******Official 2017 Free Dining Plan Watch, Wait, and Dream

[jweets]

I joined to ask one question. Who is going 9/9-9/16? We are booked in a room at AS Sports now from 9/30-10/6. Im worried about crowds and weather. I am looking to switch because it would be $250 cheaper and I could add an additional day if I wanted for just $31 more than I'm paying now. It would still be sports. I know its height of hurricane season and its hot. What would you do? This would also mean giving up all my ADRS including a BOG.

 

[ShinyRedGloss]

Does anyone know if accessible rooms with king beds exist at ASSp? Touring Plans shows yes but phone CM said it doesnt exist because all rooms at Sports are (2) double beds.

I dunno about ASSp but ASMu had a king but the room was an accessible room so there wasn't a shower. I just made a request for one when I booked my package. Call back again and try for a different CM or call ASSp directly and ask if they have king beds before speaking with the reservation department again.

 

[ShinyRedGloss]

I joined to ask one question. Who is going 9/9-9/16? We are booked in a room at AS Sports now from 9/30-10/6. Im worried about crowds and weather. I am looking to switch because it would be $250 cheaper and I could add an additional day if I wanted for just $31 more than I'm paying now. It would still be sports. I know its height of hurricane season and its hot. What would you do? This would also mean giving up all my ADRS including a BOG.

If it was me I would stick with the September/October dates. Hurricane season could be an issue with both of your perspective plans. If you would like to save money or go that extra day for less then by all means change your dates. If not, I am not too sure that 9/30 would be any less crowded than 9/9 (Disney is always crowded now). For me I would rather go to MNSSHP in October (if you are going/later parties tend to have less technical issues imo). If I knew I wasn't going back to WDW for awhile OR haven't been in a while OR never dined at BOG OR if no BOG reservation is a deal breaker, then I would keep to the first plan and to keep my ADRs

 

[prettypatchesmsu]

I joined to ask one question. Who is going 9/9-9/16? We are booked in a room at AS Sports now from 9/30-10/6. Im worried about crowds and weather. I am looking to switch because it would be $250 cheaper and I could add an additional day if I wanted for just $31 more than I'm paying now. It would still be sports. I know its height of hurricane season and its hot. What would you do? This would also mean giving up all my ADRS including a BOG.

We are going during early September. Truthfully, I don't think weather-wise that there is much difference between those dates. We went last year during those dates you have now, and that's when Hurricane Matthew hit. We were there for it and had to stay extra days so we could get home. So earlier September has the same risk for hurricanes. Rain is a given in FL during both those date ranges too. The only difference is going to probably be crowds. Looking at the crowd calendars, the 9/9-16 would be better for crowds, if you believe the crowd predictions. Last two years had been kind of in flux. I would say it will be slightly less busy. Last year, we found those later dates to be lighter-moderately crowded. I'm hoping early September will live up to light crowds for us too! Hope this helps!
Edit to say: If you love your ADRs and they are extremely hard to get ones, I probably would not change.

 

[Causin_a_commotion]

What crowd calendar do y'all recommend?

 

[ShinyRedGloss]

What crowd calendar do y'all recommend?

I kinda look at all of them and then just base my choices on what fits my family best. I like firstvisit and easywdw.

Edit: For whatever reason this board is really flaking out on me. I keep trying to post but it freezes or submits half of my thoughts. Guess that means I should get ready for work instead of dreaming about WDW.

 

[prettypatchesmsu]

What crowd calendar do y'all recommend?

I kind of do a combination. I always look at ************** before booking my dates. Then I look at Touring Plans, Kenny The Pirate, and EasyWdw to get a touring strategy in place for which parks which days etc.

 

[prettypatchesmsu]

I joined to ask one question. Who is going 9/9-9/16? We are booked in a room at AS Sports now from 9/30-10/6. Im worried about crowds and weather. I am looking to switch because it would be $250 cheaper and I could add an additional day if I wanted for just $31 more than I'm paying now. It would still be sports. I know its height of hurricane season and its hot. What would you do? This would also mean giving up all my ADRS including a BOG.

I should also have said.....

 

[darwood730]

Try checking online first thing in the morning. While I was on hold this morning, I saw POP for 9/29-10/7. Don't give up yet.

Thanks. I have found that one several times. I am thinking about calling to see if I can change my reservation to fit those dates. I would require buying airline tickets, but my wife would be surprised.

 

[vanjust14]

I kind of do a combination. I always look at ************** before booking my dates. Then I look at Touring Plans, Kenny The Pirate, and EasyWdw to get a touring strategy in place for which parks which days etc.

I like using EasyWDW also, but I was checking yesterday and I couldn't find any crowd calendars past April 2017. Do they not do them anymore? Anyone else notice this?

edited to add: I meant to say do they not do them in advance anymore

 

[heath92681]

I kind of do a combination. I always look at ************** before booking my dates. Then I look at Touring Plans, Kenny The Pirate, and EasyWdw to get a touring strategy in place for which parks which days etc.

Same here. Josh is my go to when he's putting out calendars, and Kenny the Pirate is who we followed last year since Josh didn't have one for November. Pretty spot on the past couple years.

 

[jweets]

Thanks for answering back! I think ive been losing sleep over this

 

[disneydreamer1980]

I use the touring plans crowd calender, but I've heard it hasn't been very accurate this year. It underestimates crowds. When I first booked my vacay, TP listed crowds as 2-4 my whole trip. They readjusted them 2 months ago, now they're listed as 4-6. I hope they don't raise again. We're going 11/26-12/6. For park hours, the TA's get them earlier than anyone else and there's a thread on here with them...not sure where though, you can search it. They have hours through november up now. Apparently 11/30, MK is only open till 4:30 for some type of staff event. That and MVMCP happening frequently doesn't leave many evenings to explore MK.

 

[vanjust14]

I use the touring plans crowd calender, but I've heard it hasn't been very accurate this year. It underestimates crowds. When I first booked my vacay, TP listed crowds as 2-4 my whole trip. They readjusted them 2 months ago, now they're listed as 4-6. I hope they don't raise again. We're going 11/26-12/6. For park hours, the TA's get them earlier than anyone else and there's a thread on here with them...not sure where though, you can search it. They have hours through november up now. Apparently 11/30, MK is only open till 4:30 for some type of staff event. That and MVMCP happening frequently doesn't leave many evenings to explore MK.

I was hoping the touring plans crowd calendar was wrong, since they had early September (around labor day) crowds higher than I have ever seen. If they are underestimating I may be in trouble.

 

[bebec22]

While I'm looking at dining packages, has anyone tried the parade package at Tony's? Hopefully Pete isn't following this thread. I know you don't need reserved seating for Festival of Fantasy, but it seems like a "deal" for an appetizer, entree, & dessert. After reading so many bad reviews, I don't know if I would find anything on the menu that would make it worth the ADR. In all our trips to WDW, we have never dined here. Reviews?

I really enjoyed the meal and the viewing location for the parade. We had an entire area almost to ourselves and AWESOME interaction from the performers/characters. The thing I liked best was not having to stress about finding a spot. We got there right around 3 and just had to wait for the parade to make it's way down Main Street. I really don't know why Tony's get such bad reviews. I've had a few good meals there and I'm pretty picky when it comes to the quality of my food. It's not mind blowing or anything but definitely not bad. I had the chicken parm, btw.

 

[disneydreamer1980]

I was hoping the touring plans crowd calendar was wrong, since they had early September (around labor day) crowds higher than I have ever seen. If they are underestimating I may be in trouble.

hopefully they're wrong. If not, just go with a good plan and you should be fine. According to TP a good plan is more important than crowd levels in getting to experience what you want.

 

[disneydreamer1980]

We're totally different than everyone else in regards to the parades. My kids just aren't that into them, so we usually skip them. It's a great time to get on rides. We sat on splash once for 3 rides in a row without having to get off during a parade. Of course that was also the end of January and park was not crowded.

 

[DisTXMom]

We use touring plans. Honestly, if you arrive at rope drop and have a good touring plan, then you'll be ok, even if it's high crowds. On a 10 day, it doesn't start out a 10. We usually take breaks beteeen 2-6pm when the parks are most crowded. If you're not leaving the park, just know which attractions are most accessible during those busiest times.

 

[FigmentFinder]

I joined to ask one question. Who is going 9/9-9/16? We are booked in a room at AS Sports now from 9/30-10/6. Im worried about crowds and weather. I am looking to switch because it would be $250 cheaper and I could add an additional day if I wanted for just $31 more than I'm paying now. It would still be sports. I know its height of hurricane season and its hot. What would you do? This would also mean giving up all my ADRS including a BOG.

I'm going 9/9 - 9/17 at CBR. We actually have bounceback from last year's free dining, so I have the regular plan and $75.00 gift card. I usually go that week, the crowds are decent as most kids are in school (except mine lol). I don't worry about the hurricane probability, it's hurricane season half the year in Florida and it's not like they don't hit New Jersey too. The heat and humidity don't bother me too much, after dealing with the hot summer here, I'm still ready to deal with more heat and humidity. If i was coming from a cooler or drier climate though, it might bother me more.

Can you try to make new ADR's and see what's available before committing to losing the ones you have. I don't know if you can get BOG dinner right now, although I think lunch might still be an option for early September.

 

[prettypatchesmsu]

I like using EasyWDW also, but I was checking yesterday and I couldn't find any crowd calendars past April 2017. Do they not do them anymore? Anyone else notice this?

edited to add: I meant to say do they not do them in advance anymore

Not really much in advance anymore. It's because Disney has quit basically updating their calendars until right before. I just go by his general guidelines for his calendars anymore. Then just try to plan accordingly using it all.