"I can't believe we're staying here!" An Feb'16 DLR PTR (TR link Post #355)

[franandaj]

Your FP+ and schedules look good. A lot of down time and some rest mixed in with all the fun.

 

[skier_pete]

You were able to get some great FP+ options! Hopefully we have as much luck for October since we only get to book them 30 days out.

I'm excited to see what your big plans are!! Maybe an ABD??

Nope - no ABD...I don't picture us doing an ABD trip anytime in the future. They are just too much money for our typical budgets.

Your FP+ and schedules look good. A lot of down time and some rest mixed in with all the fun.

I worry I still don't have enough rest time in there. Usually we have a full-on rest day and I didn't do that this time in lieu of having some rest time everyday. I suspect by the end of the trip we'll be cutting some days down for more resort time. The other big question mark at that time of year is the weather. A rainy day/hurricane will throw the schedule out the window. I'm gonna try not to sweat it and just enjoy the long trip.

 

[skier_pete]

So - I was hoping to have an really exciting announcement about an upcoming trip - but things haven't worked out quite as planned, so its not QUITE as exciting as it should be.

A few years back I discovered that the distance between my mom and step-dad's house in Arizona and Disneyland was a mere 6 hour drive. Since then I've been plotting a return to Disneyland. Since my step-dad passed away I wanted to do something a little special with my mom, and we've decided that come February 2016 we are going to fly out for about 11 days, and spend some of that time in Disneyland!!!!

Now, besides the mere six hour drive, the other part that made this exciting was that we had a shot at maybe staying at the Grand Californian Villas now that we were DVC owners. Getting into VGC isn't easy, but because my mom was coming, and we only wanted to do a 3-night stay and it was the lowest point season and we could stay mid-week - we thought we could get a 1-bedroom and with a 1-bedroom it wouldn't be that hard to get in at 7 months. So I was *hoping* that I would be announcing that not only were we going to Disneyland - but we were staying at the Grand Californian. This would definitely be keeping with the "I can't believe I'm staying here!" theme of this PTR.

Well, I went on-line on July 15th to try and book 3 days. Their was availabilty, but right at 8 AM (the first moment that non-owners can book) the availability vaporized for the next two days. "Well," I thought, "I can still get 2 nights on the 17th and 18th" and this morning I went on, ready to refresh and grad that room as quick as I could.
So, I was all set up and hit the button every 30 seconds. At 8 AM, I got past the first screen and it said I had a room. Then I clicked to the confirmation screen and... ...sorry - there is no availabilty for your dates. Would you like to waitlist.

How totally frustrating! WE certainly can't afford to stay at one of the Disney hotels without the DVC points. (Even the paradise pier runs $250+ a night which I can't afford.) So now I sit here without a reservation. It's not like Florida, where you can just pick a different DVC if you don't get your first choice. It's the Grand Cali or nada.

After I calmed down, I decided I'd still try and get the ONE night left on the 18th. I would then depending on whether I get that waitlist a couple different options on the off chance a cancelation comes through.

Oh, our plans would be thus
Feb 12th: Fly to Arizona
Feb 14th: Drive to Hollywood.
Feb 16th-19th: Disneyland
Feb 20th: Legoland - San Diego (DD really wants to do Legoland again.)
Feb 21st: Drive back to Arizona
Feb 22nd: Fly home.

I've got the airline tickets already purchased. I got us a stay in a resort right next to Legoland for two nights on the 19th and 20th in a one-bedroom unit. Maybe there's still hope we can get into the VGC, but I am not sure I will hold my breath. Otherwise we will be out on Hardor Boulevard with the usual riffraff.

But hey, we're 7th months from Disneyland! And we are only SIX weeks from our DisneyWORLD trip too. So life is good!

 

[YodasMom]

Maybe there's still hope we can get into the VGC, but I am not sure I will hold my breath.

Stay positive....I've always had to wait list, too, and the two times I've stayed there my full wait list came through each time. So, you may have the same luck, especially during the middle of the week. Good luck! Your trip sounds exciting!

 

[PrincessInOz]

WOW! Disneyland. What a great sounding trip.

I hope the wait list comes through. Good luck!

 

[kcpinwdw]

So exciting! I was a little bummed this morning because Jer and I were supposed to be at Disneyland today, but decided not to go. We got invited to a wedding. But it was just too much to go out west for the weekend, so we decided not to go. You are going to have a great time! Good luck on the waitlist coming through for you!

 

[franandaj]

Hopefully your waitlist will come through, just like there is only one choice in DL, the waitlist is a different animal here. People book on a whim and cancel often when their plans change. Let's hope someone was planning a getaway for that week and then gets a better offer. Californian can be flighty like that!

 

[skier_pete]

Stay positive....I've always had to wait list, too, and the two times I've stayed there my full wait list came through each time. So, you may have the same luck, especially during the middle of the week. Good luck! Your trip sounds exciting!

That would be great - it's an east coast holiday week, so I'm now sure how much that will effect the likelihood of people dropping out.

WOW! Disneyland. What a great sounding trip.

I hope the wait list comes through. Good luck!

Thanks! My biggest concern is that with staying in the 1-bedroom at VGC we could give my mom a little more space. If we have to pay to stay ourselves, its unlikely we can afford anything more than a standard hotel room for the 4 of us.

So exciting! I was a little bummed this morning because Jer and I were supposed to be at Disneyland today, but decided not to go. We got invited to a wedding. But it was just too much to go out west for the weekend, so we decided not to go. You are going to have a great time! Good luck on the waitlist coming through for you!

Wow - heading out for the 60th? That would have been something. Surprisingly they said the parks weren't crowded either. Maybe people have been burned too many times with overcrowded celebrations out there. Hoping that some of the 60th stuff will still be going on when we're there.

Hopefully your waitlist will come through, just like there is only one choice in DL, the waitlist is a different animal here. People book on a whim and cancel often when their plans change. Let's hope someone was planning a getaway for that week and then gets a better offer. Californian can be flighty like that!

Here's hoping for flighty Cailfornians then!

I've ranted a bit on the DVC boards about how they need to expand the DVC offerings in So Cal. Many say that they are waiting to sell Aulani, but I really can't imagine that they couldn't sell DVC in DLR!

Update: I went on this morning to try and get the one night on the 18th, and again it was gobbled up right at 8 AM. Not as disappointed, because I am not sure we would actually even WANT to stay there for just ONE night, seems like more trouble than it's worth. I set up my two waitlists...one for 3 nights on Tues-Fri, and the other for 2 nights Wed-Fri. I am not sure how that would work, since I set up the 3 night one first, I am assuming if all three nights became available, that would be selected first, but if the last two nights are available only, those will hopefully be the ones that catch. (I have no idea if that's actually how it works.) I'm not really interested in one night - and certainly not one night in the middle, but 2 nights on either end would be OK, so it makes we wonder if I should change the 1st waitlist to Tues-Thurs.

 

[khertz]

Yay Disneyland! I hope your waitlist comes through. In case it doesn't, did you listen to the DL 7 in 7 they did on the podcast not too long ago? Some of the resorts they reviewed sounded really great! If we didn't have Wyndham to stay at, we would probably find ourselves staying at one of those on our next trip to DL.

 

[Tinker326]

Woo hoo! Funny you write that, but I am also going to squeeze Disneyland into our AZ trip this spring break! Well, I haven't told Kurt yet, just my mom... it'll be like a surprise for Cap't Killjoy. Or he can stay with my step-dad Cap't Kill-joy Senior.

Course that all depends if I can get any sort of decent plane tickets into Pheonix for Spring Break since it's also Easter Week this year! Fingers crossed... I'm already looking.

We will be staying at the riff-raff hotels on Harbor! They are closer then the one we could afford anyways (Which is Paradise Pier).

 

[Disneychix]

Cali sounds good! I hope to get my kids there while they're still kids but I just dread the flight. A 6 hour drive might not be bad though

I would also suggest logging into the DVC member site a lot and searching for your dates. The system will check for waitlists as a batch job so if you can snag someone's cancellation before the batch runs you get the room. Maybe you can piece something together that way.

 

[skier_pete]

Yay Disneyland! I hope your waitlist comes through. In case it doesn't, did you listen to the DL 7 in 7 they did on the podcast not too long ago? Some of the resorts they reviewed sounded really great! If we didn't have Wyndham to stay at, we would probably find ourselves staying at one of those on our next trip to DL.

We stayed at the Tropicana Inn across from the park on Harbor Boulevard twice. It was actually a nice little hotel and we had no problems there. The second time though we stayed there for 1 night at the end of our ABD trip and 3 nights at the Grand Californian. There's nothing like a direct comparison to bum you out! That's why if we can't stay at the VGC the whole trip, we'd really like to stay there LAST.

I will check out that 7 in 7. You can't beat the Tropicana for location, but room size will also factor into the equation with my mom along.

Woo hoo! Funny you write that, but I am also going to squeeze Disneyland into our AZ trip this spring break! Well, I haven't told Kurt yet, just my mom... it'll be like a surprise for Cap't Killjoy. Or he can stay with my step-dad Cap't Kill-joy Senior.

Course that all depends if I can get any sort of decent plane tickets into Pheonix for Spring Break since it's also Easter Week this year! Fingers crossed... I'm already looking.

We will be staying at the riff-raff hotels on Harbor! They are closer then the one we could afford anyways (Which is Paradise Pier).

Awesome. We considered Easter break, but in the end decided that the lower crowds of President's Week are better. Plus the points are much less for the VGC (31 points of a 1-bedroom mid-week in February, or 62 points a night at Easter. We only have 160 points, so I wouldn't even have enough points for 3 nights at Easter!) I have 52 leftover points from this year, so 93 points for February was doable but pushing the boundaries.

The real killer bit of not being able to use the DVC points is the extra cost. The fact is, the cost of the DVC points are factored into my annual vacation budget. If we can't use them for the trip, we still have to PAY for them. Therefore, those 3 nights hotel are completely adding on costs to our vacation budget. So even at $150 a night we are adding $450 to the trip costs, and its already a pretty pricey trip.

Cali sounds good! I hope to get my kids there while they're still kids but I just dread the flight. A 6 hour drive might not be bad though

I would also suggest logging into the DVC member site a lot and searching for your dates. The system will check for waitlists as a batch job so if you can snag someone's cancellation before the batch runs you get the room. Maybe you can piece something together that way.

I've been checking a couple times a day, but of course nothing yet. It seems like I would have to get pretty lucky to stumble on a cancelation that way without logging on every hour on the hour.

I am so disappointed with not getting the VGC, even though I knew all along there was a chance of this happening. I feel like such a whiny babyhead about this, I am so lucky just to be able to do trips like this. I can't even really focus on alternative options yet for the trip.

 

[franandaj]

Have you considered renting those 93 points out to cover costs? David's pays at least $11 per point and I calculate $1023 for $11 pp. You might consider doing that if the waitlist doesn't come through. If you're talking $450 additional you would get half up front to cover the extra $450, and a bonus $500 when the stay materializes.

They rented my points within a week and because they were BCV I even got $14 pp. I think you own at AKV which also pays $14 pp.

 

[skier_pete]

Have you considered renting those 93 points out to cover costs? David's pays at least $11 per point and I calculate $1023 for $11 pp. You might consider doing that if the waitlist doesn't come through. If you're talking $450 additional you would get half up front to cover the extra $450, and a bonus $500 when the stay materializes.

They rented my points within a week and because they were BCV I even got $14 pp. I think you own at AKV which also pays $14 pp.

Fran that's a really good idea. The thought didn't really cross my mind...we have 52 points left in our 2015 UY (which starts December 1st) and then another 160 pts in December 2016, so I was going to have to borrow the points anyways. I was thinking I would just bank the the points if we don't use them on this trip, but 2 of the pts are already banked. I am not sure I would rent out all 93 points, as I am trying to eventually get back to the point we are using our points in our actual UY instead of borrowing. (of the 172 pts in our August trip, 110 are borrowed.) But I wonder if we could rent the 52 points, I will have to look if there is a minimum through Davids'. i am surprised that you say AKV gets a premium. I would imagine BCV certainly does, even though we had no problem getting in at 7 months, I know that is not the norm.

For right now, I'm going to wait out the waitlist. The points don't expire until November 2016, and could be banked another year until November 2017, so there is no rush on that!

 

[skier_pete]

With ONE month (and ONE day) to go, the plans are in place, and there isn't a lot exciting too report.

While I can't really say I've started packing, I've started to gather items that we need:
- Glow with the Show ears.
- WDW Spray Fan - for those hot days at AK. (Or any park for that matter.)
- Extra ponchos - for everyday fashion
- A DAK notebook we purchased two trips ago for DD that she never used - we decided we would use it for autographs in case we get any. (We might get a few.)

I tested out my park-wear at our local amusement/water park: swim shorts and a wicking-style shirt. - It worked pretty well, but of course the heat here doesn't begin to match Florida. (We are in the middle of a heat wave...highs in the eighties all week. EIGHTIES! IT's a MADHOUSE!! MADHOUSE!! For those of you ever looking for a place to spend a beautiful summer, I highly recommend Buffalo/Western NY!)

I have switched to wearing these shirts instead of standard cotton (Disney) shirts. I am not showing my Disney side quite as well, but I am much cooler. The biggest problem with those wicking shirts is they also wick away deodorant, by the end of the day, you can get pretty smelly, so I will either need to carry additional deodorant or re-apply. (OK - that's all TMI I suppose, but you get some really stinky people in those parks during the summer, and I just really don't want to be one of them.) In the end, my basic plan is two shirts a day, and then half-way through the trip do a load of laundry if necessary. (The wicking shirts also wash up in the sink pretty well, so that might not be necessary.

We are also having debates about food. We typically cook our breakfast in our room, and with a microwave and fridge usually manage to get by. DW is saying that we should buy a cheap toaster to bring with us. Not only could we make toast, we recently got a Mickey Waffle iron and she suggested we could bring our own to reheat.



I typically hate the idea of buying something like this, but since we travel with SWA we don't have to worry about luggage space. I looked on Amazon and I can get a cheap toaster for about $13. Is that worth it so we can eat some warm breakfast? Haven't decided yet. Would be fun to wake up with a little Mickey Waffle going on though. We don't need the toaster at home, it would just be for Disney trips I guess.

What do you think??

 

[kcpinwdw]

Extra ponchos - for everyday fashion

I got a box of rainbow fashion statements.

We don't need the toaster at home, it would just be for Disney trips I guess

There is a "freecycle" group on facebook that lends out strollers, and appliances like coffee makers and toasters... I haven't used it but you should check it out. Someone leaves it for you with Bell services and then you pass it on to the next guest after. i'll have to look up the name if you cant find it, I feel that it may have been changed recently...

I do not prepare any food in the room warm. Only person who likes to eat first thing in my family is my son, he will put down a yogurt and some fruit from the fridge. The rest of us just coffee up (or milk up), then eat at our first ADR (usually two hours later or so). But I definitely need food in the morning for my hungry monster, or we have a lot of crank. So if a toaster will help you have happy mornings, it is well worth the $13!!!!

 

[DnA2010]

Total newbie to your report jumping on board
Your trip sounds fantastic! I haven't read all the details but it sounds like you never did get a friend to come with? I can send you my DD11 - she would be thrilled We were on the Fantasy in May and did 1 day at MK (and ironically her 2 favourite rides were Splash and Space) and now all she wants is a trip at WDW (perhaps next year although we really want to get to DL first, haven't been back since DD was 6)
Look forward to hearing more about things. I think we have the same Mickey waffle iron- a gift from DH's sister in Cali.

 

[skier_pete]

There is a "freecycle" group on facebook that lends out strollers, and appliances like coffee makers and toasters... I haven't used it but you should check it out.

So if a toaster will help you have happy mornings, it is well worth the $13!!!!

We were once on a fridge share at Pop Century. It turned into a total mess. I don't really want to get involved with that over a $13 toaster! I was perfectly fine eating what we were eating, but if it makes DW happy - a $13 toaster is probably worth it.

Total newbie to your report jumping on board
Your trip sounds fantastic! I haven't read all the details but it sounds like you never did get a friend to come with? I can send you my DD11 - she would be thrilled We were on the Fantasy in May and did 1 day at MK (and ironically her 2 favourite rides were Splash and Space) and now all she wants is a trip at WDW (perhaps next year although we really want to get to DL first, haven't been back since DD was 6)
Look forward to hearing more about things. I think we have the same Mickey waffle iron- a gift from DH's sister in Cali.

Welcome along. No we never did get a friend for DD, though we tried several people. It's amazing it was so hard to find someone to go on a free Disney trip. If you go on a Disney cruise, a WDW will be cheap!

 

[franandaj]

Things sound good. I'm envious! I still have four months until WDW!

My main comment is: Don't the studios have toasters in them already? I know the VGC had them, I just thought that they were one of the things included in a studio to make it more like home. I've never stayed in a studio at WDW, but I thought they were standard issue.

 

[skier_pete]

Things sound good. I'm envious! I still have four months until WDW!

My main comment is: Don't the studios have toasters in them already? I know the VGC had them, I just thought that they were one of the things included in a studio to make it more like home. I've never stayed in a studio at WDW, but I thought they were standard issue.

IDK - I was trying to find out for sure. We have only stayed in a DVC studio once in 2010, and I don't remember there being a toaster. When I go on-line to look at the amenities for the DVC studios - they list "Refrigerator, coffee maker, microwave, wet bar" but they don't list toaster. (Though I went and looked at the VGC and they do not list a toaster either.) I guess I should find other sources before I buy one, because I'd feel pretty stupid if I bought one and there was one already there.