Now Approaching... Sleepingbooty's Sept. PTR (We're BAAACK! 9/26)

[Sleepingbooty]

Great to hear you sorted out the extra night. I'll cross my fingers for ya and the fares with SW coming out tomorrow!

Just checked and Southwest does not have their fares up yet. It now says that that date is subject to change. I don't get it. Every other airline has their schedules up through the end of October. What is up with Southwest?

I'm still waiting for that ding.....

 

[All7OfUs]

I"m personally hoping that you end up with POFQ. That'd be my preference, anyways.

 

[Charlefours]

did you check the airfares? how are they for you?

 

[Dancegrl624]

Southwest updated their flights!

 

[Sleepingbooty]

Southwest updated their flights!

Woohoo! I was just about to update about this!

 

[Sleepingbooty]

Chapter 19. Back In Action

I know, I know, I’ve totally dropped the ball on my PTR. I can’t believe I haven’t posted in 10 days! And I’ve been neglecting all of your reports as well. Life has gotten really busy around here the past couple weeks! And really, the only thing I can blame it on is having more sub jobs than usual. Geesh, I bet if I went back to teaching full time, I’d NEVER have time to Dis. That would be a tragedy. A good reason just to keep subbing.

Anyway, back to the subject at hand. When I last updated, I had talked about a few different options for organizing our ADRs, and then I brought in some FDM and managed to add an extra night to our ressie so that we don’t waste all of Saturday traveling. Somehow, I neglected to mention in between those two updates what the result was of the ADR scramble.

My fantastic travel agent got up early and made my ADRs so that I didn’t have to – and she ended up with everything I asked for, and at the times I wanted! So here’s what we’ve got:

Saturday, 9/18: 'Ohana
6:30pm

Sunday, 9/19: Whispering Canyon Cafe
5:25pm

Monday, 9/20: Le Cellier Steakhouse
5:35pm

Wednesday, 9/22: 1900 Park Faire
6:00pm

Thursday, 9/23: 50's Prime Time Cafe
4:30pm

Friday, 9/24: Hoop Dee Doo Review
5:00pm show

As you can see, I went with Option 3. That was the one that departed a bit from the “Best/worst park” as recommended by Touring Plans.com. Although, really just on I think two or three of the days. It allows us to spread out our MK and Epcot days throughout instead of frontloading the MK. And, we have the option of staying for pm EMH at Epcot on Friday. I’ve never been an EMH fan before – but maybe on our last night we will be able to summon up the energy to stick it out, knowing its our last hurrah.

Well, then after adding the extra night, we were duly awarded another set of dining credits. What to do? I thought back to our previous discussion, and remembered that the girls were pretty bummed about nixing Chef Mickeys, so I decided to add that in on the Tuesday that we hadn’t scheduled anything. I’d never done the online reservation system, so I wanted to try that. It was pretty easy, although I do think the way it’s set up leaves something to be desired. I was able to score a dinner reservation at CM for 5pm, just what I wanted.

Well, after pondering this choice for a while, I was feeling a little disappointed that we’d be straying from the original plan of DTD for dinner Tuesday night. This will be our only chance to visit DTD, and going after dinner at a resort doesn’t leave all that much time. So I went back to the online reservation system and snagged us a breakfast ressie at Chef Mickeys for Tuesday morning at 8:55. Now I just have to decide which one to keep and which to cancel. Surprisingly, my parents liked the idea of the breakfast, but I’m going to sit on that one for a while.

Now when I added the extra night to our ressie, it was because I was anticipating getting a cheaper flight time by flying in Friday night than by our original plan of flying in Saturday morning. But I didn’t expect to be playing that game for a few months.

We typically always fly Southwest because they have a lot of non-stop flights from St Louis to Orlando, and they are usually the cheapest. But, usually, when the dates are first released, the prices are pretty high and I have to wait a few months for them to come down to a decent level. Or wait for a “Ding” special – I’ve usually gotten those in June for September travel dates.

So, imagine my amazement, when I checked fares the first day they opened up booking for September – to find super cheap flights with times that worked perfectly for us! I was able to get all four of our tickets for $729! That’s with all the taxes and fees! I went ahead and bought my parents tickets at the same time just to make it easier. We are flying out around 7pm on Friday, and then on the way home we leave Orlando at 5:30. I would have preferred the later flight home (gotta maximize park time on the last day!) but it wasn’t non-stop, so the 5:30 flight will be fine.

I can’t believe how lucky I was to have our flights nailed down so soon! And at much less than I budgeted for. Only thing is, what am I going to obsess about for the next six months – my reservations are done, my ADRs are made, my airline tickets are bought…. Oh, yeah…. No way in heck I’m paying rack rate for this package! When, for the love of Pete, are they going to release free dining???!!! Throw us a bone, Disney – we’re dyin here!

Up Next: Chapter 20. Real Life

 

[All7OfUs]

Yay!! She's back in the saddle again!

I was starting to wonder if some aliens had whisked you away to Mars or something.

Hooray for awesome airfares! That's phenomenal! I hope they don't start playing SouthSuckyWest on you!! and go changing all your times on you.

I really like the way you thought long and hard on how to arrange your park days. Good planners unite!

 

[eandesmom]

YAY for a quick round of airfare roulette! Oh wait, you didn't even have to play! I love that.

And cool (I think) on the subbing, having more at once probably helps you decide about the full time going back, or not, or at least getting a feel for what it might be like.
Welcome back!!!!!

Your ADR's look fabu and cool that you could add Chef Mickey's back in some fashion, whichever option you decide to keep.

 

[Dancegrl624]

ADR's look great! If you happen to do EMH at Epcot that night, we'll be there! We got our airfare through SW too (it's in my PTR) and we're paying less than $500 roundtrip (for 3 of us)!!!! It's such a great deal. Did you hear...you can now use the RAC (resort airline check-in) for SW at nearly all Disney resorts? They were doing a trial run with the All Stars and Pop last year, so it must have been a success!

 

[Sleepingbooty]

Yay!! She's back in the saddle again!

I was starting to wonder if some aliens had whisked you away to Mars or something.

Hooray for awesome airfares! That's phenomenal! I hope they don't start playing SouthSuckyWest on you!! and go changing all your times on you.

I really like the way you thought long and hard on how to arrange your park days. Good planners unite!

Nope, nothing as exciting as that - just too much work!

Fingers crossed that they don't change the flights. I haven't had that happen to me before - I think I be a bit put out!

 

[Sleepingbooty]

YAY for a quick round of airfare roulette! Oh wait, you didn't even have to play! I love that.

And cool (I think) on the subbing, having more at once probably helps you decide about the full time going back, or not, or at least getting a feel for what it might be like.
Welcome back!!!!!

Your ADR's look fabu and cool that you could add Chef Mickey's back in some fashion, whichever option you decide to keep.

I can't BELIEVE I didn't have to play airfare roulette - I guess from now on I need to remember to hit Southwest's site the day of the fare release for a good deal.

I know eventually I'll have to go back work full time - be it as a teacher, or something else. But let me tell ya - being home for nearly ten years - I am out of practice. I will have to get a lot more organized an efficient if I am going to work full time and still manage to get everything done around the house!

 

[Sleepingbooty]

ADR's look great! If you happen to do EMH at Epcot that night, we'll be there! We got our airfare through SW too (it's in my PTR) and we're paying less than $500 roundtrip (for 3 of us)!!!! It's such a great deal. Did you hear...you can now use the RAC (resort airline check-in) for SW at nearly all Disney resorts? They were doing a trial run with the All Stars and Pop last year, so it must have been a success!

Awesome! We will have to try to meet up! I think we will try to go - unless we are just to wiped out after HDD is over. But I have a feeling I'll want one more dose of Epcot before we leave.

Great airfare deal for you, too! I'm going to try to catch up on all my subscribed threads today, so I can see what I've missed on yours. We're off school today, so I might get some "me" time.

No, I did NOT hear about SW doing resort check in! Where can I find out more info?

 

[Dancegrl624]

Awesome! We will have to try to meet up! I think we will try to go - unless we are just to wiped out after HDD is over. But I have a feeling I'll want one more dose of Epcot before we leave.

Great airfare deal for you, too! I'm going to try to catch up on all my subscribed threads today, so I can see what I've missed on yours. We're off school today, so I might get some "me" time.

No, I did NOT hear about SW doing resort check in! Where can I find out more info?

Here is the info I copy and pasted from the SW thread:

Here's the FAQ sheets and the schedule for the RAC rollout. It's not on the official letterhead and says nothing about confidentiality so, we're okay to pass this information on.

Anyways, here's the information that I can pass along. This jives with what I've known to be true and specific questions can be directed to the BAGS Info guest line located at the bottom of this post.

Resort Rollout Schedule

March 9th - Disney's Yacht and Beach Club Resorts and Disney's Boardwalk Resort

March 16th - Disney's Contemporary Resort, Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa, and Disney's Polynesian Resort

March 23rd - Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge (Jambo House and Kidani Village), Disney's Wilderness Lodge, and Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground

March 30th - Disney's Port Orleans Resorts - Riverside and French Quarter

April 6th - Disney's Coronado Springs Resort and Disney's Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa

Rollouts for Disney's Old Key West Resort and Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort will be completed at a later date.

Southwest 24-Hour Check-In

The Resort Airline Check-In staff will process the 24-hour in advance check-in for all Southwest Guests as long as they have pre-registered at the Airport Welcome Center.

Will Southwest Guests receive their boarding passes to their resort room like other Resort Airline Check-In Express Guests?
Guests arriving to MCO utilizing DME will be pre-registered for RAC at the Welcome Center. Guests who are flying on eligible Southwest flights have the option with DME to sign up for RAC. These Guests will receive their boarding passes and temporary luggage tags at their room the morning of departure. The Welcome Center will have information fliers for Guests explaining the process.

What if a Guest does not elect to participate in pre-registration for RAC or does not come through the Welcome Center? Can they still utilize RAC?
Guests can utilize RAC on the morning of their departure to check-in for their flights and receive their boarding passes. They will not receive any documents in their room.

Southwest Airlines utilizes boarding groups for their flights rather then seat assignments. How does this impact the RAC process for pre-registered Guests?
For Guests who are pre-registered at the Welcome Center, RAC will automatically check Guests in for their flights 24 hours from their flight time. Boarding groups are assigned on a first-come, first-served basis by Southwest Airlines. RAC's automated check-in process does not guarantee a certain boarding group; however, the chances are the same as a Guest checking-in online.

At the Resorts, we have Southwest Guests who come to the Concierge Desk to check-in 24 hours prior to their flight. What should we do?
If the Guests have been pre-registered via the Welcome Center, they will be checked in by RAC and their boarding passes and temporary luggage tags will be delivered to their room the morning of their departure. For Guests who have not been checked-in via the Welcome Center, they are to follow the existing Front Desk process.

If I check-in a Guest on the Southwest website and they are re-registered for RAC, will it negatively impact the Guest's boarding group?
No, it will not. RAC's system automatically kicks off the check-in process 24 hours before flight time. If a Guest has completed the check-in online before the RAC system has completed the process, RAC will receive notification that the reservation has already been checked-in and it will receive the same boarding group that the Guest received. RAC will still send the printed boarding passes and temporary luggage tags to the Guest as planned. If boarding passes have already been printed out then they will receive duplicates on their door the morning of departure.

Can I add or delete luggage for the Guest via the Southwest website?
No, the Southwest website does not allow changes to the luggage; the site is for flight check-in only. If Guests have incorrect luggage totals and it is 48 hours prior to flight time, they may call the Service Center to add luggage documented with DME. Or, on the morning of departure when dropping theirs luggage off with RAC, they may add luggage to their reservation at the desk.

What if they receive too many temporary luggage tags?
Any unused temporary tags can be discarded. If not used, they are deleted from the airline system within a specific time before flight time (this is the case with all RAC airlines).

Does Southwest Airlines have baggage fees?
At this time, Southwest allows for passengers to fly without fees for two checked bags per ticketed passenger. Fees are assessed for overweight/oversized luggage and additional bags over two. Guests who need to pay fees follow the same process as all other RAC airlines and pay these fees at the Desk or to save time by calling Baggage Airline Guest Services at (407) 284-1231

 

[Sleepingbooty]

Thanks, Meghan! Is that leaked from a CM? The way its worded it sounds like an employee memo or something.

I wonder how much later they will be rolling it out at CBR?

 

[klacey1]

Awesome ADR's-- we tend to stray from the UG best/worst park days and usually do fine. So glad you added an extra night-- and you really got fantastic plane fare!! Now let's keep fingers crossed for free dining!

 

[Dancegrl624]

Thanks, Meghan! Is that leaked from a CM? The way its worded it sounds like an employee memo or something.

I wonder how much later they will be rolling it out at CBR?

It's from a thread started by one of the Moderators. He really knows his stuff! I heard that OKW and CBR have smaller facilities for luggage and they need to be expanded.

 

[Sleepingbooty]

Awesome ADR's-- we tend to stray from the UG best/worst park days and usually do fine. So glad you added an extra night-- and you really got fantastic plane fare!! Now let's keep fingers crossed for free dining!

That's good to hear (about avoiding UG recommendations)!

I know, I'm REALLY hoping for free dining. Or something equivalent (about 30% off). Its just frustrating to hear that we might not get anything for a while. I'm used to the fall special coming out at the beginning of April.

 

[Sleepingbooty]

It's from a thread started by one of the Moderators. He really knows his stuff! I heard that OKW and CBR have smaller facilities for luggage and they need to be expanded.

I hardly ever visit any other forums besides the trip reports - so I miss all this news! Thanks for letting me know!

 

[jordanyosh]

on the great fares!!!!!!

 

[Sleepingbooty]

on the great fares!!!!!!

Hey Jordo! I know, what an awesome deal, huh?! So glad to have it nailed down.