need help planning - 2012

[dabecs]

Last night I found the webiste easywdw.com and it's got so much info! Of course I was happy they rated POFQ best transport and best layout (the two categories most important to me).

They also have a very detailed day by day crowd calendar but not for 2012 yet - how similar does each year run? Do they change park hours/fantasmic showings etc each year or will they most likely be very similar dates every year?

And now after all my decision making we are thinking of being in NYC 25 - 30th November (so we can see the Maceys parade and Black Friday) and hitting WDW on December 1st. That way we are ensured all the Christmas decorations are up and everyone seems to recommend the first 2 weeks of December as low crowds

How many days do you need for each park? We were thinking 2 HS, 2 AK, 2EPCOT, 3 MK and one extra day to go back to whichever park we want. I have read many reports of doing HS and AK in a day - so maybe we should plan 1 full day at HS and then a half day (with the morning spent relaxing or ahopping at DD) when we are planning on going there for Fantasmic? We are not getting park hoppers. Or do you think we should stick to 2 full days per park?

Thanks for your help!

 

[PrincessInOz]

Sounds like your dates and plans are firming up. Really jealous that you're going to be in NYC for Black Friday and I hope you get great bargains!

Show times and park hours do seem to vary a little bit. You think that Disney would do the same for this time next year...but sometimes, it just doesn't work out that way.

I've also never really used any crowd calendars....they give an indication of what they think the crowds are going to be like and invariably they do get it wrong. For example, some weeks in May are traditionally quieter at WDW and we thought we were hitting those weeks (after all the school breaks had finished). I understand from other Dis-ers that the weeks in May were rated as low to moderate crowd levels by the pundits. It was PACKED! I think everyone in the US/Can/UK pretty much had the same idea and took their kids out of school to go to WDW.

So, I would say, plan your trip and it will be what it will be.

I always buy park hoppers for WDW; but that is a personal preference thing. I appreciate that everyone is different and I'm really not trying to sell you into getting park hoppers. I find it nice to be able to hop to another park if I feel like it....I generally have an idea and a plan of which park I'd like to go to on what days; but things do change when you get there. Sometimes I feel differently, or my son wants to go somewhere else...or the weather forces us to change our plans.

One thing to keep in mind with your planning (and you may already be doing this); and you won't know until closer to the time is Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party dates. If you're not hopping, you will need to coordinate your MK days with any MVMCP nights that are scheduled; if you're planning on attending. And you'll need to purchase additional tickets to be able to stay for MVMCP.
There is also the Candlelight Processional event at Epcot during your visit dates. Again, you might decide to book in a dining experience to guarantee your seat at a CP. You might have to swap dates for Epcot depending on when you can book in for dining.

The number of days you spend per park comes down to your style of touring and how busy the parks are. You might go early, completely ready for commando style, low crowds and hit all the attractions a number of times in the one day. We've probably had about 3 dream days like this and we're done by about 4 pm. You might be late risers, take your time in between attractions, high crowds and it won't matter how many days you plan....

I would recommend that you and the family spend some time researching on the rides and figuring out which are the Must Do Rides. Yes, everyone wants to do the obvious big rollercoasters and hit all the mountains....but at Epcot, AK and HS there are other attractions or shows that might appeal to you and your family. This way, it won't matter if you change your plans where you are there as long as you cover most, if not all, of your Must Do's. Plus it gives you one yardstick to measure if you've "done" a park to your satisfaction.

For what it's worth, I've always found that 1 day at AK is sufficient for my family. We go early and can get our must do's (FotLK, Nemo, Safari, EE, Kali, Dinosaur, Bugs, parade, primeval whirl done in the day. Usually we try to get on EE at least twice. If it isn't busy, we can usually fit in other attractions as well) done in a day.

DHS is a different matter - 1 day is enough for my DH and DS; but I always want the extra half day because I'm such a sucker for shows. If it weren't for the shows, 1 day is more than plenty.

 

[dabecs]

Thank you so much for taking the time to give such a detailed reply

I know what you mean about the crowd calendars, some say to avoid times other calendars say are the best times!

We are planning a 10 day pass but staying 14 nights so we can spread it out a bit (and visit the Kennedy SC). So far I am thinking:

2 days in AK - my girls (and dad) really love zoos so we might want to do the safari twice (once morning and once afternoon) and with the short opening times during low season I want to make sure we have enough time for everything. If on the second day we finish early well then we can spend the rest of the afternoon visiting other resorts to check out the Christmas decoartions

2 days in EPCOT - inlcuding breakfast one day in Arkershus and dinner the other night at Chef de France, staying to watch Illuminations

2 days HS - my husband and girls are huge Star Wars fans so I'm sure the Jedi training and Star Tours will be high on the list! I would like to have dinner at the Brown Derby in the fantasmic package one night and also see the Osborne lights.

3 days at MK - on our last day of our vacation I want to take the girls to the BBboutique and then onto dinner at CRT for a big send off.

1 day at whichever park we haven't 'finished' or really want to go back to. Will book Chef Mickey's for breakfast this day so we are not tied by ADRs to a park.

2 rest days. On one I would like to do a "wishes" cruise - not sure which yet and the other day go to MVMCP. Questions - if we buy the hard ticket to MVMCP do we also use up one of our park days? I was hoping to do the party on a rest day so the kids (and us!) wouldn't be too tired to enjoy it. And also can we do one of the wishes cruises without using up a park ticket?

Thanks again for your reply

 

[shaz105]

Well sounds like you have your days sorted you will love Kennedy SC I though I wont but it was a surprise.

Well we kind of have out plan for next years travel back to LA

The dates we are thinking are 16 September to 13th October 2012

Our plan is that we are going to stay in LA for the first week so we can go to the farmers market and there is a car museum my husband would like to see and there are a couple of other things.

Then down to Anaheim for maybe 1.5 weeks then going to Vegas for about a week. Then we are thinking of going to Hawaii on the way back.

It all in the air at the moment now i have to get prices to see how much.

There is a travel expo that Flight Center are putting on in Sydney it in February the 12-13th

 

[Travel Mum]

Just curios Dabecs, whilst in Orlando, are you not going to do Universal, Islands of Adventure or Sea World? I'd also say the water parks but realise it might not be the weather for them!

 

[dabecs]

Travel Mum - Universal doesn't really interest us (Harry Potter world looks great but my girls are too young to have read the books or seen the movies so no point in going - yet!) and neither does Seaworld.

I like the look so far of Legoland but with the girls being young I don't want to try to do too much and end up exhausted and not enjoying the trip.

We are going to KSC because my husband is a space nut and it is somewhere I have always dreamed of going, and my now 4 year old says when she grows up she wants to go to the moon

 

[queenie82]

Questions - if we buy the hard ticket to MVMCP do we also use up one of our park days? I was hoping to do the party on a rest day so the kids (and us!) wouldn't be too tired to enjoy it. And also can we do one of the wishes cruises without using up a park ticket?

Thanks again for your reply

With a MVMCP ticket you can get into the MK from 4pm. If you don't want to enter before then than no you don't need to use a day on your regular ticket.

With hopping...if you are staying onsite hopping comes into its own because of Extra Magic Hours (EMH).
Even not staying on site hopping is great. I'd never be without it.

But the point with EMH is that you can for example go to MK for EMH in the morning. Then leave once that park starts to fill up and go somewhere else.

Tour plans are great...but you need to work them to suit you.

 

[Travel Mum]

Travel Mum - Universal doesn't really interest us (Harry Potter world looks great but my girls are too young to have read the books or seen the movies so no point in going - yet!) and neither does Seaworld.

I know what you mean because, although we do want to go to WWHP, I'm not as keen to visit Universal or the rest of IOA as I am to visit all the Disney parks. However, as this will the trip of a lifetime for us (I doubt very much we'll be able to go back), I don't want to come home with any regrets, wishing we'd visited something we didnt.

So we are visiting: MK, HS, AK, EP, Blizzard Beach, Typhoon Lagoon, Universal, IOA and Kennedy Space Centre. We only have 9 nights on site (meaning 8/9 days and one of them we will be so jet-lagged that I doubt we'll visit a park!), which I now realise means the time we will have to do all the Disney parks will be quite limited. I'm also aware that I can't push the rest of family too hard so I'll have to have some rest/pool time included! Our second week (when we will have a rental car) will have to include shopping so the non-Disney park visit days will be more spaced out. I'm envious of you having time to do so many Disney park days!!

We finish our holiday with a 7-night Caribbean cruise though so I guess I should remember that I can't have everything!

 

[Travel Mum]

Oh and I also meant to say that, when we took our girls to their first Disneyland trip, my parents came too as well as my sister and her family. So my parents were there to share all their grandchildren's first Disneyland experience and it was wonderful to have them there. I do hope our parents can come with you

 

[dabecs]

Travel Mum - my parents have decided to come It's going to be wonderful to have 2 extra sets of hands to help with the kids too! I think mentioning Black Friday to my mum pushed her over the line They have been to NY a few times and love it.

I think you could cram a lot into your Disney days knowing you have the cruise afterwards to relax

We won't be going to the waterparks mainly because December will most likely be too cold - but I wouldn't put it past my kids to have a swim in the hotel pool even if I think it's freezing! If we were going in the warmer months I think BB and TL look like great fun and they would be on our 'must do' list, also in the warmer months I think you are more likely to need to down time to cool off.

Pushing the dates later means we won't stop in Hawaii on the way home, I don't want my daughter (who will be in prep in 2012) to miss her last week of school. I already feel a bit guilty she will miss 3 weeks of her first year of school, but like you I don't know if we will ever get to go back..

 

[dabecs]

Last week I took the girls to see "Disney Live on Stage" and they were so excited! Watching their faces light up when the princesses were on stage - I can't even imagine what they will be like in WDW when we get to actually meet them! It has really inspired me to get back to my planning

I have started making booklets for us and my parents. I am including a brief history of each park, interesting and fun facts about each park and plenty of pictures! And a few pages about SSR - again the history and room inclusions as well as the AP menu (will include that closer to the time so it's up to date). I am also going to have our daily itinerary and ADRs in these booklets which I will print before we go and spiral bind. I think it will also make a great momento to keep of the trip. Any other suggestions of what i should put in welcome!

I have also started a rough itinerary of which restaurants we want to book ADRs for and what days we will go to which park. This might change depending on what dates MVMCP are run in 2012.

It is so much fun

 

[areweindisneyyet]

Loving your plans. We are planning our first wdw trip in 2012. Either sep or around the same time as you. We are thinking a split stay at POFQ and WL. My mum and dad always travel to Disney with us but for this trip we will have to wait and see. We have to get through this years trips first

Enjoy your planning.

 

[QuirkyButterfly]

Thought I would join in as well. It is so exciting planning isn't it. I am sure that you are going to have a great time. It is good you are going to take your parents with you, it will definitely make things easier for you. The park looks like it is beautiful at Christmas, I would have liked to see it, but in the end we decided on going in September because I plan on spending a lot of time swimming. Don't fancy doing that in Winter

Can't wait to hear more.

 

[AussiePossum]

Hi Everyone,
I hope you guys don't mind me joining in as well. I am also planning my first trip to WDW (only decided a week ago) and I am busy planning for late September early October 2012. Really looking forward to celebrating Halloween because its not a big deal here in oz. Also, my kids are looking forward to the water parks and I think December will be a bit cold. So far I have decided on POFQ and I'm still trying to get my head around the dining plans. The kids are a bit young to do the trip in one hit so I have planned a stop over in LA before flying to Orlando (ok.. for me as well) Would love to know how everyone Else's plans are going...

 

[dabecs]

Hi Aussiepossum! Now the fun begins

Can I ask why you chose POFQ?

We are looking at getting the standard dining plan - we will be doing a character dining nearly each day and once I added up the prices for them it was only a little bit less than the dining plan. And of course with the dining plan we also get a counter meal and 2 snacks I also love the idea of paying for it before we go. I am nervous about the tipping though - as a table of 6 we will have the 18% auto gratuity added which looks like it will end up costing a lot of extra $$.

How long are you planning on staying at WDW for?

It will be fun to have someone to plan with!

 

[areweindisneyyet]

We are leaning towards late Nov early Dec 2012 now, and we are looking at taking grandma and grandpa with us as a Christmas treat. Still think a split stay between POQ and WL. My dad has always wanted to go to New Orleans and I like the look and feel of staying somewhere with such a southern theme. A bit different to home, I can't quite come at the Polynesian with a section named Aoteroa, it would be pretty funny traveling half way around the world to stay in New Zealand. We will be looking at the Dining Plan as well.

Late July, Early August is when the 2012 rates become available and costings.

 

[dabecs]

we might end up there at the same time

 

[AussiePossum]

Hi Dabecs,

I picked the french quarter because my brother stayed there last year and they really enjoyed their stay at this hotel. The rooms were good, they liked the theme, they had no problems with the bus service and they are planning on staying there again. I haven't picked a dining plan yet as I have only just decided to go to DW. My plan so far is.. Fly to LA and stay at Santa Monica for a couple of days, 14 days in DW (but this also includes going to the space centre) and maybe san fran on the way home. We did DL at easter time in 2009 and had a fantastic time. One thing I do remember is the size of the meals off-site... A lot of the time we only ordered one adult and one kids meal. My two were 8 and just turned 5 at the time so they didn't eat much. Even my husband had trouble eating a full size adults meal. But as I said.. this was off-site.

I only had a week to plan the DL trip in 2009 and I have no idea if they had a dining plan. Everything was so rushed. We paid for Goofy's breakfast and just had quick snacks around the park. One thing that we did do is as soon as we got off the plane and went to the hotel for showers and coffee (I so needed coffee!) we went to the closest Walmart and bought snacks, water, plastic bowls & spoons, cereal and easter eggs etc when the kids weren't looking because we arrived on easter friday. Normally we had breakfast in the room, snacks in the park and depending on how the youngest was going, we headed back to the room for a rest and mostly had dinner off-site.. Then back to the park at night for a few more rides or to watch the fireworks.

I can still remember the holiday like it was only yesterday... and now that I have decided to go again... I am just so excited.. Just love disney.. Its only been a week and I think i have already drove hubby nuts with the "What do you think of this...?" So to be able to chat with someone else who is planning a trip at the same time is a good thing.

 

[shaz105]

Hi Everyone

well it looks like we have a few more people going to the world in 2012.

Its good to see everyones ideas at this stage for me we will definatly be going back to LA I do want to go back to WDW but the hubby it not sure. Dont get me wrong he would love to go back to Florida just for NASA.

I will just have to keep working on him if they have free dining around the time we are going i think this will win it for me but we will see.

 

[AussiePossum]

Hi Guys,

I just walked into Harvey World travel this afternoon to find out how much flights to Orlando would cost and I picked some dates in early October (this year) as a guide. I know I'm not going till October next year but I like to know ball park figures so that I can budget for the trip. Told the girl I was flexible with the dates and that we would be gone for almost 3 weeks.

From Sydney to LA (a stop over of 2 nights) and then onto Orlando worked out to be $2700 (inc taxes & return) times that by 3 (DD would be 12 when we leave) and $2025 for the 8 year old..... = $10 125

Just hope some really good specials come out before we go...