possible trip in 2017...what's changed??

[sam_rogers]

Hi,

I haven't posted on the boards for quite a while (there's been a lack of Disney trips for a few years!). I last went to WDW in 2012 with my boyfriend (who became fiance on that trip :-D ) and we had a fantastic trip but this of course was before MDE, fp+ etc came in to play. We are considering a trip to WDW next September and I was just wondering if anyone can give me some info on what's changed, for better or worse, and any pointers on trip planning with these changes in mind.

I've also been reading a lot about budget cuts at wdw and that things are going downhill, with lots of frequent visitors now choosing to save their money or go elsewhere, we had a brilliant trip last time but don't want to be disappointed if things are really that bad :-S has anyone got any opinions on this?

Thanks everyone

 

[CAL2]

Hi Sam,

We will be in the same boat as you as our last holiday was in 2011.

We have read all about the increased crowds, rides closing, FP+ and continuing construction. We know things have changed (for better or worse we will see) so nothing to be surprised or stressed about. I don't think things are bad with regards to customer service, just a lot of changes and construction going on all at once. All we can do is make our plans and be open minded about it all and enjoy our family time together.

You tube is great if you want to see any changes made since your last holiday.
Everyone has their own ideas of the best way to plan their holiday, us personally will be doing rope drop most mornings to get as many rides in as possible in the morning, early lunch then do booked FP+, followed by extra FP+ if available, if not just do what we feel like. We will be in Disney for 18 days so have plenty of time to revisit parks & rides.
We will be using Josh guide as to which park to go to on which days but wont be taking any notice of the crowd calendar.

Hope you have a wonderful time

cal

 

[sam_rogers]

thanks for your reply, I'm normally one for getting to rope drop everyday too (my husband always hates me for dragging him out of bed every day!). I'm not used to feeling a bit lost while planning a trip to WDW but everyone on here has always been so helpful, so that will make life easier. Happy planning

 

[gillybeaaan]

I'm also hoping to go back in 2017 but my last trip was 2014 so have experience of MDE and PF+ etc. Lots of construction happening recently and I'm not sure what will be open by 2017 but i think the avatar stuff may be? I'm sure an expert on here will be able to confirm this!

 

[Tash87]

We haven't been since 2012, this time we have the free dining plan and have never made adr's before so this is worrying me a bit. Our previous visits have been magic kingdom on first day and then decide what we are doing the following day the night before, so having to decide where we are going on what day at 6 months out is concerning me .

 

[sjt22]

Disney springs or Down town disney as it would of been when you last went will of changed.

New fantasy land in MK has opened.

There is always going to be rides closing and construction going on as is the nature for a park that never shuts.

Hollywood studios seems to be the worst for this at the moment and I am not sure what to make of the new attractions as I am not a big star wars fan but millions of others are so I am sure they are happy about it

We always go early september and the crowds are not too bad and I rarely used my fast pass + as usually very little queue anyway.

I do think at busy times of the year you will need to use the fast pass + I only used the system once (when it had just launched) and found it a little complicated but hoping all the glitches have been sorted now

Happy planning

Sarah x

 

[Tash87]

Disney springs or Down town disney as it would of been when you last went will of changed.

New fantasy land in MK has opened.

Happy planning

Sarah x

I am looking forward to seeing Disney springs, I thought downtown was in need of an upgrade on our last visit.

Fantasy land was opening a few days after we left in late 2012 or was it the SDMT? I was gutted

 

[UKDisneyJoe]

Me and my DW arent going back until late 2017 having been there in 2014 but keep ourselves up to date using youtube vlogs. Best ones I have found are Tim Tracker and TomandSophie. They keep us entertained as well as updates especially Tim as he is a Florida resident. You can get plenty of advice from others on you tube who offer their opinion on everything from fastpasses to dining reservations.
Love getting advice from the DIS community but youtube is fun too

 

[sam_rogers]

Thanks for the tips everyone! I wonder if my husband will be upset if I book it and pay the deposit now haha

 

[~Piglet~]

having to decide where we are going on what day at 6 months out is concerning me .

We were a bit apprehensive too, trying to decide on our FP's - it all felt too regimented! In the end we booked our 'must do' rides but then on the day if we changed plans / parks etc we just cancelled the FP's. Sometimes you can be too focused on using up your daily FP's, but if you are at the Parks at rope drop or early doors you can get on most rides without too much wait. We found the ride wait times info useful on the MDE app, as with a few kids in our party our plans tended to change depending on what the kids wanted to do.

 

[sam_rogers]

We were a bit apprehensive too, trying to decide on our FP's - it all felt too regimented! In the end we booked our 'must do' rides but then on the day if we changed plans / parks etc we just cancelled the FP's. Sometimes you can be too focused on using up your daily FP's, but if you are at the Parks at rope drop or early doors you can get on most rides without too much wait. We found the ride wait times info useful on the MDE app, as with a few kids in our party our plans tended to change depending on what the kids wanted to do.

I think this will be the approach we will take. We're planning to go at one of the quieter times of the year so we'll fastpass the favourites later in the day and try and also try and get on popular rides in the morning before it gets too busy. Is the wifi fairly good in the parks? I'm assuming that most areas have to be able to use the MDE app without running up a massive phone bill on data

 

[~Piglet~]

I think this will be the approach we will take. We're planning to go at one of the quieter times of the year so we'll fastpass the favourites later in the day and try and also try and get on popular rides in the morning before it gets too busy. Is the wifi fairly good in the parks? I'm assuming that most areas have to be able to use the MDE app without running up a massive phone bill on data

Sounds sensible to me Wifi was generally good in all parks, sometimes it would drop out when walking around but most times we accessed while queuing for a ride and it was fine, there seems to be a stronger signal around the ride areas.

 

[disneyholic family]

2017 should be a good year to visit....supposedly some big new attractions are opening then.
for example, Avatarland is scheduled to open some time in 2017.

 

[Julia Ann]

Hiya - We went end of October 2014 (supposedly quieter??) and planning same time 2017. We been previously 4 times at this time and I would say Fastpasses are definately the way to go - you need them for 7 Dwarfs Mine Train and any headliner like Soarin'. I got up at 5am 60 days to go to book these and didn't regret it as it was really quiet busy. Definately didn't notice anything "going down hill" since we last went in 2006.

Enjoy the planning!

 

[NatalieMT]

We went 2012, 2013, twice in 2015 and going again in 3 weeks and honestly I've got no big complaints with regards to any of those trips. Before we tried the FP+ system I was a bit skeptical, but I found it very easy to use online and you can change the FPs quite easily on the day via the app providing new times/experiences are available, which they mostly were actually. We did quite a lot of attractions with no fastpass aswell, including SDMT which was like 30 minute wait end April 2015, so really not that bad. Enjoyed all the dining experiences, no issues with ADRs, all the staff were great (we met some really nice CPs who recognised us at various points on our last trip end August 2015). I also don't think the crowds have got that much worse, of course it depends what time of year you go, we tend to go off peak but honestly I didn't find it as horrific as people have made out. The only thing I'm a bit upset about is that Soarin' will be closed on our next trip, but I think F&G should disperse people around Epcot a bit and provide another point of interest.

Planning our next trip after this for early September 2017, as others have said a lot of construction will have completed at that point and I think it'll be quite an exciting time to go.