***Official September 2020 Thread***

[Rusty2rules]

When I first mentioned this trip to my husband he wanted to go for our son's 18th birthday which would be mid-April. That was a big nope from me. His redo trip will absolutely not be during spring break crowds.

As far as weather, I'm planning on it being warm. That's okay, the pool at WL looks lovely. We've gone enough times that we don't need to spend every minute in the parks plus honestly my son can't handle that even with DAS.

My birthday is in April, my wedding anniversary is in April, and the weather is awesome in April. I'm with you. Noooooope. I go in off season for a reason: so I don't have to deal with that!

You know, that's funny about spending every minute in the parks. My co-worker (same one that stayed at WL) and I have talked about it. We're about the same age, he's a little younger than I am. He and I both had the same mind set. We spent a lot of money on this vacation! Hit rope drop, commando through the parks, take advantage of extra magic hour when possible, make sure you do and see everything! And our families were both the same. "We're on vacation! I'm not getting up early! Blah blah blah!" LOL So, this last trip, my son (he was 23 at the time) and I made a deal. He would hit a couple of rope drops with me if we took breaks in the afternoons. I begrudgingly accepted. I don't know if it's old age or what but, dang, what a difference! LOL We went back to the hotel in the afternoon. I'd lay down, take a nap, rest my back. He'd go down to the pool or lay down, too. We'd get freshened up. I hated to admit it, but it made for a great trip. LOL Did we get to see and do everything? No, not everything. Did we get to see and do everything that was on our list and more? Absolutely. I'm interested to see if my co-worker takes my advice next time he goes.

 

[5kidsmommy]

My birthday is in April, my wedding anniversary is in April, and the weather is awesome in April. I'm with you. Noooooope. I go in off season for a reason: so I don't have to deal with that!

You know, that's funny about spending every minute in the parks. My co-worker (same one that stayed at WL) and I have talked about it. We're about the same age, he's a little younger than I am. He and I both had the same mind set. We spent a lot of money on this vacation! Hit rope drop, commando through the parks, take advantage of extra magic hour when possible, make sure you do and see everything! And our families were both the same. "We're on vacation! I'm not getting up early! Blah blah blah!" LOL So, this last trip, my son (he was 23 at the time) and I made a deal. He would hit a couple of rope drops with me if we took breaks in the afternoons. I begrudgingly accepted. I don't know if it's old age or what but, dang, what a difference! LOL We went back to the hotel in the afternoon. I'd lay down, take a nap, rest my back. He'd go down to the pool or lay down, too. We'd get freshened up. I hated to admit it, but it made for a great trip. LOL Did we get to see and do everything? No, not everything. Did we get to see and do everything that was on our list and more? Absolutely. I'm interested to see if my co-worker takes my advice next time he goes.

I hope he takes your advice. We actually went this past March for our 25th anniversary. We knew it would be busy but it was an adults only trip. I made fp+ for a few rides we wanted. Mostly though we went to the parks when we wanted. We spent a lot of time sitting and having drinks, eating small meals, and lots of afternoons naps. It actually felt like vacation. I do think it's probably our age and a little bit that we don't need to do everything because we've done that. Now that we realize that we are going for more than just the parks we want a nice resort to stay at so we can actually enjoy a vacation. Our friends laugh when we say that we are going to Disney again but it feels all inclusive. There is always something to do when we want to do something and we aren't having to drive ourselves all over the place. That last trip was also the first one without a car. Having five kids we had always driven. There was actually so much more freedom not having to worry about a car.

I hope your co-worker takes your advice and has a wonderful trip.

 

[momof2blondes]

September 14th, staying off property. Our last trip was so long ago in 2010, so I am super excited.

 

[Rusty2rules]

September 14th, staying off property. Our last trip was so long ago in 2010, so I am super excited.

Wow! 2010! You won't even recognize the place! LOL I see your tagline says "22nd Anniversary Trip". Is that the motivating factor for the trip? Did you have your honeymoon at WDW or something? (BTW, love your name - made me laugh when I saw it!) Just FYI, we also have a Facebook group for this group if that's anything you'd be interested in. The link is on the first post on the first page of this thread.

 

[momof2blondes]

Wow! 2010! You won't even recognize the place! LOL I see your tagline says "22nd Anniversary Trip". Is that the motivating factor for the trip? Did you have your honeymoon at WDW or something? (BTW, love your name - made me laugh when I saw it!) Just FYI, we also have a Facebook group for this group if that's anything you'd be interested in. The link is on the first post on the first page of this thread.

This is a trip that I have been trying to make happen since our last one, but there always seemed to be other commitments or life changing events happening. This year I don’t care, come hell or high water we are going! Our kids are young adults now and my DH and I have never had a trip just the two of us for ourselves. Our official anniversary is in July, but being Canadians we would melt that time of year, eh? So we will be going in September instead. So much will be new for me and I cannot wait To explore it all. Thanks for the warm welcome.

 

[Rusty2rules]

272 days!

It's my wife's 55th birthday today, so we'll go out and have a nice dinner. It's a tradition we go see a movie on Christmas Eve, so tomorrow night is Rise of Skywalker (no spoilers!). Then Christmas. Then I'm off work Thursday and Friday (as well as Christmas, of course). It's gonna be a great week!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS, EVERYBODY!

 

[cavem915]

Sept. 14- 23, 2020 at WL for my and my identical twin's 51st birthday! So excited! We haven't been since 2009. Looking forward to celebrating our birthdays, MNSSHP and hopefully free dining.

 

[Rusty2rules]

Sept. 14- 23, 2020 at WL for my and my identical twin's 51st birthday! So excited! We haven't been since 2009. Looking forward to celebrating our birthdays, MNSSHP and hopefully free dining.

Wow, 2009, you won't even recognize the place! LOL In case you're interested, there's a Facebook page for this group. The link is on page 1 of this thread in the very first post. Also, you mentioned free dining (I'm hoping for it, too!). Here's the link for the free dining watch thread for 2020 on these boards. https://www.disboards.com/threads/official-2020-free-dining-watch-thread.3779166/

 

[Mrs Grumpy]

Free dining details added to post #4 - hopefully more dates will be added later.

 

[Rusty2rules]

Free dining details added to post #4 - hopefully more dates will be added later.

I'll be stunned if they don't make another, less restrictive offer later this spring. This one is crazy stupid. I mean, it covers like 10 days and limited resorts. I'm going regardless. But I'm fully expecting to see a second offer dropped later this spring.

 

[Mmouse1588]

Just booked September 5th to the 12th @ port orleans riverside. We had a trip booked in May that i was already going back and worth whether or not to move it back and this free dining offer sealed the deal for us. We are spending the same amount of money as the may trip that was booked w a past guest offer BUT now will have the free dining too so it was a no brainer.

 

[disneyjr77]

At this stage i'm hoping for any kind of discount. I kinda figured we wouldn't get for our dates this morning, but i didn't think it would be soooooo limited. I wonder if they'll release new dates when the booking window for this one ends.

 

[heatherenae71]

Just booked a trip with my sister!!! All-Star Sports 9/7 - 9/13!!! Sooo excited!!

 

[Rusty2rules]

They've extended "The Gift of Magic" discount offer booking period. The booking period was supposed to end today but has been extended to March 7th. Granted, it's only for stays through April 25th and doesn't affect us September folks at all on the face of it. My gut tells me we won't see anymore discounts offered for us until after that promotion ends. That's not a rumor or anything I've read anywhere else. That's just what my gut tells me.

 

[sweetyk83]

You know, I have been thinking on this free dining discount and how limited it is.
I just got an email from touring plans that shows that all the dates after Labor Day will have higher crowds than Labor Day weekend will. Now I take touring plans with a grain of salt USUALLY but combined with this free dining discount I think Disney may be trying to sway more people to visit over the summer vs the fall. September is usually our month to visit and we've noticed crowds getting higher and higher over the years. I kind of hope they succeed at convincing people to move to a summer trip but I fully expect Sept to be more expensive from now on. I also think this means less and/or lower discounts. Even the military discounts on rooms have been reduced. Last year from what I recall summer crowds were lower than fall and I think Disney is actively trying to spread out the crowds.
So I guess we will see what happens! I hope they offer more discounts! My brother and his wife are booked full price at the Poly. They couldn't get the free dining today, which is super disappointing. Any discount would be nice at this point despite them still going, even at full price.

 

[Nurse_Mommy4]

Hello Everyone!!

I am in the process of planning a trip with a good friend and our 2 teens. We are both Disney people and have been trying to take a trip together for years. I have been friends with her since high school (never mind the number of years lol) and I’m so excited! So far we have decided to do a split stay between Poly (for me and friend) and Hard Rock (for the teens). Now I just need to decide on either the first or second week of September so I can book my DVC room at Poly before they’re booked up.

 

[Rusty2rules]

You know, I have been thinking on this free dining discount and how limited it is.
I just got an email from touring plans that shows that all the dates after Labor Day will have higher crowds than Labor Day weekend will. Now I take touring plans with a grain of salt USUALLY but combined with this free dining discount I think Disney may be trying to sway more people to visit over the summer vs the fall. September is usually our month to visit and we've noticed crowds getting higher and higher over the years. I kind of hope they succeed at convincing people to move to a summer trip but I fully expect Sept to be more expensive from now on. I also think this means less and/or lower discounts. Even the military discounts on rooms have been reduced. Last year from what I recall summer crowds were lower than fall and I think Disney is actively trying to spread out the crowds.
So I guess we will see what happens! I hope they offer more discounts! My brother and his wife are booked full price at the Poly. They couldn't get the free dining today, which is super disappointing. Any discount would be nice at this point despite them still going, even at full price.

Yes, I heard a lot of people say the crowds were lower this past summer. You have to keep in mind that Galaxie's Edge didn't open until the end of August, not to mention WDW's 50th anniversary is right around the corner (at least to those of us that can't afford to go every year). It wouldn't surprise me if the crowds this summer are low again. Not everybody (me being one) can't afford to go every year so we have to pick and choose when we go. Being there for the 50th anniversary is a big deal to a lot of people is my guess. Me, I'd rather go when crowds are low than be there for some anniversary that, if I'm totally honest, means nothing to me.

So, with all of that said, I'm hopeful more discounts come out for us later this spring. I'm also hoping crowds are lower as usual with the 50th coming up.

Disney keeps cutting back on the discounts and making it harder to qualify. We should probably all get used to the idea that discounts will go away all together in the very near future.

 

[disneyjr77]

Ooooo, I like those ideas While we're at French Quarter we can get beignets i want to try ample hills also, so that would be a nice night out...ice cream, walking on the boardwalk and then end at
Jellyrolls.

This is what I have so far:
Restaurants: Garden Grill/breakfast, Ohana/dinner, Via Napoli/lunch or dinner, Biergarten/lunch or dinner, Mama Melrose/lunch or dinner for Fantasmic package, The Plaza/lunch or dinner?
MNSSHP
Keys to the Kingdom Tour
Date night at the Boardwalk...can you have a date night on a honeymoon? lol
I think we want to hit Disney Springs
Enjoying F&W
Carriage ride
Relaxing by the pool
Trader Sam's

Is this too much? How should we plan out our week? We have 7 day park hoppers, arriving around dinner time on Sunday, and leaving late on our last day. I know our first day, we're going to be tired so our plan is to hang out at the pool, get QS, adult beverages, and chill. Our last day, i'm going to try and get a flight home around 8/9pm so we'll have almost the whole day.

As everybody knows, the more we look and plan the more things change. We have our restaurants picked out, changed a few and i'm rethinking some of our earlier plans. We're cutting out MNSSHP and the KttK tour...after looking at restaurants and the different things to do we wanted to have as much "free time" as possible.

Restaurants - Ohana/breakfast and dinner, Big River Grille/lunch or dinner, Cape May Cafe/dinner, Via Napoli/lunch or dinner, and Homecomin/dinner. This gives us a sit down meal for each day...this could change if they don't offer FD for our dates. I also need to figure out how i'm going to fit in the 3 Epcot restaurants.

Our arrival day is still the same, checking in, QS meal and relaxing. On the night we do Ohana for dinner, we want to go to Trader Sam's afterwards then the beach for fireworks. Our Homecomin night will be our Disney Springs night, and we'll go to The Edison afterwards.

For Big River, taking the skyliner to IG, eating then hopping a boat to HS...does that sound like a good plan? We're not in a hurry to get anywhere, so i feel like the boat will be relaxing.

Ohana breakfast could be our last day breakfast or a MK morning breakfast, thoughts?

Now to fit in Cape May and Via Napoli

What does everybody do on their last day when they leave late? I've always left by noon at the latest, and never had to plan a last day.

We're keeping our droid and Oga plans, since we're both big Star Wars fans. I really hope we won't have to get up at the crack of dawn to ride Rise of the Resistance buuuuuut there's still kajillion hour waits for FoP, so there's that lol

 

[Rusty2rules]

As everybody knows, the more we look and plan the more things change. We have our restaurants picked out, changed a few and i'm rethinking some of our earlier plans. We're cutting out MNSSHP and the KttK tour...after looking at restaurants and the different things to do we wanted to have as much "free time" as possible.

Restaurants - Ohana/breakfast and dinner, Big River Grille/lunch or dinner, Cape May Cafe/dinner, Via Napoli/lunch or dinner, and Homecomin/dinner. This gives us a sit down meal for each day...this could change if they don't offer FD for our dates. I also need to figure out how i'm going to fit in the 3 Epcot restaurants.

Our arrival day is still the same, checking in, QS meal and relaxing. On the night we do Ohana for dinner, we want to go to Trader Sam's afterwards then the beach for fireworks. Our Homecomin night will be our Disney Springs night, and we'll go to The Edison afterwards.

For Big River, taking the skyliner to IG, eating then hopping a boat to HS...does that sound like a good plan? We're not in a hurry to get anywhere, so i feel like the boat will be relaxing.

Ohana breakfast could be our last day breakfast or a MK morning breakfast, thoughts?

Now to fit in Cape May and Via Napoli

What does everybody do on their last day when they leave late? I've always left by noon at the latest, and never had to plan a last day.

We're keeping our droid and Oga plans, since we're both big Star Wars fans. I really hope we won't have to get up at the crack of dawn to ride Rise of the Resistance buuuuuut there's still kajillion hour waits for FoP, so there's that lol

I'm interested to see what kind of feedback you get on this.

Personally, I see a problem with the 3 EPCOT meals. I mean, you're going to have to leave where ever you're at and shlep back over to EPCOT at least twice. With all of the construction, I can't imagine EPCOT being a full day park, for the time being at least. What I'm saying is, you'll probably spend a half day at another park, then head over to EPCOT for dinner and the evening. I can't imagine you being there all day. Then go back over there for two more meals two other days. In the interest of full disclosure, I have to say EPCOT has always been my least favorite park, so I might be biased. I do want to see the new nighttime show they'll have on the lake, though. But that's about it for me and EPCOT. Maybe do a lunch and dinner there the same day?

So you're going to brave the skyliner, huh? Sure hope you don't wind up eating dinner on that thing! I wouldn't ride that thing on a bet. It has nothing to do with heights. I have no problem with heights. What I do have a problem with is being trapped in a flying toaster oven in September heat that's prone to break down at any time. I do get the attraction of it, though. You just won't catch me on it.

You're doing the droid thing and not the lightsaber, huh? I'm so torn! The lightsaber looks so cool! But I don't know what I'd do with it when I got home. LOL I'm with you on RotR. Dang I hope we don't have to get up at 5 in the morning hoping we can get a boarding group! But, if I have to, I'll do it. I'll do it every day if I have to. I won't be happy about it, but I'll do it. The main reason for this trip is Galaxie's Edge, and that's the biggest attraction there. Everybody says it's mind blowing. I have to ride it! LOL

You're trying to pack a whole lotta planned dinner reservations into your vacation! I hope it doesn't turn into more of a headache than a vacation. Good luck!

 

[Mrs Grumpy]

As everybody knows, the more we look and plan the more things change. We have our restaurants picked out, changed a few and i'm rethinking some of our earlier plans. We're cutting out MNSSHP and the KttK tour...after looking at restaurants and the different things to do we wanted to have as much "free time" as possible.

Restaurants - Ohana/breakfast and dinner, Big River Grille/lunch or dinner, Cape May Cafe/dinner, Via Napoli/lunch or dinner, and Homecomin/dinner. This gives us a sit down meal for each day...this could change if they don't offer FD for our dates. I also need to figure out how i'm going to fit in the 3 Epcot restaurants.

Our arrival day is still the same, checking in, QS meal and relaxing. On the night we do Ohana for dinner, we want to go to Trader Sam's afterwards then the beach for fireworks. Our Homecomin night will be our Disney Springs night, and we'll go to The Edison afterwards.

For Big River, taking the skyliner to IG, eating then hopping a boat to HS...does that sound like a good plan? We're not in a hurry to get anywhere, so i feel like the boat will be relaxing.

Ohana breakfast could be our last day breakfast or a MK morning breakfast, thoughts?

Now to fit in Cape May and Via Napoli

What does everybody do on their last day when they leave late? I've always left by noon at the latest, and never had to plan a last day.

We're keeping our droid and Oga plans, since we're both big Star Wars fans. I really hope we won't have to get up at the crack of dawn to ride Rise of the Resistance buuuuuut there's still kajillion hour waits for FoP, so there's that lol

So many restaurants in Epcot that we want to do every trip it is hard to pick just two for our park days. HS has been a half day park for the past couple of trips so it made it easier to hop and eat somewhere else. This trip we will plan to be there all day probably but we will see. We make our ADR's in HS for lunch so that leaves us open to hop later if we decide to.