Florida holiday AIBU TO ask for help

[QueenArnica]

Very first world problem but... After a shocker of a year last year (dad died, I was diagnosed with cancer) we bit the bullet and are going to Disneyworld in 4 weeks time!

We are now in panic/planning mode as we know it won't be the most spontaneous of holidays in terms of needing to book fast passes on certain days etc. We do have a week on the beach too at the end but don't want to knacker ourselves completely.

So AIBU to ask those who have been before did you plan all the fast pass rides etc so that you pretty much knew what you were doing every day? Obviously we would allow for pool/shopping days etc?

Thank you!!!

[WiIdfire]

There are charts available that say which days are quietest and which end of the park to start. We used this and didnt have huge queues. (I popped back into one park for a last ride on the day we were leaving, it was a busy day and was absolutely heaving, the queues were huge. It definitely varies)
We didnt plan ride by ride or anything though, as I liked a bit of spontenaity. We did alternate park days and rest days so as not to get overtired, if thats an option.
There are loads of websites around with tips and tricks which are worth a read too, to get more out of the trip without planning to the last second.
The food in the non-Disney parks (cant say for Disney) is awful. Really bad. And I'm not fussy at all, love a good Nando's 😉 Wish I'd taken food in and saved a fortune. Its pretty much all fried fast food.

Go to the Kennedy Space Centre if you can, its fantastic.

[WiIdfire]

//Www.theDIBB.co.uk is very useful.

[Funnyfive]

Ok so we've been a few times before and we're going in October again.

Top tips:
Avoid whichever park has magic hours that morning/evening as they are likely to be the busiest
Chances of getting fast passes for the frozen ride at Epcot, seven dwarves mine train, toy story midway mania and soaring are very unlikely now so go to those rides at opening for best chance of a small queue.
When we last went we didn't get fast passes before we went but still managed to get some really good ones. Just keep looking a couple days before or even on the day and you will be surprised what comes up.
Avoid Jungle Cruise, Winnie the Pooh and Peter Pan MASSIVE queues and not that good - only my opinion though.
Oh and you get 10mins grace on your fast pass - they don't expire until 10 mins after they say they do!

Have fun

[fishonabicycle]

Get there as park opens. Run to book ahead on beat ride then jump on another. We got on everything v quick by rushing around booking time slots.

[SquinkiesRule]

Make sure all your passports are chip ones that scan.
We got on more rides during the evening meal time when we were in Disney, we would eat really late so we could have shorter lines.

[cinnamongirl1976]

I second the recommendation for the Dibb - it's brilliant. Hope you have a lovely time.

[Banana99]

Use your fast passes for the real busy rides/ones you have to go on - toy story mania at Hollywood is a nightmare without one.
You can keep booking fast passes when you are there - I did some in the evening for the next day as DD was obsessed with Peter Pan

Do read a bit about what's most popular and compare what rides you do want to do so you don't miss out.

Have a look at the fast passes - it lets you pick one and then 'gives' you 2 others, you can change these but it's a pain - you often end up with ones you don't use

[sluj]

The Dibb is absolutely brilliant. Set yourself up on the My Disney Experience app if you haven't already so you can book fast passes and dining. Their help desk is very helpful. Then just devote an hour to working out some of the days in parks and booking fast passes. We have done Disney before and after the prebooking fast passes came in and would not go back to the old way. It makes the whole day much more relaxed but requires a bit of planning. Well worth it though - you won't want to miss out.
However you will need to get a bit of a move on
Have a great holiday. We are off on the 29th and can't wait

[WhoisLucasHood]

Hi Queen. We're going in 4wks too. We've ordered our Disney tickets ready to pick up when we're there (only doing Disney this trip). Set up an account on my Disney Experience. You can book FPs upto 8th Aug today, I think the 9th will be available later on. We've a plan on which parks we will be going to based on the non busiest days and decided on which FPs we want. We're planning to get to the parks early in the hopes it'll be a little quieter and cooler and leave in the afternoon to chill at the villa. Thedibb is a great source of info.

[groovejet]

Another vote for the dibb - a great site and very helpful.

I also used this site touringplans.com/walt-disney-world/crowd-calendar to try and work out what parks were more likely to be quieter.

If you are staying offsite avoid going to a park with the extra hours for resort guests as these will be busy. Try and do a park that has had a late opening the night before as they will tend to be quieter the next morning.

Biggest tip is that although the planning before hand certainly is worth it and does make things easier is that there is more than just the rides so don't worry if you don't get all the Fast passes that you want, take a walk around the boardwalk part of Epcot at night for a quieter change of pace, if your kids are young take them to the water fountains at downtown disney, my 2 spent ages playing in those one morning. You can have a look around the onsite hotels as well, most offer extra activities for a fee, boat and bike rental and the Wildnerness Lodge has horse riding and carriage rides.

For food if you look at the menus on the dibb you will find plenty of quick service places in the parks that are more than nuggets and burgers and you can decide what suits your family the most. If there are any table service restaurants that you feel is a must do you can book those in advance. If you want to do a character meal, the breakfasts are cheaper and usually easier to book.

Hope you have an amazing time.

[WiIdfire]

Forgot to say, if you are visiting universal as well, the Harry Potter section is excellent, and the ride inside the Hogwarts castle is the best by far.

[nocoolnamesleft]

Not a fun bit, and hopefully you've already sorted, but you want decent travel/health insurance to travel to the USA. I've found that All Clear cope better with wanting cover for pre existing conditions than most companies I tried.

And have a fantabulous time.

[kelper]

Another one recommending The Dibb (Disney Information Bulletin Board)
They're brilliant and have loads of very well informed posters, for any Florida topic you can think of, and they're all very friendly ;)

[bamboobeanbags]

If you want to watch any parades/ fireworks then it's worth checking which days of the week those are on which might help you to get a bit of a plan.