September/October 2013 check in

[coco392]

Welcome! How old is your little guy?

I think that that is right with the discounts. I know TAs can call and have discounts applied, so don't see why 'normal' people can't?

thanks 5ofus - he is 6. he ran around like a little crazy man when we told him. he doesn't care what we do as long as we can build a droid at dhs

 

[coco392]

Hi Coco, in October 2010 we booked WDW for September 2011. We just booked a normal room at Port Orleans Riverside, no park hoppers or water parks. By the time that we actually flew out of Australia, we had changed to the Wilderness Lodge, had added free dining and about a zillion ADR's, had park hoppers and the water park option - thankyou Disboards!!

We did all of the reservations ourselves on the internet and made our changes directly with Disney over the phone and the whole trip was perfect!! (AND free dining was fabulous - we will definitely miss not having it this time).

So, don't worry about changes - they actually helped to make the 11 months between booking and leaving bearable!!

thanks disboards alright- I have been three times before but before finding disboards had no idea about the discounts and free dining

 

[KiwiMouseGirl]

Well, unfortunately our trip has hit a rather large bump in the road (or should we say, mountain?)

My trip partner Alicia got a phone call on Monday about a car she had sold two and a half years ago. The people she sold it to never completed their half of the change of ownership, so it was never taken out of her name. Long story short she was made to pay $500 in registration and traffic fines, or they were going to take her to court. Out of fear she payed it. She is currently talking to her boyfriends Mum who happens to be a lawyer to see if there is any action that she can take. But her chances aren't looking good at this stage.

Which brings be onto the next problem.

My friend and dance partner Glenn (or Glennis as I call him) had said that if Alicia couldn't make it that he would come with me. Well I sent him a txt message on Monday night to tell hime that Alicia wasn't coming and would he still come with me, and got no reply. I txt him yesterday morning to ask if he had recieved my message, and he replied later on that night saying yes he had, and could we talk about it when he get's back (he's in Auckland for managers conference until today) which makes me think a few different senarios...

A. He doesn't want to come anymore... Which is fine. But my way of thinking is the sooner he let's me know the sooner I can TRY to fond someone else to come with me.

B. He want's to bring his new girlfriend with hime....Which I am not keen on. I refuse to be a third wheel...

C. He wants to bring his two daughters with him....Which I would have to think about. I babysit his two girls and love them to bits. But they are still quite young (5 and 3) and while the older one is very tall for her age, she wouldn't be able to ride everything. I know that there are ways that we could make it work, such as child swap, but I would have to make sure that they are sacrifices that I could be willing to make. The whole point of going on this trip with someone my age was to have someone to experiance the bigger attractions with and not to have to ride by myself. But I would most definately be riding by myself doing child swap. We would most definately have to go back to the hotel during the day for a rest so the kids don't get cranky, and would have to stop all the time for characters as they wouldn't understand that we had planned time later in the day for photos!

Argh, I don't know what to do. All I know is that this trip is turning into the biggest flop ever....

 

[teddykins]

No need to apologise or justify your love of the BSB. It sounds like you are booked on something you are going to love.

It's certainly going to be a crazy 3 days with 2000 other BSB fans to deal with (some of which can be rather rude/annoying when the boys are around) but I'm so pumped regardless. 243 days to go until we leave and Qantas changed our flight to leave and land 15 mins earlier, my friend is slightly annoyed as we're getting a connecting flight to Miami for 9am but I told her at least we wont be rushed through customs and can maybe have a coffee and a bite to eat before we board the Miami flight? Positives in everything

I was wondering if anyone has purchased glass products from the Disney store online? My bestie is getting married in Sept and I wanted to get her the glass Cinderella & Prince Charming flutes but they don't ship internationally so I was going to get them shipped to a friend in the US who will then ship them to me - would this be ok to do? Obviously I realise they could easily break but I really want her and her partner to have them for their reception and I know any breakages isn't Disney's fault at all but wasn't sure if they were some how restricted to US only and wouldn't be allowed into aust for some (silly) reason..

Any good recommendations for the restaurants? I want to do at least one character dining that has Donald, my friend wants Chip & Dale though and she'd also like to have some steak. I was also looking at Be Our Guest which looks like it could be a great dining experience too.. We don't have the DDP as couldn't justify the extra $300 for it so any restaurants will be OOP however we're including them in our total spending budget and only want to do one or two at this stage. There's so many choices, its so confusing

That's horrible KiwiMouse, I hope he can go as you planned or you can find someone else to take their spot. Talk about added pressure you don't need

 

[Caroline NZ]

Kiwimouse girl, I'm sorry to hear your plans are in turmoil. Is your original travel mate not coming just because of the $500 fines?

 

[PrincessInOz]

Well, unfortunately our trip has hit a rather large bump in the road (or should we say, mountain?)

My trip partner Alicia got a phone call on Monday about a car she had sold two and a half years ago. The people she sold it to never completed their half of the change of ownership, so it was never taken out of her name. Long story short she was made to pay $500 in registration and traffic fines, or they were going to take her to court. Out of fear she payed it. She is currently talking to her boyfriends Mum who happens to be a lawyer to see if there is any action that she can take. But her chances aren't looking good at this stage.

Which brings be onto the next problem.

My friend and dance partner Glenn (or Glennis as I call him) had said that if Alicia couldn't make it that he would come with me. Well I sent him a txt message on Monday night to tell hime that Alicia wasn't coming and would he still come with me, and got no reply. I txt him yesterday morning to ask if he had recieved my message, and he replied later on that night saying yes he had, and could we talk about it when he get's back (he's in Auckland for managers conference until today) which makes me think a few different senarios...

A. He doesn't want to come anymore... Which is fine. But my way of thinking is the sooner he let's me know the sooner I can TRY to fond someone else to come with me.

B. He want's to bring his new girlfriend with hime....Which I am not keen on. I refuse to be a third wheel...

C. He wants to bring his two daughters with him....Which I would have to think about. I babysit his two girls and love them to bits. But they are still quite young (5 and 3) and while the older one is very tall for her age, she wouldn't be able to ride everything. I know that there are ways that we could make it work, such as child swap, but I would have to make sure that they are sacrifices that I could be willing to make. The whole point of going on this trip with someone my age was to have someone to experiance the bigger attractions with and not to have to ride by myself. But I would most definately be riding by myself doing child swap. We would most definately have to go back to the hotel during the day for a rest so the kids don't get cranky, and would have to stop all the time for characters as they wouldn't understand that we had planned time later in the day for photos!

Argh, I don't know what to do. All I know is that this trip is turning into the biggest flop ever....

Hope it works out!

 

[KiwiMouseGirl]

Kiwimouse girl, I'm sorry to hear your plans are in turmoil. Is your original travel mate not coming just because of the $500 fines?

She had worked really hard and saved $750 since the end of December. We are booking in April and she will need around $1800 for flights and a deposit on accommodation. Unfortunately with the loss of that $500 she won't be able to make that target by April

 

[sarefromoz]

Kiwimousegirl, sorry to hear about your hurdles. Hopefully your friend who has said that he will go with you just wants to wait until he sees you to go over the finer details.

No planning done here lately. Flights, accommodation and travel insurance are organised and most accommodation has at least had a deposit paid. Estas have been approved. I think I will just wait to the school holidays, when I'm not working and all the kids' extra curricular activities have stopped to get back into it and plan the finer details.

Teddykins, want as keeps on changing our flights too. We booked in November and have had 3 time changes already. It's all good though, because we booked with only a 2.5hr stop at LAX before our flight to Vancouver and it's increased to 3.5hrs. I was stressing that we wouldn't make our 2nd flight, but am feeling a little more less stressed about it.

 

[WanderlustNZ]

About a month ago I asked a question on the dining thread about ADR's. Part of the conversation was about how there is not much time between when Park Hours are released and the ADR windows open up.

Anyway, a kind poster gave me a link to find out Park Hours about half a month earlier than when they are released on the Disney site. I think he said it's the information that is released to the media or TA's or something like that.

I can't yet vouch for it's reliability, but for lack of anything better, I'm going to use it to help me plan.

Here are hours for September.
http://media.disneywebcontent.com/s...pdf/parkhours/wdw_operating_calendar_sept.pdf

Sometime around the middle of March, you can change the sept in the web address to oct and it will show Octobers hours.

Part of my plan was to visit MNSSHP on the 29th, so I'm happy to see the MK hours for that day are 9am - 7pm (the early closing is a good indicator that it will in fact be a Halloween night).

 

[teddykins]

Teddykins, want as keeps on changing our flights too. We booked in November and have had 3 time changes already. It's all good though, because we booked with only a 2.5hr stop at LAX before our flight to Vancouver and it's increased to 3.5hrs. I was stressing that we wouldn't make our 2nd flight, but am feeling a little more less stressed about it.

Wow I'm hoping they don't make it any earlier than 10.15 as my friend and I don't drive so we'll be relying on public transport to Melb airport, don't want to have to pay $$$ for a taxi. We were thinking of getting the 9am flight to Miami from lax so getting in at 6.30 has made me a bit more relaxed about the time, I'm very nervous about us customs as I've heard they are very strict compared to Australia/new Zealand (my only experience with customs) but I keep telling myself just remember what's at the end of the customs gates

Sometime around the middle of March, you can change the sept in the web address to oct and it will show Octobers hours.

Part of my plan was to visit MNSSHP on the 29th, so I'm happy to see the MK hours for that day are 9am - 7pm (the early closing is a good indicator that it will in fact be a Halloween night).

Great thank you very much for that, I've booked marked it. I never realised so much planning was involved to visit Disney, its a whole different world. Is it a good idea to plan your days out in advance especially for a first timer or just wing it when you get there? We leave today in 8 months time, feels forever away

 

[MsMinne]

I originally booked LA in Sep to take my boys to Legoland. Now I'm replanning to include a 'surprise' DL trip at the end.

We will be flying into LAX and then straight to Las Vegas for four nights.
Two nights in Palm Springs
Three in Carlsbad
Four in Anaheim
Final night in LA.

I've rearranged it in such a way that we will be there for Mickeys Halloween Party. My boys LOVE Halloween (more than Xmas, I think) I'm hoping they will follow the same schedule as last year, and of course I'll score some tickets!!!!

I'm loving all this info on DL - cant get enough!

Not sure how long I'll be able to keep this surprise especially if they see me frequent this forum

 

[WanderlustNZ]

Great thank you very much for that, I've booked marked it. I never realised so much planning was involved to visit Disney, its a whole different world. Is it a good idea to plan your days out in advance especially for a first timer or just wing it when you get there? We leave today in 8 months time, feels forever away

I'm sure you can have a great holiday either way, but, for a number of reasons I am going to say that it's better to plan things out in advance.

1). Some parks have extra magic hours on certain days. These are good for people staying onsite in a Disney resort. But guests staying offsite should plan to avoid parks with extra magic hours.

2). Similarly, on certain days, some parks are busier than others. I've already been given some great advice about avoiding Epcot Food and Wine Festival during weekends.

3) Unless you don't care where you eat each day, you need to put some thought into ADRs (Advance Dining Reservations). I'm trying to decide what park I will be in each day so I can make some ADRs when they open up for me over Easter. ADRs at popular restaurants book out very quickly.

4) I'm not going to plan each day out ride by ride, but I do have a few rides I'm going to head for as soon as the parks open (e.g Soarin and Toy Story Mania). Having a plan to attack the popular rides early in the day (or later in the day during parades, fireworks etc), cuts down on queueing times. And lets face it. None of us want to pay all that money to fly to the other side of the world and stand for hours and hours in queues.

5). Lastly, I'm a planner and planning is part of the fun.

 

[teddykins]

I'm sure you can have a great holiday either way, but, for a number of reasons I am going to say that it's better to plan things out in advance.

Fantastic advice, thank you Wanderlust (and everyone else) We have park hoppers so I imagine it doens't really matter which park we are in before our ADR as we can just get to that park with no problems? Too true about the money, quite an expensive adventure but it's not one that I ever thought I'd get the chance to have because of my kidney failure so it's priceless to me

 

[PrincessInOz]

I originally booked LA in Sep to take my boys to Legoland. Now I'm replanning to include a 'surprise' DL trip at the end.

We will be flying into LAX and then straight to Las Vegas for four nights.
Two nights in Palm Springs
Three in Carlsbad
Four in Anaheim
Final night in LA.

I've rearranged it in such a way that we will be there for Mickeys Halloween Party. My boys LOVE Halloween (more than Xmas, I think) I'm hoping they will follow the same schedule as last year, and of course I'll score some tickets!!!!

I'm loving all this info on DL - cant get enough!

Not sure how long I'll be able to keep this surprise especially if they see me frequent this forum

Welcome to the Boards!

Sounds like a great trip.

 

[PrincessInOz]

Been a while since I've updated on this thread.

As at 18 Feb 2013, here's my firmed up itinerary:

13 Sep: LA/Anaheim (4 nights). 2 nights accommodation tentatively sorted. Still working on Plan A.

17 Sep: Sedona (3 nights). Accommodation and activities sorted.

20 Sep: Grand Canyon (2 nights). Accommodation and activities sorted.

22 Sep: Page (2 nights). Accommodation sorted. Activity wise, I know what I want to do here; just need to lock it in.

24 Sep: Monument Valley (1 night). Accommodation and activities sorted.

25 Sep: Durango area (4 nights). Accommodation sorted. We're hanging out with DH's cousins in this area; so I'll keep the activity planning to a minimum.

29 Sep: WDW (8 nights). Accommodation sorted. Activities revolve around DisMeets; pending schedule for October and MNSSHP dates.

7 Oct: Universal (2 nights). Still to work out.

9 Oct: LA (1 night). Still to work out.

10 Oct: Depart for Melbourne.



That's about it for now. I'm slowly updating the details in my PTR/blog (link below).

 

[coco392]

Been a while since I've updated on this thread.

As at 18 Feb 2013, here's my firmed up itinerary:

13 Sep: LA/Anaheim (4 nights). 2 nights accommodation tentatively sorted. Still working on Plan A.

17 Sep: Sedona (3 nights). Accommodation and activities sorted.

20 Sep: Grand Canyon (2 nights). Accommodation and activities sorted.

22 Sep: Page (2 nights). Accommodation sorted. Activity wise, I know what I want to do here; just need to lock it in.

24 Sep: Monument Valley (1 night). Accommodation and activities sorted.

25 Sep: Durango area (4 nights). Accommodation sorted. We're hanging out with DH's cousins in this area; so I'll keep the activity planning to a minimum.

29 Sep: WDW (8 nights). Accommodation sorted. Activities revolve around DisMeets; pending schedule for October and MNSSHP dates.

7 Oct: Universal (2 nights). Still to work out.

9 Oct: LA (1 night). Still to work out.
yh
10 Oct: Depart for Melbourne.

That's about it for now. I'm slowly updating the details in my PTR/blog (link below).

z

 

[coco392]

z

don't you just hate that you bump a button and can't delete

we leave 13th arrive same day and head to dl too

 

[5ofus]

don't you just hate that you bump a button and can't delete

we leave 13th arrive same day and head to dl too

I really hope it doesn't get busy with the Friday the 13 thing with the Villians (I know I keep harping on about it, but I have a horrible vision of it being packed for that weekend!!! )

Looks like there is going to be quite the Aussie contingent there during that time

 

[alicia1506]

hi all, just a quick update. we have had to change our travel dates and are now going to be travelling oct 18 - nov 6.

if you wish to read all the whys and wherefores and whatnots, head on over to my ptr.

 

[australiankaren]

sept 7 syd-lax-mco (qantas/delta)
sept 8-13 WDW Boardwalk villas
sept 13-15 WDW Wilderness lodge villas
sept 15-29 B2B Cruise FOS
sept 29 Mco-lax-syd

so happy syd-lax fare is booked (at sale price )

now to the plotting re dining and tours and excursions......