Two Sixty Somethings Heading to WDW - Seek Advice

[seggerman]

We're going 1st week in December (didn't know about the Star Wars Galaxy opening...) I want to see almost everything in all 4 parks - he will want to go on one or two rides then head to the water park or pool. Do we drive up or take the bus - which is fastest? Can we park at Boardwalk? I imagine cell phone coverage won't be an issue so texting will be he way to go. How soon can we sign up for Fastpass? Can we set up our Magic Bands to not automatically charge to a credit card - he doesn't have one and I don't want to use mine.

 

[Bete]

I'll start out. If you are staying Disney onsite or a Downtown Disney resort then you can do fastpasses 60 days out. You need to enter your park ticket numbers to do the fastpasses. If you are offsite then it's 30 days out for fastpass.

I'm not sure about what you are asking in regards to transportation. If you are onsite then you have options to take Disney transportation to the parks. You can car drive to the parks, too. If you are offsite your offsite resort may have bus shuttles, but the schedules are very limited. You have to pay for parking at the parks if you drive and you stay offsite.

Please keep in mind the average walking at the parks is 6 miles a day.

I feel your expectations are great and I'm afraid you won't have time enough to do all the rides. Pick out your favorites. Try to do the park in a logical order logistically. You don't want to backtrack too much.

Mix some shows and rides; so, you have a chance to rest. Eating can be a rest time, too. Table service restaurants usually need advance reservations and that window starts 180 days out.

 

[Bjkandma]

If you are doing online check in, the credit card you give will have a $100 hold in the morning of check in. If you'd like to avoid this hold and not be able to charge to your account, you will need to check in at resort. Be sure to mention you don't want charging privileges.

 

[NH-to-FL]

First, to DISboards posting!

Early December is a wonderful time to visit Disney World. DW and I made many vacation trips over many years to the Boardwalk Inn in December before becoming Disney snowbirds. I'll take a shot at some of your questions.

You mention visiting the water parks and pool. Note that the weather can be quite variable in the winter in central Florida. Average high/low in the 1st week of December are 75F/52F. Lows could dip into the 30's. And highs could peak into to low 80's. Just be prepared for each extreme.

It wasn't clear exactly where you are staying. On site or off site? You mention MBs and charging so I assume on site. We started staying at the Boardwalk before there were buses to the airport so we would have a car. We would only drive to the Animal Kingdom. We would take the Disney bus to the Magic Kingdom. The bus goes right to park. If you drive to the MK you would have to park at the TTC and take the ferry or monorail to the park. From the Boardwalk we would walk to Epcot and take the boat to the Studio.

As to parking at the Boardwalk, unless you are staying there I would discourage parking there. There is limited parking and the free parking is meant for those staying at the resort. That said you might be let in to park if you agree to pay for valet parking.

I have found cell phone coverage to be pretty good in the parks, at least out in the walkways. Less so down inside the some of the buildings. Text messaging would probably be more reliable than direct calling.

As for when you can sign up for FP's, 60 days if you are staying on site and 30 days if off site.

I second @Bjkandma that to not have charging activated on your MBs you will need to checkin at the resort.
Wishing you a visit!

 

[YawningDodo]

Re: buses vs. driving, my preference has always been to take Disney transportation even though it can often be slower than driving yourself--I like not having to worry about remembering where the car is and I think it's much safer not to have to drive when I'm tired from a long day at the parks and/or a little tipsy from a visit to one of the bars. And, too, I think they've started charging for parking at the resorts--someone correct me if I'm wrong?

If you've already done this please ignore me, but have you signed up for a My Disney Experience account, and have you already made any of your reservations? Everything you reserve through Disney can be linked to that one account, which also links to your MagicBands. That's where you'll make FastPass reservations, as well as any dining reservations. You'll want to link both your room reservation (if you're staying onsite) as well as your park tickets to the account, and you can link your accounts together to show that you're in the same party and make it easier to make joint reservations. You can access it through the My Disney Experience app if you have a smartphone, too, which makes it easier to adjust things on the fly once you're in the parks.

Also, regarding goals and whether it's too much to try to do almost everything in the four main parks, it really depends on how long you're staying. Are you looking for help with building an itinerary (how many days to spend in each park, etc.)? And have you decided whether you're doing one park per day or upgrading to park hoppers? Do you know what kind of schedule you'd like to keep in general--whether you're an open-to-close kind of person, or if you're looking to do things with a little more relaxation? Knowing a little more about whether you already have experience with WDW and how much planning you've already done will help us to better know what kind of advice to offer.

 

[seggerman]

Thanks for the advice. We are staying at All Star Sports and I am renting a car. 4 days - and we should arrive at midday day 1 and leave late afternoon day 4 so nearly 4 full days. I frequently go into New York City - and think nothing about walking 10 miles total or more. I thought the 60 days only applies to the Deluxe hotels. I am open-to-close - my boyfriend will do the one or two rides he likes and head back to the room or water park. He's nearly deaf so we'll be text messaging to keep in touch. If we want to sit down for a meal we'll go outside the park - or at least out of a theme park. If I plan it right I think I can manage to see nearly everything - and there are rides I can skip. Stuff we did last time we were here. Splash Mountain. Test Track. Tower of Terror Small World and GE, which I saw in the 60's in Flushing. And I'll pass on Aerosmith again. No point signing up for anything until I pay the travel agent in full - and that won't happen until mid September.

 

[Simba's Mom]

Using Disney transportation is really the way to go, and you're right-having the ability to text is excellent. Lots of times, DH and I would go to a park together, then after a short time, he'd head back to the resort and I'd stay on in the park. Then I could text him on the way back, and keep him updated. A few times, he'd go back and eat solo in the resort's CS or TS.

 

[seggerman]

I definitely will take Disney transportation to MK. Since we have 4 days and I paid for Park Hopper, my plan is as follows: day 1 arrive mid morning, pick up rental car,Hollywood Studios, then check in then early dinner at Pop Century then on to MK for Space Mountain and depending on what my BF wants maybe Peter Pan and Pooh. Day 2 I head to Epcot for Frozen and we meet at Soarin for Fastpass and lunch at Seasons. He heads to the water park or pool and I do Epcot. I pick him up, dinner at Crossroads or Disney Springs then Animal Kingdom for Avatar and the Tree of Lights. Day 3 MK early for me, we meet up and do - Seven Dwarfs? Pirates? parade (certainly! a must - see below) lunch at Columbia House and again he heads off while I do everything. Dinner offsite with neice, Disney dancer in parade. Day 4 Animal Kingdom - safaris early for both of us and then Everest lunch at Harimbe Market and I do the spinning stuff and we do the trails. And everything else - except Kali and the Lion King show (we did both 17 years ago). We check out and head to the water park, weather permitting. Otherwise Henry Leu Gardens. Flight back not until nearly 8.