A few questions...

[daraweb]

Hi All! We are DVC members and have been to WDW a million times...well not really a million but many. Like anyone that goes a lot we have figured out what we like and how we do the parks, dining, sleeping, etc...and we know that things will be different when we go next. I feel like a first-timer again! We are thinking of driving down from CT for our kids’ April vacation. With all the new systems I could use some advice And information. I did some searches and was unsure if I was finding information that was still current. Sorry if these questions have been asked before...

Planning to stay at DVC (likely a split stay). We were AP holders, but those expired early into COVID and so we didn’t renew. We will need to purchase tickets. I know that we also need park reservations for each day. Can someone explain what order that is supposed to happen in. Buy tickets then make park res or the reverse. If we are booked at a resort does that change the order of things? Have parks been filling up a lot? I read that HS is sometimes hard to get a res for. Also now that they are allowing park-hopping later in the day does that change things?

And is there a list someone could direct me to of restaurants with outside dining? I searched and couldn’t find one but I feel like I saw one a month or 2 ago.

Anything else that has planning implications that is new? THANK YOU

Thanks so much for your help!

 

[gatorlisa]

You must have some kind of tickets linked in order to book park reservations. So order is buy tickets then make park reservations. Regardless of where you are staying.

 

[disneygirlsng]

You must have tickets in order to make park reservations, so buying tickets should be first. Having a hotel reservation may or may not affect things as there are 3 different "buckets" from which the park reservations come from. It would be optimal to have a hotel booked prior to making park reservations, but it is not always necessary. One bucket is those with APs, one is those with a hotel reservation, and the third is those staying off-site with regular tickets. Being in the hotel reservation bucket may increase your odds of getting a park reservation if any of the days happen to be full.

 

[bizeemom4]

https://www.disboards.com/threads/outdoor-dining-with-a-reservation.3823641/

 

[lanejudy]

While having a ticket is necessary to make parks reservations it is possible to check park availability before purchasing tickets.
https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/a...ts&int_cmp=ILC-AdmissionCalendar_TicketConfig

 

[daraweb]

While having a ticket is necessary to make parks reservations it is possible to check park availability before purchasing tickets.
https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/a...ts&int_cmp=ILC-AdmissionCalendar_TicketConfig

Thank you!

 

[Shellyred8]

I would recommend figuring out your HS park days first and get those park reservations booked first. That park is usually the first one to fill up, and even more so during busy times...like spring break/april time frame. So, the sooner you can get those days booked the better.