Is there really no August 2013 thread yet?

[GMU MOM]

Originally Posted by squirrel4569

It's nice to be back on the board. My wife and I were printing pictures from our trip in November and she said she misses DW and wants to go back. I said "I'm on it!" and started looking at dates, flights, packages, etc. We have had a trend of going every other year and are planning on going in June 2014, but I'm trying to convince her to go this year too.

I think the plan is to go with a little focus on enjoying ourselves and not overplanning the trip. We're looking at 8/17-8/23 and staying at AoA or Pop. Wife wants AoA but depending on if there are discounts we may go to Pop to save a couple of bucks. I think we'll go with QSDP which will give us some flexibility about where and when to eat. We've found that with ADR's we have to be very careful about when we visit certain attractions and we can't really adjust on the fly. Also with the kids (DD7 and DD4) we found they don't eat much despite all of the going we do. Having a table service meal a day was more than they needed so we can save a couple hundred bucks and use that to get water park tickets instead.

When we went last year it was in November at Thanksgiving and while the days were nice it was still too cold to appreciate the pool and any of the water rides. With it being August and hot and humid we can take some time to enjoy the pools and hit up the water parks, Splash Mountain, etc. We may skip AK this time as the kids weren't really into it when we've gone before except for Everest and Triceratops Spin.

I've found some great deals on flights and have some frequent flier miles that will help offset the cost so that it makes it more reasonable than driving too. All around I'm pretty excited. I've never visited any of the water parks at DW so that will be a plus and I'm excited for my kids to see the rest of the Fantasyland expansion and get another Pork Shank and LeFou's Brew from Gaston's Tavern.

We're waiting on some more info before we pull the trigger on this but I'm hoping that we can make the decision soon and secure the flights for as cheap as I've found them. Going to give it another day or two and then jump on it I think.

In the meantime I'm watching my mail and the boards for the fall discounts.

Nice to have you back on the board...we were on the same Nov 2012 thread.
While we were there in Nov we were able to book the bounce back FD offer for this August so we're going Aug 19-26. We're staying at POR this time. We stayed at AoA in November but the LM rooms were excluded from the FD BB offer for August and I really wanted to try a different resort. Our ADR'S and flights are already booked.

[squirrel4569]

Originally Posted by GMU MOM

Nice to have you back on the board...we were on the same Nov 2012 thread.
While we were there in Nov we were able to book the bounce back FD offer for this August so we're going Aug 19-26. We're staying at POR this time. We stayed at AoA in November but the LM rooms were excluded from the FD BB offer for August and I really wanted to try a different resort. Our ADR'S and flights are already booked.

We honestly didn't think we would be able to go for the BB last year so we just dismissed it. We were on the fence about it until this week when we researched other summer trips and found Disney to be the cheapest of them all.

We pulled the trigger on the trip yesterday. Bought the plane tickets and booked the Disney piece of it. We opted to go with QS instead of DP because it will allow us flexibility to eat pretty much wherever we are rather than locking us into a schedule of parks and times. Also on our last trip our girls wound up falling asleep in the restaurants half the time and for one meal we didn't even order food for DD1! Thankfully that was an OOP meal so we saved a little bit of money there. We will still be able to eat at BOG for lunch and we'll get to hit up Pizza Planet, which we still haven't had a chance to eat at in our previous trips. We've opted to go with 4 day tickets and added the Water Park option. This essentially gives us 8 days worth of attractions or we can mix the water parks and theme parks in the same day. We'll probably hit the water park when we arrive, then MK, HS, EP, water parks/AoA pool, MK then home. We will skip AK this time as aside from Everest we didn't really have a lot of fun there.

We're staying at AoA LM again as my wife and the girls loved it. It is similar to Pop but small things make it nicer. If fall promotions come out that make it significantly worthwhile to change rooms then we may, but I think we're good at the moment.

We're still planning a trip in June 2014 so maybe we'll get a BB when we are there this time. We've told the kids about this trip rather than keeping it a secret so they are excited and can help us figure out some of the things we would like to do this year. DD2 really wants to see Gaston again, which works out well because my wife wants a LeFou's Brew and I want a Pork Shank.

We're also thinking low key on souvenirs and autographs this time. Having just gone in November and going again next year we aren't feeling the urge as much to spend on junk. We'll likely bring some little trinkets from the dollar store again to tide the kids over for their cheap plastic stuff.

We've also learned that since the kids don't like the fireworks (too loud) that we can skip Wishes and Illuminations and hit rides instead. Last time we saw the finale of Wishes from the Astro Orbiter and my wife and I thought it was awesome plus there was no wait. The kids were distracted by the ride so they didn't care at that point about the noise. Same thing with the parades. We've seen the parades so we can skip those and hit up rides instead. No sense backing in the Florida August sun for a parade when we could be on a ride or two.

We've never been the type to take the afternoon breaks but we may do that this time. With the weather being warm enough on this trip to use the pools we may very well go back to AoA and hit up the pools in the afternoon or swing over to one of the water parks to cool off in a lazy river or splash park.

The crowd calendars look promising. We were there during Thanksgiving and we could tell it was very busy, but it wasn't unmanageable. The crowd calendars for the end of August are much lower than what we saw at Thanksgiving. The parks are still open late too, which is nice.

We're flying this time instead of driving due to some low cost tickets so we'll be taking the buses, which we don't really mind. It relieves me of the hassle of driving and parking for a week and the girls think it's a treat. It also makes you feel more like you are on vacation when you don't have to worry about driving.

The only thing up for debate right now is PP vs PP+. We were happy to get PP+ for the dining photos last year. The ride photos were a bonus. This year we're not doing the dining so we won't need that aspect of it. We also did our family Christmas pictures at Disney last year so PP was huge for us. We had over 800 pictures for the week! We will still rely on the PP folks for pictures as we won't take as many ourselves this year. Ride photos aren't the most flattering of pictures though since they are taken in the moment. We may still get them though since it is a memory from the trip and this will be the first time that DD2 gets to ride Splash Mountain, so that may be worth it.

[mykidslovesdisney]

Originally Posted by 3Leafs

Don't you love how early the sports start? My ds15 only has the week of the 4th off of hockey and that is it. He skates year round. I am lucky with the younger ones that they don't start cheer and football until the second week of August. Good Luck

So love how early they start. I heard the weight room opens in July for the football team.

Anyways we just booked today for July 27-Aug 9th. First 8 nights at POR-FQ and the over to AKV-Kidani for 5 nights in a 2bdrm. POR-FQ may change if a better discount comes out. Today the CM said something should be released in the next few weeks for the summer. Fingers crossed.

Now to plan our ADRs

[n3rf]

sorry

[n3rf]

Just checking in!

still nothing

Anyways in the meantime a quick note on my plans.

Planning on August 6 - August 12 (6 days), 2 Adults, one 8 year old (DD) and one 2 year old (DD - free)

Tried crunching the numbers for a stay:
POP total with dinning was 2548.61 if free dining is available ill save around 800.00

now also tried AKL with Savannah View, also with dining was 4277.46 with a 30% discount (if possible, not sure yet) would be a 1200+ plus savings...
guess I need a discount ... come one disney!

Question: Do the 30% discounts on Deluxe in the past can they be used to book a Savannah view room? or only standard rooms?

[maddiebee]

My boyfriend and I are going August 18-22nd! A discount would be such a lovely surprise!

[cart-mom]

subbing

[shopn24seven]

Count me in for August 2013. I am bouncing back with a 30% off mods rate.
I don't think I can do better then that, once I get home.

[Ms.Grumpy]

We are heading back in August for a mini family reunion! Looking at Aug 6-13th.
FD would be awesome, but I will take any offer Disney has for the Values.

[TNixon123]

I have my first trip booked August 11th-17th with my wife an 2 children.

We are at the AoA Finding Nemo suite. I know this resort has not been favored on by the discount goddess but any little thing sure would help!!!!!!!!

[NHBelle]

I did get a quote from Magical Vacations.....$6975 for 9 nights at the poly...5 of us...includes 5 day park hoopers with the water parks and the regular dining plan...it really is a great deal, but I am trying to keep my budget around 5,000, so I guess I have to keep waiting for a pin code or Disney discount. Thinking 2 rooms at POP would be cheaper or even squishing in a room at POR, but boy wouldn't POLY be awesome!!!!!

[BooJJMommy]

Still hoping for that pixie dust for August 18-24! But we have been pricing out a switch to July..... ahhhhh!

[jdd]

Originally Posted by BooJJMommy

Still hoping for that pixie dust for August 18-24! But we have been pricing out a switch to July..... ahhhhh!

I don't want to discourage your switch (it's always nice for your countdown to get shorter ), but crowds will be so much lighter for your August dates...lots of kids back in school by then.

[jdd]

Originally Posted by NHBelle

I did get a quote from Magical Vacations.....$6975 for 9 nights at the poly...5 of us...includes 5 day park hoopers with the water parks and the regular dining plan...it really is a great deal, but I am trying to keep my budget around 5,000, so I guess I have to keep waiting for a pin code or Disney discount. Thinking 2 rooms at POP would be cheaper or even squishing in a room at POR, but boy wouldn't POLY be awesome!!!!!

Did you price it out with the 30% discount that came out yesterday? I don't think it'll get you to $5,000, but it should be a chunk

[maddiebee]

Originally Posted by jdd

I don't want to discourage your switch (it's always nice for your countdown to get shorter ), but crowds will be so much lighter for your August dates...lots of kids back in school by then.

I'm going aug 18-22nd and while I would love a discount, I'd take significantly smaller crowds too. Either way, I'm just happy to be going home!