Yo Ho, A Disney Life for Me - Summer 2020 pre trip

[Goldia]

Originally Posted by Elsa42

A planners work is never done At least it gives you an excuse to look over your plan and tweak it! Do you know when then party dates are officially being released? I was hoping to keep an eye out on the dates.

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yep, I've already changed an ADR for HS to be lunchtime instead of evening. I'm hoping if we go for rope drop on day 2 we will get a boarding pass and therefore be done by mid afternoon so that we can go to TL in the evening. This will be a first for us as we usually only do mornings in water parks. But I think I'd be too worried about missing the boarding group so I feel like I'd want to stay in the park. So I've moved the sci fi diner ADR to a lunch slot. Originally I thought we could go to HS get a pass then go to TL for the 10am opening and then back to HS when the boarding pass opens. But that feels like too much running around.

For the dates. I've totally confused myself this week with dates. Remember me saying I'm obsessed with the idea of a cruise? Well, the tickets for MNSSHP go live on the wdw site next week and the cruises for 2021 also go up next week and now I can't remember which is which one of them is 25th February and the other is 28th February of course it's also possible that both those dates are wrong as the 25th is my brothers birthday so perhaps that's why that has stuck in mind! I'm all of dither. I should probably just focus on this trip and not be thinking about next year's trip until this one is sorted.

[magickate]

Cruises are rumoured to be the 28th! Site can crash easily & wait times on the phone will be long so be armed with patience

[Elsa42]

Originally Posted by Goldia

yep, I've already changed an ADR for HS to be lunchtime instead of evening. I'm hoping if we go for rope drop on day 2 we will get a boarding pass and therefore be done by mid afternoon so that we can go to TL in the evening. This will be a first for us as we usually only do mornings in water parks. But I think I'd be too worried about missing the boarding group so I feel like I'd want to stay in the park. So I've moved the sci fi diner ADR to a lunch slot. Originally I thought we could go to HS get a pass then go to TL for the 10am opening and then back to HS when the boarding pass opens. But that feels like too much running around.

For the dates. I've totally confused myself this week with dates. Remember me saying I'm obsessed with the idea of a cruise? Well, the tickets for MNSSHP go live on the wdw site next week and the cruises for 2021 also go up next week and now I can't remember which is which one of them is 25th February and the other is 28th February of course it's also possible that both those dates are wrong as the 25th is my brothers birthday so perhaps that's why that has stuck in mind! I'm all of dither. I should probably just focus on this trip and not be thinking about next year's trip until this one is sorted.

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I think sci fi is well suited to a lunch time ADR so it probably will work out better! Hahaha I’m so glad your loving the idea of a cruise! I’ve been watching Adams vlogs like you suggested! It’s so nice to see the ship and watch other people’s experiences, I can see how you got hooked from watching his videos! From podcasts I’ve listen too they all think the cruise dates will be 28th feb! I’d normally say focus on the trip for this year but I really think you should try a cruise 🙈 they are amazing! I have booked the day the come out but I actually left it until the afternoon before ringing up and it was much easier and less stressful! Maybe the party dates will come out on the 25th I’d be happy with that as it’s my birthday too!

[Goldia]

Originally Posted by magickate

Cruises are rumoured to be the 28th! Site can crash easily & wait times on the phone will be long so be armed with patience

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at least one of the dates I quoted was accurate! I usually do all my Orlando holiday bookings myself, but I'm wondering if I should use a travel agent for a cruise as I really don't know anything. Have you crushed before? Do you have a preference for DIY or using an agent? I'm only thinking of the 3 day Nassau, Castaway Day cruise from Port Canaveral, so it's hardly a lot to organise DIY

Originally Posted by Elsa42

I think sci fi is well suited to a lunch time ADR so it probably will work out better! Hahaha I’m so glad your loving the idea of a cruise! I’ve been watching Adams vlogs like you suggested! It’s so nice to see the ship and watch other people’s experiences, I can see how you got hooked from watching his videos! From podcasts I’ve listen too they all think the cruise dates will be 28th feb! I’d normally say focus on the trip for this year but I really think you should try a cruise 🙈 they are amazing! I have booked the day the come out but I actually left it until the afternoon before ringing up and it was much easier and less stressful! Maybe the party dates will come out on the 25th I’d be happy with that as it’s my birthday too!

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Well, happy birthday for Tuesday! What a coincidence. I'm now sort of sold on the idea of the first night for the party. Unless they announce the Saturday as a party too...then I'm not sure what I'll do

Looks like I'll want to make a decision by 28th Feb then. The 3 day cruise I'm interested in goes virtually every weekend for our dates in August, we are tied to school hols. But from my very extensive research this week I've found that that the earlier you book the cheaper it is and so while it's possible to book for this summer and they still have availabilty that would be stupid as it is going to be way more expensive than it could have been. I looked for this summer and for a balcony (you've got to have a balcony right ) it was about £2200 for the 4 of us, which I sort of thought wasn't too bad for 3 nights. Ha ha I'm totally delusional. Right, pulling myself together, so you think a cruise is a good idea and you think it's a good idea to book early. That's about the gist of it isn't it? Did you use an agent? Or just go through the UK DCL website phone number?

[Cutiepie]

Originally Posted by Goldia

at least one of the dates I quoted was accurate! I usually do all my Orlando holiday bookings myself, but I'm wondering if I should use a travel agent for a cruise as I really don't know anything. Have you crushed before? Do you have a preference for DIY or using an agent? I'm only thinking of the 3 day Nassau, Castaway Day cruise from Port Canaveral, so it's hardly a lot to organise DIY



Well, happy birthday for Tuesday! What a coincidence. I'm now sort of sold on the idea of the first night for the party. Unless they announce the Saturday as a party too...then I'm not sure what I'll do

Looks like I'll want to make a decision by 28th Feb then. The 3 day cruise I'm interested in goes virtually every weekend for our dates in August, we are tied to school hols. But from my very extensive research this week I've found that that the earlier you book the cheaper it is and so while it's possible to book for this summer and they still have availabilty that would be stupid as it is going to be way more expensive than it could have been. I looked for this summer and for a balcony (you've got to have a balcony right ) it was about £2200 for the 4 of us, which I sort of thought wasn't too bad for 3 nights. Ha ha I'm totally delusional. Right, pulling myself together, so you think a cruise is a good idea and you think it's a good idea to book early. That's about the gist of it isn't it? Did you use an agent? Or just go through the UK DCL website phone number?

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Oh Abbie, you will love the cruise although I would recommend the 4 nights if you can do it. I have booked all our DCL cruises direct and as soon as they were released as it is cheaper. If you have any other questions, I will try to answer.

[Elsa42]

Originally Posted by Goldia

at least one of the dates I quoted was accurate! I usually do all my Orlando holiday bookings myself, but I'm wondering if I should use a travel agent for a cruise as I really don't know anything. Have you crushed before? Do you have a preference for DIY or using an agent? I'm only thinking of the 3 day Nassau, Castaway Day cruise from Port Canaveral, so it's hardly a lot to organise DIY



Well, happy birthday for Tuesday! What a coincidence. I'm now sort of sold on the idea of the first night for the party. Unless they announce the Saturday as a party too...then I'm not sure what I'll do

Looks like I'll want to make a decision by 28th Feb then. The 3 day cruise I'm interested in goes virtually every weekend for our dates in August, we are tied to school hols. But from my very extensive research this week I've found that that the earlier you book the cheaper it is and so while it's possible to book for this summer and they still have availabilty that would be stupid as it is going to be way more expensive than it could have been. I looked for this summer and for a balcony (you've got to have a balcony right ) it was about £2200 for the 4 of us, which I sort of thought wasn't too bad for 3 nights. Ha ha I'm totally delusional. Right, pulling myself together, so you think a cruise is a good idea and you think it's a good idea to book early. That's about the gist of it isn't it? Did you use an agent? Or just go through the UK DCL website phone number?

See more...

Thank you Knowing Disney they will probably announce Saturday as a party too just to confuse your plans.

The price goes up the more you wait however I couldn't tell you if its much more as we usually just book when they come out. I think thats a good price for the summer I always see it like this: if you were to stay in a Disney hotel for 3 nights your looking at at least £600 maybe less in a value (but the dream doesn't compare to a value) Then a four course meal each night per person your looking at least £50 a person plus free soft drinks and then a theatre show each night I feel the price starts to justify itself. A balcony is a must. Theres nothing wrong with the inside rooms but its always nice to see where you're going.

A cruise is definitely a good idea! I do it myself using the Disney cruise line website its nice and simple and you can pay online which is nice and easy. You will have lots of people saying do 4 nights if you can while I sort of agree I really enjoy the 3 nights. Its just enough time to see if you actually enjoy it but not enough that it leaves you wanting more I also find 3 nights is a nice amount of days to fit in with park times as i dont like to be away for too long!

[Goldia]

ESTA Approved

Ok so this is the lamest of lame and pointless updates but it does feel like a success.

Dave had to renew his passport so we took the photo at home and he did it all online. He was not happy with my camera skills well he didn't like the photo I took of him for the passport, but I told him there was no amount of magic photo tech that would make him like the photo and refused to take another one so he's stuck with it now for 10 years

Of course this means his ESTA is now invalid. But his and mine were going to go out of date in April anyway. So, he sent the passport application off and we got the new passport this week. And this afternoon I did the applications for his and my ESTA. The kids still have 16months on theirs, somehow we got out of sync with them having just 5 years for their passports. Anyway, I'm pretending that I don't mind that we don't have the one group ID as it's just an application process. Well, the authorization came through approved within 20 minutes which is handy as I'd only been checking every 5 minutes to see if it had updated so I only had to login 4 times

Also, this afternoon I did 4 ETA applications for Canada...This is a different system than the ESTA and is in many ways simpler with less questions and lasts longer, 5 years, but only lasts longer for those with a passport that expires in over 5 years time. So Dave is set until 2025, mine will run out in 2023 and the kids will run out in 2022. It is also a bit cheaper than the ESTA at just 7 Canadian dollars. Hmm, I'm actually not too sure on the exchange rate for Canadian dollars to pounds, so maybe it's actually more than the ESTA

Why did I do ETA? Well, I'm glad you asked

I've booked for us to go to Toronto in October half term I'd sort of planned this would be our next city break after Washington DC. Hurrah! We're going to see Niagara Falls and eat poutine and maple syrup and hopefully have a marvellous time.

Now that is sorted I can focus on 2021 and it seems top of the list is a Disney cruise

[Goldia]

Originally Posted by Cutiepie

Oh Abbie, you will love the cruise although I would recommend the 4 nights if you can do it. I have booked all our DCL cruises direct and as soon as they were released as it is cheaper. If you have any other questions, I will try to answer.

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Right, so not 3 nights, but 4. I've heard about the 'Double dip' at Castaway Cay. Is that what you'd recommend? My parents have done loads of cruises, so in the back of my mind is to invite them along too as I'd love for them to come to Florida again. But by next summer they will both be 72 and while I don't think of them as old they perhaps won't want to go commando in the parks so maybe they would be tempted by the cruise.

I'm definitely getting the vibe that booking straight away as soon as it's announced is best. Have you cruised from Port Canaveral recently? Is it going to be hideous having all 4 of us in one state room? I'm hoping not. From the looks of Adam Hatton vlogs it's very similar to the hotel rooms at Disney and if we go for a balcony then there is actually more space than in the moderates. Will the kids be happy? I feel like they would be as they love the pool and they love a buffet so presumably they would enjoy a cruise

I knew if I asked on here I'd get a good balance of views and advice

Originally Posted by Elsa42

Thank you Knowing Disney they will probably announce Saturday as a party too just to confuse your plans.

The price goes up the more you wait however I couldn't tell you if its much more as we usually just book when they come out. I think thats a good price for the summer I always see it like this: if you were to stay in a Disney hotel for 3 nights your looking at at least £600 maybe less in a value (but the dream doesn't compare to a value) Then a four course meal each night per person your looking at least £50 a person plus free soft drinks and then a theatre show each night I feel the price starts to justify itself. A balcony is a must. Theres nothing wrong with the inside rooms but its always nice to see where you're going.

A cruise is definitely a good idea! I do it myself using the Disney cruise line website its nice and simple and you can pay online which is nice and easy. You will have lots of people saying do 4 nights if you can while I sort of agree I really enjoy the 3 nights. Its just enough time to see if you actually enjoy it but not enough that it leaves you wanting more I also find 3 nights is a nice amount of days to fit in with park times as i dont like to be away for too long!

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If we did the cruise it would be tagged onto, or in the middle of a WDW holiday. Given that this summer we will have been to Orlando 6 times since 2014 then i guess missing an extra day and booking the 4 day cruise wouldn't matter too much.

I *think* this is probably something I should talk to the others about though before I book it. Although, I'm not averse to the idea of making a unilateral decision and then talking them into it.

Last year when we were planning the trip with mum and dad Dave wanted to get a big cinema screen and movie projector for the lounge and I said he could provided we could go back to WDW the following year. It was a done deal and we do now have a screen and projector.

Here is a photo for those who weren't here last year in the pre trip, yes it's a monstrosity ...thankfully it's a non permanent fixture but I still think I got the better end of that deal.

I'm wondering what he will want to bargain for this year?

[Elsa42]

Originally Posted by Goldia

Right, so not 3 nights, but 4. I've heard about the 'Double dip' at Castaway Cay. Is that what you'd recommend? My parents have done loads of cruises, so in the back of my mind is to invite them along too as I'd love for them to come to Florida again. But by next summer they will both be 72 and while I don't think of them as old they perhaps won't want to go commando in the parks so maybe they would be tempted by the cruise.

I'm definitely getting the vibe that booking straight away as soon as it's announced is best. Have you cruised from Port Canaveral recently? Is it going to be hideous having all 4 of us in one state room? I'm hoping not. From the looks of Adam Hatton vlogs it's very similar to the hotel rooms at Disney and if we go for a balcony then there is actually more space than in the moderates. Will the kids be happy? I feel like they would be as they love the pool and they love a buffet so presumably they would enjoy a cruise

I knew if I asked on here I'd get a good balance of views and advice



If we did the cruise it would be tagged onto, or in the middle of a WDW holiday. Given that this summer we will have been to Orlando 6 times since 2014 then i guess missing an extra day and booking the 4 day cruise wouldn't matter too much.

I *think* this is probably something I should talk to the others about though before I book it. Although, I'm not averse to the idea of making a unilateral decision and then talking them into it.

Last year when we were planning the trip with mum and dad Dave wanted to get a big cinema screen and movie projector for the lounge and I said he could provided we could go back to WDW the following year. It was a done deal and we do now have a screen and projector.

Here is a photo for those who weren't here last year in the pre trip, yes it's a monstrosity ...thankfully it's a non permanent fixture but I still think I got the better end of that deal.

I'm wondering what he will want to bargain for this year?

See more...

If you can afford it a 4 night would be great! The 3 nights are a great taster. The first one I did was a 3 night to make sure we actually liked cruising. I've done the 7 night Disney Caribbean one too and it was amazing however I keep going back to the 3 night cruises as this year will be my 4th!

I mean maybe you should talk to the others but if they aren't keen I recommend you over ruling them! The rooms are bigger than you expect. I've had a family veranda room for 3 adults and it was fine so I'm sure for 2 adults and 2 children you will be fine. Theres so much to do you wont be in your room long anyway. I hear the kids clubs are amazing on board as well. No personal experience but I always hear a lot of people say their children are in them pretty much all day

[Cutiepie]

Sorry, I’m rubbish at quotes. We have cruised on the Dream from Port Canaveral although a few years ago now. The staterooms are spacious, however have a look at the ones with 2 port holes instead of a balcony as they are actually bigger. I think they are Cat 8A from memory.. we stayed in one on deck 6, I think the room number was 6110. If you have a look at DisneyCruiseline blog they have stateroom reviews.
If going for a balcony or ocean view, book one on the starboard side for the best views of Castaway Cay. the double dips you are referring to are usually 5 nights as they go to castaway twice.
My only concern is the height of Max and sleeping on what is effectively a converted sofa bed., while they are comfortable his feet will probably be dangling over the end so look into this before you book altHough he may be happy enough for a few nights! I think he’s around the height of my son so I’ll ask him what he thinks and let you know.
Hope this helps.