Planning-where to start?

[whlparkstone]

Go back 10 years and I would say I was confident in planning a Disney holiday. But we haven’t been since 2016 and SO MUCH has changed since our last visit.

We have booked a split stay for august 2022 and I now feel very out of my depth. I am back on the dibb planning pages, reading posts and comments.

Any tips on where to start. Should I be securing theme park tickets now before a future price rise?

Any other tips to help me feel slightly more in control?

I notice that there are still plenty of ‘Covid’ changes in place in the theme parks, such as the park hopping etc….I wonder if I should ignore things like that for now as these may not still be in place this time next year.

Any advice gratefully received

Thanks

[DisneyDailey]

Hi. Indications are at Disney park reservations are likely to stay through 2022, so you may want to factor that in to when you get tickets, as you can only reserve park days once you've got your ticket and linked it to MDE. Fingers crossed fast passes come back soon! Lots of the other restrictions have been lifted, or coming to an end soon. You can still park hop, but only after 2pm.

I think there's been lots of good changes at Disney since your last visit, with Pandora in AK and Galaxy's Edge and Toy Story Land in HS, as well as Disney Springs being completed. Expect the usual long waits for popular rides and you'll need a boarding pass for Rise of the Resistance.

I like to plan well in advance, so I know what I'm doing and what I need to book, like ADRs. At the end of the day, COVID or not, it's a trip to Disney/Universal, so you've got to plan and also enjoy it. I read through the Dibb, use Touring Plans, and I always think it's worth watching some of the Youtubers so you can find out what's going on in the parks.

[whlparkstone]

Thank you so much for your reply. I am going to listen to some podcasts aswell.

Just a quick question that I haven’t been able to find a response for….

If I booked into MK and arrived in the morning, could we leave at lunch time and go back to the hotel for a swim and then return back to MK for the afternoon/evening….or would that require a separate booking?

[DisneyDailey]

Don’t think the Disney FAQs give that as a scenario. Would assume you’d be able to, but it could be subject to park capacity, just as park hopping would be.

[hvasey]

I’m the same, not been since late 2016 and everything seems SO different, especially Disney wise.
I’m planning on a 2023 trip just for me and DH then a big family trip in 4/5 years time when my Grandson is 6.
I wanted to stay around Disney springs as I have fond memories of our first trip , what was then The Grosvenor ( now Wyndham) but having learned that the Crossroads center is to be demolished to make an off ramp for the I4 😩, I think it will turn Hotel plaza bvd into a huge rat run, unless there is also going to be a slip road to the Disney springs entrance.
Pre booking park days isn’t massively different to booking FPs and ADRs although it may be harder to chop and change once there.
I imagine that a booking is good for the whole day and multiple exits/entrances but it’s a piece of string question, once everything gets back to normality, who knows what that will look like.
I’m concerned that free fastpasses may be gone forever, unless as part of some mega expensive on site package. I can’t see us ever staying on site again, but again, no crystal ball and it’s hugely frustrating wondering what the next few years will look like.