YIKES. It’s (3/12) So busy! Planning and FP are so important.

[Lease257]

I'll be at WDW in about two weeks time, and I have to admit, I'm a little nervous. We chose that week because my friend works at a dentist office and it's the time she had off. It will be the two of us, her mother in law, and her 4.5 year old daughter. I have FPs for all the big attractions, plus CRT, BOG, and 'Ohana reservations. (Luckily I'm a planner and my friend is open to anything and hates planning.) Then two DAH events for me and my friend to get things done we can't do with a four year old. I think we'll be fine, but I'm preparing myself mentally for the worst. If I was solo, I wouldn't be worried, but I'm determined for my party to have a good time, and they aren't as seasoned as I am.

I have to say, mindset is half of it. Managing my expectations is key for me to enjoy anything. MK After Hours doesn't seem to be quite what I thought when I purchased the ticket. I've been monitoring that thread for the past few months. But going in knowing that the crowds are larger than they used to be will allow me to just hang back and enjoy it for what it's worth. Nothing at WDW will ever be perfect. But with the right state of mind, I'm still able to enjoy myself 90% of the time. This is why I keep reminding my friend about crowds. I think I'm starting to annoy her, but I'm hoping to build it up to a point where when we get there, it doesn't seem so bad.

To put it in perspective..,my four year olds favorite time was the fountain he played in at Epcot for over an hour (near mission space), and Tom Sawyer Island. Both of those required no FP or lines . Take time for little things and I think you’ll have a great time regardless!

 

[limace]

ALL OF TEXAS has Spring break this week, colleges, public, private and charter schools. There are few exceptions and Texas is a big state.

I actually heard That had changed some this year and much of Texas had pushed back a week? Regardless, it sure is busy.

 

[TXDisneyFan1]

ALL OF TEXAS has Spring break this week, colleges, public, private and charter schools. There are few exceptions and Texas is a big state.

Actually, the entire Austin ISD has Spring Break next week. (Along with several other smaller school districts in the area)

 

[Klayfish]

This is honestly how I feel at this point and I probably won't be renewing my AP after having been an AP holder for about 9 years consecutively. I popped over Monday 3/11 to MK with my grandson (10 mos) and we rode 2 rides 6 hours. The days of deciding day of or even a couple of days out to take a day trip are long gone. It's actually really tarnished the Disney experience for me.
I am an uber planner myself. Up until last year I always took my family to WDW for 2 weeks over the July 4th holiday and then again for 2 weeks Xmas/New Years (stayed onsite) so Im use to doing alot of planning, but even I, the woman who has binders and spreadsheets saved from past trips, feel like the amount of planning nes. now is completely ridiculous. WDW trips border on having to do as much if not more planning than I've ever done for even international trips.

It is sad that someone can not simply get up one morning and gather the kids and go to Disney.....

But remember, this is all your own choice. You do not need to be an uber planner, you do not need to set everything months in advance, etc... You absolutely can get up one morning, gather the kids and go to Disney.

As I've mentioned many times, we are not planners. At all. If I had to have a spreadsheet, binder, plan, determine how fast I have to walk from point A to point B (there's a thread on here now about using walking speed in TP to plan your day), I would flat refuse to go. That's not a vacation to me, that's military school. For a 2 week trip, DW and I do less than 30-40 minutes worth of planning...total. No spreadsheets, agendas or anything. Maybe one piece of 8x11 paper with some loose notes on it, if that. We were AP holders and offsite, so our FP+ was limited to 7 days worth in a 30 day period. That meant that the majority of our trip couldn't be planned anyway until literally less than a week ahead for FP+. We very much do things on the fly. Even on the days we have "planned" ahead of time, we often change them last minute. We may wake up in the morning and the kids will say they don't want to go to Epcot, but would rather do HS instead. So we do that. After we do our first 3 pre-selected (if we can even do that) FP+, we have absolutely zero plans. We get off the attraction and say "What next?". We do this until we're done and then just leave. Our days are very much done spur of the moment. We have a wonderful time doing it this way. For us, that's true vacation. No stress, no planning, no worries. Just relax and enjoy being in the parks. And we get on tons of attractions. Knowing how to "refresh" makes it easy. We can hit 10-12 rides in a 6 hour period if we try, regardless of time of year.

My point is that I think too many here have the mindset that you MUST plan, you MUST do all of these stressful things. I don't agree, you can still do things on a whim and have a great time. You just need to know how things work.

 

[disneyinthespringtime]

“My point is that I think too many here have the mindset that you MUST plan, you MUST do all of these stressful things. I don't agree, you can still do things on a whim and have a great time. You justneed to know how things work.”

I have no doubt that is true for people who know WDW very well and have been a number of times. Personally though I think a visitor that is new to the park of has only been a time before benefits a lot from the planning to help learn how things work, typical times and distances, offerings, managing expectations, etc. Otherwise they’re a lot more likely to spend way more time being frustrated, more time waiting around or missing things you really wanted to do.

 

[Klayfish]

“My point is that I think too many here have the mindset that you MUST plan, you MUST do all of these stressful things. I don't agree, you can still do things on a whim and have a great time. You justneed to know how things work.”

I have no doubt that is true for people who know WDW very well and have been a number of times. Personally though I think a visitor that is new to the park of has only been a time before benefits a lot from the planning to help learn how things work, typical times and distances, offerings, managing expectations, etc. Otherwise they’re a lot more likely to spend way more time being frustrated, more time waiting around or missing things you really wanted to do.

I hear what you're saying and agree to a point. The things that you listed as planning...learning how things work, typical times and distances, managing expectations, etc...to me are more "research" than planning. So perhaps there's some semantics getting in the way here. I agree that the things you list can be important, especially for a first or second time visitor. You should absolutely have a basic understanding of how things work, where things generally are and have realistic expectations. If you walk into WDW (or any other tourist place) having done zero research whatsoever and no concept of anything, then you may leave frustrated and disappointed. At the same time, I don't feel it requires months of research, just the basics will work.

When I was talking about planning, I'm referring to setting a structure to your day. For example, at 9:10am we're on ride A, then we walk at a moderate pace and arrive at ride B at 9:40am, then ride C at 10:15am, then a bathroom break, then this, then that....have color coded spreadsheets for each day. Things like that. You can plan that way if you like, but it's not necessary. The PP, and I'm not picking on them just using an example, mentioned that she/he is a 9 year AP holder, so they definitely aren't new visitors. Yet they said that the days of making a last minute trip are long gone and that it takes a ridiculous amount of planning. That's a sentiment shared by many here. I disagree with that.

 

[FastPasser.]

Being a local living next door to WDW, friends and family visit regularly. I'm able to get them into the WDW parks, but those particular tickets come with only a seven FP window. Only I can link the tickets to the FPs, so it's easier for me to pick the FPs after my guests arrive which reduces the FP window even further. The bottom line is that it's always last minute planning. I've been doing it for a very long time, so it's been hundreds of park admissions and not one person has ever said that they didn't have a fun day at WDW.

 

[Tink_83]

I hear what you're saying and agree to a point. The things that you listed as planning...learning how things work, typical times and distances, managing expectations, etc...to me are more "research" than planning. So perhaps there's some semantics getting in the way here. I agree that the things you list can be important, especially for a first or second time visitor. You should absolutely have a basic understanding of how things work, where things generally are and have realistic expectations. If you walk into WDW (or any other tourist place) having done zero research whatsoever and no concept of anything, then you may leave frustrated and disappointed. At the same time, I don't feel it requires months of research, just the basics will work.

When I was talking about planning, I'm referring to setting a structure to your day. For example, at 9:10am we're on ride A, then we walk at a moderate pace and arrive at ride B at 9:40am, then ride C at 10:15am, then a bathroom break, then this, then that....have color coded spreadsheets for each day. Things like that. You can plan that way if you like, but it's not necessary. The PP, and I'm not picking on them just using an example, mentioned that she/he is a 9 year AP holder, so they definitely aren't new visitors. Yet they said that the days of making a last minute trip are long gone and that it takes a ridiculous amount of planning. That's a sentiment shared by many here. I disagree with that.

I’ll just say that until I read these posts on the refresh method I didn’t know what it was or how valuable it was. Most first time visitors even with planning may not stumble upon that and therefore makes the current system difficult for them to navigate even with research. For those doing last minute trips but who would do them maybe once a year, again they may not know how to use the system to their advantage... that said if it works like you’ve indicated that’s rather exciting news for me and I’ll definitely have someone in my group the designated FP refresher

 

[webcreatrix]

I actually heard That had changed some this year and much of Texas had pushed back a week? Regardless, it sure is busy.

Actually, the entire Austin ISD has Spring Break next week. (Along with several other smaller school districts in the area)

Interesting. I guess there has been some shift in the school calendars over the years.

 

[Sparkly]

Even if you want to get up in the morning and randomly say "OK, I want to visit MK today!", what's stopping you from logging on in the morning and taking the 5-10 mins to try and book some fastpasses?

 

[Branderson610]

We were at MK today. Thanks to FP and planning we never waited more than 15 minutes for rides. Even then, it was so crowded that I felt like nobody really had fun. I love Disney but I just don't know if it's worth it anymore.

I was there too. It was very crowded, it wasn't much fun.

 

[webcreatrix]

This thread is freaking me out about our July trip. Spring break is much busier, right? We've always done the earliest possible date in June or latest possible in August. We were considering October. I'm glad we're not going then. As much as we love SW, we can wait a few years to see SW:GE.

 

[DWFamilyof6]

Just chiming in. We were there 2/28-3/6. I saw a post several pages back that said MK on Saturday,3/2 was the busiest they've ever seen it.... we were at Mk 3/2 from 8:30am to 4:30ish and had an amazing day at Mk. I actually met one of the Youtube Vloggers in the park that day. She was Live Streaming, I even caught her saying numerous times how crazy crowded it was. I think it all comes down to expectations and planning. I use to be the one who stressed over crowds and going at the right time of year, on the right day, to the right park, yada yada. About 2 months before our trip I got some super scary updated crowd calendar numbers for our trip and decided how ridiculous it was, Disney is going to be crowded, quit stressing. It would be fine. I was right, this trip was awesome because of planning, expectations to just go with what the kids want to do, correct use of Fastpass, getting to the park early and for the most part leaving early evening before the mass exodus at the end of the night(this is my worst "magic" killer!) I hate how cranky my family gets, how cranky people get and I hate the crowds leaving. So I decided we just wouldn't do it this year. And, I can say it worked out great, I don't feel like we missed out on anything.
This was our day at MK 3/2 (TP has it as a 8/10). My DD7 and I made it 30+ min before rope drop. Leisurely walked down Main Street taking in the sites. Enjoyed the Welcome Show. Somehow we had never watched it. Before noon we met Cinderella, Elena, Merida, Alice, Ariel, Rode Under The Sea, met Daisy, Pluto, rode Dumbo, FP Rapunzel and Tiana, tried the yummy Peter Pan Float and Lost Princess cone, caught the Friendship Faire Show, the Move It Shake It Party, FP Enchanted Tales, lunch at Pinocchio (Mobile Order!!! This was the best kept secret of our whole trip), and Philharmagic. My 3 DSs(7,9,10) and Hubby then joined us. They had been fishing in Bay Lake, EPIC according to my 7yo. Side note: they caught 28 fish in 2 hrs, one being a 6.5#. Once they made it over we rode 7D (FP), boys had a light lunch at The Launching Pad (Mobile Order again!!), Space (FP had to search for a 4th for DD and I for a while but got it), People Mover, Buzz (FP added 5th FP for DD and I). Kids then wanted to play Sorcerers of the Kingdom and it sent us to AdventureLand... during the parade... crazy! So we stopped playing and watched the parade while my husband got Dole whips with Mobile order. However this time it didn't work. People were getting in the Mobile order line and not placing their order until they got to the window which made this line almost as long as the regular line. So strange but anyways we still enjoyed them. We played 2 rounds of Sorcerers. Picked up a FP for Small World and then headed out for our dinner reservation at Artist Point. Which was a ton of fun and delicious. All in all I thought it was amazing even with the crazy crowds. I have lots of confidence now that we could do Christmas crowds or REAL Spring Break crowds in the future. Not sure I want to... but its not off the table.
Just wanted to give some positivity to those who are worried with crowds in upcoming trips.

 

[mom2rtk]

Yep, you know when a cast member signs you in for free, it doesn't matter if you are an onsite resort guest or not, you can only book 3 days on that guest pass and once the first three FPs are used you cannot obtain more same day FPs, even at a kiosk.

It is indeed a thing as we learned on our last trip, our next trip we have APs, so that won't be an issue, but it definitely is an issue for CMs and people they sign in.

At Disneyland, being signed in by a cast member is no different than buying a one day ticket as far as FPs go. And you don't actually need to know anything in advance with Maxpass, the app walks you through using it, just remember to always hold a FP and book another as soon as you can and you are good.

You should demand a refund.

 

[samsonjs]

I was looking at The lines app tonight and the lines didn’t look too bad at all. Under 60min for SDD. Alien saucers 23min. 40 min frozen. Everything else under 30 at Epcot, many under 20.

7dmt is 75min

It says it’s a level 9 day but I could deal with these times.

 

[FastPasser.]

You should demand a refund.

I'd deduct it from their bill.

The post quoted says that CMs or their guests can only book 3 days on a CMs guest pass, but the CM Main Entrance Pass usage policies says that CMs can make selections for up to four days at a time. Also, and maybe I'm just not seeing it, but it's news to me that CMs are limited to three FPs. I've never tried to get a fourth. I've contacted Disney to find out if it's true.

 

[ScoutsMom21]

Just chiming in. We were there 2/28-3/6. I saw a post several pages back that said MK on Saturday,3/2 was the busiest they've ever seen it.... we were at Mk 3/2 from 8:30am to 4:30ish and had an amazing day at Mk. I actually met one of the Youtube Vloggers in the park that day. She was Live Streaming, I even caught her saying numerous times how crazy crowded it was. I think it all comes down to expectations and planning. I use to be the one who stressed over crowds and going at the right time of year, on the right day, to the right park, yada yada. About 2 months before our trip I got some super scary updated crowd calendar numbers for our trip and decided how ridiculous it was, Disney is going to be crowded, quit stressing. It would be fine. I was right, this trip was awesome because of planning, expectations to just go with what the kids want to do, correct use of Fastpass, getting to the park early and for the most part leaving early evening before the mass exodus at the end of the night(this is my worst "magic" killer!) I hate how cranky my family gets, how cranky people get and I hate the crowds leaving. So I decided we just wouldn't do it this year. And, I can say it worked out great, I don't feel like we missed out on anything.
This was our day at MK 3/2 (TP has it as a 8/10). My DD7 and I made it 30+ min before rope drop. Leisurely walked down Main Street taking in the sites. Enjoyed the Welcome Show. Somehow we had never watched it. Before noon we met Cinderella, Elena, Merida, Alice, Ariel, Rode Under The Sea, met Daisy, Pluto, rode Dumbo, FP Rapunzel and Tiana, tried the yummy Peter Pan Float and Lost Princess cone, caught the Friendship Faire Show, the Move It Shake It Party, FP Enchanted Tales, lunch at Pinocchio (Mobile Order!!! This was the best kept secret of our whole trip), and Philharmagic. My 3 DSs(7,9,10) and Hubby then joined us. They had been fishing in Bay Lake, EPIC according to my 7yo. Side note: they caught 28 fish in 2 hrs, one being a 6.5#. Once they made it over we rode 7D (FP), boys had a light lunch at The Launching Pad (Mobile Order again!!), Space (FP had to search for a 4th for DD and I for a while but got it), People Mover, Buzz (FP added 5th FP for DD and I). Kids then wanted to play Sorcerers of the Kingdom and it sent us to AdventureLand... during the parade... crazy! So we stopped playing and watched the parade while my husband got Dole whips with Mobile order. However this time it didn't work. People were getting in the Mobile order line and not placing their order until they got to the window which made this line almost as long as the regular line. So strange but anyways we still enjoyed them. We played 2 rounds of Sorcerers. Picked up a FP for Small World and then headed out for our dinner reservation at Artist Point. Which was a ton of fun and delicious. All in all I thought it was amazing even with the crazy crowds. I have lots of confidence now that we could do Christmas crowds or REAL Spring Break crowds in the future. Not sure I want to... but its not off the table.
Just wanted to give some positivity to those who are worried with crowds in upcoming trips.

MOBILE order for Dole Whip? Even if it doesn't always work, the possibility that it could...well, you've just changed my MK LIFE!!!! lol

 

[Spacecow]

I have lots of confidence now that we could do Christmas crowds or REAL Spring Break crowds in the future. Not sure I want to... but its not off the table. Just wanted to give some positivity to those who are worried with crowds in upcoming trips.

This was one of my takeaways from our trip too. We were in the parks from 3/3-3/9 and it was very crowded, but we had a great time, and it never felt too overwhelming because we went in with a good plan and did pretty well with refreshing for FPs. I've always wanted to do a birthday trip, but my birthday (November 21st) has the annoying habit of being right near Thanksgiving some years so I was scared of the crowds, but if what people are saying is true and the crowds are similar to what we encountered earlier this month then I can definitely handle it! I might even work up the courage to brave Christmas time too

 

[hiroMYhero]

I'd deduct it from their bill.

The post quoted says that CMs or their guests can only book 3 days on a CMs guest pass, but the CM Main Entrance Pass usage policies says that CMs can make selections for up to four days at a time. Also, and maybe I'm just not seeing it, but it's news to me that CMs are limited to three FPs. I've never tried to get a fourth. I've contacted Disney to find out if it's true.

Lou, the PP posted incorrect info. Guest Passes and Maingates are eligible for 4th FPs and beyond while in the parks. They have to be booked through the CM’s MDX or at a kiosk.

The PP probably didn’t have access to the MDX and didn’t know to find a kiosk.

 

[Yarbogash]

To put it in perspective..,my four year olds favorite time was the fountain he played in at Epcot for over an hour (near mission space), and Tom Sawyer Island. Both of those required no FP or lines . Take time for little things and I think you’ll have a great time regardless!

Been there done that with kids of similar age. Tom Sawyers Island is very under rated by many.