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

[queenofhartz]

I need planning advice/help....me (DW), DH, DS (4) are going to Disneyworld with DGrandma and DGrandpa October 2-7. It gets complicated, because the DGrandparents are staying at Bonnet Creek. DH, DS, and I are staying at the Yacht Club. (We usually stay with them at Bonnet Creek, but to be honest, I wanted to splurge a little b/c it's our 5th wedding anniversary, and we would like some...ahem...alone time. )

Ok, so I was thinking a nice treat would be one night on the Platinum Plan as suggested by the brilliant Disers in this thread. So, here is what I am thinking....

Purchase 2 day Park hopper tickets for DH, DS, and I for Oct 2 & 3:
October 1: Stay at Bonnet Creek with Gparents (arriving late; we don't need tickets for this day)
October 2: Stay at Bonnet Creek with Gparents
October 3: Stay at Bonnet Creek with Gparents

October 4: DH, DS, and I check into Yacht Club on the Platinum Plan. DS will go with DGrandparents. Not sure how or if I can work this one out, but we were kind of hoping that DGrandparents could take DS to Stormalong Bay to play in the pool - that's the whole point of staying at YC. I've never been to YC, and I hear they're strict about non-guests at the pool, so I'm not sure if they'll allow it since DGrandparents aren't staying here, but I'll ask on the YC board. I don't want to do something that is Disney-illegal. Anyways, DH and I will take off and:

Around the World at Epcot or
Keys to the Kingdom
Lunch somewhere nice, but I haven't decided where
50 Min Massages
Parasailing
V&A

DS will stay with DGrandparents overnight.

October 5: DH and I will do:

Backstage Safari tour or Keys to the Kingdom
I might go to the hotel to take DS to the pool for awhile if DGrandparents can't
DH will do Richard Petty Driving Experience (only one of us can do this, right?)
Parasailing (can we do this even though we did it yesterday?)
Meet DGrandparents for mini golf with DS
Nice Dinner with DGrandparents and DS
If we can get a fireworks cruise, we'd like to do it and pay to bring DGrandparents - I don't know if they'll allow this, and it might be too late for us to get a cruise at this point?
La Nouba if no fireworks cruise (pay for DGrandparents to join us)

Also - I'm conflicted about whether or not to even pay to have DS on the Platinum Plan when we can technically just keep him with the grandparents and buy him a 4 day park hopper instead of a 2 day park hopper. The only reason I was putting him on our plan is because these are the two days he is really going to be able to play at Stormalong Bay, and I know he at least has to be a resort guest to go. DS selected this hotel because of the pool. Only problem is, he's 4...he can't go by himself, and I don't know if they'll let DGrandparents take him since they aren't guests there. Honestly, I don't mind paying the extra money for DS to be on the Plat plan if he can enjoy Stormalong Bay under the supervision of DGrandparents, but if they can't supervise him, it probably doesn't make that much sense. I guess DGrandparents can take him on a Pony ride on the Plat plan....not sure what else you can really do with a 4 year old besides mini golf?

October 5: check back into Yacht Club with Dining Plus Plan
October 6: Yacht Club with Dining Plus Plan

What do you think about this plan? Any suggestions? Thanks muchly as always!

 

[marivaid]

Purchase 2 day Park hopper tickets for DH, DS, and I for Oct 2 & 3:
October 4: DH, DS, and I check into Yacht Club on the Platinum Plan

Are you buying tickets twice ?
You can get the tickets from your package up to 3 days before your package starts.

I wouldn't pay for your DS to be on the Platinum Plan since he really can't do the majority of the tours/attractions. But I would consider paying for the DGrandparents to have a room at the YC, even if it's only for one night. This way they could supervise your DS at the pool and enjoy the resort.

 

[queenofhartz]

Are you buying tickets twice ?
You can get the tickets from your package up to 3 days before your package starts.

Well...I'm not sure. I've never done a split stay, so I'm not sure what I'm doing.

So, should I just do a 5 day park hopper with the Platinum Plan for the night of October 4? And then do a 1 day park hopper with the Dining Plus plan for the nights of October 5-6? That way, we would have 6 days of park hopper tickets that we could start using on October 2? I just ran some numbers, and if I did it this way, it would save me quite a bit of $$$! yay!

It wouldn't let me reserve the Dining Plus Plan without the Magic Your Way tickets, so it looks like I at least have to have one day of tickets. Is this correct?

Thanks for the recommendation!

 

[marivaid]

Well...I'm not sure. I've never done a split stay, so I'm not sure what I'm doing.

So, should I just do a 4 day park hopper with the Platinum Plan for the night of October 4? And then do a 2 day park hopper with the Dining Plus plan for the nights of October 5-6?

It wouldn't let me reserve the Dining Plus Plan without the Magic Your Way tickets, so it looks like I at least have to have one day of tickets. I'm not sure the best way to do this.

Thanks!

What do you mean by Dining Plus plan ? Deluxe Dining maybe??

For the tickets, buy however many days you need with your Platinum plan and then buy one-day base tickets with your dining plan. Don't use those tickets, save them for another trip - they don't expire as long as you don't use them. You can ask to have them separated from your room key when you check in (and you can also ask that they add your current tickets to your room key).

If you buy 4-day hoppers & then 2-day hoppers you are paying for the hopper option twice (it's like $55/person) when you really don't need to.
For example, for one adult that's what you'd pay :

4-day hoppers + 2-day hoppers : $502 (without tax)
6-day hoppers + 1-day base : $378 (without tax)
So you'd be saving $124/person PLUS you'd get those 1-day tickets to use for another trip.

Hope that makes sense

 

[queenofhartz]

What do you mean by Dining Plus plan ? Deluxe Dining maybe??

For the tickets, buy however many days you need with your Platinum plan and then buy one-day base tickets with your dining plan. Don't use those tickets, save them for another trip - they don't expire as long as you don't use them. You can ask to have them separated from your room key when you check in (and you can also ask that they add your current tickets to your room key).

If you buy 4-day hoppers & then 2-day hoppers you are paying for the hopper option twice (it's like $55/person) when you really don't need to.
For example, for one adult that's what you'd pay :

4-day hoppers + 2-day hoppers : $502 (without tax)
6-day hoppers + 1-day base : $378 (without tax)
So you'd be saving $124/person PLUS you'd get those 1-day tickets to use for another trip.

Hope that makes sense

Ohhhhhhhhh, ok. I get it now. Thank you for taking the time to explain this to me. I'm sure it's Disneyworld 101, but this ticket stuff is kind of confusing. lol! We were just going to do the regular Dining Plan (one TS, one CS, one snack).

 

[marivaid]

Ohhhhhhhhh, ok. I get it now. Thank you for taking the time to explain this to me. I'm sure it's Disneyworld 101, but this ticket stuff is kind of confusing. lol! We were just going to do the regular Dining Plan (one TS, one CS, one snack).

Glad to help It is confusing at first but basically the idea is just to get whatever tickets you need with your first package. There's a ticket "sticky" on the Theme Parks board that's awesome and explains everything.
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1452684

Hopefully that will save you a bit of money!

As far as Stormalong Bay goes, we've stayed at the BC once and they do check room keys at the pool so you may have an issue there. That's why I suggested getting a room for one night for the DGrandparents. Personally I wouldn't pay the $160 for your DS when all he can do is minigolf and La Nouba but that's just my opinion of course!
Or, would the DGrandparents take him to a waterpark?

 

[queenofhartz]

Glad to help It is confusing at first but basically the idea is just to get whatever tickets you need with your first package. There's a ticket "sticky" on the Theme Parks board that's awesome and explains everything.
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1452684

Hopefully that will save you a bit of money!

As far as Stormalong Bay goes, we've stayed at the BC once and they do check room keys at the pool so you may have an issue there. That's why I suggested getting a room for one night for the DGrandparents. Personally I wouldn't pay the $229 for your DS when all he can do is minigolf and La Nouba but that's just my opinion of course!
Or, would the DGrandparents take him to a waterpark?

Ok, but what if we're staying at Bonnet Creek the first two nights and we plan on going to the parks on October 2 & 3. Will they allow us to pick up our park tickets two days before we check in at YC?

Yes, I figured that DGrandparents watching DS at Stormalong Bay might be an issue. Maybe we will look into getting them a night at YC....that's not a bad idea, and it would be a treat for them as well...they would probably enjoy it. I agree with you on the Plat Plan for DS...doesn't seem worth the cost. DGrandparents would take DS to a waterpark. There is also a pool at Bonnet Creek...just not as fun as Stormalong Bay.

 

[marivaid]

Ok, but what if we're staying at Bonnet Creek the first two nights and we plan on going to the parks on October 2 & 3. Will they allow us to pick up our park tickets two days before we check in at YC?

Yes you can pick them up at a park or Downtown Disney up to 3 days before your package starts.
I'm going to make this even more confusing LOL but you'd actually need to get the "big" tickets with your 2nd reservation.
See everyone staying in one room must have the same package, so if you don't want your DS to be on the plan, you can't even put him on the reservation or he will automatically be on the Platinum plan as well.
So you'd need to have 1 reservation for October 4th on the Platinum Plan for you & DH, with 1-day base tickets, and 1 reservation for October 5th on the dining plan with 6-day hoppers for the 3 of you.
Either way you'd be able to pick those 6-day hoppers as early as October 2nd.

 

[queenofhartz]

Yes you can pick them up at a park or Downtown Disney up to 3 days before your package starts.
I'm going to make this even more confusing LOL but you'd actually need to get the "big" tickets with your 2nd reservation.
See everyone staying in one room must have the same package, so if you don't want your DS to be on the plan, you can't even put him on the reservation or he will automatically be on the Platinum plan as well.
So you'd need to have 1 reservation for October 4th on the Platinum Plan for you & DH, with 1-day base tickets, and 1 reservation for October 5th on the dining plan with 6-day hoppers for the 3 of you.
Either way you'd be able to pick those 6-day hoppers as early as October 2nd.

This is great!! You are the god or goddess of Disney planning! LOL thank you so much for your help with this. you just saved me hundreds of dollars!!!

 

[marivaid]

LOL ! I may actually end up COSTING you money because I have the nasty habit of adding things to trips

For example... you might want to check if it'd be worth it to book a one-night with the Premium package for DS & DGrandparents. If you intend to go to La Nouba together that might just be worth it. The Premium plan is $169/night for adults and that includes La Nouba tickets. La Nouba will cost at least $115/adult if you all want to be seated in the same tier. For $169 they'd get those tickets, plus 3 TS meals (you wanted to have dinner together so that'd pay for that dinner plus they could take DS to Cape May's character breakfast at the BC, for example, and still have 1 meal to use). They would also get mugs to use at the resort, which is practical if they intend to spend time at Stormalong Bay. And there are a few activities that your DS could participate in (mini golf, pony ride, Family Magic tour at MK).

It's all about crunching numbers, really. It may not be worth it if you can get a good room-only discount, or if DGrandparents don't need park tickets.

 

[queenofhartz]

Sorry, I have a lot of questions. So, I noticed on the Platinum Plan brochure (on the Disneyworld website), it says you have 14 days to use the items included. Does that mean you have 14 days to use the La Nouba tickets?

Also, I know the 3 meals include appetizer, entree, dessert at TS restaurants. If I'm going to be on the Plat Plan the night of Oct 4 only, could I use the dining credits from the Plat Plan Oct 6 since that is within the 14 day window or do I have to use them up on Oct 4 & 5?

These are probably crazy questions, so I appreciate your help!

 

[marivaid]

Sorry, I have a lot of questions. So, I noticed on the Platinum Plan brochure (on the Disneyworld website), it says you have 14 days to use the items included. Does that mean you have 14 days to use the La Nouba tickets?

Also, I know the 3 meals include appetizer, entree, dessert at TS restaurants. If I'm going to be on the Plat Plan the night of Oct 4 only, could I use the dining credits from the Plat Plan Oct 6 since that is within the 14 day window or do I have to use them up on Oct 4 & 5?

These are probably crazy questions, so I appreciate your help!

Where did you see the 14-days part ? I'm looking at the Platinum brochure but I can' find it. Usually the 14-day window is related to the park tickets, since your tickets expire 14 days after the first use (unless you purchase the non-expiration option).

Dining credits will expire at midnight on the day you check out, so if you have the package for the night of the 4th, you can use them until midnight on the 5th. After that, the credits are lost. At the bottom of page 1 of the brochure it says "All unused meals and snacks expire at midnight on your package
reservation checkout date."

 

[DCDisney]

This is not a cost effective plan at all. You'll be buying 2 day tix that are full price, 1 day tix, then 2 day tickets. A 5 day tix is about 250 and you'd be paying $400ish instead. I def would not put your DS on the plat plan. Grandparents won't be allowed in stormalong bay and since you are staying there after your plat plan I think that will be plenty especially since you would have a very limited time window to take him during your plat stay imagine if it's rainy or he's tired. You can pick up tickets early so what about getting the plat plan tickets and upgrading them to the total number of park days you need? Then you could save the 1 day tix from your ddp stay for another trip. Usually you can add a person at check in without them getting the ddp so you may still be able to add your son to your plat room at check in without him needing to be on the pkg. It will all be super complicated though....

 

[queenofhartz]

Where did you see the 14-days part ? I'm looking at the Platinum brochure but I can' find it. Usually the 14-day window is related to the park tickets, since your tickets expire 14 days after the first use (unless you purchase the non-expiration option).

Dining credits will expire at midnight on the day you check out, so if you have the package for the night of the 4th, you can use them until midnight on the 5th. After that, the credits are lost. At the bottom of page 1 of the brochure it says "All unused meals and snacks expire at midnight on your package
reservation checkout date."

Ok, I see...it is in the park tickets section:

"All tickets and options must be used within 14 days of first use and exclude activities and events separately priced."

I was thinking the "and options" was referring to platinum plan options, but it's obviously waterparks, disney quest, etc. I get it. Sorry, I was reading into this statement a bit too much. lol

 

[marivaid]

Grandparents won't be allowed in stormalong bay and since you are staying there after your plat plan I think that will be plenty

I hadn't even noticed that, duh. In that case I'd leave DS with the grandparents at Bonnet Creek for one night, I wouldn't bother booking a night for the Grandparents & DS at YC since he will have time to enjoy the pool later with you.

 

[queenofhartz]

This is not a cost effective plan at all. You'll be buying 2 day tix that are full price, 1 day tix, then 2 day tickets. A 5 day tix is about 250 and you'd be paying $400ish instead. I def would not put your DS on the plat plan. Grandparents won't be allowed in stormalong bay and since you are staying there after your plat plan I think that will be plenty especially since you would have a very limited time window to take him during your plat stay imagine if it's rainy or he's tired. You can pick up tickets early so what about getting the plat plan tickets and upgrading them to the total number of park days you need? Then you could save the 1 day tix from your ddp stay for another trip. Usually you can add a person at check in without them getting the ddp so you may still be able to add your son to your plat room at check in without him needing to be on the pkg. It will all be super complicated though....

Yes - I wasn't understanding how the tickets worked, but as always, the great Disboards experts have helped me to work it out. We're going to do October 2-3 at Bonnet Creek as planned with the grandparents. Then:

October 4: DH & I are going to do Platinum Plan and get a 1 day base ticket (we are NOT going to put DS on the plat plan...there's not enough for him to take advantage of really)

October 5-7: DH, DS, and I will be on the Regular Dining plan and get the 6 day park hopper ticket which we will pick up on October 2.

So, this actually brings me from my current package price of $3600 (there are no discounts yet that I am eligible for at this time) to $3,100.72. YAY!!!!

Soooo....we are considering actually treating DGrandparents to one night at YC...they've never ever stayed at a Disney resort, and this way, they can stay Oct 4 and do Cape May breakfast, Stormalong Bay with DS, Beaches and Cream, nap, and just enjoy the boardwalk and YC. I think they would enjoy it, and we would still save money from what we are paying now. I can't thank everyone here enough for the help!

 

[marivaid]

That sounds great, I hope you all have an awesome trip

 

[queenofhartz]

I hadn't even noticed that, duh. In that case I'd leave DS with the grandparents at Bonnet Creek for one night, I wouldn't bother booking a night for the Grandparents & DS at YC since he will have time to enjoy the pool later with you.

That's true. We definitely want to experience the pool with DS too. He's really going to love it...I think. I'll have to talk to DH to see how he feels about treating DGP to YC. We're treating them to Schulas as a thank you for watching Elliott, so DH may feel like dinner is enough...I don't know. Right now, I'm just on over the money that we've saved by getting all of this wonderful advice from you guys!! Thank you thank you!!

 

[nannette]

Ok who has done the Richard Petty Experience??? DD wants to do this and I'm not sure how long it takes. I know its one per package and thats great because I have no desire to do this but she wants to do it, so I need to know how long to schedule for it. HELP!!

~Nannette

 

[Sugarglider]

The Poly IPO has produced the goods!
Right on my 180 day I rec'd my confirmation email from V&A and a PDF confirmation of all my tour bookings.
What I thought was impressive was that La Nouba and Dolphins on my 2nd day couldn't be booked until today. The IPO said "we've booked everything else - here is your confirmation - will book these others tomorrow and write you again to confirm"
If it was me managing that office I would thought that they would just wait until the next day, finished the bookings and then told me the whole lot - but nope - they made sure I knew what was happening on the 180 day mark. I am in Australia and it is something like 6 am in Florida so it will be a few more hours before i hear anything but it has all gone like a dream so far.