Nine weeks later...we just need a REDO! A January 2013 PTR

[kittylady1972]

So just a few weeks ago we returned from our long awaited PARK-CRUISE-PARK trip during Thanksgiving week. I'm still working on the trip report and really, really hope I can get it done soon!

Of course, since returning I have been suffering from the dreaded Disney Blues. I didn't have a future trip planned and wasn't sure when I'd get around to planning one. And that's when it became dangerous...

I started plotting the return trip. My reasons? Well I had a few but the main one was that we all have ANNUAL PASSES and one of them expires in March. It would be a shame not to get more value out of those...right?

I looked up some room rates. This would be a marathon weekend trip...and by that I don't mean during the ACTUAL marathon but more the fact that we'd be driving down on a Friday (14+ hour drive) and then driving home on a Tuesday, so a very quick trip. And right after the holidays it would have to be cheap too.

I debated a stay at Shades of Green...but then determined I couldn't book that right now because their cancellation policy is pretty harsh. Within 30 days and you lose the full 1-night room deposit. I can't chance that because with our family, ANYTHING can happen.

Then I looked up AP rates and got some pretty good ones for various rooms. I needed to book by end of December to lock in on those rates and so over the weekend I booked my room.

Today...things have changed AGAIN! DH and I started talking about our DVC points. We had some to use so why not? Our favorite resorts were all booked...but that's okay since we know we would be happy with ANY DVC resort...especially since it would be free. We've stayed in all of the ones on Disney property now. And so today I booked us in a DVC Resort...and I am on a Waitlist for TWO other resorts. If they don't come through...it's okay though. We'd be fine with any of them.

Oh and it was going to be just the five of us...but I mentioned in front of my father-in-law that we were talking about going back and since he is about to RETIRE in about two weeks...he was ready to join us. We are not ones to say no as my 70 year old father-in-law loves Disney too. So he and MIL will be joining us.

They don't know yet about the resort change. We'll tell them about it eventually and right now...we'll probably be mean again and not tell them WHICH resort because honestly it could be one of three! There are about six weeks left until we leave AGAIN! I'm hoping around that 30-day window there may be some cancellations and one of my waitlists will open up but if not...no problem.

After all, we are going BACK to DISNEY!

 

[tallen429]

How exciting!!
I love how having an AP just sort of "makes you" return asap!

Can't wait to hear about your resort plans!

DS and I will be there around the same time you are going. Our dates are Jan 25-Feb 1!

 

[kittylady1972]

How exciting!!
I love how having an AP just sort of "makes you" return asap!

Can't wait to hear about your resort plans!

DS and I will be there around the same time you are going. Our dates are Jan 25-Feb 1!

I know, it's funny how I can use the line "but just think it will cost us almost NOTHING" with my DH with regards to the AP tickets. Add in a DVC room and it's practically FREE!!!!

I can't wait to post about my resort plans...when I know them for sure!

Keep an eye out for us...and run far AWAY! We'll probably be the ones riding Space Mountain over and over and over again. My DS8 LOVES that ride!

 

[DMGeurts]

I am here! And for an awesome almost free trip! WHOOT!!!

D~

 

[shalom]

Well I had a few but the main one was that we all have ANNUAL PASSES and one of them expires in March. It would be a shame not to get more value out of those...right?

I like the way you think.

We don't have DVC, but we have points in another system, and find they're very motivating in getting us going on vacations.

 

[kittylady1972]

I am here! And for an awesome almost free trip! WHOOT!!!

D~

YIPPEE!!!

 

[kittylady1972]

I like the way you think.

We don't have DVC, but we have points in another system, and find they're very motivating in getting us going on vacations.

Honestly it doesn't take much for me to plan a vacation...but it's great motivation!!

 

[kittylady1972]

PLAYING RESORT ROULETTE
Ok, so my new routine each day is to check the availability of the resorts for our January dates. I'm trying to hedge my bets to give me the BEST chance of getting a different resort than the one I've booked. So far, I *THINK* I have a pretty good chance at getting one of them. So I will now give you some more information about our current selections!

Currently we are booked in a 2BR at Old Key West. We last stayed at OKW for 2 nights I think it was back in November of 2007, so it's been a while but it was a nice place. I know they are some of the largest DVC rooms and I do remember that. For the points value, it can't be beat. And yet...our hearts belong to a few other resorts.

I think my FIRST choice would really be an EPCOT resort, like the Beach Club Villas or Boardwalk Villas. It's so nice to be able to WALK over to EPCOT and we didn't get to spend very much time in that park during our last trip. I never even made to the World Showcase Area...can you believe it? DH took our oldest there on our last park day because he wanted to buy some stuff in Japan, but I stayed back with the younger two so they could ride Sum of All Fears. So of course one of the goals for this upcoming trip is to spend more time at EPCOT! So I have waitlisted a 2BR standard villa at Boardwalk. As of today, TWO of the four nights are available to book...Friday and Sunday. However I'm waitlisting the whole stay so we'll just have to see if it comes through for us.

Our next choice is Kidani Village. We stayed there when they FIRST opened in May of 2009 and just LOVED it! DH and I stayed in Jambo House once as well, but that was prior to joining DVC. Now I'm only going for a standard room since the points value is the same as what I already have booked at OKW. As little time as we spend in the room, we can always walk down to the lobby to view the animals.

So this morning I checked availability and found that Kidani had full availability for a 1BR STD View. Now I *COULD* book that one...but that means I'd have to waitlist a studio for the rest of the family, which means DH's parents. I didn't see much available in terms of studio rooms, so I'm not going to change things right now as tempted as I am to do so. We'll just continue to ride out the waitlist process for a little bit.

I've tried every combination of studios rooms and 1 bedrooms and have had no luck in finding much in terms of availability. I'm hoping that maybe one we get within the 30-day window (we are close right now) some other stuff will open up. I just don't know yet.

AND even though I SAID I was NOT booking an ADRs I have to admit...I have two booked. One of them is at MK and one is at Rose and Crown Pub. I am not even going to tell anybody about them since I really do want to make this trip as easy as possible for us to just wing our parks and days!

 

[DMGeurts]

Oooh - Interesting about your resort roulette... I hope one of your waitlisted resorts comes through for you.

I just wanted to stop by to wish you all a...

D~

 

[kittylady1972]

Oooh - Interesting about your resort roulette... I hope one of your waitlisted resorts comes through for you.

I just wanted to stop by to wish you all a...

D~

Awwww...thanks! Hope you had a great holiday as well!

 

[kittylady1972]

29 - TWENTY NINE DAYS!
Yes, we are less than thirty days away from our NEXT Disney vacation. Crazy I know, especially when you consider that 31 days ago we returned home from our LAST trip!

We tried to convince my daughter on Christmas Eve that we have CANCELLED the trip in January...but she is just not buying it. She is sure we are still going and we just want to surprise her! That's probably because she knows how I am with trying to surprise everybody.

It did not help that on Christmas Eve we went to my in-laws for our traditional Christmas Eve Feast of the Seven Fishes and my FIL was telling my parents (who were there with us) about his plans not that he has retired. Those plans included the January trip to Disney...which I admit I hadn't told my parents about yet. So of course when I got into the room and my parents asked about it...I said we had cancelled it. This shocked my FIL...who had no idea. For future reference...next time let the in-laws in on the plans!

So later I eventually managed to sneak a moment with my daughter not around and tell them that yes, we were going...and no she didn't know about it...and I told my FIL as well. It's really hard to keep secrets in our family....we like talking WAY TOO MUCH!!

Anyway I told the in-laws the plans that I had cancelled our room reservations that were made initially and we were still going...but not sure where we would be staying. DH and I both mentioned we just weren't sure yet and we were on some hold lists for a few places. The funny thing is that I am even considering NOT telling my husband where we are staying IF we end up getting one of our waitlists or I rebook elsewhere!

I checked this morning and still no availability for our total stay at any other resorts. So for now we are still at Old Key West but I feel pretty confident that we will most likely end up getting into Kidani or Jambo at Animal Kingdom. Every time I check I find sporadic room availbility there over any other places. Today there is a studio available for two of my four nights and a 1BR available for two of the four nights. I'd still prefer Boardwalk or Beach Club but this will work too.

Anyway hope everybody had a wonderful holiday. We enjoyed our time spent with family. I'm back at work for 3 days this week but it's quiet so it's not too bad.

 

[kittylady1972]

TWENTY-EIGHT 28 DAYS!!
Just a TINY bit obsessed??

Ok so I saw in my email yesterday they had some special rates for flights to Florida so I thought...hmmm? And so I checked and flights from Baltimore to Orlando were still close to $200 each. That's not happening...that's $1000 to fly us all down and then we would need a rental car.

HOWEVER....flights to Ft. Lauderdale during the same time were cheap. I could fly us all down to there for $625. That's not bad...but then we would still have a 3 hour drive to make to Disney...and we'd need a rental car.

So I put a hold on a rental car reservation...if we split it between us and the in-laws it would cost about $150 each, maybe a little less. Not horrible.

Anyway did not mention this flying idea to my husband last night and for all I know those special flight deals are all gone. Still it was fun to think about. After all, we could easily do a 3-hour drive on each end of the trip and get some extra park time.

However it makes my trying-to-make-this-a-cheap-trip plan not as great.

So for now...we are still driving unless we hit the lottery. I don't think the $10 I won from the scratch-off tickets in my Christmas Stocking is quite going to cut it!

 

[DMGeurts]

LOL I hope you are able to find some cheaper flights to Disney.

I need to start working on booking our trip - I've been holding off until after Christmas.

D~

 

[kittylady1972]

LOL I hope you are able to find some cheaper flights to Disney.

I need to start working on booking our trip - I've been holding off until after Christmas.

D~

Yes I did run the math and found some good deals...but I still hate to part with the money, especially right now when I've got Christmas bills to pay AND pay off our November trip! So we will probably just drive...it's good to dream though!

 

[kittylady1972]

TWENTY-SEVEN 27 DAYS!!


So I did more research on flights yesterday and I did find several ways we could fly to Florida for pretty cheap. It might mean leaving on different flights from different airports but it saves us a few hundred to do that.

Then the more I started thinking about it, the more I realized I just don't want to part with the money right now. YES it would be great to just fly down there and be done with it but I know we'll be okay with the drive. Plus with driving...we can always cancel if for some reason we can't make it.

Anyway it is nice to know that there are options. There is a small airport near our house that flies to Orlando ONLY on Fridays and Mondays and airfare is close to $100 round trip! If we wanted to do a quick weekend in Disney at anytime...it could be done! I'll have to keep that in mind.

For now though, I think we'll stick to driving.

In other news, I keep checking constantly for room availability and there just isn't much available on points. I decided yesterday that I would REALLY like to stay at the Boardwalk though, so I added TWO Boardwalk waitlists for the trip and dropped the waitlist I had for Animal Kingdom Lodge. I am hoping it will come through...but not really sure what the chances are. We are now within 30 days of our trip so I'm hoping some openings will happen with other people cancelling. Also I was reading yesterday that the main pool at Boardwalk will be CLOSED during our trip. That's fine for me, as we had no plans to use the pool, but it might mean other people switch resorts in order to have access to a themed pool...and that might open up more rooms! FINGERS CROSSED!!!

 

[DMGeurts]

Yes I did run the math and found some good deals...but I still hate to part with the money, especially right now when I've got Christmas bills to pay AND pay off our November trip! So we will probably just drive...it's good to dream though!

I know how you feel - I am not ready to part with the $$ yet either... I still have several months to go before I can even do ADRs. I think I will start getting anxious to book once I get close to 180... So, I will just keep squirreling $$ away until then. And to be quite honest - if Disney doesn't do a nice discount for our intended trip - I will have no qualms about pushing it back to a later/different date, because we just cannot spend oodles of $$ on a vacation.

I hope you are able to get your waitlisted resort.

D~

 

[kittylady1972]

I know how you feel - I am not ready to part with the $$ yet either... I still have several months to go before I can even do ADRs. I think I will start getting anxious to book once I get close to 180... So, I will just keep squirreling $$ away until then. And to be quite honest - if Disney doesn't do a nice discount for our intended trip - I will have no qualms about pushing it back to a later/different date, because we just cannot spend oodles of $$ on a vacation.

I hope you are able to get your waitlisted resort.

D~

I know what you mean. We are still spending beyond Christmas. I don't even want to look at our budget for January right now after our last trip AND Christmas. UGH!

And thanks for the best wishes on our waitlist. I really hope we get it too but if not...I still may change our resort.

 

[kittylady1972]

TWENTY-FOUR 24 DAYS!!

So another check this morning on my resorts and still no availability at other resorts that I'd like and I'm still on the waitlist for Boardwalk. I really think as it gets closer to my dates I may switch from Old Key West to Saratoga Springs Resort...but we'll see. I'm sure we'll be fine with either resort.

Over the weekend it was revealed to our friends that we are going BACK to Disney. Of course, they all think we are nuts...and they are probably right! Still hard to pass up a trip when we have so little out of pocket to spend this time around. Kids still have no clue we are going and the plan is to keep it that way!

I'm doing my best to avoid booking dining or anything else right now. We still are just hoping to play it by ear with meals. I think we'll be fine that way but I do have two dining reservations I think. I'll have to double check on them.

Really looking forward to this trip and even my husband seems like he is excited about it.

 

[DMGeurts]

This should be a really fun trip for you all! I can't wait to see how it plays out - and how awesome that there is very little OOp spending - those are the best trips.

D~

 

[kittylady1972]

TWENTY-TWO 22 DAYS
I cannot even believe that in just over THREE weeks we'll be on our way back to Disney! Still not telling the kids about it though I know my daughter will probably catch on eventually. I have been doing my best NOT to talk about it in front of anyone especially her and so far so good.

Last night I even looked over a preliminary spreadsheet of the days while my youngest son was on the couch next to me. I told him it was just a plan I was looking at and it had no particular dates. He accepted that one.

And so, this is what I think our trip will look like for right now:

THURSDAY: Kids are out of school around 1pm. We'll have the car packed and ready to go so that when they get home we'll just hit the road for the long drive. This should put us through the terrible DC Area/Northern VA area well ahead of traffic. Our hope is to keep trucking along for a good 8-10 hours plus. Goal is to make it at least to Georgia and then find a hotel overnight.

FRIDAY:With any luck, we'll be within a 3-4 hour drive of Walt Disney World from our hotel. We will get up and packed and cleaned up and head somewhere for a nice sit-down breakfast. Then it's back in the car for the drive! Hoping to arrive in Walt Disney World close to noon. We will head to our resort and see about checkin. If the room is ready, we may unpack but if not...then we have some decisions to make. Originally I was thinking we wouldn't have to do a park this day, but now I am thinking we have those annual passes....so why not? I'm thinking maybe EPCOT and letting the kids to the Phineas and Ferb game since they have been wanting to try that. If not, maybe Magic Kingdom.

SATURDAY:One of the goals for the kids this trip I know is to ride Toy Story Mania since we missed it in November. I think this time we just might try to get that done. So we will wake up and have breakfast in our room. It is an early entry day for Hollywood Studios so I'm thinking we aim to be there close to the 8am opening. We'll ride Toy Story Mania, Tower of Terror, Rock N' Roller Coaster and Star Tours and maybe also do a drawing at Art of Animation as well. This should put us into the afternoon timeframe. We'll either grab lunch at the park or head to our resort and maybe have some food. The afternoon/evening is going to be for EPCOT. Hoping we can get a fastpass for Soarin' for an evening ride there sometime. We will just spend the rest of the day exploring EPCOT.

SUNDAY:This is all about the Magic Kingdom day. Breakfast in our room and then hit Magic Kingdom for a full day. We *MIGHT* take a break in the afternoon for dinner outside of the park...not sure.

MONDAY:This is our full day at EPCOT. Breakfast in our room and then hit the park for a full day there. We might try to have a sitdown meal for dinner at one of the restaurants if we can find one that will seat us with NO ADR! Maybe we'll finish up the park early and then hit the miniature golf course for the evening after we are packed up for the next day.

TUESDAY:Time to leave! We'll have a nice sit-down breakfast somewhere before hitting the road. Hoping to be on the road no later than 8am and we'll be driving all the way home with very few stops. Arrival back home should be between 10pm and 11pm. Next day the kids have school and we are back at work!
​

So that's the general plan for now. Originally I was thinking we'd do NO park hopping but now I do think we'll need to squeeze in some park time at Hollywood Studios. We have annual passes but my in-laws do not so I think they may have to spring for the park hoppers after all. I priced out 4-day hoppers for them and might have them purchase them before we leave through Undercover Tourist since it will save them a little bit of money.