I love credit cards so much! v3.0 (see first page for add'l details)

[Judique]

Is there a thread somewhere you can recommend for newbies to WDW? Do you think the "Disney World Tips" is the best place to start?

I know I am going to have to plan which park to go to on which day (what a terrible thought... ugh) and (as of right now) make a reservation for that...

I know I am going to have to make reservations for FP at some point...

I want to research the restaurants...

But I don't want to harass you all with my zillion questions that are going to come over the next few months!

No FP for the foreseeable future.

I'm going to suggest something that I've never considered important before. Researching restaurants and booking dinners seems like it may take on a new increased importance. I've winged it a lot in the last few years and probably still will as I can drive over to Publix and fill my kitchenette, especially as a mostly single visitor.

But for someone new to WDW, and in the new environment, I think it may be important to have planned meals and of course coordinate them with the park of the day. Or the resort closest to the park of the day or Disney Springs, etc. Planning can be ADR's and also penciled in counter service choices.

There's always the counter service places and some are pretty good. The new one in Pandora in Animal Kingdom - Satu'li Canteen - I had an excellent bowl from there and would recommend for lunch or dinner.

A lot of people save money and do breakfast in the room at WDW for convenience and as a time saver. Breakfast out is always nice also.

 

[afan]

The site that helped me when I was first planning, aside from this one, is wdw prep school. The twitter I most enjoy following but rarely read his blog posts is easywdw, @SouthFayetteFan 's favorite Josh.

While I agree to ask questions, these people will be or have been in the parks way more than anyone here and will keep up with it. I think, even as an experience wdw veteran, it's important to still follow various sites and news because things do change.

Now with no fp and no hopping, since I doubt either will be even close to back by then, these sites will be more valuable because their job is going to and watching what the parks do. While you won't yet find a how to tour post, by Nov once they've had a chance to see how things will go, if stuff changes etc, you'll have good stuff to go off of. Probably start coming out in the next few weeks. And I say this because as they've been to some of the parks at least twice now, it did seem like the lines at DHS this morning were longer than they were previous days this week. Could just be because more people went today, since we don't know what the numbers are, or it could be that they just all wanted to go on Rock n Rollercoaster (RnR) this morning so the line went out way down the street. This is the type of stuff you'll find elsewhere, even if it's a thread on TPAS. But if you plan to start reading a lot there you'll need to start learning the acronyms or you'll be totally lost.

In a lot of ways really, if things stay the same, it won't be much different than a trip to DLR except that you won't have any type of fp and you'll have 3 times a day to try and get a boarding group for ROTR.

 

[Judique]

Just expanding on eating at WDW - You can spend a lot at full service and it can be very enjoyable.

You can also eat well at many simpler places. Contempo Cafe had a decent chicken dinner - but not on the menu right now. But in general the food is good value.

We also like Captain Cook's at Polynesian.

In DHS, I really enjoyed having a Cobb Salad and a glass of wine at the outside lounge dining at Brown Derby. Good food and great atmosphere.

I'll be trying Nomad Lounge on my next visit. Maybe.

Also I want to get back to a lot of places, but don't know if they will be available in November. So, it's kind of important I think to be up on this so that a lot of time is not wasted deciding where to eat or even finding somewhere you can eat.

 

[ten6mom]

But if you plan to start reading a lot there you'll need to start learning the acronyms or you'll be totally lost.

Oh I'm most definitely already lost!

Will check out WDW Prep School; thank you. I am not a twitter-er... still can't figure it out.

I had forgotten about there being no FP right now. Honestly.... I am not sure I'm sad about that. I do want to get a BG for ROTR because my husband's never been on it (in a normal year we would have been to DL several times by now). However, I also know that by November things could be different.

I definitely will check out restaurants. We are generally very much a Quick Serve family but I feel like there should be some Table Service meals we should not miss.

@Judique had some food suggestions. What are everyone else's favorites?

(I did read on another thread that so far, at least, people have been allowed to "resort hop" if they took WDW transportation... like no one checked to see if they had a restaurant reservation somewhere... I do hope to still be able to check out some of the fancier resorts and if it means we don't have to drop $300 on a meal there, then so much the better!)

 

[afan]

Oh I'm most definitely already lost!

Will check out WDW Prep School; thank you. I am not a twitter-er... still can't figure it out.

I had forgotten about there being no FP right now. Honestly.... I am not sure I'm sad about that. I do want to get a BG for ROTR because my husband's never been on it (in a normal year we would have been to DL several times by now). However, I also know that by November things could be different.

I definitely will check out restaurants. We are generally very much a Quick Serve family but I feel like there should be some Table Service meals we should not miss.

@Judique had some food suggestions. What are everyone else's favorites?

(I did read on another thread that so far, at least, people have been allowed to "resort hop" if they took WDW transportation... like no one checked to see if they had a restaurant reservation somewhere... I do hope to still be able to check out some of the fancier resorts and if it means we don't have to drop $300 on a meal there, then so much the better!)

Easy WDW is also his site. He's got a very dry sense of humor, which is part of why I enjoy following him. He doesn't take himself seriously but does put out good content.

I think for restaurant rec's it might be easier if you let us know what kind of food you like otherwise you're likely to get 60-75% of the table service places recommended Less likely to happen with quick serve, but again everyone has their favorites and it's never the same.

 

[ten6mom]

Easy WDW is also his site. He's got a very dry sense of humor, which is part of why I enjoy following him. He doesn't take himself seriously but does put out good content.

I think for restaurant rec's it might be easier if you let us know what kind of food you like otherwise you're likely to get 60-75% of the table service places recommended Less likely to happen with quick serve, but again everyone has their favorites and it's never the same.

Oh that's a good point.

Sooooo at DLR, my favorite Quick Serve places are Boardwalk Pizza and Pasta , where I always get pasta, and the French Market, where we like their sausage and rice.

If we can get a reservation, we like Cafe Orleans for a nicer lunch. We do enjoy Blue Bayou but let's be honest... that's way more for the ambiance and way less for the actual food. (I've never had anything BAD there but it's certainly not worth the price point for me without the ambiance). I also had lunch at the Carnation Cafe last time and it was lovely (baked potato soup and fried pickles!)

Our splurge has been the Napa Rose Chef's Counter, but I am not a fan of the regular Napa Rose menu as a rule.

I have yet to find good Mexican food at DLR (but then I live in Phoenix where authentic Mexican food is plentiful) so I stay away from those.

If we can get a unique experience (maybe based on the theming of the restaurant) that happens to include a bonus trip to an interesting resort (I know they're all interesting!), then that would be great too.

 

[3 DD love princesses]

I need some help! Dd has a great job with the City of Toronto this summer (she did her training today). She will be running a drop-in "Park Play" program in a local park. She has to come up with all the games herself and if she needs any supplies she has to ask her supervisor. It will be just her and 1 other counselor whom she hasn't met yet (hope she likes them!).

Any and all suggestions for socially distanced games (kids must be 6' apart at all times) that require minimal or no supplies are appreciated! Parents must be there, but she will be responsible for running the program.

It's her first job so she doesn't know what to expect. I keep reminding her how lucky she is to have this job as a lot of kids her age (18) lost their jobs due to the virus. She applied in February and interviewed in April.

Red light green light, Simon days, i wouldn’t do water balloons unless you know for sure there aren’t any latex allergies. Sidewalk chalk and they can do Pictionary. Trash bag races.

 

[ten6mom]

Ooh I thought of another one.

Which resorts have your favorite Christmas decorations? I would love to see all the uniquely themed (at least I assume they do that) Christmas decorations at as many places as we can see!

 

[wendow]

Is anyone here from Wisconsin or familiar with Wisconsin Dells? Just asking because we're considering it for a quick family trip next month. Long story short, I work in a PA nursing home. If we go to one of about 18-20 states, I have to come back and quarantine 14 days before going back to work. We are already going to be in SC the last week of July for softball's junior olympic cup for DD, so I'm stuck with a 14 day quarantine after that. During those 2 weeks we want to squeeze in a family trip- I had already scheduled vacation time for one of those weeks before all of this came about, so I'm only missing an extra week of work. Problem is, it was for the second week of what is now my quarantine time, and it was to WDW. If we keep that, then that adds two more weeks of quarantine and I just can't do that to my facility. So we're looking for a state that's not on the quarantine list. Also, looking for a place without a mask requirement that is for everywhere you go- indoors and outdoors. Mask requirement or not, we will wear one anywhere we can't distance appropriately, but I don't want to have to wear it 24/7. A friend of mine mentioned the Noah's Ark Waterpark in Wisconsin Dells and I see it's got great reviews. Also it seems like there is a nice assortment of outdoor activities we could do along the Wisconsin River. But I've never been anywhere near Wisconsin so I know nothing about it. I would appreciate anyone's insight/experience, or any other thoughts on places to go that are in states I wouldn't have to quarantine when I return.

Check in with @brownhaired_girl if not already mentioned! She goes to the Dells fairly regularly

 

[wendow]

What I've done twice for people that have traveled with me and were flying back earlier than I was driving, was had the pickup changed to whatever hotel was convenient for our schedule, usually the day before or as late as that morning. Like last November we were leaving checking out of Beach and into BWV, so we moved it to BWV pickup. Took suitcase to BWV and gave it to bell services until time to leave on the bus. Also, didn't have the room until later but had other things to do.

And, also had pickup at Contemporary because we wanted a Wave breakfast on another trip and it was more convenient to leave from there, even though I was staying with BWV.

This is just stuff I've managed in the past. May never happen again. But normal is coming, I'm certain.

Awesome to know! We were able to move our pickup resort to another years ago but it seemed rather problematic and we were kind of "disciplined" lol in a Disney kind of way so I didn't want to encourage that. The situation was my girls were staying at a different resort with my aunt and uncle. We were staying at another resort with our boys. My aunt and uncle had a different flight and therefore, different pickup time than us. So, we had to move the girls to be picked up with us. Oh my goodness, you would have thought we were asking for like free nights or merch lol. I've never asked again...!

 

[wendow]

Wow, we would be out of business if we did that to people!! Have you signed a closing disclosure yet?

I think so. Not 100% sure. They've been nonstop with the documents. We've refi'ed 4x before this. Worst experience ever. I'd never use this company if not for the Amex offer.

 

[wendow]

Is there a thread somewhere you can recommend for newbies to WDW? Do you think the "Disney World Tips" is the best place to start?

I know I am going to have to plan which park to go to on which day (what a terrible thought... ugh) and (as of right now) make a reservation for that...

I know I am going to have to make reservations for FP at some point...

I want to research the restaurants...

But I don't want to harass you all with my zillion questions that are going to come over the next few months!

Please. Harass us. We have nothing better to do. Ask away. I know we'd love to help you!

 

[wendow]

Ooh I thought of another one.

Which resorts have your favorite Christmas decorations? I would love to see all the uniquely themed (at least I assume they do that) Christmas decorations at as many places as we can see!

This one is easy...Grand Floridian and Wilderness Lodge Those are my favs!

 

[wendow]

That was soooo our last refi. The first company we used took like 5 mos before we finally said screw this. We were refinancing for a pool and end up having to wait a year before we could "buy" it. Then I ended up getting a divorce instead of the pool, LOL. Once I managed to change companies we closed in under 30 days!

Well, heck, I sure don't want a divorce lol! We are just doing a straight refi. No cash back. Hoping that safeguards the marriage lol!!! I'm really sorry you ended up divorcing, I don't mean to make light of it.

 

[ten6mom]

The "new" Ink Business Cash (CIC??) that I got as a PC from a CIP... maybe this is a dumb question and if so I apologize. The literature that comes with it says it gets 5% "cash back" at Office Supply stores. That's actually earning URs, right? That you could, if you wanted to, use for cash back? (I know better after meeting all of you, of course). And then that's when it would be wise to use this card when places like Office Max have a sale on gift cards, yes? Because now it's time to start collecting Disney gift cards. Assuming office supply stores carry them.

And did I also read that it makes a difference, when purchasing at office supply stores, whether you order online or go in person? I thought I read that but I don't know if it was specific to a particular card or not.

(Sadly, I ordered a ton of hand sanitizer from Office Depot online just about a week before I got this card.)

 

[ten6mom]

Sorry to jump around so much. Now that Japan is a no go I am having to shift and I'm going through my cards again.

The Amex Hilton Biz will be up for renewal in September. I don't wish to anger the RAT by cancelling after a year but I don't necessarily want to pay another $95 for a card I haven't even been able to use yet. The primary reason I got it was that I was also supposed to get an Aspire, and eventually get enough for a nice stay at the Hilton Tokyo Bay. Since I kept getting the pop up on the Aspire (and boy aren't I glad I don't have THAT AF now), that never materialized and I've really little use for any Hilton cards. I do have ONE Hilton reservation coming up at the end of August that is paid for completely on points but aside from that I've got no use for the card.

My only other Amex is a BBP, which I do put some spend on each month (although probably not as much in the next couple months here since I have a new MSR to meet).

We WOULD like to aspire (ha!) to Japan again, but I am not sure we would have time for Disney while we're there (we certainly didn't on the trip I just canceled).

I don't have an immediate plans to apply for another Amex any time soon, but that could of course change.

So, what say you, experts? Keep the card and just pay the $95 as a gesture of good will toward Amex in general? Or cancel and kiss my relationship with Amex goodbye?

 

[ten6mom]

Like a post-COVID planning resource? FP don’t exist anymore Only some restaurants are open, most have modified their menus. DFB has a lot of info here

Just know if whatever you’re reading was written before the second week of July 2020 it’s outdated info. Everything at WDW has changed so much. (Dining is now booked 60 days out so if your trip isn’t soon you can take that off your plate!)

mid- November!

I guess I better go put a calendar reminder on now so I don't forget.

Can I do the "park reservations" as soon as I've purchased my tickets?

 

[havaneselover]

Highly YMMV. I couldn't find it on any of our 18 Amex cards.

I have it on BCP. It wasn't on my kids' gold or BCP.

 

[happ]

The "new" Ink Business Cash (CIC??) that I got as a PC from a CIP... maybe this is a dumb question and if so I apologize. The literature that comes with it says it gets 5% "cash back" at Office Supply stores. That's actually earning URs, right? That you could, if you wanted to, use for cash back? (I know better after meeting all of you, of course). And then that's when it would be wise to use this card when places like Office Max have a sale on gift cards, yes? Because now it's time to start collecting Disney gift cards. Assuming office supply stores carry them.

And did I also read that it makes a difference, when purchasing at office supply stores, whether you order online or go in person? I thought I read that but I don't know if it was specific to a particular card or not.

(Sadly, I ordered a ton of hand sanitizer from Office Depot online just about a week before I got this card.)

Yes, the CIC earns URs and you can use them for cash back. Staples online works fine, but some of the GCs have an added fee. I don't know about Office Max. Some stores process their gift cards through a 3rd party. You could take advantage of the no-fee visa or mc sales when they happen and then turn around and use those to buy discounted Disney cards elsewhere.

 

[disfanforlife]

Is there a thread somewhere you can recommend for newbies to WDW? Do you think the "Disney World Tips" is the best place to start?

I know I am going to have to plan which park to go to on which day (what a terrible thought... ugh) and (as of right now) make a reservation for that...

I know I am going to have to make reservations for FP at some point...

I want to research the restaurants...

But I don't want to harass you all with my zillion questions that are going to come over the next few months!

I love talking about Disney. Happy to answer questions, the only thing now is so many things are different and changing - it’s hard to give advice on how it is now. Maybe there is a thread or you can post questions for people who have been there recently when you get closer. When is your trip?