Notices

Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
Old 9 Nov 19, 07:48 PM  
Link to this Post
#1
sha9
VIP Dibber
 
sha9's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 08

sha9's Reviews
Hotel Reviews: 5
Restaurant Reviews: 1
Let’s just go every year! Sept 2020 pre trip report. Cancelled!

I’m not great at witty titles and this seemed just to fit with how I felt about a 2020 trip. If we can, why not just go every year?

For those who haven’t read before it’s me, Lisa and my sister Marie. We’re spinster Aunts (I’m claiming that term from now on and going to make it cool ) both in our 40’s who like to holiday in Florida - mainly Disney but will usually add in Universal.

We returned from our stay at Coronado Springs in September having already booked our hotel for next year but hadn’t really decided for sure we were going. When we boosted the miles from our trip earlier in the summer so we’d have enough miles for next year that pretty much made it definite. I’ll update as I go as we book DIY so some things I’ll book nearer the time.
__________________
Lisa



Trip Report Index

Edited at 09:08 PM.
sha9 is offline Girl Mouse Click to view Members Trip Plans Add Member to Ignore List
Old 9 Nov 19, 07:59 PM  
Link to this Post
#2
sha9
Thread Starter
VIP Dibber
 
sha9's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 08

sha9's Reviews
Hotel Reviews: 5
Restaurant Reviews: 1
Flights

So this year we had more or less enough miles to book Virgin economy out and PE back. We’d had to top up a little but still got them at a good price paying around £350 each in total.
We decided a few months ago to take advantage of the miles boost offer VA had on which would get us the miles we needed to do the same this year. This cost us about £245 each so we knew we’d still save some money on flights.
Fast forward to now and flights have been released but no economy reward seats for any of the dates we considered. There were PE seats yesterday but we didn’t have enough miles plus the taxes were higher. Today they were gone. When I looked today there were now PE seats available for the day after so I decided to just bite the bullet, buy the extra miles and just go PE. It cost much more than I had originally planned to pay but we will still have saved £400 on PE flights so I feel ok about it. Normally I’d have held off but I worry that the Thomas Cook collapse will mean economy reward seats are less likely as there are already limited options from Glasgow so I snapped up flights before it was too late. Not going to complain, we’re PE both ways now! Plus the flight time on the Saturday is better than the Friday arriving at 1.30pm! I know that can change and probably will but hopefully not by too much.

Just wanted to add, when I did a dummy booking I could see that the upper deck bulkhead seats were available so asked for those when I booked the flights. The staff member said the upper deck was greyed out and couldn’t be booked so I just asked for anything A&C as far back as possible. He gave me 23 both ways. The lower deck only goes up to 19 so now I was confused! I just left it and went in to my booking immediately and changed to row 20 A&C in the upper deck which is a bulkhead row. I managed to get this both ways so hopefully will get to keep those seats!
__________________
Lisa



Trip Report Index

Edited at 09:04 PM.
sha9 is offline Girl Mouse Click to view Members Trip Plans Add Member to Ignore List
Old 9 Nov 19, 08:05 PM  
Link to this Post
#3
sha9
Thread Starter
VIP Dibber
 
sha9's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 08

sha9's Reviews
Hotel Reviews: 5
Restaurant Reviews: 1
Accommodation

So we booked Coronado Springs back in April when free dining was released. We had to shift our dates to a week later than planned to get a standard room but were ok with that. Unfortunately now flights are booked we need to shift the holiday back a day so that may be an issue.
To make it even more complicated we visited POFQ this year and really liked it so now we want to switch so I’m not making any changes until I know for sure we can’t get POFQ.
We’re also thinking now we may start with 2 nights at Universal. Now those of you who read my 2017 trip report will know we didn’t enjoy starting at Universal however we stayed 4 nights that year which I think was too many. We also enjoyed our Disney time more because we focussed solely on Disney parks. Ideally we’d like one of the deluxe hotels to get express passes but we can make do with one of the cheaper ones if we have to. It’ll all come down to whether we can get a good price.

We’ve also booked an airport hotel for the Friday night. Even when the flight is a bit later I like to be at the airport to avoid any travelling stress!

Update - we’ve booked the Hard Rock Hotel at Universal for our first two nights! I was browsing Hotwire yesterday and came across a Hot Rate that was clearly HRH. I decided against it but then looked again today and they had a flash sale of 11% off which took $49 off. The total was $507 so should be around £393 if we get today’s exchange rate. We’ve never stayed at HRH before so I’m excited!
__________________
Lisa



Trip Report Index

Edited at 10:28 PM.
sha9 is offline Girl Mouse Click to view Members Trip Plans Add Member to Ignore List
Old 9 Nov 19, 08:13 PM  
Link to this Post
#4
sha9
Thread Starter
VIP Dibber
 
sha9's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 08

sha9's Reviews
Hotel Reviews: 5
Restaurant Reviews: 1
Theme parks

Now last year we decided against Universal as we hadn’t missed it the year before. We then changed our minds and managed to get 2 day base tickets with 3 days extra free for a good price. While there however I upgraded them to annual passes. The logic being that an annual pass at Universal is pretty much always going to save you money if you get even 2 years out of it. We got one seasonal and one preferred so we can get free parking and 10% off food and merchandise. Of course if we stay at Universal then we’ll need to pay for parking at the hotel and won’t get that advantage however we may be able to get an AP rate on the hotel. We’ll aim to do Universal our first two (or three if we arrive early enough) days then probably stick to Disney for the remaining days. The AP will expire 5 days in to the trip so we’ll need to do Universal early.

We’ll obviously do Disney as always. Tickets will be part of our hotel package so not an issue.
We’ll be really looking forward to Rise of the Resistance as that will be new for us next year. Hopefully by then FP will be available for the Galaxy’s Edge rides too!
__________________
Lisa



Trip Report Index
sha9 is offline Girl Mouse Click to view Members Trip Plans Add Member to Ignore List
Old 9 Nov 19, 08:17 PM  
Link to this Post
#5
sha9
Thread Starter
VIP Dibber
 
sha9's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 08

sha9's Reviews
Hotel Reviews: 5
Restaurant Reviews: 1
Car hire

Well who knows? With both Disney and Universal charging for parking it’s going to cost a fortune so I’ve not made a decision yet. What we may do is rent for the first week as a compromise. I don’t love Disney transport though .

Car hire booked. Standard SUV for a week with Hertz for £201. We’ll drop off at the Wyndham next to Disney Springs so that should be easy enough.

Next job it to book Magical Express.
__________________
Lisa



Trip Report Index

Edited at 02:52 PM.
sha9 is offline Girl Mouse Click to view Members Trip Plans Add Member to Ignore List
Old 19 Nov 19, 09:28 PM  
Link to this Post
#6
Goldia
VIP Dibber
 
Goldia's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 16

Goldia's Reviews
Hotel Reviews: 5
Restaurant Reviews: 43
Great to see you've started a pre trip for 2020. We're in the same position, upgraded our universal 2 park tickets to annual passes in August so we will need to use them in the first half of our holiday next summer. I've not got the first 2 nights of accommodation yet, I can't decide whether to go for a cheap I drive hotel or for the express...The first night is wasted FOLP really as we don't land until 5.55pm, so thats holding me back booking RPR, but I don't fancy slumming it on I drive after starting at RPR for the first time this summer just gone. Yep, we're definitely spoilt!

At least we don't have the car dilemma as we are not brave enough to drive out there and so only use the Disney transport, or uber and lyft off property.

I'm looking forward to reading about all your plans. Fingers crossed POFQ comes through for you
__________________
Abby
New pre trip report - Summer 2024

Link to all my completed trip reports
2017: NYC and Orlando. Salzburg. Boston.
2018: Orlando. Berlin.
2019: DLP. Orlando. Washington DC.
2020: DLP.
2021: Jamaica. Rome.
2022: Orlando.
2023: Orlando. Niagara and Toronto.
Goldia is offline Girl Mouse Click to view Members Trip Plans Add Member to Ignore List
Old 21 Nov 19, 08:39 PM  
Link to this Post
#7
sha9
Thread Starter
VIP Dibber
 
sha9's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 08

sha9's Reviews
Hotel Reviews: 5
Restaurant Reviews: 1
Originally Posted by Goldia View Post
Great to see you've started a pre trip for 2020. We're in the same position, upgraded our universal 2 park tickets to annual passes in August so we will need to use them in the first half of our holiday next summer. I've not got the first 2 nights of accommodation yet, I can't decide whether to go for a cheap I drive hotel or for the express...The first night is wasted FOLP really as we don't land until 5.55pm, so thats holding me back booking RPR, but I don't fancy slumming it on I drive after starting at RPR for the first time this summer just gone. Yep, we're definitely spoilt!

At least we don't have the car dilemma as we are not brave enough to drive out there and so only use the Disney transport, or uber and lyft off property.

I'm looking forward to reading about all your plans. Fingers crossed POFQ comes through for you
I’ve considered several options for the first couple of nights. Like you I feel like RPR is a waste of money however I do like to know that we can go back to the hotel in the afternoon. I think maybe it’s worth the extra to have that option but I’ll see what prices are like nearer the time.
__________________
Lisa



Trip Report Index
sha9 is offline Girl Mouse Click to view Members Trip Plans Add Member to Ignore List
Old 2 Dec 19, 10:28 PM  
Link to this Post
#8
sha9
Thread Starter
VIP Dibber
 
sha9's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 08

sha9's Reviews
Hotel Reviews: 5
Restaurant Reviews: 1
Updated with Universal hotel
__________________
Lisa



Trip Report Index
sha9 is offline Girl Mouse Click to view Members Trip Plans Add Member to Ignore List
Old 2 Dec 19, 11:04 PM  
Link to this Post
#9
disneypars
Imagineer
 
disneypars's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 07
Mobile

So glad you've done another pre trippy will be following along with interest. We go shortly after you from Glasgow and like you were watching the VA flights from Glasgow. Because we have one son and three grandchildren coming with us next year knew it was going to be expensive. It was initially £10k+ when flights came out but dropped to about £5k with seats so just booked.
Agree with you about reward seats they seem to be there one day and gone the next.
Still glad you got what you wanted.
__________________
2004 - 2014 WDW
2016 - 2019 WDW
disneypars is offline Boy Mouse Click to view Members Trip Plans Add Member to Ignore List
Old 3 Dec 19, 07:48 PM  
Link to this Post
#10
sha9
Thread Starter
VIP Dibber
 
sha9's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 08

sha9's Reviews
Hotel Reviews: 5
Restaurant Reviews: 1
Originally Posted by disneypars View Post
So glad you've done another pre trippy will be following along with interest. We go shortly after you from Glasgow and like you were watching the VA flights from Glasgow. Because we have one son and three grandchildren coming with us next year knew it was going to be expensive. It was initially £10k+ when flights came out but dropped to about £5k with seats so just booked.
Agree with you about reward seats they seem to be there one day and gone the next.
Still glad you got what you wanted.
Thanks!

Sometimes you just have to bite the bullet and take what’s there at an acceptable price even if it’s not fantastic. I always hope to save elsewhere like with the Universal hotel in our case. At least you’re booked .
__________________
Lisa



Trip Report Index
sha9 is offline Girl Mouse Click to view Members Trip Plans Add Member to Ignore List
Reply

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Forum Jump


All times are GMT +1. The time now is 08:09 AM.


Powered by vBulletin - Copyright © 2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
DIBB Savings
AttractionTickets.com

Get £10 off each Disney Ticket with the code ATDIBB10

Get up to £50 off per room at Disney or Universal with the code DIBBHOTELS


theDIBB Blog
One of the the five worlds found in Epic Universe, How to Train Your Dragon... Read More »
Disney announced that a new nighttime show, “Disney Dreams That Soar,” will run nightly at... Read More »
Walt Disney World Resort guests can get ready to have a “glowing’’ good time when... Read More »


theDIBB Menu


Exchange Rates
US Dollar Rates
ASDA  $1.2354
CaxtonFX  $1.2302
Covent Garden FX  $1.2544
FAIRFX  $1.2350
John Lewis  $1.2380
M&S  $1.2178
Sainsburys  $1.2354
TESCO  $1.2364
Travelex  $1.2353
Updated: 07:00 29/03/2024
Euro Rates
ASDA  €1.1447
CaxtonFX  €1.1418
Covent Garden FX  €1.1526
FAIRFX  €1.1432
John Lewis  €1.1457
M&S  €1.1263
Sainsburys  €1.1440
TESCO  €1.1445
Travelex  €1.1435
Updated: 07:00 29/03/2024

DIBB Premium Membership
Did you know you can help support theDIBB with Premium Membership?

Check out this link for more information and benefits, such as...

"No adverts on theDIBB Forums"

Upgrade Now



X