In making a strategy do you plan....?

[Tammy296]

Do you book your FP+ before your dining reservations or the other way around?

What do you base your park days on?

I haven't had to plan a Disney vacation since 2013 so I'm a bit out of practice. I notice a lot of changes in the online system since then. I'm having a bit of a problem strategizing days, planning waterpark days and 5 days of base tickets. WE have 7 1/2 days on the property to play.

Just need some ideas on which to plan first, second, etc. Others who have more experience - what do you plan your trip around?

Tammy

 

[Dan Murphy]

I use Josh's www.easywdw.com/easy/crowd-calendars for what park/what day. I would then book dining if any and then fastpasses.

 

[addiln]

Since the dining is general booked at 180 days I always start with that. I generally have the idea of what days I am going to what parks. From there I make my FP selections. I have found that most times I get the FP i wanted but the dining plans are the harder ones to get.

 

[Minniesgal]

Dining is way higher priority for us than parks so we pick our dining first and work our park time around it.

 

[Ursula's Apprentice]

Agreed. Dining, then FP.

 

[larryz]

If there's a must-do dining experience, I book it as soon as possible. I generally go in the non-crazy times, so FP+s are easier to work around the ADRs.

 

[minnie mum]

I plan which park to go to each day based on the crowd calendar recommendations at easywdw. Then I choose my ADRs, at or near that park. I might change a park day to fit in an ADR that I can't get any other day, but I think this has only happened twice in over 30 years. Lastly, I plan and book FPs, using the suggestions on easywdw's cheat sheets.

 

[Aliceacc]

We know which restaurants we want.

Then we look at Josh's suggestions, and try to match them up. Any really tough ADRs are at the end of the trip, regardless of projected crowds, to ensure that we get better access to the ADR. (We get parkhoppers, so we can always start the day in a suggested park.)

Fastpasses come much later for us.

 

[loves to dive]

I guess we are weird since we don't really do either. The only must do ADR I have to have is tea at GF so whatever day I can get that is our MK day. The rest is sort of based on where we are staying. If we are doing a split stay and staying at a moderate (no values for us tried POP and ASSp and that was it) for a day or two, we will do AK and MK on the days we are there since you have to take a bus to AK no matter where you stay and we generally stay at Epcot resorts the last part of the stay so would probably be busing to MK from those too. We do Epcot and HS the last part of the stay. We have hoppers so we generally end up at Epcot every night, we like to eat and drink. We sort of kind of book FPs based on that but truthfully, I can't remember a time we've been that I haven't changed FP the night before because we've decided there is somewhere we want to eat or I'm changing them on the fly as we are in the parks. If we want TS we tend to book those the morning of, again with PHs the park doesn't matter.

 

[MickeyMinnieMom]

We are big users of EMH, morning and night. We take a midday break and park hop. This means that the recommended parks from any of the sites are not useful to us. With that in mind, this is what I've been doing for 11yrs or so (1-3 trips per year)... works well for us...

1) Use various crowd calendars only to pick exactly when to go to WDW
2) Pick which parks on which days based mostly on EMH calendar
3) Book ADRs at 180 days
4) Book FP+ at 60 days out

 

[GillianP1301]

I choose which parks on what days first, then I plan the meals that need ADRs + any special events like dessert parties, and finally the FP to fill in around my plans.

 

[GaryDis]

but I think this has only happened twice in over 30 years.

Thirty years ago, you mostly didn't need ADRs (except maybe CRT, a few of the more popular Epcot restaurants, and, of course, the dinner shows).

 

[buzznina]

We are not big into ADRs and have no "must do" restaurant. So we pick the park days and then FP+.

 

[ZoZo]

I plan which park to go to each day based on the crowd calendar recommendations at easywdw. Then I choose my ADRs, at or near that park. I might change a park day to fit in an ADR that I can't get any other day, but I think this has only happened twice in over 30 years. Lastly, I plan and book FPs, using the suggestions on easywdw's cheat sheets.

This is exactly what I do!

 

[MomsOfDisney]

I choose the order of parks we will visit by looking at the opening hours, but MK is always the park we visit on Day 1 of course
And then l just double check with the crowd calendar.
Then like most people on this thread, I sort out ADRs and then FP+

 

[karly05]

Like many others here, I use EasyWDW to plan my park days. My first priority on park days is finding the best recommended days for MK, because I'm convinced it's the park where crowds are always worst and matter most.

I have 2 big advantages: I always have hoppers, and I'm solo, so it's easier for me to find ADRs later in the planning process. I also go during more moderate crowd level times, not peak crowds.

Any ADR that I "must do" or is hard to get, I book at my 180 days. Any day I'm wanting hard-to-get FPs, I leave those days free of ADRs until I get the FPs I want, then fill in. (Another advantage, I never use a dining plan, so don't have to worry about planning out my credits.)

For this year, I'm actually waiting till I'm there and playing ADR Roulette for a couple of evenings. But again, I've got a hopper, I'm flexible, and if I can't get a TS I'm happy with, I'm fine with finding a QS i like. Maybe I'll find something new to love.

 

[WDWLODGE]

I also use EasyWDW to pick my park days 1st. I will layout my whole itinerary including ADR's and FP+ at least a week or 2 before the 180 day mark. Once 180 days hits I book my reservations. I then adjust my itinerary if I did not get the times I wanted. Then at 60 days I make my FP+ selections.

 

[Yahweh]

I usually start with the two resorts I'm going to stay at. Shout out to the split stay !!! Almost always it's one Epcot resort (Boardwalk, Beach Club, or Swan and Dolphin) and either AKL or the Contemporary/BLT. For example our last trip began at AKL (3 nights) and then we transferred to Beach Club (4 nights).

With the combination of Touring Plans Crowd Calendar with other free Crowd Calendars and the proximity of our resort we'd decide what park we'd go to on what day. For example:

While at AKL:

Day 1- Animal Kingdom day/Supper at Sanaa
Day 2- MK day/Resort Afternnoon-Supper at Jiko
Day 3- Resort Day/Supper at the Poly or a Contemporary restaurant and MK at night (Wishes)

Transfer from the AKL to BC (Disney will do this for you even at the S&D) on Day 4

While at the Beach Club:

Day 4- Epcot Morning- Resort afternoon- Supper at S&D
Day 5- DHS Morning- Epcot afternoon- Supper at Epcot
Day 6- MK morning- Monorail to Epcot for Lunch, walk to BC for the afternoon- DTD for Supper.
Day 7- Epcot Morning- Resort afternoon- Epcot for Supper (Illuminations)

We do Epcot and DHS while at the Epcot resort, and AK while at AKL. And sprinkle MK days throughout the trip. Our goal is always to be out of the parks shortly after lunch, with the exception of one full day at AK and usually one Epcot afternoon. I usually want be back at the resort shortly after supper or have supper at the resort. The exception of course is one or two late nights for Fireworks.

 

[strat68]

We pick parks and fastpasses first. We don't think dining at WDW is special enough to make it the focal point of any day. We will make ADRs but fit them in around park time.

 

[loves to dive]

Like many others here, I use EasyWDW to plan my park days. My first priority on park days is finding the best recommended days for MK, because I'm convinced it's the park where crowds are always worst and matter most.

I have 2 big advantages: I always have hoppers, and I'm solo, so it's easier for me to find ADRs later in the planning process. I also go during more moderate crowd level times, not peak crowds.

Any ADR that I "must do" or is hard to get, I book at my 180 days. Any day I'm wanting hard-to-get FPs, I leave those days free of ADRs until I get the FPs I want, then fill in. (Another advantage, I never use a dining plan, so don't have to worry about planning out my credits.)

For this year, I'm actually waiting till I'm there and playing ADR Roulette for a couple of evenings. But again, I've got a hopper, I'm flexible, and if I can't get a TS I'm happy with, I'm fine with finding a QS i like. Maybe I'll find something new to love.

Love ADR Roulette, people think we are crazy because that is what we do. We go to GS when we get to the park and ask what's available for a certain time, any park any resort. If we want a specific park, we ask what's available any time in that park. We are two adults and have PHs so times aren't a big deal and parks aren't a big deal. We've found some new favorites this way.