WDW Thread - to discuss all things WDW

[Ms. Shuttergirl]

Can anyone tell me - are you allowed to order off the children's menu if your child is over 9?

 

[Kalice]

They let our 11 year old order off childrens menu, we just didn't say anything. As we were on the dining plan we paid out of pocket and saved the credit for out two credit meals. We found the staff everywhere very flexible. They allowed us to mix and match from the menus too.

 

[platypus67]

If any of you have these memberships (not sure what they are in other states), then look on the back of your cards. You will see the AAA symbol and below that will be your club code.

There are many places (tours, accommodation) that offer a AAA discount. Grayline tours is one, if you book at tour with them (not Disneyland Express) then you can get a AAA discount simply by mentioning it when you book and then presenting the card when you arrive there on the morning of the tour and they will apply the discount. Also when booking many hotels, they offer a AAA discount. For Example, when I was looking at Doubletree's website getting prices there was an area that asked for the AAA club code. I entered the code from the back of my RACV card and presto, it not only gave me all of the regular discount prices but also revealed the AAA discount prices which I was not able to see until I had entered the AAA code. So something to keep in mind and always travel with your card as you never know where you may get a AAA discount!

Thanks for that bit of info. I knew I could get a discount if I presented my card, but so many hotels etc allow a discount for AAA online if you have the code and I never noticed it there before. Guess I had better start putting on my glasses.

 

[australiankaren]

hey guys

I have just taken the plunge and upgraded with that 40% off deal to AKL..I've noticed from a few of your signatures some of you have stayed there....is it worth the extra $$$, will my hubby, who loves POP like it? any hints, tips, ideas....
thanks

 

[queenie82]

hey guys

I have just taken the plunge and upgraded with that 40% off deal to AKL..I've noticed from a few of your signatures some of you have stayed there....is it worth the extra $$$, will my hubby, who loves POP like it? any hints, tips, ideas....
thanks

We are DVC members so have stayed in a studio in Jambo house.
It is a beautiful beautiful place to stay and I loved it. Whether it is worth the extra cash amount is up to you. I would never have paid cash for it.
(It is much better value staying at these deluxe resorts using points)
BUT...you will love it I'm sure.
I loved it.

Of course...I would never ever stay at pop. If we didn't have DVC I would be a moderate like Caribbean Beach.
Which while we haven't stayed at, I loved visiting

 

[aussietravellers]

hey guys

I have just taken the plunge and upgraded with that 40% off deal to AKL..I've noticed from a few of your signatures some of you have stayed there....is it worth the extra $$$, will my hubby, who loves POP like it? any hints, tips, ideas....
thanks

We stayed at AKL for 21 nights in a Savannah view. We absolutely LOVED it. It was just so amazing waking up in the morning and outside our window was one or more giraffes munching on a tree and the zebras chasing each other in a line. The Bongo who was a classic and was somehow able to break through the barriers and wander around right under the balconies. We even got dinner at Mara a few times and just sat out on our balcony.

They have some of the best restaurants there, Jiko is SO good, really good fillet steak with this four cheese mac and cheese (and they use Aussie beef!) Boma has one if not the best breakfast at WDW and Mara the counter service would also be one of the best. We haven't eaten at Saana (spelling ) as it wasn't open when we went.

For our next trip I wanted to do a split stay at Beach Club and Poly or Grand Floridian but my son HAD to go back to AKL and really I was happy to as well as it is such a great resort, so we are now doing 8 nights at AKL and 14 nights at BC on our next trip.

But I think you will enjoy it there, the lobby is amazing, it is a very dark resort colour wise, lots of dark wood. But that all fits in with the theme of the place. It's funny, the resorts each have their own distinct smell and I walked into a shop today and I smelt AKL. I said to a friend of mine, OMG, this shop smells like AKL at WDW (she thought I was looney ) but then I explained that the resorts have their own smells.

Anyway I hope you enjoy it there, we love it! For us it is worth every penny (we have used 40% off this trip but last time it was full price). I haven't stayed at POP so I can't compare it, but hopefully your DH will love it too.

 

[aussietravellers]

Can anyone tell me - are you allowed to order off the children's menu if your child is over 9?

I sure do hope so. My son will want to eat off the kids menu but he is a "disney adult" now that he is 10! We have gone with the %off this trip rather than the free dining because if we pay OOP then he will more likely be able to order off the kids menu from the research I have done. The only time people seem to have trouble is when they have a "Disney adult/child" and they are wanting to order off the kids menu using an adult DDP credit. So paying OOP for the child's meal seems to be the way to go

 

[australiankaren]

thanks for your feedback....

I'm really looking forward to it, we resort hopped there for lunch one day last trip...ate at the food court, awesome salad and the biggest bottle of Smirnoff ice i have ever seen. I just want the hubby to enjoy it, he loves to people watch, and POP was a people watching meca.....

I'm now actually thinking of going the whole hog and stay there the whole 8 days...it costs us all a fortune to get there, why hold back?

I think i'll email my travel agent right now and do it before the Codral wears off [I'm currently fighting a horrible cold]

 

[shushh]

Thanks guys for all the tips. Keep them coming!

 

[PrincessInOz]

The % discount was definitely the better option for us as well and we purchased a QS dining plan.

We took up the QS Dining plan for the first 5 days/nights of our trip - 2 adults and 1 child. When we checked in, we were allocated 30 Counter Service credits, 30 snack credits and 3 drink mugs. There was nothing that indicated a split in Adult and child meals. In the 5 days, we only 'ordered' about 3 or 4 child counter meals.

When I was planning the trip, I was advised by a US Dis'er that this would be the case and unless the cashier was being particularly diligent that we would not have a problem with my son ordering off the adult menus. I understand that there is a split for adult/child in the credits given on the Basic Dining plan and up.

It helped that most of the time, either hubby or I would go and order 2 meals whilst the other partner looked for a table. And then the other person would go back and pick up the 3rd meal.

There wasn't any problem at the POR foodcourt - we ate 5 breakfasts, 2 dinners and 1 lunch there - for picking up 3 adult meals. There also wasn't any problem at Wolfgang Puck express or the Sunshine Plaza foodcourt at Epcot. I didn't have a problem at Yak and Yeti at Animal Kingdom or at ABC Commissionary at DHS. We didn't push it at Magic Kingdom counter service places nor at Tangerine Cafe, Morrocco.

No one ever said anything to us. But then my son looks older than his 9 years old.

One point to note - Counter Service food in general is pretty uninspiring at the parks (except Epcot) and thankfully the POR foodcourt provides reasonable (in comparison) options.

When we moved to paying OOP for meals, I ordered off the children's menu once at a counter service place. There was no issue with me doing this....as long as I paid the money for the meal. I didn't try this at a Table Service restaurant.

 

[BrizMarc]

If any of you have these memberships (not sure what they are in other states), then look on the back of your cards. You will see the AAA symbol and below that will be your club code.

There are many places (tours, accommodation) that offer a AAA discount. Grayline tours is one, if you book at tour with them (not Disneyland Express) then you can get a AAA discount simply by mentioning it when you book and then presenting the card when you arrive there on the morning of the tour and they will apply the discount. Also when booking many hotels, they offer a AAA discount. For Example, when I was looking at Doubletree's website getting prices there was an area that asked for the AAA club code. I entered the code from the back of my RACV card and presto, it not only gave me all of the regular discount prices but also revealed the AAA discount prices which I was not able to see until I had entered the AAA code. So something to keep in mind and always travel with your card as you never know where you may get a AAA discount!

This is awesome, I never knew this. Thanks for the tip

 

[PrincessInOz]

Yes if flying internationally it is just easier to take your bags with you on ME and check them in at the airport. As I said in my first post on Resort Airline Check in, the resort check in is not set up for international flights so they have no idea what the international airlines rules are. They only provide check in for certain domestic airlines, so they only know those specific airlines domestic rules. If you are connecting with international flights you can still use the airline resort check in. You just can not check the whole way through, just the domestic portion and you are bound by the domestic portion's rules. If you check in at the airport and you're on a partner airline and your domestic and international flights are linked then they will know to apply the international baggage rules and let you go, the resort check in will not and they don't have to, they are quite clear that they are only for domestic flights.

For us we would prefer to take our luggage with us on ME (Bell services just get the bags from your room and will walk them over to the bus area) than have to get off the plane in LAX, head to baggage claim, head over to the check in counter at LAX, stand in line and wait and recheck in. You are checking in twice. If you take your bags with you on the ME and check in at MCO then you can get your boarding pass for the LAX-AUST flight and check your bags right the way through (provide you are flying on partner airlines), then all you have to do in LAX is look around, shop, go to Qantas Club (if you have it) and go through security. For us that is the easier option.

Thanks to aussietravellers and queenie82 for the tip on luggage. We used on-line check in the night before and had our boarding passes printed out. We walked up to ME with our luggage and then went to the check baggage counter at MCO. We showed our MLB/LAX boarding pass and also our e-ticket for LAX/MLB to the airline employee and they waived our baggage fees. It didn't matter that we weren't heading back to MLB for another 3 days.

 

[aussietravellers]

thanks for your feedback....

I'm really looking forward to it, we resort hopped there for lunch one day last trip...ate at the food court, awesome salad and the biggest bottle of Smirnoff ice i have ever seen. I just want the hubby to enjoy it, he loves to people watch, and POP was a people watching meca.....

I'm now actually thinking of going the whole hog and stay there the whole 8 days...it costs us all a fortune to get there, why hold back?

I think i'll email my travel agent right now and do it before the Codral wears off [I'm currently fighting a horrible cold]

What did you end up doing Karen? Did you change to the whole 8 days at AKL, hope you made the change before the codral wore off Althought I hope you are feeling better

 

[aussietravellers]

Thanks to aussietravellers and queenie82 for the tip on luggage. We used on-line check in the night before and had our boarding passes printed out. We walked up to ME with our luggage and then went to the check baggage counter at MCO. We showed our MLB/LAX boarding pass and also our e-ticket for LAX/MLB to the airline employee and they waived our baggage fees. It didn't matter that we weren't heading back to MLB for another 3 days.

Thats great!

So can you do online check in in the US? (derr, thats probably a dumb question, why wouldn't you be able to ) Where did you do that to print up the boarding passes at WDW?

 

[PrincessInOz]

Thats great!

So can you do online check in in the US? (derr, thats probably a dumb question, why wouldn't you be able to ) Where did you do that to print up the boarding passes at WDW?

I flew AA. When I booked my tickets from Oz, I used the confirmation/reservation number to go back into the AA online system and reserved my seats. Because I had booked about 3 months in advance, I was able to select seats within the first 5 rows from the front of the economy section for both LAX/MIA and MCO/LAX.

Online check-in is available 24 hours before your flight. So, for the LAX/MIA leg, I checked in using the free internet and printing available at the hotel I stayed in at Long Beach. For the MCO/LAX check in, I asked the concierge at Beach Club Villa to check in for me (no charge) and print out the boarding pass. Both times, I used the same confirmation/reservation number.

You can also self check-in at the airports. There are terminals available for you to use and you just type in the confirmation/reservation number.

 

[aussietravellers]

I flew AA. When I booked my tickets from Oz, I used the confirmation/reservation number to go back into the AA online system and reserved my seats. Because I had booked about 3 months in advance, I was able to select seats within the first 5 rows from the front of the economy section for both LAX/MIA and MCO/LAX.

Online check-in is available 24 hours before your flight. So, for the LAX/MIA leg, I checked in using the free internet and printing available at the hotel I stayed in at Long Beach. For the MCO/LAX check in, I asked the concierge at Beach Club Villa to check in for me (no charge) and print out the boarding pass. Both times, I used the same confirmation/reservation number.

You can also self check-in at the airports. There are terminals available for you to use and you just type in the confirmation/reservation number.

OH that's great. I hope I'll be able to do online check in at our hotel in NY (for our NY to MCO flight), they don't have free internet but surely they will be able to do it. I did our flights with Qantas FF points though, so hopefully that confirmation number will work. We have our seats assigned already as we are flying first class

We may wait until we get to the airport at MCO though as we will be flying MCO/LAX/BNE so I want to check the bags right the way through and get our boarding passes for the LAX/BNE flight at MCO so there isn't anything to do at LAX when we get there.

 

[australiankaren]

well,

the saga continues.....we are now at POP for 4 nights with dining, then...wait for it.....we are doing WL Club level for 4 nights without DDP[ but at 40% off what could i say but YES!!!].....but hey we can snack for 4 days on the food in the club lounge....

my poor DH, he just cant keep up with all the changes...

now back to trawling for lax-mco-lax flights.......hurry up and drop will you

my cold is not getting better but at least my head feels GREAT!!!!

 

[queenie82]

well,

the saga continues.....we are now at POP for 4 nights with dining, then...wait for it.....we are doing WL Club level for 4 nights without DDP[ but at 40% off what could i say but YES!!!].....but hey we can snack for 4 days on the food in the club lounge....

my poor DH, he just cant keep up with all the changes...

now back to trawling for lax-mco-lax flights.......hurry up and drop will you

my cold is not getting better but at least my head feels GREAT!!!!

I know that kind of planning

I hope you love WL. I hear WL is wonderful but the transition from 'crack your shins on the bath' POP to WL....wow...that will be a something.

 

[Toy Story]

OH that's great. I hope I'll be able to do online check in at our hotel in NY (for our NY to MCO flight), they don't have free internet but surely they will be able to do it. I did our flights with Qantas FF points though, so hopefully that confirmation number will work. We have our seats assigned already as we are flying first class

We may wait until we get to the airport at MCO though as we will be flying MCO/LAX/BNE so I want to check the bags right the way through and get our boarding passes for the LAX/BNE flight at MCO so there isn't anything to do at LAX when we get there.

Hi,
We used the Magical Express, flting MCO- Newark-Syd-Canberra and because our final destination was an international stop, we could not use the Disney express check in. We also had to be picked up an hour earlier than domestic travellers. At MCO, they checked our bags through to Canberra, we flew Continental and still had to pay our domestic baggage charge even though it was linked to an international flight.

 

[Ms. Shuttergirl]

Hi,
We used the Magical Express, flting MCO- Newark-Syd-Canberra and because our final destination was an international stop, we could not use the Disney express check in. We also had to be picked up an hour earlier than domestic travellers. At MCO, they checked our bags through to Canberra, we flew Continental and still had to pay our domestic baggage charge even though it was linked to an international flight.

Hey Toy Story, another Canberran here.