alicia1506
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 26, 2011
I asked on the Universal forum about hotel specials and was told there very well could be some for September stays that are even better than the ones being offered now. Apparently if you book online directly with Loews, it's quite easy to cancel and rebook if something cheaper comes up.
I was also told that having an AP for Universal might entitle you to an even cheaper hotel rate, but no guarantees.
Alicia, your plan of combining a Disney cruise bus with a Universal shuttle is one I have considered despite the added travel times and cost. I've seen the cute little video (on You Tube) that the Disney bus shows it's passengers on the way to the Port. It would be really cool for my son to see that and find out that Mickey and friends have also packed to come on this cruise with us.
However, I've also heard that with a town car I can get to the Port much quicker (and cheaper) and can check in earlier than the passengers arriving by Disney bus. I'm quite keen to go to open-house at the kids club and film my son in there before too many other passengers arrive. Will have to do some investigating into the company Karen just found to see if they're reliable. My biggest fear is not getting picked up at all and having to splash out on a taxi the whole way.
I have to be honest, this whole trip is starting to do my head in. I love planning usually, but normally there are clear cut answers to all my questions. But with this holiday it's far from the case. Even all the experts here on Dis seem to disagree what is best to do . For example, with Disney right now I am trying to decide:
Should I book a book a room-only rate now and then cancel and rebook if something better comes along? Alternatively, should I be looking at booking a package that includes tickets now instead? Or perhaps I should just forget about it all until specials are actually released and then book then? Am I taking a gamble with the exchange rate if I don't pay for more things now? (Don't worry, I'm not expecting an answer to that one). And what about AP's and TIW cards and dining plans...? And don't even get me started on my indecisiveness over which hotel to book. Too many questions all at once. (I feel like placing one of those crazed looking emoticons here, but App doesn't have them)
I contacted Dreams Unlimited on Wednesday night (Tuesday night their time) about possibly transferring my cruise. I'm thinking they might also be the best way to go with the WDW booking. However, they haven't got back to me yet and I'm surprised. Do they normally take more than a few business days to respond? I'm not known for being patient.
i have always had an auto response from dreams within an hour or so, and usually a quote within 24 hours, if that. i usually ask for the quote at night and i have a reply with details/prices etc the following morning. sounds like there may have been a glitch. i would definitely send your request for a quote again.
for our wdw trip, we are planning a 7-8 night stay, then the 7 night cruise in 2014. we will need to keep it budget cause we are doing a large trip in 2013 and again in 2015, so we will most likely be staying at pop (would love to stay BWI, but i cannot justify the price hike), just getting hoppers and if FD is in place, we will likely take advantage.
i have used the birnbaums guide to wdw and the unofficial guide to wdw to help with all of my questions/decision making abilities etc. from this, i have decided that we are at least doing ohana dinner & crystal palace breakfast. the rest of our meals we will most likely do cs with maybe a few other TS but have yet to decide on where/what this far out. i will be booking my whole package (land + sea) with dreams, and that way i have just the one deposit and only one 'person' to pay money to, if that makes sense, plus if a better deal comes out, they will let me know.
for us, it comes down to price and convenience. if the hotel is decently situated and has good transport (ie, direct + not shared) and we can get our requested room type (ie king bed since it's the 2 of us -- i know this is not guaranteed, but at least they offer it), then i'm pretty comfortable. i find the other hotels may be nicer, better looking, bigger, more amenities etc, but we will be spending very little time in the rooms other than sleeping, don't need things like club level, don't need anything other than a pool (maybe), a food court, and a souvenir/sundries shop. all the rest for us is just optional extras and for this trip, we've decided to just go with pop. it meets our needs and money spent on room upgrades/mod/deluxe hotels is money we can't spend buying souvenirs/drinks/shopping for clothes etc...
sorry for the long ramble... not sure if it answers any of your questions, but i hope it shows that you're not in this alone also, re the AP + TIW card -- for the 2 of us, we would have to spend heaps to make the savings worthwhile, and we will most likely not do that, so for us it doesn't make sense. in this respect, it really comes down to working it out in a spreadsheet/notebook etc as to how the sums work out for you and your family. if you don't intend to purchase lots of merchandise, getting an AP for merchandise discounts may not prove worthwhile. also, if you're not going to be dining at TS a lot, having the TIW card, may not prove worthwhile. if you are going to be dining TS a lot, the TIW may save you the equivalent of your tips, so that may add up to a fair amount over the course of your trip... just depends on which way the numbers crunch and how you prefer to tour WDW.
good luck