Planning a trip less than 60 days out

[Colleen27]

The thread title really says it all. My mother has decided she wants to take me and my girls back to WDW, but because of the complexity of all our schedules it looks like we'll be planning for mid-June. We probably won't book until mid-Apr while we get all the dates stuff hammered out.

So what I have is the really obvious question, considering I haven't been to WDW since FP+ went full-live. How bad is it going to be trying to make ride reservations at less than the longest possible booking window? Are we talking CRT back in the day levels of impossible? I'm mainly concerned about Anna & Elsa at MK, because we've been often enough that missing rides wouldn't be a big deal but they weren't out yet the last time we were there and my 6yo adores them.

 

[Jadyreen1282]

You will want to be ready 60 days out for FP. Book before. Get your ADRs now.

 

[Colleen27]

You will want to be ready 60 days out for FP. Book before. Get your ADRs now.

I doubt we're going to be able to do that. 60 days out is early next week, the idea for this trip just started coming together yesterday, and we have a lot of schedules to check before settling on final dates. We're booking through a third party because the spring offer has already expired but they have discounted rooms still available; booking through Disney would be more flexible but we'd be paying rack rate. And throw Easter and the fact that I have two finals next week into the mix and the odds of having things set by the 60 day mark are slim to none. I'm going to try, but I don't have high hopes.

I'm not too worried about ADRs. We've gone without them before and we're flexible enough to deal with booking on the fly. We don't do character meals or buffets any more anyway, we won't be on any dining plan, and my kids are adventurous eaters, so there's no pressure to get the high-demand restaurants. It is FP+ that has me worried.

 

[CitrusSwirl52]

From all the reports, Anna and Elsa is still pretty tough- even at 60 days out. This is a great tool to see what's available:
http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=835236
I am local and have (rarely, of course) seen same day Anna and Elsa FP's. I wouldn't count on it, but it happens.

If booking 60 days out isn't an option- just do the best you can to get your FP's as soon as you can. There are other strategies to see Anna and Elsa and I am sure you will still have a great trip! Good luck while you plan

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

The thread title really says it all. My mother has decided she wants to take me and my girls back to WDW, but because of the complexity of all our schedules it looks like we'll be planning for mid-June. We probably won't book until mid-Apr while we get all the dates stuff hammered out.

So what I have is the really obvious question, considering I haven't been to WDW since FP+ went full-live. How bad is it going to be trying to make ride reservations at less than the longest possible booking window? Are we talking CRT back in the day levels of impossible? I'm mainly concerned about Anna & Elsa at MK, because we've been often enough that missing rides wouldn't be a big deal but they weren't out yet the last time we were there and my 6yo adores them.

I don't think it will be CRT bad for FP+. Except for Anna and Elsa which is CRT bad on steroids at the 60 day mark anyway. LOTS of folks cannot get them.

Everything else should be fine. Though the longer you wait, certain rides like Mine train may not be available at your preferred times. But I have even found Mine Train at 30 days and in the 20s range at some point for the visits I was booking for.

The sooner you can book, the better. If you can have your hotel booked and tickets bought and linked, prior to 30 days ahead of time, you put yourself further ahead of the off site folks booking then.

But you aren't shut out completely just because you cannot book at 60+10.

 

[Sargeant Tibbs]

Not getting a FP for Anna and Elsa isn't as earth shattering as some folk would have you believe. There is still a standby line and you can always utilize a good RD strategy. Also, an 8am pre RD BOG breakfast will put you that much closer to the line. You can book that right now if one is still available, and of course cancel it if that won't work out once you settle on travel dates.

 

[Miaka1]

Dh surprised me with a trip, we leave in 35 days. He told me 10 days ago. We are not doing adrs, and are only going to be there 3 days. We were able to get fp for Soarin, mission space, space ship earth, RnR, ToT, star tours, PoC, Spl Mnt, and 7dmt! These rides were the priority for us, and we didn't have any intrest in A/E.
There were lots of fp options.

 

[rangerxenos]

We booked a last minute trip about a month ago, we leave in 3 weeks. We were able to get FP+ for everything we wanted, (no A/E for us, but I hear that one has always been a nightmare to get), and even get a few ADR reservations. We're not making many as we don't have the dining plan.

 

[krista113]

Last year, I got one on extremely late notice by stalking the restaurant reservation board for the month I was going. Someone happened to put on there that a couple A/E FP+ were available, and I was lucky enough to snag some. Also, try searching for single tickets, as sometimes you can book overlapping times and it's easier to find a single FP+

 

[marchingstar]

OP: You won't be able to book FP+ until you book your trip, which will probably impact whether you get one for A&E. I think they're still difficult to get even at 60 days. If you're really set on A&E, one thing you could do is start keeping an eye out for pre-RD breakfasts in the park. Particularly at BOG--right now this breakfast is in a 'testing' phase, so it might not be open for your anticipated dates yet, but if not word around these parts is it should open soon. If you can get an early breakfast you could finish eating in time to get a jump on the RD crowds. You can make dining reservations for June without tickets/a reservation, so it might be a good idea to start planning those now if you'd like TS meals during your trip.

Also, cancellation threads will probably be your friend. In the dining section there's a thread for June--if you're looking for some harder to find meals, it will be a great resource. And I think in this thread there's usually a cancellation thread for popular FP+ attractions (including A&E and Seven Dwarfs). Best of luck with your planning!

 

[Beezle2]

I doubt we're going to be able to do that. 60 days out is early next week, the idea for this trip just started coming together yesterday, and we have a lot of schedules to check before settling on final dates. We're booking through a third party because the spring offer has already expired but they have discounted rooms still available; booking through Disney would be more flexible but we'd be paying rack rate. And throw Easter and the fact that I have two finals next week into the mix and the odds of having things set by the 60 day mark are slim to none. I'm going to try, but I don't have high hopes.

I'm not too worried about ADRs. We've gone without them before and we're flexible enough to deal with booking on the fly. We don't do character meals or buffets any more anyway, we won't be on any dining plan, and my kids are adventurous eaters, so there's no pressure to get the high-demand restaurants. It is FP+ that has me worried.

See if you can snag a BOG bfast soon. I saw one this morning for 6/17 @ 8;20. That would get you in the park and close to A&E one day. We are going in June also and I have the bfast locked in in case we can't get a FP for them in our time frame.

 

[Tissa]

I planned our spring break trip 45 days out and had some issues with the times I wanted but looked back on the 30 day mark and more times opened up. I should say except A&E, but I have teen boys so no biggie for us. I agree with getting a BOG early ressie if possible.

 

[Hootch]

I played around on the FP+ website before our 60 day mark clicked in. I could practice booking 30 days out. In general, most fastpasses were still available. Anna and Elsa and the parade FP+s were commonly unavailable. One time there were limited times for the Seven Dwarves time. (The system substituted Splash for Seven Dwarves in two of our four Disney generated lists.)

You may have a limited amount of times available at, say, 45-50 days out, but you will get most everything you want. Look at this site for availability;
http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/fastpass_plus_availability.php

 

[Colleen27]

Thank you all, especially those who linked to the availability site. It really doesn't look terrible around the 45-50 day mark and that's roughly when we should be booking. This has all come together so crazy-fast - DD13 wants to do a particular YES class that isn't being offered this year for individual enrollment, but it is being offered during the Girl Scout weeks in May/June and she's a scout. So what started as planning for late summer/early fall depending on when the class is offered turned into "Can we squeeze this into June around school, softball, archery, and 4H camp?".

I was looking at the BoG breakfast but wow is it expensive! Maybe that'll be the meal I treat my mom to because I have a feeling she'd be less than impressed when DD6 orders a $12 bowl of cereal from the kids' menu. I usually pick up the tab for one splurge when she takes us traveling, and I was able to get an 8:10 ADR for our most likely MK day so that should work well for fitting in A&E.

 

[Butler_chic07]

My husband and I tend to take trips with very short notice (due to work schedules). We also go at busy summer times usually due to me being a teacher. We've planned several trips in June with very short notice. Last time it was definitely within the 60 days (honestly it was more like 30 days), and we still managed to get fast passes for Anna & Elsa and the Mine Train. So it's possible. Whenever you book. I'd check ADR's and FP's multiple times a day, every day, you'll be surprised at what will open up. That includes on your trip itself. We got a 2nd FP for the mine train on a separate day of our vacation just by chance.

It's possible. You may have to be more flexible on the times that your FP's are for, but it's very doable, and you CAN get "rare" FP's within 60 days. We do it all the time!

Enjoy it and have fun!