Week After Turkey Day Shenanigans

[BDFmom]

I am so excited..
I just found out that you can exchange both your drink and dessert for snack times with lunch/dinner QS meals!!!

It's right there in black and white on the DDP brochures.

 

[Candycane83]

yes, this!

Once I have added all the rides/attractions I want (hit the rider swap if you are using that, it will add extra time to that step) and any planned meals or breaks, then hit optimize and it will put them in the order that will minimize waits and such. You can use the sliders at the top to balance walking/waiting as well. If you haven't made your FP selections yet it will also make suggestions for what ride and time to make them once you optimize.

It takes some tweaking to get shows/meals at the times you want, but it's neat to see your day laid out and have a plan to at least base your day off. We spent so little time wandering aimlessly because I knew the order we were riding things for the most part.

Just a question, does this include character meet and greets? Was thinking if I should add the character locator too

 

[OhioDiane]

This will be our first time at WDW with a stroller. Any tips on how to make it stand out from the crowd at the corrals?

Also, has anyone hung an umbrella stroller from the handle of your "nice" stroller and walked around all day? Thoughts? The City Mini will be mostly for the 20mo, but I think I need something on hand for the 4yo too.

 

[Iowamomof4]

Have any of you had success with the whole Raise deal? Buying Target gift cards from there and then using them online w/ the red card discount for an additional 5% off Disney gift cards?

 

[Meeko5]

This will be our first time at WDW with a stroller. Any tips on how to make it stand out from the crowd at the corrals?

Also, has anyone hung an umbrella stroller from the handle of your "nice" stroller and walked around all day? Thoughts? The City Mini will be mostly for the 20mo, but I think I need something on hand for the 4yo too.

I bought one of these at dollar tree and looped it around the handle - it stands up on its own and was easy to spot

http://m.orientaltrading.com/web/br...4CFU46gQodbM0CqA&categoryId=377320&Nrpp=10000

We rented a city mini GT double for our 6 and 1.5 yo. Worked out great and I was so happy to have space for the big kid since he is slow. And all that walking is exhausting!

 

[heath92681]

This will be our first time at WDW with a stroller. Any tips on how to make it stand out from the crowd at the corrals?

Also, has anyone hung an umbrella stroller from the handle of your "nice" stroller and walked around all day? Thoughts? The City Mini will be mostly for the 20mo, but I think I need something on hand for the 4yo too.

We've always used a double stroller. Is that an option? I think it would be easier! I still am it ready to give up my double, and my boys will be 4 and 6 when we go.

 

[heath92681]

Have any of you had success with the whole Raise deal? Buying Target gift cards from there and then using them online w/ the red card discount for an additional 5% off Disney gift cards?

Never tried it. How does Raise work?

 

[Iowamomof4]

Never tried it. How does Raise work?

You know what? I'm in the middle of a crazy moment that I hope has a happy resolution. I went and bought a $500 Target e-gift card from Raise.com for $474 with the plan to take that gift card to Target.com where I would use it, along with my red card (and 5% discount) to purchase a $500 Disney gift card. However, after I made the purchase at Raise, someone on another site pointed out that Target has added the following notation to their Disney gift card description: "You cannot use a Target GiftCard to purchase this card."

Thankfully, after someone pointed this out, I received an email from Raise telling me that I need to call them to get the order to process and if I don't call them within 24 hours, the order will be cancelled. I'm in a holding pattern right now, but will likely just not call and let the order get cancelled. Hope it all works out okay.

 

[OhioDiane]

We've always used a double stroller. Is that an option? I think it would be easier! I still am it ready to give up my double, and my boys will be 4 and 6 when we go.

I have a double, but the steering isn't great. My back would break after 10 days! Plus I think it would be awful to fold/carry on the bus (and we're at ASMu, so there'll be lots of busses). So a double is a possibility, but I'm not yet convinced.

 

[OhioDiane]

I bought one of these at dollar tree and looped it around the handle - it stands up on its own and was easy to spot

http://m.orientaltrading.com/web/browse/processProductsCatalog?Nrpp=10000&sku=6/1752&BP=PS515&ms=search&source=google&cm_mmc=Google-_-319816347-_-27560733387-_-Plush+Daisies&cm_mmca1=OTC+PLAs&cm_mmca2=GooglePLAs&cm_mmca3=PS515&cm_mmca4=FS49&cm_mmca5=Shopping&cm_mmca6=PLAs&cm_mmc10=Shopping&cm_mmca11=6/1752&cm_mmca12=Plush+Daisies&gclid=CKWZmfGBoc4CFU46gQodbM0CqA&categoryId=377320&Nrpp=10000

We rented a city mini GT double for our 6 and 1.5 yo. Worked out great and I was so happy to have space for the big kid since he is slow. And all that walking is exhausting!

Love the idea of having something stand up! Was actually going to the dollar store anyway this week ...

 

[Meeko5]

I have a double, but the steering isn't great. My back would break after 10 days! Plus I think it would be awful to fold/carry on the bus (and we're at ASMu, so there'll be lots of busses). So a double is a possibility, but I'm not yet convinced.

We rented from kingdom strollers. My DH was super skeptical of a double and busses and everyone but after the first day he was singing its praises and said it was the best $$ we spent all week! Yes it's bulky, but I held the little one on the bus and the bigger one sat next to me. DH folded the stroller (the city mini double was SO easy to fold) and held that at his feet. It worked out great. And it folds so quick and easy, both kids sat in it until the bus pulled up then hopped out last second. Seriously a life saver. And pushed like a dream!

 

[Meeko5]

I read all the raise.com posts here and they made my head spin! I love a good deal but that seems like too much uncertainty tying up my money for a little discount. I hope it works ok for you @Iowamomof4

 

[Iowamomof4]

I read all the raise.com posts here and they made my head spin! I love a good deal but that seems like too much uncertainty tying up my money for a little discount. I hope it works ok for you @Iowamomof4

I have typically just glanced at them and decided it wasn't for me. But a friend of mine posted about it and I decided to give it a whirl. Oh well... hopefully the cancellation goes through and I can just chalk it up as a close call.

EDIT: If the cancellation doesn't go through and I end up with a gift card, there is hope that it will still work for the Disney gift cards. Someone posted they were able to make a purchase today, so we'll see.

 

[heath92681]

We rented from kingdom strollers. My DH was super skeptical of a double and busses and everyone but after the first day he was singing its praises and said it was the best $$ we spent all week! Yes it's bulky, but I held the little one on the bus and the bigger one sat next to me. DH folded the stroller (the city mini double was SO easy to fold) and held that at his feet. It worked out great. And it folds so quick and easy, both kids sat in it until the bus pulled up then hopped out last second. Seriously a life saver. And pushed like a dream!

We took our own Britax double our first visit since we had a car and my little one was not even 4 months old and needed the extra support. Before our trip two years ago, I bought a Jeep double umbrella off craigslist because I didn't want to even gate check our Britax. Best $25 spent. Folds up much smaller and still reclines a little for napping. Lightweight and not as big of an issue on the bus. This will be our 3rd trip with it, so if it gets us through this trip, it was more than worth my money!

 

[1437disney]

I have a bigger group going, so I am not a ADR hog, well maybe a little with Akershus! We are changing a lot of our days around so I have a lot of cancelations to make. Please PM me if you would like to coordinate. I will hold all of these reservations for a week to give everyone a chance to see this (I will cancel if a time with someone is setup or if something I need pops up). I hope these help someone!

11/27 Rainforest @ AK @ 1:45pm (7ppl)
San Angel Inn @ 3:50pm w/ 8:15 CP (8ppl)
Le Cellier @ 6:10pm (2ppl)
Monsier Paul @ 6:15pm (2ppl)
Narcoossees @ 7:15 (2ppl)

11/28 Kona Cafe @6:30pm (10ppl)
Skippers Canteen @ 8:05pm (4ppl)

11/29 Akershus @9:35am (5ppl)
Akershus @ 2:20pm (6ppl)

12/1 Akershus @ 11am (5ppl)
Akershus @ 6:40PM (5ppl)

12/3 Mama Melrose @ 2:25pm w/ F! (6ppl)
Mama Melrose @ 2:30 w/ F! (4ppl)

12/6 Akershus @ 10:30am (7ppl)

12/7 Akershus @ 10:30am (7ppl)

 

[kellyjeanie]

I know it's cliché and not the cheapest option but we bought a Mickey-head balloon on our first day and tied it to the stroller - it lasted all week and was easy to spot from a distance. I thought they'd be more common but at least when we went 3 years ago it wasn't. We will probably do that again just because those balloons make me so darned happy. lol

 

[Meeko5]

I know it's cliché and not the cheapest option but we bought a Mickey-head balloon on our first day and tied it to the stroller - it lasted all week and was easy to spot from a distance. I thought they'd be more common but at least when we went 3 years ago it wasn't. We will probably do that again just because those balloons make me so darned happy. lol

I wanted to! But figured balloon + giant stroller on the busses might make some people angry haha!

 

[kellyjeanie]

I wanted to! But figured balloon + giant stroller on the busses might make some people angry haha!

For the life of me I can't remember how we navigated the buses with that thing, or where it went in the room! I usually try to keep a low profile so hopefully we were considerate with it, lol.

 

[kellyjeanie]

Originally my SW flight got into Orlando on Fri 11/25 at 7:15, there was an almost 2-hour layover in Washington DC but as I have never been to that airport so I was kind of looking forward to it. However, a couple weeks ago they added an hour to the layover and we were going to get into Orlando at 8:15. I tried to switch but the other reasonably timed flights were sold out. HOWEVER, they have a sale going on right now and a better flight showed up - now I have a nonstop arriving in Orlando before 6! I'm so pleased. Plus it was $24 cheaper!

 

[Meeko5]

Originally my SW flight got into Orlando on Fri 11/25 at 7:15, there was an almost 2-hour layover in Washington DC but as I have never been to that airport so I was kind of looking forward to it. However, a couple weeks ago they added an hour to the layover and we were going to get into Orlando at 8:15. I tried to switch but the other reasonably timed flights were sold out. HOWEVER, they have a sale going on right now and a better flight showed up - now I have a nonstop arriving in Orlando before 6! I'm so pleased. Plus it was $24 cheaper!

That is awesome!!! I have checked every "sale" SW has had since the day they opened fares and all our flights went up. I'm so happy you were able to score a better deal and schedule!