OMG...I've forgotten how to do this. Where do I start??

[mickeywho?]

HELP!!

Ok - so it's our first trip to WDW in over two years. After a crazy horrible couple of years (cheating ex - ruined the last two trips with his affairs) I've decided it's more than time to go back! Reclaiming our happy place

So I booked Poly today for a week in August. (kept the DVC contract, dumped the ex).

And now I'm looking at the calendar and wondering where to start?? We're there for 7 six days. Me and two teenage boys in the crazy heat of Florida summer. I think the plan will be we to let them sleep (it's not worth the battle otherwise) and have lazy days at the pool and then head to a park for the evening. So a meal every night in a park, and late late night park time.

How would you plan this? Start with the EMH calendar? Book dining? I need to log on to My Disney Experience to book anything now right?

 

[Jadyreen1282]

The heck with the trip, I want hear more of your story since it's all out there now.

 

[bbak30]

Sounds great, late nights in the park. Maybe book early dinners, 4:00 or so and then park time. I would be concerned that dinners around 7 or 8 would cut into my park time.

Have fun!

 

[Day-Day]

If you are planning to eat table-service meals in the parks you need to book the ADR's (Advance Dining Reservations) now. This can be done after signing on Disney's site using your Disney account.

I'm guessing you will want to take advantage of evening EMH so check the park schedules and go from that.

 

[oufpat]

Congratulations on getting rid of the ex, now go and have a great time with your boys!!

 

[bcrook]

Honestly, my biggest concern at this point would be to keep a close watch on the appearance of the for pay extra magic hours for $149.00. the key for me would be to find the evenings in MK that stay open the latest that are not EMH nights. those 12:00 midnight closes at MK in the summer are the best.

i would get a hopper so that you can be the most flexible. if you are sleeping in, you will need to be able to move around. My college aged kids enjoy this system.

I like the suggestion that you eat early in the day. if you dont need character meals, and you can be more flexible, 4:30 dinners have a lot of availbility.

For me, I would consider getting a dining package for Rivers of Light one night (when they become available)
so you dont have to worry about that -- if you want to see the show.

There is so much flux right now, I think i would keep a close eye on the new developments and be ready for that 60 day FP+ window.

watch for:

1. info on night time safari fastpass at DAK
2. keep an eye out for River of Light info
3. dont stress on Mine Train for day 1 or 2, just book it for your third, fourth, fifth, sixth nights.
4. watch the development of these charged emhs.


I find DHS very difficult to fill much time. if I book my FP+ consecutively, I have a lot of free time on my hands. the Frozen fireworks last summer were a complete madhouse (very good though). I would guess the Star Wars fireworks will be highly attended and more chaotic. i might go to Epcot for dinner, take the boat DHS for the latest hours possible. Use my fastpasses at DHS, watch the fireworks, get some Tower of Terror rides before they kick you out.

You will get some good ride experiences if you close the parks each night. i like to be the last person on a ride. you could do that 6 times! if you are in line before closing hour you can ride.

have fun!

 

[Tomh]

Ok, so first off . . . . SO SORRY about the cheating . .. . glad it is now an ex, you made the right move. Also glad you are taking time to have fun with the kids.

So . . . ADR's are booked starting 180 days from arrival at the parks, you are late to the game, so you will need to get them booked as soon as possible.

Given your game plan, I would look for the latest possible park hours, and pick my parks based on that, getting yourself as much time in the parks as possible.

Once you've picked which parks / which days, log into My Disney Experience, and get your ADR's for your dining set.

Staying onsite, you can book FP+ starting 60 days from arrival, which will be sometime in June (we are visiting in August as well)
Make those FP+ choices right away at midnight 60 days out, and try to make sure you get them for SDMT (if you want to ride it) and TSMM, as those two rides pretty consistently have the worst lines.

 

[pa. dad]

Maybe your teenaged boys would like Universal with all the thrill rides too? Or possibly a water park but if they want to go to a water park, they'd have to get up earlier.
my sons now 21 don't like to get up early either but we have convinced them that the early hours with light lines are better than waiting a hour for this and 2 hours for that. We will build a 'sleep in later" day or 2 into the trip to allow more rest every few days also. They may warm to the idea of getting up early after a 2 hr wait for space mt.
Maybe not but it's worth a try?

 

[mrzrich]

Start with Josh's easywdw.com for crowd calendars. He will steer you to which park for which day.

 

[LSUfan4444]

HELP!!

Ok - so it's our first trip to WDW in over two years. After a crazy horrible couple of years (cheating ex - ruined the last two trips with his affairs) I've decided it's more than time to go back! Reclaiming our happy place

So I booked Poly today for a week in August. (kept the DVC contract, dumped the ex).

And now I'm looking at the calendar and wondering where to start?? We're there for 7 six days. Me and two teenage boys in the crazy heat of Florida summer. I think the plan will be we to let them sleep (it's not worth the battle otherwise) and have lazy days at the pool and then head to a park for the evening. So a meal every night in a park, and late late night park time.

How would you plan this? Start with the EMH calendar? Book dining? I need to log on to My Disney Experience to book anything now right?

Wait for park hours then choose the parks you will be in based off crowd predictions. After you know your parks, choose your dining. Wait a few months then choose your FP+ based off of the parks you will be in and your dining choices. Keep up to date with changes and be able to make changes when your hand is forced or the opportunity presents itself.

 

[Hopefully]

I agree with checking easywdw NOW for which park which day. Hours for August are available already. Once you decide where you want to be on a given day you need to make dinner ADR's ASAP. IN Park ADR's fill quickly for TS meals.
Then you have some time to plan your days. You can make 3 FP+ at 60 days in advance.
I also agree with the others. Getting a head start on the day early, at least a few days is good advice. There has been lots of angst on the boards lately about park hours being shorter this year
Good Luck

 

[loves to dive]

Go with the flow, they are teenagers, they are going to change their minds and aren't going to want a rigid schedule. I would check park hours but keep in mind those things are in flux so don't plan anything that might disappoint if you don't get it for those late nights. As far as ADRs, we've had great luck just getting them the day before or the day of. You have older kids so I'm going to assume what time you eat isn't going to be as critical as for those with smaller ones. We really enjoy just going on MDE the day of and pulling up an area and seeing what is available. If you are flexible you can experience new things. As far as FP, I wouldn't worry too much since again they are older so I'm going to assume the meet and greets aren't on their radar and they aren't going to lay in the middle of the floor and kick and scream if they don't ride Seven Dwarves. I've always had good luck booking for late in the afternoon and around normal dinner hours even the day before.

 

[mickeywho?]

Wow = I'm checking the park calendars and I'm not seeing too many late nights. What happened to the 2am late park closings?

We've been often enough and have done the early morning rope-drop out of the park by 1pm trips. I love it but think that'll be a battle on my hands every morning. We used to do one park early, back to resort for swim and relaxation, late night at another park. The go go go trip is fun but it takes a lot of energy. I think this time around, even if I'm still an early riser, I'll use that early morning time for myself. Quiet coffee by the pool...walk through the resort...even running over to MK for a couple of hours by myself. The boys can sleep...

I've started some plans. I have some old leftover tickets (5 day park hoppers and a couple of single day tickets) so I'm not planning to buy those new "late night ticket events" that seems to be the new thing. Arrival day will be a day at the resort just relaxing. I've booked Kona for dinner that evening. And the next five days are likely to be MK - MGM - EP - MK - DTD and then brunch and head out on departure day. One of the suggestions I've seen out there is going to Epcot for an early dinner and then over to MGM by boat. Any opinions on that?

 

[HM]

My teens were always willing to get up and going early when we did summer trips. They knew we'd be back to the room or pool after lunch and wanted to do things while it was cool(ish). You might talk to them about what they want before you go about planning too much. We spent the afternoons in the room where it was cool, watching videos, doing puzzles, napping or hanging the pool. We'd go back to the parks for dinner and nighttime attractions. We rarely stayed out past midnight, so that we could get some decent sleep.