PTR - Disneyworld, The Dream, Disneyland and some Las Vegas Glitter

[Tashinwdw]

Hey Blonkage - I noticed in your post that you got an annual pass for WDW. I am also an Aussie planning a trip for next year, looking at spending 10-12 days at WDW and getting 9 or 10 day passes.

I looked into annual passes (or at least one annual pass for the group) and just couldn't get it to make financial sense, even counting discounts on meals... If it's ok would you mind sharing a bit of insight into why you decided to go with an annual pass?

We are 2 adults, 2 kids (2 and 7) so maybe the group size makes a difference when calculating discounts etc.

I cant say why Blonkage purchased hers, but we did it because it was actually cheaper to the annual than 2 different passes as we are there for more than 10 days. Also we were able to utilise the DVC discount which made the annual pass as lot cheaper.

 

[ssour]

Hey Blonkage - I noticed in your post that you got an annual pass for WDW. I am also an Aussie planning a trip for next year, looking at spending 10-12 days at WDW and getting 9 or 10 day passes. I looked into annual passes (or at least one annual pass for the group) and just couldn't get it to make financial sense, even counting discounts on meals... If it's ok would you mind sharing a bit of insight into why you decided to go with an annual pass? We are 2 adults, 2 kids (2 and 7) so maybe the group size makes a difference when calculating discounts etc.

I'm not blonkage either but if you are only after 10 days in the parks it probably wouldn't save much if anything to get the annual pass. If you bought Tables in Wonderland you'd need to save approx $310 to break even. In one week long trip as two adults we just earned back the costs of the TIW card, didn't come close to the difference between the 10-day ticket and annual pass. It was still worth it to us as we were heading back within 12 months and could use both the AP and TIW again. I wouldn't have bothered otherwise. The split trip and large group probably make it worthwhile for blonkage.

 

[losfp]

Thanks guys, I thought there would be more to it than that. Agree that if you have a split trip or a long trip that it really comes into play.

 

[Tashinwdw]

Every day I look at my very long list of things still to do and know I cannot do anything until my tax cheque comes back. It is so frustrating.

So you could imagine my excitement when I could cross off one of my many listed items..........international drivers licenses for DH and myself - done YAY!

I am slowly putting together Fish Extender gifts but I keep adding to what I am doing, at this rate I will need separate suit cases just for that.

 

[Blonkage]

Hey Blonkage - I noticed in your post that you got an annual pass for WDW. I am also an Aussie planning a trip for next year, looking at spending 10-12 days at WDW and getting 9 or 10 day passes.

I looked into annual passes (or at least one annual pass for the group) and just couldn't get it to make financial sense, even counting discounts on meals... If it's ok would you mind sharing a bit of insight into why you decided to go with an annual pass?

We are 2 adults, 2 kids (2 and 7) so maybe the group size makes a difference when calculating discounts etc.

I purchased the annual pass mainly because of the discounts you get. 10% off merchandise (I'm a big shopper for all things disney) sports and recreation discounts but mainly for the TIW card. We are travelling with another family (11 of us in total, 6 teenagers,) and will be in orlando for 3 weeks.
I worked out that with all our ADR's the 20% discount off F & B will pay for the difference between the 10 day Park hopper/water and the annual pass and the TIW card easily.
And one can always hope that my husband will love our trip so much that he will insist that we return within the year!

 

[WanderlustNZ]

Every day I look at my very long list of things still to do and know I cannot do anything until my tax cheque comes back. It is so frustrating.

So you could imagine my excitement when I could cross off one of my many listed items..........international drivers licenses for DH and myself - done YAY!

I am slowly putting together Fish Extender gifts but I keep adding to what I am doing, at this rate I will need separate suit cases just for that.

You just reminded me that we also need to get an international drivers license. I would rather not bother, but NZ has a stupid license system making DH's licence a bit tricky to understand. He has 4 Full Licenses (car and various classes of truck) as well as a Learner Motorbike, with all 5 licenses are on the same card. The card is coloured and labelled by the lowest class, meaning it has LEARNER written across it. Not the best look when you are trying to hire a car.

 

[Tashinwdw]

got an email last week informing us that the pool at the Wilderness lodge will be getting refurbished while we will be there, now I am unsure what to do. If anyone has stayed there would love your feedback........having construction or maintenance screens up around the pool effect the feel of the resort. We were planning on having some pool days while we were there and even though the DVC pool will be open I am not sure how that will compare in size and fun for the kids.

I have booked ADRs and other things around that area (MK etc while there and while at Boardwalk I have booked for Epcot and DHS) Even though it will be a pain do you think I should look elsewhere for accommodation or do you think it will still be fine.

Any feedback would be great

 

[PrincessInOz]

Shame about the pool refurb.

Did the letter mention where you will be allowed to go for a swim? Usually, they provide you with an alternative for where you could go use the pool instead.
Is it only the DVC pool or did they provide you with another resort pool you could use?

It will come down to how you will use the pool facilities and whether it will bother you and the family that much.
The other thing is....have you taken a look to see what alternative accommodation is available and pricing?

 

[ssour]

It was my understanding that the WL guests could use the Contemporary and Fort Wilderness pools. If you've got a couple of days dedicated to pool time you could spend one day at each of those resorts. They're only a boat ride from the WL. In terms of alternatives, the Poly is in a worse state than the WL, so that leaves the Cont or Grand Floridian in the MK area but I know lots of people have jumped ship to Cont with the announcement. Do you have free dining or anything? Might be hard to make the switch now if you do. Animal Kingdom Lodge would be the only similarly priced option but that's very far away from your MK area dinner reservations unless you're renting a car.

 

[Tashinwdw]

I guess the alternatives are just a boat ride away, it just would have been more convenient to have pool days where you can just zip up to your room and make lunch etc. We are already booked into 4 nights at the contemporary after the wilderness. I guess I just want everything to be perfect (which I know it will not be - things happen) I just dont want the rest of the family to be disappointed in the resort as I was the one that really wanted to stay at the wilderness. Maybe it will be like our last holiday at the boardwalk, our kids were the only ones in the pool, if that is the case then the dvc pool will be sufficient

 

[ssour]

I totally get your disappointment and think Disney should have given people more notice. If it's your pick and you're happy to stay then I wouldn't feel bad, I just checked out your plan in the first post and it looks like they'll have plenty if amazing places to swim throughout the trip. If you think the experience for yourself will be compromised then maybe give Disney a call to investigate your options. Maybe you can talk them into a room at the Grand Floridian for the same price

 

[Tashinwdw]

thanks ssour, it all looks so nice on the video with the creek flowing into the pool, hopefully I understand correctly and the creek will still be flowing from the lobby, so it should still look amazing - I hope. I also just checked out the villa pool area and it looks ok, there is no slide but on a stinking hot day its not that important, as long as we can cool down. I did have some pool hopping planned so we will just have to maybe do more of that. I have stopped panicking and am back to my positive self

 

[zanzibar138]

I have stopped panicking and am back to my positive self

Great to hear!

Sorry I didn't have anything to add. Haven't been to WDW, but I love the look of the WL and will definitely stay there when I go if I can afford to I bet it will still be lovely.

 

[PrincessInOz]

Good for you. Hope it works out.

 

[WanderlustNZ]

That's a shame about the pool, but I think if it was me, I'd stick with the booking.

I've never stayed at WL, but after my favourite, AKL, it looks like the loveliest resort at WDW. I'm determined to stay there one day.

 

[BecBennett]

You know I've read the first page of this PTR so many times, but something has anyways interrupted me and I've never completely finished it.

Well today I finally caught up! Your plans look great and it's coming up so quickly! I'm looking forward to hearing about the Tomorrowland Terrace dessert party. That sounds great and just after you get back we'll be nearing our 90 day mark.

 

[Tashinwdw]

That's a shame about the pool, but I think if it was me, I'd stick with the booking.

I've never stayed at WL, but after my favourite, AKL, it looks like the loveliest resort at WDW. I'm determined to stay there one day.

It was a toss up between AKL conciege and WL, WL one because it would mean we could get away with taking no buses because everything will be around the MK area. DH hates buses and I want to make it as stress free as I can for him. I am really disappointed because the spring from the lobby that goes down to the pool will all be closed as well which I think will make the place loose some of its special magic, but not much I can do about it. I have been reading that all these other ppl are getting all these great deals because of it but because we are doing it on DVC points we dont get any of them which is a bummer. At least I am aware of it, I have to lower my expectations of the resort and hopefully that will mean I will walk in and be wowed by it anyway....

You know I've read the first page of this PTR so many times, but something has anyways interrupted me and I've never completely finished it.

Well today I finally caught up! Your plans look great and it's coming up so quickly! I'm looking forward to hearing about the Tomorrowland Terrace dessert party. That sounds great and just after you get back we'll be nearing our 90 day mark.

Thanks, It is coming really quickly and I still have so much to do, even though I have print outs and planned it out, money has always been the problem, but tax has been done so expecting that payment soon, that will mean I can actually start confirming and paying for all the things in my travel folder. Your 90 days will go so fast, and by then I will be envious because I will want to be going over again.

Today I was able to get cheap flights from Las Vegas to Orlando (could never find anyone that did direct flights) Last week I found southwest did a direct flight, but only through their site YAY! they had a sale on but not for the day we needed it, sat down did some itineray changes, It means that we leave a day earlier and we will have to drop one of our day trips to a national park but it was still doable, next morning went to the post office to put some US money on the card so that I can purchase and went online and the flights had gone up $100 each. ARGHHH! but I thought I would just wait and see what happens, this morning woke up checked the prices and they had it on sale again, so that flight is done.

I then rang Cabana Bay Universal to see if I could add on an extra night (mind you wont get in until about midnight - but still need a place to crash) because we had booked so long ago we had really good rates, she was worried that I might loose them so she did some magic, because we will now be there 7 nights we got a great price, for the family suite we only pay $95.

We are now thinking about driving to the Grand Canyon instead of doing a helicopter trip, so have to get into research for that now, which is good, google earth here I come.

So good to be able to cross things off that darn list.

 

[WanderlustNZ]

It was a toss up between AKL conciege and WL, WL one because it would mean we could get away with taking no buses because everything will be around the MK area. DH hates buses and I want to make it as stress free as I can for him. I am really disappointed because the spring from the lobby that goes down to the pool will all be closed as well which I think will make the place loose some of its special magic, but not much I can do about it. I have been reading that all these other ppl are getting all these great deals because of it but because we are doing it on DVC points we dont get any of them which is a bummer. At least I am aware of it, I have to lower my expectations of the resort and hopefully that will mean I will walk in and be wowed by it anyway....

I think you will be wowed by it. For what it's worth, I didn't even know there was a spring by the lobby. Looking at pictures, I have already been wowed by the grandness of it all. The high ceilings, beautiful wooden beams, homely fireplace and rocking chairs - what's not too love?
It's the same reason I can hardly wait for my stay in Old Faithful Inn.

 

[zanzibar138]

We are now thinking about driving to the Grand Canyon instead of doing a helicopter trip, so have to get into research for that now, which is good, google earth here I come.

Nice work with the flights and CB

Just so you're aware, the drive to the Grand Canyon (South Rim) is about 4-5 hours from Vegas without stops, so it doesn't work that well as a day trip. If you're planning to spend the night, then it would make it much more viable. If you are going to drive out there, I really encourage you to do something 'interactive' with the canyon, even just a short hike. Of course, it's amazing to look at from the top, but I could only look at it for so long. You get a whole different perspective from inside the canyon. If you can manage it, it's an entirely different perspective again from the bottom.

So long story short, I would do a helicopter trip with a touchdown at the bottom over a road trip with just a view from the top. Having explored from the top, inside and the bottom, I would love to now do a helicopter trip to see the whole picture!

If you want more details, there's a section on the Grand Canyon at the end of my engagement TR. PIO also has a section on the Grand Canyon in her 'Anyone Game' TR.

 

[PrincessInOz]

Great work on the flights and rearranging the plans so that it all fits!

Hope you work out the Grand Canyon drive. It's a fantastic place to go-see. Are you planning on staying the night? The accommodation at the Rim usually gets booked out in advance.