Why does drinking always lead us back to Disney? Sept 2017 6/13 update!

[Chicago Mo]

Ahhh....well that's a good reason not to choose Beach Club then lol.

Yeah all comes down to $$!! LOL. it always wins!

That's good to hear! And you hit the nail on the head with the friendship details. That's about how I rank mine as well.

Thank you!

Although this also means that we will probably miss you every single year lol.

Well.. This isn't good...

We've only done two nights at the Boardwalk, and we never even made it to the pool. But we really liked the resort. Our room overlooked the waterway between the Boardwalk and the Studios. It was fun to watch the boats go by.

Good you escaped the Pennywise clown...

See that sounds fantastic! I cannot wait for all this!!!

We're DVC and own at AKL, but we don't stay there very often. Still trying out all of the other fun choices.

What's your favorite so far?!?

Emma will be 10 this year and we're going to do a birthday trip at the beginning of December. We're hoping to stay at the Beach Club, but have to wait until the beginning of May to try.

OHHHHHHHHHHH Birthday trip! That's when we did their surprise trip 10th!!!

As always, looking forward to following along on your next adventure!

Thank you Glad to have you!!! As you know this will be yet another adventure to plan!

You definitely don't sound like an a**! You explained friendship just perfectly--you definitely know when things get rocky who your true friends are. Y'know, when everyone else has scattered and are nowhere to be found!!

Glad to know i didn't sound like a goof saying all that out loud.
Exactly. sadly one of my true friends i grew up with is losing her father to cancer right now. very sad.

Happy St. Patrick's Day to your clan!! Is your pub crawl this weekend!? Have fun!! Don't forget to hydrate!

IT'S TOMORROW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Oh my.. I will be bringing WATER with this time.. Last year was a hot mess.

Ok, so add me to the list of people that didn't know about this ptr...

TESS!!!!! OH i miss you!!!! you know me i will always be writing on here somewhere!!!

I had my hopes up that we were going to be at Disney the same time this year, only to have them dashed to smithereens. We are staying at the Wilderness Lodge for 2 nights and then moving over to the Beach Club for the rest of the stay.

Me too! but sadly the house need more attention then a Disney trip. you've seen my front porch!!! If i can get that done we will be golden!

What about next year!?!? Also we might be taking a road trip?? Penn sounds fun and we've never been!

I think if you want to stay at a Deluxe, you really should look into renting dvc points. It will be significantly less than paying the rack rate. The Boardwalk is a great resort - very convenient to both Epercot and Hollywood and the atmosphere on the Boardwalk is great. The pool is okay, too. AKL is awesome too, but different than the atmosphere at the BW. Charlie and I did a special safari only available to guests at AKL and it was wonderful. Very pricey, but lots of fun. Whichever resort you choose, you will have fun.

Oh No.. No rack rate for me.. No No No..

HA HA! you remembered Epercot!! I just love you.
If we do (which is so far the winner) we would stay CL at Boardwalk. I am kinda excited for it. it's like the dessert party EVERY NIGHT! LOL... Thinking the trip after would be at AK?!?! Plus i would really like to fly next year so i won't have a car. if we were to stay AKL i would want a car.







I hope everyone had a lucky St. Paddy's day?!?

I worked. again. the last couple of days i have been working both jobs. Total of about 28 hours. THEN! for some odd crazy reason i have not been able to sleep! WHAAAAAAAA? that isn't like me. I can sleep ANYWHERE - seriously - i and i sleep like the dead. Tuesday night and Wednesday night i had a total of about 6 hours. I have no idea why.

I was called into job #2 yesterday. NOT HAPPY as i had several people coming over for dinner. And the fact i was dead tired. But i went and thankfully went home an hour earlier then scheduled! YAY! came home to a house full of people! My friend Rob brought me a pillow! not just ANY pillow but a huge memory foam one! Ya know what?? I SLEPT! HARD! Like didn't want to wake up this morning!!!
Of course today i feel like the walking dead. I must have more coffee to get through this day. Go home nap and go to training...


TOMORROW IS THE ANNUAL PUB CRAWL! YAHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Must hydrate.. I must. last year was bad. i was bad.

 

[IowaTater]

We'll either have to plan another trip on a year you guys go or we'll have to come to Chicago, which we've been talking about doing anyway. My cousin and a couple of my friends have been wanting us to come see them so we've been tossing around a trip for next year.

My friend Rob brought me a pillow! not just ANY pillow but a huge memory foam one! Ya know what?? I SLEPT! HARD! Like didn't want to wake up this morning!!!

Holy cow. Maybe I need one of those too. I've been really restless the last couple of weeks. Is it a really hot pillow though?

TOMORROW IS THE ANNUAL PUB CRAWL! YAHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Must hydrate.. I must. last year was bad. i was bad.

2 drinks to every glass of water is my philosophy.

 

[mickeystoontown]

Alrighty, I'm all caught up and see that things have changed....majorly! We've never stayed deluxe but have always wanted to. I forget....did you look at Old Key West? I love the look and feel of the resort and it helps that it reminds me of CBR minus the beaches. I'me with you on the cost of some of the resorts. They scare the livin' daylights outta me.

 

[OregonMomToWDW]

Ok. I am caught up on the changes. Hopefully, you don't end up with the entire "reunion" sized trip. I love the idea of the Boardwalk. I am ok with the clown, I think. As long as the clown doesn't move. Ha ha. I am curious about Saratoga Springs, but I don't know if I am curious enough to book a trip. If you do want DVC, couldn't you rent the points? I have heard that people do that. I was at dance the other day, shocker I know, and someone was talking about the pub crawls that happened in England and I immediately wondered if you would be doing yours again this year. Guess I got that answer. Have fun. Be safe.

 

[cinderkelly]

Chiming in also..
Sorry it didn't work with the other family you were planning with, but I believe everything happens for a reason! I think it would be very hard for me to plan a Disney trip with another family, I'm such a vacation commando type person.

I've seen you post a few times over on the BW thread I've been lurking over there because we are trying to make a quick early December trip and the BW is our choice too! I'm pretty excited! My DH thinks the creepy clown pool is awesome. Now the big decision for us is to rent points on a studio villa or stay at the BWI side. We will have to see what kind of discounts come out for early December.

 

[jandlinz]

Hi Mo! Just getting all caught up. Sorry about your "friends". Some friends come and go and it seems these friends may not have been the right match. Boardwalk sounds perfect. Just a thought to lower your costs, have you ever considered renting points? We rented points twice. Once at Old Key West and the other at Saratoga Springs. We stayed in a 2 bedroom. The rental process was very easy and smooth and we couldn't have been happier. After doing the math my engineering DH decided it would be more cost efficient to just buy a resale contract! We bought last summer and we're going in November for our first stay as DVC members. We have a large family and one child with food allergies so having a kitchen is always important to us. Hopefully you can figure out a way to make it work. Those numbers are outrageous. They are actually much more than we paid for our DVC ownership!

 

[kde175]

What's your favorite so far?!?

So far, we like Old Key West the best. The rooms are so much bigger than most of the other resorts. It's pretty quiet and laid back, which is nice at the end of a crazy park day. Emma loves the pool and we like the boats to Disney Springs.

 

[pepperandchips]

So my dilemma is
Do we want Club Level at the boardwalk? Or a 1 bedroom Animal Kingdom?!?! Pretty much the same price.

Everyone else seems to be team Boardwalk but I am totally team ANIMAL KINGDOM LODGE! Your friends that told you about the giraffe out your window were not kidding! It's amazing to sit out on the balcony and watch the animals frolic. Beats a transportation perk for me all around. AAAANNNDDD the one bedroom? Yes! Momma wants to be spoiled? Okay, there you go. Your littles out in the living room and momma gets her own space. Oh yeah

We rented points (which I am a huge huge advocate for) and stayed in a one bedroom at the Villas at Grand Floridian a couple years ago. The one bedroom versus a standard hotel room made a world of difference. I've always wanted to stay CL but could never justify it because I'd rather have a larger room. I would absolutely go AKL in this scenario but I do understand wanting the CL!!!

 

[Iamthequeen]

We will most likely be going again next September - its my favorite time to go.

We stayed in a 2 bedroom lock-off at BWV last September - basically its a one bedroom and a studio with a connecting door. The one bedrooms are awesome, with a full kitchen and a washer and dryer. The bathroom was great, with a separate shower and a large soaking tub. Plus we had 2 balconies - one large one for the one bedroom and then a smaller one for the studio.

We stayed at OKW in January and are very taken with that resort. I love the ambiance and the room we had was quite large. We want to stay there again.

 

[ljcrochet]

Let's just say i have been having nightmares about that dang clown pool and it's light up eyes... UGH! WHY DOES IT HAVE TO BE A CLOWN??! the Keister Coaster. 200 feet of being tossed like cookies out of it's grotesque mouth.

Once you get over past the fact it is a clown, it is probably the best slide. I know it is my favorite slide.
We have stayed at all the WDW DVC, I think the 4 of us all voted boardwalk our favorite. My least favorite was beach club, but it might have been because I was on a work conference while DH and the girls were at the parks having fun.
We aren't in our room long enough for seeing the animals outside our room at AKV, especially since they go in at night.

 

[Chicago Mo]

We'll either have to plan another trip on a year you guys go or we'll have to come to Chicago, which we've been talking about doing anyway. My cousin and a couple of my friends have been wanting us to come see them so we've been tossing around a trip for next year.

This sounds great!!! Let me know! Just don't come where there is a election!

Holy cow. Maybe I need one of those too. I've been really restless the last couple of weeks. Is it a really hot pillow though?

No! It's isn't warm at all!! SOOOOOOOOOOO Comfy!!!

2 drinks to every glass of water is my philosophy.

I did it!! Will write more in a minute, But it was GREAT!

Alrighty, I'm all caught up and see that things have changed....majorly!

They have!!! I really like the intro for this-- Plus the drinking part is still true as you saw i have several people interested in going. so it still works just the players have changed! HA HA!

We've never stayed deluxe but have always wanted to.

Our first trip as a faimly was deluxe. honestly it spoiled us totally! YET! I am not a deluxe snob WE want to be able to try ALL the resorts!! LOL!

I love the look and feel of the resort and it helps that it reminds me of CBR minus the beaches. I'me with you on the cost of some of the resorts. They scare the livin' daylights outta me.

no kidding! the $$ are crazy! shocks me how a lot of these people can pay for it!!! or i am that poor?!?!

Ok. I am caught up on the changes. Hopefully, you don't end up with the entire "reunion" sized trip.

Howdy!
I honestly don't even care WHO goes? I will keep going with my trip like normal. IF they want to play with us well they will just have to get on MY ship!

I love the idea of the Boardwalk. I am ok with the clown, I think.

EEK!
damn clown pool...

As long as the clown doesn't move. Ha ha.

OMG!
If that THING moved i wouldn't go NEAR this resort!!!

I am curious about Saratoga Springs, but I don't know if I am curious enough to book a trip. If you do want DVC, couldn't you rent the points?

I have to agree with you here. I don't know if i would want to stay here??? So many other choices for FUN and in your face resorts this would be one of the last one to visit?

. I was at dance the other day, shocker I know, and someone was talking about the pub crawls that happened in England and I immediately wondered if you would be doing yours again this year. Guess I got that answer. Have fun. Be safe.

HA HA! Ohh a pub crawl IN England?!?! now THAT would be an experience!
We had a blast!

Chiming in also..

HI!!!
glad your here!!!

Sorry it didn't work with the other family you were planning with, but I believe everything happens for a reason! I think it would be very hard for me to plan a Disney trip with another family, I'm such a vacation commando type person.

I am OK with the other family bowing out. no problems there!!! Totally agree with you on the commando planning. we will continue to plan on our trip with things WE want to do. IF any other family wants to tag along more then welcomed to! But they will have to figure out their own stuff!

I've seen you post a few times over on the BW thread I've been lurking over there because we are trying to make a quick early December trip and the BW is our choice too! I'm pretty excited! My DH thinks the creepy clown pool is awesome. Now the big decision for us is to rent points on a studio villa or stay at the BWI side. We will have to see what kind of discounts come out for early December.

I did post over there.. I don't 'like posting on other threads too much as i find some of the people are snotty.. SO i am back to being a lurker..
Ohh! SO FUN! I hope you DO stay there so you can come and report everything back!! LOL!
yuck on the clown pool. I am going to go down that dang slide if it kills me too.
I really cannot wait for you to go!!

Hi Mo!

HI!!!

Sorry about your "friends". Some friends come and go and it seems these friends may not have been the right match.

Eh. I am not too worried about them!

Boardwalk sounds perfect. Just a thought to lower your costs, have you ever considered renting points? We rented points twice.

Who did you use? That's IF we stay at AKL. If we stay at BW i really would like club level!

Just a thought to lower your costs, have you ever considered renting points? We rented points twice. Once at Old Key West and the other at Saratoga Springs. We stayed in a 2 bedroom. The rental process was very easy and smooth and we couldn't have been happier. After doing the math my engineering DH decided it would be more cost efficient to just buy a resale contract! We bought last summer and we're going in November for our first stay as DVC members. We have a large family and one child with food allergies so having a kitchen is always important to us. Hopefully you can figure out a way to make it work. Those numbers are outrageous. They are actually much more than we paid for our DVC ownership!

I MIGHT look into DVC.. Depends.
Nope a lot of the resorts are not on Tom's or the kids list of stays Yes we have a list. HA HA!

So far, we like Old Key West the best. The rooms are so much bigger than most of the other resorts. It's pretty quiet and laid back, which is nice at the end of a crazy park day. Emma loves the pool and we like the boats to Disney Springs.

Quiet and laid back sounds great.. But i know my family. They might not be too key for it right now?!?!

Everyone else seems to be team Boardwalk but I am totally team ANIMAL KINGDOM LODGE! Your friends that told you about the giraffe out your window were not kidding! It's amazing to sit out on the balcony and watch the animals frolic. Beats a transportation perk for me all around. AAAANNNDDD the one bedroom? Yes! Momma wants to be spoiled? Okay, there you go. Your littles out in the living room and momma gets her own space. Oh yeah

I KNOW! It's sounds AH-MAZ-ING! GAH! Decisions!!! hate them. split stay?

We rented points (which I am a huge huge advocate for) and stayed in a one bedroom at the Villas at Grand Floridian a couple years ago. The one bedroom versus a standard hotel room made a world of difference. I've always wanted to stay CL but could never justify it because I'd rather have a larger room. I would absolutely go AKL in this scenario but I do understand wanting the CL!!!

Who did you use?
YES! it is such a tough decision!!!

We will most likely be going again next September - its my favorite time to go.

HOOORAY!!!! Ok this makes me so so happy!!!

We stayed in a 2 bedroom lock-off at BWV last September - basically its a one bedroom and a studio with a connecting door. The one bedrooms are awesome, with a full kitchen and a washer and dryer. The bathroom was great, with a separate shower and a large soaking tub. Plus we had 2 balconies - one large one for the one bedroom and then a smaller one for the studio.

Did you LOVE being there? or was it all over the place? everything i try to read on it or maps i have poured over just doesn't really give me a great picture so like there isn't a 'food court' per say? it's on the boardwalk side?
Is it really packed? I would LOVE to stay in the bedrooms But the only one open for 2017 was the 3 bedroom one and i am NOT paying the 14,000 for a room!!
With CL i can eat my weight in Mickey domes!!! WHY is this such a difficult decision?

We stayed at OKW in January and are very taken with that resort. I love the ambiance and the room we had was quite large. We want to stay there again.

really?!?!? I believe Kathy (katmark) is a big fan of OKW too?

Once you get over past the fact it is a clown, it is probably the best slide. I know it is my favorite slide.

I hope so..

We have stayed at all the WDW DVC, I think the 4 of us all voted boardwalk our favorite. My least favorite was beach club, but it might have been because I was on a work conference while DH and the girls were at the parks having fun.

Well that stinks having to work on vacation?!?! No Go.
I thought beach club had an awesome pool!!!

We aren't in our room long enough for seeing the animals outside our room at AKV, especially since they go in at night.

I heard they are out all night long?!?!
If we are staying at a more expensive resort we always have at least one morning off to enjoy it and one total day off. this way we are actually enjoying the resort we are spending that much $$ on!





*************
WOW. where did this weekend go?!?! Someone want to tell me please?
Saturday was a BLAST!!! we had so so much fun on the pub crawl and i am happy to report i stayed hydrated. yes i did get tipsy it was a blast! Tom on the other hand went a little overboard on whisky. HA HA! he was OK but he was FEELING it.
Pictures:
stop one Portillos we have a quick dinner with the guy who hosts it (Troy Taylor)


another stop Delilah's




Mrs' Murphy's and Sons


Which has DELICIOUS food!



one of us decided to start playing the piano and was AWESOME




my beer


Sunday we went to the C2E2 which is a comic convention. No I am not a comic book fan but i am a fan of people watching! It didn't disappoint! We were in awe and amazement over the costumes! I hope to have my pictures done today? if not tomorrow. i will post them. Sadly we didn't get to meet the cast of SOA.. (Chibs and Opie) NOT about to pay $111.00 for a picture and autograph no matter how much i wanted to see them. No one bought a thing.

A friend of mine won a stuffed animal which of course he gave to Meg:


Which is now the BIGGEST stuffed animal in the house..

 

[IowaTater]

I will definitely let you know about a Chicago trip. We love it up there

stop one Portillos we have a quick dinner with the guy who hosts it (Troy Taylor)

Is that the same Troy Taylor that writes all the paranormal books??

That pub crawl looks like so much fun!!! I'm glad you had a good time.

NOT about to pay $111.00 for a picture and autograph no matter how much i wanted to see them

I hear ya, sista! We're having the same dilemma for our comicon. Why do they have to be so expensive????

 

[Chicago Mo]

Resorts!​

So we are still stuck between AKL and BW CL

Before i told you about the presidential suites??? Yeah it's a dream to stay in one!!! Just look!

I can eat my weight in these

I do believe we will fit fine in something like this

I'd love to sit on a balcony to see this

Or this:

I do NOT want the view of the pool.


Keep in mind this trip my kids will be turning 13...
Yeah how about that! 13!!! Gah. I hate that.


Since it's either me or the kids picking the resorts I am going to let Tom pick it this time..

Now let's look at AKL

So again.. I am leaving this all up to Tom... Last time we spoke about it he said he really wants to stay at BW. then our next trip we can stay at AKL..

Next up!
Let's talk about the kids...

 

[Chicago Mo]

I will definitely let you know about a Chicago trip. We love it up there

Please do!

Is that the same Troy Taylor that writes all the paranormal books??

Yes it is! you've heard of him? He's a great friend of mine!!

That pub crawl looks like so much fun!!! I'm glad you had a good time.

It really is a great time!

I hear ya, sista! We're having the same dilemma for our comicon. Why do they have to be so expensive????

I have no idea.. i just cannot justify paying money to meet someone.

 

[Chicago Mo]

Kids...
​

Well. I guess i really did make an impact on them and the surprise trip. Whenever we talk about Disney trips they are constantly talking how much they LOVED being surprised.

I will say it was amazing i don't know how to out do that one?? Since that is exactly what i intend to do.

This is going to be another surprise. They know we are going, they know it isn't this year and i am sure they are smart enough to figure out we will be going again next year. But they want that surprise again.

grumble.


How to do it?

It will be for their 13th birthday. The dreaded teenage years will be upon us. So what better way to bring in the teens? DISNEY!

I would LOVE to do another in room celebration with the Disney florist. they do such an amazing job!!!

Our tradition is to watch our previous trip home movies the night before. Some how i would like to incorporate it. Do i tell them in the movie??? Just no surprise box?

I am not that clever to do a scavenger hunt in the house. The puzzle is a cool idea but not something the kids like..


I would LOVE your thoughts?

 

[OregonMomToWDW]

I wish I could help you out with surprise ideas. I am not sure how close your trip is to their birthday. I was thinking of surprising my daughter (Chelsea is the only one that doesn't know we are going to Disneyland in June) by trying to back something inside of a cake. She will have her end of the year dance recital the night before we leave. I was thinking of having a cake at home with some sort of Disney trinkets baked inside the cake. But I wouldn't want her to choke on anything. I will have to look at more ideas for baking things in cakes.

I always like those videos that seem harmless and then something scary jumps out in the middle of them. Maybe edit one of your home videos with a picture of the creepy clown pool in it (if Tom decides on that) and see if they pick up on it. Just quick flashes of the resort. I am not sure how hard that is to do, but out of everyone I know, you would be the person I would think of to do this.

 

[ljcrochet]

Well. I guess i really did make an impact on them and the surprise trip. Whenever we talk about Disney trips they are constantly talking how much they LOVED being surprised.

I would try and figure out what about being surprised they liked.


We are suprising my girls with a trip to Disneyland for their 11th birthday. I have no clue how or when we are pulling off the surprise. Part of me wants to pretend that we are tagging along on a "worK trip" that DH has to go on. We can just say we are going to CA, and not tell them its Disneyland. We could wait and see thier reaction when we get to the hotel. Only thing with that is they won't be able to help with packing. DD2 has lots of ears that sometimes she wants to bring, do I just stick them in the suitcase and hope she doesn't notice? Or not bring them and hope she doesn't want them?

 

[IowaTater]

Yes it is! you've heard of him? He's a great friend of mine!!

NO WAY!!!! I have several of his books!! He is an amazing author. I've done one of the Haunted Alton tours but unfortunately it wasn't one of his. I've been dying to do one of his though.

Our tradition is to watch our previous trip home movies the night before. Some how i would like to incorporate it. Do i tell them in the movie??? Just no surprise box?

Maybe get one of the planning videos & when it comes time for movie night, secretly pop it in instead of a regular movie? Maybe add in some Disney themed food, if that wouldn't give it away too much.

How close to their birthday are you going to surprise them? You could also have them pop birthday balloons with little slips of paper in them that read "You're going to Walt Disney World!" or something like that.

EDIT: I forgot to weigh in on the resort again. I do like AKL but something about BW just keeps pulling me back in so that's still my vote. I think the tweens will love the atmosphere.

 

[jandlinz]

Who did you use? That's IF we stay at AKL. If we stay at BW i really would like club level!

We used private sellers both times that I found on the DIS. It was very easy. It does require a lot of trust, but it is usually cheaper than going with a company. In fact I have made reservations for parents twice with one of the same people we used. It really has cut the cost down. If you're not comfortable with a private seller you can look into a company. They provide you with a contract. The company would charge you around $14-15 per point. A private seller can range from $12-15 depending on the resort. I know AKL has club level, but it is very hard to get even at 11 months out. If you wanted a shot at that you would have to find an owner that owns AKL.

I think a surprise trip for the kids would be fantastic. You could have a birthday party with all your family. You can get a Disney cake and make the party Disney themed. Buy some letter candles and spell out Surprise, We're Going to Disney World. That would be really fun and a little unexpected. Boardwalk looks like a great choice.

 

[pepperandchips]

Who did you use?
YES! it is such a tough decision

We worked with Lauren Enochs at the DVC rental store. She was fantastic!

I heard they are out all night long?!?!

They were out all night when we were there in October 2015 - I believe they take in different species at different times of day as we really enjoyed the smarty pants giraffes sidling up to the barn area waiting on dinner time (we had a Jambo standard view hotel room which gave us a super cool view of the barn area for an inexpensive price). We saw deer type animals and antelope sleeping in the grass just under our balcony each night and we used the night vision goggles to see the other animals bedded down outside of Sanaa. Very cool to know the animals are having a snooze not far from you!