Ten Sleeps in Disney World!! - An Aug Trip Report *5/9 Departure Day & Final Thoughts

[Mickey_Mom]

Oh man, Remy! Haha. The bearer of semi-bad news.. but hey, a PIN! And maybe if you don't use this one, they'll send you another one!

I was soooo excited to get one, even though its not for the dates we wanted. I'm hoping this was the first of many! Oh, and I'm really hoping I get an upgrade offer like you did too... that was sweet!

Hi there - just catching up on some trip report - hoping to get mine reopened so I can continue it!

Helllooooo! Welcome back

But yes - in the last few months I have gotten THREE pin codes. Can't use any of them. Especially since DH just got into graduate school. And he says he's not ready to go back! Oh well!

Three! What were they for? Busy time eh? It's too bad you can't use them but it sounds like they'd really like to lure you back.

I don't think we've ever gotten a pin but then again it would probably go to waste anyway since we're DVC members! I don't think DVC gives out pin codes.

I think it had something to do with a quote I called in for a few months ago when Alex's friend was going to come with us. She misheard my last name so she was getting all my information over again to put into their system. The PIN came thru with the misspelled last name. Hey, it still worked!

George told me he ran into some DVC members on our second Blizzard Beach day and they got to chatting. (Too bad they didn't talk him into joining! ) They told him they hadn't used their DVC points for their trip this time because the free dining was just too cheap to pass up.

A Pin!! Here's hoping you get one that you can actually use for your Christmas trip!!

The last couple years we haven't gotten any either. But, this year we've gotten 2!! (room only discounts but I'll take them!!) Wish I had gotten your pin code though.....5 day package w/ free quick service....ahh...it's exactly what we wanted!!!

I was thinking of that when I got it, "Gee, Angie could use this!"

I'm a little bummed today because last night I started playing around with quotes using the PIN code, pricing it around my birthday in June. Man it's a great offer. I upgraded the quotes to the regular dining plan and it was barely any difference.

Then I got sucked into saying to myself, "Hey, I wonder how much more it would be if I did a DELUXE RESORT?" I mean, when am I ever going to go deluxe?! So I went over the list of resorts and immediately chose Animal Kingdom Lodge. Ariana's Lion King obsession?

A standard room at AKL, upgraded free quick service to regular dining in June is half the cost of our Christmas trip to POR. It's killing me not using the PIN.

What do you guys think about the free dining PIN going out covering February to July? Do you think that's a sign the deals will be good for 2010? Maybe the free dining will get extended into Nov/Dec like last year?

 

[mickeystoontown]

I've never received a darn pin from Disney! I guess they know that I'm coming back whether I get one or not. Too bad you can't use it though.

 

[DisneymoonJess07]

Helllooooo! Welcome back

Thank you!!

Three! What were they for? Busy time eh? It's too bad you can't use them but it sounds like they'd really like to lure you back.

They were all room discounts - I think all three were 30% rooms, just different dates. It's such a stupid busy time - we're moving in July! But still - I wannt go to Disney!! I would love to be lured - maybe next summer? Definitely not another 10 years though!!

I'm a little bummed today because last night I started playing around with quotes using the PIN code, pricing it around my birthday in June. Man it's a great offer. I upgraded the quotes to the regular dining plan and it was barely any difference.

Then I got sucked into saying to myself, "Hey, I wonder how much more it would be if I did a DELUXE RESORT?" I mean, when am I ever going to go deluxe?! So I went over the list of resorts and immediately chose Animal Kingdom Lodge. Ariana's Lion King obsession?

A standard room at AKL, upgraded free quick service to regular dining in June is half the cost of our Christmas trip to POR. It's killing me not using the PIN.

What do you guys think about the free dining PIN going out covering February to July? Do you think that's a sign the deals will be good for 2010? Maybe the free dining will get extended into Nov/Dec like last year?

I'm sorry about the great deals! I did that too, and it was incredibly depressing. I tried yesterday also for dates that might work in the future - those were depressing the other way, in that they were really expensive! Even staying at a value was just about as much as our honeymoon, and I would need something less than that to convince hubby. Oh well - will just have to keep an eye out.

And yes, I think they're going to keep doing the discounts. I don't think they'll have anything new, but I think the economy is not enough better yet for them to do less than they did last year. We'll see!!

 

[pinkxray]

I just found your thread and spent the last hour or so going through it (stuck home b/c it's snowing) and LOVE it! I love the pictures of Blizzard Beach and typhoon Lagoon. I have been debating on getting the waterparks and more or just a one day ticket and you have pushed me into keeping both in our plans. We are staying in POR in May for our 5 year old daughter first trip and can't wait.
Your kids seem like such great kids. I love how close your older son is with the little one. My daughter is 5 already and will probably 9 or 10 by the time we have another. I hope our kids have a relationship like that. You must be so proud of all your kids.

 

[Mickey_Mom]

I've never received a darn pin from Disney! I guess they know that I'm coming back whether I get one or not. Too bad you can't use it though.

Well I'm going to buy myself a Lotto Max ticket today. It's up to $50 million and then there are nine $1M prizes as well. If I win anything, I'm going in June and December!

They were all room discounts - I think all three were 30% rooms, just different dates. It's such a stupid busy time - we're moving in July! But still - I wannt go to Disney!! I would love to be lured - maybe next summer? Definitely not another 10 years though!!

Moving and graduate school, yeah that'll keep you busy. Maybe you can sell him on this summer... after the move? Especially if you get another kick butt PIN code.... it would be so relaxing to get away for a little while.

I'm sorry about the great deals! I did that too, and it was incredibly depressing. I tried yesterday also for dates that might work in the future - those were depressing the other way, in that they were really expensive! Even staying at a value was just about as much as our honeymoon, and I would need something less than that to convince hubby. Oh well - will just have to keep an eye out.

And yes, I think they're going to keep doing the discounts. I don't think they'll have anything new, but I think the economy is not enough better yet for them to do less than they did last year. We'll see!!

I'm pretty optimistic too the deals will keep going. I really hope so. I'd never thought a deluxe resort would even be a consideration for us.... it would be fantastic if we could do AKL in December.

I just found your thread and spent the last hour or so going through it (stuck home b/c it's snowing) and LOVE it! I love the pictures of Blizzard Beach and typhoon Lagoon. I have been debating on getting the waterparks and more or just a one day ticket and you have pushed me into keeping both in our plans. We are staying in POR in May for our 5 year old daughter first trip and can't wait.

Hello and to my TR! POR in May for your daughter's first trip? Oh wow, that is exciting! Share your details!

Your kids seem like such great kids. I love how close your older son is with the little one. My daughter is 5 already and will probably 9 or 10 by the time we have another. I hope our kids have a relationship like that. You must be so proud of all your kids.

Thank you, they are great kids and I'm very proud of them for similar and different reasons.

 

[DisneymoonJess07]

Moving and graduate school, yeah that'll keep you busy. Maybe you can sell him on this summer... after the move? Especially if you get another kick butt PIN code.... it would be so relaxing to get away for a little while.

I wish! We're moving mid-July and he starts school mid-August! Oh well. Soon enough, though! I will wear him down

I'm pretty optimistic too the deals will keep going. I really hope so. I'd never thought a deluxe resort would even be a consideration for us.... it would be fantastic if we could do AKL in December.

We considered AKL for our Honeymoon, but decided on POR instead - and it was great. I know AKL is gorgeous though and I hope it works out for you guys!

 

[Angies1274]

I was thinking of that when I got it, "Gee, Angie could use this!"

I'm a little bummed today because last night I started playing around with quotes using the PIN code, pricing it around my birthday in June. Man it's a great offer. I upgraded the quotes to the regular dining plan and it was barely any difference.

Then I got sucked into saying to myself, "Hey, I wonder how much more it would be if I did a DELUXE RESORT?" I mean, when am I ever going to go deluxe?! So I went over the list of resorts and immediately chose Animal Kingdom Lodge. Ariana's Lion King obsession?

A standard room at AKL, upgraded free quick service to regular dining in June is half the cost of our Christmas trip to POR. It's killing me not using the PIN.

What do you guys think about the free dining PIN going out covering February to July? Do you think that's a sign the deals will be good for 2010? Maybe the free dining will get extended into Nov/Dec like last year?

Ahh...it must be sooo frustrating to finally get a pincode and not be able to use it!! Especially, when you are pricing it...at AKL and it's less expensive than your Christmas trip. On the other hand...you just have to keep reminding yourself that going at Christmas is what you've always wanted to do. Still...it must be hard seeing such a difference in price!!

We've already gotten 2 pin codes this year... so you never know,there may be another one in your future too!! I think with all the room discounts, free gift cards and free dining already out there for this year there is a very good chance that free dining may be extended like last year!!! Don't give up!! I'm sure something will turn up for you!!!

 

[pinkivy]

Fantastic trip report! I loved all of the pictures and detail! I felt like I was right there (ahhh wishful thinking)

 

[jordanyosh]

That's not a bad deal.

 

[Mickey_Mom]

Ahh...it must be sooo frustrating to finally get a pincode and not be able to use it!! Especially, when you are pricing it...at AKL and it's less expensive than your Christmas trip. On the other hand...you just have to keep reminding yourself that going at Christmas is what you've always wanted to do. Still...it must be hard seeing such a difference in price!!

We've already gotten 2 pin codes this year... so you never know,there may be another one in your future too!! I think with all the room discounts, free gift cards and free dining already out there for this year there is a very good chance that free dining may be extended like last year!!! Don't give up!! I'm sure something will turn up for you!!!

George and I had a very long conversation last night going over all our options between the July and Christmas trips. (We even went thru all of the DVC stuff I recently ordered. ) And though it pains me to give up the deluxe option, we're sticking with the Christmas trip and hoping to get lucky with a good promotion or PIN code. Plus, the Christmas trip is twice as long. We prefer the longer stays over the snazzier accomodations.

Thanks Angie!

Fantastic trip report! I loved all of the pictures and detail! I felt like I was right there (ahhh wishful thinking)

Thank you and to my trip report! I love taking pictures, as I'm sure you've noticed and have this annoying problem of not being able to summarize all that well.

That's not a bad deal.

I know ! But in the end, it was just too short. And we've done summer at WDW four times now, we're ready for Christmas.

Update coming up!

 

[Mickey_Mom]

Well, let me start off this update by correcting something in my last update. I left off by saying "Up Next: Just how many times can you ride Toy Story Mania in one day??" Well, the answer is one because I got my days mixed up and it was the day after (our last day) that we had our midway fun. Whoops! So that minor detail out of the way, we’re off to Day 9 of our stay, our "resort day". In retrospect, we should have done this earlier in the trip instead of the day before our last day, but I’d be hard pressed to pick a day to switch out because of the fun we’ve been having. Anyway, we started off the morning sleeping in to whatever time we wanted and we’d made sure to put the Do Not Disturb signs on the doors the night before so we didn’t sleep through housekeeping’s knocks and have any unexpected visitors!

This was a lazy day staying at the resort, meant to swim, relax, do laundry and just whatever we felt like doing. In our trip before this one at POR, we’d had a fabulous resort day spent at Ol’ Man Island, and decided at the last minute to head over to Epcot and watch Illuminations. We’d gotten to Epcot and after riding Soarin ended up with a walk in dinner at Coral Reef Restaurant. Even though we missed Illuminations that night, we had a great dinner at a new place and the day was perfect.

In the planning stages of this trip I’d scheduled this resort day and left it open for us to do something spontaneous like that again. I found out shortly before leaving however that the day we were going to DHS did not have Fantasmic scheduled and we really wanted to see the show again. Our resort day did have it scheduled, so we traded the spontaneity for a second half day at DHS. That worked out for George too. George has a blast on our trips once he gets to Orlando…. but he doesn’t really care about the planning stages of it all. All of you know the importance of talking about and planning WDW trips seven months in advance, but George just rolls his eyes and says a lot of "yeah, yeah’s" when I discuss things that far ahead. So in the closing stages of planning this trip, I had Ariana’s picture itinerary mostly laid out when I brought up a detail of our schedule. George was about to say another line along the lines of, “Whatever, just tell me where we’re going on the day of and I’ll be fine….” when he stops and says, “Hold on. We’re spending two days at Epcot and only one day at that other one (aka Hollywood Studios) with all the stuff to do??” So when the Fantasmic evening was added, he was pleased we were getting to “that other one” for a second time.

So I took care of the laundry with swimming breaks while George and the kiddies swam in the bowling pin pool. Demetri was having a blast jumping off the sides of the pool to George’s outstretched hand.

This was a new feat for him. He’s been in our backyard pool since he was an infant but was always reluctant to get water on his face. Florida is of course, different somehow and he was just having a jolly old time hopping right into that water without a second thought.

It's a little small to see but his tongue IS sticking out!

Then it was time to grab a bite to eat and do a more thorough exploration of the Pop gift shop. I’d considered trying for an ADR at DHS but I really didn’t know what we’d want so in the end we just grabbed a quick bite to eat from the Pop food court. We’d poked around in the gift shop most of the week but we’re not big on buying lots of things so we hadn’t really delved into too much of the merchandise. So we spent a bit of fun time being silly….

….. and playing

….. and browsing

……and we picked out a few things for souvenirs. Ariana chose a selection of small princess dolls, perfect for her, she always loves to have something small in her hands, like worry beads in the form of Snow White! Demetri chose a die cast monorail and bus set… I can’t remember what Alex chose but I did learn something new about him while we were waiting to buy our new treasures. While we were waiting in line, he grabs a few balls from a nearby bin and starts juggling. Juggling! He was quite good at it and caught the attention of a few CMs who stopped to watch him. Figures I’d passed off the camera to George who was heading back to the rooms to get ready for DHS, but he was great entertainment while we finished up.

So around 6pm we gathered ourselves together and headed for the DHS bus.

We stopped for a quick hello to Bo.

And got the obligatory shot of Mickey’s hat.

I was really hoping to see this….

But in the end, we didn’t make it back.

We went on a slow walk about just taking our time….

And watched the Stars Wars thingie (forget what it’s called) spit on the kids below.

We took a detour in San Francisco….

And hung a quick right to New York City….

… before winding our way back to Pixar Place.

CONTINUED IN NEXT POST.

 

[Mickey_Mom]

We really wanted to go meet these two favorites, but the line was obscenely long.

So we opted to just hop on the ride instead.

The fast pass line was a little slower today so instead of a walk on, we actually got a few pics of the waiting area. I still haven’t seen Mr. Potato Head yet.

This ride has some of the best theming out there.

I rode solo and captured my score at the end, earning a bunny for my efforts.

Hmmmm, that score seems a little low. Need to work on that!

Off we went for more fun.

Saving One Man’s Dream for our second DHS day….

…we headed towards Voyage of the Little Mermaid. The show was letting in right then so Alex begged off of this one and did a little wandering of the Animation building while we watched.

No flash photography in here (although a few people disregarded the request and took some anyway!) so we just sat and enjoyed the show. My favorite parts are when the bubbles come down.

Then it was time to catch up with Alex at the Animation building. Regretfully, we didn’t go in here and we missed all of the character greets! This is a must do for us next trip!

One of my favorite displays….

…. and then we slowly made our way down the street towards Fantasmic.


CONTINUED IN NEXT POST.

 

[Mickey_Mom]

Here’s where I got a little bit sneaky. Demetri really wanted to try Tower of Terror and Ariana is always game for it. George had never been on it and while I don’t mind ToT, the drop does make my stomach go all floopy and I could give or take it. So I told George I was opting out this time. Alex said he’d keep me company so grumbling a little bit, George took the two kids for his and Demetri’s first time.

While they were gone, Alex wanted a funny picture of himself in front of ToT so he thought of a “Where’s Alex?” theme and tried to hide behind a pole.

Sadly, the theme never took off.

The gang came back and Demetri was bouncing up and down excited over how fun the ride was and George declared it, “pretty good”. Cause you know, he’s cool like that.

About then it was time to file into Fantasmic and we had great seats, up high and slightly off to the right. I like the up high seats, I feel like I have a better view of everything all at once.

A few quick shots before the show….

…. and then guess who showed up?

The show was officially underway and my little family was thoroughly enjoying themselves.

My favorite parts of Fantasmic are the boats in the middle and the end with all of the characters dancing and waving. Enjoy!





After the show, we again enjoyed a leisurely stroll back up the street and I snapped a few pictures along the way before we stopped for a late night treat.

More shots on our way towards the exits….

….. Alex decides to be funny and jump in front of the camera. “Did you get me? Did you get me?” Yeah, I gotcha.

 

[Mickey_Mom]

Heading out for the night towards the buses, Demetri was finishing off his Mickey Head ice cream...

.... while Ariana and I ran into a CM that was handing out random pins. Ariana was handed the perfect pin which she immediately wanted to wear and take a picture of.

It was 9:30pm and the end of yet another wonderful day. I was starting to get that antsy feeling in my stomach however. We only had one day left.

Our favorites and not-so-favorite moments of the day:

ALEX:
It was a resting day.
Nothing!

ARIANA:
Toy Story Mania!!
Ucky toe. (I forgot to mention she hurt her toe while swimming. Nothing major, but it was a nuisance for her. )

DEMETRI:
Fantasmic AND Tower of Terror AND Toy Story Mania!!
Nothing!


Next up: An out-of-this-world dinner and just how many times can you ride Toy Story Mania in one day?? (for real this time!)

 

[Hallowishes]

another GREAT update!
i never spend much time at DHS on any of my trips. and i always regret it.
i love fantasmic! its terrific! your pictures of it are amazing!

 

[jordanyosh]

Great updates!

They came fast and furious!

DHS great pix! I have some of the same shots....great minds.....

You got a lot done.....

 

[Carstan]

great update!

 

[ZeroToHero]

Awesome update, thank you! It's sad this is winding to a close.. maybe we'll finish ours at the same time.

Your Fantasmic shots turned out so much better than mine - how do you do it?!

And you look like you had such a fun time - skipping out on your resort day looks like it was worth it!

 

[WDW_lover_in_SC]

This is one of the first TR's in which I've read every update and I have to say that you all are a wonderful family and I can tell you're all very close I throughly enjoyed this and cant wait to read the last day. Only part I disliked was the rain...it's so inconvienient.

 

[Angies1274]

Cute pictures in the gift shop at Pop! The whole time I was reading I was thinking..."hey, I remember that and that! Can't wait to go back!

YAY! for a Fantasmic night!!! Thanks for sharing the video! Another show we have yet to see!! It looks like so much fun! Loved it!

Wow!! Great pictures of Toy Story Mania!! When we rode Fastpass, the line moved very quickly so I didn't have time to take any pictures of all the cool things to see! No Mr. Potato Head for us either. Hopefully, next time!

So happy that Demetri liked TOT!! He's much braver than I am!!!

It sounds like you had a great night!! (and day too!)