***Official November 2013***

[pokanos]

We will be at AKL, Jambo Nov 7 thru the 12!!!! I am hoping to catch the end of International Wine and food and the start of MVMCP.

F&W festival will be still going on. Those days have been announced and it goes through the 10th. Enjoy AKL. We are going to book a table service at Sanaa on this trip so we can check it out.

 

[samacita]

We are considering 11/7-11/11, maybe at Poly. We'll have a 7yo, 3yo, and 4 mo old, so getting back to hotel for midday breaks will be important. Hubby & I have done WDW on our own and with other family before, but this will be first trip for our kids. Excited!!!

 

[rquebral]

oooh...I would love to stay at the Poly someday. We stayed at Bay Lake Towers last Feb and loved it. Thanks for the info on food and wine, I hadn't seen it yet.

 

[FigmentChick]

I'm a newbie. Please add me to the Nov list! We're traveling 11/3/13 to 11/10/13. It'll be my DD's first trip. She's so excited! Made the mistake of telling her a few weeks ago. LOL That's all she talks about. Every.Single.Day!

Like right now- she's watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and she's just came running over screaming "Mommy I wanna go Mickey Mouse Clubhouse! PLease Mommy! Please!"

Going to be a long 9 1/2 months!

Wonderful! Welcome aboard! I'll add you to the first post.

We tend to talk a little bit about our Disney trip everyday as well. lol And today there is a marathon on ABCFamily, so we're watching that. Hate the commercials and I soooo wish Hercules would come out on blu-ray already, but ah well.

We are considering 11/7-11/11, maybe at Poly. We'll have a 7yo, 3yo, and 4 mo old, so getting back to hotel for midday breaks will be important. Hubby & I have done WDW on our own and with other family before, but this will be first trip for our kids. Excited!!!

I would love to stay at the Poly!!! I priced out the difference between our POR stay and a stay at the Poly or AKL or WL yesterday and OMG!!!! I couldn't believe the price difference. $3,000 extra is way too much just to sleep in a room. Plus, we are a bit spoiled with the food court at POR and many of the deluxes don't have option as good in our opinion.

 

[samacita]

I priced out the difference between our POR stay and a stay at the Poly or AKL or WL yesterday and OMG!!!! I couldn't believe the price difference. $3,000 extra is way too much just to sleep in a room.

Since we are only staying 4 nights for this trip, we are able to put more toward lodging than usual. And having to be in the room for 2-3 hrs midday in addition to the overnights makes us want it to be comfy and big enough for all 5 of us. It's a different ballgame than other vacations since we'll have an infant along. WL was our first choice but already booked. I'd love to hear recs from others. Especially on hotel choice & coming back for naps.

 

[belias21]

Since we are only staying 4 nights for this trip, we are able to put more toward lodging than usual. And having to be in the room for 2-3 hrs midday in addition to the overnights makes us want it to be comfy and big enough for all 5 of us. It's a different ballgame than other vacations since we'll have an infant along. WL was our first choice but already booked. I'd love to hear recs from others. Especially on hotel choice & coming back for naps.

We're in almost the same boat. Kids are 8, 4, and 18mos. We've been to WDW three times since our youngest was born and have had a great experience each time. When he was 3 months, we stayed at Pop. It worked out OK but the room wasn't big enough for all of our stuff. At the time, he would sleep pretty much anywhere so the pack n play right in the middle of the room was fine. Our next trip, he was 11 months and we stayed at CBR. The bigger room worked out well and we were able to put the pack n play in the sink area and close the curtain so he couldn't see us. That allowed for naps. Also, our room was right near one of the quiet pools, so the big kids could swim while he was napping. On our most recent stay, he was 17 months and we stayed in a studio at AKV. This was definitely the biggest room and also had the sink area to put the pack n play. We actually brought a shower curtain and rod with us to block off the area again like we did at CBR.

We always come back for naps (or at least pool/downtime). I think it's critical with this age group or else everyone will be miserable in the afternoon. We also don't do parks every day. We alternate park and resort-hopping days. Helps us keep a more leisurely pace.

 

[MamaJessie]

Since we are only staying 4 nights for this trip, we are able to put more toward lodging than usual. And having to be in the room for 2-3 hrs midday in addition to the overnights makes us want it to be comfy and big enough for all 5 of us. It's a different ballgame than other vacations since we'll have an infant along. WL was our first choice but already booked. I'd love to hear recs from others. Especially on hotel choice & coming back for naps.

If I could go deluxe I would, have fun!!

 

[FigmentChick]

Since we are only staying 4 nights for this trip, we are able to put more toward lodging than usual. And having to be in the room for 2-3 hrs midday in addition to the overnights makes us want it to be comfy and big enough for all 5 of us. It's a different ballgame than other vacations since we'll have an infant along. WL was our first choice but already booked. I'd love to hear recs from others. Especially on hotel choice & coming back for naps.

We're in almost the same boat. Kids are 8, 4, and 18mos. We've been to WDW three times since our youngest was born and have had a great experience each time. When he was 3 months, we stayed at Pop. It worked out OK but the room wasn't big enough for all of our stuff. At the time, he would sleep pretty much anywhere so the pack n play right in the middle of the room was fine. Our next trip, he was 11 months and we stayed at CBR. The bigger room worked out well and we were able to put the pack n play in the sink area and close the curtain so he couldn't see us. That allowed for naps. Also, our room was right near one of the quiet pools, so the big kids could swim while he was napping. On our most recent stay, he was 17 months and we stayed in a studio at AKV. This was definitely the biggest room and also had the sink area to put the pack n play. We actually brought a shower curtain and rod with us to block off the area again like we did at CBR.

We always come back for naps (or at least pool/downtime). I think it's critical with this age group or else everyone will be miserable in the afternoon. We also don't do parks every day. We alternate park and resort-hopping days. Helps us keep a more leisurely pace.

See, we have the opposite experience. My youngest (Quinn) can sleep anywhere at anytime. So, when he's tired, he just lays down in the stroller with his blankie and I clothespin another blankie around the front of the stroller so less light and sound can get in. We stay at the parks for the older two and we can walk around and do some shopping or eat at the F&W Festival booths. We're just lucky, though. I know a lot of people whose children need the quiet and dimness to take naps.

I noticed you were just going for a long weekend, samacita. Are you from NJ? Is that why you choose those dates?

 

[samacita]

No, I'm not from NJ (is that a popular weekend for NJ residents?). Just trying to work around school schedules for our oldest and not sure about summer yet. There are some advantages to summer that come with a longer stay but that would definitely push us into the value resorts or offsite. It would also mean traveling with a 1 yr old vs an infant, and there are pros and cons with both.

We haven't met the baby yet, so not sure what kind of napper we'll end up with. The midday break is for all of us, really. Don't want to push ourselves to the point of not enjoying the trip. An easy, relaxing pace would suit us well.

 

[FigmentChick]

Totally understand the midday breaks; we're the opposite, though. We're all awake no later than 6am and we tend to be in bed (not necessarily asleep) by 9:30 or 10pm. So, we just stay at the parks and enjoy the whole day and then head back to our room in the evenings.

As for the dates you are going....yes, unfortunately that is a busy, busy time for NJ residents. The NJEA convention will be the 7th and 8th this year, which means every public school in the state is closed those days. And most have Wednesday off as well. Not to mention they'll all have off the 11th for Veteran's day.

From the crowd calendars, it looks like Thursday will be a 5, Friday will be a 6, Saturday is an 8, Sunday is a 7 and Monday is a 6. So, a bit buiser than "normal" that time of year because of the NJEA convention, the F&W Festival races, and Veteran's Day. That is why we are leaving that Saturday. We're missing Halloween at home, but we're willing to deal with that.

 

[samacita]

From the crowd calendars, it looks like Thursday will be a 5, Friday will be a 6, Saturday is an 8, Sunday is a 7 and Monday is a 6. So, a bit buiser than "normal" that time of year because of the NJEA convention, the F&W Festival races, and Veteran's Day. /QUOTE]

This sounds like a different crowd calendar. I'd love to check it out. Do you mind letting me know where you've seen that one? My book says 2s for Veterans Day weekend, but maybe doesn't account for NJEA and F&W.

 

[AstroDad]

We are in for Nov 10-16th, though I might add a day later on. Like everyone hoping for free dining or at least the QS dining that is rumored and then we will upgrade. We are a family of 5 staying at Poly.

 

[patclairesmom]

My dates are set. Nov 27th-Dec 4th. I've checked AAA rates and there is no discount. I suppose Thanksgiving week is a blackout week, but I would think starting on Nov 30th or even Dec 1st, there would be a disount.

We are going to go back to POR and stay in a Royal room, standard view. I was thinking of CBR but I really really love POR. We usually stay in AB, but my DS is now 6'2 so I don't think he fit in the pull down bed even though he slept on it for a week 9 months ago. I think we'll buy a twin air matress. This is all because him and my DD don't want to share a bed or sleep with their parents.

 

[samacita]

I found a great crowd calendar online and numbers still look better for Veterans Day weekend than any other time we're available. Not totally committed yet, but still thinking 11/7-11/11.

 

[lmc318]

We stayed at the Poly last time we went when DD was 3. We thought we'd go back for naps but DD picked that week to stop taking them. We were up at 7 and back in the room by 9 at the latest. We loved being on the monorail and Poly is extra great because its walking distance to TTC. Plus DH and I could watch the fireworks from our room after DD fell asleep. It was pricey but we had a 40% room discount. Worked out well. In Nov we'll be at WL. DD will be 5. I know I'm going to miss the monorail but the Poly is a chunk more than WL.

 

[FigmentChick]

This sounds like a different crowd calendar. I'd love to check it out. Do you mind letting me know where you've seen that one? My book says 2s for Veterans Day weekend, but maybe doesn't account for NJEA and F&W.

I use Touring Plans. I've used their crowd calendars for years and find them to be very accurate. Although, sometimes they do change right before our trip. But it's all good.

 

[Calirya]

I see some of you are staying at Wyndham Bonnet Creek WBC- have you ever stayed there before? This will be our first time there.
We're getting a 3 bedroom. In addition to me, DH and DD, we'll have my brother and his GF and my dad and his GF.

 

[Calirya]

Oh and I swear I saw on this thread that someone's DD was born in March 2010. So was mine!

 

[skw444]

We're moving our trip up, so we'll be there during September instead of November. I'll join a September 2013 thread. Have fun planning!

 

[Minniebee143]

Figment Chick,
Could you add me to your thread. Going to POR on November 10th through the 16th for my 70th birthday. Would you know if they allow scooter on the boat taxis to Downtown Disney?