We have a WDW reservation!

[symphonymom]

I called today and booked room-only at All-Star Movies. We decided to stay in the park  (thanks to very good advice from my friends :) since this is our last shot to stay in one room and also the only/last time napping will be an issue. We decided against the dining since we are staying 4 nights, but will only be in the parks 3 days. I really don't

Comments

[juptonrd]

DO NOT buy tickets on eBay. There is no way to actually verify how many days are left on them until you get to the gate. I'd hate to see you get there and find out you've wasted a few hundred dollars. There really is very little in the way of discounted tix. http://www.mapleleaftickets.com/Index.htm offers a very slight discount and I'd trust them. Otherwise, just buy them from WDW.

There is no difference in preferred vs. standard rooms at the value resorts other than location. Exact same room. A few years ago they started charging more for the rooms closer to the food court & bus stop. If you really want Movies, you can probably switch to standard by calling back sometime between now and then. Make it clear you do not want to pay extra for preferred and they can put in the notes for the room assigner to see. Otherwise, I'm sure your family will enjoy Music just as well. The rooms are the same, just decorated differently.

Yea for taking the plunge! Now we need to decide on any sit-down meals you want and get them scheduled. Tell me your park days again?

[red_ruby]

I'll echo what Jen says, and add that the Undergeround Tourist is another supposedly reputable ticket agent. If you sign up for the mousesavers newsletter (at mousesavers.com) you'll get links to their latest discounts. (They usually list links to undercover tourist and mapleleaf tickets)

FWIW, we booked a regular room at Pop Century and got a preferred -- it was nice to be closer to the check in/food court and buses but a PITA to be so close to the pool (pool=nose) OTOH, we were staying there specifically because of illness so being close to the self-serve laundry was a big plus at that particular time. (our bonus night at Disney courtesy of the stomach flu)

I wouldn't pay more for preferred, personally.

Can you remind me of your dates? Have you looked at the restaurants and menus to figure out where you might like to eat?

[red_ruby]

Oh, and BTW, if you're looking for the cheapest value resort rooms, those would be the standard rooms at Pop Century. IIRC, Pop is in a different county and thus their rooms attract a slightly lower tax rate. It's also the newest, and has its own buses (rather than sharing with all the All-Star resorts), but I can see the appeal of All-Star Music to a couple of musicians (and their kids)! :-)

[symphonymom]

I'll check out Pop Century, thanks!

[calliaz]

I second Barbara. We stayed at Pop last trip and loved it. I was worried about too many people (we'd only ever stayed at a Moderate and aren't big on crowds). It is still small enough to get around easily and I never felt like it was overly crowded. We got a preferred view there, but it really wasn't necessary.

[symphonymom]

Thanks for the advice (again!). I'll have to talk to Peter about sit-down meals. It amazes me that dinner reservations need to be made so far in advance!

[symphonymom]

Oh - and we will be staying May 16-20. Park days will be 17-19.

[juptonrd]

Extra Magic Hours for those days are:

17 - Magic Kingdom opens 8 AM for on-site guests
18 - Epcot open 3 hours late for on-site guests
19 - Studios open 8 AM for on-site guests

Magic Kingdom nighttime parade & fireworks:
17 - parade 9 PM, fireworks 10 PM
18 - no parade, fireworks 9 PM
19 - 17 - parade 9 PM, fireworks 10 PM

Fantasmic nighttime show at Studios:
17 - 9 PM show only
18 & 19 - 9 PM and 10:30 PM show

Illuminations at Epcot:
9 PM every night

All parks are opening at 9 AM that week with morning extra magic hour at 8 AM. I personally find that early hour to be INVALUABLE for getting to see several attractions with lighter crowdes and strongly encourage you to take advantage. For us, the nighttime extra three hours are less important because our kids are so small.

[symphonymom]

That could work out really well! We were thinking about going after the kids get out of school on the 16th and getting there quite late, but now we're considering taking them out that day, too, and getting there in time to enjoy the pool and stuff and go to bed early. (We think it's an 8-9 hour drive)

We could do Magic Kingdom on the 17th with the early hour, Epcot on the 18th with the late hours, and Studios on the 19th with the early hours. Since DH and I will have one-day hoppers, it might be worth it to get the kids 2-day regular passes and one-day hoppers and do both Studios and Animal Kingdom on the 19th. Do you think that would be worth it?

tickets

[juptonrd]

WDW has changed the way they do tickets since you were there last. What you are suggesting for the kids tickets just doesn't make sense. With the Magic Your Way tickets, you choose how many days, then pay extra to add on the hopper and/or no expiration option. The more days you buy, the cheaper it is per day. The hopping add-on is a flat rate of $45 + tax, while the no expiration add-on varies by the number of days.

A child's one day base ticket is under $60 but a child's one day hopper is $107!

http://www.allearsnet.com/pl/ticketchart.htm

Re: tickets

[symphonymom]

Oh, OK. We'll probably just do 3 parks then. Not worth the extra price, I don't think!