Tag: Advanced Dining Reservations

What Next? More Planning For WDW

So, you have set your dates, and begun planning what attractions you want to see and what meals you want to eat.  What’s next, you may ask?  Let’s look at a few possibilities here at threestrandswdw!

Citrico's at The Grand Floridian Resort and Spa
Citrico’s at
The Grand Floridian
Resort and Spa

You began planning at the nine to twelve month in advance time frame.  Now you are at the 180 day mark, and it’s time to make your Advanced Dining Reservations (ADRs) for your sit-down meals.  Where do you begin?  Well, you can start on the http://www.disneyworld.com website, click on the Things To Do tab, and cursor down to the Make Reservations link to begin looking at restaurants, dates, and times. You may need to be a bit flexible with some of the more popular selections, especially Character Meals!  And, you might have better success selecting off peak hours for your meals.  There is less demand, AND it can help you get more attractions in while everyone else is eating at the ‘usual’ times!

You can also make your reservations via the My Disney Experience portion of the website,  it takes you to the same page with less steps to get there!  And, you can get there by way of the My Disney Experience App on your Smartphone.  This is very convenient for those day of reservations.  Yes, they can happen from time to time, but it may not be at a more popular spot.  Be adventurous and try something different, you may find a hidden treasure!  Also, remember that you may have to give a credit card before your slot is confirmed.  A $10 per person charge can be given if you do not show up for your reservation.  But, this policy is also what makes walk up and day of reservations possible!

Making ADRs is a major mark in the waiting for your Walt Disney World vacation!  It is hard, sometimes, to know what you are going to do six month out, but I strongly suggest that you at least book the Character and Signature meals at this point, as they are the most difficult to secure in the best of circumstances!

The next mark in you planning will be the customizing of your MagicBands and making your Fastpass Plus reservations for attractions!  We’ll cover THAT in our next post.  Until then, my friends, have a very Blessed and Magical day!!

Planning 101 for WDW

When it come to planning a trip to Walt Disney World, there are some basics that I think everyone needs to consider as you prepare to make your reservations.  Even the simplest of plans can be a benefit to getting the most out of your WDW Vacation!  So, today, we will look at some of the basic things needed when getting ready to visit The Happiest Place On Earth!

 

 

Disney Time

When it comes to planning, there are several categories of the types of planners.  Today, I’m going to attempt to boil it ALL down to a few basic ideas, that you can choose to build upon, or not, and still have a wonderful time on your vacation!

First, make sure you know what time of year you want to visit!  This makes a difference because of crowd levels!  For instance, if you are wanting to head to WDW during the week of Christmas to New Year’s, crowds will be very, VERY heavy.  New Year’s Eve is typically one of, if not THE, busiest times of the year throughout Walt Disney World!  And, particularly at The Magic Kingdom!  If you go in with no plans, you may end up with no vacation.

Spring and Summer breaks can also be heavier times to visit.  And, having a good crowd calendar for planning purposes can be invaluable.  There are two that I recommend.  One as at http://www.easywdw.com/category/calendar/ for a very well organized and up-to-date planning tool!  And, it’s free!  The other does cost a little bit of money, but it’s reasonable, and if you listen to WDWToday podcast, there is a discount code to help defray a bit of that cost.  It is found at http://www.touringplans.com!  I have used this one myself on the past few trips and find the numbers to be highly accurate and helpful.  There is also a chat feature on the site to ask planning questions, if you need extra assistance in putting things together.

The next thing I think is important for any WDW trip is what do take in your luggage.  There are a lot of packing list ideas available online.  One of the best, that I have found, is at http://wdwprepschool.com/the-ultimate-disney-world-packing-list/.  This is a very complete list, and you can tailor the list to fit your specific needs.  But, it has some good suggestions of things you might not think about without the guidance!  There is also a short weekly podcast, that I found recently, where there is discussion about some of these planning ideas.  Give it a listen, it’s worth the time!

Finally, let’s talk about food!  If you want to eat at WDW, especially at a more relaxed, sit-down type restaurant, you will truly want to know what your travel dates are before you get to the six-month mark!  The reason is that at 180 days from the start of your visit to Walt Disney World, the reservations system opens up for you to make your dining plans.  And, IF you are staying at a Walt Disney World Resort, you can use the 180 days plus 10 rule!  That allows you to make your Advanced Dining Reservations (ADRs) up to 10 days into your vacation.  And, that becomes very important if you want some of the harder to get reservations like Character Meals, or popular spots like ‘Ohana, or Be Our Guest!Be-Our-Guest-Bridge-Entrance

These are the three basics I suggest to everyone going to Walt Disney World, anytime of the year!  And, even though there are lower crowd times through the year, there are really no truly Low Seasons at WDW!

One more thing, if you don’t want to face the mountains of planning, may I suggest using an Authorized Disney Vacation Planner to help with the arrangements?  Your specialized planner will take care of all of the details for you!  You can be as involved as you wish, or just have them tell you when to leave and where to go once you get there!  I can point you in that direction, if you need help.  I have several friends who do a wonderful job assisting their clients!

Well, that’s it for now!  Have a Blessed and Magical weekend, my friends!  See you next time!