mshanson3121
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 16, 2015
- Messages
- 7,211
We're a family with health and disability issues. We have always done afternoon breaks (3-4 hours) out of necessity. Whether we stayed on site or off site, we always rope dropped. We used our 3 FP+ that we were specifically able to book for times that worked around our necessary break, and then typically got several DAS throughout the day. Combining those strategies was necessary.
Honestly, my head is spinning at how to "plan" our trip next year. Originally we planned 3 days with park hoppers so we could experience all four parks, staying at All-Star Movies our first night (because it was important to our daughter that Daddy get to "see" All Star Movies since he couldn't go with us last time), then the next day moving to our off site rental. The plan was:
Day 1: Arrive at All Star Movies late afternoon. Relax.
Day 2: Enjoy the resort and then move to our rental home in the afternoon.
Day 3: Kennedy Space Center
Day 4: Discovery Cove
Day 5: DW
Day 6: Rest Day
Day 7: DW
Day 8: DW
We naively assumed (back when we booked) that FP+ was going to come back as it used to be... so even though we knew we were going to lose our rope drop strategy, we thought we'd still have FP+ and DAS. And now... I'm honestly just so, so disappointed and discouraged with this whole new GP+... the upcharging, the fact that several of the rides we'd want GP+ for aren't included unless we pay even more for ILL$, the fact that we can no longer select times for GP+, that they can (and will) "sell out", both of which mean we will probably be pretty limited in what we can get for rides we want/can use even after paying $15 pp. And of course add to it that rope dropping is done for us unless we stay on site.
So as it stands now:
- we can`t rope drop, so we`ll lose that advantage
- we will have 2 DAS advance selections, but of course we can`t use them for the main rides that we`d want FP+ for, and we`re still down 1
- we do at least still have DAS, but instead of being able to use that for the smaller rides (which would allow us to get more rides done), we`ll have to use them for the big rides we can no longer get FP+ for, which means we`ll get less rides done.
So, the way I see it, we have a few options:
1. Drop a day, drop the night at All Stars, and take the money we save to add GP+ for our two days and buy the 2 ILL$ each day. We`ll have significantly less time in park (losing a full day when you only had 3 to start and you have to take afternoon breaks, is a big blow) but at least we`ll have GP+/ILL$ to help us make better use of said time. From the rest of the extra money we save/day we gain we can do a different Orlando attraction.
2. Keep the 3 days in park, but instead of buying park hoppers, just buy base tickets. That will give us 1 day for park hopping (we already have a set of 1 day comp park hopper tickets), and then two full days. So we would probably do MK, EP and then HS/AK. We can then take the money we save and buy our 2 ILL$ for each day.
3. Drop the night at All Star Movies, keep the 3 park hopper days, and use the money we save to buy GP+ for the trip.
So... 1, 2, or 3?
Honestly, my head is spinning at how to "plan" our trip next year. Originally we planned 3 days with park hoppers so we could experience all four parks, staying at All-Star Movies our first night (because it was important to our daughter that Daddy get to "see" All Star Movies since he couldn't go with us last time), then the next day moving to our off site rental. The plan was:
Day 1: Arrive at All Star Movies late afternoon. Relax.
Day 2: Enjoy the resort and then move to our rental home in the afternoon.
Day 3: Kennedy Space Center
Day 4: Discovery Cove
Day 5: DW
Day 6: Rest Day
Day 7: DW
Day 8: DW
We naively assumed (back when we booked) that FP+ was going to come back as it used to be... so even though we knew we were going to lose our rope drop strategy, we thought we'd still have FP+ and DAS. And now... I'm honestly just so, so disappointed and discouraged with this whole new GP+... the upcharging, the fact that several of the rides we'd want GP+ for aren't included unless we pay even more for ILL$, the fact that we can no longer select times for GP+, that they can (and will) "sell out", both of which mean we will probably be pretty limited in what we can get for rides we want/can use even after paying $15 pp. And of course add to it that rope dropping is done for us unless we stay on site.
So as it stands now:
- we can`t rope drop, so we`ll lose that advantage
- we will have 2 DAS advance selections, but of course we can`t use them for the main rides that we`d want FP+ for, and we`re still down 1
- we do at least still have DAS, but instead of being able to use that for the smaller rides (which would allow us to get more rides done), we`ll have to use them for the big rides we can no longer get FP+ for, which means we`ll get less rides done.
So, the way I see it, we have a few options:
1. Drop a day, drop the night at All Stars, and take the money we save to add GP+ for our two days and buy the 2 ILL$ each day. We`ll have significantly less time in park (losing a full day when you only had 3 to start and you have to take afternoon breaks, is a big blow) but at least we`ll have GP+/ILL$ to help us make better use of said time. From the rest of the extra money we save/day we gain we can do a different Orlando attraction.
2. Keep the 3 days in park, but instead of buying park hoppers, just buy base tickets. That will give us 1 day for park hopping (we already have a set of 1 day comp park hopper tickets), and then two full days. So we would probably do MK, EP and then HS/AK. We can then take the money we save and buy our 2 ILL$ for each day.
3. Drop the night at All Star Movies, keep the 3 park hopper days, and use the money we save to buy GP+ for the trip.
So... 1, 2, or 3?
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