I’d been desperate to go to Disney World for a while, so
when John had a moment of weakness and conceded that we could go, we went to
the travel agents that same evening. I’d already done all the research and got
prices, so I knew that Thomson’s was cheapest.
I’d originally intended to go for one of the value resorts,
as the cheapest on site properties. On site was something of a no brainer for
us, given that neither of us wanted to drive on the wrong side of the road.
Disney World’s convenient bus transportation to each of the parks, as well as
the lure of being completely immersed in the World, and the favourable reviews
in the Unofficial Guidebook, made the decision for me.
Having looked at the value resorts, I quickly ruled out the
three All Star hotels, as being too loud and noisy for us. There was a newer
resort, Pop Century, and one in the process of being built, Art of Animation.
These did have better reviews than the All Star hotels, and so made it to the ‘potentials’
list.
When pricing up the holiday on various websites, I noted
Disney was offering a free dining plan for the dates we were looking at. If we
stayed at a moderate category hotel, rather than a value, we would be given a
free quick service dining plan. This comprised two counter service meals per
day, plus one snack per day, and unlimited drink refills at our hotel. If we
stayed at a deluxe category hotel, we would be given the standard dining plan,
comprising one counter service meal, one table service meal and one snack per
day, plus the unlimited drink refills.
Looking at the price difference between the deluxe and value
hotels, I quickly eliminated this option. The extra money just didn’t seem good
value, despite the loveliness of the hotel photos.
When studying the moderate hotels however, it was a
different story. Positive reviews about the extra space, improved theming, less
crowded food courts, bus stops and pools appealed to my dislike or
overcrowding. The price difference was less than the cost of the mealplan, and
I began to realise the benefits of a moderate resort far outweighed the
increased cost.
The question then, which moderate category hotel to choose?
Reading the brochures, and the Unofficial Guide, it soon
became obvious that the best choice for us was the Port Orleans – French Quarter.
Smaller than the other moderates, winning praise for its
theming, and seeming to have a central location, with good access not only to
the parks, but also to Downtown Disney, for additional dining options, it was
the clear favourite.
I bought the Unofficial Guide 2013, along with the Birnbaum
guide, and learnt everything they could tell me. Desperate to visualise what I’d
only read about, I bought the Unoffical Colour Companion. When the Unofficial
Guide team released their 2014 edition, I bought that too.
Between finishing the 2013 edition, and waiting for the 2014
edition, Disney World made some major changes. Called MyMagic+, it introduced
wristbands (aka MagicBands) with built in RFID technology, that would function
as room key, park ticket, and charge card. In addition, Disney introduced
Fastpass+.
Previously, Disney offered Fastpasses for certain rides, in
the form of a small slip of paper dispensed from a machine next to the ride
entrance. The return time was set by the machine, dependent on the number of
people who had already obtained fastpasses that day. The new system allowed
reservations up to 180 days in advance, at a time of your choosing, for three
attractions in one park per day.
I joined a forum called wdwmagic.com, where other Disney
fanatics discussed favourite attractions, hotels and restaurants, as well as
latest developments, and trip reports. MyMagic+ was in its testing phase, and
there were various forum threads from people who had been selected to take part
in the test.
When information was posted to say that Port Orleans French
Quarter was taking part in the test, I was over the moon. I logged onto
mydisneyexperience.com and was able to customise our MagicBands by choosing
their colour and adding our names. I opted for pink, John for red.
I was also able to select our fastpasses for each of the
days we were there. I’d used touringplans.com to create personalised touring
plans based on what I’d classed as must sees, figuring that we could use any
free time once we’d finished the touring plan to do other attractions, as time
allowed. I used the touring plans to decide which fastpasses to select, and was
quite pleased with my reservations. I didn’t have any issues getting what I
wanted, and the system was fairly easy to use, however I can imagine that once
the system is opened up to all guests, it will be very difficult to get exactly
what you want, when you want it.
In addition to these fastpasses, the forum was suggesting
that an additional fastpass was available for Be Our Guest, a new restaurant at
the Magic Kingdom, themed after the Beast’s castle from Beauty and the Beast,
and fast becoming the hottest ticket at Disney World. I followed the
instructions from the forum and was able to get a fastpass for one of the days
we were planning to be at the Magic Kingdom.
I printed out our touring plans, reservations and ESTAs, and
packed the suitcases. We were ready.
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