overwhelmed WDW newbie seeking support

[NorthernCalMom]

Got up at a little before 3am (6am Florida time) to see if I could snag an ADR for Sci-Fi Dine-In, but they were all gone pretty much immediately (our park day is March 30, but we arrive at our on-site hotel March 29, so our 60 Day window began this morning). Oh, well... Back to our original plan to do counter service/snacks (plus early breakfast & after-parks dinner at our hotel's food court). I'm sure we'll be fine. Hey, more time for rides (and more stomach space to try ALL THE SNACKS)!! I did sign up for my Touring Plans prescription's reservation search to notify us if there are any cancellations but am not holding my breath. Since the character meals are COVID-hampered, it looks as if Sci-Fi is the hottest ticket in town right now.

Stayed up until 4am to practice my ROTR 7am boarding pass drop mojo. We would have gotten one. I was using my i-Phone SE; started at the AT-AT/home page, toggling back and forth until 3:59, then went into Jedi-Zen mode [“I am one with the Boarding Pass. I am the Boarding Pass, and the Boarding Pass is me...”] and clicked “join” just when the clock changed to 4:00–I hope I’ll be as lucky on our actual park day; it’s during spring break, the week before Easter, so I figure there’ll be far more people trying for passes that day. So, ultimately, the early morning wasn’t a total wash.

OK, back to bed now.

 

[jani3]

Got up at a little before 3am (6am Florida time) to see if I could snag an ADR for Sci-Fi Dine-In, but they were all gone pretty much immediately (our park day is March 30, but we arrive at our on-site hotel March 29, so our 60 Day window began this morning). Oh, well... Back to our original plan to do counter service/snacks (plus early breakfast & after-parks dinner at our hotel's food court). I'm sure we'll be fine. Hey, more time for rides (and more stomach space to try ALL THE SNACKS)!! I did sign up for my Touring Plans prescription's reservation search to notify us if there are any cancellations but am not holding my breath. Since the character meals are COVID-hampered, it looks as if Sci-Fi is the hottest ticket in town right now.

Stayed up until 4am to practice my ROTR 7am boarding pass drop mojo. We would have gotten one. I was using my i-Phone SE; started at the AT-AT/home page, toggling back and forth until 3:59, then went into Jedi-Zen mode [“I am one with the Boarding Pass. I am the Boarding Pass, and the Boarding Pass is me...”] and clicked “join” just when the clock changed to 4:00–I hope I’ll be as lucky on our actual park day; it’s during spring break, the week before Easter, so I figure there’ll be far more people trying for passes that day. So, ultimately, the early morning wasn’t a total wash.

OK, back to bed now.

Don’t give up on sci fi. I’ve been trying for a week and see spots open up here and there. They’re just not the right time for us so I let it go.

Also, people book things in advance only to let it go later since their plans change. So check often if you really want it.

 

[wiggy500]

Well I can't say I'm exactly shocked that you woke up at 3 a.m. for that.

I don't think you'll have a problem ending up with this reservation. I think if you check back once or twice a day to see if anything's open then it would pop up. And then after you snag one then you could continue to check and eventually you'd end up with the time slot you want.

It's a wonderful dining experience that's certainly worth doing.

 

[NorthernCalMom]

Current state of our planning journey:

I went over a list of the rides for the parks for which we have reservations, to find out what the "must do"-, "don't care for that one"-, and "would not mind doing that if we have the time, but if we don't that's ok, too"-rides are for each of us. Now I'm getting ready to plug those into my TouringPlans app to see if what we want to do is realistic, given the time (especially due to COVID-related shorter hours) we have (and considering that we will also need to allow time for eating and resting).

In context with this... both my kids dismissed Slinky Dog Dash as "kiddie coaster," but I see it appear on top of many Hollywood Studio trip planning lists here. Is that because it's relatively new and people want to make sure the don't want to miss it, so they can check it out? Is it because there is some amazing theming or other cool stuff my Slinky-Dog-Dash-snubbing kids ought to know about? Should we skip it, unless we notice a surprising break in the line, or would we miss something amazing? If it's the latter, please supply me with arguments to make my case!!!

The other thing I'm doing right now is to practice my walking, using the shoes I'm planning to bring into the park. This way I get an idea as to how appropriate the different shoes I have in mind are for the parks and where I ought to apply the moleskin... I'm rotating four pairs, one for each park day and am walking an hour per day (which is of course far less than what we'll be walking once there, but hopefully enough to give me an idea where my feet may fail me...).

 

[disneygirlsng]

Current state of our planning journey:

I went over a list of the rides for the parks for which we have reservations, to find out what the "must do"-, "don't care for that one"-, and "would not mind doing that if we have the time, but if we don't that's ok, too"-rides are for each of us. Now I'm getting ready to plug those into my TouringPlans app to see if what we want to do is realistic, given the time (especially due to COVID-related shorter hours) we have (and considering that we will also need to allow time for eating and resting).

In context with this... both my kids dismissed Slinky Dog Dash as "kiddie coaster," but I see it appear on top of many Hollywood Studio trip planning lists here. Is that because it's relatively new and people want to make sure the don't want to miss it, so they can check it out? Is it because there is some amazing theming or other cool stuff my Slinky-Dog-Dash-snubbing kids ought to know about? Should we skip it, unless we notice a surprising break in the line, or would we miss something amazing? If it's the latter, please supply me with arguments to make my case!!!

The other thing I'm doing right now is to practice my walking, using the shoes I'm planning to bring into the park. This way I get an idea as to how appropriate the different shoes I have in mind are for the parks and where I ought to apply the moleskin... I'm rotating four pairs, one for each park day and am walking an hour per day (which is of course far less than what we'll be walking once there, but hopefully enough to give me an idea where my feet may fail me...).

I definitely wouldn't miss Slinky Dog. It is very well themed. While it is fairly mild, it's relatively on par with most of the other coasters like Big Thunder, Space, and Seven Dwarfs. It does have 2 launches. Overall a very fun ride.

 

[VandVsmama]

Current state of our planning journey:

I went over a list of the rides for the parks for which we have reservations, to find out what the "must do"-, "don't care for that one"-, and "would not mind doing that if we have the time, but if we don't that's ok, too"-rides are for each of us. Now I'm getting ready to plug those into my TouringPlans app to see if what we want to do is realistic, given the time (especially due to COVID-related shorter hours) we have (and considering that we will also need to allow time for eating and resting).

In context with this... both my kids dismissed Slinky Dog Dash as "kiddie coaster," but I see it appear on top of many Hollywood Studio trip planning lists here. Is that because it's relatively new and people want to make sure the don't want to miss it, so they can check it out? Is it because there is some amazing theming or other cool stuff my Slinky-Dog-Dash-snubbing kids ought to know about? Should we skip it, unless we notice a surprising break in the line, or would we miss something amazing? If it's the latter, please supply me with arguments to make my case!!!

The other thing I'm doing right now is to practice my walking, using the shoes I'm planning to bring into the park. This way I get an idea as to how appropriate the different shoes I have in mind are for the parks and where I ought to apply the moleskin... I'm rotating four pairs, one for each park day and am walking an hour per day (which is of course far less than what we'll be walking once there, but hopefully enough to give me an idea where my feet may fail me...).

Slinky Dog Dash is no comparison to a true kiddie coaster like Gadget's Go Coaster at DL. It's a LOT of fun. You should just tell your kids that you guys are going on it and if they don't want to, they're welcome to sit there and be bored while you go on it without them. I guarantee you that they'll change their minds.

You shouldn't give up hope on an ADR for Sci Fi. People are changing their dining plans all the time. We were at WDW this past week and I cancelled 3 ADRs a couple of days beforehand and was able to snag a same day ADR for Skipper Canteen on Thursday. Just keep looking and you might luck out.

For QS at HS, you should consider Docking Bay 7. It's REALLY cool inside that restaurant. The food is good, too, in my opinion. And it sounds like ships are taking off and landing the entire time! Eating in there is a really fun experience.

 

[crystal1313]

Don’t lose hope on Sci-Fi. We used the reservation finder and had great luck with it! I also obsessively stalked the MDE app. Lol.

We really enjoyed Slinky dog! We waited 90 min for it. Lol. I don’t think I’d wait that long again, but if you love toy story, I think it’s a must! It’s super cute and wayyyy better then Gadgets coaster.

 

[wiggy500]

Slinky Dog is certainly worth doing. Maybe if they dismissed it after seeing a photo they're not understanding that it is quite a large roller coaster. It's only skipable in the sense that missing out on any one ride isn't going to ruin the trip. I waited 70 minutes for it once because someone who shall remain nameless really liked it at rope drop and talked me into doing it a second time. I wouldn't want to wait that long for it again, but I feel that way about most rides.

The ride I would skip in Toy Story Land because it is too much of a kiddie ride is Alien Swirling Saucers.

 

[jani3]

Current state of our planning journey:

I went over a list of the rides for the parks for which we have reservations, to find out what the "must do"-, "don't care for that one"-, and "would not mind doing that if we have the time, but if we don't that's ok, too"-rides are for each of us. Now I'm getting ready to plug those into my TouringPlans app to see if what we want to do is realistic, given the time (especially due to COVID-related shorter hours) we have (and considering that we will also need to allow time for eating and resting).

check for your Sci Fi dinner again. It looks like the park hours are extended for the latter part of March and I’m seeing lots of dinner availability for Sci Fib after 7pm.

 

[Shellyred8]

Hello; we booked a trip to WDW for the coming Easter weekend. There are four of us, two of them teenagers (13 & 15 yrs old). Assuming that all goes as planned (which given the craziness that was 2020 I no longer take for granted), we’ll be staying at the All Star Movies resort. Our package includes three day single park tickets. We also got a Universal park-to-park single ticket. I made park reservations for three days: Hollywood Studios, Epcot, and Magic Kingdom (the choice of parks was a majority decision, and I and my suggestion to somehow fit Animal Kingdom in there was outvoted). Fourth day is dedicated to the two Wizarding World of Harry Potter parks at Universal.

We have tons of DL experience but are WDW newbies. I’m a big planner, and coming up with intricate touring plans has always been one of my most fun activities in preparing for our DL trips. Disboards’ CA section has been an amazing resource for me throughout more of a decade of yearly DL trips.

I started reading my way through the Disboards WDW section and an finding myself utterly overwhelmed with the mountain of information I am finding (a good problem to have, of course, but also a challenge, because I’m struggling to figure out where to start). Please find my information/planning outline (and questions that came up for me--I'll number any question in case any of you is able and willing to answer specific ones) below. The order is not indicative of priority but due to how things popped into my head. If you feel so inclined, I would very much appreciate feedback and/or hints about what I’m missing. Anything that I could possibly ask is probably already covered somewhere here, so I do welcome links to existing threads. This is bound to turn into a lengthy post, so I apologize in advance for violating this board section’s unofficial “talk less, read more” policy.

(1.) I figure a big part of my preparation will consist in listing what attractions are open and (with my kids) which of the open ones are our must-dos. I have some understanding of which of the attractions differ from those in DL, and those will of course be very high on our list of priorities. One great resource here will probably be people's (post-COVID closure reopening) trip reports. I of course also vow to, after our trip, write a detailed trip report myself to help future Dis-ers with their planning. I am planning to, between now and our trip, log wait times for our must-do rides to explore those rides' queues' lulls and peaks (keeping in mind that differences in park capacity limits between now and then may cause shifts). Question #1: Any absolute musts that you can think of (or can you think of--and link--any Disboard's threads that talk about this)?

(2.) Since All Star Movies is still closed right now, I will monitor their status and will, once they reopen (current plan is March 22, I believe) to find out about COVID-related policies and people's experiences. I've already looked at the existing All Star Movies threat to get a first, general idea. Question #2: Anything that I should know and that I may not easily stumble across in my research?

(3.) I will use both WDW's official website's counter service menus and this board to come up with a few rough ideas as to which eateries may be a good fit for us. We are a "come early and tour hard" kind of family and usually don't do sit-down dining, so I don't have to worry about ADR. I will temper my expectations as to the quality of counter service, since I have heard that Disneyland may be doing a better job on that end, but will be open to be pleasantly surprised. I am determined to, on our Epcot day, try all the things! Question #3: What are your don't miss (especially for people who haven't been to WDW before and who probably won't go again after any time soon) counter service foods?

(4.) Since we are passionate rope droppers and I have heard that the officially posted opening hours seems to be guidelines rather than set in stone rules and that parks often open earlier, I am definitely trying to get more information about pre-posted time openings of the three parks we are planning to visit (HS, Epcot, MK). Question #4: Do you have any advice or experiences (or threads you can link about this)?

(5.) We've never done Rise of the Resistance. I'm already practicing (a bit hard to practice the early drawing for boarding passes, since I'm on the West coast, but I'm determined) with the app and have read most of the post-COVID parts of the thread on that topic. Questions #5 a) & b): Any advice or secrets that I may miss in my reading the thread? Have the policy changes to two drops instead of one and off site access through the app changed the recommendations as to how to get boarding passes?

(6.) Since we won't rent a car, I will research transportation between the airport and the hotel, the hotel and the parks, and the hotel and Universal. We booked through "Get Away Today," and their "WDW concierge" service is supposed to help us arrange transportation from the airport to the hotel (I'm particularly concerned about COVID-related capacity restrictions and about being aware of any reservation system that might be in place for the complimentary Disney bus). I looked at shuttle service to Universal, but the "Get Away Today" dude, with whom I talked on the phone, recommended getting a cab instead. I'm not a big fan of Uber. Question #6: Should I get over my Uber-phobia, and do you have any other tips about this (or is there a thread about this that you could link)?

(7.) From what I have read, Magic Bands are not absolutely necessary, as long as we're willing to make use of the app. However, I would love to get a discounted Magic Band for myself only; as a souvenir and to just get the full WDW experience. However, when I access the "discounted Magic Bands for ticket holders" link through the app, I don't get the option to only purchase one of the $5 bands. It seems to be an all (one magic band for each person in our party) or none kind of deal. I was planning to visit our local Disney store today to see if they can help. Question #7: Any advice?

Question #8: What am I forgetting?

1. When we went to DL for the first time (WDW veterans), we actually enjoyed doing the rides that were similar between the two parks to see the differences.
3. MK - Fruit and Nutella waffle at Sleepy Hollow. HS: check out Woody's lunch box. They have some different, and somewhat surprisingly, tasty options.
4. I HIGHLY recommend rope-dropping MK. If you plan properly, you can get a lot of rides done in that first hour or two. EP is probably the least important to rope-drop, as there aren't that many rides there and you can get them all in during most days. You can probably do several things multiple times!
5. When trying for a boarding group for RotR, just hit the Join button on each screen as fast as you can. Don't stop to read whatever else is on the page, just hit the join button. If you get all the way through and you do get a boarding group, but then find that someone is missing from the group, you can go to Guest Services and ask to have them added. Before you go to WDW, just make sure everyone is linked in MDE and has a park reservation for HS on that day and you shouldn't have to worry about someone getting missed.
6. For WDW, I would recommend taking Disney's Magical Express from the airport. IMO, it's just so much less hassle than other options. In regards to getting from WDW to Universal, you could always hire a town car service if you are not comfortable with Uber/Lyft. We've done that in the past and it worked out well. There are several options that get really good reviews from people on this forum.
7. In regards to the magic bands, they are not necessary, but they sure are convenient/handy. At $20 for 4 bands, I would vote for getting one for each of your party.

One other thing I will throw out there for you to keep in mind: WDW is MUCH bigger than DL. I know people know this in their brains, but they don't really understand the implications to this until they actually get to WDW. It just takes longer to get from one place to another than it does at DL.

Also, if you have any foodies in your group, you might want to try to get in a couple of hours at Disney Springs.

Good luck with your planning!

 

[Shellyred8]

Current state of our planning journey:

I went over a list of the rides for the parks for which we have reservations, to find out what the "must do"-, "don't care for that one"-, and "would not mind doing that if we have the time, but if we don't that's ok, too"-rides are for each of us. Now I'm getting ready to plug those into my TouringPlans app to see if what we want to do is realistic, given the time (especially due to COVID-related shorter hours) we have (and considering that we will also need to allow time for eating and resting).

In context with this... both my kids dismissed Slinky Dog Dash as "kiddie coaster," but I see it appear on top of many Hollywood Studio trip planning lists here. Is that because it's relatively new and people want to make sure the don't want to miss it, so they can check it out? Is it because there is some amazing theming or other cool stuff my Slinky-Dog-Dash-snubbing kids ought to know about? Should we skip it, unless we notice a surprising break in the line, or would we miss something amazing? If it's the latter, please supply me with arguments to make my case!!!

The other thing I'm doing right now is to practice my walking, using the shoes I'm planning to bring into the park. This way I get an idea as to how appropriate the different shoes I have in mind are for the parks and where I ought to apply the moleskin... I'm rotating four pairs, one for each park day and am walking an hour per day (which is of course far less than what we'll be walking once there, but hopefully enough to give me an idea where my feet may fail me...).

SDD - I would not call it a kiddie coaster. It's a full-sized roller coaster with all of the good dips, hills, curves and swerves that a good roller coaster has. It's also a fairly smooth coaster, so you won't come off it feeling like you need to go to a chiropractor. LOL!!! I agree with other posters, that if you are going to skip something in toy story land, skip Alien Swirling Saucers. If you can't fit SDD in during the day, wait until just about park close and get in line for it right before park close, making it your last ride of the day.

I think it is very wise that you are practicing your walking right now. We easily do 20,000 - 25,000 steps a day while at WDW.

 

[NashvilleMama]

Slinky Dog is my tween kids favorite ride at DHS....and they're thrill ride/rollercoaster lovers. So it's saying a lot! It's really incredibly fun.

 

[NorthernCalMom]

Epcot question: When there are festivals/festival foods (when we're there it'll be in the middle of the Flower & Garden Festival), are those offered IN ADDITION TO the usual park snacks and counter service offers or INSTEAD OF those regular items? Do the counter service places change their menus in honor of the festivals, or are festival items sold at booths that are independent of regular counter service restaurants (with maybe the latter adding some seasonal cupcake or other small item but otherwise offering their usual fare)? I hope this question makes sense...

 

[auntlynne]

Just looked at the list of open quick service restaurants at EPCOT. The Festival Food booths (used for multiple festivals) are in addition. I think the booths are now just left up year round. Of course, festivals seem to cover all but a few weeks, now.

The funnel cake stand near The American experience has been offering specials.
Joffrey’s Coffee, Refreshment Port, and Refreshment Outpost have a few specials.

 

[NorthernCalMom]

I put in our online request for the Magical Express reservation. Things are getting real. Yeah! I am currently drooling over the just released Epcot Flower and Garden Festival menus. There's some good stuff there! Question for those who have experience with Epcot festivals/festival foods: We are going on a weekday (though it'll be Spring break and just before Easter, which I figure may affect crowds) and usually try to eat early or late to avoid the lunch and dinner peak crowds. What are your experiences with festival booth wait times. How much waiting per booth should I plan into my touring plan?

 

[NorthernCalMom]

Things are starting to get real, and I entered full-force planning mode. I put together counter service presentations for the parks we’ll visit, so we can discuss likes and dislikes, and I started to log wait times.

 

[NorthernCalMom]

Hmmm... I wonder which ride people typically dash to first, when the park opens...

 

[Shughart]

The only counter service type food place I would eat on repeat (or go back to is Le Halles boulangerie in France). Or anywhere with a turkey leg.

Our must dos food wise so far have been Ohana (both trips, both kids celebrated birthdays), Sci-Fi (I did not pick first time but son picked time for his actual birthday dinner), Be our guest (I have a thing for Castles). We did CRT on our last trip (2nd one) and unfortunately for my family that's probably going to be a regular now too (although we were given pixie dust on our trip and our breakfast was comped).

I know you're well versed on DL, but DW is well known for some of it's sit downs. I told my husband I wanted to do less ADRS and we have with each trip (our first trip planned by my mil we had an ADR each night and then once we had one at lunch too, it was too much food). Our third trip will probably be Ohana, Sci-Fi and I'll have to pick a Castle to keep the peace I'm sure. But 2/3 of those is in the park and that's preferable if day time AND evening park time is important to you. I feel frustrated when we're in a groove and we have stop to get to an ADR. We'll be offesetting that on our next trip by getting park hoppers, as we discovered on trip #2 that our kids are now old enough (hold it together well enough) for us to leave the park, go have dinner and go back to the park (which we had to do for whichever SW ride opened at DW in December, it went down so our boarding group came up DURING our dinner and we had to go back if we wanted to ride.

 

[NorthernCalMom]

Actually, Epcot's Flower and Garden Festival seems to have some fun options for snacking our way through the park. Otherwise, we're not there for the food but for the rides, the scenery, and the people watching. Sci-Fi sounds like fun, but unfortunately all ADRs for it were gone by the time we were eligible. I got both Touring Plans and Mouse Dining searches out for somebody's canceled reservation, and I keep checking regularly, too... just to see if we're lucky. But if we aren't, I'm at peace with that.

I tried to attach the EPCOT food presentation I made for my family, but the file was too big.

 

[NorthernCalMom]

Here's one of the pages: