Tasty Planning Time with ZeBrook! A 2 for 1 PTR - 12/24 - All our bags are packed

[brookelizabeth]

Wow! Lots of great news to catch up on! All the ADRs you wanted and your waitlist came through. Woohoo!!!!!!!!!!

Rope drop. I've never done that either! I have to add that to my list of never-done's. What do people think? Worth it?

I SO want DVC...

It's been lots of good Disney news lately around this house! And there is more coming too.

DVC...I'm SO glad we bought in. It's pricey right now because we are still paying off our loan, but once that is done, it will pay for itself over and over again. If we do ever add on, we'll probably do re-sale and NOT do a loan though, just to have it over and done with right away.

I know that during the busy times of the year when we typically have to travel it is the only way to get in large numbers of rides before the crowds hit. I don't know about the quieter times of the year.

Rope Drop...we've only ever gone during quieter times of the year - October, November and January. While, I wouldn't deem it necessary during the quieter times, you do need to know how to work the FP system and be prepared to possibly be in the parks all day long to get everything in that you want...or just be OK with missing some things. I have to say, Joe and I moved much quicker in October on our Disneymoon than we do now with a baby! It's a different trip, but equally as wonderful in a different way.

Most everyone says RD is worth it. I don't think it would be worth it to me if I had to wake up before the sunrise, or with it though. If I can get up no earlier than 7:00 am, then I'm alright with it!

 

[IBelieveInTheMagic]

GOOD GRAVY!!! I've been away and what news you have!

I'm so excited to hear about your September trip and you're even beating me!! I'm glad you got your ADR's too - congratulations!

You've had a lot of pixie dust lately so keep it up! Do you play the lottery where you live? HA HA....I'm glad you don't have to split up your stay and you worked it out - I'm glad you kept checking and checking!

I can't wait to hear about your Fall trip because we'll be headed out the 28th - I can't wait to book my ADR's on the 30th!! I can't remember if you said you were going to go to an MNSSHP? We love the Fall and Halloween so we are absolutely ecstatic about it!

I actually got a nice PIN email and was teasing a girlfriend about an early December trip for 4 days since it had free dining...I haven't ruled it out - funny Disney math!

Heather

 

[brookelizabeth]

On Friday night after work Joe and I sat down to purchase our airfare for the September trip. I had been stalking airline prices since we were tossing around the idea and wanted to nab those cheap flights!

Turns out, the cheapest flight was on Northwest...the airline I fly the most, being from Minnesota, but like the LEAST.

Sigh.

Alright.

Hey...wait a sec...

I have enough miles for a free ticket!

Search...search...search....

YEP!

5 bucks later (some silly fee) and I was booked!

Now to get Joe and Henry on that same flight. Joe was just slightly short in his miles since the flight back cost more miles than the flight to Orlando (they like to gouge ya a bit on a holiday it seems ), so the flight there we can use miles for both Joe and Henry and the flight back we'll pay for....

$300.40 later, Joe and Henry are booked!

Round-trip flights for THREE PEOPLE, $305.40.

Woot!

...and right before I sat down to book it all Joe mentioned "I think flying out the night before will be well worth it, so we have a whole day on the 3rd."

oh, twist my arm!



Have I mentioned I love this man????

So, NO TURNING BACK NOW!

9/2
MSP-MCO
7:15 pm - 11:35 pm

9/7
MCO-MSP
3:35 pm - 6:30 pm


I really like our flight times. We have done the early morning flight thing several times and we all feel like mush for the entire day, (ESPECIALLY me who doesn't sleep the night before Disney World! ). Henry might be a bit cranky on the way down, or since he will be in his own seat now (carseat), he might just sleep the entire flight. But, I am certain we will all feel better than flying out early early on the 3rd and cramming in a whole day of WDW. This way we get in late, can sleep in a bit the next morning and have a full day in front of us!! I think this will be a very nice change.

Plus, an afternoon return means 1/2 a day more at Disney.

And since we are flying out on the 2nd, this also means we have to book another night!

We are thinking we'll do a Value (Music or Movies) that first night and then taxi it over to CSR in the morning. When we did the night stay at Pop in November 2008 it wasn't the most ideal, but we used the luggage service at Pop, and then used the buses to get to WL. I think by doing the luggage ourselves AND using a taxi, things will take less time and go smoother. I often forget 'real world' ammenities; like taxis, off-site restaurants, and pizza delivery; still do exsist when I'm there.

Joe and I also jokingly suggested we attempt to check in at CSR when arriving, since it will technically be the 3rd. We got a big hoot out of that, can you imagine??? It's about 12:30 am, here comes a family, toddler, luggage, stroller and all, "Hi, we are checking in, is our room ready?" And if it wasn't..."Oh, that's okay, we'll just crash out here in your lobby."

I'm thinking there HAS to be a check-in time for the Disney resorts, otherwise I'm pretty sure people would try to do this!


Now, with this extra half day, my tentative plan for the 3rd needs some serious re-arrangement....

 

[brookelizabeth]

GOOD GRAVY!!! I've been away and what news you have!

I'm so excited to hear about your September trip and you're even beating me!! I'm glad you got your ADR's too - congratulations!

You've had a lot of pixie dust lately so keep it up! Do you play the lottery where you live? HA HA....I'm glad you don't have to split up your stay and you worked it out - I'm glad you kept checking and checking!

I can't wait to hear about your Fall trip because we'll be headed out the 28th - I can't wait to book my ADR's on the 30th!! I can't remember if you said you were going to go to an MNSSHP? We love the Fall and Halloween so we are absolutely ecstatic about it!

I actually got a nice PIN email and was teasing a girlfriend about an early December trip for 4 days since it had free dining...I haven't ruled it out - funny Disney math!

Heather

He he! A lot changed in this household in just a few days! I love Disney math!

You are VERY right though, another trip, and then we had great success with our resort for both trips, our ADRs for September, and now our flights. I am THRILLED about Kidani coming through, I would have felt awful making my family pack up and move for one night...which they would have done without grumbling, but still...!

We will not be doing MNSSHP...with Henry only being 2 at the time of the trip, I don't think he'd enjoy it much, he'll just get too tired. Plus this is SERIOUSLY a budget trip. We are making it work, but its making some things tight right now (like, I have to actually cook dinner! ) So worth it though!

I was thrilled to save us so much on the flights. If a 40% off AP rate comes out, we may switch to that and do cheap CS for the entire trip (minus maybe one breakfast, he he). We'll see. If we had enough DVC points we'd stay there again and that would make it even cheaper.

I've heard about that PIN code for free Dining in December! Early December is a very nice time to go-low crowds, plus all the Christmas stuff. Maybe work some of that Disney math....

 

[Charleston Princess]

Wow! You are rockin' and rollin' on this September trip -- in no time at all you have your room, your ADRs, and your airplane tickets (at a great price)! All that's left for you to do is pack!

 

[Lady Lallie]

What an excellent deal on flights!

 

[CJsMom]

It's all coming together for you guys now...lots to look forward too!!

 

[princess&her4princes]

WOW, good job on the flights Brook! You really made out well!!! And the times seem perfect!!!!

Love all your plans so far, can't wait to hear more!!!!

 

[moparop]

SWEEEET deals on flights! Can't wait to see the rethought plans for the 3rd

 

[kschafer]

Round-trip flights for THREE PEOPLE, $305.40.

can you imagine??? It's about 12:30 am, here comes a family, toddler, luggage, stroller and all, "Hi, we are checking in, is our room ready?" And if it wasn't..."Oh, that's okay, we'll just crash out here in your lobby."

Score on the flights

I love your idea!!! I'm sure you are right, there must be a check-in time but the idea is a hoot

 

[jordanyosh]

Nice deal with the flights...

Oooo. What to do with an extra 1/2 day? The possibilities....

 

[KathyRN137]

Round-trip flights for THREE PEOPLE, $305.40.

Woot!

Awesome!! That's great news!! So much you can do with that extra half day, too!!


Kathy

 

[MeMom]

We are thinking we'll do a Value (Music or Movies) that first night and then taxi it over to CSR in the morning. :

I'm not a big opinion giver normally, but can I suggest Music over Movies? Music is in much better shape than Movies right now, until Movies gets refurbed, which surely has to be any time now. You can stay in the cleaner, brighter, updated room at Music, but do walk across the parking lot to see the icons at Movies, because Henry would love them, and they are great photo ops. Having stayed at both, we will stay at Movies again, but not until they've updated, because they're pretty worn looking right now. That's my opinion, for what it's worth, but if I were giving advice to my own family members about choosing, I'd tell them to choose Music.

Congratulations on the great flight price!

 

[SoonerGirl]

We must be married to the same man...maybe thats why he says we don;t have the money to go a second trip each year, he has another family he is taking too. LOL!

My DH does travel quite a bit..........

 

[Lovemy3babes]

Score on the flights!!! I often fly NWA as well because we don't have many options either. Not a huge fan but at least you got them cheap!

 

[brookelizabeth]

Wow! You are rockin' and rollin' on this September trip -- in no time at all you have your room, your ADRs, and your airplane tickets (at a great price)! All that's left for you to do is pack!

I know it, I can't believe how quickly it's all coming together. These spur of the moment trips are kinda fun!

What an excellent deal on flights!

Thanks! We were really excited!

It's all coming together for you guys now...lots to look forward too!!

It's coming together so fast - now if the trip hurries up and gets here! But, that would also mean summer is about over around here...

Is your trip going to work out? I still see your ticker there!

WOW, good job on the flights Brook! You really made out well!!! And the times seem perfect!!!!

Love all your plans so far, can't wait to hear more!!!!

We are excited about the times and how much we saved on the flights!

SWEEEET deals on flights! Can't wait to see the rethought plans for the 3rd

I gotta re-think 'em first...

Score on the flights

I love your idea!!! I'm sure you are right, there must be a check-in time but the idea is a hoot

Can you imagine it??? It will be a bit strange to check-in to a resort and then leave within the same day though---I wonder if they will give a discount for that? Eh, probably not!!

Nice deal with the flights...

Oooo. What to do with an extra 1/2 day? The possibilities....

I know it....so many options. I still gotta research....

Awesome!! That's great news!! So much you can do with that extra half day, too!!


Kathy

We were going to do a "no parks" day, but I'm thinkin' that might get changed up here...

I'm not a big opinion giver normally, but can I suggest Music over Movies? Music is in much better shape than Movies right now, until Movies gets refurbed, which surely has to be any time now. You can stay in the cleaner, brighter, updated room at Music, but do walk across the parking lot to see the icons at Movies, because Henry would love them, and they are great photo ops. Having stayed at both, we will stay at Movies again, but not until they've updated, because they're pretty worn looking right now. That's my opinion, for what it's worth, but if I were giving advice to my own family members about choosing, I'd tell them to choose Music.

Congratulations on the great flight price!

THANK YOU MeMom for the advice! This is GREAT to know. I didn't realize Movies was in need of a refurb. I recall your stay at Movies (was it at Christmas time?) and now LL's TR, it really does look like a fresh and pretty resort. I think we'll aim for that!!

My DH does travel quite a bit..........

Score on the flights!!! I often fly NWA as well because we don't have many options either. Not a huge fan but at least you got them cheap!

Exactly!

 

[shebaxric]

HOLY SMOKES!!! I'm gone from the boards for a few days and look what happens! Surprise trips, tons of "I go what I wanted" moments, happiness all around!! What a deal you got on your flights! Did you have to pay for Henry now that he's in a car seat? If so, you seriously got a GREAT deal!! Now you just have to keep your September and December trips straight with all your ADR's and such! In your last TR, you did spend some time at DTD, but I didn't see any planning time for that in September. Perhaps you could throw that into the mix for your half day? Congratulations on everything coming together so easily!

 

[mickeysmyboy]

Whoo hoo for the great deal on the flights! I think I can buy my tickets for January tomorrow (on SW) but I gonna wait and see what the prices are and waited it out if they aren't good. I have like $500 worth of ticketless travel $$ form changing our flights this past Jan and in March so many times! I'm happy to have that to use, especially buying tickets for 10 people!! Of course after buying 10 tickets I should be getting a few free tickets! That I can use for my secret MNSSHP trip!

I agree with the early flight thing! It's sooo much and you feel like death by 6 pm! Unfortunately we'll probably end up doing that and having an early dinner and bedtime the day we arrive in January! My sisters kids are going to be sooooo excited to get there they aren't going to want a second to get into a park! LOL!

 

[Flossbolna]

Rope drop. I've never done that either! I have to add that to my list of never-done's. What do people think? Worth it?

I think it is definitely worth it!

I know that during the busy times of the year when we typically have to travel it is the only way to get in large numbers of rides before the crowds hit. I don't know about the quieter times of the year.

And I think it is even worth it in less busy times. I have been three times in January/early February and am a great rope drop fan. The park is so lovely when it is still rather quiet. And if things work out well, you walk on attraction after attraction without any wait times. Of course you can tour during the day, too. But once you are used to stand in line for not more than five minutes a 20 minute wait time become intolerable. But for me it maily is the relative emptiness of the park itself which find more relaxing than having crowds of people around me.

Brook, if you are thinking about rope drop, are you considering to use a touringplan, too? We did them pretty religiously in 2008 and where really pleased! Especially the MK one makes a lot of sense. You could even attempt the "Dumbo or Die" plan!

Congratulations on the cheap flights and what a wise decision to fly down in the evening! We always arrive in the evening due to the way flights are from Germany, and it is really magical to wake up in the morning and be in WDW! Joe really is a great guy and I think it is rather sweet how the Disney bug has bitten him, too.

 

[brookelizabeth]

HOLY SMOKES!!! I'm gone from the boards for a few days and look what happens! Surprise trips, tons of "I go what I wanted" moments, happiness all around!! What a deal you got on your flights! Did you have to pay for Henry now that he's in a car seat? If so, you seriously got a GREAT deal!! Now you just have to keep your September and December trips straight with all your ADR's and such! In your last TR, you did spend some time at DTD, but I didn't see any planning time for that in September. Perhaps you could throw that into the mix for your half day? Congratulations on everything coming together so easily!

He he, just a few changes, eh?

Yep, our flight cost total INCLUDED a seat for Henry. Gotta love those airline miles! I was able to purchase mine entirely with miles and Joe's and Henry's was paid for 1-way with miles. It made me so excited to get that deal! It took YEARS to build up those miles, but didn't cost me a cent.

I was thinking about DTD too...gotta squeeze it in there somewhere. Goofy's Pretzel Rods await me!

Whoo hoo for the great deal on the flights! I think I can buy my tickets for January tomorrow (on SW) but I gonna wait and see what the prices are and waited it out if they aren't good. I have like $500 worth of ticketless travel $$ form changing our flights this past Jan and in March so many times! I'm happy to have that to use, especially buying tickets for 10 people!! Of course after buying 10 tickets I should be getting a few free tickets! That I can use for my secret MNSSHP trip!

I agree with the early flight thing! It's sooo much and you feel like death by 6 pm! Unfortunately we'll probably end up doing that and having an early dinner and bedtime the day we arrive in January! My sisters kids are going to be sooooo excited to get there they aren't going to want a second to get into a park! LOL!

I am watching SW for our December trip too. I'm really curious as to what the costs might be during that peak travel time. The cousin who is getting married has been to New Orleans several times during that time of year and says the best time to buy the tickets are in August. So, maybe that will be the best time for Orlando too... I'm just gonna stalk it all starting tomorrow!

Hopefully the excitement of all the people on your trip will carry you through that busy day! Travel days are the worst!

Brook, if you are thinking about rope drop, are you considering to use a touringplan, too? We did them pretty religiously in 2008 and where really pleased! Especially the MK one makes a lot of sense. You could even attempt the "Dumbo or Die" plan!

Congratulations on the cheap flights and what a wise decision to fly down in the evening! We always arrive in the evening due to the way flights are from Germany, and it is really magical to wake up in the morning and be in WDW! Joe really is a great guy and I think it is rather sweet how the Disney bug has bitten him, too.

I have been looking at the various touringplans - one doesn't seem to exactly fit, but I think I can tweak either the "happy family" or another one (can't recall the title) to work for us. Joe and I both like the thrill rides (though, SM will be down!), and with Henry we'll be doing the smaller things.

So yep, I think at least for MK (possibly the others as well) we'll be doing a touringplan. And we are FOR SURE doing them in December! This September trip will be a great way to test them out-after all, it's a reserach trip, right?

Speaking of the touringplans, someday I REALLY want to do the Ultimate Touring Plan at MK. That sounds like a blast!

I think I'll really like the late arrival-waking up in Disney World, and having the full day in front of you just sounds so nice!

And, I agree with you-I think Joe is a great guy! Sometimes I wonder what he thinks of all my planning and such...then I get comments today like, "I'm so glad you plan our vacations." and him suggesting we add on a day, etc. I never have to beg! (I bet your DBF would get it too if he ever came!)