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

[JamieOak]

I did some rearranging last night, but mostly just of the times we leave to hop to another park so not very major changes. I was tallying up how much time we are in each park because it still looked odd to me. Below are my current totals (I like math along with lists so this is how my brain works). I think there's too much HS time there and not enough EP, so I want to play around with that tonight and then I should be ready for my FP morning tomorrow!

MK: 8.5+6+8.5+4=27 hrs (~30%)
EP: 7.5+9+8.5=25 hrs (~30%)
HS: 12.5+5.5=18 hrs (~20%)
AK: 12+5.5=17.5 hrs (~20%)

87.5 total park hours

 

[rasadkowski]

My favorite disney memories are:

- HISTK playground. We spent so much time in that thing, and I have so many pics of us all on the giant ant.
- Riding POTC over and over again with my grandparents because I was too short for the coasters.
- Riding the monorail around and checking out the fancy resorts. We always stayed with my grandparents in Tampa and drove in. We had lunch from a cooler in the car, and only once in a blue moon ate at Crystal Palace.
- Loooooooong car rides down to FL from MI with the family of 7. My dad making super corny disney jokes along the way. "Hey guys don't let me get too Jafar down the road before stopping for gas" was a good one lol.

And pics because I love looking at old pics (sorry not sorry)

(im the youngest girl - in the white shirt )

These are so awesome!!! The goofy had and Polaroid!! I had the same feeling abut crystal palace. It was always like "woah! What's that place like?" The one restaurant we ever officially sat down in was biergarten

She has a 4 year old and 6 year old I think. It might be doable but she needs to make the calculations. I've never done computations for the regular DDP so I'm not sure how to factor in QS. I only made computations based on the TS restaurants we are going to and that made it worth it for us... Right now I think it'll be approximately 200 without snacks and mugs. @rasadkowski i think you need to make your calculations before deciding on DDP. It may be easier just to pay OOP but you need to do some number crunching If you need any help, I'd love to help you out, just PM me (love numbers... Hahaha)

@Candycane83 that's so nice of you to offer I am really going to have to do that. I am NOT a numbers person!!! At all! Haha but I'm going to try and see if my husband has any interest in this , but if it's ok, I might pm you with some questions or guidance once I really get into it. I appreciate that, thank you!

 

[Lisa F]

I have been to disney SO many times in my life (after I got married we were going 3-4 times a year with APs and DVC) but I do have a few standout memories:

going with my family as a kid and it was amazing that my grandmother went. she had rheumatoid arthritis since she was 17 and was in a lot of pain for her entire life. She also was very simple and to get her to fly was EXTRAORDINARY. We pushed her around in a wheelchair at WDW and this was back when that got you front of the line access through the exit door. We were AMAZED by that, lol. My best memory was going on universe of energy where we got in through the back exit and they pushed her into a wheelchair spot on a vehicle and she got up and got out. funny looks from the CM and we were all mortified, afraid we'd get kicked out for cheating the system because she was capable of getting out of the chair, lol. it is a different world at disney now. I think that is part of why I love this ride, it is one of the few where I just sat next to my grandmother and enjoyed it like any other. She also did pirates and the expression on her face at the drop was priceless. I really miss my grandma.

I also remember my first Disney TS restaurant. I was a junior and they opened up the senior trip at high school to juniors because there was room on the bus (driving a bus from NY to florida is an experience in itself). I went with my best friend and we decided to be grownup and have a grownup lunch. The restaurant we chose was the coral reef and it was the most incredible experience. We were poor students so we each had an appetizer. She had the raw tuna and we felt SO grown up (this was years before sushi was commonplace) and I had the lobster bisque. This restaurant has always held a special place in my heart and I haven't been in years but am taking kiddo this time.

and also my trips with kiddo. Probably the memory that sticks out most is when he was about 27 months and we went with friends... a 4:1 adult to kid ratio is great! We went to the california grill and had a nice meal during which kiddo ate nothing but bowl after bowl of goldfish crackers, brought by our waitress. Then it was time for the cake (the trip was for ex's birthday) and I had ordered a special figment themed one. It was an expensive cake, decorated with fondant, and kiddo was DYING to try a little fondant ball. He would not be dissuaded so we let him try it. Well... it set off a massive gag reflex and he uttered one single word "goldfish" before hurling the entire contents of his stomach all over the table and floor. I have never seen people move so fast, disney cleaned it up before anyone even noticed, but I was laughing so hard I had tears running down my face and the manager came over and put his arm around my shoulders and was telling me it was going to be ok - he didn't realize I was laughing, he thought I was just crying. Even now whenever my friend or I feel a little sick we say "GOLDFISH!" lol. I will never forget this!

 

[rasadkowski]

I did some rearranging last night, but mostly just of the times we leave to hop to another park so not very major changes. I was tallying up how much time we are in each park because it still looked odd to me. Below are my current totals (I like math along with lists so this is how my brain works). I think there's too much HS time there and not enough EP, so I want to play around with that tonight and then I should be ready for my FP morning tomorrow!

MK: 8.5+6+8.5+4=27 hrs (~30%)
EP: 7.5+9+8.5=25 hrs (~30%)
HS: 12.5+5.5=18 hrs (~20%)
AK: 12+5.5=17.5 hrs (~20%)

87.5 total park hours

This is so funny. I just posted how horrible I am with numbers, and I come up to see your new post and I'm like "ghah!!" At the first sight of all those mathy symbols

 

[Meeko5]

I have been to disney SO many times in my life (after I got married we were going 3-4 times a year with APs and DVC) but I do have a few standout memories:

going with my family as a kid and it was amazing that my grandmother went. she had rheumatoid arthritis since she was 17 and was in a lot of pain for her entire life. She also was very simple and to get her to fly was EXTRAORDINARY. We pushed her around in a wheelchair at WDW and this was back when that got you front of the line access through the exit door. We were AMAZED by that, lol. My best memory was going on universe of energy where we got in through the back exit and they pushed her into a wheelchair spot on a vehicle and she got up and got out. funny looks from the CM and we were all mortified, afraid we'd get kicked out for cheating the system because she was capable of getting out of the chair, lol. it is a different world at disney now. I think that is part of why I love this ride, it is one of the few where I just sat next to my grandmother and enjoyed it like any other. She also did pirates and the expression on her face at the drop was priceless. I really miss my grandma.

I also remember my first Disney TS restaurant. I was a junior and they opened up the senior trip at high school to juniors because there was room on the bus (driving a bus from NY to florida is an experience in itself). I went with my best friend and we decided to be grownup and have a grownup lunch. The restaurant we chose was the coral reef and it was the most incredible experience. We were poor students so we each had an appetizer. She had the raw tuna and we felt SO grown up (this was years before sushi was commonplace) and I had the lobster bisque. This restaurant has always held a special place in my heart and I haven't been in years but am taking kiddo this time.

and also my trips with kiddo. Probably the memory that sticks out most is when he was about 27 months and we went with friends... a 4:1 adult to kid ratio is great! We went to the california grill and had a nice meal during which kiddo ate nothing but bowl after bowl of goldfish crackers, brought by our waitress. Then it was time for the cake (the trip was for ex's birthday) and I had ordered a special figment themed one. It was an expensive cake, decorated with fondant, and kiddo was DYING to try a little fondant ball. He would not be dissuaded so we let him try it. Well... it set off a massive gag reflex and he uttered one single word "goldfish" before hurling the entire contents of his stomach all over the table and floor. I have never seen people move so fast, disney cleaned it up before anyone even noticed, but I was laughing so hard I had tears running down my face and the manager came over and put his arm around my shoulders and was telling me it was going to be ok - he didn't realize I was laughing, he thought I was just crying. Even now whenever my friend or I feel a little sick we say "GOLDFISH!" lol. I will never forget this!

Oh my god that is hysterical! My kid is sitting here eating goldfish right now and I may have to take them away lol

 

[JamieOak]

This is so funny. I just posted how horrible I am with numbers, and I come up to see your new post and I'm like "ghah!!" At the first sight of all those mathy symbols

I'm a nerdy engineer, so math just comes with the territory. If I would've seen your post first, I could have truncated that to just the total hours per park so it was less scary.

 

[rasadkowski]

I'm a nerdy engineer, so math just comes with the territory. If I would've seen your post first, I could have truncated that to just the total hours per park so it was less scary.

That would be completely unnecessary!! Haha thanks though!
I was a foreign language teacher before having kids but my entire family is math/science brained

 

[Iowamomof4]

Tech says there's nothing they can do because I'm not supposed to be able to book fastpasses yet. I'm pretty much stuck until Thursday.

 

[BDFmom]

Tech says there's nothing they can do because I'm not supposed to be able to book fastpasses yet. I'm pretty much stuck until Thursday.

Boooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!! That really sucks!!!

I talked to my TA this morning and she still can't believe that I did my FP this morning. She even called Disney last week and the CM told her the window would open with my package date and not my RO date.... Being on the Dis Boards, I knew better than to believe the CM.. Even tech does not know.

 

[JamieOak]

That would be completely unnecessary!! Haha thanks though!

You would think with my love of all things number and list related that I would have considered the DDP, but I actually never did. I didn't want the added stress of tracking credits (which totally is in my wheelhouse to do) and more importantly...making sure I am getting my bang for my buck with where I go and what I order! I'm a bargain hunter addict, and I would make the DDP completely unfun. I know myself too well.

 

[Lisa F]

No offense taken at all!! Not even the slightest it's so funny, Reading this I pictured you sitting there with a crystal ball and big earrings and stuff using psychic powers to see that I have two teens, maybe over 9 lol I have two little girls, 6 and 4... It's impossible for anyone to remember everyone's family details! It's funny how yes, a few details on here I have randomly remembered!.... We are 4 adults and 2 kids
Anyway, so sorry about that question!!! These are our dates. And yes, a lot of 2 ts a day....but then likely will not need all those other qs/snacks... I mean a few, but not the allotted on ddp...

12/3. Chef Mickey dinner
12/4 (Emm bkfast) park fare dinner
12/5. Crystal palace bkfast. Ohana dinner
12/6 yak and yeti dinner
12/7 akershus bkfast. Biergarten dinner
12/8. Tusker house bkfast
12/9. CRt bkfast. Bog dinner

We will use qs for lunches...... I'm pretty certain the deluxe is too much for us. I'm feeling you may be right about oop. Then again, I feel like Disney has already done this work for me and is like " you're just going to buy our ddp because we have made the difference in $$$ so close to ( but of course over) the cusp of your budget that you're just going to go ahead and give in!"

Hey be happy I remembered it was a party of 6 lol, but I was confusing your party of 6 with @Iowamomof4 's party of 6. I believe she has 2 teens and 2 littles but don't remember how little the littles are. I remember you talking about some ADRs for 4 and some for 6. So there you have it. I still had the make up correct though, lol!

So here would be my recommendations to maximize the plan:

I am assuming 7 nights so 7 TS.

the following restaurants for ALL of you using DDP with values of the credits adults/kids. for CRT I divided the price in two since it uses two credits. BoG is a range from least expensive non-veg entree to most expensive, using most expensive kid's meal.
*Chef Mickey (1TS) $51.12/$30.89
*Akershus Breakfast (1TS) $47.93/$28.96
*Park Fare Dinner (1TS)$44.73/$26.63
*Ohana dinner (1TS) $42.59/$23.52
*Biergarten Dinner (1TS) $40.47/$21.30
CRT Breakfast (2TS) $31.48/$19.18
*Crystal Palace Breakfast (1TS) $31.95/$19.17
***Tusker House Breakfast (1TS) $31.95/19.17
Yak & Yeti Dinner - pay OOP and get Landry's card
**BoG dinner (1TS) $36.21-$46.86/$13.85

so I have put a * in front of the ones I would do ALL of you on DDP

I have put ** in front of the one I would pay for the adults on DDP and kids OOP

I have put *** stars in front of the one I would pay for the adults OOP and kids on DDP

If you actually have 8 nights and not 7 I would swap CP for CRT.

I would look into the Landry's card for Y&Y and this is also a place with the most choices for appetizers as entree. Also the kid meals are pretty inexpensive.

I think you will do better than fine on the DDP with 2 kids under 9 and the meals you have chosen. the only meal that is iffy for you on value is CP for breakfast but you more than make up for it in your other selections.

my professional opinion, worth every cent you paid for it.

 

[Meeko5]

Tech says there's nothing they can do because I'm not supposed to be able to book fastpasses yet. I'm pretty much stuck until Thursday.

Ugh. Are you going to try to copy the kids' FP selections? What a crappy position to be in, I'm sorry!!

 

[rasadkowski]

Boooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!! That really sucks!!!

I talked to my TA this morning and she still can't believe that I did my FP this morning. She even called Disney last week and the CM told her the window would open with my package date and not my RO date.... Being on the Dis Boards, I knew better than to believe the CM.. Even tech does not know.

I'm really sorry for you @Iowamomof4 . I wonder why you were able to do the kids only?! maybe someone here has some idea how to get you 2 selected? That really stinks...... all of this planning, we all get so excited and I get so anxious about it, and it's really disappointing when there's a hurdle you really do have awesome plans though, and I think a few days for Epcot and to try for fea fp? I'm certain you will be totally ok on Thursday! It still really really stinks

 

[rasadkowski]

Hey be happy I remembered it was a party of 6 lol, but I was confusing your party of 6 with @Iowamomof4 's party of 6. I believe she has 2 teens and 2 littles but don't remember how little the littles are. I remember you talking about some ADRs for 4 and some for 6. So there you have it. I still had the make up correct though, lol!

So here would be my recommendations to maximize the plan:

I am assuming 7 nights so 7 TS.

the following restaurants for ALL of you using DDP with values of the credits adults/kids. for CRT I divided the price in two since it uses two credits. BoG is a range from least expensive non-veg entree to most expensive, using most expensive kid's meal.
*Chef Mickey (1TS) $51.12/$30.89
*Akershus Breakfast (1TS) $47.93/$28.96
*Park Fare Dinner (1TS)$44.73/$26.63
*Ohana dinner (1TS) $42.59/$23.52
*Biergarten Dinner (1TS) $40.47/$21.30
CRT Breakfast (2TS) $31.48/$19.18
*Crystal Palace Breakfast (1TS) $31.95/$19.17
***Tusker House Breakfast (1TS) $31.95/19.17
Yak & Yeti Dinner - pay OOP and get Landry's card
**BoG dinner (1TS) $36.21-$46.86/$13.85

so I have put a * in front of the ones I would do ALL of you on DDP

I have put ** in front of the one I would pay for the adults on DDP and kids OOP

I have put *** stars in front of the one I would pay for the adults OOP and kids on DDP

If you actually have 8 nights and not 7 I would swap a 1TS character breakfast for CRT.

I would look into the Landry's card for Y&Y and this is also a place with the most choices for appetizers as entree. Also the kid meals are pretty inexpensive.

I think you will do better than fine on the DDP with 2 kids under 9 and the meals you have chosen.

my professional opinion, worth every cent you paid for it.

@Lisa F that was so nice of you lay this out for me. And yes, 7 nights. Arrive 12/3 leave 12/10 I completely understand it! I'll just write down which meals we pay oop for only some of the party. That seems so confusing, and I never even thought about it. But it actually makes complete sense. Thank you so much to both you and @Candycane83 for your professional opinions. And when will you folks be starting a blog?! or YouTube channel? I'll be your first subscriber!

 

[Lisa F]

@Lisa F that was so nice of you lay this out for me. And yes, 7 nights. Arrive 12/3 leave 12/10 I completely understand it! I'll just write down which meals we pay oop for only some of the party. That seems so confusing, and I never even thought about it. But it actually makes complete sense. Thank you so much to both you and @Candycane83 for your professional opinions. And when will you folks be starting a blog?!

the only thing to remember is don't pay for the kids but DO pay for the adults at BoG. this will require you not paying for adults at one of your other breakfasts. So yes just keep a list of what is oop and what isn't. It's just a few dollars and not the end of the world, if you don't want to split your party then just pay for everyone DDP at BoG and pay for one of your 1TS breakfasts oop. It's like a $12 savings to do it the other way. mama don't like leaving money on the table but honestly it is probably not worth confusion either!

 

[areno79]

FP+ are done!!! I got everything we wanted! I decent times!



I feel like a huge burden was lifted from my shoulders.

My earliest memory of Disney was when I was seven years old. We were visiting my grandpa in Miami and my parents decided to surprise me with a trip to Disney. I think they were ready to kill me in the car ride from Miami to Orlando. We finally arrive we checked into the Contemporary. I was in total awe of the monorail. I remember being seeing the fireworks from our balcony and then having to go to bed. The next morning we were off to MK. I fell in love with Cinderella's Castle and we got to eat there. At the time there were no princesses, in fact it was Sir Stephan's Royal banquet hall at the times. They had paper tickets at the time. I still have those stubs somewhere.

Yay!! So glad you got everything you wanted!! I'm hoping I'm just as lucky come Monday!!

My favorite disney memories are:

- HISTK playground. We spent so much time in that thing, and I have so many pics of us all on the giant ant.
- Riding POTC over and over again with my grandparents because I was too short for the coasters.
- Riding the monorail around and checking out the fancy resorts. We always stayed with my grandparents in Tampa and drove in. We had lunch from a cooler in the car, and only once in a blue moon ate at Crystal Palace.
- Loooooooong car rides down to FL from MI with the family of 7. My dad making super corny disney jokes along the way. "Hey guys don't let me get too Jafar down the road before stopping for gas" was a good one lol.

And pics because I love looking at old pics (sorry not sorry)

(im the youngest girl - in the white shirt )

Ha, great pics!! I especially love how 80's it looks...your dad's tube socks really make the pic!

No offense taken at all!! Not even the slightest it's so funny, Reading this I pictured you sitting there with a crystal ball and big earrings and stuff using psychic powers to see that I have two teens, maybe over 9 lol I have two little girls, 6 and 4... It's impossible for anyone to remember everyone's family details! It's funny how yes, a few details on here I have randomly remembered!.... We are 4 adults and 2 kids
Anyway, so sorry about that question!!! These are our dates. And yes, a lot of 2 ts a day....but then likely will not need all those other qs/snacks... I mean a few, but not the allotted on ddp...

Arrive 12/3 in the am ..Chef Mickey dinner
12/4 (Emm bkfast) park fare dinner
12/5. Crystal palace bkfast. Ohana dinner
12/6 yak and yeti dinner
12/7 akershus bkfast. Biergarten dinner
12/8. Tusker house bkfast
12/9. CRt bkfast. Bog dinner
12/10 leave insanely early

We will use qs for lunches...... I'm pretty certain the deluxe is too much for us. I'm feeling you may be right about oop. Then again, I feel like Disney has already done this work for me and is like " you're just going to buy our ddp because we have made the difference in $$$ so close to ( but of course over) the cusp of your budget that you're just going to go ahead and give in!"

I didn't realize (or maybe I forgot) that you were doing 12/4 EMM too! I'll see you there!

Tech says there's nothing they can do because I'm not supposed to be able to book fastpasses yet. I'm pretty much stuck until Thursday.

Oh, no! I'm sorry! It's pretty weird how you could set them up for the kids though and not for you and DH. I hope it'll all work out...crossing my fingers for you!

 

[rasadkowski]

the only thing to remember is don't pay for the kids but DO pay for the adults at BoG. this will require you not paying for adults at one of your other breakfasts. So yes just keep a list of what is oop and what isn't. It's just a few dollars and not the end of the world, if you don't want to split your party then just pay for everyone DDP at BoG and pay for one of your 1TS breakfasts oop. It's like a $12 savings to do it the other way. mama don't like leaving money on the table but honestly it is probably not worth confusion either!

Lol. I completely agree Thanks so much, though. It's helpful to see the costs laid out like that. So I really appreciate it

 

[Iowamomof4]

Thanks for the commiseration everyone! It helps.

I went ahead and booked the kids for everything now. I was able to get pretty much all of the times I wanted for them. I'm hoping my TA will be able to pull a rabbit out of a hat on Thursday and get dh and myself added to these fastpasses.

If not... But it'll still be great! Even if we have to juggle things a bit. Maybe we'll get some overlapping times, maybe we'll have to just deal with not doing some rides as a family. Time will tell. This too shall pass. Time heals all wounds. Don't borrow trouble. etc... etc... etc...

 

[Lisa F]

Thanks for the commiseration everyone! It helps.

I went ahead and booked the kids for everything now. I was able to get pretty much all of the times I wanted for them. I'm hoping my TA will be able to pull a rabbit out of a hat on Thursday and get dh and myself added to these fastpasses.

If not... But it'll still be great! Even if we have to juggle things a bit. Maybe we'll get some overlapping times, maybe we'll have to just deal with not doing some rides as a family. Time will tell. This too shall pass. Time heals all wounds. Don't borrow trouble. etc... etc... etc...

you may have to juggle around their FP+s to match yours which should be no big deal at all 2 days from now. availability has been good for everyone so far and you can check and see what the deal is tomorrow if you are super nervous (check availability for your kids, just don't change anything). But I am thinking it is gonna be just fine. Totally understand but I predict that will turn into on thursday.

 

[Iowamomof4]

The tech person cautioned the TA that called for me that the fastpasses I made today might disappear on Thursday. I think that's just a total cya comment though, because I have NOT heard of that happening at all to anyone who was able to book fastpasses early due to a room only reservation. I hope you're right, Lisa, and I'm doing the banana dance come Thursday!