Learning to NOT Photograph Fireworks Behind Trees (Sept/Oct 2012)

[Cafeen]

Allan, I am so sorry we will miss you, but best to make the office happy, especially in today's world.

Yep, and considering how hard I work (erm... or don't work ), it's usually good to save up those brownie points. It also gives me the added benefit of having an extra paycheck to pay the trip off.

Booo for changing your dates!!!

Yup Sorry. It had to be done though. I'm liking the look of this trip a bit better than the original though. However, for some odd reason, there is not a single PM EMH at DHS during this entire trip. Kinda throws a wrench into my nighttime photography of the park. That, and missing out on F! because it closes at 6pm on our Saturday there...

Now, to be fair, my boss DID say that "If it was going to be a hassle, don't worry about it," but when I did tell him I was able to switch, he seemed very relieved and thankful that I could do it. Depending on when my brother is going to plan his trip, this may make me "qualify" for an AP as well... we'll have to see about that.

 

[PrincessInOz]

The redux plans look great. And it is a nice trip from POR using the boat service to DTD. My only recommendation will be that if you stay late and there is a queue for the boat heading back, head to catch the bus back. It could be a long wait, if there is only one or two boats operating.

Sorry to hear that there isn't going to be an EMH for DHS whilst you are there. Perhaps they might tweak the schedule a little between now and before you go.

 

[oceanwave]

Hi! Happened about your PTR and loved your pictures!! Really enjoyed looking at them. We are heading down at the end of September as well! I do have a question, how easy was it to switch resorts after the free dining promotion ended?

Looking forward to hearing more about your plans!

 

[Cafeen]

The redux plans look great. And it is a nice trip from POR using the boat service to DTD. My only recommendation will be that if you stay late and there is a queue for the boat heading back, head to catch the bus back. It could be a long wait, if there is only one or two boats operating.

Sorry to hear that there isn't going to be an EMH for DHS whilst you are there. Perhaps they might tweak the schedule a little between now and before you go.

Thanks, I'm liking them a bit more than the previous incarnation of the trip. Except that one Friday, poor LTT looks all lonely .

For DtD, I doubt we're going to stay very late. Mom's a morning person. Me, not so much, but I'm not all that interested in DtD in general. But, I will certainly keep that in mind.

I did find the elusive DHS PM EMH... it's on Sunday. We have dinner at GG at 7:15pm and I had planned on watching Illuminations. I'll have to play this one by ear.

Hi! Happened about your PTR and loved your pictures!! Really enjoyed looking at them. We are heading down at the end of September as well! I do have a question, how easy was it to switch resorts after the free dining promotion ended?

Looking forward to hearing more about your plans!

Thanks

As far as the switching, it was very simple. I just told the girl that I'd like to shift my dates to 9/27 - 10/01 and she looked it up. She did first look up POR as that's where I was originally booked, but when there was no availability there, she checked out FQ. This part took a matter of minutes (the hold time to move my travel insurance... different matter).

--Allan
Temporary DIS Sig due to me being bad in TPAS
Active TRs:
Sept 2012 PTR: Learning to NOT Photograph Fireworks Behind Trees (Sept 2012)
Sept 2011 TR: New Camera? Sounds like a perfect excuse for another Disney trip!

 

[oceanwave]

Thanks for the info! Had no idea you could do that.

 

[Cafeen]

Day 1 & 2 (Sept 27-28) Plans - Travel/EP & MK/MNSSHP (Possibly)

Since Day 1 is traveling day, it's a bit light on plans, so in order for me to continue being considered as a novelist type of poster (that is, I write a lot of words ), I'm combining the first two days.

So, I'm looking to take either the 6:30am or 7:30am flight out of Mobile and landing at MCO around 10:30-noon. I'll hop ME to POFQ (hopefully I won't get confused and get into the CSR line!) and be on my way. This will be completely uneventful!

Once at POFQ, I'll check in and be lost, as I haven't been to this resort EVER! At least it's a teeny-tiny resort, so it's not like I'll get REALLY lost... like at CSR last year. (See the TR in my sig...or, that will be in my sig come July 11 for those details. You can also get there via the first page of this PTR, so that's probably a better idea than waiting around for a month.)

So, I'll check in, and meander to my garden view room, and set off for Epcot. Epcot is my traditional solo starting point, so I may as well bow to said tradition.

I was planning on doing La Cantina de San Angel for lunch again, but now I'm reconsidering it. I may just stop in at Electric Umbrella or something for a burger and to eat inside, as it will probably start raining knowing my luck (although, now that I say that, and I may plan to eat inside, it will probably NOT be raining...). At any rate, I'll take my obligatory first ride on Spaceship Earth and then tool around for a couple hours. Around 3-4pm, I'll head back to POFQ to meet up with Mom.

Now, Mom is half-Irish and half-English (I know, good mix right ). As such, she really enjoys Bread Pudding and Irish cultural stuff. So, when redoing my plans for this night, and realizing that there was nothing available at Narcoossee's (my original this day dinner), I decided to hit up Raglan Road. This will be my first time here, and my first time at Downtown Disney since the late 80s/early 90s. Our ADR is for 7:15pm, so I figure that we'll head down early, take in the sights, and I'll shoot some photos before and after dinner. (Well, and during too). Trusty Tripod will be coming to dinner with us so I can try my hand at some HDR. Depending on what time we get there, and if there's a wait, I may also see about hitching a ride on a balloon... Mom's not too keen on heights, so I don't know if she would do it, but we'll see.

Day 2 - MK/MNSSHP

Today is our MK day. I am planning on doing the party again, and this time, actually experiencing it, rather than just sitting around. Trusty Tripod will not be joining us today, as this time is more for me and Mom than for me and camera.

We'll get up pretty early, hopefully hit RD. Mom's an early riser, and I can handle it at Disney (don't you DARE ask me to get up early at home though!)

Since I don't have plans until lunch now (seeing as there were no early CP available), we'll take it easy in the morning. I figure we'll focus on Adventureland, Frontierland, and Liberty Square first, probably grabbing a FP for BTMRR and hitting up Pirates and Haunted Mansion at least. Depending on return time for the FP, we may do BTMRR a 2nd time. This is going to be tricky, I'm not used to looking at that 2nd time on those slips of paper .

After all of that is done, we'll likely head on over to Tomorrowland and nab some Space Mtn FPs if the timing is right. Standby may be an option, again, assuming timing and stuff here... we have lunch plans today!

Lunch will be at Liberty Tree Tavern yet again. This is my favorite MK lunch spot.

(You know, while this is a food pic and I normally just use them for story telling rather than my artsy-fartsy stuff. I am REALLY liking how this turned out. The lighting is almost perfect and that's with minimal processing...)

And, of course

So very tasty!​

After lunch, we'll finish up Tomorrowland and maybe check on new Dumbo before heading out for the afternoon.

We'll spend a couple hours resting at the resort, and come back between 4 and 6 for the party (if we're going, if we're not, we'll do something else and probably stay a bit later in the park)

I flaked out on our party last year, and basically just sat waiting for Hallowishes. We see how well that turned out...

...And those are two of the better ones...​

So this year, we'll do the things that the party is meant for and I'll remember to get a drink at some point so I don't get all dehydrated and feel ill during the parade. I'm also not going to focus on attempting to photograph the fireworks at this point in the trip. I'll actually experience them with Mom.

After the party, it'll be late, so we'll head on back to POFQ for the night.

Days 1 & 2 Food Plans

• Day 1 (Sept 27 2012)
  • L -Some CS in Epcot at whatever time
  • D - Raglan Road (DtD) @ 7:15pm
• Day 2 (Sept 28 2012)
  • B - Main St. Bakery, or some snacks, or I may change this day all around
  • L -Liberty Tree Tavern (MK) @ 11:30pm
  • D - QS somewhere, or I may change this day all around

Days 1 & 2 Photography Plans
Keeping it light here, aiming to focus on being at Disney with Mom while she's there. Will attempt to get some more iconic pictures (e.g. In front of the castle) with the 2 of us. We'll see how that goes . Also going to attempt some work at DtD with Trusty Tripod.

 

[oceanwave]

I need to go and read how you got lost at CSR. We learnt how huge that place is when we decided to walk (for the first time) from the lobby to the Ranchos after spending about 14 hours in MK! Didn't realize they will take you to your room on the golf cart until we were almost back

Your first day looks nice and easy going. What is the balloon ride? Didn't know you could ride a balloon from DTD.

I agree with you, I love Liberty Tree Tavern!

Again I must tell you I love your pictures, really like the one of the castle with the water in the front. And those food pictures look so yummy

 

[Cafeen]

I need to go and read how you got lost at CSR. We learnt how huge that place is when we decided to walk (for the first time) from the lobby to the Ranchos after spending about 14 hours in MK! Didn't realize they will take you to your room on the golf cart until we were almost back

Your first day looks nice and easy going. What is the balloon ride? Didn't know you could ride a balloon from DTD.

I agree with you, I love Liberty Tree Tavern!

Again I must tell you I love your pictures, really like the one of the castle with the water in the front. And those food pictures look so yummy

Yeah, the golf carts are nice if they're running. Though I think they typically only use them for conventions if said convention opts in for them. And then, during the busier times, they're typically restricted to conventioneers only. (At less busy times, the drivers get bored of going around a circle reverse-Nascar style and are more prone to pick anyone up). They wouldn't have helped us though, as it was mostly the corridors we had to go through.

Basically, Casitas 2, is (or at least was) flagged as a preferred location, including the top floor. There's one problem with that... Casitas 2 has no elevator to the 4th floor. We either had to walk to Casitas 3 to get one up to/down from the 4th floor (and this one was all the way by the lake, we were all the way by the parking lot), or walk down a flight of stairs and over to the space between 1 and 2 (which meant, walking UP a flight of stairs on the way to the room) to take the elevator down. Both options had us backtracking due to the layout as well. Overall, it was a mess. The lost part was in the maze between Casitas 1 and 3 with horrible signing.

The "Balloon Ride" is the Characters in Flight balloon. It's a tethered balloon and the prices don't look horribly bad. I'm sure it's only a few minutes, but it may offer some nice photo ops.

For the photos, thanks again. It means a lot. I do put quite a bit of work into getting them to look just right, and it's always nice for that work to be appreciated. Of course, I see issues with all of them, but we're always our own worst critics. I just can't wait until this year's trip, as I have learned so much since the last one that I know I'll improve even more. Plus, if I don't get sick again (shhh, I'm not to that point in my TR yet), I'll be a bit more prone to taking more shots, which gives me more GOOD shots using the law of averages. (Or maybe that's just more average shots )

---
On a side note. I will most certainly NOT be planning a trip to take Beth and Emily down next year. There's a bit of drama (as always) that's occurred, and I have completely given up on her now. Not really the best place to share this, but since I know some of you have read from my very first TR, and have followed some of the ups and downs, at least you'd understand.

And, I may be angling for some free sympathy

 

[oceanwave]

I was very surprised with the elevators at CSR. I would have thought the elevators would have been easily accessible for each building and floor. Thats crazy there is was no elevator to the fourth floor in your building. We were on the I believe the second floor and found it shorter and easier just to walk up the stairs. Getting the elevator was a longer walk (and as you say much more complicated). After a day in the parks it was a choice of just get the stairs over with or walk longer. Had our room been any higher than the second floor, I think the elevator would have one! That would have been a brutal walk to the fourth floor!

Thanks for the balloon info, I had no idea they offered this. It looks pretty cool. Will have to add it to my wdw bucket list.

I have been reading your trip reports today. Got through the first two and now on the current trip report. Been enjoying all the pictures!! Makes me get all excited for my up coming trip. I definitely appreciate your pictures. I am always saying I am going to get more into photography, but that hasn't happened yet. But I do plan on upgrading my camera to something a little more sophisticated soon.

Sorry to hear about Beth and Emily. From your reports I can tell how much you adore Emily. Must be hard.

 

[Cafeen]

I was very surprised with the elevators at CSR. I would have thought the elevators would have been easily accessible for each building and floor. Thats crazy there is was no elevator to the fourth floor in your building. We were on the I believe the second floor and found it shorter and easier just to walk up the stairs. Getting the elevator was a longer walk (and as you say much more complicated). After a day in the parks it was a choice of just get the stairs over with or walk longer. Had our room been any higher than the second floor, I think the elevator would have one! That would have been a brutal walk to the fourth floor!

Thanks for the balloon info, I had no idea they offered this. It looks pretty cool. Will have to add it to my wdw bucket list.

I have been reading your trip reports today. Got through the first two and now on the current trip report. Been enjoying all the pictures!! Makes me get all excited for my up coming trip. I definitely appreciate your pictures. I am always saying I am going to get more into photography, but that hasn't happened yet. But I do plan on upgrading my camera to something a little more sophisticated soon.

Sorry to hear about Beth and Emily. From your reports I can tell how much you adore Emily. Must be hard.

I was quite shocked with the elevator situation as well, it was my 3rd stay at CSR and never had a problem with them. They did hear a piece of my mind afterwards regarding it being "preferred". Not sure if it still is or not, but even the CSR people knew all about the "no-man's land" that is Casitas 2 4th floor. We did start walking DOWN the stairs on the way out, so that made it a bit easier, but with my feet the way they were, there was no way I was walking up them!

NP on the balloon. I've been considering doing it for the past 3 trips, and never got around to DtD. Since it was a bit out of the way from CSR (DtD buses are not known for timely service) and there really wasn't much to interest me there (I'm not a shopper), it just never happened. This year, with a dinner planned there, and it being a boat ride away (which should offer its own photographic opportunities), I figured that now's the time. Plus, it's really not that expensive. I'm sure it's only a few minutes at the top, but still, it's not bad considering it IS Disney.

Thanks again for the compliments. It's kinda funny as I look back through my photos and mark the improvements I have made. I also have taken far more pictures each trip! 2009 and 2010 were both with my old P&S. I hit the "functionality cap" back in 2010 as I was pushing the camera to do things it simply couldn't do. That's when I decided (it was actually the moment I was attempting to silhouette one of the statues in Italy) that it was time to step up.

In general photographic stuff, you can get started with any camera really. Learning the basics of exposure and composition do not require any real money spent. Training your eyes to see things differently (which, I believe is one of the keys to my own success in the art) is also able to be done with any camera you have. Once you get to the point that you simply cannot capture a shot you want due to functional limitations on your camera, then you know it's time to upgrade as well. And right now, there are many great relatively inexpensive P&S cameras out there that can do nearly everything a big fancy dSLR can do (or smaller, not quite so fancy one like I have )

 

[oceanwave]

Yup keeping the camera on the less fancy side and smaller side is best But will definitely look for one I can play with when I upgrade. The one I have now is ancient in technology terms.

I really liked DTD, but then again I like to shop, well at least browse. Mike is very good at humoring me, he patiently waits while I shop.

 

[Cafeen]

Man, this PTR is getting messy. I have (again) swapped my days around! This time, it's not about rebooking the days, just deciding to switch them up.

At least this time, I'm still on days 1 & 2.

I made the changes on the ADR Puzzle - Redux post, but I'll drop them here as well, just because I can. The stuff in gray was removed, green was added, the 1 item in blue is the same as before. Note, these are only the days of which I have changed

I'm liking this plan a bit better than the original. The 6pm FF following by F! may be a little close, but oh well, we'll get seats anyway.

As you may note, I now have GFC BACK on the plans. They have a Boston Creme dessert, so this time, it's staying. For real. I mean it! (A note for new readers, I have planned, and unplanned GFC every year for the past 3 years.) I still couldn't find room at CG, so I'm thinking that's going to be out. Oh well.

You may also note that I have a lot of resort meals on days where I'll hop. I use those to my advantage. Go to a park, hop to a resort via bus/monorail/boat, then hop to the new park from there. It's worked out pretty well over the past few years, especially if you're unsure of where exactly you want to go that night.

• Fri 28 Sept (MK/MNSSHP (tentative))
  
  • B - QS at Main St. Bakery
  • L - Liberty Tree Tavern @ 11:30am (MK)
  • D - QS
  [*]Sat 29 Sept (DHS/Boardwalk)
  
  • B - Snack/QS @ Starring Rolls
  • L - 50s Prime Time* @ 11:25am (DHS)
  • D - Big River Grille* @ ~7:00pm (Boardwalk)
  [*]Sun 30 Sept (AK/EP Illuminations)
  
  • B - Snack
  • L - Sanaa* @ 11:30am (AKV)
  • D - Garden Grill* @ 7:15pm (EP)
• Fri 28 Sept (DHS/Fantasmic!)
  
  • B - QS at Starring Rolls
  • L - Mama Melrose @ 12:10pm (DHS) (F! Package)
  • D - Flying Fish @ 6:00pm (Boardwalk)
  [*]Sat 29 Sept (AK (AM EMH is tentative))
  
  • B - Boma* @ 10:45am (AKL) (This will be more of a "brunch")
  • L - N/A
  • D - Sanaa* @ 5:30pm (AKV)
  [*]Sun 30 Sept (MK/MNSSHP (tentative) or Epcot Illuminations)
  
  • B - QS/Snack @ Main St. Bakery (MK)
  • L - Liberty Tree Tavern @ 11:35am (MK)
  • D - Grand Floridian Cafe* @ 5:30pm (GFR)
• Fri 05 Oct (AK/MNSSHP(Tentative)/DHS(If no MNSSHP))
  • B - Snack or whatever
  • L - Rainforest Cafe* @ 11:30am (AK)
    [*]D - Flying Fish Cafe @ 6:15pm (Boardwalk)[*]D - Jiko @ 5:30pm (AKL)

 

[Cafeen]

Day 2 - Take 3!​

Annnnddddd.... ACTION!

​

Which is quite appropriate for this day. Instead of heading to MK first, I'm waiting until Sunday. Today, Friday, will be DHS instead! Originally, as you see, I had DHS planned for Saturday, which kinda stunk as it was closing at 6pm and there was no Fantasmic. Totally lame.

So now, instead of that, we're doing it on Friday!

The actual details aren't changing much from my v1 Day 3 plans. We'll still be there at some point in the morning. We may pick up TSMM FPs, we may forego those for ToT/RnRC. We'll eat lunch @ Mama Melrose with the Fantasmic Package. We'll aim to hit the shows.

​

A change here is dinner. We'll be heading to one of my favorites, Flying Fish Cafe. Originally, I had pushed this off until after Mom had left (in an effort to save her some money), but it fit better at this point... and I wanna do it. She can order light if she so desires.

​

So, after dinner, we'll head on back to DHS and get ready for Fantasmic. I am not 100% sure if Trusty Tripod will be making this trek with me or not. We'll have to see how we're both feeling that day.

Day 2 Dining Plans (yet again)

• B - Something from Starring Rolls if I feel like it
• L - Mama Melrose @ 12:10pm (F! Package)
• D - Flying Fish Cafe @ 6:00pm

Day 2 Photography Plans (yet again)

• Shows, shows, and more shows (LMA, Indy, BatB, VLM)
• Fantasmic
• Depending on timing that we finish up with DHS during the day, maybe some late afternoon Boardwalk shots as well

 

[PrincessInOz]

I might just have to stop trying to keep up with all of your changes!


okay...the main take out for me for Day 2 re-redux? Flying Fish and Fantasmic! Glad you got F! in your plans.


(At least until the next redux!).

 

[Cafeen]

I might just have to stop trying to keep up with all of your changes!


okay...the main take out for me for Day 2 re-redux? Flying Fish and Fantasmic! Glad you got F! in your plans.


(At least until the next redux!).

Hehe Thanks

I think these first 5 days are pretty set. Though, I'm not sure how much Mom's going to appreciate going to Epcot on the 30th anniversary (day 5, we're not there yet), if it's as busy as MK's 40th was at least. Oh well, we'll only be there until about 5pm anyway, then she'll be off heading home.

Now, the 2nd half of the trip... I've built in some flexibility there as well, so they SHOULD stay roughly the same (maybe an ADR moved/changed here or there, but overall, I like the layout of the plan).

As for the 2 Fs in this day (well, 3... well, really, if you include caFe, there's 4...), I'm really excited for them too. I LOVE Flying Fish Cafe, I don't even eat seafood or fish of any kind and it's one of my favorites from last year! I just had to share it with Mom this year. That, and, like I said, it fit in the plan quite nicely (and opened up a day later on for Jiko... which is another very good plus )

Fantasmic is something that I've wanted to see since I first went back in 2009. (Yes, no comma is correct, I went back in 2009, not went, back in 2009 ). Unfortunately, due to it's 2-3 day a week schedule futzing up the works (and making DHS stupidly busy on that day), it never happened. I'm glad it's back to every day so I can actually plan for it rather than around it. If I do bring Trusty Tripod, I'm certainly going to aim to get some shots of it. Of course, you know, I could just watch it... but I like looking through the viewfinder better .

Also, with the changes, I built in some tentative DHS PM EMH time for shooting. It's the party night I'm looking at if Mom wants to go to it, but if she doesn't, then we'll do that (or, I'll do that for photo stuff and Mom can do her own thing).

 

[oceanwave]

It's looking like we have some of the same park days! Maybe we will bump into each other at some point!

Do you suggest eating at Grand Floridian Cafe? I need to rework some of my dining ressies and looking for ideas.

 

[Cafeen]

It's looking like we have some of the same park days! Maybe we will bump into each other at some point!

Do you suggest eating at Grand Floridian Cafe? I need to rework some of my dining ressies and looking for ideas.

Woohoo! I'll try and keep an eye out. Once we get closer, we can possibly set something up and meet up for a snack or ride or just a hello

As for GFC, I've never been, so I don't really know. It's usually pretty highly recommended and is quoted as being a quieter, more casual meal. Plus, they have a Boston Creme dessert... and I love me some Boston Creme! (You don't know how much I love the stuff ) I'd say go for it if it'll fit in the new plans. I wouldn't go out of my way for it, but I don't really go out of my way for any of the dining

 

[Cafeen]

Day 3 - Plans Version 2​

With the change in my order of days, AK now takes place on Day 3 (Sat 9/29/2012). My basic AK plan is still the plan though.

​

We have Boma set for 10:45am for "breakfast", so we'll likely get to AK for AM EMH this day. I figure we'll hit up the Safari first thing, and then head over to EE to either FP it or ride, depending on the line.

​

We'll leave for brunch at around 10am after doing whatever we can for those first couple of hours.

After brunch (note: it's not an official "brunch", it's just breakfast at 10:45am), we'll head back to AK and finish it up. Beyond EE and the Safari, other big plans include both Nemo and FotLK

​

I figure that by 4:30-5:00pm, we should have accomplished everything we set out to. I do love Primeval Whirl, and Dinosaur, so those are "Must Dos", as well as trails, conservation status, and ITTAB.

At around 5pm (which is an hour before closing, so hopefully we'll skip the rush), we'll head on over to AKV for dinner at... Sanaa!

I did the "Untamed Lunch! Dine with an Animal Specialist" last year at this restaurant, and it was amazing. I absolutely need to return to Sanaa this year. A 5:30pm dinner should also be bright enough for the animals to still be out and visible on the savanna.

After dinner, we'll head on back to POFQ to chill for the night.

Day 3 - Food Plans

• B - Boma (AKL) @ 10:45am
• L - NA
• D - Sanaa (AKV) @ 5:30pm

Day 3 - Photography Plans

• EE "Action" Shots
• Safari shots
• Nemo Show
• FotLK

 

[Cafeen]

Intermission - Dining Plan Math​

Some of you may know that I'm pretty active over on the dining boards, especially when it comes to "doing the math." I just figured that I better put my money where my mouth is and do my own. Now, I had done it originally for the original trip, but I hadn't yet redone it for this one.

Now, I don't do things halfway (OK, OK, I do a lot of things halfway, some even quarterway... some less than that...) so I had created a monster spreadsheet for my 2010 trip that calculates all sorts of things. The biggest benefit of it is that I can specify different itineraries per "plan" (DxDDP, DDP, QSDP, TiW, and OOP) which I can then compare against each other. This is based on the idea that I'd not likely eat the same way paying OOP vs using DxDDP for example. This has come in real handy.

In the latest version, I have even gone so far as to include a comparison for Free Dining vs Room Discounts (it's far from perfect yet, in fact, it has a tendency to calculate child dining plans as them paying you for this comparison, but it works great for adult costs ). This math is a bit tricky, but I find the difference between free dining and room discount, subtract the appropriate dining plan cost from the base cost, then average out the difference across the party and number of nights, and finally, add that average back on top of the adjusted dining plan cost. It looks something like: "=IF(CalculateFreeDDP="Yes",DDPAdultBaseCost-((IF(ResortLevel="Value",FreeQSDPDiff,FreeDDPDiff)/(NumAdult+NumChilder)/NumNights)),DDPAdultBaseCost)" in Excel (Yes, I misspelled "Children" in naming the cell, it took too long to catch it as that name is all over the sheet, so it stays ). So, with that said, some numbers...

For my original trip, using the Free Dining Promotion and upgrading to DxDDP would have been saving me ~$195 for the trip (again, this takes into account the difference between Free Dining and Room Discount). I would have been getting ~$1,175 worth of food, for ~$979.

For this trip, the numbers change. The biggest reason is that the room discount only lasted through 27 Sept (I think?) and room discounts don't get the package deals like free dining plans do (I think?). As such, the total room discount when compared to the entire room rates, was a whopping 3%. I'm sure you can see where this is going.

For my newly minted Sept/Oct trip, I will be spending ~$643 for my food (including tips and such, same deal as above), and receiving ~$1,245 worth of food, or a savings of ~$602. A huge change! For another example, my OOP itinerary, which cuts out many of the TS meals, and desserts, and signatures, would still have been ~$503.

So, to sum up. Saving ~$602 by using the Free Dining promotion, upgrading to DxDDP, eating a lot, and realizing that a room discount wouldn't apply to most of my dates. (Even if it did, I'd still be saving ~$233 with the same plan).

(One of these days, I hope to program the entire sheet into a web form to allow others to use it without having them require Excel (the Open Office version is now outdated ), but that's a long way off.)

 

[PrincessInOz]

Too many nested "if"s = headache

I think you're describing what I call Disney Fuzzy Maths....which offer provides me with the best discount!

Disney is NOT Fuzzy....the Maths works out. Spend.more.money.