Disney Vacations

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by PurdueBrad

We're starting to look at taking my 4 year old. Do you guys usually book through Disney or a travel agent?

Have always booked directly.

I'd say that just depends upon your patience/comfort level with doing the research and handling things like that yourself vs handing them off to someone else.

[cougarfreak]

Originally Posted by PurdueBrad

We're starting to look at taking my 4 year old. Do you guys usually book through Disney or a travel agent?

I can't recommend the place I used any more highly than I can. It's called smallworldvacations.com/ I booked about 9 months out, tell them the dates and times for restaurants I want, etc. and pay $200 up front. They do all the booking, etc. about 45 days out I pay the balance. In the mean time, they get all the discounts applied to your account that come up. Last year, they saved me about $100. This year I received an email about 2 months ago that said they were knocking $420 off of my balance. That was more than 10%. They are fabulous, and don't charge any fees. The price I paid is the exact same price I was quoted on the Disney site. They got my luggage tags, etc. If you want the name of the agent I used, let me know. I swear there are no gimmicks, tricks, etc. They only do Disney vacations.

[CraigSca]

Heading there on Friday, just for a long weekend.

For those who care - I cannot recommend the Epcot Food and Wine Festival enough. Went there last year and probably had one of the best days ever with my family. My 12 year old even tried escargot - would never happen outside of that environment. If you have the ability to visit late September-early November, the festival is a must-do.

[Draft Dodger]

Originally Posted by cougarfreak

I can't recommend the place I used any more highly than I can. It's called smallworldvacations.com/ I booked about 9 months out, tell them the dates and times for restaurants I want, etc. and pay $200 up front. They do all the booking, etc. about 45 days out I pay the balance. In the mean time, they get all the discounts applied to your account that come up. Last year, they saved me about $100. This year I received an email about 2 months ago that said they were knocking $420 off of my balance. That was more than 10%. They are fabulous, and don't charge any fees. The price I paid is the exact same price I was quoted on the Disney site. They got my luggage tags, etc. If you want the name of the agent I used, let me know. I swear there are no gimmicks, tricks, etc. They only do Disney vacations.

we had a pretty similar experience going through AAA. really painless

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by CraigSca

Heading there on Friday, just for a long weekend.

For those who care - I cannot recommend the Epcot Food and Wine Festival enough. Went there last year and probably had one of the best days ever with my family. My 12 year old even tried escargot - would never happen outside of that environment. If you have the ability to visit late September-early November, the festival is a must-do.

Yep +1 for sure.

It's actually on the when-the-kid-eventually-goes-to-college-we'll-go-back- without-him list for us.

[Eaglesfan27]

I'm using Smallworldvacations.com and have been thrilled with the service so far. They just sent me a reminder last week that the 180 day window to book restaurant reservations is coming up. I just sent them an email telling them my preferences for meals and my agent is on top of it. Feel very comfortable with their service so far.

[JAG]

Originally Posted by CraigSca

Heading there on Friday, just for a long weekend.

For those who care - I cannot recommend the Epcot Food and Wine Festival enough. Went there last year and probably had one of the best days ever with my family. My 12 year old even tried escargot - would never happen outside of that environment. If you have the ability to visit late September-early November, the festival is a must-do.

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

Yep +1 for sure.

It's actually on the when-the-kid-eventually-goes-to-college-we'll-go-back- without-him list for us.

Would you guys mind expanding on that? Our family is going to be in Orlando during that timeframe (quite possibly with grandparent chaoerones for the kids) so you've got me intrigued.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by JAG

Would you guys mind expanding on that? Our family is going to be in Orlando during that timeframe (quite possibly with grandparent chaoerones for the kids) so you've got me intrigued.

You know how a pub crawl works, right? Well imagine a pub crawl around the nations half of Epcot except instead of drinking yourself into a stupor you have the chance to eat yourself into a stupor (you could also easily drink yourself unconscious but that's kinda tough with the kids in tow sometimes)

Basically it's food carts/kiosks set up with small portions of signature items from not only the various countries with pavilions but also other nations that don't have pavilions. In past years I specifically remember an Ireland location & IIRC an Israel one as well. The setup is usually 1 meat dish, 1 veggie dish, 1 appetizer type thing, 1 or 2 desserts plus 1-2 alcoholic beverages at each stop. Sort of a global food fair kinda thing.

Nobody can eat that much of course, but there's fun to be had in just seeing all the additional stuff, what's being offered, etc. It's just a more fun atmosphere than vanilla Epcot.

edit to add: There's also special events tied to it, such as $$$ cooking demonstrations, product displays, etc. I've never bothered with those as I'm not a hardcore foodie or anything. But that's also an option if it's your thing.

[CraigSca]

Yes, each regular country (existing pavilions like France, Japan, England, Mexico, etc.) will have additional food-only pavilions. Think of a sample of 3 items per country, along with regular and alcoholic beverages. In addition the the regular pavilions, they have added countries - this year they're adding Scotland and Brazil (which has been there in the past), amongst others.

Basically, you walk from pavilion to pavilion, see what catches your fancy among the 3 items each pavilion has and sample away. Most can be shared (small bites), and they average about $5 per. Also, the beverages are pretty cool, too (distinctive drinks from the country).

Seriously, by the time we went around the world and got to Australia, I was feeling pretty good, had spent over $100 (mind you, we basically ate lunch and dinner for a family of four including drinks) and we ended up meeting some new people.

It's just a great opportunity to sample a lot of different things from each culture - and my kids were surprisingly open to it. They had a very "let's give it a try" attitude.

As John said, this is perfect for an adults-only trip, or if your kids are a little older. If your kids are ages 5 and 6, it may be a little more difficult to enjoy.

[CraigSca]

One thing I'll add - this year's Epcot Flower and Garden show added foods as well. It's nowhere near the size of the Food and Wine Festival, but was nice to see some kiosks up for food/drink. The german meatloaf was my favorite while my kids loved the "frushi" (sushi made out of fruit).

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by CraigSca

One thing I'll add - this year's Epcot Flower and Garden show added foods as well. It's nowhere near the size of the Food and Wine Festival, but was nice to see some kiosks up for food/drink.

Interesting, I didn't realize they'd done that. F&G is the other "best time" to hit Epcot, the additional landscaping & such is nice even weeks after the festival officially ends.

One of the things about Epcot, in my experience anyway, is that it can become a bit of "been there, done that" after a number of visits. The festivals add that something extra that elevates the park, probably moreso than the extras at most of the others (although Star Wars weekends are pretty fun stuff).

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by PurdueBrad

We're starting to look at taking my 4 year old. Do you guys usually book through Disney or a travel agent?

Disney or travel site. Travel agents just don't offer much anymore.

Some new deals just hit MouseSavers today. Some good new deals in addition to the other great info they offer.

MouseSavers.com - Your source for Disney discounts, codes & deals!

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by CraigSca

Heading there on Friday, just for a long weekend.

For those who care - I cannot recommend the Epcot Food and Wine Festival enough. Went there last year and probably had one of the best days ever with my family. My 12 year old even tried escargot - would never happen outside of that environment. If you have the ability to visit late September-early November, the festival is a must-do.

Huge +1. We always try to make it to the festival every 2-3 years. Just a whole lot of fun and it gives the parents something to be excited about while the kids still have a fantastic vacation. Top it all off by the fact that it's held during a slow period of the year and it's as good as it gets.

[Butter]

Crossing my fingers that Disney does the Free Dining Plans this October. My wife and I want to celebrate our 15th anniversary the same place we celebrated our honeymoon. We may still go even if they don't have it, but that would seal it up for us. I understand that historically they haven't revealed the fall discounts until July, so I've still got another month-plus to go before we know for sure. That doesn't make waiting any easier!

[Tekneek]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

Disney or travel site. Travel agents just don't offer much anymore.

I used to always book Disney vacations myself. Having said that, we're using a travel agent for the first time and it has been very nice to just send her questions and changes without having to do all the work. I tell her what we want and she gets it. When I had a chance to get free dining for the trip, I mentioned it to her and she worked out the details. I didn't have to call Disney and work out the slight modifications required. I sent off one email and got all the revised arrangements back without doing any of the work.

I guess it depends on how much time you have. I've found that with 60+ hours of work a week and 4 kids, I really appreciate having the travel agent working out the tiny details.

[Tekneek]

Originally Posted by Butter_of_69

Crossing my fingers that Disney does the Free Dining Plans this October. My wife and I want to celebrate our 15th anniversary the same place we celebrated our honeymoon. We may still go even if they don't have it, but that would seal it up for us. I understand that historically they haven't revealed the fall discounts until July, so I've still got another month-plus to go before we know for sure. That doesn't make waiting any easier!

So far the only people getting free dining for October are those selected by Disney from their reservation system. If they have an email address on file for you, they might send you a PIN code connected directly with your name. I received one and we're getting free dining for our trip in October/November.

[Tekneek]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

One of the things about Epcot, in my experience anyway, is that it can become a bit of "been there, done that" after a number of visits. The festivals add that something extra that elevates the park, probably moreso than the extras at most of the others (although Star Wars weekends are pretty fun stuff).

Interesting to read your perspective. I am one of those who thinks the problem with Epcot is Disney's inability to stay focused on the original mission. They've watered it down from what it once was, in its first decade (probably peaking around 1990). Now it is just a generic theme park that hosts a couple of foodie fests each year with a bunch of concerts by has-been musicians and tribute bands.

[Tekneek]

Also worth mentioning, ticket prices at Disney's parks are going up today.

Disney Parks Ticket Price Update « Disney Parks Blog

1 Day Epcot, Hollywood Studios, or Animal Kingdom tickets are 95.85 after tax.
1 Day Magic Kingdom tickets are now 101.18.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by Tekneek

Also worth mentioning, ticket prices at Disney's parks are going up today.

Disney Parks Ticket Price Update « Disney Parks Blog

1 Day Epcot, Hollywood Studios, or Animal Kingdom tickets are 95.85 after tax.
1 Day Magic Kingdom tickets are now 101.18.

Should always buy tickets at Undercover Tourist. They're an authorized reseller, always cheaper than Disney, and include free shipping.

Discount Disney World Tickets - Universal, Sea World

Edit: They also usually have cheaper prices after price hikes because they keep the old prices until they exhaust their old allotment of tickets.

[Tekneek]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

Should always buy tickets at Undercover Tourist. They're an authorized reseller, always cheaper than Disney, and include free shipping.

Discount Disney World Tickets - Universal, Sea World

Edit: They also usually have cheaper prices after price hikes because they keep the old prices until they exhaust their old allotment of tickets.

I can vouch for them. We've bought tickets from them before and they would be our first choice when not getting a package or promotion directly from Disney/Universal/etc.

[Butter]

Originally Posted by Tekneek

So far the only people getting free dining for October are those selected by Disney from their reservation system. If they have an email address on file for you, they might send you a PIN code connected directly with your name. I received one and we're getting free dining for our trip in October/November.

We booked today anyway, excited to visit during Epcot Food and Wine for the first time. Looks like they have some great stuff, at least looking through the 2012 blog about it. If we get free dining, we get it, but this is where we both wanted to go anyway, so really looking forward to it.

And I can 3rd Undercover Tourist, we bought our tix there last year, no hassle whatsoever.

[OldGiants]

Most of you know what a 'Hidden Mickey' is. My daughter has been in Imagineering for 5 years now, so she's gotten a few 'Hidden Beckys' in the parks.

You can find two in Tattooine, the Star Tours store. Here's her as a curly, red-haired Jawa at the edge of the sand cruiser at the main check out counter:

Curly red-haired Jawa 1 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Her name in Aurebesh is also in the Droid Factory, but it is hard to find because it is under the parts display, you have to scootch down and look up, and a CM is usually standing right in front of it.

The Jawa should be at eye-level for young 'uns so hopefully they can find it.

[Butter]

Originally Posted by Butter_of_69

We booked today anyway, excited to visit during Epcot Food and Wine for the first time. Looks like they have some great stuff, at least looking through the 2012 blog about it. If we get free dining, we get it, but this is where we both wanted to go anyway, so really looking forward to it.

YES, got a free dining offer for the rest of the year in the mail last night, called in and applied it to our reservation, am saving nearly $400 on our already booked reservation at Pop Century with Standard Dining plan.

[Tekneek]

For the curious/interested, it sounds like Disney is about to change the way the refillable mugs work.

http://www.wdwmagic.com/dining/refil...id-fill%27.htm

It is a bit more complicated than before. Apparently they will be using RFID to limit access to the beverage station, and even valid mugs may have to wait at least 5 minutes between refills. Further, it appears that the refillable mugs will no longer be included with the Quick Service Dining Plan (nevermind that they just raised the prices for all the dining plans as well!).

[cougarfreak]

My family and I fly out in the morning for our stay in Wilderness Lodge again this year. I'm beyond excited. It's not only awesome to see your 5 and 7 year olds have an incredible time, but I get to be a kid for 6 days.

[PilotMan]

Yeah, it's great. I wish we could go back before the kids get to be too big. Have fun BTW.

[CraigSca]

Originally Posted by cougarfreak

My family and I fly out in the morning for our stay in Wilderness Lodge again this year. I'm beyond excited. It's not only awesome to see your 5 and 7 year olds have an incredible time, but I get to be a kid for 6 days.

Congrats - Wilderness Lodge is awesome!

[Eaglesfan27]

A little under 5 months until my trip. I think I'm even more excited than Mary!

Have fun Cougar!

[cougarfreak]

Anyone a vacation club member? I'm debating....

[OldGiants]

Originally Posted by cougarfreak

Anyone a vacation club member? I'm debating....

Check out the sites where DVC points are bought and sold first. You may find what you need there without the cash outlay.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

How to save at Disney theme parks - Jennifer Waters's Consumer Confidential - MarketWatch

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Think we're going to book a last-minute vacation. Going to head down the first week in October. With the free dining plan deal, we can get six nights at Port Orleans, tickets (two adult, two child), and three meals/two snacks per day for around $2,200. Can't beat that for a week vacation.

[OldGiants]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

Think we're going to book a last-minute vacation. Going to head down the first week in October. With the free dining plan deal, we can get six nights at Port Orleans, tickets (two adult, two child), and three meals/two snacks per day for around $2,200. Can't beat that for a week vacation.

We just now got back from a week at Port Orleans Riverside in a new Royal Guest Room. These are in the Mansion units (Oak Mansion, for us), not the Bayou section. Excellent, with lots of great touches such as the faucets look like gold magic lanterns, lots of princess pictures on the wall and behind each bed is a mural with lights that turn on a fireworks display over a bayou scene.

They are converting to the new tickets this week. My daughter used her new passes for us and boggled the mind of the ticket staff who weren't expecting them yet. Old tickets will be honored, but you'll have to go to a Guest Relations window to have them verified/converted.

Once the front gate RFID is working smoothly, they will introduce FastPassPlus. This will allow you to get a FastPass for rides BEFORE you come down. They are talking 3 or 4 rides per day at one park, depending on how testing goes. So you can plan your day almost precisely.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by OldGiants

We just now got back from a week at Port Orleans Riverside in a new Royal Guest Room. These are in the Mansion units (Oak Mansion, for us), not the Bayou section. Excellent, with lots of great touches such as the faucets look like gold magic lanterns, lots of princess pictures on the wall and behind each bed is a mural with lights that turn on a fireworks display over a bayou scene.

They are converting to the new tickets this week. My daughter used her new passes for us and boggled the mind of the ticket staff who weren't expecting them yet. Old tickets will be honored, but you'll have to go to a Guest Relations window to have them verified/converted.

Once the front gate RFID is working smoothly, they will introduce FastPassPlus. This will allow you to get a FastPass for rides BEFORE you come down. They are talking 3 or 4 rides per day at one park, depending on how testing goes. So you can plan your day almost precisely.

We can still book at Undercover Tourist, correct? Just didn't want to buy a ticket there only to find it doesn't work.

Thanks for the heads up on the rooms!

[Tekneek]

Originally Posted by OldGiants

Once the front gate RFID is working smoothly, they will introduce FastPassPlus. This will allow you to get a FastPass for rides BEFORE you come down. They are talking 3 or 4 rides per day at one park, depending on how testing goes. So you can plan your day almost precisely.

The bad thing about FP+ is that they will start booking those FP+ attractions 60 days out (once it is rolled out). You can easily imagine that the top attractions will have all their slots taken very early in that window. These will have to be scheduled online through the My Disney Experience website or smartphone app, or at kiosks in the parks if you don't do it before you're there. The limitations are 4 per day at Magic Kingdom and 3 per day at the others. You can also not schedule them at more than 1 park per day (potentially sucking some value from park hopping).

The current FP system in the parks will go away completely once this is rolled out. As far as I know, you're not required to change over to the new paperless tickets at this time (and according to Disney you will never be required to, but you won't be able to access the FP+ system without doing so).

[Flasch186]

My bracelet experience a few weeks ago at Disney while staying on site was an abject disaster wherein I had to spend numerous hours with their helpers reprogramming everything, syncing it to the app, etc. total cluster. So much so that at one point, out of an overload of frustration (I have a 3.5 year old) I ended up spiking mine at the entrance.

At one point I swear that they had forewarned every employee in the park that if the guy int he white T and black hat comes your way let him do what he wants. By 8:00 when the bracelet wouldnt work at a ride but my son and wife's would and the employee would put his hand up to stop me and 'hear my issue for feedback' for the 15th time, I told them I wasn't going to wait anymore, I was entering with my family, and if they wanted to hear about it they could ask any of the 10 other employees/managers I'd already wasted hours of my day with 'working it out.'

On the positive side, having the bands got us VIP front row seating for the electrical parade, show on the castle and fireworks which was cool but it was a long long long day.

[OldGiants]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

We can still book at Undercover Tourist, correct? Just didn't want to buy a ticket there only to find it doesn't work.

Thanks for the heads up on the rooms!

Yes, you get the tickets when you arrive, no change to that. They will be wrist bands, not paper so you can tap the entry balls.

[OldGiants]

Originally Posted by Tekneek

The bad thing about FP+ is that they will start booking those FP+ attractions 60 days out (once it is rolled out). You can easily imagine that the top attractions will have all their slots taken very early in that window. These will have to be scheduled online through the My Disney Experience website or smartphone app, or at kiosks in the parks if you don't do it before you're there. The limitations are 4 per day at Magic Kingdom and 3 per day at the others. You can also not schedule them at more than 1 park per day (potentially sucking some value from park hopping).

The current FP system in the parks will go away completely once this is rolled out. As far as I know, you're not required to change over to the new paperless tickets at this time (and according to Disney you will never be required to, but you won't be able to access the FP+ system without doing so).

A few comments from my family members who work there:

1) No park hopping is for starters. they hope to expand that.

2) The slots will be the same number as currently exist for FP now once the system is running.

3) The goal is to have every ride on FP+ so you can plan your day, but there will still be walk-on space for those so inclined.

4) There will always be cards instead of wrist bands if you want. They currently scan the cards with hand-held devices at the gate.

5) What CMs don't universally know yet is that if you park hop, you don't need to keep straight who used which band/pass to get in at EPCOT when you go over to MK, for example. The system knew that my finger matched up with my wife's pass and vice versa, when we deliberately mixed them up.

6) Doing away with the old FP system won't happen any time soon.

7) The somewhat secret Avatar land and Star Wars land projects are under way already, although in the blueprint stages only.

[OldGiants]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

How to save at Disney theme parks - Jennifer Waters's Consumer Confidential - MarketWatch

To follow up on the 'bad ticket' aspect of this story. I saw at least two booths in mall parking lots on the way to the airport that advertised they bought and sold tickets. I'd avoid those places.

[Tekneek]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

We can still book at Undercover Tourist, correct? Just didn't want to buy a ticket there only to find it doesn't work.

Thanks for the heads up on the rooms!

You are supposed to be able to add them to MyDisneyExperience by scanning them using a smartphone and the MyDisneyExperience app, or by typing in the number. However, I've read reports of people having problems with this. I would say that you should be able to continue buying from UT as normal without any major problem. If you're unable to add it, you should be able to call someone at Disney and get it done. UT is reputable and stands behind their services, so unlikely they would be pushing fraudulent tickets.

[OldGiants]

Yes, reputable travel agencies like UT or AAA will have no issues.

All of us (5) in my group including 2 Disney CMs had trouble at times connecting to MyDisneyExperience while in the parks, but not at the hotel or traveling around. Lots of folks access this app while waiting in line, so band width (Verizon for all of us, but others around us were complaining, too) is an issue.

Also, don't necessarily believe the wait times at rides. We entered Toy Story around 11:15 AM with the sign saying a 95 minute wait already. But the line was not visible from outdoors. It we came out the door at 12:05 so much less wait. Why? Well my daughter spotted a timer card on the floor, picked it up, and handed it to a CM checking FPs. She said this happens often, and they aren't sure if people are doing it deliberately at the popular rides to make others think the line is much longer than it is.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by OldGiants

Yes, reputable travel agencies like UT or AAA will have no issues.

All of us (5) in my group including 2 Disney CMs had trouble at times connecting to MyDisneyExperience while in the parks, but not at the hotel or traveling around. Lots of folks access this app while waiting in line, so band width (Verizon for all of us, but others around us were complaining, too) is an issue.

Also, don't necessarily believe the wait times at rides. We entered Toy Story around 11:15 AM with the sign saying a 95 minute wait already. But the line was not visible from outdoors. It we came out the door at 12:05 so much less wait. Why? Well my daughter spotted a timer card on the floor, picked it up, and handed it to a CM checking FPs. She said this happens often, and they aren't sure if people are doing it deliberately at the popular rides to make others think the line is much longer than it is.

I use an independent iPhone Disney app to get ride times. Only cost 99 cents and you get much more accurate line times than the actual ride times posted.

Just got into My Disney for the first time today. Going to have to take a few hours one night and work myself through the whole thing. Lots of scheduling options.

[Tekneek]

The Lines app from TouringPlans.com is going to be the most accurate data available regarding wait times. They do a ton of research and constant crowd sourcing of wait time information.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

New Belle interactive story. My daughter played one of the dancing plates, so she got to meet Belle......





Showing off their ears.....



Tigger and Eyore at the Crystal Palace.....





Luau with Mickey and Stitch......





Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party.......



Playing in the fountains at Epcot......



Long day for Belle......

[Butter]

Did you do FP+? If so, did you have any issues with the Bands?

[Eaglesfan27]

How do you get fast pass plus? Is it still invitation only? We will be there in less than 2 months. Mary and I are both so excited!

[CraigSca]

EF27 - are you staying at a resort? Did you do your reservation online? I found that I received an email shortly after our reservation letting us know we could take advantage of FP+. I do know it's rolling out to Disney resorts on a week to week basis, some of them this weekend.

[CraigSca]

dola

The Food and Wine festival was incredible. More pavilions than I remember last year.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by CraigSca

EF27 - are you staying at a resort? Did you do your reservation online? I found that I received an email shortly after our reservation letting us know we could take advantage of FP+. I do know it's rolling out to Disney resorts on a week to week basis, some of them this weekend.

Yes, we are staying at the contemporary. We made a reservation via an agent recommended on here back in April.

[CraigSca]

I would check with the agent. I have only made my reservations online so have only had experience with that process. I would think, however, that the Contemporary will support FP+ at that time (if it doesn't already).