I love credit cards so much! v2.0 (see first page for add'l details)

[Haley R]

You have 30 days after it expires to renew and the start date remains the day after the old AP expiration regardless of when you renew.

Okay thanks. Is there a benefit to renewing right away compared to waiting 3-4 months and getting APs?

 

[disfanforlife]

Okay thanks. Is there a benefit to renewing right away compared to waiting 3-4 months and getting APs?

There is a discount if you renew about 15% versus buying a new pass. But, if you aren't going to visit for 3 or 4 months it might be worth it to wait....

 

[Haley R]

There is a discount if you renew about 15% versus buying a new pass. But, if you aren't going to visit for 3 or 4 months it might be worth it to wait....

I probably won’t know until after the baby is born. It’ll be summer and hot when the baby is able to go so I’m not sure if we’ll wanna wait on the passes or not. I know for sure we are going down to silver or gold passes

 

[Judique]

Sure post is the worst of them all. Or maybe it’s just my mail carrier. UPS, if it’s raining, normally puts packages in a plastic bag. But Ive had packages delivered by my mailman on three different occasions in the past few weeks get absolutely soaked because they were placed out in the open. Luckily, the things inside only got wet on their packaging, but still. Once the package was placed under the eaves, at least, but the driving rain still got to it. Grrrr.

And to keep this cc related, I tried to buy some large sized Adidas shoes with my Freedom, and payment was denied. I figured I probably mistyped the number. I used a different Chase card (biz this time) and it went through. Shortly afterwards I got the fraud alert from Chase asking if I recognized he first attempted charge. Uh, yup. Apparently Chase doesn’t think this slightly over 60 grandma should be buying size 12 men’s shoes. I appreciate the caution, Chase, but it’s Christmas time, and my grandson inherited our family’s HUGE feet. (Son is size 14!)

I can sympathize with the big foot syndrome. Son is size 12-13 depending on the shoe. Older daughters are 10-11 and 5 foot 9ish. Me - I feel tiny. <g>

 

[MKTokyo]

I quit watching after Clay Aiken got second place. But I love Daughtry's albums (am I dating myself here)... ahem... CDs. Yes I still have CDs

OMG Clay Aiken. I haven’t thought about him in years. My little heart was broken when he lost. I loved him!

 

[elgerber]

Agree, Adam Lambert losing was a sham, and I gave up after that also. We saw him with Queen in Madison Square Garden, just wow!!!! Also went to the Idol tour that year, just to see him.

 

[PolyRob]

Hey y'all! Decided to do a mini TR from our recent stay at WDW. It was a short 4-night trip. We normally go for 8-11 nights so this felt so short and dh & I both agreed that we'd barely settled in when it was time to pack up and come home. This was a trip to see our dd17 perform in the CP at Epcot. It also was our first DVC stay and last trip down as a family before dd19 heads down for her DCP. Lots of emos for sure!

We typically do not go to a park on arrival or departure day but since this was such a short trip, we did both. Our plane left Denver at 6:05am (I got up at 2am) and landed at MCO at 11:30, rented our car and headed straight for MK. It wasn't raining when we parked or boarded the ferry but about half-way across the lagoon, it began steadily raining. We were only planning to be there for 4-5 hours and didn't want to dig through suitcases for ponchos so we'd left those. We got absolutely soaked but that cleared the parks nicely for a few hours until the party crowds began showing up.

DD19 stayed with a CM friend for the party. Crowds sounded like they were fairly low (party was not sold out) and she got evac'ed off Space. Highlight of the night I think!

Left there at 7 to head to AKL to check in. This is our first time at AKL. I'd never had much interest in staying there before due to how far out it feels but having a car made that no big deal. I loved AKL! We all did. What an amazing resort!! We loved seeing the animals from the windows and going to the savanna overlook during the day and night. So, so cool! We all agreed we would stay there again in a heartbeat!

AK was the next park day and we began that day with rain. Lots of rain. We got soaked again right off the bat. Thankfully, by late morning, the rain seemed to have mostly stopped. Crowds were low for us and we had a great day there.

We went to Ale & Compass for breakfast on Saturday morning. THis was the day of the CP we were there to see. Some of you may remember that I was having trouble getting reservations for a CP package so we would all have guaranteed seats. I had been able to get 4 but never could get the other 3 I needed. I had called so many times and checked online and basically given up. Well, when we checked in at the breakfast, I explained the situation to the CM. She said to talk to our server but they may be able to add 3 more CP packages for us. And sure enough, they could! Our server was amazing (Dayna) and the breakfast was so good! Such a good value too, not only for a CP package, but just for an onsite TS breakfast. Everything was really, really good!

We had a great day at Epcot and got to enjoy the CP with Gary Sinise narrating. He does an awesome job telling the story about the birth of Christ and sharing the wonderful message of Christmas. The choirs, orchestra and singers were all so lovely. We were pretty far back but I could pick my girl easily. This is an event I'd definitely love to do annually. We chatted with several people in line and most were locals who said they come every year as a part of their Christmas tradition. Very jealous of that!

Next day was MK again but this time for a full day. Weather was great! Crowds were higher than the previous Thursday but thinking the rain was responsible for that. My dd19 really wanted her grandparents to see BOG since she will be working there. I went up to the check-in podium at about 4:30 and explained what we were wanting and asked if we could just peek inside the door really fast. A coordinator came over (one my dd will be working with!) and listened and told us to hold on. She went and got a CM who is on an ICP from Japan and she said she would give us a tour! So, she took all 8 of us in and showed us each room, telling us little details about it. Then she took us to meet the Beast! We've never done dinner there so that was a first and such a nice treat.

Last day was at DHS. We'd hoped to get there early enough to get in a BG for RotR but several factors kept us from getting there as early as we needed to. I think the BG's were all filled by 7:35 and we got there at 7:45 but since we needed to leave at 1 to head to the airport, we'd have needed to be there much earlier and that just wasn't happening. So, we didn't get to ride RotR. We did get to ride MFSR with a 2-hour wait! That is crazy to me and it's hard to believe people wait longer than that. That is the first time we've ever waited that long and I don't regret it but I wouldn't do it again. DHS was so busy and it was hard to get much done there.

We left there at 1, headed to the Poly to pick up dd17 (she'd been at MK with her choir group), and then went to MCO. Our flight left on time but must have been weather issues cause we got diverted adding an hour to our already long 4-hour flight Got home to 17 degree temps. We were all in capris, shorts and tees lol! Seemed forever ago that we'd been in 83 degrees.

Overall, it was a great trip!!

ETA: I cannot get that one pic to go the right way to save my life!

So glad you had a nice time and got those extra tickets for the CP!

 

[PolyRob]

Something CC related this morning. I was browsing my statements and noticed a $40.00 charge from WDW. What could be such a nice even rounded number besides a missed dining reservation for 4 people?! I was so annoyed. I 100% cancelled or attended all my ADRs. I tried contacting WDW-Dine, but the new phone menu that says the app/website is the primary way to book bothered me and told me I had a 25 minute wait. I have no idea what ADR it could be for so I hung up and disputed the charge with Citi. Minutes later I got an email saying the $40 is mine and the dispute is closed Probably not enough money for Citi to actually care and investigate, but I am happy everything is right again!

 

[Haley R]

I just posted in "What card?" on reddit if there's anyone that doesn't mind taking a look.

 

[Artygal90]

I am trying to come up with a budget for our Nov 2020 trip.
We will need 5- 2 day park to park Universal Orlando tickets. There is a way to use URs correct?
Not sure if using URs for tickets vs flights will work but or if I should use MRsfor tickets vs flights.

You can buy Universal tickets through the UR portal at the 1.25 or 1.5 rate (depending on if you have a CSR). Look under “Activities” and I think you can select “Theme Park Tickets” to further narrow the search. You can use UR to pay and then pick up at your hotel if you are staying onsite or at a will call kiosk outside the parks if you are staying offsite. They may not come up as available for Nov 2020 just yet but I don’t think tickets through the portal are date-specific - do make sure to carefully read the fine print though. They sometimes have promo tickets that have expiration dates on them.

 

[Judique]

This morning I called and used a discounted gift card to book the dining plan on the day of our Bon Voyage breakfast. That was $108.54 DVC price. I got at least a 10% discount on the gift card plus 4x MR's for buying at a grocery store (where I get most gift cards), so I value those at roughly $4, and the discount at $10.85. That brings the dining plan actual cost for one adult and one child to $93.69.

The breakfast costs $44 and $26 or $70 plus tax of $4.20 =$74.20. On top will be a 20% tip out of pocket (using a gift card).

Remaining value of the dining plan will be 4 snacks, 2 quick service and 2 mugs. The mugs will be good for the rest of our trip. On our November trip, we had one evening meal at Contempo Cafe that my friend really enjoyed- their chicken dinner. I may take the girls over for that, if they still have it.

Last time we brought our mugs and for our 'sides' we got the fancy cupcakes. They were very disappointing so this time I'll get yoghurt parfaits if they have them and bring them back for breakfast with the girls milk and cereal. If you use your mug for your drink in a resort quick service, with the dining plan they let you have any side or snack instead of a bottled drink. Much better value than in a park where you can't use the mug. Most might know this but I'll state it just in case it helps someone.

Since Tuesday will be park day, we will dine in the parks, for as long as the girls can last without melting down. Quick service and toted along in the stroller snacks and drinks - can't have enough Oreos, gold fish and Honest drinks! Oh and grapes and cheeses - mozzarella string, Tillamook cheddar, and Babybels .......We can also use the snack credits today.

Wednesday I want to do Ale and Compass again, for a 9ish breakfast ….maybe. Hoop De Doo will be later that afternoon. I will not make a reservation for Ale and Compass - if I don't get in I'll just take the girls to the Beach Club Market Place. This way we can lollygag around at our own pace. Then back to the pool, probably.

I'm basically thinking out loud here as I plan and adjust my plans.

 

[speedyfishy]

This morning I called and used a discounted gift card to book the dining plan on the day of our Bon Voyage breakfast. That was $108.54 DVC price. I got at least a 10% discount on the gift card plus 4x MR's for buying at a grocery store (where I get most gift cards), so I value those at roughly $4, and the discount at $10.85. That brings the dining plan actual cost for one adult and one child to $93.69.

The breakfast costs $44 and $26 or $70 plus tax of $4.20 =$74.20. On top will be a 20% tip out of pocket (using a gift card).

Remaining value of the dining plan will be 4 snacks, 2 quick service and 2 mugs. The mugs will be good for the rest of our trip. On our November trip, we had one evening meal at Contempo Cafe that my friend really enjoyed- their chicken dinner. I may take the girls over for that, if they still have it.

Last time we brought our mugs and for our 'sides' we got the fancy cupcakes. They were very disappointing so this time I'll get yoghurt parfaits if they have them and bring them back for breakfast with the girls milk and cereal. If you use your mug for your drink in a resort quick service, with the dining plan they let you have any side or snack instead of a bottled drink. Much better value than in a park where you can't use the mug. Most might know this but I'll state it just in case it helps someone.

Since Tuesday will be park day, we will dine in the parks, for as long as the girls can last without melting down. Quick service and toted along in the stroller snacks and drinks - can't have enough Oreos, gold fish and Honest drinks! Oh and grapes and cheeses - mozzarella string, Tillamook cheddar, and Babybels .......We can also use the snack credits today.

Wednesday I want to do Ale and Compass again, for a 9ish breakfast ….maybe. Hoop De Doo will be later that afternoon. I will not make a reservation for Ale and Compass - if I don't get in I'll just take the girls to the Beach Club Market Place. This way we can lollygag around at our own pace. Then back to the pool, probably.

I'm basically thinking out loud here as I plan and adjust my plans.

I have a snack credit suggestion for you lol Ample Hills at BW. It’s like $7 for an ice cream so a great value and their ice cream is really the best.

 

[orangecuse]

Officially planned our random Disney trip! And I said no WDW in 2020 with the cruise and the big NE trip

We got 3 nights at the Swan on AA miles at a pretty good rate (about 1cpp so not terrible redemption) and are doing the 4 park magic tickets which I am using some URs on. Still have enoigh points left to be fine on all my planned goals! We are unfortunately leaving right before the new ride in DHS opens but my husband has to be back for a work thing and I think it’d be too crowded for us anyway.

 

[Judique]

I’m thinking we’ll wait a couple months. Our passes expire in June so we might get one trip in before then.

Does anyone know how long you have to renew your passes? Could we wait a couple of months before renewing?

This is really a math question and depends on when you will next use your pass after it's expiry.

I'm on a fairly set agenda for going to Disney - Never before October, and almost never after March, although I've done a May trip 5 or 6 years ago. So, I always let my passes expire as there is usually a 6 month period before I'll use them. And, I try to begin my last trip before my pass expires. So, it usually goes November to November, with a year off in between and that's when I'll go in that year but use an old day pass or buy something cheap or maybe go to Seaworld or something.

For you, the math is a little different, so it depends on how much of a break you are going to take between visits. If you are going to expire in June and plan a visit in August or even September, you should probably renew, as you will get a slight discount anyway. If I recall you went in September and October and November this year. Can't remember before that or when you actually landed in Florida.

Not sure what pass you now have, but you can upgrade or downgrade. And being in Florida, you can pay monthly. The gold pass works for me, but I'm highly unlikely to do Xmas or even Easter. I get it for the same price as you because I have DVC.

Looking at the different passes, if I were a Florida Resident, I'd probably choose the Silver pass. If the time came that I had to be there on a block out day, I would upgrade at that time. Usually as you use up your pass the upgrade amount decreases. The main blocked out period is July, August, 1st week of September and Xmas and Easter.

Since your husband has a job, weekday select looks kind of useless. Theme park select is pretty restrictive for DHS.

My friends who are Floridians do the Silver pass. Others do no pass and just buy a ticket a couple times of year. It will all depend on how often you choose to go in Future and what your entertainment budget is.

I think right now Disney is a big part of your life, especially having just moved to Florida. This board also fuels FOMO. As your life in Florida progresses, things will evolve and Disney will become a smaller part of the overall picture. So go for the annual pass, renew if you plan to go early on, or in the hot hot summer, or delay until you know you have a trip planned.

 

[Judique]

I have a snack credit suggestion for you lol Ample Hills at BW. It’s like $7 for an ice cream so a great value and their ice cream is really the best.

Yes, it was pretty good! A snack credit will work or we will play another card which I will PM you about.

 

[alryan]

I have so much crap to do: work around the house; work for the day job; work for the side hustle. I don't feel like doing any of it!

We bought my Christmas elliptical yesterday. Didn't end up getting a new card. Just used my Amex Blue Biz. DH looked at me when it was time to pay so I used my card, on my own gift. There is no excitement at Christmas for adults, lol!

No there's not, at least not for me. I usually buy my own gifts, sometimes even wrap them. But that's fine with me. Then I know that we got the best deal we could.

 

[hsmamato2]

You can buy Universal tickets through the UR portal at the 1.25 or 1.5 rate (depending on if you have a CSR). Look under “Activities” and I think you can select “Theme Park Tickets” to further narrow the search. You can use UR to pay and then pick up at your hotel if you are staying onsite or at a will call kiosk outside the parks if you are staying offsite. They may not come up as available for Nov 2020 just yet but I don’t think tickets through the portal are date-specific - do make sure to carefully read the fine print though. They sometimes have promo tickets that have expiration dates on them.

Question.... say I want to buy one uni ticket thru portal using csr .... so ‘price’ shown reflects csr discount.... but I need to use points plus cash to pay... is cost if ticket the same as if using all points to pay?

 

[Haley R]

This is really a math question and depends on when you will next use your pass after it's expiry.

I'm on a fairly set agenda for going to Disney - Never before October, and almost never after March, although I've done a May trip 5 or 6 years ago. So, I always let my passes expire as there is usually a 6 month period before I'll use them. And, I try to begin my last trip before my pass expires. So, it usually goes November to November, with a year off in between and that's when I'll go in that year but use an old day pass or buy something cheap or maybe go to Seaworld or something.

For you, the math is a little different, so it depends on how much of a break you are going to take between visits. If you are going to expire in June and plan a visit in August or even September, you should probably renew, as you will get a slight discount anyway. If I recall you went in September and October and November this year. Can't remember before that or when you actually landed in Florida.

Not sure what pass you now have, but you can upgrade or downgrade. And being in Florida, you can pay monthly. The gold pass works for me, but I'm highly unlikely to do Xmas or even Easter. I get it for the same price as you because I have DVC.

Looking at the different passes, if I were a Florida Resident, I'd probably choose the Silver pass. If the time came that I had to be there on a block out day, I would upgrade at that time. Usually as you use up your pass the upgrade amount decreases. The main blocked out period is July, August, 1st week of September and Xmas and Easter.

Since your husband has a job, weekday select looks kind of useless. Theme park select is pretty restrictive for DHS.

My friends who are Floridians do the Silver pass. Others do no pass and just buy a ticket a couple times of year. It will all depend on how often you choose to go in Future and what your entertainment budget is.

I think right now Disney is a big part of your life, especially having just moved to Florida. This board also fuels FOMO. As your life in Florida progresses, things will evolve and Disney will become a smaller part of the overall picture. So go for the annual pass, renew if you plan to go early on, or in the hot hot summer, or delay until you know you have a trip planned.

We moved down here in June and got our passes at the end of June. We went almost every month, but sometimes it was just for a day or a weekend. The only time we stayed longer was because of the hurricane that didn't come through lol. We currently have Platinum and the only reason was for the GE previews. I think the Gold pass would work better for us, but I'll have to talk to Dh and see what he thinks.

When I look at the Silver pass the blockout dates only go until August 6 and then there aren't anymore until December 18. Ah I just noticed that Silver doesn't get Photo pass pictures. That'll be a big deal because I plan to get quite a few with the baby. Even with just Dh and I we use the Photo pass photographers a lot. I guess we'll most likely renew and go for the Gold passes then.

 

[Judique]

No there's not, at least not for me. I usually buy my own gifts, sometimes even wrap them. But that's fine with me. Then I know that we got the best deal we could.

@GlamMistress
Ahhh, I beg to differ on the excitement level for adults. I'm pretty excited to enjoy xmas with my family and friends. Since the grands came along, it's put a whole new spin on things. I actually don't care if I get a gift or not but I enjoy making those around me surprised or happy.

 

[SBWB48]

Someone explain how this makes any sense.

FedEx is and has always been awful for us. Even USPS has been more reliable, so that says a lot lol.

We had one package that required a signature. Usually, carriers are required to make at least 2 attempts before they transfer it to a hold facility, or return it to the sender. Our Fedex never does that and simply drops it at the “local” facility 30 minutes away and refused to ever make a second attempt at all. UPS on the otherhand has been terrific with making at least 3-4 attempts before we get the final attempt notice.

I never ship with Fedex for a host of reasons beyond that. They’ve just also been more of a pain than UPS.