Are there for-pay services to help me plan?

[Hayduke]

Thanks! I should have noted before that I do have a touringplans subscription and it is very useful.

 

[nkereina]

Funny timing - there was just a thread on the Community Board with a poster wanting to be a "Disney itinerary planner" - someone who does the plans, but isn't a true travel agent so wouldn't complete the booking. All of us agreed there's not really a market for that and its something that doesn't really exist today.

It sounds like you're making headway in your planning, but wanted to mention that you can use a Disney authorized travel planner and just have them book your hotel and tickets. From there, they will work with you on your plans, give advice, and they will book FPs and ADRs if you want them to, but they don't have to. The only requirement would be that they reserve your room and tickets because they make commission on that, and that's how they make their money. Their service would be free to you. Dreams Unlimited Travel (Pete who owns the boards also owns this agency) are great to work with. If you decide to go this route and want to browse around for companies, I would just recommend making sure its a 100% fully authorized Disney travel planner because these are the people in the know who provide all the Disney planning services. General travel agents typically just book it and their service ends there, and they wouldn't have the same extensive training and knowledge.

Another bonus is that the Disney services are also aware of discounts and promotions and will handle getting them applied to your reservation if one becomes available that you're eligible for.

 

[Heather07438]

So, what does everyone think?

Looks like a lovely trip!
Since you are already Club Level, Disney offers you 'Signature Services' who can also help guide you. Probably best to have some idea of your plans to make that process easier. They can be a big help getting the final details arranged and answering specific questions.
https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/guest-services/signature-services/
For your trip I'd definitely take advantage of your location and CL. That means getting a hopper to maximize use of HS and EP, and buying at least the minimum 3 days of Club Level Extra FPs. You can create very efficient days by hopping (using 3 FPs in each park), plus affording you time to break at your resort and enjoy the CL lounge.

The minimum to buy CL FP pkg is 3 days (do not need to be consecutive nor for entire trip, just needs to include everyone in the room). $450 extra seems like a great value to me ($50 x 3ppl x 3days), it can really elevate your entire trip. The highlights are getting 3 extra FPs each with 90 day window for ALL of your FPs, plus a Preferred View each day for the park's night show. Pretty awesome package.

Some folks have covered many of these points above as well, but here's what I learned. Going to re-state some of the obvious stuff as well in case helpful.

• $50 per person, per day - 3 day minimum

• Only available 3/13/2018 and beyond

• It is bookable 90 days from your check-out date (yes, your check-out date, not check-in date) and must be done via DSS

• You cannot make the extra FPs via MDE

• The extra FPs can be in any tier and any park

• The extra FP times can't overlap with other FPs (ETA: this appears to be an open question, in practice, so perhaps TBD until more real experiences come out)

• Includes one reserved viewing area selection per night; choices are MK/HEA, Epcot/Illuminations, HS/Fantasmic!, AK/ROL

• You can't book it before the 90 day from check-out mark (although you can submit what you want to DSS before 90 days and they'll book it when they get in that day)

• Again, the 90 day mark is from your CHECK-OUT day, not your check-in day (I was told it was check-in but many others have been told it’s check-out, so I’m going with that)

• You select the extra FPs and nighttime viewing choices at the time of booking (although can be modified via DSS later) (note, the 'modification' part of the extra FPs is also an open question at the moment, need more real-time info to confirm)

• Your regular three FPs are still bookable at the normal 60 day from check-in mark (ETA: this has been changed, you can now book your three ‘regular’ FPs at 90 days with this program)

• The minimum three days do not need to be consecutive

• Reserved viewing locations:
  • MK/HEA - Plaza Garden West (this is the fake grass/garden area in front of Casey's, the opposite garden from where they do the Plaza Garden dessert party)
  • Epcot/Illuminations - Germany, on the water near the glass blowing cart
  • HS/Fantasmic! - Near the dessert & VIP viewing experiance area
  • AK/ROL - Enter via the FP area, close to the water in that general FP area

• There is a 1 day cancellation period

• If you book this and then cancel a CL (or otherwise eligible) reservation after booking or modify it to a non-eligible room, the package will be cancelled and you'll receive a refund

I will caveat that this is very new and they stressed it is a trial. Information and details are not really tested, and with something so nuanced I suspect details may be fluid as we go along.

Let me know if you have any questions or if anything isn't clear. Hope it helps!

That's a good start Next step would be figuring a basic park schedule for your days along with a few priority ADRs.

 

[Hayduke]

Thanks! Yep I’m pretty certain we’ll get the CL FP, though it’ll be $600 as there are 4 of us. Still worth it to know we’ll get to ride everything we want to.

I also got hopper tickets for flexibility but I’m curious what you mean by using that + our location to maximize HS and EP? We’re happy to bounce around parks, but I’m curious how that’ll help.

 

[disneyseniors]

Hey all, working on plans for our family’s second trip. I’m fairly well versed in all things FP+, ADR’s, and all rides and restaurants. However I still am finding it completely overwhelming in even getting the basics out of the way. Things like “staying at BWI, what park should we hit first, second, third”, “if we’re planning on taking mid day breaks should we return to the same park or hit a different one in the afternoon”, and “how will all the add ones like EMH and Christmas party affect our planning”, simply have me overwhelmed.

What I’m not looking for is for someone to book things for me, I’m happy and capable to do that. More like “critique my plans” or opinions on best overall strategies to get the most out of the parks—for my specific dates. This is something I would definitely be happy to pay a little $ for.

I know there’s a wealth of info on these boards, but it takes quite a lot of time and effort to get through it all. I have a travel agent and maybe that’s something I should be relying on her for, but so far I haven’t been able to get much advice from her.

I would recommend a disney trained TA for Disney. They know everything about booking Disney and everything else. We always use our Disney TA and she handles any questions, problems, all transactions, etc. If you book with them, there is no cost to you for this service - it is included in their service for those who book with them.

 

[Heather07438]

Thanks! Yep I’m pretty certain we’ll get the CL FP, though it’ll be $600 as there are 4 of us. Still worth it to know we’ll get to ride everything we want to.

I also got hopper tickets for flexibility but I’m curious what you mean by using that + our location to maximize HS and EP? We’re happy to bounce around parks, but I’m curious how that’ll help.

Sounds good! WDW isn't cheap with all the add-ons but I find this one a particularly good value. Plus you'll have 3 night shows with preferred view, which can save the $ from adding dessert party at MK.

Being in close proximity to BW, HS/EP are easy to hop without the long round-trip journey of other resorts and become very versatile. They're worthwhile even to just hop in for a couple hours. You'll accomplish alot on days with 6 FPs. You can work in a rest at your resort, enjoy the lounge food, plus bop over to EP or HS either first or last thing that day. The times that you are coming/going from HS/EP give you more opportunity to stop by BW CL lounge.

Especially now with the uncertainty of riding RotR, starting out at HS a few mornings is a good plan. Or say popping over just to catch Fantasmic & Fireworks one night, or heading off to Epcot just for Festival Food Booths or a couple rides or Fireworks. Good for where you don't have a large block of time.

 

[finedice]

• For this trip, I really don't want to miss much (I know you can't see everything)
• Staying Sunday - Saturday, so 5 1/2 days
• Trip is in November, the week between Jersey week and Thanksgiving, so so far crowds look manageable
• Galaxies Edge is our #1 focus
• Staying at BWI, Club Level (yeah, we'll probably do the paid FP, but not positive yet, see below)--BWI was chosen to be a walk to HS and Epcot.
• Budget isn't limitless, however this will probably be our last WDW trip for a few years (we're also doing a cruise this year so it's a lot), that said, I'm in so far what's another few hundred here or there to minimize lines and waiting?
• I'm just gonna state that I really don't like lines and waiting
• Kids are way beyond napping, however I do still like the idea of taking a break in the afternoon at the hotel for pool and CL perks

Current Plans:

• Day 1: Travel, debating just hanging around the hotel, or possibly getting some FP+ in Epcot, adding another day of tickets and eating dinner in the park

What you do here largely depends on arrival time vs. park closing time. I feel like EP is pretty much always 9PM. Is the Food & Wine Fest going on?

• Day 2: Hollywood Studios - Try to get our first pass at getting most of GE out of the way. Maybe save a FP for the nighttime show?

Please do not save a FP for the nighttime show. I am somewhat certain you will be able to get one of those as an extra FP right up until an hour before the show starts. You don't even really need one for Fantasmic! Book all 3 FPs early and then a 4th, and a 5th, etc... You might even get lucky and get multiple rides on FOP with FP that way. You can't get 4th FP until your original 3 are used or expired, so I always make them early and cross my fingers.

• Day 3: Magic Kingdom - We would like to do the night time show, maybe do it via the desert package so we don't need to wait in a big crowd.

There's really nothing to critique here without more detail. You can see the show from a lot of places - I suppose the extra tickets can be worth it for some, but not for me though. I can always tolerate a little bit of a crowd for 20 minutes or so, and I don't like crowds or lines either.

• Day 4: Animal Kingdom - This will probably be the one exception to taking a break during the day just because of the travel distance

The distance is not that great to make a difference. In fact, you might be closer to AK than MK from the Boardwalk.

• Day 5: Thinking about splitting time, morning in Epcot, then afternoon back to HS... or maybe reverse that? I'm not sure.

As others have said, depending on what happens with RotR, you might want to reverse those. However, it has been noted that with the current system for RotR in place, the massive "dump" of humanity into HS pre-park opening has caused enormous wait times early in the day for DHS - the rope drop advantage is pretty much erased 5 minutes into the day, and wait times are shorter later in the day. This is very different from a few years ago when people enjoyed very reasonable waits early and it was a tough park in the evening. Either way, I always think of EPCOT as a good 'hop to' park over a 'hop from' park because of its size and ability to absorb crowds.

• Day 6: We'd like to do Disney Springs (though I could move that to Day 1 and skip Epcot), so maybe split that with a return to MK?

While entirely up to you, I would save DS for a trip when you are there longer than 5 days. We do love our visits there, and the restaurants on average are just better in Disney Springs. However, we generally spend at least 7 days at WDW when we go (from up here on the Canadian border), and we have been to WDW enough times that our priorities are not the same as they once were. We are okay if we miss a few things, because we have seen it all (pretty much) at least several times before. I am sure your kids would rather be in the parks than at DS. Given your stated goal of "not missing much", DS is "missable" for other attractions and shows in the parks, or even second and third rides on your favorites. Depending on weather, the kids might also like a waterpark afternoon as well... certainly more than DS. You won't go wrong with a second full day at MK either.

Your other idea of doing it day 1 is also not a bad one - again, depending on arrival time. If I got there by say - 1 or 2 PM and got checked in quickly, I would choose park time over DS. If however, you don't get settled until after 4 - DS might be a good alternative to EPCOT.

Couple more notes:

• We'll probably try to book one ADR a day--most likely lunch time since we can take advantage of CL evening snacks.
  
  ADRs for lunch generally cost valuable park time. Be judicious, there are several QS places in most parks that are a good alternative for saving time - but do your dining homework - some are great (Satuli Canteen) and others awful (Pizzafari). One ADR that is TOTALLY lunch worth though is Tusker House - highly recommended!
• If we can leverage the paid CL FP to not have to rope drop too much that would be great. We're early risers so not concerned about early mornings, but also don't want to feel too hectic and rushed.

I would if I could, but I can't. Rope drop (for us) is a thrill, as are early morning photo ops (before there are too many people). If you do RD, and you learn to refresh for same day 4th+ FPs, you might not need to spend the extra Keesh on CL FPs. PLUS the kids (and you) will be plenty spent to get a good night's rest each day!

Whatever you do - make the most of it, and good luck with staying healthy this time! Have a Magical trip!

 

[Hayduke]

Sounds good! WDW isn't cheap with all the add-ons but I find this one a particularly good value. Plus you'll have 3 night shows with preferred view, which can save the $ from adding dessert party at MK.

Can you explain more about “preferred views”? Is that a CL perk, or are you referring to using the extra FP to get better seats?

 

[Hayduke]

What you do here largely depends on arrival time vs. park closing time. I feel like EP is pretty much always 9PM. Is the Food & Wine Fest going on?

Good point about arrival. Our flight lands at 9am, so we'll have plenty of time.

Please do not save a FP for the nighttime show. I am somewhat certain you will be able to get one of those as an extra FP right up until an hour before the show starts. You don't even really need one for Fantasmic! Book all 3 FPs early and then a 4th, and a 5th, etc... You might even get lucky and get multiple rides on FOP with FP that way. You can't get 4th FP until your original 3 are used or expired, so I always make them early and cross my fingers.

Thanks, all good points!

There's really nothing to critique here without more detail. You can see the show from a lot of places - I suppose the extra tickets can be worth it for some, but not for me though. I can always tolerate a little bit of a crowd for 20 minutes or so, and I don't like crowds or lines either.

Our first experience which was based on zero strategy, was wherever we were we were getting jostled around, kids couldn't see anything so we bailed. Perhaps with an actual plan we'll be able to figure out a better spot.

As others have said, depending on what happens with RotR, you might want to reverse those.

Yep, lots of advice to flip the timings so we'll do that.

While entirely up to you, I would save DS for a trip when you are there longer than 5 days.

Yep, I was reading the same advice elsewhere and I think we're going to ditch DS. We liked it on our previous trip, but I'm realizing there were also more adults that were into the shopping.

 

[Hayduke]

Does anyone know how accurate Touringplans predicted events are? Right now it's saying that Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party is predicted to be:

Tues 11/10
Thur 11/12
Fri 11/13

If that stands I think it should fit my schedule well. Whether we actually choose to attend or not (that's up in the air)--if we do want to go, I think Thur evening we can skip EP and go to MK for the party.

 

[mamaofsix]

Does anyone know how accurate Touringplans predicted events are? Right now it's saying that Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party is predicted to be:

Tues 11/10
Thur 11/12
Fri 11/13

If that stands I think it should fit my schedule well. Whether we actually choose to attend or not (that's up in the air)--if we do want to go, I think Thur evening we can skip EP and go to MK for the party.

That's pretty accurate. Parties are almost always Sunday, Tues, Thurs, Fri.

 

[mamaofsix]

And MK is usually gloriously uncrowded on the morning of a party, so I highly recommend hitting that park on one of those mornings if you're not planning to go to a party....

 

[Hayduke]

You are right, touringplans is showing MK as a 1 on Tuesday. Say we did MK (as already planned), and decided to come back after a break for the Christmas party, we could then do the regular MK night time show the next day after we tour AK.

 

[Heather07438]

Can you explain more about “preferred views”? Is that a CL perk, or are you referring to using the extra FP to get better seats?

Yes the views come with the Extra FP Package, 1 for each day you add (in addition to your FPs). These locations seem on par with dessert party views and are somewhat better than areas reserved thru FP.
Reserved viewing locations:

• MK Fireworks, Happily Ever After - Plaza Garden West (this is the fake grass/garden area in front of Casey's, the opposite garden from where they do the Plaza Garden dessert party)
• Epcot Forever (or new HarmonioUS?) - Germany, on the water near the glass blowing cart
• HS/Fantasmic! - Near the dessert & VIP viewing experience area
• AK/Rivers of Light - Enter via the FP area, close to the water in that general FP area

This will help tremendously at MK & EP.

The package turns all of your FPs into the 90 day booking window. Even staying onsite, high demand FPs like FoP and 7DMT are usually gone up to 62 days out and not available until Day 3 of a trip. Being able to totally avoid that issue means less complications planning

 

[Miffy]

If you are concerned about not being able to do all the attractions you want, consider a VIP tour guide. You could easily do 90% of what you want in one day.

Because this isn't mentioned here, the price of a VIP tour ranges from $425/hr to $750/hr, depending on the season, and the tour must be booked for a minimum of 7 continuous hours, which means the lowest possible price (depending on season) would be $2,975 and the highest price would be $5,250 for a 7-hour tour. The price of the tour does not include park admission.

 

[Remy is Up]

I have friends that my wife or i will "concierge" for. Haha. I have a couple at Studios today and I have gotten them TSM, ToT, RNRC, Slinky Dog, Smugglers Run so far about to grab a star tours and their BG should fall around 4-5PM. It is his wifes birthday and he didnt know how to use the system, so Im pulling the FPs and then texting them what they have.

 

[cmarsh31]

FYI - for the future, a travel planner/agent who specializes in Disney should be exactly what you're looking for... the DIS and touring plans are great resources as well.

 

[Hayduke]

FYI - for the future, a travel planner/agent who specializes in Disney should be exactly what you're looking for... the DIS and touring plans are great resources as well.

We do have a Disney specific TA, and she's great. But in talking with her I'm not getting the sort of specific advice I was looking for. She can talk all day about FP+ tiers and the like, but I'm more looking for "first you want to go to this park for such and such a reason".

I will say nearly all my questions have been answered in this thread so thanks disboards!

 

[Remy is Up]

We do have a Disney specific TA, and she's great. But in talking with her I'm not getting the sort of specific advice I was looking for. She can talk all day about FP+ tiers and the like, but I'm more looking for "first you want to go to this park for such and such a reason".

I will say nearly all my questions have been answered in this thread so thanks disboards!

I think youll find that people invested in the parks who go a lot, will always have much more information and tips than any TA, even ones specific to WDW.

 

[Hayduke]

Yes the views come with the Extra FP Package, 1 for each day you add (in addition to your FPs). These locations seem on par with dessert party views and are somewhat better than areas reserved thru FP.

Wow, that does sound great! Any chance you have a link to anything official about that perk? I guess the program itself is not yet official so nothing about it is in writing. That’s just one perk I hadn’t heard before.