ª"˜˜ª¤.¸Official Team August 2013 Thread!¸.¤ª˜˜"ª&#9733

[solana131]

We are officially booked! I had been holding off and just lurking here mostly, but now that we are official....let the commenting begin

Saturday the 17th - Saturday the 24th.
POR Preferred room (we need the 3 beds)
ADRs all booked:

Sat 17th: Via Napoli @ 6:20pm
Tues 20th: Boma @ 6:15pm
Wed 21st: No ADR, but will be eating dinner at AoA Landscape of Flavors
Thur 22nd: Kona @ 10:35am and hoping for the Dessert Party that night
Fri 23rd: Chefs de France @ 12:50pm
Sat 24th: Crystal Palace @ 9:55am

Very excited that this is officially happening...I was originally planning Nov, then Oct, then cancelled altogether....now it is on. Flights are booked...MYW package booked and half paid for...already have $300 in Disney giftcards to help pay for dining (we always do OOP by the way). Mousekeeping envelopes almost done and filled. How what do I do until August???

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

How what do I do until August???

You post here and let us keep you company!

Congrats on making your trip "official!".

 

[chuckinthechat]

How what do I do until August???

I've taken to attempting to build a time machine, so far no luck

 

[thetorit]

What are these "non-Disney days" of which you speak?? LOL
We are going for the complete bubble experience. If the plane could land @ the resort we would take it directly there.

We're doing the bubble too! Our non-park day will be spent at DTD and at the resort pool. My kids don't know Universal even exists. (But someone drink a butterbeer for me!)

 

[thetorit]

Does this sound doable?

The day we get in, our only plans are to land at MCO at 3:40 and Chef Mickeys for dinner at 7:15. I want to take the monorail to the Poly after to sit on the beach and watch Wishes, which is scheduled for 10. Having a "To Do" list makes DH nervous, but I thought we had plenty of time. Thoughts?

Side note, when we first started planning, DH (who has never been to the World) said he wanted to go for NYE. I asked why he would want to go during such a busy time, and he said "Because we'd get to see FIREWORKS!"

 

[ThereYouSeeHer]

Side note, when we first started planning, DH (who has never been to the World) said he wanted to go for NYE. I asked why he would want to go during such a busy time, and he said "Because we'd get to see FIREWORKS!"

That is really funny!

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

(But someone drink a butterbeer for me!)

Mmmmmmm.........Butterbeer :

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

We need a QOTD :

Will you be visiting one of the waterparks on your trip? If so, which one? Or perhaps both?

 

[DisneyObsession]

It is amazing to me how much a trip can change from the it's conception to the final plans! We started out planning on staying Aug 17th- Aug 25th, with all the kids, spouses and grandkids there Aug 18th-Aug 24th. We thought an additional day on either end would be nice for the two of us. Well....the kids trip has remained the same, but now we are at Disney the same days, but have tacked in Universal from Aug 25th - Aug 29th! We are extremely excited and are counting down!

At this point, ADR's are done, flights, hotel near Universal and and some additional plans with friends that live in Florida! August can't get here soon enough!

 

[momto3gr8boys]

(But someone drink a butterbeer for me!)

ok, us too! Three cheers for Butterbeer! (btw, I think your CM ADR will be fine - where are you staying?

 

[momto3gr8boys]

We need a QOTD :

Will you be visiting one of the waterparks on your trip? If so, which one? Or perhaps both?

We will this trip. We rarely do, and I generally use the excuse that if we are staying at the BC, SAB is enough. But for this trip we will because we wound up booking through *** and with their ticket comes one entry to a waterpark (or a few other things). We are planning TL during the day and DTD that evening.

 

[lovingeire]

We are officially booked! I had been holding off and just lurking here mostly, but now that we are official....let the commenting begin

Saturday the 17th - Saturday the 24th.
POR Preferred room (we need the 3 beds)
ADRs all booked:

Sat 17th: Via Napoli @ 6:20pm
Tues 20th: Boma @ 6:15pm
Wed 21st: No ADR, but will be eating dinner at AoA Landscape of Flavors
Thur 22nd: Kona @ 10:35am and hoping for the Dessert Party that night
Fri 23rd: Chefs de France @ 12:50pm
Sat 24th: Crystal Palace @ 9:55am

Very excited that this is officially happening...I was originally planning Nov, then Oct, then cancelled altogether....now it is on. Flights are booked...MYW package booked and half paid for...already have $300 in Disney giftcards to help pay for dining (we always do OOP by the way). Mousekeeping envelopes almost done and filled. How what do I do until August???

Yay! Congrats! And you're ahead of us and we've been booked for a quick minute already!

 

[lovingeire]

So DH and I started taking Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University last week. This week's class really motivated DH, but he said he thinks we should pay off all our debt before we go to Disney again so we need to think about canceling our August trip. We already may have to if our house doesn't rent. (DH is in the military and we moved at the WORST time of year and haven't rented our house after a month away.) I knew it was a possibility, but now I'm really scrambling. Disney is kind of my happy spot in having to leave our house, starting over and everything. It's just funny because DH is the we can always make more money type and the spender, but now he's being the sensible one! Anyways, I have to see about having a yard sale or obeying some stuff to sneak into our Disney fund/pay off our debt! And I'm really praying that our house rents soon so we're not in a financial hole and could use our savings for more than paying rent and our mortgage! For some reason the thought of no Disney makes it all even more stressful! If you're the praying type, please say a prayer that our house rents soon. That would eliminate some of the stress!

 

[momto3gr8boys]

So DH and I started taking Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University last week. This week's class really motivated DH, but he said he thinks we should pay off all our debt before we go to Disney again so we need to think about canceling our August trip. We already may have to if our house doesn't rent. (DH is in the military and we moved at the WORST time of year and haven't rented our house after a month away.) I knew it was a possibility, but now I'm really scrambling. Disney is kind of my happy spot in having to leave our house, starting over and everything. It's just funny because DH is the we can always make more money type and the spender, but now he's being the sensible one! Anyways, I have to see about having a yard sale or obeying some stuff to sneak into our Disney fund/pay off our debt! And I'm really praying that our house rents soon so we're not in a financial hole and could use our savings for more than paying rent and our mortgage! For some reason the thought of no Disney makes it all even more stressful! If you're the praying type, please say a prayer that our house rents soon. That would eliminate some of the stress!

Praying your house rents and you can keep your plans! Would a compromise work? I see you are staying at the WL this year - what if you went for a value instead? And maybe (if you haven't already planned this) do a GG order and eat breakfast in your room, and bring along snacks and water to the parks. You could cut down on some TS ADRs you have, decide on a limited budget for souvenirs, if you were going to hop, give up the hopper option, etc. Maybe you can still have your Disney vacation, just not as high end as you originally planned.

Your DH is "right" in his thinking....but I know how disappointing it is to be "right" sometimes.

 

[ThereYouSeeHer]

So DH and I started taking Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University last week. This week's class really motivated DH, but he said he thinks we should pay off all our debt before we go to Disney again so we need to think about canceling our August trip.

We are a Dave Ramsey family and it has changed our lives and our family tree forever. I love the idea of paying off all debt before going to Disney again. However, as someone else mentioned, there is always a compromise. For me, going to Disney was my one non-negotiable, even when we were getting out of debt. However, it also meant reducing the length of our stays and accomodations.

Even for this August, we ended up reducing our vacation because of unexpected expenses. It meant we went from a moderate to a value and *gasp* we are only getting a two-day park ticket. I know alot of people wouldn't think it is worth their effort to go to Disney for two days, but as a family who once made the trip for one full day in the parks, sometimes you have to do what you have to do. I personally believe one day in Disney is better than no days, but everyone's situation is unique.

Feel free to PM me if you need any help or have questions along your FPU journey! Best wishes for a successful start to a new financial path. I know there are always some Ramsey threads on the DIS, so check them out as well.

 

[lovingeire]

Praying your house rents and you can keep your plans! Would a compromise work? I see you are staying at the WL this year - what if you went for a value instead? And maybe (if you haven't already planned this) do a GG order and eat breakfast in your room, and bring along snacks and water to the parks. You could cut down on some TS ADRs you have, decide on a limited budget for souvenirs, if you were going to hop, give up the hopper option, etc. Maybe you can still have your Disney vacation, just not as high end as you originally planned.

Your DH is "right" in his thinking....but I know how disappointing it is to be "right" sometimes.

Thank you for the prayers! We appreciate them! We did talk about some compromises last night. First, we would switch from the DxDP that my husband really wants to the regular plan which would save us about $800 based on the quotes I got. Next we would likely switch to POR as that would cut our costs in half pretty much overall. We'd probably cut out extras like the Pirates & Pals Fireworks Voyage we were going to book and the birthday cake we were going to order our youngest. To DH's point, he's only 2 1/2 so he won't really know the difference if we don't go. I don't know why it's so hard for me to reconcile the Disney trips to the plan to live debt free! I know he is right, I think I'm just protective of these plans and have my heart set on them. We did agree that we would wait a few months to make some decisions on the matter. So there is hope, but it's going to take a lot of work!

 

[lovingeire]

We are a Dave Ramsey family and it has changed our lives and our family tree forever. I love the idea of paying off all debt before going to Disney again. However, as someone else mentioned, there is always a compromise. For me, going to Disney was my one non-negotiable, even when we were getting out of debt. However, it also meant reducing the length of our stays and accomodations.

Even for this August, we ended up reducing our vacation because of unexpected expenses. It meant we went from a moderate to a value and *gasp* we are only getting a two-day park ticket. I know alot of people wouldn't think it is worth their effort to go to Disney for two days, but as a family who once made the trip for one full day in the parks, sometimes you have to do what you have to do. I personally believe one day in Disney is better than no days, but everyone's situation is unique.

Feel free to PM me if you need any help or have questions along your FPU journey! Best wishes for a successful start to a new financial path. I know there are always some Ramsey threads on the DIS, so check them out as well.

Thank you for the encouragement! I am more than willing to compromise, even though it would be disappointing not to have our plans that we have. I feel like giving up these memories with our kids is the main reason that I don't want to change. Also we are supposed to meet up with some friends who were stationed overseas for five years on the trip so I'd really like to keep those plans. But our financial peace is of utmost importance and something I've been trying to convince DH to do forever! Being that he's finally on board I know that I have to let him have input and be involved. It mean a conversation I didn't want to have! I'm going to look for the Dave Ramsey boards! I need all the encouragement I can get! Thanks again!

 

[solana131]

You post here and let us keep you company!

Congrats on making your trip "official!".

Thanks! Can't wait!

I've taken to attempting to build a time machine, so far no luck

Ooooh...sounds fun! Good luck with that

Yay! Congrats! And you're ahead of us and we've been booked for a quick minute already!

Thanks, and I will be crossing my fingers for you that your house rents!

 

[squirrel4569]

Hi all!

Since there wasn't any activity going on in the August 2013 Resorts thread I thought I'd pop in here and join the crowd.

We booked a couple of weeks ago to go August 17th-23rd, just before DD1 goes back to school. We weren't originally planning on coming to Disney at all this year but decided to come when other summer vacation plans weren't cheaper and we got a sweet deal on flights that week. Thanks to being able to partially pay for our flights with miles through Delta I was able to get flights for $167/person! Even to go the week before would've cost nearly $100 more.

This is our third family trip, my sixth trip and my wife's fourth trip. The last two trips were birthday trips for DD1 & DD2. The trip for DD1 was planned with a lot of ADRs and character meals. The trip for DD2 was a surprise (for the kids) and was planned heavily, but executed not so much. Both trips included BBB makeovers and meet and greets with their favorite princesses while made up.

We've learned a lot on both trips and had a lot of fun so when the option to go again came up we jumped on it. Having gone the first week of September before we're pretty aware of what we're dealing with temperature and humidity wise so we've opted to add two things to our trip and take out one other thing.

We'll be adding the water parks option to our tickets and including a break day in the middle of our plans. That day we will hit the water parks and resort pools, sleep in, etc. We're also skipping out on Animal Kingdom this time. The heat and walking wouldn't be the best combination we feel plus the kids don't care much for the attractions there (except DD1 loves Everest.)

I've never been to the water parks so that will be a new experience for all of us. We've hit the local water parks here and I've been to Wet n Wild so I'm interested in seeing the Disney touch that is part of these parks.

Our plan is going to be pretty relaxed. We've booked no ADRs and are going with QS dining to allow us to be flexible in where and when we eat. Our rough outline looks like this:

Saturday - Check in, hit the pool, visit DTD, maybe attempt a walkup at Chef Mickey's and end the night watching Wishes from the Poly beach
Sunday - Magic Kingdom. Have to hit Enchanted Tales with Belle, Barnstormer and Splash Mountain. Just about everything else is gravy. Try to get lunch at Be Our Guest. Maybe a pork shank and LeFou's brew for dinner?
Monday - Hollywood Studios. Toy Story Mania (obviously) is a must. Would like to hit RnR for the first time. ToT is also a like to do. Have to see the Beauty and the Beast show if it is still there. Pizza Planet for lunch or dinner.
Tuesday - Break day/Water Parks. Sleep in. Hit Typhoon Lagoon first. Hit Blizzard Beach if we're feeling particularly froggy. Maybe do laundry that day at the resort as well.
Wednesday - Epcot. The kids want to hit Soarin. DD2 wants to see Belle. Wife and I would like to check out World Showcase some more. Try Test Track if we can.
Thursday - Magic Kingdom. End the trip with the best. See whatever we missed on Sunday and do the favorites over again.
Friday - Fly home.

Since we have 4 visits to the water parks if the heat is on then we may take midday breaks once or twice to hit the water parks too. We also may hit the resort pools midday if we're feeling like the heat is too much.

Right now we're staying at AoA LM but may switch if a promotion comes out that is worthwhile. We stayed there last time and loved it. We've stayed at Pop before as well and enjoyed that too but the wife loves the theming. What I'd really like to get is a free dining promotion that would allow us to move into a suite at AoA, but I doubt that will happen. Can't hurt to pray though right?

 

[DisMom1981]

If you're the praying type, please say a prayer that our house rents soon. That would eliminate some of the stress!

Will do. Hope you get to go and everything works out!

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