Counting Our Nuts Like Chip & Dale, a Financially Aware PTR *Update 4/17 Pg 62 *

[Lady Lallie]

I vote yes for park hoppers. We used ours a lot on our January trip and I think on a short trip you will like having options. Plus, if you have them, that opens up your ADR options. You can do DHS early in the day and hop elsewhere and have dinner there. Also, AK tends to close early in the winter so you could hop to Epcot or somewhere else that night.

EMH's are usually good for us but they can be a mixed bag. Having Park Hoppers will help so you can hop if a park is too crowded.

ADR's - I think two sit downs in one day are a lot. We've done it but try to avoid it if we can. My DH loves the Cape May dinner buffet but since you are from MA you might not be as impressed. What other places have Polenta that might be a potential add?

Good luck!

I really want the park hoppers, but there isn't much more I can cut out of our budget the only thing that could help me is if I can score a really good deal of flights. The two biggest reasons I want them are the ones you mentioned, #1 - you can hop if the park is too crowded due to EMHs and #2 - with DHS and AK days we can still squeeze in another park in the same day.

Most of the polenta places are signature and I just hate the idea of spending two credits on them nor do I want to add to my out of pocket food budget. I just need to realize this is not a luxary trip, we are going on a much needed vacation without spending lots of money that we shouldn't be spending.

 

[brookelizabeth]

I don't know!! I am STILL trying to catch up on your TR. I might just join in, I have been keeping up on your blog so maybe I'm not that far behind.

I did NOT know about this flexible Dining Plan....hmmm. I don't know if I want to worry about it though or the options I could potentially have.

I have direct links on my 1st post to my TR updates - that might help! The blog is a bit behind, maybe by about a day or so. No worries though, it's SO HARD catching up on the DIS!

The flexible Dining Plan is a very nice perk. Last trip we did most days with no dining plan, but 1 day with QSDP, another with the regular DDP and another with DxDDP when we did the character meals. It was fantastic! But yes, another thing to present even MORE options and number crunching.

Cape May Cafe is another option. Thoughts and opinions are greatly appreciated!

*Here are the park days I have schedule right now...I'm not happy and can't seem to figure out a better way.

Sunday: Arrive/Magic Kingdom/Dinner @ Kona - MK EMHs until 2AM

Monday: Animal Kingdom/Lunch @ Yak N' Yeti

Tuesday: Hollywood Studios/Perhaps Pictures in afternoon?

Wednesday: Magic Kingdom/Boma dinner?

Thursday: Epcot/Lunch @ Le Cellier/Dinner somewhere?

Friday: Whatever Park we want/late flight home

Here is what I like:I like that we go to MK on arrival day
I like that on Tuesday or Wednesday I could do pictures in the afternoon and have Boma for dinner on the other day.

Here is what I don't like:
We only have one Epcot day and it's not until Thursday.
I don't know if I should plan for EMHs or avoid them. I'm confused on this.
I want park hoppers for more flexibility. I could go to DHS two mornings to get in our Toy Story Mania and still go to a different park (Epcot!) in the afternoon.
I am not sure if I want 2 sit down ADRs on one day.
Not a single place (except for Le Cellier which I won't eat because it comes with spicy stuff, ick) has polenta on the menu! Polenta is my Disney thing, that makes me sad.

I think I'm talking myself into park hoppers. I don't know why park planning is so hard for me this trip, maybe because it's only 5 nights. I don't know, usually I am not this indecisive!

Will someone or many of you please help make sense of the jumble of ideas and plans swimming in my head??

Cape May is YUMMY! I ate there with Wigd, Marc, Baylor and Jen in May. I don't even like seafood generally -but those crab legs the potatoes melt in your mouth and they had calamari our night which was fantastic. I'd eat there again in a heartbeat.

I hear great reviews of Kouzzina too!

As for EMHs - are you talking AM or PM, or both? IF you are going to be at RD for AM EMH, go for it. There will be very few people in the park at those early hours and you will be able to get a ton done, leave for a nap/rest and return for fireworks if you want. However, if you will not make RD--even 30 minutes late, I'd say avoid. They do drawer bigger crowds. As for PM EMH, I'd say if you have Hoppers go to a non-EMH park during the day, then hop to the PM EMH park at night -but without Hoppers, I'd say avoid. You will be fighting bigger crowds all day long, then end up tired by the end of the day and probably not full take advantage of the extra hours anyway. Know what I mean? Whereas if you go to a park without the EMH, they will likely have lower crowds and you can just enjoy. With low crowds, a full day at the park is plenty without EMH.

That's crazy about the polenta! I felt like it used to be on almost all the menus!

 

[Mndisneygirl]

I have eaten at Captain's Grill. I'll see if I can find the link to my post in my july 2010 TR about it for you. I enjoyed the food. Our service was okay, I seem to recall losing our server after a bit...
Do you have any interest in Kouzzina or Chefs de France for dinner on your Epcot day? Is your LeCellier lunch early? Then maybe it won't be too much to have two ADRs in one day.


I'm a big fan of AM EMH. We are usually up early anyway, so we can get to rope drop most of the time. It's terrific for DHS and MK (get lots of rides done in an hour!). We tried one PM EMH, but we were just too tired to make much out of it, and it was SOOOOO crowded! Traditionally, we avoid the pm, and go to that park the day after PM EMH. That seems to work well for us.

I feel your pain about not getting enough Epcot!!! I'm the same way!

 

[jenbear123]

Another vote for "yes" to the park hoppers. To get the flexibility and peace of mind in planning for the price is good value for money IMO. Then you can go to EMHs when you are at another park earlier in the day. You could always flip your AK day with Epcot and just hop over to Epcot for your Le Cellier ADR that day. Then you'd go to Epcot on your 2nd day

 

[mrssmith06]

If you need park hoppers to satisfy ADR's, then yes. If it's not for that and your not 100% sure you will need or want to park hop, then WAIT to buy them! It does add a lot of cost and you can wait and add them when you arrive! And if you decided not to purchase them, then you'd have that money to spend elsewhere in Disney! We park hopped in our 4 night stay and I felt like it was a lot, I kept feeling like we HAD to hop around to "get our money's worth"... next time we are staying 5 nights and do not plan to park hop. But I know that we always have the option to add it on while we are there if we decide we need it.

 

[Nermel9]

I personally don't think I could survive a Disney trip without park hoppers! I like knowing that if I'm not in the mood for a certain park one day that I have planned, we can just hop somewhere else (usually Epcot...we always end up at Epcot! )

As for your ADR's, I have eaten dinner at both Cape May and Captain's Grille and I love both of them! You have to be careful with Cape May, though...everything is SO filling, and since it's a buffet you just keep eating and stuffing yourself! We did that on our Disneymoon and we made ourselves a little sick. We had to stop in the store in the BC before we went over to DHS for the night for some Pepto...the CM's said they sell out all the time because of Cape May!

I think Chef's sounds good too, I've been wanting to go there for years, and I can never fit it in!

So jealous you're going at a time where there are MK EMH til 2 am! The latest I get on my trip is midnight!

 

[Wicket's Mom]

I cast a vote for getting the park hoppers. I never go without them because I don't have to worry about my ADRs. I just make my ressies then can do whatever park that I want. We usually do at least 2 parks daily.

 

[RinkyTinkyTinky]

Ok, I'll be the lone dissenter here and say that if your goal is to do Disney on a budget, then stick to that. It's Disney... you are going to have a fabulous time with or without PHs. I look at it this way... on DHS and AK days where you don't spend a full day in the parks, you can do other things that are free. You could go to DTD, enjoy the Boardwalk, visit a resort that you haven't seen yet, or best of all, take some time to explore AKL. I know if I was staying there I would want some resort time. But that is just my opinion and you will have to decide what works for you. Just remember, this isn't your last trip to WDW and after you get your financial house in order, you will be free to do just about anything you want at Disney without any guilt and that is a fabulous feeling!

As for Epcot, we usually push through and do very long, full days there. We don't feel burned out at all. I can never get enough Epcot time! But if you are concerned about that, then I think Cape May is a great choice. We are going there on our next trip on an Epcot day. I have read lots of good things about it and I am REALLY looking forward to those crab legs! I also chose CM because I want to explore the Beach Club since it is one of my favorite resorts, and I would love to stay there someday.

Anyway, that's my two cents worth! Good luck making a decision! I know it can be hard to sort it all out and prioritize what you want to do.

 

[Charleston Princess]

Okay, I am going to chime in with Rinky -- don't do park hoppers. We have not had park hoppers since 2007, and it has been okay. The nice thing about returning to the same park in the afternoon/evening is that you can collect Fast Passes in the morning and then use them that night. It works wonderfully.

Okay, tell me again why you decided to do the dining plan? Was it just to have everything paid up front? Could you do the same thing with just putting the money on a gift card -- you could even put it on a Visa gift card and then what you don't spend at Disney you could spend on something else? My thinking along those lines is this -- you are having way too hard a time deciding on ADRs -- just do the ones you really want and then eat counter service. Also, go ahead and schedule a Brown Derby ADR so you can have your polenta. If you don't do the dining plan, you won't feel like you are using two credits.

If it were me, I would axe the Yak and Yeti and do Boma on your AK day because the park always closes early -- you are not really going to want to leave MK to go to Boma. My other thought is to move Epcot to Monday and Animal Kingdom to Thursday because you aren't a big AK fan, so waiting until Thursday wouldn't be the end of the world. I think the time of year you are going -- the EMHs and crowds won't be a problem.

Does ANY of that help?

 

[Lady Lallie]

I have direct links on my 1st post to my TR updates - that might help! The blog is a bit behind, maybe by about a day or so. No worries though, it's SO HARD catching up on the DIS!

The flexible Dining Plan is a very nice perk. Last trip we did most days with no dining plan, but 1 day with QSDP, another with the regular DDP and another with DxDDP when we did the character meals. It was fantastic! But yes, another thing to present even MORE options and number crunching.



Cape May is YUMMY! I ate there with Wigd, Marc, Baylor and Jen in May. I don't even like seafood generally -but those crab legs the potatoes melt in your mouth and they had calamari our night which was fantastic. I'd eat there again in a heartbeat.

I hear great reviews of Kouzzina too!

As for EMHs - are you talking AM or PM, or both? IF you are going to be at RD for AM EMH, go for it. There will be very few people in the park at those early hours and you will be able to get a ton done, leave for a nap/rest and return for fireworks if you want. However, if you will not make RD--even 30 minutes late, I'd say avoid. They do drawer bigger crowds. As for PM EMH, I'd say if you have Hoppers go to a non-EMH park during the day, then hop to the PM EMH park at night -but without Hoppers, I'd say avoid. You will be fighting bigger crowds all day long, then end up tired by the end of the day and probably not full take advantage of the extra hours anyway. Know what I mean? Whereas if you go to a park without the EMH, they will likely have lower crowds and you can just enjoy. With low crowds, a full day at the park is plenty without EMH.

That's crazy about the polenta! I felt like it used to be on almost all the menus!

We usually like the PM hours but the one I am most interested in is the one on Sunday at MK which worries me because that is the day we arrive and I'm afraid after a super early morning flight we will be too exhausted to enjoy them. I think I really need to just chill out and go with the flow more with our park planning. I guess I just feel the pressure to get as much park time as possible since in September '10 with the super high heat we did a lot of resort time. I know it will be easier to last the whole day in parks because January is cooler, I guess I just need to chill.

I have eaten at Captain's Grill. I'll see if I can find the link to my post in my july 2010 TR about it for you. I enjoyed the food. Our service was okay, I seem to recall losing our server after a bit...
Do you have any interest in Kouzzina or Chefs de France for dinner on your Epcot day? Is your LeCellier lunch early? Then maybe it won't be too much to have two ADRs in one day.


I'm a big fan of AM EMH. We are usually up early anyway, so we can get to rope drop most of the time. It's terrific for DHS and MK (get lots of rides done in an hour!). We tried one PM EMH, but we were just too tired to make much out of it, and it was SOOOOO crowded! Traditionally, we avoid the pm, and go to that park the day after PM EMH. That seems to work well for us.

I feel your pain about not getting enough Epcot!!! I'm the same way!

I've only done AM EMHs once and we did get a lot done, maybe I shouldn't feel bad if we do everything that we want too when we are there. It's just when I get home I wish I had spent more time in the parks.

I don't have a lot of interest in Kouzzina but I don't mind Les Chefs. I think the stress of picking where we are going to be on what day 6 months out is getting to me especially if we skip the park hoppers.

Another vote for "yes" to the park hoppers. To get the flexibility and peace of mind in planning for the price is good value for money IMO. Then you can go to EMHs when you are at another park earlier in the day. You could always flip your AK day with Epcot and just hop over to Epcot for your Le Cellier ADR that day. Then you'd go to Epcot on your 2nd day

I'm worried that if we do stay late on Sunday at MK, that Epcot will be overwhelming for me since I will most likely be tired. I really want to see World Showcase at night more and I want Marc to see Illuminations. I just don't know what to do. I feel guilty for spending the money but I also don't want to stress about this for the next 6 months!

If you need park hoppers to satisfy ADR's, then yes. If it's not for that and your not 100% sure you will need or want to park hop, then WAIT to buy them! It does add a lot of cost and you can wait and add them when you arrive! And if you decided not to purchase them, then you'd have that money to spend elsewhere in Disney! We park hopped in our 4 night stay and I felt like it was a lot, I kept feeling like we HAD to hop around to "get our money's worth"... next time we are staying 5 nights and do not plan to park hop. But I know that we always have the option to add it on while we are there if we decide we need it.

I like your point that on shorter trips it is a lot to park hop. Hmmm. I do like that if we feel like we want to park hop we can just add them while we are down there.

I personally don't think I could survive a Disney trip without park hoppers! I like knowing that if I'm not in the mood for a certain park one day that I have planned, we can just hop somewhere else (usually Epcot...we always end up at Epcot! )

As for your ADR's, I have eaten dinner at both Cape May and Captain's Grille and I love both of them! You have to be careful with Cape May, though...everything is SO filling, and since it's a buffet you just keep eating and stuffing yourself! We did that on our Disneymoon and we made ourselves a little sick. We had to stop in the store in the BC before we went over to DHS for the night for some Pepto...the CM's said they sell out all the time because of Cape May!

I think Chef's sounds good too, I've been wanting to go there for years, and I can never fit it in!

So jealous you're going at a time where there are MK EMH til 2 am! The latest I get on my trip is midnight!

Marc is very interested in the crab legs at Cape May and so am I for that matter. I like Epcot but I get very overwhelmed with Epcot, I like it in smaller doses I think.

I cast a vote for getting the park hoppers. I never go without them because I don't have to worry about my ADRs. I just make my ressies then can do whatever park that I want. We usually do at least 2 parks daily.

That is a huge plus to park hoppers, I can just pick one adr a day and decide what park(s) we want to go to that morning.

Ok, I'll be the lone dissenter here and say that if your goal is to do Disney on a budget, then stick to that. It's Disney... you are going to have a fabulous time with or without PHs. I look at it this way... on DHS and AK days where you don't spend a full day in the parks, you can do other things that are free. You could go to DTD, enjoy the Boardwalk, visit a resort that you haven't seen yet, or best of all, take some time to explore AKL. I know if I was staying there I would want some resort time. But that is just my opinion and you will have to decide what works for you. Just remember, this isn't your last trip to WDW and after you get your financial house in order, you will be free to do just about anything you want at Disney without any guilt and that is a fabulous feeling!

As for Epcot, we usually push through and do very long, full days there. We don't feel burned out at all. I can never get enough Epcot time! But if you are concerned about that, then I think Cape May is a great choice. We are going there on our next trip on an Epcot day. I have read lots of good things about it and I am REALLY looking forward to those crab legs! I also chose CM because I want to explore the Beach Club since it is one of my favorite resorts, and I would love to stay there someday.

Anyway, that's my two cents worth! Good luck making a decision! I know it can be hard to sort it all out and prioritize what you want to do.

You are right on all accounts. This isn't our last trip to Disney and it's not like we will be missing out on anything if we don't hop.

Marc has never really explored any of the Epcot resorts except the Boardwalk so it might be nice to take some time to go explore if we get overloaded at Epcot.

I really don't want to spend the money on the park hoppers but I just worry if we don't have them, they are like my Disney security blanket.

Okay, I am going to chime in with Rinky -- don't do park hoppers. We have not had park hoppers since 2007, and it has been okay. The nice thing about returning to the same park in the afternoon/evening is that you can collect Fast Passes in the morning and then use them that night. It works wonderfully.

Okay, tell me again why you decided to do the dining plan? Was it just to have everything paid up front? Could you do the same thing with just putting the money on a gift card -- you could even put it on a Visa gift card and then what you don't spend at Disney you could spend on something else? My thinking along those lines is this -- you are having way too hard a time deciding on ADRs -- just do the ones you really want and then eat counter service. Also, go ahead and schedule a Brown Derby ADR so you can have your polenta. If you don't do the dining plan, you won't feel like you are using two credits.

If it were me, I would axe the Yak and Yeti and do Boma on your AK day because the park always closes early -- you are not really going to want to leave MK to go to Boma. My other thought is to move Epcot to Monday and Animal Kingdom to Thursday because you aren't a big AK fan, so waiting until Thursday wouldn't be the end of the world. I think the time of year you are going -- the EMHs and crowds won't be a problem.

Does ANY of that help?

You are so helpful!

You did AKL without parkhoppers right? Did you find that travel on the buses were a lot if you took a midafternoon break? I'm also thinking that maybe we won't make rope drops this trip, the only rope drop I really want is Hollywood Studios for Toy Story Mania, all the other parks I am not too worried about missing out on fastpasses. In January with parks closing on the earlier side for the most part I don't want to eat up a lot of our day going back to AKL for a break. I do like the idea of going to AK on their PM EMHs night because I wouldn't mind seeing AK at night. I also want to ride Living with the Land at night because Jen said it was really cool in her most recent trip report.

As far as the dining plan, I like the idea of having everything prepaid as well as when I did figure out some of our meals it came to almost $100 over the meal plan and that was with less sit down meals than the 5 we would get with the dining plan. I might do some more figuring and see how it comes out now.

 

[Charleston Princess]

You did AKL without parkhoppers right? Did you find that travel on the buses were a lot if you took a midafternoon break? I'm also thinking that maybe we won't make rope drops this trip, the only rope drop I really want is Hollywood Studios for Toy Story Mania, all the other parks I am not too worried about missing out on fastpasses. In January with parks closing on the earlier side for the most part I don't want to eat up a lot of our day going back to AKL for a break. I do like the idea of going to AK on their PM EMHs night because I wouldn't mind seeing AK at night. I also want to ride Living with the Land at night because Jen said it was really cool in her most recent trip report.

We did stay AKL without park hoppers. I didn't feel like the travel on buses ate up too much time -- the longest ride was to Magic Kingdom and even that wasn't bad -- it just felt longer than the others.

As far as the dining plan, I like the idea of having everything prepaid as well as when I did figure out some of our meals it came to almost $100 over the meal plan and that was with less sit down meals than the 5 we would get with the dining plan. I might do some more figuring and see how it comes out now.

You need Heidi to work her financial dining magic. She is a wonder at that sort of thing. Seriously. You should PM her -- she will have it done in no time.

 

[Lady Lallie]

We did stay AKL without park hoppers. I didn't feel like the travel on buses ate up too much time -- the longest ride was to Magic Kingdom and even that wasn't bad -- it just felt longer than the others.

You need Heidi to work her financial dining magic. She is a wonder at that sort of thing. Seriously. You should PM her -- she will have it done in no time.

I think I am leaning towards no park hoppers, it would save a substantial amount of money and I think that is what we need for this trip.

Maybe I will PM her. I just texted Marc at work asking him what his must do restaurant are so that I can figure things out, I think today is going to be a slow work day to give me plenty of time for park planning and dinner calculations.

 

[jenjolt]

I'm really like Jackie's plan...I think next trip I let Jackie do the planning

Living the Land at Night was AWESOME! I know you like that ride anyway and it was SO cool...besides if you do the no park hoppers you can grab a FP for Soarin' save it for the evening and do both of them!!! Great way to end an evening LOL!!!!!!

Enjoy being able to plan!!!

 

[RinkyTinkyTinky]

I really don't want to spend the money on the park hoppers but I just worry if we don't have them, they are like my Disney security blanket.

I know exactly how you feel. I am the same way when I am planning our trips. I always have to make sure that I have everything booked and sometimes overbooked because I worry we will miss out on something. But once we get there, there's just so much to see and do that it really doesn't matter. I'm in my happy place and all is well with the world! It's hard to remember that in the planning phase though.

I think maybe you should make all your ADRs as if you are NOT going to hop, and then if you get there and still think you have to hop, you can add it on at that time. But if you make ADRs that don't require you to hop then at least you know you can make it work without the hoppers.

I also agree with CP. Maybe a gift card would be best on this trip. I think just going to your top choices in restaurants is a great idea. You also have to remember that you don't HAVE to buy everything that comes with the meal on the DP if you are paying OOP. I know if I was paying OOP, I would not order a dessert with every meal (CS or TS meals). I also don't normally order drinks with my meals when we eat out at home. I almost always order water. When I am at WDW, I take those Crystal Light To Go packs into the parks with me and I just ask for a cup of ice water (FREE!) when we get thirsty, then mix it in. We always do this for drinks between meals. I've never used a snack credit for a drink. But I am pretty sure that if I wasn't on the DP, I would also do this for our CS meals. To me, dining out is about the food, not the soft drinks. And it is such a huge money saver. So I think you could very easily get out cheaper without the DP if you narrowed your TS down to just the must do's, and cut out some of the stuff that would come with the DP.

Also, when paying OOP, buffets aren't always the best value. I find that I can often get out cheaper somewhere that I can choose from a menu. For example, we ate at Mama Melrose last time (all three of us) for $40 including tax. We ordered 3 waters with lemon and two entrees (in a situation like that, I always share my my meal with DD... the portions are so huge anyway) and it came with bread and an olive oil dip. When we left, we were very full and satisfied and hadn't spent a fortune. You just have to decide if you are willing to give up some of those "luxuries of vacation" or not. For some people it would ruin the mood. Only you can decide that. But if you are willing to think outside the box a little, and get a little creative, you CAN make it work on a tight budget. Believe me, I have been a stay-at-home mom for the last 7 years, and living on one income has made me an expert on that kind of "creative" thinking!

 

[Lady Lallie]

I'm really like Jackie's plan...I think next trip I let Jackie do the planning

Living the Land at Night was AWESOME! I know you like that ride anyway and it was SO cool...besides if you do the no park hoppers you can grab a FP for Soarin' save it for the evening and do both of them!!! Great way to end an evening LOL!!!!!!

Enjoy being able to plan!!!

I should just let Jackie do all the planning for this trip!

I do love Living with the Land and the idea of seeing at night, well I can't believe I never thought of that before!

I know exactly how you feel. I am the same way when I am planning our trips. I always have to make sure that I have everything booked and sometimes overbooked because I worry we will miss out on something. But once we get there, there's just so much to see and do that it really doesn't matter. I'm in my happy place and all is well with the world! It's hard to remember that in the planning phase though.

I think maybe you should make all your ADRs as if you are NOT going to hop, and then if you get then and still think you have to hop, you can add it on at that time. But if you make ADRs that don't require you to hop then at least you know you can make it work without the hoppers.

I also agree with CP. Maybe a gift card would be best on this trip. I think just going to your top choices in restaurants is a great idea. You also have to remember that you don't HAVE to buy everything that comes with the meal on the DP if you are paying OOP. I know if I was paying OOP, I would not order a dessert with every meal (CS or TS meals). I also don't normally order drinks with my meals when we eat out at home. I almost always order water. When I am at WDW, I take those Crystal Light to go packs into the parks with me and I just ask for a cup of ice water (FREE!) when we get thirsty, then mix it in. We always do this for drinks between meals. I've never used a snack credit for a drink. But I am pretty sure that if I wasn't on the DP, I would also do this for our CS meals. To me, dining out is about the food, not the soft drinks. And it is such a huge money saver. So I think you could very easily get out cheaper without the DP if you narrowed you TS down to just the must do's, and cut out some of the stuff that would come with the DP.

Also, when paying OOP, buffets aren't always the best value. I find that I can often get out cheaper somewhere that I can choose from a menu. For example, we ate at Mama Melrose last time (all three of us) for $40 including tax. We ordered 3 waters with lemon and two entrees (in a situation like that, I always share my my meal with DD) and it came with bread and an olive oil dip. When we left, we were very full and satisfied and hadn't spent a fortune. You just have to decide if you are willing to give up some of those "luxuries of vacation" or not. For some people it would ruin the mood. Only you can decide that. But if you are willing to think outside the box a little, and get a little creative, you CAN make it work on a tight budget. Believe me, I have been a stay-at-home mom for the last 7 years, and living on one income has made me an expert on that kind of "creative" thinking!

I just worry with the structure of the dining plan I will blow our food budget once I get down there but like you said, if I just put it on a gift card and when it's gone, we don't eat. Just kidding!

I think the places I would really like to go are Kona, Boma, Hollywood Brown Derby and if we could afford to squeeze it in the Yachtsman. I don't know though, I worry that those alone will be almost as expensive as the actual dining plan and that is without paying for counter service meals.

I do know that we are going to bring our own stuff for breakfast and maybe a few snacky things that we like to eat like almonds and such down with us.

I do love soda but recently I haven't been able to drink it much, it has started to upset my band so you can forget the mugs at the resort, we will just stick with water during meals. And maybe just one...or two slushie cokes.

I don't know, I am just over thinking everything...I think. Maybe there are too many decisions for me to make. There are plenty of counter service places to eat that will keep our food choices interesting and not have to eat burgers all the time.

 

[407-W-DISNEY]

You're getting some great advice - both PRO and CON park hoppers.
I'm with you...its a tough decision!! We have always struggled to make that decision for our trips...

I'm probably leaning more towards not getting them...and adding them on when you are there, if you feel you need to...
mostly because the parks will be closing earlier...
but, then again...if you are used to touring Disney with them, you really might miss it if you don't have it....maybe just get them for your last 2 days???

 

[Mndisneygirl]

We usually like the PM hours but the one I am most interested in is the one on Sunday at MK which worries me because that is the day we arrive and I'm afraid after a super early morning flight we will be too exhausted to enjoy them. I think I really need to just chill out and go with the flow more with our park planning. I guess I just feel the pressure to get as much park time as possible since in September '10 with the super high heat we did a lot of resort time. I know it will be easier to last the whole day in parks because January is cooler, I guess I just need to chill.

I did the same thing on our last trip. We got up super early to get off the cruise and did not get naps like I wanted. We tried PM EMH but only lasted til around 11.

We have only had hoppers once or twice in our 7 (8?) trips. It just isn't necessary if you have the days you want to go to all the parks you want.

AKL seems a lot farther away, but it's not bad. I think we drove to Epcot once and MK once. I'd have to check. The only reason it can take so long is when you 'just miss" the bus and have to wait. Take those breaks on days where the park closes later, then it won't seem like you've wasted so much time.

To DDP or not to DDP? I went through that the last trip too! You just have to figure out what your must-do TS are and then do the math. We lucked out last time - it came out about even, and through a mix-up we got 4 extra snack credits (bonus $). But with one kid being a DDP adult now, it's iffy, since she doesn't eat like an adult at all!
If you're going to end up with TS for each day, and would order things that add up, go ahead and do it. Prepaid is a nice thing. But I am inclined to do gift cards next time. It's still prepaid.

Good luck with all these "fun" decisions!!!

 

[TarzansKat]

I think everyone gets to a point in their trip planning where they start to question absolutely everything. I know it happens to me almost every time, and honestly, it's really all for naught. You're going to have the trip you're meant to have because it's all going to work out that way. Savvy?

I wouldn't ever go without park hoppers again, but I have small children. Some people would argue that with kids you don't need to park hop. I've done both. And I have to say, without ruining my trip report, that if we hadn't had park hoppers on our past trip, we would have had a very disappointed kid.

Do I think that you and Marc need them? Probably not. Here's the thing. You can try to save the money for them. If it happens, great. Add them on after you get there, if you really want to park hop. If you can't make it work, then don't worry. Make your plans so that you're not hopping, and try to maximize what you really want to do, and which parks you want to spend the most time in.

Take it from square one. Do you want to go to all four parks? Do you want to see something in particular? Does it make sense to do EMH when only certain rides are open, are those rides some that you really want to do? This is kind of how I look at it.

As far as where to dine / dining plan / should I do this / should I do that, I feel your pain, believe me. I can tell you, again, with the kiddos, that the next time we go, we will not be doing any dining plan whatsoever. I had free dining last time and I found myself ordering dessert even when I was full just because it was included. Our next trip will be pretty short and I just want to wing it.

But you know me, and you know how I am. You have to figure out what's most important to you on this trip and just let the rest go! You're going to have a great time! It's Disney World!!! You'll make the right decisions.

And did you ask about the table service at the Yacht Club, Captain's Grille? I've had an awesome meal there, it was a great place to dine, and totally worth it. Lots of fun, good food, wonderful service.

 

[Lady Lallie]

You're getting some great advice - both PRO and CON park hoppers.
I'm with you...its a tough decision!! We have always struggled to make that decision for our trips...

I'm probably leaning more towards not getting them...and adding them on when you are there, if you feel you need to...
mostly because the parks will be closing earlier...
but, then again...if you are used to touring Disney with them, you really might miss it if you don't have it....maybe just get them for your last 2 days???

I keep forgetting that this trip in January will be very different from Marc & I's trips in September, for one it will be so much cooler and two the parks won't be open as late. Right now I am leaning towards not getting the park hoppers. I think I'm happier with that than trying to figure out our plans and where we will hop, just thinking about all that hoping makes me tired.

I did the same thing on our last trip. We got up super early to get off the cruise and did not get naps like I wanted. We tried PM EMH but only lasted til around 11.

We have only had hoppers once or twice in our 7 (8?) trips. It just isn't necessary if you have the days you want to go to all the parks you want.

AKL seems a lot farther away, but it's not bad. I think we drove to Epcot once and MK once. I'd have to check. The only reason it can take so long is when you 'just miss" the bus and have to wait. Take those breaks on days where the park closes later, then it won't seem like you've wasted so much time.

To DDP or not to DDP? I went through that the last trip too! You just have to figure out what your must-do TS are and then do the math. We lucked out last time - it came out about even, and through a mix-up we got 4 extra snack credits (bonus $). But with one kid being a DDP adult now, it's iffy, since she doesn't eat like an adult at all!
If you're going to end up with TS for each day, and would order things that add up, go ahead and do it. Prepaid is a nice thing. But I am inclined to do gift cards next time. It's still prepaid.

Good luck with all these "fun" decisions!!!

I'm thinking the days we will take breaks will be Epcot and Animal Kingdom days. Animal Kingdom because I think we are going to go on EMHs evening hours when they are open till 8PM, I think it will be neat to see AK at dark, so if we stay at AK until about 1ish then take a break and then go back I think that would work for us. We are also thinking of doing Boma for dinner that night after we get back from the park. Sounds like that would work. Then on Epcot day we are going to take advantage of the morning EMHs and take a break around 12ish or so and then go back for evening hours and Illuminations. I think that will work out well for us.

I think everyone gets to a point in their trip planning where they start to question absolutely everything. I know it happens to me almost every time, and honestly, it's really all for naught. You're going to have the trip you're meant to have because it's all going to work out that way. Savvy?

I wouldn't ever go without park hoppers again, but I have small children. Some people would argue that with kids you don't need to park hop. I've done both. And I have to say, without ruining my trip report, that if we hadn't had park hoppers on our past trip, we would have had a very disappointed kid.

Do I think that you and Marc need them? Probably not. Here's the thing. You can try to save the money for them. If it happens, great. Add them on after you get there, if you really want to park hop. If you can't make it work, then don't worry. Make your plans so that you're not hopping, and try to maximize what you really want to do, and which parks you want to spend the most time in.

Take it from square one. Do you want to go to all four parks? Do you want to see something in particular? Does it make sense to do EMH when only certain rides are open, are those rides some that you really want to do? This is kind of how I look at it.

As far as where to dine / dining plan / should I do this / should I do that, I feel your pain, believe me. I can tell you, again, with the kiddos, that the next time we go, we will not be doing any dining plan whatsoever. I had free dining last time and I found myself ordering dessert even when I was full just because it was included. Our next trip will be pretty short and I just want to wing it.

But you know me, and you know how I am. You have to figure out what's most important to you on this trip and just let the rest go! You're going to have a great time! It's Disney World!!! You'll make the right decisions.

And did you ask about the table service at the Yacht Club, Captain's Grille? I've had an awesome meal there, it was a great place to dine, and totally worth it. Lots of fun, good food, wonderful service.

Why are you just so darn savvy?

You had all great points, we have always had park hoppers and I have used them on all trips I think except maybe the May trip when my blisters were out of control. I can't really remember, I just block out that horrific experience.

Right now I'm leaning towards no dining plan, I think that I much rather pay OOP for restaurants I really want to try instead of fitting in 5 table services that I feel just so-so about. Marc doesn't care either way, I can talk him in or out of anything, his has two dining requests which happen to be two places that I want to go to very much so it all works out.

 

[Charleston Princess]

I'm really like Jackie's plan...I think next trip I let Jackie do the planning

You know I would be all about that!

I should just let Jackie do all the planning for this trip!

It's much easier to plan someone else's trip. I would have switched resorts five times by now if this was my trip.