Your Opinion on the Fairytale Magic Package

[mrsltg]

JOMROG- If you're concerned about crownds, Thanksgiving week is not the time to be at WDW. There will also (most likely) be no codes for that week. The holidays at Disney are ridiculously busy, so there is no need to discount. Any crowd in October will beat the crowds at Thanksgiving.

Erin

 

[Disneycrazymom]

Maynard123, You might try what CastilloMom is doing, fly in and stay somewhere else the first and last day. I think others are booking a seperate ressie at the same hotel for the first and last night as a room only ressie. Both options require checking in and out 3 times so more lines etc. and to make the most of the free days you need to have time at the parks the first and last day. I am trying to decide also if it is worth it and if we can take the extra days. I also had planned on an AP. DH says this package will save us money ALL YEAR because I won't have the AP to plan "cheap" trips with!!

 

[montessori]

Sounds like a great package for those who can take advantage of it.
We can never go to DW for more than 2 or 3 nights at a time, so it doesn't work for us.
I hope we will continue to be able to get Florida resident or annual passholder discounts at the resorts.
We'll have to wait to see what happens, I guess.

I hope everyone enjoys their trips!

 

[susy]

These were the AP rates for Thanksgiving 2002-


AS- $49
CBR& POR/FQ- $79
AKL- 109, 149 sav
WL- 109, 135 court.
cabins-$129
BC/YC- 169 st, 19 wv, 259 conc, 289 lv conc
CR- 149 gv, 219 tower
poly- 164 gv, 219 gv conc
269 lv conc
gf- 189 gv
okw- 196 1 bed. villa, 299 2 bed

FL res rates- the same


We can't go for a whole week because of DH's job, so we rely on our FL Res AP's and the flexibility it allows. Disney is getting a lot of competition. A deal (dont know if it is just FL res or not-they didn't mention any residency) from Sea World and Busch Gardens- Pay one day, come back the WHOLE YEAR- no blackouts! Last week in the paper- Universal had a HUGE pull-out section- $149 for annual passes (2 parks-no blackouts!)- FL resident discounts on all three hotels- 119 RP, 139 HRH, 159 PB. Also menioned that ap holders get discounts on resorts and MEALS!

I don't know what all this is going to mean and how the parks will react to each other's deals, but I doubt that there will not be any discounts after the Fairytale package deal is over- unless something changes drastically overnight! Oh, and with all the off-site discounts, they will have to compete for AP holders to stay onsite-imagine that!

 

[PrincessAurora]

Ok, I come out from the West Coast. So I do not have an AP. I travel to WDW every other year (God willing). I am also busy at work and don't have the time to get everything seperate. I get free airfare already (via Southwest Frequent Flyer) so that is not figured into the cost of our trip.

We are flying out October 26th (Saturday) and leave November 1st (Saturday). Usually we would stay off property that first night. I mean why pay for a whole day when the earliest we could get to WL would be 7:30pm? BUT with this package we get that day for free and two more wishes (that we can use for gourmet food).

This saves me the $180 at the Celebration Hotel, dinner that night for two and cab fare to WL Sunday morning at a minimum.

Intially I was quoted:
WL woods view, Dream Maker Silver - $3,182 for two people or $1,591 per person.

Then DU added my Disney Club number to the ressie and my new total is $2937.14, ($1,468.57 per person) for a savings of $244.86. Definitely worth the price of the membership!

NOW when DU added the new Fairytale Vacation Silver Package, our total is now $2,570.58 ($1,285.29 per person) for a saving of $366.56 of the previous package.

So all told with Dreams Unlimited, I have saved $611.42 on this vacation total from when I started in October. Since my food is basically included via "wishes", this is good Mad Money.

I LOVE THE MOUSE!

 

[Alice28]

I think that it's a great deal- esp for those of us who rarely get to go to WDW and when we do, we stay for a week or so. Having said that, I am going this fall and not taking advantage of this package. We are staying with Shades of Green at the Contemporary, and will only be in the parks for 4 days (in Orlando for a conference, and able to add 4 days to devote to Disney). At $70 a night, I just can't turn down Shades of Green. Although I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to stay at the Beach Club! And with this package, it's much more of a possibility than it was before. I think it's a great deal.

 

[goofypat42]

I am going for 8 days. how does it work? 4 pay regular rate,
3 days free and what do I pay for the 1 day for a total
of 8 days? I guess I will be paying for 5 days?

Is this how it would work?
ANy one going for 8 days with the package?

 

[jadedNYer]

goofypat42

We are going for nine nights which is 10 days. I made one reservation for 8 nights (which is the FT package) and one night with room only. So, the package was five days and then the res. for the room only. Does that make sense? So, yes, you would pay for five nights.

 

[goofypat42]

Did anyone have a quote for staying at the Poly with the FTP
pacakage? What was the going rate per day?

 

[chell]

We were not planning on going until December. Looks like I might need to move it up to October now. Does anyone know for sure when this will be available to the general public? I let my DC membership expire last month.

 

[Jen D]

Word is that it is available tommorow morning!

 

[eeyore0062]

Wow, whomever came up with this marketing strategy deserves a raise! This is WONDERFUL. Get guests to stay on property with the UMPs, so they won't want to leave for fear of not getting the full value, and have them spend money on meals for 7 days, and experience the magice of an onsite stay, so they won't be satisfied to stay offsite again! I really like this one!

Wish I had come up with it!

Does anyone know for sure when this will be available to the general public?

It should be made available to the general public, Sunday May 11th.

See You at WDW!

 

[the Legend]

Well, Me and the Sister and the twins and my youngest were all set for the trip to WDW in two weeks time and I caught wind of the FTP and that pretty much put a complete stop on the trip! Dont get me wrong, I'm still making my annual Disney trip but we'll be staying at Disneyland Resort instead for 10 nights/11 days before flying home to New Zealand.

With the savings, I booked us back in for a lovely two weeks (back to back FTPs) at WDW staying AKL and WL Concierge in September just before the old AP expires. And with the rates so low, My Brother, his Partner and my smallest niece can make the pilgrimmage too.

So in case, you dont get my drift. I think the FTP is the greatest thing since sliced bread!

 

[goofy4tink]

goofypat42....I booked Polynesian for 2 adults/1 child for 7 nights/8days in August. Total was $2496 for a garden view room.
And to answer someone else's observation...yes, people do seem to be upgrading their rooms. We did. As I've said before, this allows us to stay where we've always wanted to stay for only $400 more than our WL rack rate room. Could it be that this also helps Disney empty out the mods so they can place more displaced people there, without having to offer them upgrades for very nominal fees?

 

[Jomrog]

I have been checking out past threads on Thanksgiving and I have gotten mixed messages regarding the crowds that time of year. According to wdwig.com, the crowds are terrible, but when reading some threads here on DIS, it's my understanding that mon,tue & wed prior is pretty slow & the crowds really pick up on Thanksg. day & that weekend.
My plan is to arrive on Sat. before Thanksgiv. & probably leave either on thanksgiving day after an early dinner on early Friday.

I also was hoping that the FT package would draw crowds earlier. As for codes, I'm not sure, I have read that codes are usually avail. from end of Oct. until about Dec. 19 or so.

Please DISer's HELP! I would appreciate any other input here because we really don't like crowds & with a 2yr old DS, I don'twant to wait in long lines.

SUSY--Thanks for posting the 2002 AP rates for Thanksgiving. I have no good reason but I am still optimistic that WDW will offer some type of room only discount. I have no history or research to back it up it's JMO. I mean, if the FT pkg takes off, maybe it will be extended which would help with my decision. Right now I have not booked anything or bought tix, just still planning & budgeting.

 

[kdibattista]

I let my DC membership expire last month.

As long as it has been less than 6 months, you can still renew for a prorated amount!!!! DC members get an additional $50 off so it is definitely worth it.

 

[DrTomorrow]

Goofypat42

We just booked Non-Disney Club FTP Polynesian LV Concierge 7 nights, 2 adults for $2737.69 - savings of over $1700 with Basic package online.
Note that this is for Oct 1 - 8, so we got the value rates.

We, too, upgraded - at least a little. We were planning on 6 nights of GV Concierge; we ended up getting an extra night and a better view!

 

[PamNC]

We're booked for 5/24 - 5/31 - using a CM second bedroom discount (I use to work there and still have friends who help me out). We have 2 days on old passes so we would only have to buy 2 4 day passes. Using AAA, that would be right at $400.00. We're staying at WL concierge for 3 nights and YC standard view for the last 4.

I did the math and if we were to switch to all WL for 7 nights, it would save $250.00. Not bad, but not sure it's worth it because I like to have passes that don't expire. Plus, we're getting concierge at WL for a great rate thanks to my wonderful CM friend.

I think it's a great package for folks who buy packages and want UMP's. I'm concerned that it'll in the end free up less rooms for the "room only" discount codes we have all grown to know and love. It's a smart move on Disney's part to get people on property and to stay on property for their whole trip.

PamNC

 

[kfeuer]

I can see how it won't work for everyone, but for us it's fantastic! We were originally planning to go in Nov. or early Dec. I was hoping we'd be able to afford 6 nights at a deluxe hotel if we got a good code. My budget for room and passes was $1800 (2 adults, 2 children under 3).

When the package came out we quickly decided to move our trip up to September. We're staying at the Wilderness Lodge (woodland view) for 7 nights with the UPH passes for $1498. I never thought we'd be able to afford 7 nights. I am so thrilled we came in under budget--that will more then make up for the additional food costs (we're not fancy eaters). Plus, with a 2 year old and a 6 month old, it will really help to be able to move at a slower pace without feeling pressured. And to make it simply perfect, we'll be celebrating our 10th anniversary while we're there. I'm doing a happy dance

 

[jwsqrdplus2]

I am another one of those who it just won't work for right now.

I got an awesome rate at CR thru SoG; and since I am travelling with 2 small ones (4.5 and 22mo at trip time), an UPH does not work for me. I would rather buy (as planned) 4-day park hoppers that do not expire. Through SoG, my room + passes will cost $1175.50 for 2 adults, 1 child and 1 infant for 7 days/6nights at CR. And that assumes WDW does NOT extend some parks discounts to military like Busch Gardens and Universal did.

If my kids were older, and I didn't have SoG to help me get totally awesome rates, I think the FTP would be perfect for us.