First timer problems...

[laraashley4]

We are going on our first trip Dec 2-9. We are coming up on 180 days in 2 weeks and I'm so confused about how I am suppose to make ADRs when I can't even plan my days because the park hours aren't out and they haven't announced really any entertainment (ROL, CP, Star Wars vs jingle bell, jingle bam, etc) other than MVMCP. Any advice on where to start? I've been checking the park hours daily and it seems they are releasing them after the 180 day mark. I know some of these ADRs are impossible to get after 180 days and we weren't planning on getting park hopper. Even if we did get a hopper, we have a 2 and 4 year old and hopping over to a park just for a dinner seems painful. Do I just take a guess on my days and hope for the best? Thanks!

 

[Capang]

Park hours can and will change up to a month or so before you go. Choose what works best for you now. Don't hop just for dinner. We always avoid the parks with emh because of crowds. Some people love those emh, others don't really see the benefit. I avoid MK on Saturday's Andy that's about it.

 

[laraashley4]

Our arrival day is a Saturday. By the time we take Magical Express, I think we will be at the poly around noon. I was planning on spending the afternoon and hopefully evening (depending on how exhausted we are from traveling) at MK. Just something about hopping right on the monorail and getting in to the "main" park is enticing to me. But do you think this is a bad idea? Currently, I'm planning 1 day HS, 1 day AK, 2 days Epcot, 2.5 days MK (half day on arrival, another day is a MVMCP day and we will not have tickets so also a shortened day). Is there any historical perspective on how they normally plan EMH related to MVMCP? Of our 7 park days, there are 4 MVMCP so our chances to see regular nighttime entertainment at MK are limited.

 

[SaintsManiac]

Park hours aren't reliable anyway--especially if you're planning a pre park open breakfast. They can change the day before. If you have a restaurant you really want then book it and don't worry about the hours.

 

[rer1972]

We tend to use crowd calendars from some Google searchable sites to create a guide for what days we plan to be where (I know these are estimates this far out, but our experience is that they do help). As another posted noted, things like EMH and special events affect crowds (which we try to avoid). So we may go do MK on a morning after they had an evening EMH, or not go to Epcot in the evening if they are having Candlelight Processional that night (unless we are specifically attending that) since. We also look at things we do want to do that don't happen every day so we can catch those things. Once we have general guideline we figure out what parks for each day we think will work best, and then make ADRs for those days.

Just our method, I'm sure there are many others.

 

[laraashley4]

Thanks! I know nothing is confirmed, but has anyone heard any rumors about December night time entertainment? Like will ROL be every night or just some? What about HS? Is Jingle Bell Jingle BAM coming back? Will there still be Star Wars fireworks any nights? Is CP usually every night or only certain nights? I know the narrator changes frequently. And if CP/ROL/Fantasmic/etc dining packages aren't available at my 180 day mark, can the ADRs I get at 180 days be converted to dining packages or are they a whole new ADR?