Planning first visit to the Fort

[Shellyb84]

Considering Halloween or Thanksgiving 2016. Recommendations? How soon do those times fill up?

If we choose Halloween, are there particular loops that are "better" for trick-or-treating? (we'll need a pet friendly loop)

 

[bama_ed]

Shelly,

I posted this thread last month (it had rolled to page 3 of the Camping Board) about booking Halloween 2016. It was already looking pretty full.

http://www.disboards.com/threads/if...ake-a-reservation-for-halloween-2016.3459700/

Have you verified using the Disney reservation tool that your desired dates are still available? I've not been at Halloween but did do Thanksgiving week 6 years ago.

Thanksgiving may not be as bad but it does fill up. You can always make a reservation for both and cancel the one you end up not using.

Bama Ed

 

[Shellyb84]

Shelly,

I posted this thread last month (it had rolled to page 3 of the Camping Board) about booking Halloween 2016. It was already looking pretty full.

http://www.disboards.com/threads/if...ake-a-reservation-for-halloween-2016.3459700/

Have you verified using the Disney reservation tool that your desired dates are still available? I've not been at Halloween but did do Thanksgiving week 6 years ago.

Thanksgiving may not be as bad but it does fill up. You can always make a reservation for both and cancel the one you end up not using.

Bama Ed

Wow! I feel like a big dummy now because no, I haven't even checked. I didn't expect it to be booked quite that far out! I just checked and it looks like Thanksgiving is full too Darn. I guess I will keep an eye out just in case but plan on the following year.

 

[Flametamr]

Halloween weekend is full. Nothing available. I was able to book the week prior and plan to keep trying to add the weekend. If necessary move off site for a couple of days before leaving.

 

[bama_ed]

Shelly,

Popular times at the Fort like Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas-New Years, and Easter weekend fill up a year in advance for the most part. You can make a reservation up to 500 days before arrival (or some say 499 but you get the point). So during those times you have to be thinking well in advance.

Bama Ed

 

[KristinU]

If you really want to go during a booked-up time, you can stalk the reservation site every day and snag what you can then stitch it together. That's how I did Christmas last year. I think we ultimately ended up with three reservations to cover a week. As long as you are booked for the same level of site (P-Up/tent, Full HU, Preferred, Premium) for all of your reservations, it is very likely that you won't have to move sites.

I just watched and snagged what I could when it came up, sometimes with a patchwork of site levels, but ultimately I was able to get them all as premium. Kind of a pain, and takes some diligence, but it can be done!

 

[Shellyb84]

If you really want to go during a booked-up time, you can stalk the reservation site every day and snag what you can then stitch it together. That's how I did Christmas last year. I think we ultimately ended up with three reservations to cover a week. As long as you are booked for the same level of site (P-Up/tent, Full HU, Preferred, Premium) for all of your reservations, it is very likely that you won't have to move sites.

I just watched and snagged what I could when it came up, sometimes with a patchwork of site levels, but ultimately I was able to get them all as premium. Kind of a pain, and takes some diligence, but it can be done!

Ok, thanks for the tip. I will try that!

Did you like going during Christmas? We were considering the last week of December through New Years if we can't get the other dates as they're still available.

 

[KristinU]

Ok, thanks for the tip. I will try that!

Did you like going during Christmas? We were considering the last week of December through New Years if we can't get the other dates as they're still available.

We really liked being there for Christmas! You can check out my blog entry on it - link in my signature. Definitely a time where Fastpass planning helped tremendously, as did just managing expectations in the parks, along with a rope-drop day or two. We stayed out of the parks completely on Christmas day and left on the 28th or 29th, so we weren't there for NYE.