Dining Reservations and Extended Opening Times - Help!

[PirateMommy]

Question for all you experienced Disney folks from a newbie - from what I can tell, we don't necessarily know that far in advance which days the parks will open early/late for resort guests - certainly not as far in advance as I would want to make my dining reservations. Do you just ignore the early opening /late closing times when making your reservations? I've got a rough itinerary for where I want to be when, but if I could get into one park earlier, it might make me want to switch my Epcot day with MK, for instance. Or do you just assume that the early opening times mean that the chosen park is a zoo that day, and ignore its status?

 

[Mom2micayla]

Question for all you experienced Disney folks from a newbie - from what I can tell, we don't necessarily know that far in advance which days the parks will open early/late for resort guests - certainly not as far in advance as I would want to make my dining reservations. Do you just ignore the early opening /late closing times when making your reservations? I've got a rough itinerary for where I want to be when, but if I could get into one park earlier, it might make me want to switch my Epcot day with MK, for instance. Or do you just assume that the early opening times mean that the chosen park is a zoo that day, and ignore its status?

I'm not sure I understand your question? You can tell exactly what hours will be for each park 180+ days out. You go to the WDW site, click on "parks" and scroll down to park hours. Then you just select your first travel date and it'll show you the next 10 days. An EMH day can sometimes mean the park will be busier than a non-EMH day, but not always. (That said, some people chose to avoid an EMH park for fear of larger than normal crowds). I'm sort of on the fence. If it's an AM EMH, I proceed as normal and if I had planned on doing that park that day, I stick with it. PM EMH for me would depend on what park, what day of the week (ie- I'd probably avoid an PM EMH park if it landed on a weekend, but not necessarily a weekday). As far as dining, I personally wouldn't book a breakfast on a AM EMH day if I planned on being in that park that day. I'd prefer to book something like Crystal Palace at 8a on a regular day when MK normally opens at 9, rather than a day when it'll open early at 8. Does that make sense? Did I answer any of your questions?

 

[Hopefully]

Welcome to the DIS!!!
I think you have made a good start. Park Hours, including EMH, are released by Disney about 6 months in advance. If you go to the Official Disney web site, you will be able to find them.
We plan which park which day first, then book an ADR in a restaurant near that park. You don't want to spend a lot of time criss - crossing WDW to get to an ADR.
As far as attending an EMH, will you have Park Hoppers? The park with morning EMH will get more crowded as the day goes on. If you have Hoppers, just be there for the EMH opening and tour that park until it begins to get crowded. Then head to a non EMH park for the rest of the day/evening.
Have a Great Trip

 

[PirateMommy]

Thanks, Mom2micayla and Hopefully. I guess I was misreading the official site, and for some reason I thought you couldn't find out which park had the extended hours until closer to the actual date in question (ie, not 180 days out). This makes all the difference in the world for me, so I can plan accordingly.,

 

[3Minnies1Mickey]

Thanks, Mom2micayla and Hopefully. I guess I was misreading the official site, and for some reason I thought you couldn't find out which park had the extended hours until closer to the actual date in question (ie, not 180 days out). This makes all the difference in the world for me, so I can plan accordingly.,

Also there is a Sticky on the Theme Parks page that will post the travel agent's site calendar which comes out before they post it on WDW's website. (December is already on there, but WDW doesn't have it yet).