I'm new with some questions

[plutosmyfav]

Hello! I'm new here. I just found this board this week as I started researching a trip to WDW. I have book a trip for the week after Thanksgiving and I have some questions I hope you all can answer.

Here's my trip:
Arrive in Orlando (by plane) 9:30 PM Nov 29. Take a rental car to a downtown Orlando hotel for the first night.

Question #1: What?s the best place to buy food, drinks, necessities between the airport (MCO) and WDW?

We'll head out early Saturday morning to WDW, staying at POR Dec 1-6. I've read many posts about POR and feel good about it . But looking on line for park hours I saw that in Nov the parks close 6-7 PM (Dec hours aren't posted yet). I've never been there this season and that surprised me. We've gone March/May in the past and enjoyed gong back to the hotel in the late afternoon and then heading back out in the evening.

Question #2: Do they still have E-tickets? What is a good strategy for the short park hours, any tips?

I bought tickets for Mickey's Very Merry Christmas for Dec 3rd I can't wait for that! My CM said it's a good idea to eat before going.

Question #3:Anyone have reviews/tips for MVMC?

I took the advice at mousesaver.com and made resort reservations without doing a package. And here?s my last question (for now!):

Question #4: Considering the time of year (weather) should I bother with the Ultra or Plus park hoppers or is it doubtful we'll want to visit any water parks? Also, any reviews on the interactive indoor thing?(Ultra only) I can't find any info on it.

Oops, one more question:

Question #5: How do you add your trip countdown to your emails? I'd love to do that

Thanks for all your help,

PlutosMyFav

 

[grover]

Is there a special reason why you are staying at a Downtown Orlando hotel? That is a bit out of the way from Disney-the opposite direction in fact-there are tons of hotel very close/neighboring disney!

At the bottom of the page here you will see a box marked Forum Jump- scroll down the list until you come the Techincal Board- there you will precise directions to add the countdown timer!! Very easy to do!


Sorry I can't help with your other questions, but welcome to the Dis-you are now a member of a elite group of disney freaks!!!

Smiles
Grover in Winnipeg

 

[plutosmyfav]

I hadn't really thought about where the first night hotel should be. I couldn't start our resort stay until Nov 30 so I just picked something close to the air port. I'll put some more thought into it.

Thanks for the tip!

PlutosMyFav

 

[plutosmyfav]

Thanks Grover for mentioning my choice of offsite. I cancelled the downtown Orlando and booked Holiday Inn Express East in Kissimmee. Does anyone have experience with this hotel?

Thanks
PlutosMyFav

 

[cocacolamom]

I hope I can help a little. We have been to Disney twice during this time and the park hours do stay the same in Dec. as they are in Nov. The bonus for you is that the crowds are quite a bit lighter than other times of the year. Are waits in line were no more than 15 mins. max.

We did go to Blizzard Beach during both of our trips. It is usually nice during the day and gets chilly in the evening. Just to let you know, Typhoon Lagoon is almost always closed for maintance during Nov./Dec., so you will only have Blizzard Beach as a choose.

MVMCp was just "magical" last year when we went. I do agree with the CM in that I would recommend that you eat first. Last year they had hot chocolate and cookies that they gave out. Most of the rides will be open during this time, so you will be able to see lots of MK during your visit. Also, there are Christmas shows and parades going on during the whole time. Definitely puts you in the Christmas spirit when your there!

E tickets are not usually going on during this time, HOWEVER I did read from one of the posts that the EE's are back as of Oct. 1st. This will give you some extra time in the parks .

Enjoy your time is Disney.
Michelle

 

[plutosmyfav]

I've been wondering about EE. I've read all over this board that its gone, but saw at Deb's ALLEARSNET that its returning in Oct. That's great. We are actually night owls and would prefer E-tickets but we'll take what we can get

PlutosMyFav

 

[faith]

HI Plutos! You are going to love POR resort! It's so beautiful. Try to make time to ride the surrey bikes around the resort. Did that a few years ago with one of the grandsons. he loved ringing the bell.
Don't know firsthand, but most people seem to think the December weather is too chilly for a day at the waterparks. With your short stay I think you'll like the regular hoppers.
If you are not using a rental car for the entire trip, you may want to stay near the airport and take most hotel's free shuttle back to the airport the next day to catch a Mears shuttle down to Disney? Just a thought you might want to research.
Enjoy your trip. Lucky you! The holiday decorations will be up.

 

[luvs2plan]

Hi ya!

We are going at the same time you are and also staying at POR. We also have tickets for MVMCP for the 3rd. I'm looking forward to the holiday themeing. Do you have children? I have two older teens. We're getting in around check-in time on the 29th. We are getting the Length of Stay passes so we can go somewhere that night for a bit, probably Epcot. We mostly got them so the kids could go to Disney Quest in the evenings when they want to. We've only been one other time and they liked being able to do that while we crashed. I thought about staying off site in one of the DD hotels but decided not to because of transportation. We won't rent a car this time because we only used it a couple of times last time, it was a waste of money.
Hope we see ya there!

 

[plutosmyfav]

I have two kids DS 2 1/2 yrs old and DD 13. We'll be challenged to keep them both happy-- probably split up a lot.

Is there anything at D Quest that my 2 year old could do?

 

[dcfromva]

I bought tickets for Mickey's Very Merry Christmas for Dec 3rd I can't wait for that! My CM said it's a good idea to eat before going.

Here is another fun option-- Why don't you see if you can get dinner at Liberty Tree Tavern about an hour prior to the start of your MVMCP? (It is a buffet dinner) Call 407 WDW DINE for details and PS. I am doing something similar--though, I don't get to go to MVMCP this year. I am going to MNSSHP which starts at 7pm and I was able to get PS for 5:55pm at the LTT. I figure it will be nice to relax and be already in place for when the MNSSHP starts.

Considering the time of year (weather) should I bother with the Ultra or Plus park hoppers or is it doubtful we'll want to visit any water parks? Also, any reviews on the interactive indoor thing?(Ultra only) I can't find any info on it.

The weather is a hard one to predict--I always tell folks to pack for every season. It could turn out to be really warm or not. In any case, with all you have planned do you see yourself going to a water park more than one time? That is usually all we can fit in when we go--no matter how hot the weather is.

The other variable is DisneyQuest. If your 13 year likes video games, then I think your DD will enjoy it. Yes, there are a few things for a 2.5 year old to do at DQ--but, I will go out on a limb here and say that I bet your 2.5 yr old would enjoy the Lego Store more than DQ (and the Lego Store is free--well, that is if you are not compelled to buy anything). They also have a little train and other little distractions at Downtown Disney that a small child would enjoy. We have enjoyed DQ (especially fighting the space aliens and saving the colonists and the Buzz Lightyear ride where you shoot balls at one another), but we have not gone back for a year or so--it's just so hard to fit it in with everything else there is to do!

-DC

 

[KelliR]

plutosmyfav...my kids have a similar age span...DD13 and DD5. The older one loves DQ, but when the younger one was 3, there just wasn't enough to interest her. IMHO that would be a good day for you to split up. dvfromva's suggestion for the Lego store is a good one. Many times I have taken the younger one to DD Marketplace while my DH and older daughter are at DQ.

In August my DD5 loved the new toy store at DD and making the Mr. Potato Head. There are other playstations there: tinker toys, Lincoln Logs, and a doll play area in the back of the store. She also liks the tain, the sand play area, the fountains, the carousel, and the Lego store. I have even taken her out to a character lunch while the other 2 were at DQ.

Have a magical vacation!

 

[Pigsty333]

Are you locked into that package. Did you look into changing it to add any extras or the extra night to the room. Most packages, you can change. Did you do it by yourself or did you have a travel agent.

Did you do it through WDW Travel or what? I have added things to my packages up until the last couple of days.

I just had to change my travel date - leave a day earlier since the airfare from NY was so crazy - I got quoted $1,290 per person on Continental to $575 on JetBlue. After calling and calling, I got AA for $345 per person r/t with all taxes so I booked that. The problem with it - I had to leave NY on the 13th at 7:00 PM instead of the 14th. No big deal, called WDW Travel Company and added in the extra night, this way we don't go crazy just checking into a hotel to sleep for the night, check out of it and then head to the AKL and check in. Too much wasted time. Plus, the kids will miss no extra time other than Friday the 14th.

I am thinking of adding the DreamMaker Gold Package since we really like to pamper ourserlves and eat and not worry about a budget. Hate doing that. It drives me up a wall. This way, most of what we want to do is paid for in advance.

Have fun.

 

[plutosmyfav]

I booked the trip myself. I added the offsite night for the same reason you mentioned-- air fare dropped to $191 pp from Boston if we went on the 29th. I called WDW and the cheapest thing they have for the 29th is Coronado no code for $133. I just couldn't justify the $$ just to sleep the first night. We're renting a car so we can hit the parks at opening on the 30th and check into POR in the evening-- I'm happy with it. I just haven't completely made up my mind to stay at HI Express. Yahoo map says its a 26 minute drive from there. We're on a fairly tight budget so I can't add a night

Last time I was at CBR I did the meal plans and decided it was a big waste for us. I kept trying to eat more to use up the card! In the end I ordered a lot of stuff I didn't really want and we still lost about $10. Hope if works better for you.

Thanks for the reply,

PlutosMyFav

 

[Pigsty333]

Disney’s Fall Fantasy (Package code ZWLJ)


Get that Once Upon a Time feeling at a Happily Ever After rate at the Walt Disney World® Resort!


3-Night Packages from $325* at a participating Disney Value Resort – a $30 Savings**

$225 per Junior (ages 10-17) and $179 per child (ages 3-9)

Did you check out this offer.

I am considering the option of adding the silver or gold plan, because its not only for the meals - it also includes some of the other activities like illuminations boat cruise, spa treatment, parasailing, etc. You have the options to use your magical wishes as you please. It is not only a meal plan.

Since my kids are bigger now, they want to do extra things and in this package they are included and paid for by the time I get there.

 

[Pigsty333]

Disney’s Fall Fantasy (Package code ZWLJ) includes:

Accommodations for three nights at a participating Disney Value Resort Hotel


The Ultimate Park Hopper Ticket which provides admission to all four Disney Theme Parks and Water Parks throughout your client’s package stay


Commemorative Disney Trading Pin


Commemorative 100 Years of Magic luggage tag


Additional nights and other resorts are available at varying rates.

 

[plutosmyfav]

Wow that sounds fantastic.

Would that code work for just one night, no park tickets? I have all the rest.

Thanks

 

[alamashdar]

I can't help, as I have not been to WDW yet but I just wanted to say:

WELCOME TO DIS!!!

-Telia-

 

[Pigsty333]

I don't know. You will have to call Disney Travel Company and ask them. Normally they are offered as part of a package.

 

[Pigsty333]

Scroll down the Boards to Technical Support and you will find the web address to put your countdown. Now its very easy.

I only wish I could figure out how to put the pics and clip art in I'll be fine. Any help out there?