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The best money I ever spent last time I was going to universal for the day was to just pay for a drat taxi ride. It was from an all-star resort and cost about the same as the Mears bus shuttle for our family of 4 and the convenience factor was great because it was on our timeframe.
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Feb 20, 2015 18:56
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Douchebag posted:In June I'll be down at WDW for a week, we are going to hit Universal for a day. What is the better plan, rent a car or use the various transportation options available? I think your best bet is to take an Uber. I just did a fare estimate on the app and it estimated $13-18 dollars from the Caribbean Beach to Universal Studios Resort. I'd estimate it would be anywhere from $15-25 TOTAL as long as its not surge. Unless there's some restriction on picking up from Disney?
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Feb 20, 2015 19:25
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Rumor has it that WDW and Disneyland ticket prices are going to increase tomorrow. MouseSavers is reporting it as fact, but as always, Disney has told us travel agents exactly nothing.
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Feb 22, 2015 02:39
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Braksgirl posted:Rumor has it that WDW and Disneyland ticket prices are going to increase tomorrow. MouseSavers is reporting it as fact, but as always, Disney has told us travel agents exactly nothing. MK 1 day 1 park will be $105, the other parks will be $99. That's what has been on the local news here the last couple of days so MouseSavers is correct. demonR6 fucked around with this message at 03:04 on Feb 22, 2015 |
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Feb 22, 2015 03:02
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It's super convenient how Disney tells their travel agents nothing.
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Feb 22, 2015 04:34
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To be fair, they usually tell their vacation planners (the ticket sellers) when they walk in and the prices are different on the registers.
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Feb 22, 2015 04:48
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Braksgirl posted:It's super convenient how Disney tells their travel agents nothing. You would think right? Maybe the TA's should have the locals as a source.
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Feb 22, 2015 05:46
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Going to be at WDW Feb 23-28. It looks like it's going to rain all week. Any suggestions for rainy day parks/areas? We'll have 3 kids with us ages 3-9.
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Feb 22, 2015 16:27
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Feb 22, 2015 19:01
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Florida AP's went up $40, which is a bit wracking, considering the lack of anything new in the last two years or so and Hollywood Studio's back half being closed with nothing officially announced to replace any of it. All the in park additions being rumored aren't going to be there for 3-5 years, so it's really hard to justify it right now. (For someone who's done it enough)
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Feb 22, 2015 23:43
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Atricks posted:Florida AP's went up $40, which is a bit wracking, considering the lack of anything new in the last two years or so and Hollywood Studio's back half being closed with nothing officially announced to replace any of it. All the in park additions being rumored aren't going to be there for 3-5 years, so it's really hard to justify it right now. (For someone who's done it enough) My girlfriend and I have APs through November or so, and they have been totally worth it... But I'm really having a rough time seeing myself in a mood to re-up them, for all the reasons you just gave. We might do weekday select passes, but I don't think they're getting APs out of me this year.
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Feb 23, 2015 00:58
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We didn't renew ours either. I'll be completely honest though, I thought that the resident passes were honestly too cheap or that there should be a cap on the number they issue. The main reason we didn't renew was because of the crowds, the past few years, it feels like attendance is waaaay up, even at times when it's been pretty dead in the past. I know there's a lot more to it than cheap florida passes but it has to play some kind of factor- everyone I know has one.
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Feb 23, 2015 01:38
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Year over year attendance has been up.. and I agree almost every local with a pulse has an AP now. Hell just drive around town and you can count the number of cars with the AP badge on them. To say the AP holders do nothing for them like they like to claim is complete horseshit imo. We might not renew either this round. My wife and I both get free SW/BG family passes through my sister and I would rather drive out to BG and ride the roller coasters for considerably less than having to deal with the crowds at WDW.
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Feb 23, 2015 02:11
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The only good thing about having the passes now and renewing them is you get to renew at the price you paid in at. So everyone not renewing this year, when you do decide to renew its going to cost you probably another few hundred with the rate the park increases every year.
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Feb 23, 2015 02:20
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mattfl posted:The only good thing about having the passes now and renewing them is you get to renew at the price you paid in at. So everyone not renewing this year, when you do decide to renew its going to cost you probably another few hundred with the rate the park increases every year. That's about the only good reason to renew at this point, but my wife and I bought the DVC special for APs that threw in the water parks and a couple of other perks. We haven't seen anything to indicate we'd be able to remain on that specific plan at the price we paid a year ago. Right now, it's hard to justify right at $1k to attend about 75% of a series of parks.
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Feb 23, 2015 13:29
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Doronin posted:That's about the only good reason to renew at this point, but my wife and I bought the DVC special for APs that threw in the water parks and a couple of other perks. We haven't seen anything to indicate we'd be able to remain on that specific plan at the price we paid a year ago. Ah I gotcha. We got the premium annual passes and we just do the monthly deduction and don't even really think about it. We've had the passes 8 months now and we've hit all the parks at least once, epcot at least 10 times, sometimes just for dinner, magic kingdom a few times, and animal kingdom 3 or 4 times. Have def gotten our monies worth outta them. It's nice to say hey, let's do dinner at epcot tonight and not have to worry about buying entry into the park just for dinner.
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Feb 23, 2015 14:47
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I had standard AP's that I bought right before the price increase in June 2013, with my DVC discount and it was a great deal. The renewal price every year is why I bought in. A kids AP with the discount was noticeably cheaper than the adults, so it was worth it. Then they changed the discount pricing to the same price regardless of age range, and increased the price so much it's not cost effective to have an AP for me. I go once a year, maybe twice if me and the wife can sneak out for a weekend. It's actually cheaper to pay cash for a yearly trip than it is for an AP renewal.
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Feb 23, 2015 15:03
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MK is packed. 120 minutes for PP, 50 for HM.. even the line for the ferry to Tom Sawyer is backed up. Wtf people it's off season. Good news! The CM at BOG just told us starting on the 26th BOG will be reservations only for lunch too so gently caress everyone that wants to eat here. Pro move. I say this as I am about ten ppl from the front of the walk up line never to enjoy lunch here again. RIP BOG. demonR6 fucked around with this message at 19:20 on Feb 23, 2015 |
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Feb 23, 2015 18:16
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demonR6 posted:MK is packed. 120 minutes for PP, 50 for HM.. even the line for the ferry to Tom Sawyer is backed up. Wtf people it's off season. We tried to go to MK 2 weeks ago, on a Saturday around noonish and when we got there to park were told that the lot was full, they were still allowing admittance to the park, we just couldn't park there. I guess since people park at MK and travel back and forth from Epcot I can see how the park was full, that was the first time we've encountered that. We wound up going to Animal kingdom for a bit then went and parked at Epcot later that evening.
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Feb 23, 2015 19:20
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demonR6 posted:Good news! The CM at BOG just told us starting on the 26th BOG will be reservations only for lunch too so gently caress everyone that wants to eat here. Pro move. I say this as I am about ten ppl from the front of the walk up line never to enjoy lunch here again. RIP BOG. But it's going to remain a quick service lunch! So there's that... making reservations for quick service meals seems like an awesome idea! And they're adding breakfast!! I'm actually starting to dread making reservations for my trip at the end of October. At least in relation to MK. Liberty Tree Tavern will be closed for a massive referb. BOG is a shitshow. I have zero desire to eat at Tony's or Plaza (Tony's is gross and Plaza's food just doesn't appeal to waste a table credit on), and I figure the castle will be a mess to get a reservation for with the rest of the restaurants being a mess. I guess there's Crystal Palace... On the bright side, apparently Adventureland Veranda is turning into some kind of restaurant. It won't be up and running when I'm there, but hopefully it'll provide some relief to BOG and the other restaurants in the park. I think the only restaurant on the resort loop I'd go to on a MK park day would be The Wave. It's just my daughter and I, so I won't be doing any signature dining. While I enjoy O'Hana I think it's not as good as it used to be. And my daughter isn't super-excited about Cinderella so there's no reason to go to the dinner at Grand Floridian. This is going to take some thought now... at least I've got 2 months to figure it the gently caress out.
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Feb 23, 2015 20:01
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The standby line at BOG was 15 minutes. What bones the queue is the steady stream of resort guests walking in. They should just make the parks available to resort guests who buy packages and be done with it. Will post pics of the progress at MK of the new hub around the Castle area. Trip report: do NOT order the croq monseiur at BOG. It's a flattened, tasteless disappointment. The bottom is greasy and it's been pressed so much it is almost thinner than my mobile phone. I've been a huge fan of the food here but wow. This has always been my go-to sandwich too. The pot roast though is still good, too bad it's my wife's meal. demonR6 fucked around with this message at 20:24 on Feb 23, 2015 |
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Feb 23, 2015 20:05
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Speaking of BoG reservations, this is why I hate being PST sometimes I am gonna get a lunch reservation no matter what when they open up at 6 am EST Wednesday  3/5 or 3/9 I hope because they're my MK days. Or maybe 3/10 if I can get a early lunch. The croq monseiur thing makes me sad because I love any kind of cheese sandwiches but I'm sure that there's other great cheese sandwiches at WDW, right? PS I'm going to be in Epcot the day before F&G officially starts then probably back there for the night next day when it opens then lots more after that so I can take photos and do some reviews of the food offerings if anybody is interested  edit: apparently Feb 25 is when non-owners can book Poly DVC properties  the servers are going to be so hosed
Tomato Soup fucked around with this message at 03:23 on Feb 24, 2015 |
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Feb 24, 2015 02:51
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"Tomato Soup" posted:
My wife had a bite of the sandwich, she's had it before. The look on her face was priceless.. like forcing your 7 year old to eat some terrible plate of vegetables. Her words were, "good god there's almost no cheese, it's soggy and flat?!" Seriously it's nearly as flat as my Note 4 in a slim case. I feel bad for anyone trying to book on those dates. If any of you who were/are AP holders and remember the fiasco years back for the Everest anniversary party? Weather was fantastic today albeit a bit warm hitting the 80's. Tomorrow it drops to upper 70's. demonR6 fucked around with this message at 04:31 on Feb 24, 2015 |
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Feb 24, 2015 04:29
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Tomato Soup posted:
Typically the day before official opening is the CM preview day where all the kiosks open up and we can get people in without using a main gate usage. You should be able to preview all the kiosks. I need to make it out there more this year. Hopefully they'll pull me back for tours and I can get Disney to pay for all my food hah.
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Feb 24, 2015 14:12
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Cais posted:Typically the day before official opening is the CM preview day where all the kiosks open up and we can get people in without using a main gate usage. Do you moonlight as a tour guide Cais?
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Feb 24, 2015 14:27
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Don't know if this is old news or not, but while searing for the old news of Turner Classic Movies being the new sponsor for the Great Movie ride I found this on their website: http://www.tcm.com/disney/ride.html
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Feb 24, 2015 16:34
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demonR6 posted:Do you moonlight as a tour guide Cais? Full time for another month. Then it's back to the old role and picking up random guide shifts here or there.
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Feb 24, 2015 19:10
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Cais posted:Full time for another month. Then it's back to the old role and picking up random guide shifts here or there. Heard they jacked the hourly rate for guides up hoping to discourage using them but ppl are paying it still with a smile.
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Feb 24, 2015 19:23
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demonR6 posted:Heard they jacked the hourly rate for guides up hoping to discourage using them but ppl are paying it still with a smile. Runs from 360-500 an hour these days with a six hour minimum. They used to have a non-premium tour - you didn't get fastpasses and used the regular line. They were finding that no one was using that so they got rid of that one. They also used to have separate prices for resort guests versus non resort guests but now it's the same price for everyone. The folks that spring for it though... Jeez. Must be nice to have that kind of money to burn.
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Feb 24, 2015 19:35
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Cais posted:Runs from 360-500 an hour these days with a six hour minimum. They used to have a non-premium tour - you didn't get fastpasses and used the regular line. They were finding that no one was using that so they got rid of that one. They also used to have separate prices for resort guests versus non resort guests but now it's the same price for everyone. What all does one of those tours typically consist of? Was looking through tours for my upcoming trip and saw that one, with the same thought about money to burn, and wondered how it was worth it.
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Feb 24, 2015 20:35
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Hey guys, some pics of the progress at Magic Kingdom taken yesterday.. warning the originals are huge.      and the terrible sandwich... sorry but it's dark in BOG and I don't like using a flash to ruin peoples atmosphere but look at the shoestring fries and get my point about it being as slim as my mobile phone.  The new shop at HS on the corner intersection of Sunset & Hollywood Blvd.. Starbucks.  and the last remnants of the hat  
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Feb 24, 2015 23:59
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Is all the food at Be Our Guest bad, or is it just a couple of specific things? I wanted to go mainly for the atmosphere, but if the food sucks we'll skip it.
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Feb 25, 2015 00:06
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Holy poo poo, the view looks so much better with the hat gone (mostly).Cais posted:Typically the day before official opening is the CM preview day where all the kiosks open up and we can get people in without using a main gate usage. Excellent! In BOG news, it seems like the servers are already poo poo today so I'm kind of scared as for what it'll be like tomorrow  Poly DVC starts at 9 AM EST so it's not at the same time but if the servers get hosed by BOG, it's going get worse later instead of better. I am seriously considering making my mom look for dropped dinner reservations while I try to snag a lunch reservation but I don't know if she'd be willing to get up at 3 AM for that and if she did it, she'd whine every second of it.
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Feb 25, 2015 00:48
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WhiteHowler posted:Is all the food at Be Our Guest bad, or is it just a couple of specific things? I've only eaten there once, but I enjoyed it. I had the carved turkey sandwich and I thought it was great.
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Feb 25, 2015 01:05
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Fejsze posted:What all does one of those tours typically consist of? Was looking through tours for my upcoming trip and saw that one, with the same thought about money to burn, and wondered how it was worth it. No real set itinerary, it's pretty much what you want. We have a vehicle we can pick you up in or meet you at the park. We enter through backstage areas and have unlimited access to fastpass attractions (minus enchanted tales for some reason). Access to reserved viewing for most shows parades and nighttime spectaculars. When we park hop, we hop in the vehicle and drive backstage where we need to go. You can have up to ten people per guide: more than that means they add another guide. I've had a couple of families that shared a guide to split the costs. Tours are six hours minimum but you can keep going as long as you want. Guides can either leave you in the park or drive you back where you came from. To put in perspective, I did a six hour tour during Presidents' Day weekend where they basically got in every ride in magic kingdom and then back for a few more repeat rides. Another one I met them at DAK, we did everest then vip viewing for fotlk then hopped to studios did Disney jr tower of terror and toy story then to MK for space speedway 7 dwarfs big thunder pirates magic carpets then vip viewing for the festival of fantasy parade.
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Feb 25, 2015 02:26
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The food at BOG has been good, consistent but this past experience with the croc was hopefully a blip on an otherwise good track record. I don't see us eating there again because to hell with having to make fast pass reservations to eat there. Our theory is they will make it into an exclusive character meet & greet with the B&B characters and tell regular park guests to pay sixty bucks or gently caress off if they don't like it. We had dinner at Chef's de France and it was really good. The prix-fixe meal which was a three course dinner.. both of us had the beef short ribs braised in Cabernet with the polenta which was pretty good. The French onion soup was really tasty, almost too much for an appetizer portion. I went the safe route with chocolate mousse for dessert since I was stuffed by then. The wait staff came out en masse to sing happy birthday which was unexpected and a nice end to the meal for me. I have seen some lovely reviews of Chef's but it really was not that bad. If you don't want Americanized French cuisine then go to the expensive French restaurant they have upstairs.
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Feb 25, 2015 04:23
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Just a heads up, Pirates of the Caribbean will be closed starting on May 11th and likely to reopen on September 26th. The ride needs this refurb badly, the newer boats there (along with several other things on the ride) have been a huge nightmare according to a few cast-member friends.
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Feb 25, 2015 05:50
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Atricks posted:Just a heads up, Pirates of the Caribbean will be closed starting on May 11th and likely to reopen on September 26th. The ride needs this refurb badly, the newer boats there (along with several other things on the ride) have been a huge nightmare according to a few cast-member friends. It was closed the last time I was there too (nine years ago).
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Feb 25, 2015 07:11
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YOU CAN BOOK BOG LUNCH RESERVATIONS NOW, NO NEED TO WAIT UNTIL 6 AM EST  I JUST BOOKED TWO RESERVATIONS FOR 2 PM 3/5 AND 12:10 PM 3/9 and... 3/3 12:50 PM  So I'll most likely be dropping 1-2 of them unless if we really fall in love with BOGI'll be canceling one of them but if anybody here is interested for one of those, PM me and I'll let you know which one I'm canceling and if it works for you I can try to "give" it to you by doing a timed drop and you try to pick it up ASAP. Tomato Soup fucked around with this message at 09:28 on Feb 25, 2015 |
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Feb 25, 2015 09:24
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Hm. When I click to confirm the card I'm reserving the ADR with, it takes me to a blank screen, and the ADR doesn't take. Then I can't get back onto the WDW website at all for a couple of minutes. Lather, rinse, repeat. edit: Whew. Got it after about 45 minutes of trying, failing, reloading... If anyone else is having the same problem, just be persistent. Lincoln fucked around with this message at 10:59 on Feb 25, 2015 |
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Feb 25, 2015 10:38
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