Your Disney Splurge!

[tony609]

My upcoming trip is a splurge staying club level at grand Floridian. I'm excited we've mostly stayed value and have done moderate twice!

 

[DisneyHardin]

I try to figure out one thing to splurge on each trip.
*Keys to the Kingdom Tour
*Halloween Party
*Christmas Party

I don't have any special things booked for this November though.

 

[FancyNancy]

We did the Wishes Dessert Party and we loved it!

 

[White Rose]

Platinum plan. Wow. Soooooooo worth it. We tried new food, did so many tours, had a blast on the fireworks cruise and snorkeling in the living seas. Doing it again...and again.

Not worth it....the frozen Osborne lights dessert party. Could not see the Xmas lights in HS from the seats as they were in a restaurant area away from the lights! All pictures show the dessert party in the middle of the Osborne lights, but we were seated about a 3 minute walk around the corner and the lights are completely hidden from view. There was space and even signs showing another area that was unused, right in the middle of it all...I have no idea why we were so far away from the space that was reserved for the party.

It was a beautiful night to see the lights, but you had to choose, eat desserts or walk around the corner to see the Osborne lights...what a disappointment. I wanted to enjoy the lights without having to deal with crowds. We could have just went to go see the lights and not wasted the money. Many dessert party guests were complaining about how the Osborne lights dessert party was not right at the lights and CMs apologized saying it was due to bad weather, which was untrue; it was a wonderful night with clear skies and no rain or bad weather in sight or on the radar.

I won't book something where the whole experience can be ruined at the whim of someone's bad decision.

 

[jtowntoflorida]

I wouldn't call it a splurge, but a pre-opening breakfast at BOG was totally worth it. I liked eating something different for breakfast, but the re-rides on 7DMT definitely sealed the deal. I was also surprised at how much I enjoyed not having to enter the park with the RD stampede...and we typically hang back and let other people lose their minds and run in front of us.

We did a special trip just for Frozen Summer Fun last year, so that was definitely a splurge. And we ended up having a great time. I think it was the "spontaneous" nature of the trip (booked "only" 61 days in advance) and the fact the crowds were so low. The focus of the trip ended up not even being Frozen...yeah, we did the premium package so we did all the Frozen offerings...but it was the non-Frozen stuff that made the trip so fun. Low crowds didn't hurt, either.

But speaking of that...the Frozen premium package was a splurge and totally not worth the cost.

 

[kerri0616]

I had planned to spurge on Keys to the Kingdom this December. My youngest will be 16 this year. Alas, no KTTK offered Xmas Week. Ive toyed with idea of the Yuletide Tour, but would 16 and 19 year old boys enjoy seeing Holiday Warehouse when they could be touring parks?Hmmmmmmm.

K

 

[ChimCher-ee]

Hoop Dee Doo: Did this with the extended family, really enjoyed it.

Forgive me for asking a basic question, but what is this Hoop Dee Doo, and can you tell me more about why you liked it? Would it be fun for a small family of three? I'm planning a special trip in 2 years, and since we've never done the "extras" beyond one character breakfast per trip, I'm getting my wish list together!

 

[ChimCher-ee]

Going in November.... splurged on theme park view rooms at Contemporary for my parents and us. Also upgraded to Deluxe Dining Plan and booking lots of signature restaurants. My parents haven't been in about 40 years and when they did go they drove in a small VW van with a camping toilet in it and stayed at the campgrounds. This time we're gonna show 'em how to do Disney right!

So thoughtful of you to take care to make it special for them! Although that last trip sounds like one for great stories at the table after holiday meals...
What signature restaurants are you planning?

 

[bushdianee]

This last trip I did a couple of splurges, first we stayed at the Wilderness Lodge- which we loved. the second was to do the Pirates and Pals Cruise. that i coulld justify because I usually pay for DNiece to do BBB with my rewards from my Disney visa. This year at 9yo she didn't want to do BBB so we did the cruise instead. The only negative I've had was on the first DCL trip, we booked the Atlantis Beach Day and hated it. We expected to feel the same way about CC but were very pleasantly surprised. We thought we were in heaven at CC!

 

[Jadyreen1282]

We do one tour per trip, two dinner shows, two dessert parties and three signatures. Yep, we eat good.

 

[Minnie121]

A few years ago we did the Halloween party and it was awesome!! So worth the money we spent. The parade was amazing. This year we are staying at the Yacht Club, having lunch at CRT and also going to Discovery Cove. All definite splurges for us.

 

[BLLB]

Forgive me for asking a basic question, but what is this Hoop Dee Doo, and can you tell me more about why you liked it? Would it be fun for a small family of three? I'm planning a special trip in 2 years, and since we've never done the "extras" beyond one character breakfast per trip, I'm getting my wish list together!

It's located at Fort Wilderness, which we had never been to, so that was fun.

It is a dinner show, with lots of humor. Of course, it is kind of corny but that made it even better. It entertained our family which ranged from 8-65 years old and they all laughed and had a great time. It would be fun for any size family. It seemed that there were lots of table of 4 people.

We've been to WDW over 15 times. We try to do something different on every trip. We rarely repeat, which is both good and bad. Sometimes a new experience doesn't pan out, and all I hear about is "I wish we would have ...". On the other hand, when a new experience is great, they are happy. The problem is you can't fit it all in during one trip!

Hope this helps.

 

[hopeful4fl]

Splurge #1 - V&A in Victoria room. Wine pairing (shared) and Wagyu beef, along with Grey Goose cocktails.....wooh..... good, but man........
Splurge #2 (Upcoming) 2 bed lake view Grand Floridian for several days. Twice as much as other resorts, but I think is another "have to have" experience on my list.
Hopeful Splurge #3 - Aulani 3 bed Grand Villa in 2017.

 

[AwkwardTurtle]

Last trip we splurged on a Business Class room at Coronado Springs. It was so worth it! We loved being able to grab something quick for breakfast in the morning, and being so close to the bus stop and the main building were total pluses for us. Also, the free sangria was so delicious.

A disappointing splurge was dinner at Le Cellier on our last trip. I thought the restaurant was beautiful and our server was great, but the food was really pretty mediocre, especially for the price.

 

[ChimCher-ee]

It's located at Fort Wilderness, which we had never been to, so that was fun.

It is a dinner show, with lots of humor. Of course, it is kind of corny but that made it even better. It entertained our family which ranged from 8-65 years old and they all laughed and had a great time. It would be fun for any size family. It seemed that there were lots of table of 4 people.
...
Hope this helps.

Yes, it does, thanks! We have never been to Fort Wilderness either, and that sounds like a reason to maybe check it out. DD enjoys that kind of humor, and I like dinner shows.

It's amazing to me that people go and go again (us too, now) and still never run out of new options. We are truly lucky to live where and when we do!

 

[keepswimming76]

Our next trip will be our biggest Disney splurge. A nine night split stay at ALK and BLT. We've never spent more than a week at Disney World, or stayed at a deluxe.

 

[ConnecticutNonna]

We're going to the Halloween party in Sept (1st Disney trip) and plan on watching the fireworks. How different are they from the regular fireworks? My kids are 3 and 18mo and I don't know that we'll go back to the park another night and stay that late.

FW for MNSSHP are done in Halloween colors and are very cool!

 

[Mrs. Ciz]

1st family trip:
- Hoop Dee Doo (whole family LOVED it!)
- AK behind the scenes tour (Didn't pay for this though. A CM stopped us in the park and invited us to do it for free...pixie dust!)

Mother Daughter Christmas Trip:
- splurged for first time onsite (had free dining, loved it)
- CRT Dinner (wonderful)
- MVMCP (awesome)
- rode on Mickey's Float in the AK Jingle Jungle Parade (again a CM pixie dusted us!)

DD's Graduation Trip:
- 'Ohana (not too impressed)

DD's Softball Spring Training Trip:
- Flower & Garden food booths (yummy)

Some day I WILL stay at the Grand Floridian...

 

[LaurenT]

Wanyama Safari at AKL. You have to be staying at the resort to book it and it's limited to 12 guests a day. You get apps and tea at Jiko, a tour out on the savannas, then a family style meal at Jiko. I booked it for our adults only trip, but I was really nervous because it was a lot of money (for us at least). Turned out to be amazing!

I just booked this for September! Was it hot when you went? Did they have cool towels or anything to help with the heat? Were sandals ok?
I switched Wild Africa Trek to this because I think it'll be easier on my DH - and we do love Jiko...

 

[marielynn724]

The Keys to the Kingdom tour - it's just about $70 per person (plus a theme park ticket) and it's a 5 hour commitment - but it was SO fascinating and you get to see and learn SO MUCH! Still talking about how awesome it was 3 years later.