Please Help, I Need Help Planning Our November DW Trip

[mossimo81702]

Hello...I need some help planning this trip out. This is our first time to DW and...it's pretty overwhelming!!!

Just some demographics...we're coming from Michigan, will get to Atlanta and stay with some relatives and will leave there early on Tuesday November 18. We will be staying at the Art of Animation and checking out on the 23rd. We purchased the Dining Plus Plan and 5 days of tickets, no hopper. There are 6 of us-me, my wife, our 4 children (two boys-11 & 7, two girls-9 & 3). I just booked this trip last week.

So anyway, our plan was to get to the Art of Animation early Tuesday and spend the day at the Magic Kingdom. Then Wednesday-Animal Kingdom, Thursday-Epcot, Friday-Hollywood Studios, Saturday-Magic Kingdom, and Sunday checking out.

First of all, I realized I should have booked this months ago, tried to set up character dining but there is nothing available at all. So my first question is this, should I be disappointed that I couldn't find any places at all for character dining? Is this something I (my kids don't even know about character dining and frankly my wife and I don't either since this will be our first time) should even worry myself about? I called and spoke to a DW rep who tried to find anything for me but couldn't. Should I even try to spend time every now and then trying to look for any slots just in case someone canceled? For me, I thought this would be really kool to set up character dining once a night while we're there but I realize that it's just hard to find anything at all now and it's just frustrating than anything else. I did find some places for table dining that I made reservations for though (Epcot-Via Napoli & Biergarten, Hollywood Studios-Hollywood & Vine (although I just read there's no character dining for dinner). Is there another place anyone would recommend on those other days? Also, since our stay if from the 18-23, does that mean we get dining from the 18-23 or is that just the 18-22 since we check out on the 23rd? Also, are there any quick counters you would recommend where there are characters to interact with at any of the parks?
What about dining at the Art of Animation? Are there good places to eat there and is that part of the dining plan?

Ok, second topic-I'm a little overwhelmed with trying to set up Fast Passes, don't really know what would be fun for the kids and what wouldn't be. But just to clarify first, are Fast Passes something you use so you don't wait in line? Also (I think I read this somewhere) so if you use three in one day, you can schedule more for later on that day? My kids like different things, the girls of course like Frozen and girly things, the boys like Star Wars and boyish things...so what places at each park should I reserve the Fast Passes for? Any suggestions would be great. I also tried to set up a few things but they weren't setting up any more Fast Passes for that day such as the Elsa and Anna thing. Also, do we really need Fast Passes for the Disney Fantasy of Festival Parade and Wishes Nighttime Spectacular (fireworks) at the Magic Kingdom? I noticed that it was on the list of possible selections but of course that one is one of those that isn't available any more. So please, if you have suggestions that would be great!!!

Also, what about our hotel, should we spend time there (Art of Animation)? I understand they have the largest pool at DW. Should I try to have the family hang out there at all...but then again do I need to feel like we need to get to those parks and see what we need to see???

Lastly, did I over plan this trip? I realize that we're going to be doing a lot of walking and it may be overwhelming especially for our 3 year old. Would any of you adjust our plans? Any suggestions would be great.

I was also told to buy Mickey ear hats, autograph books and shirts here (in MI) rather than buying them at DW to save money, is there anything else I should get?

I really would appreciate any and all the help I can get. I just want to really make this fun and exciting for the family.

Thank you!!!

Mike

 

[Pmlocke]

Hi Mike. I too will be at wonderful Walt Disney World in November and like you I am also from Michigan. First things first-when you arrive at your hotel and get checked in, go to the concierge and see if they can arrange for your Character Dining. They usually have access to that at the last minute. May I suggest Chef Mickey at the Contemporary Hotel or Winnie Pooh and Friends at the Crystal Palace in the Magic Kingdom. As for ears, shirts and other items, yes it is cheaper to go to a Disney store near you or, if you don't have access to a disney store, you can find disney merchandise at most retailers. Beware, you will be inundated with merchandise at the parks, so watch your budget. As for fast passes, you will be down there before the big Halloween crowds so fast passes may not be necessary. We always travel in the off season (in our 60's and go without kids, grandkids, etc.) and have never had the need for fast passes. As for the pool, you can go to a pool anywhere, anytime, spend your time wisely at the parks-that's why you are there. When you return to the hotel in the evening you can relax poolside, watch the movies, whatever. As for the little one-bring a small stroller and take your time. There is so much to see that you will never see it all in one trip. We go twice a year and still find new things every time we go. Take your time, enjoy the day and family and before you go down again-start planning 6 months ahead of time, especially for the dining reservations.50 more days before I become a kid again.

 

[claryche]

I'm sure others will chime in, but I'll do my best to help.

We love character dining, but don't let the fact that you weren't able to get them ruin your trip. I would suggest to keep trying, people cancel all the time. So keep trying right up to the day that you want the meal. I have heard that trying first thing in the morning might help. Make sure to check out the less busy locations, such as O'hana breakfst or Cape May breakfast.

You get your number of meals based on the number of nights you stay. But the meals can be used on any of your days there. As far as eating at your resort. Yes there is a food court there, and yes it is part of the dining plan. It is considered a counter service meal. Now when you say Dining plus, do you mean just dining where each person gets one counter service and one table service and one snack. Or did you get the deluxe where it's 3 meals?

If you got the one with the counter service and table service, then you need to make sure that you know the difference before your trip. A great website for finding information about the restaurants including menus is allears.net

As far as other restaurants to try. There are many really nice places at all the resorts. Your moderate and deluxe resorts especially. Also downtown disney is a great place to eat too. Some of our favorite non-character meals which are good for kids too. Are Sci-Fi Drive in at HS, you eat in cars. 50's Prime Time Cafe, also at HS. We also like Tony's at MK and the Whispering Canyon at the Wilderness Lodge, great atmosphere.

I'm new with the whole FP+ selection. I'm actually going to be at the parks around the same time as you. So I just did my picks. Fastpasses are so that you don't have to wait in the stand by line. When you go to a ride with FP+ there will be two lines, one for standby and one for FP return. You will still wait some, depending on the ride maybe 5-10 minutes, but it won't be like stand by. As far as the boys wanting one thing and the girls wanting another. You don't all have to get the same FP+. And since you said Star Wars, you need to check out the Jedi training academy. It is so much fun, but you have to get to the park at rope drop to sign the kids up for it, because there is no FP for it and the slots for the show fill up quickly. It's a great experience. I tell people that since we are a Star Wars family, we spend about 3 hours just in that area, waiting with my son before the show, then watching the show then pictures on the speeder that they have there and riding Star Tours several times and shopping of course. And also face painting like Darth Maul. It's awesome.

I have seen alot of people say not to get the FP+ for the parades or wishes, unless you don't have anything else to get them for. And yes once you have used all your FP+, you can get another one per person and then another one after you use that one and so on and so forth.

Every family is different, 5 days it will be jam packed. I wouldn't push pool time, but if that what makes your kids happy, then do it. The pools are open late, so it's also always nice to go for a dip late at night, because if your kids are like my son, he survives on Disney time and gets as little sleep as he needs. Are you planning on doing each of the parks for one day and MK for two days? That would be my plan. Are you bringing a stroller for your 3 year old. My son at that aged used one.

As far as other tips. One thing you can do between now and your trip is take the younger kids around large Characters, such as Chuck E Cheese, if they haven't been around them already. I found it helped my son not be afraid of any of the characters at Disney World.

Mickey and other characters visit my son each morning and leave him a gift card and that is the money he has to spend for the day. It works well. At age 3 I would go and buy little Disney items and have them in the room in the morning, and it helped him from asking for everything else. Also back on the gift cards, you can get them 5% off at Target if you have their card. Or I buy them at Kroger grocery, don't know if you have them, but I get money off gas.

As far as the Mickey ears, I might wait until the park to buy them. There are so many options there. But for sure get the other things. And some more to get are glow sticks, because when night time eats, out comes all these cool glow in the dark toys and if you have glow sticks from the dollar store it's a lot cheaper. We also always bring quick breakfast food. That way we go eat and go or even eat on the way to the bus stop and while waiting for the bus. Because to get the best use of your time, you want to be there at rope drop.

I hope this helped, and that I didn't ramble too much.

 

[kay1864]

So anyway, our plan was to get to the Art of Animation early Tuesday and spend the day at the Magic Kingdom. Then Wednesday-Animal Kingdom, Thursday-Epcot, Friday-Hollywood Studios, Saturday-Magic Kingdom, and Sunday checking out.

If you leave Atlanta early (5am?) you won't get to Orlando until 1 or 2pm, which is the worst time to arrive at MK. Mornings are MUCH MUCH better crowd-wise than afternoons.

If possible I would do one of the following:
1. Leave Atlanta Monday night, stay somewhere close (like Ocala or even in Orlando) and get to MK by 830 am Tuesday. You can pick up your parking pass by stopping at AoA Tue morning. Or:
2. Spend Tuesday at the AoA resort, swim in the pool, visit Downtown Disney, and use your 5th ticket day for Sunday morning at MK. Even staying until noon, you can experience a LOT of rides with little or no wait. Much better than waiting in lines in the afternoon.

Below is the plan I've provided to several people. Since this is your first visit, I can't recommend RideMax highly enough. We've used it every trip, and it saves us hours in line. Plus it tells you what time of day to get your FPs, and you can include your dining reservations. You can also make separate plans to allow for your kids going on different rides.

In a nutshell:
(it sounds like you've already done 1-3)
1. Set up your My Disney Experience (MDE) account here.

2. Buy your tickets (if you haven't already) online.

3. Link the tickets (to the people in your group) in your MDE account.

4. Use easywdw.com or RideMax.com to select which days/which parks. Crowd levels will have a huge impact on the enjoyment of your visit.

5. If you're going to Hollywood Studios and want to see Fantasmic, get the Fantasmic Dinner Package for your Hollywood Studios day. (hint: select "Lunch" or "Dinner" instead of a specific time of day)

6. Use mesaboy's list to select your 3 FastPass attractions.

7. (optional) If you use a touring plan site like RideMax or TouringPlans, select the rides for each park, to generate the touring plans, which include recommended FP times.

8. Go to MDE to select the FPs and times for the people in your group, based on the FP times in the RideMax or TouringPlans schedule.

**NOTE: Getting your FPs even one day in advance will put you ahead of a great many guests who wait until day-of to get their FPs. Plus you don't waste time at an in-park kiosk.

Sounds like a lot of planning, but really it only takes about 2-3 hours, and will save you lots of time in line, and you'll get to see the rides you want to see, without a lot of backtracking.

Feel free to PM me if you have questions.

So my first question is this, should I be disappointed that I couldn't find any places at all for character dining?

Give the ages of your kids, I'd say no.

Also, are there any quick counters you would recommend where there are characters to interact with at any of the parks?

No such thing. There are, however, character meet and greets. You can wait in line, or use up one of your FPs. Character locations are at kenny the pirate.

Also, do we really need Fast Passes for the Disney Fantasy of Festival Parade and Wishes Nighttime Spectacular (fireworks) at the Magic Kingdom?

IMHO you should be able to find places to see them without using a FP. Get there 30 minutes early.

Lastly, did I over plan this trip? I realize that we're going to be doing a lot of walking and it may be overwhelming especially for our 3 year old. Would any of you adjust our plans? Any suggestions would be great.

Take (or rent) a stroller, and plan a break on your MK days.

I was also told to buy Mickey ear hats, autograph books and shirts here (in MI) rather than buying them at DW to save money, is there anything else I should get?

That should be plenty.

 

[wedhead]

One place you can try for a character meal is Tusker House restaurant in Animal Kingdom. It is a buffet style meal so you should be able to find food to please everyone. I don't know how they work with the dining plan though as I've never used it. This is actually a character lunch and we have been able to book a couple of times before even though it was close to our trip. The characters are Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy, and Goofy.

 

[CdnCarrie]

Check out a crowd calendar to see which days are recommended for which parks and build your plans around that. Also take a look at a touring plan on EasyWDW so you know which rides to hit up first thing in the morning.

And MK is NOT recommended for your first day. Arriving there after lunch on that day would be a really bad idea.

http://www.easywdw.com/calendar/november-2014-walt-disney-world-crowd-calendar/

 

[loveshak22]

It looks like you've already gotten some great tips/answers. I'll try to fill in on any questions that I haven't seen responses to yet! Although I've forgotten how to highlight your quotes since I haven't posted on here in awhile so it looks a little messy! I started your questions with a "-" and made my responses blue

- Hello...I need some help planning this trip out. This is our first time to DW and...it's pretty overwhelming!!!

You will have a blast!!

- We purchased the Dining Plus Plan

Someone else asked this but is this counter service plus one table service or up to 3 TS each day?

-So anyway, our plan was to get to the Art of Animation early Tuesday and spend the day at the Magic Kingdom. Then Wednesday-Animal Kingdom, Thursday-Epcot, Friday-Hollywood Studios, Saturday-Magic Kingdom, and Sunday checking out.

Other posters already suggested this but check out the crowd calendars easywdw.com and Under Cover tourist Also see which park has extra hours each day.

- Should I even try to spend time every now and then trying to look for any slots just in case someone canceled?

I would say yes. I'd check every day 2-3 times a day. I've rarely never eventually gotten a reservation I wanted. I'll check one day and find zero reservations and then the next day find three. Follow http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3278305&highlight=november+cancelled+adr as you might also get some heads-up that people are getting ready to go in the system and cancel reservations.

I love Crystal Palace!

-Also, since our stay if from the 18-23, does that mean we get dining from the 18-23 or is that just the 18-22 since we check out on the 23rd?

You get dining based on the # of nights you are there. So if you have the plan with 1 CS and 1 TS per person it's per person per night. Since you are there 5 nights you would basically get 5 CS and 5 TS per person to use however you choose from the 18-23 (if you want to eat that day).

Hope some of that helps!

 

[txnana]

Lots of cancellations happen at 45 days out when the final payments are due, so check for dining reservations when you are 45 days out or a little earlier.

Be sure to only book restaurants in parks on the days when you have that park scheduled or you will have to buy park hopper addition to your tickets to get back to that park for dinner reservations. You noted two meals booked in DHS.

I like that your plan begins and ends at the Magic Kingdom. That is what we always do because I can't wait to be in MK and I want that to be my last memory on the way home.

Be sure to be at Rope Drop every morning and make use of EMH hours when the parks open early or stay open late for folks staying at WDW hotels.

I stayed two weeks at AOA and loved it and loved the food in the food court.

Have a great time!!

 

[mossimo81702]

Wow!!! Thank you all for the info, it's really helpful. I guess I'm not too disappointed with not being able to schedule character dining. My 11-year old son already get's embarrassed when we go to Chuck E Cheese and my 7-year old son is starting to get embarrassed to (I think he get's it from his brother). Also my 3-year old daughter is scared of some characters. It would've been nice for my 9-year old daughter to sit down with my wife at the Cinderella character meals but I guess I'll keep trying.

So will it be really bad to get to Magic Kingdom on a Tuesday afternoon??? I just figured we'd go there and see what we can on that day but that we would also spend out last day there too and see what we missed. It just seems like the Magic Kingdom is really the focus of why we are even going to DW. I looked at the other parks Epcot at Animal Kingdom and they just seem like they are "okay." I think my 2 boys and even my 9-year old daughter would really like the Jedi Academy at Hollywood Studios.

So if we want to get to the parks at rope drop and since we are staying at the Art of Animation when should we get on the bus to leave for the parks?

Oh, my last question is the Memory Maker. I'm still trying to figure that out. Are there people at each park that take your pic anytime you want one? As much as you want? Do you just grab one and ask him/her to take a pic? How does that work?

 

[Mambo Junkie]

Also, check out the Restaurants/reservations forum. People list cancellation all the time and they will sometimes coordinate with you. There are also people who are checking the disney site and constantly posting reservations they see available. Another big plus is the 24 hour (for most restaurants) cancellation policy. I go online to the Disney site to check out what reservations pop up at the last minute. Check daily and you should pick up some pretty good reservations. I picked up a Be Our Guest yesterday.
Good luck and have fun!

 

[Laura's Dad]

The photographers are at certain locations to take pictures. Some times they will add in Magic shots with animated characters being digitally added in to the shot. Memory Maker is an all on-line photo storage area and will store your photos taken at the Photopass photography locations along with ride photos (taken on certain rides) and ride video (now available at 7 Dwarfs Mine Train and Hollywood Tower of Terror)

Even though we are older (23 year old daughter) we still love the character meals. Certain ones also have Photopass photographers at them. My advice is to keep on checking oftern. I had been checking for a 1900 Park Fare breakfast for 3 weeks until it magically popped up.

All of the other advice that was given earlier in the post is spot on. The people who post on these boards have been a huge help to us in planning over the past 15 years of WDW vacation and are my #1 source for information.

The only word of advice that I could give you would be to possibly reconsider the Saturday at the Magic Kingdom. It will be pretty crowded.

We will be arriving the Thursday before you are checking in. I hope you have a great vacation and please remember not to try to do everything as WDW will be the in the future.

 

[ZephyrHawk]

Hello...I need some help planning this trip out. This is our first time to DW and...it's pretty overwhelming!!!

Okay, first things first, calm down. There's a lot to plan because there's a lot to do. Accept right now that you will not be able to do everything and don't stress about it. You will always have next trip to do the things you miss (and no, don't try to argue that there will be no next trip).

Just some demographics...we're coming from Michigan

Howdy, neighbor. Whereabouts?

So anyway, our plan was to get to the Art of Animation early Tuesday and spend the day at the Magic Kingdom. Then Wednesday-Animal Kingdom, Thursday-Epcot, Friday-Hollywood Studios, Saturday-Magic Kingdom, and Sunday checking out.

That seems a good schedule. Crowd calendars might suggest otherwise, but I don't put too much stock in those. If possible, I always try to book late flights out so that i can fit a few more park hours in on the check-out date.

First of all, I realized I should have booked this months ago, tried to set up character dining but there is nothing available at all.

That's somewhat surprising. I've never had trouble getting basic character dining (no princesses), even this late. I would definitely suggest you keep looking. Spaces open up. Plus people tend to overlook the non-headliner character meals (like Garden Grill and Crystal Palace). Also, have you checked out tha Allears.net dining pages? They list every place to eat on property, whether it has characters, detailed menus, and other pertinent information.

So my first question is this, should I be disappointed that I couldn't find any places at all for character dining?

I would make the effort to get at least one character meal in, however, there's really no need for many of them, and certainly not one per night. There is such a thing as character overload. There are a lot of lovely non-character places to eat at WDW.

I did find some places for table dining that I made reservations for though (Epcot-Via Napoli & Biergarten, Hollywood Studios-Hollywood & Vine (although I just read there's no character dining for dinner). Is there another place anyone would recommend on those other days?

Oh gosh, you'll find as many opinions on what makes a good WDW as commenters on this site. However, I'll try.

First, don't focus on just the parks. Look to the hotels, Boardwalk area and Downtown Disney, too. The parks (Epcot excluded) are really the worst places on property to get a meal.

You asked for suggestions for your Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom days. Animal Kingdom closes earlier than the other parks, and since you don't have park hoppers, I'd suggest you spend the rest of that evening at DTD. There's a bunch of good places to eat there, but the best I've had so far was at Raglan Road. Alternatively, you could head to the Boardwalk area, eat at one of the nice places there (or at the yacht Club/Beach Club, Boardwalk, or Swan/Dolphin hotels), and check out the Boardwalk or play mini-golf at Fantasia Gardens.

My suggestion for the Magic Kingdom would be again to ditch the park eating (unless you could get into the Crystal Palace). I have a deep fondness for the Whispering Canyon Cafe at the Wilderness Lodge. It's just a boat trip away from the MK gates. I prefer it for breakfast, but I hear it's good at other times, too.

Also, since our stay if from the 18-23, does that mean we get dining from the 18-23 or is that just the 18-22 since we check out on the 23rd?

As someone already suggested you get 5 nights of meals (5 sit downs, 5 counter service, and 5 snacks). however, to elaborate on that answer, you can use them any day you are there, from the 18th to the 23rd, and you are not limited in how you use them. If you want to have 3 table service meals in one day, you can.

Also, are there any quick counters you would recommend where there are characters to interact with at any of the parks?

Umm...no. I don't think so.

What about dining at the Art of Animation? Are there good places to eat there and is that part of the dining plan?

Well, I haven't been there, but my understanding is that they only have the resort counter-service restaurant. It's supposed to be good for CS.

Ok, second topic-I'm a little overwhelmed with trying to set up Fast Passes

Join the club.

But just to clarify first, are Fast Passes something you use so you don't wait in line? Also (I think I read this somewhere) so if you use three in one day, you can schedule more for later on that day?

Yes and yes.

My kids like different things, the girls of course like Frozen and girly things, the boys like Star Wars and boyish things...so what places at each park should I reserve the Fast Passes for?

Whoo boy. The things I would make certain of is Fast Passing Star Tours at Hollywood Studios and the Princess Meet and Greets at Magic Kingdom (assuming you can still get fastpasses for those, as they run out fast).

Also, do we really need Fast Passes for the Disney Fantasy of Festival Parade and Wishes Nighttime Spectacular (fireworks) at the Magic Kingdom?

No.

Also, what about our hotel, should we spend time there (Art of Animation)?

You will probably want to spend a little time at your hotel, but not a lot. Evening swims can be fun, or a break midday. Regardless, I would ask your family how they're feeling. Sometimes a break is warranted, and sometimes not.

However, AOA with the biggest pool? I think not. Perhaps the biggest pool amongst the VALUE resorts. Google "Stormalong Bay". And no, you can't get into it.

Lastly, did I over plan this trip?

No. Planning ahead for a Disney trip is the way to go.

I realize that we're going to be doing a lot of walking and it may be overwhelming especially for our 3 year old. Would any of you adjust our plans? Any suggestions would be great.

With a 3 year old you might seriously want to consider a midday break, at least for the toddler.

I was also told to buy Mickey ear hats, autograph books and shirts here (in MI) rather than buying them at DW to save money, is there anything else I should get?

I don;t know if there's much else you can get here that's sort of Disney exclusive. Maybe pins if you think your kids will be interested in trading. Oh, and don't forget to set aside quarters and pennies for pressed penny machines.


Hope you have a great trip!

 

[Starhart81]

Jedi Training Academy and Art of Animation tip, but hopefully not a typical experience.

We stayed at AoA last trip and went to HS on a predicted 3 out of 10 day by touringplans. We wanted to do Jedi Training at rope drop, and AoA is like 1 mile from HS. We started waiting for a bus at 8:15 and got on a bus at 8:30. I think the bus driver went the wrong way, and we waited to turn left into HS for 45 minutes. By the time we got to Jedi sign up it was 9:30, and all the spots were taken. Major bummer on our first day of that trip. I would say start waiting for a bus by at least 8:00 if you want to be sure to make it to Jedi sign up at rope drop.

On a side note, it won't be that bad if your bus driver goes the right way.

 

[andrea4896]

One tool I have found helpful for finding dining availability without going through each restaurant on the Disney website is on a dvc site (google dvc advance dining). I just tried putting in your dates and a party of 6 and found lots of availability including a 6:15 Boma reservation for you AK day. If you leave the location and restaurant fields blank it will search every restaurant. Hope this helps.

 

[cuchu2005]

Also, check out the Restaurants/reservations forum. People list cancellation all the time and they will sometimes coordinate with you. There are also people who are checking the disney site and constantly posting reservations they see available. Another big plus is the 24 hour (for most restaurants) cancellation policy. I go online to the Disney site to check out what reservations pop up at the last minute. Check daily and you should pick up some pretty good reservations. I picked up a Be Our Guest yesterday.
Good luck and have fun!

I really recommend checking the Restaurant forum for cancellations. I've just coordinated with another diser over a 4 guest Be Our Guest reservation. I thought I had no chance but the offer matched my needs.

Good luck!

Mx

 

[IloveDizney]

we are going to disney same time as you and we are from michigan!!! good lcm with your planning

 

[g-dad66]

Jedi Training Academy and Art of Animation tip, but hopefully not a typical experience.

We stayed at AoA last trip and went to HS on a predicted 3 out of 10 day by touringplans. We wanted to do Jedi Training at rope drop, and AoA is like 1 mile from HS. We started waiting for a bus at 8:15 and got on a bus at 8:30. I think the bus driver went the wrong way, and we waited to turn left into HS for 45 minutes. By the time we got to Jedi sign up it was 9:30, and all the spots were taken. Major bummer on our first day of that trip. I would say start waiting for a bus by at least 8:00 if you want to be sure to make it to Jedi sign up at rope drop.

On a side note, it won't be that bad if your bus driver goes the right way.

Excellent advice here, OP, if you think your kids will definitely want to do the Jedi Training Academy.

Hollywood Studios' official opening time is 9:00. However, they have been known to open as early as 8:30, more often at about 8:45.

So plan to get to the park before 8:30 if you can, and as soon as you get through the turnstiles, make a beeline down the street until you get to the large area in front of the large Sorcerer's hat and then take a left and follow all of the other folks who will be heading to the Jedi Training Academy sign-up building. (Don't go with the larger crowd who will go to the right -- they will all be heading for the immensely popular Toy Story Mania. And, by the way, be sure to reserve a FP+ for Toy Story Mania.)

Whichever of your kids want to be in the Jedi show need to be with you when you sign them up.

If you head there first thing just as soon as the park opens, you ought to be able to get them signed up OK for one of the day's shows (there are usually show times from 9:20 am all the way to 8:00 pm in the evening).

We took video of our 4 grandkids fighting Darth Vader, and it was a huge highlight of the trip!

 

[MommyMK]

Hello...I need some help planning this trip out. This is our first time to DW and...it's pretty overwhelming!!!

Just some demographics...we're coming from Michigan, will get to Atlanta and stay with some relatives and will leave there early on Tuesday November 18. We will be staying at the Art of Animation and checking out on the 23rd. We purchased the Dining Plus Plan and 5 days of tickets, no hopper. There are 6 of us-me, my wife, our 4 children (two boys-11 & 7, two girls-9 & 3). I just booked this trip last week.

So anyway, our plan was to get to the Art of Animation early Tuesday and spend the day at the Magic Kingdom. Then Wednesday-Animal Kingdom, Thursday-Epcot, Friday-Hollywood Studios, Saturday-Magic Kingdom, and Sunday checking out.

If you think you will get to the parks early-ish, by say 12 or 1, I'd switch your MK and AK days. You really need 2 full days to experience MK. You can do the highlights of AK in 5 hours if you use your FPs and it's not the super busy season. FP the safari, everest and either Primeval Whirl, Dinosaur, Finding Nemo or Lion King show.

First of all, I realized I should have booked this months ago, tried to set up character dining but there is nothing available at all. So my first question is this, should I be disappointed that I couldn't find any places at all for character dining? Is this something I (my kids don't even know about character dining and frankly my wife and I don't either since this will be our first time) should even worry myself about? I called and spoke to a DW rep who tried to find anything for me but couldn't. Should I even try to spend time every now and then trying to look for any slots just in case someone canceled? For me, I thought this would be really kool to set up character dining once a night while we're there but I realize that it's just hard to find anything at all now and it's just frustrating than anything else. I did find some places for table dining that I made reservations for though (Epcot-Via Napoli & Biergarten, Hollywood Studios-Hollywood & Vine (although I just read there's no character dining for dinner). Is there another place anyone would recommend on those other days? Also, since our stay if from the 18-23, does that mean we get dining from the 18-23 or is that just the 18-22 since we check out on the 23rd? Also, are there any quick counters you would recommend where there are characters to interact with at any of the parks?

I would keep checking for character dining, but it's not the end of the world if you don't get it, we have been to Disney many, many, times, have small children and for the most part skip character dining. My kids love characters, but we just wait in line to meet them. As far as other restaurants, we enjoy Yak & Yeti in Animal Kingdom and The Plaza in Magic Kingdom. Via Napoli is very good. For counter service, we like Columbia Harbor House or Cosmic Ray's in MK, Sunshine Seasons in Epcot, Flame Tree BBQ in AK and have yet to find any restaurant in HS, counter or table service that is great. If your kids have seen Toy Story, they will get a kick out of eating in Pizza Planet.
What about dining at the Art of Animation? Are there good places to eat there and is that part of the dining plan?

They have a great food court where you can get counter service meals and snacks. Which dining plan do you have? The one with one table service a day or the deluxe with 3 table service a day

Ok, second topic-I'm a little overwhelmed with trying to set up Fast Passes, don't really know what would be fun for the kids and what wouldn't be. But just to clarify first, are Fast Passes something you use so you don't wait in line? Also (I think I read this somewhere) so if you use three in one day, you can schedule more for later on that day? My kids like different things, the girls of course like Frozen and girly things, the boys like Star Wars and boyish things...so what places at each park should I reserve the Fast Passes for? Any suggestions would be great. I also tried to set up a few things but they weren't setting up any more Fast Passes for that day such as the Elsa and Anna thing. Also, do we really need Fast Passes for the Disney Fantasy of Festival Parade and Wishes Nighttime Spectacular (fireworks) at the Magic Kingdom? I noticed that it was on the list of possible selections but of course that one is one of those that isn't available any more. So please, if you have suggestions that would be great!!!

Mesaboy has a great list of FP suggestions, but off the top of my head -

AK - Safari and Everest are top priorities

HS - Toy Story for your Tier 1, Tower of Terror for your first Tier 2.

Epcot - Either Test Track or Soarin for your Tier 1, Tier 2 can be whatever you like. Turtle Talk with Crush is really fun for kids

MK - If you can get them, Mine Train and Anna & Elsa. Otherwise, Space Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain, Splash Mountain. Peter Pan, The Speedway and Winnie the Pooh often have long standby lines.

Also, what about our hotel, should we spend time there (Art of Animation)? I understand they have the largest pool at DW. Should I try to have the family hang out there at all...but then again do I need to feel like we need to get to those parks and see what we need to see???

If you can find the time to swim, your kids will love it. You can swim after your Animal Kingdom day since that park closes early.

Lastly, did I over plan this trip? I realize that we're going to be doing a lot of walking and it may be overwhelming especially for our 3 year old. Would any of you adjust our plans? Any suggestions would be great.

Go with the flow, take breaks if the kids melt down, bring a stroller for the 3 yo and for our family, having ice cream o'clock around 3 really helps to reset everyone's mood.

I was also told to buy Mickey ear hats, autograph books and shirts here (in MI) rather than buying them at DW to save money, is there anything else I should get?

Light up toys for nighttime! They sell them all over, bring your own or just go with glow bracelets.

I really would appreciate any and all the help I can get. I just want to really make this fun and exciting for the family.

Be prepared to come home exhausted and need a vacation from your vacation.

Thank you!!!

Mike

Mine is bolded above, hope it helps!