Sorry this is so long! There is a TL;DR version at the bottom.
I’ve tried to read a lot and look back at data from past years, but I’m still feeling unsure about what to do for Park Reservations. I’m wondering if anyone has any advice.
Here are our details:
Family of 4, staying at BC, 5 day park tickets with hoppers
Arrive on June 8 and leaving on June 14. Don’t want to go to the parks on the day we leave. Want a full day for Stormalong Bay, thinking June 11 (but open to a different day if there is something I’m not considering that would make a different day the better choice.)
We will be in the air at 7AM on our June 8 flight in. I asked on chat and some of the recommendations I got were to either have someone else make our Genie + and ILL reservations for us, which is probably not an option for us, or try to get WiFi on the plane, which I can probably do. That is a Wednesday, so based on the current Extra Evening Hours, I think we would want to either go to MK that day or hop there. I’m open to either.
Other things to consider - last time we were there was early June of 2018 so we missed all of Toy Story land and obviously haven’t been to Galaxy’s Edge so those are important for us. We also have never been to Epcot so want to go there. We would like to use the Extra Evening Hours there if possible, so guessing we should either go there on Monday or hop there (unless the day of the week changes). We want to do as many headliners as we can and are willing/planning to spend the money for Genie+ and ILL. I’m also willing to try to rope drop, but I’m not totally sure my family is reliable enough to count on it every day. (Only time we successfully did was last year at Universal but my daughter got sick as soon as we got into the park so we didn’t even get to take advantage of it. ) My kids were only 6 and 8 last time we were at WDW though so I’m hoping that they are old enough now to push them for at least a few days of RD.
Historical data: Not sure if I should be looking at the day of week or the date to analyze. Here are some screenshots. (columns go all parks, MK, EP, HS, AK from left to right)
June 2018
and June 2019
Obviously no data for June 2020 and June 2021 park days were all low, but I’m assuming that I shouldn’t consider that data since there were significant restrictions on capacity due to COVID.
Can you tell I’m overthinking this, especially because we have hoppers?
I know I can make changes to my park reservations as things get closer, but I want to try to make the best choices I can right now while everything is wide open and only have to possibly adjust based on park hours or a change in the Extra Evening Hours schedule. (I also know it’s impossible to “do it all” with only 5 days in the parks, but I’m trying to set us up for as much success as possible. This is likely our last WDW trip.)
TL;DR, I am hoping for advice on what parks to reserve on June 8 (won’t land at MCO until 8:30AM, have private car service scheduled), June 9, June 10, June 12, and June 13. Me, DH, DD12, DS10 staying at BC, have hoppers. Want to try to hit all headliners. Willing to pay for Genie + and ILL. Will aim to Rope Drop every day but probably only realistic for a couple of days.
Thank you!!