All of this is your fault! You are all a big bunch of enablers and I am blaming this solely on you and your fabulous solo trip reports.
But first. Background. I had been hanging onto this DVC reservation I had booked to take my kids in May even though I decided a while back I wasn’t going to take them next year. I kept thinking “well what if we decide to go last minute and there aren’t any rooms available?!” I FINALLY cancelled it yesterday. I then had all of these extra points to use! I had booked a solo trip at ASMo over Presidents’ Day weekend but then I remembered my husband works in auto sales and will have to be working that weekend and I need to be home with the kids. So I cancelled than res and booked the first weekend in February - the 6th-9th at SSR - basically the only resort with full availability for my dates. I’m not 100% I can go. DH told me today “I’m not saying no. I’m just not saying yes yet.” He wants to talk about it later. This is basically a green light right?!? Right!
Ok, so now the questions.
I’ve never been to SSR. What are the best rooms to request? What is good about it? What is terrible?
Linked to the above question. Regarding the resort’s food options is anything worth doing when DS is so close by?
I checked ticket prices and a 4 day hopper is $515. I am also taking my mom and sister in September for my mom’s birthday. We’ll have 5 day hoppers then and they’ll be $496. So $1,011 over the two trips. The Platinum Pass rate for DVC members is $957. Based on WDW site prices it’s a no-brainer to upgrade to APs but is there other discounted ticket prices I should look at to weigh my options?
Disney is offering both AK DAH and Villians DAH at MK during my dates. My initial thought is to do the Villians DAH and skip the AK one. Anyone been to either of these who can offer opinions based on your experience? We’ve done regular DAH at MK and loved it but I’ve read the Villians ones have been more crowded.
I think I’m going to spend arrival day at EP. Is Epcot Forever worth seeing? I’m trying to decide if I should do dinner there and hang for fireworks or head into DS to eat.
Welcome home!
1 - if you got preferred, The Springs 1000% It’s close to the clubhouse and a bus stop. If you don’t care about on location dining or the main pool, but expect to be in DS a lot, then Congress Park is a good option because it’s within walking distance to DS.
2 - I like the QS there, but I’ve heard mixed reviews on the TS.
3 - Have you looked at the Gold AP? The exclusion dates are the 2 weeks around easter and christmas. And it’s $699
4 - I haven’t been to either, so I can’t comment. You’re missing Moonlight Magic at AK by 2 days (it’s the 11th) Is there any flexibility to your dates? It’s in HS in Sept if if you want to plan around it with you mom & sister. Note - it’s once per member per year, so you’d have to pick one. 2020 DVC Moonlight Magic Dates Announced | TouringPlans.com Blog
5 - I haven’t seen Epcot Forever yet, but since it’s a new fireworks show for only a limited time, I’d see it. DS will always be there.
No but that’s a ton cheaper! I thought those were only for FL residents. Looks like first two weeks of April are blacked out too. For Easter? No way I’m going then anyway.
How quickly do these events fill up? I’d hate to rearranging trip dates to accommodate these events and then be unable to secure tickets.
I doubt February will have flexibility but September might. We are currently planning on arriving 9/16 and one of the HS ones is scheduled for 9/15.
I watched it on YouTube and I really enjoyed it. It is fairly short (10-15 minutes) can be viewed from anywhere around the lagoon (no globe with microscopic projections) and has really nice music from throughout Epcot’s history. The fireworks were quite impressive, including the star of the show, pyrotechnic kites (!).
Personally, I would never stake out a spot for a spectacular more than 30 minutes in advance, but it seems for this one you don’t really need to as long as you aren’t behind a tree or something.
I watched the video for Epcot Forever right after watching the video for Illuminations, and EF was better, IMO. #sorrynotsorry
Yes, the gold pass is for FL residents and DVC members ( I’m not sure if you have to be a blue card member or not though, so if you bought resale double check if it’s available)
I think the moonlight magic events fill up pretty fast. It’s open to those with reservations first, then general membership. I have family that went to the AK one this past August and it sounded incredible.
Yes, with some nice nods to the park’s history (including the almost-obliterated original meaning of the name!) It also has excellent visibility by virtue of being over the lake, so it’s easy to position yourself for a quick exit via the IG if that works for you.
Yes, the discount is only available for blue card holders (ie: direct purchasers or grandfathered in). And it must be activated in person with your DVC blue card, plus photo ID and proof that all adults are living at the same address.
The same for Moonlight Magic, only blue card holders. But I think OP is talking about Disney After Hours, which are open to everyone. (MM is the free DVC event).
That’s awesome. Thanks for pointing that out to me. We bought direct so if I end up going in February I’ll definitely upgrade.
I’ve never had an AP before. Do you still buy park tickets like normal? And then visit GS when you get there to convert them? Or is it easier to just buy the AP on Disney’s site and then activate when you get there? All of the AP posts tend to overwhelm me so I’m kind of lost on all the details involved in properly securing APs.
I was. I think @dianelynn mentioned MM because I asked about AK DAH and one of the MM AK dates is two days from my trip dates. So I think she was thinking it’d be a good option if I wanted to do DAH at AK but could flex my dates and do it for “free.”
I purchased my AP the other day by calling member services. It was super easy. The CM gave me a confirmation number to use and I linked it to my MDE account. Easy peasy. I have never done the buy regular tickets and then upgrade tactic.
You can also buy APs via the MDE app as well. Didn’t have any issues doing that, but with all things DIS IT, YMMV…
My understanding is you can save a couple bucks buying discounted tickets, using them & then converting, but frankly it never seemed quite worth the effort for us to use, leave & activate to save the $50 or whatever as we generally were doing a signature ADR immediately and wanted the discount for that…If we were just doing a regular park visit where we didn’t care about utilizing an AP discount, it likely would have been more efficient to consider…
Congress Park. Lovely views over Disney Springs and a quick walk that way too for fantastic dining options and entertainment and shopping too. If you’re looking for what’s terrible about these rooms, it is a hike to the main building. It was a quicker walk for me to Starbucks at DS than to the main building for mediocre coffee.
People really seem to like the Turf Club. I’ve not been. Artist Palette (the QS) was good. Nothing exceptional or particularly memorable, but good.
No. Go for the AP
I’ve not done either. I did regular DAH at MK. I would LOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE to do the Villains one. I’m not sold on DAH AK and I’m a huge AK fan. Just doesn’t seem like there’s enough open over there for it to be worthwhile.
DAH at AK gives you a seemingly empty theme park to explore at will in the dark. You can easily do FOP three times as well as half a dozen other attractions. I was keen to explore the standby line for FOP to enjoy the theming of it without actually having to use it as a two hour plus line.
DVAH is great fun. MK looks and sounds completely different. The stage show was much better than I was expecting, and I didn’t find it hard to find a great spot to watch it about two minutes before it started. I didn’t feel it was hugely crowded — certainly nothing like the daytime or MVMCP.
