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Old 16 Mar 15, 07:04 PM  
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#151
iheartwdw
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Originally Posted by axxxl View Post
Plans are looking good Laura! We're having dinner at Be Our Guest on our first park day, I can't wait! We did lunch on our first day last year and it was fab, really contributed to such a good day xx
I hope that a BOG lunch is a fab start to the rest of our holibobs!

I need to catch-up on your pre-trippie to see how you've been getting on

Laura Xx
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Old 20 Mar 15, 07:08 PM  
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#152
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Trains, Buses & Cars

Trains, Buses & Cars

As we are away for 26 nights, it is going to work out ridiculously expensive to drive down to Gatwick and pay for the parking. Instead we are going to get the train on the way to the airport, as we will only have light suitcases ready for all of my shopping to fit inside , so it won’t be too difficult getting them on and off at the platforms. For our honeymoon we also got the train back, however this was a MASSIVE mistake, as we were extremely sleepy and had very short tempers . We had to wait for our train and try to keep awake, which was hard enough. We then had to faff with lots of heavy suitcases and bags on and off two trains (no direct from Leicester to Gatwick) and try to find somewhere to store them…it was not a pretty experience and one that we do not want to repeat! Prices are looking around £40 for the both of us outbound, but we can’t book until 12 weeks out. Instead of having a repeat performance of the horrific return journey, we are going to book an airport taxi for on the way back, which does work out a little more expensive – around £105, but it will be sooo much more convenient and will also ensure that we are still married when we get back home!

On all of my previous visits we have always relied on Disney buses and taxis. My parents never liked the idea of driving in the US and as it was Nathan’s first time I don’t think he really fancied it either. I have never experienced any major problems with the Disney buses as others have; I would say that our longest wait was probably around 20 minutes, which isn’t that bad. This time we are being brave (well Nathan mostly ) and hiring a car for most of our stay.

We decided that picking the car up from the airport might be a bit too intimidating, as we are normally really tired (and grouchy, which wouldn’t help with the navigating!), so we are going to use the Magical Express. I love this bus – on the way to WDW anyway and we have used it in the past. I think it is a brilliant benefit to onsite guests, as it can be very expensive to use a taxi. I’m hoping that we won’t be one of the last drop offs, so we can have a bit of time to unpack and nip to DTD for a quick bite before we pass out from exhaustion!


The happiest bus on Earth!

As we will want to live in the Disney bubble for the first few days and not venture out into the big wide world, the plan is to not pick the car up until the 5th August. We have decided to collect the car from the Swan and Dolphin, as we can catch a Disney bus to this hotel from any of the parks or DTD, or take a stroll over from Epcot depending on where we are that day. The Disney Car Centre seems more awkward to get too and I don’t really want to have to wait for one of their pick-ups. We have just gone for the cheapest and smallest car, as we don’t have massive cars at home (I have a tiny, but very cute, Fiat 500 – it’s the new mint colour and I lurve it!), so we won’t mind nipping to and from the parks in a small car. From what I have read though, they rarely seem to have these in stock and you normally end up with one of the upgrades, but again, if not then we are not fussed. We have got the car through Alamo Brits and it is costing us £253 for the 16 days. This is the cheapest that we have found and as it is the first time we have hired a car, I am hoping that this is an ok price?


It will look something like this…

We will then keep the car for the rest of our stay and drive ourselves down to the port ready for our cruise. This works out a little cheaper than the DCL transfers, but also means we can get there earlier and can hopefully spend longer on the ship! This will obviously depend on what Port Arrival Time (PAT) we can get as first time cruisers. I want to spend as much time as possible on the cruise, as we only have a three nights booked and from what I have researched the time is going to fly by!

The plan is to drop off the car before the cruise and then hire a new one for our drive back to Orlando (and the airport ), this means that we don’t have to pay for parking. We have gone for a bigger car this time, so we can hide the cases in the boot if we have time to pop and do some last minute shopping or visit a final restaurant. We have paid £35 for a SUV for the day. Nathan is pleased to be driving a big American car, he wants the most boxiest American style car he can find! His actual words were “Grrr” when he was describing it to me?!


Hopefully we will get a very manly car for Nathan.

After months of waiting the TTDP dates were finally released today, but Disney have rebranded it as the Wishes Dessert Party and are now charging double the price?! It used to be $25.99 for an adult and it has now gone up to a whopping $49.99! The only differences I can see are that they have added some cheese and cupcakes, as well as a glass of sparkling cider during the fireworks. After talking to Nathan we have decided not to go ahead, as $100 is a lot of money for some puddings. We really enjoyed this last time, so I am a little disappointed, but the new FP+ viewing areas look lovely and hopefully we will be able to use one of these instead. I know there were lots of Dibbers waiting for these dates and I wonder how many others have been put off by the big price hike?

I have nearly finished tweaking the plans now, so I should be back soon with an update about what we are up to for the first week. If you are really lucky I might even give you a sneak peak at one of my spreadsheets! I am slowly realising that I am going to have to stop swapping and changing days around and just step away from it for a while, as I am happy with most of the days now… I think… I’m sure one more final look wouldn’t hurt?! Would it?
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Old 20 Mar 15, 10:05 PM  
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#153
xAimeex
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Hey Laura,

Great updates! Glad you got Be our Guest lunch too! Such good food for a CS credit!

Totally agree about the Universal tickets! They hardly get you in the spirit do they!

Loving the shopping too! Cute Ariel pj's!

Wow don't blame you for getting a taxi for when you return! That journey home last time sounds stressful! Sometimes it's worth spending that little bit more!

Eek you guys are so brave driving out there! We have a car included in our flydrive but way too nervous to try and drive over there! Haha love the SUV though!

The dessert party price hike is wicked isn't it! You don't only get cheese and cupcakes now they've also added a tablecloth and lantern to the tables . Apparently the sparkling cider isn't even alcoholic, it's fizzy apple juice! I'd be expecting a glass of champagne for that price! Sorry I'm going off on one here now just seems like a huge price increase for not a lot extra!

Although we weren't planning to do it this year we're the same as you, happy we've done it before but more than happy to grab our own snacks and hope for a FP+ for Wishes!
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Old 20 Mar 15, 10:21 PM  
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#154
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Well! I have no idea how I've managed to miss this fabulous report however, all caught up now! It all sounds amazing! Love your ADRs (so glad you got all the restaurants you wanted). Cruise sounds wonderful! It really does sound like the holiday of a lifetime . Oh, and thanks again for the heads up on the BOG lunch, think I actually squealed when I read your post
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Old 20 Mar 15, 10:44 PM  
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Another great update. I also looked at getting taxis to/from the airport and nearly booked but then I got a good discount (just over £120 for premium parking) in the main car park attached to the terminal for our 24nights.

We are doing MDE from the airport too(1st time), we normally hire a car and will need one when we stay off site. We are collecting from the disney car centre, again not done this before so we will see how that goes.

Can't believe the price hike for TTDP/wdp. We were going to book again but at that price hike it's too much as dh doesn't eat dessert and not sure dd and I can eat that much to warrant the extra.

Loving your update on your plans. Yes I would love to see your spreadsheet, I'm sure I can learn something or more!
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Old 21 Mar 15, 11:05 PM  
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Fab updates! Well done on BOG, we are hoping for first day reservation too.

I think the new dessert party price is ludicrous, maybe the new table cloths were expensive!

Looking forward to the spreadsheets!
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Old 23 Mar 15, 11:18 AM  
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Just caught up on your last couple of updates, love your purchases

Glad to see you have your transport sorted, I think a taxi home when you land is a good idea and will really appreciate it when you get off that long night flight.

I can't believe the increase in price for the dessert part, crazy! I think it may put a lot of people off now.

Anyway looking forward to reading your daily plans x
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Old 25 Mar 15, 07:53 PM  
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#158
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Originally Posted by xAimeex View Post
Hey Laura,

Great updates! Glad you got Be our Guest lunch too! Such good food for a CS credit!

Totally agree about the Universal tickets! They hardly get you in the spirit do they!

Loving the shopping too! Cute Ariel pj's!

Wow don't blame you for getting a taxi for when you return! That journey home last time sounds stressful! Sometimes it's worth spending that little bit more!

Eek you guys are so brave driving out there! We have a car included in our flydrive but way too nervous to try and drive over there! Haha love the SUV though!

The dessert party price hike is wicked isn't it! You don't only get cheese and cupcakes now they've also added a tablecloth and lantern to the tables . Apparently the sparkling cider isn't even alcoholic, it's fizzy apple juice! I'd be expecting a glass of champagne for that price! Sorry I'm going off on one here now just seems like a huge price increase for not a lot extra!

Although we weren't planning to do it this year we're the same as you, happy we've done it before but more than happy to grab our own snacks and hope for a FP+ for Wishes!
Hi

I'm sooo looking forward to BOG, it does look like great CS value.

I thought of all of the Aerial DIBB fans when I saw the PJs and I do love a longer pair for the chilli air con.

It really was a nightmare return journey and I think that it'll be worth every penny.

I think I might wimp out of the driving when we get there Nathan is looking forward to it though! I'm liking the idea of being able to nip and see Potter or do a bit of shopping whenever we fancy, as the taxis are quite expensive and can add up.

Disney must be certain that people will pay double the price for TTDP, I kind of hope people don't though, so they lower the cost a little as we really enjoyed our TTDP experience.

Thanks for reading and sorry for taking so long to reply, it's been a hectic week,

Laura Xx
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Old 25 Mar 15, 07:55 PM  
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#159
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Originally Posted by Leia77 View Post
Well! I have no idea how I've managed to miss this fabulous report however, all caught up now! It all sounds amazing! Love your ADRs (so glad you got all the restaurants you wanted). Cruise sounds wonderful! It really does sound like the holiday of a lifetime . Oh, and thanks again for the heads up on the BOG lunch, think I actually squealed when I read your post
Aww, thank you! I'm really enjoying writing it and the lovely comments are really spurring me on. I can't wait to start my actual trippie.

It really is the holiday of a lifetime, I'm very lucky

I don't think anybody expected BOG lunch to be open that early - I squealed too!

Thanks for reading,

Laura Xx
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Old 25 Mar 15, 08:00 PM  
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Originally Posted by KittyBlackDog View Post
Another great update. I also looked at getting taxis to/from the airport and nearly booked but then I got a good discount (just over £120 for premium parking) in the main car park attached to the terminal for our 24nights.

We are doing MDE from the airport too(1st time), we normally hire a car and will need one when we stay off site. We are collecting from the disney car centre, again not done this before so we will see how that goes.

Can't believe the price hike for TTDP/wdp. We were going to book again but at that price hike it's too much as dh doesn't eat dessert and not sure dd and I can eat that much to warrant the extra.

Loving your update on your plans. Yes I would love to see your spreadsheet, I'm sure I can learn something or more!
That's a fab price for parking! The Magical Express is brill, I love the clips that they show that build up your excitement even more!

TTDP is unbelievable, way too much money for some desserts

I'll let you look at a page of my spreadsheet on the next update I don't want to overload you with all of my geekiness in one go!

Sorry for the delay in replying, silly work is getting in the way of my dibbing time

Laura Xx
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