Anyone else having issues planning park strategies for 2016??

[Lirael]

I'm having so many issues.

I want to at least settle which parks I'll be doing each day for the sake of ADRs since those are coming up, but I don't know what time RoL will be or if it'll be on every night, to say nothing of Tiffins. I also don't even know when (or if) there'll be Wishes since the September calendar currently only says "none" about it. And said calendar also implies there might be a MNSSHP during my stay but nothing confirmed.

I have my fingers crossed that they at least fix the calendar and officially announce MNSSHP this month so I can plan ADRs in peace.

 

[KT0191]

I'm having so many issues.

I want to at least settle which parks I'll be doing each day for the sake of ADRs since those are coming up, but I don't know what time RoL will be or if it'll be on every night, to say nothing of Tiffins. I also don't even know when (or if) there'll be Wishes since the September calendar currently only says "none" about it. And said calendar also implies there might be a MNSSHP during my stay but nothing confirmed.

I have my fingers crossed that they at least fix the calendar and officially announce MNSSHP this month so I can plan ADRs in peace.

Looks like we are going at the same time (based off tickers) and I couldn't agree more. The uncertainty is driving me a little mad lol. I am also hoping for more answers when we schedule ADRs. I have a pretty good plan right now but I feel like that's going to go down the drain here soon.

 

[jsbowl16]

I guess we can add in the new Star Wars fireworks/stage show and stormtrooper processional to the list of unknowns. My wife sent me a text saying we have to do both of these. LOL. I am getting more and more excited about all of the changes that we will see between last summer and this summer but again this adds another thing to plan when times are finally announced.

I guess it is a nice problem to have!

 

[GillianP1301]

I guess we can add in the new Star Wars fireworks/stage show and stormtrooper processional to the list of unknowns. My wife sent me a text saying we have to do both of these. LOL. I am getting more and more excited about all of the changes that we will see between last summer and this summer but again this adds another thing to plan when times are finally announced.

I guess it is a nice problem to have!

Yep, this one is causing me to reshuffle some things around too. I'm a week and a bit away from my ADR date and doing yet another revamp of the itinerary. It's exciting though, I love new things to look forward to.

 

[Lirael]

And now Star Wars. I'm really excited for all the cool new stuff being announced yet also slightly exasperated there's one more unknown element to consider (not to mention, how this new show will affect Fantasmic). Currently hoping Fantasmic and fireworks happen on the same days.

If it weren't for the 180+ ADRs starting soon I think I'd have already thrown any planning to the wind until it was time to get FP+. I don't get why ADRs start so early!

 

[Mitzicat]

But for you , what about just doing it like the good old days? Pack up the family ... go to Disney World .. wake up and go to the parks and "wing it!" .

I remember as a kid driving over from Grandma's house in Daytona early in the morning, get to gate at what would now be called rope drop, gate opens and running for Diamond Horseshoe Review to get a reservation later in the afternoon. Then after that it was do whatever whenever....not anymore.

 

[ArielSRL]

Tell me about it! We are going 6/4-6/11. We haven't been since July 2012 so already I had so much to learn with FP+ and bringing my two young children (2 yrs and 4.5 yrs) but throw in a ton of uncertainty, as well! Pretty much my only definitely scheduled days are our MK days. I'm working on settling most of AK with leaving the evening open. I just moved our Yak&Yeti ADR from 4:45 to 5:45 since they extended hours and was able to tweak our breakfast ADR a tad though I still may move it around a bit. Epcot days (1.5) aren't even being looked at until either we get some announcements or right before FP scheduling day (4/5). And if Soarin and Frozen aren't open yet, we are changing our Epcot half day to something else. DHS is semi figured out too, but will need tweaking. Especially with all the new Star Wars stuff. They actually threw in a DHS EMH on that Friday (unless I just missed it when scheduling our park days right before 180 days out) and now the park is a non-recommended day so I'm thinking about switching it but I already have ADRs and currently can't switch them due to unavailability.

Wow. My head is spinning! Hopefully there is a whole lot of announced dates before our FP window opens. Kmfx anyway.

 

[DaisyDuck001]

Going in April, and have seen varying rumors on when the new AK attractions will open. According to one rumor, they would open the day after my trip ends. Yes, there are always things being changed at WDW, but yes, it does seem that right now there is more overall churn there than usual. Looks like I may also miss the opening of the new Frozen ride by less than two weeks, but I was more of a Maelstrom fan anyway.

 

[onenursebrandy]

I'm struggling. I have the last week of May and first week of June. I haven't decided one single park day. I'm not worried about ADRs as the very few places we will be going to eat are going to be fairly easy to get (T-REX for my DS9, and maybe one Character something....we have budgeted more days, and less dining) I have a couple more weeks before I have to nail down FP+.....but I'm anticipating a 24 event, hopefully Star Wars Fireworks, wondering about Soarin, ROL, night safari....everything really!!

Then to compound my worries/anxiety, we leave Disney the 2nd week in June and have a 2 week Flex pass for Universal/SeaWorld/Busch Gardens. How do I plan that, when new coasters could/should be open at Sea World and Busch Gardens, HULK is an unknown at IOA, Kong could be open....I mean it seems there is a MAJOR variable at every park!!!

As much as I hate too....We are probably just going to decide when we get there! It'll be a whole new adventure waking up and deciding where to go!! (I guess we won't be coordinating T-Shirts to parks!!!)

 

[Nancyg56]

For the first time in memory, I am glad to be plannign a trip so far out. Mine is booked in December and I am pretty happy about that this year because of all the changes that hopefully will be ironed out before I make my park plans and ADR's. I am traveling with my DGD's and they are pretty easygoing in terms of attractions, but those M&G they want.....oh well.....

 

[Mambo Junkie]

I'm in May and only two weeks out from Fp + reservations. I really hope some of these things get announced soon especially the Rivers of Light. I'm starting to think that Rivers of Light won't be ready until at least the 24 hour event and Frozen Ever after isn't until June. It's still Disney World though.

Same here. I think when we make our fp choices the Frozen fp won't be available and we'll have to keep checking up until it actually opens (which is 3 days before my scheduled vacation). As insurance, I have 2 early (pre FW park opening) for Akershus. (8 am in case they open for the Frozen attraction at 9 and 9:30 in case they don't open until 11). Can't really do anything else.

 

[karly05]

I guess we can add in the new Star Wars fireworks/stage show and stormtrooper processional to the list of unknowns. My wife sent me a text saying we have to do both of these. LOL. I am getting more and more excited about all of the changes that we will see between last summer and this summer but again this adds another thing to plan when times are finally announced.

I guess it is a nice problem to have!

Yeah, I'm there 4/9 and the DHS stuff is what's impacting me. I was going to hop to DHS for bits of a couple days to do a few things: ride TSM, ride Star Tours (multiple times), see the Frozen show, check out Launch Bay and meet Chewie. Now they've extended SW fireworks (super excited!) and they'll have the SW show and processional, and I would love it if Olaf started meeting by then. But more time at DHS means less time at Epcot...

I'm lucky to be a solo adult with a hopper, who was there last year and plans to be back next year, and who has very few must-do or high-demand ADRs to worry about, but I have total sympathy for the folks with more challenging trips to plan. I'm almost glad I have no hope of the new Frozen stuff being open at Epcot for my trip (which would be another must-do) and I refuse to even attempt ROL until the original frenzy has died down.

Next year the mid-April Easter date is pushing me into mid-May and I'm expecting a lot of planning turmoil around opening plans for Pandora.

 

[Andrewsminustwo]

Wow, I guess I am one of the lucky ones when I read all of these posts. I too have traveled with children and grandchildren and understand the problems associated with traveling with your little ones. In the last seven years my wife and I, we are both in our 60's, finally said no to the family travel plans and we go down every year, just the two of us. These have been the best vacations we have ever had. We do not plan any part of the day other than to have our dining reservations picked out 180 days prior to arriving. I like knowing I can get into 1900 Park Fare and have a nice meal with the sisters. We have no FP's for any part of our trip. We get up in the morning when our eyes open. No alarm clocks for us, we're on vacation. We have a nice breakfast and at breakfast we decide what park we are first going to visit. We do two parks a day. The evening park is determined by the dining option. When we get to the park we casualy walk thru the park and enjoy the sights, sounds and activities. We experience the wonders of a child first meeting a character, the squeals of delight coming from the rides, the sheer awesomeness of the architecture of each park. If a ride wait time is more than 15 minutes we keep on walking. I understand you can't do that with children who have their heart set on the ride. What I am trying to convey is this, Disney gets better when you get older. I always tell my friends that WDW was built for seniors, not the kids. So keep your head up and always remember-there will be a time when you can go to experience the Magic at a slower and more enjoyable pace. In just 6 long days my wife and I begin this years travels to our Happiest Place on Earth.

We also experienced our first trip without kids 3 years ago for our 25th wedding anniversary and had the best trip ever because we could stop and smell the roses. We love to talk to families and ask the kids what they did that day and see the excitement on their faces. Heading down again in April, and quite honestly, the only thing we need to make a decision on is which bench to sit on when we get tired!

 

[norjack]

I'm trying to plan our trip for summer 2017. Just watching and taking notes on all the changes happening. I have a feeling many experiences, prices, and policies will have changed by then. Just a feeling.

 

[ArielSRL]

I heard April 18 as the general public opening for RoL just yesterday here on the boards. Obviously, it's rumor though until confirmed by Disney. Our FP window opens 4/5, so I hope there's an announcement by then.

 

[SarahSnow]

Agreed. We are trying to plan our ADR's for September 27-October 2 but we want to do MNSSHP one night and lots of things are being canceled and moved its hard to plan in advance.

 

[Jfsag123]

Yep, right there with all of you. About a month and a half away from booking FP for our June trip and still so much uncertainty. I'm holding on to multiple hard-to-get ADR's, which I hate doing, but don't feel like I have much choice with how many unknowns there are right now. It seems like a lot is scheduled to change over at the beginning of April, so I'm hoping to have a better idea at that point, which just happens to coincide with FP+ time.

 

[ArielSRL]

Yep, right there with all of you. About a month and a half away from booking FP for our June trip and still so much uncertainty. I'm holding on to multiple hard-to-get ADR's, which I hate doing, but don't feel like I have much choice with how many unknowns there are right now. It seems like a lot is scheduled to change over at the beginning of April, so I'm hoping to have a better idea at that point, which just happens to coincide with FP+ time.

We are right there with you!

 

[bluezy]

I'm so stressed about our trip in June. Fortunately, we're only doing 2 ADR's (BOG & CRT), so our days are pretty flexible. But it's still stressful when it comes to figuring out FP's. While it looks like ROL should be up and running before my FP+ scheduling date so I'll be able to take care of that one right away, Frozen Ever After and Soarin' will most likely *not* be available yet...and no idea about how the tiers will shake out at Epcot once everything is finished -- and that's assuming both of those things will be up and running by the time we travel in late June. The thought of having to constantly be keeping on top of things from the date I originally schedule FP's until potentially the days we go to Epcot is causing me much stress. I'm trying to ease the anxiety by having at least 2 days available for FP's at Epcot in hopes that we can get FP's for 2 of the 3 headliners we're interested in doing (TT, Soarin', and Frozen) and do one of them standby at rope drop or at closing. We're doing an Illuminations cruise on a non-Epcot day so we have the ability to do rides at closing time each of the days we're in that park. <sigh> It's going to be a stressful few months ahead....

 

[kandb]

It definitely is a "flux" year. I wonder how many repeat visitors will choose to skip this year (or at least the first half of this year) opting to wait until at least Frozen, Rivers of Light and Soaring open up.

But for you , what about just doing it like the good old days? Pack up the family ... go to Disney World .. wake up and go to the parks and "wing it!" with some highlights in mind. If those things are open when you are there .. then GO to them. If not, there are still plenty of things to do, see and eat.

I guess I don't see the issue, I like to have a few things in mind per day, but have plenty of room to be flexible (I've learned if you plan too much you just get disapponited because you "miss" some things (due to inevitable delays) or you are stressed are you feel constantly rushed getting from one thing to another).

She probably doesn't want to "wing it" because the Frozen ride will probably have a 4 hr. wait.