September/October 2013 check in

[Minniemum]

Alicia can you please add me to your list on the first page? At the moment our dates are 14/9-28/9 at POFQ with Free Dining (courtesy of a bounceback offer). Dates will be tweaked once we book our flights.

 

[alicia1506]

Alicia can you please add me to your list on the first page? At the moment our dates are 14/9-28/9 at POFQ with Free Dining (courtesy of a bounceback offer). Dates will be tweaked once we book our flights.

done welcome to the travel gang

 

[WanderlustNZ]

Thanks everyone.

Caroline,that sounds like a really good deal on a car. Well done. I'm toying with the idea of hiring a car for a two or three days so we can explore a few areas outside of Disney. However, I'm not sure if it'll end up feeling like more hassle than it is worth?

Minniemum, how wonderful that you already have free dining. I'm crossing my fingers and hoping that it will be offered again next year. Can I be naive and ask what a bounceback offer is?

 

[alicia1506]

Thanks everyone.

Caroline,that sounds like a really good deal on a car. Well done. I'm toying with the idea of hiring a car for a two or three days so we can explore a few areas outside of Disney. However, I'm not sure if it'll end up feeling like more hassle than it is worth?

Minniemum, how wonderful that you already have free dining. I'm crossing my fingers and hoping that it will be offered again next year. Can I be naive and ask what a bounceback offer is?

my understanding is that a bounceback offer is where you have previously visited wdw and had your stay onsite, disney will often offer you a deal to 'bounce back to wdw' ie a package or a discount to facilitate your return to wdw, often for a significant discount or with freebies or other benefits offered.

i guess it's kinda similar to guests on DCL who rebook while onboard get given reduced deposit amounts and extra on board credit for the new cruise... except this is for the wdw component of the stay

 

[Minniemum]

Thanks everyone.

Caroline,that sounds like a really good deal on a car. Well done. I'm toying with the idea of hiring a car for a two or three days so we can explore a few areas outside of Disney. However, I'm not sure if it'll end up feeling like more hassle than it is worth?

Minniemum, how wonderful that you already have free dining. I'm crossing my fingers and hoping that it will be offered again next year. Can I be naive and ask what a bounceback offer is?

We usually hire a car for a few days to do shopping, Kennedy Space Centre, shopping, US/IOA and I almost forgot shopping!

Thanks Alicia, you did a great job of explaining the bounceback offer. I think the dates we were given for arrival were the 1st August to 13th September. When I called to book they allowed us to push it out to the 14th September as I was keen to get 1 day of the F&W festival in our 2 week stay. Going on past years the 2013 F&W festival should commence on Friday 27 September.

 

[Minniemum]

done welcome to the travel gang

Thanks!

 

[mom2my3kids]

sorry

 

[WanderlustNZ]

my understanding is that a bounceback offer is where you have previously visited wdw and had your stay onsite, disney will often offer you a deal to 'bounce back to wdw' ie a package or a discount to facilitate your return to wdw, often for a significant discount or with freebies or other benefits offered.

i guess it's kinda similar to guests on DCL who rebook while onboard get given reduced deposit amounts and extra on board credit for the new cruise... except this is for the wdw component of the stay

Thanks Alicia and Minniemum for explaining.
How wonderful to have free dining locked in already. It certainly makes advanced planning so much easier.
I feel a bit in limbo waiting until next year for the specials (fingers crossed there will be some good ones) to be announced. If free dining is offered I'm hoping to book a 'moderate'. But if the best special ends up being a room discount, I'm thinking of getting a 'value' for 7 nights, then splashing out on a 'deluxe' or cars suite at AOA for the last 4.

Out of curiosity, does anyone know if there would be any point in making a 'room only' booking sooner rather than later, and then canceling/changing this booking if and when specials are announced. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think I read somewhere that people with room bookings got a bigger window in which to book restaurants. Would these restaurant bookings cancel if I changed my accommodation booking to another Disney hotel or package? Also, is changing the booking easy to do online, or would it require tolls to Disney?

Sorry about all the questions. I'll probably pose them on the main resort forum at some stage, but thought there might be somewhere here in the know.

 

[tapdancer]

Out of curiosity, does anyone know if there would be any point in making a 'room only' booking sooner rather than later, and then canceling/changing this booking if and when specials are announced. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think I read somewhere that people with room bookings got a bigger window in which to book restaurants. Would these restaurant bookings cancel if I changed my accommodation booking to another Disney hotel or package? Also, is changing the booking easy to do online, or would it require tolls to Disney?

Sorry about all the questions. I'll probably pose them on the main resort forum at some stage, but thought there might be somewhere here in the know.

We are also hoping for free dining. My Disney travel agent recommended we book the room (POR) and add dining at this stage so we can book ADR's without having to prepay. If free dining is not offered we can cancel without penalty.

This is what we have done, my agent said she would be very surprised if free dining won't be offered so I have my fingers and toes crossed

 

[WanderlustNZ]

We are also hoping for free dining. My Disney travel agent recommended we book the room (POR) and add dining at this stage so we can book ADR's without having to prepay. If free dining is not offered we can cancel without penalty.

This is what we have done, my agent said she would be very surprised if free dining won't be offered so I have my fingers and toes crossed

Thanks for the reply tapdancer. Your WDW dates are almost identical to ours, so we can cross our fingers and toes together
Can I just check I'm clear on your comment about not 'having to prepay'. If you just have a 'room only' booking and you book some ADR's do you need to pay a deposit/fee to hold the bookings?
Also, I know you aren't allowed to say who your TA is, but can I ask if you're finding it better going through one than doing it all yourself?

Lastly, just out of curiosity, what kind of room have you decided to book at POR? The two Port Orleans resorts definitely look the most appealing to me out of the moderates. I'm quite keen on one of those Riverside rooms that sleep 5 because of the small pull out bed. There are only 3 of us, but I figure we'll all have a great sleep if we have a bed each.

 

[australiankaren]

can you change my thingy to
freedom of the seas 15-22 sept
freedom of the seas 22-29 sept
BWV 8-13 sept
AKL 13-15 sept

thanks mate..now back to facebook

 

[alicia1506]

can you change my thingy to
freedom of the seas 15-22 sept
freedom of the seas 22-29 sept
BWV 8-13 sept
AKL 13-15 sept

thanks mate..now back to facebook

Done. Sounds like a great itinerary see you on facebook

 

[Minniemum]

How wonderful to have free dining locked in already. It certainly makes advanced planning so much easier.

Yes it's a big bonus!

Out of curiosity, does anyone know if there would be any point in making a 'room only' booking sooner rather than later, and then canceling/changing this booking if and when specials are announced.

Personally I like to make my booking sooner than later. If the NZ to USD exchange rate is high, you can make intermittent payments online easily. I like to pay $200 off every couple of weeks. I use it as my savings plan. If you decide to cancel more than 45 days before your arrival you will get a full refund (although you will be at the mercy of the exchange rate at the time). Cancellation penalties occur inside 45 days. To cancel or change you will need to call. Your booking number will likely remain the same just the details of the booking will change. Again, Disney make the process hassle free.


Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think I read somewhere that people with room bookings got a bigger window in which to book restaurants.

You can commence booking your ADR's 180 days prior to your arrival date. The bonus is that you are then able to book for your first 10 days.


Would these restaurant bookings cancel if I changed my accommodation booking to another Disney hotel or package?

No. You will have your restaurant booking/confirmation numbers that are linked to your WDW account. These can also be linked to your booking.


Also, is changing the booking easy to do online, or would it require tolls to Disney?

You'll need to call to change your package details. Your dining reservations can be cancelled and rebooked online.


Sorry about all the questions. I'll probably pose them on the main resort forum at some stage, but thought there might be somewhere here in the know.

Ask away. There's a wealth of information on the Australian boards.

thanks mate..now back to facebook

See you on my other tab!

 

[australiankaren]

"see you on my other tab"...priceless

 

[tapdancer]

Thanks for the reply tapdancer. Your WDW dates are almost identical to ours, so we can cross our fingers and toes together
Can I just check I'm clear on your comment about not 'having to prepay'. If you just have a 'room only' booking and you book some ADR's do you need to pay a deposit/fee to hold the bookings?
Also, I know you aren't allowed to say who your TA is, but can I ask if you're finding it better going through one than doing it all yourself?

Lastly, just out of curiosity, what kind of room have you decided to book at POR? The two Port Orleans resorts definitely look the most appealing to me out of the moderates. I'm quite keen on one of those Riverside rooms that sleep 5 because of the small pull out bed. There are only 3 of us, but I figure we'll all have a great sleep if we have a bed each.

I'm not too sure about having to prepay as last trip Free Dining was offered upon our booking. My agent said some Character Dining bookings would require a credit card to confirm if dining was not added to my package. Also the 180 days booking was an advantage.

We are a family of 5 so staying in a room that sleeps 5 with the Murphy bed. I have found measurements for the bed and it would comfortably sleep my 17 year old who isn't very tall, it's almost the same size as the half of the couch she is always falling asleep on lol

We stayed at the Beach Club last trip which had a day bed, Beach Club not in the budget this time however as we are having 6 nights in New York this time also.

I'll pm you my travel agent, she is wonderful, nothing is too much trouble and I don't have to worry about a thing.

 

[WanderlustNZ]

Thanks so much Minniemum and tapdancer for your help. You're awesome

I'm finding it so much fun planning a trip to WDW, but at the same time there seems to be so much to learn.

I sat with a calculator this morning trying to decide if I would pay for the dining plan if it wasn't offered and I'm just not sure. So much to think about...

 

[PrincessInOz]

I think DH agreed to 4 weeks!


But as he told me this after he flew from MLB to LAX and got no sleep at all; so I'll gently nudge this along to confirm if he was for real or if he was on sleep depravation.

 

[becpee]

I think DH agreed to 4 weeks!


But as he told me this after he flew from MLB to LAX and got no sleep at all; so I'll gently nudge this along to confirm if he was for real or if he was on sleep depravation.

He said it, so it's done

Lock it in Eddie!

 

[Minniemum]

He said it, so it's done

Lock it in Eddie!

Love it!

 

[Minniemum]

If you just have a 'room only' booking and you book some ADR's do you need to pay a deposit/fee to hold the bookings?
.

Regardless of what type of booking you have, some restaurants require you to provide a credit card guarantee when making your ADR. This means that if you don't give at least one days notice for a cancelation, you will be charged $10 per person on the said reservation.