We are going back to the World this summer too DisneySuiteFreak. We're planning on heading down there June 16th - June 24th. We are splitting our stay between Riverside and Poly. We got the free dining pin code which was the key for us to going back to the world. They've added Main Street Electrical Parade this year as well as their Halloween style fireworks for the summer which they stole DL's "Summer Nightastic" theme. I really wanted to see World of Color at DL and we got a special code for 50% off of rooms at the Hotel Del Coronado in San Diego but we got a really cheap flight with Southwest to Florida so everything just pointed to Disneyworld.
Hi Mike! Wow, you're going to stay for quite a few days! I'm jealous!
OMG, you got a free dining pin code for early summer? I don't have one. How did you get one? So if they moved DEP to WDW, what are they doing with Spectromagic? I really liked Spectro way more than DEP when we were there because I really like the music for the show much better. (I know I'm a DL traitor, but something about the DEP music grates on my nerves after the first 10 minutes!)
Don't shoot me!
Are the fireworks going to be like the Halloween version of DL's fireworks or is it going to be like Magical? The Halloween version was unreal! I really wanted to go to DL to see that in October, but I'd need to get an AP and I wasn't really planning on renewing this year due to all the construction. However, if they have a Halloween version of the fireworks at WDW for Summer then maybe I won't need to go to DL in October!
With four parks and water parks and so many more options for recreation you really do have to plan things out. We've done summer a couple of times and it is REALLY HOT AND HUMID. You've got to take breaks and go back to the resort hotel or you will be miserable.
Yeah, we'd love to go to the waterparks. We didn't get to do that on our last trip! Bummer! We suck at planning things out too far in advance. My DH is very much a fly by the seat of your pants kind of guy and even if I plan things out, he will want to change things. Makes me crazy. Maybe an advantage to staying on site is the free transportation so that if he wants to do his own thing he could while DS and I could go to the parks, etc., w/out worrying about transportation. The problem is, we've never ever used WDW transportation, so I'm concerned about getting lost, missing the buses, etc. Is there a board where I can go to learn about what goes where and what times? Do they have transportation schedules printed out for dummies?
I've personally never para-sailed and I plan on doing it this year on Seven Seas Lagoon over looking the monorail resorts and the magic kingdom. I've never rented the sea raycers before and we plan on doing that as well. We are also thinking about going up in the tethered hot air balloon in downtown Disney. I am getting more excited each day. I really want to rent the Canon 10-22 ultra wide angle lens for the vacation. I was told about borrowlenses.com and they are offering the lens for 10 days for only $53. Sounds like a good deal to me. I just love the wide angle shots but I can't afford to spend $700+ on a lens.
Oooh, parasailing and sea raycers sound fun! I like that hot air balloon idea too! That sounds way cool! How did you find out all this info about the extra things to do? How much does each thing cost per person? Are there any discounts available? You're getting your park tickets as part of your package, right? So you're going to take breaks every day and then go squeeze in some of these extra activities while on your break?
Renting a lens for that price sounds like a great idea! I really want to buy that Tokina 11-16 2.8, but it is hard to justify since I already have the Sigma. I would definitely sell the Sigma, but they have since come out with an even newer version, so I'm not sure how much money I would make back. And unfortunately, because of the newer version lens, my lens obviously will be worth less and to top it off, the 3rd party lenses don't hold their value compared to the brand lenses.
I still, for the life of me, haven't figured out how to fix the distortion problem on my UWA photos using Photoshop CS3. I have so many nice photos that look mediocre or weird because I can't fix the problem. I don't know the basics of using PSCS3, so that's my problem. When I find online instructions, they all assume that I already know how to create a duplicate layer or mask, etc. If you find any good, easy to follow info, I'd appreciate it if you let me know.
Where are you thinking about staying this time? Have you called to see if you have a pin code yet? We got another pin code for the quick service dining today after we already booked the vacation a month ago. Strange?
I'll be keeping my eye on this thread as we can help each other plan!
You know, we haven't really decided where to stay. I tried to talk my DH into DVC and he just can't see it. (He's not into Disney as much as I am.) He kieeps reminding me how Timeshares are one of the worst investments, especially one in which your ownership expires after a certain period of time.
My Dh is one of those guys who likes things very cheap, as long as it's safe and clean. To him a hotel room is just a place to sleep. He's willing to pay more for clean and especially safety. For example at Disneyland he loves Hojos and Fairfield Inn, and would gladly pay more to stay at Hojos due to the convenience of plentiful, free parking, safe walking distance, and interior corridors. Seriously, we've paid $140+ tax nightly to stay at Hojos for the above criteria. That's how much he dislikes all the rest of the motels and parking situations on Harbor. Are there any WDW hotels that could come in less than that per night? I assume they are all safe, clean and have plentiful parking, right?
So for WDW, I was thinking about POR but not sure which side is better. Alternatively, I was also thinking of maybe just staying at POP or ASMo or ASMu since it's usually so much cheaper than the moderates. Of course these might already be sold out at the discounted rates. I really have no idea where any of these properties are located in relation to the parks. I used to have a map of the area, but lost it long ago. If we can get the discounted rates, I would probably look into the moderate or even Deluxe places and maybe do a split stay as well. We'd definitely like to go to US and IOA as well because DH and DS really enjoyed that the last time. As a family, our favorite park was Epcot. I looked into Boardwalk, but I didn't like the pool area. For the price they charge I would have expected more. I like the Yacht or Beach Club but when I last looked into it was pretty pricey. Not sure if I want to spend that much for a place to sleep.
Do you know who I call to find out if we have a Pin code? I really have no idea. I know last year we got some mailers w/ pin codes but we never used them. So far this year, nothing...