Uncharted waters in planning this trip. Never had to deal with a new land...

[Farro]

Animal Kingdom - chances are very good Pandora will be open by the time we get there in October.

I have no idea how to plan for this, including dinner. I know we are doing two days there, but not knowing how late at night it will be open is challenging and there is no history to compare it to. And we can't really go by summer hours because October is never as late as summer, right?

If it's only open until a couple hours after dark - 8 pm in late October, then we can arrive mid-morning, stay until close and go out to dinner.

If it's open late, like 10 or so, then that changes things. Would arrive afternoon around 2, leave for a couple hours to eat dinner at Sanaa about 5 and then come back for the night hours.

And then who knows what nights will be open late, not late, etc. Will they offer an evening EMH at AK (the one you have to pay for, which if it included Everest, Dinosaur and Pandora, I'm in! )?

What is everyone else's plan of attack with the unknowns?

Also, when do you go to Disney Springs for dinner? We were thinking of a Saturday evening since Magic Kingdom will be packed as it's a non-party night and we avoid Food/Wine on the weekends. We would do the Studios in the morning, relax, then head over around 6 for a 7:30 dinner at Homecoming...

(I'm not actually stressed, it's just a fun, take my mind off my work day stress)

 

[Accident]

my understanding.. it's 2 rides, both inside and both will have insane lines. 1 new counter, 1 new table and places to shop. at night it'll kick into bioluminescence and you'll probably want to pass through to see the light theming since that's a big part of the movie... now how long it takes to just look around, no clue...

or: plan half your day is going to be in pandora and you want to see it day and night. it'll be packed at first.

the hours will go much later again especially at first.

 

[Farro]

Oh I know all about it, I'm very excited for it! I would hope we get fast passes for the rides, even if it's one ride one day and the other ride the other day.

I'm just musing on how to plan the day in general - dinner is dependent on hours, and I make dinner reservations way before we'll know anything.
I can't count on the hours being the same as they are when Pandora first opens because it gets dark earlier in October.

It's all a mystery...

 

[DisneyWishes14]

We did an "unknown" AK trip last year when details for the AK nighttime attractions and Tiffins/Nomad Lounge started to emerge. My advice, simply block of the days for AK. If nothing is announced before your 180 ADR date, simply make a placeholder Sanaa reservation for the day you think you may go and wait to see if any other dining package/new AK restaurant announcements are made (if they interest you). We did this for our trip last year (we went Memorial Day weekend last year, which turned out to be the opening of Tiffins and the Jungle Book show) and I just kept monitoring these boards. As soon as the Jungle Book/Tiffins dining package opened, I jumped on it. I also then quickly rearranged FP+ so I could do the sunset safari (which I didn't like very much!). Even with all the quick changes to our itinerary, we still got all of our AK favorites in. If you are planning two full days in AK, I would think you would be able to do all of Pandora and the rest of AK without issue. As I said, just block off those days now, watch these boards and pounce as soon as things are announced and become available!

 

[Farro]

Yes - I'm going to plan one dinner at 8:30 at The Wave for one night (in case it closes early) and one dinner at Sanaa the other night at 5:00 (in case it closes late and we can go back). Since we will be going twice,
I can just keep 8:30 reservation at The Wave no matter what (if it's open late night, we can experience that the second time we go), and if it does close soon after sunset I can change the reservation at Sanaa for later.

Until I change my mind again!

 

[xlsm]

I agree with DisneyWishes...and on the plus side, Sanaa is a relatively easy reservation to get, so it's easier to make one closer to time if you want to...or even day of. Although I suppose that could change with increased crowds for F&W and Pandora.

For me personally, I wouldn't schedule a meal at all and eat QS somewhere (on one of the AK days, at least), or do apps and drinks at Nomad Lounge. But if you're on the dining plan (and I think you are if I recall correctly from our October thread), that might not make sense at all for your group.

I'm stressing a little about adding Pandora into our daily plans as well!

 

[Farro]

We are on the dining plan, but we really want to go to all the restaurants we have planned, that's part of the fun for us! And, I need a sit down dinner. We did counter service last trip, I really missed an evening dinner with a glass of wine.

Dinner won't be a problem once I know the hours! I'll make my reservations as I have planned now, and change Sanaa if needed based on the hours.

 

[Beer Me]

Going in July. The only thing we are planning is to be there all day.

 

[Missyrose]

Dinner won't be a problem once I know the hours!

Just be prepared to not know the hours for a very long time. Disney has only said summer 2017 for Pandora. I wouldn't expect hours to reflect its opening until the days before it actually opens, which means fully-formed hours for the fall at AK would still be months away from that.

 

[Farro]

Just be prepared to not know the hours for a very long time. Disney has only said summer 2017 for Pandora. I wouldn't expect hours to reflect its opening until the days before it actually opens, which means fully-formed hours for the fall at AK would still be months away from that.

Well yes, that's why I laughed after I said it, it will be an unknown...

 

[BigredNole]

I expect Avatarland to be insanely packed when it opens and for many months after. Even though we are there for 2 weeks, I am not expecting to be able to do much of it. I don't want to spend hours upon hours waiting for 1 ride. My greedy hope is that it doesn't open until July with soft openings for passholders.

 

[Farro]

For us, the rides are only a small part of our excitement for Pandora. Mostly just interested in the design, the details, the atmosphere, etc. We will be happy just to be able to meander through it at night. If it's anything like the rest of Animal Kingdom, we won't be disappointed.

 

[BigredNole]

I think that will be difficult as well. I expect all of Pandora to be slammed and wouldn't be surprised if access is blocked off due to crowding.

 

[Farro]

I think that will be difficult as well. I expect all of Pandora to be slammed and wouldn't be surprised if access is blocked off due to crowding.

Well, then I will enjoy the rest of the park at night! Love it there and so rarely get to experience it after dark.

 

[Harambe]

Well, then I will enjoy the rest of the park at night! Love it there and so rarely get to experience it after dark.

You have a great attitude about it! Sometimes, when a new ride cripples a park, your best path is to just go and enjoy the "oldies" at that park, since everyone else is waiting in lines.

I can't wait to see the Avatar stuff. I have to rewatch the movie, though, because I don't remember a lot of it. I only remember that it is the same exact story as the animated feature Fern Gully, which my kids loved and watched a gazillion times.

 

[ArielSRL]

I hate to say it but I booked two ADRs for our AK night, both at Sanaa...based on if the park closes early or late. If and when Disney extends hours (which may not be until mid-May for my June trip), I'll drop one. It's frustrating and I feel like Disney creates the problem by opening ADRs up several months before finalizing hours.

 

[hiroMYhero]

I was going to move this thread to Happy Dance but the OP has the October thread in place.

Because the discussion is now on "alternate" scheduling of resort ADRs for unknown park schedules, moving to TP Community.

 

[Farro]

Hmm, disagree with moving this. We were discussing Pandora -crowds, closing times, etc. and how to plan for it - that doesn't fall under theme park attractions and strategies??

 

[hiroMYhero]

Hmm, disagree with moving this. We were discussing Pandora -crowds, closing times, etc. and how to plan for it - that doesn't fall under theme park attractions and strategies??

All recent Pandora threads have been moved to Rumors and News because Pandora doesn't yet exist.

I can merge this to your Happy Dance October thread as that is also a TP sub forum planning thread.

 

[Farro]

No thanks. Technically though, it does exist at this point, it's not a rumor.