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Anyone got a Disney/Florida Holiday Planned Part 2

987 replies

Groovee · 03/10/2013 16:36

Old Thread

OP posts:
BloodyDogHairs · 06/02/2015 11:02

Thanks Lucas

One more dumbass question......if I select from home, how do I get my tickets with the selected times that I hand over at the rides?

I've only just bought my Disney tickets but I've put the app on my mobile and had a quick look at that.

Only 122 days to go haha

LucasNorthsTwiglets · 06/02/2015 13:46

You don't have paper tickets for Fastpass anymore, it's linked to your park tickets. Park entrance tickets are no longer paper either, they're like a credit card and they hold all your details. So the card ticket that you use to enter the park turnstiles is now your 'ticket' for all your FPs as well. At the FP entrances you see this machine and you just touch your ticket against it at your timeslot and it lets you in. Little tip - don't put your ticket away after you've touched it to this first machine as there always a 2nd one that you have to touch further in. Time and time again we forgot this and had to dig out the tickets from my purse again :) This is why I'm buying a Magic Band this time :) (they work in exactly the same way as your entrance ticket).

BloodyDogHairs · 06/02/2015 16:20

Ok got it now Grin

BaconAndAvocado · 10/02/2015 11:23

Yay! I've just booked our first ADR!! Crystal Palace 8:15am on Day 2!!!!!

ChestyTheSnowman · 11/02/2015 14:43

Lovely! I want that too Grin

BaconAndAvocado · 11/02/2015 16:45

Aaand Rainforest Cafe for,the next day!

Just deciding whether to do Memory Maker or not. Any done this?

ChestyTheSnowman · 11/02/2015 17:29

We did a photo pass share on the Dibb last time.

Did you have to be on MDE at the crack of dawn to get Crystal palace at 8am?

BaconAndAvocado · 11/02/2015 20:59

You can book online from 11am UK time, so I was there, fingers poised, at 10:59!!

I think the fast passes you can book from silly o'clock...........deep joy Smile

ChestyTheSnowman · 15/02/2015 14:35

Yeah I'm confused.....

So I've linked my Disney tickets to MDE but how does it know when I'm going?

The only but I can see to link hotels is if staying in s Disney hotel?

Speak slowly please....

Awks · 15/02/2015 20:08

Tell MDE you are going to watch a parade on the first day you go? I think that's what I did last year.

BloodyDogHairs · 15/02/2015 21:15

I'm not away until June but I've printed out a couple of june calenders so tomorrow I'm going to do a rough plan for the fortnight we are there. I've been before and usually just decide in the morning where we are going so this year I'm going to plan everything in advance.

LucasNorthsTwiglets · 16/02/2015 00:06

Bacon, re. Memory Maker, I've not done this but am thinking about it for this year. You get on-ride videos with this but if you're happy to just have low-res still photos then there is a way to get them free... apparently... though I've never done this of course... I'd imagine that Googling 'how to get D**y Photopass for free' might bring something up

Chesty, MDE won't know when you are going but it will be able to work out how many days in advance you are able to book. If you have put in an onsite reservation then it will let you book FPs 60 days in advance but if not it knows that you can only do 30 days etc. I guess with ADRs you can book 180 days in advance and it just assumes that you will use your entry ticket for that day.

BaconAndAvocado · 17/02/2015 23:05

lucas'that sounds far too complicated for me!

Other ADR news.......booked Cinderella's Royal Table for DD's 7th birthday today. Had to pay in advance on credit card, a bit scary!

Also scary was the price............$268 for lunch for 5........it is the trip of a lifetime Smile

NormHonal · 17/02/2015 23:18

Yes, silly o'clock for fast pass booking [voice of bitter experience].

Rewinding a little on the thread, select fast pass selections from home 30/etc days in advance BUT from experience the day before whilst you're there you should be able to tweak them quite substantially. Less chance on the day unless you get lucky. We changed our selections almost completely, apart from the first couple of days, just due to finding out which rides were busy, also getting lucky with getting on some rides we had booked on other days (and then deciding they weren't worth riding again - I'm looking at you, Mine Train).

Memory Maker is brilliant. There are photographers all over the place. I got some lovely photos of all of us, and by no means took full advantage of it. It was so easy, you just bip your Magic Band with the photographer after they have taken the photo, or at the ride exit. Some ride photos linked automatically to your magic band, which was very clever.

Magic Bands are brilliant too. We stayed onsite so got them included, but they were so easy, and waterproof so on the wet rides and water parks the worry was taken out of carrying money or cards.

BloodyDogHairs · 18/02/2015 09:52

Have any of yous flown with Thomson? I plan on taking a double buggy and 2 car seats, from what I've read the buggy won't be weighed thankgod but the carseats will....I'm wondering if they to actually weigh them? I've always flown with Thomas Cook and never once had to use my luggage allowance for the extras.

I have no idea how much the carseats weigh but don't want it eating into my infants 10kg allowance.

mamalrj1 · 18/02/2015 11:04

I've just registered and came across this thread as we are planning a holiday to Florida this year, whilst our little one isn't quite ready for the theme parks yet, we're considering the gulf coast & Fort Myers in particular as it seems to have a very family friendly & relaxed offering, it even looks more like the Caribbean! during my searches i even came across this (which a) is a great family mag but b) the chance of winning something decent! www.familytraveller.com/feature/fort-myers

ChestyTheSnowman · 18/02/2015 17:59

214 sleeps!

Only ever flown Virgin bloody

tomandizzymum · 18/02/2015 18:08

My MIL is taking my oldest two (11 and 8) and my SILs oldest two (9 and 13). I'm so jealous I could pop. Especially as we used to live in Florida (before DCs) and I desperatly want to go back and visit. Apprently she's planning to fly into Miami and drive up to Orlando! Not sure why, she also doesn't speak a word of English, nor do my SIL's kids, so my two DC's are going to be thrown into the deep end of arranging grannies plans and she's VERY high maintenance....mwahahaha

Goodgrief54- we always stayed in Kissimmee, it's where the natives go, a really nice area.

tomandizzymum · 18/02/2015 18:11

mamalrj1 - go to Clearwater and when you're in Fort Myers go to Sanibel it's beautiful. I was never that impressed with Fort Myers beach. We lived around Fort Myers.

tomandizzymum · 18/02/2015 18:15

BloodyDogHairs - can you not purchase a carseat there? They have very strict car seat laws in the US and most car hire companies will have good ones available. We took two car seats and a booster on a recent international flight. We were told we would be charged but in the end, they let us off. Can you pack both kids into one suitcase and take one carseat as a peice of luggage, that's another option.

SlightlyJadedJack · 19/02/2015 21:05

Had an email from Virgin today to print off my travel docs - only 32 days to go!!

BloodyDogHairs · 20/02/2015 09:49

tom Its the cost of hiring, I've hired one once before and I think it worked out more expensive than the carseat would've been to buy lol

I've read that the hotel has good washer/dryers so I'm going to travel very light and if I need to buy a suitcase over in Florida for the things we buy then I'll still have enough luggage allowance left.

Only 108 sleeps now Grin

LucasNorthsTwiglets · 25/02/2015 09:34

DogHairs, is your child old enough to use a booster seat? If so, we have a very lightweight one that fits easily in a suitcase or even hand luggage (you can get inflatable ones that weight next to nothing and take up no room but I've not used those).

BloodyDogHairs · 25/02/2015 12:14

Actually after I posted I found my DS old booster seat so if I follow the guidelines my 3yr old has 3.5months to gain 2KG! Even if he's slightly under I'm going to use it anyway.

If I post my plans does anyone fancy giving it the once over and tell me what you'd change? I was in Florida last year and every morning was wasted because we took too long deciding on where to go so this year I'm taking a planner to pin on the hotel room door lol

LucasNorthsTwiglets · 25/02/2015 12:27

Doghairs, I'd love to look at your plan! Florida planning is my Happy Place :)

Speaking of which, Jack, if you're reading, I've just booked your FastPasses for you :)

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