WDW Commando Club

[Xclusive2WDW]

Corona is pretty good beer to be drinking. Someone went to Raglan Road and asked for a Bud Light equivalent, and the bartender said they had water.

That was a pretty accurate statement, lol. When I'm on a vaycay, I want to live it up and the college years, they served their purpose but in no way were those days "living it up" ya know? I just don't see me drinking on-specialty stuff (other than pop). But to each his own.

 

[Twin Dad]

That is the question.

Originally I wasn't planning on doing the park hopper because of the time between resorts and the age of the twins. They'll be just under 5 when we go. Then I read the Unofficial Guide and they recommend getting the park hopper. Now I'm torn. There's plenty to do for a day in each park and we're going at a slower time. Is the the park hopper worth it or should we just stick with the basic tickets?

 

[stitchywoman]

Got back to disneyland for the first time since before we went to disneyworld today....standing inline for pirates now and we went on the ghost galaxy overlay on space mountain. We also did the nightmare before christmas haunted mansion...yay! All the halloween stuff is done! I am wondering if they have done the mermaids here too.

 

[stitchywoman]

So yeah....the end of that story is no. Not a mermaid in sight...did I miss something somewhere. I haven't been able to get on lately and wasn't aware of the change being made... I only managed to get boat transportation cards this time. On a funnier note we got to the parking structure only to have the attendant tell me it was my old pass and I must not have gotten the new one yet in the mail...he handed me my parking pass and let me go. Since it took us almost 2 hours to get here due to traffic we were a bit worried and figured we would have to talk to guest services and explain I had grabbd the wrong one. I looked at my pass and the number had changed so I was a little worried but the lady at the turnstile didn't even blink, she just told me to have a great day. Who knew? I guess it linked the old one to my new pass and the lite just turned green! Then when I went to guest services to get my disabled guest pass renewed she put the old number on the new card and didn't blink either. Hmmmmm... (as a disclaimer, yes I am disabled. I get people all the time who don't think I am because I look healthy. )

 

[AirGoofy]

That is the question.

Originally I wasn't planning on doing the park hopper because of the time between resorts and the age of the twins. They'll be just under 5 when we go. Then I read the Unofficial Guide and they recommend getting the park hopper. Now I'm torn. There's plenty to do for a day in each park and we're going at a slower time. Is the the park hopper worth it or should we just stick with the basic tickets?

In true Commando spirit, I like to open the park and close the park. But, we only do one park a day.

Never had twins, but we went when my children were 18 months and 3. I got PH once, and then never again. Just like you said, the reason was because we lost so much transportation time. And, it's just not transportation from theme park to theme park, but transportation from wherever you are in the first theme park, out of the theme park, walk to the bus stop, wait for the bus, then bus time, then walk from the bus stop to the new theme park, and then into the new theme park.

With the young ens, if the adults are interested in riding the bigger rides, you can walk over and do the parent exchange thing. We just enjoyed going slow and doing the rides they wanted, then back to the resort for a nap in the heat of the day, and then back for more fun. Then, we stopped going back for naps and youngest would sleep in stroller and oldest would sleep on me, and we would find the AC cold indoor for naps. France movie was a favorite nap place. Then we stopped stroller when youngest was 5.

You'll get different opinions and everyone knows their children best. So, ultimately do what you think is best and have fun with your family, and everything will be fine.

 

[AirGoofy]

Got back to disneyland for the first time since before we went to disneyworld today....standing inline for pirates now and we went on the ghost galaxy overlay on space mountain. We also did the nightmare before christmas haunted mansion...yay! All the halloween stuff is done! I am wondering if they have done the mermaids here too.

So yeah....the end of that story is no. Not a mermaid in sight...did I miss something somewhere. . )

Glad to hear your having fun at DL. I didn't find any mermaids at WDW a few weeks ago, other than the ones in Peter Pan's flight. And, glad to hear the passes worked for you. That would have been a long drive back.

 

[redoschi]

In true Commando spirit, I like to open the park and close the park. But, we only do one park a day.

Never had twins, but we went when my children were 18 months and 3. I got PH once, and then never again. Just like you said, the reason was because we lost so much transportation time. And, it's just not transportation from theme park to theme park, but transportation from wherever you are in the first theme park, out of the theme park, walk to the bus stop, wait for the bus, then bus time, then walk from the bus stop to the new theme park, and then into the new theme park.

I'm not the biggest PH fan for several of those reasons, but we get it because there are some cases where it is really nice to be able to hop.

First is for AK days as it usually closes early (5-6pm) so even if you stay until the park closes you can still enjoy some more hours at another park, specially if it has EMH evening. You could also go to DTD of course and therefore not need/use the Park Hoppers. In our next trip we'll do both of these (1 day hop from AK to HS with EMH and on another go for DTD).

Another great situation where it is great to hop is to eat at one of my favorite WDW restaurants, Beaches & Cream. On our last trip we went to HS in the morning, left for lunch, took the very beautiful boat ride from HS to Beach Club, grabbed some fantastic burgers and desserts and continued on into Epcot. I'm planning on doing this again in January!

 

[MaMudduck]

Corona is pretty good beer to be drinking. Someone went to Raglan Road and asked for a Bud Light equivalent, and the bartender said they had water.

Totally love it! Being Canadian, and only liking good red wine, dark/flavourful beer & rich chocolate... I agree with Raglan Road waiter!

 

[Disney Commando]

That is the question.

Originally I wasn't planning on doing the park hopper because of the time between resorts and the age of the twins. They'll be just under 5 when we go. Then I read the Unofficial Guide and they recommend getting the park hopper. Now I'm torn. There's plenty to do for a day in each park and we're going at a slower time. Is the the park hopper worth it or should we just stick with the basic tickets?

This is one of those questions where there is no right or wrong answer, There are pros and cons to both sides, IMO I would say go with the way you will be most comfortable with, Everyone has their own way of touring, some like 1 park a day, some like a variety of parks, you have to be comfortable with your touring plan and that is most important

 

[Disney Commando]

So yeah....the end of that story is no. Not a mermaid in sight...did I miss something somewhere. I haven't been able to get on lately and wasn't aware of the change being made... I only managed to get boat transportation cards this time. On a funnier note we got to the parking structure only to have the attendant tell me it was my old pass and I must not have gotten the new one yet in the mail...he handed me my parking pass and let me go. Since it took us almost 2 hours to get here due to traffic we were a bit worried and figured we would have to talk to guest services and explain I had grabbd the wrong one. I looked at my pass and the number had changed so I was a little worried but the lady at the turnstile didn't even blink, she just told me to have a great day. Who knew? I guess it linked the old one to my new pass and the lite just turned green! Then when I went to guest services to get my disabled guest pass renewed she put the old number on the new card and didn't blink either. Hmmmmm... (as a disclaimer, yes I am disabled. I get people all the time who don't think I am because I look healthy. )

The mermaids were added maybe a little over a week ago at WDW on a 1 day refurb, They have Transportation Cards at DL also, glad they let you in with the pass you had

 

[Twin Dad]

In true Commando spirit, I like to open the park and close the park. But, we only do one park a day.

Never had twins, but we went when my children were 18 months and 3. I got PH once, and then never again. Just like you said, the reason was because we lost so much transportation time. And, it's just not transportation from theme park to theme park, but transportation from wherever you are in the first theme park, out of the theme park, walk to the bus stop, wait for the bus, then bus time, then walk from the bus stop to the new theme park, and then into the new theme park.

With the young ens, if the adults are interested in riding the bigger rides, you can walk over and do the parent exchange thing. We just enjoyed going slow and doing the rides they wanted, then back to the resort for a nap in the heat of the day, and then back for more fun. Then, we stopped going back for naps and youngest would sleep in stroller and oldest would sleep on me, and we would find the AC cold indoor for naps. France movie was a favorite nap place. Then we stopped stroller when youngest was 5.

You'll get different opinions and everyone knows their children best. So, ultimately do what you think is best and have fun with your family, and everything will be fine.

My kids aren't thrilled with the heat so it could be interesting going in early October. I imagine we'll be sneaking into the AC shows to cool off mid afternoon.

I'm not the biggest PH fan for several of those reasons, but we get it because there are some cases where it is really nice to be able to hop.

First is for AK days as it usually closes early (5-6pm) so even if you stay until the park closes you can still enjoy some more hours at another park, specially if it has EMH evening. You could also go to DTD of course and therefore not need/use the Park Hoppers. In our next trip we'll do both of these (1 day hop from AK to HS with EMH and on another go for DTD).

Another great situation where it is great to hop is to eat at one of my favorite WDW restaurants, Beaches & Cream. On our last trip we went to HS in the morning, left for lunch, took the very beautiful boat ride from HS to Beach Club, grabbed some fantastic burgers and desserts and continued on into Epcot. I'm planning on doing this again in January!

I actually was thinking of hitting AK and MNSSHP on the same day and chilling the next day. Still plenty of time to change my mind.

This is one of those questions where there is no right or wrong answer, There are pros and cons to both sides, IMO I would say go with the way you will be most comfortable with, Everyone has their own way of touring, some like 1 park a day, some like a variety of parks, you have to be comfortable with your touring plan and that is most important

Thanks for the input. Sometimes I get a little too wound up in trying to plan the perfect first family vacation to WDW.

 

[Xclusive2WDW]

That is the question.

Originally I wasn't planning on doing the park hopper because of the time between resorts and the age of the twins. They'll be just under 5 when we go. Then I read the Unofficial Guide and they recommend getting the park hopper. Now I'm torn. There's plenty to do for a day in each park and we're going at a slower time. Is the the park hopper worth it or should we just stick with the basic tickets?

I enjoy park hopping because my family has always toured that way and now it's just how I commando! With that said, I have decided once I go with little little ones (you know, the ones that are planned for but don't yet exist) I will not park hop. The reason being that even now I do take planned breaks that I insert into my itinerary. Even though I was never the kid to have to stay on a schedule (military kid what can I say, you learn to roll with the punches early), most children need breaks; REAL ONES. I can go to a nearby resort or just sit and have a mickey bar and BAM, got my break in Children are different (and parents are too once they arrive ). Your body/ mind needs that break and so to make a long story short, I find it easier to plan one park at a time one day at a time. You can do a AM tour, go back to your resort (or a nearby one) and sit and truly relax, allow a nap or at least some quiet time away from the more intense excitement of the parks (plus save a little money in the process ) then a PM tour. Traveling with children of any age already includes so much extra (temperament, expectations, limitations, normal schedules, ect. . .) that I personally would not want to complicate it. When you park hop, in the event something happens (sickness, needs to change, anything) your day can easily be thrown waaaaay off. Just MHO. I agree that you should do what makes you most comfortable. Most important, your going to Disney, have a BLAST and make some awesome memories

 

[Disney Commando]

I got to do 9 days straight of work before my next day off, but on my next day off we will be on our way to WDW,

 

[redoschi]

My kids aren't thrilled with the heat so it could be interesting going in early October. I imagine we'll be sneaking into the AC shows to cool off mid afternoon.

I actually was thinking of hitting AK and MNSSHP on the same day and chilling the next day. Still plenty of time to change my mind.

I've been to WDW twice in early to mid October and the weather was really nice, certainly not too hot!

As for AK + MNSSHP is a great option! Now I'm going on January without any special events , but last time we did AK + MVMCP!

 

[AirGoofy]

My kids aren't thrilled with the heat so it could be interesting going in early October. I imagine we'll be sneaking into the AC shows to cool off mid afternoon.


I actually was thinking of hitting AK and MNSSHP on the same day and chilling the next day. Still plenty of time to change my mind.
.

We did a MNSSHP without another park that AM, but went 4 to Midnight. I also should add that we only do theme parks every other day. So, a commando day followed by a day of rest.

 

[Xclusive2WDW]

I got to do 9 days straight of work before my next day off, but on my next day off we will be on our way to WDW,

Congratulations!!! Work your butt off and then live it up playing just as hard in the world!!

 

[Disney Commando]

Congratulations!!! Work your butt off and then live it up playing just as hard in the world!!

No matter how bad a day you could have at WDW is still better then the best day of work

 

[Disney Commando]

For MNSSHP I have done it twice, once was on Halloween, and that was our best Halloween EVER, It will be a few more years before the alignment of days are right again to do it again, if you catch Halloween on a Sunday there is a good chance the 1st MVMCP will be on the following Friday, that's a 2 holiday event week But this will not happen again till 2021

But on the up side If it falls on a Fri or Sat as long as you will be there the following weekend you should be able to get both in also

 

[Disney Commando]

On upcoming trips I check the park hours almost daily to see if there are any changes, and from months back now I've been complaining about the lack of hours the parks will be open especially MK, up till today the latest it was going to be open was 8pm, except for the MVMCP where it would be open till 12, well some pixie dust was spread now there are 2 days MK closes at 10, 3 days they close at 1am and the MVMCP that closes at 12 That's like gaining a whole extra day of touring

My wife is cracking up cause at 6 mths out my plans really look stupid as she puts it with ADR's all over the place, I follow my gut feeling not a book or touring site, I'm starting to really think that my gut knows it's WDW stuff, since it always steers me to a great plan even without knowing what the actual hours of the parks will be at over 6mths in advance

 

[stitchywoman]

The mermaids were added maybe a little over a week ago at WDW on a 1 day refurb, They have Transportation Cards at DL also, glad they let you in with the pass you had

No. I got the boat transportation cards at disneyworld...hahahaha...I was trying to see what I could get this trip and they were all I could manage. I was just updating like I said I would, but apparently my rambling ran together in a confusing manner. Ooooooppppsssss sorry. It was even confusing to me when I went back to read it. Yep, I'm a dork!