*** Official September 2024 Thread ***

[LadybugsMum]

For Rainforest Cafe and Yak and Yeti, if you are a Landry's member, you can call to get a reservation. They have many more available than what the WDW website shows. If you don't have a reservation but are a member then you just need to show your card at the podium and you'll be seated within 10 min usually.

 

[Steph H]

Hi, all! Add me to the list for a Septmber trip! My college best friend and I are heading to GF 9/8-9/13, staying CL with TPV (omgoodness, it's been so long I had to do some searching to remember what all these acronyms stand for ). We're celebrating becoming "empty nesters" now that each of our youngest kids is going off to college this fall.

Today was our ADR day, and my SIL (aka, the world's greatest travelagent!) made our reservations for Be Our Guest and Sebastian's at 6am, lol. We were originally going to do BOG and Ohana, but when my SIL logged in this morning to do reservations, there was nothing available for our dates at Ohana. That seems odd...anyone know if they are planning a closure this fall? I'm not heartbroken over it, especially after the recent reviews I've read, but I was just curious.

Looking forward to counting down to the magic with you all!! It has been waaaaaay too long since I've been to Disney. (Hint, last time we went, both of my kids were in elementary school. )

 

[Karalee402]

Hi, all! Add me to the list for a Septmber trip! My college best friend and I are heading to GF 9/8-9/13, staying CL with TPV (omgoodness, it's been so long I had to do some searching to remember what all these acronyms stand for ). We're celebrating becoming "empty nesters" now that each of our youngest kids is going off to college this fall.

Today was our ADR day, and my SIL (aka, the world's greatest travelagent!) made our reservations for Be Our Guest and Sebastian's at 6am, lol. We were originally going to do BOG and Ohana, but when my SIL logged in this morning to do reservations, there was nothing available for our dates at Ohana. That seems odd...anyone know if they are planning a closure this fall? I'm not heartbroken over it, especially after the recent reviews I've read, but I was just curious.

Looking forward to counting down to the magic with you all!! It has been waaaaaay too long since I've been to Disney. (Hint, last time we went, both of my kids were in elementary school. )

I just have to say how much I love that you and your bestie are going to Disney to celebrate being empty nesters!! My oldest daughter is about to be a senior in high school, and it's funny how complicated the emotions are! I definitely have desperately sad moments, but I love that you're celebrating next stages because I also have moments where I'm really excited for the freedom of being an empty nester...I'll have to follow your lead and plan a Disney trip when it happens!

 

[Earningmywings]

Today was ADR day for me and two questions....I wasn't able to get Space 220 Lounge at all during my week even when booking exactly at 6 am not a total shock, but still sad. What does everyone use as a reservation finder? It's been a while since I've needed to use one so I wanted to see what was out there.

However, more shocking was that Rainforest Cafe in AK has no reservations after Wednesday, 9/11. It's kind of a tradition for us to eat there every year, so I was sad to see there was no availability as it's one you can usually book pretty last minute. Does anyone know if it's closing for renovations, etc?

We use ***********.com and touring plans usually. I get a select number for free searches on each site, or at least you did last year. I usually only have to use them to find Yak and Yeti, so surprised you got that one. I do have a Landrys card, but I like seeing it in MDE if I can book thru Disney .

 

[Earningmywings]

We use ***********.com and touring plans usually. I get a select number for free searches on each site, or at least you did last year. I usually only have to use them to find Yak and Yeti, so surprised you got that one. I do have a Landrys card, but I like seeing it in MDE if I can book thru Disney .

Oh I was blocked in my response, that’s a first My bad I guess we can’t talk about that one.

 

[adizzle819]

Hi, all! Add me to the list for a Septmber trip! My college best friend and I are heading to GF 9/8-9/13, staying CL with TPV (omgoodness, it's been so long I had to do some searching to remember what all these acronyms stand for ). We're celebrating becoming "empty nesters" now that each of our youngest kids is going off to college this fall.

Today was our ADR day, and my SIL (aka, the world's greatest travelagent!) made our reservations for Be Our Guest and Sebastian's at 6am, lol. We were originally going to do BOG and Ohana, but when my SIL logged in this morning to do reservations, there was nothing available for our dates at Ohana. That seems odd...anyone know if they are planning a closure this fall? I'm not heartbroken over it, especially after the recent reviews I've read, but I was just curious.

Looking forward to counting down to the magic with you all!! It has been waaaaaay too long since I've been to Disney. (Hint, last time we went, both of my kids were in elementary school. )

A trick I use since it's hard to find things for parties of 2 is to look for a party of 3 and book. Then you can go back and modify your party to two and your time will magically be available just looked for your week and there is all sorts of availability for 'Ohana. Hope that helps!

Edited to clarify that when you change your party from 3 to 2, you have to make sure you pick the exact same time you had your reservation booked for your party of 3. Otherwise it will give you an error that the time isn’t available

 

[adizzle819]

Oh I was blocked in my response, that’s a first My bad I guess we can’t talk about that one.

Thanks for trying!

 

[dawnnikol]

We were originally going to do BOG and Ohana, but when my SIL logged in this morning to do reservations, there was nothing available for our dates at Ohana. That seems odd...anyone know if they are planning a closure this fall? I'm not heartbroken over it, especially after the recent reviews I've read, but I was just curious.

I assume the reviews were regarding the dinner at Ohana? I've read some terrible stuff about that. However, I will go down fighting over the Ohana breakfast. My family & I went on our last trip and it was *the best*. We chose to go back this time instead of Topolino's.

 

[Newsies]

Hi, all! Add me to the list for a Septmber trip! My college best friend and I are heading to GF 9/8-9/13, staying CL with TPV (omgoodness, it's been so long I had to do some searching to remember what all these acronyms stand for ). We're celebrating becoming "empty nesters" now that each of our youngest kids is going off to college this fall.

Today was our ADR day, and my SIL (aka, the world's greatest travelagent!) made our reservations for Be Our Guest and Sebastian's at 6am, lol. We were originally going to do BOG and Ohana, but when my SIL logged in this morning to do reservations, there was nothing available for our dates at Ohana. That seems odd...anyone know if they are planning a closure this fall? I'm not heartbroken over it, especially after the recent reviews I've read, but I was just curious.

Looking forward to counting down to the magic with you all!! It has been waaaaaay too long since I've been to Disney. (Hint, last time we went, both of my kids were in elementary school. )

Just added you to the roll call!

 

[c@tk!ng]

All these ADRs are getting me excited to get mine in a week!

 

[Wood Nymph]

I just have to say how much I love that you and your bestie are going to Disney to celebrate being empty nesters!! My oldest daughter is about to be a senior in high school, and it's funny how complicated the emotions are! I definitely have desperately sad moments, but I love that you're celebrating next stages because I also have moments where I'm really excited for the freedom of being an empty nester...I'll have to follow your lead and plan a Disney trip when it happens!

One of our grandsons is going to be a senior in high school this fall and our daughter is going through similar emotions.

 

[Steph H]

Thanks for the welcome!

I just have to say how much I love that you and your bestie are going to Disney to celebrate being empty nesters!! My oldest daughter is about to be a senior in high school, and it's funny how complicated the emotions are! I definitely have desperately sad moments, but I love that you're celebrating next stages because I also have moments where I'm really excited for the freedom of being an empty nester...I'll have to follow your lead and plan a Disney trip when it happens!

I'll be honest, when we were discussing how we should celebrate our newfound "freedom," I actually suggested that we go to Traverse City for a wine tour weekend (we live in Michigan), but as soon as I said it, my friend answered, "No, we're going to Disney." She is a lifelong Disney fan. When we were in college, she had a pair of jeans that had the dogs of 101 Dalmatians painted on them. I remember that after she would wash them (rarely), she'd pull out her paints and carefully repaint any spots that had come off in the wash.

As for the emotions of being an empty nester, I have to admit, I didn't feel the sadness I thought I would feel when my last one graduated this spring. My other son graduated in 2020 and that was absolutely awful...THAT is when all the emotions came out for me. Now I'm just happy that my youngest had all the senior activities like spring break, prom, and graduation, and that we get to throw him a big party with lots of friends and family in attendance. He's SO excited for college, and I'm excited for him. It might change next month, lol, but then I'll have Disney to look forward to!

 

[JimT]

September 25 to October 1. 3 nights at Boardwalk Villas, 3 nights at Boulder Ridge Villas. The

 

[kylenne]

I assume the reviews were regarding the dinner at Ohana? I've read some terrible stuff about that. However, I will go down fighting over the Ohana breakfast. My family & I went on our last trip and it was *the best*. We chose to go back this time instead of Topolino's.

'Ohana dinner is probably the most inconsistent experience on property and is the single best example to me of why you shouldn't listen to people online about Disney dining. I realize it's expensive, especially with a larger group, and totally understand not wanting to spend that kind of money on a dice roll. But this place is not the slop house a slew of people on these boards have been howling about, and our dinner there last summer was a highlight of our trip. Always, always take reviews with a grain of salt and place them in the context of who's giving them. I can't tell you how many "ugh, that place sucks" posts I have seen in threads from people whose last meal at the restaurant being asked about was when Friends was still on the air with new episodes. People also swear CRT is trash and a one and done just to be in the castle but it's firmly the best TS meal at MK right now after Skipper Canteen, and we do it on every trip. It's improved leaps and bounds from what it used to be.

Re: the reservation finders, Disney did some back end API changes to their dining reservation system not long ago and none of the sites are as effective as they used to be tbh. I still subscribe to M.D. but with changes to the search system, it could not be easier to find openings, and relaxing the cancellation policies means there is so much more availability last minute than there used to be. I have gotten same day Fantasmic dining packages. I also agree with the previous advice to change your party from 2 to 3, nearly all my trips are either solo or with my partner at most and the system tends to not like. If you end up booking one for 3, don't worry, you can adjust it down when you check in at the actual restaurant and it's not a problem.

 

[Karlk]

Has anyone seen a list of extended hours schedule for Sept?

 

[kylenne]

Has anyone seen a list of extended hours schedule for Sept?

Nothing has changed, it's still Mondays = Epcot 9-11p and Wednesday = MK 10p - 12a. Touring Plans has sent a couple of emails about the placeholder park hours being extended for my dates even though the official hours only go up to 9/9 on the site. They're the same further out though.

https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/c...ingdom,hollywood-studios,epcot,magic-kingdom/

 

[Newsies]

September 25 to October 1. 3 nights at Boardwalk Villas, 3 nights at Boulder Ridge Villas. The

 

[Newsies]

Post #1 is updated to reflect the Jungle Cruise refurbishment, which will begin on August 26 and will extend through September. Currently, the refurbishment extends to September 17, but this can change as the calendar updates.

 

[Earningmywings]

So I have finalized our ADR plans…mostly, ADR day is Tuesday. Here is the plan so far:

Saturday arrive at Pop around 1ish (flight lands at 10:30) lunch at the resort, pool time, take skyliner to another resort or the boardwalk to have quick service dinner. Never traveled to another resort just for quick service, but there’s a good variety along the skyliner so I am kinda excited.

We have the dining plan starting Sunday, we booked Saturday separate to not have to pay for the dining plan on arrival day because originally we had a later flight. All lunches will be quick service.

Sunday MK day, Chef Mickey dinner, the kids favorite buffet. We always go to MK on party days for the low crowds. Hop to EP or HS after dinner.

Monday AK day, Yak and Yeti dinner, one of my favorites in all of WDW. Hop to MK for fireworks.

Tuesday pool day and maybe mini golf. Is that still included in packages? Rainforest Cafe for dinner, son loves the chocolate pyramid dessert, haven’t conquered it yet. Use Landrys gift card from BJ’s, paid $70 for $100 gift card. Use this saved dining credit for the last day after checkout.

Wednesday HS day, Hollywood and Vine dinner, not my favorite, but again kids like it.

Thursday Epcot day ! To try to minimize Epcot meltdowns, will plan for pool time after lunch then either back to Epcot for San Angel, HS for 50’s Primetime, or MK for Ohana. Going try to get ADR for Ohana and 50’s until we make a final decision (San Angel is usually easy to get). Last years pool time was derailed by weather and skyliner down time, so hopefully it works out this year .

Friday check out day for Pop and back to MK. Will be switching hotels as our flight does not leave until Saturday (this was not the original plan that is why we are leaving Pop a day early) one day reservations at Pop were too expensive to justify the changed flight. We changed flights to have our very first rest day at WDW. Haven’t booked the one night hotel yet, so ADR depends on where we stay. If we stay on property will book Ohana for dinner, if we stay off site will book Liberty Tree for lunch and just do a quick service dinner. The potential off site hotel has a little water park onsite, so would want to make sure the kids have time to enjoy this. Still checking prices as we get closer.

This is very similar to our usual plans each year except the addition of the rest day. We rope drop each park, do ADRs around 6 and see if the kids want to swim after dinner or stay in the park. We are early risers anyways so the rope drop does not bother us. Gave DS12 (who is starting to enjoy a late morning more often) the option to not rope drop this year and stay till close every night, he declined because crowds are so much lower at rope drop.

 

[Lillian Gracey]

DH and I will be there 9/2-8 and staying at CCV for our 10th wedding anniversary. Very excited to back at our favorite resort. We're only planning on doing MNSSHP and a day at Epcot for parks and then go with the flow the rest of the time. Spend some time relaxing on the balcony and hit up the hot tub, maybe try some of the lounges in the evening, finally go to Jellyrolls, check out some of the other resorts, and mini-golf at Fantasia Gardens. I promised DH that we'd relax instead of rope drop to close every day. Right now we only have one ADR and that's for Shiki-Sai.

I'm anxiously waiting for the F&W menus and MSSHP food/merch!