Any advice?

[lizzyb]

We haven't been at WDW since 2016 and are planning on going end of August/beginning of September. We used to look at crowd calendars and book our fast passes and dining reservations based on that. Given all the changes and with Covid changes I am not really sure where to start. Any suggestions/tips/advice?

 

[Jadyreen1282]

Book a room today cause your 60 day onsite ADR window starts next week. You can of course roll the dice later. This is if you plan on staying onsite and there are slim pickings there in resorts I have heard.

 

[Marthasor]

I still used the crowd calendars to plan our park days on our trip last week. I also decided to forego the parks on the weekends and use those days as our down days to do other things - pool, mini-golf, a day trip to Ft. W. We also booked no ADRs prior to going as I wanted to keep our schedule rather flexible due to the heat and the, almost daily, rain showers. We found plenty of good QS and even found good TS reservations day-of once we had a better sense of what our evening plans would be each day. Personally, during that time of year, I would plan for rope drop, an afternoon break from the heat and evenings in the park. If you want to stay in the parks all day, perhaps book a later lunch and use that to get out of the heat of the day.

 

[auntlynne]

I still operate on the traditional crowd concept for travel in general: crowd levels drop off after Labor Day. This year, with schools re-opening, I would expect fewer families to be willing to take kids out at the beginning of the school year.

Disney ticket prices are now tied to the starting date of your visit. August 20 - Sep 21 are the lowest prices for your trip window.

Currently, all parks have reservations available that entire date range. This is probably the biggest factor this past year. When capacity was more reduced, HS was hard to get into. Having August availability wide open right now seems amazing. This system will be new since your last visit. Separate from ticket purchase.

Car rental is expensive due to a car shortage. I’d almost consider that to be more important in deciding dates (if you need a rental car).

 

[auntlynne]

EPCOT festivals have been reported as crowded on weekends this past year; seemingly increased local attendance with heavy drinking. Food & Wine starts July 5 with a limited number of booths; more booths open October 1, the 50th anniversary of WDW’s opening.

 

[auntlynne]

Disney Resorts have summer rates, up to 25% off, for stays July 11-Sep 29.

They are slowly reopening closed resorts, so room inventory is down.

 

[auntlynne]

Which is more the determining factor for your day - the park/rides or the food?

Without FP, you are not going to be able to get the same planned vacation as in the recent years. The day is more determined by real-time ride queue wait times. You can have a general idea of getting certain rides done if you arrive early or are in the parks at the end of the day. I think consensus is the middle of the day / early afternoon is the longest waits for everything.

Rise of Resistance and Toy Story Land have changed HS into a hot destination. Hence, the reason park reservations are hard to get there.

 

[auntlynne]

Look at current restaurant openings (you can see what’s open 60 days from whenever you are reading this) and menus for places you are interested in. The items you remember may not be on available.

Buffets have often become family style platters or pick your entree. For example, Be Our Guest serves their dinner at lunch now; no a park carts option. $62 per adult, now, lunch or dinner.

 

[auntlynne]

Reports are that parks are returning to a normal rope drop; for a year, we had been allowed entry 45-60 minutes before stated opening time.