1st trip in many years..couple of questions!

[happycat]

Hi Disney fans. I never knew such a group was out there! I have been soaking in the disney forums for the past week and I have learned so much. I also read the Unoffical Guide. Now my head is dizzy with all things Disney.

My friend is flying down from New England and she's never been to Disney. She wants to see Epcot then back to Sarasota to "beach it" for the remainder of her trip. We are boomer females and plan to have a great adventure. We are booked at the Dolphin for May 10 and 11. I thought Mon and Tues might be slower days. I joined AARP and got a Starwood membership. (Dolphin has my member number) The best we could get was Standard at 147.00 (plus all that tax business) Now I need to fine tune a couple of things and was hoping you could help.

1.First dilema is tickets into Epcot. My friend is more a lingering type. She is from Vermont afterall. At first I thought we would arrive Monday morning, check in and then just take in a little of what the Swan/Dophin area has to offer and ride the monorail and see some of diferent resorts. Remember she has never had the disney visual experience. Now I'm thinking maybe we should just head over to Epcot for the full two days. Any comments here? If we do the two days at Epcot any suggestions on what ticket plan would be best and where to purchase.

2. Do you think there is any chance at all that having a Starwood membership, with no points yet, that we have a chance at an upgrade? Also I have signed up for Mousesavers notification on the Codes. I they should come out for the Dophin, do I just email through the disney site that I want codes added to my reservation?

Any further suggestions or comments would be greatly appreciated. I want this to be a great trip.

 

[Scoootch]

As far as your ticket dilema goes, the only ticket plan available for a 2 day stay would be one day/one park tickets -- you'd need to pick a park and that would be the park you'd have admission to for that day. The only park tickets that allow park-hopping are for if you'll be staying for at least 4days or more.

As far as if you should get a ticket for one of the days or just sight see -- that's personal preference. There certainly is plenty to see and do without buying a park ticket for the day. Especially in the Epcot resort area. You could check out the resorts, hang out over at Boardwalk and even go over to DTD -- that wouldn't cost to get in But again, personal preference -- with only 2days, and never having been to WDW you may also want to do 2 different parks (one each day) and see as much as you can of the parks.

As for your upgrade chances at the Dolphin, sorry but I've never stayed at the Swan or Dolphin as they are not actually Disney resorts, they are just on Disney property. Maybe someone who's stayed there will chime in with the info. you need.

Best of luck and have a good time

 

[diathoney]

To get to the monorail you'd need to go to the ticket and transportation center (TTC) by bus without Epcot tickets. If you have the Epcot admission you can stroll along the Boardwalk to Epcot (or take the boat). Meander through Epcot to the entrance, then get on the Epcot monorail for a round-trip ride.

If you want to see more of WDW, instead of a round-trip ride you can get off at the TTC, get on the MK express monorail to the MK again round trip OR. If you want still MORE monorail, you can get off at MK, then get on the resort monorail and ride around to each resort. If you get off at the Poly, you can walk back to the TTC and get back on the Epcot monorail to get you back home.

MGM Studios is also walking distance from the Dolphin, but you could easily spend the full two days at Epcot.

 

[snoopy5386]

we got upgraded at the swan our first time using our SPG card that we specifically got for the trip.

 

[Trish Bessette]

My friend is more a lingering type. She is from Vermont afterall.

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Not all Vermonters are the lingering type.....

 

[jeankeri]

When are you leaving on the 12th? Also- what time is your flight in on the 10th? Epcot has so much to offer (and so much area to cover) you might do best to wait until your first full day. See how you feel at check-in, and what the weather brings. Cool/cloudy- head to MGM. If TOT and RNR wern't on your list of things to do, you should be fine with showing up past opening! There is so much to see being close to Epcot & MGM that taking the monorail to MK might not be the best way to budget your time. Enjoy your trip! We'll be at the Dolphin 12/05!

 

[happycat]

Thanks for the replys.

Trish, all I know is it takes a long time to get away from the General Store sometimes! I can just see her now at the World showcase!

I have been to disney many times, it's my friend that has not. But I think I decided on the two day tickets. (I'll probably get the fl res four day hopper for myself and try to make it back by June ) I remembered the Flower and Garden show is going on at that time so I know we'll need two days in Epcot.

I just hope for the upgrade too....