Ok I think I am not smart enough to plan disney any more!

[1hero2princesses]

Is it just me? I have been to Disney many times. I know the general lay of the land and how things work. But good golly this has gotten to be a pain in the butt! The system set up really pushes you to book your resort and meals months out (therefore figuring out your parks), then book you fast passes months out. All while half the info about Disney isn't even available. Park hours keep changing, not sure when rides open, restaurants open, shows are.... We love Disney world, don't get me wrong. We have saved for 3 years to get to go back but wow.... I am trying to research and do it right but it is really hard to find info, I don't literally have a week with nothing else to do! I keep getting overwhelmed and I stop. Trip is for 6 park days, end of July staying at POR. I know preplanning is a privilege but based on things getting full it almost feels like a necessity. Looks like it will be really crowded when we go based on available resort rooms.
General Fastpass Questions - Does your whole party need to get the same fastpasses? ie we have 5 people (kids 12, 11,9) and the 11 old and I don't want to ride Everest. Can we get a different fast pass? Also can I just point out having to have discussions about a half a dozen rides in advance with my kids who only sort of remember them is not really easy... Also, I saw you can get 3 fast passes each day for each person. Can we get fastpasses for the same ride on the same day in advance (2 for rock and roller coaster and one for TSM lets say).
Question- Hollywood Studios - Thinking about doing the Fantasmic Dining package but cannot find any listing of times for the Star Wars fireworks show....Can you do both? This truly appears to be a one day park for me with so much closed
Question - Animal Kingdom - I cannot find updated park hours anywhere! Am I missing something? I keep hearing it has night hours now but even the Disney site itself only shows it open till 5 pm during July. Uh...aren't I already supposed to have my dining figured out and soon get my fastpasses?
Questions - Disney Springs - Any good table service restaurants opening up? We are probably going to do this the day we arrive July 23 which is Saturday. I know I keep reading there is a lot of "new" stuff but it is all just shopping correct? Also, anyone know if there is ever discounted tickets to La Nouba? I would love this but at almost a hundred dollars a person it is really hard to justify. I now have two "adult" children at 12 and 11.

I am sure I will think of more questions... these were just my start..if anyone reads through the whole thing- thanks!

 

[BrianL]

For Fastpass, your whole party does not need to book the same attractions. You can not book the same ride twice in one day as one of your first three, but you can get a subsequent in-park Fastpass for one you did before, pending availability.

You definitely need to read MesaBoy's thread on Fastpass+:
http://www.disboards.com/threads/the-fastpass-frequently-asked-questions-superthread.3491680/

You should check out a Crowd Calendar too; EasyWDW is the most accepted free-to-use one and is very good. Just Google for it.

Don't lose heart! Planning can be tricky, but just know that whatever happens you are going to have a GREAT TIME! Even if not every little thing gets planned out perfectly, or goes according to plan, or you end up at one restaurant and you miss out on one you might have liked better, just enjoy the fun times and make memories with your family.

And, don't worry, the DIS is here to help!

 

[loves to dive]

To start with - stop and take a deep breath and relax. It really isn't as hard as you seem to be making it be or as hard as others might want you to believe. There are only a few table service restaurants that it might be important to make a reservation (ADR) that far in advance for. Most you can make a few weeks out. The fast pass system (FP+) has changed, you can now make one FP+ at a time instead of doing all three, could you do the same ride twice in one day with a FP? Possibly if you are willing to wait until late in the day but you would have to ride it the first time, use up all FPs that you already have booked (or cancel them) then book the ride again. You can not have active FPs past 3 of them and book another one. Yes, different members of your party can have different FPs, when make them on line you just designate who is on the FP. As far as park hours changing, as long as you don't try to book any that might be earlier than regular opening hours - I believe 9 am or later than regular closing, which I will admit is sort of a moving target for some of the parks, you are fine. The Animal Kingdom is kind of moving target right now as well, you don't say when you are going but I'm going to assume it's a way out, just book what is available right now and keep checking back every once in awhile, if it changes and opens up later, rearrange things. I can't tell you about Disney Springs, I don't go there.

 

[JimmyV]

Re: Animal Kingdom-Disney is in flux here. They had expected to have the nighttime stuff up and running in May, but now there is no known date for full completion. Without the nighttime stuff, it is possible that they will revert back to traditional closing times. There is still plenty of time (from Disney's perspective) to increase hours, and many expect that this will happen. It is not very comforting to say this, but you just can't trust posted hours right now.

Re: Disney Springs. There are several new TS restaurants. We dined at Morimoto in April and were very impressed. The Boathouse also looks nice and their menu is full of things I would like to try. So, there are two suggestions right there.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

Animal Kingdom's hours will change. They just have not changed yet and nobody knows exactly when they will change.

Part of a new area (not all of it) is scheduled to open at Disney Springs starting May 15, but the only restaurant that has an opening date announced is a quick service burger place. Wouldn't need ADRs for that. As for any restaurants other than those that have already been opened, no opening dates have been announced.

 

[LinderInWonderland]

General Fastpass Questions - Does your whole party need to get the same fastpasses? ie we have 5 people (kids 12, 11,9) and the 11 old and I don't want to ride Everest. Can we get a different fast pass? Also can I just point out having to have discussions about a half a dozen rides in advance with my kids who only sort of remember them is not really easy... Also, I saw you can get 3 fast passes each day for each person. Can we get fastpasses for the same ride on the same day in advance (2 for rock and roller coaster and one for TSM lets say).

Yes, you can get different FPs for different members of your party. It may be easier to take what they suggest at first and then modify your FPs to split up. My SIL hates ToT, so she got a separate FP for another attraction.

Question- Hollywood Studios - Thinking about doing the Fantasmic Dining package but cannot find any listing of times for the Star Wars fireworks show....Can you do both? This truly appears to be a one day park for me with so much closed

The current Star Wars fireworks show is changing to a new Star Wars nighttime spectacular in June, so that may be why you can't see it for July yet. For the current show, Fantasmic is at 9p and Symphony in the Stars is at 9:45p, so it is feasible to do both. We're going to DHS for 4 half days, so it's not a one day park for us. With the exception of the Backlot Tour, the attractions that closed recently were things I wouldn't try to do. But there is plenty I like to do over and over at DHS - and I still haven't seen all the shows.

Question - Animal Kingdom - I cannot find updated park hours anywhere! Am I missing something? I keep hearing it has night hours now but even the Disney site itself only shows it open till 5 pm during July. Uh...aren't I already supposed to have my dining figured out and soon get my fastpasses?

On this, I feel your pain. The nighttime stuff at AK was supposed to have opened last month and now Disney is keeping a zipped lip on when it will open since it missed that date. Now, I will miss it!

I couldn't help with your Disney Springs questions as I haven't been. I hope you have a great time on your trip!