***Official November 2016 Thread***

[CarnesFamily]

Ok... I need help! There isn't a headache like a WDW planning headache. I wish I can be a kid again and just show up and go along with what my parents planned 25+ years ago. However, I'm an adult with a family and I guess I have to plan. I'm getting information overload with all the researching. I have FOMO syndrome. Fear Of Missing Out adds another layer of complexity.

Details...
Party of 7. Me, my dad, wife and 4 children (well adults according to Disney).
Sunday Nov 20th - Friday Nov 25th at the POLY
4 day park passes for Mon-Thur (My FOMO kicked in so we have park hopper)
Quick Dining Plan (Although we would like to do one table service for Thanksgiving. We were thinking Spirit of Aloha or Ohana)

We will show up on Sunday around 10am at the resort and take advantage of the pools, amenities and start our quick dining until we can officially check into our room. We will stay at the resort all day. When Monday comes we will run around trying to do and see as much as possible.

We are early risers and go to bed early. However, we will make a vow to stay up as long as possible and take soak in as much as possible.

I hear HWS and AK are not full day parks. I need help with parks and hopping. What would you do?

ETA... this is my dad and my kids first time. My wife and I went when we were younger.

I am not an expert but here are a few things to thing about...

Would any of your kids be interested in Jedi Training (12 yr and under)? If so you would need to be at HS at rope drop to sign up

Are shows or rides a priority? We like a mix and wouldn't miss evening shows (can't wait to see ROL!!)

Also I would look at crowd calendars and which days will have EMH... you can really play around with a bunch of possibilities but just remember that moving from park to park takes away actual "park time". Hope that makes sense. My biggest advice to get a good plan but don't go in with crazy expectations and just enjoy the time you are there.

 

[lovingeire]

Hello all! We (my Best Running Friend aka BRF and I) are officially booked for Nov 2-8th. We are running Lumiere's Challenge (10K & half) Wine & Dine weekend. We are staying in a royal room at Port Orleans Riverside. We fell in love with these rooms over Princess weekend and are so excited to be back! (Plus as a mom of three boys we are a little too big, or our oldest is, for the room...and no one is in love with a Princess theme. So I eat it up for girls weekends!) We have issues and already have all our dining reservations planned out and ost of our activities, baring FastPasses. Hoping to hit the Christmas party, Yee Haw Bob and of course we'll be at the W&D after party! Planning to eat at Be Our Guest, Trattoria al Forno, Via Napoli and Yachtsman Steakhouse, as well as a day of solely Food & Wine eating! So excited for this trip! I wasn't thinking I'd be able to do it, but my husband said go for it so I'm really looking forward to hanging out with my running group (all of which are running something that weekend) and having an amazing girls weekend! (I did this trip last year with my hubby so it will be a bit bittersweet, but still fun!0

 

[lovingeire]

I do still have a request in with a broker for the Poly but not expecting it to happen. So right now we are booked at POFQ which will be new to us and I'm sure will be nice

I am content with POFQ though, I've been watching videos and I am excited to try it out and experience it. And those beignets! And the boat to Disney Springs!

I love French Quarter! The small size is definitely a plus. The boat ride to Disney Springs is so relaxing. While I know the Poly is amazing, you're not choosing poorly with POFQ. It is so fun, so quiet, so laid back. It really is great!

Ok... I need help! There isn't a headache like a WDW planning headache. I wish I can be a kid again and just show up and go along with what my parents planned 25+ years ago. However, I'm an adult with a family and I guess I have to plan. I'm getting information overload with all the researching. I have FOMO syndrome. Fear Of Missing Out adds another layer of complexity.

Details...
Party of 7. Me, my dad, wife and 4 children (well adults according to Disney).
Sunday Nov 20th - Friday Nov 25th at the POLY
4 day park passes for Mon-Thur (My FOMO kicked in so we have park hopper)
Quick Dining Plan (Although we would like to do one table service for Thanksgiving. We were thinking Spirit of Aloha or Ohana)

We will show up on Sunday around 10am at the resort and take advantage of the pools, amenities and start our quick dining until we can officially check into our room. We will stay at the resort all day. When Monday comes we will run around trying to do and see as much as possible.

We are early risers and go to bed early. However, we will make a vow to stay up as long as possible and take soak in as much as possible.

I hear HWS and AK are not full day parks. I need help with parks and hopping. What would you do?

ETA... this is my dad and my kids first time. My wife and I went when we were younger.

Rope drop is a must in my opinion! With 4 days I'd make sure I hit rope drop at Magic Kingdom at least once and maybe DHS if you have "kids" who are 12 and under and want to do Jedi Training. Really, the more you do rope drop the more efficient your time would be. If they haven't extended the Star Wars Fireworks I'd probably do a "half day" at DHS and then hop to MK becaues I feel like there is more there than anywhere else. But I grew up with Disneyland and that is the most similar so we spend a lot of time at MK. You just have to decide what are priorities for you and your family.

For a first visit (which I would classify yours as ) I hate to tell people ANY park is a half-day,

^^^^ This! I hate to tell people this, even though I may practice it, becasue as seasoned visitors there are things we choose not to do since we visit frequently enough or have done it once or twice. As a first time visitor you may want to expeirence some of those things...and there will be new experiences at DAK with Rivers of Light, as well as apossible Star WArs fireworks show if they extend it at DHS.

 

[CMAG38]

Making RD is a plus any time of year and most definitely will be a benefit the week you're going

I'm sure we will be making rope drop every day. What time is that during November?

Are shows or rides a priority? We like a mix and wouldn't miss evening shows (can't wait to see ROL!!)

We will probably have to mix it up because I have a couple that do not ride roller coasters. I'm looking forward to ROL.

As a first time visitor you may want to expeirence some of those things...and there will be new experiences at DAK with Rivers of Light, as well as apossible Star WArs fireworks show if they extend it at DHS.

I definitely want to see the Star Wars fireworks.

 

[ariane37]

I'm sure we will be making rope drop every day. What time is that during November?

Well, RD varies every month at each park due to holidays/how busy the parks are. "Normal" park openings are roughly 9:00. During Thanksgiving week many days RD is moved up to 8am, and then if the park has EMH those start at 7am. And, when Nov. hours are released (hopefully later this month) they won't be set in stone; Disney can and will change the opening/closing hours right up until the week before at any given time, so sometimes you need to make last minute adjustments.
Trying to remember from last year. I know the Sat. before Thanksgiving AK opened at 8:00; it was either that Mon. or Tues. HS opened at 8 but had 7:00 EMH. On Black Friday MK opened at 8. I would plan for 8am openings in general knowing you'll have to adjust some to 9 or even 7

I definitely want to see the Star Wars fireworks.

So do I! DH and I saw the Symphony in the Sky SW fireworks in January and they were gorgeous. I know by Nov. it'll be a different show but I still expect it to be awesome. And we're not even SW fans!

 

[CMAG38]

Adding more to my question: http://www.disboards.com/threads/official-november-2016-thread.3441989/page-11#post-55489967

This is the tentative plan for our first time trip. What are your thoughts?

Sunday- Day- Poly; Night- watch Wishes from the resort. I think I read that they pipe it in the music.
Monday- Day- Magic Kingdom; Night- Hollywood Studios Star Wars or Fantasmic
Tuesday- Day- Epcot; Night- Illuminations
Wednesday- Day- Animal Kingdom; Night- River of Lights
Thursday- Day- Hollywood Studios and Epcot; Night- Spirit of Aloha @ 5pm and head to MK to watch Wishes up close.
Friday- Heading back home.

 

[CarnesFamily]

Adding more to my question: http://www.disboards.com/threads/official-november-2016-thread.3441989/page-11#post-55489967

This is the tentative plan for our first time trip. What are your thoughts?

Sunday- Day- Poly; Night- watch Wishes from the resort. I think I read that they pipe it in the music.
Monday- Day- Magic Kingdom; Night- Hollywood Studios Star Wars or Fantasmic
Tuesday- Day- Epcot; Night- Illuminations
Wednesday- Day- Animal Kingdom; Night- River of Lights
Thursday- Day- Hollywood Studios and Epcot; Night- Spirit of Aloha @ 5pm and head to MK to watch Wishes up close.
Friday- Heading back home.

My thought... I know Disney is expensive so any extra cost isn't pleasant but adding another park day for the day you arrive would be $75 total and you would get 3 FP+ plus more flexibility plus less back & forth the other days. Plus you could add "resort time" mid trip to help rest up for all the fun!

 

[hdh23]

We just had to switch our trip date once again due to school dates. Now it's looking like the week before thanksgiving Nov. 10-19th. Has anyone ever been the week before Thanksgiving? Were the crowds unbearable? The crowd calendars say moderate. Thanks so much.

 

[dznygrl70]

We just had to switch our trip date once again due to school dates. Now it's looking like the week before thanksgiving Nov. 10-19th. Has anyone ever been the week before Thanksgiving? Were the crowds unbearable? The crowd calendars say moderate. Thanks so much.

That's the same week my husband and I are going this year. We went in September last year and it was NOT slow. Actually it was busier then it had been in 2014 the week after the 4th of July. I am hoping someone will answer your question soon as I am curious about this week as well. Happy planning!

 

[Family Loves Disney]

I guess I'll finally jump in here- I've only been planning this trip for a year now! Our trip is November 20-25, Thanksgiving week.

DH and I decided to treat my 2 sisters and their total of 5 kids to their very first (and possibly only) WDW trip! They will join our family of 4, making it 11 people total. I've booked a house offsite (our first offsite stay) and purchased our park tickets, so now the real planning begins. I've got my work cut out for me- only booking 1 day of ADRs at a time and doing fastpass+ at 30 days instead of 60, and all for 11 people! Challenge: accepted

We were booked at BC but then I decided to bring my parents with us because my stepmom is having health issues and this would probably be the last time she would be able to go to WDW, so I changed our ressies to AoA handicapped accessible Nemo Suite. I feel your pain and know your challenge.

 

[MomTo3PrincessesInNJ]

Joining! Even though we said our trip 2 weeks ago was our last for awhile, H & I decided to return sans kids for some Food & Wine fun the second week in November It's a super short trip -- Thur to Sat. We're staying at an All Star resort (my cousin is a CM and got us an insanely cheap rate there). Right now my plan is to go to MVMCP on 11/10, and then get a 1 day ticket to Epcot on 1/11. We'll also spend some time in Disney Springs, since we usually skip that in favor of park time. We're only going to do 1 TS and the rest QS (unless a Cast Member discount for the dining plan becaomes available during our stay), so booking dining should be a big deal. Actually it probably will -- H & I each have our fav restaurants, to only get to pick 1 will be tough! Looking forward to getting back in the planning game, it's been a few weeks, hahaha.

 

[CMAG38]

My thought... I know Disney is expensive so any extra cost isn't pleasant but adding another park day for the day you arrive would be $75 total and you would get 3 FP+ plus more flexibility plus less back & forth the other days. Plus you could add "resort time" mid trip to help rest up for all the fun!

I didn't realize it would be that amount to add another day for 7 park hoppers. It does look appealing; however, I'm not sure what time we would be making into the resort or if we would be up to it with all the driving. I figured we would just hang out at the resort and play at the pool.

 

[Ashley Nadeau]

Im so happy for this thread! We are all booked for Nov 13- Nov 24! Crossing our fingers for free dining! We are staying at POP!

 

[kksummergirl]

Jumping on this thread! Just booked 11/11-11/14 (quick trip) DVC GF, first adult only, first food and wine trip. DF wants to celebrate her big 50 drinking around the world so of couse I said yes!! So excited.

 

[ariane37]

We just had to switch our trip date once again due to school dates. Now it's looking like the week before thanksgiving Nov. 10-19th. Has anyone ever been the week before Thanksgiving? Were the crowds unbearable? The crowd calendars say moderate. Thanks so much.

That's the same week my husband and I are going this year. We went in September last year and it was NOT slow. Actually it was busier then it had been in 2014 the week after the 4th of July. I am hoping someone will answer your question soon as I am curious about this week as well. Happy planning!

Well, I haven't been the week before Thanksgiving, only the week OF and the week AFTER. But in general the week before is a lower-crowd week, as in lower crowds than Thanksgiving week and lower than earlier in the month, when the F & W festival, the marathon, and Veteran's Day are occurring. So other than the last few days of the month, you're more than likely going at the slowest time in Nov. Again not necessarily slow, just slower than the rest of the month

 

[Tash87]

Has anyone got a link where I can see if the park hours have been released?

I know they haven't yet but would like a quick link that I can use and get to easily.

Isn't there a timetable that's released to travel agents slightly earlier?

As I said on a pp patiently waiting....

 

[ENJDisneyFan]

Has anyone got a link where I can see if the park hours have been released?

This is the link I've been checking. I could be wrong, but I believe it will update to Nov 2016 as soon as they are available. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong!
https://media.disneywebcontent.com/StaticFiles/ParkHours/WDWTravelAgent_November.pdf

 

[Wanna be Ariel]

Joining in too. Right now we are booked with our first Disney trip since becoming DVC members. We are staying at the Poly Nov 13-18. This will be my DS First Trip and First Birthday!!! So lots of first this trip. We also might add a day in the front and back? Who knows. We are still not sure if we are driving or flying(would use SW points) Looking forward to following along with everyone.

 

[ariane37]

This is the link I've been checking. I could be wrong, but I believe it will update to Nov 2016 as soon as they are available. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong!
https://media.disneywebcontent.com/StaticFiles/ParkHours/WDWTravelAgent_November.pdf

Oct. hours were released mid-March, so Nov. hours should be posted mid-April.......the latest they'll be posted is 6 months ahead of time Josh at easywdw will have them as soon as the travel agent site does, if not a tad earlier.

 

[Wanna be Ariel]

Is there a November 2016 Facebook page setup?