How Early is Too Early to Plan??? - TR Link Added - 12/29

[afwdwfan]

I have to agree that setting up the actually accounts is so weird. Fortunately my Mac remembers the account and I can get in fairly easily. Sometimes I just head there through my Dvc account. I finally got my son's name deleted from an account. For the longest time Disney thought I was my son Brian and it was driving me CRAZY!

So frustrating.

Your plans look great! Cynthia and I have a breakfast planned at Cindy's and I am SO excited because this will be my first time eating in the castle!

I'm actually kind of looking forward to that one. We've never been there either.

I think I need to give Whispering Canyon another try. It's been forever since I've eaten there.

We really love it there. We always love getting to see WL, the atmosphere is fun, and we really like the food there... well the meat and cornbread anyway!

Congrats on booking!! AoA is so pretty and your kids will love it. We stayed at that time in December last trip and loved it, it is a really nice time to go. Waiting for discounts to come out is such a pain! That's where we are right now too. It would be nice to have all of the information so that you can make final decisions. You've got some great restaurant choices too - lots of fun and interactive restaurants for the kids to enjoy

I know... we're kind of in similar positions waiting to see where it goes with discounts for WL, aren't we?

I think the restaurants should be good for us. We definitely wanted to go a little heavy on character meals since we're doing the dining plan, but it should also be a fun experience for the kids and give MiL and FiL a little more time to sit an relax off their feet for a while.

Your plans are starting to come together nicely. I hate the new FP+system....it's so refreshing that I don't have to deal with it at DL.

Jill in CO

It will be a culture shock going out to the California parks. I definitely look forward to that part though!!!!

Great first draft for your park days and ADR! Although, if you're like me these things change about a 100 times during the planning phase.

When the time comes, don't forget to make FP+ reservations for BOG lunch! Could save you a lot of time!

I plan to do that. My understanding is that an FP+ there doesn't count against your "3" for the day, right?

 

[amandaw]

Sounds like your plans are coming together nicely!

I am right with you in hating the Disney website. Today was my ADR day for our October trip. Logged in @ 5am CST & of course I couldn't book any dining. I had to call in, which took 1 hour. I still can't book any dining online and no one can tell me why.

I am also trying to keep our pace more relaxed next time. It's hard not booking those early character meals!

 

[LuvEeyore]

Your plans sound great!!

 

[amazingact21]

Your plans are looking good so far. Seems like you've figured out where and when you want to eat at certain restaurants and have worked the parks into fitting them all in.
I'd probably try and visit the lights that first night. Just because you'll probably still be tired from driving all night. (Maybe?) Plus, I don't know your kids' attention spans, but even getting a whole afternoon at the resort to burn off energy, they might not want to sit still again for a show.


Getting a BOG lunch FP (if that's the route you're going to take) is pretty easy if you are persistent, so you'll have plenty of time to decide when you feel like going there. Not to mention, even if you change your mind while there, the standby isn't as outrageous as it looks.


If you think the My Disney Experience site is a pain now, wait until you start booking Fastpasses....

 

[afwdwfan]

Sounds like your plans are coming together nicely!

I am right with you in hating the Disney website. Today was my ADR day for our October trip. Logged in @ 5am CST & of course I couldn't book any dining. I had to call in, which took 1 hour. I still can't book any dining online and no one can tell me why.

I am also trying to keep our pace more relaxed next time. It's hard not booking those early character meals!

I've always hated the website. I always seemed to have problems with the old website, so in all honesty, I've had nothing but trepidation about this new system ever since they announced it. I have very little faith in Disney IT's ability to come up with something that is user friendly and works consistently.

It is so hard to keep things to a relaxed pace....

Your plans sound great!!

Thanks!

Your plans are looking good so far. Seems like you've figured out where and when you want to eat at certain restaurants and have worked the parks into fitting them all in.
I'd probably try and visit the lights that first night. Just because you'll probably still be tired from driving all night. (Maybe?) Plus, I don't know your kids' attention spans, but even getting a whole afternoon at the resort to burn off energy, they might not want to sit still again for a show.

Good points. I think we might just try to do it that way and then get out of the park before the 8pm rush so we can be in bed kind of early.

Getting a BOG lunch FP (if that's the route you're going to take) is pretty easy if you are persistent, so you'll have plenty of time to decide when you feel like going there. Not to mention, even if you change your mind while there, the standby isn't as outrageous as it looks.

I'll definitely try to get an FP for that one. We waited standby for lunch 2 days after the "official" opening of BOG and the wait wasn't all that bad then.

If you think the My Disney Experience site is a pain now, wait until you start booking Fastpasses....

Thanks. Just what I wanted to hear.

 

[Leshaface]

I really like your plans! I haven't been to 4 of the restaurants that you mentioned so it will be cool to get your opinion.

I'm really hoping the FP system hasn't changed much from when I used it for our October trip. I don't even think I know what Memory Maker is! I've heard of it, but haven't looked it to it at all.

 

[glennbo123]

Since it won't be until 2015 that I get back to WDW, I'm letting you folks figure out all of that MagicBand stuff and you can tutor me when the time comes.

I think your plans look good and I hope that you can get all of the reservations that you want, especially CRT.

I laughed at your "replacement church" comment. I can relate!

 

[afwdwfan]

I really like your plans! I haven't been to 4 of the restaurants that you mentioned so it will be cool to get your opinion.

Thanks. I'll be happy to let you know what we think!

I'm really hoping the FP system hasn't changed much from when I used it for our October trip. I don't even think I know what Memory Maker is! I've heard of it, but haven't looked it to it at all.

I don't know enough about it... as far as I can tell, it seems pretty close to what Photopass + used to be. Only you tie it to your magic band... and you can only tie it to one band apparently so it looks like it will be a huge PITA if one person has to be present anytime you want to use it.

Since it won't be until 2015 that I get back to WDW, I'm letting you folks figure out all of that MagicBand stuff and you can tutor me when the time comes.

I was hoping that all the people going last year could figure out the details for me, but since they still seem to be working out the bugs... We still might all be trying to figure it out when you go in 2015.

I think your plans look good and I hope that you can get all of the reservations that you want, especially CRT.

I'm kind of excited to try it. Just this weekend, DS was talking about when he met the princesses. I asked him if he wanted to eat breakfast at Cinderella's castle sometime. He just kind of laughed and said "I don't think we're allowed to."

I laughed at your "replacement church" comment. I can relate!

Hey, it works...

 

[eandesmom]

Tentative Park and ADR Plans

Ok, DW and I have been thinking some things through, and we’ve got a bit of a game plan in place for our trip. I just want to say that my dislike for My Magic +/My Disney Experience keeps growing. I don’t find the website to be terribly user friendly, and the deeper I get into it, the more I wonder how people who don’t come to a place like the Disboards for information can have any idea what they’re doing/need to do. They tell you to log in to do all these wonderful things but they don’t explain the details about how to use it or how to manage the friends and family lists well at all. I appreciate Cynthia answering my question over the weekend. I never got around to calling in yet, but as it turns out, I was able to find a thread just this morning that explained how to allow DW to access the accounts I control through the website. It is a bit of a multi-step process, but I’m sure it was still quicker than calling in for help. I can log in from DW’s account and it looks like everything is there. I guess we won’t know for sure if she’ll be able to book and change everyone’s FP+ until our window opens though.

I don't want to be a broken record but calling to get it all seamlessly linked really is worth it. It is a total pita but, worth it. Definitely test stuff. Test it on laptops and on your phones long before you go so you know what is linked, and not and who can see what. You will really want to be able to see stuff on your phones though the app.

I also want MiL to be able to access the account for the Memory Maker part of it, so I think this weekend I’m going to try to set her up with her own account and send her an invitation from both my account and DW’s and get her set up so that she can at least see everything.

Makes sure she actually accepts the invitation. I had that issue more than once and even then, it doesn't always automatically link the way it should. Definitely do it before the trip though and just remember the border issues with sharing photos. Each account can only see edits that they make (and order edits that they make).

So you are going to drive all night, hit the pool and then a park? No nap?

 

[afwdwfan]

I don't want to be a broken record but calling to get it all seamlessly linked really is worth it. It is a total pita but, worth it. Definitely test stuff. Test it on laptops and on your phones long before you go so you know what is linked, and not and who can see what. You will really want to be able to see stuff on your phones though the app.

I definitely want to make sure it works. We'll check and see that it all works through the app as we are making ADR's and FP reservations and if we need to call to straighten it out we will. As it stands right now though, it seems that she has full access to everything.

Makes sure she actually accepts the invitation. I had that issue more than once and even then, it doesn't always automatically link the way it should. Definitely do it before the trip though and just remember the border issues with sharing photos. Each account can only see edits that they make (and order edits that they make).

We haven't done it yet... but when I send the invitation, I fully intend to send it from my laptop as I'm sitting about 5 feet away from her and her laptop.

So you have to order individual edits? It isn't on a CD like PP+ was? Do you just download pictures instead?

So you are going to drive all night, hit the pool and then a park? No nap?

Well, I'm sure we'll include that in our time around the resort. Obviously, not knowing when we will be able to get our rooms will affect that somewhat, but the kids will definitely nap, I'm sure FIL will nap while everyone else is at the pool.

I, personally, will just stay active. And awake. I'll take a long nap Friday afternoon before the drive. Hopefully, everyone else will get at least some sleep while I'm driving. If I took a nap after we arrive, that would be 2 afternoons in a row. I rarely ever take a nap, so there's no way I'd sleep at night if I napped. I just plan to stay awake and crash at around 9:00 pm and I'll be good to go.

 

[afwdwfan]

Quick Update

Nothing really has changed regarding our Disney World plans. We have just a little over a month until ADR time, so I'm starting to get a little bit excited about that.

DW suggested to my parents a few weeks ago that they meet us out in California when we go to Disneyland. They kind of turned down the suggestion at first, but last night they watched the kids for us for a couple of hours and when I picked them up, my mom was asking about it and expressing some interest in doing that. They've never been to Disneyland either, so I think it would be a lot of fun, and hope they choose to take a long weekend and head out there.

Now for real life... well, I've mentioned before that I farm and work another full time job. With this being spring, I'm normally pretty busy this time of year. The rain has slowed things down on the farm, but the forecast looks a little bit better and I'm hoping for a highly productive week coming up.

In addition to that, we've been shorthanded at my other job. We've got someone who has been practically living at his cardiologist's office the past week and will be having a heart cath next week. We've had another employee out the past 2 weeks with an ear infection and vertigo and he'll likely still be out next week. This all means that I've been doing the jobs of 3 people and it has been keeping me busy and cutting into my DISboards time. The good news is that when I go home at the end of the day, it truly feels good. I actually feel like I've been productive and gotten a lot done. And on top of that, it has been a lot less stressful at work. Instead of having to worry about deferring decisions to our location's manager to keep him happy, I've been in charge and I've been able to just make the call and get some things done. I know that seems counter intuitive, but our manager has a tendency to stress and worry over every little thing and will be indecisive and change his mind. I'm sure this could be part of why he's spending so much time with his cardiologist, but it also creates stress for me because I never know which way the winds are going to blow from one minute to the next. It has been such a relief to be able to just decide this is what we're doing and then that's what we do... right or wrong.


Anyway I've been trying to keep up around here this week, but am clearly falling behind. I do apologize and I will try to catch up with everyone else's TRs... sometime...

 

[KatMark]

Good news that your parents may join you at DL next year. Do you have a time you are going? We are hoping for March to coincide with Mary's girls spring break, but that is all up in the air with Mark's show schedule.

ADR day is coming up...always fun. I keep checking to see if I'm going to change any of mine.

Glad work has kept you busy and you feel productive. Yes, I definitely think that's why the manager if at the Cardio doctor.

We've missed you around here. No one has been picking on me.

 

[amazingact21]

Extra help while on vacation is always a win. Hope your parents can make it out there and see DL with you guys.



The pattern at jobs is usually if one person comes down with something, then everyone else starts falling out like a row of dominos. Make sure you don't fall victim next.
However, sounds like being shorthanded has been a blessing in disguise. Feeling useful and productive makes getting up and going to work a little bit easier, and it does a number on one's morale.
Glad that-while tired-you've had a good week. And hey, the DIS ain't going anywhere. Sometimes, I'll fall 2 or 3 weeks behind, and I don't have a career to excuse the absence.

 

[afwdwfan]

Good news that your parents may join you at DL next year. Do you have a time you are going? We are hoping for March to coincide with Mary's girls spring break, but that is all up in the air with Mark's show schedule.

It is in conjunction with a conference I'll be attending. We'd be at Disneyland Jan 14 - 16.

ADR day is coming up...always fun. I keep checking to see if I'm going to change any of mine.

Well, I just got some info that will likely make significant changes to our plans.

We've missed you around here. No one has been picking on me.

I find that hard to believe. Both parts...

Extra help while on vacation is always a win. Hope your parents can make it out there and see DL with you guys.

The pattern at jobs is usually if one person comes down with something, then everyone else starts falling out like a row of dominos. Make sure you don't fall victim next.
However, sounds like being shorthanded has been a blessing in disguise. Feeling useful and productive makes getting up and going to work a little bit easier, and it does a number on one's morale.
Glad that-while tired-you've had a good week. And hey, the DIS ain't going anywhere. Sometimes, I'll fall 2 or 3 weeks behind, and I don't have a career to excuse the absence.

It seems that way. And today we're down 3! At least I only have to cover for 2 of them!

Busy days definitely feel rewarding though. I work as a grain buyer, so normally at work when market conditions are right, I can be ridiculously busy, but when the markets are calm, I tend to have a lot of time on my hands for DIS and other less productive activities. Thankfully, the markets have been a little quiet the past couple of weeks, so it makes covering for others less stressful and more fun... just because it isn't day to day normal for me.

 

[afwdwfan]

Another Quick Update

So, I got an email for Disney Visa Cardmembers with a pin code for free dining on 6 day, 7 night trips. Hey... that's how long our reservation is... Coincidence???

Either way, our trip falls in the last of the pertinent date ranges for this offer, so I think I'm going to talk to our Travel Agent today and see about dropping the regular dining plan and instead go with Quick Service. This would definitely change our ADR plans since we were looking to go heavy on the more expensive character buffets.

However, ADR changes might be the least of the decisions we'll have to make. There is a strong possibility that I'll be told that the offer isn't available for Art of Animation. Which is kind of what I'm expecting to hear at this point. If that is the case, then we might need to reconsider resort options. I really don't want to stay at a moderate, and I'd rather have a % off discount to switch to a deluxe. But we could find some rather significant savings by switching to a moderate. I just feel kind of "meh" about moderates as a whole from our experience at Coronado Springs.

 

[eandesmom]

I admit I'm with you on the Mod's being a bit meh. Although for a bigger bed it does make a difference. IF AoA is available you can pay the difference and upgrade to the regular plan. So quick for free and then pay the difference.

Don't worry about being busy, we will be here! Well, I will try, I'm rather horrid myself!

Cool on the DL

 

[KatMark]

Yes I do miss you and NO one is picking on me.

I am pretty sure AOA was one of the resorts NOT participating. If you are going same time frame and decide on a mod, see WHEN Pop Warner is going and where they are staying. Otherwise, if you can do it, go back to your WL.

 

[Leshaface]

I think that would be great if your parents went with you guys to Disneyland! They would really enjoy it and i'm sure it would be a big help for you and DW also

Even though you're super overwhelmed and busy at the moment, that's great that you still have a positive attitude and are always happy to come home at the end of the day. Usually when folks have situations like you're having, they bring their work attitude home. Doesn't sound like the case for you

I'm so with you on the Moderates, even though i've only stayed at one. I'd rather stay at a Value any day over a Mod. But hopefully you can get that discount!

 

[Disney9.9.10]

Wow you've been busy! It is great that you have been able to make some decisions and have less stress - it is hard to work for people who stress about every little thing.

How nice that your parents are considering the DL trip. I'm sure that they would love to see the grandkids having fun there!

Your report sounds a lot like mine at this point with all of the waiting around for offers, and offers being restricted so you have to change resorts I am nit crazy about the moderates either. I've only stayed at CSR, and I did have a great time there, but they just don't wow me for some reason.

 

[afwdwfan]

I admit I'm with you on the Mod's being a bit meh. Although for a bigger bed it does make a difference. IF AoA is available you can pay the difference and upgrade to the regular plan. So quick for free and then pay the difference.

Don't worry about being busy, we will be here! Well, I will try, I'm rather horrid myself!

Cool on the DL

Well... AoA is on the list... but not the Mermaid Section. Time to reconsider where to stay and pull out the old spreadsheets.

Yes I do miss you and NO one is picking on me.

Sorry... I thought I might try to get to a few other threads yesterday but it didn't happen.

I am pretty sure AOA was one of the resorts NOT participating. If you are going same time frame and decide on a mod, see WHEN Pop Warner is going and where they are staying. Otherwise, if you can do it, go back to your WL.

It is participating this time, but only at the suites.

I think that would be great if your parents went with you guys to Disneyland! They would really enjoy it and i'm sure it would be a big help for you and DW also

Even though you're super overwhelmed and busy at the moment, that's great that you still have a positive attitude and are always happy to come home at the end of the day. Usually when folks have situations like you're having, they bring their work attitude home. Doesn't sound like the case for you

I'm pretty good about leaving "work" at work. Not much you can do about most things after hours anyway, so what's the point of worrying about it.

I'm so with you on the Moderates, even though i've only stayed at one. I'd rather stay at a Value any day over a Mod. But hopefully you can get that discount!

That's kind of how I feel. The values (POP and AoA, anyway) have better food courts, IMO and I like the theming of them. I really don't feel like I have an abundance of extra room in a mod. All things equal... I lean towards a value.

Wow you've been busy! It is great that you have been able to make some decisions and have less stress - it is hard to work for people who stress about every little thing.

How nice that your parents are considering the DL trip. I'm sure that they would love to see the grandkids having fun there!

I know my mom would love it.

Your report sounds a lot like mine at this point with all of the waiting around for offers, and offers being restricted so you have to change resorts I am nit crazy about the moderates either. I've only stayed at CSR, and I did have a great time there, but they just don't wow me for some reason.

We stayed at CSR and it just wasn't a pleasant experience for us. The grounds were beautiful, but that's about the only nice thing I can say.

It is exciting to get an offer, but then to find out it isn't something that you can really use... well, it makes things difficult.