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

[Dizney73]

Been a while since I posted on here, but the mention of the PhotoPass CD triggered a question. I've read conflicting reports about the CD. Some say it can only be used for PP pictures taken over the two days of the Plan, others say that you can add all of your PP pictures (pre- and post-Platinum days) to it.

Can anyone confirm which is correct?

I can't actually confirm from Platinum Plan experience yet... but it says in the description for the photopass CD...

Receive one Disney’s PhotoPass® PhotoCD with your package. You’ll receive high-resolution .jpg images of all your Disney’s PhotoPass® photos plus a
copyright release so you can use them in the sizes and formats that best suit your personal needs. To get started, get lots of photos taken by Disney’s
PhotoPass® photographers. After your vacation, visit DisneyPhotoPass.com* to view and edit your photos and order your Disney’s PhotoCD. Use the
promotion code provided upon check-in on your special Disney’s Platinum Plan Disney’s PhotoPass® card to get your Disney’s PhotoCD. Note that
Disney’s PhotoCD is only available by ordering online with the code you receive at check-in. It is not redeemable in the Theme Parks. Photos taken by
Disney’s PhotoPass® Professional Portrait Service are not included. Review your check-in materials for more details....

in January we did the Wild Africa Trek tour at the Animal Kingdom. As part of the tour we received a coupon with a code on it for our FREE Photopass CD of the photos taken on our tour. I was able to get all of my Photopass photos on my FREE CD plus my pictures that Disney forgot to delete from my Photopass account from last summer! I also added pictures from a photopass session using the # provided on the receipt! This code for a free CD sounds much like this situation. You actually enter it into the box at check out on the Photopass site. I didn't even have to pay S&H!

 

[rnorwo1]

For anyone who has done the Segway tour in Epcot, where does it end? We're thinking of doing the 7:45 tour but wanting to be at the next tour in AK at 10, which doesn't give us much time. I was wondering if we just left the segway tour about 15 minutes early and grabbed a taxi, we may be able to make it to AK in 30 min? What do you think?

Also, has anyone confirmed if the Wild Africa Trek will be offered on the platinum plan?
Thanks!!

 

[Sugarglider]

For anyone who has done the Segway tour in Epcot, where does it end? We're thinking of doing the 7:45 tour but wanting to be at the next tour in AK at 10, which doesn't give us much time. I was wondering if we just left the segway tour about 15 minutes early and grabbed a taxi, we may be able to make it to AK in 30 min? What do you think?

Also, has anyone confirmed if the Wild Africa Trek will be offered on the platinum plan?
Thanks!!

Ummm ... there is a trek every hour. Why don't you booked the 11am one?

 

[PatriciaH]

For anyone who has done the Segway tour in Epcot, where does it end? We're thinking of doing the 7:45 tour but wanting to be at the next tour in AK at 10, which doesn't give us much time. I was wondering if we just left the segway tour about 15 minutes early and grabbed a taxi, we may be able to make it to AK in 30 min? What do you think?

Also, has anyone confirmed if the Wild Africa Trek will be offered on the platinum plan?
Thanks!!

The Epcot Segway tour is 2 hours as far as I know. We have done it 2 times and loved it. It runs overtime sometimes too. It ends up back near Club Cool if it is the same as when we did it. You would need to ride your Segways back from WS so you could not leave early. I do not think they would let you leave the Segways back in WS

I sent an email about the WAT but have not heard anything back yet. They did tell me on the chat box on the WDW site that it is included on the Platinum Plan. I can not make reservations until May so I hope it is decided for sure by then. I do not see why it should not be on the Platinum Plan other than it is new and popular. It is less than Dolphins In Depth and Backstage Magic. It is also offered a lot more.

 

[rnorwo1]

Ummm ... there is a trek every hour. Why don't you booked the 11am one?

I would love to do an 11 tour, but I thought I read that it was every hour except 11am If I'm wrong, someone please let me know because that would indeed solve the time crunch for us.

The Epcot Segway tour is 2 hours as far as I know. We have done it 2 times and loved it. It runs overtime sometimes too. It ends up back near Club Cool if it is the same as when we did it. You would need to ride your Segways back from WS so you could not leave early. I do not think they would let you leave the Segways back in WS

I sent an email about the WAT but have not heard anything back yet. They did tell me on the chat box on the WDW site that it is included on the Platinum Plan. I can not make reservations until May so I hope it is decided for sure by then. I do not see why it should not be on the Platinum Plan other than it is new and popular. It is less than Dolphins In Depth and Backstage Magic. It is also offered a lot more.

Thanks for the info, guess I need to keep tweaking my spreadsheet! I hope WAT is included, it sounds fabulous!

 

[PatriciaH]

I would love to do an 11 tour, but I thought I read that it was every hour except 11am If I'm wrong, someone please let me know because that would indeed solve the time crunch for us.



Thanks for the info, guess I need to keep tweaking my spreadsheet! I hope WAT is included, it sounds fabulous!

Me too! It looks like there is no 11am tour.

"Tour times are 8:00, 9:00, 10:00, 12:00, 1:00, and 2:00. Each tour lasts three hours. Participants are asked to arrive 15 to 20 minutes early. The check-in podium is right beside the Dawa Bar (near Tusker House) in Africa. "

 

[nannette]

As I've stated before... when I called the IPO two weeks ago to ask about tour dates times etc.. I was told by the IPO that the Trek tour is NOT included as of now. I was told however if I booked it and paid for it and it was then added as part of the Platinum tour I would be refunded, but as of two weeks ago it WAS NOT a part of the Platinum plan. Hope this changes but won't know until its time to book.

Good Luck!

~Nannette

 

[ExplorerHD]

good info, thanks

 

[2ofUs]

DH and I -1 night Premium May 17 /18 (Tue/Wed).

Tempted to 'maximize value' of Premium, DH wants to keep relatively slow-paced - enjoy activites/meals instead of rushing. Will have a car; staying at Bonnet Creek 11 nights; looking for cheapest room ressie for 1 night - thinking FW campsite.
Least expensive option is POP Century or All Star Value resorts, around $100+ tax for the night depending on the season. Bonus: POP is right next door to Bonnet Creek!

Open to suggestions on any changes/additions to these plans!
May 17, 2011

8:30am - Leave Bonnet Creek for FW
Since you are right next door and don't even have to go to your room at POP (I assume you are simply going to use the ressie to get the Premium plan?) you can check into POP @ 6:30am - pretty dead then - and get all your vouchers, etc, and could probably make the 8am Segway at FW! (checked into POP and driving to FW by 7am; arrive FW parking by 7:20; bus to Mike's Bike Barn planning to arrive by 7:45am. You'd be done by 11:00am, then do archery/horseback riding etc. at FW OR boat over to Contemporary for water activities.

9am - Check-in to FW campsite
9:30am - Check-in for 10am horseback riding MAYBE? Not sure if we will be too sore from this. Also, it would be done at 10:45am. Is this enough time to get to our 11:30 Segway Tour? I know we need to catch the internal bus. Orange I think.

If this would be a rush, we might just not do the horseback riding and just hang out at FW and grab some food.

11:30am - FW Segway Tour. What time do we need to check-in for this? Segway tours ask that you check in at least 15 min PRIOR to start time.

1:30pm - Segway Tour done. Take internal bus back to car and drive over to Contemporary. If you stay with this plan, I would boat over to Contemporary for your snack

2:10pm - Lunch/snack at Contempo Cafe. Assume you are buying this lunch? We did the early morning KTTK tour at MK that included QS lunch at CHH. Then did Spirit of Aloha for dinner. 2nd day did Brown Derby lunch & Jiko dinner after La Nouba. Must have blackforest cupcake.

3:00pm - Personal watercraft excursion - 1 hr, right? What time do we need to check in? We'll have our swimsuits under our clothes for a quick strip

4:30pm - Assuming watercraft excursion is 3-4, we will be back at Bonnet Creek. We will relax and get dressed for dinner.

6:30pm - Leave for AKL.

7:05pm - Jiko! We will take our time hanging out at the resort. Nice choice for dinner. Enjoy. Try walking out to the end of the savanah after dinner and use the night-vision goggles to look for animals.

May 18, 2011

8:15am - Leave Bonnet Creek for Epcot.

9:00am - Segway tour around World Showcase. What time do we need to check-in? We've done this before but I forget. All Segway check-ins are 15 min prior. You need to go to Guest Services on the left side of the Epcot ball. That is where you gather to check-in and get name tags.We enjoy doing the earliest morning tour here (7:45) since you can enter an EMPTY park - really nice treat. You also get through most of the tour without people on the pathways - also a nice treat. This would let you finish at 9:45! If you are interested in an afternoon tour (see below about AK tour) you should be able to make it if you eat lunch at 11am and can finish lunch in an hour. Just a thought.

11:00am - Tour is done and we are in Futureworld. Time to get over to the opposite side of the park!

11:30am - Via Napoli for lunch. We will be slow to enjoy ourselves, and probably take until 1pm. You could also consider Coral Reef for lunch unless that isn't your type of food? We have not dined at Via Napoli yet, but I'm not sure I would spend an expanded TS here?

**BIG GAP in our day is here and I'm looking for suggestions.** I am thinking that I would like to try parasailing at the Contemporary but DH does not want to try this as he is afraid of heights. I have been told by several guests afraid of heights (as am I) that they had no problems w/parasailing. I am not a real water-baby so we didn't try last trip but plan to on our next.
He would be glad to watch me try it but I am looking for suggestions as to something that we can do together. I don't really want to do mini golf since that is dirt cheap to do normally with our AP discount.
Most tours are morning, but there is an afternoon tour at AK if you are interested. I believe it begins at 1pm and you need to meet at Guest Service in the front of the park by 12:30. Here is the description from Premium brochure: Disney’s Backstage Safari Tour Find out what happens behind the scenes at Disney’s Animal Kingdom® Theme Park. Highlights include visits to a backstage animal housing area, the Animal Nutrition Center, and our state-of-the-art Veterinary Hospital. Then venture into the park on a private Kilimanjaro Safaris experience where you will be amazed at the details and passion involved in the creation of a truly unique theme park that is so much more than a zoo! Presented Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday and lasts approximately 3 hours. Guests must be at least 16 years of age to participate.

2pm - Maybe Parasailing? How early would we have to arrive at the dock? It says 8-10 mins in the air, but does the whole preparation and process take 1 hour?

4pm - Back to Bonnet Creek (flexible with the time) to beautify ourselves for dinner.

5:50pm - Yachtsman Steakhouse for dinner Wonderful dinner choice!

9:00pm - Either Illuminations or Wishes. Probably Illuminations.

Here are some additional questions I have:

1. Since Cirque is dark these days, Mousesavers suggests that we will receive $85 GCs when we check-in for each adult. Can anyone confirm this?
Several other guests have reported the same thing.

2. I heard that FW campsites are excluded from Premium, however I can book this online. True or False? Not sure, but if you use POP you will be much closer to BC and it will be MUCH easier transportation wise.
3. We kind of want to do archery, but is this on Thurs, Fri and Sat? THe brochure doesn't list any day exclusions, suggest you call WDW to find out for sure.

4. Where is the best place to use our snack credits at FW for Breakfast/Lunch? Snack credits are jut that, they cannot be used for breakfast or lunch. We used ours (you get 2 each) at MK Main Street Bakery for danish & fresh fruit platter; then used 2 more for fruit & ice cream the next day. TS at FW is buffet style, good and affordable - well, by Disney standards. Yummy fried chicken.

5. Where is the preferred fireworks viewing for both Wishes and Illuminations? Wishes viewing is just to the right of the castle hub, right in front of the Plaza restaurant. It is a nice uncrowded area, but there are lots of mature trees that do block the view of the castle. You can see fireworks quite well, but not the castle light show. Not sure where the Illuminations area is, but having done the Wishes, we too would choose the Illuminations! Which location is most remarkable in comparison to where I could normally stand to watch Wishes/Illuminations? We usually watch Illuminations from between the 2 shops at the foot of lagoon, and watch Wishes from the foot of Main Street or Cali Grill. If you want to SEE the castle, the Main Street flagpole hub is better than the 'private viewing' area.

6. If we are going from Yachtman Steakhouse to Epcot for Illuminations, would it be quickest to walk through International Gateway, easiest would be to catch the boat over and walk thru IG. If you drive around, park, walk into park, then back to WS, that is time consuming. Rather depends on how long you plan to spend at dinner. I believe the 'private viewing' is on the back side near the Italy area?or get in the car and park in the Epcot parking lot? I am aware that it is likely preferable to Disney for us to vacate the Yacht Club parking lot after our dinner.

And there you have it, please let me know what you think!
Thanks to everyone who has posted to this thread for the inspiration!

Review your plan to see if using POP as your Premium Plan base would work better for you. If so, consider the parks & places you want to visit since you will be a lot further away from FW. Things will fall into place more easily once you make those decisions. We chose to do Bass Fishing, KTTK, SoA our first day; Epcot Segway, DS & Brown Derby, La Nouba, Jiko on our second.

Our timing was fine, other than trying to get our SoA vouchers from POP concierge. Since you don't have anything requiring vouchers (La Nouba, SoA, etc.) you shouldn't have any resort complications. We moved from POP to BC on our second morning, but as I suggested above, you really don't even have to stay in your POP room, just check-in, grab your key & go, then check-out the next morning (or tell them on arrival to charge your cc and you don't have to worry about check-out). Seriously, we could see POP 50's area off to the left of our Presidential Suite at BC. It wasn't walkable, but it was not even a 5 minute drive from BC to POP.

Let me know if I can help any further. PM if you need. Enjoy your stay.

 

[ScottOKW2K]

Hi Friends!

DH and I are planning to do a 1 night Premium for May 17 and 18 (Tuesday and Wednesday).

Although I am tempted to 'maximize the value' of our Premium 1-nighter, DH wants to keep things relatively slow-paced an relaxing so that we actually enjoy our activites/meals instead of rushing from one thing to another. Of course we will have a car. We will be staying at Bonnet Creek for 11 nights and are looking for the cheapest room ressie for the 1 night - thinking FW campsite.

However, I am open to suggestions on any changes/additions to these plans!

Please critique! Be tough! I am looking for the feedback from experts!

May 17, 2011

8:30am - Leave Bonnet Creek for FW

9am - Check-in to FW campsite

9:30am - Check-in for 10am horseback riding MAYBE? Not sure if we will be too sore from this. Also, it would be done at 10:45am. Is this enough time to get to our 11:30 Segway Tour? I know we need to catch the internal bus. Orange I think.

If this would be a rush, we might just not do the horseback riding and just hang out at FW and grab some food.

11:30am - FW Segway Tour. What time do we need to check-in for this?

1:30pm - Segway Tour done. Take internal bus back to car and drive over to Contemporary.

2:10pm - Lunch/snack at Contempo Cafe. Must have blackforest cupcake.

3:00pm - Personal watercraft excursion - 1 hr, right? What time do we need to check in? We'll have our swimsuits under our clothes for a quick strip

4:30pm - Assuming watercraft excursion is 3-4, we will be back at Bonnet Creek. We will relax and get dressed for dinner.

6:30pm - Leave for AKL.

7:05pm - Jiko! We will take our time hanging out at the resort.

May 18, 2011

8:15am - Leave Bonnet Creek for Epcot.

9:00am - Segway tour around World Showcase. What time do we need to check-in? We've done this before but I forget.

11:00am - Tour is done and we are in Futureworld. Time to get over to the opposite side of the park!

11:30am - Via Napoli for lunch. We will be slow to enjoy ourselves, and probably take until 1pm.

**BIG GAP in our day is here and I'm looking for suggestions.** I am thinking that I would like to try parasailing at the Contemporary but DH does not want to try this as he is afraid of heights.

Is he afraid of heights or does he have vertigo? I ask because I had the same concerns for myself. I was concerned that I would be frozen with fear while high up, but I was not. Though being near the edge of something high scares the poop out of me I was able to do this easily. Because there is no structure of "edge" close by you do not have that frame of reference that gives one the "dizzy" vertigo sensation. If there are any problems their instructions are to scissor-kick your legs and they will immediately bring you back down.



He would be glad to watch me try it but I am looking for suggestions as to something that we can do together. I don't really want to do mini golf since that is dirt cheap to do normally with our AP discount.

2pm - Maybe Parasailing? How early would we have to arrive at the dock? It says 8-10 mins in the air, but does the whole preparation and process take 1 hour?

Yes. You have to have time to board the boat, get in position out in the lake, and get yourself into the harness assembly. Reverse this to get back to the dock.

4pm - Back to Bonnet Creek (flexible with the time) to beautify ourselves for dinner.

5:50pm - Yachtsman Steakhouse for dinner

9:00pm - Either Illuminations or Wishes. Probably Illuminations.


Here are some additional questions I have:

1. Since Cirque is dark these days, Mousesavers suggests that we will receive $85 GCs when we check-in for each adult. Can anyone confirm this?

I checked your dates - Cirque is scheduled to be dark for 2 weeks during your trip, so you will receive gift cards for each individual in your package. This does not apply to the normal 2 day dark time between the normal show schedule.

2. I heard that FW campsites are excluded from Premium, however I can book this online. True or False?

I've not actually BOOKED FW campsites for Premium, but have been able to select the Premium package as an option in a test booking online.

3. We kind of want to do archery, but is this on Thurs, Fri and Sat?

4. Where is the best place to use our snack credits at FW for Breakfast/Lunch?

5. Where is the preferred fireworks viewing for both Wishes and Illuminations? Which location is most remarkable in comparison to where I could normally stand to watch Wishes/Illuminations? We usually watch Illuminations from between the 2 shops at the foot of lagoon, and watch Wishes from the foot of Main Street or Cali Grill.

Wishes : the seating area below the Plaza restaurant.

Illuminations : The boat dock at Morocco.

6. If we are going from Yachtman Steakhouse to Epcot for Illuminations, would it be quickest to walk through International Gateway, or get in the car and park in the Epcot parking lot? I am aware that it is likely preferable to Disney for us to vacate the Yacht Club parking lot after our dinner.

Just walk from the Steakhouse to Epcot. And park at the Beach Club - perfectly ok since you are dining in the resort area. This will give you a slightly shorter walk back to you vehicle.


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And there you have it, please let me know what you think!

Thanks to everyone who has posted to this thread for the inspiration!

 

[Sugarglider]

Me too! It looks like there is no 11am tour.

"Tour times are 8:00, 9:00, 10:00, 12:00, 1:00, and 2:00. Each tour lasts three hours. Participants are asked to arrive 15 to 20 minutes early. The check-in podium is right beside the Dawa Bar (near Tusker House) in Africa. "

well - there you go - I stand corrected. thanks for the precise times Patricia.
I suppose what I was meaning to say was that it runs at multiple times of the day, so rather than cut something short and rush, you can still fit both tours in with a bit more breathing space

 

[sand&sun2]

want to try this

 

[hpfan100]

subbing...looking for ideas for my solo trip this summer

tours, fancy dinners, Cirque and personal water carft...bring it on!

 

[Wall-E1]

For the La Nouba tickets - I am thinking of doing the premium plan for one night, Sunday/Monday. I read earlier on this thread that they do not give gift cards for the regular dark days. So, do they still give the regular vouchers out for a Sunday/Monday stay. Can the vouchers be redeemed at a future date since we will not be able to utilize them at the time our premium plan is booked? Do the vouchers specifically say something like - valid only on (the 2 dates we have the premium plan)?

 

[wdwkimberlee]

Hello Wall-E1!!

I did premium for one night in November '10 from Sun to Mon. We were not able to use the Cirque tix since it is not shown those evenings. I was told by the Pop front desk CMs that the tix would be valid until the end of the year. (Of course, we still could not use them since we weren't in FL any more last year.) I had relatives going to WDW for Christmas and tried to transfer the tix to them, but was not allowed to do that. So, my tix were wasted.

Maybe you'll be able to use them later in your trip, if you're staying after your Premium Plan is over. We went home the second evening of our plan.

Good luck and happy planning!

Kim

 

[disneyyes]

Hello Wall-E1!!

I did premium for one night in November '10 from Sun to Mon. We were not able to use the Cirque tix since it is not shown those evenings. I was told by the Pop front desk CMs that the tix would be valid until the end of the year. (Of course, we still could not use them since we weren't in FL any more last year.) I had relatives going to WDW for Christmas and tried to transfer the tix to them, but was not allowed to do that. So, my tix were wasted.

Maybe you'll be able to use them later in your trip, if you're staying after your Premium Plan is over. We went home the second evening of our plan.

Good luck and happy planning!

Kim

Thank you for this info - I did not know that if staying Premium or Platinum on a Sunday/Monday, that you could use the Cirque voucher a day or two later !

 

[disneyyes]

Here's a question I hope someone can answer . . . if I book a Premium on May 15/16 (Sun to Mon.), and Cirque is "dark" from May 15th through 30th, do you think that I would receive the Gift Card even though I'm booking on a Sunday/Monday?

 

[beansmom]

Here's a question I hope someone can answer . . . if I book a Premium on May 15/16 (Sun to Mon.), and Cirque is "dark" from May 15th through 30th, do you think that I would receive the Gift Card even though I'm booking on a Sunday/Monday?

if you are booking for a Sunday/Monday, then I don't believe you will get the gift card as those are the regular dark days for Cirque. WE are getting the gc because they are dark Tuesday this week as well and our only nights here are Mon/Tues so we have no opportunity to see the show.

I would call and ask...I will be interested in knowing the official answer.

 

[beansmom]

so, now i'm sorta p-oh'ed. (however you'd say p*ssed off). I KNEW from the boards that there was a high probability that the photo session wouldn't be available. But when we checked in, it is STILL listed in our package as being included in the Premium plan. So I called and was told it wasn't. now I'm not mad about that....what i'm mad about is this:

If it's NOT in the package anymore, WHY is listed? We checked in this morning. It's not like this is Jan 2 and they haven't had time to fix the package info.

I don't want something for nothing but the photo session WAS offered when we booked....and it still showing on my package as of NOW. I want them to fix their computers. I am, as i said...unhappy.

 

[Dizney73]

so, now i'm sorta p-oh'ed. (however you'd say p*ssed off). I KNEW from the boards that there was a high probability that the photo session wouldn't be available. But when we checked in, it is STILL listed in our package as being included in the Premium plan. So I called and was told it wasn't. now I'm not mad about that....what i'm mad about is this:

If it's NOT in the package anymore, WHY is listed? We checked in this morning. It's not like this is Jan 2 and they haven't had time to fix the package info.

I don't want something for nothing but the photo session WAS offered when we booked....and it still showing on my package as of NOW. I want them to fix their computers. I am, as i said...unhappy.

I do think that you are right... Disney should keep their site up to date! I mean how hard can it possibly be to make a correction with the delete key?