Going for the Gold????

[The Black Pearl]

I'm taking my wife and three year old son to WDW in October but we have a question. We agreed on staying in Disney with the Dream Maker package but we are debating on upgrading from the Princess and Prince to the Gold Package. Does anyone know how it works ( i.e. by coupons, room key, ????) We reasoned that since we are staying 4 days and 3 nights in the Animal Kingdom with the package plus 1 night at Pop Century room only(Totaling 5 days 4 nights) we might actually make use of the meals Provided they can be spread over the first 4 days. We want to go at least 2 charactor breakfasts(maybe more) , plan to go to the Luau and the Hoop-dee-Doo Dinner shows and cannot wait to see Le Cirque ( Yes, my little guy has seen them perform before and liked it ). and I would like to take a couple of tours (schedules anyone???)

So what I need to know is:

A) Can the meals be spread over 4 days or must they be taken in order?

B) With all we would like to do is the gold plan reasonable or is there a better way to do it?

C )Are we trying to squeeze too much into this visit considering that I've heard the parks close earlier in October?

And by the way,

D) Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween.......Yes or No for a 3 Year old?

All comments/ suggestions appreciated,




The Black Pearl

 

[kandmwedding]

A) If the first part of your trip is for four days, three nights, then you have four days to use the features. They expire midnight the night of the fourth day, even if you've already switched hotels.

B) Do a little pencil pushing using menus/prices at allearsnet.com. My husband and I honeymooned at Disney in January and used the Silver plan which provided us with everything we needed over the 4days/3nights we added it (two tours, two dinner shows, and Cirque du Soleil) and was considerably cheaper than using the Gold plan or paying for the things individually. Keep in mind, that your son's wishes can be used for you or your wife instead. It may actually be cheaper to pay for him out of pocket and use the features on yourself (assuming you'd go with the silver plan).

C) In January the parks close super early, so I don't think the hours for October will be a problem for you.

D) Never been... but I imagine it'd be OK for any age (from what I've seen on these boards anyway).


Good luck!!!!

 

[diswedwish]

If you can afford it, then go for the Gold Dh and I did the Silver Plan for our wedding/honeymoon in Feb. '03 and did the Gold this past January. I was a bit nervous going into the Gold versus Silver because I was afraid we'd waste the $... We ended up saving $1000 with the plan versus booking everything separately. And we really enjoyed going out to eat wherever we wanted, doing tours, parasailing, renting water mice, and Cirque. We barely go out to eat at home (to save $ for Disney of course ), so this was a real treat for us that we hope to repeat next Jan...

With that said, it's definitely worth it to look at allearsnet.com. Get the prices for what you want to do (menus, Cirque ticket prices, tours, etc). Then really take the time to see if you'd be able to work it out on the Silver Plan. If you can, then Gold would be a waste of $ - especially since you have a little one...

If not and you do want the Gold Plan, here's how it works:
At the beginning of your stay you get 3 points per person/per day (and it's per *day* not night, so it would cover your first 4 days)on your room key. That's for your 3 meals per person per day. Every meal you go to they subtract a point for each person. But the points can be used anytime - so if you wanted a very early dinner, then a very late dinner on the same night that's fine. For everything else - tours, parasailing, boats, etc they just swipe your room key.

Sorry I can't help with your other questions... We manage to fit just about everything into our schedule when the parks close early, but we also start early, end late, and don't have children. And we've never been to MNSSHP.

Have a great time!!!

 

[dansyr]

diswedwish

I'm glad to see someone else thinks the gold plan is worth it. We did the gold once and definitely got our money's worth and plan on doing it again in Sept.


The Black Pearl
everything diswedish said is correct. Just a tip...when choosing restaurants check out the menus online to see if it is worth it or not. We did a couple of character meals that may not have been equal to what we technincally paid for the wish but we generally made it up by having dinner at a more expensive restaurant.

 

[The Black Pearl]

From the Crew/Family of The Black Pearl

To Everyone that posted,

Thanks for your help. After checking allearsnet.com we decided that Silver will cover our needs. The Gold plan is nicer but I was surprised to find out so many tours excluded toddlers ( specifically the SteamTrain tour and Behind the scenes at the Animal Kingdom). Also the people at Disney Dining said I can book all the charactor meals and shows in advance (With Good timing and Lotsa Luck LOL).

Thanks again and enjoy,

The Black Pearl and Family

 

[mom_rules]

We've done the Gold plan our last two times-great if you golf, wakeboard, parasail, tube, horseback ride, go to all the dinner shows, eat at expensive restaurants (3 x a day)- we do and it did save us $.

 

[TerryU.]

Regarding your 3 year old, from what I understand, the MNSSHP is very tame. Keep in mind, you are dealing with Disney, they are not like those other places that try to scare the pants off you. He should be fine.

 

[nasmith]

MNSSHP is great for a 3 yo - Get him a costume so he can trick-or-treat his way around the park!! (He can do that without a costume - but soooo many other children are dressed -up that he will probably want to be!) - He'll get a bagful of candy! (You two older children can trick or treat too!)- the parade is fun, not scary - they have lots of halloween decorations up (pumpkins , ghosts with mouse-ears and such - nothing really scary - maybe a spider or two?), special Halloween character shows aimed at the younger children --- This is one of my favorite Disney activities!!

The only consideration would be the timing - it is late at night (well, late for a toddler) - so I would advise doing it on a night after you have taken a break from the parks - and hopefully your son could nap (ie - it may not be best to do this on the day you switch from AKL to Pop if your son only naps between 1 and 3pm - because you may not have a room for him to nap in during that time) (My Son was never a good stroller-napper; so I always had to take that into consideration).

Jill

 

[neosnightmare]

is the MNSSHP going on between 10/15 and 10/20?

 

[goodferry]

We have been eyeing up the Silver Plan also. One tip to keep in mind that Mary mentions on mousesavers is that for you, you will get 24 wishes for your trip, but there is nothing that says how you use those wishes. Economically it makes more sense to use the wishes for your adult meals and pay for your childs.

 

[The Black Pearl]

Thanks to everyone for the input. I thought I had everything "nailed down" but when I saw the "Stay 5 nights get 2 Free" Deal I called the contractor ( AAA) had them rip out my old reservation (VB & PC) and install a new one for 7 days @ POR with the Silver Plan!!!!


Thanks Again!!!!

The Crew of The Black Pearl

WE JUST CAN"T Wait !!!!!