The End is... NOWHERE in sight! - Sept/Oct 2016 PTR *Update 9/14*

[vrajewski10513]

Exactly! I don't understand why they even keep doing some of these discounts. They talk it up to the TA's and Disney Community and send out these e-mails to past guests and Disney Visa card holders, yet they have about 10 rooms to satisfy the demand they've churned up for it. As much as I hate to say it, they should just get rid of the program since they're really just causing frustration and actually harming their image to most of the people trying to take advantage of the offer.

I completely agree. The only options that had more availability were at deluxes. Sorry, but if I'm trying to get free dining, I'm not going to upgrade for $4000 more on my room and tickets, to save $2500 on dining... It's a lose-lose situation on the money front. That's why I scrapped the offer completely.

 

[pkondz]

So, I was up practically all night refreshing the Special Offers page and at around 4am they launched the free dining promotion. I literally got to it as soon as it was dropped.. and all they had available for my dates for Mods were the Pirate rooms at CBR and for values it was preferred rooms at AS Sports... So i sucked it up and snatched up a Pirate room before even THEY were gone.

Wow. That was quick.
"We're launching free dining with some rooms. We have seven rooms... Go!"

Later in the morning people started getting Disney Visa card emails about special offers for card holders... so here I am.. on hold going on 45 minutes with an estimated wait time of 2 hours.

And???? How did that go?

I've been waiting for this too, since there's a slim chance I might go in September. But I may do the room only deal instead if it's just me. We'll see. I'd have to crunch the numbers, of course.

 

[vrajewski10513]

Good morning everyone!!

This is how I've felt for the last two days....

From staying up all night Sunday/Monday...

To seeing Free Dining released at 4am Monday morning...

To seeing the only options available that weren't deluxe were a Pirate room at CBR or a preferred room at AS Sports...

Booking that Pirate room because I felt we had no other option...

To checking availability of DVC rentals and finding nothing...

And finally, finding a fantastic deal through a TA!

With this agency we are able to spend 3 nights (9/28-10/1) in a SUITE here!!

Then 7 nights (10/1-10/8) in a standard room here!!!

I honestly couldn't be more excited about this decision. To tell you the truth I was pretty bummed when I figured we would be stuck in a Pirate room at CBR. So the fact that I now get to stay in a suite at an awesome hotel ON-SITE while were visiting Universal, then get to hop over to the one Moderate resort at Disney that I've been dying to stay at but have never been able to due to cost is way beyond expectations!

So, I started last night tinkering with our dining reservations. Since were no longer going to be at Disney for those first 3 days I needed to do some rearranging, and I'm still currently working on that. I'll post more about the schedule changes once I have a new plan formulated.

I feel like I'm on cloud 9 now. ​

 

[vrajewski10513]

Wow. That was quick.
"We're launching free dining with some rooms. We have seven rooms... Go!"

Seven rooms throughout all of theon-site hotels.

And???? How did that go?

I've been waiting for this too, since there's a slim chance I might go in September. But I may do the room only deal instead if it's just me. We'll see. I'd have to crunch the numbers, of course.

It didnt go well at all, but all worked out in the end. See my post above

You will have a MUCH better chance at a RO offer than FD.

 

[afwdwfan]

That is great news!!! I'm glad you were able to work that out! I know it will be nice staying on-site at Universal... Cabana Bay has early entry, but not Express Pass, right? Or is it vice versa? Either way, it will help you get a jump on the crowd and you'll be close by. Having a few days at Universal, there's really no need for EP anyway. Especially if you get into the Harry Potter things before it is open to the public.

As for French Quarter, I think that will be a great experience too! When we were at Riverside, I walked over to FQ, and I really thought it was a beautiful, well themed resort. I certainly wouldn't mind returning to Riverside, or staying at FQ if we ever have the opportunity to do so.

 

[vrajewski10513]

That is great news!!! I'm glad you were able to work that out! I know it will be nice staying on-site at Universal... Cabana Bay has early entry, but not Express Pass, right? Or is it vice versa? Either way, it will help you get a jump on the crowd and you'll be close by. Having a few days at Universal, there's really no need for EP anyway. Especially if you get into the Harry Potter things before it is open to the public.

They get early entry, no express pass. Which like you said, EP isn't needed. I think 3 days will give us ample time to do everything we'd like to. Especially with the Early entry to HP areas.

As for French Quarter, I think that will be a great experience too! When we were at Riverside, I walked over to FQ, and I really thought it was a beautiful, well themed resort. I certainly wouldn't mind returning to Riverside, or staying at FQ if we ever have the opportunity to do so

I just really like the fact that it's a much smaller resort in comparison to the other mods. Plus, we get access to Riverside as well so we can have the best of both worlds!!

 

[FantasiaMagic]

Wow! That is awesome news! Cabana bay looks so nice, and I've heard great things about it. I can't wait to see your pictures there!
And also that's awesome about POR, I have always wanted to stay there as well!
You must be so happy!!!

 

[PrincessAshlee]

Hi! Joining in! I too will be going to WDW this fall (Oct 12-19).

I love your planning spreadsheet!!!! I love making spreadsheets! I have one started for our trip, but it is only broken down by day. Now I need to go make a new spreadsheet that is broken down by the half hour, obviously.

I see that you are planning to take lots of breaks, but you mentioned not having a car while you are there; how much time do you typically budget for transportation? I am worried that by the time we get back to the hotel, we will only have a short amount of time before it is time to go back to the park. I’m also worried that we will have spent more time going back and forth than actually relaxing at the hotel. How long should I plan for afternoon breaks?

Also, how do you plan to get back to your hotel after your Beaches & Cream reservation? I would like to spend some time on the Boardwalk, but am unsure as to how we will get back to our hotel. I would prefer not to pay for a taxi, if I don’t have to.

I did not have a car for my last trip, we used Disney transportation to get everywhere, but we only took breaks on a few of the days and mostly just went to the parks and back to the hotel.

Any other tips on how to best take advantage of the free Disney transportation?

Thanks!

 

[pkondz]

And finally, finding a fantastic deal through a TA!

All right!

With this agency we are able to spend 3 nights (9/28-10/1) in a SUITE here!!

Nice!

Then 7 nights (10/1-10/8) in a standard room here!!!

Haven't stayed there, but visited when we were at POR.
I thought it was nice and not so widespread.

I honestly couldn't be more excited about this decision. To tell you the truth I was pretty bummed when I figured we would be stuck in a Pirate room at CBR. So the fact that I now get to stay in a suite at an awesome hotel ON-SITE while were visiting Universal, then get to hop over to the one Moderate resort at Disney that I've been dying to stay at but have never been able to due to cost is way beyond expectations!

That's great! Very happy for you.

I feel like I'm on cloud 9 now.

 

[PrincessAshlee]

Hi! I was also wondering if you were able to keep your ADRs when you cancelled your original reservation and booked with the TA? I had contacted a TA last week and she was supposed to look into it and get back with me the next day, but she never did. So now I'm wondering if it would be worth it to contact a different TA to see if they could get us a better deal, but I don't want to loose any of my hard to get ADRs.

DF thought I was crazy planning our meals 6 months in advance. Then I showed him that not even a week later, BoG had no ADRs available for our entire trip. He appreciates my crazy planning a little more now!

 

[vrajewski10513]

Wow! That is awesome news! Cabana bay looks so nice, and I've heard great things about it. I can't wait to see your pictures there!
And also that's awesome about POR, I have always wanted to stay there as well!
You must be so happy!!!

I am super excited! I'm actually looking more forward to staying at Cabana Bay... The resort looks like so much fun, theres a bowling alley, a lazy river in the pool area... PLUS, were staying in a suite, so thats really something to look forward to!

Hi! Joining in! I too will be going to WDW this fall (Oct 12-19).

I love your planning spreadsheet!!!! I love making spreadsheets! I have one started for our trip, but it is only broken down by day. Now I need to go make a new spreadsheet that is broken down by the half hour, obviously.

Thank you! Maybe I need to break it down into 15 minute increments.. my husband asks me if theres time on the schedule for him to use the bathroom at all while were there lol

I see that you are planning to take lots of breaks, but you mentioned not having a car while you are there; how much time do you typically budget for transportation? I am worried that by the time we get back to the hotel, we will only have a short amount of time before it is time to go back to the park. I’m also worried that we will have spent more time going back and forth than actually relaxing at the hotel. How long should I plan for afternoon breaks?

Honestly, I really dont budget time. My schedule is made more or less so we know when and where our ADR's and FP+ are. The times alotted at each park, and breaks are definitely NOT strict guidelines. If we dont have something scheduled at a certain park one day, we can decide to just not go. As crazy as the schedule looks, its really only suggestive.

Also, how do you plan to get back to your hotel after your Beaches & Cream reservation? I would like to spend some time on the Boardwalk, but am unsure as to how we will get back to our hotel. I would prefer not to pay for a taxi, if I don’t have to.

Well, depending on when we finish we may try to catch a bus from Epcot, but it will be close. If we cant do that then we will probably call for an Uber.

Any other tips on how to best take advantage of the free Disney transportation?

Not really, just that if at all possible take the monorail or ferry instead of a bus

Haven't stayed there, but visited when we were at POR.
I thought it was nice and not so widespread.

Thats one of the main reasons it was on the top of my list for Mods. I love the bus system at Pop, where theres one stop then your off. It looks like POFQ is the same When we were originally scheduled at CBR I definitely wasn't looking forward to having to make that whole loop of the resort everytime we were picked up or dropped off.

Hi! I was also wondering if you were able to keep your ADRs when you cancelled your original reservation and booked with the TA? I had contacted a TA last week and she was supposed to look into it and get back with me the next day, but she never did. So now I'm wondering if it would be worth it to contact a different TA to see if they could get us a better deal, but I don't want to loose any of my hard to get ADRs.

Yes we did. The ADR's are not linked to your reservation, just to your name. So you could technically have no hotel reservation at all and still have your ADRs.

DF thought I was crazy planning our meals 6 months in advance. Then I showed him that not even a week later, BoG had no ADRs available for our entire trip. He appreciates my crazy planning a little more now!

I've been driving my family nuts for the last year about planning and they do think I'm crazy. Hopefully its all appreciated when they actually see what comes out of the excessive planning I do

 

[FantasiaMagic]

The resort looks like so much fun, theres a bowling alley, a lazy river in the pool area... PLUS, were staying in a suite, so thats really something to look forward to!

Oh wow! That sounds like so much fun! And it will be so convenient for you and your family to get to US/IOA!

On FB early this morning I saw some people talking on Disney pages I follow and they were saying that a discount was finally released for Disney Visa cardholders. I don't know if you heard about it, or if it applys to you now, but just wanted to let you know just in case!

 

[PrincessAshlee]

Thank you! Maybe I need to break it down into 15 minute increments.. my husband asks me if theres time on the schedule for him to use the bathroom at all while were there lol

Good planning means that you will have plenty of time to use the bathroom! You won't be wasting time on things like deciding where to go or trying to remember what ADR you made for that day or how you were going to get there. On my last trip as 4 girls, I think we had a bathroom break after every single ride/show and we still had time to do everything we wanted to do.

Yes we did. The ADR's are not linked to your reservation, just to your name. So you could technically have no hotel reservation at all and still have your ADRs.

I think I will try contacting another TA, just to see if we have any other options. We are currently booked at the CBR, no discount because I refuse to stay in a pirate room with double beds on my Honeymoon just to save a $11 a day.

Hopefully its all appreciated when they actually see what comes out of the excessive planning I do

I'm sure your family will appreciate it once they are there. At least that is what I keep telling myself! Either way, you will appreciate all of your planning. I'd rather stress about it now when I'm at home, than worry about it later when I'm on vacation.

 

[vrajewski10513]

Oh wow! That sounds like so much fun! And it will be so convenient for you and your family to get to US/IOA!

On FB early this morning I saw some people talking on Disney pages I follow and they were saying that a discount was finally released for Disney Visa cardholders. I don't know if you heard about it, or if it applys to you now, but just wanted to let you know just in case!

Yeah, they did release a few more hotels for our dates, but nothing we were interested unfortunately

think I will try contacting another TA, just to see if we have any other options. We are currently booked at the CBR, no discount because I refuse to stay in a pirate room with double beds on my Honeymoon just to save a $11 a day.

I don't blame you. Thats the one thing we liked about staying at Pop. Their king rooms arent a booking category, so we just requested one, and got lucky to get one.

I'm sure your family will appreciate it once they are there. At least that is what I keep telling myself! Either way, you will appreciate all of your planning. I'd rather stress about it now when I'm at home, than worry about it later when I'm on vacation.

Totally agree. I'm not very good at "spur of the moment" decisions

 

[PrincessAshlee]

for the TA recommendation!! We're still staying at the CBR, but we were able to save about $100 per day! Unfortunately, we were not able to guarantee a King Room (just preferred or standard), but we did request a King Room and note that it will be our Honeymoon, so I'm hoping that we will get lucky too.

 

[vrajewski10513]

Heeeeeeey everyone!!

Long time no see.. talk.. read... whatever

I've been a terrible DIS'er lately. I haven't been able to keep up with any of the TR's I'm following. I haven't been able to keep up with my own PTR for the most part. I'm not jumping ship, its just been tough to keep up with all that is happening in life right now. Mostly work. Loads and loads of work. The downfall of being able to work from home is that I clock an additional 10+ hours a week unpaid just trying to keep afloat at my day job. Then add about 15-18 hours at my second job and I'm pooped To top it off, my husband just picked up a second job so for the last few weeks I've pretty much only been able to see him in passing. It's been difficult to even find time to sit and eat a meal together.

So with that, I really appreciate anyone who has stuck with me, even through the long timeframes between updates. I really do appreciate you guys reading along and helping me out with my trip planning. You all rock!

SO, onto some good news!! We booked out MNSSHP tickets!! There was some debate on which date we should get tickets for. Originally our plan was to go on Tuesday, 10/4/16 once we were already well into our days at Disney. While I was messing with the schedule again I was having a really hard time fitting in all that we wanted to do at Disney, every park during the day and night, our bonus water park day we got with our convention tickets, special events going on etc., etc.. So I had my husband and sister take a look and my husband came up with a great idea... on Friday, 9/30/16 Universal Studios closes by 5pm on the USF side, and by 7-8 on the IOA side.. Why not cut that day short by an hour or so and head over to the halloween party, which would in turn free up an ENTIRE NIGHT in our Disney schedule?! Granted we would have to take a taxi from Cabana Bay to MK, but I thought it was a great trade off. We had a little push back from some people in our group, but once we explained the benefits of doing it this way everyone seemd to be on board! So we will be at MNNSHP on Friday, 9/30

Funny story, I almost lost it at the AAA Travel office when I went to puchase our MNSSHP Tickets.. As I think I told you guys in a previous post, we booked our universal stay through AAA as my FiL had a $3,000 giftcard from his employer that he wanted to use. After all of that was booked he still had a good chunk left over, and we told him he could use it on our MNSSHP tickets and we would pay him back for it. SO the day I was headed up to AAA, I called our travel agent Maureen to see if she was available to sell me those tickets later today. She said that she had a client coming in around the same time I would be there, but that if she was unavailable someone else would be able to help me out. Great!
So the only time I was avaliable to go over there was after work. I had to drive on the busiest part of our thruway system, during rush hour.. not so great.. It was a nightmare actually. IDK what i would do if I had to take that route to get to and from work everyday. Anyway, after almost an hour drive (which would normall take about 20 minutes) I walk in and sign in at the front desk. The girl working the desk asks me what I'm visiting for today. I tell her that I need to purchase MNSSHP tickets and our conversation ensues...

AAA girl: "Do you currently have you're vacation booked with AAA?"
ME: "Why yes I do, my travel agent is Maureen."
AAA girl: "Maureen is in a meeting right know, then she leaves at 5:30pm, I dont think she will have time to sell you the tickets"
ME: "Thats ok, I already spoke to Maureen today, she told me that if she was unavailable any agent could sell them to me"
AAA girl: ::blank stare:: No, we can't do that.
ME: "Well, Maureen said it would be no problem"
AAA girl: "Normally you need to work with your designated travel agent for those things"
ME: "I'm aware, but I spoke to Maureen, and she said she probably wouldn't be available to help me, but that someone else could."
AAA girl: "Thats not usually how we handle it. Let me ask my manager"
::AAA girl wanders away in search of her manager, then comes back a few minutes later::
AAA girl: "My manager said you'd need to book them with Maureen, I can let you know when she's working next"
ME: "No, the only reason I bothered to even come here today is because Maureen told me that another agent would be able to help me if she was unavailable. If she told me otherwise I wouldn't be here right now."

AAA girl could now detect the raging lunatic starting to peak its ugly head in my voice so she scurried away to get the manager

AAA Manager: "Hello! How can I help you today?"
Me: "Well, I need to purchase MNSSHP tickets, and I was just told that I can't because Maureen is unavailable. I spoke to Maureen earlier and she told me that anyone would be able to help me, so I made the HOUR LONG drive out here today to buy these tickets.. If someone doesn't sell me these tickets today, I've decided that I'm going to cancel the entire vacation we have booked with you guys."
AAA Manager: "I'm sorry for the inconvenience, I will get you set up with another agent right away!"

Granted, I never would have cancelled our vacation. I don't even have the authority to do so as I'm not the AAA member on the reservation. I was just SO aggravated at that point that I just wanted those G-D tickets any way possible. And it worked. I'm not one that normally causes a stink, but when one company gives conflicting information and I have to drive in rush hour traffic my patience is VERY low. When all was said and done, I got what we needed.


I'm kind of at a stand still as far as planning now. At the 60 day mark I plan to book FP+, do online check in, and place our Garden Grocer order. Until then I'll continue to tinker with our schedule. Like I said, with changing the MNSSHP date, we freed up an entire extra night to figure out what we'd like to use it for, plus scored a reservation at Boma before our night at Animal Kingdom. I won't bore you with another spreadsheet.. until I book FP+ that is

Anyway, thank you again for sticking around even though my posts have been few and far between, and I'm probably behind on your guys' TR. I really appreciate it!

I hope everyone has a great rest of your week!​

 

[vrajewski10513]

for the TA recommendation!! We're still staying at the CBR, but we were able to save about $100 per day! Unfortunately, we were not able to guarantee a King Room (just preferred or standard), but we did request a King Room and note that it will be our Honeymoon, so I'm hoping that we will get lucky too.

You're welcome! Hey, atleast its a Queen sized bed. Anything is better than those doubles!

 

[afwdwfan]

I like the idea for doing MNSSHP on an early Universal evening. That should work out great as along as everyone can handle the long day.

Sorry about your issue with AAA. We've booked through our AAA agency in the past and I've never had any problems booking with one agent and then getting help with things later from another agent. They all work together and help each other out. I can't even imagine getting that kind of grief after coming in to do something. And you even called in!!! I think you handled it very well. Even if you had just showed up without calling to buy the tickets and Maureen wasn't available, I'd have still been stubborn about it and made it clear that I buy them today or I don't come back.

 

[princessallison71]

Joining in! I just found your PTR, and I'm all caught up now on your plans!

And finally, finding a fantastic deal through a TA!

YAY! That must have been SUCH a relief!

I feel like I'm on cloud 9 now.

We booked out MNSSHP tickets!!

MNSSHP is fantastic! I love the moment when you finally buy the tickets. It finally feels like the trip is really happening!

I won't bore you with another spreadsheet.. until I book FP+ that is

I LOVE spreadsheets! I seriously have dozens of them written out on graph paper or saved on my computer.

Can't wait to read more updates!

 

[vrajewski10513]

I like the idea for doing MNSSHP on an early Universal evening. That should work out great as along as everyone can handle the long day.

I hope so. Since we will be staying on-site at Universal, plus it'll be our 3rd day there, AND it will be the day after a late HHN, a break or two wouldn't kill us. So we might take a lunch-time break to try and re-energize for the later night!

Sorry about your issue with AAA. We've booked through our AAA agency in the past and I've never had any problems booking with one agent and then getting help with things later from another agent. They all work together and help each other out. I can't even imagine getting that kind of grief after coming in to do something. And you even called in!!! I think you handled it very well. Even if you had just showed up without calling to buy the tickets and Maureen wasn't available, I'd have still been stubborn about it and made it clear that I buy them today or I don't come back.

This is really the first bad experience i've had with them. I guess I can chalk it up to an off day and give them another chance lol

Joining in! I just found your PTR, and I'm all caught up now on your plans!

WELCOME!!!! Thanks for joining in!

YAY! That must have been SUCH a relief!

It really was. That was probably the most stressful few days i've had in a while and the fact they they revolved around our vacation is absurd lol

MNSSHP is fantastic! I love the moment when you finally buy the tickets. It finally feels like the trip is really happening!

Definitely! They AAA angent wanted to make sure we knew that the tickets were non-refundable, and I told her NO PROBLEMOOOO!

I LOVE spreadsheets! I seriously have dozens of them written out on graph paper or saved on my computer.

Can't wait to read more updates!

Well if you read through my trip report you must have seen the 15 drafts I shared My next sheet will have a couple extra columns for FP+ selections!!