Originally Posted By juicer I am planing a 14 day WDW vacation for Sep. 2016. Normally we stay for 8 or 9 days and get the Magic your Way/Length of Stay tickets. Would like to get them again-however, WDW only sells them up to 10 days. What ticket media do you think I should get? (BYW-we are flying in from California)
Originally Posted By juicer I am planing a 14 day WDW vacation for Sep. 2016. Normally we stay for 8 or 9 days and get the Magic your Way/Length of Stay tickets. Would like to get them again-however, WDW only sells them up to 10 days. What ticket media do you think I should get? (BYW-we are flying in from California)
Originally Posted By trekkeruss I would get the 8, 9, or 10 day tickets, and the other days I would rent a car and go somewhere else. Like to Universal, Cape Canaveral, Daytona, etc.
Originally Posted By trekkeruss Or better yet, since you've already been to WDW, why not go Paris, or Tokyo, or Hong Kong instead?
Originally Posted By FerretAfros I agree that you'll probably get better bang for you buck if you go offsite for the remaining days. WDW tickets are priced so that each additional day is cheaper than the ones before it (just $10 to go from a 9-day ticket to a 10-day ticket), so why go back to the high rates just to get those last few days? I'd consider hanging out by the pool, Universal, the beach, or any number of other options nearby in Florida Or as Russ mentioned, with the amount of money it costs to spend 14 days in WDW, you could reasonably spend 14 days in another country (and include a Disney visit there if you wish). Particularly if you consider airfare from CA to FL, it's really not that much more to get off the continent, and foreign hotels experiences are usually cheaper and more rewarding than a WDW vacation But if you're set on spending 14 days in WDW's parks, I would recommend just getting an AP. It's about $15 cheaper than 14 days worth of MYW tickets, and includes park hopping, free parking, and various discounts on hotels, merchandise, and food
Originally Posted By DouglasDubh I am going to WDW in a couple of months and will be staying 14 days. I bought a 10 day park hopper with the water parks option from AAA. I figure I can hit the parks for 10 days and spend the other days at DisneyQuest or a water park or at Downtown Disney or hanging out at the resorts. We thought about spending some time at Universal to see the new Harry Potter stuff, but that would cost a couple more thousand dollars than hanging around WDW since the rest of my family got annual passes when they went last year.
Originally Posted By juicer Thank you for the great suggestions! I like the idea of buying the 10 day and planning some days outside the parks - around the pool, Disney Springs etc.. But I like the idea of buying AP's for the discounts. Are the hotel AP discounts pretty good?
Originally Posted By FerretAfros I think the AP discounts are generally about 5% more than the promotions available to the public (eg public gets 30% off Deluxe hotel, APs get 35% off). They vary seasonally and may or may not be available during your time (fall tends to have "free" dining instead), but could be worth it Also, if you're using the AP primarily for the discounts, then only one person in your group needs to have it. As long as you pay together for hotel, food, and merchandise, everybody with you will get the discount; if you split the check only the AP-holder gets the AP discount
Originally Posted By RoadTrip If it works for you financially I would get an annual pass. You many not want to spend more than 10 full days in the parks, but I enjoy being able to go over to Epcot just for dinner and Illuminations. It makes a nice ending to a day spent hanging out at the pool or Downtown Disney. With an annual pass you don't feel that you are "wasting" a day on a short park visit. I like the flexibility the AP provides.
Originally Posted By DouglasDubh We've usually gotten the AP the last few years, but then we feel obligated to return again within 11 months, because it's already partly paid for. This was especially hard to resist when Disney offered DVC members $300 off a WDW pass. I'm hoping to skip DLR and WDW next year though, and either go back to Europe or stay at Aulani.
Originally Posted By DouglasDubh All of that last post was supposed to support Roadtrip's idea that it is nice to have an AP, but I wrote for so long I forgot to include that.
Originally Posted By RoadTrip Yes, I almost always planned two vacations on an annual pass. The first year in late January and the next year in early January.
Originally Posted By juicer How about the dining plan? Can we get it for 14 days - or is it limited to 10 days also?
Originally Posted By RoadTrip I think you have to purchase it for your entire stay, so all days would be covered. I'm not sure the plan is worth it... check it out before you decide. You can view WDW menus here and decide if you would get your money's worth. <a target="blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://allears.net/dining/menu">http://allears.net/dining/menu</a>
Originally Posted By Autopia Deb If you are going to Universal, Sea World or other non-Disney park it will be tough to get your moneys worth out of the DDP. I like getting an AP on long trips or if I think I might return within a year (going on my third trip since June next month).
Originally Posted By seafairy1622 I did the dining plan for 5 days and got 8 day tickets. I booked a package for 5 nights at All Star Music and then 3 nights hotel only at Animal Kingdom Lodge. My park tickets will still be good. I did not want to do the dining the whole time and this way I can enjoy some table service meals. Plus the refillable drink mug is included in the dining plan. We have done it this way the past 3 years. You do have to change hotels but our luggage was transferred for free.
Originally Posted By DouglasDubh If you haven't already, make sure you try one of the restaurants at AKL. They are really good. Especially Boma, but go in hungry.
Originally Posted By hbquikcomjamesl I definitely second the visit to Kennedy Space Center. In fact, I'd recommend, for a trip that long, to plan on two or three visits to KSC. Or here's an idea: virtually all of my vacations are multi-destination For example, the end of this month, I'm doing Chicago, a day in Altoona, PA, an afternoon in Strasburg, PA, three days in Philadelphia, and finishing in New York City. Everything from Chicago to New York will be (with the exception of some cab rides) by rail. One of my visits to WDW began in New Orleans, then WDW with one or two visits to KSC, then Colonial Williamsburg, then Chicago, then back to New Orleans. From Orlando, Williamsburg, VA is only an overnight train trip away, and the Williamsburg train station is within walking distance (albeit just barely, if you're encumbered by luggage) of the CW Visitor Center and the Historic District.
Originally Posted By hbquikcomjamesl Oh, and one thing I always recommend Re: the DDP Get hold of some menus with prices. And use a spreadsheet to simulate how and where you'd be dining during your trip. Figure out how much it would cost, going entirely out-of-pocket, and compare it with how much it would cost with whatever variation(s) of the DDP will best accommodate your eating habits. You may find out (as I did, because I rarely eat desserts, appetizers, or fast food, because I like my breakfasts light, but substantial, and because most or all of my snack credits would go unused) that you would actually lose money by going with the DDP.
