****Official August 2014 Thread****

[Disneylover99]

Do you prefer free dining or room discount?

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For our family of four....free dining all the way. It's a true money saver for us.

 

[DisMom1981]

I don't mind the rain at all. I prefer those cloudy days in August plus it helps to clear out the parks.

True- just felt like the afternoon showers lingered a little longer last year when we were there. Thought rain would be a relief but Swampy hot and wet- yuck. Also, just realized if there is a hurricane we are screwed wo insurance since you have to cancel/change by two months in advance, right? Maybe we should get insurance????

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[Disneylover99]

True- just felt like the afternoon showers lingered a little longer last year when we were there. Thought rain would be a relief but Swampy hot and wet- yuck. Also, just realized if there is a hurricane we are screwed wo insurance since you have to cancel/change by two months in advance, right? Maybe we should get insurance????

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Cancellation is 45 days in advance for packages. I have bought insurance in the past, but we didn't last August. We have flight insurance, but I figure, once I'm there, I'm there, plus we have AP's so we just buy two day tickets (for free dining).

 

[DisMom1981]

Cancellation is 45 days in advance for packages. I have bought insurance in the past, but we didn't last August. We have flight insurance, but I figure, once I'm there, I'm there, plus we have AP's so we just buy two day tickets (for free dining).

Can you change the dates after the 45 day mark?

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[Disneylover99]

Can you change the dates after the 45 day mark?

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I think you can for a small fee? maybe $50? But I'm not entirely sure.

 

[DisMom1981]

I think you can for a small fee? maybe $50? But I'm not entirely sure.

Ok then it wouldn't be worth insurance. Will have to find out for sure.

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[Nurse_Mommy4]

We also prefer free dining. I would need a 100% room discount at a moderate (which is our resort choice) to beat the price of FD deal. We have 5 Disney adults this year and the cost of DDP/day is more the the cost of the room/day. Not to mention we love (in the August heat) a TS meal everyday, it's a nice cool break from the heat.

 

[anjalee6]

Do you prefer free dining or room discount?

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We prefer a room discount. With two little kids, the room discount usually ends up giving us more of a discount.

I just got a pin for both, but unfortunately , it doesn't cover the week we want to go and we can't move the trip because of school (we are both teachers).

Last year, a discount came out on March 28 for Disney Visa Card holders and then a discount for everyone April 1. Hoping for the same this year.

 

[hforman]

I have no real idea the choices we have lol.... Will be reading responses

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I used this list to plan mine: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3143281&highlight=fp+list+tiers

hopefully it's still accurate

 

[poohlover4life]

I agree, this whole fast pass thing really doesn't sit well with me.. My last visit was 2011 and I planned park days adrs etc.. Now fast passes really make me feel so constricted..

I COMPLETELY AGREE! I am so excited to have the magic bands but having to pick and plan rides in advance is making me nervous lol. Plus, as someone else said, I am still confused on how the tier set-up works. Can anyone explain it to me by-they-by?

 

[disneymom1229]

Do you prefer free dining or room discount?

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Definitely free dining. We are a family of five and stay at POR. We love it there and we can book just one room. Doing the math it really is a huge savings for us. We love planning the ADRs and the kids all have their favorites that we have to go back to.

I was on property briefly in the fall and was able to book a bounceback with free dining so I am in full on planning mode for ADRs. Only 35 days to go!

 

[anjalee6]

I COMPLETELY AGREE! I am so excited to have the magic bands but having to pick and plan rides in advance is making me nervous lol. Plus, as someone else said, I am still confused on how the tier set-up works. Can anyone explain it to me by-they-by?

Epcot and Hollywood Studios have a tiered fast pass system

At Epcot....

you can only choose one attraction from the the list of major attractions
Soarin'
Maelstrom
Test Track
Illuminations


And two attractions from the rest of the fast pass + attractions.
Mission: Space
Spaceship Earth
Captain EO
Journey into Imagination
Living with the Land
The Seas with Nemo and Friends
Turtle Talk with Crush

At Hollywood Studios

You can pick one from this list:

Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster
Toy Story Midway Mania
Beauty and the Beast stage show
Fantasmic

You can pick two from this list:

Star Tours
Tower of Terror
Great Movie Ride
American Idol Experience
Disney Junior – Live on Stage
Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular
Lights, Motors, Action! Extreme Stunt Show
Muppet Vision 3D
Voyage of the Little Mermaid

Animal Kingdom and Magic Kingdom do not have any tiering at this point.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Do you prefer free dining or room discount?

If I were staying onsite, then I would probably hope for free dining. That said, as an offsiter, neither one applies for me. Our timeshare maintenance fees were $863 per week (including property taxes) for 2014, so that works out to be even cheaper than a standard room at POP.

Anyone else worried about the rainy weather yet? Lol.

With a two week trip, we worry far less about weather. We can pretty much work our plans around Mother Nature. Our only day of concern will be our Discovery Cove day......that's our only "scheduled" reservation of the trip (though we can even move that around if need be).

 

[hforman]

Epcot and Hollywood Studios have a tiered fast pass system
...

So surprised Maelstrom is in the top tier. We probably did it five times the last trip because there was never a line. And Tower of Terror (did that a few times, too, but there was always a long line) is in the bottom tier.

 

[OnceUponATime15]

So surprised Maelstrom is in the top tier. We probably did it five times the last trip because there was never a line. And Tower of Terror (did that a few times, too, but there was always a long line) is in the bottom tier.

We were surprised too... but when we were there in Dec there was an hour wait to ride standby.

May have something to do with the M&G for Anna & Elsa (Frozen) the line for that was 5 hours wait time... yes, 5 hours. Guessing that some in line for that are now discovering Maelstrom. And while taking turns holding M&G spots in line, some are riding as well...

 

[Disneylover99]

We were surprised too... but when we were there in Dec there was an hour wait to ride standby.

May have something to do with the M&G for Anna & Elsa (Frozen) the line for that was 5 hours wait time... yes, 5 hours. Guessing that some in line for that are now discovering Maelstrom. And while taking turns holding M&G spots in line, some are riding as well...

We've seen some long lines at Maelstrom too. When that August rain slams down out of the blue, people run for cover and if they are near Norway they head for Maelstrom.

 

[Scrap_Vamp]

The thing that concerns me about FP+ is that we are visiting with a range of tastes, age ranges and disabilities which means that some people have different FP+ rides from each other or we all get FP+ for the same rides which will be those our 4 year old can ride (she is 38 and a half inches - we are willing her to grow but she's just tiny!).

We will do rope drop and tour sensibly but it is a real pain having to decide whether to get FP+ for EE, KS and Nemo, for example, (my choices at AK) or to only choose things my niece can go on, meaning no FP+ for EE. With the old system we would have been able to FP all the rides we wanted to, and it wouldn't matter if the little ones were with us or not. Yes, I enjoy riding some rides more than once - so sue me lol!

Trying to be open minded but it's making me put off my planning when I used to look forward to it.

 

[Disneylover99]

The thing that concerns me about FP+ is that we are visiting with a range of tastes, age ranges and disabilities which means that some people have different FP+ rides from each other or we all get FP+ for the same rides which will be those our 4 year old can ride (she is 38 and a half inches - we are willing her to grow but she's just tiny!).

We will do rope drop and tour sensibly but it is a real pain having to decide whether to get FP+ for EE, KS and Nemo, for example, (my choices at AK) or to only choose things my niece can go on, meaning no FP+ for EE. With the old system we would have been able to FP all the rides we wanted to, and it wouldn't matter if the little ones were with us or not. Yes, I enjoy riding some rides more than once - so sue me lol!

Trying to be open minded but it's making me put off my planning when I used to look forward to it.

I think your best bet is to try and choose your fp's for headliners like EE anyways. You can always swap bands and someone can ride EE again. You most likely would never need FP for something like the Nemo show at AK anyways.

 

[Scrap_Vamp]

I think your best bet is to try and choose your fp's for headliners like EE anyways. You can always swap bands and someone can ride EE again. You most likely would never need FP for something like the Nemo show at AK anyways.

Thanks. I hate the idea of using FP+ for attractions we don't need them for.

I guess my worry is by not choosing FP+ for rides that the smaller ones can go on we are condemning them to stand in the longer queues that have been reported (obviously outside of what we can get done in the hour or so after rope drop).

 

[eangel12]

Anyone else get the new pin through the mail? 35% off deluxe from 8/17/14 through sometime in September. There is also a free dining option but that expires in March.