Yes we went New Years Eve and had a great time! We spent the entire day there and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves! I did get our tickets with AM back in September or October and then on Blue Friday bought QQ passes, dining plan and dine with Shamu. The park was busy compared to other days I have heard other people experience, but nothing out of hand. I would definitely get the QQ passes if going then....the kids really benefited it from it for the coasters and we would have skipped the penguin ride/experience if we didn't have it and that would have been a shame as we really enjoyed it! You wouldn't need the dining plan and dine with Shamu but I figured since we would be there about 14 hours and I have two guys that like to eat and it was a good deal so I went for it. It was a great day and wouldn't change a thing! I'm not sure if we will ever be back but we lived it up while we were there! We didn't try to upgrade our tickets or anything as we changed our plans and went to Universal for a few days instead of DC. I did also get Busch Gardens tickets through AM before our trip as well. AM came out with a two park ticket (SW and BG) after I got my SW tickets so I had to get my tickets separate. Just a heads up in case you are looking at doing both parks.
I'm glad your family enjoyed yourselves!
I just read about DC/SW specials on Blue Friday last night. From what I read it looks like that happens once a year in November, is that correct?
We're looking at going August 2019. Four - 6 days in Universal Studios, 1 day Animal Kingdom, 1 day shopping, I'd love a day at Discovery Cove and figure since it comes with SeaWorld & Aquatica admission, we will go to SW for sure and maybe also Aquatica. I have not done research on SeaWorld or Aquatica yet. With a day at Volcano Bay and hopefully Discovery Cove, I'm not sure my family will want to visit Aquatica as well. We're also not big on coasters so we may only spend half a day at SeaWorld. I don't know yet.
My current plan is:
Covered already
- airfare (covered with our WJ travel credit)
- four 3 day 3 park-to-park tickets Universal Studio tickets (Air Miles)
- upgrade passes to US Season Passes for more days in US and APH rate for room (about $100 in survey cash)
- four 1 day Animal Kingdom tickets (I have Disney Gift Cards set aside from surveys that will cover this)
- four Discovery Cove Dolphin experience (Survey cash) *
- SeaWorld - admission free if we purchase the DC tickets
- Aquatica - admission free if we purchase the DC tickets
Save up cash to cover
- hotel
- meals
- Uber
The hotel cost depends on how many nights we stay in Florida and if we stay at just 1 hotel or split hotels. Right now CBBR is quoting (12 nights):
Courtyard Family Suite = $1,958
Volcano Room = $1,782
Poolside room = $1,695.
Does Air Miles offer tickets for Discovery Cove in the summer months? I'd love to get them through AM if so, but I'm not sure I could save enough AMs for them. Even 1 or 2 would be a great help. I could funnel that survey cash towards the hotel or meals instead.