Disneyland❤ and then....Disney World ...yikes

[Susie63]

We are celebrating our 20th Anniversary with a short 3 day holiday in Disneyland and then on to Florida for two weeks. We will be travelling in February again(getting out of the Canadian winter wonderland).

Disneyland is easy for me with the exception of the fp for Fantasmic .....what is up with that?
Disneyworld is a whole new... very scary ballgame. I like my holidays laid back and I can't imagine planning everything so far in advance. I also have some health issues that make me slower than your average bear.

Do you really need to use fp+? I have a DAS card in DL. Do they work together?

I looked at the WDW board and had a panic attack. Can anyone recommend a good guide book?

TIA

 

[Mysteryincorp]

WDW is so much work! It helped for me to read trip reports on the WDW board. You really do need to get fast passes and make your dining reservations ahead of time. We did one big meal a day, either breakfast or dinner. Kind of centered the day around that. We didn't let our fast passes rule our day but were really only had to reschedule a few.
We had a blast but it is so much more complicated than Disneyalnd.

 

[letsgoreds]

It will all be OK : )

There are two great online bloggers that are a great place to start. Josh runs a site easywdw.com, and recently published a book version of it. If you like books, it is worth it. Even though I am a WDW vet, I bought the book, mostly just to support/thank him for his work. On the website, the best information are the 'cheat sheet's and the maps.

On the character front, there is Kenny the Pirate. He started out on these boards, and has become the king of characters. He has a website, and presence on FB/Twitter/etc. No book, but lots of information/maps for meeting the characters.

Start there. Both are surprisingly accessible on their forums.

Trips to WDW are more work/planning up front (like 6 months in advance), but then more laid back during your stay. Seriously! I was driving myself nuts at our recent trip to DL, as the FP runner, dragging my family around based on whatever time spit out from the FP machine.

With FP+/Magicbands, you already know where/when you will be there. If you want to change it, you just log on your phone, and often there are other FP windows available. This works best at MK. Plan on rope drop (different parks soft open at different times...see notes in josh's cheat sheets), and wait to book your FP times until the park gets busier (afternoon, or evening if you plan on hopping).

I create a spreadsheet for each trip. Here is a link...please don't freak out with the complexity, but it will help you organize your thoughts (goals for the day, list the park times/extra magic hours, etc.). Feel free to ask away. I enjoy planning WDW trips a bit too much.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ltjZ5Ja3bzIwuGijdfLVr8zpbtnXYA2i-T7hxBK2m_8/edit?usp=sharing

 

[SplashMo]

Read easywdw.com and touringplans.com and you should be good to go. And this thread about FP+ at WDW Florida: http://disboards.com/threads/fastpa...ed-priorities-and-strategies-part-ii.3326057/

 

[Priory]

I recently got back from WDW and was also in a party of 2 adults and FP+ was wonderful for us. I'd recommend learning and using it. I kinda came to the conclusion that it works best for small parties. I understand why large families/parties have difficulty with it. A long stay and small party will get you very far with how the system is currently set up.

 

[scrapshappen]

We just did WDW for the first time as a family of four in January (went once before children many years ago). It was very overwhelming and we were going with some vets who made it sound too easy. I was as panicked as you. Really, the important thing is to know what you want to do. If you want to eat at some of the more popular places, than you need to jump online as soon as dining reservations open and get them booked. If you miss that window, you can sometimes get them the same day as all the 24 hour notice people drop.

We liked FP+ better than we thought we would. It seemed strange not to be running around collecting FPs and I was surprised by how long lines were for rides that and DL don't get longer than 15-20 minutes except on the busiest days. (And we were there at a slow time). Just pick the most popular rides and then do everything else at rope drop.

Also, you pretty much need a FP for Fantasmic at WDW too. When we were there, standby was standing room only and you don't get as good a view of the show from up there. We were on the dining plan so we used one of our TS meals to book a Fantasmic package so we could have the VIP seating that went with it. You can also book it as one of your FP+ for the day if you want to save a little money.

I did buy and read most of "The Unofficial Guide to WDW" (from the same people as Touringplans.com) but it almost made me more anxious. The website is very valuable though.

 

[Susie63]

Thanks everyone. I guess I have lots of reading to do.

 

[Masonmj84]

Like others have said, if you're going to visit one site, I'd recommend easywdw.

I've also attached a primer on Disney World that I've written called "Disney World in One Hour" (the idea is to provide as much information as possible about WDW in a one hour read).

 

[Nonsuch]

I recently got back from WDW and was also in a party of 2 adults and FP+ was wonderful for us.

We also just returned from a 2 week WDW trip, and loved FP+

One piece of random advice: get FP+ 60 days in advance for Mine Train, both daytime and evening (different days).

 

[SplashMo]

Thanks everyone. I guess I have lots of reading to do.

Start with easywdw.com to pick a resort if you are staying onsite... Also look at the touring plans there... If you rope drop Epcot you can hit SOARIN and TT in one day and easywdw misses this point and suggests two days in Epcot to ride these rides and it is not necessary. Other than that it is a very nice overview...

 

[ashnjam]

Although we enjoy DL more than WDW we loved FP+ just more planning than usual. Have fun and just enjoy it!

 

[Susie63]

Like others have said, if you're going to visit one site, I'd recommend easywdw.

I've also attached a primer on Disney World that I've written called "Disney World in One Hour" (the idea is to provide as much information as possible about WDW in a one hour read).

Thanks... that was a great read and a nice primer for my research.

 

[huladancer1984]

Just chiming in that WDW can be a ton of work to plan everything, especially compared to Disneyland, but it is totally worth it!

 

[2tinkerbell]

You will need to visit Guest Relations in one of the 4 parks to get a DAS card as DL and WDW are not connected. You need to express your needs as they relate to standing in the traditional queue. Disneyland doesn't issue the DAS card anymore, but, WDW does. At WDW you visit the attraction to obtain your return time.

I have not been to WDW, but, I imagine it works very similar. Schedule your FP+ for the attractions that are "must do" attractions. For example, I would enter the park of my choice, get a DAS return time, visit the first FP+ attraction, visit the DAS attraction, get another DAS return time, visit the second FP+ attraction, visit the second DAS attraction, etc. This way you can visit at least 6 attractions. The key is to always have a DAS return time in the waiting.

I hope you have a wonderful trip - sounds exciting!

 

[Susie63]

What is DL using instead of the DAS? Gee, you skip a year and everything changes lol

 

[SplashMo]

What is DL using instead of the DAS? Gee, you skip a year and everything changes lol

I would ask in the Disabilities section (They have a number of sticky threads as well).

 

[2tinkerbell]

What is DL using instead of the DAS? Gee, you skip a year and everything changes lol

Disneyland is still using the DAS but it does not have a physical card. It is scanned onto your park ticket. Everyone in your party must have their park ticket scanned as well. When you go to the kiosk to get a return time, make sure you have the park tickets of those wanting to go on the attraction with you as well. That is the only change. I like it so much better as it eliminates several areas where people were abusing the system.

I don't know how to link but the stickies on the disAbilities forums are very informative.

 

[Susie63]

Wonderful. The program works so well for me. I sit and visit with people from all over the world while DD and DH go on all the rides I can't do.