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

[Talby]

I need some serious help with my animal kingdom day. I'm torn between two options:
(1) rope drop at 9am, tour for 4 hours, tusker lunch at 1pm and back to hotel for a nap, then return to AK in evening for river of lights and quick service dinner.
(2) late start around 10ish, tusker lunch at 1pm, stay at park with no nap until river of lights.

I am also holding a 5:25 tusker dinner. Attached are my current super messy fast pass selections for the day.

What would you all do? Rope drop or late start? Lunch or dinner? There's a part of me leaning towards option 1 and lunch because my son still naps. And the next day at MK will be early for EMH. However, my fastpasses support option 2 and not option 1. But I don't know if clustering them too close is helpful because the park is so big!

Also considering splitting my animal kingdom fast passes for dinosaur/Everest into ones for only 2 people (child swap since my son can't ride) and adding a fourth for all if us. Maybe a show? What would you add if I did this?

Please help!

When my kids were younger, they napped really well in strollers and that took care of the nap issue. Do you have a prediction about how your kids might do on that front? I know all kids are different and some things can't be predicted ahead of time necessarily. I'll leave your planning questions to the experts, but would definitely recommend Festival of the Lion King! We thought it was amazing!

 

[Talby]

Ooohhh nice plan!! Ice cream while waiting for Santa! Hmm maybe the morning of mvmcp would be a good time I wonder how many Santa pictures we'd go for! Lol! I was hoping to do mr and mrs Claus that Epcot, then there's Santa goofy at h&v... I was thinking MK for Santa but maybe ds is a better option in terms of waiting.

I read about that virtual queue. I think Kenny the pirate reported that they would have princesses there temporarily.

That would be a great time, I think!! Super festive, kind of low-key with the party that night, SANTA AND ICE CREAM!! Sorta ticks a lot of boxes I think!! We are doing a late TREX lunch and Cirque, so I'm thinking that night will be our visit with Santa at DS. We had planned on exploring DS after the show anyway, so that just kind of falls in place. Love when that happens because, as you know, that's not always the case! lol

We really want to see Santa and Mrs. Claus in Epcot. I was wondering if this might be a better option than Santa in MK in terms of waiting?? And to be able to go shop and whatnot with a pager is pretty cool!

 

[Candycane83]

That would be a great time, I think!! Super festive, kind of low-key with the party that night, SANTA AND ICE CREAM!! Sorta ticks a lot of boxes I think!! We are doing a late TREX lunch and Cirque, so I'm thinking that night will be our visit with Santa at DS. We had planned on exploring DS after the show anyway, so that just kind of falls in place. Love when that happens because, as you know, that's not always the case! lol

Sounds like a good plan! Who could resist that combo- ice cream... mmm! I keep reading dining reviews on the salted caramel sundae there and would love to try that!

Yes I totally get the love when things fall in place... but I think we're all putting the puZzle pieces together nicely! It'll all come together sooner than we think

 

[Talby]

Sounds like a good plan! Who could resist that combo- ice cream... mmm! I keep reading dining reviews on the salted caramel sundae there and would love to try that!

Yes I totally get the love when things fall in place... but I think we're all putting the puZzle pieces together nicely! It'll all come together sooner than we think

I wasn't formally planning at the 180 day mark for ADRs and missed all that excitement around here (I did read some of it!!), but it has definitely been fun to watch how most of those ADRs have fallen in place for everyone, and now FP are coming together, all the different extras people are doing being decided upon, firming up how to get from point A to point B sorts of things. It really is a gigantic puzzle. A few more announcements (hello, Disney?!?!) and you're right--the pieces will all be in place soon. What will we obsess over though? That's going to be WEIRD! Nah, let's not think about that yet!!

 

[Lisa F]

https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/b...s-come-to-town-at-disney-springs-marketplace/

I have this link bookmarked. A couple things stand out to me about this; pagers while you do other things and it is across from Ghiradelli! I'm hoping it is the same for this year as this blog is from Nov 2015.

oh yes! thank you so much! I think this might be the best bet for me and the kiddo. He doesn't need to see Santa more than once (he's at the age where he still believes and only needs to talk to him once) and the lack of waiting is HUGE. When we did the mall santa last year we went to a very upscale mall where you could book an appointment if you prepurchased a package and the 15 minute wait was still rough for him.

Ooohhh nice plan!! Ice cream while waiting for Santa! Hmm maybe the morning of mvmcp would be a good time I wonder how many Santa pictures we'd go for! Lol! I was hoping to do mr and mrs Claus that Epcot, then there's Santa goofy at h&v... I was thinking MK for Santa but maybe ds is a better option in terms of waiting.

I read about that virtual queue. I think Kenny the pirate reported that they would have princesses there temporarily.

yes ice cream while waiting for santa. or i think there is a margarita stand around there!

 

[Talby]

I need some serious help with my animal kingdom day. I'm torn between two options:
(1) rope drop at 9am, tour for 4 hours, tusker lunch at 1pm and back to hotel for a nap, then return to AK in evening for river of lights and quick service dinner.
(2) late start around 10ish, tusker lunch at 1pm, stay at park with no nap until river of lights.

I am also holding a 5:25 tusker dinner. Attached are my current super messy fast pass selections for the day.

What would you all do? Rope drop or late start? Lunch or dinner? There's a part of me leaning towards option 1 and lunch because my son still naps. And the next day at MK will be early for EMH. However, my fastpasses support option 2 and not option 1. But I don't know if clustering them too close is helpful because the park is so big!

Also considering splitting my animal kingdom fast passes for dinosaur/Everest into ones for only 2 people (child swap since my son can't ride) and adding a fourth for all if us. Maybe a show? What would you add if I did this?

Please help!

@SilSprBea I've been thinking about this and personally I would go with option 2. Something happens to kids at Disney where they just seem to sleep well in strollers! Maybe start in Dinoland with your Dinosaur FP first if you can change them and ride some of the rides there (many great kid options here Meander over to Discover Island for Flame Tree BBQ lunch? (not sure if that suits your family's tastes). There's the Adventure Outpost close by for character M&G. Or maybe It's Tough to be a Bug? Then head to Asia for EE. Pretty sure it's @Lisa F that loves Flights of Wonder so much, so I would trust that opinion and that's another option for a show if you are so inclined. Then, before nighttime entertainment, Africa for FOTLK, Safari and Tusker House dinner. It's not extended into December yet, but there's some live entertainment that goes on in Africa and maybe the timing would work to catch some of that as well? Even with RoL, it shouldn't be too late of a night. Your babies will fall asleep once their heads hit their pillows and you can be up and at 'em for your EMH the next day.

Child swap is not on my radar since I have teens. Thinking about that makes my head spin, so I'll need to bow out now! lol New to this planning gig, so those are just a few inexperienced planner's thoughts. There's no wrong way though, so take comfort in knowing that making great memories is a given regardless of what you decide.

 

[areno79]

Is anyone here in the path of Hurricane Matthew?

And @Wood Nymph I believe you were in AK, was it last night? How long is your stay?

Can't help but think "stay safe" thoughts. I'm surely sending them.

I'm heading to Florida on Sunday; hopefully it doesn't disrupt my travel plans! (It'a a work trip.)

I need some serious help with my animal kingdom day. I'm torn between two options:
(1) rope drop at 9am, tour for 4 hours, tusker lunch at 1pm and back to hotel for a nap, then return to AK in evening for river of lights and quick service dinner.
(2) late start around 10ish, tusker lunch at 1pm, stay at park with no nap until river of lights.

I am also holding a 5:25 tusker dinner. Attached are my current super messy fast pass selections for the day.

What would you all do? Rope drop or late start? Lunch or dinner? There's a part of me leaning towards option 1 and lunch because my son still naps. And the next day at MK will be early for EMH. However, my fastpasses support option 2 and not option 1. But I don't know if clustering them too close is helpful because the park is so big!

Also considering splitting my animal kingdom fast passes for dinosaur/Everest into ones for only 2 people (child swap since my son can't ride) and adding a fourth for all if us. Maybe a show? What would you add if I did this?

Please help!

Hmm, that's a tough one. AK is a lot of walking, so I like the idea of a midday break for that reason. Then again, I'm a huge fan of rope drop, so I'm biased

 

[SilSprBea]

@SilSprBea I've been thinking about this and personally I would go with option 2. Something happens to kids at Disney where they just seem to sleep well in strollers! Maybe start in Dinoland with your Dinosaur FP first if you can change them and ride some of the rides there (many great kid options here Meander over to Discover Island for Flame Tree BBQ lunch? (not sure if that suits your family's tastes). There's the Adventure Outpost close by for character M&G. Or maybe It's Tough to be a Bug? Then head to Asia for EE. Pretty sure it's @Lisa F that loves Flights of Wonder so much, so I would trust that opinion and that's another option for a show if you are so inclined. Then, before nighttime entertainment, Africa for FOTLK, Safari and Tusker House dinner. It's not extended into December yet, but there's some live entertainment that goes on in Africa and maybe the timing would work to catch some of that as well? Even with RoL, it shouldn't be too late of a night. Your babies will fall asleep once their heads hit their pillows and you can be up and at 'em for your EMH the next day.

Child swap is not on my radar since I have teens. Thinking about that makes my head spin, so I'll need to bow out now! lol New to this planning gig, so those are just a few inexperienced planner's thoughts. There's no wrong way though, so take comfort in knowing that making great memories is a given regardless of what you decide.

Thanks @Talby. I so appreciate you thinking about my plan. I am also thinking option 2 should be what we do as well. There is just too much to do for just 4 hours! I've been playing around with touring plans and the fast passes I do have, and it kind of works with what I have now (the dino stuff is open later), but I sense that I can keep playing with it for a bit since I'm not trying to get a 9am fast pass for the safari and there will still be good availability until my friend's fast pass day on Saturday.

I'm wondering if though I should do Tusker lunch as opposed to dinner? If my DS hasn't slept in the stroller he might be really cranky at a dinner. I don't know, that's the part that could make me switch everything around. I'm also worried about my current dinner reservation (5:25) at Tusker being too late for River of Lights (if it ever happens). I'm thinking if they don't extend the hours and the last show is at 7, a 5:25 dinner might be tight (i remember similar conversation on this thread about H&V and Fantasmic at 7). That's another thing that makes me lean towards lunch.

 

[rasadkowski]

If anyone is up, and anyone is able, @SilSprBea has been looking for a chef mickeys on 12/4 for 6. One just came up on TP for 750 pm but I can't book it ( it JUST overlaps with something grrrrr) if anyone has a free time slot to grab it for her in case she can use it please do so thanks!!

 

[Mintycake]

Hi guys I have been popping on and off for a bit just because work has gotten a bit crazy! Hoping things will slow down a bit. between work and parenting and trying to catch up on sleep (was doing night shift). I finally got around to rejigging my FP a bit. I am going to drop a bunch of ADRs so please let me know if anyone wants them. They are all for 3 ppl with the exception of a few which are for 4 (I'll note it below)

12/2 - check in BC around 9pm. dinner CS on boardwalk somewhere...Ample Hills creamery for dessert!

12/3 - HS day
8:05am H&V, Jedi sign up
11:20am Voyage of Little Mermaid
12:25pm Mama Melrose F! pkg *
12:40pm 50s Prime Time lunch *
1:00pm Frozen show
2:55-3:55pm RnR
4:15pm 50s Prime Time dinner
SWaGS dessert party OR Fantasmic if not offered.

12/4 - MK day 1
7:45am EMM
8:10am BOG *
head to PFH at 9am and then eat breakfast at Pinnochio haus. Head to Tomorrowland.
10:35am - 11:35am Space Mountain
11:50am Tony's Town Square FoF pkg (unsure if I will keep)
1pm - 2pm Meet Ariel
2:10-3:10pm Enchanted Tales with Belle
3pm FoF parade (may switch to MK day 3)
4:30pm Leave MK to go to Poly. DD at kids club.
5:45pm Kona dinner date night (may drop to snack at Tambu lounge/Trader Sams).

12/5 - Epcot day 1
7:30am Cape May Cafe
RD for Joy/Sadness - DH to Test track
9:10-10:10am Disney Character spot
12:50pm - 1:50pm Figment/Imagination
2:15 - 3:15pm - FEA
Meet A&E in Norway
4:10pm Teppan Edo *
Head back to BC for a break
6pm back to Epcot
7:10pm Tokyo Dining *
(will likely do QS for dinner)
Illuminations from UK Bridge

12/6 - Epcot day 2
Sleep in
8:25am Akershus *
10:50am Akershus
12:25am FEA
World showcase tour and anything else we missed
4:30pm head back to resort, DD at Sandcastle kids club
5:25pm Flying fish for 2 *
6pm Beaches and Cream for 2 *
6:10pm - 7:10pm Mission Space (honestly did NOT know what to use FP on)
7:30pm - 8:30pm Spaceship Earth
8:20pm 1900 Park Fare for 4 *

12/7 - MK day 2
9:35am 'Ohana
10:55am 'Ohana for 4 *
11:30am - 12:30pm Meet Tinkerbelle
12:55 - 1:55pm Haunted Mansion
1:45pm BOG lunch
2:25 - 3:25pm 7DMT
5:25pm Skippers Canteen *
9:05pm Narcoosees (a placeholder to watch fireworks if park gets too crowded. May just eat dessert here!)
May or may not stay late in park as it's EMH PM

12/8 - MK day 3
7:30am Ohana *
10:30am Ohana
12:20pm - 1:20pm Town Square Mickey
2:40pm - 3:40pm Jingle Cruise
3:50pm - 4:50pm BTMR
leave park around 6:30pm
7:15pm 1900 Park Fare

12/9 - checkout day...catch DME at 7am

I'm torn between which day to keep Ohana. I'm thinking on 12/8 as I don't have a lunch scheduled and it does allow sleep in time as 12/7 will be a late night.

 

[Mintycake]

If anyone is up, and anyone is able, @SilSprBea has been looking for a chef mickeys on 12/4 for 6. One just came up on TP for 750 pm but I can't book it ( it JUST overlaps with something grrrrr) if anyone has a free time slot to grab it for her in case she can use it please do so thanks!!

I just went on and it's not coming up

 

[rasadkowski]

I just went on and it's not coming up

Thanks for trying your plans look wonderful! I'm half asleep so I'll read in the am, but it seems you have awesome adrs and attractions for a special trip for your little girl and awesome stuff for just the two of you. Sounds perfect

 

[Maryemcd]

Good morning all! Hope everyone on the Southeast coast is preparing and doing okay so far. My sis just moved out of Myrtle Beach about 5 months ago, but my husband's sister and husband are just a little inland from the Myrtle Beach area. She said they think they will be okay.

I haven't had a chance to keep up with the boards over the past few days! Hope everything is going okay with FP+ and other uber-planning. I booked a throwaway room so now I've been hastily making my plans and FP+ too!!

Question: Originally, planned to not use a regular ticket and enter MK only with MVMCP party ticket on my second party day. Now, I think we want more time in MK. Can I call and add another day to our 5-day tickets?? Everything I'm reading online mentions "upgrading" only after you start to use the ticket and that you have to do it at the park. With Guest Relations probably slammed, I don't want to call unless I know it's possible. Thanks!

 

[rasadkowski]

Good morning all! Hope everyone on the Southeast coast is preparing and doing okay so far. My sis just moved out of Myrtle Beach about 5 months ago, but my husband's sister and husband are just a little inland from the Myrtle Beach area. She said they think they will be okay.

I haven't had a chance to keep up with the boards over the past few days! Hope everything is going okay with FP+ and other uber-planning. I booked a throwaway room so now I've been hastily making my plans and FP+ too!!

Question: Originally, planned to not use a regular ticket and enter MK only with MVMCP party ticket on my second party day. Now, I think we want more time in MK. Can I call and add another day to our 5-day tickets?? Everything I'm reading online mentions "upgrading" only after you start to use the ticket and that you have to do it at the park. With Guest Relations probably slammed, I don't want to call unless I know it's possible. Thanks!

Good morning!
Hope all goes well with booking fp!

And good luck to anyone else booking this morning! !!!!!

@Maryemcd I'm not sure about booking with Disney, but I booked with a travel agent and we were easily able to add an extra park day to our magic your way package

 

[Wood Nymph]

And @Wood Nymph I believe you were in AK, was it last night? How long is your stay?

We were in Animal Kingdom Tuesday night. It was rain free that night but had poured earlier in the afternoon. We are home now, happy to have made it out of Orlando before the flights were cancelled.

I need some serious help with my animal kingdom day. I'm torn between two options:
(1) rope drop at 9am, tour for 4 hours, tusker lunch at 1pm and back to hotel for a nap, then return to AK in evening for river of lights and quick service dinner.
(2) late start around 10ish, tusker lunch at 1pm, stay at park with no nap until river of lights.

I am also holding a 5:25 tusker dinner. Attached are my current super messy fast pass selections for the day.

What would you all do? Rope drop or late start? Lunch or dinner? There's a part of me leaning towards option 1 and lunch because my son still naps. And the next day at MK will be early for EMH. However, my fastpasses support option 2 and not option 1. But I don't know if clustering them too close is helpful because the park is so big!

Also considering splitting my animal kingdom fast passes for dinosaur/Everest into ones for only 2 people (child swap since my son can't ride) and adding a fourth for all if us. Maybe a show? What would you add if I did this?

Please help!

We had a fabulous evening in Animal Kingdom. I had made a fastpass for the safari for late afternoon and the animals were very active. The park was a lot less crowded, and cooler, than it is in the day time. We had dinner at Yak & Yeti and then watched the Awakening of the Tree of Life. I swore that we would always go to AK in the evening from now on. We didn't need our fp for the safari since the afternoon rain chased everyone out of the park. But that might not be the case in December.

 

[Meeko5]

Good morning all! Hope everyone on the Southeast coast is preparing and doing okay so far. My sis just moved out of Myrtle Beach about 5 months ago, but my husband's sister and husband are just a little inland from the Myrtle Beach area. She said they think they will be okay.

I haven't had a chance to keep up with the boards over the past few days! Hope everything is going okay with FP+ and other uber-planning. I booked a throwaway room so now I've been hastily making my plans and FP+ too!!

Question: Originally, planned to not use a regular ticket and enter MK only with MVMCP party ticket on my second party day. Now, I think we want more time in MK. Can I call and add another day to our 5-day tickets?? Everything I'm reading online mentions "upgrading" only after you start to use the ticket and that you have to do it at the park. With Guest Relations probably slammed, I don't want to call unless I know it's possible. Thanks!

I added a 6th day to our 5 day PH - just call and they will make the change. Took less than 5 min and showed the change (and price difference) in MDE within minutes

 

[Talby]

Thanks @Talby. I so appreciate you thinking about my plan. I am also thinking option 2 should be what we do as well. There is just too much to do for just 4 hours! I've been playing around with touring plans and the fast passes I do have, and it kind of works with what I have now (the dino stuff is open later), but I sense that I can keep playing with it for a bit since I'm not trying to get a 9am fast pass for the safari and there will still be good availability until my friend's fast pass day on Saturday.

I'm wondering if though I should do Tusker lunch as opposed to dinner? If my DS hasn't slept in the stroller he might be really cranky at a dinner. I don't know, that's the part that could make me switch everything around. I'm also worried about my current dinner reservation (5:25) at Tusker being too late for River of Lights (if it ever happens). I'm thinking if they don't extend the hours and the last show is at 7, a 5:25 dinner might be tight (i remember similar conversation on this thread about H&V and Fantasmic at 7). That's another thing that makes me lean towards lunch.

In all the decisions you've had to make for your Disney vacation, do you notice that when you make a decision you're sure is right that it just *feels* right? I get this feeling like, yep--THAT is what will work for us! It's as if a light bulb goes on. I think a really strong case could be made for rope dropping this day. I think a really strong case could be made for a late start this day. I think a really strong case could be made for doing TH for lunch OR dinner. I think a really strong case could be made for ANYTHING Disney related! lol I think my only STRONG advice would be to focus on this large park by lands. All the things you want in Dinoland, then focus on another particular area, and so on. Have a list of your must-dos in this park, and tour according to land as much as possible. Listen to the varying advise you'll get and listen to your instincts; some of it will really resonate with you and THAT is what you should go with! Just from what you've said, it sounds like maybe you feel more strongly about TH for lunch? That is a GREAT choice, so don't doubt yourself. Don't forget, YOU'RE GOING TO DISNEY!! It's gonna be great!

ETA: Not that Dinoland has to be first...just as an example!

 

[Talby]

We were in Animal Kingdom Tuesday night. It was rain free that night but had poured earlier in the afternoon. We are home now, happy to have made it out of Orlando before the flights were cancelled.



We had a fabulous evening in Animal Kingdom. I had made a fastpass for the safari for late afternoon and the animals were very active. The park was a lot less crowded, and cooler, than it is in the day time. We had dinner at Yak & Yeti and then watched the Awakening of the Tree of Life. I swore that we would always go to AK in the evening from now on. We didn't need our fp for the safari since the afternoon rain chased everyone out of the park. But that might not be the case in December.

(sigh of relief) Welcome home @Wood Nymph!!

 

[SilSprBea]

I just went on and it's not coming up

I love you guys! Thank you all so much for looking out for me. I saw that chef Mickey pop up last night too and I let it go because we have one at that time already. We've just been looking for an earlier time closer to 7 because we are going to be in the MK until about closing at 7 that day and were hoping to not have to kill an hour at the contemporary.

 

[SilSprBea]

@Wood Nymph so happy you had a great time at Disney and made it home before the storm hit!