single digits are here 1 sleeps to go!

[becpee]

I am going to Disneyland as well i think that is why i am excited about WDW getting the best of both worlds i am still in a bit of shock DH agreed although he was going there anyway as part of the cruise from NY.

Lucky girl!

My DS is going to be beside himself (when he finds out in 6 months LOL)

I hope they can swing the cruise change for me

I'm high on life...(and a little worried, it's an overwhelming feeling )

 

[WAMUMOF4]

I couldn't book past my first ADR last night so i called we got everything i wanted.
Sept 1 Ohanas 7:15
Sept 2 Crystal palace 6.00pm
Sept 3 Mama Melrose Fantasmic package 5:00pm
Sept 4 1900 Park fare 7:30pm
Sept 5 Rainforest Cafe DD 7:00pm
all bookings were for 8 people so i was really happy that we got the times we wanted

Lucky girl!

My DS is going to be beside himself (when he finds out in 6 months LOL)

I hope they can swing the cruise change for me

I'm high on life...(and a little worried, it's an overwhelming feeling )

Our kids to they have no idea whatsoever which has been a blessing really as they have no expectations
I found WDW so overwhelming compared to DL they are just so different
DH said to me last night when i finally went to bed that he didnt know why i was so excited about afternoon storms and Humid weather this is really a case of eating our words we swore there was no way on earth we would go back there at that time of year

Like you said before it is amazing how much a day changes things I only started looking at other cruises because DH lost his job and i needed to find a way to cut costs and now we are 7 night cruising on the Fantasy(i hope) and doing 5 nights at WDW for the same price as our original 8 day cruise on the Magic

 

[becpee]

I couldn't book past my first ADR last night so i called we got everything i wanted.
Sept 1 Ohanas 7:15
Sept 2 Crystal palace 6.00pm
Sept 3 Mama Melrose Fantasmic package 5:00pm
Sept 4 1900 Park fare 7:30pm
Sept 5 Rainforest Cafe DD 7:00pm
all bookings were for 8 people so i was really happy that we got the times we wanted

Our kids to they have no idea whatsoever which has been a blessing really as they have no expectations
I found WDW so overwhelming compared to DL they are just so different
DH said to me last night when i finally went to bed that he didnt know why i was so excited about afternoon storms and Humid weather this is really a case of eating our words we swore there was no way on earth we would go back there at that time of year

Like you said before it is amazing how much a day changes things I only started looking at other cruises because DH lost his job and i needed to find a way to cut costs and now we are 7 night cruising on the Fantasy(i hope) and doing 5 nights at WDW for the same price as our original 8 day cruise on the Magic

The ADR's, LOL another thing to consider, so different to Disneyland where you can pretty much walk up and eat anywhere at anytime (in our experience anyway )

I'll be buying plastic poncho's, those things are gold

The flights are sending me over the edge, are yours booked? If so, how far out did you book them?

DS6 also has no idea about this, he's always talking about how he wants to go to DisneyWorld, i'm beside myself LOL

Any idea what sort of crowds we'd be looking at in September? I know free dining will bump it up, but I really have little idea what to expect...

 

[cola]

I haven't been in September for a few years now, but I have been 3 times in Sept - crowds were great Walk on most rides, afternoon storms very common, ponchos invaluable, hot and humid. The humidity isn't nice, but the no queues make it worth it.

 

[battymum]

WAMUMOF4

I have been curious as to why you didnt like WDW last year?

Was it the weather, I too vowed that I wouldnt go again in September, OMG I wondered how people dont die out in that heat, although you went earlier didnt you?

The heat and humidity combined with jetlag meant I spent that week in a total fog - but loved everything about the place.

But its a bit like childbirth, you kinda forget the bad bits and now I am sitting here hoping and praying that I can get back there one day.

 

[WAMUMOF4]

The ADR's, LOL another thing to consider, so different to Disneyland where you can pretty much walk up and eat anywhere at anytime (in our experience anyway )

I'll be buying plastic poncho's, those things are gold

The flights are sending me over the edge, are yours booked? If so, how far out did you book them?

DS6 also has no idea about this, he's always talking about how he wants to go to DisneyWorld, i'm beside myself LOL

Any idea what sort of crowds we'd be looking at in September? I know free dining will bump it up, but I really have little idea what to expect...

The ponchos are a necessity

I booked our flights in October when Qantas announced they were flying daily from July the price for our dates is over $1000 more than what we paid but originally DH and DS16 were only coming for 3 weeks of the trip and now they are coming for the whole trip so i am praying for Qantas to have another Dallas sale so i can change their flights for a decent price at the moment i am looking at paying another $1200 each to change their flights

We were not there in Sept we were there August but i am imagining with free dining it will be pretty busy so book your ADR as soon as they open.

We have been watching the Disney Parks shows on Foxtel and DD13 said Mum i wish we had of watched these last year then we wouldn't of been so disappointed with what was there so i am hoping that since we now know there is only 1 Disneyland and WDW is a completely different experience that we will enjoy it more.
The kids have been saying they would like to go back there in the Winter and if they had the choice they would pick Disneyland lucky for them they dont have to choose

 

[WAMUMOF4]

WAMUMOF4

I have been curious as to why you didnt like WDW last year?

Was it the weather, I too vowed that I wouldnt go again in September, OMG I wondered how people dont die out in that heat, although you went earlier didnt you?

The heat and humidity combined with jetlag meant I spent that week in a total fog - but loved everything about the place.

But its a bit like childbirth, you kinda forget the bad bits and now I am sitting here hoping and praying that I can get back there one day.

Even after all the reading i did on here we still had this illusion that it was going to be a bigger DL.
The cast members were grumpy and we just did not feel the magic like we did at DL and it just did not feel like "The happiest place on Earth" the way DL did couple that with the heat humidity and horrifying storms everyday (we left the day before the hurricane was supposed to hit the US coast ) and the shock at how damm long it took to get everywhere.
We felt like we were scheduled to the hilt and lets face it we were exhausted by the time we arrived at WDW we had driven something like 5000 miles in 18 days midnight nights 6am mornings and did i mention the humidity that wanted to suck your breathe away

Oh my gosh as i am writing this i am thinking am i flipping crazy to go back

But like you said it's like child birth your memory dulls and i am hoping that because we all have things we still want to do there and our expectations are different we will enjoy it more only planning on 2 park days 1 water park day and 2 exploring resorts and DD days.

And when you come home and you look through your photo book it seems more enjoyable than when you were there if that makes sense.

Lets face it Disneyland owns a corner of my heart it was a part of my childhood dream that DH made come true

 

[cola]

I remeber when I first went to DisneyWorld the total undeveloped plus developed area was larger than Adelaide. That sort of got my brain around how big it was. (I'm sure Adelaide is larger now). Most of the undeveloped area is actually flood plain/nature reserve.
I wouldn't expect to walk across Adelaide in a day without being a bit uncomfortable, exhausted, blisters, swearing I wouldn't do it again, thinking why didn't I do it in better weather... The developed area is a lot smaller, and does include all the hotels etc. but it is still more than most people would normally contemplate as a definition of 'fun things to do'.

 

[battymum]

I totally understand your point about looking at your photos and thinking you had a better time than you did! I think thats where I am now.

But I think it would be better second time around -it would be less intense, I would schedule more downtime and if I was rerunning my trip I would schedule the cruise first to aclimatise to the time difference. I havent been to DL, but LA had no other appeal to me at the time - although now I realise there is plenty to see on the West Coast as well - would still want to do New York again though.

If only they had built that place somewhere with a more temperate climate - like Sydney!!!!

 

[becpee]

Looks like i'm going to drive you crazy picking your brains about WDW, with the cruise I guess we'll just go get on the boat LOL i'm sort of worried about messing the parks up and not getting the most out of them that we can

We have 9 days? Is it enough? I can change it if I need to...

 

[battymum]

Oh yeah, Becpee - we were there Sept 16 - 24 last year - although the parks werent empty - (would have liked those castle shots without a crowd!! ) it was very light.

Each ride has its own switch back queuing area and these were all pretty much empty - I kept imagining how bad it must be to be there in July, when these lines are full and it is still hot and you pay peak price and no free dining -

It rains pretty much every day but you look at that storm brewing and cant wait for it to hit as it will cool things down.

September definitely has its positives!

 

[cola]

We have 9 days? Is it enough? I can change it if I need to...

Do you want to do Universal? Wizarding World of Harry Potter is an absolute must do as far as I'm concerned, and I think Universal Islands of Adventure is a must do anyway, even before Harry Potter, and the Spiderman ride has just had a major update to graphics. Spiderman was still one of my favourites last time I went, even though it was looking a bit fuzzy. It's amazing with updates for technology how what is amazing at the turn of the century becomes fuzzy over the years.

I generally say for DisneyWorld you need one day for each park, and 2 more days for return visits, you need a rest day in there, and a day to check out the lobbies of all the resorts. I'm amazed at how many people don't bother to go for a walk on the Boardwalk area, most of it is food based, but still a lovely evening stroll. You need a day for outlet shopping. Downtown Disney can be included any day you feel up to it in the evening. So that is 9 days without Universal or anything else Orlando has to offer, with only one day outside of Disney (outlet shopping), though only 6 park days. If you have a Magic Your Way package of room and daily park tickets (which you need for free dining), you can do shorter days in the parks and won't need a total rest day, just a partial rest day. And that doesn't include any water parks!

Before WWOHP you could do both Universal parks in one day if you just went hard, but now you do need to allow a second day for both Universal parks, plus it means you can go back to WWOHP. Even if you aren't a Harry Potter fan, WWOHP is a must see.

I like Sea World on the Gold Coast more than the Orlando one.
Then there is Busch Gardens, Legoland, Kennedy Space Center (you get to go through Melbourne and send postcards back to anyone in Melbourne Victoria you know ) , the water parks, Discovery Cove, etc etc let alone any of the day trip distance local area (St Petersburg/Tampa, Daytona, St Augustine, etc)

 

[becpee]

Do you want to do Universal? Wizarding World of Harry Potter is an absolute must do as far as I'm concerned, and I think Universal Islands of Adventure is a must do anyway, even before Harry Potter, and the Spiderman ride has just had a major update to graphics. Spiderman was still one of my favourites last time I went, even though it was looking a bit fuzzy. It's amazing with updates for technology how what is amazing at the turn of the century becomes fuzzy over the years.

I generally say for DisneyWorld you need one day for each park, and 2 more days for return visits, you need a rest day in there, and a day to check out the lobbies of all the resorts. I'm amazed at how many people don't bother to go for a walk on the Boardwalk area, most of it is food based, but still a lovely evening stroll. You need a day for outlet shopping. Downtown Disney can be included any day you feel up to it in the evening. So that is 9 days without Universal or anything else Orlando has to offer, with only one day outside of Disney (outlet shopping), though only 6 park days. If you have a Magic Your Way package of room and daily park tickets (which you need for free dining), you can do shorter days in the parks and won't need a total rest day, just a partial rest day. And that doesn't include any water parks!

Before WWOHP you could do both Universal parks in one day if you just went hard, but now you do need to allow a second day for both Universal parks, plus it means you can go back to WWOHP. Even if you aren't a Harry Potter fan, WWOHP is a must see.

I like Sea World on the Gold Coast more than the Orlando one.
Then there is Busch Gardens, Legoland, Kennedy Space Center (you get to go through Melbourne and send postcards back to anyone in Melbourne Victoria you know ) , the water parks, Discovery Cove, etc etc let alone any of the day trip distance local area (St Petersburg/Tampa, Daytona, St Augustine, etc)

Sorry, hijacking your thread WAMUMOF4

Cola, don't hate me, but i've never seen or read a Harry Potter, there I said it phew LOL

That said maybe it's something I need to do in the next few months

We'll have a few spare days before the cruise and after WDW for anything that we may have missed, shopping is high on our agenda.

DS and I may be visiting the parks a little on our own as well as DH wants to get in a couple of games of golf, the courses look great and he is very excited (he has taken next to no convincing).

Kennedy Space Centre is high on my agenda too, and I think DS5 will love it

Maybe I should do a PTR and stop hijacking...

 

[cola]

Cola, don't hate me, but i've never seen or read a Harry Potter, there I said it phew LOL

Doesn't matter, I had seen a couple of the movies, but only once, would not call myself a fan. And I LOVED it, it is incredibly well done. I didn't get half of the nods to the books/movies, eg you go in the bathroom and there is some strange girly voice muttering, nothing of note, apparantly that is moaning Mona of something that haunts the bathroom, I totally missed what it was meant to be but someone explained it, didn't really make much difference to how wonderful I thought it all was. For the fans they were just beside themselves with every single little thing. You really don't need any Harry Potter background knowledge. There is only one new ride in the section (the others were existing rides that have been rethemed), watching the first movie would probably explain all you need to know to understand most of the features in the queue.

 

[WAMUMOF4]

Sorry, hijacking your thread WAMUMOF4

Cola, don't hate me, but i've never seen or read a Harry Potter, there I said it phew LOL

That said maybe it's something I need to do in the next few months

We'll have a few spare days before the cruise and after WDW for anything that we may have missed, shopping is high on our agenda.

DS and I may be visiting the parks a little on our own as well as DH wants to get in a couple of games of golf, the courses look great and he is very excited (he has taken next to no convincing).

Kennedy Space Centre is high on my agenda too, and I think DS5 will love it

Maybe I should do a PTR and stop hijacking...

As far as i am concerned the more information the better

I totally understand your point about looking at your photos and thinking you had a better time than you did! I think thats where I am now.

But I think it would be better second time around -it would be less intense, I would schedule more downtime and if I was rerunning my trip I would schedule the cruise first to aclimatise to the time difference. I havent been to DL, but LA had no other appeal to me at the time - although now I realise there is plenty to see on the West Coast as well - would still want to do New York again though.

If only they had built that place somewhere with a more temperate climate - like Sydney!!!!

If they build one in Sydney im moving there

I hope the second time is better going into it with our eyes wide open helps i think, WDW will be the last thing we do so we should be well acclimatised by then. That is my only part about changing our trip i am not going to get much if any time if any in NY but thats just another reason to go back right.

 

[WAMUMOF4]

So tonight when DH rings i am going to hit him with Honey how about we change our dates and trip again
I am thinking i will change all our flights with the Qantas sale and that we will extend our trip by 10 days.
I already have to change DH and DS16 flights but last night when DH told me his fly out date when we get home i realised we would be home for 11 more days before he went back to work.

So i am thinking if he did not come for the first 2 weeks as originally planned and worked and then we flew home on the 16th of September instead we could go do the DCL Alaska cruise instead and the Vancouver to LA cruise which would mean a 13 day cruise on the Wonder instead.

It means no NY, WDW or Washington but we did decide yesterday that dependent on a lot of things ($$) we will be planning on going over for Christmas in 2013
Am I crazy to change our itinerary again? Once i pay for change fees thats it all done there will be no going back

 

[aussietravellers]

No..... you are not crazy! Make the change I say!

Gosh, another 10 days away Do it

 

[battymum]

OMG - I cant keep up!

So you land in LA, spend a couple of days at DLR - then head mid west for speedway - then back to Vancouver, (I had to check the map, I thought Vancouver was on East Coast) cruise for 13 days ending up back in LA.

But yeah if you have no commitments when you get home for 11 days (you homeschool right?)- why not !

 

[WAMUMOF4]

No..... you are not crazy! Make the change I say!

Gosh, another 10 days away Do it

thats what im thinking except i will loose 2 days in DL at the start of the trip will only have 14 instead of 16

OMG - I cant keep up!

So you land in LA drive across the country, cruise from Vancouver back to LA

But yeah if you have no commitments when you get home for 11 days (you homeschool right?)- why not !

I cant keep up either
At the moment we land in DFW fly to LA back TO DFW do the trip fly out of DFW

New plan would be fly in to LAX then fly to DFW after DL do Knoxville drive to Seattle via Mt Rushmore etc do the cruise back to LA and fly out of LAX
so therefore cutting out WDW NY and Washington.

I will loose the money for my flight from DFW to LAX but so be it.
If i buy with this sale i am looking at $1700 change over fees but i figure 10 days is worth it right

I guess this is what happens when you decide in 5 mins to jump on a sale fare without any real thought to your trip

 

[Caroline NZ]

The change sounds like a good plan to me . And then as you say you can save the East Coast for a seperate trip in 2013.