Kazlac4

Just returned from our 6-day (whirlwind) trip to DW (we had a blast but are exhausted). Anyway, thought I would post an update to my upgrade situation. I am happy to say that Disney handled the situation with the top-notch service they are known for and let us upgrade our tickets to include the water-pass option. I explained to the CM our situation, and he said that he knows some misinformation is given out regarding the no-expiration tickets, so he let us pay for the upgrade without any problems whatsoever :banana: . Pixie dust came our way that day!

Once I figure out how to post pics I will share some from our trip. I wish we were still there !

Veeeeery interesting!

I'd expect it'll get a bit of a boost with the last movie, but after that.... yeah, I could see it getting old. I know there will always be kids picking up the books, but with the final movie it kind of "closes" the series out.

I know I'd love to get a chance to tour WWOHP again without it being shoulder-to-shoulder throughout. It's virtually impossible to take in all the detail when you can't even move 10 feet... and I'm talking OUTSIDE of the buildings/ride!

I agree!

Thanks Monique for a very interesting article!

I will certainly use the "sugar" approach, because I have pretty much kicked myself for not just buying the water park option from the get-go. :kickinass: Either way, I checked the ticket and it says nothing other than "10-day Park Hopper" and then in smaller print (No expiration). There is no mention in the small print of upgrade policies. I SO wish that I had just upgraded it last year when I used it for the one time, but like I said I DID ask and was told that it didn't matter, and was then told a second time (last week on the phone) that I could certainly upgrade it anytime. I will hope that they are willing to make a compromise with me. Either way, I will certainly not let this take any of my excitement of getting back to Disney! :banana:

Last year I purchased a 10-day hopper with the No-Expiration option. Our first night down there was the night for us to go to Mickey's Christmas Party for which we needed to purchase an individual ticket to. While purchasing the ticket for the Christmas party, I told the CM at the window that I had left my No-Expiration tickets at the fort but had decided that I would eventually like to upgrade them to include the "Water Park" option. The CM said that I could upgrade the No-Expiration passes ANYTIME as long as there was at least 1 day left on it. She said there was no time limit involved because they were "No expiration". We thanked her and went on to have a great time at the parade. Over the course of the next few days we only used our No-expiration passes 1 day. We stayed at the Fort and enjoyed the rest of our time there. Fast forward to the present. My DH and I are visiting DW next week :banana: but will be staying at the AllStars with our grandkids. (Too short of a stay to drive down). Anyway, I have a friend who has the No-expiration tickets and she said that I will NOT be able to upgrade them to include the water park option because I only had a 14-day window from the first day's use to do this. She said she learned this the hard way too). Anyway, I called Disney (the number they give for ticket information) and was again told by the CM that I could update it ANY time. I took her name and said thanks. I then decided to search the site and lo and behold did find a rule that states we needed to upgrade within 14 days of the first use. :argh: Now I am really upset because I would have done this last November if I wasn't given the wrong information. I am sure that even though the CMs are giving out the wrong info, the computer will probably not allow us to upgrade. I am not sure how I should go about solving this problem. Should I try ahead of time or wait until we get there. I will be really disappointed if we are not allowed to upgrade due to being given the wrong info from their staff. I know that the CMs can't know everything, but so far I have been told this wrong information twice! What would you do? (Sorry this is so long)

Sorry, I don't know if this was mentioned before but I just noticed on WDWMagic see here that ticket prices are to be increased as of Sunday, 6/12/11. :argh: Not much notice but if you know you need tickets and can order tonite or tomorrow it may help save a few bucks.

Don't know if this can help anyone but I just noted that the Disney store has free shipping (which ends tonight). The code is: MEMDAY. I am going to order some towels that are on sale for only $7.99. These are a great deal! Happy shopping! :dance:

Wow..those pics are eerie.. Hope they get it out completely. Stay safe.

Just an FYI:

From WDWMagic site today..

"Online dining reservations no longer allow multiple reservations for the same timeframe

May 17, 2011

"Since being introduced back in June 2009, the ability to book dining reservations online has been a big hit with Walt Disney World guests. However, it has been suspected by many that dining availability has been reduced since the new system was introduced due to the fact that some guests were booking multiple reservations for the same time, and then choosing their preferred restaurant on the day, and not canceling the other reservations for the same timeframe. Disney have today addressed this issue and no longer allow conflicting online reservations to be made for the same timeframe."

I wonder if this will make it easier to get a reservation at some of the hard to get in eateries?

We eat out less than we used to, as well as try to make it to the early-bird specials when we can. Also, I always try to coordinate my errands when out, making sure I don't need to backtrack or make any more trips than necessary. We also figure that this summer we will be staying at the local state parks a lot more than the local resorts. The state of NJ only has dry camping available at its state parks but the cost is only $18 per night. We go to one that has a great swimming lake, and we also take our kayaks and bikes. Every dollar saved helps get us closer to the Fort! :banana:

We live nearby and have been to the boards during the scouting events and also during the soccer blasts in June. It's quite a sight to see hundreds of tents on the beach, and during the soccer blast there are dozens of beach soccer games happening at the same time! One of my son's young friends went to the scout event and her mom said one word comes to her mind each time she thinks of that weekend..it is SAND! :wave1: She said that no matter how hard you try to keep it out of each and everything you own in the tent it will find it's way in. She did mention that a cot for inside the tent would have certainly been a help from the dampness of the sand as well. Otherwise they had a fantastic time. I hope you do as well and that the weather is great for you! :banana:

So glad to hear the good reviews from here because it is on our list of places to try when we go down next month! Can't wait to try it! :banana:

Due to cost, we could only have one dog, though I'd love 2.  We have a girl chocolate lab on hold for us, but I need to get final approval from dh.

Great choice on the chocolate lab. Our DD has one (as well as a golden retriever) and the lab is a great pet, though she does seem to have a thing for throw rugs (she chews the ends of any and all of the them  :argh:), though she is absolutely great with the kids (ages 2 and 6), and she listens better than them too! :rofl2:

We've never done a rope drop in the past, as we prefer to take our time getting to the park and then staying late, but on our upcoming trip we've decided (like BradybizLyn12) to try it one time so that we can get the passes for Toy Story Mania. Our last time down we waited longer than an hour to ride it and I would rather not do that again, so as my DH says, we will be joining in with the rope-a-dope festivities! :)

Congrats on the 10 years!!    :banana: Anywhere sans kids is a well deserved treat now and then but Williamsburg is a nice getaway too!

We are headed down in June but due to time constraints will be staying at a resort, not the fort  :'(.  Can someone give me the name of any grocery places that we can place an order from? My DD used Costco in the past to have water shipped (was about $7 per case including shipping), but I was hoping to also get some other items sent, such as diapers for the GD, breakfast items,  (or maybe some wine  or beer for the grownups :rofl2:). We are flying down and will not be renting a car so we are limited to what we can bring ourselves. TIA.

I know lots of us will be busy tomorrow, so I thought I'd take the time now to wish you all a Happy Easter. Hope it is enjoyed by all! :banana:

I try to minimize my trips to the store by making sure I plan out my route so that I get almost everything needed in one trip instead of 2 to 3 like I did before.  We have also cut out our daily newspaper because I can read it online (this saves a nice bit!). Also, I no longer buy name-brand greeting cards/wrapping paper (Hallmark or American Greetings). The cards at dollar stores and department stores are usually much cheaper and the quality is more than adequate.  :banana:

For anyone waiting for the summer AP rate :dance: (June-14-August 13), they were announced today. My kids just got theirs (20% for value) but according to her these are the discounts. She said there was a 40 minute wait online for Disney reservations  .

Hope this can helps someone.

* Save 15% on Disney's Fort Wilderness Campsites

* Save 20% at Disney's Value and Moderate Resorts

* Save 30% at Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge and Disney's Polynesian Resort

* Save 35% at Deluxe (excluding Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge, Disney's Wilderness Lodge and Disney's Polynesian Resort)

* Save 35% at Disney Deluxe Villa Resort

With the cost of living including gas, health insurance and food now rising at an dramatic rate, we have decided that our 10-day trip to Dollywood in September will be on a "let's see" basis, depending on the price of gas.  We have come up with a "plan B" which still includes a trip but one that will be approximately half the distance from home. Our next trip to the Fort was to be in November 2011 but we will most likely rearrange that trip to March 2012, giving us time to work all these crazy increases into our budget. I am praying that the Fort trips and expenses don't get so out of hand that we need to go every 2-3 years instead of every year. :rofl2:

Cosmic Rays has a pretty good rotisserie chicken.  How do you spell rotisserie?  It's good anyway, and it comes with really good mashed potatoes and green beans.

This is our favorite also!

Do you get to keep the mason jar??

It's Disney TJ they don't let you keep anything :dass:

Especially your MONEY!  :dass:

We got one yesterday from Disney destinations, and today received one from Chase (which is our Disney rewards card!). I hope this isn't the beginning of a  big mess!

I know what it use to be like to take Rt47 down to Wildwood NJ and nothing could be as bad as that was.

Unfortunately it STILLl is!!  When our relatives come down to the shore they say that Rt. 47 gets their stomachs ready for the rides!

I found Undercover Tourist to be the cheapest and also offer the largest variety of ticket packages. For example, the AAA office did not carry the no-expiration tickets we wanted, but UT did. Just an FYI. :heart:

Sorry, I was not sure whether or not to post this under the budget board or not, but sometimes these discounts go fast so I wasn't sure if this were a better place or not. (Jen, please move it if need be . Anyway, this morning Disney started a new promotion for 30% off deluxe resorts through peak season dates (6/15/11 to 8/14/11) but when I checked the promotion there was also a site to click for campsites. There seems to be a 10% discount for premium campsites for these same dates. Not sure if this can help anyone save a few dollars or not but hopefully it can! :heart:. We will be down at Disney during those dates but we have a shorter stay so we will be at a value resort (of course there are NO discounts given for them!) :argh:. 

This is the link: http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/special-offers/

Edit: This discount is actually for all type sites, not just the premium ones!