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Disney Vacation (5 Viewers)

Bruce Dickinson said:
Ooof.  Of all the years to delay a big attraction opening, too.
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IDK....I get the technical issues, but I'm wondering how much management being ##### is at play here. Jungle Book is expected to be pretty big hit and I wonder if anyone at Disney is chomping to get it in the parks somewhere. Knowing the direction ROL wasting...with Shamans and deep story telling....I wonder if some thought it was to deep and lacking any disney intellectual property (IP). I think someone saw this as the perfect time (new movie, new theater) to force inject an IP into park that relatively lacks a lot of it already. 

I mean, if there ARE such devastating tech issues, its not like they are moving the new show to a more stable venue? Its still happening on the water?? Unless they are going to dumb down this show to just guys driving card board cutouts arounds the lake, there is something sneakier the Shere Kahn going on here. IMO

 
Reaper said:
OOF.... I guess if you like Cruises.  I hate cruises. Hate being herded and stuck with the same sheep while nauseous and at the mercy of the next disease outbreak....

Also the cruise I was on, the Main pool was about 14x14 and pea soup - the adult pool was a little better.

I'd also say if you're kid is under 5 I can see this as well - For characters and such.

Cruise ppl did say the Disney Cruise was one of the better cruises but......................... damn I hate cruises.   :yucky:

I'll never be on a cruise again. Like Ever.
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Yea, that particular cruise sounds like it would suck.  On the Disney cruise we were on (Dream), it was a short 3 or 4 day Pt Canaveral>Bahamas>Castaway Cay itinerary.  Kids loved the meals, the waterslide, the pool, the movies while in the pool, the theater (the new stars wars movie was playing), the plays, the fireworks, and mostly the kids only supervised play area.  No complaining about lines, food, walking too much, being tired, or any of the other stuff we dealt with at WDW.  Truly one of the best family vacations we have been on.  

 
Wow, this thread is huge.

Looking at doing a Disney vacation next summer (2017) with wife, almost 7 year old, and just turned 5 year old. My wife has been wanting to do a Disney cruise since she came out of the womb. Anybody aware of the "right" way to do a Land & Sea package? How much money are we talking about if I'm looking at a 3-4 day cruise and then another 4 days at a resort? Better to just do the resort only with kids that age or would a cruise be good as well?

I'm sure that's all been covered in this thread somewhere but 213 pages is a lot read.

Any advice/suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 
@skinrod876

I've never done a cruise, but what I do know about disney cruises is that they have different booking windows. high level guests (those that have sailed on multiple Dis Cruises) are given 1st priority, and then it cascades down from there. 

My best advice for this would be to book through an official Disney travel agent. there are a bunch out there, 2 that I know of that are highly recommended are Mouse Fan travel and  Dreams Unlimited  With any disney bookings at these agencies, you don't pay a dime for the service , it is all paid for through disney commissions. They can give you the best breakdown b/c i'm sure cruises can be very complex from a pricing structure.  

 
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I'm headed there again this weekend.  Does anyone know if I set my fast passes in advance, can I easily add +1 day of?  Someone in the party has a ticket that I don't have in hand.

 
@glvsav37

Thanks for the tip on the travel agent. My wife has a friend that does that type of thing and we are considering using her for our trip plans.

Any ideas on what I'm looking at cost-wise for moderate accommodations for 7 days with hopper and meal plan (1 sit down, 1 quick service, 1 snack)? I know that there is probably a lot of variance there but just looking for a general ballpark figure for 4.

FYI, lots of great information in this thread and I'm still going over it. Thanks for all that you've provided already.

 
skinrod876 said:
@glvsav37

Thanks for the tip on the travel agent. My wife has a friend that does that type of thing and we are considering using her for our trip plans.

Any ideas on what I'm looking at cost-wise for moderate accommodations for 7 days with hopper and meal plan (1 sit down, 1 quick service, 1 snack)? I know that there is probably a lot of variance there but just looking for a general ballpark figure for 4.

FYI, lots of great information in this thread and I'm still going over it. Thanks for all that you've provided already.
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You should be able to get the price of the cruise alone on Disneycruise.com  From what I understand, that is the best price you will get.  We used an online travel agent that had the exact same price for the cruise but gave us a $500 (?) room credit.  Not sure what the land and sea bundle discount is.

As I said a few posts up, we enjoyed the cruise 10x more than the park.

 
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Toy Story Land concept art and video

Nothing too earthshaking here, though the video of the Slinky Dog coaster is pretty cool.

Also mentioned in the article: the Toy Story Mania expansion will be ready by Memorial Day Weekend.  So this summer that third TSM track should be up and running, which should cut down wait times a bit.  
 

 
Quez said:
I'm headed there again this weekend.  Does anyone know if I set my fast passes in advance, can I easily add +1 day of?  Someone in the party has a ticket that I don't have in hand.
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I figured this out. You can add guest later to existing fast passes, but it "checks for availability".  

Just a little tip for those using the My Disney Experience app.  To edit / change / delete fastpass reservations you need to access through the " My Reservations" once you have already selected then all.  You can not do anything to them by accessing through the actual Fastpass category, where you initially set them.

 
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swirvenirvin said:
Is there a good timeshare disney resort link anyone uses?
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timeshere FOR a disney resort, or timeshare NEAR the property? 

If you want to rent DVC points (on property timeshare), I suggest Davids DVC rental (just google it). For anything off property, I can't help you.

 
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glvsav37 said:
timeshere FOR a disney resort, or timeshare NEAR the property? 

If you want to rent DVC points (on property timeshare), I suggest Davids DVC rental (just google it). For anything off property, I can't help you.
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this is exactly what I was looking at already, and was wondering if there were others.  These prices seem too good to be true however or maybe I'm just dumb.

Can get a boardwalk villa studio in November for 5 days for $700 total.  These are like $450 a night?  Am I missing something?

http://www.dvcrequest.com/default.asp

 
swirvenirvin said:
this is exactly what I was looking at already, and was wondering if there were others.  These prices seem too good to be true however or maybe I'm just dumb.

Can get a boardwalk villa studio in November for 5 days for $700 total.  These are like $450 a night?  Am I missing something?

http://www.dvcrequest.com/default.asp
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I've use this 3x the past 5 years. Legit, smooth and great. We've done Beach Club twice and Wilderness our most recent. Looking at Boardwalk or BLT for this November. 

 
If you use the DVC request thing, is that the same as considered staying on property. Can you get magical express, magic bands and 60 day fast pass?

 
Anybody stay at the Ritz grande lakes before? Have a boatload of Marriott points to unload, curious if it's worth it. 

 
Random said:
Yea, that particular cruise sounds like it would suck.  On the Disney cruise we were on (Dream), it was a short 3 or 4 day Pt Canaveral>Bahamas>Castaway Cay itinerary.  Kids loved the meals, the waterslide, the pool, the movies while in the pool, the theater (the new stars wars movie was playing), the plays, the fireworks, and mostly the kids only supervised play area.  No complaining about lines, food, walking too much, being tired, or any of the other stuff we dealt with at WDW.  Truly one of the best family vacations we have been on.  
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We did the 4 night Dream and thought it was fantastic. The boys 9,11 and 13 were beyond occupied with activities, clubs and new friends and since there was no concern they were going anywhere Mom and Dad got 4 nights to do anything we wanted by ourselves - shows, checking out the bars, etc. Some nights the kids came in after us, we had adjoining rooms. Booked again for next year, you get a discount on the next cruise when booking onboard.

 
Just got an email from UPromise saying that they are offering 4% back on WDW vacations and Adventure By Disney trips, and 8% on Disney cruises if you book though one of their vacation partners. 

Check them out if you use Upromise.  

 
@William Munny

OKW is the original DVC resort, so it is a lot older than the others. It is pretty far spread out but a good resort if you have a car. A lot of the amenities (pool, general store, restaurant) are not within walking distance unless you are in the 1st few buildings. That said, they are the largest (per/sq ft) suites on property—so if you are looking to spread out, it's a great place—and its pretty quiet. 

Saratoga has a much younger vibe and is more of a "large main building' type resort (where OKW is more room clusters). Its also the closest resort to Disney Springs shopping  district. which now a days is a big draw being all the stuff they are adding there. I think there is a boat that goes there from the resort. 

 
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Free Dining is out! Here are the details:

Dates (you must check in within one of these time frames):
• August 23 (August 14 for Disney Visa cardholders) through October 1, 2016 
• November 15 through November 21, 2016
• November 26 through November 28, 2016
• December 10 through December 21, 2016

You must have Park Hopper or Water Parks Fun and More tickets. 

Offer excludes the following room types: 3-bedroom villas, campsites, Disney’s Art of Animation Resort – Little Mermaid Standard Rooms and Bungalows at Disney’s Polynesian Villas & Bungalows.

Have an existing reservation? You can modify it online. If you don't see the "change" link on your reservations page, hit refresh and it'll often appear. Screenshot in the comments of how that looks. 

Making a new reservation? Book it at this link. 

Good luck!

(Update: as you're looking for room availability, just know that many resorts only have certain rooms, such as Royal Rooms at Port Orleans Riverside, or Pirate Rooms at Caribbean Beach Resort. When you click on the resort page, be sure to scroll alllll the way down to see which rooms are available.)

 
I was on the Haunted Mansion Friday with my son & FIL.  My son & I both had our magic bands, but my FIL was using my wife's (since I made a fastpass for her).  At the end of the ride, the new feature shows a hologram grave stone with your name on it.  Well, it only had my name & my son's.  I wonder if they somehow knew that my FIL wasn't the person associated with the fastpass?  

 
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Bruce Dickinson said:
Free Dining is out! Here are the details:

Dates (you must check in within one of these time frames):
• August 23 (August 14 for Disney Visa cardholders) through October 1, 2016 
• November 15 through November 21, 2016
• November 26 through November 28, 2016
• December 10 through December 21, 2016

You must have Park Hopper or Water Parks Fun and More tickets. 

Offer excludes the following room types: 3-bedroom villas, campsites, Disney’s Art of Animation Resort – Little Mermaid Standard Rooms and Bungalows at Disney’s Polynesian Villas & Bungalows.

Have an existing reservation? You can modify it online. If you don't see the "change" link on your reservations page, hit refresh and it'll often appear. Screenshot in the comments of how that looks. 

Making a new reservation? Book it at this link. 

Good luck!

(Update: as you're looking for room availability, just know that many resorts only have certain rooms, such as Royal Rooms at Port Orleans Riverside, or Pirate Rooms at Caribbean Beach Resort. When you click on the resort page, be sure to scroll alllll the way down to see which rooms are available.)
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Thanks, BD.

I've been trying to call for like 30 minutes. Nothing but a busy signal. :mellow:

Online reservations look like a bust. Can't believe I missed it.

 
RnR said:
Thanks, BD.

I've been trying to call for like 30 minutes. Nothing but a busy signal. :mellow:

Online reservations look like a bust. Can't believe I missed it.
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Don't give up. My reservations from this morning got buggered up (my fault) so i had to call a around 5:30 and got them for September 4-9th at Cornado. Not ideal for me, but better than nothing. 

 
I've heard the phones were an absolute mess...they need to roll this promo out over a few days or something. I heard of 3-4 hour waits b/f talking to someone

 
glvsav37 said:
I've heard the phones were an absolute mess...they need to roll this promo out over a few days or something. I heard of 3-4 hour waits b/f talking to someone
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We got lucky this evening. I almost had a heart attack when i realized the c/c i used was my old one, not the new one i got last week. My brother and i were calling while I was also looking online. My wife came up from helping my daughter with homework and said 'well, i might as well help too', and got through first try. Luck of the irish i guess.

We spent about 50 min on the phone with a very nice lady named Maya. She looked through all of the moderate resorts in Sept and found us the week of September 4th. Before we hung up she also took our wish list for dining too and promised to see what she can get. I made sure to get her name and supervisors email to send a glowing email about how helpful she was.

 
All this stuff has my head spinning.  It seems so complicated. The Fast Pass bands ...what is the top couple of things to know vs. the old Fast Pass system?

We have been to Disney World three times and loved it, but the last time we went was 6.5 - 7 years ago.  We have stayed at the All-Star resort once and the other times at a 2 or 3 bedroom condo at Windsor Hills.  Never paid more than $299/wk at the condos.  

We are thinking of going back this year while the oldest one is still interested (19).  One thing we haven't done is hit any of the nice restaurants.  Any other tips we need outside of making calls starting 6 months out?  We will likely go in late September/early October.  

 
glad to hear it worked out. 
Its funny, I always wished I could get free dining b/c we love to eat at WDW sometimes more then go on rides—cant b/c of DVC, being annual passholders and we can only go in summer—but when I hear the crazy stories, I kinda sit back and say, have fun folks. lol.

 
Binky The Doormat said:
All this stuff has my head spinning.  It seems so complicated. The Fast Pass bands ...what is the top couple of things to know vs. the old Fast Pass system?  
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With the old system you could stroll in the park at 10am & get a decent FP schedule for the day.  Not anymore.  You need to get them ahead of time or you get stuck with all the bad rides/times.

 
Binky The Doormat said:
All this stuff has my head spinning.  It seems so complicated. The Fast Pass bands ...what is the top couple of things to know vs. the old Fast Pass system?

We have been to Disney World three times and loved it, but the last time we went was 6.5 - 7 years ago.  We have stayed at the All-Star resort once and the other times at a 2 or 3 bedroom condo at Windsor Hills.  Never paid more than $299/wk at the condos.  

We are thinking of going back this year while the oldest one is still interested (19).  One thing we haven't done is hit any of the nice restaurants.  Any other tips we need outside of making calls starting 6 months out?  We will likely go in late September/early October.  
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With the new FP+ bands you can make ride reservations ahead of time, but are limited to 3 per day.  The paper FastPasses and FP kiosks are gone.  The bands will also serve as your park tickets, and if you stay on WDW property they work as room keys.  

For the most famous restaurants, it helps if you're a bit flexible on when you eat during the day.  

 
I read about the 4 hour call wait times today. That's insanity. No way to book online I guess? (Obviously not, but why not?)

 
Bruce Dickinson said:
With the new FP+ bands you can make ride reservations ahead of time, but are limited to 3 per day.  The paper FastPasses and FP kiosks are gone.  The bands will also serve as your park tickets, and if you stay on WDW property they work as room keys.  

For the most famous restaurants, it helps if you're a bit flexible on when you eat during the day.  




 
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So how early or how late would we typically need to eat at some of the nicer places in order to have a better chance of getting in?

 
Binky The Doormat said:
So how early or how late would we typically need to eat at some of the nicer places in order to have a better chance of getting in?
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its not a matter of early/late...just may need to be flexible on days....or not.  I'll be honest, I go in a very busy time (summer) and I very rarely have a problem getting exactly what I want

My best advice, you have the best shot by putting the harder to get locations at the end of your trip. Here's why:
on Day T-180: you can start booking your dining. You can book from the day you check in + 10 days.   so say you check in Sept1, you can book all the way up to Sept 10th. For most people that covers their whole trip. But realize that by doing that, the people who check in 10 days before you, can be booking locations for when you check in. Similarly, you have a head start on those people who check in the day—and 10 more days—after you.

So just by the power of numbers, If you want to book Ohana—look to do it near the end of your trip b/c you have a head start on others.

Sorry, i know it may seem confusing...just take it slow and have fun.

 
Binky The Doormat said:
All this stuff has my head spinning.  It seems so complicated. The Fast Pass bands ...what is the top couple of things to know vs. the old Fast Pass system?

We have been to Disney World three times and loved it, but the last time we went was 6.5 - 7 years ago.  We have stayed at the All-Star resort once and the other times at a 2 or 3 bedroom condo at Windsor Hills.  Never paid more than $299/wk at the condos.  

We are thinking of going back this year while the oldest one is still interested (19).  One thing we haven't done is hit any of the nice restaurants.  Any other tips we need outside of making calls starting 6 months out?  We will likely go in late September/early October.  
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Don't stress over the FastPasses, you don't need to worry about those until you are 60 days out....so by your timeline, you have a few months to research and ask about it.

That said, doing the math, it looks like even if you went in October, you are within the 180 day booking window, so you will have to roll the dice. But don't worry, there is a lot of great restaurants and locations to eat at.

When you say "Nicer" are you talking ultra fine dining like Victoria & Albert's or just crowd favorites like O'Hana?

there is no secret formula or trick, other then if its not available, just keep trying each day or every other day. People cancel all the time. There are also message boards like this where people will post when they will be dropping their reservations.

List your location priority and be flexible. In the end, go and have fun. Generally, the food is not all super-elite level. But each place has their own atmosphere and that's why you are there—and for that, there are plenty of locations with great atmosphere.

On the flip side, they have recently added a whole slew of new themed locations in Disney Springs (formerly Downtow Disney) and with a 19 year old, you might enjoy those better then a character meal with a bunch of toddlers. Some of these places will accept their own reservations outside of the Disney system, so you may try them directly.

 
glvsav37 said:
Don't stress over the FastPasses, you don't need to worry about those until you are 60 days out....so by your timeline, you have a few months to research and ask about it.

That said, doing the math, it looks like even if you went in October, you are within the 180 day booking window, so you will have to roll the dice. But don't worry, there is a lot of great restaurants and locations to eat at.

When you say "Nicer" are you talking ultra fine dining like Victoria & Albert's or just crowd favorites like O'Hana?

there is no secret formula or trick, other then if its not available, just keep trying each day or every other day. People cancel all the time. There are also message boards like this where people will post when they will be dropping their reservations.

List your location priority and be flexible. In the end, go and have fun. Generally, the food is not all super-elite level. But each place has their own atmosphere and that's why you are there—and for that, there are plenty of locations with great atmosphere.

On the flip side, they have recently added a whole slew of new themed locations in Disney Springs (formerly Downtow Disney) and with a 19 year old, you might enjoy those better then a character meal with a bunch of toddlers. Some of these places will accept their own reservations outside of the Disney system, so you may try them directly.




 
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Thanks ...didn't even think about it already being that close ...

 
What a weird experience yesterday. Very "un-Disney."

Disney's site was up, but had no availability on the promotion (That I could find). It was an option on the website, but all searches returned "sorry, no availability for those dates" messages.

So I called. And called. And called.

I couldn't even get into a phone queue after nearly four hours of trying every 10 minutes or so. I'd either get a busy signal or a recorded message about "all circuits" being full and to try again later. Online chat was disabled during this time as well.

When I finally got someone on the phone, they spent the better part of an hour exhausting all options before determining my dates were crushed as far as the free dining was concerned. They basically told me, "Sorry, too late."

So after a candid chat with Guest Services about the way the day went down (I wasn't rude, nor was I the first one to express similar concern), I resigned to the fact I had to report my failure to the wife.

Then... some eight hours later... my wife pulls up Disney's site on a whim to assess alternative planning before bed. She searches our dates, puts in the resort we were eyeing, and boom... there's the free dining plan.

We book it like we originally planned to do earlier that morning and all is well.

So strange.

 
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