overwhelmed WDW newbie seeking support

[NorthernCalMom]

WDW Reservation Finder came through!! We got our SciFi Dine-In Theater reservation!!! 2:05pm for lunch, which is perfect for us.
How early should we be there?

 

[wiggy500]

15 minutes early I believe is what Disney suggests. Though if you're right on time it'll work out fine, but I'd shoot for 15 minutes early. Even with the reservation you might need to wait a little bit to be seated.

Often people ask on these boards what happens if your boarding group and dining reservation interfere with each other. In that case just explain to a cast member when you show up late and they should find a way to make things work.

If you'd rather eat a little earlier there may be another option that opens up as you get closer that you can swap out your 2:05 time with.

The Sci-Fi is such a fun experience. Enjoy!

 

[NorthernCalMom]

I'm getting so, so, so excited!!! I'm working on our touring plans now, starting with the Universal Studios/Islands of Adventure day (April 2), since that will be the most complicated one... we have to figure out our park-hopping patterns and have neither early admission nor an express pass. I'm using TouringPlans and have also been logging wait times all week long. The difference between TouringPlans wait time estimates and what I logged is extreme. I guess, I'll err on the side of caution in my estimates, and if we get more done, even better. Hours are 8 to 10, and we're planning to utilize every minute of it (the day after is our departure day, and we figure we can sleep on the plane).

The following are our "would like to do"s...
UNIVERSAL (in order of priority): (1.) Escape from Gringotts, (2.) Revenge of the Mummy, (3.) Men in Black, (4.) Hang out in Diagon Alley and take in the atmosphere, (5.) eat at The Leaky Cauldron. Also, one of us really wants to (6.) see the Bourne Spectacular Stuntshow.
ISLANDS OF ADVENTURE (in order of priority): (1.) Hagrid's, (2.) Forbidden Journey, (3.) Spiderman, (4.) Hang out in Hogmeade and look at all the stuff, (5.) eat at The Three Broomsticks.

We're flexible as to where to start and when (as well as how many times) to hop. It looks as if our best bet to avoid a ginormous line at Gringotts would be to start there. Then maybe Mummy & MIB, hop on the HE before the line gets crazy, and eat early at The3Broomsticks? Hang out in Hogsmeade until the lines get a bit shorter and jump on Spiderman & Forbidden Journey in the late afternoon, early evening. Back to Diagon alley to check out the stunt show, eat at the Leaky Cauldron and finish the day by moseying around Diagon Alley. Does that sound doable? We don't mind walking a lot if that means minimizing wait times. The biggest challenge for my planning seems to be that we don't know if and for when we'd get a VL slot for Hagrid's and that the Hogwarts Express lines get crazy long in the middle of the day. We wouldn't mind walking between the parks, but I'm a bit worried about capacity limits and ending up locked out. Is that a realistic fear? Any tips of Universal mavens here would be very, very appreciated. ❤

Also, I've never done Uber, and it seems the best way to get from our Disney Resort Hotel (All Star Movies) to Universal. What do I need to know?

 

[julesann]

There are some very helpful experts over at the US/IOA forum. I would post there.

 

[NorthernCalMom]

15 minutes early I believe is what Disney suggests. Though if you're right on time it'll work out fine, but I'd shoot for 15 minutes early. Even with the reservation you might need to wait a little bit to be seated.

Thank you. The confirmation email said 5 minutes early, but that did seem kind of short to me. 15 minutes makes more sense.

There are some very helpful experts over at the US/IOA forum. I would post there.

Will do! Thank you!!

 

[wiggy500]

Thank you. The confirmation email said 5 minutes early, but that did seem kind of short to me. 15 minutes makes more sense.

I'm guessing they changed from saying 15 minutes early to 5 minutes early because of the virus. The closer people arrive to the reservation time the less likely they are to form a large group of people that are waiting to be seated. I don't see how there would be a downside to following their current recommendation.

 

[NorthernCalMom]

I'm guessing they changed from saying 15 minutes early to 5 minutes early because of the virus. The closer people arrive to the reservation time the less likely they are to form a large group of people that are waiting to be seated. I don't see how there would be a downside to following their current recommendation.

Good point! I didn’t think of that.

 

[NorthernCalMom]

I also posted this to the "Here now" forum, since I figure there's quite a few "touring around COVID-restrictions" experts on that one. I'll put the Universal part of this into Disboard's Universal Orlando/Islands of Adventure section, too.

Here's our plan. Any feedback is highly appreciated!!

Overall, we do have some “must do” rides but are also planning on having a good amount of time for just walking around, people-watching, and enjoying the theming. We have one ADR but are planning to mostly do counter service. We’re staying at ALL STAR MOVIES and don’t have a rental car. We are planning to mostly use Disney bus transportation (as well as UBER/Lyft for Friday, our Universal day). We don’t have hoppers, and our park reservations are: HS on Tuesday, EPCOT on Wednesday, and MK on Thursday.

Monday, March 29. Expected touchdown at MCO 9:15pm. Find ME pickup (got my ME reservation number and our magic bands ready). Use MDE for online check-in while en route to the hotel. Once there, get the kids settled, while I go to the front desk with my list of questions (e.g. when does the first bus leaves, where’s the bus stop, what are good pick up spots for UBER/Lyft). Schedule our Friday ride with UBER or Lyft (whichever app may be easier to figure out—this whole ride share thing is new to me; I did download both apps—and whichever service gives up the best “new customer discount”). Lay out clothes and fanny pack (plus maybe a small backpack, if all the wipes and hand sanitizer and various masks end up being too much for the latter) for the next day.

All the times are preliminary and may be adjusted according to what I find out about the bus schedule when talking to the front desk people on our arrival evening. I remember hearing the general 1.5 hrs before opening rule of thumb but don’t know if that’s a pre-COVID time line and if we should be there earlier, given the whole physical distancing on buses business.

TUESDAY MARCH 30: Get up 6am? ROTR Boarding Pass 7am (we have three MDE capable cell phones, and I introduced my husband and older kid to the art and Zen of boarding pass acquisition yesterday--wish us luck!!!!!!)? Be at bus stop by 7:30 (adjust based on front desk info)? Get into park. Speed-walk to Tower of Terror (one of our absolute must-dos, since the ride has been re-themed at DL and my kids are eager to experience the original (too bad about the pre-show being affected by COVID). Get into the line for Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster (I’m so scared of that one, because I’m a coaster wimp, but I am doing the “little train that could” thing and am telling myself that “I think I can, I think I can, I think… I’m OK with California Adventure’s Incredicoaster and can do loop-di-loops as long as they’re fast—I am terrified of any kind of slow inversions”). After getting off, check wait times for other rides on app and look for breakfast (Ronto Roasters? Woody’s Lunch Box? ABC Commissary? Backlot Express?). Walk around, look at stuff, and continue to check wait times. If we didn’t get a boarding pass for ROTR earlier, try again at 1pm. If we did get a boarding pass for ROTR earlier, factor that in and adjust our plan accordingly (if there’s a conflict with our ADR, check in with guest services, just to make sure we’re ok and to ask if they can reschedule our boarding passes accordingly). 2:05pm ADR at Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater (we’re so excited about having gotten that one; everything was out when we first tried, but somebody canceled theirs and my reservation finder came through!). After lunch, continue to walk around and check wait times. Consider riding M&MRR, ST, TSMM, MFSR. Neither of us is a big Toy Story fan, so we don’t know if Slinky is worth the often long wait. We’ll see how we’re doing towards the end of the evening. Maybe we’re making it our last ride of the day? Depending on when everybody gets hungry, fit dinner in the park in there somehow (Docking Bay 7 or Rosie’s?). If we don’t get hungry until late, consider mobile ordering from World Premiere Food Court on the way back and eating in our hotel room.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 31: Get up 6:30am (again, exact time depends on what we find out about bus schedules). Mobile order breakfast. Eat at hotel (or, if there’s no seating, in the room). Bus 9:30am? Speed-walk to Test Track. Then check out which other rides are open. We are interested in Spaceship Earth, Living with the Land, and Figment. Maybe Nemo and the Grand Fiesta ride thingie. We are also intrigued by Mission Space Orange (but wondering how to exactly schedule that one to have a break afterwards in case one of us gets nauseated from it). It’s ok if we miss Soaring. Neither of us cares much about Frozen, so that’s one less long wait right there. We figure we’ll ride in the morning and evening, when lines will hopefully be on the short end, and spend the middle of the day checking out the pavilions and the Flower and Garden Festival and eating all the snacks. We’re planning to have dinner at some point at Katsura Grill (with me mobile ordering from Regal Eagle—because, BBQ!!!). We’re not married to a particular dinner time; we’re just trying to avoid the big dinner rush, so it’ll probably be earlier or later than the main dinner crowds.

THURSDAY, APRIL 1: Try to get the first bus to MK (again, check at front desk when that one leaves and how early to be there). Hoof it to Seven Dwarfs Mine Train and ride it if the wait is 45 minutes or less). If open, ride Peter Pan, Winnie the Pooh, Haunted Mansion, Carousel of Progress. Scavenge for snacks (Gaston’s, Friar’s Nook, Sleepy Hollow, etc.?), whenever hungry. Consider Cosmic Ray’s for either lunch or dinner (hopefully avoiding main crowds through creative scheduling and eating either earlier or later than most other guests). Walk around and take it all in. Check wait times on app and ride whatever seems not too long of a wait (Buzz? Big Thunder?). Explore Adventureland. Ride Jungle Cruise. End the day with a Dole Whip.

FRIDAY, APRIL 2: Meet up with UBER or Lyft driver. Try to be at Universal around 7:15am. Get through security and line up at turnstiles (we won’t have either early admission or express pass, so we figure being close to the front of the non-early admission line can’t hurt). Check on Hagrid’s VL spots starting around 7:30 (I checked the app over the past couple of weeks and that first drop seems to happen any time between 7:30 and 8:02). Get the latest one possible (11-11:30?). 8am—walk swiftly to Gringotts. Mummy. Men in Black. Back to Hogwarts Express station (watch wait times). If we’re off MIB early and HE lines are short, walk around a little (otherwise do that later in the afternoon). Take Hogwarts Express to Islands of Adventure (ask team member if capacity issues may be an issues if the line to come back is long and we choose to walk—I talked to a team member by phone about this earlier this week and she said it wouldn’t be a problem, but I’m a big one on double-checking on stuff like that). Late breakfast or early lunch at Three Broomsticks (get in line and mobile order from there once we’re getting close to being seated). If we did NOT get a Hagrid’s VL spot, try again at 11am drop. After brunch (?), walk around Hogsmeade, checking wait times for Forbidden Journey and Spiderman. Explore the Lost Continent & other areas that look interesting. Ride Forbidden Journey whenever 45 mins or less. Ride Spiderman whenever 45 mins or less. Check Hogwarts Express wait times. In the late afternoon, decide if we want to take HE back or walk. If we’re hungry, snack at Mardi Gras food festival booths. Explore Diagon Alley. Have a late dinner at the Leaky Cauldron. If anything has relatively short wait times, ride it. Call UBER or Lyft to get back to the hotel.

SATURDAY, APRIL 3: Drag our utterly exhausted bodies to the airport. Sleep on the plane.

 

[Jason2015]

Not sure this has already been mentioned, but from one west coaster to another, rope drop can be very difficult unless you are a true morning person (and I'm a night owl). An 8am EDT park opening is the equivalent of 5am PDT. My family has tried from time to time but found the 3 hour time change can be really tough as the day goes on. We typically only do rope drop once on a four day trip, and then its usually towards the end of the trip when we have adjusted a bit and have gotten sleep. (For night owls it is hard to fall asleep much before 1am EDT as that is 10pm PDT). Just something to think about as you plan.

 

[wiggy500]

If Test Track happens to not be open right away (it sounds like sometimes they don't have all the kinks worked out by opening), then do Mission Space as a backup as it is nearby. Try not to be so focused on speedwalking that you don't enjoy looking up at Spaceship Earth as you see it up close for the first time.