Quiet November????

[Sharon/Mark]

Hi

I am coming to the US from the UK on 5th November, this is my 11th trip having worked in the travel industry for several years and acquiring a love for all things disney

I am astounded how everything seems to be booked while back in 'Blighty' we are advised that this is low season! I am getting married on November 9th at the Polynesian Resort and I am fortunate enough to be bringing my family with me to celebrate by my side, I wanted to thank them for coming with something special and I had heard about the Illuminations Cruise and I thought that would be perfect! I was advised by Disney that this could be prebooked 90 days beforehand, I consider myself fairly organised and in light of the importantance, I telephoned at precisely 7.00am EST - unbelievably it was already booked and 7 people were on standby, additionally the first 4 restaurants I had on standby were also booked so I have ended up only being able to book Hollywood and Vine the night AFTER we get married (which I subsequently see has got a right roasting on the restaurant forum! with the priority seating for Fantasmic, I have to confess to being very sad and disappointed I feel I am totally unable to repay my family with that something extra they deserve!

Has anyone of you travelled at this time to the Parks and can you let me know what to expect

My travel dates are November 5th thru to November 19th

And secondly has anyone got any reasonably priced ideas for an alternative to what I have booked as I am very concerned after reading the reviews for Hollywood & Vine on the dining forum!

Yours very hopefully
Sharon

 

[Jestocost]

The first week of November (ending 11/7 this year) usually is busier than the rest of the month (Thanksgiving weekend excluded) because of a large influx of visitors from New Jersey. All of the schools there are closed for the entire week each year and many families opt to head out to WDW as a result.

If you were looking at Epcot restaurants, the Food & Wine Festival runs through 11/14, so there are special events at some of the nicer restaurants and around the park until then.

Also, MGM likely will be extremely busy 11/13-11/14, as those are the dates for the annual "Super Soaps" weekend, which attracts a good-size crowd. The Illuminations cruises are always tough because they're popular and availability is extremely limited, so those usually are booked within the first few minutes during which reservations are accepted.

If you've looked at resort restaurants or restaurants in MK or DTD, that doesn't explain why you would have such problems with booking dinner PS on the weekdays in between Jersey Week and Super Soaps Weekend, however. In fact, we're there from Wednesday through Sunday of Jersey Week and had no trouble getting any of the PSs we wanted. There are some that always are difficult and you may just have picked those first. It also sounds like you might be trying to book a large group and there usually is more limited availabilty for large tables, so that may have been the problem too.

One other possibility with MGM is that they sometimes only open up PS's for early dinner times until they have the park hours established. That way they avoid disappointing people who make a PS for later if they elect to close the park earlier on those nights. As a result, when they post the November park hours (probably sometime in early September), they will open up the PS for later times.

As to alternatives for Hollywood & Vine, what are your criteria. Do you need to be at MGM or would another park or a resort be just as good? Is a Fantasmic Package a must (those also are popular and can sell out).

 

[Sharon/Mark]

Hi

Thank you for all the info - obviously UK tour operators are unaware of the regional vacations, hopefully as this appears to be mainly the first day or two only and we leave before Thanksgiving.

I really would like to do something that involves fireworks as my mother simply adores them and I had hoped to surprise her with this excursion, I have heard about Wishes but not sure what that is about apart from the fact its at MK

I had toyed with the idea of booking a restaurant at WorldShow Case to see the firework display but none of the restaurants with Alfresco Dining could guarantee a seat outside

Any ideas or suggestions would be appreciated
Thanks
Sharon

 

[Karebear]

We have seen Illuminations from the Rose and Crown in Epcot on 3 trips. I have made reservations for 7:30 and requested a patio table. They will not guarantee this, but on all 3 occassions we have had a patio table. We have a nice dinner, and then watch Illuminations from the table. This is sort of risky as a patio table is not guaranteed, but it is worth a try.

Also, my friends have staked at tables at the Mexican cantina about 2 hours before Illuminations and had a good view. This is not table service, so one person held the table while the other went to the counter to get the food.

Good luck and have a great trip!

 

[lUVTOGO]

In July we also sat in the Mexico at the Cantina tables and had a PERFECT view of Illuminations. We got there around 7:30 and had a few drinks while the kids were finishing up their masks, and decided to stay put and watch from there. A perfect spot.

We were in WDW last year from October 31st until November 7th, then we stayed in Universal. We had no trouble getting PS's for anything, but I do know that the Illuminations Cruise is very hard to get. I got it once out of trying 4 times. We did do the Wishes cruise this past July and it was o.k. I prefer to watch it in front of the Castle with sound. This is a do not miss fireworks show. It is one of the best!

We did the Fantasmic Dinner Package with the Brown Derby, and it was very good. But do you need to do the package in November? We just lined up around an hour before the show in July and got in.

The crowds are not at all as bad in November.. I have been both in July, August and November and November was far the best month with crowds and weather, even though the so called Jersey Week was that week!

Hope this helps.

 

[Sharon/Mark]

I just wanted to drop everyone a quick note to say thank you for all your feedback, I am so looking forward to my vacation and despite the disappointment of not being able to book the Illuminations cruise I know disney has so much more to offer
Thank you
Sharon