NOVEMBER 2012 Trip Planners Part 2~yes there IS another!

[mommyof3princess27]

I've tried asking this in several other forums, and I thought I'd ask here if anyone has any advice. My mom and I booked a trip for two with a room only pin code discount and we added park hopper tickets. Apparently this makes a package (and I"m starting to despise the word package ). Now a friend has decided to join us for part of the trip. She will fly down with us and fly out halfway through the trip.

Normally we would simply add any parttime guests to the reservation once we get to the resort. But because she's arriving with us, she can't use DME unless she has the same package as us ahead of time. We don't want to cancel and rebook our reservation separating the room and tickets because the pin code has expired and we frankly got a better deal than the pin code indicated .

I don't understand how if my mom and I arrived one day prior to my friend, she could ride DME and not have the same package as us. But because she's arriving at the same time that there is absolutely no way that she can ride DME unless she pays for extra tickets and the extra adult resort charge for days that she will not be there . Has no one else done this before? Some people on the DIS are acting like this is some strange anomaly.

Has anyone ridden any other kind of shuttle from the airport? I've heard it can take even longer than the DME .

anyone in the same room as you has to have the same amount of nights/ meals and tickets as you. If they were on a different package, they should still be able to use DME if they are staying at a WDW resort. Just call Disney to confirm but it doesnt matter when you arrive, as long as they have a ressie at a WDW resort, they can ride the DME....

 

[Melodious]

anyone in the same room as you has to have the same amount of nights/ meals and tickets as you. If they were on a different package, they should still be able to use DME if they are staying at a WDW resort. Just call Disney to confirm but it doesnt matter when you arrive, as long as they have a ressie at a WDW resort, they can ride the DME....

She is in the same room with us. No reason for her to try to book another room for one person at the GF with us. But the only thing besides a room that we have on our package are tickets. Am I the only one who finds this annoying? We aren't on the dining plan. And we weren't asked if we would like to make a package, we simply said we had a room only discount and would like to book tickets. I guess I've learned my lesson for next time Never buy tickets from Disney just in case they make it into a "package"

But what still bothers me is that the package thing wouldn't matter if we arrived one day before her. Suddenly the whole package thing goes entirely out of the window and it doesn't matter that all three of us don't all have eight day tickets as long as we check in before she does and have the GF front desk add her to the DME. And there's no problem with her then taking the DME back to the airport even though she won't have the same package. So what's with the package?!

 

[mom2rtk]

She is in the same room with us. No reason for her to try to book another room for one person at the GF with us. But the only thing besides a room that we have on our package are tickets. Am I the only one who finds this annoying? We aren't on the dining plan. And we weren't asked if we would like to make a package, we simply said we had a room only discount and would like to book tickets. I guess I've learned my lesson for next time Never buy tickets from Disney just in case they make it into a "package"

But what still bothers me is that the package thing wouldn't matter if we arrived one day before her. Suddenly the whole package thing goes entirely out of the window and it doesn't matter that all three of us don't all have eight day tickets as long as we check in before she does and have the GF front desk add her to the DME. And there's no problem with her then taking the DME back to the airport even though she won't have the same package. So what's with the package?!

Simply buy everyone the least number of days anyone in your party needs on their ticket. Once in the parks, those who need more days can simply go to guest relations and upgrade their tickets. We did this last year and it worked great.

 

[NokOnHarts]

Well, it's now officially official since plane tickets are now purchased! Had to change our dates around to get them to work but we are now coming down November 23rd-December 1st! Staying at POP with free quick service dining. Please add me to the list. Thanks!

 

[mommyof3princess27]

Well, it's now officially official since plane tickets are now purchased! Had to change our dates around to get them to work but we are now coming down November 23rd-December 1st! Staying at POP with free quick service dining. Please add me to the list. Thanks!

 

[Smileybug]

Good morning ya'll.
Happy Fathers Day to all of the Dad's out there.

 

[doberlady]

finding good airfare today!

Ughhhh I have to make a fast decision on my 11th grader missing 4 days of school! Actually 2 real days as I am not going to count Mon and Tues of the Thanksgiving week as they do not do anything.

She is in honors classes. She will have no problem making up the work.

This is going to be our last Disney trip for a few years as we will have her in college in 2 years. We LOVE Disney. It's our happy family place.

Isn't that worth missing a few days of school

 

[dfin]

All reservations have been finalized. My mom and I are arriving by Amtrak. We will be staying at POFQ from November 24-Dec 2 with free dining. Please add us to the list.

 

[DisneyNDecember]

How much per person is the WAK, Wild Africa Trek? I viewed WDW site & it says you have to call to book, but no value is shown? How much per person, that looks FUN !!!

Never mind, I located the answer...

http://www.disunplugged.com/2011/03/14/wild-africa-trek-at-animal-kingdom-at-walt-disney-world/

currently $189 per this blog post above..... Sounds fun !!!!

 

[Melodious]

Simply buy everyone the least number of days anyone in your party needs on their ticket. Once in the parks, those who need more days can simply go to guest relations and upgrade their tickets. We did this last year and it worked great.

Would we not also have to pay the extra $25 charge for an extra adult in the room for all the days that she won't be there if we do that? Or is that something that we don't pay until we get to the resort and thus can simply tell them that she is leaving early? Or can we get some sort of refund if we go ahead and pay it and then tell the front desk that she's leaving early?

Thank you for at least understanding my frustration. I find the inconsistency of the rules very frustrating and when I have asked this question on other threads on this board, I have received nothing but antagonistic replies

 

[JLO]

finding good airfare today!

Ughhhh I have to make a fast decision on my 11th grader missing 4 days of school! Actually 2 real days as I am not going to count Mon and Tues of the Thanksgiving week as they do not do anything.

She is in honors classes. She will have no problem making up the work.

This is going to be our last Disney trip for a few years as we will have her in college in 2 years. We LOVE Disney. It's our happy family place.

Isn't that worth missing a few days of school

I'm taking my son who will also be in the 11th grade out of school for 5 days and just a little concerned. But, I've done it before and the teachers supply all his work ahead of time which helps. I think a family vacation is just as important. Enjoy your trip!

 

[cyndiloveswalt]

We have taken our DS13 and DS8 out every year. We do thanksgiving week a lot and usually take at least Friday before because if you want to do MVMCP that is the only way. I think quality family time is extremely important, especially these days.

 

[Happy Mom2]

Hi y'all! Happy Father's Day to all the dads!

I am kind of sad...I am pretty much done with my planning. What am I going to do for the next 5 months?

I'll buy some clothes for the kids when summer clothes go on sale at the end of the season, and I still have to make our tie dye shirts, but other than that I don't have much else to do. Any ideas?

Wild Africa Trek Tour at AK

Ooooo... Thanks. I racked my brain and could not figure out what WAT meant for anything!

Finally received a pin brochure in the mail today for free dining!!!

I have to check in on 11/15 in order for it to cover Thanksgiving week. So the kids will have to miss 2 extra days of school. Oh well

Wooohoo!!! And 2 extra days in Disney!! What will you do?!

I think 11th grade is the hardest and possibly most critical year of high school. Anything you can do to minimize time away while still giving her time to play would be a good thing.

I agree!

Hi everyone! I just want to say I am now starting to worry if I'll get free dining or not for my one week trip starting Nov. 12th. I've spent so much time chosing and planing my restaurants but I have to say, if I don't get FD things are such that I'll have to cancel dining and just go OOP.

I can't wait until the day when I check back on this thread and you're all jumping up and down with joy lol ! Come on fall free dining!!

Hang in there. I know it is frustrating.

Would we not also have to pay the extra $25 charge for an extra adult in the room for all the days that she won't be there if we do that? Or is that something that we don't pay until we get to the resort and thus can simply tell them that she is leaving early? Or can we get some sort of refund if we go ahead and pay it and then tell the front desk that she's leaving early?

Thank you for at least understanding my frustration. I find the inconsistency of the rules very frustrating and when I have asked this question on other threads on this board, I have received nothing but antagonistic replies

I haven't dealt with your situation, but I would suggest calling...and calling again until you get some help from Disney. There has to be a way that will work for you. Hope you find some answers.

 

[mydisneyobsession]

I've tried asking this in several other forums, and I thought I'd ask here if anyone has any advice. My mom and I booked a trip for two with a room only pin code discount and we added park hopper tickets. Apparently this makes a package (and I"m starting to despise the word package ). Now a friend has decided to join us for part of the trip. She will fly down with us and fly out halfway through the trip.

Normally we would simply add any parttime guests to the reservation once we get to the resort. But because she's arriving with us, she can't use DME unless she has the same package as us ahead of time. We don't want to cancel and rebook our reservation separating the room and tickets because the pin code has expired and we frankly got a better deal than the pin code indicated .

I don't understand how if my mom and I arrived one day prior to my friend, she could ride DME and not have the same package as us. But because she's arriving at the same time that there is absolutely no way that she can ride DME unless she pays for extra tickets and the extra adult resort charge for days that she will not be there . Has no one else done this before? Some people on the DIS are acting like this is some strange anomaly.

Has anyone ridden any other kind of shuttle from the airport? I've heard it can take even longer than the DME .

I agree that you could buy the least number of days in advance, and just add the extra park days on at the resort. You'll still have to pay for extra dining for your friend, but can use her entitlements after she leaves.

If you don't want to pay for extra meal credits, you can avoid the while mess by having your friend pay for transportation on Mears. The transport time is similar to Magical Express travel time, and I understand that you'll often end up on a Magical Express bus anyway.

A taxi or town car would work, too. Then you just add your friend to your reservation when she arrives with no impact to your package. Sorry that this has been a frustrating experience for you!

 

[Roma]

Hello everybody! My husband and I are going down to WDW for our one-year anniversary trip from 11/8-11/15. My birthday is just a couple days after we leave so we're going to be celebrating that as well. I had a very firm "no combining celebrations" policy when we decided to get married so close to my birthday but I made a big fat exception for WDW because, as we all know, it's the best place ever . I really wanted to have a Disneymoon but DH didn't (he thought it was a little too "silly") so we ended up going to Europe instead. Not complaining about that at ALL because we had the time of our lives over there, but something in me still really regretted that we didn't get to have that special newlywed experience in WDW. So a couple weeks ago DH surprised me by saying he thought we should go to WDW to celebrate our one year, and that he "didn't want to skimp on food at all." It was like a dream come true - how could I say no to that!

My husband really wants to stay off-site so I went ahead and made a preliminary reservation at a moderate hotel in DTD but I'm not sold on staying there the whole time. I don't mind staying off-site for some of our trip because we'll be going to Universal and IOA as well (because we're rabid Harry Potter fans), but I really cannot resist having some of that Disney resort "magic" to top off our anniversary. I also really want to stay at a deluxe because that is the only resort level I haven't stayed in, and I think this would be the best time for us to try to stay in one because it's an extra special occasion and we normally wouldn't splurge on accommodations like this. I'm thinking about splitting our stay up, with 11/8-11/11 off-site and 11/12-11/15 on property. I'm really leaning towards Beach Club, because of the location and the atmosphere (I think DH would like it the best), but I'm holding off on booking anything until the fall discounts come out. I haven't been able to find any historical data on fall discounts, such as when they are released and what resorts are usually included, so if any of you have any information to share that would be great!

Another question I have is whether or not I can book a room at the Beach Club now and then get a discount later if they come out for my dates? Or can I only get a discount at first booking?

I went ahead and made our ADRs right when we decided to go because we were already under the 180 day mark! We're not doing the dining plan because I am a very light eater and can barely eat an entire entree let alone an entree and a desert. I always split my restaurant meals and take the other half home so it's going to be super hard to either eat the food or let it go to waste (which I hate doing). On the other hand my DH could eat a couple of cows every day and still be hungry so we have opposing food philosophies in our household, hah.

Here is our dining breakdown:

11/9: 50's Prime Time (DH loves homestyle food so this was a must)
11/11 (Our Anniversary): B: Kona, D: California Grill
- I'm having a mini-cake made to look our wedding cake to surprise DH. Our original cake was chocolate but his favorite flavor is "yellow" so I'm going with that flavor this time as a little joke!
11/12: LTT (another DH request)
11/13: Le Cellier
11/14: Boma

The days we don't have ADRs we'll either be at Universal or at DTD eating WPE or EoS! I secretly hope that Be Our Guest opens up in time for our trip so I can switch that out for LTT but I'm trying not to get too worked up over that possibility.

Anyway, I'm excited to revel in the joys of trip planning with all of you. DH says he's glad there are so many trip planning fanatics like me out there because otherwise he would start to question my sanity .

 

[momto2inKC]

I'm taking my son who will also be in the 11th grade out of school for 5 days and just a little concerned. But, I've done it before and the teachers supply all his work ahead of time which helps. I think a family vacation is just as important. Enjoy your trip!

My kids will be 10th and 8th grade this year. They'll also be missing 5 days. Making up the work is never a problem for them. The unexcused absences is what the school gives me grief about Vacations are not excused, only absences for funerals or with a dr note.

 

[doberlady]

Our school district will not allow school work to be given in advance. We have always taken the kids out for around 5-7 days in a row to go to Disney. 9th grade she missed 6 days and it was terrible when we got back so we only took 2 days this year and it was fine. I called her in sick each morning. They do not have to allow you to make up the work if you missed school due to vacation which they label as an unexcused absence

I am going to talk to her again in the morning about it.

 

[Melodious]

I agree that you could buy the least number of days in advance, and just add the extra park days on at the resort. You'll still have to pay for extra dining for your friend, but can use her entitlements after she leaves.

If you don't want to pay for extra meal credits, you can avoid the while mess by having your friend pay for transportation on Mears. The transport time is similar to Magical Express travel time, and I understand that you'll often end up on a Magical Express bus anyway.

A taxi or town car would work, too. Then you just add your friend to your reservation when she arrives with no impact to your package. Sorry that this has been a frustrating experience for you!

Thank you for your understanding We aren't the dining plan so we don't have to worry about that, I'm just wondering about the extra adult room charge. Any adult over 2 in a GF garden view room is $25 a night. Would we have to pay that ahead of time? And if we do have to pay ahead of time, is there a way to get a refund for the days that she won't be there?

Does anyone know how much a cab would cost? That might be cheaper than paying the extra adult room charge for day she won't be there.

 

[Caretames1]

finding good airfare today!

Ughhhh I have to make a fast decision on my 11th grader missing 4 days of school! Actually 2 real days as I am not going to count Mon and Tues of the Thanksgiving week as they do not do anything.

She is in honors classes. She will have no problem making up the work.

This is going to be our last Disney trip for a few years as we will have her in college in 2 years. We LOVE Disney. It's our happy family place.

Isn't that worth missing a few days of school

We took our 12th grader out of school for 5 days and it went well. She was a good student and made up her work quickly. We also felt it was a last hurrah trip with her, as you can't take a vacation from college.
Our only issue with the school was making sure she didn't go over the 7 day unexcused rule.(if the student had 7 unex days, they couldn't walk in the grad ceremony) At the time we went she only had 4 months of school left and she hadn't ever had an unexcused, so I wasn't really worried.

Enjoy the trip!

 

[madaboutMickey]

Thank you for your understanding We aren't the dining plan so we don't have to worry about that, I'm just wondering about the extra adult room charge. Any adult over 2 in a GF garden view room is $25 a night. Would we have to pay that ahead of time? And if we do have to pay ahead of time, is there a way to get a refund for the days that she won't be there?

Does anyone know how much a cab would cost? That might be cheaper than paying the extra adult room charge for day she won't be there.

Why don't you just call them back and tell them you want to cancel the package and just do room only with the discount. Give the CM the dates that your friend will be there and and ask how much extra those nights will be. Then purchase your tickets through Undercover Tourist and get exactly the number of days each of you need.