what would you do?

[jessienatillie]

I have a dilemma. We are heading to WDW in September for the very first time. On our first night to MK there is no Wishes because it's a Halloween party night. On our second night Wishes is at 10 but we have a 9:15 BOG (only one we could snag- sucks but doable for our family). We are doing MK for a Halloween party another night so we will see the Halloween show (fireworks and castle stuff, right?). My question is this- should I cancel BOG dinner so we can see Wishes? I heard BOG dinner is a better experience than BOG lunch which is why we tried hard for dinner in the first place but maybe I need to reconsider a BOG lunch FP (if I can get it) Now I am torn. I want it all!

 

[touchthesky]

Keep calling Disney Dining to see if anyone has cancelled earlier on the day of your reservation. Because of the 180 day booking period for BOG, a lot of people end up canceling.

 

[jessienatillie]

Keep calling Disney Dining to see if anyone has cancelled earlier on the day of your reservation. Because of the 180 day booking period for BOG, a lot of people end up canceling.

We have been looking online- does it matter if you call or go online to look? Also, how long would I wait to make the decision?

 

[imthemamahere]

I don't blame you for wanting it all, but ultimately, I don't think it's possible to do EVERYTHING there is to do at Disney World in one trip.

Personally, I'd try to move up the Be Our Guest reservation. Use the website, and you can even try calling 407 WDW DINE as well. But if no earlier time opens up, I'd stick with the one you have. (We're not big fans of the food options at Magic Kingdom, overall. We're trying Be Our Guest for dinner one night on our trip this coming fall, and hope it lives up to the hype!) Ultimately, you'll be watching HalloWishes on your trip, which is pretty darn cool, from what I understand. So you'll be getting your fireworks fix another night. (Plus at EPCOT for Illuminations, maybe? Or Fantasmic! at Hollywood Studios?)

But then, for me, I'd rather have a sit-down meal I can enjoy, where my family and I can pause and regroup for the evening + rest of the trip.

If your family would rather do a quickie meal from a counter service place and have one more round of fireworks? Then that's what's right for you.

Are you park-hopping? If you're heading to Magic Kingdom on a party day, without party tix (so, no Wishes scheduled that night), you'll have to get out of the park by 7pm. If you're hopping to another park, great. If not... well, you could try to catch Wishes (or rather, HalloWishes, again) from outside the park. If you're feeling like treating yourselves, you could do dinner at California Grill at the Contemporary, and watch the fireworks from their viewing area. They pipe in the music, and it's pretty cool from there. Or you could hang out on the beach at Grand Floridian/Polynesian and watch from there. (We did this at Grand Floridian 2 1/2 years ago - they also piped in the music, and while it was kinda far off, it was still fun to watch.) You could also consider doing a fireworks cruise. We did the Pirates & Pals Fireworks Cruise on our last trip, and it was a blast. You'd have to be in the mood for some pirate-y humor, but watching the fireworks from a boat in the lagoon was a very cool experience. If money's no object, you could go all-out and do a private fireworks cruise. Too rich for my blood, but I've heard people say it's an amazing experience!

 

[mom2cinderella]

I want it all!

I feel ya!

I would keep trying to get an earlier ADR until you leave for your trip. Especially around 45 days out. I keep reading here that because final payment for packages is due then, there tends to be a spike in cancellations.

If you can't change the time by then, I would probably keep the ADR. I love Wishes, but BOG looks so cool. ( and the ADR is so stinking hard to get! )

 

[chocovrdmicears]

I would keep your BOG dinner reservations. You are going to see HalloWishes - which in my opinion the coolest version of Wishes. I wouldn't cancel a dinner that you are looking forward to just experience the non-Halloween version.

 

[cgattis]

Two days before we left for our March trip, we got an email invite for a lunch FP at BOG. We've done dinner there, so we stuck with the other ADRs we'd already made. (Dinner was fine, but the castle is the real highlight, not the food, IMO.). Maybe you'll get one of those and get to have it all!! But if not, I agree with others, if I had to pick between Hallowishes and Wishes, Hallowishes wins hands down. Have a great first trip!!!