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So last weekend I raced off to Walt Disney World to be a tester of MagicBands and FastPass+–both part of the emerging MyMagic+ offering at Walt Disney World.

FastPass+, which permits you—well, for now, those of you in the test–to reserve times to visit rides up to 60 days ahead, is the heart of MyMagic+, and what I was really interested in testing.

The short version is that my test went fine, (the photos on this page are from that visit–rides that I saw using FastPass+) but I’m still not sure how all this will shake out for typical first-time visitors to Walt Disney World who may never return. (A more detailed moment-by-moment “trip report” is here.)

I already knew going in that there would remain several key questions that won’t be fully answered until full roll out of the program—and maybe not even until a while after that:

• How many “headliner” Fastpass+ per day can people get?  Will this vary for on and off-site hotels, and, for on-site visitors, by hotel class?  In the test, all on-site hotels are treated the same, and you can get three headliners a day.  Will that stay the same? See the excerpt above from the The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World 2014 (click it to enlarge it) for some speculation that it might not.
• Will the parks still be relatively un-crowded at opening? I can think of three or four reasons why they might stay that way, and three or four why they might not.  This is partly a technical question (how many FastPass+ windows will be offered at 9a) and partly behavioral—how many people will grab those slots, and having grabbed them, get out of bed in time to use them?

To these open questions—which the test couldn’t answer and I didn’t expect it to—a third question emerged that I should have thought of before, which is how many people will actually reserve Fastpass+ anyway?

This is important, as it has implications for how many regular Fastpasses will be available to be pulled on the day of visit.  (Based on Disney’s current terms of service, at full rollout you’ll be able to use one or the other, but not both.  During the test so far, you’ve been able to use both, though this could change at any time.)

I started thinking of this because of Steve Russo’s recent post on MousePlanet, which quotes an inside source– “Admiral Boom,” no less!–as follows:

“The premise is that we can take some percentage of the FastPasses available in the parks and turn them over to the vacation planners, to be used as a perk for pre-planning one’s stay (and/or for staying on property).

The goal is to minimize the impact of doing that to the already successful, current program. In the end, one will still be able to walk into a park and get FastPasses, just like we can today…

By the way, we don’t expect pre-arranged FastPasses to be a major item. Studies have shown us that the majority of our guests don’t want to pre-plan their vacations to that level.”

If this holds up—especially the last point–FastPass+ may have a smaller impact on visits than many of us have been thinking.

But maybe not.  It’s a matter of headliner capacity.  If relatively few use Fastpass+, but all of them book headliners, it may be that you can get a Fastpass on the day of visit for Mickey’s PhilharMagic…but not for the headliners.

There’s still no official word on the general release of FastPass+ to everybody.

One of the questions I did expect to be able to test last weekend was how well the system worked.  For me, it largely worked fine, but not perfectly.  I was able to make multiple changes, some on the fly, and most—but not all—MagicBand FastPass+ readers worked.

The fact that they didn’t all work tells me there’s still bugs to be fixed…which tells me that FastPass+ won’t be fully rolled out for everyone probably until 2014.

Multiple reports have been coming in that visitors to the test resorts are now able to book FastPass+ for visits beginning in November.  That’s a good sign.

And on Tuesday, Disney CEO Bob Iger at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia Conference said that Fastpass+ will be “fully rolled out fairly soon…”

I’m trying to not read too much into the word “soon….”

Meanwhile, a more detailed moment-by-moment “trip report” is here.

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Disney World rides can close for re-dos at any time, but the winter “ride closure season” from early January though mid-February is the most predictable time for Disney World rides to close for rehab and refurbishment.

Splash Mountain is the major attraction that most commonly closes in this period, with closures of a week, a month (most common) and several months.

So far–in great news–it looks like Splash Mountain will only close for a few days in 2016. A couple of other great rides are closed around the same time, however.

Here’s what we currently (think we) know about 2016 Disney World winter ride closures:

Magic Kingdom:

• Splash Mountain closed January 6 – January 10
• Liberty Belle Riverboat closed January 18 – 22
• Space Mountain closed January 11 – 15
• Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin closed January 15 – February 11

Animal Kingdom – no known closings

Disney’s Hollywood Studios – no known closings

Epcot – no known closings

I’ll add more winter ride closures as they are announced…

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Welcome to those of you joining me from Capturing Magical Memories and those of you just hopping aboard!

I am the 5th stop on this month’s Magical Blogorail Teal. Enjoy the ride as this month we talk about Disney-themed Halloween costumes…and in my post, it’s all in the context of a review of Mickey’s Not-So Scary Halloween Party!

MICKEY’S NOT-SO-SCARY HALLOWEEN PARTY

Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party (“MNSSHP”) is a special, separately ticketed party that happens on certain nights every September, October and early November in the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World.

(See this for more on logistics–Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party dates, tickets, etc.)

At the party you will find un-crowded rides, a special parade (shown twice!), special fireworks, trick-or-treating, dance parties…and a ton of guests in costumes!

COSTUMES AT MICKEY’S NOT-SO-SCARY HALLOWEEN PARTY

Costumes are not required, and not everyone wear them, as you can see in the image above. It’s of a group in line to get pictures taken in front of Cinderella’s Castle.

The most common costumes I saw in my September 2013 visit to MNSSHP were princess costumes and pirate costumes, and after that Marvel costumes. Lots of Disney themed costumes!

Whole families dressed as pirates were not uncommon–the whispers on the buses were such choices were made because “it’s all we could get dad to wear…”

But more curious costumes were not uncommon. I think the black outfits above were costumes…although perhaps the group was going clubbing after MNSSHP…

I saw a couple of fun get-ups in the smoking area near the Tomorrowland Terrace–this one…

…and this couple.

And this party in Adventureland proved a Disney theme was not required!

THE PARADE, FIREWORKS, DANCE PARTIES AND TRICK-OR-TREATS AT MICKEY’S NOT-SO-SCARY HALLOWEEN PARTY

MNSSHP has a special set of Halloween-themed activities.

For example, the parade–Mickey’s Boo-to-You Parade–is seen only at MNSSHP.

It starts with ducks…

…and mice…

…but then shortly shifts to my favorite part, Haunted-Mansion themed dancing gravediggers and ghouls.

These are followed by Disney villains, but the parade returns to “not-so-scary” at the end, with candy!

These kids really liked the parade.

There’s two showings of the parade, with spectacular Halloween-themed fireworks between.

You can also find in both Liberty Square and Tomorrowland dance parties featuring Disney characters–the shot above is from “Woody’s Happy Harvest Roundup” at the Diamond Horseshoe in Liberty Square.

Character meet-n-greets are all over the place–with both common and unusual characters–and there’s also a ton of trick or treat locations…both of which raise an issue.

STRATEGY AND RIDES AT MICKEY’S NOT-SO-SCARY HALLOWEEN PARTY

All the major rides are open, and many minor rides as well. Most have very short waits. In my September 2013 visit, Splash Mountain and Big Thunder had 10 minute waits, and Enchanted Tales with Belle just 30 minutes. (That’s me on the right, defending Belle.)

The trick-or-treat spots and character greetings, on the other hand, have pretty long lines.

So the best approach is to skip the character greetings and trick-or-treats–or delay them until after the second parade–and spend the first part of the evening on rides.

Do rides through the first parade (that is, til about 8.45 if the first parade is at 8.15p) and then watch Celebrate the Magic, the wonderful fireworks show Happy Hallowishes, and the second showing of the parade.

Some families will be worn out by now.  If yours has energy left, keep going with with more rides, or trick-or-treating!

I struggle with whether or not this party is worth the money for first-time family visitors who may never return.

It’s quite expensive–more than $200, and even over $300 on some dates (prices vary by date and whether or not you buy in advance) for a family of four.  And it’s just a five hour show (7p to midnight)–though Disney unofficially lets you in starting at 4p.

Yet the fireworks are the best Disney World offers, the parade is a hoot, the rides have short lines…and the costumes are fun!

My overall take is that for first-timers this time and money is better spent elsewhere, but that’s a really close call, and for sure I’d recommend it to returning visitors! But enough with the pirates costumes already dad, OK?

And Happy Halloween, everyone!

MORE ON DISNEY-THEMED COSTUMES FROM MAGICAL BLOGORAIL TEAL

Thank you for joining Magical Blogorail Teal this month. Our next loop will be on October 22nd with an all new theme.

Keep checking in with our blogs in between loops to keep up to date with our Disney info, photos and stories. If you are looking for more Disney magic, you can make your way over to The Magical Blogorail website to see all our members and their blogs, as well as all our previous loops.

Here is the map of our Magical Blogorail Teal loop should you happen to have to make a stop along the way and want to reboard!

1st Stop ~ The Many Adventures of a Disney Lovin’ Spectrum Mom
2nd Stop ~  Disney with Babies, Toddlers, & Preschoolers
3rd Stop ~ The Disney Kids
4th Stop ~ Capturing Magical Memories
Final Stop ~ yourfirstvisit.net

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(This page is one of a series explicating Walt Disney World lingo, abbreviations, and FAQ for first time family visitors to Walt Disney World.)

DISNEY’S 2014 INTERNATIONAL FLOWER AND GARDEN FESTIVAL AT EPCOT

Every year from roughly early March through mid-May, Walt Disney World presents the Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival.

In 2014, the Flower and Garden Festival is scheduled for March 5-May 18.

The gardens at Epcot are almost always lovely, and they are at their loveliest during this period.

Disney’s own wonderful landscaping is supplemented by additional plantings, topiary, and specially themed gardens.

Also presented are special programs presenting gardening tips, and weekend concerts.

Likely growing in 2014 is the more emphasis on food we saw beginning in 2013.

See the official Walt Disney World web page for the Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival here.

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The author of MiliaryDisneyTips.com and moderator of military family issues on this site, Steve Bell, has released a new e-book on Shades of Green, the Armed Forces resort at Walt Disney World.

(Click the image for a sample page.)

As you can tell if you click the link, I think quite a lot of this e-book!

(Disclosure: I’m such a fan that I’ve set up an affiliate relationship with Steve, so if you buy the book, he’ll share a bit of pixie dust with me.)

For those eligible for it, Shades of Green has one great positive and one great negative.

• The great positive of Shades of Green is wonderful rooms at much less than half of the price you’d pay for the equivalent Disney-owned rooms.
• The great negative is an almost complete absence of the fun theming you will find in the Disney resorts.

For me the  negative outweighs the positive for first time family visitors who may never return (see my review here), but many families just don’t agree that it matters given the low-priced wonderful rooms there.

Steve’s e-book deals with this and all of the other issues and opportunities that Shades of Green presents in a really comprehensive and well-illustrated way.

So if you are considering a stay at Shades of Green, but not completely sure, you need to buy this e-book. It will help you make a decision you will be happy with!

Steve Bell is the Military Moderator on this site. And Steve’s Military Disney Tips has always been the go-to site for military families looking to make the most out of their Disney World vacations.

But like every other website (especially mine), finding exactly what you need to know, in the right order, sometimes isn’t as easy as you’d like it to be.

So the great news is that Steve has just published a Disney World guidebook for military families.

With entire chapters devoted to the 2016 salute, to Shades of Green, and to other deals and perks available to military families, I can’t recommend it enough!!

It’s available as a PDF–probably the most convenient format–here, and on Amazon.com here.

This book will be a great help to military families contemplating a Disney World visit in 2016!!

LINKS FOR MILITARY FAMILIES AT WALT DISNEY WORLD

• Military Families at Walt Disney World
• Deals and Discounts
  • Military Discounts and Deals
  • Other Walt Disney World Discounts and Deals
• Shades of Green
  • Shades of Green e-book
  • Review of Shades of Green
  • Splitting Your Stay Between Shades of Green and Another Resort
  • Overflow Rates at Shades of Green
  • Shades of Green website

Comments moderated by Steve Bell of Military Disney Tips.

DISNEY WORLD NEXT WEEK: SEPTEMBER 21 TO SEPTEMBER 29, 2013

The material below details operating hours, Extra Magic Hours, parades, and fireworks.

The same stuff is in the image, but organized by park, not by topic.

(And for more on September 2013 at Walt Disney World, see this.)

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