***1st Week of December Thread ADR Plans, Park Hours, and dealing with Pop Warner***

[Lisa F]

Oooh! That could be it! It's not due until November, but that makes complete sense. I'll give the MDE/ fp people a call and see what they have to say, too. Thanks!

you might want to pay it 60 days out if it impacts your FP+ selections!

 

[Mal6586]

I'm not gonna lie. I'm gonna be a little miffed if you have to have your package paid in full at 60 days in order to book fast passes. That isn't notated ANYWHERE when you reserve your package, and there is no way roomie and I will have ours paid by then. Both us us will be making final payments around the 45ish day mark based on how our pay periods fall.

 

[Lisa F]

I'm not gonna lie. I'm gonna be a little miffed if you have to have your package paid in full at 60 days in order to book fast passes. That isn't notated ANYWHERE when you reserve your package, and there is no way roomie and I will have ours paid by then. Both us us will be making final payments around the 45ish day mark based on how our pay periods fall.

then it probably allows you to make FP+ which will disappear if you don't pay in full. But it won't allow you to view and make FP+ NOW because your ticket is not valid now. If I wanted to, I could use my ticket today because it is not tied to a package and it is paid in full. It may be with packages that they allow you to make FP+ at the 60 day window. I can make my FP+ now and for the next 30 days because I have a valid ticket but no valid onsite stay in that time period. Assuming it will bump up to 60 days in advance of my hotel check in. Sorry was not really thinking clearly, very sleepy at work. But I think if this were a deal in the package that everyone would know it.

 

[rasadkowski]

I'm not gonna lie. I'm gonna be a little miffed if you have to have your package paid in full at 60 days in order to book fast passes. That isn't notated ANYWHERE when you reserve your package, and there is no way roomie and I will have ours paid by then. Both us us will be making final payments around the 45ish day mark based on how our pay periods fall.

Ok!!! I just called. When you have s package the tickets show up under your reservations. But, they don't show up as linked on fp until 60 days out. He assured me they will be linked on 10/4 when my window Opens. ( I arrive 12/3)!!! It has nothing to do with paying the balance.

 

[Mal6586]

Ok!!! I just called. When you have s package the tickets show up under your reservations. But, they don't show up as linked on fp until 60 days out. He assured me they will be linked on 10/4 when my window Opens. ( I arrive 12/3)!!! It has nothing to do with paying the balance.

Whew! That's a relief!! Thanks for letting us know!!

 

[Lisa F]

Whew! That's a relief!! Thanks for letting us know!!

sorry to panic you. i was just thinking out loud. I have DVC so have never in my life done a package! I should shut up if I don't know!

But it does make sense that you don't have the ticket entitlements yet because it is tied to a package. Mine is just an outright PH and I could use it tomorrow if I wanted to. it is linked to my profile which also has my park stay but i don't HAVE to use it in december. So now I can book FP's 30 days out until my 60 day window hits and then I should be able to book 60 days out.

 

[Mal6586]

sorry to panic you. i was just thinking out loud. I have DVC so have never in my life done a package! I should shut up if I don't know!

But it does make sense that you don't have the ticket entitlements yet because it is tied to a package. Mine is just an outright PH and I could use it tomorrow if I wanted to. it is linked to my profile which also has my park stay but i don't HAVE to use it in december. So now I can book FP's 30 days out until my 60 day window hits and then I should be able to book 60 days out.

Oh no biggie!! Lord knows we all think out loud! This is my first time doing a package that I could actually make changes to online myself. The only other package I'd had was with runDisney, and you can't even see anything except your hotel reservation on MDE ahead of time. They give you your tickets when you check-in (Or at least they did in 2014), so we couldn't do our FP's until we checked in. We're all learning together!

 

[Tinker06]

At the MK, LOTS of great FPs are. like right now if I were to show up at the MK at this second and want to book FPs this is what is available:
buzz 11:50
dumbo 12:55
hm 1:30
jungle cruise 1:40
mad tea party 2:00
meet mickey 7:10
meet tink 11;50
philharmagic 12:30
monsters inc 2:05
peter pan 9:25
pirates 1:45
space mountain 4:45
splash 9:10
barnstormer 3:20
magic carpets 2:00, 2:40, 2:45
pooh 12:25
tomorrowland speedway 5:25
little mermaid 1:30


i didn't list all of the return times but for example if you walked in right now you could do jungle cruise at 1:40 then space at 4:45 and grab tomorrowland speedway at 5:45 (that's what I would do with my kiddo) and do walk on stuff in between that. those are just the first available but youc ould fill your afternoon with FPs many different ways. As a strategy I would grab the hardest one first like space mountain and then I would fill in with things around it, like speedway (my child loves that) and then maybe book another one earlier in another land. Pirates right now has a 25 minute wait, I'd maybe do that... then jungle cruise, then things like carousel of progress and people mover and monsters inc and stitch and kill time til my space and then do speedway after that. But I'd also have some planned fastpasses to use too if it were me.

I have been watching the FPs and what is available at various times and I will be posting my MK strategies later. It will include my thoughts on SDFP and how I'd like to use them. It might be helpful!

epcot still has
Tier 1:
illuminations
and most of the teir 2's available

DHS has all of the Tier 1's avialable, jus tsome much later in the day. nothing is sold out at all

Ak has everthing available too. first safari is a t3:50

I think there is a very good selection of SDFP honestly .

how did you check that?

 

[Lisa F]

Oh no biggie!! Lord knows we all think out loud! This is my first time doing a package that I could actually make changes to online myself. The only other package I'd had was with runDisney, and you can't even see anything except your hotel reservation on MDE ahead of time. They give you your tickets when you check-in (Or at least they did in 2014), so we couldn't do our FP's until we checked in. We're all learning together!

still sorry. I know that un fact checked feeling of panic. not good, lol.

 

[rasadkowski]

sorry to panic you. i was just thinking out loud. I have DVC so have never in my life done a package! I should shut up if I don't know!

But it does make sense that you don't have the ticket entitlements yet because it is tied to a package. Mine is just an outright PH and I could use it tomorrow if I wanted to. it is linked to my profile which also has my park stay but i don't HAVE to use it in december. So now I can book FP's 30 days out until my 60 day window hits and then I should be able to book 60 days out.

no, I'm glad you suggested it! I was able to ask! So thanks

 

[Lisa F]

how did you check that?

i just went to MDE and went to the FP section (there are 3 horizontal lines at the top left, click on that for menu and click on FastPass+), get started, added my kiddo to the party (because he also has a ticket) then click on today on the calendar and then on the park and it shows me what the available FP+ are.

for MK as of nearly 3pm I can get (forgot to say for 2 last time) wait times currently in ()
Buzz 4:45 (30)
dumbo 3:30 (10)
HM 3:00 (30)
Jungle Cruise 4:05 (60) **1**
mad tea party 3:15 (10)
philharmagic 3:20 (10)
monsters inc 3:30 (20)
peter pan 10:00pm (65)
pirates 3:30 (15)
space mtn 7:15 (80) **3**
splash mtn 9:15 (40)
barnstormer 4:10 (20)
magic carpets 3:10 (15)
pooh 5:55 (only one for the rest of the day) (temporarily closed, not sure why!)
tomorrowland speedway 5:05 (50) **2**

i left out the character meet and greet stuff as I'm not interested really. i starred the ones I'd be targeting if I were walking in RIGHT NOW.

 

[Maryemcd]

@SilSprBea Just wanted to tell you our experiences:

So I've gone to WDW on the train (amazing deal) from NJ once and never again. It was Feb. and that train made us feel like we were hot dogs cooking from the inside out. Seriously, it was such an uncomfortable ride. You see, every time we stopped for passengers, they would complain how cold they were, so they would put the heat on higher. Finally, we're all hot and they agree to turn down the heat and then we stop for more passengers and guess what, they were freezing so...not to mention the fact that the train was late on departure day, by several hours. We finally get on and take off and they ran out of food.

We used to fly, but by the time you drive early to the airport to check-in and all that, it seems to take forever.

We drive now (in the past from NJ or PA and now WV) and make it part of the trip, stopping wherever. With portable DVD players, food, stops and napping, the time really does go by.

ha, that's funny. When my SIL lived in Jacksonville, my MIL took the train from Newark, NJ several times. Ugh... 18+ hours in a regular "coach" seat. Then, I agreed to go with her for one trip. We got the small "room" which is two facing seats, table, door. The seats fold up and become a bottom bed with a pullman pulldown. Was very nice, but LONG. I walked back to coach at one point.... UGH, disgusting and HOT!!! Needless to say, I flew back (she stayed longer) and the next time I convinced her to fly with me. Her very first flight at ~68 years old. She did great and we even went a second time the next year.

 

[Lisa F]

ha, that's funny. When my SIL lived in Jacksonville, my MIL took the train from Newark, NJ several times. Ugh... 18+ hours in a regular "coach" seat. Then, I agreed to go with her for one trip. We got the small "room" which is two facing seats, table, door. The seats fold up and become a bottom bed with a pullman pulldown. Was very nice, but LONG. I walked back to coach at one point.... UGH, disgusting and HOT!!! Needless to say, I flew back (she stayed longer) and the next time I convinced her to fly with me. Her very first flight at ~68 years old. She did great and we even went a second time the next year.

yes the roomettes or whatever they call them make a huge dif. they might even have individual climate control though it got warm on the top bunk.

 

[Maryemcd]

For those interested in trying to help each other snag/cancel ADRs and the talk about managing a spreadsheet, what do you think about a spreadsheet in Google docs that any of us can edit to add our info? Posting the link here means that anybody can access and edit the doc. While people could change info just to mess with people, there's no real security issue to give outsiders the ability to change an actual ADR. We'd still have to contact each other via PM here on the DIS to arrange coordination.

I made a sample Google spreadsheet just to see if anybody thinks this option might work.

Clickable link

Short link: http://bit.ly/2cf4suI

Clickable actual link: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1E8WCpcNwVKGsAvcIIwD6Lnru7erod5C23myCOUARjxM/edit?usp=sharing

@TiggerManiac - spreadsheet looks awesome!! I actually don't think I need anything now, but I do have a couple to cancel. I've been watching the posts and I don't think I have something that our group currently needs but I'll check. I do have 2 H&V Minnie's (but not with F! package)

 

[Maryemcd]

To check FP+ availability right now.... I use a subscription to touring plans - Lines Mobile App. So, in the middle of the day, I'll go and see what they say is available for Fast Passes. I'm not keeping track, but it gives me an idea that on a 9 day, the big rides will have no FP+ availability, but other rides will. I can check it a couple of times during the day and see that maybe Ride #1 had some afternoon availability when I looked at noon, but by 3:00pm, it's gone or else maybe available at 10:40 at night.

I'm not booking anything, just looking to get a feel for the days. Now with summer wrapping up, I'm hoping to start seeing availability for days that will more likely match our first week of December... 4's, 5's, 6's, 7's. For the past couple of months it's almost always been a TouringPlans crowd level of 8, 9, 10.

Even if you aren't doing SDFP, you can get an idea of what is available for your 4th, 5th, 6th FP+. From what I saw today, it would be great to book all of your initial FP+ in the morning because at 1:00 there were tons of rides available immediately for FP+. Standby lines were 20+ minutes but you could get a FP+ in 2 minutes. Very interesting to me ;-)

 

[Maryemcd]

yes the roomettes or whatever they call them make a huge dif. they might even have individual climate control though it got warm on the top bunk.

yeah!! Roomettes... I knew there was a cutsey name, but couldn't remember it.

 

[Iowamomof4]

Yes. It shows both my parents and my family's hotel , our dinner reservations and lists 5 tickets for each person. But when I go to the fp to "check it out" it says no tickets linked I'm nervous about fp day! So I have no idea what it looks like to try to book. Like I could practice with the adrs. I watched some YouTube videos, but worried tickets won't show day of. Strange

You probably have this figured out by now, but your tickets won't show up until your fastpass day arrives. Unfortunately, we can't do trial runs on fastpasses. It sounds like you have everything linked correctly though!

 

[Talby]

@TiggerManiac - spreadsheet looks awesome!! I actually don't think I need anything now, but I do have a couple to cancel. I've been watching the posts and I don't think I have something that our group currently needs but I'll check. I do have 2 H&V Minnie's (but not with F! package)

What dates are your non-F! H&Vs? I know 2 people looking for H&V! @TiggerManiac (I think she wants F! though?) and me (w/ or w/o is great!)

And about 4th, 5th, 6th etc. FP...I just want to add something I remember a CM told me as she explained the FP deal. She suggested that it would be in our best interests to schedule FP somewhat early in the day (like an hour after park opening if you'll be there at park opening) because you cannot book that 4th one (and subsequent FP) until the first 3 are used. So I've been keeping that in mind as I try to formulate our strategy. Of course, SDFP throws another factor into the equation and I'm just letting it all gel at the moment. But I thought maybe what the CM told me was worth sharing.

 

[TiggerManiac]

@TiggerManiac - spreadsheet looks awesome!! I actually don't think I need anything now, but I do have a couple to cancel. I've been watching the posts and I don't think I have something that our group currently needs but I'll check. I do have 2 H&V Minnie's (but not with F! package)

@Maryemcd , what dates are your H&V? We're thinking we may want to eat dinner there even without the Fantasmic part.

 

[pigletgirl]

Ok!!! I just called. When you have s package the tickets show up under your reservations. But, they don't show up as linked on fp until 60 days out. He assured me they will be linked on 10/4 when my window Opens. ( I arrive 12/3)!!! It has nothing to do with paying the balance.

Awesome! Glad you have some peace of mind.