Cant win even with organized planning!

[Nancyg56]

Agreed, except Ill emphasize that all of the items you list have been happening for many years. WDW changes. Expect it will change and you won't be disappointed.

Over-planning is also nothing new, especially among DISers. My posting on the subject is also nothing new.

I'm struggling to comprehend how anyone would go to WDW with the EXPECTATION of having MK to themselves, especially taking that expectation to the level OP did.


Let the magic happen.* Expecting magic is a sure path to disappointment.

*Recently we stopped by WDW for a mere 3 hours, and came across some unexpected - very cool - magic of our own. It can still happen, just probably not the way anyone EXPECTS it to happen. That's what I mean when I say, just let it happen. What we saw was magical BECAUSE we didn't expect it.

Exactly. I feel that with some of the expectations that we read here, there is bound to be a lot of disappointment for those folks. When you go, let the "schedule" of planned magic go out the window, what a time you can have!

 

[memo10]

You can get empty park photos... you just have to be among the last people out of the park.

I really like doing character meals for breakfast, but I prefer the latest time slot so it's like brunch and then we don't have to stop and eat lunch a few hours later. It usually takes us at least an hour for a character meal, so I would skip the early reservation for CP since it could give you a late start.

I've never booked 180 days out and I've had success booking BOG, 1900 Park Fare, CRT, etc. 1 month to 1 day before. You just have to check diligently.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

OMG, how do people live in Florida in the summer with that heat?

Oh dear, you've touched on a second topic that I sometimes find a bit overblown on the DIS- FL summer heat.

I've been to FL between July - Oct many times. Call me crazy, but I like FL in the summer.

Bringing this back on topic- sort of -we've never experienced the level of unbearable heat that we feared before our first summer visit. Some days are very wet, but we adjust.

It's the very cold winter days (we've sometimes experienced) that tend to put a bigger damper on our experience. If it is too cold (outside) to happily be soaking wet, then WDW just isn't quite as much fun, IMO.

 

[elaine amj]

Oh dear, you've touched on a second topic that I sometimes find a bit overblown on the DIS- FL summer heat.

I've been to FL between July - Oct many times. Call me crazy, but I like FL in the summer.

Bringing this back on topic- sort of -we've never experienced the level of unbearable heat that we feared before our first summer visit. Some days are very wet, but we adjust.

This VERY much depends on how you individually react to the heat. My last trip was in September. I was there with a friend who spent all 3 days moaning about how hot it was (thankfully when she wasn't moaning about the heat, she was giddy with excitement at being there). I found it hot, but nothing to really comment on. My trip before was over Labor Day. With yet another friend who found the heat completely unbearable to the point she felt faint and miserable - first thing in the morning! I settled her down with a decent meal in the AC, a cool neck cloth, plenty of rest breaks in cool areas, pool time (which she LOVED) and lots of great company (mine of course!). She had a fabulous time and rarely complained about the heat afterwards.

 

[jtowntoflorida]

It's funny, because we've been several times in June for Star Wars weekend and I found those visits to be, let's say, pleasantly hot. But August was just terrible. Luckily, none of us are the type to moan and complain about the heat, but we definitely spent more time in the pool and less time in the parks in August, and frankly, that sorta sucks. If I wanted to take a poolside vacation, I'd pick someplace less expensive, ya know?

We've also visited in December, and even though we live in Minnesota, we were much more miserable at night when it dropped into the 40s. Florida really does get clammy cold that time of year.

Our first Disney vacations were in October, which really is a sweet spot for Florida weather. It's still our preferred time to visit, weather-wise. But we are headed to Disney in about 10 days and we've been away for almost 2 years, so I don't think any of us really care about the weather too much! We just want to go and have fun.

 

[mistysue]

They let everyone in around 7:45.Turn
but, they did let the ADR people line up before the others. After our castle picture, we headed to BOG....ate & then lined up for 7DMT and rode it 2x before the park opened. It was really nice!!

Can I ask when this happened?
We went the first week of April and I made pre-opening ADR's at BOG for 2 days so we could do this - on our first morning we finished breakfast and they held us until after opening! So we were actually after some of the regular park crowds. I cancelled our 2nd morning because the only reason we did it was for this benefit.
We ended up loving the meal so I'm making the same plan for our next trip and want to know if I should assume that one day was a fluke.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

This VERY much depends on how you individually react to the heat.

... and cold, and rain, and wind, and....

Every time it rains at WDW, folks leave the parks in droves.

Why are they so afraid of a few drops? We drink it, bathe in it, and our bodies are over 90% water, but if it starts to fall from the sky?

Or lands on hour hands?
It also totally baffles me why people feel the need to use anything beyond plain air exposure to dry their hands in the summer. Using paper/handblower only expedites the process by about 15 seconds. It just seems absurdly wasteful to me.

 

[avic77]

I understand your pain! I decided to book when free dining released so i missed the 180 day mark. I really wanted to try BOG but it was all booked. I got lucky and snagged a PPO for BOG. Then i find out about the new RP INSIDE MK oh well we can get a couple rounds of SDMT then I hear reports that they are holding BOG breakfast people back until official RD and you have to go through stand by line instead of FP line. Its always one thing or another.

 

[maltdizzy]

I sat at my lab top

Oh course we know what you meant, but still, this went through my head...