Oh yes, another first timer, any tips/tricks?

[TheyCallMeStacey]

We are taking our 4 year old and 21 month old to WDW the week before thanksgiving...which seems to be shaping up to be pretty busy (based on the increased crowd levels and the CRAZY ADR day I had yesterday).

I feel like I need to be on my game as far as some of the fast pass planning, and making sure I didn't schedule something stupid with the ADR.

This is my plan, please feel free to pick it apart!

Arrive Saturday with dinner at Rainforest Cafe or T-Rex

Sunday - Animal Kingdom - ADR at 10:45 Tusker House; planning on Fantasmic that night

Monday - Magic Kingdom - ADR at 11:20 The Plaza Restaurant - Pirates and Pals (6:30 arrival at Contemporary)

Tuesday - Epcot - ADR at Biergarten 1:15

Wednesday - Magic Kingdom - ADR at 1:00 at Cinderella's Royal Table

Thursday - Hollywood Studios - ADR at 6:55 at Chef Mickey's

Friday - Magic Kingdom - ADR at 11:05 at Be Our Guest

How does that look? When it comes to FastPass strategy, does it make more sense to try to do standby in the morning when there are potentially shorter lines and schedule FastPasses for later in the day when lines would be longer...or schedule them ASAP so you can schedule the extra ones?

So many things to think about planning!!!

 

[Alesia]

Do you have park hoppers?

 

[TheyCallMeStacey]

Do you have park hoppers?

Yep!

 

[Tomh]

Arrive Saturday with dinner at Rainforest Cafe or T-Rex

Cool. We almost always start our trip with an evening at DTD. Usually we go to Planet Hollywood, but the littles will love Rainforest, or T-Rex.


Sunday - Animal Kingdom - ADR at 10:45 Tusker House; planning on Fantasmic that night

You have a 10:45 for lunch, or breakfast? I am assuming park open at 9. You should arrive for ADR's about 20 minutes early, so by 10:30 you will be waiting for a meal. Personally, I would probably schedule this later in the day, when the park is getting crowded, and take full advantage of the first 2 hours or so to get as much done as possible BEFORE things get busy.



Monday - Magic Kingdom - ADR at 11:20 The Plaza Restaurant - Pirates and Pals (6:30 arrival at Contemporary)

Again, I usually schedule lunch ADR's for late, say after 1:00, so that we are able to take full advantage of the lower crowds in the morning.


Tuesday - Epcot - ADR at Biergarten 1:15

Perfect!



Wednesday - Magic Kingdom - ADR at 1:00 at Cinderella's Royal Table

Yup


Thursday - Hollywood Studios - ADR at 6:55 at Chef Mickey's

Going from Hollywood Studios all the way to the Contemporary . . . are you staying there? On Sunday you are park hopping from AK to DHS to see F! Why not see F! here, do Chef Mickeys on Sunday after AK (which closes early anyway) and forget the park hoppers for some savings in cash.


Friday - Magic Kingdom - ADR at 11:05 at Be Our Guest

A little early, will dig into the awesome morning time, BUT . .. BOG is hard to get, so it is what it is.

 

[TheyCallMeStacey]

Thanks for the reply! Our Tusker House reservation is for breakfast. Little one really wanted to have breakfast with Mickey and this was the only time available. Looking to change to an earlier time.

Great thought on Thursday...I kind of just threw that in there because we didn't have anything else booked for supper. Changed the the ADR for Monday to 1 ish.

 

[larandtra1990]

I think judging someone elses schedule is a difficult thing since everyone has their own preferences. For example, we never do a whole park for the whole day unless its a holiday or a special event. Just doesnt make sense for us. Plus, when you have been a lot, you tour differently and have differing priorities. Food is also the taste of the individual and sometimes its worth it to try various restaurants and once you have you know if you would like them. For example: Rainforest/TRex the food is eh and hit or miss and I cant do either when Ragland Road and House of Blues are right near. Portabello is also a good choice and there are new offerings. The food at the bowling alley is even excellent. Pirates and Pals as compared to Columbia Harbor House or even Caseys is a no brainer for us. Chef Mickeys isnt what it used to be and I find Ohana and 1900 to be better choices, but, you could step up and Kona Cafe, Narcoosees, and Cali Grill all are much better options. Royal Table for breakfast is a good idea, but, beyond that, been there done that and the food isnt that great. Crystal palace is actually better for lunch. But again, its a preference from someone who has been to them all and has preferences. And thats not even mentioning Boma, Flying Fish, Artist Point, etc.
So other than little tips here and there, enjoy what you booked based on your preferences and have a great time.

 

[Lucius Best]

I actually like the early lunches, I assume your plan is to be up early, get to the parks at rope drop, which will be 8am on the days MK and Epcot have morning EMH. Sit-down lunches are also usually cheaper than dinner, then you have more flexibility in the evenings, especially with park hoppers. I like the alternating parks with MK, note however that parks will be busier on the EMH days.

When you book FP+ will be determined by how you plan to spend your days with the kids, whether you plan on taking pool/nap breaks in the afternoon, etc. My goal on the last trip was to get as many FP as possible, that meant reserving the first 3 FP+ before noon, so we could start getting additional FP at kiosks as early as possible, we did not hop and had no intention of taking breaks. Yes, the lines will be shorter in the morning, but only for the first hour or two. By 11am during a busy week, I'm guessing the lines will be getting long.

I would suggest reserving FP+ in the morning before lunch, so you can get more FP after lunch. But there's no knowing what the availability and return times will be for FP in the afternoon. On days with crowd level 7-8, the FP return times at kiosks could be 1-2 hours away. If you know for sure that you are going to stay at a park most of the afternoon, then riding standby in the morning, and having FP+ reserved after lunch for 12pm/1pm/2pm might be the way to go.

Note that while FP reservations can not overlap, they can definitely overlap with ADRs. Just for example, on day with 11:20am ADR, you could theoretically reserve 3 FP+ for 9am/10am/11am. You can show up for FP 5 minutes early (and supposedly up to 15 minutes late). If you use third FP at 10:55am, a ride like PP or Pooh, you'll be on and off in 10-15 minutes at the most, plenty of time to get to the Plaza at 11:20am.

I never felt the need to check into an ADR 20 minutes early unless I'm hungry and don't have anything else to do. And at that time of day, guessing restaurants will be practically empty. At BOG for lunch, they won't even let you in line more than 5 minutes before your ADR.

 

[FallsChurchDad]

We have two kids around the same age, and we went to WDW with free dining last November. We had a great time, but we definitely ran our kids into the ground. Our three-year-old had a bit of a revolt in the middle of the trip, which led me to scrap our plans entirely the next day. My wife went ahead as planned with our other kid, while I took DS3 to the Boneyard playground in AK where he played ALL morning, and then we had cheeseburgers and rode Triceratops Spin 4 times, and then we went back to the Boneyard. Then he napped at the hotel for almost three hours, and we had a QS dinner at the hotel together as a family. Basically, we did only one ride and no ADRs or anything else planned -- and it was a completely wonderful day, that I will remember as long as I live. The next day, he was completely re-energized. He did _35_ rides at MK -- on a party day, with a 7 pm closing!

Anyway.... since you are a first-timer with park hoppers and little kids (and I would assume, free dining, based on those ADRs....), I would trim down your plans. First, skip that ADR at the Plaza, and cancel Pirates and Pals. You already have 2 lunch ADRs planned at the Magic Kingdom on later days. Spend your first Magic Kingdom day doing fun stuff with the kids, and just do a quick QS lunch. That will give you more flexibility. The kids will probably be wiped by 1 pm. Head back to the hotel for a nap/rest, then go out to Epcot and do an ADR there for dinner, or --even better -- just do a simple TS at your hotel.

With Pirates and Pals, you have less than a week at Disney World, for your first time. I wouldn't spend a whole night (and extra money) on that, when there are SO many other things to do. Your young kids will already be going on a ton of rides, and doing a lot of sitting and waiting. They'd probably rather just run around one of the playgrounds for an hour, or spend extra pool time (depending on the weather).

You will be surprised how long the ADRs can take - the waiting is magnified when you have young kids. We had brunch at Ohana the week before Thanksgiving last year, and it must have taken 2.5 hours, all in. We arrived 10 minutes before our ADR time, and we got a beeper and had to wait about 25 minutes for a table, and then service was slow. Both of our little boys were going out of their minds by the time we got the check - despite loving the food and all the distractions at Ohana. We liked our QS experiences much better for lunch. With young kids, Magic Kingdom is the place to be. ADRs between 11 am and noon can also wreak havoc and create stress with trying to plan your FP+'s.

In mid-November, the park hours are relatively short (especially party days at MK), so there seems to be less 4th FP availability compared to almost every other time of the year. Thanks to your 21-month-old, you can also rack up rider swap passes, which you can use in the afternoon with your 4-year-old. Between 9 and 10 am, FPs have very little value except at TSMM, Test Track, Soarin, and 7DMT. And even then, I think you'd rather FP those rides later in the day, and ride stuff stand-by from rope drop until at least 10:30 am.

Last thing - try to do Osborne Lights AFTER Fantasmic, about an hour after HS closes. Or just skip it, since it's not fun with young kids if it's body-to-body crowded. This will mean a very late night for the kids, but it is worth it if the kids can nap both the day of and the day after you do it.

 

[Spork24]

since you have no real attachment to the plaza, the little ones would probably love an ADR at crystal palace which is about 50 yards away. It's a character meal with poo and friends and would be a bit different from the characters you will see at tucker house and chef Mickeys. It's just the typical disney buffet food but it's a must for my family's little ones on each trip.

If it were me I would do CP in place of tucker house or chef mickeys to get more variety in the characters.

 

[TheyCallMeStacey]

Awesome ideas. I am pretty set on the restaurants, mostly because they appeal to my littles (although i could get rid of that plaza res). Thanks Lucius for the tips on FastPass. I guess I am just making sure i'm not missing something obvious. Thinking that setting most of the fast passes for morning sounds good because I want to be somewhat flexible with the possible afternoon meltdowns

 

[TheyCallMeStacey]

Does CP have mickey? My kids are obsessed with mickey. I don't have disney dining, but I asked in another thread and they seemed to think you need a reservation if you're wanting to eat on site. Maybe I misunderstood. Happy to drop the Plaza and Potentially Chef Mickeys - but wanting to keep the Pirates and Pals. DS is obsessed with the pirates. Pretty excited about the rider swap option they offer.

 

[Lucius Best]

You absolutely want to make ADRs if you plan on eating at a park or resort. Crystal Palace has Pooh/Tigger/Eeyore/Piglet, eaten there for breakfast many times, the food is just okay. If you want Mickey, then you definitely want to keep your Chef Mickey ADR.

 

[Mikie]

I love that your ADRs are mostly lunches - gives you time to take advantage of morning energy, then you'll be ready for a break at lunch. With little ones, I find dinners unpredictable (are they hot, tired and cranky? Are they pooped from a long park day?). I think your restaurant choices are great for your kuds' ages and first-timers - tasty and fun!

With kids those ages, I like to try to take their lead if I can. If they're tired or pushed too hard, no one will have any fun! Therefore, I like to schedule FPs around an ADR, like ride-ride-lunch-ride. That way, you do standby lines in the early morning when they're short, then you have a couple FP booked as lines are beginning to build; you also only have to be checking your watch once for that first FP, then progress through your reservations. After that, you'll be free to play it by ear, get naps, look for additional FPs. . . Whatever works for you at the time.

 

[Lucius Best]

ADRs between 11 am and noon can also wreak havoc and create stress with trying to plan your FP+'s.

I don't think an 11:30am ADR at The Plaza or Crystal Palace is going to "wreak havoc" with plans. Restaurants are going to be less busy on the early side of lunchtime, so you shouldn't have to wait very long to sit down. I've eaten at CP for breakfast with 8:05am ADRs many times, we're always out of there before 9am. CRT and BOG are going to take longer, but worth it in my opinion. Your 2.5 hour experience at Ohana is outrageous but not really surprising, that place is always a total zoo.

You are correct that sitting down for table service lunch will take longer than counter service. For maximum flexibility, you'd want to avoid TS and just pop into a CS for lunch whenever you were hungry or in between FP. But there's nothing wrong with taking a 60-90 minute break midday to do a special/character lunch like CRT, BOG, or CP.

 

[allybabba98]

We have done Tusker House twice now and my boys have loved it. I have three boys and last time we went (two years ago) they were 8, 5 and 3. The first year my youngest was about two and was terrified but the next year absolutely loved the characters. They especially loved when they danced around the restaurant with the characters. They met Donald, Mickey, Goofy and Daisy. We are going back in September but have decided to skip Tusker House this time but once the kids find out we are going they may have an opinion about that. Have fun!

 

[tlmadden73]

The Tusker House character meal is great ...

But, since you plan on hopping from AK to DHS .. I would change your Tusker House ADR to a LATE lunch .. or early dinner (if available).
I feel a late breakfast like that will just interrupt the flow of the day at a park you already plan on not spending much time in ..

There is a lot to see at AK for first timers and some of it isn't scheduled ... (like how long do you want to watch animals .. do you want to go to Conservation Station and how much time will the family want to spend at the petting zoo?) .. I feel that a ADR like that could just interrupt the flow .. after you get in the park and do the safari .. you may just have to wait around for your ADR as you won't have time to go do anything else without missing your reservation ... next thing you know it will be noon and all you've done is the Safari ..

When I went in October .. we had a late lunch (4:30 PM) at Tusker house and loved it after a long day at the park. The kids loved the character interaction and since it was an odd time .. it wasn't very crowded. We were done by 6:00 and were able to still hop over to DHS to see the Frozen Sing-Along show and do a few rides.