Strategy help...

[sersee05]

Normally we go and just play it by ear. But one year it stunk because we didn't eat in the parks because of we didn't reserve . I made reservations the last time and we missed one of the shows which my husband likes. So he was a grumpy butt.

So I am trying to become a little bit of a planner. I don't want to be over planned though..lol I have to just make sure we eat at some of the restaurants this time because in all the times we have gone, we have only eaten at a few.

My kids are older and into trying the food!! We know we are going to Trex. I also wanted to go to an Italian place. I have eaten at Mamas and last time I wasn't overly impressed. We might try Tutto in epcot. But I also want to try San angel in Epcot. We wanted to also possibly try Boma or cape may? Im not sure how I can fit them in . Now if I got CRT that would take a spot but its very booked . I always look though.

So we are going the first week in August. I looked up all the times. We are not staying onsite and will have our own car. We have 5 day hoppers.

I have a Trex reservation on the 4th at 5pm. I figured this would be a good day for AK since it closes early and we usually get everything done by about 4pm. We are going to hit the safari right away. Im not overly familiar with FP (i have never used it..I know I know). So I am trying it this year if I can grasp the concept. 3 a day at one park? We were thinking of fast passing expedition everest and Kali river. I love love love the Flights of Wonder show ..and there are a l to of times for that . I want to see the nemo musical and probably the lion king. I am thinking I can fit them in. Then off to Trex.

Im not sure what day to do what. We were going to head to Studios the first day . I have to see everything Frozen. We also want to see indiana jones, lma stunting and beauty and the beast(I have never seen it). We also want to see Fantasmic because none of us have see it and Frozen fireworks. Fantasmic seems to have two shows while I am there. I am unsure if I should just hop back one night to see Frozen fireworks..unless I can fit them both in? Then I have to fit a dinner in.

I think with MK and Epcot ..I will be fine with the firework schedules. And while in Epcot I can easily eat at one of the restaurants.


We also have a day where we might just hop around and do the things we missed or do them again. Not sure what to do on our last day. I can probably leave my car at one park and use the monorail from Mk to epcot if I want to eat in epcot twice. We also might use this last day to pop around the different hotels and see them..not sure.

Thank you so much!

 

[itchin2go]

I use this crowd calendar to plan which days for which parks:

http://www.easywdw.com/category/calendar/08-august-2015-crowd-calendar/

I am an OVER planner. I first pick which days by reading the crowd calendar. Then I choose ADRs according to which park we'll be in. After that, I choose FPs based on what we like and suggested priority, which can be found here:

http://disboards.com/threads/fastpa...ed-priorities-and-strategies-part-ii.3326057/

It is not hard, but it does require some effort and time. Just take it one step at a time.

 

[danny1649]

Sorry I can't be of much help,sounds like you have a good plan in place.Plus you sound like you have some good flexibility in your plans.I hope another poster can help you with your question on Frozen Fireworks and Fantasmic Show.Wish you a great visit and wonderful memories on your visit. Danny

 

[Mouse of Mystery]

Oh my goodness... if you haven't already secured ADR and FP you're going to find it difficult -- but don't give up! They do open up from time to time.

By all means check out the easywdw link in the post below yours. You may not want to plan everything, but planning nothing is going to make your trip frustrating (as you noted). We like to plan the morning, FP right after lunch, and then explore on our own (and 4th FP where we can) after that. It lets us do a lot, but not be tied to a schedule all day.

There are lots of great restaurants at WDW, so I love that you all are trying a few. You mentioned a few Italian restaurants, so you should probably also consider Via Napoli Ristorante e Pizzeria. It's new at EPCOT and gets a lot of praise.

The second Fantasmic! show is usually less crowded and you can even sometimes get a 4th FP for the show just hours before it begins. Check the Frozen fireworks times for overlap, but I don't think it is usually that late.

 

[sersee05]

Shockingly there was quite a bit of availability restaurant wise. I think it's because it isn't character? Plus we haven't eaten many places so we are very flexible.

Fp for fantasmic...does that get you a good seat?

Do u think it would crimp my park plans to monorail to epcot from mk?

I will definitely check the crowd calendar..although I'm pretty sure it will always be crowded lol. Is the there something to going to a park that had the late extra magic hours the night before. Is it somewhat quieter the next morning?

Ha....I'm so excited you think it's somewhat of a decent plan.

 

[Mouse of Mystery]

Fp for fantasmic...does that get you a good seat?

Do u think it would crimp my park plans to monorail to epcot from mk?

I will definitely check the crowd calendar..although I'm pretty sure it will always be crowded lol. Is the there something to going to a park that had the late extra magic hours the night before. Is it somewhat quieter the next morning?

FP+ for Fantasmic! -- there aren't really any BAD seats at Fantasmic! but a FP+ will allow you to minimize your wait time in line to the theater and will allow you to select a seat closer to the center. Remember, these are generally available up until later in the day, so it doesn't make a lot of sense to burn a FP+ on it unless it's a 4th or a 5th. The second show is way less crowded.

Don't underestimate the amount of time it might take to ride the mono from MK to Epcot.

Crowd calendars (love EasyWDW, personally) are your friend and will help you avoid unforeseen crowds. EMH figures into it, but there are often other factors as well. This is even more important if you won't be making Rope Drop.

 

[tink9702]

The one day I'd do more planning is your HS day. You want to see a LOT of shows and they all have specific times to see them. I'd look at the show times then take the ones that have the least # of showings (probably Lights Motor Action first), write down what time, then keep going with each of the shows you want. You'll quickly fill up your day with the shows but you won't miss anything! have fun!

 

[IrishNYC]

If you want to try Boma (and I highly recommend it!) and there's nothing else you really want to see at DTD, I would book Boma on the day you do AK, since it's at AKL and just a short ride away. The food at Trex is nothing special, really. If your kids like dinosaurs and loud noises it's ok, but we, including DD5, didn't care for it at all. Boma is definitely different from most other food you'll get anywhere else.

 

[vicb]

Breakfast at Boma is awesome, especially with kids because they can try the items that are a bit more unusual but still have the regular breakfast choices too! Browsing around AKL and looking at the animals and beautiful resort is a bonus. Possibly you could do this on your last day then take in a park?

Take a look at Steve Soares website (just google his name) for live entertainment and show schedules. Your dates won't be available yet but things don't change too much from week to week and his schedule will help you plan which show at what times.

My family has always had a lunch ADR when we are in the parks, never under estimate the restorative powers of sitting down in ac, rehydrating and eating for an hour mid-day!

 

[pclvnmcky88]

The last two times we've done Boma for breakfast the morning of the day we head home. I find that enjoying Boma for breakfast and then walking around outside AKL to all the spots you can see the animals in a great way to end our trips. For an Italian place I would definitely recommend Via Napoli. We had a bad experience at Tutto with our food being sub-par (watery lasagna and pasta noodles).

 

[sersee05]

I have to do T. rex. My kids love it..lol. We actually thought our best meal last time was T. rex! Well that and,Vivo in City walk.

I did go on wdwinfo. I wrote all of it down. We happened to be hitting ak on the right day.nso my plan is :

Monday...Epcot(most recommended)... Epcot dinner would obviously work,best here and then we can stay for illuminations.
Tuesday.. AK.(most recommended).. Most,likely trex since I have the reservation and I know I can get this park done by 4
Wednesday.. mK(highly recommended) Have to figure out best dinner here..or lunch/ dinner

Thursday..I'm not sure what to do here. Dhs isn't recommended until Friday. Epcot is recommended on this day..not sure I could fill another day with Epcot..maybe just bounce back and forth? Then I need to pick dinner...so pretty sure I could put boma in here and be fine. Maybe we could go into Dhs for a couple shows and fantasmic.

Friday..last day..Dhs(most recommended).this is the recommended day. I wish that Friday was the day for me to catch up on everything we missed. I will have to check again and see if I could figure out where to put Dhs. I know we will want to see all the shows ...it's my husbands favorite thing to do and I must see Frozen fireworks....




Ok update...I went on the easy wdw crowd calendar again and might change too...

Monday..Ak (highly recommended)
Tuesday.. dhs(recommended)
Wednesday.. MK(most recommended)
Thursday..Epcot(most recommended)
Friday..Dhs (most recommended)and mK (highly recommended)to close out the trip. I was getting caught up with highly recommended, most recommended and recommended. Think if I just stay away from not recommended ..I should be good?

 

[itchin2go]

I have to do T. rex. My kids love it..lol. We actually thought our best meal last time was T. rex! Well that and,Vivo in City walk.

I did go on wdwinfo. I wrote all of it down. We happened to be hitting ak on the right day.nso my plan is :

Monday...Epcot... Epcot dinner would obviously work,best here and then we can stay for illuminations.
Tuesday.. AK... Most,likely trex since I have the reservation and I know I can get this park done by 4
Wednesday.. mK.. Have to figure out best dinner here..or lunch/ dinner

Thursday..I'm not sure what to do here. Dhs isn't recommended until Friday. Epcot is recommended on this day..not sure I could fill another day with Epcot..maybe just bounce back and forth? Then I need to pick dinner...so pretty sure I could put boma in here and be fine. Maybe we could go into Dhs for a couple shows and fantasmic.

Friday..last day..Dhs ..this is the recommended day. I wish that Friday was the day for me to catch up on everything we missed. I will have to check again and see if I could figure out where to put Dhs. I know we will want to see all the shows ...it's my husbands favorite thing to do and I must see Frozen fireworks

If you go on an non-recommended day, just have a good plan. Sometimes the recommended days don't mesh with your time frame.

We did Epcot on a highly non-recommended day on our last trip. It was just what worked with our trip. We really weren't looking to get too much done, since we'd had other Epcot days, so it was not a big deal. The rest of our days were in the recommended parks. So I guess the point is to be cognizant of the best parks, follow it to the extent you can, but it's not always gonna work out perfectly.

Long story short, if DHS works better for you on Thursday, I would schedule it that way, and just have a really good plan for how to tackle the park.

 

[sersee05]

Thanks itchin...I just was posting my update. I was getting caught up on the language with the highly recommended, most recommended and just recommended..mom hoping by avoiding the not recommended..that would be good. ..I was able to switch things around.. I just have to check on my trex reservation...that's important.lol. I like my last day to be able to do anything I want or missed..

 

[itchin2go]

I was getting caught up with highly recommended, most recommended and recommended. Think if I just stay away from not recommended ..I should be good?

Yes! I do try to go with highly recommended, but I think "non recommended" is the biggest consideration.