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

[toddlermickey]

Thanks for all the info on this thread.

Still need help

We arrive on Thurs Sept 16 and will be in the world by about 2:00 we could use our GAD pass that day. We also might upgrade to an annual pass.. leave on Sept 26 at about 3:00.

We have a GAD pass.
I already booked for POP with 10 day park hoppers tickets plus upgraded to Deluxe dining. Total cost for 2 people is $2,572.06

Please help me plan to use 1 day preminum plan. We don't care where in the vacation we do this. would like to go to Cique and a few tours. When I book different reservations do I have to pay $200.00 deposit for each one. I think I would have to do 3. Please help us get the most for our money.

Thanks,

Sylvia

 

[weHEARTmickey]

Thanks for all the info on this thread.

Still need help

We arrive on Thurs Sept 16 and will be in the world by about 2:00 we could use our GAD pass that day. We also might upgrade to an annual pass.. leave on Sept 26 at about 3:00.

We have a GAD pass.
I already booked for POP with 10 day park hoppers tickets plus upgraded to Deluxe dining. Total cost for 2 people is $2,572.06

Please help me plan to use 1 day preminum plan. We don't care where in the vacation we do this. would like to go to Cique and a few tours. When I book different reservations do I have to pay $200.00 deposit for each one. I think I would have to do 3. Please help us get the most for our money.

Thanks,

Sylvia

Yes, you have to pay a $200 deposit for each. In our case, we had 1st night room-only at POP & it ended up being about $90, so we just paid the $90 in full, instead of a $200 deposit. (The 2nd night is premium, then the rest is regular...so those 2 required $200 each) Grand total was around $490.

Keep in mind...if you put your premium pkg in the middle somewhere. That means you'll have to do a 5 day MYW in the beginning + 4 day MYW in the end (this is an example.) The shorter your MYW tickets are, the more expensive they are per day...

 

[IMGONNABE40!]

Sylvia

I would check in on 9/16 for 8 nights with the dining and the 10 day hoppers. On 9/24 check in with the premium plan. You can save the required ticket for a future trip. Make a room only reservation for 9/25. If you have saved a day on your 10 day hopper, you can use that on 9/26 if you want to go to the parks. Otherwise, you have the GAD. You can also use the GAD earlier in the trip to get FP's instead of using it as a park ticket.

 

[weHEARTmickey]

Probably a stupid question, but I can't find the answer What meal courses do you get w/ the premium pkg? I know we can eat at 3 signature restaurants, but do we get appetizers, entrees, & desserts? Or is it just entrees & desserts? Thanks

 

[toddlermickey]

I think we will go with:

Sept 16 Room only at POP and use our GAD pass Pay out of pocket for dinner.
Sept 17 Premium Dining at pop
Sept 18-26 MYW park hopper tickets with free dining upgraded to deluxe.

Hopefully this won't cost a ton more money.

Thanks for all the help,

Sylvia in MN

 

[weHEARTmickey]

I think we will go with:

Sept 16 Room only at POP and use our GAD pass Pay out of pocket for dinner.
Sept 17 Premium Dining at pop
Sept 18-26 MYW park hopper tickets with free dining upgraded to deluxe.

Hopefully this won't cost a ton more money.

Thanks for all the help,

Sylvia in MN

Congrats on your decision! By the way, those are the EXACT dates we vacationed at WDW last year

 

[Symans3honeybees]

Probably a stupid question, but I can't find the answer What meal courses do you get w/ the premium pkg? I know we can eat at 3 signature restaurants, but do we get appetizers, entrees, & desserts? Or is it just entrees & desserts? Thanks

Yes, with the Premium plan, you are entitled to have an appetizer, entree, and dessert plus your non-alcoholic beverage.

 

[2ofUs]

I think we will go with:

Sept 16 Room only at POP and use our GAD pass Pay out of pocket for dinner.
Sept 17 Premium Dining at pop
Sept 18-26 MYW park hopper tickets with free dining upgraded to deluxe.

Hopefully this won't cost a ton more money.

Thanks for all the help,

Sylvia in MN

You might reconsider doing as IMGONNABE40 suggested. By getting your 10-day passes at POP, then buying the 'requisite' 2-day for the rest of your stay, you won't really be spending much more, and can hold/upgrade the 2-day pass for a later trip.

They would also be good if you every stay off-premise or with DVC rental points or as credit toward an AP if that is your plan.

The only way this wouldn't be a better plan is if you ONLY travel to WDW using package programs that will always require purchasing park passes of some sort.

As for the GAD, you can use these for Fast Passes to insure you get to the 'front of the line' at a variety of rides. One GAD allows 6 (may be only 4, but generally it is 6) Fast Passes PER PERSON in your group of up to 6 people.

FOR INSTANCE: Say there are 4 people in your group, use ONE GAD per day and have guaranteed FP in whatever park you go to that day, then repeat for the next ... and the next ... and the next! This is actually a good deal, even in a non-busy season. Think of the time you will save since you can ALSO gather regular FP since the GAD passes are NOT linked into the FP system!

Also, when using the Premium package, you can easily fill a day without using a park day. If you plan to do FW Segway, horseback riding, archery, any of the water sports, photo session, golf, La Nouba, HDDR - NONE of those are in parks. And the MAJORITY of Signature dining is located in resorts. Then there are places such as Portabello (not on regular dining plans), Fultons, and Wolfgang Puck Cafe being in DTD. This would insure you have plenty of PH days available for your trip.

By doing Premium at the end of your visit, you will certainly go home exahusted - but with GREAT memories! We are doing ours at the beginning of the trip due to staying 3-days off-premise then 3-days @ DVC and have allowed a full day of rest with NO PARKS for the day after the Premium expires. But then, doing an off-day mid trip is always a good idea.

Just a thought...

 

[2ofUs]

Whichever method you use, you're are still getting a great trip - especially with the addition of the Premium package!

 

[2ofUs]

Anyone have a suggestion as to which fireworks cruise is better, in their opinion? I've seen wishes from up close, and also from the Cali Grill, so I'm leaning towards Epcot since you'd be pretty much right on top of the show, but maybe the pyrotechnics and/or smoke is an issue.

I have done the Illuminations several times. All boats park under the bridge that passes between UK and FRANCE. On a busy night there can be 6 or more boats. If the guy stearing YOUR boat (do you call them 'captain' or driver?) is really GOOD they will make sure your boat is at the FRONT of all the other boats so you have better visability.

That being said, no matter where your boat is, it's STILL at least partially under a bridge so you don't get a full view of the lands. We have always been in a front boat and only remember being able to see Mexico /China /Germany /Italy. You do get a great view of the pyrotechnics/lasers and the earth though.

As for smoke & 'drop out' stuff, I have read that smoke, depending in the direction of any breeze, can be an issue, but it has never been a problem for us - perhaps because we are under the bridge? But then it hasn't been a problem when we are standing around the lagoon either.

The best part about the cruise is if your 'captain' is experienced, he gives you all sorts of trivia and background information about the story being told. I believe it is a guy named Jim we had twice and I wish I had taken a voice recorder to remember everything he shared. It is a fun thing to do (take some sort of jacket since even in warm weather you can get a chill from the water) and should be experienced at least once.

As for the MK cruise, I was fortunate enough to share a YACHT with friends in 2006 and we saw the fireworks complete with music from the middle of the lagoon. WOW - now THAT was amazing.

There are only a few other boats in the lagoon and, even if there were dozens, they are not right beside each other, nor are they crammed together under a bridge. No slight intended to the Illuminations cruise. I know they must stay under the bridge as a protection and the bridge is only so wide. But at MK you have a beautiful sky overhead and no chance whatsoever of smoke or debris.

We have seen the MK fireworks from Poly, California Grill, Narcoossee's, and in the park a various spots. IMHO - NOTHING tops seeing/hearing them from the lagoon.

Hmmm, not a very unbiased opinion, eh? I do believe Illuminations is a bit less expensive, but for the overall experience - even a non-yacht MK fireworks cruise would be worth the price difference - and FREE with the Platinum plan would be priceless.

 

[mstew99]

Thank you very much 2ofUs for your opinions. I'm thinking of going towards Wishes now after reading your post. The last time we saw Illuminations we actually were right next to the bridge in front of France, so it seems like there really wouldn't be much of a big difference besides being on a boat and getting some neat trivia and info. Plus, seeing how nice this one day platinum package works, i'm sure it won't be the last.


Also on a side note, I think I found another perk of premium and platinum plans that hasn't been mentioned yet. If it has, oh well, i'm mentioning it again! Unlike the regular and deluxe DP, you are able to book category 1 seating at dinner shows on the premium/platinum plans.

 

[toddlermickey]

Just checked with disney and the price difference between our vacation and adding the premium package is only $305.00. We will have an extra ticket for another time and will be doing a few tours with Cique tickets. I figure that the tours we want to take cost around $520.00 plus need to add the price of the Cique tickets. Does anyone know how much they cost?

Do I get three meals or 6? If I do the package on Sept. 17 is that the only day I can do the tours and eat the three meals or can I also do the tours and eat on the Sept.18?

Sylvia in MN

 

[Symans3honeybees]

Just checked with disney and the price difference between our vacation and adding the premium package is only $305.00. We will have an extra ticket for another time and will be doing a few tours with Cique tickets. I figure that the tours we want to take cost around $520.00 plus need to add the price of the Cique tickets. Does anyone know how much they cost?
Ticket for Cirque du Soleil is about $90 each
Do I get three meals or 6? If I do the package on Sept. 17 is that the only day I can do the tours and eat the three meals or can I also do the tours and eat on the Sept.18?

Sylvia in MN

You will be getting 3 meals(signatures count as 1), 2 snack credits, and a resort mug. You can still enjoy all the tours and meals until midnight on Sept. 18.

 

[2ofUs]

La Nouba on Premium is category 2 & 3, but not 1 and costs around $90 each. (Oops, just saw that is included above.) I'm not sure about dinner shows since we are not doing Spirit of Aloha or HDDR this year, but it is good to know about the category seating for our NEXT Premium visit!

 

[AmberHeartsDisney]

I didnt read this but i thought you had to book a different package to do that. I was told you need to do the same dining package the whole total of the hotel stay?

 

[2ofUs]

I didnt read this but i thought you had to book a different package to do that. I was told you need to do the same dining package the whole total of the hotel stay?

You do have to check-in and check-out to move between packages (a split reservation).

For example - we have 1-night room-only booked at POP for our arrival day.
The next morning is our Premium Package day/night at POP. Early that morning we will go to the front desk and 'check-out' of the room-only and 'check-in' to the Premium package by simply exchanging room keys, but NOT changing rooms.

I made our reservations at different times, so to insure this went smoothly I called and requested the confirmation numbers be cross-linked (each referencing back to the other).

It is not as complicated as it might sound. Our situation is relatively simple as we are staying off-premise 3 nights following our Premium package, then moving to a DVC rental for 3 nights, so we bought a 7-day park pass with Premium package (no park visits on our arrival/room-only day).

When doing split stays you need to make sure the requirements for different package plans are met. For September free dinning you must buy a minimum 2-day park pass.

If we were staying all 7 nights at POP and wanted free dining, we would buy a 7-day pass and book a 1-night Premium at the end of our trip and save the required 2-day pass to use with an upgrade on a future trip.

Different circumstances determine how you work reservations - Annual Passholders sometimes book FD and apply 'required' passes to renewals; some use a 25, 30, 35% room discount and buy their food. Some people may book a Deluxe resort w/FD & park passes, then move to a value for their last night with a Premium pkg, buying a 1-day pass to use later. I even know someone who is staying the entire trip off-premise, but doing a 1-night Premium package at POP mid-trip.

Actually, with a little creative thinking and thoughtful planning, you can work out some great visits! Hope I didn't confuse you, but I think this will help answer your question?

 

[toddlermickey]

Thanks for all the info. We will book our signature dining for the premium dining night then we will only have to use 1 credit.

Thanks for all the ownderful info. Will be booking tonight.

Sylvia in MN

 

[weHEARTmickey]

Several of you have mentioned saving your 1day MYW ticket (that you had to buy for premium/platinum) to use at a later date. Does this 1day MYW ticket not expire 14 days from using the prem/plat plan? If not, what is the expiration date? TIA!

 

[Leigha]

I believe that if you don't activate or use the ticket, it doesn't expire.

 

[mstew99]

I believe that if you don't activate or use the ticket, it doesn't expire.

This is correct.