I would look at what the reward mileage/points are and then look at the credit card sing up bonuses. On AA it can sometimes cost 60K miles roundtrip just to fly coach domestically depending on the dates.
Disney hotels and tickets are gone
That. Is. AWESOME.
I’m not sure when we will return. It most likely won’t be until after Japan and maybe not even for a couple years or more. I honestly don’t want to go anywhere near wdw with Star Wars opening.
I would love to be able to drive to wdw if it didn’t take an entire day to get there.I am sorry it was a hard trip.
We just got back too, and agree it was busy and crazy. Best was just hanging out being goofy with the kids and my parents worst was just the amount of people at “special events” like EMM at HS and Mickey’s BBQ (we ate and walked out). We didn’t do the MNSHP.
For us the secret is not doing public transportation (worth it to drive), to always take breaks in afternoon, not be jammed into one hotel room. If you can’t afford a DVC villa or multiple rooms people really should stay off site. Windsor Hills is awesome and cheap compared to onsite. It is as close as AKL. A separate room for parents and a kitchen does wonders. Plus everyone sleeps better.
Breaks for our kids consisted of them crawling into bed and watching the endless loop of Mickey cartoons. I am sad to report that this trip they were too lazy to even want to swim. But we averaged 25k steps a day and no real complaints. I do think parents are more violent and stressed and ridiculously over rely on technology. They are at WDW for heavens sake...why do they need to be playing a game on a tablet?
We did have some weird stuff with CM’s. But I think almost all that a reflection of the people they have to deal with. When I was just a little nice we got pixie dust. (Even little stuff like them charging the 9 year old price for my now 10 year old who eats nothing. Our one TS meal and maybe she appreciated my honesty).
I renewed our AP’s though and am really looking forward to our first DVC trip in January. Count me in the “not done with Disney; sorry but I still love it” column.
Okay, thanks. I had heard that rumor but wasn't sure if that was what people were referring to. That does stink, but since I can usually find other ways to save on Disney things I don't usually use my Chase Rewards to pay for Disney - although I did pay for a DCL cruise a couple years ago...
I AM giving up all things Disney (for now
).
Agree. It’s really weird and I don’t understand what chase is doing here.
Holy smokes! That would have really bothered my too. I’m bothered just by one cussword being screamed at a kid. Hearing that sort of thing makes me want to yell out “you’re an ADULT, get a thesaurus and learn some new words to scream!” But the smacking in Disney- that poor kid
So many bad parenting choices are witnessed at Disney. It’s like Disney is the ultimate parent endurance test. My hat is off to all our Disney Parents here!
This all reminds me that we had a thread going on the DIS sometime back of like the best Disney breakdowns people had witnessed. Kids and parents. It was good for a while but then it deteriorated as such things do. My favorite stories were from parents who ended up looking like they were horrible people but there was so much more going on (obviously not the case you witnessed!). My favorite was these parents whose very little kid was obsessed with going on HM since he found out he was going to WDW. They didn’t know why, it kinda came out of nowhere but he was very insistent. His parents talked to him to make sure, watched videos, told him it would be scary- kid was insistent. Hands down it was basically the reason for his existence by departure day. They arrive at MK early afternoon and should have gotten lunch but the kid is only about HM. They head straight there, wait through the line, are up front when the doors open, and out of nowhere the kid plants his feet and screams “NOOOOOOOOO!!!” in his absolute best bloody murder voice. Shock ensues. In the end the dad threw him over his shoulder & took him in anyway. I would have been 100% judging them had I witnessed that & especially if I had to ride near them- but knowing the background story it was the same call I would have made!
Chase Biz looks good to me. Just make sure his Chase credit limits are down in acceptable ranges prior to applying. (60k-70k)
The only rewards that I've ever used for a WDW trip is turning in miles for airfare when the ticket prices wouldn't drop to a level I am comfortable paying cash for. I won't pay more than $350 cash RT from LAX.
I AM giving up all things Disney (for now
About one year ago I started dabbling in this hobby specifically for Disney redemption. I need my vacations to be mostly free, not reduced by buying discounted gift cards. Disney diving into their current money grubbing mode has really helped me break off the love affair, Chase dropping Disney sealed the "divorce".
I am really looking forward to venturing out to new places. I will let you know how awesome NM is next spring. And thanks to @Artygal90 I have an amazing itinerary to work with!
