Premium Plan for One Night Just for the Tours, LaNouba, etc.??

I just returned from 3 nights platinum package at AKL. WOW it was busy. Overall, I enjoyed almost all of the activities I had booked. I did have some significant troubles with my reservations that I let the IPO Michelle handle. It was a real nightmare at times and I ended up wasting too much time resolving issues.

Here was my 4 days of plans and thoughts on how it worked out:

Day 1- Sunday July 15
7:15 check in, service was quick and my room was ready for me, desk people new nothing about platinum plan and handed me the brochure about it
filled up mug and headed out to DHS
spent the morning riding rides and seeing shows
12:00 HBD lunch- food was excellent, service was fantastic, seated me right away even though I was about 15 minutes early, got a great seat
rested in room and got unpacked, watched giraffes and ostriches playing outside the window
3:00 mani/pedi at Coronado-parked too far away and had to walk in rain :(, spa is a health club and a little meh, service was pretty low quality, but she was nice and we chatted away, service took a long time (about 1.5 hours), was billed incorrectly for service
6:00 Jiko dinner- OMG amazing...probably best meal of the whole trip, great service, seat and food
spent time at desk fixing error from mani/pedi, no one knew how to fix it, had to make several calls to "fix it"
evening at MK riding rides-wicked crowded there, used snack credit on water bottle and cinnamon roll from bakery


Day 2 Monday July 16-
ate cinnamon roll for breakfast- not that good :(, filled up mug and headed to AK
8:30- backstage safari tour- awesome!!!!!, saw baby rhino and mommy, elephants and parrots in the barns, talked to two keepers and the private safari was pretty cool
12:00- lunch at Yak/Yeti, seated right away even though I was a little early, great seat and service, food was good, Wok fried green beans changed my life :thumbsup2
rested in room, took a nice hour nap and watched some animals
returned to AK to ride EE, got stuck in rain delay and had to wait over an hour to ride
headed to Epcot, rode Spaceship Earth
7:45 dinner at La Hacienda- great food and acceptable service, seat was crappy, by this point I realized vegetarian was not on my ressies, restaurant added it before I was seated to ensure my meal was ok
rode land boats and bought snacks at Norway- pear tart and school bread

Day 3- Tuesday July 17
7:45 Boma breakfast- decent food, great service, chefs very helpful
9:45- Dolphins in Depth- great tour- mostly educational not time in water
12:30-Aqua Seas- amazing!!!!!, you do get paraded around the seas area in your wetsuit...oh boy
4:00 Portobello late lunch---perfect, great service and food, cake was too die for
6:00 La Nouba- tickets were messed up and I had to take crappy seats to be able to go to show, show wasn't very good, not sure why it gets rave reviews, I found it to be very child focused,left a little early to make it to dinner which was fine with me

8:00 Citrico's- terrible, worst food ever, service was good, server told me next time I come to have vegetarian on my ressie so the chef could make me a custom meal if needed, I almost cried as Michelle stated she had put that on my ressie

10:00- Wishes Cruise-- awesome other than the mosquito bites ;)

went to front desk to get my meal points straightened out, turns out when they "fixed" my spa charge they entered it as a meal, I had to argue with the desk clerk for half an hour to get it corrected

ate pear tart and school bread since I was hungry...they were both great

Day 4- Wednesday July 18

by this point I'm ready to go home and sick of mess ups

9:00 Parasailing- I show up early and have no ressie :scared1:, melt down begins, I go to the parking lot and call the resort, I speak to Michelle and then a supervisor
10:00- parasailing- the desk attendant is nice enough to squeeze me in at 10, parasailing was pretty great, wonderful view and I liked very much

11:00- late breakfast at Wave- not a great use of meal credit but the food and service were great!!!!

head to desk to speak with manager to hear her solution to my troubles...an offer of two free hotel nights is the solution :confused:

1:00- lunch at Sanaa- wasn't really hungry, just had salad sampler and dessert- both were decent

spent the next 1 or so shopping, bought mickey licorice and chip and dale trail mix with my final snack credits

headed to airport ready to be done with WDW

Hope others have had better luck with this plan then I did. I estimate I wasted at least 5 hours of my vacation time dealing with mess ups. But swimming in the seas tank was pretty cool as was the wishes cruise and parasailing. :woohoo::woohoo:
 
I think we've gone berserk....we did the one night Platinum package last year and had an absolutely amazing time. This year, I think we are going to do it again, this time with my parents for their wedding anniversary! The 3 nights vs 1 night is a bit of a killer, but my parents haven't been in over 5 years and not sure when they'll go back. We will be going Platinum Oct 9th to 12th at the Poly. :goodvibes

Right now, we have reservations as follows:

Day 1 - Tuesday
7:15 - check in at Poly (we will already be there on a room only)
8:15 - CRT breakfast
9:15 to 1:30'ish - MK ride time
1:30 to 2:45 - back to Poly to relax and change for dinner (if we all feel OK, we will probably grab a CS meal or snack and just take a people watching break in the park - that will give us more ride time and such)
2:45 to 3:30 - travel to Ft. Wilderness
4:00 to 6:00 - HDDR
6:00 to 7:00 - carriage rides at Ft. Wilderness (rough time - haven't booked yet)
7:00 to 8:00 - travel to Grand Floridian
8:30 to 10:30 - fireworks cruise - super excited since it is a MNSSHP night so we get to see Hallowishes!

Day 2 - Wednesday
7:45 - Segway tour at EPCOT (DH and Dad)
8:00 - spa treatment @ Saratoga Springs (me, DD, and Mom)
10:30'ish - meet at EPCOT
10:30-11 - grab a snack at the Land pavilion - ride Living with the Land (we aren't interested in Soarin - BTDT)
11:15 - Behind the Seeds tour (my dad's request)
12:15 to 2:00 - The Seas and Imagination pavilions (primarily we want to do Turtle Talk and Journey into Imagination - anything else is just extra)
2:25 - Le Cellier lunch
4:00'ish - leave EPCOT to go to DTD
5:30 - pick up La Nouba tickets
6:00 to 7:30 - La Nouba
7:30 - back to Poly - plan to have an early night and watch the EWP and fireworks either from our room (TPV) or the beach

**My concern for this day is lack of food - we will grab something quick for breakfast at Captain Cook's in the morning and a snack (or share a QS meal) at Sunshine Seasons, depending on hunger levels, but I didn't plan anything for after La Nouba. I'm confident that Le Cellier will hold us over until late into the evening, so I'm thinking maybe room service or just a QS meal from Captain Cook's after we get back to the Poly.**

Day 3 - Thursday
9:30 - Ohana breakfast
11:00 - Richard Petty ride-along (Dad) - might try to move breakfast a little earlier to pad the time some
12:00 to 3:30'ish - relax at hotel and get ready for MNSSHP
3:30 - leave for MK
4:30 - Crystal Palace dinner (mostly for Mom - she loves Piglet)
7:00 - MNSSHP

Day 4 - Friday
Parents leave this day - not planning on partaking in any activities - might order room service breakfast for them before they leave
9:00 to Noon - EPCOT
Noon - Les Chefs de France (DH, DD, and I)
1:30 - return to Poly to relax/change
3:30 - head to MK for MNSSHP
4:15 - Liberty Tree Tavern dinner
7:00 - MNSSHP

**I am a little concerned about our dining reservations being too close together on this day, but I don't want to push LTT too late - I might try to modify to 4:45, but I'm hoping to line up for the Dwarves by 6, so I don't want to go too much later.**

I know that doing MNSSHP twice isn't necessarily the best use of time, but the only other Platinum thing we would be doing is eating, and I think we have enough of that planned! I'm trying to convince my parents to do a tour on their last morning, like Backstage Magic or something, but so far they say that they would rather spend time with us than go off on their own (since DD is too young for most of the tours). We may also try to do a watercraft rental (like the little boats - can't remember their names right now) for an hour or so one day, but it depends on how we feel and the weather and they are first-come, first-served anyway.

I guess that is all - the 3 of us arrive on Saturday, so we will have 2.5 days of touring, etc prior to going Platinum to fit in other parks, rides, shows, etc that we aren't doing with my parents.

So excited!! :hyper:
 
I just returned from 3 nights platinum package at AKL. WOW it was busy. Overall, I enjoyed almost all of the activities I had booked. I did have some significant troubles with my reservations that I let the IPO Michelle handle. It was a real nightmare at times and I ended up wasting too much time resolving issues.

Hope others have had better luck with this plan then I did. I estimate I wasted at least 5 hours of my vacation time dealing with mess ups. But swimming in the seas tank was pretty cool as was the wishes cruise and parasailing. :woohoo::woohoo:

So sorry to read about the problems you had, especially at a DELUXE resort. We had similar problems in 2010 with the Premium Plan but were at POP where you could expect such a reaction. I think if you had utilized the spa pkg at Contemp or GF (undergoing rehab right now?) or even Saratoga Springs, it might have been better. Frustration to have wasted all that time.

We, too, loved HBD - try to eat there every visit. Had problems w/Jiko on our last visit, but won't give up. Surprised about Citrico's as they are usually amazing.

Curious, which Backstage Safari did you do - the one that is open to the public, or the Sunrise Safari you can only do through concierge at AK?
 
I think we've gone berserk....we did the one night Platinum package last year and had an absolutely amazing time. This year, I think we are going to do it again, this time with my parents for their wedding anniversary! The 3 nights vs 1 night is a bit of a killer, but my parents haven't been in over 5 years and not sure when they'll go back. We will be going Platinum Oct 9th to 12th at the Poly. :goodvibes

Right now, we have reservations as follows:

Day 1 - Tuesday
7:15 - check in at Poly (we will already be there on a room only)
8:15 - CRT breakfast
9:15 to 1:30'ish - MK ride time
1:30 to 2:45 - back to Poly to relax and change for dinner (if we all feel OK, we will probably grab a CS meal or snack and just take a people watching break in the park - that will give us more ride time and such)
2:45 to 3:30 - travel to Ft. Wilderness
4:00 to 6:00 - HDDR
6:00 to 7:00 - carriage rides at Ft. Wilderness (rough time - haven't booked yet)
7:00 to 8:00 - travel to Grand Floridian Are you driving or will you be taking the boat across?
8:30 to 10:30 - fireworks cruise - super excited since it is a MNSSHP night so we get to see Hallowishes! It will have to be Hallowishes since that is the only fireworks show that night ... and a really GREAT one at that!

Day 2 - Wednesday Maybe you could order room service breakfast for everyone this morning? DH & Dad will need to be at EP by 7:30, so will have to catch the monorail or leave by car by 7:10 or so, but if you order breakfast to arrive by 6:30 it should be okay?
7:45 - Segway tour at EPCOT (DH and Dad)
8:00 - spa treatment @ Saratoga Springs (me, DD, and Mom)
10:30'ish - meet at EPCOT
10:30-11 - grab a snack at the Land pavilion - ride Living with the Land (we aren't interested in Soarin - BTDT)
11:15 - Behind the Seeds tour (my dad's request)
12:15 to 2:00 - The Seas and Imagination pavilions (primarily we want to do Turtle Talk and Journey into Imagination - anything else is just extra)
2:25 - Le Cellier lunch
4:00'ish - leave EPCOT to go to DTD
5:30 - pick up La Nouba tickets Be there for willl-call tickets by 5:20 or so to allow time to get inside & seated for the 20 minute pre-show (really just a couple of guys 'clowning' around) but fun to watch.
6:00 to 7:30 - La Nouba
7:30 - back to Poly - plan to have an early night and watch the EWP and fireworks either from our room (TPV) or the beach Could maybe order a pizza & pop to the room to munch on as needed - or maybe a fresh veggie/fruit/cheese tray?

**My concern for this day is lack of food - we will grab something quick for breakfast at Captain Cook's in the morning and a snack (or share a QS meal) at Sunshine Seasons, depending on hunger levels, but I didn't plan anything for after La Nouba. I'm confident that Le Cellier will hold us over until late into the evening, so I'm thinking maybe room service or just a QS meal from Captain Cook's after we get back to the Poly.**

Day 3 - Thursday
9:30 - Ohana breakfast I agree with moving this to earlier, even though RP is nearby, they will want him there early to read/sign releases, etc. Maybe try for 8am so you can lounge about & enjoy the meal & feel.
11:00 - Richard Petty ride-along (Dad) - might try to move breakfast a little earlier to pad the time some
12:00 to 3:30'ish - relax at hotel and get ready for MNSSHP
3:30 - leave for MK
4:30 - Crystal Palace dinner (mostly for Mom - she loves Piglet)
7:00 - MNSSHP

Day 4 - Friday
Parents leave this day - not planning on partaking in any activities - might order room service breakfast for them before they leave Good plan since you will most likely have meal credits left.
9:00 to Noon - EPCOT
Noon - Les Chefs de France (DH, DD, and I)
1:30 - return to Poly to relax/change
3:30 - head to MK for MNSSHP
4:15 - Liberty Tree Tavern dinner
7:00 - MNSSHP

**I am a little concerned about our dining reservations being too close together on this day, but I don't want to push LTT too late - I might try to modify to 4:45, but I'm hoping to line up for the Dwarves by 6, so I don't want to go too much later.** Probably need to be in that Dwarves line by 5:45 at the latest or you will be waiting for an hour or more! Maybe you could eat an earlier meal at Kona? Or, since you will have done MNSSHP already, choose the latest ADR LTT offers?

I know that doing MNSSHP twice isn't necessarily the best use of time, but the only other Platinum thing we would be doing is eating, and I think we have enough of that planned! I'm trying to convince my parents to do a tour on their last morning, like Backstage Magic or something, but so far they say that they would rather spend time with us than go off on their own (since DD is too young for most of the tours). How old is your daughter? If she is 10, the Steam Train tour in MK is great - but starts at 7:30am. Good thing is you will be the first people in the park! Also, there is the Family Magic tour for younger children that could be fun for all? We may also try to do a watercraft rental (like the little boats - can't remember their names right now) for an hour or so one day, but it depends on how we feel and the weather and they are first-come, first-served anyway.

I guess that is all - the 3 of us arrive on Saturday, so we will have 2.5 days of touring, etc prior to going Platinum to fit in other parks, rides, shows, etc that we aren't doing with my parents.

So excited!! :hyper:

Overall, your plans look really good. Hope you and your parents have a great time!
 


So sorry to read about the problems you had, especially at a DELUXE resort. We had similar problems in 2010 with the Premium Plan but were at POP where you could expect such a reaction. I think if you had utilized the spa pkg at Contemp or GF (undergoing rehab right now?) or even Saratoga Springs, it might have been better. Frustration to have wasted all that time.

We, too, loved HBD - try to eat there every visit. Had problems w/Jiko on our last visit, but won't give up. Surprised about Citrico's as they are usually amazing.

Curious, which Backstage Safari did you do - the one that is open to the public, or the Sunrise Safari you can only do through concierge at AK?

sorry to hear you had trouble with your trip in 2010. I believe my misery was because the IPO I dealt with was incompetent. She needs some more training and support to do her job or they should let her go on her way. Citrico's was a fluke I think..wasn't really hungry and I got a meal I just didn't like. I'm sure it has good options for others but didn't work for me.

I took the backstage safari at AK park. It was great. I met a family from Canada that rook the Sunrise safari and raved about it. They said that the animals were super close and they got a full meal from the Jiko menu. I did not take that one as the information stated you needed to stay club level and that was not available on my dates.

I would still like to try to do the plan again in the future if I can swing the cash. I think it would be a nice trip to take with my boyfriend.
 
Meant to mention - I, too, am a vegetarian (do eat fish/chicken on occasion) and also have to eat gluten free. Those things in themselves are awkward at best, but Disney does a pretty good job - especially with more notice. I add it to my reservation, double check EVERY time I call in pre-trip, confirm it is on my ADRs upon check-in, and - for the really important meals - I call in from my resort room the day (or at least the morning) before. Yes, it is a hassle and my DH gets a bit annoyed, but it's important to my health and my tastebuds :faint: as well as the enjoyment of our trips.

Worse was that for a few months, until we confirmed it was JUST gluten giving me problems, I also had to avoid all DAIRY and CORN. And my doctor told me that two weeks before my cruise on the DISNEY DREAM in Feb 2010. Now THAT was interesting. (side note - tapioca hot dog buns overheated in the microwave do NOT make tasty dinner rolls) :rotfl2:
 
I just returned from 3 nights platinum package at AKL. WOW it was busy. Overall, I enjoyed almost all of the activities I had booked. I did have some significant troubles with my reservations that I let the IPO Michelle handle. It was a real nightmare at times and I ended up wasting too much time resolving :

It seems like most people have some issues with the Platinum plan with incorrect charges and/or issues with reservations. We had a similar issue that spa services are somehow in the same pool as meals so it seems like those especially get charged incorrectly. We were lucky that we got a free upgrade to concierge at WL so we had knowledgeable staff who were able to solve our problems more quickly but t was still a pain. We had lots of glitches but in the end we had such a great trip I decided not to complain.
 


It seems like most people have some issues with the Platinum plan with incorrect charges and/or issues with reservations. We had a similar issue that spa services are somehow in the same pool as meals so it seems like those especially get charged incorrectly. We were lucky that we got a free upgrade to concierge at WL so we had knowledgeable staff who were able to solve our problems more quickly but t was still a pain. We had lots of glitches but in the end we had such a great trip I decided not to complain.


It's a shame to hear that so many people have trouble with the IPO. That is supposed to be one of the perks of the plan. That free upgrade sounds pretty snazzy. Wish I would have got one of those.
 
We stayed at the Grand Floridian for our platinum plan stay and had not one single problem, it was flawless! With that said I think just about every other person who has done it HAS run into problems.
 
We stayed at the Grand Floridian for our platinum plan stay and had not one single problem, it was flawless! With that said I think just about every other person who has done it HAS run into problems.

Glad it worked for you :thumbsup2 Maybe the grand Floridian has more experience with that package. All I kept hearing at AKL was how they've never seen this before.
 
We stayed at the Grand Floridian for our platinum plan stay and had not one single problem, it was flawless! With that said I think just about every other person who has done it HAS run into problems.

Well, we stayed at GF for our Platinum plan and it was a MESS -- very much like hpfan100's experience. We arrived for a golf lesson and there was no reservation (turned out to have been made for a completely wrong day when we weren't even at WDW). We were charged for things that should have been included and spent hours dealing with the front desk. I could never get the IPO to return calls or help us fix anything.

I was pretty furious by the end. We did this back when it was still possible to book a 1-night Platinum Plan, and I thought perhaps the problems were related to that, but it certainly didn't make me ever want to do a longer Platinum Plan.

Mary
MouseSavers.com
 
Well, we stayed at GF for our Platinum plan and it was a MESS -- very much like hpfan100's experience. We arrived for a golf lesson and there was no reservation (turned out to have been made for a completely wrong day when we weren't even at WDW). We were charged for things that should have been included and spent hours dealing with the front desk. I could never get the IPO to return calls or help us fix anything.

I was pretty furious by the end. We did this back when it was still possible to book a 1-night Platinum Plan, and I thought perhaps the problems were related to that, but it certainly didn't make me ever want to do a longer Platinum Plan.

Mary
MouseSavers.com

I remember your post/trip report about the problems you had. During our September 2009 PREMIUM trip of 1 nite, we stayed at POP so there was no option of IPO to do our itinerary - and maybe that is a good thing. We had very little go wrong - once we checked in and went directly to the concierge desk at POP. We had to straighten out our CIRQUE and Spirit of Aloha tickets and double check some times, but we were room-only the night before so we didn't waste any valuable "PREMIUM" time with this.

Biggest problem we had was getting the waiter at JIKO to understand and apply the "Wine & Dine" we had added on for the night. And, in all honesty, if I had not been in the lady's room when the bill came, it would have gone more smoothly. DH had consumed most of the bottle of wine and, since he doesn't get involved in any planning, was stumped when waiter appeared with the dinner check and wanted to include the wine. By the time I got to the table, there was a LOT of tension between the two of them - and my hubby is very easy going - until I flipped out my paperwork (I print out & carry ADRs, add-ons, everything I book with me at all times during our trip) and all was fine.

The rest of our stay was split and part was Deluxe dining - and all went smoothly. Perhaps depending on the IPO (which, for the price of a Platinum Plan, one certainly should be able to so do) is a big part of the problem. I booked everything myself, and wrote down who I talked to and when, then double-checked/printed out everything the day before our flight and re-check at the concierge desk on arrival, the day before Plan began.

Yeah, I know, annual - but in cases like this it actually worked FOR me and DH has learned to 'leave me be' when I start obsessing about plans. :rotfl2:

(SIDE NOTE: Mary, If you ever DO decide to try it again, LMK ... I love a good challenge!)
 
Our stay was a one night platinum back 2010. We did two nights in Sugarloaf, the first night s room only and a second night on the platinum plan. The thing I didn't like was feeling like we had to run from meal to activity to meal basically, although we did lots of things we never would of and had a blast. I do wish we had rented a car that trip, I think that would have help a lot!
 
Home from our WDW Family Vacation on the Platinum Plan! We had a great time, and I want to say THANK YOU to all of your tips and suggestions to the sample itinerary I posted prior to our trip!

We had an amazing time, though I did end up going back to the room a few days to nap, while the hubby and daughter went back into or stayed in the parks for more 'ride' time.

Here was my proposed Itinerary and what we actually ended up doing:dance3: I know that we did not use the Platinum Plan to its full potiental BUT it did give us the comfort and flexibility we wanted. The only thing I would have done differently is instead of a 6 day plan I would have done a 5 day....

We stayed at the GF (myself, my husband and our 16 yr old daughter) on the Platinum plan. A few things about my family to keep in mind - I am slightly handicapped (bone condition) so I can not do lots and lots of walking (but not wheelchair bound), and we want some time in each park to enjoy rides/shows too.

Day 1
arrived at resort (Grand Floridian) about 4pm, checked in, unpacked, and showered for dinner
5:30PM dinner at California Grill (was done by about 7pm)
- took bus to HS, rode the Rockin Roller Coaster (60min wait time) then headed to our priority seating at Fantasmic
9:00PM Fantasmic
- rode Rocking Roller coaster and Tower of Terror again after show, each wait time was under 30 mins)
- headed back to resort to call it a night

Day2
- concierge lounge breakfast starts at 7AM, then headed to MK
8:30AM Keys to Kingdom tour - had to arrive by 8AM
- tour over at 12:45, grabbed a snack (popcorn and waters)
- I headed back to room for a nap while hubby and kiddo went back to HS to ride RR and TT again!
- back at room by 5:30, shower and ready to head to MK for dinner by 6:30PM
7:00PM Cinderella's Royal Table Dinner
-rode Space Mountain and Buzz Lightyear (both waits about 45mins)
10:00PM Viewing MK Fireworks - it rained but we bought ponchos and enjoyed the show. Loved the new "memories" show display on the Castle
- back to resort

Day 3
7:30AM Chef Mickey's - done by 9AM
- headed back to MK to rides for the morning/afternoon
10:30AM Spa's at Saratoga Springs - we cancelled these 24 hrs in advance - so the kiddo could have more time to enjoy the MK and rides
- I headed back to room for nap about 3PM and hubby/kiddo stayed in MK
- back at resort by 5PM
- headed to Downtown Disney - it was raining hard most of this evening - so we shopped
- picked up Cirque tix prior to dinner
7:00PM House of Blues Dinner - done by 8:30 and we went straight over to Cirque
9:00PM Cirqu Du Soleil - arrive at least 20 mins prior
- back to resort

Day 4
8:30AM Backstage Safari Tour (3 hrs) - we cancelled this as I was to tired and sore to do this if I wanted to enjoy my day/tours at EPOCT next day. Daughter was okay with this.
- slept in -ahhhhh how nice
- breakfast at Crystal Palace - walked in with no ressies
- enjoyed rides in MK then over to Animal Kingdom for a few rides
- Sammy Duval for some ski do's
- back to resort by 5pm
9:00PM Spirit of Aloha Dinner - arrived early 8PM, enjoyed our walk from GF to Poly... lots of nice places to stop for some great pics of the kiddo ;)
- back at resort in time for MK firework show from our balcony!

Day 5
- 1st monorail to EPCOT is not until 8AM
8:30AM Around World at Epcot, Segway tour - done by 10:30. We all loved this tour, about a 1/2 hour learning to ride segway then we toured the countries by segway.
- Lunch
12:30PM Epcot Seas Aqua tour - I did the tour but not the swim part, but hubby and kiddo did full tour and LOVED it! I took pictures of them.
- did a few rides in EPCOT - Test Track closed for remodeling, loved the new Spaceship Earth
- found our family pics on the Leave A Legacy walls and took pics
- took bus to YachtClub (about 30 min bus ride)
6:30PM Yachtsman Steakhouse - my favorite dinner next to the Castle!!
8:30 Illuminations Cruise - was cancelled beacuse of the rain/thunderstorms that started while at dinner :( this was heartbreaking for my daughter, as the really wanted to see this show!
- early night back at resort - packed up most of things so we could go back to MK in the morning to do some last minute shopping!

Day 6
- slept in
- MK to shop and go to Confectionary for some of our favorite fudge (did you know you can buy fudge on your meal plan as a snack!!) We used up our remaining snacks (11 of them left) on fudge/cookies to bring home!
- depart at 1PM for airport

** Again I know that you all will feel that we did not use our Platinum Plan to its full potiental, but we had the freedom to make preferred dining should we have chose to do so. So it was a great way to go for us - even though we had LOTS of meals we lost... we did almost everything we wanted!

A few things I noticed to note on the PP
- each meal is only 1 point - even the Signature dinners only cost you 1 point on the PP - so you have so many extra points!
- PP you are able to get into ressie dinning fairly easy even if you dont have prior ressies
- snacks on the meal plan can include things such as Ice cream scoops in the shops, bags of snacks in the gift shops, Fudge/cookies... a lot more was available for snacks than I thought, you just look for the Dining Plan logo or ask.

We never had a problem using our Platinum Plan points or anything... but Concierge told us if we did (as not everyone knows whats available on the PP) to just do it at cost and charge to room and they would reverse any charges and clear it up for us... but we didnt have any issues at all.

This was a great family vacation... now to start getting excited for our Disney Dream 4 night Cruise (our 6th cruise on DCL) on Sept 23rd!
 
We stayed at the Grand Floridian for our platinum plan stay and had not one single problem, it was flawless! With that said I think just about every other person who has done it HAS run into problems.

When we did our 1-night Platinum last August at the Poly, the *only* problem we had was with a spa reservation. The reservation was there, but somehow one of the treatments was left off and the spa supposedly did not have a technician there to do it. After some insistence on my part, it all got worked out and we got all the treatments we wanted. I did have IPO make that reservation, but I tend to think the issue may have been more with the spa itself than with the reservation.

Either way, it all worked out fine and that was the one and only snag we hit. That said, the IPO only made 2 reservations for us and I did the rest myself. I guess I'm too much of a control freak to trust my vacation to someone else, even if they work for Disney! :)
 
We stayed at the Grand Floridian for our platinum plan stay and had not one single problem, it was flawless! With that said I think just about every other person who has done it HAS run into problems.

we stayed at AKL for our Plat Pkg and had absolutely NO problems. We plan to do it again next year.
 
I spent 8 amazing days on the Premium Plan at Walt Disney World last month. This was my first trip to the resort since 2001, and my 6th trip overall. It was also my third solo trip to Walt Disney World. I was warned about many things regarding doing this plan. Mostly were the warnings about too much food, too many activities and not enough time in the parks. I chose not to heed these warnings, and am very glad I did this. Here's what my trip looked like:

Day 1 (arrival day)
Checked into POR at 8:30am after the red-eye from LAX.
10am Breakfast at Boma
11-4:30 - Animal Kingdom
2:30 - Lunch at Tusker House
7:00 - Dinner at Fulton's Crab House
9:00 - LaNouba

Day 2
8:10 - Breakfast at Cinderella's Royal Table
9:30 - Keys To The Kingdom Tour
2:00 - Lunch at Crystal Palace
Magic Kingdom until 5pm
7:00 - Dinner at Yachtsman

Day 3
7:30 - Breakfast at Grand Floridian Cafe
9-1 - Animal Kingdom
11:00 - Lunch at Yak & Yeti
1:00 - Backstage Safari Tour
5:30- Dinner at Boatright's
9p-2a Magic Kingdom w/Wishes preferred viewing and EMH

Day 4
8:30 - Ft. Wilderness Segway Tour
11:00 - Meal at Sunshine Seasons
Explore Epcot
2:30 - Lunch at Akershus
4-8 - Swimming and Sea Raycer on Sassagoula River
8:40 - Dinner at LeCellier

Day 5
7:00 Counter Service Breakfast at Hotel
7:45 - Epcot Segway Tour
10-12 - Explore Epcot
1-9 Hollywood Studios
1:30 - Lunch at Hollywood Brown Derby
7:30 - Dinner at Hollywood & Vine
8:30 0 Fantasmic! preferred seating from dinner pkg.
(Fantasmic! canceled due to rain, upgraded to VIP for following night)
9:30-12a Magic Kingdom EMH

Day 6
7:30 Breakfast at Cape May
9:00 Undiscovered Future World Tour
12:30 - Lunch at San Angel Inn
1:30-5 - R&R at hotel
6:00 Dinner at Les Chefs de France
9:00 Illuminations preferred viewing @ Italy (from earlier tour)
10:00 Fantasmic! VIP seating
10:30-1a - Hollywood Studios EMH

Day 7
7:30 Breakfast at Kona Cafe
9:00 Personal Watercraft Tour
10:00 Parasailing (two 650ft flights)
11:00 Sea Raycer on Bay Lake
1:00 Lunch at Planet Hollywood
6:30 Dinner at Narcoosee's
8-12 Epcot EMH
9:00 Illuminations preferred viewing @ Morocco (included w/plan)

Day 8
8:00 Breakfast at 1900 Park Fare
9-3:30 Magic Kingdom
2:00 Lunch at Liberty Tree Tavern
3:30 Leave for airport to return home

All in all, this was a fabulous trip. The only thing I missed were the waterparks. Oh well! Yes, I was very busy, but I got to enjoy everything the parks had to offer multiple times. I saw all of the main shows and parades. I did not skip anything that I wanted to see, nor did I leave Walt Disney World wishing I had more time for this, or that.

With regards to the cost of this package. My dining bill alone was around $1000. The tours, shows and recreation came out to around $1300. The Premium Plan cost me around $1250, so I ended up using more than $1000 in entitlements above the cost of the package for free. For me, this plan was the best way to go. I highly recommend the Premium Plan for anybody who can afford to splurge on their vacation, and wants to be fully-immersed in the Disney experience.
 
sounds like you had a great time JVP...WOW 8 whole days of premium time. Sounds like a dream to me.
 
It's been really quiet around here since they took away our one night premium/platinum option and they keep raising the prices. I'm planning a 3 night/4 day premium plan vacation Nov 11-Nov 14. Here's my plans.

Sunday 11/11
10:00 AM Jetski Tour
11:45 Lunch at Sanaa
2:00-5:00 Minigolf at Winter Summerland
6:00-7:00 Carriage Ride x2 at Winter Summerland
7:30-9:00 Dinner @ AP

Mon
8:00 Early Breakfast at the Wave or Grand Floridian Cafe
10:00 Jetski Tour
11:00 Parasailing
1:30 Fishing from Contemporary
5:40 First Dinner at CA Grill (Eating just alittle of it and bring most of it back)
7:45 Second Dinner at Narcrosses (See above)

Tues
8:00-9:00 EMH at EPCOT
9:30-12:30 Segway Tour at Epcot
12:50 Lunch at Le Cellier
Enjoy Epcot for the day
6:00 Dinner at Flying Fish
9:00 Reserved Illuminations

Wed
8:30-10:30 Segway Tour from FORT
11:45 Lunch at Fultons
1:30-3:30 Fishing at DTD
6:00-7:30 Cirque
8:30 Dinner at Jiko

The next day I plan on not eating much and sleeping in. I know that having 2 dinners one right after another is nuts but I really want to try these signature restaurants and not stay out too late b/c I got an early morning on Tuesday. Most of the food I will be taking back with me to eat as leftovers.
 
yes - the fun commando element is gone now. Who wants to relax on holiday?? :rotfl2: A couple of questions for you below:

It's been really quiet around here since they took away our one night premium/platinum option and they keep raising the prices. I'm planning a 3 night/4 day premium plan vacation Nov 11-Nov 14. Here's my plans.

Sunday 11/11
10:00 AM Jetski Tour Is this at 10am? Mine was at 9am and it was the only time offered.
11:45 Lunch at Sanaa I'm gonna assume you are driving. If you are over at AK have you considered the AK backstage tour?
2:00-5:00 Minigolf at Winter Summerland
6:00-7:00 Carriage Ride x2 at Winter Summerland
7:30-9:00 Dinner @ AP Would you swap this with Cali Grill - then you can see the firewks from the platform

Mon
8:00 Early Breakfast at the Wave or Grand Floridian Cafe
10:00 Jetski Tour see time qu above
11:00 Parasailing
1:30 Fishing from Contemporary You could do the 11:30am Fort segway here (not too hot in Nov) and do fishing later in the afternoon. Then your Wed Morning would be free for something
5:40 First Dinner at CA Grill (Eating just alittle of it and bring most of it back)
7:45 Second Dinner at Narcrosses (See above) Maybe make this a bit later?

Tues
8:00-9:00 EMH at EPCOT
9:30-12:30 Segway Tour at Epcot
12:50 Lunch at Le Cellier
Enjoy Epcot for the day What about "Behind the Seeds" tour?
6:00 Dinner at Flying Fish
9:00 Reserved Illuminations

Wed
8:30-10:30 Segway Tour from FORT I really loved this!
11:45 Lunch at Fultons
1:30-3:30 Fishing at DTD
6:00-7:30 Cirque
8:30 Dinner at Jiko

The next day I plan on not eating much and sleeping in. I know that having 2 dinners one right after another is nuts Your choice!but I really want to try these signature restaurants and not stay out too late b/c I got an early morning on Tuesday. Most of the food I will be taking back with me to eat as leftovers.
 

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