Just back - our best decisions!

[disneyfam31]

All of these have been said many times before, but after just coming back from a wonderful and magical trip, I thought I would share some of our best decisions!

#1. By far, the best decision was to start day 1 at MK with a pre park BOG reservation at 8:05 -' on a 9:00 opening day. We enjoyed a stroll down Main Street with very limited crowds and fantastic pictures in front of the castle. We ordered our food ahead of arrival and we were seated promptly after arriving. We were able to get out by 8:45 and get immediately on 7dmt without a fp+ reservation. We then proceeded to knock out Peter Pan and small world - there was NO ONE in line yet. It was like we had the park to ourselves. We also went on haunted mansion, big thunder mountain, pirates and Aladdin all before our fast passes started at 11! We were able to see and do so much that day because of the early entry and the breakfast was good.

#2. dinner at Tusker house at 6:30 when the park closes. While we weren't riding anything when we finished our meal, it was such a cool experience to practically walk out of AK by ourselves and get some neat pictures with great light. Plus the dinner was excellent and character interaction was fantastic. This is how we ended our trip.

#3. Star Wars launch bay and fireworks. If you are a Star Wars fan, the Kylo Ren interaction for the meet and greet was amazing. Chewy was awesome, too! They have done a great job with launch bay and we all had a great time interacting with the roaming jawas in the halls (kids and adults!). I realize they are changing the Star Wars fireworks, but they did a knock out job and I'm sure the new fireworks will be just as great or even better.

#4. Adjusting as needed. While we planned out our days for the parks, fast passes and adrs, we were still flexible enough to let things happen and make changes on the fly. This let us truly enjoy our time together.

*Edited - our first fast pass was at 11 not 10. I just doubled checked our pictures and we did Swiss family treehouse at 10:30 after pirates and had pictures with rafiki at 10:55.

 

[Huff]

I would love to have breakfast at BOG before park opening but have two teenage girls where mornings just do not agree with them. They never eat breakfast nor get up early. Might have to go one morning without them!

 

[JeninTexas]

Thank you for the review. It is good hear that all those things worked so well. We are planning on a PPO BOG and Star Wars FW too.

 

[vratiana]

I would love to have breakfast at BOG before park opening but have two teenage girls where mornings just do not agree with them. They never eat breakfast nor get up early. Might have to go one morning without them!

I say grab a reservation for the whole family and maybe they will get so wrapped up in the magic that they will get up for it, and if not, go without them for sure!

 

[MouseMum]

I say grab a reservation for the whole family and maybe they will get so wrapped up in the magic that they will get up for it, and if not, go without them for sure!

Reading your comment made me think of a question maybe you can answer. If I have a reservation made for five, but only three or four decide to go, will I be charged $10 for each person who didn't show or are we safe as long as we keep the reservation?

 

[Frozen2014]

Great post. Impressed with your points in #1. You sure covered a lot including breakfast at BOG.

Are the Star Wars launch bay fireworks new? Where is that held ? I don't remember that when we went Oct 2014.

 

[Party.Of.4-NY>>>FL]

Reading your comment made me think of a question maybe you can answer. If I have a reservation made for five, but only three or four decide to go, will I be charged $10 for each person who didn't show or are we safe as long as we keep the reservation?

You will not be charged for the 1 or 2 people that do not show up. However if it is a prepaid reservation (SPOA, HDDMR, etc.) I don't think they will refund your money. I'm sure someone on here knows about the prepaid ADRs so please clarify if I'm incorrect.

 

[megster1123]

Reading your comment made me think of a question maybe you can answer. If I have a reservation made for five, but only three or four decide to go, will I be charged $10 for each person who didn't show or are we safe as long as we keep the reservation?

In most cases as long as someone in your party honors the ADR you will not be charged a cancellation fee for those who do not dine. The exception to this rule applies to dining experiences that are prepaid in full (CRT) but I believe you pay for everyone in the party regardless if they show or not. Regardless, you're safe at BOG

 

[disneyfam31]

Great post. Impressed with your points in #1. You sure covered a lot including breakfast at BOG.

Are the Star Wars launch bay fireworks new? Where is that held ? I don't remember that when we went Oct 2014.

Star wars launch bay was new / opened in December of last year. The fireworks take place over the Chinese theatre at night on select evenings. I'm not sure when they started.

 

[mster425]

I would love to have breakfast at BOG before park opening but have two teenage girls where mornings just do not agree with them. They never eat breakfast nor get up early. Might have to go one morning without them!

No one would get up with me this year- I had a lovely BOG breakfast, rode 7 DMT and Space and was back in AKL by 9:40 to get the slackers. I'm the single rider below- worth it!

 

[sharonabe]

I would love to have breakfast at BOG before park opening but have two teenage girls where mornings just do not agree with them. They never eat breakfast nor get up early. Might have to go one morning without them!

Agree with PP about making the ADR for all of you. Added note, if the girls do get up, they don't have to eat at BoG. It is a QS, so you can order as much or as little as you want. They could even just have a cupcake! Maybe that will get them out of bed.

 

[ariane37]

I would love to have breakfast at BOG before park opening but have two teenage girls where mornings just do not agree with them. They never eat breakfast nor get up early. Might have to go one morning without them!

This was before BOG offered breakfast, but one morning my DH and both DS's refused to get up and come to MK EMH with me. I grabbed a quick breakfast in our resort food court, took the bus to MK, caught the morning show and rode 5 rides before grabbing Starbucks and heading back to the resort to catch up with them. It was just about the most perfect morning I've spent at MK lol!

 

[mster425]

This was before BOG offered breakfast, but one morning my DH and both DS's refused to get up and come to MK EMH with me. I grabbed a quick breakfast in our resort food court, took the bus to MK, caught the morning show and rode 5 rides before grabbing Starbucks and heading back to the resort to catch up with them. It was just about the most perfect morning I've spent at MK lol!

Everyone. We HAVE to start a regular DISParent thing at BOG where those of us with unwilling travel companions meet for breakfast where no one steals our food, rides where no one is whining, and we can drink our coffee while it's hot. It could be Tuesdays 8AM-10 AM, or something.

Sorry for my temporary derail, OP.

 

[ArielSRL]

The trip for this year is all planned out (we leave in 11 days, at Disney in 12!!!) but I am already planning for next June. I am planning to do a PPO BOG and a PPO Garden Grill for that trip. Cannot wait!

 

[amytong]

All of these have been said many times before, but after just coming back from a wonderful and magical trip, I thought I would share some of our best decisions!

#1. By far, the best decision was to start day 1 at MK with a pre park BOG reservation at 8:05 -' on a 9:00 opening day. We enjoyed a stroll down Main Street with very limited crowds and fantastic pictures in front of the castle. We ordered our food ahead of arrival and we were seated promptly after arriving. We were able to get out by 8:45 and get immediately on 7dmt without a fp+ reservation. We then proceeded to knock out Peter Pan and small world - there was NO ONE in line yet. It was like we had the park to ourselves. We also went on haunted mansion, big thunder mountain, pirates and Aladdin all before our fast passes started at 11! We were able to see and do so much that day because of the early entry and the breakfast was good.

#2. dinner at Tusker house at 6:30 when the park closes. While we weren't riding anything when we finished our meal, it was such a cool experience to practically walk out of AK by ourselves and get some neat pictures with great light. Plus the dinner was excellent and character interaction was fantastic. This is how we ended our trip.

#3. Star Wars launch bay and fireworks. If you are a Star Wars fan, the Kylo Ren interaction for the meet and greet was amazing. Chewy was awesome, too! They have done a great job with launch bay and we all had a great time interacting with the roaming jawas in the halls (kids and adults!). I realize they are changing the Star Wars fireworks, but they did a knock out job and I'm sure the new fireworks will be just as great or even better.

#4. Adjusting as needed. While we planned out our days for the parks, fast passes and adrs, we were still flexible enough to let things happen and make changes on the fly. This let us truly enjoy our time together.

*Edited - our first fast pass was at 11 not 10. I just doubled checked our pictures and we did Swiss family treehouse at 10:30 after pirates and had pictures with rafiki at 10:55.

What you did sounds so much like the plans I have in place for the second week of June. I have never done a PPO, so I am excited for our breakfast. Thanks!!

 

[kalliyan1]

If we have a pre park opening reservation at CP, can we still go over to 7DMT early or is that only for those that have reservations at BOG?

 

[disneyfam31]

If we have a pre park opening reservation at CP, can we still go over to 7DMT early or is that only for those that have reservations at BOG?

My understanding was that anyone in the park before opening can head over there - whether they open the ride early could vary by day. The CM we spoke to at 7dmt said we were lucky because they started letting people ride at 8:30 that day when 8:45 was more the norm lately.

 

[CaliTex]

Everyone. We HAVE to start a regular DISParent thing at BOG where those of us with unwilling travel companions meet for breakfast where no one steals our food, rides where no one is whining, and we can drink our coffee while it's hot. It could be Tuesdays 8AM-10 AM, or something.

Sorry for my temporary derail, OP.

LOL! I'm lucky in that I have great travelling companions--my DH is always so amenable (on vacation, at least, ha ha) and my grands are still too young to get into that sleeping-late-is-better-than-air phase, and since whining is a capitol offense around here, we don't hear much of that. But one thing is for sure, parents (especially moms!) deserve a stress free morning (at least) to enjoy the fruits of their planning labors!

DisneyFam31, so glad you had such a magic time! Thank you for your tips/reviews!

 

[kalliyan1]

My understanding was that anyone in the park before opening can head over there - whether they open the ride early could vary by day. The CM we spoke to at 7dmt said we were lucky because they started letting people ride at 8:30 that day when 8:45 was more the norm lately.

I would thank you for your reply but I see your a State fan. All I have to say about that is......GO BLUE!!!!!

Thanks!

 

[AJA]

Thanks for posting! Seeing what has worked for others really helps planning.