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Still thinking late Feb, early March is the best time to visit. This trip has been hot and way busier than expected. Eastern states have fall break right now I don’t think I’ll visit again while “parties” are going on. We like to split days touring and when MK is shut down 5 out of the 8 nights your visiting it kinda sucks Surprised though even with half of Kentucky and Tennessee here right now, I’ve only seen 2 trump hats Edit: 3rd time this trip a ride has broken down right before we’re about to get on. Big thunder twice and now 7D skipdogg fucked around with this message at 17:18 on Oct 12, 2018 |
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Oct 12, 2018 16:55
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Douchebag posted:Is this change going to fix the Throwaway Room loophole people use to get FP+ and Dining Reservations? It should, and I think that's why this is happening.
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Oct 12, 2018 18:29
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They’re stopping the free resort parking via Disney springs also loophole
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Oct 12, 2018 19:01
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Braksgirl posted:It should, and I think that's why this is happening. I would really like to see some disboards meltdowns for this, but I just know they already discovered some other shady way to game the system
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Oct 12, 2018 21:58
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Cast talk here: my wife was booking a room for friends and accidentally selected my payment card that was saved in Chrome and is freaking out because she says its a big deal if she pays for anything with her discount with a card without her name on it. I looked over the page and see no mention anywhere of it saying that and it even lets you pay for different amounts with different payment methods so I assume it's fine. Should we go through the hassle of cancelling and redoing it or has anyone heard of this being an issue? I get that they're not supposed to use their merch discount for others but this system is literally designed for friends and family and is only accessible in the cast hub so why would they care where the payment comes from?
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Oct 12, 2018 22:32
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80 minute wait for slinky dog tonight. Just Lol at 18 people per ride. This is nuts but it’s the only thing we haven’t done and just bit the bullet to get it behind us.
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Oct 13, 2018 00:57
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Bottom Liner posted:Cast talk here: my wife was booking a room for friends and accidentally selected my payment card that was saved in Chrome and is freaking out because she says its a big deal if she pays for anything with her discount with a card without her name on it. I looked over the page and see no mention anywhere of it saying that and it even lets you pay for different amounts with different payment methods so I assume it's fine. Should we go through the hassle of cancelling and redoing it or has anyone heard of this being an issue? I get that they're not supposed to use their merch discount for others but this system is literally designed for friends and family and is only accessible in the cast hub so why would they care where the payment comes from? Officially it was “The tours and dining room will check to see if the card matches the cast I’d”. Have her call the hotel and tell them. They’ll make her drive over and check them in but shouldn’t be a problem.
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Oct 13, 2018 01:09
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Or fax the I’d over
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Oct 13, 2018 01:11
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Empress Brosephine posted:Or fax the I’d over fix your autocorrect
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Oct 13, 2018 01:36
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Basically call the DRC and tell them. They can fix it worse comes to worse.
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Oct 13, 2018 02:52
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I don't know if the cast discount is different than the TA discount but I've used other people's cards to put down deposits on rooms with a travel agent rate discount. I mean, my name has to be on the lead guest on the reservation, but I can make the deposit and subsequent payments with a card of someone who isn't the lead guest. I do it all the time and nothing bad happens.
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Oct 13, 2018 04:13
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MDE has been hot garbage this trip. Fast load times for the app are in the 30s neighborhood. Slow load times are 1:30+. I’ve switched between Disney wifi and LTE, sometimes one or the other is better.
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Oct 13, 2018 04:37
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I used a cast member discount for a birthday trip in 2016. She had to check in with the hotel within 10 days of me checking in, but other than that, no issue. I paid for it - and it was the daughter of a friend so I actually never met her, just talked on the phone for looking at rooms.
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Oct 13, 2018 13:35
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Timing question here--in the future, how far in advance will we want to book for a (probably) 6-night stay at the Poly in Februaryish 2020? I have no idea how fast things get booked up. Usually I do long weekend trips but we want to do a big shebang to celebrate a professional milestone. Braks, expect an email when the time comes. 
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Oct 13, 2018 16:10
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Hey, since this has accidentally become the general Disney Parks thread, I wanna take a dozen moments to talk about the messed up situation happening on the other coast. So, first and foremost, this all starts with Star Wars Land. As we all know, the vast amount of land available in Florida is a response to the untenable land grab in Anaheim. They can't so much build out as much as build on top. So to make space for Galaxy's Edge, they had to raze a petting Zoo and a bunch of backstage facilities, as well as reroute their Rivers of America and Train Tracks.  You can see in the original that it follows the regular berm, and in the after it follows the river closely. I think it might even be the first Magic Kingdom Park to have a left hand turn. But anyways, along with this they had to relocate a bunch of offices to off site locations. But this was only the first attempt to relocate things off site. I bring you The Eastern Gateway Project.  A brand new parking structure, drop off point, and security checkpoint created in preparation for the huge influx of people for Star Wars Land. It was created as a replacement to Disneyland's regular East Side entrypoint along Harbor Boulevard. Thought the trouble is, the land they prepared for this is on the other side of a number of hotels along Harbor.  Again, as you may know, after Disneyland opened there was a huge land grab for businesses to leech off of Disney's success. And the biggest and most profitable real estate is along Harbor. Dozens of hotels just across the street from the parks, and some even closer to the gates than the actual Disneyland Hotel. As well, a number of restaurants and businesses operate along Harbor making a living off of tourist dollars. The Eastern Gateway eliminated any access to Disneyland off of Harbor, and there were no plans to allow foot traffic access to this hub along Harbor's sidewalk. Instead, any guests staying along harbor would have to make a lengthy trip around the entire block, around the buildings, through the security checkpoint, and across the bridge to access Disneyland. It was a move that would have significantly reduced interest in these properties, and would have killed most of the businesses closest to the parks. Still, Disney was sure that there would be no issues getting the project approved, based on how much the city bent over backwards for the last several decades. They purchased one of the hotels along harbor with the intention to raze it and build a path towards the bridge over harbor. They closed the monorail in order to reroute it and make way for the bridge. This entire project was announced in August 2016, with plans to open in 2018 ahead of Star Wars Land. It was even speculated that the reduced footprint of the eastern entry on Disneyland proper would have allowed California Adventure to expand a dead corner of the park to add a Marvel themed attractions. Instead, Disney faced a lot of pushback by the businesses, and a government who was fighting against Disney. In 2016, the Anaheim city election changed the city's relationship to the Disney Resort. The challenging nominees campaigned on an anti-Disney platform, seeking to stop the expensive tax cuts and the lack of oversight in Resort projects. Disney was exempt from millions of taxes a year on tickets and resort fees, and instead took in notable rebates and incentives on projects and new developments. Meanwhile the city's mainly latino population was poor and underserved, and increasingly angry at the fact they were constantly overlooked in city issues. And the Anti-Disney camp won by narrow margins, giving the council a majority focused on the community. And one of their first plans was to end any further hotel rebates, though any given before the election would still be honored. It would just be that no new ones would be given out. As progress continued, Disney was stonewalled on development on the Eastern Gateway Project. Eventually in October 2017, it was announced the project was cancelled. Instead they would focus on their new property and a new several story parking garage to be built right next to their current one. In the months following, the land purchased was announced to become parking for cast members, who would still be forced to walk around the block, up harbor, in order to make it to the front gate.  The new parking garage, right next to the old one. Now, let's look back to that 'new' property. Back in June 2016, Disney announced a new hotel on resort property. Both it and the Eastern Gateway property were part of a $1 billion commitment to the city for new development, and as preemptive measures for Star Wars Land. This all happened to nicely land with the city's initiative to grant tax breaks for new 4-star hotels within city limits. At a proposed $450 a night, it certainly qualified. It was going to be big, grand, and all 700 rooms were going to be located on Downtown Disney property.  They got the rebate, and then the city council elections happened. The eastern gateway never happened, and so focus was on this new hotel In order to make the hotel work, several buildings would be razed in order to make room. The biggest was the AMC theatre, which according to reports was never as successful or popular as expected. As well, coming down were the ESPN Zone and Rainforest Cafe, which may have had fans but weren't so much missed. The biggest loss was Earl of Sandwich, which goes without saying. With the opening of the new hotel, new retail spaces would open underneath the hotel to take their place. It would take a while for plans to finalize, but by June of this year all businesses would close, and demolition would begin in July. In June, the business were closed. In July, demolition started, but only very briefly. Construction halted almost immediately, though the reason still hasn't been confirmed. Allegedly the reason goes back to a gas station that used to sit on Disneyland Hotel property. As the hotel expanded in its early years, the gas station closed to make space for more property. The structure was demolished, however the underground tanks were left alone, potentially leaking pollutants into the soil. Once they finally noticed this in 2018, construction halted in order to take care of this issue. So Disney has a project which was put off indefinitely, and a large chunk of retail space that was actually partly destroyed (though only internally, the exteriors were left untouched). To make up for lost revenue, they used the entrance of the former movie theatre to host food trucks, and recently reopened the beloved Earl of Sandwich. The one bit of good news in this story. Anyways, soon after it became apparent that the City was taking issue with the construction. Allegedly plans for the hotel initially had it located north of the Disneyland Hotel, away from Downtown Disney, on the site of a parking lot. However, when the Eastern Gateway project was cancelled, this parking lot was to be redeveloped into a several story garage. Instead, the hotel was moved 1000 feet, east of Disneyland Hotel, on top of Downtown Disney. According to the city, this change of location constituted a new development project, and any benefits and incentives approved for the original location for would not carry over into the new project. Thus, Disney's very costly Hotel became a lot more expensive. Not to mention Disney's other city related kerfluffles, such as their campaign to keep minimum wage down. Earlier this year in February, a study found that over 70% of workers in Disneyland couldn't afford basic expenditures. This was met with outrage, large support for the workers, and numerous protests including outcry by Bernie Sanders. A petition went out demanding an immediate increase to $15/hr, with a $1/hr increase every year till they reached $18/hr. Over the summer, Disney has been in negotiations with unions to up the starting wage, though instead it would up to $13/hr with incremental increases to $15 over the next three years (Note that by 2022, minimum wage in Orange County will be a flat $15). Meanwhile, the petition has been ratified by the city, and will go up for vote in November, along with a number of city council seats. However, the proposed law states that said wage increase would apply for all business receiving tax cuts by the city. And as a result Disney has asked to be let go of specific incentives. This might be as a way of getting out of these requirements, though possibly it's an olive branch to the antagonistic City Council. Which brings us to the news of 3 days ago, when Disney announced they were cancelling all plans for the fourth hotel. So what was to become a Billion Dollar new transportation hub, 700 room hotel, and revamped Downtown Disney, larger footprint for one of their parks, all to prepare for Star Wars Land and the upcoming Marvel Area, just became a single parking garage and boatload of bad publicity.
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Oct 13, 2018 18:01
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I can't wait for that to be a defunctland video. I find the failed Disney projects almost as interesting as the successful ones.
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Oct 13, 2018 19:07
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effervescible posted:Timing question here--in the future, how far in advance will we want to book for a (probably) 6-night stay at the Poly in Februaryish 2020? I have no idea how fast things get booked up. Usually I do long weekend trips but we want to do a big shebang to celebrate a professional milestone. Braks, expect an email when the time comes. You won't be able to book a package for 2020 until summer 2019 when the next year's package prices are available. Hit me up in May or June next year and we'll get you set up. Braksgirl fucked around with this message at 22:04 on Oct 13, 2018 |
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Oct 13, 2018 20:34
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Yeah, I knew it'd be a while. Awesome, I'll check back then!
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Oct 13, 2018 21:15
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That big empty area with goats was part of Disneyland's charm. 
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Oct 14, 2018 01:46
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And I miss the fact that I never got to partake in the goats (the one year I could have, my older cousins vetoed the idea) nor their delicious BBQ.
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Oct 14, 2018 02:09
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To this day, my gf (now wife) has never enjoyed any other food to the point of overeating. She actually undid her pants button.
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Oct 14, 2018 07:16
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MDE has gotten bad enough that I would like to complain, what is the best place to do that now that I’ve left WDW? I had some atrocious mobile ordering experiences today to top off all of the other MDE issues. Oh and the resort key phone unlock thing is confusing. Don’t resort guests all have magicbands? Why would they want to use a slow, buggy app to open their doors instead of a magicband?
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Oct 14, 2018 07:21
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Currently getting into the nitty gritty of planning our pre-Christmas trip in December, got the Holiday D-Lights tour booked (it'll be our second time around, it's a really dope tour) and the Very Merry Christmas Party sorted. I'm now on to figuring out dining for the other days and I'm curious if anyone's tried our Maria and Enzo's and that whole array of options. The initial reviews when they opened seemed all over the place and I was wondering if anyone had any more recent data. Edit: Man DISboards is like a different planet, you've got people freaking out over how unmissable Raglan Road is (it's fine, had a few misses there and the hits haven't been great but it's serviceable) and then declaring jihad on Morimoto Asia because there was an ingredient they didn't recognize. Not to mention their constant consternation about Disney cracking down on whatever BS tactic they're pulling to game some aspect of the system. Weird place, weird folks. J33uk fucked around with this message at 08:27 on Oct 14, 2018 |
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Oct 14, 2018 08:04
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couldcareless posted:I can't wait for that to be a defunctland video. I find the failed Disney projects almost as interesting as the successful ones. In 2014, Michael Eisner had an idea. wait
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Oct 14, 2018 09:36
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Dren posted:MDE has gotten bad enough that I would like to complain, what is the best place to do that now that I’ve left WDW? I had some atrocious mobile ordering experiences today to top off all of the other MDE issues. Oh and the resort key phone unlock thing is confusing. Don’t resort guests all have magicbands? Why would they want to use a slow, buggy app to open their doors instead of a magicband? WDW.guest.communications@disneyworld.com is probably your best bet. The IHD is useless and will just try to get you off the phone ASAP.
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Oct 14, 2018 12:51
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J33uk posted:Currently getting into the nitty gritty of planning our pre-Christmas trip in December, got the Holiday D-Lights tour booked (it'll be our second time around, it's a really dope tour) and the Very Merry Christmas Party sorted. I'm now on to figuring out dining for the other days and I'm curious if anyone's tried our Maria and Enzo's and that whole array of options. The initial reviews when they opened seemed all over the place and I was wondering if anyone had any more recent data. I love listening to their podcasts, but trying to scan those boards is a whole set of crazy.
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Oct 14, 2018 14:20
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A few thoughts and highlights Star Wars desert party is great. Use Dark Sky or something similar with alerts turned on to know when a sudden rain storm is imminent. We had a ~10 minute warning multiple times, plenty of time to take shelter in an uncrowded area or queue up for an attraction that will take longer than the storm. The interim bus depot at studios is a hike. The new ones being built will be too. A CM told me there is going to be a new front entrance to Studios near Galaxy's Edge with its own set of bus stops and the current entrance will become a secondary entrance like International Gateway is for Epcot. Jogging strollers are 100% better than regular strollers. Much more maneuverable with a much smoother ride. They are almost zero turn radius. Rivers of Light is ok when you're sitting in the correct spot and there is no wind so the projections all work. My Star Tours flight didn't end in Batuu but my friend's did. The boat landing at TTC is a really good place to watch the MK fireworks from. Doing half days at the park where you start by rope dropping then come back to the resort for pool/rest results in a much better day than staying at the park through the heat of the day. Gonna plan all future trips this way. They changed rider swap to be slightly more restrictive but it's fine. There are a ton of pin boards at the Poly. The poly is nicer than I thought it would be, the transportation options are very nice. Trader Sam's is very fun. We had our best experience sitting at the bar. The halloween mug release seemed to dampen the fun though, the place was jammed and there just wasn't as much time for them to do the fun stuff. I got one of the halloween mugs and a black pearl. The skipper said they've run out of white pearls, more won't be in till February, so for a few nights every pearl ordered was black. Night time EMH at MK was cool. Got back over there at 12:30 one night and did Buzz, Astro Orbiters, and Space Mountain before 1:00 am. Astro Orbiters was a mistake. It ate up a ton of time because of those elevators but we'd never done it. Probably could have done all three mountains if we'd focused on them instead. Dren fucked around with this message at 16:10 on Oct 14, 2018 |
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Oct 14, 2018 16:04
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Dren posted:Doing half days at the park where you start by rope dropping then come back to the resort for pool/rest results in a much better day than staying at the park through the heat of the day. Gonna plan all future trips this way. My #1 pro-tip I always share with friends and family. Seems like it'd be a hassle with the back and forth but it really makes a big difference. Exception being in the cooler times of the year when the sun doesn't drain you and the crowds are lower and you can enjoy the full day in the parks.
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Oct 14, 2018 16:18
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Is there a formal story for Expedition Everest? or is it just "you go on a mountain adventure and oh no, yeti!"
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Oct 16, 2018 01:26
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I don’t know for certain, but I love reading about mountain climbing on Everest and there are actual people I recognize in the pics and articles in the queue, so they go in depth to some extent.
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Oct 16, 2018 01:42
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One might say the story is you go on an expedition up Everest (but yeah it's a well themed roller coaster mostly)
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Oct 16, 2018 01:53
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Aren’t there tie-ins to the Society of Explorers and Adventurers?
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Oct 16, 2018 02:27
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BlueBayou posted:Is there a formal story for Expedition Everest? or is it just "you go on a mountain adventure and oh no, yeti!" Pretty much, outside of the addendum '... and he messed with your stuff!' I mean, there are small bits of signs around the park which state 'Over there is everest, and over on that peak with the Roller Coaster (please ignore the rollercoaster) is the forbidden peak, which is legally distinct but adjacent to everest. Legend has it some mythical creature lives in there, but that might not be true. Maybe.' So the story is actually, you go up a mountain that is definitely-not-but-pretty-much-adjacent-to Everest that might have a monster on it. And then it does. And you don't die from the monster, congratulations.
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Oct 16, 2018 10:46
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Are they switching over to the new tiered ticketing system today or this weekend? Ticketing site is down for an update. And man is the new system convoluted as all hell. Parking also went up $3, and AP Prices/renewals are $40 higher (Gold is only $20 higher). Atricks fucked around with this message at 13:15 on Oct 16, 2018 |
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Oct 16, 2018 12:24
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New tickets are live. Disboards are reporting everything from small increases to cheaper tickets depending on when they were going.
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Oct 16, 2018 12:38
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I take it existing purchased but not yet claimed (will call) tickets are safe from the price hike? I have some 2 week ultimate (includes memory maker) that are down as will-call for my visit in november, with hubby (which is happening again, yay.)
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Oct 16, 2018 16:00
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Iymarra posted:I take it existing purchased but not yet claimed (will call) tickets are safe from the price hike? I have some 2 week ultimate (includes memory maker) that are down as will-call for my visit in november, with hubby (which is happening again, yay.) Yes, tickets that are already purchased or included in a package that has already had a deposit or a hold put down on it will remain as they were. This is change is for new tickets and tickets in packages booked today and beyond.
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Oct 16, 2018 16:55
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I hope I never have to deal with the new ticket system because it breaks my brain. Yes, it's just click and select but holy poo poo, my computer runs so slow when I click it. I think I need a good Disney injection so I might trot down for MVMCP opening weekend or something. And I realize this is a page back, but I really liked After Hours. Everyone and their third drat cousin was in Peter Pan for whatever reason, but everything else was super quiet and peaceful.
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Oct 17, 2018 04:28
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Niche question - Hubby and I are not going to be staying on park this time. I intend to make a purchase or two that will probably be a bit large (the banshee from the rookery at pandora most likely) and don't fancy hauling it around all day. Is it possible to get that held (after purchasing) at the shop and then pick it up later, or is that a no-no? Also, super stoked for MVMCP again. Last time was magical.
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Oct 17, 2018 10:27
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Iymarra posted:Niche question - Hubby and I are not going to be staying on park this time. I intend to make a purchase or two that will probably be a bit large (the banshee from the rookery at pandora most likely) and don't fancy hauling it around all day. Is it possible to get that held (after purchasing) at the shop and then pick it up later, or is that a no-no? I'm not sure about hold it at that specific shop, but they'll deliver the package to a location at the gate (when we did this at AK it was a place by the stroller rental) so you can pick it up on your way out. They're not going to let people think "I would spend money buuuut" By the way, I never said it in the thread, but thanks as always to Braksgirl for being our agent. Great peace of mind, especially when we booked hoping to modify into free dining.  She also pointed us toward Disney Fine Art Photography for an engagement photo session, which turned out really phenomenal. Also - what's the deal with the wishing well at Magic Kingdom? We got up there our first night hanging around late, but every other time it was gated off. Did we just get lucky? Do they open that path up after the last castle stage show and we just never noticed? Boxman fucked around with this message at 11:36 on Oct 17, 2018 |
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Oct 17, 2018 11:26
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