PTR - Calif.... No, no, make that, FLORIDA here we come!

It has been a while since I have updated this thread, and a lot has changed (with Disboards too - it looks so different!)

In fact, so much has changed that I might not be welcome here anymore - as we have decided not to go to WDW after all!

We went on our first ever cruise in Oct/Nov last year, around the South Pacific, and absolutely adored it. We had the best time. DS loved it because he made lots of friends (staying in the one place for a couple of weeks meant he got to play with kids all day, everyday). And it was so relaxing (which I definitely needed as just prior to this trip I had some health concerns).

Anyway, when we got back, we started looking into some other cruise options and in the search I found a Caribbean cruise which looked amazing. When I mentioned it to DH, he said that it had always been a dream of his to cruise the Caribbean. The dates fit in with what we had already planned, but it did mean we needed to make a decision between the cruise or Disney, or we could've done both, but that would mean spending over a month in Orlando (incl the busy Christmas period at WDW, which you guys had persuaded me against) and foregoing NY, etc. and with the falling A$ it would've been very costly. So, after talking to DS, we decided to book the cruise. We will still have 3 days in Orlando before the cruise, so will go to Universal then. DS is happy to put off WDW until another time, as he is so excited about going on another cruise.

So as it stands now, we are planning on leaving on Boxing Day, spending 3 days in Denver, 3 days in Washington DC (incl NYE), 5 days in NY (hotel is already booked), 3 days at Universal Orlando (for our theme park fix), then a 14 night Caribbean cruise (already booked). The cruise is good because halfway through it goes back to Port Canaveral, so we get to do a shore excursion to Kennedy Space Center. We arrive home on Jan 25th.

I am waiting impatiently for airfares to be released for this time period, so we can lock that away, then can book the remaining hotels. I want to do it before the $ drops even more. The only thing that could change is Denver, as DH now says he is happy to forego it if it cuts down on the price (of airfare mainly). But as Denver is one of the main hubs for United (who we are planning to go with as our travel agent might be able to get us upgraded, just to Economy Plus, but any upgrade is appreciated!), I think we should just stick with our plans to go there, and DH can have fun showing DS all his old haunts, and we are still hopeful of seeing the Broncos play too. I definitely want to go to Washington, having never been there, and all 3 of us want to go to NY (and now we have booked accommodation anyway, which cannot be cancelled).

So there you have it...a pretty big change in plans, but we are looking forward to it. This year can't go fast enough!

Kristin5 said:

It has been a while since I have updated this thread, and a lot has changed (with Disboards too - it looks so different!)

In fact, so much has changed that I might not be welcome here anymore - as we have decided not to go to WDW after all!

We went on our first ever cruise in Oct/Nov last year, around the South Pacific, and absolutely adored it. We had the best time. DS loved it because he made lots of friends (staying in the one place for a couple of weeks meant he got to play with kids all day, everyday). And it was so relaxing (which I definitely needed as just prior to this trip I had some health concerns).

Anyway, when we got back, we started looking into some other cruise options and in the search I found a Caribbean cruise which looked amazing. When I mentioned it to DH, he said that it had always been a dream of his to cruise the Caribbean. The dates fit in with what we had already planned, but it did mean we needed to make a decision between the cruise or Disney, or we could've done both, but that would mean spending over a month in Orlando (incl the busy Christmas period at WDW, which you guys had persuaded me against) and foregoing NY, etc. and with the falling A$ it would've been very costly. So, after talking to DS, we decided to book the cruise. We will still have 3 days in Orlando before the cruise, so will go to Universal then. DS is happy to put off WDW until another time, as he is so excited about going on another cruise.

So as it stands now, we are planning on leaving on Boxing Day, spending 3 days in Denver, 3 days in Washington DC (incl NYE), 5 days in NY (hotel is already booked), 3 days at Universal Orlando (for our theme park fix), then a 14 night Caribbean cruise (already booked). The cruise is good because halfway through it goes back to Port Canaveral, so we get to do a shore excursion to Kennedy Space Center. We arrive home on Jan 25th.

I am waiting impatiently for airfares to be released for this time period, so we can lock that away, then can book the remaining hotels. I want to do it before the $ drops even more. The only thing that could change is Denver, as DH now says he is happy to forego it if it cuts down on the price (of airfare mainly). But as Denver is one of the main hubs for United (who we are planning to go with as our travel agent might be able to get us upgraded, just to Economy Plus, but any upgrade is appreciated!), I think we should just stick with our plans to go there, and DH can have fun showing DS all his old haunts, and we are still hopeful of seeing the Broncos play too. I definitely want to go to Washington, having never been there, and all 3 of us want to go to NY (and now we have booked accommodation anyway, which cannot be cancelled).

So there you have it...a pretty big change in plans, but we are looking forward to it. This year can't go fast enough!

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Congrats on making decisions and tweaking your plans. The Caribbean cruise sounds awesome. I bet you have a great time on it.

Speaking for myself, I am more than happy to keep reading about your plans and your trip. So if you keep updating, I'll keep reading.

me too, love to hear everyones plans & trip reports, even though I don't post much.
But I do wonder how Lisa went & are u going to tell us?????

Wow the boards are so different! This will take some getting used to lol!

Of course you are still welcome here! Sounds like a great trip, and I look forward to hearing all about it.

Now, where have those pesky smiley faces vanished to... Lol!

We booked our flights today!

Our dates only opened on the weekend and United was coming in at $12000 for the 3 of us! Wow, I was freaking out, as I have been tracking flights for over a year and they usually hovered around $8500, though in the last month they have consistently been closer to $12000. I was getting quite worried. But I had hope as Qantas/AA was $8400 on Expedia (though the return date wasn't open still and so I was basing it on a return date of a week earlier).

I talked about it with DH who said he was hoping to pay under $9000. All very pricey, but we are travelling in high season, as it's Xmas/NY.

Anyway, I checked United again last night (having already looked during the day....just a bit obsessive!), and they had come down in price to $9000 (or $8400 if we cut out the flight from Washington to New York and caught the train instead, for $215). I was hoping my travel agent would check the fares out today (as I suspected she might be able to find something even cheaper) and sure enough when I got into work this morning, there was an email for me telling me she had booked for us (not ticketed straightaway as we still had to approve them). She had assured me yesterday that she would be checking every day for cheaper fares, and she came through with the goods!

So we were able to get the exact dates we wanted (which weren't flexible at all), times, and airports for $7900. And it turned out that it was cheaper to include the flight from Washington to New York rather than catch the train. So I asked my TA to issue the tickets.

Of course it's a risk, as they could come down again in price. My TA said the lowest they could go would be around $7000, but she didn't know the likelihood of this (all depends on popularity), and of course they could go up again to $12000. So for peace of mind (and knowing our dates weren't flexible), we thought it best to grab these, and we figure we are actually saving $1000 on what we had expected to pay. I had also been told that when travelling at that time of year, you are best off grabbing the fares as soon as they are available as they don't usually go on sale.

I am so happy they are locked away. I won't be checking anymore!

Now onto the hotel bookings.

Has anyone had experience hiring a car and driving in the wintery conditions? DH wants to hire a car in Denver, but I am a bit worried about him driving in the unfamiliar snowy/icy conditions.

Also, because of the time of year, I realise there could be flight cancellations due to weather. So I was thinking of waiting until we get to Orlando before buying the Universal tickets (don't want to get 2-day tickets, only to not be there to use them!). If we buy them through the hotel (which I think you can do in some hotels? We are hoping to stay in the Cabana Bay), do we get the Internet discount or are they the same prices we'd pay at the gate? Otherwise I could just buy them online once we arrive at our hotel and pick up at the gate.

I am so excited tonight. It is all very real now!

Great work on the airfares! I'd look at it like you've saved $4k since they were hovering around $12k

That's a fantastic saving - well done!

The trip sounds great to me and congrats on scoring the airfares. I agree I would have locked them in too rather than risk continuing to wait. We did that a few years ago to Europe and missed out - could've kicked myself. Its so nail biting deciding when to say yes, buy! We haven't really driven in the US in wintry conditions so can't help there sorry but what little we have seen of snowy roads there, they do seem to keep the major highways and roads well cleared and you can check daily reports on weather conditions ahead and modify routes to suit. Who are you travelling with on the Caribbean cruise and where does it go?

Aussie Wendy said:

The trip sounds great to me and congrats on scoring the airfares. I agree I would have locked them in too rather than risk continuing to wait. We did that a few years ago to Europe and missed out - could've kicked myself. Its so nail biting deciding when to say yes, buy! We haven't really driven in the US in wintry conditions so can't help there sorry but what little we have seen of snowy roads there, they do seem to keep the major highways and roads well cleared and you can check daily reports on weather conditions ahead and modify routes to suit. Who are you travelling with on the Caribbean cruise and where does it go?

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Yes, I am pretty comfortable with the decision to book. Now I don't have to worry about airfare prices anymore.

We are cruising with Norwegian, doing a 14 night Eastern & Western Caribbean cruise, which leaves from Port Canaveral, to Key West, then Grand Cayman, Jamaica, Bahamas, back to Port Canaveral for 1 day (where we will do the Kennedy Space Center shore excursion), Nassau in the Bahamas (where we will go to Atlantis Aquaventure water park), US Virgin Islands, St Maartens, and back to Port Canaveral. We are very excited!

I have till Monday Kristin to pay for mine, I must admit I have been checking twice a day, the actual flights I have a hold on have gone up slightly.
When I do a search for flights SYD to MCO without the LA stopover, they are all actually coming up more expensive for my dates, bizarre!!
Anyhow, think I will be at the TA Monday to pay, I couldnt bear it if they went up, because my daughter 14 , who will turn 15 on Dec 27th whilst we are there will be heartbroken. If they go down, she can repay me when she gets a job, yeah as if.
She actually wants to do the WDW programme, where they hire kids from Aus & NZ when she turns 19, so we will see.
On the other hand my soon to be 17 year old son , couldn't care less, as long as he can get onto facebook he will be happy. He just keeps mumbling , well if I fail the HSC its all your fault. Yea right, how much homework are they going to give you in the 6 week xmas holidays. BTW you can always take the laptop and do what you have to do.... or the other choice is stay at home with your father.
Yes, we are leaving the other half at home, he is so not into Disney or anything connected to having to board a flight. So my sister is travelling with us

That WDW program would be awesome - I'd be encouraging that!

And do kids in Year 12 get homework over Xmas holidays? That didn't happen 'back in my day'!

Good luck on making a decision to pay for your fares or wait and hope for something better. I know what I'd be doing... (even more so, because you say they have already gone up again slightly)

I don't think they do , but then again I have been told he might have to read a novel maybe for English.
Are you staying at Cabana Bay?
That's where we are going to stay before we go on the cruise.

We are hoping to stay at Cabana Bay, but the dates aren't available yet, I don't think? I was going to get the package with a 2 day universal ticket, but am worried about being delayed by weather, so not getting to Orlando in time to use the ticket. Not sure how likely that is or if I am worrying unnecessarily, though.

LivingforDisney said:

I have till Monday Kristin to pay for mine, I must admit I have been checking twice a day, the actual flights I have a hold on have gone up slightly.
When I do a search for flights SYD to MCO without the LA stopover, they are all actually coming up more expensive for my dates, bizarre!!
Anyhow, think I will be at the TA Monday to pay, I couldnt bear it if they went up, because my daughter 14 , who will turn 15 on Dec 27th whilst we are there will be heartbroken. If they go down, she can repay me when she gets a job, yeah as if.
She actually wants to do the WDW programme, where they hire kids from Aus & NZ when she turns 19, so we will see.
On the other hand my soon to be 17 year old son , couldn't care less, as long as he can get onto facebook he will be happy. He just keeps mumbling , well if I fail the HSC its all your fault. Yea right, how much homework are they going to give you in the 6 week xmas holidays. BTW you can always take the laptop and do what you have to do.... or the other choice is stay at home with your father.
Yes, we are leaving the other half at home, he is so not into Disney or anything connected to having to board a flight. So my sister is travelling with us

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Did you buy your tickets or are you still undecided? (Yes, I'm a nosy parker!)

Lol, yes I did!!! I was still in 2 minds all day & went down around 2pm & paid. I checked on line before I went, and they had gone up $50 each, but who's to say whether they will go up more or down ugh.
Oh well, its done now. Will do my insurance tomorrow & book my Anaheim hotel.
I nearly cried about an hour ago, I couldn't help myself and had another look , I must have put November instead of December, because it came up $650 less each,, I tell you my heart nearly stopped. But I quickly logged out and in again and yes it was Nov dates.

Well done! Now stop checking! (Easier said than done. I booked our NY hotel about 2 months ago, then for some reason have kept checking the price, silly me, and last week when I checked it had gone down a few hundred dollars. I felt ill, but then realised it was only for 2 adults, and when I added on my son, it went up again to a price slightly higher than what I paid. It has taught me to stop checking the price though!)

Yes I never relook once I have paid - it can be too heartbreaking! The cruise sounds amazing Kristin5 and you certainly cover the whole Caribbean!

I was just reading through your TR Aussie Wendy and was surprised just how much there seems to be to see and do at Universal Orlando. A lot different to
Universal Hollywood.

We are going for 2 days (3 nights, so will probably go see CityWalk at night perhaps, assuming it is open quite late even in January?) and were thinking of doing 1 park each day, rather than park hopping. We are not Harry Potter fans (I know, sacrilege right?!) so am not sure if we'll truly appreciate all the HP theming. Maybe we should make an effort to watch at least one of the movies before we go?

What are the must-do rides at Universal? DS is a bit of a wuss and hates anything to do with roller coasters so he will want to steer clear of those - on the other hand, DH loves roller coasters! Is the Simpsons ride the same as at Universal LA?

I didn't realise Universal has a photo pass - how much is it and is it worth it (remembering we are only there for 2 days)?

I think Universal Orlando is much bigger than Hollywood though I know some of the main rides are at both, though I have read some of them are slightly different. Haven't ridden The Simpsons at Universal LA (not been to Universal LA since (showing my age here) 1984!!!!) but wiki tells me they are the same ride yes. Not being HP fans, no you won't get the kick out of the theming a lover of the books or movies would have, though you will still appreciate the attention to detail - and the dragon and the rides are good. I would think not spending a lot of time in Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade 2 days would be good - 1 for each park. The special effects on the train between the two wouldn't really be appreciated by you as you wouldn't know what was going on really in the corridor for example. Watching a movie would help set the context though if you pick one of the better, but later ones, you won't get the characters and what is going on as well as if you watch the first one or two but the first one you don't really get introduced to the dementors. I imagine CityWalk will be open long into the night in January too. DS will like Men in Black if he likes Buzz, so long as he is OK on simulators he should like Superman, Transformers and Gringotts, Terminator is getting old but still watchable, Shrek is fun 4D. I would think he would like the Horror make-up show - its very corny and funny. If he liked Seuss as a kid then Seussland is fun, such as The cat in the hat, ET may be aimed at younger kids but I am sure secretly he'd enjoy it. My DH doesn't do roller coasters since he started getting sick on them a few years ago (out of the blue)-I only do tame ones-I was fine on Hippogriff and The Mummy but the latter is indoors with special effects that may be a bit much for him though its actually not a lot of drops after the first bit of one. I can send you my notes I took for the rides which should have a line or two about what each one is like, which I took as a guide for us to know what we could or couldn't do-I haven't checked out the new Disboards messaging (whether can attach a doc) but maybe you need to pm me your email if you wanted the info and I can email it to you. Let me know. Photopass for Universal cost me $56 Aus and included all the ride pics. You don't see Photopass people out and about to take candid pics much but they are at all the character meet and greets and there are lots of those at Universal and they have the added extras too. Off to bed but think that answered some of your queries!

Thanks Ausie Wendy, you have given me a lot of helpful information. I think DS will love Universal, if not for the rides, then for the theming and characters etc.

We will try to watch a few of the HP movies (my boss has offered to lend us the dvd's). I think it would make it a lot better if we understand some of the theming.

The photo pass seems like a good idea (and probably the best way for the 3 of us to all be in our holiday pics! Usually I am the photographer so it is only DH and DS who are in the photos).