The Next Disney trip (When to go)

Cinderella's Castle and a Disney Fan.

All the Disney experts, all the Disney blogs and all the Disney guide books stress the importance of planing when thinking of embarking on a trip to Disney World.  Lets face it.  The Florida Project, as Walt called  Disney World, is huge.  With 30,080 acres or 47 square miles of land filled with all sorts of adventures, figuring out where you want to be and when you want to be there, can be a daunting task.  So,  I agree with the experts up to a point anyway.  Big Picture planning can make a lot of difference in how much fun a visitor can get out of any Disney Vacation.  Besides, I feel planning a trip to Walt Disney World is lots of fun.  Figuring out where to eat, what parks to visit and the special events in which to participate adds loads of enjoyment to the over all experience and extends the excitement of going to Disney.  When my wife and I went over Christmas in 2010, we had the pleasure of reading reviews and looking at guides, all with the goal of getting the most fun out of the trip that we could.  Many guides go so far as list what attractions visitors should do and when they should experience them.  For a first time visitor, I might even go so far as to recommend following some of the preset plans that are in the guides. Personally, because we have learned a lot about how and when to visit attractions and how to use fast passes system to our best advantage, we have the freedom of making informed choices as to what attractions to see at the times I'm ready to see them. A number of attractions that are so popular that they run out fast passes early.  Toy Story Mania in Hollywood studios and Soarin' in Epcot are only two examples of attractions that can quickly run out of Fast Passes so if one of these attractions are on your "not to miss" list then my advice is to get a fast pass for that attraction  when you arrive at the park.  Nobody wants to get out of bed early while on vacation, but if you are at a park when it opens, even during the busier summer times, you can often get a fast pass for a popular attraction and get immediately in the standby line with only a short wait.  Who wouldn't want to do their favorite Disney attraction twice.

Lightning, Mater, My wife and I.

Someone is acting silly, and the other has big ears.

I've read about some changes in-store at Walt Disney World that will affect how visitors use Fast Passes. In the past,  Fast Pass users were allowed to use the Fast Pass line even after the end of their Fast Pass time had expired. In other words if your fast pass for an attraction was for between 1:00 and 2:00 in the afternoon, and you arrived at 2:30 or 3:00 there was no problem.  You would be allowed to use the fast pass and get right into the attraction.  If my understanding is correct, Fast Pass users will be required to return before the end of their Fast Pass time.  Disney's goal is for visitors to be able to pick times to do certain attractions before they arrive at the park, sort of like dinner reservations for attractions.  In order for this to work properly, Disney feels that stricter enforcement of the fast pass time will be required.  I think it might be fun incorporate planning your Splash mountain experience while you were planning your trip but this might take some of the spontaneity out of riding.  While I like a more free form approach to what attractions I choose, I can see the advantages of having a set time to ride an attraction thus guaranteeing a seat on an attraction at a time close to when I would like to do it.  I am a bit concerned by what happens when attractions closes during the period of the reservations.  I know from experiences that attractions close when the unpredictable Florida weather sends lightning near the parks.  Most of the tall rides or the attractions involving water suspend operations. Nobody wants to be on Splash Mountain or in the middle of the Jungle Cruise when lightning strikes in the area. Some daredevils might want to risk being struck by chancing a ride with Brer Rabbit, but certainly not me.  I might find the new system useful, but right now, I'll reserve judgement.

My Wife in Downtown Disney.

All this leads up to choosing a time to go to Disney,  When is the best time to go? What times should people avoid?  The answer to when to go is not cut and dry. This really depends on what sort of experiences you want.  In my case,  There are only a few times that I really want to avoid the parks. Among those are the week between Christmas and New Year, and the weeks of spring break in late march and parts of April.  Reportedly, the crowds are way too big for my tastes.  The week between Christmas and New Years is the most popular time of year for Disney world.  Sometimes, for safety reasons, Disney has had to turn people away from the parks even if they have tickets.  Each park only will hold so many people and when that limit is reached, Disney doesn't allow any more people into the park.  Now, I understand that some people can only get away from their jobs at certain times and family is always a consideration when you decide when to go on vacation and Who wouldn't  love a break from the cold northern winters to celebrate some of the magic of Disney.  Almost every year my family's mid winter escape from Indiana is to warmer climes of Southern Alabama between Christmas and New Year's. We enjoy the wonderful seafood and have even participated in the annual Polar Bear Dip at the infamous Flora-Bama Lounge. The crowds in Southern Alabama are almost non existent especially compared to what goes on at Disney world at this time of year.  Also, I like to avoid Disney when the Kids are free from school during spring break, The crowds at Disney World tend to swell to capacity again, and inevitably, the cost of tickets and lodging reflects the popularity of the time.  Of course, some people thrive in the throngs.  The excitement of experiences shared with large groups of people drives them to seek the times when the most people are there, and I can understand the allure of people watching. But it just isn't for me so I avoid those times.

Ducks can Cook?  Who Knew.

I have been to Disney in July and August, and I have enjoyed myself greatly, but the heat can be oppressive. There is no getting around the fact that the weather in Orlando is hot, humid and sometimes wet during the summer months. Our family has been caught in more than one monsoon in the middle of one of the parks. I remember one day that started bright and sunny.  "You could not see a cloud, because no cloud was in the sky." (The Walrus and The Carpenter, Lewis Carroll)  This was our last day at Disney before we traveled to Cocoa beach Florida where one of my wife's aunts lived at the time.  We had planned to enjoy the Magic Kingdom by revisiting attractions that we particularly liked. We had time on our tickets and  the trip to Cocoa is just a couple hour drive from Orlando if the traffic is good.  Anyway, We made the fatal mistake of packing our rain gear in our suit cases.  We had learned early on  that it was a good idea to have rain ponchos close by in central Florida, but the beautiful sunny morning skies fooled us. So into the suit cases went the ponchos and off we went to the Magic Kingdom. Early in the afternoon, The clouds started to gather. We had the unsettling feeling that a down pour coming.  Eventually, we could see the storm gather near the park and came conclusion that  we should go back to the car.  We made our way through the crowds but clouds kept rolling in. We made it as far as the transportation center before the deluge began.  Soon, water ran in rivers down the ramps that exited the monorail station. The rain fell sideways which is never a good sign. Lightning flashed all around us and the wind whipped through the station.  Our family decided to try to wait for the rain to lighten up.  But, Central Florida was determined to teach as a valuable lesson that day, and the rain continued to fall hard. Finally, we gave up on waiting for the rain to stop, or maybe we had deluded our selves into believing that the deluge was lessening and  left the station to board a tram.  Needless to say,  before we got back to the car we were soaked.  We learned a valuable lesson that day.  It won't stop us from going back in the summer and we have been back in August since that trip, but, no matter what the skies look like, We have rain gear tucked away in a pocket or purses.

Desert at The Wave.

Taking everything into consideration,  along with the fact that our summer this year is full of weddings, graduations and other events, We have chosen to go back to Disney World during one of the first two weeks in December, maybe as early as the last Thursday of November.  We have not nailed down the dates quite yet as we are waiting to see what discounts Disney might offer in the late fall.  My wife mother, right now, is planning on going as well along with my wife's brother, his wife, and their grand kids.  Our Children will either be at their new jobs or in collage, my son almost, but not quite matches my passion for Disney World and my daughter commented just the other day about what a fun time she had on  the single day she got with us at Disney last summer. But, sadly, they won't be able to go with us. I hope someday to share this special time of year in Disney with my kids and someday, my grand kids. Christmas time is my favorite time for a Disney World trip.  My wife would say, that anytime would be my favorite time for Walt Disney World trip. She, of course, would not be far wrong, however, those first couple of weeks in December are special to me.  So far, I have found them to be the best of time among all the great times we could go to Disney.  Smaller crowds, special events, and all the lovely decorations keep drawing me back to Christmas at Disney.  I can't wait to see the Candlelight processional again, or go to Mickey's Very Merry Christmas party.   This year, we will avoid Splash Mountain if the weather is as cold as it was last time.  In fact, the only issue I had with the original trip in December was the record cold weather that had settled over Disney World in 2010.  I, being a normally optimistic person, believe that it will be warmer but I, knowing that if I'm not ready, the cold weather will return, will prepare for it to be just as cold.   Now that we have a time of year for our Next Disney adventure.  Our next choice will be where our home base will be, where we will stay while visiting Disney.  I'll talk about that in my next post.