Do you plan your Disney vacation around the opening of attractions?

[phi2134]

With the new Seven Dwarfs Mine Train set to open within the next month or so a lot of discussion/praying has gone on between people who are going to be there within the next few weeks or so.

My question is how many people plan their vacation around the opening of a brand new/updated attraction? Seeing as there are people who live close and have easier access to WDW or DL and are Annual Pass holders, I created a poll for people to select which best describes them.

I do not have the luxury of being close to any of the parks and my trips usually revolve around good deals and slower times in the parks, so I am hardly ever there for new rides right when they open. I am curious to see what people say.

 

[RubyLee]

Sadly, I'm in the same boat....I don't live close enough to plan around events! However, I sometimes get antsy to check out new attractions (ex - New Fantasyland) and start plotting ways to run away to WDW.....

 

[belledream]

Not really. I go once a year and there's usually something new in the works or just opened - it usually works out just right. I wanted to go in May this year, but with all the construction going on around MK and Polynesian, I'm kind of glad I can just wait it out til the fall this year.

 

[EricJ]

They usually open them during high (priced) seasons, so no.
I did, however, plan one DL trip to coincide with Tinkerbell first appearing at the park.
(And since the video to the first movie wouldn't hit yet until two days later, I could get away with never having heard of the other characters.)

 

[jlsHouston]

I live 1000 miles from Orlando. It is nice if there is something new or refurbed when I visit, but I plan my trips around seasons and money.

 

[cw1982]

I live 1000 miles from Orlando. It is nice if there is something new or refurbed when I visit, but I plan my trips around seasons and money.

This.

Actually, I kinda wish I wasn't going the first week of June now... I'm somewhat dreading the impact that this ride may have on the crowds at the rest of MK.

Although, a friend of mine thinks that, between Anna and Elsa and 7DMT, FL will be packed, but the rest of MK may be a ghost town by comparison lol... so this may work in my favor

 

[jlsHouston]

This.

Actually, I kinda wish I wasn't going the first week of June now... I'm somewhat dreading the impact that this ride may have on the crowds at the rest of MK.

Although, a friend of mine thinks that, between Anna and Elsa and 7DMT, FL will be packed, but the rest of MK may be a ghost town by comparison lol... so this may work in my favor

Always go when you want to go. If you like cooler weather and don't care much about pool time go in the winter months. If you love the Christmas season, Thanksgiving through New Years is beautiful at WDW. I think I may like spring the best, but I wouldn't give up Thanksgiving at WDW for Spring. Because I like to travel around holidays I am always at WDW when everyone else is too and though I am not fond of crowds I just deal with it. And summer at WDW is great. Yes it's hot and crowded but I don't know it's a great place for summer vacation. I can't wait for my August summer trip. If we make it to the parks in the morning we stay til noon. Sometimes we don't move quick in the mornings though, then we just hit the pool wait til the sun starts to set and hit the parks. First week of June you can see some of the SW stuff at HS and it won't be nearly as hot and humid as August but excellent pool weather!

 

[cw1982]

Always go when you want to go. If you like cooler weather and don't care much about pool time go in the winter months. If you love the Christmas season, Thanksgiving through New Years is beautiful at WDW. I think I may like spring the best, but I wouldn't give up Thanksgiving at WDW for Spring. Because I like to travel around holidays I am always at WDW when everyone else is too and though I am not fond of crowds I just deal with it. And summer at WDW is great. Yes it's hot and crowded but I don't know it's a great place for summer vacation. I can't wait for my August summer trip. If we make it to the parks in the morning we stay til noon. Sometimes we don't move quick in the mornings though, then we just hit the pool wait til the sun starts to set and hit the parks. First week of June you can see some of the SW stuff at HS and it won't be nearly as hot and humid as August but excellent pool weather!

Yeah, right now our vacation time is pretty much set based on our work schedules. DH has to be in court most Fridays, and that's "his" account, so it messes things up royally if he misses court. With me being a teacher, we had to find a week in which he didn't have court and I didn't have work. First week of June is pretty much all we had lol.

I would love to be down there for the holidays some time; maybe we could work that in when we have kids.

Either way, we'll have a great time. I just hope we get everything in that we want to do... lol

 

[jlsHouston]

A

Yeah, right now our vacation time is pretty much set based on our work schedules. DH has to be in court most Fridays, and that's "his" account, so it messes things up royally if he misses court. With me being a teacher, we had to find a week in which he didn't have court and I didn't have work. First week of June is pretty much all we had lol.

I would love to be down there for the holidays some time; maybe we could work that in when we have kids.

Either way, we'll have a great time. I just hope we get everything in that we want to do... lol

Ahhh, there will be some things you miss or don't get enough of but that is also the beauty of WDW I've found. Of course I am not a big planner. I mean I am. I have ADR's and FP's picked and attractions listed and an entire daily schedule of events. Only once I get to WDW, I do what works and I just don't sweat it too much if I miss things. So I plan and then I end up flying by the seat of my pants. I didn't eat a Dole Whip in March....Last summer I spent 12 days on property and walked into EPCOT twice and never rode one single ride except the 3 caballero boat ride...Didn't even go to AK last summer or Thanksgiving. Stayed at WL twice now and still have not gotten the cheese fondue from Territory Lounge..it is on my list still.
There is just so much to do and see and drink in that I never leave feeling like I did everything I wanted. But I always leave happy I got to spend another vacation there.

 

[cw1982]

Ahhh, there will be some things you miss or don't get enough of but that is also the beauty of WDW I've found. Of course I am not a big planner. I mean I am. I have ADR's and FP's picked and attractions listed and an entire daily schedule of events. Only once I get to WDW, I do what works and I just don't sweat it too much if I miss things. So I plan and then I end up flying by the seat of my pants. I didn't eat a Dole Whip in March....Last summer I spent 12 days on property and walked into EPCOT twice and never rode one single ride except the 3 caballero boat ride...Didn't even go to AK last summer or Thanksgiving. Stayed at WL twice now and still have not gotten the cheese fondue from Territory Lounge..it is on my list still.
There is just so much to do and see and drink in that I never leave feeling like I did everything I wanted. But I always leave happy I got to spend another vacation there.

I get that, but it's not like DH and I get to go that often... I don't know for sure that we'll ever get to go back, and definitely not as a kid-free couple.

FWIW, I definitely have a good idea of what our priorities are, and it's not like I'll be upset if we don't get through our "list" each day lol. I just hope we at least get in all of the things that are at the top of our list; the main headliners at each park, a little relaxation by the pool one night, a relaxing stroll around WS after Illuminations (even if it's just while everything is closing up, I've heard it's supposed to be a neat experience...) it's not like I think we need to do everything, everywhere... but I do want to feel like we're getting what we want out of it.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

While I have never fully planned a trip around an opening, I have tweaked a few things here or there with an already planned trip to try and boost our odds of being there for something special like this if it looks like we're close to overlapping on such things. The two prime examples...the reopening of the Tiki Room in 2011 and the start to the FLE preview in 2012.

 

[DisneyPrincess5]

Nope. We are fortunate to go every year for the most part so we tend to just luckily catch things. It we missed it once, we will catch it within the next two times around.

 

[Susan Savia]

We go at basically the same times each year. We did get lucky one year and catch the soft opening after the refurb of Spaceship Earth

 

[DznyGrlSD]

HECK NO. it's way too busy around the opening of new attractions. I started my college program when M:S opened at EPCOT and it was a madhouse.

 

[acishere]

I just read the name of the poll and voted before I read the first post so I voted wrong.

I don't base my trips around the opening day of an attraction. I do however base when I am going in the future around when upcoming attractions will be open. For example I skipped this year (and originally planned to skip 2013 before the opportunity arose to go) because I didn't know when Fantasyland would be completed and like the idea of something new waiting for me the next time I arrive. Depending on the progress of Avatar I will probably do the same and take some time off until the area is open.

 

[LostPrincessKarleigh]

It was definitely a thought that SDMT would be opening close to our next trip, but ultimately it came down to crowds and work schedules. If we do get a ride on SDMT, that is just a plus.
Return to WDW!  

 

[HRHPrincessAriel]

No, it's just a nice bonus.

 

[BEARSHOUSE4]

Once I learned about the Media "preview" I focused my plans on the dates after that. Being the first time I've followed an opening attraction this closely, I figured I would be safe with 7DMT being at least soft open by my arrival 5/4. Since booking, I have become much more skeptical of the possibility that it will be open. But, still going and will have fun either way!

 

[thomas998]

With the new Seven Dwarfs Mine Train set to open within the next month or so a lot of discussion/praying has gone on between people who are going to be there within the next few weeks or so.

My question is how many people plan their vacation around the opening of a brand new/updated attraction? Seeing as there are people who live close and have easier access to WDW or DL and are Annual Pass holders, I created a poll for people to select which best describes them.

I do not have the luxury of being close to any of the parks and my trips usually revolve around good deals and slower times in the parks, so I am hardly ever there for new rides right when they open. I am curious to see what people say.

We've tweaked our vacation plans sometimes to coincide with a ride opening/reopening, I wouldn't advise it because often when a ride first opens it isn't a smooth opening and the ride or effects may not be operating. If I were to plan my trips around new rides I would plan them for a couple of months after they open so the bugs could be eliminated before I got there.

 

[MikeTaylorSound]

We book our vacation around our anniversary and it's before Memorial Day, so kiddos are still in school (not flooding the parks) and if there's a new ride or attraction, we'll definitely try to see it. Still waiting for my EPCOT refurb and just putting in a $tarbuck$ doesn't count.