Sept / Oct 2011

[Travel Mum]

Wow, I see I am now a Veteran!!!

 

[AussieMumma]

Can I be added to the list please.....We are staying at the All Star Music from 4th Oct - 14th Oct

WAMUMOF4 8 days yippeeee!!!!!
It will be school holidays here when it's our 8 days to go, kids will be bugging me big time I'm sure!!

I have to force myself to not read some stuff as none of our family like spoilers. I couldn't look at the link for the food preview for the Food and Wine Festival. I want some surprises.

I'm the complete opposite!!! I'm read everything available and watch as much as possible on you tube etc....I just can't get enough Disney :

We just got an email from our hotel in Miami the other day telling us they are resurfacing the pool and all pool areas etc during our stay , so we have had to start looking at a alternate location!!! Just when I thought I had all the boring booking stuff done!!!

I added a second ticker, I like have the days plus the months/weeks

 

[kylieh]

Can I be added to the list please.....We are staying at the All Star Music from 4th Oct - 14th Oct

Updated!

 

[austraveler]

Our Disney cruise line documents came by fed ex yesterday. Now I am really getting excited!

 

[Franrose]

Afternoon!

Man, I can't beleive how little I know when it comes to planning this trip. It's been organised since Dec last year, but I really didn't have a good grasp of how the dining reservation system worked. I've just worked out today that you can make WDW dining reservations to your heart's content online, they are flexible (ie you can cancel when needed), it doesn't cost anything, and can be done six months ahead of time. DOH! I had assumed it was similar to Disneyland (ie 60 days out) and that anything was set in stone. When I asked on this thread about the Wishes dessert party, there were plenty of bookings available but I was too scared to make any until I found out about our tickets in case they weren't park hoppers. Well I'm really regretting that - I could have just booked all nights and then cancelled the ones that wouldn't work! As it turns out, our tickets are park hoppers, and now, there are no reservations left for Wishes when we are there. There are very few character meals (did get Crystal Palace at 2pm one day) and a couple of the other restaurants we were keen on are fully booked. Bummer!

Like I said, it's hard when you don't know what you don't know! And I really shouln't have gotten in to this planning/dreaming lark so late (it's just that all along I've been worried the trip might change or be cancelled so I didn't want to get prematurely excited, kwim!) Still, I DO know now to not give up and keep stalking reservations we are keen on

 

[Busy Busy]

You should definitely keep stalking! The other night I was up at 2am having an insomnia moment and I jumped onto the WDW website and found a better time for dinner on our first night at Wilderness Lodge. I was thrilled, but I had nobody to share it with at that time of night!

I made all of our ADRs at 180 + 10 days and got everything that I wanted, but a couple of things have changed now since we have swapped resorts and I have spent some time fine tuning our ADRs. I hated having to plan everything so far in advance and feeling that we will be stuck to a plan when it comes to meals, but I am so pleased to have the reservations that I think that we will manage it all just fine. Hang in there!

I think that this has given me an idea for a new thread!

 

[kylieh]

Afternoon!

Man, I can't beleive how little I know when it comes to planning this trip. It's been organised since Dec last year, but I really didn't have a good grasp of how the dining reservation system worked. I've just worked out today that you can make WDW dining reservations to your heart's content online, they are flexible (ie you can cancel when needed), it doesn't cost anything, and can be done six months ahead of time.

On the other sub forums it's suggested to check all the time, but particularly around 50-45 days as trips get cancelled then as that's when pid in full needs to be completed.

 

[Franrose]

Yay, thanks for those tips!

 

[Busy Busy]

Ugh, how depressing would it be to have to cancel with only 45 days to go?

 

[WAMUMOF4]

Franrose definitely keep looking i missed the 180 day mark and still managed to get everything we wanted eventually and then we changed our mind about most of them and still managed to get better bookings and times. We now only have 3 ADR's as we really didn't like having our time there so scheduled around eating hope we don't regret it! Also subscribe to the cancelled thread and stalk that for the month your going.


1 week to go

 

[AussieMumma]

Ohhh is there a "cancelled" thread??!!!! I'm still hoping to get a booking for the dessert party.....this shall be me

 

[WAMUMOF4]

Ohhh is there a "cancelled" thread??!!!! I'm still hoping to get a booking for the dessert party.....this shall be me

i haven't put in the August one as it seems i am the only one going then
October
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2690026
September
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2690023

 

[Busy Busy]

I was worried about being so tied down to dining reservations, but I think that I have gotten over it now. Considering that we are there during free dining, I was very worried about having nowhere to eat, plus having 5 months between booking the trip and the 180 + 10 day mark gave me lots of time to read about all of the yummy places to eat.

So, we have a zillion ADRs, but we are also there for 12 nights, so we should have plenty of time to fit a lot in. I also like the idea of the 4 of us having time during our sit down meals to talk about our day.

 

[AussieMumma]

WAMUMOF4 Thanks for the links, and I'll come with you in august if you want some company

 

[WAMUMOF4]

I was worried about being so tied down to dining reservations, but I think that I have gotten over it now. Considering that we are there during free dining, I was very worried about having nowhere to eat, plus having 5 months between booking the trip and the 180 + 10 day mark gave me lots of time to read about all of the yummy places to eat.

So, we have a zillion ADRs, but we are also there for 12 nights, so we should have plenty of time to fit a lot in. I also like the idea of the 4 of us having time during our sit down meals to talk about our day.

Now free dining might been another matter I am sure we would of found a way to cope then We are only there 5 days and perhaps if i had of researched WDW a little bit before we booked our plane tickets we would of stayed longer but if we do everything on our second once in a lifetime trip, we wouldn't need to go back

WAMUMOF4 Thanks for the links, and I'll come with you in august if you want some company

Your welcome and feel free to join us

 

[hellosue]

Hey thanks for the cancellation link.....
Just changed a Diner Res to a more respectable 5:30 pm @ Hollywood & Vine for Fantastmic Experience...

 

[Franrose]

Ohhh is there a "cancelled" thread??!!!! I'm still hoping to get a booking for the dessert party.....this shall be me

AussieMumma (aka JoP? ) I don't even think your days are open yet - or did September get delayed reservation openings? I know that the day after we leave (late Sept), there's reservations available, lol. And a couple of days ago, every single day it was on that we were there was available! Man I wish I'd known we had park hopper tickets then, I just didn't want to bother our group organiser (who has just finished organising a dance concert and now has moved on to organising costumes for their dancing at Disney etc).

 

[kylieh]

AussieMumma (aka JoP? ) I don't even think your days are open yet - or did September get delayed reservation openings? I know that the day after we leave (late Sept), there's reservations available, lol. And a couple of days ago, every single day it was on that we were there was available! Man I wish I'd known we had park hopper tickets then, I just didn't want to bother our group organiser (who has just finished organising a dance concert and now has moved on to organising costumes for their dancing at Disney etc).

You can upgrade your tickets yourself after youve checked in and used one of the days, then the group leader doesn't need to know anything. The concierge desk will be able to or let you know where to do it.

 

[MouseFan Down Under]

BRING ON THE HOLIDAY!!!

Only one month to go TODAY!!! - yes, count them - 31 sleeps!!!!

There has been a little 'fine tuning' (reads many changes..) these past couple of weeks, but I think I have it...

Just to recap...

24 - 28 August - Las Vegas / MGM Grand
28 August - 4 September - New York - with Day trips to Boston & Niagara Falls
4 - 9 September - Orlando / Double Tree @ Entrace to Universal for some time with Harry
9 - 19 September - Orladno / Port Orleans French Quarter for quality time with the Mouse!

And just to go into a bit more detail...cause that's what I like to do, and that's why I plan all the holidays...

Friday 9 September - return hire car to airport, use Magical Express to go to POFQ - evening at leisure - park will be picked for us - by the first bus that arrives

Satuday 10 September - DHS - Brown Derby for Fantasmic! Dinner package

Sunday 11 September - AK - Breakfast at Tusker House / then over to Epcot for Les Chefs de France for dinner

Monday 12 September - Epcot day, then over to Yachtmans for dinner, may head to HS for EMH after

Tuesday 13 September - Blizzard Beach & DTD in the morning/afternoon, then MNSSHP in the evening

Wednesday 14 September - Lazy morning, then to Richard Petty drivining experience for Dad to use his birthday present - then Wishes Dessert Party

Thursday 15 September - I will be doing the Wild Africa Trek in the morning , afternoon to be determined; we will then be going to Boma for dinner

Friday 16 September - Crystal Palace for breakfast (before park opens - for those fabulous photo's down Main Street), MK for rest of the day, heading over to Epcot for dinner at Via Napoli

Saturday 17 September - Maybe DTD or TL - yet to be determined, we will however, finish the night at MK for Main Street Electrical Parade, and another viewing of Wishes

Sunday 18 September - 1900 Park Fare for Breakfast, then resort hoping seeing anything we may have missed, Le Cellier for dinner, and back to MK for evening EMH

Monday 19 September - Final morning - park choice to be determined, check out 12 noon, back to airport for flight home

YAY!!! It sounds so exciting!

 

[Franrose]

Woo hoo MfDU!!


In my travels stalking dining reservations, I can't believe how many reservations there are just days out, I guess as more people cancel. If you pop tomorrow in (25th July), there's O'Hanas, the Epcot Princess one (don't make me spell it ), Crystal Palace... I've seen Chef Mickey's pop up as well. So I'm more and more hopeful we'll have options as time goes on.