I love credit cards so much! v4.0 - 2021 (see first page for add'l details)

[FreeDiningFanatic]

That reminds me of my DH, his first time traveling by plane was our first trip to Hawaii like 20 years ago! 3 flights to get there and he realized he doesn't enjoy flying.
I'm planning on DH doing the drive for the road to Hana. I think I'm going to buy the Shaka guide/app that narrates for you and tells you where to stop. I just wasn't sure how well my kids would do on such a long tour. I really hope it all goes well




We used TY points to purchase Disney tix earlier this year. You do have to be patient/persistent when calling to get ahold if the right dept (cruise and tours I believe, you can google it to get the right phone prompts). You can also use your citi card to pay the difference if you don't have enough points for the full amount. Not sure the rate however as we weren't very short.

Loved the Shaka app. Do check in advance of the other tours on the app bc we ended up wanting two or three of the Shaka tours, and it makes sense to get them in a bundle.

We did a quick trip to Disney this weekend to finish up our FL Resident passes. We charged everything to our room but the charges have come in strange. I changed the card on the account to my CSR but half the magic band charges went to my husband's Capital One (that was the previous card on there) and half went to my CSR (no rhyme or reason as to dates when charged). We are all on the same MDE account. Plus, there are $360 in pending charges that we don't recognize and which I will have to call Disney about tomorrow when they actually post. And the Capital One charges all came in as a lump sum from WDW - Resort Hotels (itemized on the receipt) while the CSR charges all have come in individually as Food and Drink which is not how the magic band charges ever come in. I didn't think it was possible to have two cards for charging on one MDE account.

Besides the funky WDW charges, it was a nice trip. Hot as the surface of the sun. MK on Saturday was sweltering so we took a 2-hr detour to have a blessedly uncrowded, yummy lunch at Fort Wilderness. Kids ran around, we had plenty of room in the AC and the Fort worked its remarkable restorative powers on us so we could go back and brave the heat and crowds. We didn't stay for the fireworks although that was sort of the goal of the trip but we had been up at 5:30 to make rope drop and the heat just wore us down. The teenagers stayed and closed out the park. Pop buses were great for MK. We are lucky we can go often being local but I'm crossing July off my list. The lines were ok - about an hour at the longest for headliners - but they walkways were not packed and it did feel better walking around than the usual super crowded times.

Any chance you did any mobile ordering and have the CSR on file for the mobile ordering? Also, Disney has the weirdest auth/charge system I've ever seen. I'd just let those pending charges fall off and not waste a call.

Has anyone been to wdw the week of Labor Day? I didn’t even think when we booked our resort that we’re going right on Labor Day. We’re doing 3 nights from Sunday-Wednesday. If we switch it to Wednesday-Saturday will it make much of a difference?

I've heard that week is DEAD. Most kids are back in school. I've heard it's a really magical week. Again, who knows with COVID, but I think it's historically true.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

Somehow I’ll get it done but I’m a bit salty.

Yep, that's me too.

Have you guys seen this?

OMG I'm crying. Hilarious. In DHs defense, we don't have a magic coffee table and he does dishes and laundry. I feel like I do everything else though.
Admittedly I work part time but I have a 30 minute commute 3 days a week to start at 6:30 am. DH walks to the dining room to work at 9 am.

 

[mmmears]

Fresh Shave had the yummiest Shave Ice the food trucks at Warehouse 3450 were yummy. Just make sure you are trying to find after 8:00 at night. Nothing is open!

We went 4 years ago, so this might be realllly outdated, but we loved -

restaurants: Keoki’s Paradise (good, mid-priced sit down restaurant) , Da Crack (super casual take out burritos), Beach House (nicer restaurant, AMAZING views).

activities - Kipu Safari through Outfitters Kauai, and DEFINITELY spring for a helicopter ride if you can. We did the Jurassic Falls Helicopter Tour through Island Helicopters, and it’s the single best excursion/activity I’ve done ANYWHERE.

Thanks so much for the replies. I'll check it all out online.

 

[pinkxray]

I couldn’t make up my mind on whether or not I should apply for the SW Biz card. I have no SW points left but it’s almost a waste of year to get the companion pass now.
Decided to just go for it and was instantly approved for the SW BIz premier card. 60,000RR and a companion pass coming my way!

We will get a few flights in 2021/2022 in with the CP pass but I’m more interested in the RR. Trying to sneak in a quick trip to Disney Princess Half Marathon weekend.

 

[disfanforlife]

Has anyone been to wdw the week of Labor Day? I didn’t even think when we booked our resort that we’re going right on Labor Day. We’re doing 3 nights from Sunday-Wednesday. If we switch it to Wednesday-Saturday will it make much of a difference?

Oh my gosh! I didn’t realize our trips will overlap. We are flying in the day after Labor Day. I am hoping for a quiet week.

 

[Haley R]

Oh my gosh! I didn’t realize our trips will overlap. We are flying in the day after Labor Day. I am hoping for a quiet week.

We’re just doing a quick 3 nights. The reports lately have been kind of bad there. Seems like very long lines and lots of people. I’m hoping things change before September

 

[becauseimnew]

We’re just doing a quick 3 nights. The reports lately have been kind of bad there. Seems like very long lines and lots of people. I’m hoping things change before September

I’m not happy about the resent reports. When we booked our trip 6 months ago disney was doing a great job handling covid and crowds, now it’s a sh*t show, they don’t have the staff to manage the increased capacity.

 

[Haley R]

I’m not happy about the resent reports. When we booked our trip 6 months ago disney was doing a great job handling covid and crowds, now it’s a sh*t show, they don’t have the staff to manage the increased capacity.

Yep I 100% agree. Luckily with us being local we can cancel if we decide it’s not worth it. At this point I’m more excited about spending time at the resort than the parks

 

[CookieandOatmeal]

I’m not happy about the resent reports. When we booked our trip 6 months ago disney was doing a great job handling covid and crowds, now it’s a sh*t show, they don’t have the staff to manage the increased capacity.

We're going the first week of August and now I'm glad I listened to my hubs about our planning for the week. We're bringing our 20 month old and only plan on one park day at MK. Pretty much spending our vacation in cabanas at the GF for the rest of the time. At this point, we feel like the cabanas were well worth the money. We're trying to avoid taking transportation as much as we can so most of our ADRs are in the 3 MK resorts.

 

[becauseimnew]

Yep I 100% agree. Luckily with us being local we can cancel if we decide it’s not worth it. At this point I’m more excited about spending time at the resort than the parks

Yeah, it's too late for us to cancel.

We're going the first week of August and now I'm glad I listened to my hubs about our planning for the week. We're bringing our 20 month old and only plan on one park day at MK. Pretty much spending our vacation in cabanas at the GF for the rest of the time. At this point, we feel like the cabanas were well worth the money. We're trying to avoid taking transportation as much as we can so most of our ADRs are in the 3 MK resorts.

We will be there that same week!! When Disney started increasing capacity rapidly I was still hopeful because it seems like one could get a lot done at RD but that's not the case anymore. Lines are at 60+ minutes right at park opening.

 

[Jax1023]

I’m not happy about the resent reports. When we booked our trip 6 months ago disney was doing a great job handling covid and crowds, now it’s a sh*t show, they don’t have the staff to manage the increased capacity.

My payment on my package was due yesterday and I cancelled. Everything looks like a mess, the lines seem long and I would’ve been paying more than ever for less than normal. Not worth it.

Now trying to plan a road trip to Maine on 3 weeks notice

 

[becauseimnew]

My payment on my package was due yesterday and I cancelled. Everything looks like a mess, the lines seem long and I would’ve been paying more than ever for less than normal. Not worth it.

Now trying to plan a road trip to Maine on 3 weeks notice

I think you did the right thing... unfortunately we have military discount tickets that expire 9/26.

 

[CookieandOatmeal]

We will be there that same week!! When Disney started increasing capacity rapidly I was still hopeful because it seems like one could get a lot done at RD but that's not the case anymore. Lines are at 60+ minutes right at park opening.

I’m wondering if we’ll even get in any rides with my LO. I can’t imagine he’ll be okay with 60 minute waits!

 

[Haley R]

I’m wondering if we’ll even get in any rides with my LO. I can’t imagine he’ll be okay with 60 minute waits!

We went in May so things are much different now. We were able to get on rides at mk 45 minutes before official opening and now they’re just holding everyone. There’s no way Ds will last in line, probably not even 20 minutes. He’s too active and not content to sit. I have no plan for our park days because idk what to expect with him now that things are different. We’re only doing Epcot and ak next trip.

 

[Alexle2007]

Since we found a dog sitter for Aug, I am now busy changing our local plans. I was able to get the Hilton Sandestin for 5 nights and now I have 3 additional nights to figure out. Torn between trying out Savannah or going back to Clearwater. I figure we could drive from Clearwater and stop at UF and FSU on our way so DS could check out those schools.

 

[spacerangerqueen]

I’m wondering if we’ll even get in any rides with my LO. I can’t imagine he’ll be okay with 60 minute waits!

We went in May so things are much different now. We were able to get on rides at mk 45 minutes before official opening and now they’re just holding everyone. There’s no way Ds will last in line, probably not even 20 minutes. He’s too active and not content to sit. I have no plan for our park days because idk what to expect with him now that things are different. We’re only doing Epcot and ak next trip.

We did Epcot last week for fireworks. Got there early evening and walked on Spaceship Earth, Nemo, and Imagination. Test Track had a 75 min wait so we skipped that. But the kiddo friendly rides were definitely not crazy wait times. Hopefully you both experience the same. It was the "Diet Epcot" experience, so no Festival happening. Food and Wine may draw more people out than we saw last week. I only ventured out because some friends were in town. I was going to skip out on our reservation for the Park because I just couldn't psyche myself up to go with all the changes lately. But, I had a great time and was glad we went. If I was vacationing I would definitely spend most of my time at the hotel. We did a night at Art of Animation and just used the pools and skylinered to Riviera for dinner and skipped our Park reservations.

 

[ski_mom]

If anyone is planning a carnival cruise, there's an offer on our citibank double cash back and our rewards plus cards for $250 back for spending $1,000 through 8/31/21.

 

[CookieandOatmeal]

We went in May so things are much different now. We were able to get on rides at mk 45 minutes before official opening and now they’re just holding everyone. There’s no way Ds will last in line, probably not even 20 minutes. He’s too active and not content to sit. I have no plan for our park days because idk what to expect with him now that things are different. We’re only doing Epcot and ak next trip.

I got the Capture The Moment photo shoot for our MK day for the morning so I'm just focusing on doing that. Hoping that we will find a couple of the kiddie rides open for a shorter wait. Am I correct in remembering that you got that done recently? Do you think its worth it to buy the one day memory maker? Last few times, we've had an AP so photos were free.

 

[Judique]

My payment on my package was due yesterday and I cancelled. Everything looks like a mess, the lines seem long and I would’ve been paying more than ever for less than normal. Not worth it.

Now trying to plan a road trip to Maine on 3 weeks notice

I like that idea. I was actually thinking of maybe the Cape in September after Labor Day. I was reading on the camping board and looking at a lot of pictures of lobster rolls. And clam strips and fries, plus the beaches.

Seriously thinking of canceling or renting out my early November trip. I've had no desire to go for quite a while. Still have my grand villa in Hilton Head right after the food and wine trip so not like I would have nowhere to go.

The points I have tied up in Food and Wine for November are all BWV and bankable as they are October 2021 points, so I'm good if I cancel.

 

[Killer Fish]

Does anyone have some dining or other fun recommendations for Kauai (Poipu)? It's been a long time since we were last there and I'm sure things have changed.

Porkys food truck if it is still there.
Duane's Ono Char Burger eat with the chickens
Merrimans Kauai and do a hike after lunch or before
I am biased but Tidepools at the Hyatt.
Captain Andy's Na'Pa"li coast sunset dinner