My 180 day window is getting close - it’s on Thursday. And as I’m putting the final touches on my game plan, I am totally at a loss for how to deal with things that might come up. We will be there 9/5-15/2017 and of course there is no word on what or even if the night time show for HS will be. If it’s Star Wars, we want to do the dessert party. Also, it is very likely MNSSHP will start at that time. How do I schedule an ADR around that? Club Villain, is it coming back?
Part of our issue is 2 of those events are in HS, but they don’t have anyplace we want to eat. So I don’t want to miss out on a reservation because I’m holding a spot open for something that may or may not happen. I guess I should probably book for the current landscape, as if those events are not happening, then book something else in the event they do happen. So I’m covered wither way. Is that right?
Why can’t Disney just release everything 180 days out. I don’t even have park hours for the last half of my trip yet I’m supposed to decide all this in advance.
Honestly, a little ADR hoarding is a good idea under these circumstances. Make the plans you want with the current schedule, plus a few extras at backup times (like 1:30 lunches or 4:30 early dinners) for anticipated changes. Then cancel the ones you don’t want as soon as you know what the schedule is. Someone will snatch them up, so they won’t go to waste.
My last trip I ended up using four ADRs. I think I may have cancelled 12? I wanted to do a pre rope drop BOG so I booked it on two days. I also booked a 9:30 on both those days in case MK opened at 8 every morning. I had Homecoming on two days in case Rivers of Light opened and I had a Tiffins on another day.
Unfortunately you have little choice but to make more ADRs than you actually need because Disney doesn’t release final events/hours, etc until a few weeks prior. If you cancel the unneeded ones as soon as you are able that is really OK.
With very few exceptions, people are redoing and cancelling ADRs in earnest as late as 1-5 days out. That just frees them up for the last minute or non-planning visitors.
We went to Club Villain on its final night in January- if was the highlight of an amazing trip! We talked to lots of staff members that night about whether it would return, but they honestly did not know. Apperently the new building that housed it was put up quickly and has some major issues that need fixing, hence the end of CV in January. They expect some sort of event to be there when the space reopens, but aren’t sure if it will be Club Villain or some other type of special event. It was very well attended the night we were there, I didn’t see any empty tables.
Whatever plan you have at 180, just be flexible. The ADR’s we booked in July for our January trip looked very little like the final product. It’s really easy to change ADR’s around I have found, both for the January trip and also our upcoming April trip. We added Club Villain and the Star Wars dessert party long after our ADR day, and changed which parks we were going to when based on late additions. Same with our April trip since Rivers of Liight was announced, and not scheduled for the day we were to be there. I just swapped for a different day, and was able to get all the same ADR’s switched between the two days, at less than 60 days out (FPP easily switched as well). Just make lots of ADR’s, know which days you might want to be in a particular park, and just be prepared for changes. Just don’t forget to cancel all the extra ADR’s, it can get costly if you forget to cancel.
We have the same issue, so what we decided to do for sanity’s sake was make a late lunch reservation at a restaurant in Disney Springs on the day that we are at HS. If we can then get tickets for the Star Wars Fireworks Dessert Party (if and when they are released), fine. If not, then we will have (gasp!) some unscheduled free time in the late afternoon and evening, and sometimes that works out perfectly - usually the kids have definite opinions about what they want to do, even if it’s go back to the room and nap or go to bed early.
I hear you. Our 180-mark is coming up pretty soon too, and I’ve been thinking about this as well. It’s frustrating that WDW expects us to make ADRs this early when they don’t necessarily have everything set that far in advance themselves. Six months before our trip, we need to know on what days to go to DHS, but they don’t know when SWaGS will be running; we need to know on what day to go to AK, but they don’t know on what days RoL will be running; we need to know on what day to go to MK, but they don’t know on what days MNSSHP will be going.
I hate to hoard ADRs because of that one family whose child’s only wish is to go to BOG or that one person who wants to propose at CRT. They’re not always in the know like we are. So I tend to just make my ADRs based on what I currently know or on the predictions from TP and change them when necessary and when possible - more emphasis on the “when possible” part.
No, not yet - it will probable be released soon. You can access any TA calendar from Dec 2016 on by using the above link and changing the date at the end, using YYYYMMM format.
Wishes will be no more, won’t it? So even with the replacement, no night time fireworks, right? We’re trying to schedule California Grill, so I’d be better off no to do it on a 7pm closing date, right?
On MNSSHP nights there will be the the party fireworks show (“Happy Hallowishes”, or whatever the decide to call it this year), usually at 10:00 PM. So, you will be able to see that from the Cali Grill on party nights.
