Book it. Buy it. BELIEVE it! - TR is started! link posted 8/11

[glennbo123]

A Kidani 2 bedroom -- what a great idea!!! This is working into a fantastic trip!

Jeff throws you for another loop? Can't wait to see what that could be.

And if you're ever local enough to meet up with MEK, you have to include me as well....I work in DE.

 

[MEK]

And if you're ever local enough to meet up with MEK, you have to include me as well....I work in DE.

How did I not know that you worked in Delaware?

 

[glennbo123]

How did I not know that you worked in Delaware?

I don't know....you never asked.

 

[eandesmom]

Kidani!!! You know that gets a stamp of approval from me!

Luckily our boys are heavy sleepers (at least until the wee morning hours) so if we want to stay up in the living room, we can put them to bed in the master & move them to the living room when we want to go to bed. I think having the 2 bedrooms will work out great for your gang!

We could do that when they were smaller but they are too heavy to carry and really hard to wake up. We have done it before though. We went for the dedicated 2B so they could have that room, each with their own bed and not worry about folding up two couches. I am very excited for the 2B, I think we may all want some space by then and if so, it will restore harmony!

I Kindani. We stayed in a 2BR lockoff in October and the 3 bathrooms were a godsend with 4 adults and 2 kids...so nice to have the space and the ability to be away from each other!

Jill in CO

We debated lockoff versus dedicated, probably more than we needed to. We figured in a lockoff, K would get the bedroom so she had a real bed and the boys the living room. We decided we vastly preferred the only one couch to fold up and the boys in their own room, a full room away from ours. Seriously, Jeff can hear Eric through the walls!

Despite the heat we will be on the balcony a lot and it will be really nice not to feel like we are fighting for space with 3 balconies!

 

[eandesmom]

Now that sounds like my kind of trip!
Love the addition of Kidani and then a 2br!!!

We are SO excited to stay there! Well, Jeff and I are, the kids don't have a clue! I did look at a 2B for Vero, of course they are long gone now, but as that shoots any chance of a view and it's early in the trip, a 1B should do just fine.

I'm going with Raglan Road for lunch, assuming you are heading over to Disney property first.

guess noted!

Wow - 2BR Kidani - major upgrade. And exactly how long is it going to be before you add-on? I predict you will be looking for a new contract by the time you get home, maybe sooner.

Maybe sooner, maybe on the cruise, maybe after, we will see. We will likely add on between now and November, it;s a matter of when and where and for how much. We knew it was a starter contract and it is meeting our needs at the moment.

Yeah for having the 1 day base tickets. Are you going to get your AP then? You probably should, unless you have something else up your sleeve.

I was wondering if anyone would notice we were a ticket short! Yes, I plan to get my AP then since even if the family trip falls apart at a minimum I break even with our trip thanks to the DVC discount. However, the family trip should be within my AP window...or at least I'm really going to try and make sure it is!

Your trip is going to be wonderful. It sounds like a great combo of everything.

Thanks! We are very excited.

That is fantastic! A two bedroom at Kidani sounds like heaven. I fall into the category of people who feel truly transported when they go to AKL (never been out to Kidani, but I'm planning on a meal at Sanaa at some point...July, maybe?) and I would love to stay there. It would also be my choice if I weren't going to go to a park. Though it is nice that it worked out that you are. And I'm just happy that you worked out a stop at Disneyworld at all. Well played.

One of these days Tina, you will be there for sure and Max will be more into it as well.

I love fuzzy Disney math... I think it may be the only type I understand. Its how we've ended up staying deluxe. I figure, OK...I would spend this much on rack rate at a mod...but I can get very close to that number with a discount at a deluxe. Which means, I never consider applying that same discount to a mod. If Mark knew the full extent of how my brain works on this, he might kill me.

Yep, I know that game well!

Once I started reading, I knew where it was headed and hoping you'd be there when we're going to be, but alas, we miss eachother by a few days. Plus, given your short time, any type of meet would have been tough for you guys. Luckily there's October!

A meet at WDW will be really tough. I hope to see my college friend Julie at either WDW or Vero but that's probably about all I can fit in, not even going to attempt other meets since there are so many in Oct.

 

[MEK]

We went for the dedicated 2B so they could have that room, each with their own bed and not worry about folding up two couches. I am very excited for the 2B, I think we may all want some space by then and if so, it will restore harmony!

Except if they decide to get super creative and lock themselves in. This actually happened to us in SSR. Brian, Nick, and Brian's friend decided to be cute and lock their bedroom door. My friend's T&K were with us and T wasted no time calling maintenance to have their lock popped. Imagine their surprise when maintenance walked in!

 

[mousescrapper]

Caught up

Enjoyed your mini report, sounded like a great getaway w/ the boys

I love how you have added the AKV and day at AK onto the end of the trip...what fun

Can't wait to see what else is coming up!

 

[Mndisneygirl]

YAY for two nights at Kidani! I've debated switching over there from Jambo for October, but I also am considering all the other resorts!
Someday I'd like a 1 or 2 BR there - we'll need some space eventually! I think your thinking is right on - you will need a little breathing room after the close quarters on the cruise.

You are the BEST at fuzzy Disney math - it even sounds reasonable!

 

[KatMark]

Lucky, lucky girl. As you know, we fell in love with Kidani in September (we had the one-bedroom villa for just the two of us) and it was absolutely heavenly. I can't wait to stay there for our 30th anniversary in 2013.

Your plans are coming along, and I do love your fuzzy Disney math.

 

[eandesmom]

Airfare this year has been the worst I've seen in awhile. Our fares have fluctuated, but not lower than we paid. Actually, it hasn't gone back down to what we paid either. Does Virgin America fly from Seattle to MCO? I've heard good things about them.

Not to MCO, I don't think. They do to NYC. I've never flown them either but have heard good things. Only Alaska flies direct, and that's limited. The other options are Delta, Air Tran, Frontier, United, Continental and American. We prefer Alaska for the direct option as well as that's where we have miles. We have Delta on the way out and Alaska back. Nice thing about Delta is that I can have the miles put on Alaska if I want. Which I am for everyone but myself since I have miles on Delta as well. My worry with United, American and Continental is flight changes and cancellations, they are pretty notorious for it. I swear my BF had 3 or 4 flight changes by united for her Feb trip and then ended up in a mechanical delay scenario on their way there that had them stranded on their layover for a good 8 hours. They almost had to stay the night there. Frontier would probably have been our next choice but they don't do a red eye. It's the outbound red eye that's the problem since the direct is only 2x a week. Alaska does have a daily non stop during daylight hours but then your whole day is on the plane.

Your trip sounds AMAZING! Vero+DCL+AKV-Kidani+AK day= PERFECT!!!

A 2 br at Kidani sounds amazing. And three bathrooms is even better.

What is your departure date from Kidani? I think we JUST miss each other.

the 7th. Are you at Jambo or Kidani for the AK part?

A Kidani 2 bedroom -- what a great idea!!! This is working into a fantastic trip!

Jeff throws you for another loop? Can't wait to see what that could be.

The man continues to shock me. Multiple times with this trip, not sure I know who he is anymore!

I hope you think it's fantastic, it has some of the same things yours does! I really thought we'd end up at SSR or OWK and do DTD for a night and that would be it so I am quite pleased with the whole thing! I actually think it will be relatively easy to pull off the surprise too, as the kids have asked and we've agreed that we will hit DTD after the cruise so to head over there won't seem suspect at all.

And if you're ever local enough to meet up with MEK, you have to include me as well....I work in DE.

Well it is unlikely I'll be out there but that would be cool! It was an odd thing, a conference in Dover. Which theoretically was under one of my peers area of responsibility more than mine, though I refereed to go! However, we decided not to attend at all. Which, much as I'd love to see Mary Ellen, from a business standpoint was the right call.

How did I not know that you worked in Delaware?

I don't know....you never asked.

And you never offered apparently

 

[eandesmom]

Except if they decide to get super creative and lock themselves in. This actually happened to us in SSR. Brian, Nick, and Brian's friend decided to be cute and lock their bedroom door. My friend's T&K were with us and T wasted no time calling maintenance to have their lock popped. Imagine their surprise when maintenance walked in!

That's another reason I didn't want the lock off They do NOT need their own entry! And the ability to lock it off from the 1 b portion. Love that you got "in" so quickly and surprised them.

Caught up

Enjoyed your mini report, sounded like a great getaway w/ the boys

Thanks! It was a fun little trip

I love how you have added the AKV and day at AK onto the end of the trip...what fun

Can't wait to see what else is coming up!

I'm really excited to have a full day to focus on a park we love, that gets shortchanged every trip.

YAY for two nights at Kidani! I've debated switching over there from Jambo for October, but I also am considering all the other resorts!

So many options! Although in Oct...not as many, rather full up due to F&W, seems like lots of folks are on waitlists!

Someday I'd like a 1 or 2 BR there - we'll need some space eventually! I think your thinking is right on - you will need a little breathing room after the close quarters on the cruise.

Yeah, I figure we can do a studio with the E's although given how light Jeff sleeps I'm not sure it would be all that fun for more than a couple of nights. But I do love how many nights you could get out of a trip if you did a studio. I do not love how high the points are for a 1b compared to a studio. A 2b is actually a much better deal on a points/ppl basis if you have enough people.

You are the BEST at fuzzy Disney math - it even sounds reasonable!

Well honestly, other than food, thanks to DVC and those extra tickets, adding the 2 nights and the park day didn't cost us anything.

Except my AP. Which I'd be getting in Oct anyway, this way I just get an extra day out of it! It is a splurge with the points and I may regret it as we plan the big 2013 trip but that is SUCH a wildcard I decided I didn't want to regret not splurging now, since it is likely K's last trip with us there. And since adding on prior to that was part of the plan anyways...we went for it. I am a bit worried it will be hard to go back to a smaller room after this though.

Lucky, lucky girl. As you know, we fell in love with Kidani in September (we had the one-bedroom villa for just the two of us) and it was absolutely heavenly. I can't wait to stay there for our 30th anniversary in 2013.

I remember that! What a lovely place for an anniversary trip. I am very very excited to stay there!

Your plans are coming along, and I do love your fuzzy Disney math.

Thanks!

 

[Native NYer]

Not to MCO, I don't think. They do to NYC. I've never flown them either but have heard good things. Only Alaska flies direct, and that's limited. The other options are Delta, Air Tran, Frontier, United, Continental and American. We prefer Alaska for the direct option as well as that's where we have miles. We have Delta on the way out and Alaska back. Nice thing about Delta is that I can have the miles put on Alaska if I want. Which I am for everyone but myself since I have miles on Delta as well. My worry with United, American and Continental is flight changes and cancellations, they are pretty notorious for it. I swear my BF had 3 or 4 flight changes by united for her Feb trip and then ended up in a mechanical delay scenario on their way there that had them stranded on their layover for a good 8 hours. They almost had to stay the night there. Frontier would probably have been our next choice but they don't do a red eye. It's the outbound red eye that's the problem since the direct is only 2x a week. Alaska does have a daily non stop during daylight hours but then your whole day is on the plane.



the 7th. Are you at Jambo or Kidani for the AK part?

Airline/Airfare roulette is not fun! And I have found flight times have been fluctuating as much as prices. Thank goodness you got your flights at times you can live with and with a price you can live with.

We arrive on the 12th. We're booked at Kidani. While I LOVE the lobby and vibe at Jambo, an extra bathroom and more square footage won out.

 

[Disney9.9.10]

Wow, lots of updates! It looks like the boys had a great time at the airplane museum!

How exciting about booking AKL!! We stayed at Kidani in a 1BR last August and it was amazing, we loved it. You are going to have such a great trip

 

[marciemouse]

Gotta love a 4 night cruise that turns into an 11 night trip…to get cheaper flights! Fuzzy Disney math at it’s BEST!

I love it! DH loves AKL even though we've never stayed there. Kidani 2 bedroom savanna view is pretty much his dream resort stay. Hmmm, maybe leverage for talking him into a future DVC purchase!

I have no idea where you might be stopping for lunch, but I do have 2 recommendations for while you're in Vero: Mr. Manatee's in Vero Beach (conch chowder... yum!) and Captain Hiram's in Sebastian. My dad would at Sonny's Real Pit BBQ to that list, but it's questionable! Oh, and if you end up in the mall at Vero, Chick-fil-A, because, let's face it, who doesn't love Chick-fil-A?

 

[Chilly]

Disney maths at its best. I once turned 5 nights at Disneyland Paris into 14 nights at WDW.

My DH loves AKL as well.

 

[jeremysdisneymom]

Wow, I love you Disney fuzzy math!

Love how 4 days turned into 11!!! There is nothing better.

So glad you get to visit Disney while you are there. We tend to short change AK when we go. We are going on April 13th this trip. They are having Earth Day activities that day and on the 20th so I thought Jeremy would enjoy it.

Yay for Kidani! I can hardly wait to stay there in 2 weeks and 1 day!!!!

 

[eandesmom]

Airline/Airfare roulette is not fun! And I have found flight times have been fluctuating as much as prices. Thank goodness you got your flights at times you can live with and with a price you can live with.

It is not fun, probably the most stressful part of any trip I think. The only time it isn't is if a screaming deal comes up and you jump on it and THEN book the rest of it. Living is relative but it is what it is at this point. They are really not budging, tracking for Oct as well and it's about the same as August. UGH!

Airline/Airfare roulette is not fun! And I We arrive on the 12th. We're booked at Kidani. While I LOVE the lobby and vibe at Jambo, an extra bathroom and more square footage won out.[/QUOTE]

You have a big group, I'd want that space too!

Wow, lots of updates! It looks like the boys had a great time at the airplane museum!

They really did, it was a very fun trip.

How exciting about booking AKL!! We stayed at Kidani in a 1BR last August and it was amazing, we loved it. You are going to have such a great trip

I am very excited! We would have been fine in the 1B but I'm glad we upgraded, it will be lovely after being in one stateroom for 4 nights!

Gotta love a 4 night cruise that turns into an 11 night trip…to get cheaper flights! Fuzzy Disney math at it’s BEST!

Not cheaper by much but every little bit helps!!!

I love it! DH loves AKL even though we've never stayed there. Kidani 2 bedroom savanna view is pretty much his dream resort stay. Hmmm, maybe leverage for talking him into a future DVC purchase!

Sounds like a good strategy to me! Jeff may be pushing for an add on there after the trip, we will see

I have no idea where you might be stopping for lunch, but I do have 2 recommendations for while you're in Vero: Mr. Manatee's in Vero Beach (conch chowder... yum!) and Captain Hiram's in Sebastian. My dad would at Sonny's Real Pit BBQ to that list, but it's questionable! Oh, and if you end up in the mall at Vero, Chick-fil-A, because, let's face it, who doesn't love Chick-fil-A?

Well....I don't. Love Chick-fil-A that is. I know they have a grilled sandwich but it's just not really my thing and definitely not Jeff's. I've had it a couple of times and just thought it was meh. I know I am in the minority on that for this board but....it is what it is! If' I'm going to do any kind of fried chicken it will be the real deal, on the bone at a KFC, Popeyes or preferably Ezells (which is a local chain). Jeff won't eat it but YUM!.

I've heard mixed things about Sonny's but good things about the other 2. right now we are thinking just one dinner out and probably at Squidlips and then the Sunday brunch at Sonya's. That could definitely change though!

Disney maths at its best. I once turned 5 nights at Disneyland Paris into 14 nights at WDW.

Not only a longer trip but a farther "away" one for you! Well done!

My DH loves AKL as well.

We are really excited to stay there and explore it.

Wow, I love you Disney fuzzy math!

Love how 4 days turned into 11!!! There is nothing better.

There really isn't, is there!

So glad you get to visit Disney while you are there. We tend to short change AK when we go. We are going on April 13th this trip. They are having Earth Day activities that day and on the 20th so I thought Jeremy would enjoy it.

Yay for Kidani! I can hardly wait to stay there in 2 weeks and 1 day!!!!

I'm not sure why or how it gets shortchanged, we certainly never plan it that way. The last trip we were there at least 3 times but it was crazy short each time and hardly got anything done. On the girls trip, which was shorter, the Trek ate up most of my AK time. It was amazing but I still missed most of the park! I am really looking forward to dedicating a whole day there and not feeling stressed or rushed about it.

 

[eandesmom]

Our little getaway was a Sat-Tues trip, I was out of town on Tuesday night and all day weds at a work conference and as a result, only had to cook dinner for my family on Thursday of that week. Which was good as Friday was another all day work conference! It was a long and busy week. I was tired! Thankfully the rule at our house is that Friday is no-cook day. Which means we go out, as a family, every Friday night. It’s a reward for a week of work and homework and something we’ve all gotten pretty used to over the years. Nothing fancy, usually Mexican or pizza or a good local brew pub. Despite having been gone, and out the previous entire weekend we decided we were still going to go out. And because we’d had a bit of brewpub overload on our little trip…we decided Mexican was in order. There are 2 places in particular near us that we love. Great food and even better margaritas. We are a little funny about our “adult” drinks. As a general rule, outside of vacation, we have a very regular drinking schedule. We have wine with dinner Thursday, Saturday and Sunday and then Friday is beer night…or margaritas. The place we chose for dinner has very strong, and yummy, margaritas. It was also PACKED! Both places often are and have a bit of a wait. We found two a corner by the host stand that also happened to be next to the bar entry. After about 10 minutes and nothing appearing to move anytime soon, we decided to go ahead and order our favorite, a Cadillac. Since the bar was literally next to the waiting area, we gave the boys our phones to play temple run while they waited and sat at the bar with our drinks, 2 stools having magically opened up for us! It’s funny, I really hadn’t planned on having a trip, or Disney, conversation. Generally Jeff hasn’t been keen on talking about things that are far off. He’d rather wait till it gets closer. I mentioned to him that I’d gone ahead and upgraded us to the 2 bedroom. We’d been chatting about it and determining Jambo versus Kidani, lockoff versus dedicated and since the boys were otherwise engaged I figured I’d tell him. We also chatted a bit about point usage and adding on and what that might look like. He is nodding his head, basically agreeing with anything I said.

Now I can’t blame this on the drink, we’d just started them. Although I think he had a beer at the house before we left. Out of nowhere he launches into talking about excursions for the cruise. We’d looked at some options and Jeff was pretty high on Atlantis.

It is pricey for a day excursion. Certainly not at the level of our float plane trip/lunch in Alaska but x5 added up to a chunk of change I wasn’t sure was quite worth it. He felt strongly that it was. Okay…I’ve gotten my way on a LOT, if he wants to pay for that, who am I to argue? We can always cancel if we decide it’s too much so ok, add that to my booking plan the minute my window opens. Then he stuns me into silence. He wants to book a cabana for Castaway Cay!

Ok, I know our chances of actually getting one is like one in a bazillion but still…in a million years I never thought he would be willing to pay for something like that. Frankly I still don’t get it but..again…whatever! I’ll book it! If I can. This means I need to be logging in to try and book excursions the minute the window opens. Which luckily for cruising is around 9pm Pacific time. It took a good 20 minutes to get in last time when I tried at that window opening but I did get in and didn’t have to stay up late.

As we talk about excursions, he asks about the Wild Africa Trek. Somehow he never saw my pictures so I pull some up on the phone. For whatever reason, compared to the 2 cruise splurges, that price tag is a non starter. Ok, no biggie. But wait…there is the Backstage Safari. Kendall would love that (she is looking into veterinary medicine but it’s pretty unclear at this point as to how serious she is). So now I need to book that for just Jeff and K. Stunned, sipping my drink, wondering what has happened to my husband who is willingly talking about a trip almost 5 months away making plans, factoring in some large splurges (as if the cruise isn’t enough) he throws me for a total loop.

I think we should retire to Florida.


Aside from the fact that we are a couple of decades away from that (much as he’d like to dream it’s earlier) the whole comment blew my mind. I must have looked at him like he had 3 heads. Apparently, he has it all figured out!

1. Florida is where the company that made his seaplane kit is based
2. Florida has the highest per capita of seaplane owners (or some similar factoid, I was a bit dazed at this point…and my margarita about gone).
3. Florida is where the company that makes his NEXT seaplane is based (yes, he’s already planning his upgrade)
4. Florida has Disney (meaning that’s what I get out of his seaplane focused agenda).

Win win. Right?

Except for the hurricanes that is. Which brings him to the idea of splitting time between Florida (In his mind, the Keys) and the San Juans.
Huh.

I start talking, joking, that its funny how many CM’s you meet that are retirees. He goes…

That would be perfect! We’d get part time jobs as CM’s!

WHO IS THIS MAN?

 

[jedijill]

Wow! That was one heck of a margarita!

Atlantis is nice but very over priced. Look into rooms at the Comfort Suites....usually its cheaper to get a room there to get the wristbands for Atlantis. It's super easy and cheap to taxi over to Atlantis from the dock.

Jill in CO

 

[MEK]

Wow! That was one heck of a margarita!

I just picked my jaw up off the kitchen counter. WOW!

Wait - maybe he's using some kind of backwards psychology on you!

Or - Maybe he is really tired of cold, wet, rain, damp, snow, ect. OK - that can happen as you age.

Atlantis is nice but very over priced. Look into rooms at the Comfort Suites....usually its cheaper to get a room there to get the wristbands for Atlantis. It's super easy and cheap to taxi over to Atlantis from the dock.

Jill in CO

Really? This is a very interesting piece of information. Hmmmmm.


Well, looks like you have some booking to do missy. Wait - why did you say it would be hard to get a cabana? Are the very limited in availability? I did not know that. I think the cabanas looks awesome.