Since finalizing my resort stays for next week's Walt Disney World vacation last Saturday, I have been working on securing the rest of my FastPass Plus and Dining reservations. Most Guests who "know" Walt Disney World, are thoroughly convinced that they cannot properly plan their vacation without making dining reservations six months out, and booking FastPass+ ride times sixty days out.
I am not doing this blog series to prove those people wrong. Disney fans are very loyal, and extremely set in their ways. I am doing this to show that you can plan your entire vacation in much less time than conventional thinking might dictate. Last-minute vacations are my specialty. So far, this two-week planning process hasn't had any major set-backs. So where am I with dining and FastPass+? Please read on.
I started making FastPass+ bookings last week, while I was still researching the resorts to decide where I wanted to stay next week. Since I have a Annual Pass, it qualifies me to schedule FP+ thirty days out. Anybody with a ticket or Annual Pass can schedule FP+ from thirty days before visiting the parks.
So far, the FastPass+ picture has been the same for the past week. Everything at Walt Disney World has had FP+ availability during my stay, EXCEPT, Slinky Dog Dash at Hollywood Studios, Avatar: Flight of Passage at Animal Kingdom and Seven Dwarfs Mine Train at Magic Kingdom. I fully expected this because of the popularity, newness (or both) of these rides. As I continue to search, I also monitor the wait times online to consider the possibility of having to wait in the stand-by lines for two of these rides.
To make planning easier, I only schedule two FastPass+ experiences where possible, and leave the third spot open in case one of the new rides become available. Out of all three of the rides that are currently unavailable, Flight of Passage is my only real priority. I rode Seven Dwarfs Mine Train when I was there in 2015. Slinky Dog Dash looks cute and all. But if I miss it, the world won't exactly end.
Dining has been somewhat of a breeze. I have seen availability at everything EXCEPT for Be Our Guest (dinner), and Ohana. For me, this is a good thing. I had dinner at the highly overrated Ohana with our travel agency group back in 2015, and was not impressed. I have no desire to return there. Nothing on the Be Our Guest dinner menu has ever appealed to me. I prefer the quick service breakfast and lunch options, and there is plenty of availability for those.
I've also been doing the math regarding the dining plan. The last time I had a dining plan at Walt Disney World was in 2012. This was before the "Signature" restaurants required two credits. It was also when I had the old Premium plan that included tours, recreation, etc. I've done quite a bit of math on this, and I will save money by not purchasing a dining plan. Plus, I will be able to take advantage of the Annual Pass discount for most of my meals.
This trip is coming together quite nicely. I am less than a week away from my return to Walt Disney World, and getting very excited for this vacation. I would say that planning dining and FastPass+ has been quite easy, even on such short notice. Of course this is a "solo" visit for me. Large families should always plan further in advance. But a solo traveler, couple or even a small family should have no problem planning a trip like this on short notice.
For the sixth and final part of this blog series, I will focus on the pros and cons of planning an entire Disney vacation at the last minute. I hope you will stay tuned.
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