September/October 2013 check in

[teddykins]

Wow thanks Pio! We're there for 4.5 days but our first day is already booked as we're coming in from Universal and heading straight to MK for mnsshp so effectively just 3.5 days but I'm not sure if the budget will allow us to do too many restaurants, will ask my friend if she wants to do more than one though. We had tossed with the idea of doing a character dining with either Chip & Dale or Donald but not sure how she feels about that now especially if we end up meeting them in the parks, she might feel like it was a waste of money but I'll definitely pass all this into her.

I see that makes better sense, thanks a bunch for your post Pio

 

[Caroline NZ]

So.....I have two ESTAs to renew and I'm sitting here trying my hardest not to get them too early. I was thinking of waiting to August; but it just seems such a long time away right now.

Is it July yet?

PIO - I feel the same.
DS's passport expires in Jan14. So I should get it renewed in Aug and do the ESTAs then ( DH has just done his as he is over there now - work pays anyway).
But I want to get it all out of the way NOW, especially the passport renewal.
Will try and hold out to July though, if I can do it you can to

 

[PrincessInOz]

Wow thanks Pio! We're there for 4.5 days but our first day is already booked as we're coming in from Universal and heading straight to MK for mnsshp so effectively just 3.5 days but I'm not sure if the budget will allow us to do too many restaurants, will ask my friend if she wants to do more than one though. We had tossed with the idea of doing a character dining with either Chip & Dale or Donald but not sure how she feels about that now especially if we end up meeting them in the parks, she might feel like it was a waste of money but I'll definitely pass all this into her.

I see that makes better sense, thanks a bunch for your post Pio

You can definitely meet the characters in the parks.

The strategy for character dining vs meet them in the parks depends on how busy it is and what you want to do with your time. We've spent time queueing in the park to meet and greet. We also like eating and when combined with meeting the characters, it seems like a good time saver to us as we would rather spend time in the park going on rides.

It comes down to what you prefer to do.

 

[PrincessInOz]

PIO - I feel the same.
DS's passport expires in Jan14. So I should get it renewed in Aug and do the ESTAs then ( DH has just done his as he is over there now - work pays anyway).
But I want to get it all out of the way NOW, especially the passport renewal.
Will try and hold out to July though, if I can do it you can to

1. Mother's Day this weekend.
2. Queen's Birthday mid June.
3. July. It's July. It's July!!


Yup. I think I can.

 

[cola]

Teddykins, you've got the idea that WDW is HUGE That is a great start understanding that before you get there. For a first trip, I wouldn't worry about ADRs, a first trip is about the parks. There are plenty of places to eat, you will not starve without an ADR, it's just that you won't dine at any of the ridiculously popular places because they will be full. For a short first trip, dining options can be pretty low on the priority scale, and that is OK!

I would suggest figure out what parades/shows/fireworks you want to see and decide by park crowds which park to go to. Decide what rides are absolutely must do rides, check if they have a FastPass option. Check if there are any rides only one of you wants to do if they have a single rider line. Due to the sleeping in needs, don't go to any park that has EMH that morning before you arrive, it will be packed, only go to an Extra Magic Hour park if you can get there at EMH rope drop (opening), otherwise avoid that park and hope everyone else has gone to EMH.

Decide on the number one must do ride for each park and go there first. You are going to miss a lot due to your short visit, it really doesn't matter how much you miss, you are not going to cover everything, relax and enjoy what you come across without the pressure of being at an ADR at a certain place at a certain time. If you and your friend can be slightly flexible about eating very early or very late, you can sometimes fit into even popular places as a walk up because some ADR hasn't arrived. Lunch at 11:30am or 3pm can have quite a bit of availability for a party of 2. Lunch between 12 and 2:30, you may have to make do with bland CS, though that could be your pre-3pm lunch snack.......

You know how big WDW is, you know you can't just flit from one park to the other in a few minutes, that is way ahead of most first timers.

 

[WanderlustNZ]

Wow thanks Pio! We're there for 4.5 days but our first day is already booked as we're coming in from Universal and heading straight to MK for mnsshp so effectively just 3.5 days but I'm not sure if the budget will allow us to do too many restaurants, will ask my friend if she wants to do more than one though. We had tossed with the idea of doing a character dining with either Chip & Dale or Donald but not sure how she feels about that now especially if we end up meeting them in the parks, she might feel like it was a waste of money but I'll definitely pass all this into her.

I see that makes better sense, thanks a bunch for your post Pio

Is budget concerning your friend? If so, have you checked she is okay with paying Le Cellier prices? I refuse to eat there as I just can't justify paying over US$40 for a steak meal when I know I can get some pretty amazing steaks for MUCH cheaper here in NZ. I have to be honest; if I had a friend take me to a high priced restaurant like that and I wasn't prepared for the prices in advance, I would be feeling a tad livid when it came time to split the bill. I'm not saying you should cancel the booking (going by the reviews it must be pretty nice and plenty of other people are comfortable with the prices), but I would advise giving your friend a heads-up on this one.

Have you shown her some of the themed restaurants onsite? These are the ones that have me the most excited as they're so far removed from anywhere I can eat at home. If my $16 burger at Sci Fi Diner isn't the best I've ever tasted, I'll still be happy I got to eat at a 'drive-in'. Similar scenario with the likes of 50' prime Time Cafe, Biergarten, San Angel Inn, and some of character meal places. Perhaps if you show your friend some of the more unique places, she'll be swayed by the atmosphere, if not the food.

As PIO has already mentioned, the photopass and photopass plus includes the CD, not the prints. I wonder if you would get your money's worth in just 3.5 days? Possibly. I don't have the experience with it to know. But if it means dragging your friend kicking and screaming around all the photographers, perhaps it might be better value to just pay for one or two photos on their own.

Lastly, I would be practically pulling my hair out if my travel companion was opposed to both mornings and evenings (fireworks etc) in the park. I think perhaps a discussion and compromise might be in order with this one. Explain how your want to be organised and do a lot is not going to fit in well with her plans to wing it and take it easy. Perhaps you could ask her if you can be responsible for planning 2 days and the on the other 1.5 days you'll take it more at her pace. Or alternatively, as already suggested, you tour alone in the morning and meet her at certain times in the parks.
I think your relationship with your travel companions has the potential to make or break a holiday. It's important to iron out as many possible issues as early as possible. I travelled to Barcelona with my best mate,and while we had a great time, irritability was beginning to show by the end of it. I think if we travelled again together, I would schedule a bit of time for doing our own thing.

 

[Minniemum]

PiO, Cola and WanderlustNZ have given you some fantastic advice. We love, love, love Le Cellier but it is on the $$$ side. As your friend has already been to DLR, I'd be inclined to choose unique and fun dining experiences to highlight WDW's point of difference (nice list Wanderlust )

Finding the right balance when travelling with friends can be difficult. With open communication, I'm sure you'll both be able to find a touring plan that works for both of you, even if that means spending some of your time apart at the parks.

 

[CJ2001]

Hi teddykins

We went to Disneyland last year & I had spent ages planning our trip but was totally unprepared for how big DL, even though I went when I was younger. We had no plan when we went in there & only had a 3 day pass & it was not enough time we still missed so many things.

When I looked into WDW, i borrowed the Fodors guide & I couldn't believe how much planning needed to be done & how many parks there are & how you have to book 180 days in advance for dining. I haven't been to WDW but I have nearly a folder of information & maps that I will be taking when we do go.

It sounds like you friend wants a relaxing holiday, but it is going to be complete opposite. I have never been more exhausted in my life then when we went to DL, never ever fallen into bed before but I did on that holiday!

Hope everything works out

 

[teddykins]

We spoke a bit more today about it all and I found out that she isn't looking forward to this side of the trip as is worrying about money (she lost her job a few months ago due to the boss being an idiot and the ATO catching up to him and is scared it'll happen again) and had the feeling of not wanting to see much of wdw because she had seen it at DL how ever once we have everything paid off and are on our way she thinks she will feel much better about it all, she asked why she couldn't be as excited about it as I appear to be and I told her I'm excited because 1.5 years ago I was stuck to a Dialysis machine 3x a week for 4-5 hours at a time not knowing if I was going to live or die the next day due to the Kidney failing.. never in my wildest dreams did I think I would get the chance to visit a Disney park. It's been a very long 29 year road to get to this point and my transplanted Kidney could fail at any second so I need to grab life by the head and just live it while I can; this includes trying to cram every last minute out of places like Disney World because I really don't know if or when I'll be back. I could end up back on the transplant list and Dialysis in the next 2 hours, for all I know.

She knows about Le Cellier and it's prices, we've been talking about eating here for months now. I didn't just spring this reservation on her with no prior warning at all I'm definitely not like that. I told her today that we can cancel it if she wants too I am ok either way, I just thought she wanted to eat at a steak place like she told me months ago and she told me to leave it and just see if the budget can put it in if not we will cancel it. She was even looking at a place to have a character lunch/dinner today so she clearly wants to do the restaurants, I do know we won't die without them.

I've already done the ride list and the crowed calendar etc, she has a few on her list which are the same as mine.. I think the only one I want to try that she isn't too crash hot on is mission space but she's said she'll try it once and I mean that's all you need..I'm not too crash hot on it either but hey we're there why not give it a shot? You never know you may find you love it, has happened to me plenty of times at theme parks.

I won't be dragging her around kicking and screaming at all, not by a long shot. If she doesn't want her photo taken then she doesn't have to it's a simple as that but as I said I'm not sure if I'm going to get it yet, we shall see

Thanks CJ, in the end if she doesn't "come around" (I use the term loosely) then I will just give in and do it her way, go with the flow.. at least I will be at Disney and that is the main thing. This whole thing would be sorted if we hadn't been so quick to buy into that Qantas sale

 

[WanderlustNZ]

Hi teddykins. Apologies if it sounded like I was presuming things I shouldn't. I just remembered you mentioning that Le Cellier was the one booking your friend didn't know about, so I thought it might be worth mentioning.

It's good that you have been talking to her about it today. You sound like you are prepared to give up a lot of your own wishes to accommodate her so you must be a good friend.

Lastly, you needn't feel like you have to justify why Disney is so important to you. Lot's of us here haven't had half the health concerns you have, and this trip still has us very excited. Who knows what is around the corner, we might as well all enjoy life while we can

 

[alicia1506]

hi all, sorry i have been a little bit absent of late.

teddykins, sounds like you're dealing with a travel situation not unlike my own. i love my travel partners to death, but when they don't get what you're trying to impart about wdw in terms of sheer size and scope etc, it can be a little frustrating.

also... don't just give in and go with the flow. i am a people pleaser. i love to make others happy. but on our last trip, i spent so much of my time and my trip experiences managing my other traveller's moods that i didn't get as much enjoyment out of it as i should/could have. having said that, my planning experience for my upcoming trip has been...very different to our last trip.

you have clearly worked hard for this opportunity and i would hate to see your experience soured even the tiniest little bit by a recalcitrant friend

in relation to our current trip (5 and a half months now, eek ), my plans are definitely coming along.

we have 1.5 days at wdw after a 6 day stretch at dlr. i know most of you would reverse that and do more days at wdw and less at dlr but my family LOVES dlr and wants to spend as much time there as possible. my dh wants to be there for his birthday, and we've arranged to attend the halloween party while there as well. i have to wait until the 30 day mark before making our ADR at dlr, and that seems like not enough time, especially compared to the 180 day reservation policy at wdw! we were lucky enough to be able to secure a late lunch ressie at cinderella's royal table in MK on our day there, and at the 166 day mark, which i thought was truly awesome i know it has mixed reviews, but my travellers are looking for great experiences and cindy is my sister's favourite princess, so that worked out nicely for us as it's such an expensive meal (okay, it's not the 100s of $$ that le cellier is etc, but it's certainly a lot more than the CS budget i think my traveller's are prepared to pay) i have arranged to pay for all of us, so that will be a nice surprise.

still a lot left to reserve & pay off before we leave, but it's all planned out, i have timelines and deadlines and Gant Charts and everything has been decided upon, it's now just prying that money from the fists of my travellers to pay for things, and we'll be golden

my travellers have all expressed a desire to do a more 'go with the flow' travel plan, and since my style is a little more organised, i have decided to compromise...

my plan (borrowed from australiankaren, thank you )
- daily a5 itinerary, with pictures and colours to keep them interested, with each day shown on a separate page, laminated, and bound together on a flip ring.

- each page showing the park/attraction/location for the day, opening & closing times, any attractions/parades/shows scheduled that we want to hit for that day, any relevant booking numbers for flights, ADRs, transport etc down the bottom

- a disney themed digital watch

- a usa sim card for our phones.

the way the plan will work (ideally):
the day before the trip, each traveller gets their ring bound laminated book thingo showing what the general outline/plan is for each day. this gives them a heads up as to what to expect, without being bogged down with detail.

this also puts ownership and responsibility for the amount of info/detail they require onto them. if they want to be fully informed, they can be. if all they want is the glossy highlights and knowing they need to be at X location by a certain time, they can be. no muss, less fuss. one for each of them means more individual freedom with the info and less 'where did you put the book with the important info, omg you lost it again didn't you' kind of conversations

confirmation numbers and details are included at the bottom of every page, for a quick look reference point in case they are needed.

watch & sim card allow us to accurately pinpoint time and communicate about locations/expected arrival times at meeting points etc without being attached at the hip.

it might sound like this is a crazy uber plan, but after our last trip when we were all attached at the hip and my travellers didn't want to know anything but were constantly asking me when shows were and how much time til we had to be in certain places... this will be a welcome relief for all of us

 

[teddykins]

Hi teddykins. Apologies if it sounded like I was presuming things I shouldn't. I just remembered you mentioning that Le Cellier was the one booking your friend didn't know about, so I thought it might be worth mentioning.

It's good that you have been talking to her about it today. You sound like you are prepared to give up a lot of your own wishes to accommodate her so you must be a good friend.

Lastly, you needn't feel like you have to justify why Disney is so important to you. Lot's of us here haven't had half the health concerns you have, and this trip still has us very excited. Who knows what is around the corner, we might as well all enjoy life while we can

That's ok I can see how one could read that the wrong way. I just meant she didn't know I made the reservation until the next day but knew I was looking at doing it; I was umming and ahhing about making it (or any ADR's) for the last month so I think she was just a bit surprised as a few days before I had said I wasn't going to do it and then did it. I confused her I guess.

I'm always willing to give stuff up if it pleases my friends especially on holiday's, I've been on some where one little thing has just set us all off and it ruins the whole holiday so I'd rather give in than face that kind of situation. My best friend is always telling me off as I have a hard time saying no to people and then it comes back to bite me in the butt.

I wasn't justifying it I was just explaining the conversation that transpired between us She couldn't understand why I was so excited to get to Disney and only so-so excited about the BSB Cruise (she's the opposite), a lot of people don't realise what being tied to a Dialysis machine does to a person, it really does crush your soul and after a while you start thinking that the phone call you've been waiting for will never come so places like America, Europe, Asia etc are out of the question because travelling on Dialysis is like trying to travel with a 1000kg weight strapped to your back. I was lucky when I went to NZ as the Dialysis type I was on at the time allowed a bit more freedom to travel as the company has a HQ over there so they were able to get me my supplies and a machine (I was home Dialysing), when I questioned about the US I got a quick "heck no that's impossible. Sorry" Then one morning in 2011 I got a phone call and the person on the other end said "we have a kidney for you, how soon can you get here?" and everything changed, no more Dialysis, no more food and drink restrictions, less tablets to take, more freedom to live life and best of all the freedom to go away when ever I wanted to; I didn't have to ask my doctors first, organise it with my Dialysis centre, watch what I ate, watched what I drank.. I was free and let me tell you, it feels bloody awesome

teddykins, sounds like you're dealing with a travel situation not unlike my own. i love my travel partners to death, but when they don't get what you're trying to impart about wdw in terms of sheer size and scope etc, it can be a little frustrating.

also... don't just give in and go with the flow. i am a people pleaser. i love to make others happy. but on our last trip, i spent so much of my time and my trip experiences managing my other traveller's moods that i didn't get as much enjoyment out of it as i should/could have. having said that, my planning experience for my upcoming trip has been...very different to our last trip.

you have clearly worked hard for this opportunity and i would hate to see your experience soured even the tiniest little bit by a recalcitrant friend

Thanks Alicia, I'm a people pleaser too, I hate saying no especially to my friends I feel really bad when I do! I honestly don't think anything can really spoil my time over there - even if I don't get to do all the things I want to do I will just keep telling myself if I was back in Australia I would be tied to a Dialysis machine or I could be dead how ever I am IN Disney and I am free so it's not so bad.

Sounds like you have a great plan for this time around though, you're so organised!!

 

[disneyismyhappyplace]

I've just joined the boards.
DD(12) and I will be coming to Walt Disney World September 14th - Oct 4th. Staying at AKL -OKW-AKL
Can't wait!!

 

[jessiegirl84]

There is alot of chatter going on about the free dinning offer from September 2- 25, will be released on 9 May. Is anyone else going to ring up and see if we can get it ??

 

[australiankaren]

I've just joined the boards.
DD(12) and I will be coming to Walt Disney World September 14th - Oct 4th. Staying at AKL -OKW-AKL
Can't wait!!

welcome to the anzac disboards.......and a lot of us are in wdw sept .....so expect to hear aussie accents all over the joint...

cant wait to hear your reviews re OKW..

roll on september

 

[PrincessInOz]

I've just joined the boards.
DD(12) and I will be coming to Walt Disney World September 14th - Oct 4th. Staying at AKL -OKW-AKL
Can't wait!!

Welcome to the boards!

There is alot of chatter going on about the free dinning offer from September 2- 25, will be released on 9 May. Is anyone else going to ring up and see if we can get it ??

I believe the people with a Disney Visa card have already gotten FD, so it will be available to the general public soon One of the PTRs I'm following said she applied for the Visa card and she got FD applied to her booking earlier this week.
It's just outside my dates and besides, I'm doing DVC rental so I won't qualify. Congrats if it applies and the numbers work out well for you.

 

[Nixie]

We have not completely booked it yet.... But our tenative plans are Oct 13th - 19th at POR.

 

[Minniemum]

I've just joined the boards.
DD(12) and I will be coming to Walt Disney World September 14th - Oct 4th. Staying at AKL -OKW-AKL
Can't wait!!

Welcome! That's some stay you've got planned!

We have not completely booked it yet.... But our tenative plans are Oct 13th - 19th at POR.

Here's to your tentative plans becoming reality.

 

[coco392]

There is alot of chatter going on about the free dinning offer from September 2- 25, will be released on 9 May. Is anyone else going to ring up and see if we can get it ??

going to be on phone tonight - hope we get through quick. scared if phone bill!!!!!!

good luck

 

[alicia1506]

going to be on phone tonight - hope we get through quick. scared if phone bill!!!!!!

good luck

good luck with free dining

your phone bill shouldn't be too high. most home phone & even mobile phone plans have usa calls at a rate of cents per minute. i know with my phone plan, calls to the usa are only 2c/min, and the longest call i was on cost me $1.04 or something crazy like that... that's a lot of minutes for a whole lot of cheap phone bill