Dinner reservations vs. parades and Fireworks

[Firstimerz]

So let's start this with the usual, "this is my first trip to WDW"...

I am clueless! And I never knew how absolutely clueless I was until I dove into this forum and realized there is no way that will be able to read everything in time for our trip (7/25) and it is destined for failure!

This is the vacation that I've been waiting for for 32 years and I want to make sure that we don't miss the quintessential Disney moments. Myself, husband, and 3 boys (5, 7 & 8) will be doing a six night stay at POR and visiting the parks 5 days (nonHopper).

Our plan is to dine at Cinderella's Royal Table the evening we are at MK (Wednesday). My mother in law wants to book every single meal reservation as soon as it opens up. (Not too thrilled about having to plan all my meals 6 months in advance but we are on the DxDDP and she wants to make sure that we get our money's worth.)


So, my big question is...

What would be the best time to book the CRT dinner in order not to miss the parade and fireworks?

I also hear that Epcot has a parade and fireworks as well... So what would be a good time there also.

We generally eat late, due to sports and such, so I don't think any earlier than 7 would work.

 

[AFwifelife]

When I was 9 years old, we were eating at CRT during the fireworks and that was possibly one of the most magical times I have ever experienced. It was amazing looking out the window and seeing the embers literally raining down right in front of me.


That said, you can usually find a schedule of parades and fireworks on the Easy WDW's crowd calendar for the month of July.

 

[eastendlights]

I would allow an hour and a half for dinner at CRT. Then you need time to stake out a spot if you are not getting FP+ so you would want to do that about 45 minutes before the start. There is no parade in Epcot. There are lots of great spots to view IllumiNations-our favorite is the bridge between UK and France. You can also FP+. You would want your meal done about the same time (45 min) before the start. I always allow at least an hour for a regular TS meal-character meals take about an hour and a half.

 

[ZoZo]

I don't have specific advice for your CRT/parade/fireworks question, but wanted to chime in and say, don't panic! I said "Uh, oh!" when I read that you think your trip is "destined for failure!" You're stressing out about a trip that's six months away, so you have lots of time to do some research. You won't be able to make FP reservations until you're 60 days out, so no need to panic.

Your MIL sounds like she has some WDW experience, since she has you signed up for deluxe dining and knows the importance of scheduling ADRs well in advance. So you're ahead of the game there.

What I'd recommend, if you haven't done this yet, is to buy a good guidebook and read through it. It will give you a good, compressive idea about what you'll need to do. I always recommend the Unofficial Guide to WDW - it's a great book, full of lots of good tips.

The most important piece of advice is to remember, your objective is to have fun at WDW, not to have a "perfect trip." That's impossible. You'll set yourself up for failure if you stress out about every little detail. And if you become an uber-planner, you'll miss out on a lot of the little details that make a trip special. But with a good amount of planning, you'll have a great time!

 

[JZCubed]

So let's start this with the usual, "this is my first trip to WDW"...

I am clueless! And I never knew how absolutely clueless I was until I dove into this forum and realized there is no way that will be able to read everything in time for our trip (7/25) and it is destined for failure!

This is the vacation that I've been waiting for for 32 years and I want to make sure that we don't miss the quintessential Disney moments. Myself, husband, and 3 boys (5, 7 & 8) will be doing a six night stay at POR and visiting the parks 5 days (nonHopper).

Our plan is to dine at Cinderella's Royal Table the evening we are at MK (Wednesday). My mother in law wants to book every single meal reservation as soon as it opens up. (Not too thrilled about having to plan all my meals 6 months in advance but we are on the DxDDP and she wants to make sure that we get our money's worth.)


So, my big question is...

What would be the best time to book the CRT dinner in order not to miss the parade and fireworks?

I also hear that Epcot has a parade and fireworks as well... So what would be a good time there also.

We generally eat late, due to sports and such, so I don't think any earlier than 7 would work.

Start reading here.

http://www.easywdw.com/easy/cheat-s...t-sheets-maps-touring-plans-and-wait-times-4/

This gives you plenty of time to navigate the Fast Pass Plus' (FP+) system.

Also, look at the Crowd Calendars from the same website to help you determine which days are best for each Park. I've listed Recommend Parks for each day:

M - 7/25 - HS EP -
T - 7/26 - MK AK HS -
W - 7/27 - EP HS AK -
This is the evening you want to go to CRT. This is also an Extra Magic Hours Night (EMH) for MK and would make MK the Park to avoid this evening.

Th - 7/28 - MK HS -
Fr - 7/29 - EP AK -
Sa - 7/30 - HS EP -
Su - 7/31 - AK EP MK -

From my perspective - there is no restaurant at Disney that will make your boys happier than the hotel swimming pool or visiting the Parks. A Table Service breakfast while a Park is open is going to limit your ability to complete everything on your 'Must Do' attractionlist.

CRT - it's fine for the entire family, but Be Our Guest for dinner with 3 boys being able to meet The Beast would be my preference, but then you won't maximize DxDP....because you are paying for 3 Signatures or expensive Character meals (like CRT, not BoG)....and want to maximize value. Sure, you might be maximizing the 'value' to be gained from purchasing the DxDP, but then you are potentially giving up the 'value' of Park time to be running to/from 3 ADR's every day of your vacation

In a nutshell, DxDP is more expensive than Park tickets, and no food at Disney is better than visiting the Parks (except maybe Victoria & Alberts - not part of DxDP).

I'll attempt to answer your questions:

1.) Wishes Fireworks display most every evening in July at 10pm. You will want to be done with dinner by 9pm to locate a viewing spot after your meal (or consider FP+). Allowing for 1.0-1.5 hours for that meal, an ADR between 7-7:30pm would be my suggestion.

2.) Epcot also has a nighttime display, but young boys would likely prefer Fantasmic! in Hollywood Studios. Since you're on the DxDP, purchase a Fantasmic! Dining Package at Hollywood Brown Derby to obtain some of the best seats for the show for 'free'.

 

[DisneyCAL]

Our CRT res was at 6:45pm thinking it would be good timing. We got out and they were testing the firework pre shots so we had to stay put right there where the restaurant check in was for like 20min, once released from that area, we couldn't get around tot he front of the castle, it was roped off in every direction so we had to view them from near the wall of fantasyland and carousel. This wasn't a horrible view but it was fireworks in every direction and you couldn't see the stuff on the castle so.... you may want to try for around 6pm. This was September so fireworks at 9pm.

Epcot has great fireworks, no parade. We found a place in UK, not a perfect spot but good enough, around 8:30pm grabbed a cocktail to go from the pub and played with some disney ducks while waiting. If you want a late dinner, try a table at Tokyo Dining or the outdoor mexican restaurant, or Rose and Crown Restaurant and get ADR's after 8pm. Our kids DD5 and DS5 I think enjoyed Epcot more, easier places to view and less crowds to deal with.

 

[minnie mum]

Welcome to the Dis. We all realize how daunting a WDW vacation may seem, but take a deep breath and try to relax. The only trips doomed to failure are those who either fail to plan ( this isn't you, or you wouldn't be here) or those who try to make their trip "perfect". Promise yourself that you won't do that. Trying to overplan for evey possibility is where you get yourself into trouble. And then you feel as if everything is ruined if something doesn't go according to plan. Plan to be as flexible as possible.

You've already picked your dates and reserved your resort. Although I would strongly recommend that you add one more day if you can. Getting a comprehensive guide book like the Unofficial Guide to WDW or The Easy Guide to Your First WDW Visit is a good thing. I also like these websites: **************.net and easywdw.com. Easy is my choice for crowd calendars and selecting my park days. I also use their cheat sheets to plan my park days and to help select FPs.

I would recommend that you and your MIL look carefully at the crowd calendar and read through the explanations for each day's park recommendations before making any ADRs. Since you have such a very short stay during a busy time of year, you don't want to make the mistake of making an ADR inside a park that you won't be in that day, or at a resort at the other end of WDW from that park.

Most days in summer, at MK, the evening parade will be at 9 and Wishes at 10. There may be a second parade at 11. Most park restaurants need at least 90 minutes for dinner, to allow for a possible delay in seating. And as a PP noted, you need to find a spot for the parade at least 45 minutes before it starts. So you would want an ADR at 6:45 at the latest. You could do one slightly later if you opt to see the second parade.

Same thing for Epcot, which ihas Illuminations at 9:00. And DHS has Fantasmic at 9:00 as well. We don't yet know the times for Rivers of Light in AK, since they won't be announced until later this spring, but my bet is that it will be about the same.

I know you said that you prefer to dine later at night, but we have found that the only way we can do that is to skip the evening shows. But this is much easier to do on an 8-10+ day visit. Almost impossible to do on a short 5 day first visit where you are trying to see as much as possible.

 

[MrKnight]

Welcome to The DIS! First and foremost, as stated by PP, do not stress! Here are some recommendations:

Booking ADRs for Table Service Meals
Even though it may sound like overkill, your mother in law has a point as far as booking the ADRs, there is no need to book ADRs for every single meal, but for the meals that you know you would prefer a sit-down meal for, you want to book those as early as possible, especially if you have the DDP. The best and most popular restaurants fill up quickly, especially during peak meal times, dinner right before fireworks/parades is considered a peak meal time at any of the parks.

Epcot in the Evening
Epcot has an incredible firework show called Illuminations: Reflections of Earth. IMO this is my favorite firework show at WDW! As stated by PP, allow yourself at least 45 minutes prior to the show starting to find and settle in a good viewing spot, make sure you factor this in when booking your dinner ADR.. If this is your first time seeing the show then a FP+ may be worth it so you can ensure you have the best viewing possible. AND, a tip for first timers, Illuminations lasts a total of 13 minutes, there will moments of pause and peaceful music during the show where no fireworks are launched, this DOES NOT mean that the show is over, make sure you stay in your spot and do not leave until the park lights are turned back on.

MKP in the Evening
MKP has both a nighttime parade (Main Street Electrical Parade) and a firework show (Wishes) along with a pre-show for Wishes where images are projected on the Castle. There are normally at least two time slots for the nighttime parade so if you miss the first one you could always go the second one later in the evening.. Also allow yourself at least 45 minutes to stake out a viewing spot for both shows. And once again, if this is your first time seeing the firework show then a FP+ may be worth it..

HAVE FUN!

 

[sharona]

OP - I have to echo what a few other posters have said here.

1 - Don't try to do it all! Have 3-5 must do's for each day and then be flexible with the rest of it, you will have a much better trip than running all over the place
2 - Earlier dinner will fit in better with parade and fireworks.
3 - 3 sit down meals/day is a lot of time in restaurants for a first visit, especially with your boys being old enough to know what they are missing.
4 - Definitely check out easywdw.com. Lots of great info there.

 

[Jetta8300]

The only trips doomed to failure are those who either fail to plan ( this isn't you, or you wouldn't be here) or those who try to make their trip "perfect". Promise yourself that you won't do that.

THIS!!!

 

[Firstimerz]

Thanks for all of the input! I will definately check out the sites that have been suggested.

I agree completely about the time spent at the restaurants would be better spent at the park attractions however, my DS7 has a sensory processing disorder and gets very VERY stressed out when it comes to riding rides. We are hoping that frequent breaks in the activity will help his anxiety level itself out.

That brings up another question completely unrelated to dining...

His disorder has him in a constant "fear of the unknown". He will panic and cry while waiting in line for a ride (and just before take-off) because he knows that he will not be in control of his body one he gets on. HOWEVER, during the ride he will be screaming in complete elation and having the time of his life!

How do the CMs handle children that are visible (and audibly) afraid to ride?

We have season passes to our local amusement park, Kings Island, and they for the most part, check his restraints tell him he'll have fun and go about their business. I'm afraid that his expressions may cause a CM to not allow him to ride.

Parents know best. I'm hoping that they don't interfere too much. I'm not talking about taking him on the Rock'n Roller Coaster... we're talking carousels and rides like the Nemo or Little Mermaid.

(Should I post this question somewhere else. Lol!)

 

[AFwifelife]

Not sure how the CM would respond to a panicked child but there are ride videos on YouTube that you can show him in advance. Some videos show the whole walkthrough of the queue and getting on the ride. Would it help watching those in advance so he can see how the restraints are for a certain ride?

 

[sharona]

Yes, you may want to post that question on the DISAbilities forum. We went recently with my nephew who has Aspergers and similar anxiety issues. My SIL went to Guest Services on our first day and discussed with them and they made some accommodations for him to wait outside the line and use the FP entrance when our ride time came. It was a bit like old FP where we would get a come back time from the ride CM, usually the come back time was similar to the current time plus the standby posted wait. The CMs were great with my nephew. Very kind and understanding.