you book something, or it won't.

No, it'll give you the option when you go to book a new reservation. If you have an existing reservation within an hour of the new one you're trying to book, it'll pop up a warning and you have to select "cancel" or "yes" or whatever it is. It'll cancel the old reservation upon successful booking of the new one. I love it and have used it a few times while planning this trip!

 

[Candycane83]

Did y'all see the "new" fireworks dessert party for Wishes? https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/d...d-terrace-fireworks-dessert-party-plaza-view/

I guess it's cheaper than the one where you have to stay at Tomorrowland Terrace. Awfully tempting if a person wanted to make sure to have a good spot to view Wishes during a time with tons of parties (like all through the Halloween and Christmas seasons!).

I've seen this n I wish this view was available for the Xmas party..

 

[Mintycake]

so what's different about this party? one has seats and one doesn't?

 

[Candycane83]

so what's different about this party? one has seats and one doesn't?

One has a more straight view but no table (cheaper), one has a view from the side but with tables. I prefer the head on view but it may NOT be an option for the Xmas party one.