Premium Plan for One Night Just for the Tours, LaNouba, etc.??

[2ofUs]

Thanks for the compliment - however, "ya ain't no pro until ya get paid for the job" so I'll settle for the title of Queen, thank you - - ah, NO, not THAT queen!

Really, I'm always glad to assist. We loved our trip and learned a lot in the planning and even more in the doing. But there were others before me that contributed to my knowledge, so just keep spreading the wisdom guys!

 

[PureTcrazy]

We got home Saturday and did our 1 day platinum plan in the middle of our trip, Tuesday-Wednesday. AWESOME!! I would like to make a few points about planning your trip that I wish we had thought of before hand!

1. Rest up the day before!!
2. It sounds like a great idea to switch to GF and be there for the spa and V&A's, Wishes cruise, etc. Not such a great idea on the day you start your plan We were so rushed and our room was not ready until 3. We had Spa at 2. and got into our room with very little time to get our luggage and get dressed for our ADR at V&A (which took over 3 hours and we ended up missing our Wishes cruise) This caused us to be stressed. If you are going to change, do it the day before!!
3. Definitely take advantage of every moment you can, it was well worth being completely exhasted the next day! Which brings me to my next point...
4. Do not schedule an early breakfast or park the next day!
5. In hindsight, I would have scheduled our spa treatment on day 2 before Fulton's and Cirque!
6. Take advantage of Room Service Breakfast! Such a luxury!

My DB ended up doing the FW Segway by himself, it was Freezing cold at 8:30 in the morning. He thought it was ok, but he would not have been happy had he paid oop for it. We all enjoyed the Epcot ATW segway tour and the Aqua Seas tour. V&A's was a luxury and it was nice to be pampered, but I do not feel a need to eat there again and would NEVER pay $125 oop to eat there. I am glad that we did it though. The SPA TREATMENT WAS AWESOME! Trust me, the swedish massage was so worth the time spent! Fulton's was excellent and so much food. Cirque was spectacular.

Again kudos to the OP!! We had a blast, but it was definitely a busy time! I definitely feel like we got our money's worth and more! I'll be glad to answer any questions!

 

[let'sgo]

We got home Saturday and did our 1 day platinum plan in the middle of our trip, Tuesday-Wednesday. AWESOME!! I would like to make a few points about planning your trip that I wish we had thought of before hand!

1. Rest up the day before!!
2. It sounds like a great idea to switch to GF and be there for the spa and V&A's, Wishes cruise, etc. Not such a great idea on the day you start your plan We were so rushed and our room was not ready until 3. We had Spa at 2. and got into our room with very little time to get our luggage and get dressed for our ADR at V&A (which took over 3 hours and we ended up missing our Wishes cruise) This caused us to be stressed. If you are going to change, do it the day before!!
3. Definitely take advantage of every moment you can, it was well worth being completely exhasted the next day! Which brings me to my next point...
4. Do not schedule an early breakfast or park the next day!
5. In hindsight, I would have scheduled our spa treatment on day 2 before Fulton's and Cirque!
6. Take advantage of Room Service Breakfast! Such a luxury!

My DB ended up doing the FW Segway by himself, it was Freezing cold at 8:30 in the morning. He thought it was ok, but he would not have been happy had he paid oop for it. We all enjoyed the Epcot ATW segway tour and the Aqua Seas tour. V&A's was a luxury and it was nice to be pampered, but I do not feel a need to eat there again and would NEVER pay $125 oop to eat there. I am glad that we did it though. The SPA TREATMENT WAS AWESOME! Trust me, the swedish massage was so worth the time spent! Fulton's was excellent and so much food. Cirque was spectacular.

Again kudos to the OP!! We had a blast, but it was definitely a busy time! I definitely feel like we got our money's worth and more! I'll be glad to answer any questions!

Glad you had a good time. I did the Premium Pkg and really enjoyed it, and am thinking about doing the Platinum Pkg next trip. Could you tell us more about the Aqua Seas Tour? Did you enjoy it and was the water cold? If I were to do the Platinum Pkg I'd have to decide between the Aqua Seas and Dolphins in Depth.

I would also schedule V&A and was thinking about the Wishes Cruise afterwards but I thought that V&A would be about two hours, not three. Good to know. Is there a lot of time between the courses?

So sorry that you ended up with the cold weather, but glad that you had a great time!

 

[Zife]

@Zife. Switching to GF is going to be a big pain. You'll need to check in before you can go on that 7:45 Segway tour. I know it is yet another reservation but have you considered switching over one day early?

I'm not sure I can justify doing another reservation, and thus another deposit, to check in a day early. I'll look into it though. Maybe we should just stay at AKL... We'll have a car, so transport won't really be a issue.

Or can I do it all with one or the other? Don't think the IPO will be able to do the AKL part and whoever you have do AKL could do the GF, but since the IPO is a SPECIAL benefit of doing Platinum, why not utilize it? A good Travel Agent could take care of all of it for you as well.

My travel agent has actually offered, but I think I'll probably do this part myself, I like to be in control Also, after talking to CMs at both places, we'll probably book everything through their respective offices. Even though they say I can do it all through one, they also say that the Platinum people are experts at what they do, and since it's all the same system, AKL can pull up everything when I check-in, even stuff planned by the GF IPO.

Wednesday, Oct 5
Around the World Segway - 7:45am
Maybe add lunch at Coral Reef here as you will be hungry by now. Segway tour lasts 2 hours so you have plenty of time. I believe first ressie is 11:30, but you can get in and out pretty quickly.

Sounds like an idea. We've done Coral Reef twice now, and enjoyed it, so more than happy to get back. I'm just worried about the short timing to get from there to Aqua Seas...

Thursday, Oct 6
Keys to the Kingdom - 8:30am I assume you doing the 4.5-5 hour tour within MK (the other is an 'all day, 8 hour, multi-park tour' costing $200+ pp. It is wonderful, informative and includes TS lunch mid-tour.) The MK KTTK includes a CS lunch at Columbia Harbour House and lasts 4.5-5 hours.

That's the one. Didn't realize at first that it's so long. Crazy. Happy that it includes lunch, even if it is CS.

Would be better to shift V&A to latest seating possible? YES! You will want to linger here and the meal requires at least 2 hours for all courses.

Then do early show of La Nouba the same night? Again, yes. They have 6:00pm & 9:00pm shows. We did 6pm show and had plenty of time to drive to AKL for 8:30 Jiko seating - even arrived early.

However, consider leaving these 2 activities on different nights. On La Nouba night, could do early show, have a nice dinner at DTD location -Portabello or Fultons - or Flying Fish (Boardwalk), Artist Point (WL), Narcoosees or Citrico's (GF), which was our favorite dinner last trip. Truly, you will enjoy dinners so much more if you don't have to rush through them to attend another activitiy.

I figure if we do La Nouba first, then late seating for V&A (I think I read that last seating is around 9:45), we wouldn't be rushing, and it would give us time to do the Wishes cruise another night.

That being said, if I were doing PLATINUM, there would definitely be a WISHES cruise in the mix. There is nothing quite like viewing the fireworks over the castle from out in the bay - and we have viewed them from pretty much every concievable location, including the Top of the Towers at BLT.

This would be possible IF you do 6pm La Nouba, latest V&A seating on one night, then WISHES tour with late dinner after at one of the other 2 lovely places at GF. Then you could request that staff ROLL you to your room & tuck your stuffed and exahusted little bodies into bed!

Oh hey, you think it's doable too Luckily, my wife and I were both military, so this kind of day is nothing new to us

In regards to the Wishes tour, we did the Pirate & Pals Fireworks Voyage last year. Are we looking at something similar for the cruise included with Platinum?

You have PLENTY of time to put your plans in place. Utilizing the IPO is a terrific option for Platinum plans. We did the Premium in September 2010 and I had everything 'done' by mid-March. Then I began making changes over the next couple of months, mostly just tweaking. I actually dropped some things in favor of timing - went for quality of the overall trip instead of quantity - with no regrets.

Again, I'm not too worried about fitting everything possible in. Although, this thread is making my plans grow again... If we're looking at plans before we go, and we feel it looks too busy, we'll probably cut out some stuff, but our vacations are usually quite busy anyway, so hopefully we can manage...

Oh, and one last thing...

 

[hdmichael]

Ok, I am seriously considering doing the premium plan, but I have a 14 year old, and I will probably be taking another 14 year old with us to keep him company, so I am trying to figure out if there is enough for him to do. We considered the Platinum Plan, because there would be more for him to do. However, I think I am going to save that for another trip once he turns 16??

Here is a tentative schedule:
We will stay at Pop and do three linked reservations??? We would schedule the premium plan for Thursday and Friday, and we will have a car which should help with the logistics. I have scheduled Wednesday as a resort day with dinner at 7:00 p.m. at the Flying Fish.


Thursday morning:
Animal Kingdom- 8:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. (Carry clothes for the water activities in small backpack?)
Wild by Design tour (My son really wants to do this one, has anyone done this tour, and do you have any feedback?) - 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
Lunch at 11:45 a.m. or 12:00 p.m.- Tusker House (allow 1 hour plus time to get to bus)

Thursday afternoon (2:30 p.m. until 5:00 p.m.):
water activities at Contemporary- I am not sure which ones, but probably tubing, maybe parasailing (my son is afraid of this, but his friend might want to do it.) - What water activities have you done and would recommend for 14 year olds?

Thursday evening (beginning at 5:30 p.m.):
Quick trip back to room to change and head to downtown Disney
Dinner at Fultons (Should I schedule this at 6:30 or 7:00?)
La Nouba (9:00 p.m.)

Friday morning:
7:00 a.m. Fishing Cruise- can we leave from Contemporary for this?
10:00 a.m. Guided Water Craft (How long does this last? Do you think the boys will want to spend more time at Contemporary doing other water related activities?)
Lunch would be counter service somewhere?

Friday afternoon (Scheduling this afternoon has become my personal nightmare!):
My son would like to take a golf lesson, but will it be too hot, and when I called, they said lessons could be scheduled to begin from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., and they could not be scheduled at the same time, even with different instructors (?), and to allow 2 hours for two kids (45 minute lessons).

He would also like to try the archery at Fort Wilderness, so would this work as a tentative schedule:
golf lessons- 12:45 p.m. (with the adults switching the kids out or taking them to different courses) (allow up to 1 1/2 hours if separate kids)- I am thinking I should just forget the golf lessons???

Fort Wilderness activities-
archery- 2:45 p.m. to 4:15 p.m.
Hoop dee doo- 5:00 p.m.
Carriage ride- after the show

Any input and/or comments would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Diane

 

[2ofUs]

Zife: "Maybe we should just stay at AKL... We'll have a car, so transport won't really be a issue." Actually, I'm surprised you planned to move in the first place (we love AKL)but thought it was mostly a location issue. We were at POP w/car and never had a problem getting anywhere on time.

"Platinum people are experts at what they do, and since it's all the same system, AKL can pull up everything when I check-in, even stuff planned by the GF IPO." And if you STAY at AKL, their Platinum people can take care of everything! Would you do it mid-stay or at the end of your AKL segment? Doing it mid-stay, you don't have to pack/move on your 2nd day of the plan!

Re: KTTK tour, it is very informative and the lunch is actually quite nice, and just filling enough. We have done this tour 3x now - all with different CM - and they each get a little 'long' wiinded on the utilidors portion (last part of tour). You might approach your guide @ lunch saying you may have to leave early. I get the impression they s - t - r - e - t - c - h the ending a bit, so maybe that will prompt them to wrap up?

I figure if we do La Nouba first, then late seating for V&A (I think I read that last seating is around 9:45), we wouldn't be rushing, and it would give us time to do the Wishes cruise another night. -- Regarding Wishes cruise - did Pirate & Pals Fireworks Voyage last year -- similar? It is very similar, but I would check w/IPO since I BELIEVE you can arrange to have the entire boat to yourself? SOMEONE CORRECT me if that is wrong.

Not too worried about fitting everything possible in. If looking at plans before we go and feel it looks too busy, probably cut out some... I WAY over-planned initially; changed/dropped things; added back & TRIED to add others but they had filled. (Hint: if you have an ADR, keep it until you are SURE everything is set. I dropped all extras 30 days out, which is plenty of time for WDW to fill tours. We even added an Epcot Segway the night BEFORE our plan (dropped FW due to timing and logistics) and would have done so earlier but there was NO availability until 24 hours out - so keep that in mind.

Also, if you use a spreadsheet (Excel?) and build a timeline for all tours, adding in time for transportation and eating, it is much easier to see what could be added or dropped.

I also recorded the date/time/number called and name of the person who gave me ANY booking/tour information. Amazing how presenting that information helps when questions arrive on an ADR or incorrect information (i.e., WDW-TOUR said Bass Fishing Tour provided danish, juice & coffee - NONE of which was accurate). Made a reduced copy spreadsheet (folded in 1/2 was about the size of a park pass) w/all ADRs, ressie #, etc. and carried it everywhere we went. But then I suffer from CDO (that's OCD but in alphabetical order ... AS IT SHOULD BE -) so I am very detailed! SURPRISE!!!

 

[2ofUs]

Premium plan, w/2 14 year olds. Considered the Platinum Plan, think I am going to save that for another trip once he turns 16? Waiting until 16 IS a better idea!?

Here is a tentative schedule:
POP w/3-linked reservations? Yep - and confirm by phone the week before check-in and again AT check-in that those ressies are linked! Premium plan covers Thursday and Friday, will have a car which should help with the logistics. I have scheduled Wednesday as a resort day with dinner at 7:00 p.m. at the Flying Fish. Excellent so far! Good planning.


Thursday morning:
Animal Kingdom- 8:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. (Carry clothes for water activities in small backpack) Consider using a locker at the front of the park so you don't have to carry it all day!
Wild by Design tour (Son really wants to do this one, has anyone done this tour, and do you have any feedback?) - 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Have heard GREAT things about this tour and really wanted to do this last Sep, but had to adjust plans - definitely on my list for next time. They do take a mid-tour break and serve a lite breakfast (rolls, fruit, etc.)

Lunch at 11:45 a.m. or 12:00 p.m.- Tusker House (allow 1 hour plus time to get to bus) Tuskers is generally pretty easy to get into early, so head there after your tour ends no matter what time your ressie is for. LOVE this place for variety of foods. If Flametree is open and you want to save your sit-down lunch for tomorrow, consider grabbing CS here and walk all the way down the path behind the building (stay right at every fork) for a lovely view of the lagoon and EE! One of our favorite spots in AK.

Thursday afternoon (2:30 p.m. until 5:00 p.m.):
water activities at Contemporary- not sure which, tubing, parasailing? I am not a water sport fan, but when we go again, I will do the parasailing - and I even have vertigo! Have talked with LOTS of guest who really enjoy these activities and I'd think most any 14 yr-old could find things they would enjoy.

Thursday evening (beginning at 5:30 p.m.):
Quick trip back to room to change and head to downtown Disney
Dinner at Fultons (Should I schedule this at 6:30 or 7:00?) Make your ADR based on the amount of time you want to allow for water fun, transportation, and changing of clothes. You need to be AT La Nouba by 8:30, and you will have to exchange the vouchers they will give you at POP for tickets. It is not a hassle, but does take a few minutes. If you get to DTD early, you might want to do it then, head to dinner, back to La Nouba. We sat DEAD CENTER but in the very top row (KK) and liked that view better than all other seating we had tried (3x). Also, the elevator takes you directly upstairs to the 3rd floor - nice treat.
La Nouba (9:00 p.m.)

Friday morning:
7:00 a.m. Fishing Cruise- can we leave from Contemporary for this? Ours departed from Contemporary - had to be there by 6:45am. The gate-guy will allow you to park in the CR parking area, then walk thru the lobby and out the back down to the dock. We had scheduled a 9:30am KTTK @ MK after, so the tourguide dropped us off at the MK dock. It is nice being out so early on the lake - pretty and peaceful - and we did catch quite a few fish. They furnish bottled water and I took LOTS of pictures - sunrise, GF, Poly, Contemp, FWL, etc.

10:00 a.m. Guided Water Craft (How long does this last? Do you think the boys will want to spend more time at Contemporary doing other water related activities?) Can't answer - didn't do any, but be careful about how much sun you get on the water, and stay hydrated.

Lunch would be counter service somewhere? Consider eating at the WAVE on lobby level of Contemp. GREAT food and very relaxing atmosphere. They specialize in local food sources. It probably would be a better use of your TS than Tuskers would be yesterday? Or monorail over to Kona Cafe at Poly - also great food! Look over the menus (AllEars.net) and make a decision based on they type of food the boys might like.

Friday afternoon (Scheduling this afternoon has become my personal nightmare!):
Son would like to take a golf lesson, but will it be too hot, and when I called, they said lessons could be scheduled to begin from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., and they could not be scheduled at the same time, even with different instructors (?), and to allow 2 hours for two kids (45 minute lessons).

He would also like to try the archery at Fort Wilderness, so would this work as a tentative schedule:
golf lessons- 12:45 p.m. (adults switching the kids out or taking them to different courses) (allow up to 1 1/2 hours if separate kids)- I am thinking I should just forget the golf lessons???

Lots to mention here. Golf lessons are best done early, especially summer thru fall. Three of the courses are together over by Shades of Green (near GF) and that clubhouse has several Pros and is where most people take lessons so you shouldn't have to take the kids to different courses.

I'm not sure why you were told they cannot be scheduled at the same time and would CALL WDW-GOLF directly to confirm this. They do ask that you arrive 30 min prior to lesson, so you are giving up a bit of time here, but if your son likes golf and actually wants a lesson, I'd say go for it. Use the down time to sit in the clubhouse and have a beverage (maybe even an adult beverge

That being said, if archery is an option, FW also has horseback riding (mostly a slow ride along a well traveled path) and does have some great scenery. It would be more relaxing AND, if you used your TS for lunch yesterday, FW has a very affordable buffet you could try today. Besides, you'll be in the right location for HDDR and the carriage ride.

Side benefit, you might even be able to leave your vehicle in the CR lot all day since you are staying at CR and FW for the whole day/evening! You can then boat over to CR after your carriage ride, maybe even catch part of the fireworks on the way!

Fort Wilderness activities-
archery- 2:45 p.m. to 4:15 p.m.
Hoop dee doo- 5:00 p.m.
Carriage ride- after the show

Any input and/or comments would be appreciated. Thanks, Diane

I keep forgetting that when I make comments 'inside' the quote, I still have to add something here. Hope I have helped a bit.

 

[Zife]

Zife: "Maybe we should just stay at AKL... We'll have a car, so transport won't really be a issue." Actually, I'm surprised you planned to move in the first place (we love AKL)but thought it was mostly a location issue. We were at POP w/car and never had a problem getting anywhere on time.

Still not sure what we plan on doing about this. We love AKL too, this will be our 3rd time there, but we've always wanted to give GF a try...

Would you do it mid-stay or at the end of your AKL segment? Doing it mid-stay, you don't have to pack/move on your 2nd day of the plan!

Our trip (as it stands now) is like this:
Sept 29-Oct 5 - AKL
Oct 5-6 - GF
Oct 6-10 - Off-World (Universal, Sea World, etc)
So even if we changed to AKL, we'd be packing and moving on the 2nd day.

I figure if we do La Nouba first, then late seating for V&A (I think I read that last seating is around 9:45), we wouldn't be rushing, and it would give us time to do the Wishes cruise another night. -- Regarding Wishes cruise - did Pirate & Pals Fireworks Voyage last year -- similar? It is very similar, but I would check w/IPO since I BELIEVE you can arrange to have the entire boat to yourself? SOMEONE CORRECT me if that is wrong.

I'll be sure to check that out. That would be kind of awesome.

Also, if you use a spreadsheet (Excel?) and build a timeline for all tours, adding in time for transportation and eating, it is much easier to see what could be added or dropped.

I also recorded the date/time/number called and name of the person who gave me ANY booking/tour information. Amazing how presenting that information helps when questions arrive on an ADR or incorrect information (i.e., WDW-TOUR said Bass Fishing Tour provided danish, juice & coffee - NONE of which was accurate). Made a reduced copy spreadsheet (folded in 1/2 was about the size of a park pass) w/all ADRs, ressie #, etc. and carried it everywhere we went. But then I suffer from CDO (that's OCD but in alphabetical order ... AS IT SHOULD BE -) so I am very detailed! SURPRISE!!!

Haha, my wife does this kind of stuff. She's the real planner, I just haven't convinced her to make an account and get on here. I think you two would get along quite well

 

[2ofUs]

Have you considered splitting out your AKL ressie so that you can stay in the same room, yet do the plan on Oct 4-5, then you have one more night at AKL to just rest up & pack? I think you are doing Deluxe dining, so you would loose 1 day of that, but you could also change the last day at AKL to room only and save some cash!

You will need a room to change for La Nouba and V&A, so you pretty much HAVE to do them the first night. Have you allowed time to check out & move to your new resort? Listen to me stressing over your plans - ya'd think we were going with you ... can we - please? We are well behaved and quiet ;~}

We changed from POP to Wyndham Bonnet Creek our second morning, but they are only about 1 mile appart so we got up early and were still able to get to Epcot in plenty of time for the 9:30 Segway. After we went to DS to ride ToT and have lunch at Hollywood Brown Derby (a welcome respite to the nearly 100 degree weather - thought I was gonna diiiieeee). Resort called us when our room was ready & we rested, showered, changed & headed to 6pm La Nouba, then 8:30 Jiko. All worked well.

Next day we did little to nothing - bought some groceries, hit AK for a couple of rides early afternoon, had PIZZA delivered for dinner. We really NEEDED a down day, believe me. I would not have been able to handle the rest of the trip if I hadn't taken that day off. As much as we like to 'think' we can, our body often 'tells' us we can't and through the years I have learned to listen when my body talks!

 

[ScottOKW2K]

Yes, they can (and probably should) remain in their DVC resort, though they CANNOT add either plan onto that reservation - I tried. It would be easiest not to have to pack & relocate for just one night, so make a seperate resservation at a resort of your choice.

I recommend Wilderness Lodge as a good location, lower priced Deluxe option if doing PLATINUM. And, if they decide on Premium, POP Century works well as it is inexpensive, but they would need a vehicle here to insure they get everywhere on time.

One thing to consider if you are a DVC member - though you cannot add the premium or platinum plan to a DVC points reservation you should still be able to book the same style room you would be staying at for cash through the WDW site or reservation line. This reservation would meet the deluxe level requirement for the Platinum plan booking. So , instead of changing resorts just bracket your "cash' reservation with your "points" reservations.

You would most likely find the cash cost of a studio at the various dvc resorts comparable to the cost of a regular hotel room at one of the deluxe resorts. Just let them know at check-in what you are wanting to do any you probably won't even have to move. Here is an example of what we plan to do on a future trip in order to take advantage og the Platinum plan.

DVC studio, 5 nights : <points> <points> <cash> <points> <points> or <points> <cash> <points> <points> <points> . With the second scenario you would have the day before to unpack and settle in / rest for the first day of your Plan and would be able to use the ticket part of your package the next day for admission or upgrade to a higher ticket media - we would do APs. So, you are rested and relaxed before the start of your plan, have time afterwards to recover and you don't even have to move !

 

[PureTcrazy]

Glad you had a good time. I did the Premium Pkg and really enjoyed it, and am thinking about doing the Platinum Pkg next trip. Could you tell us more about the Aqua Seas Tour? Did you enjoy it and was the water cold? If I were to do the Platinum Pkg I'd have to decide between the Aqua Seas and Dolphins in Depth.

Aqua Seas was interesting. You actually spend about 30 minutes in the water. It seemed a bit cold at first entry, but I did not feel cold at all after that and it was FREEZING outside. Of course, after the swim we had to go from the aquarium to the changing rooms through a backdoor outside. It was cold then. I would suggest that you bring your own towell and don't forget your comb and brush!

I would also schedule V&A and was thinking about the Wishes Cruise afterwards but I thought that V&A would be about two hours, not three. Good to know. Is there a lot of time between the courses?

The GF IPO scheduled our dinner and cruise, so we assumed there would be plenty of time also. IDK, maybe we were slow?

So sorry that you ended up with the cold weather, but glad that you had a great time!

Thanks! It was fabulous!

 

[Zife]

You will need a room to change for La Nouba and V&A, so you pretty much HAVE to do them the first night. Have you allowed time to check out & move to your new resort? Listen to me stressing over your plans - ya'd think we were going with you ... can we - please? We are well behaved and quiet ;~}

Haha, the more the merrier!

According to room changes we've done in the past, what my wife wants to do is get up early that morning, check-in at GF and drop our luggage with them, have breakfast at GF Cafe then go to a later Segway at Epcot. We'd do Aqua Seas shortly after (no lunch yet, filled up on breakfast), maybe do a QS lunch after Aqua Seas. After that, we'd go back to the room to change, go to La Nouba at 6:00, then off to a late V&A meal.

I did up a spreadsheet like you suggested, and as far as I can tell, this should work. As long as we're willing to get up early enough to check in at GF by like 7:00.

Again, like you've said, we have lots of time to decide for sure. My planning mode has just kicked in early this year. Which is weird, because like I said, it's usually my wife that freaks out about this stuff...

One last thing. I've been looking at the information about the Platinum Plan (both the official brochure and stuff online), and as far as I can tell, everything (including Signature Dining) is only 1 credit. Is this true, or am I just not reading correctly?

Thanks again!

 

[hdmichael]

2ofus- Thank you so much for your feedback, and all of your other insights on this thread: yes, I have read every page. I have attempted to make some changes based on your feedback. Thanks, Diane



Thursday morning:
Animal Kingdom- 8:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. (Carry clothes for water activities in small backpack) Consider using a locker at the front of the park so you don't have to carry it all day!
Wild by Design tour (Son really wants to do this one, has anyone done this tour, and do you have any feedback?) - 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Have heard GREAT things about this tour and really wanted to do this last Sep, but had to adjust plans - definitely on my list for next time. They do take a mid-tour break and serve a lite breakfast (rolls, fruit, etc.)

Lunch at 11:45 a.m. or 12:00 p.m.- Tusker House (allow 1 hour plus time to get to bus) Tuskers is generally pretty easy to get into early, so head there after your tour ends no matter what time your ressie is for. LOVE this place for variety of foods. If Flametree is open and you want to save your sit-down lunch for tomorrow, consider grabbing CS here and walk all the way down the path behind the building (stay right at every fork) for a lovely view of the lagoon and EE! One of our favorite spots in AK. We like Tusker a lot, and I haven't been able to fit it in earlier in the week.

Thursday afternoon (2:30 p.m. until 5:00 p.m.):
water activities at Contemporary- not sure which, tubing, parasailing? I am not a water sport fan, but when we go again, I will do the parasailing - and I even have vertigo! Have talked with LOTS of guest who really enjoy these activities and I'd think most any 14 yr-old could find things they would enjoy.

Thursday evening (beginning at 5:30 p.m.):
Quick trip back to room to change and head to downtown Disney
Dinner at Fultons (Should I schedule this at 6:30 or 7:00?) Make your ADR based on the amount of time you want to allow for water fun, transportation, and changing of clothes. You need to be AT La Nouba by 8:30, and you will have to exchange the vouchers they will give you at POP for tickets. It is not a hassle, but does take a few minutes. If you get to DTD early, you might want to do it then, head to dinner, back to La Nouba. We sat DEAD CENTER but in the very top row (KK) and liked that view better than all other seating we had tried (3x). Also, the elevator takes you directly upstairs to the 3rd floor - nice treat. I think we will pick up the tickets on the way to dinner, that way I won't hyperventilate about picking them up on time.
La Nouba (9:00 p.m.)

Friday morning:
7:00 a.m. Fishing Cruise- can we leave from Contemporary for this? Ours departed from Contemporary - had to be there by 6:45am. The gate-guy will allow you to park in the CR parking area, then walk thru the lobby and out the back down to the dock. We had scheduled a 9:30am KTTK @ MK after, so the tourguide dropped us off at the MK dock. It is nice being out so early on the lake - pretty and peaceful - and we did catch quite a few fish. They furnish bottled water and I took LOTS of pictures - sunrise, GF, Poly, Contemp, FWL, etc. Thanks for letting me know about the water. Should I take snacks for the boys in case they get hungry? Rather, am I allowed to bring snacks for them?

10:00 a.m. Guided Water Craft (How long does this last? Do you think the boys will want to spend more time at Contemporary doing other water related activities?) Can't answer - didn't do any, but be careful about how much sun you get on the water, and stay hydrated. I am thinking that I will need lots of water and maybe simple snacks for this. I will ask what I am allowed to take on the boat.

Lunch would be counter service somewhere? Consider eating at the WAVE on lobby level of Contemp. GREAT food and very relaxing atmosphere. They specialize in local food sources. It probably would be a better use of your TS than Tuskers would be yesterday? Or monorail over to Kona Cafe at Poly - also great food! Look over the menus (AllEars.net) and make a decision based on they type of food the boys might like. We already have both of these scheduled earlier in the week, but I am wondering whether I would be better off having ADRs at one of them rather than counter service because we will have been on the water all morning and will probably need a nice air conditioned setting for a nice break. If I do that, then we will do Flame tree for counter service on Thursday. My only concern with these sit downs is that they may take up too much time. Too much to take into consideration! LOL!

Friday afternoon (Scheduling this afternoon has become my personal nightmare!):
Son would like to take a golf lesson, but will it be too hot, and when I called, they said lessons could be scheduled to begin from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., and they could not be scheduled at the same time, even with different instructors (?), and to allow 2 hours for two kids (45 minute lessons).

He would also like to try the archery at Fort Wilderness, so would this work as a tentative schedule:
golf lessons- 12:45 p.m. (adults switching the kids out or taking them to different courses) (allow up to 1 1/2 hours if separate kids)- I am thinking I should just forget the golf lessons???

Lots to mention here. Golf lessons are best done early, especially summer thru fall. Three of the courses are together over by Shades of Green (near GF) and that clubhouse has several Pros and is where most people take lessons so you shouldn't have to take the kids to different courses.

I'm not sure why you were told they cannot be scheduled at the same time and would CALL WDW-GOLF directly to confirm this. They do ask that you arrive 30 min prior to lesson, so you are giving up a bit of time here, but if your son likes golf and actually wants a lesson, I'd say go for it. Use the down time to sit in the clubhouse and have a beverage (maybe even an adult beverge

That being said, if archery is an option, FW also has horseback riding (mostly a slow ride along a well traveled path) and does have some great scenery. It would be more relaxing AND, if you used your TS for lunch yesterday, FW has a very affordable buffet you could try today. Besides, you'll be in the right location for HDDR and the carriage ride.

Side benefit, you might even be able to leave your vehicle in the CR lot all day since you are staying at CR and FW for the whole day/evening! You can then boat over to CR after your carriage ride, maybe even catch part of the fireworks on the way!
It was the person at the 800-GOLF number who gave me the information about the golf lessons. I think I may pass on those because I think the kids would melt in the sun after an entire morning in the sun and on the water. I thought about scheduling horseback riding, but Michael has been taking lessons for the last several years, and I am afraid he will be bored. What do you think about scheduling the photo shoot after lunch? Do they have a photo shoot session available at Fort Wilderness? I wonder if I could get a 1:30 or 1:45 photo session and still make it to archery.


Fort Wilderness activities-
archery- 2:45 p.m. to 4:15 p.m.
Hoop dee doo- 5:00 p.m.
Carriage ride- after the show
If the kids still have energy, we can let them play miniature golf or something like that.
Any input and/or comments would be appreciated. Thanks, Diane

 

[2ofUs]

One thing to consider if you are a DVC member - though you cannot add the premium or platinum plan to a DVC points reservation you should still be able to book the same style room you would be staying at for cash through the WDW site or reservation line. This reservation would meet the deluxe level requirement for the Platinum plan booking. So , instead of changing resorts just bracket your "cash' reservation with your "points" reservations.

You would most likely find the cash cost of a studio at the various dvc resorts comparable to the cost of a regular hotel room at one of the deluxe resorts. Just let them know at check-in what you are wanting to do any you probably won't even have to move. Here is an example of what we plan to do on a future trip in order to take advantage og the Platinum plan.

DVC studio, 5 nights : <points> <points> <cash> <points> <points> or <points> <cash> <points> <points> <points> . With the second scenario you would have the day before to unpack and settle in / rest for the first day of your Plan and would be able to use the ticket part of your package the next day for admission or upgrade to a higher ticket media - we would do APs. So, you are rested and relaxed before the start of your plan, have time afterwards to recover and you don't even have to move !

GREAT INFORMATION - and THANKS for sharing. We often stay OKW Studio using rental points, and LOVE both the resort and it's location. This is very useful info for someone on DVC and wanting to 'budget' their PLATINUM trip.

I know most owners prefer their home resort, but for the sake of expenses (and an opportunity to visit a real 'hidden gem' resort at WDW), give OKW a try. They are also the only DVC I have found with 2 beds in a studio as others have a bed + sofa bed.

Then there is Olivia's where the food is very nice and it is easy to get an ADR. And the boat to DTD is very relaxing and convenient, especially if you do the early La Nouba, then dine in one of the fine establishments in DTD and have an adult beverage (or more), you can stumble, er ah, wander down to the dock and BOAT home safely, not that WE would ever do such a thing. But even without libation (I am not really a drinker) the gentle night ride on the water is a great way to end a wonderful evening.

Other pluses: bathrooms are HUGE; in most cases parking is right outside the room; majority of buildings are only 2 stories high; laundry is FREE; and it is one of the lushest locations with mature trees and shrubs since a golf course actually runs through the resort!

For those who enjoy being in the parks during the day, but would find it relaxing to get away from the theming in the evening - OKW is just the place.

 

[2ofUs]

Zife: Haha, the more the merrier! Doesn't take us long to pack so we'll start checking on airfare ;~}

According to room changes we've done in the past, what my wife wants to do is get up early that morning, check-in at GF and drop our luggage with them, have breakfast at GF Cafe then go to a later Segway at Epcot. We'd do Aqua Seas shortly after (no lunch yet, filled up on breakfast), maybe do a QS lunch after Aqua Seas. After that, we'd go back to the room to change, go to La Nouba at 6:00, then off to a late V&A meal.

I did up a spreadsheet like you suggested, and as far as I can tell, this should work. As long as we're willing to get up early enough to check in at GF by like 7:00. I would be glad to email you my spreadsheet if you'd like to PM me. Be forewarned, though, there is a lot of stuff in a small amount of space - but it is organized and looks good!

Again, like you've said, we have lots of time to decide for sure. My planning mode has just kicked in early this year. Which is weird, because like I said, it's usually my wife that freaks out about this stuff...

One last thing. I've been looking at the information about the Platinum Plan (both the official brochure and stuff online), and as far as I can tell, everything (including Signature Dining) is only 1 credit. Is this true, or am I just not reading correctly? You are absolutely correct. The plans are not 'credit' based, but rather 'meal' based. You get 3TS meals anywhere, anytime on Platinum, and all but V&A on Premium. Careful, though, it gets addictive!

 

[Disbug1]

We got home Saturday and did our 1 day platinum plan in the middle of our trip, Tuesday-Wednesday. AWESOME!! I would like to make a few points about planning your trip that I wish we had thought of before hand!

1. Rest up the day before!!
2. It sounds like a great idea to switch to GF and be there for the spa and V&A's, Wishes cruise, etc. Not such a great idea on the day you start your plan We were so rushed and our room was not ready until 3. We had Spa at 2. and got into our room with very little time to get our luggage and get dressed for our ADR at V&A (which took over 3 hours and we ended up missing our Wishes cruise) This caused us to be stressed. If you are going to change, do it the day before!!
3. Definitely take advantage of every moment you can, it was well worth being completely exhasted the next day! Which brings me to my next point...
4. Do not schedule an early breakfast or park the next day!
5. In hindsight, I would have scheduled our spa treatment on day 2 before Fulton's and Cirque!
6. Take advantage of Room Service Breakfast! Such a luxury!

My DB ended up doing the FW Segway by himself, it was Freezing cold at 8:30 in the morning. He thought it was ok, but he would not have been happy had he paid oop for it. We all enjoyed the Epcot ATW segway tour and the Aqua Seas tour. V&A's was a luxury and it was nice to be pampered, but I do not feel a need to eat there again and would NEVER pay $125 oop to eat there. I am glad that we did it though. The SPA TREATMENT WAS AWESOME! Trust me, the swedish massage was so worth the time spent! Fulton's was excellent and so much food. Cirque was spectacular.

Again kudos to the OP!! We had a blast, but it was definitely a busy time! I definitely feel like we got our money's worth and more! I'll be glad to answer any questions!

Thanks for the report..I was thinking about doing the Platinum plan next year now if i had a reservation at Victoria & Alberts for 5 then a Wishes Cruise at 7.30 would u think that is too rushed?? What happened that u missed your cruise?
Thanks in advance

 

[gibbersome]

Thanks for the report..I was thinking about doing the Platinum plan next year now if i had a reservation at Victoria & Alberts for 5 then a Wishes Cruise at 7.30 would u think that is too rushed?? What happened that u missed your cruise?
Thanks in advance

Yep, that would be waay too rushed. Better to do your Victoria and Alberts reservation AFTER the cruise.

 

[Disbug1]

Yep, that would be waay too rushed. Better to do your Victoria and Alberts reservation AFTER the cruise.

So its definately NOT DOABLE then? Is 2hrs NOT ENOUGH time to eat at Victoria & Alberts??

 

[gibbersome]

So its definately NOT DOABLE then? Is 2hrs NOT ENOUGH time to eat at Victoria & Alberts??

The estimate I've most often heard is 3 hours, but I can't speak from personal experience since our first time is this January.

 

[2TxAgs]

Ha ha ha....Disney must LOVE these boards as they inspire so many to make repeated trips...AND WE ARE SOME OF THE MANY!

I started reading this thread about 8pm last night. Have been toying with what kind of trip to take for our 25th anniversary in the spring. By midnight, I was playing with dates and by 2am when I went to bed I had made my initial payment on a one night Premium stay!

Tell me what you think:

Day 1 - Thursday - EMH at MK. We'll go early so we can hit my favorite, Buzz, and maybe get a FP for Splash Mtn.
9:30 - 2 KTTK tour, incl lunch
2:30-3:30 Sea Raycers
5:15 Spirit of Aloha Luau
7:30 back to MK for fireworks and another ride on Buzz?

Day 2 - Friday

early Chef Mickeys for B'fast?
9-10 Jet Ski Guided tour
11:30-1:30 Segway tour at FW
not sure about afternoon
6-8 Dinner at Fultons
9-10:30 Cirque

Comments?