What's new
Fantasy Football - Footballguys Forums

Welcome to Our Forums. Once you've registered and logged in, you're primed to talk football, among other topics, with the sharpest and most experienced fantasy players on the internet.

Disney Vacation (2 Viewers)

Also thanks to @AAABatteries for the heads up on Caribbean Beach. My wife just booked us for a Friday/Saturday night in early May for $200 a night out the door. And they are giving us that $75 gift card for each night we stay. Wife says you have to call Disney to get this deal. She was not able to find it online. Apparently, the main restaurant and gift shop will be closed because of the construction. We were worried that parking was going to be affected, but that apparently is not the case.

 
Also thanks to @AAABatteries for the heads up on Caribbean Beach. My wife just booked us for a Friday/Saturday night in early May for $200 a night out the door. And they are giving us that $75 gift card for each night we stay. Wife says you have to call Disney to get this deal. She was not able to find it online. Apparently, the main restaurant and gift shop will be closed because of the construction. We were worried that parking was going to be affected, but that apparently is not the case.
That's awesome - glad it worked out for you.  It's a great deal and I'm hoping to make it even better with free dining.  It will suck that the main dini feint be open but we don't use it that much except for breakfast so we'll make other plans.  And I almost never step in the resort gift shops - I've rarely found things I can't get at Disney Springs or an in park shop.

 
And while I recommend calling to just confirm stuff with a CM, I did see the $75 gift card on the website - when selecting your room type there will be a red triangle with an exclamation point and will say "refurbishments.This Resort hotel is undergoing refurbishments" 

 Then there will be a click here for more details - it's a long disclaimer and tells you what is going to be under construction and mentions the $75 gift card.

 
OK, my time for booking FP+ is coming up and my wife and I have a basic outline of how we think we want to do things. Can some of you Disney Experts help me confirm that this looks like a good plan? We've got a 7 year old boy (fairly cautious) and a 6 year old girl (probably won't get on anything remotely scary). Might try to FP+ Seven Dwarves MT on Friday as a test run for them to see how adventurous they are going to be.

Friday, 5/12- Probably MK for Parades/Fireworks in the late afternoon as we won't get in until 4:30ish

Saturday, 5/13 Hollywood Studios ( FP+: Toy Story Mania, Star Tours, Indiana Jones or Little Mermaid) Dinner: Sci-Fi Dine-In 6:20PM

Sunday, 5/14 Magic Kingdom (FP+: Seven Dwarves MT, Enchanted Tales with Belle, Peter Pan’s Flight) Dinner: 'Ohana 4:05 PM

Monday, 5/15 Epcot (Test Track first thing but no FP+, FP+: Soarin’, Turtle Talk with Crush, Character Spot) Dinner: Princess Storybook at Akershus 6:30PM

Tuesday, 5/16 Animal Kingdom (Kilimanjaro Safaris first thing but no FP+, FP+: Expedition Everest, Kali River Rapids, Lion King)Dinner: Tusker House 6:00PM

Wednesday, 5/17 Magic Kingdom (Big Thunder Mtn if kids ok first thing but no FP+, FP+: Space Mountain, Buzz Lightyear, Splash Mountain) Lunch: Be Our Guest 11:35AM

Thursday, 5/18 Epcot (FP+ Frozen Ever After, Spaceship Earth, Mission Space) Dinner: Via Napoli 5:05PM

Friday, 5/19 - Park Undecided - Dinner: Cinderella's Happily Ever After at 1900 Park Fare 5:40PM

Saturday, 5/20 - Checkout - Park Undecided

You guys have given me nothing but perfect info up to this point. Don't let me down now. :D

 
OK, my time for booking FP+ is coming up and my wife and I have a basic outline of how we think we want to do things. Can some of you Disney Experts help me confirm that this looks like a good plan? We've got a 7 year old boy (fairly cautious) and a 6 year old girl (probably won't get on anything remotely scary). Might try to FP+ Seven Dwarves MT on Friday as a test run for them to see how adventurous they are going to be.

Friday, 5/12- Probably MK for Parades/Fireworks in the late afternoon as we won't get in until 4:30ish

Saturday, 5/13 Hollywood Studios ( FP+: Toy Story Mania, Star Tours, Indiana Jones or Little Mermaid) Dinner: Sci-Fi Dine-In 6:20PM

Sunday, 5/14 Magic Kingdom (FP+: Seven Dwarves MT, Enchanted Tales with Belle, Peter Pan’s Flight) Dinner: 'Ohana 4:05 PM

Monday, 5/15 Epcot (Test Track first thing but no FP+, FP+: Soarin’, Turtle Talk with Crush, Character Spot) Dinner: Princess Storybook at Akershus 6:30PM

Tuesday, 5/16 Animal Kingdom (Kilimanjaro Safaris first thing but no FP+, FP+: Expedition Everest, Kali River Rapids, Lion King)Dinner: Tusker House 6:00PM

Wednesday, 5/17 Magic Kingdom (Big Thunder Mtn if kids ok first thing but no FP+, FP+: Space Mountain, Buzz Lightyear, Splash Mountain) Lunch: Be Our Guest 11:35AM

Thursday, 5/18 Epcot (FP+ Frozen Ever After, Spaceship Earth, Mission Space) Dinner: Via Napoli 5:05PM

Friday, 5/19 - Park Undecided - Dinner: Cinderella's Happily Ever After at 1900 Park Fare 5:40PM

Saturday, 5/20 - Checkout - Park Undecided

You guys have given me nothing but perfect info up to this point. Don't let me down now. :D
Friday, 5/12- Probably MK for Parades/Fireworks in the late afternoon as we won't get in until 4:30ish— if you are going to the park late, good attractions to hit are Monster's laugh floor, People mover, Tales with belle (I know you have a FP, but it is often very low wait late), Pooh. I'd stay away from Jungle cruise b/c it can actually be a bit scary at night. 

Saturday, 5/13 Hollywood Studios ( FP+: Toy Story Mania, Star Tours, Indiana Jones or Little Mermaid) Dinner: Sci-Fi Dine-In 6:20PM  :thumbup:   Don't need for Mermaid. Don't even need it for Indy, but there si not much there so having one is ok. What are you doing at night? Famstamic can be scary but it is a good show. But the new things is the Star Wars FW. 

Sunday, 5/14 Magic Kingdom (FP+: Seven Dwarves MT, Enchanted Tales with Belle, Peter Pan’s Flight) Dinner: 'Ohana 4:05 PM  :thumbup:       :wub:  @ Ohana  

Monday, 5/15 Epcot (Test Track first thing but no FP+, FP+: Soarin’, Turtle Talk with Crush, Character Spot) Dinner: Princess Storybook at Akershus 6:30PM :thumbup:  Character spot is a good call b/cd those lines can get long. 

 Tuesday, 5/16 Animal Kingdom (Kilimanjaro Safaris first thing but no FP+, FP+: Expedition Everest, Kali River Rapids, Lion King)Dinner: Tusker House 6:00PM  :thumbup:

Wednesday, 5/17 Magic Kingdom (Big Thunder Mtn if kids ok first thing but no FP+, FP+: Space Mountain, Buzz Lightyear, Splash Mountain) Lunch: Be Our Guest 11:35AM  :thumbup:

Thursday, 5/18 Epcot (FP+ Frozen Ever After, Spaceship Earth, Mission Space) Dinner: Via Napoli 5:05PM  :thumbup:  Be careful with mission space with the kids. It is a pretty claustrophobic ride, even on the lighter version. 

Friday, 5/19 - Park Undecided - Dinner: Cinderella's Happily Ever After at 1900 Park Fare 5:40PM   :thumbup:    Really good dinner there!! 

Saturday, 5/20 - Checkout - Park Undecided  :thumbup:  just go with the flow

good stuff man!!!

 
@skinrod876

You really do not need to fp shows and you have a bunch like turtle talk, lion king, mermaid, Indiana jones and enchanted tales with belle. 

I know your kids are cautious so some of the coasters are out, but I would add any ride over every show you have. 

Is rivers of light showing on your AK day. That might be worth a fp. I am doing the dining package for that so we make sure we get in. 

 
That's awesome - glad it worked out for you.  It's a great deal and I'm hoping to make it even better with free dining.  It will suck that the main dini feint be open but we don't use it that much except for breakfast so we'll make other plans.  And I almost never step in the resort gift shops - I've rarely found things I can't get at Disney Springs or an in park shop.
Yep, we don't use the value restaurant or gift shops either. For breakfast, when we don't have a kitchen where we stay, we usually drive thru the Starbucks one exit north on I-4.

 
@skinrod876

You really do not need to fp shows and you have a bunch like turtle talk, lion king, mermaid, Indiana jones and enchanted tales with belle. 

I know your kids are cautious so some of the coasters are out, but I would add any ride over every show you have. 

Is rivers of light showing on your AK day. That might be worth a fp. I am doing the dining package for that so we make sure we get in. 
good points. Normally I am against FPing shows, except for Lion King. 1. there is not a whole lot of FPs needed (dinosaur is the only other 1 that comes to mind, but if his kids are squeamish, it is prob out) and 2 for that show, the FP group gets in 1st and into its own section, so you get out of the heat a bit quicker and off your feet. 

Buuuut, you bring up a good point about ROL and I forgot to ask  @skinrod876 if you are you doing the Tusker house/RoL dining package? If not, I would call and see if you can modify the reservation. It is the same price/credits for the same exact meal AND you get into the show.  

As fro the Indy show, the only other thing I would recommend using those FPs there for him is if he and his wife would book RnR coaster and/or Tower of Terror for themselves—you know the adults gotta have some fun too!! they could toss out the Indy/VotLM FPs and book either 4 FPs for either thrill ride, or 2 and 2. Yes, even though you are booking it for the kids, you can swipe their MB for the ride (no one cares if you are holding a kids MB as long as the light turns green). The down side is that you have to ride solo, while the other parent takes the kids for ice cream or something else. But at least you get your freak on for a bit.  

Edit to add: I don't consider Belle a 'show' in the same vain as the others. Simply b/c you don't have the same capacity of the others you listed. The line for Belle can get pretty long, but I find it tapers off later in the day. Plus, they need to have a certain number of guests in there at any one time to even run the show, so you might get stuck waiting for an artificially long wait while they fill in the rest of the needed guests.  

I just looked, Today Belle peaked at 11am @ 58min for stand by. It was steady until 2 @39 min but then it drops to 20 or under for the rest of the day. 

so its a bit below a push for using a FP but I prefer to Not and visit later. 

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Looks like the Commish clan is moving to sunny Florida....tell me what I need to know about yearly passes.  My wife is a junky and I have two kids that are 9 and 5 as well as one that's a month old.  What's the shark move here?

 
Looks like the Commish clan is moving to sunny Florida....tell me what I need to know about yearly passes.  My wife is a junky and I have two kids that are 9 and 5 as well as one that's a month old.  What's the shark move here?
They're expensive and they'll be burned out after a year?

 
Went last week with my boys (6yo)...a few reflections based on my experience.  Great trip.  Will probably be back in a few years when they open up more stuff.  YMMV

  • It's so nice having boys who don't give a #### about seeing the characters
  • Using other people's magic bands (provided they have an account linked to MDE) actually works....can't believe WDW doesn't prevent that someone
  • I don't know how people go in the summer, it was 85+ some days last week and it was hot as hell (and I'm from New Orleans)
  • If you can pick a week where your area of the country has off of school while the rest of the country doesn't...take advantage of that if possible....the parks were pretty dead Mon-Thur with a little uptick on the Sunday and Friday bookends.
  • New Soarin is really good...got to do that twice
  • If you hit HS right at 9am on a weekday, you should be able to ride Toy Story twice without a FP.  We stayed til close on Monday night and rode it 2 more times during the last 20 minutes
  • We stay at the beach club which is a 5 minute walk into Epcot....it's the perfect way to cap the night off walking around drinking and eating at the quick service while the kids do a scavenger hunt or something
  • The fish/chips in the UK are pretty damn good
  • I wasn't impressed with Kona breakfast at all
  • Nachos in Mexico quick service were solid
  • Greek chicken salad at Starlight Cafe in MK was surprisingly refreshing
  • I know the food is a big deal to a lot of people, but with kids, if you can de-emphasize that...it'll make the trip that much better.  We only had 2 reservations (1 breakfast and 1 big group Hibachi) so we weren't tied down at all which made it nice.  Plus, I guess we're lucky, but the food is just an afterthought to the kids, so they ate PBNJ along the way most of the time.  Probably ate quick serve nuggets/fries 2-3x total.  
  • If you're flying Southwest, they give you 2 free bags to check per person.  Load up one with snacks that you'll eat during your trip, then use the empty suitcase to pack crumbled up clothes or #### you bought there
  • I wish I would've brought our insulated cups to fill with water 
  • It's super easy to sneak booze in anywhere
 
Tiger Fan said:
  • I wasn't impressed with Kona breakfast at all
:o

Blasphemy! 

Just kidding - while I like it just fine I have to admit that before I ate there the first time some friends of ours really talked it up and swore Tonga Toast was the greatest thing at the Disney Resort.  I enjoyed it but it wasn't life altering the way they sold it.  

 
Question for those who have stayed on property.  Right now I have a reservation for 6 days to stay at CBR (doesn't really matter where it is) and then I plan to get  a 2nd reservation for the next two days at CBR.  I did this because I was able to get a rate of $202 for the 6 days versus $272 for the 8 days.  For the two days I got a rate of $223.  

So, my question is would they allow me to combine those in to one reservation as long as I still pay the different rates or is that a nonstarter with them?  My reason is pretty simple - if I get the 8 days together I can get 8 days of free dining (if available) instead of 6.  I'm guessing for that reason alone the answer is no but I wondered if it was worth calling and talking to a manager or if someone had every been able to do it.  Hell, I'd offer to pay the $272 rate for the 2 days if they'd give me it in one reservation.
Pity bump - anybody have any insight?  I'm assuming the answers no but if there's anyway to make it happen I know one of you guys will know.

 
Pity bump - anybody have any insight?  I'm assuming the answers no but if there's anyway to make it happen I know one of you guys will know.
I'll ask around on this.  We were able to stitch together two reservations into one at the resort once so we wouldn't have to change rooms during the stay, but that didn't have extra days of free dining at stake.

 
Osaurus said:
The Commish said:
Looks like the Commish clan is moving to sunny Florida....tell me what I need to know about yearly passes.  My wife is a junky and I have two kids that are 9 and 5 as well as one that's a month old.  What's the shark move here?
They're expensive and they'll be burned out after a year?
I expected more from this thread :kicksrock:  

 
@AAABatteries sorry Gb, i can't help you. this is something thats best left to a CM who can modify your ressie on the spot. We can tell you anything you want to hear, but in the end they gotta do it. GL. 
Thanks - that's what I figured but was just curious if it was worth my time trying to get a manager involved.  I'm assuming they can sometimes do things that the CM's answering the phones can't.  Right?

 
About 45 minutes north (I think)...up around the area where that crazy Zimmerman #### was from....Deland, FL....I think he was in Sanford? :oldunsure:  
Yes, Sanford.  DeLand is ummm... interesting.  You can go get your fortune told in Cassadaga.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
The Commish said:
Looks like the Commish clan is moving to sunny Florida....tell me what I need to know about yearly passes.  My wife is a junky and I have two kids that are 9 and 5 as well as one that's a month old.  What's the shark move here?
We have APs. Great if you go a lot. We skip the summer months (or just go at dinner time to via Napoli). Great for October - March however. You won't want to be there in August. 

The ancillary benefits weren't that great before this year when they gave 20% off a lot of the restaurants. That's nice. 

 
I expected more from this thread :kicksrock:  
The 9-year-old is a key age because 10 is considered an "adult" by Disney pricing standards. 

Some Florida residents skip the Annual Pass and instead wait for local deals to break out - in the past, Disney would put out short-notice Florida-only deals when hotel occupancy rates were low.  But demand is so high right now I don't know if Disney even does that anymore.

There are also multi-day Florida Resident tickets that have a little more flexibility than general tickets.  Someone from out-of-state buying even up to a 10-day pass has to use those 10 park days in 14 calendar days.  There are special 4-day Florida tickets (maybe more days) that have 6-month windows to use them.  

 
We have APs. Great if you go a lot. We skip the summer months (or just go at dinner time to via Napoli). Great for October - March however. You won't want to be there in August. 

The ancillary benefits weren't that great before this year when they gave 20% off a lot of the restaurants. That's nice. 
How much is it for an AP. I bet it pays off after two or three times

 
About 45 minutes north (I think)...up around the area where that crazy Zimmerman #### was from....Deland, FL....I think he was in Sanford? :oldunsure:  
Yes, Sanford.  DeLand is interesting.  You can go get your fortune told in Cassadaga.
:lol:   My wife grew up in south Florida and she was telling me about this Cassadaga place.  I was trying to figure out if that was her way of telling me she didn't want to leave or what.  Weirdos, but I suspect if I play my cards right, they might be entertaining.

 
I expected more from this thread :kicksrock:  
lol...

1st off...congrats. 

There are APs avail for Florida residents. 

Platinum Plus includes all the parks, water parks and other stuff like ESPN access
Platinum removes the water parks
and Gold has no water parks and some blackout dates (mainly the big holidays like Christmas week, Easter week, etc. 

All of them give you park hopping, 20% off march, free parking, and free Photopass (which is really cool) 

here is the price breakdown (you have to be a DVC member or FL resident to log into this page) 

 
We have APs. Great if you go a lot. We skip the summer months (or just go at dinner time to via Napoli). Great for October - March however. You won't want to be there in August. 

The ancillary benefits weren't that great before this year when they gave 20% off a lot of the restaurants. That's nice. 
I have ZERO appetite for being there during the summer.  Been there, done that, not doing it again.  I know they have different levels of tickets and I haven't read up on them yet.  Was just wondering if there was one that made the most sense, but I guess it depends on situation?

The 9-year-old is a key age because 10 is considered an "adult" by Disney pricing standards. 

Some Florida residents skip the Annual Pass and instead wait for local deals to break out - in the past, Disney would put out short-notice Florida-only deals when hotel occupancy rates were low.  But demand is so high right now I don't know if Disney even does that anymore.

There are also multi-day Florida Resident tickets that have a little more flexibility than general tickets.  Someone from out-of-state buying even up to a 10-day pass has to use those 10 park days in 14 calendar days.  There are special 4-day Florida tickets (maybe more days) that have 6-month windows to use them.  
Son will be 10 in Sept.  I already have a place to stay via my vacation ownership, but we're only going to be an hour away anyway, so I'm not sure how often we'd ever stay on site.  Thanks for the info on the "special" tickets....how are these sorts of things typically communicated?  Email list?  Commercials?  Super secret radio frequency?

 
How much is it for an AP. I bet it pays off after two or three times
APs usually pay themselves off after about 12-14 days (without doing major math) of visiting. 

We have APs and go each year for 14 or so days a trip. Being we can only travel in summer, we will go in early August on a 'buy year' and then travel the following year in July making sure our trip ends before it expires. 

In a rare $$ move Disney did that I actually approve of, they released a special DVC ticket that is only $550. It has blackout dates, but they do not apply to us, so that makes the ticket cost for each trip only $275/pp for 14 days. IDK how the hell you beat that.  

 
Seems like spring break and Christmas.  Which is manageable.  Do APs allow you into Christmas party kinds of deals?  I think they have one at Halloween too, right?  Or would I have to be buying those kinds of tickets separately anyway?  My thought is, the only way I'd step foot on grounds during Christmas was if we went the Christmas Party route anyway, but haven't thought a ton about it.

 
Seems like spring break and Christmas.  Which is manageable.  Do APs allow you into Christmas party kinds of deals?  I think they have one at Halloween too, right?  Or would I have to be buying those kinds of tickets separately anyway?  My thought is, the only way I'd step foot on grounds during Christmas was if we went the Christmas Party route anyway, but haven't thought a ton about it.
The Xmas and Halloween tix are separate and have nothing to do with APs, although I think the APs give you a discount.

Christmas is really fun, but very very crowded. And from a regular guest point of view, IDK why people do it? Lines are insane, super expensive hotels, its crazy. However, from the perspective of a resident, it becomes more of the flavor of the season. And you will find out that you will tour the parks differently now. Getting on rides is not as important to you b/c you can do the same ride with 2/3 less of a wait the following month. You'll go to see the Christmas decorations, the snow falling, the special events, tour the resorts, etc.  

I dont live in FL, wish I did...I'm in NY 

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Current Disneyland Annual Passholder.  Not my first DLR Annual Pass.  Former WDW Annual Passholder.  Live in Kansas, which is neither California nor Florida.    

 
:o

Blasphemy! 

Just kidding - while I like it just fine I have to admit that before I ate there the first time some friends of ours really talked it up and swore Tonga Toast was the greatest thing at the Disney Resort.  I enjoyed it but it wasn't life altering the way they sold it.  
yeah, it just wasn't that great :shrug:

 
Thanks - that's what I figured but was just curious if it was worth my time trying to get a manager involved.  I'm assuming they can sometimes do things that the CM's answering the phones can't.  Right?
It really depends on who you get. Major frustration point with Disney is that their booking agents are some of the worst trained people on the planet. I've literally called, got info, hung up and called a different agent with completely different info. 

you know the deal, be nice, outline what you want, and don't be afraid to call in a manager and toss your weight around if needed.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
oh, one more thing.  We used uber/lift almost everyday if there wasn't a bus right when we walked up.  My wife didn't have a lyft account yet...she signed up under me and  we both got $5 off of 5 rides each.  The most we ever paid for a ride was $6 and didn't have to wait at all.  It was pretty great.

 
Seems like spring break and Christmas.  Which is manageable.  Do APs allow you into Christmas party kinds of deals?  I think they have one at Halloween too, right?  Or would I have to be buying those kinds of tickets separately anyway?  My thought is, the only way I'd step foot on grounds during Christmas was if we went the Christmas Party route anyway, but haven't thought a ton about it.
The Xmas and Halloween tix are separate and have nothing to do with APs, although I think the APs give you a discount.

Christmas is really fun, but very very crowded. And from a regular guest point of view, IDK why people do it? Lines are insane, super expensive hotels, its crazy. However, from the perspective of a resident, it becomes more of the flavor of the season. And you will find out that you will tour the parks differently now. Getting on rides is not as important to you b/c you can do the same ride with 2/3 less of a wait the following month. You'll go to see the Christmas decorations, the snow falling, the special events, tour the resorts, etc.  

I dont live in FL, wish I did...I'm in NY 
We've done Mickey's Christmas Party the last two years and it's been awesome.  The lines weren't bad at all and the kids got to stay up "late"...they were all in.  Haven't had a bad experience during that time yet...I can see the day time being a complete nightmare.

 
We've done Mickey's Christmas Party the last two years and it's been awesome.  The lines weren't bad at all and the kids got to stay up "late"...they were all in.  Haven't had a bad experience during that time yet...I can see the day time being a complete nightmare.
its funny, the parties (both Halloween and Xmas) have made the average daytime visits a nightmare.

Generally, people are only paying for 1 party during their trip and full price for a general admission ticket for their trip. So why go to MK if you are not going to that nights party and waste the full priced GA ticket (realize many people do not buy park hopers)? So the more and more people are planning their MK days for dates that have no party, and with Disney pushing these parties so much—for obvious reasons ($$$)— that they are running them at 2-3 parties a week during some weeks. That leaves fewer days for everyone else to get 'full value' for their GA ticket, so they are packing the MK and creating an unnatural crowd level. 

 

Users who are viewing this thread

Top