A few more logistical questions....

[beltm]

Thanks ladies, you were super helpful in my other thread. We've decided to stay at the Poly since well have the baby with us. A couple more questions though...

1) Strollers - DS1 will have just turned 6. He still likes to ride the stroller at the zoo, and i'm worried he may want to stroller ride a large part of the day at disney. If you had a 1 and 6 year old with you, would you bring two separate singles, or just one, or rent a double? DS1 is very tall, i did try him in my new Snap 4 last night and he barely fits, but i was able to push him one handed in my hallway. I have BJCE as well that i'm sure he'd still fit in more comfortable a year from now. I don't own a double and this would probably be the only time i would need it so don't really want to buy one. ANy suggestions? DS1 is a little low tone and does fatigue sort of easily.

2) Dining reservations - So it looks like most of the park calendars are released six months in advance, and ADRs can be made 180 days in advance. When my 180 mark for the ADRs arrives, the park calendars won't be out yet for the entire length of my stay. I'll need the calendars to plan for which park on which day, and therefore coordinate dining based on our plans for the day. Is there a trick to figuring this out that i'm unaware of?

3) Reliable app for park wait times/crowds - I have checked both the my disney experience app and the undercover tourist app and the times listed for waits do not coincide. I haven't paid for the Lines App yet but if it's more reliable than the other two i will get it. Which of these three apps has the most reliable wait times and crowd predictors?

Thanks!

[megs4413]

1) Strollers: I would absolutely, totally, completely recommend a stroller in your situation. I think a double is the way to go. I rented through orlando stroller rentals twice and had a GREAT experience both times. The first time, my kids were 5.5 and 3.5. we absolutely needed the double. the second time my kids were 7 and 5. I decided to do the single and sometimes (not often, but sometimes) wished I'd done the double. DD was frequently jealous of her brother's smooth ride and we ended up having her sit in the stroller with him on her lap sometimes. Not convenient. the double we used was the city mini double. It folds easily and pushes well. They deliver it to your resort before you check in, so it will be there when you arrive. When you are done with it for your trip, you simply leave it with bell services at your resort. That's it. so convenient. if you do end up renting through orlandostrollerrentals or magicstrollerrentals make sure you put a substantial identifier on your stroller. it will have your name on a plaque near the bottom, but we tied stuff to the handles or hung things from the shades to make it OBVIOUS in a sea of strollers which was ours. Park employees move/adjust strollers in the stroller parking areas while you ride rides or see attractions/shows and so it might not be where you left it! Considering how many people rent the identical strollers from these companies at any given time you can end up looking at dozens of the same stroller as yours and if you don't have an easy identifier on it, finding yours can really slow you down.

2) Dining reservations - not really. You really won't know until MUCH closer to your trip (like a month or less out) which parks you are going to do which days. My best advice is to make your MUSTS a priority and go ahead and book way out in advance, hoping you can make a change if you have to. Book meals that are likely to fill up early (CRT, BOG, Ohana, Chef Mickey's come to mind) as soon as you can. Also, remember you can book meals that are not in parks without worrying too much about which park you're doing that day. Some of my favorite non-park restaurants are: The California Grill, Chef Mickey's, and the Whispering Canyon Cafe.

3) I thought the Lines app was best. Be advised: the app that Disney puts out has the DISNEY official wait times, which can be significantly off the real wait times. This is especially true in regards to very popular rides with fast pass like Toy Story Mania. They overestimate based on historical data. I prefer the apps that use real time info from guests in-park.

[123LuckyMom]

STROLLER: yes, a double, by all means!!! We brought our BOB, and it was sooooo worth it!

ADRs: this is a toughy and one of the reasons why we do counter service almost exclusively and only make an ADR for dinner on the day of our arrival. Then we wait and hope for the best on the others. If you want character meals, though, you do have to book ahead. Unless you're going at a very busy time of year, though, I wouldn't worry too much about crowd levels. If you use a good planning app, like Lines, you won't have hugely long lines even if you do go to a crowded park. We always start our trip with MK, so I could always do an ADR there for the first day. I'd just guess which order you want to go in and only change your plan if it looks like crowds will be at an 8/9 or above.

APPS: Go for Lines! Use a touring plan!!! I can't tell you what a difference it made for us! On the one day we ditched our plan (because we were with my local cousins who wanted to lead) we waited in horrifying lines and saw much less than on every other day. Luckily it was at our least favorite park. We went to parks on days when they were considered the most crowded parks, and we never waited for more than 20 minutes for any ride! What we did was start with a customized plan programmed into Lines. Whenever we deviated from our plan, we optimized, and the app would rearrange the remaining rides to account for the current wait times. It was so worth it! And now I have a subscription for future trips.

[klwa]

2) Dining reservations - So it looks like most of the park calendars are released six months in advance, and ADRs can be made 180 days in advance. When my 180 mark for the ADRs arrives, the park calendars won't be out yet for the entire length of my stay. I'll need the calendars to plan for which park on which day, and therefore coordinate dining based on our plans for the day. Is there a trick to figuring this out that i'm unaware of?

Thanks!

Keep in mind that they try to make sure the calendars are out prior to most 180+. The November calendar has been out for over a week now, but the 180 window is only up to the end of October. You'll probably be fine.

ETA: per easywdw, they've had their crowd calendar, based on Disney's calendar release, since April 23, which would have been a 180+ of October 20. So even with 180+10, you'd have had a chance to look it over for a day or two.

[infocrazy]

We just got back!

1. Apple Strollers was running a special and may still be so check them. The stroller was in great condition and waiting for us when we got to the hotel. The special was FREE rental with $5/day of insurance. So, I rented a double for 7 days for $35!!! They didn't offer a parent console/cooler/rain cover like the other companies, but it wasn't as much of an issue as I thought. The storage option is extremely difficult to access so that was a surprise to me. I hung our cooler bag on the handlebar which worked great, but I had to reorganize after we got there.

That said, my almost 6 and 8 yo did not ride at all. They only complained once and that was walking to the car, but we only did sunup sundown once. The rest of times we left around 7. Also, I did not realize how few things you can use the stroller for. You will pretty much go to an area and park your stroller, then take the stroller to the next area. When you have a sleeping baby, you are pretty much going to sit in the shade.

2. We didn't do ADRs and didn't miss them, but of course that is a personal thing.

3. We used the Lines app. The touring plans didn't work that great for me, but admittedly I wasn't able to plan as much as I thought I would be able to. Our problem was we split into big kids/little kids most of the time but stayed close and I didn't really see that option. We typically went one direction and used the lines app to help plan.

4. LOVED Rider Swap. That was awesome, particularly with a Fast Pass first. DH would get fast passes for himself and the older boys, then when it was time, I would get a rider swap and go through Fast Pass again with the boys.

[egoldber]

At age 6, even my older DD with low tone didn't really need a stroller. She did get tired at night, especially toward the end of the week. But we would carry the younger kid and let her ride for a little while. So I wouldn't get a double. You could always rent one if you felt the need while you're there.

Like the PP, we don't really do ADRs (or the dining plan). We prefer to be flexible by having a light breakfast in the room, snack and counter service lunch in the park, and then dinner either CS or back at the hotel. We'd make one or two for the week.

The line apps are great. I forget the one we used. But we also relied extensively on getting to the parks early and using FastPasses to manage lines.

[ray7694]

What is the Lines app called in the app store?

[BayGirl2]

The Lines App is with Touring Plans. If you are using TP I'd suggest buying a subscription online which gives you their crowd calendar, touring plans you can personalize (I make mine all personal to us so its more of a rough schedule) and lines App. EasyWDW has similar info for free but not the Touring PLanner too.

I agree with bringing a double not a single. You'll have to assess if your child is likely to need a stroller. If they ride at the zoo they will be tired at Disney. If you are already pushing a single to me its not a big deal to just bring a double and have the option for them to sit and watch parades, etc.

I would make the ADRs you want now, knowing you can adjust or cancel some as you get close. Our family likes to have a TS meal at least once a day, CS is too chaotic for us. Better to have the ADRs and cancel than not have them later.

I'm using Apple STrollers, I could add a rain cover for $5, I just emailed them separately. For a parent console we'll bring our Diono consoles, they are very cheap on Amazon and we can use them at home. Same with other accessories like stroller hooks and snack cups, that stuff is easy to pack and handy in the park.

[123LuckyMom]

Yes,Touringplans.com has an app called "Lines". That is the app I recommend.

[westwoodmom04]

We went when my kids were 4 and 6. We only bought one stroller. We wound up renting one there because the six year old got sick of all the walking quickly. The problem was she was pretty tall; the Mclaren we brought fit her; the rental did not.

We prefer sit down dining at disney so we did make reservations way in advance. Most of the dinner places weren't at parks (were at resorts) so that did not influence our touring. I do feel like I had access to a crowd calendar for making lunch reservation, I may have used the historical crowd calendar to plan which parks which days.

[beltm]

Thank you for all of your advice!!! SO i did subscribe to the Lines app and it's pretty neat!!! And it totally eased my fears that we are going during a peak week, but it looks like the week were going won't be a peak crowds week, so i'm a bit relieved. I will use that to plan for the week. I realized that with a one year old, it is unlikely we will be touring all day. He will need a nap at some point, and we will likely return to the hotel in the afternoons. The may be a couple of days he just does a stroller nap if we need to finish up a park. That being said, it's unlikely older DS will have to walk all day long. I'm guessing he can make it through a morning/early afternoon. I don't anticipate touring the parks at night with the baby. DH said if we need to rent a double while were there or an additional single we can, we'll just see how it goes. Thanks for all of the help, i am super excited!!! DH and i have been as kids and then once in college, but this is our first trip with kiddos :yay:.

[cntrymoon2]

1)
3) Be advised: the app that Disney puts out has the DISNEY official wait times, which can be significantly off the real wait times. This is especially true in regards to very popular rides with fast pass like Toy Story Mania. They overestimate based on historical data. I prefer the apps that use real time info from guests in-park.

This is no longer the case. The official Disney app (which is free) is called My Disney Experience and it reports actual wait times. The wait times on the app are synced with the digital display that shows you the wait time when you approach the ride. One of the major improvements in the 5 year overhaul to Disney tech!

p.s. ITA with the recommendation for California Grill!