The magic has returned :) and a few questions..

[mikkithemouse]

Hi all,

I just wanted to share with you that after a period of feeling very un-disneyish, the magic has returned and I can't wait to go. I think this is because my 11 year old cousin is now coming and it's always exciting seeing Disney through someones eyes who has never seen it before!

At first it was just me and a friend that was going and we were going to stay in a pirates room in CBR, My other half then got added on to the booking, and then he proposed so we downgraded to the Art of animation resort, I then had some un-expected money come through, so I decided to pay for my auntie and my cousins flights, for them it really is a once in a life time thing, they won't ever get to go again.
The best bit is, my cousin doesn't know! We aren't telling her until the night before. Her and my auntie will come and stay at mine, (she thinks we will be going to Alton Towers) and whilst she is watching tv/playing the wii, we are going to get 'dinner' ready and we are going to put magnets on the fridge saying 'You're going to Disney World........tomorrow'. We will then call her in for dinner and tell her to get herself a drink out of the fridge where she will see it! Or if anyone has any other suggestions on how to surprise her?

We are now staying off property in a villa, which is fine by me as we have always stayed off site, so I don't really know any different. I feel guilty for mucking my friend about though, but she has been really understanding about it. So to say sorry I have booked a breakfast at Ohanas on our last day. We are going 8th May to 15th May. Does any one know how much this actually costs? I was a bit confused by the prices as it said $15 - $60. I thought we payed a set price for a platter of breakfast items?

Although we are going for a week, we are going to have a pretty hardcore week, with a park every day and only one day off to relax. Do you think universal and islands of adventure can be done in one day? We know we might not be able to do everything in the parks.

My last question is about fast pass +, I'm only used to using the old style fast pass. We plan on buying our tickets from somewhere like attraction tickets direct. I already have a MDE account, am I right in thinking I can link the tickets to this? Do we need magic bands to use fast pass +, if we do, do they come as part of the ticket or do we have to pay extra for them, or request them?

Sorry for the really, really long post!

 

[BudgieMama]

I love the idea of the fridge magnets to tell her, though even as a kid that would have been my idea of a nightmare (I'm a organiser and always have been! I like to be in control )

I can't answer many of your questions (though I asked on the main theme park board about doing all 6 Disney parks (including the two water parks) in 6 days as was given a resounding "You're crazy!"), but I do know how things currently stand with FP+.

CURRENTLY, FP+ is only accessible to those guests staying on site, via Magic Bands. At the moment, there is no opt-in available for off-site guests. HOWEVER, WDW are planning to roll them out to all guests at some point (when they fix all the problems, I guess) and at the present moment, no-one knows when that will be. You might have access to FP+, but as things stand at the moment, you wouldn't. Who knows where things will have got to by May?

Happy planning

 

[wilma-bride]

I think it's lovely that you're planning to surprise your Aunty and your Cousin and I can understand why you feel a bit guilty.

As far as FP+, it isn't known yet whether those staying offsite will be able to use it - currently, only those people staying onsite can use FP+ but the old style FP is still available to offsite visitors. Offsite visitors also do not get magic bands, although you can definitely link your tickets (if bought from Undercover Tourist) to your MDE account.

As far as 'Ohana breakfast, the cost for breakfast currently is around $23 each. This can go up to approximately $26 each at peak periods (Easter, Christmas etc.) so, in May, you should be paying the lower price. Don't forget to factor in the tip on top of that too.

Personally, I would not try to do Universal and Islands in one day. You will not get the value from the cost of the tickets. If they are Harry Potter fans and haven't seen Wizarding World before, then I would skip Universal and just stick to Islands. Better still, why not miss out one of the Disney parks and do both?

Have you thought about making a video to surprise your cousin? A few years ago we booked a cruise to surprise my kids. We made a video for them, to reveal the surprise and their reaction was fab It was nothing too complicated, just a bit of background music and a few slides leading up, such as Dear kids, next year we're going to Disney World, While we're there we were going to go to the beach, but thought you'd rather do this instead...

You could do something similar with a picture of Alton Towers - you thought you were going here, but instead you're going here type thing

 

[mikkithemouse]

Thank you for clearing up about the fast pass, I wasn't sure if they had rolled it out properly yet.

I'm not techy enough to pull together a video I don't think. I could probably scrape together some kind of power point presentation lol.

As for universal/islands of adventure, I would prefer to do it over two days but I just don't think time is on our side. When we originally booked it was just me and a friend and we were planning to do Disney only. Now we have 3 extra people and I want them to see Universal parks too, I really wish we were there for longer. I know my cousin is a keen water baby and she will be gutted if we didn't get to go to either Blizzard Beach or Typhoon Lagoon on our 'day off'
I don't think they are huge potter fans, but I am, I need to go to complete my Harry Potter scarf collection lol!