Leaving for DW in 2 weeks and starting to freak out a little!

[Mommaof3]

So our trip is coming up fast and I am starting to get nervous about things. My SIL did an itinerary for us and she has us not going to the parks on the days with EMH, but my travel agent is telling me to most definitely go those days! What would you recommend?
Also the Fast Pass + has me totally confused, I was already stressing over regular fast pass and now this! I was hoping to plan well and not have to use FP. My plan is to go to parks in AM and then go back to hotel to relax then back to parks for dinner, etc.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

*Our customized magic bands came in the mail today and they are very cool :)

[jren]

The first time we went with my DD, we didn't plan a thing. We just picked a park that day and went. We slept in, so didn't get there for park openings. Also we had no dinner reservations anywhere. We had an AWESOME time! The next time we went we planned, and yes, the parks were less crowded because we picked the "best" days to go, and we had some dinner reservations which were nice, but not necessary. Other things made that trip not as fun (two kids instead of one, the fighting/attitudes of kids), but we got to do and see a lot more than the first time. Really, you'll have a great time regardless.

As for EMH, check out easywdw.com and see what they have to say about it. That's the calendar we followed for our second trip that had us walking onto rides with no wait. I think he says not to do EMH, or if you do, to go to another park (assuming you have park hoppers) for the afternoon, as the EMH parks get really crowded later in the day. Most important thing is to get there for rope drop in order to beat the crowds, whether it's a EMH park or not. Have fun!

[megs4413]

Hmmm....

well, generally speaking, parks that have EMH on that day are more crowded than the non-EMH parks on the same day. So, personally, we usually avoid EMH parks if the crowd forecasts are above a 7 for that day and head instead to the non-EMH parks with lower crowd forecasts. If not, then we would consider an EMH park, but it all comes down to overall forecast. Did that factor in to your SIL's planning? Also, it only helps to "take advantage" of EMH if you are planning to be in the park during those EMH...the early mornings ones are too hard for my family to get to, but the late hours in the evening are sometimes fun for us.

Is your travel agent a disney-certified one?

Well, ANY good planning makes use of the FP system...avoiding it is really not very good planning at all, IMO. FP+ is even better than traditional fast passes in that you get to GUARANTEE yourself rides on a trip (whereas before you may have been SOL for a super-popular ride even with great planning because of crowd levels and FPs running out early.) So, I would get onto your online disney account and check out the "my disney experience" area and make some FP+ reservations ASAP based on the parks you plan to visit each day. If you want help with that, come back and ask here. You are close enough that the crowd calendars should be fairly accurate at this point, so you should be ready to commit to a certain park each day (assuming you do not have park hopper passes.)

Where are you staying? That will greatly affect itinerary planning. also, what is the size (and makeup kids/adults) of your group? What are you most interested in experiencing? Do you have any ADRs?

[Gracemom]

Definitely go online right now to My Disney Experience and select your FastPass+! We just did it for our December trip and it was very easy. We definitely have certain rides that are a must so it is nice knowing that we are guaranteed to ride those. You pick 3 rides (or shows, fireworks, character meets, etc) per day. They give you a time to be at that attraction.

If you are going to the parks right when they open, I don't think it matters if the park has EMH or not. Usually, the park that has EMH is more crowded. We usually avoid those unless we are there for only a half day. The crowds are usually more evident in the afternoon, which is a great time to go back to the resort.

Going with your SIL will probably require more of a "go with the flow" attitude since it sounds like she has been planning. Is your group trying to stay together? I am kind of a control freak so it's hard for me to go with another planner! Just realize there is no way to do everything, so prioritize which things you really want to do this time and enjoy!!!

[123LuckyMom]

You've gotten excellent advice already. As PPs have said, EMH parks do tend to be more crowded, and Fastpass + is a huge bonus that you must take advantage of. You will have very long waits on many rides if you don't take advantage of the Fastpass system.

I highly recommend a schedule where you get to the parks at rope drop, break in the middle of the day, and then stay until closing. The middle of the day is when crowds are highest. You must get fast passes for all of the super popular rides in a park except the one you intend to get to at rope drop. It sounds like your SIL knows what she is doing. You might ask her more about your reasoning when you have questions. Otherwise, relax! You're going to have a great time!!!

[egoldber]

You are going at a relatively low crowd level time, so you will probably be fine whether you do EMH days or not. At this time of year, more important than EMH is whether or not there is a MNSSHP at MK that night. If so, the MK gets VERY crowded in the late afternoon and closes early to non-party guests. So a bit of a bummer both ways.

Even at very low crowd times, you will need/want a FP for some rides. Toy Story Mania at DHS is a prime example. It is a slow moving, low capacity attraction and the wait times often exceed 60 minutes even at low crowd times. But I have seen Space Mountain have wait times of 5-10 minutes (basically walk on) at low crowd level times.

[Mommaof3]

Sorry if I wasn't clear. Only my family is going, my SIL has been several times and did an itinerary for us to go by. We will be there after MNSSHP. My TA is Disney certified and I did contact her about the FP +. I think she thought I was more schooled on the whole DW thing than is the case so she went over things and helped me schedule my FP +. I am so glad I contacted her and did them. Thanks for giving me that push! The only concern is most of them are for afternoon, which will be the busiest times at the parks but we can make it work. Now that I understand it, FP + seems pretty awesome! I feel such less stressed now about our trip and am really looking forward to it! This is our first trip, my kids are 12,10,&3 and we are staying at the Poly. My son will LOVE to see the construction going on as he is obsessed with trucks! Hopefully it won't have too much of a negative impact on our stay.