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nimper posted:Trying to make dinner reservations for the week of October 25. Should be available to book for our entire stay now according to Disney phone jockeys but it's not letting me Is everything still FUBAR from the free dining release? I'm checking in on Oct 25 as well. Reservations for me were active at 6am this morning. I did run into a number of errors where I had to reload the page to check for reservations, but after 1/2 an hour I got it all done. Phone reservations open at 7am so you should be good to call now if you're still having trouble.
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# ? Apr 28, 2015 12:12 |
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# ? May 13, 2024 08:22 |
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Yeah they finally opened up this morning around 7 my time. BOG dinner at 9:30? Sure, cool. Maybe an earlier res will open up
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# ? Apr 28, 2015 13:45 |
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nimper posted:Yeah they finally opened up this morning around 7 my time. BOG dinner at 9:30? Sure, cool. Maybe an earlier res will open up I managed to snag a BOG dinner reservation for 5pm on Oct 30th. I'm super excited about it since I've wanted to eat there since it opened. I'm sure it'll be nice and stuff. I'm also sure it won't meet the expectations I have in my mind since it's popularity and hype is so high. What I ended up with was: Oct 26: Tusker House Breakfast, Boma Dinner Oct 27: Chef Mickey Dinner - Not a huge fan of Chef Mickey, but we've got the Halloween Party that night and my daughter wanted to do Garden Grill but I couldn't find any reservations before 6:30 for the entire week (she'll shut down and be sleepy by 7pm most nights) so I figured CM was a fine trade off. And she gets to meet Minnie, which she'll be happy about. Last time it took me 4 tries meeting Minnie to meet her in a pink dress (we finally found her in the Circus). Hopefully I won't have to go through that poo poo again by doing this. Oct 28: Akershus Lunch - I figured with the Halloween party the night before and Epcot being a bunch of walking this might be an early day, so didn't want to push it and try for a dinner reservation Oct 29: Cinderella's Royal Table Breakfast - My daughter gets her chance to share scrambled eggs in the castle. Not sure what that's about, but I'm going to roll with it Oct 30: Be Our Guest Dinner The rest of the days we'll just do quick service. Now I just have to wait until the end of august so I can wake up in the middle of the night to try and obtain Anna & Elsa and Mine Train fast passes! EDIT: And I still have to wait on hold for a super long time to switch over to free dining. Not sure it's worth it since it'll probably cost me $100 in long distance and 2 hours of my live to save like $200. Happitoo fucked around with this message at 14:57 on Apr 28, 2015 |
# ? Apr 28, 2015 14:47 |
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ja_raul posted:
You don't have to use your pass in consecutive days. You can go on day 1 & 2, then come back a few days later. As for which day to go to which park, use this link and go to each park on a green day for the lowest crowd https://www.undercovertourist.com/orlando/crowd-calendar/ Make sure you catch the nighttime spectacular at each park (Wishes, Fantasmic, Illuminations). The best zoo is Animal Kingdom. I don't know how good/ethical Seaworld is, never been myself. You'll be here during the flower and garden festival at EPCOT, so there's a ton of awesome and unique food from around the world available at booths throughout he Worlds Showcase. Download the My Disney Experience app and set up your party and get fast passes for each park, specifically for the big attractions that you don't want to wait in a long line for. You can do this as soon as you have tickets. Also, if you need recommendations for food outside of Disney or need help while you're here I'll be around, just post here.
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# ? Apr 28, 2015 15:12 |
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Happitoo posted:I managed to snag a BOG dinner reservation for 5pm on Oct 30th. I'm super excited about it since I've wanted to eat there since it opened. I'm sure it'll be nice and stuff. I'm also sure it won't meet the expectations I have in my mind since it's popularity and hype is so high. Yeah, our options were 4:10 and 9:20 on the 28th. The later time won't be too bad really, since we're planning on going to Cocoa Beach earlier that day. Weather permitting of course.
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# ? Apr 28, 2015 15:36 |
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BoG is the best dinner in Magic Kingdom. The lamb was amazing. I think it's a better meal than Cinderella's Royal Table.
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# ? Apr 28, 2015 16:55 |
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Bottom Liner posted:BoG is the best dinner in Magic Kingdom. The lamb was amazing. I think it's a better meal than Cinderella's Royal Table. We didn't even have it on our internary. Our table service meals are O'hana, Lunch at Cinderell'a Castle, Inn @ San Angel, Chef Mickey's Breakfast, and Sci-fi Diner. Everything else is quick service.
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# ? Apr 28, 2015 21:18 |
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Uziel posted:Really that good? 'Ohana is always on our itinerary. So much meat and then they bring more.
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# ? Apr 28, 2015 21:44 |
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nimper posted:'Ohana is always on our itinerary. So much meat and then they bring more. It looks like I can do a reservation for Quick Service Lunch at Be Our Guest. Are there any other Quick Service lunches orbreakfasts you can make reservations for like that??? Edit: None available for our date, but I guess we'll head there for lunch anyways. Uziel fucked around with this message at 22:05 on Apr 28, 2015 |
# ? Apr 28, 2015 21:49 |
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BOG is the only quick serve that takes reservations.
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# ? Apr 29, 2015 00:21 |
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How far in advance should I try to book a room at any of the three Disneyland resorts if I want the best price? I'm likely going to be at the parks on the Mon/Tues after the weekend after labor day, which crowd calendars seem to think is when the parks are nearly vacant, but the cheapest room is $260 at Paradise Pier for the night which seems crazy. Do the prices fluctuate as the date approaches or is it all-expensive, all the time?
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# ? Apr 30, 2015 03:44 |
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Zachack posted:How far in advance should I try to book a room at any of the three Disneyland resorts if I want the best price? I'm likely going to be at the parks on the Mon/Tues after the weekend after labor day, which crowd calendars seem to think is when the parks are nearly vacant, but the cheapest room is $260 at Paradise Pier for the night which seems crazy. Do the prices fluctuate as the date approaches or is it all-expensive, all the time? From my experience: all-expensive, all the time. IMHO, staying at a Disney resort in Anaheim just isn't worth it. There are a *ton* of hotels within walking distance that are wayyyyyyy cheaper. I would typically stay at the Anaheim Plaza Hotel and Suites. <10 minute slow walk to park entrances, decent hotel. Heck, short of the Grand Californian (which is nice but in no way worth the money) the closest hotels to Disneyland aren't owned by them.
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# ? Apr 30, 2015 14:27 |
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Zachack posted:How far in advance should I try to book a room at any of the three Disneyland resorts if I want the best price? I'm likely going to be at the parks on the Mon/Tues after the weekend after labor day, which crowd calendars seem to think is when the parks are nearly vacant, but the cheapest room is $260 at Paradise Pier for the night which seems crazy. Do the prices fluctuate as the date approaches or is it all-expensive, all the time? Assuming they work similar to Disney World they'd set their price for the next year sometime in the summer (around July/August if I remember correctly?). So theoretically you could book now and save a couple bucks if they raise the rate for the rest of the year during the summer. I'm not sure if those rate changes effect the current year though, or if they're just releasing costs for 2016. So short answer: You're likely ok to do it now and just keep an eye out to see if discounts come out between now and when you go. Speaking of discounts - I decided to not spend hours on hold trying to get free dining and I figured if I waited until poo poo calmed down I might be able to add it after things relax a bit. Checked this morning and all the free dining rooms during my stay are gone for all value (where I'm staying now. All Star Sports) and moderate resorts. So no upgrade or getting some money back for me. A little disappointed as getting some money back or bumping up a level would have been nice. But I priced out my trip to a level I was comfortable paying and not expecting to get free dining, and I'm really happy with my dining reservations so everything is good in the end.
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# ? Apr 30, 2015 14:29 |
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The number rooms allotted for this current promotion was laughably small. I was lucky and got almost all my clients what they wanted, but there were some that just weren't able to get the discount. I hate that, but it is what it is.
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# ? Apr 30, 2015 18:48 |
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I was just at disneyland for a day last week and yeah, I just stayed at the comfort inn a block away. It was like 70 bucks and not bad for a place to crash. Even with the cast member discounts, it was like 200 bucks for the Disney hotels. It just wasn't worth it.
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# ? Apr 30, 2015 19:15 |
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Braksgirl posted:The number rooms allotted for this current promotion was laughably small. I was lucky and got almost all my clients what they wanted, but there were some that just weren't able to get the discount. I hate that, but it is what it is. I think the biggest issue is the lack of IT/infrastructure to support the demand. Like I think people would be more understanding of a small amount of allotted rooms/not getting the promotion if the phones/website would function/not have 2 hour wait times/not be a long distance call. I could handle being on hold for 2 hours. I can't handle paying to be on hold for 2 hours. How/why Disney doesn't have a 1-800 number, at least for international callers blows my mind I could handle calling in and finding out no rooms were available. I can't handle waiting on hold for 2 hours to find out no rooms are available I could handle going online to change my reservation and finding out there was nothing available. I can't handle not even being able to access my reservation because their system has suffered a DDOS for the 5th year in a row because of demand. You're right, it is what it is; and people shouldn't book in advance with the expectation of getting free dining. That being said, I think a lot of the anger/resentment that people feel around the promotion is not based around not actually getting it, but the reservation system being such poo poo Also as a PS: Offering free dining for a period that's already within the 180 dining reservation window is mean, because a lot of good reservations will already be gone.
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# ? Apr 30, 2015 20:27 |
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I told my wife I think this is probably the last year of free dining. Disney knows it has a great product, and probably doesn't need this promo to get people in the park anymore. Crowd levels are up, economy is better, profits are up. With the super limited free dining availability this year, its very possible it's the last time it's offered. Weaning people off the expectation of free dining might be tough, as people wait to book. The various Disney related forums were super cranky about the limited free dining. If they kill it they should announce the end of the promotion so people don't wait to book.
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# ? Apr 30, 2015 21:36 |
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If I wanted to stay at Disney from lets say December 19th to the 24th, would I "qualify" for the free dining plan, or just qualify for the uh, qualifying days?
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# ? Apr 30, 2015 23:09 |
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Abu Dave posted:If I wanted to stay at Disney from lets say December 19th to the 24th, would I "qualify" for the free dining plan, or just qualify for the uh, qualifying days? You should get free dining for the entire length of your stay, provided there is still anything left.
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# ? May 1, 2015 01:58 |
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Hey braks, Have you heard any talks of bounce back for 2016 yet? The girl and I are going on a mini one in March-April, and then a full week in November.
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# ? May 1, 2015 21:25 |
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Braksgirl posted:You should get free dining for the entire length of your stay, provided there is still anything left. Cool thanks. There's still some left for December if you do All Star Resort Duo Beds
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# ? May 1, 2015 23:32 |
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Tim Whatley posted:Hey braks, I haven't heard anything but I'll ask around.
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# ? May 2, 2015 00:06 |
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Zachack posted:How far in advance should I try to book a room at any of the three Disneyland resorts if I want the best price? I'm likely going to be at the parks on the Mon/Tues after the weekend after labor day, which crowd calendars seem to think is when the parks are nearly vacant, but the cheapest room is $260 at Paradise Pier for the night which seems crazy. Do the prices fluctuate as the date approaches or is it all-expensive, all the time? gently caress Disneyland resorts. There's not even any airport transportation. Stay at the Anaheim Marriott Suites. Best place I've ever stayed and it's close by. Plus there's a target right across the road for any essentials you need.
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# ? May 2, 2015 02:49 |
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So we went to Downtown Disney just for the Avengers opening run last night. We made sure to arrive early enough to check out the new Super Heroes Central store, which apparently replaced the old soccer store place. They definitely have some cool merch that I haven't seen elsewhere in Disney parks. The only minor gripe I had was that it is a tiny shop. Maybe 2/3rds the size of D-Street, but it's themed really well. Oddly enough, D-Street is actually better now because there is so much extra room opened up in there with all the Marvel items having their own store.
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# ? May 2, 2015 22:48 |
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I had no idea that was open already. I might go check it out tonight.
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# ? May 2, 2015 23:02 |
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I went in on their soft open day and I noticed an entirely too-geeky easter egg. On the main shelf that runs most of the length of the store in the middle is one of those combination lock briefcases. One of the locks is free to fiddle with, while the other is glued shut. The one that you can play with has the combination number 616 (the universe code name for the main Marvel Universe for you not nerdy folks) It actually unlocks that one side of the briefcase. I love stuff like that.
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# ? May 3, 2015 18:18 |
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Biergarten doesn't have a quick service lunch right? And there is a Star Wars weekend when I'm there but I don't know if it's worth caring about as long as we get to do Jedi academy. Any thoughts?
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# ? May 5, 2015 01:55 |
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Uziel posted:Biergarten doesn't have a quick service lunch right? And there is a Star Wars weekend when I'm there but I don't know if it's worth caring about as long as we get to do Jedi academy. Any thoughts? I've never done Jedi Academy (too old; no kids yet), but I always find Star Wars Weekend to be at its best the last two weekends. The first 2-3 weekends are super crowded and the park is jammed with hardcore collectors trying to get all the exclusive merchandise. By the final two weekends when it calms down, the experience is a little better because meet and greet lines aren't nearly as bad, there are characters roaming around freely interacting with guests (eg: Zam Wessel, Jango Fett, the Mos Eisley Cantina Band, etc...) and you can actually get somewhat close to see the 11 am parade without having to claim your spot at 9:30. As for Biergarten, there is a quick service there, right outside the main entrance, but Its called something different. Though all they have is brats, potato salad and beer. It's decent.
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# ? May 5, 2015 11:53 |
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Thanks, it sounds like we can skip the Star Wars weekend then. Hopefully it will make the other parks less crowded! We will definitely check out the German quick service place!
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# ? May 5, 2015 13:11 |
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Are there cool star wars magic bands?
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# ? May 5, 2015 13:43 |
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Yes, there are.. only available at the park during SWW. Last year was Darth Vader and Yoda. This year they are more generic but still I am getting them both because :reasons:
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# ? May 5, 2015 14:34 |
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Some kind of bamf Star Wars lounge is coming to SWW this year. I could put down a few Tattooine Sunsets. http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2015/05/rebel-hangar-a-star-wars-lounge-experience-coming-to-star-wars-weekends/
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# ? May 5, 2015 20:38 |
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Tim Whatley posted:Some kind of bamf Star Wars lounge is coming to SWW this year. I could put down a few Tattooine Sunsets. gently caress yes I'll take two please.. The Dark Fried – Chicken and Darth Vader waffles served with maple syrup and sweet barbecue sauce
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# ? May 5, 2015 20:41 |
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demonR6 posted:gently caress yes I'll take two please.. I am altering my waistline. Pray I don't alter it any further.
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# ? May 5, 2015 21:20 |
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So we're driving up to Orlando right now for a trip till Sunday. Staying at a Best Western or whatever tonight but from tomorrow till Sunday we'll be at the AK Lodge. Super stoked since I've never stayed there before. Hopefully I can meet some of the cast members who post here as well :3 Finally I can get my Haunted Mansion magic band!
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# ? May 6, 2015 20:35 |
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Universal announced the new Kong ride today for next summer in 2016. The building is massive and looks awesome now,. http://blog.universalorlando.com/whats-new/reign-of-kong/ Reading around on it, it seems to be the creative "reward" for Harry Potter, and not primary screen based like most of the recent attractions there. Indoor/Outdoor parts and a large vehicle with crazy crap there. Probably the closest thing to the Indiana Jones ride on the east coast (but larger scale). It's based on the Peter Jackson Kong and the new Skull Island film coming in a few years. And other than some elements for it in a single scene, completely different than the Hollywood one.
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# ? May 7, 2015 02:44 |
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I did it. I bought the Haunted Mansion magic band! So question, for the next trip we have in December can I use this same magic band but programmed with the new trip? I assume these aren't one time use only. E. They are going to have annual passes on them.
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# ? May 7, 2015 04:08 |
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Yeah, MagicBands are linked to the person and not the trip. The battery is supposed to last for two years but that's for long range reads I.e. Ride photos. Fastpass, park entry, etc are all short range and should work indefinitely. Nice to see them finally announce Kong. Disney tends to announce things then spend years building. Universal likes to announce things three years after everyone already knows what they're building. Now they just have to announce the Ministry of Magic expansion and the Twister replacement.
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# ? May 7, 2015 04:34 |
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If Universal doesn't build a Weasly flying car ride they are bonkers.
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# ? May 7, 2015 06:00 |
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# ? May 13, 2024 08:22 |
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Cais posted:Now they just have to announce the Ministry of Magic expansion and the Twister replacement. Please let this actually happen.
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# ? May 7, 2015 06:04 |