HOW do you plan?

[gumbypee]

I haven't been to WDW in years and just moved back to the area and am getting a silver annual pass. I have been reading stuff here on Magic Bands and FP+ but it seems like I see people talking about doing research and certain plans to avoid crowds and lines. I am confused and didn't really know how to research this. (When I went years ago, you just walked around and went on rides you came upon)

any help or guidance on what posts to read would be appreciated

 

[loves to dive]

I'm going to assume since you are going to be in the area and are getting an AP you plan on going often. Most of the uber planners only get to go once or twice in a lifetime so they are trying to maximize their trip, that shouldn't be necessary if you will be going often. Things to be aware of - Fast Pass +, you can book your rides in advance now, you can book a ride, ride it book another one in a different park or the same park after you have tapped the first one on the tap thingy at the ride. You can also book 3 in one park and after you have used those 3, book more. There is a thread here on the boards with all things fast pass, you might want to read it. Keep in mind, you can still go to the parks and get in a line and ride a ride, we do it all the time. The lines can and do get long now so if you have your heart set on a specific ride, make a FP. Again, as an AP holder and most likely a frequent visitor,if you miss a ride, no big deal, you can hit it another time. There are some table service restaurants that some feel are must dos, Be Our Guest in MK is one of them (personally I don't like the place so it certainly takes the whole must have ADR thing off the table for us). If there is a TS restaurant you just have to have, it's advisable to make an ADR as soon as you know you will want it. We have never, ever, never, ever, never, ever had any problem booking a TS for the same night by just getting on MDE during the day and finding whatever is available. The advantage of being an AP holder is you can hop from park to park so the sky is the limit with the exception of those popular ones.

I would suggest the first time you go back to the parks just go, not a popular opinion. You will be able to go back again and this will give you a feel for the lines, crowds, etc. Maybe the night before or even morning of jump on MDE and see if there are any FP+s available for what you might want to ride. It doesn't hurt to go ahead and book them and if you don't use them, you can always either change or delete them.

 

[Klayfish]

OK, so there's a ton to that. As a general concept, best advice I can offer is to use the FP+ to book the rides that commonly have the longest lines. As to timing of when to do that, it's up to you and what your day plan is. Personally, we try to get them as soon as we can and back to back to back, so that we can then try to get more. But that may not fit your plan for the day. Then we will use the time between FP+ to ride things that don't need a FP+. We vary from this depending on the circumstances, but it's a general rule of thumb we follow.

You can also get on many rides at rope drop (park opening) without even needing a FP+, but you need to be there or be square. A lot of people do the same strategy, so if you show up 10 minutes late, you may find the line is already long. You can also get on many rides close to park closing. Some parks more than others. For example, AK is nearly empty after 5pm, so that's easy. MK, not as empty until the last hour or so.

Again, these are generalizations, but hopefully it'll start pointing you in the right direction. I'm sure others will chime in with more specifics they use.

As for the Magic Bands, they don't play a role in planning. They're basically just your ticket to the park and FP+ reservations (and you can use it to pay for food, etc...if you're on property). You'll definitely want the MDE app, as that lets you make plans on the fly.

 

[gumbypee]

Thank you both for your responses. Yes, I am planning on going often for maybe 6 hours or so at a time. I get now that uber planning is for once in a lifetime trips (I love planning things though). Thanks for tips!! I am excited to get to go back again - can't wait for August 12!!

 

[sharonabe]

Even though it's not your first visit, it is your first visit in a long time. I suggest looking around at some other planning sites like:

easywdw.com
wdwprepschool.com
**************.net

 

[minnie mum]

it seems like I see people talking about doing research and certain plans to avoid crowds and lines.

What a lot of us do, who can't visit frequently, is to use the crowd calendars and park recommendations to minimize waiting in lines and maximize our time in the parks. These try to predict which parks will be the most crowded on any given day, and recommend the less crowded ones. Touringplans and easywdw are 2 such sites.

Another planning tool that we use are park touring plans which gives you an itinerary for each park which will hopefully help avoid the longer standby lines. You can do customized plans on touringplans or use the Cheat Sheets from easywdw.

 

[gumbypee]

Even though it's not your first visit, it is your first visit in a long time. I suggest looking around at some other planning sites like:

easywdw.com
wdwprepschool.com
**************.net

thank you! great sites

 

[gumbypee]

What a lot of us do, who can't visit frequently, is to use the crowd calendars and park recommendations to minimize waiting in lines and maximize our time in the parks. These try to predict which parks will be the most crowded on any given day, and recommend the less crowded ones. Touringplans and easywdw are 2 such sites.

Another planning tool that we use are park touring plans which gives you an itinerary for each park which will hopefully help avoid the longer standby lines. You can do customized plans on touringplans or use the Cheat Sheets from easywdw.

thank you - i am spending time on that easywdw site!

 

[StirlingSilver83]

So we are not annual pass holders bc we live in NJ (although I am still trying to convince my hubby that FL is the place to be, lol). Anyways I am what you would call one of those "uber" planners and plan everything down to the last second and really maximize EVERYTHING there is to do and see and really get the most out of my trips. That being said we only go to Disney once a year so I feel like I need to plan my trips that excessively so we don't miss anything. If we did live in FL and we did have Annual Passes I don't think I would be that obsessive. In NJ we live about 20 minutes away from Great Adventure and we have season passes there and we go about every 2 weeks or 3 weeks there and do the water park too and stay maybe half a day an leave and we do what we want but we aren't crazy about anything. I feel like if we had annual passes to Disney thats probably what we would do as well. We would prolly go on on MDE in the AM that we want to go to the park and see what FPs are available that day an reserve some FPs maybe see which TS have ADRs available for lunch and do that as well and just enjoy being there. I think AP holders are so lucky (if they live in the orlando area) to be able to visit disney on a regular basis. I would LOVE to live in that area an be able to visit more regularly. It would seriously be a dream come true, lol

 

[absolutmey]

Even though it's not your first visit, it is your first visit in a long time. I suggest looking around at some other planning sites like:

easywdw.com
wdwprepschool.com
**************.net

This is (basically) how I do it:

1. figure out the time of year you want to go, based upon your preference/schedule/tolerance for heat and crowds - use the above sites.
2. choose length of stay and where to stay - book! (I didn't mention tickets b/c you said you're getting an annual pass)
3. look at daily crowd levels/predictions to plan park days
4. fill in ADRs based upon which parks we'll be in on what days
5. fill in FP based upon touring plan/style
6. tweak incessantly

I learned EVERYTHING from the sites above and the DIS.

 

[gumbypee]

thanks guys! you have helped me greatly!

 

[DisneyGwen]

I love allears.net for planning info and their Rate & Review section always helps me decide on my itinerary. Planning trips can be overwhelming but I find it to be so fun!

 

[KittyKitty]

I think of planning a trip for the 1st time(or a long time) as a post graduate class. For a subject you like!

1st get a book, my favorite is Unofficial Guide to Disneyworld, you can get it at the library. Get the newest one. Read. Take notes. Write down questions.
2nd. Start asking specific questions here, friends that have gone(they would love to help you plan!), facebook, etc.
3rd. Outline your trip. I use a spreadsheet(yes, I am a planner!)
4th. Go over outline with fellow travelers. Make a night of it.
5th. Keep reading for new info here.
6th. Know you will not see everything in one trip. ( Unless you stay for a month)
7th. Have a great time!