Category — p. News and Changes

This To-Do List is for the FastPass+ High Crowd Itinerary.  For To-Do-Lists for other itineraries, see this.

Daily instructions are here:

A. MORE THAN 180 DAYS BEFORE YOUR PLANNED ARRIVAL DATE

(Note that a good travel agent, such as Destinations in Florida, can do almost all of this for you, for free. If you use Destinations in Florida as you travel agent through a link for this site–like this one–then they share a bit of the pixie dust they get from Disney with me.)

1. Confirm your budget, planned dates, intended hotel, kids’ development and heights, and your transportation choice and its availability for your planned dates.

2. Make your plane reservations, if flying. Make any other needed transportation arrangements.

3. Create your My Disney Experience account here and add your family members to it

4. Set up your hotel and tickets. Call 407-939-7675 (preferred, because this allows you to tell the reservationist which building at your resort you wish to be in), or click here to use Disney’s online system.  (Note: if your dates are later than what the online system permits, see this.)

• If you are following my itinerary, you want the hotel you’ve picked for 8 nights, nine day, no hopper, no “water parks and more” tickets, the Dining Plan, and Disney’s Magical Express
• Itineraries other than mine will have different requirements here

B. 181 DAYS BEFORE YOUR ARRIVAL DATE

1. Decide whether on your first night you’ll be dining at Akershus or the San Angel Inn. Akershus is a princess meal–you’ll have another princess meal at Cinderella’s Royal Table on Wednesday.  If you really like princesses, do Akershus; otherwise, San Angel Inn is the better choice.

2. Login to your MyDisneyExperience.com account, click the “Things to Do” tab at top right, under Dining hit “Make Reservations,” and practice trying to reserve restaurants (hint: use the search box at the upper right).

This may well drive you crazy, but the site works better than it used to…and is likely the only way you can get your Cindy reservations done! (as the site opens up a new reservable day at 6a, whereas the phone reservation line opens at 7a).

3. Collect your planned restaurant reservations together. You will want to do them online in order of hardest to reserve first. This is how they are listed below.

C. EXACTLY 6am EST, EXACTLY 180 DAYS BEFORE YOUR ARRIVAL DATE

(For an 180 day calendar, see this). Be on the restaurant website by at least 5:50am EST, and have your Cindy reservation all set up on the page.

Keep refreshing, as you will be let in as soon as Disney’s system decides it is 6a.

Make as many of the following as you have patience for (try to get through at least Akershus), in the exact order listed:

• Cinderella’s Royal Table Lunch (dining plan, two credits): Wednesday at 11a or later if you can; earlier than 11 only if your sole option…
• Hoop-Dee-Doo Revue (dining plan, two credits): Wednesday 6.15p show. The later time will keep you up later than you need to be, OK if all you can get. Avoid the earlier time–it’ll cut into your park time too much
• Chef Mickey’s (dining plan, one credit) Friday 11a.  Later is OK, but not a whole lot earlier–no earlier than 10.30a
• Crystal Palace (dining plan): Second Saturday 7p if you can; earlier OK, but not later
• Akershus Banquet or San Angel Inn (dining plan): First Saturday 7p.  No later, but earlier is OK.
• 50’s Prime Time Café (dining plan): Tuesday 7p. Can be earlier but not later.

For those you don’t make online, make them by calling call (407) WDW-DINE (939-3463)

D. 60 DAYS BEFORE YOUR ARRIVAL DATE

1. Go to your MyDisneyExperience account as early as a minute after midnight and set up the following FastPass+

• First Saturday afternoon and evening at Epcot: Tier One: Illuminations. Tier Two: Spaceship Earth and Mission Space. Note that the Illuminations FastPass+ may not be available until closer to your arrival date—if not available, make Test Track your Tier One instead, and try to change it to Illuminations later. Set the Tier Two times for when your travel plans permit you to be in the park. If one is impossible to set at a good time because of your travel schedule, leave it as is—Disney requires you to book three FastPass+.
• First Sunday at Disney’s Hollywood Studios: Tier One: Toy Story Midway Mania. Tier Two: Tower of Terror and the Frozen Sing-Along. Set Tower of Terror to begin between 9.30a to 10a, Toy Story Midway Mania for early afternoon, and the Frozen Sing-Along for later in the afternoon. (At park open, head straight to Rock ‘N’ Roller Coaster.)
• Monday at Epcot: Tier One: Soarin. Tier Two: Turtle Talk with Crush and a third of your choice. Set the first two for for late mornings/early afternoon, and the third for right after. (At park open, head for Test Track.)
• Tuesday afternoon at Disney’s Hollywood Studios: Tier One: Fantasmic. Tier Two: Star Tours and Voyage of the Little Mermaid. Set all for the late afternoon/early evening.
• Wednesday at the Magic Kingdom: Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, Winnie the Pooh, Under the Sea: Journey of the Little Mermaid. Set for late morning/early afternoon, with last window ending by 3p. (At park open, head for Peter Pan.)
• Thursday afternoon at the Animal Kingdom: Kali River Rapids, Expedition Everest and Dinosaur. Set all for late afternoon, with Kali River Rapids last.
• Friday at the Magic Kingdom: Enchanted Tales with Belle, Buzz Lightyear, and the Haunted Mansion. Set Buzz for around 10a, Belle for around noon, and the Haunted Mansion right after that. (At park open, head for Space Mountain.)
• Second Saturday morning at the Magic Kingdom: Splash Mountain, Main Street Electrical Parade (MSEP), and Jungle Cruise. Target Splash Mountain for late morning and Jungle Cruise for right before. Note that MSEP may not be available until close to your trip. If so, book Pirates of the Caribbean now, and change to MSEP if/when it becomes available. (At park open, head to Big Thunder Mountain.)
• Second Sunday morning at the Animal Kingdom: Kilimanjaro Safaris, Festival of the Lion King (if open by your dates) and a third ride of your choice. Target all to end by when you need to leave the park for your return home. (At park open, head to Expedition Everest if you want to re-ride it; otherwise do Kilimanjaro at open, and change its FP+ to something else you want to see again from Thursday.)

2. Do online check in, requesting as you do special location points

3. Customize your MagicBands

E. NOTES ON PACKING ETC. BEFORE YOU LEAVE

1. Bring your MagicBands in your carry-ons

2. If you use Disney’s Magical Express, you do not need to collect your bags at the Orlando airport unless you arrive late in the evening/at night or are an international traveler. Disney will get them for you and, eventually, deliver them directly to your room. Your bags may arrive hours after you do; so, depending on the weather forecasts, have a carry-on with an appropriate change of clothes for Orlando weather on Saturday, as you will almost certainly go to Epcot on Saturday before your checked bags arrive.

3. Follow the instructions in the Magical Express packet you will receive in the mail regarding both tagging your bags pre-departure, and where to go at the Orlando airport to find your transport to your resort.

4. Bring a copy of your room reservation, confirmation numbers and any tickets for special events you may have received in the mail.

5. Pack breakfast utensils, as they are not always available in the gift shop: bowls, spoons, napkins

6. When you arrive at the hotel, look for the special “On-line Check-in” line, and get into it.

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Update December 2015: There’s an updated high crowd itinerary.  If you have not yet set your park days and dining, you should use the updated one–it’s better!

Below is a Disney World FastPass+ based itinerary for the higher crowd weeks of the year.

FastPass+ recommendations are all in To-Do List for this itinerary. Daily instructions are here:

Thanks are especially due to Josh of easyWDW. With his permission, I picked the targeted park days based on both my own practices and his daily park recommendations.

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YET ANOTHER JOINT FAN MEET UP WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 4TH

I had so much fun earlier this month meeting a bunch of you with Steve (see Steve’s post about it here) that, along with my bud Jodi from Magical Mouse Schoolhouse, there’ll be another joint fan meet up next week!

It will be 4.30-5.30p on December 4th in the northeast corner of the Magic Kingdom’s Town Square, interrupted by the 5p Flag Retreat.

Jodi of Magical Mouse Schoolhouse and I will be

• Meeting and greeting our fan(s)
• Giving away the new “Glow with the Show” mouse ear hats to the first five fans that show up (if we hit that many…), and
• Watching the Retreat together.

This time, I’ll be accompanied also by lovely wife Amy Girl—whom everyone likes so much more than they like me—and Jodi plans to bring her family too!

Look for us with goofy Glow with the Show hats between the candy (“Main Street Confectionery”) and hat (“The Chapeau”) shops!

We will tweet and update on Facebook where we are, and we’d love to meet you later in the evening as well, if you can’t make the 4.30-5.30 meet up.

We’ll be also be giving “Glow with the Show” ears away to randomly selected people who join the meet-up virtually by re-tweeting our tweets or commenting on our Facebook posts. (On Twitter, Jodi is @MagicalMouseSch  and Dave is @yourfirstvisit. On Facebook, Dave is here and Jodi here.)

Our travel partners are also helping out!  Thanks 3D Travel Agency and Destinations in Florida!

(By the way—Steve announced his Facebook and Twitter Glow with the Show hats winners from our November joint meet up on Saturday (here). My winners were: on Twitter, Kerri M; and on Facebook, Pam D.  I’ll message you two separately to get your mailing addresses so that we can send you the ears!)

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Rikki Niblett posted yesterday on the TouringPlans.com blog more winter 2014 Disney World winter ride closures.

One of the most common questions I get around here is why my Week Rankings view so negatively a lot of January and February weeks that are low-crowd and low-price.

The reason is that my week rankings are for first time visitors who may never return.  These weeks are in the peak of the ride-closure season—so why should a family who has never been, and may never return, go during a time that predictably they may miss some of the best of Disney World?

But families that don’t care about ride closures should take a close look at January and early February.  Click the links for more on those months at Disney World—or play with the Week Picker!

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QUICK UPDATE ON THE MEET UP

Well, the big joint fan meet up with Steve from MilitaryDisneyTips.com has come and gone, and I am just beat!

I lost count, but Steve, the writer/webmaster of MilitaryDisneyTips.com (right, with the hat) thinks that more than forty of you visited with us.

Hundreds more dropped by virtually on Facebook and Twitter!

This site exists to help, and all the time you folks write your appreciation–see the “puffery” on the lower left for just a tiny sample.

But taking time out of your Disney vacation to come see and thank a balding old guy…well you take my breath away with gratitude!

The couple above ruined their honeymoon by coming to visit!

The “Glow with the Show” hats were gone within moments–the little girl got the second to last.

We’ll be announcing the winners of the hats from the virtual part of the meet up on Twitter and Facebook shortly.

The meet-up started by the hat shop, and there were four people waiting before we’d even begun!

Then a neat surprise–Josh from easyWDW.com and Lisa rolled up!

I’d spent much of Monday afternoon with Josh scheming over some stuff, so I was a little star-struck to see him twice in one Disney World visit!

We all wandered closer to the flagpole for the retreat, then returned to the meet-up spot.

After it formally ended–and we are pretty formal here, you know–Josh and Lisa treated us to Fastpasses for the Jungle Cruise, re-themed as the Jingle Cruise this holiday season.  I laughed like a seven year old…

Josh and Lisa then peeled off, and Steve and I wandered the park, keeping people posted where we were and continuing to meet throughout the evening!

More details and photos will be out later, but thanks to all who came, to Allison and Leah from Destinations in Florida for their help and support, and most of all to Steve!  You rock, man…

TEST NUMBER TWO OF FASTPASS+

I’d done my first test of the new FastPass+/MagicBands system in September, focusing on rides. (Report of that test here.)

On this visit, my focus was on testing FastPass+ at character greetings…

…parades…

…and fireworks.

I have a lot more thinking to do before I can turn these experiences into recommendations, so stay tuned…

FIRST STAY AT THE VILLAS AT DISNEY’S GRAND FLORIDIAN RESORT & SPA

I began this visit at the Animal Kingdom Lodge, and ended it at the Wilderness Lodge.  I’ll be updating the reviews of each soon.

But the real prize of this visit was several nights in a two-bedroom villa at the brand new Villas at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa.

I’ll be publishing a full review shortly, and in the meantime, Denise and I are working on floor plans. When the full set is out, these will be the most accurate floor plans for these villas ever published!

OK that’s it for now, off to the airport. I’ll be putting up more on all this soon, and thanks again to all of you who stopped by!

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YOURFIRSTVISIT.NET AND MILITARYDISNEYTIPS.COM JOINT MEET UP TODAY!!!

The first-ever yourfirstvisit.net and MilitaryDisneyTips.com joint fan meet up is today! 

Meet us from 4.30-5.30p in the northeast corner of the Magic Kingdom’s Town Square, interrupted by the 5p Flag Retreat.

Steve Bell of MilitaryDisneyTips.com and I will be

• Meeting and greeting our fan(s)
• Giving away the new “Glow with the Show” mouse ear hats to the first five fans that show up (if we hit that many…), and
• Watching the Retreat together.

Steve will have a white shirt on, I’ll have a red shirt on, and we’ll likely both be wearing mouse ears and carrying a bag with more! Look for us between the candy (“Main Street Confectionery”) and hat (“The Chapeau”) shops!

Afterwards, Steve and I will be wandering around the Magic Kingdom, mostly together, and then having a nightcap, likely at the Wilderness Lodge. We will tweet and update on Facebook where we are, and we’d love to meet you later in the evening as well, if you can’t make the 4.30-5.30 meet up.

We’ll be also be giving “Glow with the Show” ears away to randomly selected people who join the meet-up virtually by re-tweeting our tweets or commenting on our Facebook posts.

(On Twitter, Steve is @MilitaryDisney and Dave is @yourfirstvisit. On Facebook, Dave is here and Steve here.)

To RSVP for the meet-up–not that you need to, we aren’t all that formal–click here. And for why I partner with Steve, see this.

Don’t miss it!  The first ever fan meet up for either of us! In the northeast corner of the Magic Kingdom’s Town Square, 4.30 to 5.30p, Wednesday November 13!

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