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

[nannette]

Congrats Nannette!

Did they indicate where your Fantasmic seating will be, by any chance?

I just looked at the itinerary and all it says is arrive 45 mins early and bring the voucher.

~Nannette

 

[joedog]

I am trying to figure out if it is worth it for us (me and DW) to do the one day Platinum Package.

I am retired military so the cost for us to get just a room in September at Contemporary or Polynesian for one night is $283.00 & 259.00. The cost for the same room with Platinum Package is $1107.00 & $1068.00, which is a just over $800.00 increase.

If we got the package the things that we would try to do are La Nouba, Fireworks Cruise, Fantasmic, Spa Treatments (both for her), Spirit of Aloha and Hoop-de-do Dinner shows with maybe some tours/water sports thrown in where possible.

Does the above seem like too much to try to do in 2 days, mid-week? While we both like good food eating is not our priority.

Anyone have any opinions / advice if this is worth the money / doable. We would not have a car and would have to use Disney and taxis to get around.

Thanks in advance for your help.

Joe

 

[Sugarglider]

I am trying to figure out if it is worth it for us (me and DW) to do the one day Platinum Package.

I am retired military so the cost for us to get just a room in September at Contemporary or Polynesian for one night is $283.00 & 259.00. The cost for the same room with Platinum Package is $1107.00 & $1068.00, which is a just over $800.00 increase.

If we got the package the things that we would try to do are La Nouba, Fireworks Cruise, Fantasmic, Spa Treatments (both for her), Spirit of Aloha and Hoop-de-do Dinner shows with maybe some tours/water sports thrown in where possible.

Does the above seem like too much to try to do in 2 days, mid-week? While we both like good food eating is not our priority.

Anyone have any opinions / advice if this is worth the money / doable. We would not have a car and would have to use Disney and taxis to get around.

Thanks in advance for your help.

Joe

Well Joedog - your question is the very purpose of this thread.

You could save money by staying at a cheaper resort than Poly - that room rate is pretty high - but obviously I don't know what type of room or the season when you are travelling.

The monorail resorts do give the benefit of ease of transport if you do not have a car. However, Fantasmic, Hoop de do and La Nouba do require further transport.

I recommend you decide your purpose - do you simply want to get a lot of stuff for the best value? or were you going to do these things anyway, and this is the best way to purchase? Are you prepared to do everything in only two days rather than spreading your activities across your stay? btw mid week is the best time to do the package cause the most activities are running.

If you were not planning on doing these activities then it is a false saving. yeah you got the activities, but you've spent $800 more buying stuff you really didn't want.

you can use this thread, the WDW site, wdwinfo site attached to this board and mousesavers to work out the activities you may want to do and what they cost so you can compare.

Be prepared that you have to plan and schedule everything - are happy to do that level of detail?

Have fun investigating your options, don't get caught up in the hype and remember what type of holiday you want.

 

[2ofUs]

joedog, ponder this to see if the Platinum Package would work for your September trip. Even though food/eating is not a priotity in your instance, 3 meals (all of which can be Signature dinning) are included, so if you HAVE to eat and it's PAID FOR, why not enjoy it the best you can?

September Room only:
Contemporary $283.00 -or - Polynesian $259.00.

Platinum Package:
Contemporary: $1107.00 - or - Polynesian $1068.00

To give you an idea of a workable itinerary for the Platinum Package, this information was pulled from an actual Platinum Plan trip report. For your experience, the days, resorts and transportation have been switched / tweaked a bit. Costs are include where known and estimated where not known:

DAY ONE: Check-in early & get KTTW keys, grab snack to eat on monorail to Epcot for Backstage Magic Tour ($487.78) a 7-8 hour tour with lunch at Whispering Canyon Café ($50). Tour ends back at Epcot.
Monorail to your resort; SHE heads for massage ($120), enjoys steamroom, showers, goes to room to rest. HE gets a resort shuttle to Richard Petty ride ($200?)! Both get ready for lovely dinner at Narcooses ($150) @ GF. Go out onto porch for the fireworks. After dinner, monorail back to resort & get some sleep!

DAY TWO: Treat yourself to ROOM SERVICE breakfast! ($60) Monorail to Epcot for Around the World Tour Segway ($180) - highly recommend this! If hungry after, grab a bite at Seasons in Epcot, monorail to resort, change for Sammy Duval for water activities (shuts down between noon and 1pm) Waterskiing lesson, deluxe tandem parasailing, etc. ($100-200). Back to room, shower, get ready for Grand Floridian photo shoot ($90?) You can eliminate this, but since you are all dressed up, why not get a picture?

Victoria and Albert's dinner EARLY seating ($250). You get a boxed rose and gift bag with date nut bread and your personalized menu when you leave. After dinner, back to photo stand, pick out pictures (extra $55 for photo CD of all the pictures from the shoot.)

Walk down GF pier to board Wishes Fireworks cruise ($346.14). There are others on boat, but it is pleasant and relaxing; returns you to Grand Floridian; monorail to your resort. Savoy the memories from 2 long, busy, but wonderful days at WDW!

Value: approx $1983.92; nearly $800 MORE than your cost to stay at Contemporary on Platinum Plan.

Also, consider that on the Platinum Pkg, Personalized Pre-Arrival Itinerary Planning is included. Itinerary Planners help you plan your vacation by arranging all your package activities, including dining reservations, golf tee times, Cirque du Soleil show tickets and theme park tours to help you get most from your Walt Disney World vacation. This can be very helpful. You simply provide them with the things you would most like to do/see/eat and they will get all the reservations made for you! How is that for service?

Based on our personal taste and the type of things we enjoy, here are some other possible activities we suggest that could offer an amazing experience, as well as getting the most value from your package:

Morning Activity choices:
Mentioned above, $487.78 Back Stage Magic Tour: 9am-4pm, fills the day and includes a TS lunch. We truly enjoyed visiting several theme parks to see what goes on behind the scene. Our tour began at Epcot and ended at MK as we walked along Main Street just moments ahead of the mid-day parade, then stood in a reserved viewing area by the fire station. We highly recommend this for a really nice day and lots of memories!

$270.00 Bass fishing: 7:00am-9:00am. Even if you are not a 'fishing' type person, you will enjoy an early morning on Bay Lake (tours are offered at the lake behind Epcot but we took the one from Contemporary). Nice to see the birds and feel the quiet morning air touch your face as you see WDW from an entirely different perspective. It is a catch-and-release. I do not fish, but found this to be a nice ‘bucket-list’ event.

$413.22 Dolphins in Depth Tour @ Epcot: 9:15-9:45 check-in, runs 9:45am-12:45pm. If you like this type of experience, (we have NOT done this yet) we have been told it is amazing.

Aqua Seas Tour @ Epcot: said to be very enjoyable. Not sure of price, but it is a good mid-morning options as well.
Mentioned above, $180.00 Segway tour @ Epcot a 2 hour experience offered at several start times ranging from 7:30 to 10:30? We LOVE this and do it on every trip. There is also a 2-hour off-road Segway tour offered from Ft. Wilderness @ 8:30am and 11:30am.

Lunch choices inside EPCOT: There are many good choices, these are just two
$100.00 Coral Reef: nice atmosphere, view of tank you just got out of; very good food.
$150.00 Le Cellier: cool, dark atmosphere, widely acclaimed food

NOTE: We had PH passes so we went to HS, rode our favorite ‘Tower of Terror’ then enjoyed lunch at Hollywood Brown Derby. The service is impeccable and the food is outstanding - such a nice luxury inside a theme park. We were celebrating an anniversary so they started our meal with a complimentary glass of champagne w/strawberries and brought out a lovely dessert after.

Evening Entertainment choices: We’d go for one of the Cruises, probably Wishes (have done several at Illuminations)

Mentioned above, $346.13 Fireworks 'Wishes' Cruise: (8:30 - 9:30pm) We have not done this specific cruise but have done the yacht fireworks cruises and LOVE the experience!

Admission to the Cirque du Soleil Show La Nouba: One admission per person - seating category 1 (front & center). Reservations required and may be made up to 180 days in advance. Theatre is dark Sundays and Mondays and certain other days during the year. Call (407) 939-7600 for more information or to make reservations. (Also dark 9/20-24/2011) $174.00 La Nouba : for a pre-dinner show, arrive 5:30, show 6:00-7:30pm; as an after-dinner show, arrive by 8:30, show 9:00-10:30) We've seen this several times and still LOVE this show.

Evening Meals:
Mentioned above, $200.00 Narcossee's or Citrico's @ GF: Both are great, we like Citrico's a bit more. Other options: California Grill @ Contemporary with amazing views even if not by a window; Artist's Point @ WL has a mountain retreat atmosphere with very good food & wines from NW vineyards.

Mentioned above, $250.00 Dinner at Victoria and Albert's @ GF: w/two seatings; do earliest to allow for night activities. This unique experience is something we plan to do ‘someday’ – it’s on my bucket list. Since it is very expensive but is included as a choice on the Platinum Pkg, now would be a great time to give it a try.

Spirit of Aloha and Hoop-de-doo Review: Both of these are family-style dining and show experiences. We are a couple in our 60’s and have done both. We found families really love these, but we are more draw to a well prepared, nicely served meal. We don't do that much here at home, so it has become our special treat when we travel. With these dinner show experiences we find too much food is served, with little to no choice as to what you get. Since neither was our 'cup of tea' we won't be doing them again, but they are a pleasant evening for a more relaxed meal.

Other things included with Platinum Package:
Magic Kingdom Park Tours
•Disney's Family Magic Tour (have not done this, more for families with children)
•Disney's Keys to the Kingdom (very good and includes lunch at CHH)
•Disney's "The Magic Behind Our Steam Trains" (excellent information, fun tour)
Epcot Tours•Behind the Seeds (a special greenhouse tour)
•Around the World at Epcot Tour (OUR favorite, repeat each visit)
•Simply Segway Experience at Epcot Tour (basic tour, above is better)
•The UnDISCOVERed Future World (on our list)
•Gardens of the World
•Epcot Seas Aqua Tour
•Disney's Dolphins in Depth Tour
•Epcot DiveQuest Tour
•Backstage Magic (EXCELLENT all day, behind the scenes tour with TS meal)
Disney's Animal Kingdom Theme Park Tours (both said to be great / can do both on same day)
•Disney's Backstage Safari Tour
•Disney's Wild by Design Tour
Disney's Hollywood Studios Tour: Inspiration: Through Walt's Eyes

Remember, the most important thing of all if you do the package - plan a NO-PARK day for the next morning and SLEEP IN if you can! You will need a day off - TRUST ME! Whatever you decided ENJOY your trip & say HI to Mickey for us.

 

[joedog]

Thanks 2ofUs and Sugargliders for your reponses.

This will be our (DW & my) first trip to WDW without kids. We decided to stay at the Polynesian because of my love for all things "Aloha" AND if we did do the Platinum package figured it would be good to have a hotel on the Monorail since we wont have a car.

Sugarglider, I understand completely your point about things I want to do and things I would do because I could, and what is and isnt a bargain.

What got me interested in the Platinum package was the idea of going on one of the Fireworks cruises. Doing research about that led me to the Platinum Package and this thread.

The things I would do this trip with or without the package are:

Fireworks cruise: $300.00

La Nouba: $232.00 (or $174.00 after possilbe Military discount)

(1) Day Park tickets: $170.00 (need this to add to 4 Day Military Ticket)

Spirit of Aloha Dinner: $112.00

That gets me to $814.00, which is about how much extra the Platinum Package would cost us so......it looks like a "no brainer" to me since I would be getting (4) more meals, a photopass CD, rides, tours and massages for free.

We will be at WDW from Sunday - Saturday and I was thinking, after I figured out the above pricing that it might be better to NOT do the Spirit of Aloha dinner show as part of the plan and instead do a signature restaurant dinner. I think that adds flexibility to one of the two plan nights.

So my question now is, should I try to work in priority seating for Fantasmic on one of the plan nights? We have never seen that show and would like to.

Does it sound doable to do Fantasmic and the Fireworks cruise on the same night or do they run at the same time in September?

What about early show La Nouba and then the cruise on the same night?
Are the signature restaurants open late enough to grab a meal there after the Fireworks cruise?

So many questions. So much prospective fun.

 

[Wall-E1]

Got everything except the Steam Engine Tour can't have that because I had it scheduled for Thanksgiving Day and there are no tours happening on Thanksgiving Day.
~Nannette

When I first read your post I panicked, as Thanksgiving is one of our premium plan days. I thought you meant there were no backstage tours going on that day at all. But I called yesterday, and have the Keys to the Kingdom tour booked for that day.

So my mostly booked plan(Hoop Dee Doo still is not taking reservations for November yet) looks like this:

Day 1 -

Around the World Segway Tour - 8:30 - 10:30 a.m.
Behind the Seeds Tour - 11:15 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Lunch at Tutto Italia - 12:30 - 1:30 p.m.
Sammy Duvalls (Parasailing, jet skies, water mice) - 2:30 - 5:00 p.m.
Cirque La Nouba - 6:00 - 7:30
Yachtsman Steakhouse - 8:15 - 9:30
Boardwalk Surrey Bike Rentals - 9:45 - 10:30

Day 2 -

Keys to the Kingdom - 8:30 - 1:30 p.m.
Archery at Fort Wilderness - 2:45 - 4:15 p.m.
Hoop Dee Doo - 5:00 - 7:00
Back to Magic Kingdom for evening extra hours till 1:00 a.m.

A couple of questions I have...

1. The Epcot Segway Tour - I could have booked the 7:45 segway tour. Is there any real advantage to booking the earliest one? The 8:30 one fits my schedule fine and allows us to wake up a little bit later, but if there is a compelling reason to do the earlier one, I would switch it.

2. Sammy Duvalls - I know this has probably been asked, but how far in advance do they book out? I know we probably don't need to book the water mice in advance. But for the jet skis and parasailing, do they take advance reservations?

Also, just a heads up for anyone booking the archery activity...
I was told that it was not a part of the premium plan. I told the agent that I thought that all Fort Wilderness activities were part of the premium plan. After I hung up, I checked Disney's online premium plan brochure, and sure enough it was listed. I called back and had the reservation agent speak with a supervisor. It turns out that since it is one of the newer activities, it is not listed in their system yet as being part of the premium plan. They had to make my reservation as if I was not using the premium plan. Then, they added a special note to the reservation explaining that I was on the premium plan and not to be charged.

 

[Wall-E1]

I just booked Artist Point as a back up in case I am unable to get Hoop Dee Doo for Thanksgiving dinner. I was deciding between Artist Point, Cinderella's Royal Table or Liberty Tree Tavern as my back up plan. Has anybody else had a Thanksgiving meal at any of these restaurants? Is Artist Point a good pick, or would you choose something else?

On a side note, I've been booking my dining reservations online. Is it okay to do it this way, or am I supposed to be booking directly with the reservation agent at Disney? I'm assuming the meals work like the regular dining plan, and the card has three dining credits a day.

 

[WheelieBigDisFan]

I have a question (probably not a quick one) for all you wonderful people on the Dis boards.
Starting off, this is my first post. I live in So. Cal and have a Premium AP for Disneyland, but have NEVER been to WDW. My friend has decided to take me to WDW for my birthday as a gift in Sept. We will be staying at either Saratoga Springs or the Boardwalk using a time share. Knowing this, will it be possible to add a Platinum Package to our reservations for a night, so that we can experience all the tours, signature dining, etc? I would love to do the Segway tour, a fireworks cruise, the seas tour at Epcot, get the professional photo package, the Dolphins, have some time at Sammy's for water activities, La Nouba, time at the spa for both of us (massage, facial?), etc.
I know that she has looked into the free DP while we are there. I don't want to bring this up to her as well if we won't be able to do it using time share. We will be there for 1 week and have a 1 week park hopper ticket with water parks.
Thanks
WheelieBigDisFan - Mandy

 

[papamouse1]

I have a question (probably not a quick one) for all you wonderful people on the Dis boards.
Starting off, this is my first post. I live in So. Cal and have a Premium AP for Disneyland, but have NEVER been to WDW. My friend has decided to take me to WDW for my birthday as a gift in Sept. We will be staying at either Saratoga Springs or the Boardwalk using a time share. Knowing this, will it be possible to add a Platinum Package to our reservations for a night, so that we can experience all the tours, signature dining, etc? I would love to do the Segway tour, a fireworks cruise, the seas tour at Epcot, get the professional photo package, the Dolphins, have some time at Sammy's for water activities, La Nouba, time at the spa for both of us (massage, facial?), etc.
I know that she has looked into the free DP while we are there. I don't want to bring this up to her as well if we won't be able to do it using time share. We will be there for 1 week and have a 1 week park hopper ticket with water parks.
Thanks
WheelieBigDisFan - Mandy

What exactly do you mean timeshare? Does your friend own DVC (Disney timeshare, basically), or are they renting DVC points from somebody?
It sounds like your friend is staying on DVC points (timeshare?) which means you would not be able to do the Premium or Platinum plan. You can only get those when you are staying on a cash reservation.

You can get the regular DDP plans as a DVC owner but not the high end plans.... sorry
Also, the free DDP is not available to DVC either.

NOw if your firend has booked this as some kind of RCI exchange for another timeshare somewhere else, and they are offering her free DDP, then there may be a chance you can get the Prem/Plat plans. Definitely worth calling them and asking

 

[WheelieBigDisFan]

NOw if your firend has booked this as some kind of RCI exchange for another timeshare somewhere else, and they are offering her free DDP, then there may be a chance you can get the Prem/Plat plans. Definitely worth calling them and asking

Thanks for your reply. I think this is what she is doing for this trip. She (and her mom) are planning on buying into DVC, but have not pulled the trigger yet. I think we will probably see the DVC tour at WDW since I have only done it here in CA. I would like to purchase one day too, but don't want to buy without seeing if that makes sense.
Anyways, she said her aunt owns timeshare and bought a bunch of points that are going to expire soon that she can't use. My friend is going to use her aunts points to take me to WDW for my b-day. She has already contacted Disney and found out we are eligible for the free DDP. I will ask her to call and see if we can get either the Premium or Plat DDP for some of the other excursions (or even if she is interested in the other activities that I would like to do).
Do you by chance know how much it would be per day to upgrade from the DDP to the Deluxe DP? I like the fact that the Deluxe DP has 3 meals a day and is not restricted to QS for 1 meal. While we are not big breakfast eaters, it would be nice to have the extra TS meals to use at Signature restaurants, room service (pizza, etc) and some of the other options that require 2 TS credits.
I am excited for my first trip to the World, and can't plan enough for it right now. Just looking at everything gets me more excited by the day.
Mandy

 

[let'sgo]

Does anyone know if the Premium Plan also includes admission to Jellyrolls? I thought someone said that it did, but I would like to verify that.

 

[sarahgirl]

Jellyrolls is not included.

 

[Lucky'sMom]

I am sitting here rather exhausted, but so happy after DH and I just returned this evening from our "No kids getaway!". This thread was so useful to my planning, that I wanted to return the favor and let you all know how it worked out for us.

Friday, May 27: We put the kids on the bus and left on 12:00 noon flight arriving in Orlando at 2:15. Took DME to our one-night stay at the Boardwalk Villas. The bus was there when we arrived at MCO, so we got right on our bus and made it to BWV shortly after 3. Our room was ready, but our luggage did not arrive w/in 3 hours, so we cleaned up the best we could, picked up our rental car, and had dinner at Raglan Road. Great food, great service and very good entertainment. Took a break and did some DTD shopping. Great night. Got to bed after 11, so we could get up early for our one-night Premium Package.

Saturday, May 28: Up at 6:00, got ready and drove to Caribbean Beach to check in for our one-night Premium. ( We had won the previous night's stay at BWV, so that is why we switched resorts). Check-in was friendly, no line at all, and our gift cards in lieu of the La Nouba tickets were waiting for us. We received 2-$85 gift cards...nice! Ate breakfast at Old Port Royale and got our refillable mugs. Drove to Epcot for our Around the World Segway tour. We got there around 8:25, so they let us on the 8:30 tour. This tour is awesome! Even the training for the first hour was fun. It was the most amazing experience to tour World Showcase on Segway! Little warning: this tour does make your feet ache! Mine were actually going numb on the sides. It would be hard to take another tour after this one. Our guides were great, and this was one of the most magical experiences I have ever had at WDW (over 25 trips!). Next was our lunch at San Angel. It was wonderful! We had an fabulous waitress, truly one of the best I have ever had (Junita?) and we took all of her recommendations on appetizers, entrees and dessert. So delicious! After lunch, we toured World Showcase, rode Soarin' and Test Track and took a break back at CBR before dinner. Dinner was at 7:05pm at Yachtman's Steakhouse. We were seated w/in 10 minutes of arrival, got drinks at the bar while we waited. The red sangria is wonderful! We split the tomato salad and cheese plate for appetizers. Dinner was fine, I don't really like steak too much, went here for DH. Desserts are TINY but delicious. Ended the evening at Jellyrolls. It was fun, but not as good as I remembered from my younger days.

Sunday, May 29: Up bright and early again at 6:15, breakfast at Old Port Royale using snack credits (3) - I got the chocolate croissant and sliced cantelope, DH just got a yogurt parfait and we used our refillable mugs. Barely made our Keys to the Kingdom Tour at 8:30 at MK. It was just slightly better than ok for us. Our tour guide was just a little dull. We felt like she over-explained things, obvious things. Lunch was very good at Columbia Harbour House, food was waiting for us upstairs when we arrived. This tour is tiring, esp in 90 plus degree heat. We had time afterwards for a snack from the bakery and then we put our feet up for a little rest at the Contemporary before our 3:30 parasailing. This was our first time, and I loved it, DH got freaked out. We went separately, fortunately, so he came down early. The wind was so strong, that they said if the winds were only one mile stronger, it would have been cancelled. I really enjoyed it, though. Then we went jet-skiing, also our first time. So fun! We then returned the rental car, got a ride back to CBR with only time to shower and change for dinner. Dinner was at 7:45 at Narcoossees. We took the Disney bus to MK, then got on the Grand Floridian ferry which lets you out right at the restaurant. Allow plently of time for this transportation! They were running 45 mins behind. Our dinners were delicious again, I had the crabcake appetizer (one of the best I've had), DH got the cheese plate again. For dinner, DH got the filet, I had the pasta with shrimp and scallops. I could only eat about a third of it. These 3 course meals are so fillling. DH had the almond cheesecake for dessert and I had the chocolate mousse dome (well, a few bits anyway). Wishes came on at 10pm, and we could see and hear it from our table. Beautiful! Even though we were exhausted, we went to the MK which was open until 3am. We only made it until after midnight. I was literally doing head bobs on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. The park was so busy. Lines were long. We were just too tired from our two full days.

Monday, May 30: Slept in until 8, DH until 9, got some breakfast at Old Port Royale again and took the DME back to the airport. We did not receive the DME papers on the door, so I had to call the front desk, stop at the front desk, stop at the conceirge desk, and then go the airline check-in desk to get our luggage on it's way and to receive our boarding passes.

This was one of the most special and magical WDW trips for me! DH and I haven't been away from the kiddos in probably 5 or 6 years. It was so nice to only worry about ourselves and just do what we wanted. WDW has amazing experiences awaiting for couples just as it does for families. It was so fun to try out new things and dine at new restaurants.

Happy Premium and Platinum Planning everyone!

 

[2ofUs]

The things I would do this trip with or without the package are:

Fireworks cruise: $300.00

La Nouba: $232.00 (or $174.00 after possilbe Military discount)

(1) Day Park tickets: $170.00 (need this to add to 4 Day Military Ticket)

Spirit of Aloha Dinner: $112.00

That gets me to $814.00, which is about how much extra the Platinum Package would cost us so......it looks like a "no brainer" to me since I would be getting (4) more meals, a photopass CD, rides, tours and massages for free.

We will be at WDW from Sunday - Saturday and I was thinking, after I figured out the above pricing that it might be better to NOT do the Spirit of Aloha dinner show as part of the plan and instead do a signature restaurant dinner. I think that adds flexibility to one of the two plan nights. That would be your BEST choice!

Should I try to work in priority seating for Fantasmic on one of the plan nights? We have never seen that show and would like to. I would encourage you to instead book a Fantasmic dinner package (we enjoy HBD, but it is Signature; Mama Melrose is our second choice) that provides a special seating area off to the RIGHT of the staging area, and arrive early enough in the line to be able to ask a cast memeber if you might sit toward the top. I cannot decend a long series of stairs w/o a hand rail (vertigo) so they have never refused my request. This way you can get a great view of the entire show and be amoung the first to exit.

Does it sound doable to do Fantasmic and the Fireworks cruise on the same night or do they run at the same time in September? September is more limited with earlier closing times and MNSSHP on Tues/Fri nights. I checked the September schedule of F! a don't see any way you could do both on the same night.

Better use of time and Platinum pkg would be Fireworks Cruise one night, early La Nouba followed by Signature dinner the other. You will have adequate time to get from La Nouba to most any Signature restaurant if you are driving or taking a taxi.

If you would be relying on Disney transport, it will be far more convoluted & time intensive. Note that in addition to several nice places in DTD, Portabello (not normally in DDP) is included in Prem and Plat plans.

What about early show La Nouba and then the cruise on the same night? MIGHT be doable, but I suggest you book the Platinum pkg, then discuss these options with the planner from Poly. They should be able to coordinate everthing for you, as well as securing all you priority meal choices - a BIG advantage to Platinum over Premium.

Are the signature restaurants open late enough to grab a meal there after the Fireworks cruise? If you don't mind late dinning, I'm sure you could get a ressie at GF, WL, or Contemp for 10-10:15, allowing time to disembark and arrive at the restaurant. I believe the Wishes cruises begin at GF (double check with planner) so Narcoossee or Citricos would be great choices.

So many questions. So much prospective fun.

Hope the information above helps. You are right about all the things to consider. By setting your ABSOLUTE MUST DO items in place first, you can build your itinerary from there.

By the way, the Steam Train tour at MK was great fun, relatively affordable (did OOP) and allows you to be the VERY FIRST GUESTS to arrive in MK - way cool experience - as you need to be AT the park entrance by 7:15am.

Because eating a meal this early is not really an option, we always pack protien bars, small boxes of raisins, cheese or peanut butter crackers, juice box, etc. Bottled water will be provided on this tour as well.

If you chose this on the Plat plan, know that you finish the tour at the train station with a Q&A session, so once you are given your 'tour' pin, you COULD slip out, catch a boat over to Fort Wilderness and have time to make the 11:30 Segway tour if that interests you.

You might grab a snack (fruit/ice cream/muffin) to eat on the boat to FW, which would hold you over until after the Segway tour (ends at 1:30).

For a late lunch, boat to Contemp @ WAVE, Poly @ Kona, WL @ Whispering Canyon. (If you do this OFF plan, they do have really good food at FW, also quite affordable.) This would be a good itinerary plan for your La Nouba night since a late lunch would hold you until your late dinner.

As you said - so MANY choices and possiblities. If you are a spreadsheet user, try putting together all possible options that interest you, then consider travel, dining and activity time. The best plan/options will start to pop out - I promise. And, as I said above, having the planner option with Platinum will REALLY be of benefit.

 

[2ofUs]

I am sitting here rather exhausted, but so happy after DH and I just returned this evening from our "No kids getaway!". This thread was so useful to my planning, that I wanted to return the favor and let you all know how it worked out for us.

Friday, May 27: 12:00 noon flight arriving in Orlando at 2:15. DME to Boardwalk Villas. where room was ready (luggage did not arrive w/in 3 hours) A good reason to pack 1 change of clothes in a carry on - happened to us too!, so we cleaned up the best we could, picked up rental car, had dinner at Raglan Road. Got to bed after 11, so we could get up early for our one-night Premium Package.

Saturday, May 28: Up at 6:00, drove to Caribbean Beach, checked-in for one-night Premium, got gift cards in lieu of the La Nouba tickets; breakfast at Old Port Royale and got our refillable mugs. Drove to Epcot for Around the World Segway tour. We got there around 8:25, so they let us on the 8:30 tour. This tour is awesome! This is a must-do for us on every trip - Prem/Plat or not!

Little warning: this tour does make your feet ache! Mine were actually going numb on the sides. It would be hard to take another tour after this one. We found that, once you are comfortable with the controls, it helps to stand on one foot while you bend the other knee for a few seconds, then alternate. Biggest help is to NOT hold the controls tightly - try using just fingers or fingertips - which keeps the entire body more relaxed. Watch the trainers and see how easy they move about. Takes a bit of practice to get rid of the nerves. You'll be much better NEXT time.

Lunch at San Angel; rest of day in EPCOT; back at CBR before dinner at 7:05pm at Yachtman's Steakhouse. Ended the evening at Jellyrolls. It was fun, but not as good as I remembered from my younger days. Never is, right?

Sunday, May 29: Keys to the Kingdom Tour at 8:30 at MK. It was just slightly better than ok. Our tour guide Do you remember her name? We had an older lady, great knowledge, but when we got into the utilidors - she carried on WAY too long - worst part of the tour! Lunch was very good at Columbia Harbour House. I agree - love the tuna but REALLY love the Hummus sandwich!,

This tour is tiring, esp in 90 plus degree heat. We had time afterwards for a snack from the bakery and then we put our feet up for a little rest at the Contemporary before our 3:30 parasailing ... then jet-skiing. Returned rental car, back to CBR, shower and change for 7:45 dinner at Narcoossees.

Took Disney bus to MK, got on Grand Floridian ferry which lets you out right at the restaurant. Allow plently of time for this transportation! - Single most important factor in planning a Platinum or Premium Plan!!! These 3 course meals are so fillling. Again, I totally agree! Didn't want to eat at all the day after our 2-day splurge!

Wishes came on at 10pm ... could see and hear it from our table. Beautiful! Even though we were exhausted, we went to the MK which was open until 3am. We only made it until after midnight. I was literally doing head bobs on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. The park was so busy. Lines were long. We were just too tired from our two full days. Now imagine trying to hit a park the next morning - or doing ANYTHING the next morning - if you were continuing your stay. Truly, one needs to plan a down-day following this 2-day schedule. Your body, mind and spirit will thank you.

This was one of the most special and magical WDW trips for me! DH and I haven't been away from the kiddos in probably 5 or 6 years. It was so nice to only worry about ourselves and just do what we wanted. WDW has amazing experiences awaiting for couples just as it does for families. It was so fun to try out new things and dine at new restaurants.

Good for you guys! Thanks for the great report. Now with all your experience, you can start planning your NEXT get-away ;~}

 

[sammi6]

Lucky's Mom..

Sounds like a FABULOUS trip

 

[Sugarglider]

great trip report Lucky's Mum. thank you for sharing

 

[papamouse1]

...Do you by chance know how much it would be per day to upgrade from the DDP to the Deluxe DP? I like the fact that the Deluxe DP has 3 meals a day and is not restricted to QS for 1 meal....
Mandy

I believe they simply charge you th difference between the 2 plans...
DDP is $45.99 / adult
DxDDP is $78.99

That's a $33 difference per adult

 

[Stjen981]

Hello

I have been lurking for a long time and rarely post, but thought I would post a quick review of our Platinum Plan 2 night stay over Memorial Day weekend!

My husband and I were celebrating our 1st anniversary. We live a couple hours north of Orlando and have annual passes but figured we could get quite a bit of extra value out of the Platinum Package, especially since we wanted to do V&A anyway. Since we live close, we had our car with us the entire time.

We stayed off-site on Friday night, May 27 and checked into the Wilderness Lodge around 9 am on Saturday morning. We had booked a standard view room, but were pleasantly surprised to find we had been upgraded to a CL room on the 7th floor. In addition, since La Nouba was dark during our stay, we received our gift cards instead.....and actually received some extra gift cards. I tried to give them back, thinking they were a mistake, but the CM told us to keep them! So we ended up with two extra gift cards (still not sure how or why that happened, but after I tried to give them back and was told to keep them I quit worrying about it )

We had booked the Aqua Seas tour for 12:30 on Saturday, so after storing our luggage (our room was not ready yet) and getting our mugs, we headed off to Epcot. We were early, so we walked around WS for a bit and had a snack before meeting our tour guide at 12:15. The backstage part of the tour wasn't that interesting to us (except the kitchen where the prepare the animals' food....my DH is a chef and finds any kitchen to be interesting) but snorkeling in the aquarium was awesome! My only previous snorkeling experience had resulted in me hyperventilating so I was nervous, but once I was able to relax and breathe normally through the regulator I had a great time! It was very relaxing and I really enjoyed being able to wave at the people eating in the Coral Reef and other guests viewing the aquarium. My DH was impressed that we got a "free" picture and a "free" drawstring bag and pin as well. Side note about this tour: don't forget your extra clothes! The locker rooms have showers and soap/shampoo, but I totally forgot to bring an extra change of clothes so had to put my wet swimsuit back on under my sundress. Oh well.

After the tour, we headed back to the hotel to shower and change. Then I headed over to the GF for my mani/pedi. DH went to the MK to get a haircut since he was feeling a little shaggy. The GF spa is nice, and I would have enjoyed having extra time to spend there. The manicurist did a nice job and was a good conversationalist, and I did get a free bottle of polish since I had the combo service. However, I feel I have had better pedicures at my local place. Since this was included in the package, it was fine but I might have been disappointed had I been paying for it.

I met DH at the Kona Cafe Sushi Bar after the mani/pedi. We enjoyed a couple of sushi rolls and some dumplings as a snack since dinner wasn't until 9:00. We had fun chatting with the sushi chefs and the other people at the sushi bar (DH has never met a stranger in his life!) and I had a quick Dole Whip from Captain Cooks.

After our snack, we went back to our room and got ready for dinner. Dinner that night was at V&A, the thing I had been looking forward to for weeks. As mentioned before, my DH is a chef and a serious food snob, and this experience did not disappoint. I had mentioned to the CM when I made the V&A booking that my DH was a chef, and we got some extra special treatment as a result. Our servers (Jack & Sherry) kept referring to him as "chef" and we were treated to an additional course of food (the lamb...one of the best things I've ever eaten) and a tour of the kitchen during the meal. I did elect to do the wine pairings with my dinner, and DH upgraded a couple of his courses, so we utilized our gift cards for the additional charge and the tip at this restaurant. We were both very impressed with dinner and service, and my DH has asked when we can go back to V&A again!

We were tired after dinner so went back to the WL. We did utilize the free valet parking (and actually ended up paying for valet parking the other two days) and found that to be a nice addition to our vacation

On Sunday, we did the Segway Around the World Tour at Epcot. We had signed up for the 9 am tour (DH likes to "sleep in") and were the only two people on the tour! Both the 8:30 and 9:30 tour were full, so who knows why we were the only ones at 9....but it was great! Our tour guides let us do some "extra" riding and we really got a personalized tour. It was especially fun to ride around and hear the comments the other guests were making about wanting to ride a Segway. I highly recommend this tour (and the Aqua Seas tour at that). The one thing I wasn't prepared for is how tired my legs were after the tour....I'm a fairly active person but we must have used weird muscles or something.

After the Segway tour, we went over to DHS for lunch and a look around. My DH is a Star Wars nerd, so we checked out the merchandise at Jabba's Hutt and he got his picture taken with C3PO. We had lunch at the Brown Derby. We love the Brown Derby and were not disappointed. My crab cake app was excellent and my DH's short ribs were meltingly tender. One of the things we really enjoyed about the Platinum Plan was being able to order pretty much whatever we wanted and not having to pay OOP (except for the occasional glass of wine). We frequently ordered bottled water and coffee at the end of the meal and were not charged for those, even though we had ordered soda or other non-alcoholic beverages with the meal. We expected to pay for any "extras" we ordered, but found we were never charged.

After lunch, we went back to WL. DH took a nap, and I had a massage at Sturdy Branches. I really enjoyed my massage and even fell asleep during it. I didn't actually know they had a health club at the WL prior to this trip but found it to be very convenient. I don't usually use the other "amenities" of a spa when I get a massage, so this worked out very well for me, since it was just downstairs from our room. I wouldn't go out of my way to come here for a massage, but since I was staying at WL it was perfect.

Dinner was at Artist Point. This was the one disappointing meal we had on the trip. The ambiance was just so-so and our meal was uneven (my pea risotto was great, but my salmon was overcooked. DH's veal was overcooked as well but he loved the truffled tater tots. Dessert was very good). Our server was good, however, and our meal was relaxed.

After dinner, we had a Wishes cruise departing from the GF. We enjoyed the view of the fireworks, but felt our boat driver was not well-spoken enough to be giving the tours. We told him at the beginning that we were frequent, repeat visitors, but he still insisted on telling us things that only a new visitor to WDW would want to hear (that is the Contemporary hotel....it's expensive, etc). Some of the things he said seemed to be slightly negative (example: people don't like staying at the Contemporary because it feels like a mall). We did have the boat to ourselves, but would have been very disappointed if we had paid OOP for this experience.

We did hit the MK for evening EMH that night, and headed back to the hotel around 2 am.

Monday we slept in. I was able to get us a late checkout so we had use of the room until 1 pm. I got up around 10 am and went to the pool while DH slept. When he got up, we took the Sea Raycers out on Bay Lake. DH really really enjoyed this. We were out for about 90 minutes and had a great time. After the Sea Raycers, we had lunch at Whispering Canyon. We were so full of food by this point that we ended up skipping dessert. WCC was ok but we didn't have super high expectations so that was ok.

After lunch, we went to the Richard Petty experience and my DH did the ride-along. He suffers from motion sickness and the g-forces of the curve made him a lurks nauseous. This was unexpected but he was still glad he did it. I got some great photos of him.

After that we went to DTD and went to DQ (we have PAPs). We were going to rent the boats again at DTD but it was hot so went to DQ instead. Afterwards we went to Fantasia Gardens and played a quick round of mini golf before dinner at the California Grill.

CG was great! We had a seat right by the window and got to watch the sunset over the MK. Our server was fantastic and we enjoyed our dinner. I had the spicy Kazan sushi roll and it was AMAZING. My pork/polenta entree was also very good and DH enjoyed his filet. He had the crab slider app and was very impressed. Dessert was wonderful as well. We watched the fireworks from our seat too.

Somehow we ended up with one extra meal credit so headed to DTD to grab a sandwich for the ride home. I realize this was not the best "bang for our buck" but wanted to use the credit rather than letting it go to waste.

All in all we had a great and relaxing anniversary weekend. We really enjoyed doing whatever we wanted and having it all paid up front. We didn't really do much at the parks but that was not the focus of this trip and we were surprised at how relaxed we were even though we had some things scheduled. We could have scheduled more (and gotten more for our money) but we wanted some down time and still felt like we got a fair value.

Our IPO person was able to get all the times and reservations we wanted even though we booked only six weeks out. We had no troubles with any of our reservations or credits although I am glad I understand how the system works. This plan could frustrating if you didn't.

All in all, we spent $1800 on the package (2 nights....) and if you include the room upgrade and the extra gift cards, we received $3940 worth of experiences/items for our money. We now have two one day base tickets to use for our AP renewals in the fall. We definitely felt we got our money's worth and are actually talking about doing this again next year . My husband loved feeling like a VIP and it was nice to go deluxe for a couple days. It was not an inexpensive weekend by any stretch of the imagination but we had a great time.

 

[let'sgo]

Hello

I have been lurking for a long time and rarely post, but thought I would post a quick review of our Platinum Plan 2 night stay over Memorial Day weekend!

My husband and I were celebrating our 1st anniversary. We live a couple hours north of Orlando and have annual passes but figured we could get quite a bit of extra value out of the Platinum Package, especially since we wanted to do V&A anyway. Since we live close, we had our car with us the entire time.

We stayed off-site on Friday night, May 27 and checked into the Wilderness Lodge around 9 am on Saturday morning. We had booked a standard view room, but were pleasantly surprised to find we had been upgraded to a CL room on the 7th floor. In addition, since La Nouba was dark during our stay, we received our gift cards instead.....and actually received some extra gift cards. I tried to give them back, thinking they were a mistake, but the CM told us to keep them! So we ended up with two extra gift cards (still not sure how or why that happened, but after I tried to give them back and was told to keep them I quit worrying about it )

We had booked the Aqua Seas tour for 12:30 on Saturday, so after storing our luggage (our room was not ready yet) and getting our mugs, we headed off to Epcot. We were early, so we walked around WS for a bit and had a snack before meeting our tour guide at 12:15. The backstage part of the tour wasn't that interesting to us (except the kitchen where the prepare the animals' food....my DH is a chef and finds any kitchen to be interesting) but snorkeling in the aquarium was awesome! My only previous snorkeling experience had resulted in me hyperventilating so I was nervous, but once I was able to relax and breathe normally through the regulator I had a great time! It was very relaxing and I really enjoyed being able to wave at the people eating in the Coral Reef and other guests viewing the aquarium. My DH was impressed that we got a "free" picture and a "free" drawstring bag and pin as well. Side note about this tour: don't forget your extra clothes! The locker rooms have showers and soap/shampoo, but I totally forgot to bring an extra change of clothes so had to put my wet swimsuit back on under my sundress. Oh well.

After the tour, we headed back to the hotel to shower and change. Then I headed over to the GF for my mani/pedi. DH went to the MK to get a haircut since he was feeling a little shaggy. The GF spa is nice, and I would have enjoyed having extra time to spend there. The manicurist did a nice job and was a good conversationalist, and I did get a free bottle of polish since I had the combo service. However, I feel I have had better pedicures at my local place. Since this was included in the package, it was fine but I might have been disappointed had I been paying for it.

I met DH at the Kona Cafe Sushi Bar after the mani/pedi. We enjoyed a couple of sushi rolls and some dumplings as a snack since dinner wasn't until 9:00. We had fun chatting with the sushi chefs and the other people at the sushi bar (DH has never met a stranger in his life!) and I had a quick Dole Whip from Captain Cooks.

After our snack, we went back to our room and got ready for dinner. Dinner that night was at V&A, the thing I had been looking forward to for weeks. As mentioned before, my DH is a chef and a serious food snob, and this experience did not disappoint. I had mentioned to the CM when I made the V&A booking that my DH was a chef, and we got some extra special treatment as a result. Our servers (Jack & Sherry) kept referring to him as "chef" and we were treated to an additional course of food (the lamb...one of the best things I've ever eaten) and a tour of the kitchen during the meal. I did elect to do the wine pairings with my dinner, and DH upgraded a couple of his courses, so we utilized our gift cards for the additional charge and the tip at this restaurant. We were both very impressed with dinner and service, and my DH has asked when we can go back to V&A again!

We were tired after dinner so went back to the WL. We did utilize the free valet parking (and actually ended up paying for valet parking the other two days) and found that to be a nice addition to our vacation

On Sunday, we did the Segway Around the World Tour at Epcot. We had signed up for the 9 am tour (DH likes to "sleep in") and were the only two people on the tour! Both the 8:30 and 9:30 tour were full, so who knows why we were the only ones at 9....but it was great! Our tour guides let us do some "extra" riding and we really got a personalized tour. It was especially fun to ride around and hear the comments the other guests were making about wanting to ride a Segway. I highly recommend this tour (and the Aqua Seas tour at that). The one thing I wasn't prepared for is how tired my legs were after the tour....I'm a fairly active person but we must have used weird muscles or something.

After the Segway tour, we went over to DHS for lunch and a look around. My DH is a Star Wars nerd, so we checked out the merchandise at Jabba's Hutt and he got his picture taken with C3PO. We had lunch at the Brown Derby. We love the Brown Derby and were not disappointed. My crab cake app was excellent and my DH's short ribs were meltingly tender. One of the things we really enjoyed about the Platinum Plan was being able to order pretty much whatever we wanted and not having to pay OOP (except for the occasional glass of wine). We frequently ordered bottled water and coffee at the end of the meal and were not charged for those, even though we had ordered soda or other non-alcoholic beverages with the meal. We expected to pay for any "extras" we ordered, but found we were never charged.

After lunch, we went back to WL. DH took a nap, and I had a massage at Sturdy Branches. I really enjoyed my massage and even fell asleep during it. I didn't actually know they had a health club at the WL prior to this trip but found it to be very convenient. I don't usually use the other "amenities" of a spa when I get a massage, so this worked out very well for me, since it was just downstairs from our room. I wouldn't go out of my way to come here for a massage, but since I was staying at WL it was perfect.

Dinner was at Artist Point. This was the one disappointing meal we had on the trip. The ambiance was just so-so and our meal was uneven (my pea risotto was great, but my salmon was overcooked. DH's veal was overcooked as well but he loved the truffled tater tots. Dessert was very good). Our server was good, however, and our meal was relaxed.

After dinner, we had a Wishes cruise departing from the GF. We enjoyed the view of the fireworks, but felt our boat driver was not well-spoken enough to be giving the tours. We told him at the beginning that we were frequent, repeat visitors, but he still insisted on telling us things that only a new visitor to WDW would want to hear (that is the Contemporary hotel....it's expensive, etc). Some of the things he said seemed to be slightly negative (example: people don't like staying at the Contemporary because it feels like a mall). We did have the boat to ourselves, but would have been very disappointed if we had paid OOP for this experience.

We did hit the MK for evening EMH that night, and headed back to the hotel around 2 am.

Monday we slept in. I was able to get us a late checkout so we had use of the room until 1 pm. I got up around 10 am and went to the pool while DH slept. When he got up, we took the Sea Raycers out on Bay Lake. DH really really enjoyed this. We were out for about 90 minutes and had a great time. After the Sea Raycers, we had lunch at Whispering Canyon. We were so full of food by this point that we ended up skipping dessert. WCC was ok but we didn't have super high expectations so that was ok.

After lunch, we went to the Richard Petty experience and my DH did the ride-along. He suffers from motion sickness and the g-forces of the curve made him a lurks nauseous. This was unexpected but he was still glad he did it. I got some great photos of him.

After that we went to DTD and went to DQ (we have PAPs). We were going to rent the boats again at DTD but it was hot so went to DQ instead. Afterwards we went to Fantasia Gardens and played a quick round of mini golf before dinner at the California Grill.

CG was great! We had a seat right by the window and got to watch the sunset over the MK. Our server was fantastic and we enjoyed our dinner. I had the spicy Kazan sushi roll and it was AMAZING. My pork/polenta entree was also very good and DH enjoyed his filet. He had the crab slider app and was very impressed. Dessert was wonderful as well. We watched the fireworks from our seat too.

Somehow we ended up with one extra meal credit so headed to DTD to grab a sandwich for the ride home. I realize this was not the best "bang for our buck" but wanted to use the credit rather than letting it go to waste.

All in all we had a great and relaxing anniversary weekend. We really enjoyed doing whatever we wanted and having it all paid up front. We didn't really do much at the parks but that was not the focus of this trip and we were surprised at how relaxed we were even though we had some things scheduled. We could have scheduled more (and gotten more for our money) but we wanted some down time and still felt like we got a fair value.

Our IPO person was able to get all the times and reservations we wanted even though we booked only six weeks out. We had no troubles with any of our reservations or credits although I am glad I understand how the system works. This plan could frustrating if you didn't.

All in all, we spent $1800 on the package (2 nights....) and if you include the room upgrade and the extra gift cards, we received $3940 worth of experiences/items for our money. We now have two one day base tickets to use for our AP renewals in the fall. We definitely felt we got our money's worth and are actually talking about doing this again next year . My husband loved feeling like a VIP and it was nice to go deluxe for a couple days. It was not an inexpensive weekend by any stretch of the imagination but we had a great time.

What a nice trip!. I'm so glad you posted what you did.