2022 Trip Planning Thread

[grantclaire]

Depending on your budget, there is the Pan Pacific which is right there at the port or the Fairmont Waterfront which is directly across the street.
A little cheaper but not too far away you have the Fairmont Vancouver (well not necessarily cheaper for that one!), Sutton Place, the Hyatt , Delta Suites and the Sheraton Wall Center. However, most of those would probably need a cab depending on how much luggage you have (though the walk would be down hill). For more 'boutique' type hotels there is the Auberge or the Time Square. All of these hotels I've mentioned we've either stayed at ourselves or had people we know stay at them and recommend them.

Thank you!

 

[Going to WDW]

Did you buy these tickets before they changed the ticket policy to include the nearer term expiration dates? We have this older type of grandfathered tickets with the 2030 expiration date bought in maybe 2017 or 2018. Had to postpone a couple of trips. Was planning on using those tickets in 2022. Are you saying you cannot use your tickets? I believe we have the policy in writing in an email and have physical tickets where 2030 is printed on the back.

And I understand your frustration. We are only going again as the tickets are already paid for. Enjoy UO.

So I bought them in 2019 --- but the main thing was they confirmed the 2030 date TWICE in calls in 2020 (and even acknowledged that info in the the call I made when when they switched the expiry date from 2030 to 4 weeks away.) They saw they had confirmed 2030 in 2 previous calls in 2020 -- we booked our 2022 trip based on those assurances but ultimately in 2021 said that there "was nothing that could be done" --- super hint here --- if you're a business that has confirmed twice an expiry date to a customer --- then just honour it.... really if they'd done that when I called there'd have been no issue. Had I not called to confirm in 2020 then fine change it but I called twice and they acknowledge they saw that in the file. It's really not okay for a business to operate this way.

 

[musika]

We are going in January (hopefully) so the towels and fans won't be needed this trip. But yes they are so crucial to trips in the hotter months! I've been really tentative about booking anything for January yet. I have the room and a car booked. I don't even have tickets. I'm just afraid of making a commitment and than having to cancel. It's you're birthday, you can cry if you want to! And it would be deserved if your trip was cancelled, especially for a big celebration trip.

We were last there in Jan/2020 and it was chilly! During the warmest part of the day shorts/tshirts worked, but we definitely needed sweaters and jeans at night.

 

[KCMA]

Easter 2022 for us… we had originally booked the end of October first week of November this year with hopes to see some cross over between Halloween and Christmas but ended up canceling and moving to Easter… bought our APs and have already made park reservations for the Easter trip… we were there the last night before the COVID shut down in March 2020 so it will be over 2 years by the time we get back

 

[Jennkneefir]

I guess all we can do is hope. In the meantime tell me what weird things you pack to go to Disney. We always make sure to bring our own straws (the paper ones in the park do not last long), our kettle for my tea in the morning, toilet paper (Disney's is so bad!) and a brita filter water bottle instead of paying the $3.50 a bottle in parks. This year I'm wanting to go more simple with what I bring into the park so I'm thinking of getting a fanny pack. My husband will definitely be embarrassed lol but it looks so much more comfortable than say a backpack.

I always bring a fanny pack/belt bag on my park trips and its honestly the best!! It forces you to pack light, so it might not work for everyone, but i've never had an issue. My packing list isn't super weird, but i always bring -

1) some cash so i don't always need to use cards
2) i make rice crispy treats at home or a similar sweet treat so when i have a sweet tooth i can just pull something out of my bag rather than spending a ton on an expensive disney version. I still buy a few treats, but i have a wicked sweet tooth and would waste so much money on treats at disney if i didnt bring a few. plus then i control the portion sizes and dont feel like i have to finish it.
3) a comb (my hair is long and turns into a rats nest after a few rides)
4) peppermint foot lotion/cooling foot lotion and some at home pedi stuff. This one (obviously) doesnt go to the park with me, but i always find that my feet are dirty, swollen, and sore at the end of the day. a nice soak with epsom salts and some cooling/soothing lotion helps make my feetsies feel great!
5) a few spare ziplock bags

 

[hdrolfe]

Last trip I just carried my phone and a bit of cash in a waist belt (for runners but works for walkers too) and it was great, don't even have to take it off on rides. I was never sure if it was a "bag" but always went through the bag check any way.

 

[Sakiki]

OK! Firstly, we’re in the UK so the costs are rather greater for us than for domestic visitors even when domestic flights are involved (and we wouldn’t fly budget airline - or even ‘normal’ coach - for long haul even if transatlantic budget was an option). And I guess most people know about the special WDW tickets sold to visitors from the UK and Ireland (14 days for the price of 7 and including park hopping, memory maker etc).

We were last in Florida in December 2019, and in January 2020 we booked a return trip (22 days) for December 2021, because of the WDW 50th. Then COVID, and this past January I got onto my Virgin Atlantic rep and rescheduled our flights and car hire for December 2022, and courtesy of Vrbo and the owners was also able to rearrange our offsite villa for the same dates.

As for WDW planning… well, with all the changes (compulsory park reservations, limited park hopping, Genie and all its associated tomfoolery and the need to be constantly monitoring a cellphone, and all the other nickel-and-dimeing) we won’t be buying WDW tickets in advance as we normally would; we’ll wait until we arrive and if we decide we want to visit a park (probably Epcot or MK if the street performers, national entertainers and other elements of ‘Disney ambience’ and so forth are back by then) we’ll see what’s available on the day as a single ticket. And if there’s nothing, then so be it - we haven’t been to Universal since our first trip to FL way back in 1997, or to Seaworld or Busch Gardens since 1999. And hey, there’s a lot more to central FL than theme parks, especially if you have a car…

In 2019 we stayed onsite at AKL with the DP (both firsts for us) and were able to sensibly organize our days before we arrived by booking FPs and TS meals 30 and 60 days out (the whole planning exercise is part of the fun for me). We don’t have the stamina any longer to do full days in a park but we visited MK on three different days, Epcot twice and once each for AK and DHS. With the inevitable souvenirs (DW is a sometime pin and plushie collector but only in person in the parks) and the meal elements, overall that’s a big chunk of change that Disney won’t see from us next time around…

 

[Jackie5170]

A friend and I are hoping to go in May 2022. She is a DVC member and is generously providing the accommodations - split stay between her home resort of Old Key West, and somewhere else, potentially Bay Lake Tower if we can get it. I'm super excited. We went together with another friend in May 2019 and stayed at Animal Kingdom Lodge and Wilderness Lodge, and it may have truly been the most fun I ever had in my life.

I'm curious about how far in advance people book flights. I usually fly out of Detroit if I'm going anywhere in the US and hopefully that will be an option by then. But if not maybe London, Hamilton, Windsor, or Toronto. I'm planning to use travel rewards from a credit card for my flight for the first time. I did do a bit of searching but not all the airlines have their flights posted for that far ahead.

 

[Sakiki]

<snip for brevity>

I'm curious about how far in advance people book flights. I usually fly out of Detroit if I'm going anywhere in the US and hopefully that will be an option by then. But if not maybe London, Hamilton, Windsor, or Toronto. I'm planning to use travel rewards from a credit card for my flight for the first time. I did do a bit of searching but not all the airlines have their flights posted for that far ahead.

As early as possible, as we’re transatlantic! We’ve used Virgin Travel to book our last four trips from the UK, as they have an arrangement with Virgin Atlantic (their parent company of course) that allows them to ‘hold’ seats on flights way in advance of the standard 11 month booking window; in normal times they knew what flights would be running to Florida way way ahead as they’re always full and the schedule never changed much. We booked our December 2021 trip in January 2020, and when COVID hit and we decided in January 2021 to defer the trip until December 2022, we were able to switch our flights (and the attached car hire - Alamo including their ‘skip the counter’ service) to our new dates. And all for a refundable deposit (up to the date the final payment is due) of £375 (what’s that, about $480?). We like Virgin (we’ve flown BA in the past, but their service has never been as good) and those two are the only options for direct flights LON / MCO. We’re just sad that Virgin have now retired the 747s and also switched operations from LGW to LHR as Gatwick is 90 minutes closer to us…

 

[archdandy]

Mine is just from Winners, but you can find nice leather versions just about anywhere - just depends on your budget. The Bay carries some higher-end designs, Coach and Kate Spade make nice ones. If you want sporty, Herschel Supply, Fjallraven, Lulu Lemon have cute, clean designs.

If you do decide to go wild, you can find stuff like this on Amazon. You could pick up a differently-themed one for each park!
https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B08FDTJSBH...colid=OJXM4AGEOJVE&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_ithttps://www.amazon.ca/dp/B07QH117ZD...colid=OJXM4AGEOJVE&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_ithttps://www.amazon.ca/Brown-Animal-...ywords=leopard+belt+bag&qid=1631311291&sr=8-6https://www.amazon.ca/Holographic-W...ywords=sequin+belt+bag&qid=1631311317&sr=8-14

Thank you for the recommendations! The EPCOT looking bag is so awesome! I like the idea of having a different one for each park.

The ones from Lululemon are great! Lots of colours to choose from. I like the Everywhere Belt Bag, but they have a larger version too.

https://shop.lululemon.com/p/bags/Everywhere-Belt-Bag/_/prod8900416?sz=ONESIZE

Thank you! That is a nice bag. I like how you can change the colours. And LuluLemon is a great sturdy brand.

We were last there in Jan/2020 and it was chilly! During the warmest part of the day shorts/tshirts worked, but we definitely needed sweaters and jeans at night.

Thanks! I always tell people this if they are going in January as well. The weather is so unpredictable that time of year!

I always bring a fanny pack/belt bag on my park trips and its honestly the best!! It forces you to pack light, so it might not work for everyone, but i've never had an issue. My packing list isn't super weird, but i always bring -

1) some cash so i don't always need to use cards
2) i make rice crispy treats at home or a similar sweet treat so when i have a sweet tooth i can just pull something out of my bag rather than spending a ton on an expensive disney version. I still buy a few treats, but i have a wicked sweet tooth and would waste so much money on treats at disney if i didnt bring a few. plus then i control the portion sizes and dont feel like i have to finish it.
3) a comb (my hair is long and turns into a rats nest after a few rides)
4) peppermint foot lotion/cooling foot lotion and some at home pedi stuff. This one (obviously) doesnt go to the park with me, but i always find that my feet are dirty, swollen, and sore at the end of the day. a nice soak with epsom salts and some cooling/soothing lotion helps make my feetsies feel great!
5) a few spare ziplock bags

Ziploc bags! Yes! I take a ton of those and a few containers so I can bring home treats from the park. I've put epsom salts and soothing lotion on the list now. That sounds so nice after a day at the parks.

 

[morrik5]

We're up in the air because we have booked two sites at Fort Wilderness and our DD and family will be flying in and staying in a trailer we rented from Meacham's while we will be driving from Ontario in our motor home and join them in our own site. Should I rebook their flight using the credits from this year's cancelled trip towards the new cost or wait closer to our April trip and take a chance? Will the land border be open? So many things making it less fun to plan our magical Disney vacation.

 

[archdandy]

Southwest flights have opened up! We are changing our dates from January 2-12 to January 9-19. I'll have to wait a little while longer but its almost $500 cheaper, its after the marathon weekend instead of during! We're going to be staying at Port Orleans Riverside instead of Coronado this time. Anyone else's plans change after the flights were released?

 

[archdandy]

Okay so I ended up changing everything yesterday! We decided it would be better without the marathon weekend and now we are staying at Port Orleans Riverside. It's a bit cheaper for our new dates so I'm pretty excited. Now all I need is the border to open and we're good. Another announcement is coming on September 21, but if doesn't open until October 21 I think we'll move it again. I'm so excited!

 

[Griffin11]

WestJet is currently having a sale for early 2022 flights. I could cancel and rebook the same flights for my planned late January trip and save about $300. But I don't think I am even going to bother, sigh, I think I know in my heart that we are going to cancel eventually.

I know a lot can still change between now and January, but with so much uncertainty it's really hard to get excited about any potential travel. And I want all the fun and anticipation that should come along with planning a trip, not the stress and dread that I currently have!

I think we'd have a better trip in January 2023 instead of January 2022, but I said the same thing last year.

 

[morrik5]

WestJet is currently having a sale for early 2022 flights. I could cancel and rebook the same flights for my planned late January trip and save about $300. But I don't think I am even going to bother, sigh, I think I know in my heart that we are going to cancel eventually.

I know a lot can still change between now and January, but with so much uncertainty it's really hard to get excited about any potential travel. And I want all the fun and anticipation that should come along with planning a trip, not the stress and dread that I currently have!

I think we'd have a better trip in January 2023 instead of January 2022, but I said the same thing last year.

I better check out prices as we have a credit from West Jet for the cancellation of this year's return flight and must use it before end of year 2022. We have Disney reservations in late April 2022.

 

[morrik5]

I better check out prices as we have a credit from West Jet for the cancellation of this year's return flight and must use it before end of year 2022. We have Disney reservations in late April 2022.

What is frustrating is that because of airline credits due to COVID cancellations, we must use the same airlines for each leg of the vacation (departure/return) as originally booked. But the return flight is cheaper if I could book with Delta on a flight which is operated by West Jet with whom we have the return credit.

 

[LuvMyEAR]

I have finally recovered enough from the disappointment of cancelling our late Nov trip for the second year in a row to jump into this thread. I want desperately to start our planning but there are so many variables at play, beyond the pandemic. Ideally, I would be travelling with my DD, DSIL, and grandchildren, at a minimum. But if COVID conditions improve, my two grandsons may be headed for a spring sports training camp in March, in Georgia or Florida. By Nov 2022, one will be in university and the other in his last year of high school. Tricky times to travel, but we might be able to work around a fall study break. Fortunately, both are excellent students, and could stay abreast of their academic loads.

If things improve, DD and I would love to get a quick fix in Feb, and hopefully another with more family in Nov. But, she falls in the mixed (AZ/Moderna) vaccine category and there’s anything but a definitive answer on if she’d be recognized as “fully vaccinated”, nor any means to get a second Moderna shot in our province.

Fingers crossed some clarity will emerge!

 

[Aug2020distrip]

I better check out prices as we have a credit from West Jet for the cancellation of this year's return flight and must use it before end of year 2022. We have Disney reservations in late April 2022.

we also have credits to use up and I believe they expire June 2022. We have an April 2022 trip booked but we won’t be going if we need to test on way home. I just can’t risk being stuck there for an additional 2 weeks. I’m hoping once the kids vax are out maybe that will be loosened for fully vaxxed travellers. I know some are going still but I just can’t miss two more weeks of work or school for the kids in the off chance someone tests positive. Gah this is all so stressful lol

 

[musika]

we also have credits to use up and I believe they expire June 2022. We have an April 2022 trip booked but we won’t be going if we need to test on way home. I just can’t risk being stuck there for an additional 2 weeks. I’m hoping once the kids vax are out maybe that will be loosened for fully vaxxed travellers. I know some are going still but I just can’t miss two more weeks of work or school for the kids in the off chance someone tests positive. Gah this is all so stressful lol

That's where we are at with things too. Completely understand the need for the testing requirement, but I just can't justify the roll of the dice right now.

 

[2Lunds]

That's where we are at with things too. Completely understand the need for the testing requirement, but I just can't justify the roll of the dice right now.

we also have credits to use up and I believe they expire June 2022. We have an April 2022 trip booked but we won’t be going if we need to test on way home. I just can’t risk being stuck there for an additional 2 weeks. I’m hoping once the kids vax are out maybe that will be loosened for fully vaxxed travellers. I know some are going still but I just can’t miss two more weeks of work or school for the kids in the off chance someone tests positive. Gah this is all so stressful lol

Same, same all around. I'm so sick of re-booking, but until they drop testing we are not going to take the risk. We're currently scheduled for the first week of Feb, and I was hopeful that vaccine approval for younger children would be the catalyst to drop the testing, however I don't think there's enough time for that at this point. I'm just hopeful we actually get to go BEFORE our Delta credits expire Dec 31 2022 I wonder if we're still at "avoid all non-essential travel" level by then, if Delta will finally just refund us?

I'm also guessing that a change in the alert warning from "avoid all non-essential travel" could trigger that change in testing requirements, so keeping my ear to the ground for that.