***Hey, Hey! Come right in and plan, OFFICIAL OCTOBER 2017 thread!!!***

[lindsayjs]

Order of events of how I snagged a 2017 October Disney trip.

Monday, August 23rd
7:45 pm receive an email from Disney.
9pm get ready for bed, check my emails one last time.
9:15pm excitingly tell my husband that I got a pin! Spent the next 5 minutes explaining to my husband how big of a deal this is.
9:20pm try to access my deal but the last name and zip code linked are wrong (maiden name and very old address)
9:30 score! Figured it out, grabbed the laptop to look at how good the deals are.

Husband: 'I want to be there on halloween day but I don't want to use all my vacation time'

Me: Checking out saturday to Wednesday availability....hmm, lots of decent places to stay.

Husband: 'I want to stay on the monorail loop'

Me:

10pm I call disney. I get a really fabulous phone CM. He books me for the Grand Flordian.

I couldn't sleep. I had to be up at 5am the next morning...but I just found out I'm going HOME!
I finally fall asleep around 1:30am.

Is this really happening? I wasn't expecting to go back to Disney until 2019!

Yesterday I booked airfare (husband's first time flying!) AND MNSSHP tickets. No turning back now!

Only problem? I'm used to having a year to plan a trip and now I have 2 months. Luckily, I've been kept in the loop for what's been going on at Disney these past few months.

My dates are October 28 - November 1.
Staying at the Grand Floridian.

It still hasn't fully hit me yet.

How exciting!!

 

[Kindermouse]

So...i'm getting a little worried...we're not staying on property so our fastpass day is only 30 days before (on September 2nd). What are the chances that I'll get anything in Animal Kingdom or SDMT or FEA???

There is plenty of availability in AK - just not for FOP. Navi is fairly easy to get. 7DMT and FEA also have some availability for the first week in October. That could change, but there is hope for sure.

 

[tomlinson]

Staying at BCV 22 Oct - 29 Oct. Got all our FP and DR for everything we wanted, including FOP, Na'vi and SDMT. Soooo excited.

 

[Charolette]

@PrincessMamma4 So...i'm getting a little worried...we're not staying on property so our fastpass day is only 30 days before (on September 2nd). What are the chances that I'll get anything in Animal Kingdom or SDMT or FEA???


My understanding is that FOP is really hard to get right now but the rest of Animal Kingdom should be just fine.

 

[Astryd]

I asked this on the Pandora thread, but will ask here also...does anyone know what the wait time is for ROPE DROPPING FOP? Thinking of a TUskar House PPO breakfast for ROL dining (if I can snag it once it's finally released!) and wondering if that would put us in a better spot for FOP rather than trying to race all those young and sprinting teenagers....

Any info?

Josh put up a new post about wait times and such for DAK, you may want to read it, they have made some operational changes for entrance in to Pandora in the mornings.

http://www.easywdw.com/easy/blog/animal-kingdom-wait-times-in-a-post-pandora-emh-world/

 

[hoperunner]

So, I know these are two very different experiences but just wanting opinions. I have a Beaches and Cream reservation booked for Saturday afternoon Oct. 28th. We are back and forth on whether we will eat lunch there or just do ice cream. I was also able to grab a HEA fireworks dessert party reservation for the same day. My wife and I think it might be overkill to have both (too much dessert). I know the fireworks dessert party is way more expensive, but you are paying for the convenience of having a decent spot to watch HEA (we did the gardens viewing and not Tomorrowland Terrace). Any thoughts or opinions on which to keep? We have never done a dessert party before, and have not done Beaches and Cream before (other than take out ice cream). There are five of us (kids: 14, 11, 9). My 14 year old can put down some dessert, but not sure about $60 worth.

 

[Roxyfire]

So, I know these are two very different experiences but just wanting opinions. I have a Beaches and Cream reservation booked for Saturday afternoon Oct. 28th. We are back and forth on whether we will eat lunch there or just do ice cream. I was also able to grab a HEA fireworks dessert party reservation for the same day. My wife and I think it might be overkill to have both (too much dessert). I know the fireworks dessert party is way more expensive, but you are paying for the convenience of having a decent spot to watch HEA (we did the gardens viewing and not Tomorrowland Terrace). Any thoughts or opinions on which to keep? We have never done a dessert party before, and have not done Beaches and Cream before (other than take out ice cream). There are five of us (kids: 14, 11, 9). My 14 year old can put down some dessert, but not sure about $60 worth.

Ok so I know a lot of people here hate on the Dessert Parties but I personally love them. For that many people, not sure if I love them that much though. It's a great way to experience the show, especially for the first time or as a nice capstone ending to the vacation (as we did). Because it's still so new, people are staking out spots all over the hub and main street, even on the bridge toward tomorrowland. So I would say at least half, if not more, of the value is in the reserved area. Even if they don't eat a ton of dessert, they can sample everything they want and get some sparkling cider. No fighting people on the curb.

 

[Felicis]

We booked HEA garden view. I figure with fewer HEA shows, there will be even more of a squeeze of people trying to see it, and this way my daughter will actually be able to see!

 

[RedmonFamily]

So looking at the hours, it does not look like AK will be extended to 9 pm the first week in October. Is it even dark at 730 to see Pandora?

 

[bluecastle]

Sunset is just before 7, so I don't think it will be dark enough to enjoy the full effect. I don't understand why they are taking so long. I even checked November, and even though most of the month is 7, Thanksgiving weekend is 8. But Columbus Day weekend is still listed at 7 or 7:30. I just don't get it.

 

[Kindermouse]

So looking at the hours, it does not look like AK will be extended to 9 pm the first week in October. Is it even dark at 730 to see Pandora?

It better be or I am going to have a very crummy ROL viewing experience.

 

[Wood Nymph]

So, I know these are two very different experiences but just wanting opinions. I have a Beaches and Cream reservation booked for Saturday afternoon Oct. 28th. We are back and forth on whether we will eat lunch there or just do ice cream. I was also able to grab a HEA fireworks dessert party reservation for the same day. My wife and I think it might be overkill to have both (too much dessert). I know the fireworks dessert party is way more expensive, but you are paying for the convenience of having a decent spot to watch HEA (we did the gardens viewing and not Tomorrowland Terrace). Any thoughts or opinions on which to keep? We have never done a dessert party before, and have not done Beaches and Cream before (other than take out ice cream). There are five of us (kids: 14, 11, 9). My 14 year old can put down some dessert, but not sure about $60 worth.

Although kids like fireworks, they also like roller coasters and other rides. There is usually plenty of room in the Hub to see the fireworks for free. Everyone starts out sitting down to stake their territory and then when they all stand up there is suddenly more room for the late arriving viewers.

 

[NikkiDP]

Our FP+ window opened this morning!!! We got everything we wanted plus 2 FOP!!!! I am freaking out and ready to go now!!

 

[ofcabbagesandkings]

Our FP+ window opened this morning!!! We got everything we wanted plus 2 FOP!!!! I am freaking out and ready to go now!!

Awesome! What day of your trip did you try for? And were you going for mornings or afternoon/evening times?

 

[ofcabbagesandkings]

It better be or I am going to have a very crummy ROL viewing experience.

I'm starting to debate whether I should drop my RoL dining package and go see HEA at MK instead. If they don't extend AK hours it hardly seems worth going back after a resort break just for the show and a QS dinner before park close. I keep hoping they will extend the hours, at least to 9, and we can use our rider swap passes in the evening.

Going to MK means hopping back and forth from MK 3 days in a row with our current plans. But everyone keeps raving about HEA. I just think having seen Hallowishes the night before, that my crew is going to want a more mellow scene Saturday evening.

Decisions...

 

[NikkiDP]

Awesome! What day of your trip did you try for? And were you going for mornings or afternoon/evening times?

We are doing to be there for 12 days (10/23-11/3). Our first FOP is our 6th day and it is in the afternoon (3:40-4:40). Our second one is our 10th day and in the morning (10:00-11:00). We had tried for earlier in our trip but nothing was available the day we were going to AK. I am going to keep looking though!!

EDIT: Our AK days were the first things we got FP+ for to try and make sure we could get FOP.

 

[Farro]

****HALLOWEEN PARTY INFO!!!!!!!!!!****

Looking good!
http://www.wdwmagic.com/events/mick...lloween-party-nights-at-the-magic-kingdom.htm

 

[hoperunner]

Our FP+ window opened this morning!!! We got everything we wanted plus 2 FOP!!!! I am freaking out and ready to go now!!

Ours opens tomorrow. Here's hoping that we can get some FOP passes. Our first day at AK will be day 3 at night, so we'll see. 2 other trips planned for days 5 and 7, so I'm hopeful we will get at least one.

 

[hoperunner]

So, I know these are two very different experiences but just wanting opinions. I have a Beaches and Cream reservation booked for Saturday afternoon Oct. 28th. We are back and forth on whether we will eat lunch there or just do ice cream. I was also able to grab a HEA fireworks dessert party reservation for the same day. My wife and I think it might be overkill to have both (too much dessert). I know the fireworks dessert party is way more expensive, but you are paying for the convenience of having a decent spot to watch HEA (we did the gardens viewing and not Tomorrowland Terrace). Any thoughts or opinions on which to keep? We have never done a dessert party before, and have not done Beaches and Cream before (other than take out ice cream). There are five of us (kids: 14, 11, 9). My 14 year old can put down some dessert, but not sure about $60 worth.

Thanks for the advice everyone. We made it a family decision and the unanimous decision was dessert party.

 

[melana]

5 days till fastpass day. What time can I start making them in the morning? I have to work that day and need to figure out if I can squeeze in FP selections before having to leave.