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About Caldercup

I'll admit it -- I’m an obsessive-compulsive overplanner, and spreadsheets, research and data spill over into almost everything I do, especially when planning a Disney World Vacation! I'm also a bit of a know-it-all, so I'm reveling in the opportunity to work on the "Disney Queue" blog. Do you have a question about Disney? Then send me a private message and you may find it answered in an upcoming post!
Website:
Caldercup has written 7 articles so far, you can find them below.


Getting Around Walt Disney World

Filed under The Disney Queue by Caldercup on March 23, 2012 at 10:06 am {one comment}

amylynne asked: We are staying at CSR next month and have ressies at Flying Fish one evening. What is the best way to get there?? Cab? Bus to DHS and then ferry? other ideas?

With miles and miles of roads, canals, monorail track, and lagoons, there is always more than one simple way to get from HERE to THERE in Walt Disney World.

Getting Around Walt Disney World

Disney World's Transportation System

 

In my experience, which one you will choose will depend on you and your tastes/budget.

First off, if you’re flying into Orlando International Airport (MCO), the first transportation question you’ll need ask yourself is “how am I getting to the hotel?”

Well, you can hire a taxi or towncar, rent a car, or take Disney’s Magical Express.

Towncar Services

For about $100 round trip, you can hire a towncar service to whisk you from baggage claim right to your resort — and even get a complimentary stop at a grocery store! — with a minimum amount of fuss. I’ve used Tiffany Towncar many times and always been happy with their service, especially with a lovely gentleman named Jack Jordan. But there are lots of towncar services out there, so find one that has good reviews on-line, and a price that fits into your budget.

Taxis

A taxi is another option, but with less personal service, and generally about the same price as the towncar (round trip.) Taxis can be found by following the signs in the baggage claim area.

Rental cars

Many people like the control of renting a car and driving themselves everywhere. If you’re one of them, you’ve got lots of car rental companies to choose from. And driving around Disney World property isn’t all that hard — everything is clearly marked with large purple signs. (And –BONUS!!– you get to slow down to take that all important picture of the entrance to Disney property. *sigh*)

Disney World's Gates

This sight always makes my heart sing!

But if you don’t want to hire a car, you don’t have to. (Personally, the last thing *I* want to do on my vacation is drive, so I’m happy to leave all that up to Disney, who does it so well and so efficiently!)

Disney’s Magical Express

Launched in 2005, Disney came up with a fairly worry-free way to get guests from MCO to their resort by forming a partnership with Mears Transportation. Their fleet of Disney’s Magical Express (DME) buses are all themed to Disney’s standards, and they’ll get you to your resort (and back again) with a mimimum of fuss — though it’s not always the speediest route there, but generally within 90 minutes from the time you step off your plane to the time you walk into the lobby of your resort.

Disney's Magical Express Bus

A Magical Express bus

(Note that sometimes you’ll get a Disney Cruise Line bus, and even a bright yellow Mears bus. They’ll all get you to the same place with the same service, but it’s a tad more magical to step onto a blue DME bus.)

For more info on tagging your bags, late night arrivals, and using Resort Airline Check-in for the return flight, please check your PassPorter for details, or check AllEars.net on-line.

Once you’re at your Disney resort and want to get anywhere else, you have lots of transportation options to choose from — buses, monorails, boats, ferries, taxis, trains, oh my!!

A Disney Transportation Sign

By Bus

The red and white Disney buses are ubiquitous once on WDW property, and they shuttle around thousands of guests each day. They can get you from any resort to any theme park, water park, or Downtown Disney fairly easily. It might not be as fast as driving yourself, but it’s pain-free and a great time to sit in air conditioning and just “veg out.” In fact, I frequently fall asleep while on the bus and get myself a second wind on a long day of touring.

Disney's monorails and buses

By Monorail

Disney’s monorail system is pretty awesome — though it’s beginning to show signs of age (*see the note below.) And, if you travel it enough, you’ll learn the most memorable bit of dialogue in all of Disney World — how to say “Please stand clear of the doors” in Spanish.

Por favor mantengase alejado de las puertas! (check out this YouTube video to get you in the groove)

With quiet efficiency, the Express Line travels around the Seven Seas Lagoon From the Ticket and Transportation Center (TTC) to the Magic Kindom in just a few minutes. To get to any of the monorail resorts, just hop on the Resort Line to go from the Magic Kindom to the Contemporary, the TTC, the Polynesian, and the Grand Floridian before heading back to the Magic Kingdom.

Additionally, there are several miles of track that will take you from the TTC to Epcot — with a little loop around Spaceship Earth — via the Epcot Spur line. You just have to walk down the long slope and back up another long slope to transfer from the MK-area monorail to the Epcot Spur line.

*NOTE: a recent change in the monorail operational hours may impact you, so make sure to check when the monorail shuts down each night of your vacation so you don’t find yourself stranded. (Not that anyone is stranded in WDW because there are always a few ways to get from point A to point B on Disney property — and you can always check with a Cast Member for transportation help.)

The Boats

One of the most relaxing ways (IMHO) to get where you’re going is with the Disney boat system.

A Disney resort launch

A Disney resort launch waits for passengers

Not only are there the giant ferries that transport guests from the TTC to the Magic Kingdom (MK), but there are the small craft that traverse the Seven Seas Lagoon from the MK to each of the monorail resorts plus the Wilderness Lodge and Ft. Wilderness campgrounds, or the Friendships that cross Epcot’s water from the base of World Showcase to Morocco or Germany, and also travel the route from the International Gateway to the Epcot area resorts, not to mention the boats that ply the waters from several resorts to Downtown Disney.

Let me tell you, there’s nothing so wonderful in my mind as sitting on a boat, on a warm evening at Disney, watching the sun set as you head back to your resort after a long day in the parks. It’s divine, and I highly recommend it to everyone!

Taxis

I think getting from resort-to-resort is a hassle at Disney when using the regular transportation system. Except for a few exceptions, you have to do too much transferring and waiting for buses/boats/monorails for my tastes. For that reason, I budget $15-17 for a taxi when I want to get from one resort to another in a set amount of time. (I’m thinking specifically of early morning breakfasts, or special event meals where I’d be dressed up and wearing heels.)

Taxis can be found at all of the resorts — just stop at the front desk if you don’t see any under the porte cochere at the front of the resort. You can also use the “taxi” button on your resort phone to arrange for a taxi to come right to your building at a specified time, which I’ve done a few times when staying at some of the more spread-out resorts when I don’t feel like catching an internal bus or walking all the way to the main building to catch my cab.

But, if “doing it all yourself” is up your alley, then have I got a tool for you.

The OLP Transportation Wizard

This little gem lets you input your departure point and destination and then it gives you all the permutations of how to get between the two — walking, driving, taking a bus/boat/monorail. And you can choose which one suits your needs best. It even gives you approximate travel time via that route (not factoring in any unusual waits for a mode of transportation to show up!)

The OLP input screen

The input screen

 

Using the pull-down boxes, choose your “from” location, and where you’re trying to get “to.” Then select [Find Route]

The results screen

The results screen

Note that it gives ALL methods of travel, including ones that take much longer than others. Taking a bus to the front of Epcot, going through bag check and then walking aaaaaall the way up to the International Gateway only to hop a boat to the Studios is not a good use of time (110 minutes of wasted time, in fact!) But… if you were planning on picking something up in the Canada pavilion anyway, well… *shrug* …it might be something you’d want to do.

Disney World is a very big place….

Walt Disney World's Transportation Map

Walt Disney World's Transportation Map

…but you can always get THERE from HERE.

Good luck!Eileen

*PS – A Google search will bring up lots of helpful results, including resort maps and the excellent Transportation Map Disney provides its guests here:

http://adisneyworld.disney.go.com/media/wdw/images2003/languagespecific/eng/nontheme/moremagic/golf/maps/wdwmap.pdf

Drink up! – with Disney’s refillable resort mug program

Filed under The Disney Queue by Caldercup on March 12, 2012 at 11:21 am {35 comments}

I’m a coffee drinker, and a morning just doesn’t START for me unless I have that hot cup of Joe to get my blood pumping. It doesn’t even have to be particularly great coffee, which is good, as not many people would consider the stuff you get in the food courts to be “good” coffee. For me, it just has to be caffeinated.

Disney's Refillable Resort Mugs

Disney's Refillable Resort Mugs

 

And the cost of couple of cups a day can really add up! Luckily, Disney offers a refillable mug program to guests staying at one of its resorts.

The History of the Refillable Resort Mug program

The Disney World resorts have been offering refillable mugs in the food courts for years and years. The first one in my collection dates back to 2002 when I went to The World as an adult, but they’ve been around for a lot longer than that.

The mugs were originally themed to the resorts themselves. The Port Orleans mugs were purple and green with the Fab 5 dressed as members of a jazz band, the Animal Kingdom Lodge’s mugs at The Mara were orange and red and had animals playing with Mickey and friends, The Beach Club had a beachy theme, and so on….

Then in late 2006, Disney World went to a “universal” design for all resorts.

The first "universal" resort mug design

The first "universal" resort mug design

 

At first, many of us thought it was just something they were doing for the Year of a Million Dreams campaign, and that they go back to the resort-specific mugs. But when the YoaMD and its sister campaign ended after 2007, the red “Celebrate” themed mugs popped up at all resorts, followed by the current “resort pool” mug theme that appeared in 2011.

The current modus operandi seems to be that they release a new mug design every two years. They usually begin appearing as an individual resort runs out of the previous themed mug stock – which seems to take until about February.

Will we see resort-specific mugs ever again?

Personally,  I would seriously doubt that. From a cost perspective, it makes better sense to use a “universal” design because it means they can do larger orders from the manufacturer, which results in less cost per mug. Plus, they don’t have to maintain multiple designs in their warehouses, worry about inventory management or stocking, and all that transportation around to the resorts.

All of those things bring down the cost/raise their profits considerably with the universal design — even though many guests clamor for the resort-specific ones to come back.

But what *are* the refillable mugs?

They are plastic, insulated mugs that hold about 16 ounces of fluid. They are designed to fit in most cars drink holders, have a variety of handle/lid colors, and hold up well to repeated use — even surviving many years of abuse in a dishwasher.

You can pick them up at your Disney resort’s food court – usually near the cashier stations. Once paid for, the cashier will remove the security catch so they can be used at the beverage islands for fill-ups.

If you are on the Disney Dining Plan in 2012, you will receive a mug for each person in your reservation aged 3 and over. Just go to the food court and present your Keys to the Kingdom resort room keycard and the cashier will get you your mugs.

What drinks are on offer?

Disney World is a “Coke Country,” which means they have an exclusive deal with the Coca-Cola Company to offer their sodas. That includes Coke, Diet Coke, Coke Zero, Sprite, Powerade, Barq’s Root Beer, Dr. Pepper, Minute Maid fruit drinks, Hi-C, and others.

Coffee (and creamer), hot tea, and hot chocolate are also available with the refillable mug program.

In the resort food courts, look for the soda fountains.

All-Star Music beverage island

All-Star Music beverage island

What drinks aren’t included?

Orange juice, milk and other specialty drinks are not included in the refillable mug program. Those beverages can be found for purchase in the grab-n-go section of the food court.

How many times can I use my mug?

As many times as you want – but only during the vacation in which you purchased the mug.

The Disney Refillable Resort Mugs are no longer “lifetime” mugs. In fact the Disney policy is printed right on the mugs themselves.

Refills available at no additional charge at Resort Beverage Island located in the resort that this mug was purchased through the end of your resort stay.

Do people follow this policy?

Though many, many people do follow the policy, there are those who are not “overburdened with ethics.”

We’ve all seen them – the people who bring in any random container and fill them up with “free” soda, and no amount of my giving them the stink eye seems to deter them.

However, a new program being tested at the All-Star Sports resort may bring an end to this problem. With RFID chips in the mugs themselves, a new dispenser will lock out unauthorized containers, as well as track the check-out date of the mug’s owner so that the mug cannot be used after midnight on the day they leave the resort.

Learn more about it here: Disney World Refillable Mug System Experiment

What about a vacation where I stay in two resorts?

The whole split stay issue is a grey area, about which even Disney’s front-line employees seem unclear. The language of the current policy seems to say you can’t use it at both resorts through a split stay, but some Cast Members (even management-level CMs) tell you a different story.

If and when they roll out the RFID mugs to other resorts, it will become more clear as we learn what guests on a split stay discover about their ability to use the mugs at two resorts.

What about using them at sister resorts?

If you are staying at a resort that is paired with another resort (like the three All-Star resorts, the two Port Orleans Resorts, or the Yacht Club/Beach Club), you may use the mugs at the sister resort(s) paired with your home resort. So, I could be staying at Port Orleans French Quarter and use my mug at PO Riverside.

Disney Food Blog's picture of the current mugs

Disney Food Blog's picture of the current mugs

Are they good in the theme parks or water parks?

No. You cannot refill the mugs at any beverage dispenser but the ones in your resort’s food court.

But you’re welcome to take the mugs with you! Fill them from the water fountains, or from left-over drinks at meals (as, being insulated, they do keep drinks from getting too warm too quickly.) Just keep in mind that they are not water-tight, and may leak if tipped over.

Lots of folks like to take their mug with them on the bus in the morning (though I’ve had the occasional bus driver remind me that I’m not allowed to actually drink from it while on the bus,) and it’s nice to have it with you when you drag your exhausted body back to the resort late that night. A quick fill-up might be just what you need to recoup some energy back in the room.

Are they a good value?

Like all things, that depends on you. If you’re a big soda/coffee drinker and are staying at that resort for a few days, then probably yes. If you don’t like the beverages included in the program, then probably not.

As I always say: do the math.

At between $2.00 and $2.50 per drink (which is refillable for that meal, even with the paper cups), you need to determine if will you puchase enough drinks to match the cost of the mug? With the current price of the refillable mug at about $15 with tax, you’d have to consume just 7-8 drinks in order to make the mug purchase a “wash” — and you’d come away with a nice souvenir that you can use for years to come.

Any other questions, just ask!

Will Disney offer “Free Dining” in 2012

Filed under The Disney Queue by Caldercup on February 28, 2012 at 9:16 am {12 comments}
Fall Free Dining

Disney and the Free Dining Promotion

 

dmm3239 asked:  “Will there be free dining in 2012?  When will they announce, or does anyone know if they will?“

I’m no fortune teller, but it is possible to make an educated guess about these things.

My take? I believe “Fall Free Dining” will be offered again, but other Free Dining offers throughout other times of the year will probably not be seen as much as it had the past two years.

So what is Free Dining?

Free Dining promotions give all guests aged 3 and up who are booked on a package (including room, a mimimum of a 2-day ticket, and dining) their Disney Dining Plan for free.  Note: even Annual Passholders have to purchase a minimum of a 2-day ticket to be eligible for this promotion.

Yep. Free food! From Disney!!

Like all Disney Dining Plans, the tax is covered by the DDP, but the guest is responsible for the gratuity at all table service restaurants. Keep that in mind and be generous to your servers — they work exceptionally hard, especially at buffets, and are very skilled.

If you’re staying at a value resort, you receive the Quick Service Dining Plan for free, while guests of the moderate and deluxe resorts get the “regular” Disney Dining Plan for free. You can always upgrade to the dining plan you want — including to the Deluxe Dining Plan — by paying the difference in normal cost between the dining plan you’re getting for free and the cost of the dining plan you want. 

What’s the difference between “Fall Free Dining” and other Free Dining promotions.

“Fall Free Dining” is for vacations occurring in the mid-August through September timeframe. This has been offered every Fall since 2005.

“Free Dining” is a relatively new promotion that was done to increase bookings during the recent global economic downturn. These offers came by PINs, by emails, by mailings, by print and TV ads, and by general public announcements. They were offered for pretty much all times of year, but had specific travel dates and “book by” dates.

Important note: Since Disney announced in the Fall of 2011 that they’d be significantly reducing their promotion frequency, we’ve seen less and less offers compared to the same timeframe one or two years ago. 

Basically, I wouldn’t get my hopes up for Free Dining outside of the typical Fall Free Dining travel dates.

  

What exactly is “Fall Free Dining”

Back in 2004, Hurricanes Frances and Jeanne came close enough to the Resort to have everyone scrambling for safety (not to mention Hurricanes Charley and Ivan and Tropical Storm Bonnie that battered Florida too.)

Hurrican Paths in 2004

The 2004 Hurricane Season

By spring of 2005, bookings were way down for that September. Disney had to do something to entice guests to plan their Fall vacations.

And what better way to entice people than to offer them free food?!

Will it happen this year?

The indicators are in place to see the “Fall Free Dining” promotion make an appearance for vacations starting mid-August through September.

  • There were bounceback offers made to Fall Free Dining guests in 2011 (more info below)
  • The UK and Canadian market has had Fall Free Dining offered to them for 2012.
  • The original reason for this promotion still exists — crowds are low during this time.

 

How will I know that the offer has been made to the public?

Well, you stay active on the PassPorter boards! This is a popular topic and you will definitely see the posts pop up as soon as our members officially hear about the promotion being offered.

If Fall Free Dining is offered, it’s likely Disney will offer it up to Disney Visa cardholders first, with an announcement from the promotion to the general public coming a few days later. The past few years, the promotion has been opened in April or May.

When has Disney announced “Fall Free Dining” in the past?

According to the Historical Resort Discount Chart over at Mousesavers.com, these are the dates for previous Fall Free Dining promotions, and the dates that information was “released” to the public.

8/16/09-10/3/09 – Disney Rewards Visa cardholders released 3/26/09
8/16/09-10/3/09 – general public released 3/30/09

8/15/10-10/2/10 – Disney Rewards Visa cardholders released 4/29/10
8/15/10-10/2/10 – general public released 5/3/10

8/28/11-9/24/11 – Disney Rewards Visa cardholders released 4/28/11
8/28/11-9/24/11 – general public released 5/2/10

To answer the question of ‘When will they announce in 2012?’ That’s anybody’s guess! But, they did release them in 2010 and 2011 within a day of each other, so perhaps late-April, early-May is the time for announcements in 2012.

Any other ways to get Fall Free Dining?

If you are lucky enough to get a Fall Free Dining offer in 2012, check your resort room carefully once you’re on property. Keep an eye out for something that looks like this beauty:

Bounceback brochure

A Fall Free Dining Bounceback Brochure

 

A Bounceback Offer 

That’s a “bounceback offer” brochure – and, in recent years, they’ve looked like the White Rabbit’s pocket watch. If you don’t see one in your Disney resort room (usually on the table), call down to the front desk and ask if there are any bounceback offers available. 

To take advantage of a bounceback, all you have to do is to book the promotion for the following year by putting down a $200 deposit before you check out of the resort. You can’t dither about it and call back a week after you get home – you have to do it right then and there!

A United Kingdom/Canadian Offer

Usually, Disney offers UK and Canadian travelers a Fall Free Dining promotion months before they offer it to US travelers. (I’ve also heard that some guests from South America have received a similar offer, but I don’t know those details.)

My conclusion

Since the UK/Canadian offer has already been made for 2012 and there was a bounceback offer for Fall Free Dining travelers in 2011, it’s a fair bet we’ll see Fall Free Dining offered for 2012 too.

Fingers crossed!!

Eileen 

  

 

Understanding Disney promotions and discounts

Filed under The Disney Queue by Caldercup on January 24, 2012 at 5:19 pm {3 comments}

Hey, we all know that going on vacation isn’t cheap, especially at such a wonderful place as Walt Disney World. But there ARE ways to save, if you keep your eyes open.

How do you save on a Disney World vacation?

How do you save on a Disney World vacation?

 

Sure, you can pack your lunches, you can stay at a cheap motel, you can resist the urge to buy souvenirs, and you can say no to all the vacation “extras.”

But, for some of us, working that hard to save money can feel a little too pinch-pennyish. It’s a vacation after all — you’re supposed to ENJOY IT!

And there’s no need to break the bank. All it takes is a little research, signing up, and watching your email.

***

First off, I highly recommend becoming a Mousesavers.com newsletter subscriber. It’s free!

The newsletter will arrive in your mailbox every 15th of the month, and it’s chock full of great info on promotions, deals, new additions to The World, and other excellent and timely news. It even has a special subscriber-only link to discounts on WDW tickets (and it’s through one of the well-respected, highly recommended ticket brokers that are authorized to sell Disney tickets.)

***

The next thing you need to do is go to Disney World’s website. If you haven’t already, create a Disney account with an email address you check frequently. In fact, sign up for anything Disney promotes – sweepstakes, Family.com, ESPN, etc. The more times you can get yourself into their database, the better. And make sure that you give them permission to contact you (you don’t have to give them permission to sell your data to third-party groups, just allow contacts from Disney itself.)

Your next move is to order the Disney Vacation Planning DVD (look for a link at the top of the Disney World website that says “FREE Vacation Planing DVD”).

Many people swear that, as soon as they start planning a Disney Vacation through the Disney World website, they begin getting promotion codes emailed to them. So… play around with possible dates, resorts, tickets, etc. Just don’t book anything or pay for anything. Save the reservation and walk away. You heard me… just walk away. Within a few days to a few weeks, people report seeing promotional discounts begin to arrive in their email, for the exact dates that they entered into the reservation system! Coincidence? I think NOT!

And, if you don’t mind having another credit card, it’s worth getting the Disney Rewards Visa… (sign up HERE),  if only to get occasional discount promotions available exclusively to cardholders. These often come out a week or two prior to an offer being opened to the general public, so the advanced notice is well worth the time it takes to sign up for the credit card. You don’t have to use the credit card for anything other than paying the initial deposit on reservations booked with the cardholder promotion. And, if you pay off your balance right away, you won’t even have to pay interest.

***

Then check your email account frequently.

Often, promotional emails will come from “Disney Destinations,” so make sure that you allow that address to contact you. And don’t forget to check your junk mail folder — because they are usually mass mailings to a large database of addresses, many spam filters will remove them from your inbox automatically. (If you do find a promotional email in your junk folder, don’t forget to tell your email program that it is NOT junk!)

***

What does a promotional email look like? Let me show you a few examples.

A Personal Identification Number (or “PIN” code) promotion:

A "PIN code" Promotion Example

A "PIN code" Promotion Example

 

These are offers sent specifically to YOU. They are not “general public” offers, and they are not transferrable. When booking, you are required to give the PIN code that is listed at the bottom of the email or card sent to you through “snail mail.” (Note the PIN code — blurred out in my example – indicated with the red arrow. These usually appear at the very bottom of the email/card.)

Sometimes these will be sent to your email or home address, but will list other people’s names (often it’s people you’ve traveled with before.) Though these offers are not transferrable, you can ask the Cast Member at Central Reservations if you can use it since it was sent to you. If they say ‘no,’ ask if you could speak to a supervisor. I’ve been able to get the PIN offer even though it had someone else’s name on it. I just had to prove to them that it was sent to my email or my postal address.

And, even if you haven’t gotten a PIN code (or think you haven’t), it’s worth asking a Central Reservation Office (CRO) Cast Member to check your account. Many people — me included — have discovered that they DID have a PIN code attached to their account and were able to save money on their vacation.

 

A Promotion Available to the General Public:

Disney will offer promotions to everyone, and these are commonly referred to as “General Public” discounts. They can be emailed, snail mailed, appear in newspaper ads, or are posted on websites like Mousesavers.com. They will often have a three- or four-digit code (like AXT, or RFGT) that you to give when booking.

Here’s a General Public mailing I received from Disney Destinations late last year:

A "General Public" promotion example

A "General Public" promotion example

Note that there is no identification number code in this mailing. Anyone can mention it at booking and see if the offer is available for their resort and travel dates.

 

A Disney Visa Cardholder Promotion:

I’m a Disney Visa Cardholder, so I get these emailed to me fairly frequently.  I can also go on the cardholder website and see what promotions are currently offered.

A Disney Visa Cardholder promotion example

A Disney Visa Cardholder promotion example

Note that the Disney Visa logo is prominently displayed on this type of promotion.

I’ve called out the requirement that “deposit must be made at the time of booking using your Disney Rewards Visa Card.” You don’t have to pay for the whole vacation with the Disney Visa, but you do have to pay the deposit with the Disney Visa.

 

A “bounceback” Offer:

You have to be an on-property guest staying in a participating Disney World resort to get “bounceback” offers. Essentially, these are promotions that give you a discount for booking your next vacation before you check out of the resort for this vacation. You have to pay the deposit at the time of booking, but it locks in the savings right then and there. (I’ll discuss this kind of promotion in more detail in an upcoming post about Fall Free Dining vs. other Free Dining promotions.) If you don’t see a brochure in your Disney resort room, just stop at the front desk and inquire about any “bounceback” promotions. They’re not always available, but it’s worth asking about.

***
When do Disney promotions come out?

Basically, they come out when Disney would like to bolster the number of bookings. In times when crowds are expected to be low, they send out an offer. When they want to entice someone who hasn’t been to the parks in a few years, they send out an offer. When the wind is blowing from the east, they send out an offer. Honestly, no one really knows when the offers go out, why, and why they choose the group that receives the offer. It’s anybody’s guess….

Just get your name on their lists, and hope for the best.

***

Oh… and if you’ve already booked a reservation and THEN receive a promotion? Call right away and see if you can snag the promotion! (Or if you have a trusted and dependable Travel Agent, let them keep an eye out for promotions. A great TA is worth their weight in gold if they can save you money *and* hassle!)

***

Just know that promotions are limited — as in, they only have so many promotions for so many rooms for so many days at any given resort. Once other guests have snagged all the available promotions for your resort/your dates, then all the promotions are taken. Gone!

And just because you already have a reservation it does not guarantee that you’ll get a promotion. It’s totally first-come, first served.

(I once gave this analogy to explain it: say you’re in the grocery store with a cart-full of meat. Suddenly, you hear an announcement that all meat is 50% off for the next two customers. You race to the nearest cashier, but are beaten into line by two other people with carts full of meat. They use the discount, and you’re left paying full price. Yes, you had the meat, but you didn’t make it to the cashier in time to get the discount. Make sense now?)

So… now all you have to go do is sign up for accounts on Disney, and watch your email inbox like a hawk!

Good luck!!

What are Disney’s “Extra Magic Hours?”

Filed under The Disney Queue by Caldercup on January 14, 2012 at 4:25 pm {one comment}

Time is a major commodity while on a Walt Disney World vacation. So what better “extra” can Disney offer its on-site guests than more time?!

Understanding Extra Magic Hours

Understanding Disney's Extra Magic Hours

 

Yep! As a guest staying in one of the on-property Disney World resorts, you can gain extra time in whichever theme park is holding an Extra Magic Hour (EMH) that day, just by showing your Keys to the World resort key card.

About six months ahead of time, Disney’s calendar will show the park times and events, including any EMHs scheduled on a given day.

 

What’s the difference between a “morning” and “evening” Extra Magic Hour?

With morning Extra Magic Hour, the park opens one hour prior to regular park opening. And only resort guests can be in the park! So, for example, if the Magic Kingdom has park opening for non-resort guests set at 9AM, resort guests can enter the park beginning at 8AM as long as they can present their resort key card at the turnstile. And you can get A LOT done in that hour before the crowds begin to build.

With evening Extra Magic Hour, the park remains open to resort guests for up to three hours past the regular closing time to non-resort guests. Seriously! It’s hard to believe, but, if Epcot closes at 9PM to non-resort guests, you can stay in the park until midnight. And if the The Studios is open until midnight for non-resort guests — and it does do this on some busy summer nights! — you can stay until 3AM! Imagine… going on rides at three o’clock in the morning!!

(As long as you enter the ride line before the park officially closes for EMH, you get to ride.)

During the evening, each guest may be asked to show their Keys To The World resort key card at the entrance to each ride line they get in, so be prepared to have them at the ready. This is a great reason to have a clear plastic card holder like the PassPorter PassHolder pouch!

With one of these handy-dandy pouches, you just point to the pouch when you’re asked to show your KTTW card– without any fiddling with wallets or bags or passing out keys to the group, etc.

And it’s not just the theme parks that give resort guests additional time to play. During select times of the year (usually the peak weeks of summer) the water parks get into the EMH action.

What’s open during Extra Magic Hour?

Now, it’s important to understand that not everything in the parks will be open during Extra Magic Hours. While the major rides are generally open during EMH, not all are — you really have to check Disney’s “open attractions” listing for EMHs.

Additionally, most restaurants and stores will be closed during EMH, though there will be some venues and carts open to grab a drink or a souvenir.

“But I’ve heard that some people don’t recommend Extra Magic Hours”

 The crowd predictor calendars (like Touringplans.com) and some people who’ve not found EMHs worthwhile will tell you not to bother with them. I disagree… respectfully. The crowd calendars make their recommendations based on the “lowest common denominator” of a non-hopper ticket. But, if you can hop, EMHs are a whole ‘nother ballgame. You don’t have to be stuck in a busy park because your hopper ticket lets you hop to another, less busy park. Even if you lose travel time, you have that flexibility… so I say “try it!”

See, I tend to be an early riser anyway, so it’s no hardship for me to get up an hour early for morning EMHs. But I do so with a plan!

  1. We nosh bagels and granola as we get ready in the morning. Supplemented with drinks from the resort’s food court, we’re nourished and ready to go by the time we head to the bus, with no need to waste precious time trying to find food when we could be riding rides!
  2. I know what’s open for that extra hour and roughly how I’ll approach my extra hour, ride-by-ride. This way, I can “knock out” the rides whose lines will grow exponentially longer later that day.
  3. I plan for a late-seating Advanced Dining Reservation (ADR) somewhere. That way, when the crowds build about an hour after regular park opening, I get to “zig” when the crowds are “zagging!” In fact, we usually leave the EMH park pretty quickly, as the crowds can get craaaazy busy. (But we have park hoppers and just go back to the resort to rest or head out to a park that the crowd predictor calendars have as being a “best park” crowd-wise.)

Evening Extra Magic Hours are harder to gauge. Sometimes, they are fairly empty. And sometimes, you feel like you’re walking shoulder-to-shoulder with other tired, sweaty guests, and that can be frustrating — especially when there’s not alot open in that park for those three hours. Now, I do find that the crowds begin to thin after the first hour or so, but I’m sometimes too tired of getting jostled by other guests to wait that long. Really, my advice would be to try it for a night early on in your vacation and then readjust your plans as you figure out what the EMH crowds are for your week, and how well you like them.

In my book, Extra Magic Hours are one of the best perqs of being an on-site Disney resort guest.

How do I plan out my dining reservations?

Filed under The Disney Queue by Caldercup on January 5, 2012 at 2:55 pm {no comments}

One of the most common questions I see on the PassPorter discussion boards is “how do you plan it all?”

The Disney Queue - planning your dining reservations

 

Recently, dolphin041599 asked:

“I’m wondering how to best decide which day for each meal and where. And with all the ADRs needed, how do you organize yourself? Does anyone use a chart or spreadsheet?

 What things do you take into consideration? Park hours, type of meal, etc. Since the only ADR I ever made before was for Cinderella’s castle (which got cancelled due to the hurricane), I don’t know what else to consider. We’ve been studying our Passporter and deciding restaurants that sound good, but I just don’t know the best way to figure out when to eat where.

And then of course, to keep it all organized to make the ADRs”

 (See her original question, and the subsequent responses of our members, HERE)

 

Hmmm… let’s just say I’m a “PLANNER.”

It’s in my blood, this planning mania. I like charts, I like spreadsheets, I like figuring stuff out and developing visual tools that let me get my arms around something as potentially disastrous,  massive, and expensive  as a Disney World vacation.

Anyone traveling with me has to accept that. (Or have their own planning method that I trust enough to be willing to cede planning to them. And, if you’ve read any trip reports that I’ve been a part of, you know to whom I’m referring. )


Everyone has their own organizational method for planning their trips, touring, and dining. My husband, for example, would just show up and say “I’m hungry, let’s eat.”

Any other SANE person will probably want to do a little more planning than my husband when it comes to a Disney World vacation, especially if they’ve purchased the Disney Dining Plan and want to make sure they don’t wind up using up their credits too soon, or worry about having tons of unused credits on their last day.

Let me give you MY approach to planning our dining. It might just work for you too.

 

Start with your touring plan.

Why? Because you’ll waste precious in-park time traveling back and forth to restaurants that don’t fall in line with your touring plans.

And touring plans, for me, start with crowd calendars.

My favorite is the subscription-based one at Touringplans.com (and, for a measly $10.95 per year –as of the time I’m writing this blog post– that’s a steal!) Yes, you can see some free information on the site, but you won’t have the data for dates 180-days out, and you’ll NEED that info in order to snag ADRs at the times and places you want them. (Yes… people really do make their dining decisions 6 months prior to their vacation! Trust me, they do — and you should too.)

Here’s a sample of how Touringplans.com organizes their data:

Touringplans.com crowd calendar
Touringplans.com crowd calendar

 

They give you a date, tell you what ‘crowd level’ they assign to the expected crowds (and you can get info on what a ’5′ means compared to a ’10′ HERE), plus they outline what they consider your best park of the day will be, and what park(s) they feel will be much more crowded: what they call a “park to avoid.” If there are any special events — like a hard-ticket party, a holiday, or a special event — it will be listed in the notes column.

If you click on an actual date (highlighted in blue), that will bring up even more  information on that individual day, with details on special events in each park like the parades, fireworks and shows. It’ll also list if that park has an Extra Magic Hour.

Here’s what it looked like when I selected one of the days to get detailed information:

Detailed info from Touringplans.com
Detailed info from Touringplans.com
 

I highlighted the “Park to Avoid” and “Best Park” info — this is key information to me.

Ok, great. Now how do I *use* that info?!

 

Make a chart

Why? Because I love charts.

You can make a list. You can make a folded bit of origami. Whatever floats your boat and helps you organize.

This is what my standard chart looks like:

My standard planning chart
My standard planning chart – you can download the template HERE.

 

I then use the crowd calendar to fill in the park hours (as they stand at the time of my planning) and what park will have Extra Magic Hours, and – this is the important part for me – the “park to avoid” and “best park” info from Touringplans.com. I feel they’re spot-on and they’ve never steered me wrong.

Parks to avoid/best park
Parks to avoid/best park

 

One caveat: we always get park hoppers and are early risers, so we’ll get up and go to EMH mornings and then hop to the recommended-park-of-the-day.

It works for us…

 

Choose your park for the morning, afternoon, and/or evening

Assuming you have park hoppers, you’ll need to figure out if you’ll hop to other parks or would like to take down-time at the pool, or go shopping at Downtown Disney, or play mini-golf, or… well… there’s so much to DO at Disney, you’ll never get bored!

But you do need to plan it out if you’re at all persnickety like me.

When I’m planning out the days, I try to figure out when we’ll see the parades, fireworks and Fantasmic, with options for seeing it later in the trip in case of a rain-out.

With that info, I know which park we’ll be in for breakfast/lunch and which park we’ll be in through dinner.

(Note that my family frequently eats something in our room as we get ready in the mornings and don’t tend to do breakfasts in the parks — when the crowd levels are low in the early morning, taking time to stop and eat will seriously impact the amount of things we can get done.)

 

Choose your restaurants for each meal

I make a list of restaurants my family would like to try that vacation, so it’s just a matter of, for example, seeing that I have us planned for Epcot at dinnertime. Aha! Plug in Coral Reef for dinner. Oh… and we’re at the Magic Kingdom for lunch that day? Plug in Cosmic Rays.

 And so on and so forth until I have plans for every day and every meal. When I’ve filled in every open spot, it’s time to review the chart.

 

For those worried that planning out meals so far in advance will take the spontaneity out of the trip, I would advise “letting it go.” Make the plans now, and then tuck them away. When you pull out your planning chart a week before the vacation, it’ll all be a fun surprise again. And, if you can keep from pestering your family about it over the months of waiting and anticipation, it’ll be a surprise to them too!!

 

Make sure you’re getting your money’s worth if on the Dining Plan

If you’re on the DDP, make sure that you account for every table service (TS) meal and every (CS) meal and every Snack that comes with your reservation (remember: one set of credits per person per night of your stay.) You have through midnight of the day you check out to use up all the credits, but you don’t want to run short a day early, or end up with 12 leftover counter service credits on your last day.

What I do to avoid that sort of hiccup is to make a list with columns for each type of credit (TS, CS, Snack.) Then I pencil in hash marks for each credit that will used for each meal or snack I’ve planned out. That way, I  know what I’ll  have to pay for out-of-pocket and what I’ll have to shift around to use up all my credits wisely.

With that chart (or list, or origami swan!) filled out, you have what you need to make your ADRs.

Don’t forget to write down all of your confirmation numbers and, if you’re as detail-oriented as me, mark them on your chart or put them into your smart phone so you’ll have them in the park. Having them will help you if, for whatever reason, you have trouble checking in for that ADR — I’ve learned this first-hand!

 

Et voila! You have a viable plan for your vacation meals!!

 

Here’s what two days of an actual planning chart looked like for one of my family’s trips:

From one of my old planning charts
From one of my old planning charts

 

This approach might work for you too.

Or… maybe you like spreadsheets better (I know a few people like that! )  So… got to town with Excel and plan like crazy.

Or… maybe you like a legal pad and pencil. Good on ya! If it works for you, it works for you.

And with whatever works for you, have a blast. Enjoy it — for me, planning is part of the fun.

So, good luck planning!

And eating!!

What’s the best time of year to vacation at Disney?

Filed under The Disney Queue by Caldercup on October 18, 2011 at 12:21 pm {3 comments}

Deciding what time of year to visit Walt Disney World is probably one of the biggest questions you’ll toy with when planning a trip to visit Mickey.

After more than twenty trips, I still agonize over this question.

So, how will you decide?

Well, for starters, I’d suggest that you consider some key factors that will that affect budget, crowds, and weather.

Travel during the school months? (Even if you don’t have kids, you’ll be affected by how the school calendar affects attendance at Disney.)

Pros:

  • Low crowds means shorter lines, and you’ll get on more rides and in more attractions per day with less people in front of you. You’ll also get better spots to watch parades, shows and fireworks, without having to save spots hours before or elbow pushy people to hold onto your space.
  • Value Season has the lowest price point for Disney resort room rates, plus there’s no peak season charges added on at the restaurants.
  • Disney is likely to offer discounts on rooms and packages. For annual passholders, this means the deepest room rate discounts. And, for the general public, Disney typically offers a “percent off” rate depending on the level of resort you choose. For those who enjoy packages, Free Dining or “Play for 7/Pay for 5” types of offers are typically sent out to entice travelers to book for less-crowded times.
  • There are the special event parties to look forward to. For family-friendly Halloween festivities, Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party is offered from mid-September thru the first days of November. And Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Parties are held from just before Thanksgiving to about a week before Christmas itself.
  • Then there are the “festivals.” A delight for foodies of all tastes, October serves up the Food and Wine Festival, with yummy offerings from around the world served at kiosks that ring the World Showcase. And May blooms to life with the Flower & Garden Festival — for gardeners, I can promise you that the classes and displays are enough to make you swoon!

Cons:

  • Parks have shorter hours so you have less time to spend on the rides and enjoying the Festival offerings.
  • From November through March, the weather can be cool, making the pools and wet rides off-limits for all but the bravest souls.
  • When crowds are low, Disney takes the opportunity to spruce up the rides and attractions. You may find that a family favorite is down for a short rehab during your trip.
  • Additionally, Disney closes one water park at a time (November through February), to perform repairs and to give everything a good scrub. While you will still have one water park to splash in, you might miss out on your favorite, depending on their rehab schedule.

 

Travel during the summer months?

Pros:

  • No school means no problems with teachers, homework, missed classes, etc.
  • The weather will be warm and sunny!
  • The parks will have extended hours – sometimes into the middle of the night. Not to mention lots of Extra Magic Hours for Disney resort guests to enjoy.

Cons:

  • It’s very hot and the sun is intense. Plus, you can count on a brief and intense rainshower EVERY day.
  • The parks are crowded, making the lines very long.
  • Being that it’s one of Disney’s peak seasons, the resort rates are higher and, though there are discounts, they aren’t as steep as value season.
  • With more people in the parks, there are more people waiting to see the parades, shows, and fireworks. There are also more people in line at the counter service restaurants, and the table services restaurants are often booked to capacity. (If you’re not the type to make Advanced Dining Reservations  180 days out, this might be frustrating, especially if you pay for the Disney Dining Plan.)

 

Travel during the school holidays (Thanksgiving, Christmas week, Spring Break)?

Pros:

  • You’ll have the freedom of vacationing when there’s no school.
  • Thanksgiving and Spring Break often have good weather, though Christmas week can sometimes be quite cold.
  • The parks have very extended hours.
  • The parks will be decorated for the Christmas holidays starting in mid-November through just after New Years Day.

Cons:

  • You’ll be vacationing with EVERYONE ELSE who doesn’t have school.
  • The parks are crowded, often to capacity (which can cause Disney to close the turnstiles until the crowds thin out.) Lines can easily be 120 minutes for the most popular rides.
  • These are Disney’s peak seasons, and the resort rates will be at their highest, often with limited or no discounts offered.
  • Many restaurants are booked to capacity, and Disney tacks on a seasonal upcharge at most venues.

 

Personally, the trade-off for taking my child out of school is worth the improvement to our family’s vacation. But that’s me! You’ll need to assess your child’s needs and your school’s policies.

Our favorite times of year are:

  • the end of April/beginning of May (Flower & Garden Festival)
  • the week before the Thanksgiving week (Mickey’s birthday is on November 18th!)
  • the first two weeks of December (low crowds and good weather, plus you can attend Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas party!)

 

So, how are you going to decide? What factors do you consider when laying out your plans? Do you take kids out of school?