What's the Big Deal With Staying On Property Anyway? *Goodbyes* 12/17 p.114

[DisMomAmy]

Hi Carissa! I'm glad Chuck will be home soon. I hope you all enjoy the time you have with him before he has to leave again.

Thanks for sharing pictures of Darwin.

 

[mommytothreeboys]

Hi Carissa!

Darwin is awesome! Isaiah would freak out if I showed him...he's been begging for a turtle. I'll show him later...not ready to deal with all that right now!

Enjoy your time with Chuck. We miss you...check in when you can!

 

[jordanyosh]

Hi Carissa!

 

[carissanboys]

Hi Carissa! I'm glad Chuck will be home soon. I hope you all enjoy the time you have with him before he has to leave again.

Thanks for sharing pictures of Darwin.

Thanks Amy!

Hi Carissa!

Darwin is awesome! Isaiah would freak out if I showed him...he's been begging for a turtle. I'll show him later...not ready to deal with all that right now!

Enjoy your time with Chuck. We miss you...check in when you can!

Did you show him yet? I miss you all, too. Besides being busy, I'm also in that Disney lull - when you don't have any trips planned for the future (well, we're tentatively thinking about a trip in 2013 when Chuck retires) so coming here isn't top on my list. It can just be too depressing sometimes, you know?

Hi Carissa!

Hey J!

 

[carissanboys]

I apologize for taking so long to continue with this (although I am purposely trying to drag it out so I can include a mini TR on Colonial Williamsburg ).

Chuck is coming home on Friday and we're all starting to get really excited! Seems like forever since we've had a normal family routine. We're planning on going to Colonial Williamsburg next Monday so look for a mini TR on that.

On with the show...

Let's now answer the question on everyone's mind - What's the big deal about staying on property anyway?

I can say without a doubt that we enjoyed our first on property trip. There was something magical about the resort and to be immersed in that magic 24/7 was wonderful. We absolutely adored being able to hop on the water taxi and head to Downtown Disney with such ease. We all fell in love with Port Orleans Riverside and think it was a fabulous first choice.

So, yeah - I get what the big deal is. But, is it such a big deal to us that we will never stay off property again? Afraid not. If you recall, the only reason we stayed on property this time was because of the great deal we received. In other circumstanaces, I'm not sure we could justify the cost when we would be very happy staying at a place like Windsor Hills. With that said, we do hope to stay at Fort Wilderness one day. Can anyone smell another camping PTR in my future??

Up Next - Mini TR - Colonial Williamsburg

 

[Charleston Princess]

I do agree that being immersed in the magic 24/7 is one of the best things about staying on-site!

I would love to read about a Fort Wilderness camping trip -- I think you should start planning that soon.

Hurray for Chuck coming home on Friday! I bet your boys get more and more hyper as the week progresses!

 

[winkers]

How long will Chuck be home for?

I'm excited to see what you think about williamsburg! It's one of the places I'm considering for vacation next summer.

 

[mousescrapper]

Let's now answer the question on everyone's mind - What's the big deal about staying on property anyway?

I can say without a doubt that we enjoyed our first on property trip. There was something magical about the resort and to be immersed in that magic 24/7 was wonderful. We absolutely adored being able to hop on the water taxi and head to Downtown Disney with such ease. We all fell in love with Port Orleans Riverside and think it was a fabulous first choice.

So, yeah - I get what the big deal is. But, is it such a big deal to us that we will never stay off property again? Afraid not. If you recall, the only reason we stayed on property this time was because of the great deal we received. In other circumstanaces, I'm not sure we could justify the cost when we would be very happy staying at a place like Windsor Hills. With that said, we do hope to stay at Fort Wilderness one day. Can anyone smell another camping PTR in my future??

Carissa....

it finally coming to an end...seems like forever ago we were there huh? I do hope another WDW trip will be in your future and a camping one at FWC sounds just so right for you guys...fit your budget but still get the perks of staying on property

I'll be w/ you whenever you start the planning...

looking forward to reading your mini Williamsburg TR too

J~

 

[Phibbles]

Hi Carrissa...

FW is the best. You have to do it.
I keep thinking I am going to make my next trip a FW outing too.

Have you see the waterslide upgrade at the FW pool? They did a great job!

 

[DisMomAmy]

Hi Carissa - I think you summed it up perfectly!! We feel the same way about staying onsite. It was magical! But we too only did it because of a great deal. I'm dreaming of Fort Wilderness cabins some day.

 

[eandesmom]

It is a big deal but I also get the cost differences, even with a great promo, it's still more expensive to stay on property.

I really hope you get to do FW as a camping trip, we loved the cabins and it would be fun to camp there as well.

 

[jordanyosh]

Thanks for your final thoughts!

I would never say never to staying offsite, but since I'm travelling cross country, Id probably save up and go less frequently so I could stay onsite.

Chuck coming home

 

[carissanboys]

I do agree that being immersed in the magic 24/7 is one of the best things about staying on-site!

I would love to read about a Fort Wilderness camping trip -- I think you should start planning that soon.

Hurray for Chuck coming home on Friday! I bet your boys get more and more hyper as the week progresses!

I don't know - a trip 3 1/2 - 4 years away might be pushing it in the PTR department.

How long will Chuck be home for?

I'm excited to see what you think about williamsburg! It's one of the places I'm considering for vacation next summer.

He has to check in on the ship on Veteran's Day (so we'll get the weekend and mon and tues with him home). We're not sure when after that he'll be leaving, but it probably won't be too long. But, he should only be gone a week or two. He'll be back home by Thanksgiving and then the ship will be heading out for a 6 month deployment beginning of January. So, he won't be home for long, but we'll make the most of it.

Carissa....

it finally coming to an end...seems like forever ago we were there huh? I do hope another WDW trip will be in your future and a camping one at FWC sounds just so right for you guys...fit your budget but still get the perks of staying on property

I'll be w/ you whenever you start the planning...

looking forward to reading your mini Williamsburg TR too

J~

Thanks Julie!

Hi Carrissa...

FW is the best. You have to do it.
I keep thinking I am going to make my next trip a FW outing too.

Have you see the waterslide upgrade at the FW pool? They did a great job!

I haven't looked at pictures - I should do that before I forget. The nice thing with homeschooling is we can pick whatever time of the year we want and not have to worry about the boys missing school. I would only want to camp when it's comfortable outside.

Hi Carissa - I think you summed it up perfectly!! We feel the same way about staying onsite. It was magical! But we too only did it because of a great deal. I'm dreaming of Fort Wilderness cabins some day.

I'd love the cabins, too. They're just so pricey!

It is a big deal but I also get the cost differences, even with a great promo, it's still more expensive to stay on property.

I really hope you get to do FW as a camping trip, we loved the cabins and it would be fun to camp there as well.

I just love the idea of being at Fort Wilderness. I fell in love with it when we went for HDD.

 

[carissanboys]

Thanks for your final thoughts!

I would never say never to staying offsite, but since I'm travelling cross country, Id probably save up and go less frequently so I could stay onsite.

Chuck coming home

There is also the perk of having the dining plan, which we enjoyed. Couldn't do that if we stayed off property. But, we loved staying at Windsor Hills, too. I'd be happy with either option so it's a case of whichever happens to work out for each trip.

 

[jordanyosh]

There is also the perk of having the dining plan, which we enjoyed. Couldn't do that if we stayed off property. But, we loved staying at Windsor Hills, too. I'd be happy with either option so it's a case of whichever happens to work out for each trip.

I was also able to get the 5/2 deal at Pop which saved me a few hundred dollars which was nice.

 

[winkers]

I don't know how you do it!
the longest I've gone without dh around is a week and it was pure hell!
part of that might have been that I still had 3 kids too young for school and one of them was a newborn.....

I'm so greatful there are people like you and Chuck....

 

[carissanboys]

I was also able to get the 5/2 deal at Pop which saved me a few hundred dollars which was nice.

Nice.

I don't know how you do it!
the longest I've gone without dh around is a week and it was pure hell!
part of that might have been that I still had 3 kids too young for school and one of them was a newborn.....

I'm so greatful there are people like you and Chuck....

The boys are old enough for school, but since I homeschool, we never get a break from one another. It can be tough at times, but I think we've settled into a groove. We've been lucky the rest of the time Chuck has been in the navy. He never had to be deployed to a war zone so I'm thankful for that. I think it's those spouses (and servicemen/women) who deserve the credit!

It's just something that we have to get through right now and I'm all about just trying to stay positive. I had about one day of a pity party when I found out he'd be leaving on a 6 month deployment not long after he got back from being away at school for 5 months. But, I'm over it.

 

[liznboys]

I hope you get to try out Fort Wilderness! We really enjoyed our cabin night there and would stay there again (in a cabin. lol) And as far as onsite and offsite, of course we prefer onsite, but the offsite deals are REALLY good. And sometimes the deals win out! It's nice to have options and be happy with all of them. We've realized that the magic of the trip overall is still there even when you are offsite!

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

Glad you felt the on-property Magic! With three kids I don't blame you though for considering the off-property options. Disney is definitely not the best or most affordable when it comes to families larger than 4!

 

[lazydoxy66]

Carissa,

Great job! I enjoyed hangin' with your family on this! Thank you so much for including all of us in your adventures! You are great people. I think your final thoughts were real. There is definitely a trade-off either way you do it. As long as you and the family are happy, that's all that matters. It's good that we live in a country that lets us have these kinds of choices.

Welcome Home, Chuck!

I'll be watching for that Williamsburg report. Have an awesome time!