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

[Tiresius]

My mom and I (two active and adventurous adults) booked our one night Premium Plan for mid-trip in May but I'm starting to wonder if we have bitten off too much and will exhaust ourselves. We are staying a total of 10 nights, all at ASMusic (linked reservations so hoping not to have to move rooms). The original plan of the trip was to do the Expedition Everest Challenge on Saturday, May 7th, and then do both the D23 Scavenger Hunt and D23 Destination D event from Thursday to Sunday, May 12th-15th. We then had several free days in the middle to play with, and got excited about doing new things, so booked ourselves a night of Premium with a whole bunch of activities. Since many things don't run on Mondays (La Nouba, Spirit of Aloha, etc), we booked Tues to Wed to maximize our options. So here is our current schedule:

Fri (6th): Fly, arrive MCO 10pm
Sat (7th): Race Packet Pickup, Water Park, Expedition Everest 5K (race begins at 8:30pm and lasts as late as midnight)
Sun (8th): Flower and Garden Festival at Epcot
Mon (9th): 1 day to Universal to see Harry Potter
Tues (10th): Keys to the Kingdom, Parasailing, Jet Skiing, Portrait Session, Hoop Dee Do, Carriage Ride
Wed (11th): Segway Around the World (Epcot), Tutto Italia Lunch, Bass Fishing, La Nouba, Fulton's
Thurs (12th): D23 Scavenger Hunt
Fri (13th): D23 Scavenger Hunt
Sat (14th): Destination D
Sun (15th): Destination D
Mon (16th): Fly home, departing MCO 7am

This itinerary, despite being full of amazing things, is starting to sound exhausting. We don't want to give up any of the pieces, but are starting to think we might have to do so, or we won't make it. Does anyone have thoughts or suggestions? The premium plan in the middle of the trip is what looks the most tiring to me, so that's why I am posting in this thread. What can we do to this plan to make it fun rather than torture? We have talked about taking out Universal, but that would give us a rest day on day 3 of the trip, when we aren't yet tired/burnt out. I really don't want to re-book every element of the premium plan days, which I would have to do if I tried to change it to Mon-Tues (since La Nouba would have to switch to Tues and Hoop Dee Do would then have to move to Monday, and then everything else with those would have to move too) and change all of our room reservations.

What do others think? Am I just asking for trouble?

 

[O'BWV]

Hi All,

We just got back today from our week-long trip with a Premium package in the middle. I got so much great information from this thread I thought I would share our itinerary and how we made out. There were 5 of us, me and DH (both 50), DD (21), DS (17), and DD's BF (21)

Sun Jan 2 - check-in CR Garden View Wing Room Only
Mon Jan 3 - recheck-in for Premium Pkg at CR was able to keep same room

8:30 - 1:00 KTTK Tour - Great Tour with nice lunch
2:00 - 3:00 Jetskiing at CR - Big hit with my family
3:00 - 4:00 Water tubing @ CR - Also very popular with the family
8:00 - Preferred Viewing Wishes - Could never find the locale lol
8:30 - CRT Dinner - Very nice to do once,

Tues Jan 4 - Dropped off bags early in am for transfer to BC

8:30 - 10:30 - Segway Tour at FW - AWESOME
11:00 - 12:15 - Horseback Riding at FW - family enjoyed, I bailed
1:00 - 2:15 - Lunch @ The Wave at CR - Too fancy for us, but ok
2:15 - 3:30 - Parasailing @ CR - SEE BELOW
3:00 - 4:30 - Check-in @ BC & Photo session @ BC - See Below
6:00 - 7:30 - La Nouba - Fabulous
8:00 - 8:45 - Carriage Ride @ POR - cancelled due to rain
9:15 - Dinner Yachtmen Steakhouse @ YC - Great


We found the Premium package to be a really great, albeit exhausting thing! The value of it just can't be beat. Because we were five adults, I believe we got about $3500 worth of activities and meals for about $1600! And it was a surprise Christmas present for my kids and they LOVED the whole thing. I did, however, overbooked the second day and the only reason we fit it all in is because we actually didn't parasail.

My DH went up first and within two minutes his tow line broke!!! Very, very scary but DH was unharmed although he did land, fully dressed in the 59 degree Bay Lake. We got a raincheck for future parasailing (as if) and their emergency response was great! DH is bruised up a bit and I'm suffering from some PTSD, but it will be ok. I thank goodness my rational, very calm DH went up first because of his cool head there was a controlled rescue on the part of Duvall and Disney rescue boats. If it were me, or Heaven forbid, one of the kids, panic would have ensued. I can't say enough about how well Duvall's handled the situation, the driver acted immediately and the helper jumped into the icy water to save my DH who was still harnessed to the parachute. Ultimately though, we're unnerved it happened at all. Well like they say, all's well that ends well and off we went to check in at the BC to check-in and take photos with DH literally dripping wet, sneakers and all. The photographer took a handful of pictures and took pity on us and our scary story and soaking wet DH and she rescheduled us for the next morning. Very sweet young lady. If those two things didn't happen, I don't think our 2nd day would have worked at all and I would have had to skip an activity or two I think.

Well thanks again for all the advise, we'll definitely do this again if the package doesn't change.

If you have any questions, ask away


-Mary Rose

 

[maggiew]

My DH went up first and within two minutes his tow line broke!!! Very, very scary but DH was unharmed although he did land, fully dressed in the 59 degree Bay Lake. We got a raincheck for future parasailing (as if) and their emergency response was great! DH is bruised up a bit and I'm suffering from some PTSD, but it will be ok. I thank goodness my rational, very calm DH went up first because of his cool head there was a controlled rescue on the part of Duvall and Disney rescue boats. If it were me, or Heaven forbid, one of the kids, panic would have ensued. I can't say enough about how well Duvall's handled the situation, the driver acted immediately and the helper jumped into the icy water to save my DH who was still harnessed to the parachute. Ultimately though, we're unnerved it happened at all. Well like they say, all's well that ends well and off we went to check in at the BC to check-in and take photos with DH literally dripping wet, sneakers and all. The photographer took a handful of pictures and took pity on us and our scary story and soaking wet DH and she rescheduled us for the next morning. Very sweet young lady. If those two things didn't happen, I don't think our 2nd day would have worked at all and I would have had to skip an activity or two I think.


-Mary Rose

OMG!!!!! I can't believe it!!! I am so glad your DH is ok!!! We went parasailing this past summer and the whole time we were up in the air (we went tandem) I was thinking to myself, "What if the line breaks and we fall in the lake!!" I am so glad I did the parasailing before I read your story because I won't ever do it again.

Again, I am soooo glad your DH is ok. That had to be so scary for all of you.

Maggie

 

[disneyyes]

Sounds like you had a fantastic time!!!

What did you wear while jetskiing? Did you get very wet from the spray while on the Jetski? I did this back in July, but of course it was extremely hot and I didn't pay any attention at all to how wet we got . . . so now I'm wondering how it will be in January.

How scary about your DH's parasailing rope breaking . . . I am so glad to hear he's okay. I imagine that Sammy's staff will be sure to inspect their equipment very carefully in the future! And I don't think I'll share this little incident with my DH and DS, prior to our parasailing scheduled for next weekend at WDW!

Hi All,

We just got back today from our week-long trip with a Premium package in the middle. I got so much great information from this thread I thought I would share our itinerary and how we made out. There were 5 of us, me and DH (both 50), DD (21), DS (17), and DD's BF (21)

Sun Jan 2 - check-in CR Garden View Wing Room Only
Mon Jan 3 - recheck-in for Premium Pkg at CR was able to keep same room

8:30 - 1:00 KTTK Tour - Great Tour with nice lunch
2:00 - 3:00 Jetskiing at CR - Big hit with my family
3:00 - 4:00 Water tubing @ CR - Also very popular with the family
8:00 - Preferred Viewing Wishes - Could never find the locale lol
8:30 - CRT Dinner - Very nice to do once,

Tues Jan 4 - Dropped off bags early in am for transfer to BC

8:30 - 10:30 - Segway Tour at FW - AWESOME
11:00 - 12:15 - Horseback Riding at FW - family enjoyed, I bailed
1:00 - 2:15 - Lunch @ The Wave at CR - Too fancy for us, but ok
2:15 - 3:30 - Parasailing @ CR - SEE BELOW
3:00 - 4:30 - Check-in @ BC & Photo session @ BC - See Below
6:00 - 7:30 - La Nouba - Fabulous
8:00 - 8:45 - Carriage Ride @ POR - cancelled due to rain
9:15 - Dinner Yachtmen Steakhouse @ YC - Great


We found the Premium package to be a really great, albeit exhausting thing! The value of it just can't be beat. Because we were five adults, I believe we got about $3500 worth of activities and meals for about $1600! And it was a surprise Christmas present for my kids and they LOVED the whole thing. I did, however, overbooked the second day and the only reason we fit it all in is because we actually didn't parasail.

My DH went up first and within two minutes his tow line broke!!! Very, very scary but DH was unharmed although he did land, fully dressed in the 59 degree Bay Lake. We got a raincheck for future parasailing (as if) and their emergency response was great! DH is bruised up a bit and I'm suffering from some PTSD, but it will be ok. I thank goodness my rational, very calm DH went up first because of his cool head there was a controlled rescue on the part of Duvall and Disney rescue boats. If it were me, or Heaven forbid, one of the kids, panic would have ensued. I can't say enough about how well Duvall's handled the situation, the driver acted immediately and the helper jumped into the icy water to save my DH who was still harnessed to the parachute. Ultimately though, we're unnerved it happened at all. Well like they say, all's well that ends well and off we went to check in at the BC to check-in and take photos with DH literally dripping wet, sneakers and all. The photographer took a handful of pictures and took pity on us and our scary story and soaking wet DH and she rescheduled us for the next morning. Very sweet young lady. If those two things didn't happen, I don't think our 2nd day would have worked at all and I would have had to skip an activity or two I think.

Well thanks again for all the advise, we'll definitely do this again if the package doesn't change.

If you have any questions, ask away


-Mary Rose

 

[O'BWV]

Thank you Maggie and Disneyyes for your thoughts for my DH. I know it was just a fluke and I'm so afraid of parasailing anyway so surely this didn't help that fear of mine at all as you might imagine

They did say everything was going straight to the mechanic for a complete check over. And the reason we asked for the rainchecks is because my DH and my kids all still want to parasail when we return, just not this week

Anyway to answer the clothing question. We wore bathing suits while we went jetskiing. We had four jetskis (I rode tandem with DH). We all rode for an hour and didn't get a single drop wet.........UNTIL.......me and DH tipped over at the dock and went into Bay Lake (positively freezing). Our DS tipped his jetski and went in also so I'm glad we wore bathing suits.

The next day for parasailing, we were running late from lunch at The Wave so we sent our son out to Duvall's ahead and asked them if we could parasail in clothing. It was our intention to change into bathing suits but would have needed about 10 minutes to do so (we were between hotel rooms at that point). They said clothes were fine that we wouldn't get wet. Well so much for that Wear bathing suits! My DH loved the few mins of parasailing he managed to experience and he said it wasn't windy or cold up there. The temp was in the low 70s both days.

We had an absolute blast on our premium package and I'm sure you will too!

Thanks again!
Mary Rose

 

[gretchenohar@hotmail]

Hey all, I'm thinking about splitting up my 2-week stay in December with a 1-night Premium plan in the middle.

If I'm looking at this correctly, I'll have 3 meals, two snacks, a refillable mug, unlimited tours, and unlimited recreation.

I'm thinking I could go to the front desk early, get my new key, and start the first morning with the backwoods Segway tour, then head to the MK for the latest time on Keys to the Kingdom, then rent a water mouse on Bay Lake, then have a nice dinner, then go to Cirque that night.

Then the next morning, start off with the Steam Train tour, then have a nice breakfast somewhere, then maybe the family Magic Tour after breakfast and the Behind the Seeds tour that afternoon, or do the parasailing with Sammy Duval, then a nice dinner and finish off the 2nd evening with the Private Fireworks viewing area.

I have an annual pass, so I would just buy a 1-day ticket and put that away.

I'll be staying at the campground.

What do ya think?? Has anyone done this?? I'm a super frequent visitor, so park time is not huge for me, and I'm thinking this might be a fun couple of days __________________
I am in awe...
I don't know how you figure these things out! I'm no rocket scientist, but am a college graduate. After 3 years of going to WDW with many MONTHS spent trying to figure out the best deals, you come up with something like this! How do you do it?
I'm still working on whether an AP & TIW is a better deal than the DDP (or DxDDP); renting points via DVC - either with or without the DP; or staying CL and paying OOP for meals.....
Again - how do you do it? I'm spending hours on this and getting nowhere! Am I just dense?

 

[2ofUs]

I'm interested in doing the EPCOT segway tour at 8:30 - 10:30 and then the Aquaseas tour at 12:30 - 3:00 pm. What to do about eating lunch??? Most lunch places at EPCOT start at 11:30 at the earliest. That is not enough time? I'm afraid if we eat at 3:30, we won't want to eat dinner. I'm thinking about Yachtsman Steakhouse after Illuminations.

Maggie

I would encourage you to try for the FIRST (11:30) ressie at Coral Reef. They are VERY GOOD at getting people in/out quickly w/o actually feeling rushed. Also, you will be RIGHT THERE by the aquarium so all you have to do is walk around the building. If you show up early, the doors are open (I think) by 11:00 and they may even seat you early.

Remember you get 'appetizers' with the meals on these plans. Most places offer cheese trays and that is generally what I chose - often to go. Cheese holds up pretty well if it's not too hot out. OR you could request them to HOLD your appetizer or dessert until AFTER you end your Aquaseas tour. This location is very pleasant and relaxing and I found them wonderful to work with.

 

[2ofUs]

...I am going back to the World to try it again glutton for punishment, eh? , this time to experience both the Premium AND the Platinum plans! (each for just one night)

arrive on 1/12 and depart on 1/17 . . . Platinum 13/14 and Premium 15/16 scheduled for middle 4 days...staying at monorail resortentire time.

Thu., 1/13 (Platinum): Just DH and me
9:00 Backstage Magic tour (4.5-5 hours)
4:45 PhotoPass Portrait at Grand Floridian (before V & A's) (30 min)
5:30 Victoria and Albert's dining (2-2.5 hours)

Fri., 1/14 (Platinum): Just DH and me
8:00 Spa Massages at GF (have a car...can get to Epcot in time) (1 hr) Have you considered just taking the monorail from GF to EP? Should take less time than driving/parking/walking-in from lot.
9:30 Dolphins in Depth tour (2.5-3 hrs?)
1:05 Via Napoli lunch I am a bit proponant of Coral Reef, but you'll get great fish @ FF tonight! Have you eaten at Via Napoli before? I assume you're going to stay in the park this afternoon and enjoy World Showcase.
6:15 Flying Fish Dinner One of my favorite spots...enjoy!
8:30 Illuminations Cruise I belive they want you at the dock a minimum of 30 min prior to the cruise...FYI. Adding your son might be tricky, but I suggest you ask the IP that will help you with your Premium Plan. If you have the boat to yourself, I can't see that it would be a problem.

Sat., 1/15 (Premium): DH, DS, and me
7:45 Around the World Segway Tour at Epcot The tour last 2 hours and will get out at 9:45. You still have to get to the front of the park to the monorail and to CR. Don't think you'll be there in time for the 10am tour?
10:00 One-hour guided watercraft excursion at Contemporary
11:00 Deluxe Parasailing at Contemporary
12:30 Lunch, The Wave Taking a relaxing afternoon off? Perhaps you could move the watercraft excursion or Parasailing to after lunch - you'd be less rushed getting from EP and still have some open time prior to dinner.
6:45 Dinner - Fulton's, Downtown Disney Great food, great entertainment!
9:00 Cirque du Soleil

Sun., 1/16 (Premium): DH, DS, and me
9:30 Keys to the Kingdom Tour (4.5-5 hours, out by 2:30 at the latest)
afternoon ???
There's an NFL Playoff Game. . . (DS and I are open to another activity but I'm sure DH will want to see the game) My DH is the same way, but usually gives in to the Magic of Disney when there! Suggestions anyone? Too late for any other tours. Horseback riding or archery are options. There is also minture golf. Maybe just rest a bit and go back into MK - gather some FP for tonight?Maybe horseback riding?
7:30 dinner at Narcoossee's Another great dinner spot. Depending on timing, nice to watch fireworks from the deck.
Perhaps after dinner we'll relax awhile then head into Magic Kingdom for a few late-night rides, since it's open until 2:00 a.m. Really? 2am on a JANUARY night? I'm surprised and impressed. Enjoy.

Yes, I'm a little nervous about scheduling so many activities and I hope my crew doesn't decide to mutiny!

Here are some things I was wondering . . .

For the Photopass portraits, do the photographers ask where you want to have your pictures taken, or do they have a set 'routine' of places at the resort to take the photos? They have LOTS of suggestions and will accommodate your requests as well.

Our son is arriving late Friday afternoon and will be eating at Flying Fish with us. Is there a possibility that I could arrange to have him join us on the Illuminations Cruise if there's room (at a cost, of course)? see comment above

Anyone with a bad back ever do the watercraft/jetski excursion? Just wondering how much bouncing there is on the jetski and if that is aggravating to someone with disc problems. We didn't do it, but DH has a back problem and has done jetski on a lake here in Kansas. Only problem he had was some turbulance caused by a coupld of speed boats.

Any suggestions on where to watch the football playoff games, other than ESPN at Boardwalk? I would think ESPN would be just too crowded during the playoffs. I'm sure it will. You might ask your IP when they are helping you plan the Platinum pkg. Maybe some of the resort lounges? Lots of big screen TVs around, but you probably want one by a bar for DH

Disneyyes

Glad to hear you are brave enough to try it again. Your plan sounds nice overall, and it looks like you built in some nice down-time. As expressed above, my biggest concern is your timing between the Segway tour and your watercraft tour.

Enjoy and let us know how everything works out!

 

[2ofUs]

My mom and I ... one night Premium Plan mid-trip in May... staying 10 nights at ASMusic .

Original plan of the trip: Expedition Everest Challenge Saturday, May 7;
D23 Scavenger Hunt and D23 Destination D events Thu-Sun, May 12-15.
Several free days in middle ... booked Premium Tues/Wed ... current schedule:

Fri (6th): Fly, arrive MCO 10pm get to ASM, checked in and in bed by 12:30-1am?

Sat (7th): Race Packet Pickup, Water Park, Expedition Everest 5K (race begins 8:30pm and lasts as late as midnight)

Sun (8th): Flower and Garden Festival at Epcot We could spend an entire week here; wonderful event.

Mon (9th): 1 day to Universal to see Harry Potter Plan to arrive very early and still stand in a long line. This is extremely popular; the venue area is not very large; Universal resort guests get priority entry - need I say more?

Tues (10th): Keys to the Kingdom, (4.5-5 hour tour & includes CS lunch)
Parasailing, Jet Skiing - suggest moving to tomorrow - select LATEST KTTK tour @ 9:30 so you can sleep in; take a mid-day break after; chose first HDDR w/carriage after; either drop portrait session or set it for tomorrow.
Portrait Session, Hoop Dee Do, Carriage Ride This is a BUSY but doable day. I added suggestions in blue that might make it more managable. If you still want to do Bass fishing, move it to 7am, ask them to drop you at the MK dock and you can still get to 9:30 KTTK, out by 2:30. Move your water sports tomorrow afternoon.

Wed (11th): Segway @ Epcot (2 hours), Tutto Italia Lunch,
Bass Fishing (2 hours) Can get HOT in afternoons depending on time of year. Suggest you either move or DROP this tour, pick a spot for your Photo session & do it after a break and before La Nouba.
La Nouba, Need to be there by 5:30 at latest for 6pm show. If you do latest Bass tour, I'm not sure you'll have time. Fulton's

Thu (12th) - Fri (13th): D23 Scavenger Hunt
Sat (14th) - Sun (15th): Destination D

Mon (16th): Fly home, departing MCO 7am Exhausted but with TONS of memories!

Premium plan in middle looks the most tiring - Yep! so that's why I am posting in this thread.

What can we do to this plan to make it fun rather than torture? Drop Bass Fishing; move water activities to second day -

Talked about taking out Universal, give us rest on day 3 when we aren't yet tired/burnt out. Really don't want to re-book every element of Premium days ... or change all of our room reservations. Then don't re-book. Keep what you have and drop some such as Bass Fishing, and consider changing times on the KTTK & Segway tours. Water sports should be pretty easy to change times as needed, but keep your La Nouba, HDDR, Foulton's, etc. as they are.

What do others think? Am I just asking for trouble? Nope, just asking for help - and that's what we are here for.

You have an extremely aggressive trip planned. If there are things on the Premium plan you'd like to try (KTTK, Segway, La Nouba) then by all means do them. However, if you have seen/done HDDR, consider doing a nice meal at Signature dining instead. This will allow more flexible timing and be less tricky transport-wise. We LOVED our Citricos meal (GF) and also enjoyed diner at Artist Point (WL). Signature dining generally offers more availability, too. Perhaps just pick a nice spot at a resort the 2 of you have always wanted to visit?

Foulton's is fine on you La Nouba evening, but you also have choices such as Portabella's, which is not available on normal WDW dining plans. Think about the experience the 2 of you wish to share. After all, it is the MEMORIES of the activities you'll have at the end of the trip. Tired travelers generally don't make good memories. By choosing selectively (example: DH & I don't really enjoy water sports-didn't do any) and allowing BREAKS between, you'll have a great time even if you do get a bit tired.

 

[2ofUs]

[I am in awe...
I don't know how you figure these things out! I'm no rocket scientist, but am a college graduate. After 3 years of going to WDW with many MONTHS spent trying to figure out the best deals, you come up with something like this! How do you do it?
I'm still working on whether an AP & TIW is a better deal than the DDP (or DxDDP); renting points via DVC - either with or without the DP; or staying CL and paying OOP for meals.....
Again - how do you do it? I'm spending hours on this and getting nowhere! Am I just dense?

Ha! Love your response. Actually, the poster to whom you responded had overlapping times on some of the activities and the schedule would not have worked.

That being said, MANY people on this thread have been able to plan out some great itineraries using the 1-day Premium or Platinum packages. I'm sure if you gave it some thought (forget the details - gaze at the big picture for a while) you could chose a few things you've always wanted to do but found them too expensive or too unique for your regular WDW trips.

That is what started this thread in the first place. An experienced WDW visitor thought through a way to get a lot done for a reasonable price (thanks ckelley!) Even Mary from Mousesavers.com has found this thread and drawn great inspiration from the suggestions offered.

I put my spreadsheet skills to work and laid out several itinerary choices for our trip, then gathered input from my DH (whose input consided of smiles, shrugs and an occassional 'whatever you decide is fine with me, honey, just as long as we do it together'). I completed my plans and made most ADRs by March for our September trip.

After a few tweaks, everything was set by August. Once we began our Thu/Fri adventure, we made one tour change - dropped FW Segway in favor of EP Segway due to travel time. Everything went smoothly for the most part and we were ready for our 'down day' on Saturday.

Would we do it again - ABSOLUTELY. Will we do things a bit differently - CERTAINLY, but only to gain new experiences, and that means we will probably be doing the Premium plan.

Yes, you do get a lot of value for the money paid, but NOTHING is free. We certainly had to budget for much larger tips w/Signature dining. I suggest looking ONLY at choices in which you have an interest. Don't select something & squeeze it into the itinerary simply because it adds value to the plan. For example in our case we could have worked in a bunch of water sports or a photo session, but it didn't interest us. We did add Bass fishing for the unique experience, but just this one time.

I do understand your challenges - we often rent DVC points, sometimes adding DDP or DxDP (on short visits). We also stay off-site on longer visits to save funds and give us more room (2 bdrms) and money-saving dining options (coupons for local dining, a few meals cooked in a full kitchen). Each trip has it's own value/experience advantages - that's probably what keeps us coming back.

 

[PureTcrazy]

I would encourage you to try for the FIRST (11:30) ressie at Coral Reef. They are VERY GOOD at getting people in/out quickly w/o actually feeling rushed. Also, you will be RIGHT THERE by the aquarium so all you have to do is walk around the building. If you show up early, the doors are open (I think) by 11:00 and they may even seat you early.

Remember you get 'appetizers' with the meals on these plans. Most places offer cheese trays and that is generally what I chose - often to go. Cheese holds up pretty well if it's not too hot out. OR you could request them to HOLD your appetizer or dessert until AFTER you end your Aquaseas tour. This location is very pleasant and relaxing and I found them wonderful to work with.

We did both of these tours and you have to be at Aqua Seas early and it meets outside the gate. We grabbed a snack at Sunshine Seasons. Of course, we had room service breafast before we went on the segway tour. If they don't get adr's til 11:30, It will be almost impossible to eat and then make it to the front gate in time.

 

[maggiew]

We did both of these tours and you have to be at Aqua Seas early and it meets outside the gate. We grabbed a snack at Sunshine Seasons. Of course, we had room service breafast before we went on the segway tour. If they don't get adr's til 11:30, It will be almost impossible to eat and then make it to the front gate in time.

Since you did both of these, is it worth it to do these at the sake of not eating a decent lunch until 3:30 or so? We would probably use one of our snack credits for something small in between the 2 tours. I want to do the Segway tour regardless. I would drop the AquaSeas tour if I had to drop one.

Thanks,
Maggie

 

[maggiew]

Would you do the premium package on July 4?

We plan to go to Universal July 6 - July 13. I wanted to do a 1 night premium plan either before or after the Universal part. I was leaning toward doing it before Universal. We plan to have a slow, lazy trip to Universal (staying onsite and spending 7 days). So I thought it would be better to do the Premium plan BEFORE. But that makes it July 4 and 5. I was thinking of doing the Keys to the Kingdom tour on the 4th. Dinner someplace nice. Then priority viewing for fireworks? Do you think it would be a madhouse or do you think it would be a way to get around the madhouse??

By the way, we have been to Disney 2 times before for July 4th. We followed TGM's plan and had wonderful trips! So I know what it is like at the 4th of July. But we usually avoid MK that day!!

Maggie

 

[SnowWhite33]

That looks so fun! I did the premium pkg in Sept with the professional photos taken at the GF. The photographer I got was very nice, and will take whatever suggestions you have--do you want all indoor photos/all outdoor/or some of each? Is there a theme you are interested in? He had done quite a few photo pkgs there and seemed to know the best places if you just want to leave it to him. I got a variety both indoors and out, and let him decide where to take the pictures. I then ended up buying the CD with all the pictures on it ($50 additional)I also did the jetski tour. You have to sign a waiver before going and they don't recommend it for people with back trouble, but since you can go as fast or as slow as you want, you can somewhat control how much bouncing around you get. When I went I was the only one on the tour, and it was fun! I can't say whether it would be ok for you or not with your disc problem, though. Maybe you could ask your doctor if it would be ok.

I'm also debating whether to do another premium pkg this year or try the platinum. Your platinum pkg looks alot like what I was thinking of. Let me know how you liked the tours and how it all works out. (I'm hoping that will help me decide how to go.)

Thanks, and have a great time!

Do you know about how many pictures you got on the CD? Were you on Premium or Platinum Plan? We will be on the Premium plan and I'm a picture junkie-I already know that I'm going to have a hard time picking out which pics I want for my print package. If I can get a decent amount of pictures on the CD $50 is completely worth it for me, I just thought it was only available on Platinum . TIA!

 

[kungaloosh22]

Since you did both of these, is it worth it to do these at the sake of not eating a decent lunch until 3:30 or so? We would probably use one of our snack credits for something small in between the 2 tours. I want to do the Segway tour regardless. I would drop the AquaSeas tour if I had to drop one.

Thanks,
Maggie

We're planning the same 2 tours and I've been pondering this myself. I thought long and hard about Coral Reef, but we've eaten there 2 or 3 times at the first 11:30 seating, and we were never seated very quickly. I can't imagine getting seated, appetizers, main course, plus dessert, then getting out of there and to the front gate by 12:30, much less if you need to be there early.

 

[maggiew]

Would you do the premium package on July 4?

We plan to go to Universal July 6 - July 13. I wanted to do a 1 night premium plan either before or after the Universal part. I was leaning toward doing it before Universal. We plan to have a slow, lazy trip to Universal (staying onsite and spending 7 days). So I thought it would be better to do the Premium plan BEFORE. But that makes it July 4 and 5. I was thinking of doing the Keys to the Kingdom tour on the 4th. Dinner someplace nice. Then priority viewing for fireworks? Do you think it would be a madhouse or do you think it would be a way to get around the madhouse??

By the way, we have been to Disney 2 times before for July 4th. We followed TGM's plan and had wonderful trips! So I know what it is like at the 4th of July. But we usually avoid MK that day!!

Maggie

Nevermind. The keys to the kingdom tour is not offered on July 4. But I could do the EPCOT Segway tour.

The CM on the phone told me that the AquaSeas tour is not included in the premium plan. Has anyone actually done that tour on the Premium plan??? I thought I had read that people have done that.

Maggie

 

[Zife]

Since you did both of these, is it worth it to do these at the sake of not eating a decent lunch until 3:30 or so? We would probably use one of our snack credits for something small in between the 2 tours. I want to do the Segway tour regardless. I would drop the AquaSeas tour if I had to drop one.

Thanks,
Maggie

We're planning the same 2 tours and I've been pondering this myself. I thought long and hard about Coral Reef, but we've eaten there 2 or 3 times at the first 11:30 seating, and we were never seated very quickly. I can't imagine getting seated, appetizers, main course, plus dessert, then getting out of there and to the front gate by 12:30, much less if you need to be there early.

We're doing the same 2 tours for our trip in Oct. W plan on doing an early breakfast (before the ATW tour, probably at Grand Floridian Cafe), doing the late ATW tour, grabbing a snack (probably at the bakery), then doing the Aqua Tour.

We were thinking of trying to squeeze a lunch in there, but thought we'd probably be too full to really enjoy the Aqua Tour directly after. Luckilly, we're there during F&W, so we'll do a bunch of snacks after the Aqua Tour for 'lunch' since our supper will be the latest possible seating at V&A.

 

[maggiew]

OK. Revised Plan.

July 3 room only

dinner Kona 6:55
Poly Beach for preview of 4th of July Fireworks


July 4 Day 1 premium plan (Monday)

EPCOT Segway 8:30 - 10:30
Tutto lunch 11:30
Surrey bikes
Yachtman steakhouse 5:45
Priority Viewing Illuminations 9 pm


July 5 Day 2 premium plan (Tuesday)

Keys to the Kingdom Tour 8:30 - 1:30
Jet Skiing
Water Tubing
Fultons 6:40 pm
La Nouba 9 pm


How does that sound?? Do you think there is time to go back to the room to shower and change for our Fulton's reservation if we do the watersports?

I was tempted to do the first day totally not in a park to save the 1 day ticket. But these are our only 2 days at Disney (we are spending our time this year at Universal) So I was thinking I would regret not seeing my favorite EPCOT. But it does cost us about $350 more.

Maggie

 

[ihave4kids]

We are doing the platinum plan the same two days July 4th and 5th!! Have fun. It should be a blast.

 

[disneyyes]

Leaving today for a one-night platinum and then a one-night premium stay. When I return I'll let you know if we survived!