November Trip and a ton of questions!

[Momto3:2016]

Hi all! We will be traveling to Disney Nov 4-12th, however we are planning to drive overnight so I'd like to leave the dates of the 5th and the the 12th free. We plan on staying off-site (Windsor Hills maybe?) Our party is going to consist of me, DH, our kids (8,5, and 19 months), my mother and her husband.

So my questions:

1. I am planning on 5 park days with one rest day to visit a beach - should I plan on 2 days MK, and one day at the other parks? Or since we will be there during Food and Wine Festival should we skip DHS and do 2 days at Epcot?

2. We will be there during MVMCP - should I get tickets for this?
If so, should I plan on doing this on our beach day or on one of our MK days?

3. Right now TP has our dates as being a 3 on MVMCP dates and a 5/6 on the other days. Would such low crowds make up for having to leave the park at 7?

4. Any tips? We haven't been since 2011 and we did absolutely NO planning beforehand and had a great trip, but I know many things have changed since then. Now it seems like planning is a must!

 

[LFSMom]

We are traveling in September, so experiencing a lot of the same events as you are here is what I have found.

1. With 5 park days, I would personally do 2 days at MK, a day at HS, a day at AK and a day at Epcot. However, since AK closes at 5 and HS does not have us much to see as MK and Epcot, I would have a park hopper and vmaybe pop back over to Epcot or MK the evenings After I visited AK and HS.

2. This will be our second time there during September and we are skipping MNSSHP, we are more of an early morning, bed after fireworks if we are lucky kind of people. But A lot of people really like it. I have read that some people do tend to relax during the day since it will be such a late night/early morning.

3. I also have TP and read that indeed, the reason MK shows as less crowded on the MNSSHP is because people tend to avoid that park in favor of others since the hours are shorter. Our plan in to go to MK on one of those days and get out and over to Epcot before 4:00 when all the MNSSHP guests start arriving.

We have also not been to Disney since 2011, and I agree there is more planning. Also, I remember reading that The Food and Wine festival will have a much larger impact on crowds on the weekends, with more locals attending. So, keep that in mind. For that reason, are planning on visiting Epcot on a Monday and Wednesday on our trip. One other tip that I am sure you already know is just to make sure you get your ADR's 180 days out and your Fastpasses 30 days in advance (if you are staying off-site). Have fun!!

 

[mjkacmom]

Since that is jersey week, crowds will be heavier towards the end of your trip, so if you want to hit a beach, save it for later.

 

[kohlby]

I agree with 2MK, 1EP, 1HS, 1 AK since it's been such a while since your last trip and you don't know what will be hits with your kids. For my kids, EP was actually the favorite. So using that idea, I'd not do your 2MK days in a row at the start of your trip - wait until you've done both EP and MK for a day each and then decide which the extra day will be. (I'd go ahead and reserve FP+ for MK though. You can always change them if needed later).

I have not been to the Christmas Party. We have done the Halloween Party. We had an off-day, meaning we went to Disney Springs and rested. We wanted the kids to have full energy for that day so doing a park the rest of the time wouldn't have worked for us. Also, keep in mind that the Party tickets get you in for 4pm. Another thing to keep in mind is what your plans are for the next day. We scheduled it for the night before a really easy day. We had only a water park scheduled for the next day. I wonder if it would make more sense with your crew to add a 6th park day over doing the Christmas party. It would be cheaper and give you more time for the parks. That would give you more flexibility to do partial days if the kids needed it. (And not have the issue of a very late night with the Christmas party).

 

[MomTo3PrincessesInNJ]

1. I am planning on 5 park days with one rest day to visit a beach - should I plan on 2 days MK, and one day at the other parks? Or since we will be there during Food and Wine Festival should we skip DHS and do 2 days at Epcot?
-- I assume you are NOT getting hoppers, so I would do 1 full day at MK, 1 AK, 1 DHS, and 2 Epcot, one for Future World and one for World Show Case, but do rides first before the showcase (this will help get around the tiering for TT and Soarin). Skipping to #2, I WOULD get a ticket to MVMCP and enter at 4p on your beach day, giving you another half day in MK as long as you think your kids will last until at least 10:30pm. If they won't be awake and happy at that time, skip the party and do 2 MK days instead of 2 Epcot days. We LOVE the party, but it's more enjoyable the later you stay, especially for parade viewing and ride lines--

2. We will be there during MVMCP - should I get tickets for this?
If so, should I plan on doing this on our beach day or on one of our MK days?
--See above--

3. Right now TP has our dates as being a 3 on MVMCP dates and a 5/6 on the other days. Would such low crowds make up for having to leave the park at 7?
--I don't think so. If you can't hop to another park you are wasting a full day ticket on 3/4 of a day.--

4. Any tips? We haven't been since 2011 and we did absolutely NO planning beforehand and had a great trip, but I know many things have changed since then. Now it seems like planning is a must!
--Planning IS a must. ADRs might be hard to come by if Free Dining is available during any part of your stay (not that your stay will qualify, but people staying on site). You will be there for the Wine and Dine half marathon and Jersey Week, so there will be a lot of people in the resorts and the parks. We find the weather in November to be GREAT (we're Jersey week people) and LOVE LOVE LOVE the Food & Wine festival @ Epcot. Also, you'll be there for the transition to Christmas in the parks and that is awesome! Just be prepared and patient. Staying off site means you can't book FP+ until 30 days before, and you have to book them 1 day at a time, so that's an added planning process. Getting up at midnight on 5 different nights -- ugggggh. OR don't and just take whatever rides/times are available when you log on in the morning.

 

[ENJDisneyFan]

My dates are the same as yours! As of now I'm planning 4 park days (one day per park), plus MVMCP. But I'm debating if I would be better off with 5 park days (2 at MK) instead of the party. We will definitely avoid F&W festival on the weekend, as that's when most locals are there and crowds are higher. I'm undecided on making an ADR for Epcot. There are so many great options there, but I'm thinking we may fill up on snacking around the world and not need a big dinner. Ugh, decisions!

Any thoughts on free dining being available this week? Fingers crossed!!

We are staying at CBR this time, but I've stayed at Windsor Hills many times and it's great! Good luck with your planning.

 

[MomTo3PrincessesInNJ]

Any thoughts on free dining being available this week? Fingers crossed!!

Here are the check in dates that qualified for Free Dining from last year, so unless you can move your dates to check-in in at the end of October then you probably won't qualify IF it's offered in 2016.

Also, keep in mind that last year (for the first time) Disney required you to purchase a park hopper OR Waterpark and Fun ticket, so you'd have to put more money out to qualify for "Free" dining:

• August 28 through October 2
• October 25 through October 31
• November 8 through November 19
• December 15 through December 21

 

[tzolkin]

If you're doing 5 park days and one beach day, I really don't think it would be worth the extra money to do the MVMCP.

To get your money's worth you would want to get to MK before 4pm. That either cuts your day at one of the other parks short or eliminates any "rest" aspect of your beach day. You're also going to want to stay as late as possible, so that may cut into whatever you have planned for the following day (I would assume you're not going to stay out until after 1am and then make it to rope drop the next morning).

We did MVMCP last year, had a great time, and thought it was worth the price. However, that was the only thing we did (stayed two nights at Thanksgiving and only bought the party ticket, no park tickets). If we were there as a longer trip, it would have been much more cost effective to add another day onto our park tickets than to buy the party tickets for everyone. To me, there wasn't much that was special about the party that you wouldn't get from a regular day/evening at MK to justify the added price.

 

[MomTo3PrincessesInNJ]

To me, there wasn't much that was special about the party that you wouldn't get from a regular day/evening at MK to justify the added price.

I'm a sucker for the Once Upon A Christmas Parade -- LOVE IT! And the snow on Main Street as the parade goes by. SO COOL. We go to the party for the "extras" -- and the shorter lines towards the end of the night, for us it's a totally different experience than a regular park day. But, again, if the kiddos are going to be tired from the beach, I wouldn't bother with it.

 

[ENJDisneyFan]

Here are the check in dates that qualified for Free Dining from last year, so unless you can move your dates to check-in in at the end of October then you probably won't qualify IF it's offered in 2016.

Also, keep in mind that last year (for the first time) Disney required you to purchase a park hopper OR Waterpark and Fun ticket, so you'd have to put more money out to qualify for "Free" dining:

• August 28 through October 2
• October 25 through October 31
• November 8 through November 19
• December 15 through December 21

I was assuming that the first week of Nov was blacked out last year due it being Jersey week. But this year Jersey week is the 2nd week in November. So I'm hoping for FD the first week, which would include my check in date of 11/4. But of course Disney never does what anyone would expect, so who knows.

 

[ENJDisneyFan]

[/QUOTE]We did MVMCP last year, had a great time, and thought it was worth the price. However, that was the only thing we did (stayed two nights at Thanksgiving and only bought the party ticket, no park tickets). If we were there as a longer trip, it would have been much more cost effective to add another day onto our park tickets than to buy the party tickets for everyone. To me, there wasn't much that was special about the party that you wouldn't get from a regular day/evening at MK to justify the added price.[/QUOTE]


Are the ride lines usually shorter during the party? Thats the main reason we'll be going, along with the parade and shows. My kids aren't too into the special character meet and greets.

 

[MomTo3PrincessesInNJ]

I was assuming that the first week of Nov was blacked out last year due it being Jersey week. But this year Jersey week is the 2nd week in November. So I'm hoping for FD the first week, which would include my check in date of 11/4. But of course Disney never does what anyone would expect, so who knows.

You are correct about Jersey Week being "late" this year-- HOWEVER, the Wine and Dine half marathon is the first weekend, so I'd expect the same blackout. Usually the Half and Jersey Week coincide, but not this year.

But, I'll keep my fingers crossed for fellow NJ travelers!

 

[MomTo3PrincessesInNJ]

The later you stay, the shorter the lines. We've gone to the 1st MVMCP 3 of the last 4 years (all during Jersey week) and every year we've found almost every ride was a walk on after the second parade (I think it was at 10:30). The exception would be 7DMT. That ride has a long line no matter what. The best lines were in Fantasy Land since most of the kids don't stay late. Our girls ran from Dumbo to Barnstormer and rode them back to back several times.

 

[tzolkin]

I'm a sucker for the Once Upon A Christmas Parade -- LOVE IT! And the snow on Main Street as the parade goes by. SO COOL. We go to the party for the "extras" -- and the shorter lines towards the end of the night, for us it's a totally different experience than a regular park day. But, again, if the kiddos are going to be tired from the beach, I wouldn't bother with it.

The parade was a highlight for me. We weren't able to see snow on Main Street, so I was a bit disappointed about that. I really just wanted to have the "Christmas at Disney feeling" from my childhood, so just seeing the parks decorated would have satisfied that for me.

Every family has their preferences. I know for some park hoppers are a waste, for my family they are essential. For us, the party extras just aren't worth an extra $400 over a regular park day. There are other ways we could spend $400 that would give us more value.

Are the ride lines usually shorter during the party? Thats the main reason we'll be going, along with the parade and shows. My kids aren't too into the special character meet and greets.

The ride lines were shorter. That's mainly what we did. Only character meet we did was Merida (which was fantastic).

I had all the details written down and planned before hand, but we were not able to do all of the party extras. It's just not enough time to get through everything (we were the first people through the gate at 3:45 and we stayed until after it closed) We were able to see the second parade and the fireworks, but the show in front of the castle was a nightmare and we were really never able to get over to Main Street. The ride lines were short, but overall the other areas of the park felt much more crowded than we normally see.

 

[Sunshinekid]

I would recommend 1MK, 1HS, 1AK, 1EP with your beach day in between. I would leave your last park day to whichever was your fave. Last year we actually did our last park day as the morning in MK and rode Haunted Mansion about 6 times as daughter loved it then hopped over to Epcot as she loves Soarin (we had a Fast Pass for that).
We get up early and are always there for park opening even better if there are early magic hours. We get a lot done in those first few hours.
I've no experience of the special ticket events so won't comment there.
Planning is helpful but please don't plan it to every single minute. (Yes, I might be horrifying some by saying that) Soaking up the magic is important too. Make use of the Fast Passes to get some fave attractions booked. Book some ADRs for for your lunch &/or dinner.
Our DD is 8 and we've not been back to do any of the night fireworks as she is spark out after dinner. All that walking, excitement and fresh air . We have snuggled up watching Movies under the Stars back at the resort but again she is soon snoring and lifted to bed by hubby.
I hope you and your family have an amazing holiday. X

 

[squirrel]

I would add another park day before I would pay for the MVMCP tickets. After about 5 days the cost is not very much more to add a day. I think if the trip is for the kids you have the right amount of days at the right parks. Epcot does require at least 2 days but the kids will have more fun at MK for 2 days as there is so much to try and do in one day.

Do you have beaches near you (maybe I am spoiled that we have them near us) I haven't seen a beach in Florida in all my trips. I would rather spend more time at the parks or even the resort than go to a beach (maybe it's just me).

 

[speeb]

You are correct about Jersey Week being "late" this year-- HOWEVER, the Wine and Dine half marathon is the first weekend, so I'd expect the same blackout. Usually the Half and Jersey Week coincide, but not this year.

But, I'll keep my fingers crossed for fellow NJ travelers!

I booked the week of Halloween thinking, hey, Oct 30 has always historically been during free dining. Now, the more I look at it, I'm just planning without it. The half marathon is what really made me decide to assume it wouldn't happen.

 

[kjw42]

If you're planning by expected crowd levels, just know they could chenge- especially if free dining is announced. We went last Nov during FD and it seemed much busier than expected.