UnOfficial March 2012 Trip Planners Tread-DIS Meet 3/8 Info Pg 1

[Lidian]

Lidian - Are you still planning on doing the EMH at MK on the 4th? Since I was able to get the ADR for 'Ohana I am thinking DH and I might pop over to MK afterwards, depends on how tired we are since it is our arrival day to.

DD and I will be around as late as we can take it on the 4th at MK. DH and DS will probably head back to resort not long after dinner at CP.

 

[sjs314]

DD and I will be around as late as we can take it on the 4th at MK. DH and DS will probably head back to resort not long after dinner at CP.

Maybe we will run into each other. I have never done PM EMH @ MK and would like to check it out, but I do have a feeling after we eat we might not make it.

 

[angela0119]

Hurray for a mommy-daughter trip!!!! Most of the kids menus are pretty standard. However, if she's picky, buffets may be beneficial. That way, she can have a large assortment of foods to try. Plus, there are some really good character meals at buffets.

What do you currently have booked, and what are you looking for? We'd be happy to offer up whatever advice you need.

P.S. I'll be at MK on 3/4, as it's our "arrival day". Perhaps we'll bump into each other.

So far I have these booked:

3/3 Epcot:
Via Napoli 6:20pm (I love italian food!)

3/4 MK:
Crystal Palace 8:40am

3/5 HS:
Hollywood & Vine 12:00pm

3/6 AK
Tusker House 12:05pm

I've tried to book character meals and buffets because she is so picky and she loves getting autographs in her book. We did the Princess castle lunch last year and it was so good! I also tried not to book breakfast as a sit down because we tend to eat light in the morning.

Any suggestions for Quick Service places we should try?

Oh, another question --- I see where so many people use Disney Gift Cards in the parks. Is it just so you don't keep up with money or is there some other benefit to this????

 

[oopsiDAISY]

Oh, another question --- I see where so many people use Disney Gift Cards in the parks. Is it just so you don't keep up with money or is there some other benefit to this????

We use the gift cards for several reasons:

~If I go ahead and get the cards with the money I have saved for the trip it won't get spent on anything else (real life junk that comes up)

~The kids can have their own "spending money" and don't have to worry about misplacing, dropping or losing the gift card. It is kept in the lanyard with their key to the world card.

~Souveniers are paid for ahead of time, so the debit card and credit card are not used at all. When we leave for Disney, the entire trip is already paid for...no extra expenses. When your gift cards are spent, you are DONE!

 

[Lidian]

Maybe we will run into each other. I have never done PM EMH @ MK and would like to check it out, but I do have a feeling after we eat we might not make it.

If you see us, be sure to say "hi"! We love to meet fellow DISers!

So far I have these booked:

3/3 Epcot:
Via Napoli 6:20pm (I love italian food!)

3/4 MK:
Crystal Palace 8:40am

3/5 HS:
Hollywood & Vine 12:00pm

3/6 AK
Tusker House 12:05pm

I've tried to book character meals and buffets because she is so picky and she loves getting autographs in her book. We did the Princess castle lunch last year and it was so good! I also tried not to book breakfast as a sit down because we tend to eat light in the morning.

Any suggestions for Quick Service places we should try?

Oh, another question --- I see where so many people use Disney Gift Cards in the parks. Is it just so you don't keep up with money or is there some other benefit to this????

It sounds like you're well on your way for a magical vacation!

Most of the CS lunch offerings can be found on allears.net; most of the kid meals are the same everywhere, but it's nice to know in advance if there are foods a child will or will not eat -- and knowing where to find them!

Our personal favorites:
AK: Flame Tree BBQ (and I hate BBQ, so they gotta be YUM )
MK: Cosmic Rays for the kids (they love watching Sonny perform) and Columbia Harbor House for the family
EP: Can't go wrong in World Showcase; gotta love variety!
DHS: Backlot Express; but I hear Pizza Planet is great for kids

The kids have requested Disney GCs for Christmas ... but it is good for having souveniour money already on hand. Any "pre-paid" expenses are always a plus!

We always just charge back to the room, so we don't have to keep up with anything but our KTTW cards (and a photo ID). But that's just our personal preference. The kids will get to use their GCs for their own purchases, and that's one less expense to be charged back to our room and CC.

 

[sjs314]

I never used gift cards normally charge to my room or use my debit card while there but I know a lot of people instead of buying the dining plan will buy gift cards and pay for all there meals that way.

DH does not want to go to 'Ohana on our arrival night so I switched back to Cape May so no MK EMH for me.........He is already planning on being tired that evening

angela0119 - Adding your ADRs to the list

 

[mom2_3girls]

I'm so excited to be going with my daughter who is 6. It's her 2nd trip and it is just going to be mom & daughter! I have never stayed at one of the resorts before, but this time I have the All Star Movies resort booked.

I also have the Dining pkg Plus? where you get one sit down meal a day. Any suggestions you have for us is appreciated! I've made some reservations for dining, but I'm not real sure I'm getting good ones....... She's a picky one so I've been checking menus first.

My plan is to go to one park a day so we can go to all four. She doesn't like rides a whole lot, so we will be doing a lot of shows and characters mostly.

March 3-Epcot
March 4-MK
March 5-HS
March 6-AK

How exciting!! I'm taking my 3 girls on a solo trip (dh staying home) in March...can't wait!!

 

[mom2_3girls]

Sorry I have been MIA for quite a while...it gets so busy around the holidays! I told relatives to get Disney gift cards for us for Christmas and we now have a grand total of 550.00 in gift cards for our trip!! The girls are so excited to pay for BBB themselves...although the 9 year old told me that since she is using her gift card I cannot say anything about the style she chooses .

I was going through our reservations with the oldest and she really really wants to go to Via Napoli...what do you think? Is it a good place?

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas!!

 

[mom2maggie]

So far I have these booked:

3/3 Epcot:
Via Napoli 6:20pm (I love italian food!)

3/4 MK:
Crystal Palace 8:40am

3/5 HS:
Hollywood & Vine 12:00pm

3/6 AK
Tusker House 12:05pm

I've tried to book character meals and buffets because she is so picky and she loves getting autographs in her book. We did the Princess castle lunch last year and it was so good! I also tried not to book breakfast as a sit down because we tend to eat light in the morning.

Any suggestions for Quick Service places we should try?

Oh, another question --- I see where so many people use Disney Gift Cards in the parks. Is it just so you don't keep up with money or is there some other benefit to this????

Hey! We'll also be at Crystal Palace that morning (3/4) and I have a 6 year old girl too!

 

[angela0119]

We just might bump into each other!

I have another question for you pros ----

I really wanted to book Pop Century instead of the Movies, so will it be possible for them to switch my resort without messing up my free dining plan that I got?......Or what if I wanted to add another night?

How does switching work??? I see that some of you are switching addicts! haha

 

[sjs314]

We just might bump into each other!

I have another question for you pros ----

I really wanted to book Pop Century instead of the Movies, so will it be possible for them to switch my resort without messing up my free dining plan that I got?......Or what if I wanted to add another night?

How does switching work??? I see that some of you are switching addicts! haha

You will need to talk to Guest Services when you call, sometimes the CM answering can do the switch when the promo has ended and sometimes not. As long as there is availability at POP for the dates you want there should be no problem changing resorts and adding a day.....easy peasy. That is why it is always good IMO to book something with the promo( to lock into it) even if you know you might have to change dates/resorts later on. If you do this after the 45 day time you could be charged a $50 change fee but only if your change results in your trip amount being LESS $$$...........Before the 45 days no penalty.

Good Luck and Happy Changeing !

 

[meandthemouse]

Exactly 9 weeks from today I will be enjoying my first day of my wdw trip!!! Yahoooooo I can't wait but at least the wait times won't be as bad as they are today.....I hope.

 

[sjs314]

Exactly 9 weeks from today I will be enjoying my first day of my wdw trip!!! Yahoooooo I can't wait but at least the wait times won't be as bad as they are today.....I hope.

Tomorrow is my 9 week mark and I do not think we need to worry..... our crowd levels will be no way near the 10's of today. We be there before the official start of Spring Break(March 9)........now there is a nightmare, in 2009 we went from March24-31 and it was bad. Funny thing is we use to go Easter Week when the kids were in school , at least 4x and I use to like the craziness of the long lines(before there was such a thing as fast passes)and packed parks. Now that I am older I just can not tolerate them or the heat as much.

 

[mom2maggie]

Anyone else that is going at the beginning of March worried about the crowd levels now, with the new promotion? I'm concerned that its going to be more crowded than I expected since the promotion is only for that 2 week window.

 

[Lidian]

Anyone else that is going at the beginning of March worried about the crowd levels now, with the new promotion? I'm concerned that its going to be more crowded than I expected since the promotion is only for that 2 week window.

The promotion isn't that great, so I'm not worried about it. You can probably save more with the other promotion(s) ... especially save more with the FD one they had. So I'm not worried. At most, a family will save about $400ish if they're staying Deluxe (not checked prices for exact number).

I priced out the "extra Disney day" promo and it was nearly $1,000 more for our family to stay at a moderate -- versus the FD promo.

I'm sure it may increase the crowds a bit ... but I don't think it will be enough to make us sweat.

 

[sjs314]

I agree with Lidian in some instances this promo may say people more money than the FD or the current RO offer that is out there but I ran the figures and for my exact package with the new promo it came out costing more. Now what what make a difference is Disney reached a wider audience of people who may have not known about the FD or RO offer and will jump at a chance to book and get 1 night free.

I did go to the offer and also priced out POP and out popped the message below but when I put the dates in with a mod and deluxe it only gave me the 1 day free. Maybe if you book 6 days you get 2 free? 9 get 3 free? I am confused since it states 3 nights free when you buy 4

This package is not available at a Disney Value Resort for a 5-night stay. Select a 6-night stay, or upgrade to a 5-night stay at a Disney Moderate, Deluxe or Deluxe Villa Resort with this package for 3 more nights free when you buy 4.

I was tired and can't extend my trip anyhow so I shut the pc down and went to bed.

 

[sjs314]

On an added note, it seems you can not book more than 7 days with the new promo..................I just tried booking 3/1 to 3/9 instead of my dates of 3/4 to 3/9 to see if it gave me 2 night free and it will only let me book 3/1 to 3/8????




I redid my exact package just to see again what the exact cost was under the new promo and it is +201.56 more than my package with the 30% off.

I do not care for the manner in which Disney has been doing their promotional marketing, I always felt they were one of the more honest and up and up companies in the business world but as of late it does seem like they will use any tactic necessary to entice people to book even when it is not always the best deal out there...Disney Magic is turning into Disney Trickery...........no flames please just how it seems to me. How many that qualify for the military discount might not know about it being offered and book this new deal instead which is by far not a great deal compared to 40% off, plus the deal on military tickets.
Ok rant over

 

[DMGeurts]

Anyone else that is going at the beginning of March worried about the crowd levels now, with the new promotion? I'm concerned that its going to be more crowded than I expected since the promotion is only for that 2 week window.

The promotion isn't that great, so I'm not worried about it. You can probably save more with the other promotion(s) ... especially save more with the FD one they had. So I'm not worried. At most, a family will save about $400ish if they're staying Deluxe (not checked prices for exact number).

I priced out the "extra Disney day" promo and it was nearly $1,000 more for our family to stay at a moderate -- versus the FD promo.

I'm sure it may increase the crowds a bit ... but I don't think it will be enough to make us sweat.

I agree with Liddy's line of thinking... I don't think it will affect us that much. There might be a few more people, for those that don't know about the other promotions - but this is going on for such a small window - who can really take off of work/school on that short of notice, and make such a limited time frame work with their schedules???

I think that Disney offer was just a joke... FD is waaaay better IMO.

D~

 

[Lidian]

On an added note, it seems you can not book more than 7 days with the new promo..................I just tried booking 3/1 to 3/9 instead of my dates of 3/4 to 3/9 to see if it gave me 2 night free and it will only let me book 3/1 to 3/8????



I redid my exact package just to see again what the exact cost was under the new promo and it is +201.56 more than my package with the 30% off.

I do not care for the manner in which Disney has been doing their promotional marketing, I always felt they were one of the more honest and up and up companies in the business world but as of late it does seem like they will use any tactic necessary to entice people to book even when it is not always the best deal out there...Disney Magic is turning into Disney Trickery...........no flames please just how it seems to me. How many that qualify for the military discount might not know about it being offered and book this new deal instead which is by far not a great deal compared to 40% off, plus the deal on military tickets.
Ok rant over

I'm beginning to agree. I've read and read that Disney is trying to move away from promotions and discounts ... they are a business after all ... but this new promo was kind of a joke. And I'm pretty sure they've done a Buy X Nights, Get 1 Free deal each year. I know that it's better than nothing, and I know that it CAN be the best deal for certain families ... but overall, most can save on a room discount or FD with more money. And if people will just go to the website and click "special offers", they'll see for themselves all the deals available. But many people see the promo on TV and call and book it, not knowing they keep a current list of deals on the website. Disney doesn't do a lot of marketing on their promotions because it's expensive -- which I get ... but really I don't feel that it will affect numbers too much.

I agree with Liddy's line of thinking... I don't think it will affect us that much. There might be a few more people, for those that don't know about the other promotions - but this is going on for such a small window - who can really take off of work/school on that short of notice, and make such a limited time frame work with their schedules???

I think that Disney offer was just a joke... FD is waaaay better IMO.

D~

I agree D. It's a joke. And even for people who don't want FD (for whatever reason), I still think a discounted room is better in most cases. And they only have less than a month to book, and will probably have to pay in full if it's a package. Odds are low that people will be able to come up with the funds that quickly unless they already knew they were going. Or they're rich and haven't been sharing their money with me. lol

 

[AlwaysEeyore]

Wondering if the new prommotion is going to make my nice quiet week in Disney a zoo now. No fun!!