Perpetually Tinkering with my Trip Plans...

[Where'sPiglet?]

So I was trying to work on the Wisconsin portion of the trip today. I still don't have my flight from Wisconsin to home booked. I found one that I'm about to book. I looked at rental cars and good grief. I don't want to pay what they are asking, so I started looking at alternatives. My brother can pick me up if I fly into La Crosse. So I changed my direct flight to MSP to one that goes to La Crosse. It has a layover and it's the next morning.

So instead of getting in to Minneapolis at 11:30p, spending the night in an airport hotel, going back to the airport the next morning, renting a car, and driving 3ish hours, I am flying out of MCO at 6:45a the next morning and getting into La Cross at 11:30a. This is about the same time I would have gotten there anyway, AND the flight is $7 cheaper. Also, I don't have to rent a car, which saves me almost $500. (Or $1800, like one option I saw. )

Because my flight is at 6:45a, I think I'm going to stay at the Hyatt at MCO for that last night. It's a little more expensive than the MSP airport hotels I was considering, but not by much. Also, it positions me well for an early morning flight. I'd prefer to not move rooms AGAIN, but I think this is the best option. The Magical Express would do a 3:45a pick up or something crazy. I tried to book a rental car for 5:30a from my arrival day to 5:30a on my departure day and got a $1300+ price, so I'm going to decline that option.

I will also be flying home out of La Crosse. It won't be a direct flight, but it will do. I can choose a single layover for $277 or two layovers for $195. There are only two airlines that service LSE, and only one of those two services my home airport, so my options are limited (and they know it).

Edit: I went with the single layover. With eCredits I had, I only paid $82 out of pocket. Now I'm out of credits. Boo hiss.

 

[Where'sPiglet?]

This picture is a few years old, but this is my dachshund that I love so much. He was such a loyal little beast. Yesterday I came home from work to find he had died during the day. I miss him so, so much.

 

[Where'sPiglet?]

I've been trip planning again. It helps to distract myself.

I still have too many moves. Currently:

Days 1-3: Bay Lake Tower
Day 4: Royal Pacific AND Polynesian
Days 5-6: Polynesian
Day 7: Hampton Tampa AND Copper Creek
Days 8-11: Copper Creek
Day 12: Hyatt MCO
Days 13-19: Wisconsin (with family)

I'm going to cancel Royal Pacific and Hampton Tampa. I still might go to Busch Gardens, but I'll drive over for the day and not stay the night. I will also still go to Universal, but I will get the top tier AP that has express pass after 4p and use it on multiple days in the evening. One night really wasn't enough to enjoy the place, and I don't want to pay for two nights this year. Maybe next year I stay there for a couple nights; I'll still have the AP since if I buy it this month, it's good for 15 months. They have a special that expires at the end of this month that gives 3 bonus months.

I'm also considering merging Bay Lake and Polynesian if I'm able to. When I looked earlier, Polynesian had availability, but Bay Lake didn't, so it would be at Polynesian. Also, I love the rain shower in the Polynesian rooms and there is more space. I also really enjoy the ambiance of the grounds. I am a little concerned the monorail station won't be open yet, but there is a little boat to the Magic Kingdom and also the TTC is very close.

I think before I merge rooms, I'll order magic bands so I can get three if I want.

 

[kclark9830]

Those sound like good plans . And what a great deal for the Universal AP's!

 

[Where'sPiglet?]

Those sound like good plans . And what a great deal for the Universal AP's!

Thanks! I'm, of course, still puttering with them.

 

[Where'sPiglet?]

I just got an email from Delta. They changed my flight home from Wisconsin - the one I chose with just the one layover instead of two that cost more - by about four hours. I now have a five-hour layover.

Also, when I took out Royal Pacific and Hampton Tampa, this looks far more reasonable:
Days 1-3: Bay Lake Tower
Days 4-6: Polynesian
Days 7-11: Copper Creek
Day 12: Hyatt MCO
Days 13-19: Wisconsin (with family)

It's a 3-3-5 split at WDW. I wanted to stay at both Bay Lake and Polynesian, so I ended up not merging them. I might regret this when I'm repeatedly packing, but I like visiting different resorts, so, yeah.

 

[Where'sPiglet?]

I'm glad I already have a rental car booked. It's more than I'm hoping I'll end up paying, so I keep checking Costco's site to see if it's gone down. It has not. It has almost doubled. It's about $950 for a compact car, and Budget is over $1000.

I have a rental car booked for Wisconsin too, but I will probably be able to cancel that one since I'm flying into La Crosse instead of MSP. My family will be able to fetch me and drop me off. I still have the car booked for now, and it's almost $400.

Costco does have a notification on their page: "Limited Rental Car Availability - Due to COVID and car manufacturing shortages, rental car availability is extremely limited. If you are not able to find a rental car for your desired travel dates, please either search for new travel dates or select a transfer service instead." It makes me wonder if a shipment of rental cars destined for Florida is stuck in the Suez Canal.

 

[Where'sPiglet?]

I bought my Universal AP today!

The 15-month deal expires tomorrow, and last night I fell asleep on the couch, so I decided I'd better buy it before the month escaped me!

I ended up buying the Premier AP - the top tier one that includes the After-4p Express Pass (one time per ride). It was "only" $160 more than the pass one level down (Preferred) and a single day of an express pass is about often same amount or more. The downside is that it's only good after 4p. The pass also includes daily early entry and free parking, so maybe some days I take advantage of the early entry and other days I go in the evenings. I'm hoping the hours are relatively late during summer, and by next summer I hope they're back to normal.

 

[Where'sPiglet?]

So the day after that 15-month promotion expired, they also raised the prices on UO AP. The one I bought now costs $65 more and you get it for the standard 12-months instead of 15. I'm glad I took advantage of the promotion! I figured a price increase was due soon; I have an Unofficial Guide to Universal Studios 2020 (since I was originally scheduled to go in 2020) that had the same prices listed as what was available online in March.

Also, I ordered one Magic Band a bit ago, and it arrived yesterday! Yay! I got the sparkly pink one at the discounted price ($10) you get with a reservation: https://www.shopdisney.com/disney-p...OK2tZc1ukseZBGOtPO8aAtwoEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

I think I'll get the silver sparkly band for one of my other two reservations and possibly the turquoise DVC band for my 3rd.

Also, I still have not actually cancelled my Royal Pacific or Hampton Tampa hotel rooms. I'm totally stalling. The Hampton Tampa is a "pay when you arrive" hotel, but the Royal Pacific has a one-night deposit, so I have $308 tied up with them that I'll get back upon cancelling.

 

[Where'sPiglet?]

I just got an email from Delta. They changed my flight home from Wisconsin - the one I chose with just the one layover instead of two that cost more - by about four hours. I now have a five-hour layover.

Also, when I took out Royal Pacific and Hampton Tampa, this looks far more reasonable:
Days 1-3: Bay Lake Tower
Days 4-6: Polynesian
Days 7-11: Copper Creek
Day 12: Hyatt MCO
Days 13-19: Wisconsin (with family)

It's a 3-3-5 split at WDW. I wanted to stay at both Bay Lake and Polynesian, so I ended up not merging them. I might regret this when I'm repeatedly packing, but I like visiting different resorts, so, yeah.

Yes, I'm quoting myself.

So Delta has also now changed my flight between Orlando and Minneapolis and the flight from MSP to La Crosse. Instead of leaving at 6:45a, I am now scheduled to leave at 11a and I don't get in to Wisconsin until 5p, which is 4.5 hours later than the original arrival.

I am considering adding a day using DVC points vs staying at the Hyatt MCO, because that's a later morning to dawdle around the airport. This hinges on being able to add a night of DVC, ideally at Copper Creek since that's where I'm already booked. I might try to make it a 3-4-5 split, by adding a day to the end of my Polynesian reservation, dropping the first night of Copper Creek, and adding one to the end. This would be instead of a 3-3-6 split, but that would work too. It could end up being a 3-3-5-1 split, although that is essentially what it is now.

To add to the complexity, I currently have a car reservation that picks up the car at MCO upon arriving on Day 1, and returns it at 8p on Day 11, which corresponds with my original flight to MSP. After dropping off the car, I would then go to the Hyatt MCO for the night. The car reservation prices have only increased, and a new reservation now costs around $1000. The existing one is sitting at $577 for the length of stay.

I do have a second car reservation that I haven't yet cancelled that picks up on the afternoon of Day 1 and returns on the afternoon of Day 10 at the Car Care Center near the Magic Kingdom parking lot. Apparently they have a shuttle to get you to/from the Car Care Center. This reservation is $405 and might be my best option. I have Magic Kingdom park reservations on both Days 1 &10. I'd need to take the Magical Express to/from MCO, which I was kind of wanting to do anyway since it's my last opportunity in it's current form. The downside to this is that I've heard that wait times have been high recently.

 

[Where'sPiglet?]

Well, Polynesian wasn't available for the night of Day 7, so I ended up keeping BLT 3 nights, Poly 3 nights, and now CCV is 6 nights instead of 5. It was tempting to try a different resort for that last night, but I would have been so mad at myself, having to change hotels for one night with an 8am Magical Express pick-up!

Dropping the Hampton Tampa, Royal Pacific, Hyatt MCO, and using the shorter car rental will save me over $800.

 

[kclark9830]

How frustrating about the flights! Im glad you're able to get another night on property though . And saving money = .

 

[Where'sPiglet?]

How frustrating about the flights! Im glad you're able to get another night on property though . And saving money = .

Yes! And that last park day, I won't have to worry about packing and checking out of the resort BEFORE going to the park! I'll be able to go to Animal Kingdom, maybe take a swim break, and then stay until park close - maybe hop to the Magic Kingdom, and just relax. It should be great!

 

[Where'sPiglet?]

I was poking around in my DVC dashboard today, just admiring my reservations , and the chat feature became available, so I put in some room requests!

 

[Where'sPiglet?]

I'm starting to think about possible ADRs, although I'm still a bit out from being able to make them.
I think I had only one TS meal on my WDW trip last summer. I'm usually quite content with mostly QS meals, in large part because I don't like having too many things scheduled while on vacation.

My two usual ADRs are Via Napoli and Beaches & Cream, and I am really hoping I can snag at least one meal at both of them. I am drawing a bit of a blank as to where else I might want to make an ADR. Sometimes I'll do a character meal, but those are so different right now that I don't really want to deal with it.

Le Cellier might be a good option. A few years back, my mom and I went there. I didn't have steak, but I had the cheddar cheese soup, their signature poutine, and a grilled lettuce wedge. There was also some pretzel bread to dip in the soup; I don't know if they're still doing that. I would be content with just the soup and poutine. I have gotten the soup and poutine from the walk-up Refreshment Port, but it's not as good as in the restaurant.

I'm also interested in Sci Fi Dine-In Theater, although the last time my mom and I went here, they were so behind in seating people. I think we waited an hour past our ADR time.

Whispering Canyon Cafe might be nice also, since I'm staying there. The breakfast menu looks quite good.

One meal I missed last summer was Hurricane Hanna's at the Beach Club. I know, that sounds a little bizarre, but they had this chicken sandwich in summer 2019 that was really good and I wanted to have it again. It was "Grilled Chicken Sandwich, served on a pretzel roll with smoked cheddar and whole-grain mustard." I'm wishing I had written a trip report for my 2019 trip too, because I think I'd enjoy reading about it.

 

[kclark9830]

Making Adr's was tricky this time for me, but hopefully you will get some good ones.

 

[Where'sPiglet?]

Making Adr's was tricky this time for me, but hopefully you will get some good ones.

Thank you! I still have a little bit of time to stress about it before getting up at Stupid Thirty in the morning to be logged in by 3am for ADRs....thrice....since I have the three-way split.

 

[Where'sPiglet?]

So I had this idea that I can read a narrative nonfiction book about Mary Blair to my classes and then show a ride-through video of It's a Small World.

I am not sure if this idea is brilliant or something I will deeply regret.

 

[Where'sPiglet?]

I got an email from Delta with another flight change.

This time, it's my flight on the way down. I am leaving a half hour earlier and getting in an hour later. I was going to get in at 5a, and now it's around 6a. It's going to be much harder to make rope drop at the Magic Kingdom, especially since as of now I'm planning to take the Magical Express.

My layover went from 3.5 hours, which was already too long, to 4.5 hours. I am not pleased, but I don't think I am going to be able to change my flight.

If I did change it to arrive the day before (instead of a red-eye), I'd need to add another night at the kennel and another hotel night. The room type I have for my first three nights is not available for night 0, so I'd have to either change the first three days or have another room change. I don't think it's worth it. I might regret the red-eye, but one thing that is good about them is usually it's less stormy to fly overnight than in the afternoon.

 

[kclark9830]

Oh no. I've been hearing lots about flight changes lately. What a hassle.