One thread, 3 questions ;)

[joolz1910]

OK peeps, some questions:

1. We are going in August 2015, I LOVED October/November but that won't be an option. What differences will I notice? Is it much more crowded etc?

2. I want to 'do' Seaworld / US. Could I stay at OkW for 18 days, buy the 14 day Ultimates and not use them for the first 4 days so that they weren't activated?

3. I am thinking that we could visit other parks in the first 4 days and then do Disney for the remaining 14 days. Would the DDP credits be valid to be spent within the 18 day period? I realise I would only get 14 days' worth of credits, but would they be valid for the whole stay?

I'm not sure that makes sense.
Any help is appreciated.

 

[xxpeplyxx]

OK peeps, some questions:

1. We are going in August 2015, I LOVED October/November but that won't be an option. What differences will I notice? Is it much more crowded etc?

2. I want to 'do' Seaworld / US. Could I stay at OkW for 18 days, buy the 14 day Ultimates and not use them for the first 4 days so that they weren't activated?

3. I am thinking that we could visit other parks in the first 4 days and then do Disney for the remaining 14 days. Would the DDP credits be valid to be spent within the 18 day period? I realise I would only get 14 days' worth of credits, but would they be valid for the whole stay?

I'm not sure that makes sense.
Any help is appreciated.

We always go in August at the start and its very busy, what's dates in August are you going, then end will be quieter, expect much more heat and humidity in August! As it really is very hot and very humid! So the main difference will be the weather and crowds will be more depending one which part of the month you are going first-crowded/second quieter.

Having said that we have never had a problem with crowds and we always go at the start of August!! I think we go expecting it and therefore it really does not bother us at all!

As far as I'm aware with the 14 day ultimate it's only activated from the first day of use, therefore that would be fine, what parks do you plan to do outside of Disney? Just sea world and US/IOA? If so you can do this in 2 days easy if you are willing to spend the extra for the 2 park express pass (which I would highly recommend in August as the queues get very long) then you can do US/IOA in one day, and sea world is mainly shows which we have never struggled to do in a day!

And lastly I can't really comment on the DDP as I have never used it! Hope the above helps though!

 

[joolz1910]

We always go in August at the start and its very busy, what's dates in August are you going, then end will be quieter, expect much more heat and humidity in August! As it really is very hot and very humid! So the main difference will be the weather and crowds will be more depending one which part of the month you are going first-crowded/second quieter.

Having said that we have never had a problem with crowds and we always go at the start of August!! I think we go expecting it and therefore it really does not bother us at all!

As far as I'm aware with the 14 day ultimate it's only activated from the first day of use, therefore that would be fine, what parks do you plan to do outside of Disney? Just sea world and US/IOA? If so you can do this in 2 days easy if you are willing to spend the extra for the 2 park express pass (which I would highly recommend in August as the queues get very long) then you can do US/IOA in one day, and sea world is mainly shows which we have never struggled to do in a day!

And lastly I can't really comment on the DDP as I have never used it! Hope the above helps though!

Thanks for the reply. We are planning on going around mid-August, around 12th August. I'm trying to work out if it would be cheaper to stay at OKW for the entirety of the stay or to spend the first 4 days at an IDrive hotel or Cabana Bay at Universal. We have a GAC for my daughter, unsure how this works at Universal/Seaworld.

 

[MrRomance]

OK peeps, some questions:

1. We are going in August 2015, I LOVED October/November but that won't be an option. What differences will I notice? Is it much more crowded etc?

2. I want to 'do' Seaworld / US. Could I stay at OkW for 18 days, buy the 14 day Ultimates and not use them for the first 4 days so that they weren't activated?

3. I am thinking that we could visit other parks in the first 4 days and then do Disney for the remaining 14 days. Would the DDP credits be valid to be spent within the 18 day period? I realise I would only get 14 days' worth of credits, but would they be valid for the whole stay?

I'm not sure that makes sense.
Any help is appreciated.

You'll notice a fairly big difference between Oct/Nov and August. The most obvious is the weather. August is incredibly HOT and HUMID. You will also get a huge downpour pretty much every afternoon (usually around 3pm in my experience!). Crowds will be heavier because schools out. They are not impossible, but markedly higher than Oct/Nov.

If you're hoping to get Free Dining, it is linked to your tickets. I don't think you could stay for 18 days and only have a 14 day ticket but still get 18 days dining. Your dining credits start when you check in and expire at midnight on your last day.

I may be wrong on this, but I don't think you will be able to use credits outside of the 14 days. By all means check with Disney. My suggestion would be to stay at one of the Universal hotels for the days you want to go to the other parks because you will get priority access to US and IOA and express passes into the mix.

 

[scottishgirl1]

I would think you should be able to have 14 day tickets and still get dining credits for every night of your stay. We stayed 21 nights last August at OKW and I remember having a last minute panic about credits as we had only bought 14 day tickets. We were fine and received 21 credits on DDP.

We also moved from October to August last year and it was much hotter and there was a lot more rain than we were used to in October. It was fine though as we were there for 21 days instead of 14 so we were able to still do all we wanted to around the heavy downpours.

It was a bit more crowded than October but we were there early August and it did get quieter from mid August onwards, also we arrived at the parks early to avoid the worst of the afternoon heat.

 

[joolz1910]

You'll notice a fairly big difference between Oct/Nov and August. The most obvious is the weather. August is incredibly HOT and HUMID. You will also get a huge downpour pretty much every afternoon (usually around 3pm in my experience!). Crowds will be heavier because schools out. They are not impossible, but markedly higher than Oct/Nov.

If you're hoping to get Free Dining, it is linked to your tickets. I don't think you could stay for 18 days and only have a 14 day ticket but still get 18 days dining. Your dining credits start when you check in and expire at midnight on your last day.

I may be wrong on this, but I don't think you will be able to use credits outside of the 14 days. By all means check with Disney. My suggestion would be to stay at one of the Universal hotels for the days you want to go to the other parks because you will get priority access to US and IOA and express passes into the mix.

I realise that I will only get 14 days' worth of dining credits but I wasn't sure when they would expire. If they start on day one and end when you check out, could they be spread over 18 days?
Cabana Bay would not give me priority access and the other Universal Hotels would be out of my price-range for a family of 5
I really wish we could go in Oct/Nov again but it's out of the question. I think I could cope with the weather but the crowds worry me.

 

[scoobydooby]

I think you will get 18 days of free dining. Your 14 park days will start the first day you use your card.

 

[wilma-bride]

If you stay for 18 nights, you will absolutely get 18 DDP credits each.

Yes, you can choose not to activate a 14-day ticket until day 4 or 5. You will just have to make sure you plan your first four days worth of meals for outside of the parks.

As far as August, I think that has pretty much been covered. Prepare to tour in a completely different way. It is hot and humid - and the humidity will finish you off long before the heat does. We tend to spend early mornings and late afternoons/evenings at the parks, avoiding the middle of the day.

 

[Elise79]

I can answer the DDP part - you get credits per night of your stay not for the number of days of ticket.

So 18 night stay = 18 nights worth of credits.

They can be used from check in till midnight on check out day.

 

[Disneynutinlondon]

I assume you intend to use your DDP credits for the days before you activate your Disney tickets at the resorts and Downtown Disney as obviously you won't be able to get into the restaurants in the parks ....... just thought I'd mention it as it's the kind of thing I'd forget in my mad planning mode

 

[xxpeplyxx]

Thanks for the reply. We are planning on going around mid-August, around 12th August. I'm trying to work out if it would be cheaper to stay at OKW for the entirety of the stay or to spend the first 4 days at an IDrive hotel or Cabana Bay at Universal. We have a GAC for my daughter, unsure how this works at Universal/Seaworld.

I use The GAC card if needed due to a spinal condition & injury! Last time i went 2010 i asked about how it worked there, they explained that say the queue for rip ride rocket it 1hr long they would sign a sheet of paper to say I could return to that ride in an hour and go straight on, rather than standing in the queue for an hour so you still wait the right time but without standing in the actual queue line, for me i still felt the express pass was more suited as I'm better being on the move constantly than stop starting or standing still due to my back ceasing up, which is why we still buy the express pass!

 

[joolz1910]

Thanks for all of your replies!

It seems that I would have DDP credits for the entire stay - I suppose I could eat at DTD or at OKW for the first 4 days as I would not want to activate the Ultimates.

I am trying to weigh up the pros and cons of doing it this way.

Pros:
All meals pretty much taken care of.
DME both ways.
No having to move resort.
We love OKW.

Cons:
Would have to drive to Sea World / Universal in first 4 days.
Would (potentially) have to pay for Express passes on top of entry tickets.

Would it be cheaper to stay at RPR for a few nights at the beginning of the holiday? Or even at the end of the holiday?

How have others done it?

 

[Elise79]

Thanks for all of your replies!

It seems that I would have DDP credits for the entire stay - I suppose I could eat at DTD or at OKW for the first 4 days as I would not want to activate the Ultimates.

I am trying to weigh up the pros and cons of doing it this way.

Pros:
All meals pretty much taken care of.
DME both ways.
No having to move resort.
We love OKW.

Cons:
Would have to drive to Sea World / Universal in first 4 days.
Would (potentially) have to pay for Express passes on top of entry tickets.

Would it be cheaper to stay at RPR for a few nights at the beginning of the holiday? Or even at the end of the holiday?

How have others done it?

We like not having to move So that would win for me and having to drive is a non-issue really.

We stay at Disney and drive to Seaworld or elsewhere (haven't been to Uni in years but head to the beach or KSC).

Don't forget you have all the resorts and DTD restaurants that you can eat at and there are lots of good choices most are probably better than the parks!!

Whats the difference between 14 & 21 day tickets? Might be worth considering then you can space out your Universal/Seaworld visits.

 

[xxpeplyxx]

Thanks for all of your replies!

It seems that I would have DDP credits for the entire stay - I suppose I could eat at DTD or at OKW for the first 4 days as I would not want to activate the Ultimates.

I am trying to weigh up the pros and cons of doing it this way.

Pros:
All meals pretty much taken care of.
DME both ways.
No having to move resort.
We love OKW.

Cons:
Would have to drive to Sea World / Universal in first 4 days.
Would (potentially) have to pay for Express passes on top of entry tickets.

Would it be cheaper to stay at RPR for a few nights at the beginning of the holiday? Or even at the end of the holiday?

How have others done it?

If you stay at RPR you will at least get the ultimate express passes so depending on how many rooms you need it could work out roughly the same or cheaper, I know when I last looked it was about £236 which would have worked out a tiny bit less expensive but have us the freedom of having an ultimate express pass for both parks! In August I honestly wouldn't do US/IOA without and express pass, we manage to do all of the rides with it where as other only did half the rides with 1hr plus queues!

I must add the drive really is not too far from Disney!!

 

[joolz1910]

We like not having to move So that would win for me and having to drive is a non-issue really.

We stay at Disney and drive to Seaworld or elsewhere (haven't been to Uni in years but head to the beach or KSC).

Don't forget you have all the resorts and DTD restaurants that you can eat at and there are lots of good choices most are probably better than the parks!!

Whats the difference between 14 & 21 day tickets? Might be worth considering then you can space out your Universal/Seaworld visits.

Driving might be an option. How far is it (roughly) from Disney to US/Sea world?

 

[Dimplenose]

It's a few years since we did this but we found it was cheaper to stay one night at RPR and get 2 days FOtL passes for 4 adults for 2 days than to pay for express passes for 2 days.

As we had already bought a package to stay at ASMu we didn't check out but just took overnight bags. Checked in early at RPR - room not ready but passes issued, had a day at the parks, came back to get into our room. Had an evening in the parks.

Checked out early next morning - passes valid for rest of the day. Finished off what we wanted to do in the parks then drove back to WDW for dinner.

 

[joolz1910]

If you stay at RPR you will at least get the ultimate express passes so depending on how many rooms you need it could work out roughly the same or cheaper, I know when I last looked it was about £236 which would have worked out a tiny bit less expensive but have us the freedom of having an ultimate express pass for both parks! In August I honestly wouldn't do US/IOA without and express pass, we manage to do all of the rides with it where as other only did half the rides with 1hr plus queues!

I must add the drive really is not too far from Disney!!

That would be a good idea - perhaps right at the beginning of the holiday?£236 sounds OK if you consider all 5 of us would have express passes...

 

[joolz1910]

It's a few years since we did this but we found it was cheaper to stay one night at RPR and get 2 days FOtL passes for 4 adults for 2 days than to pay for express passes for 2 days.

As we had already bought a package to stay at ASMu we didn't check out but just took overnight bags. Checked in early at RPR - room not ready but passes issued, had a day at the parks, came back to get into our room. Had an evening in the parks.

Checked out early next morning - passes valid for rest of the day. Finished off what we wanted to do in the parks then drove back to WDW for dinner.

This sounds like a good compromise for us.

 

[Scrap_Vamp]

Don't forget you can eat at any of the other resorts too

 

[Tony Toon]

Just to repeat what others have said - don't forget the many great restaurants in the other resorts and DON'T limit yourself to OKW because that's where you are staying. We have stayed at OKW on DDP and Olivia's although good was not among our real favourites compared with some of the other resort/hotel restaurants. Naturally you will want to take advantage of eating at the better park restaurants while you have your park tickets but don't limit your choice solely to park and OKW.