***Official April 2013 thread*** SEE POST # 4028

[gydell]

We have an Illumination cruise booked on the 10th of April. Anyone want to join us? We have 4 in our group and would like 2-4 more people to join us. Pm if interested.

 

[DisMom1981]

I have to say that seems to be a lot of on-the-road time for a such a short amount of time at WDW. We will be hitting the road a day after you, but doing eleven nights / ten park days. And our drive is shorter than yours (about 16 hours for us, I'm picturing well over 20 for you).

Like you, I am not planning a park for our arrival day. Eating a POP and then letting the kids have some pool time or work-off-some-energy time would probably be a good idea instead of trying to go somewhere else.

Monday, Epcot -- sounds good to me. You know they always say to avoid MK on Mondays. You can spend several hours in the The Seas and The Land pavilions and those are definitely great for kids. Good for you for planning those nap times. I think that will make a world of difference for your kids (instead of trying to get them to sleep in their stroller seats). Biergarten is one of our favorites.

Tuesday, MK -- again, sounds good to me. The kids will have a blast.

Wednesday, AK in the a.m. and HS in the p.m. -- This one I'm a little on the fence about. You bought park hoppers (I assume) but will only use them once, that's kind of pricey. (That's me, always looking at the budget.) We will be at AK that day (I'm doing all the a.m. EMH parks). Your kids are at a great age for seeing the animals. Make sure you find the "secret" trails around the Tree of Life where there are a lot of animals that everyone seems to miss, we seldom see anyone on these trails. And also do both the Maharajah Jungle Trek and the Pangani Exploration Trail. And don't forget the train to Rafiki's Animal Watch. (Hmmm, can you tell AK is our favorite park?) ETA -- The Oasis has a lot of animals to see also.

Now here's where I'm on the fence about your plans. Instead of doing HS in the evening, why not go back to AK since they changed the hours and will now be open until 7:00 that night? Then back to the room for an earlier bedtime for the kids or pool before bed.

Then, I would go ahead and do HS on Thursday a.m. We personally don't find it a park that consumes a lot of our time. You could spend the morning there and then go back to your room for naps. Do the pool after naps or dinner. I think if you just hung out at POP or went shopping (I hate shopping so that would not even be on my schedule, lol) you would feel restless and wish you were at a park. They are so close and here you are in a store, blah. For the evening, then you could head to DTD for shopping and dinner, back to your room for early bedtime so you are ready to hit the road Friday (I assume).

Ok, so there's my suggestion. Skip the park hopper, give each park one day.

Thanks so much. I am all over the place. I also feel like 3 days for the travel time is crazy, but- that is what works for our family. We can't spend $1000 to fly and I am a teacher and cannot extend the vacation from work as per contract yadda yadda. I think I have to let go of getting to every park for this trip. A lot of people have said we need more than one day at MK..... Perhaps 2 days there, 1 EP and 1/2 at HS or AK on the last day? Decisions, decisions! No more hopping- you and pp are right- so much money.

 

[Jays2013]

I have to wonder if I'm missing something.

I just ran the numbers on the Disney site again, and it's only an additional $94 or so for us to add the Park Hopper for four of us for a 7-night stay. We thought it was well-worth-while to have that flexibility.

Am I missing something?

 

[ddluvsdisney]

I have to wonder if I'm missing something.

I just ran the numbers on the Disney site again, and it's only an additional $94 or so for us to add the Park Hopper for four of us for a 7-night stay. We thought it was well-worth-while to have that flexibility.

Am I missing something?

We have always gotten PH too. I like them b/c I'm not so restricted to ADRs too.

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[TJDisneymama]

I have to wonder if I'm missing something.

I just ran the numbers on the Disney site again, and it's only an additional $94 or so for us to add the Park Hopper for four of us for a 7-night stay. We thought it was well-worth-while to have that flexibility.

Am I missing something?

according to what I'm looking at, 7 day base tickets for 2 adults/2 kids comes to $1114. With Hopper comes to $1344.

 

[Jays2013]

Hmm, I'm looking at the entire packages, not just tickets, but when I took away the park hopper, it was exactly $94 cheaper. That's at AoA, two adults, two kids.

Maybe it's because of the package? I don't know. For that much, we really like the flexibility.

 

[Jays2013]

^^^ Just re-ran the numbers for tickets only and that's apparently exactly what it is! $1,156 for 8-day base tickets, $1,384 for base with park hopper.

 

[TJDisneymama]

Hmm, I'm looking at the entire packages, not just tickets, but when I took away the park hopper, it was exactly $94 cheaper. That's at AoA, two adults, two kids.

Maybe it's because of the package? I don't know. For that much, we really like the flexibility.

i just priced up a random package in april at AoA - 2 adults, 2 kids, 7 day hoppers - $3188. 7 day Base - $2945. Difference - $243.

Interesting....I swear, they seem to make things so complicated when it comes to pricing.

 

[DisMom1981]

I have to wonder if I'm missing something.

I just ran the numbers on the Disney site again, and it's only an additional $94 or so for us to add the Park Hopper for four of us for a 7-night stay. We thought it was well-worth-while to have that flexibility.

Am I missing something?

We were only getting a three day hopper. For $100 less we get a 4th day but no hopper. This option is better for my family since I was only going to hop once which would have cost me $100.....not a value in my situation.

 

[Jays2013]

That does seem nutty. I don't pretend to get it. Ah, well ... we'll see when we go to book Friday.

To sidestep back to ADRs, my family of three guys and distinctly non-girly me has decided to try to eat at CRT. I want to do it while the boys are still just "Wow, Cinderella's castle!" and before it's "Ewww ... princesses!" which I'm sure we'll go through at one point or another.

Which meal at CRT would you recommend? I ate there once ... when I was 15, 20-mumble years ago.

 

[TJDisneymama]

so Tuesdays is when the airlines drop their fares and put out specials. Any chance SW & AT will release their new dates tomorrow??
Someone asked on their FB page when they were coming out and their reply was that it was scheduled for the 22nd "but that date may change so check back frequently."

 

[CariAEB]

Hey all,

Got all my ADRs this morning... subject to change of course. It's my kids first trip at 8 and turning 5 on vacation so I tried to pick things that I thought they would be facinated with and worried a little less about the reviews that have been coming.

So yes... that means there's a coral reef and a whispering canyon in there.

Yay!!! So exciting... another step!!

 

[TJDisneymama]

Hey all,

Got all my ADRs this morning... subject to change of course. It's my kids first trip at 8 and turning 5 on vacation so I tried to pick things that I thought they would be facinated with and worried a little less about the reviews that have been coming.

So yes... that means there's a coral reef and a whispering canyon in there.

Yay!!! So exciting... another step!!

that's a good age for a first trip. Mine were a little younger at 3.5 & 7.5, but I feel like YDD was just a *tad* bit young at that time. She was tired a lot, clingy (to me of course), didn't want to go on a lot of rides, etc. This time she'll be 5.5 so I think will be much better.

 

[CariAEB]

Yes, I'm really excited. My 8 year old is really little. The two of them are almost the same size. The younger one always seems to just keep on trucking. We've done a lot of walking around NYC and we go hiking and she just keeps on going until she's ready to fall asleep on her feet. And even then, never a complaint. Sometimes we don't realize she's that tired and we stop moving and she just konks out. LOL.

 

[cjsm&d]

Hi folks! We're going 4/15 to 4/22 and hoping to improve on the AAA rate!

 

[cjsm&d]

that's a good age for a first trip. Mine were a little younger at 3.5 & 7.5, but I feel like YDD was just a *tad* bit young at that time. She was tired a lot, clingy (to me of course), didn't want to go on a lot of rides, etc. This time she'll be 5.5 so I think will be much better.

It's funny you say this, because my DS was about 4 first visit and we spent more time in the Dig Site and Honey I shrunk the Kids than we did on rides!

He also was not real patient waiting for stuff, though we went late January so we walked on alot.

 

[cjsm&d]

We were only getting a three day hopper. For $100 less we get a 4th day but no hopper. This option is better for my family since I was only going to hop once which would have cost me $100.....not a value in my situation.

We have found that unless we're at an EPCOT resort, we really don't need the hopper. Bought the water parks and more once, but that only really saves money if you do both the DisneyQuest and a water park.

 

[DisMom1981]

It's funny you say this, because my DS was about 4 first visit and we spent more time in the Dig Site and Honey I shrunk the Kids than we did on rides!

He also was not real patient waiting for stuff, though we went late January so we walked on alot.

Do you regret that trip? My kids will only be 4 and just about 2......

 

[Jays2013]

Yes, I'm really excited. My 8 year old is really little. The two of them are almost the same size. The younger one always seems to just keep on trucking. We've done a lot of walking around NYC and we go hiking and she just keeps on going until she's ready to fall asleep on her feet. And even then, never a complaint. Sometimes we don't realize she's that tired and we stop moving and she just konks out. LOL.

My two will be 4 and 8 when we go and this will be true of them as well. (The size angle, anyway.)

The eldest has actually been before ... when he was 15 months old! He loved it then; now we are investing some time in preparing for his quirks so he has a good time now! (He has some special needs.) WDW is full of the things he loves most, though ... water and music ... so I think he's going to have a ball. (Oh, and there's a carousel. Hat trick!)

Plus, with our family schedule the way is it right now, anything that actually has the four of us together for longer than an hour a day will have him over the moon ...

The 4-year-old ... oh, I can't wait to see how he reacts. He's an adventurer and is really into all things Disney right now. And he loves rides. We're watching all the Disney classics right now. (He loves Capt. Hook from "Jake and the Neverland Pirates" but had no idea about "Peter Pan!"
The horror! )

Just ... can't ... wait ...

 

[MikeRx]

We are returning to the Poly on April 12th for our 4th trip in a year due to APs and we will be on the Dream April 18-21st for our son’s first cruise! I was able to make our ADRs over the weekend and got everything we wanted!

We arrive from the West so we lose most of a day. We will settle in at the Poly and enjoy dinner at ‘Ohana and Wishes!, we also have TIW so we have breakfast and dinner each day as a table service. How does this sound?
4/12 ‘Ohana
13 Kona/Kouzzina
14 Hollywood & Vine / Citricos
15 Chef Mickey’s / Kona / Dessert Party (not booked yet , not in ADR window)
16 Tusker House / Flying Fish Chef’s Counter for our date night (not in ADR window yet nor TIW)!
17 Crystal Palace / BE OUR GUEST!!!
18 ‘Ohana / leave for port and board the Dream
We typically do a light counter service lunch or return to the resort for pool or nap time.

I’ve not been able to get BOG for our December trip, but I have not given up hope. We utilize park character breakfasts to gain early access to the park and complete our meal just prior to rope drop. Our 4 year old loves the characters and we get a head start on the day.

Planning for this trip makes it easy to over look a great 4 day trip in December for the holiday activities….

Mike DW DS (4) DMIL

First visit 1976, WDW 2/2010 BC CL, Disneyland GC 12/2010, WDW 4/2012 POLY TPV, WDW 7/2012 (off site meeting), WDW 12/12 POP and 4/2013 POLY with Disney Dream cruise!