2 or 3 TRIPS in 2012! Celebrating my bday DISNEY STYLE - 3/12 & 11/12 and ?? PTRs!

[Lidian]

I'm back....with an update and MORE changes...SURPRISE SURPRISE SURPRISE!

Ok decided I did not want to rushed on our arrival day and since I'm still not sure about flights I don't want to have to worry about dinner. So I cancelled Marrakesh here...but moved it to another day for lunch so we will still try it! This leaves me open for dinner at MK, like at Columbia Harbour House...YUMM!

I think we really might lean towards the Backstage Magic Tour. Even though it's more expensive, I think we'll cut costs elsewhere to be able to splurge here. Where will we be cutting costs? You'll find out soon if you keep reading! I have also added a dinner at Rose & Crown Pub for 7:05pm this evening. I'm thinking maybe we can milk this one with apps and drinks and dessert and make it through to Illuminations from here! We really enjoyed our meal here on our last trip.

Ok told DH yesterday about this tour and he's looking forward to it. I did end up cancelling the Flying Fish dinner online when it allowed me. I was having such a hard time with the dining website yesterday afternoon...I think it might have been their new system overloaded now that people have to enter in credit card guarantees for more places. In any case, I have instead added a dinner at Jiko for this night as DH insisted we eat at at least ONE signature restaurant for the trip. I think I'm going to skip Cali Grill this time.

And the lunch is now booked...I've moved Marrakesh for lunch here as this was the one place DH mentioned yesterday that he'd like to try.

Hey, no changes here...AMAZING!

As for my other updates, yesterday I was playing around online with our DVC account, since in December I'll be booking our November 2012 reservations. I didn't realize that I have will have plenty of points to borrow as of December 1st...enough to book the 5 nights we'll need in November 2012 AND to book four nights in March 2012 for this trip. So for now I am no longer going to do ANY more resort changes. Basically I'll keep the AP Discounted Room I have until December 1st. As of that date, I can call DVC and look into availability for March 2012. I think we're going to try again for a room in either BLT, Boardwalk or Beach Club. If none of those are available, then we'll try OKW or SSR. Right now I have only enough points to book 2 of the 4 nights I would need for March in the rooms that I want (3 nights if I go with OKW and I could book all 4 nights in AK Value Studio). Hmmm...maybe I'll call member services this morning just to see what's available? So a FREE room means a $500 to $600 savings right now over our current trip...meaning I will have money to spend on a tour instead!

We have also decided that we will go ahead and purchase an AP for my DH for the trip. Since we'll have 5 days at the parks now and then we'll have another 5 days in November, it just makes sense to have the AP purchased for him. That means when we return in November we'll only have to buy tickets for 3 kids (and unfortunately TWO will be considered adults for that trip...scary! ) because we'll also renew my AP in June. Besides with both of us having APs, that means there is always room for another trip for us in the future! [/COLOR]
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Plans look great! I booked R&C last year, but cancelled it for Biergarten. I'd love try it one day!

Sorry you're missing out on Cali, but Jiko sounds awesome!

Can't wait to read more!

 

[kittylady1972]

Plans look great! I booked R&C last year, but cancelled it for Biergarten. I'd love try it one day!

Sorry you're missing out on Cali, but Jiko sounds awesome!

Can't wait to read more!

We haven't done Biergarten in years...might have to give it another try on an upcoming trip. It's one of the cheaper meals in Disney! Just not sure my picky kid would eat anything there!

We hadn't done R&C in years so it was nice to return there in June. I'm not sure I'll keep this ADR I must say...since we did just eat there in June I might want to try something else. However it's there for now!

I'm really looking forward to trying Jiko! I've heard many good things about it, especially from a friend of mine who lives very close to Disney, her ex-DH works at Disney, and she and her current DH eat often at Disney. She has a few favorites and I know Jiko and Flying Fish are two of them! She is actually the one who introduced me to the DD Wolfgang Puck's cafe...which of course has become another favorite! So I totally trust her judgement!

 

[kittylady1972]

So how many resort changes can one make during a single trip? Four nights and three different rooms...how's that for changes??

Before you think I'm completely insane, I should point out that I seriously DOUBT this will be my final resort change. I'll just update you here for fun...and for those keeping track, so far I've made changes to my resort three times! Started out at CBR using my AP discount, changed it to CSR using my discount to save some money (and added a night) and NOW I have decided to use our DVC points too book our room making it pretty much FREE!

Ok so here's the deal for those unfamiliar with DVC...I currently have (or had) 53 DVC points to use for our upcoming reservation. We have four nights to book. The ONLY resort I could book was AK in a Value Studio in Jambo House as it was 13 points per night X 4 nights = 52 points.

So I called yesterday and they had only 3 of my four nights available..and the night not available was in the middle of the reservation (Monday). So I booked Sunday, Tuesday and Wednesday night for a total of 39 points.

53 - 39 = 14 points left...and I'd be checking in Sunday at AK, then checkout out Monday, then back into AK Tuesday for two nights. Two different ressies....but where would we stay Monday night?

The only other option...a studio at OKW which is 14 points...and yes it was available...so we booked that too. So now Sunday night is at AK, Monday night at OKW, Tuesday and Wednesday night at AK again.

I'm not fretting...we are on the waitlist for that additional night. I've been on a waitlist before...they have almost always come through. We had to waitlist one room for our June trip at BLT for one night in a studio...and it came up a few days later. So I feel pretty confident I'll get all four nights at AK.

HOWEVER.... as of December 1st, my next allotment of DVC points becomes available...to borrow. Right now I'm borrowing 2011 Use Year points for this trip in March. As of December, 2011 Use Year points are active and I can borrow 2012 Use Year Points...which means I can make a reservation at MANY other DVC resorts that I can't check now because the points aren't there for me to borrow. So pretty much plan that 1 months from now, on December 1st, I'll be calling again to check my reservation and change it..again. Our preferences are going to be BLT Studio, Beach Club Studio, Boardwalk Studio, OKW Studio, AK Studio and then SSR Studio (which is our home resort). So I'll be trying for any of those as of December 1st and you can expect this to change...again!

Then I'll also be 90 days out or close to it so I should be looking to book our tours at that time as well. December is going to be a busy month for calls to DVC and MS for me. I'll be calling mid-December to also book our November 2012 reservations!

And now...I need to cancel my CSR reservation!

 

[Lidian]

We haven't done Biergarten in years...might have to give it another try on an upcoming trip. It's one of the cheaper meals in Disney! Just not sure my picky kid would eat anything there!

We hadn't done R&C in years so it was nice to return there in June. I'm not sure I'll keep this ADR I must say...since we did just eat there in June I might want to try something else. However it's there for now!

I'm really looking forward to trying Jiko! I've heard many good things about it, especially from a friend of mine who lives very close to Disney, her ex-DH works at Disney, and she and her current DH eat often at Disney. She has a few favorites and I know Jiko and Flying Fish are two of them! She is actually the one who introduced me to the DD Wolfgang Puck's cafe...which of course has become another favorite! So I totally trust her judgement!

We absolutely loved Biergarten. I'm not an adventurous eater ... but I'll try most anything -- so long as its on someone else's plate and they're stuck eating it. (I'm always trying stuff on DH's plate.)

My kids are the same way ... DS moreso than DD. He's an extremely picky eater ... but they both loved Biergarten and did really well with their plates (even seconds).

WGP has one of the best dishes I've ever had. Wanna see a picture of it?

Oh, I didn't say it was a picture of how it looked when it was brought out ... because it was too good to not dive into. When I finished (right before I literally licked the plate clean), I realized I didn't get my picture. So better late than never right? Here's what Allears has listed for it:
Macadamia Nut Crusted Breast of Chicken - Panko and macadamia nut crusted boneless breast of chicken, sho-yo cream sauce and garlic mashed potatoes $27.95

Best. Meal. Ever. Mmmmm!

Sorry, didn't mean to threadjack ... Back to the topic ... Yes.... Jiko. I wouldn't mind trying Jiko ... but its another menu I'm a bit squirmish about. I've heard many good things, though, so it can't be bad!

It's great that you have someone who can give you recommendations from the site! I keep saying I need to have friends who work there. Maybe one day.

Edit: Because I got off topic, I forgot what else I was going to say. That's awesome about being able to change to DVC for March! I'm not real familiar with it ... I checked into it slightly once, but the price tag on it gave me major sticker shock. While it would be my dream to be a DVC owner, I don't think we'd ever be able to afford the money for it. We'll just have to wait and see.

Fingers are crossed that you get your AK stay all the way through! I dunno if I could handle packing up and moving back and forth. I dread the thought of doing a split stay across two resorts! And it seems kind of odd that it was a day in the middle ... but maybe that's just me?

Keep us posted as we stay tuned to Resort Changers: How many will it take before we're done?
(Because I've never, ever resort changed before. )

 

[janinev7]

Hello! That was a really great idea to get the SW airline points! I am thinking of doing the same, but how do you figure out how many "miles" you'll need? I am coming from boston...

 

[kittylady1972]

Hello! That was a really great idea to get the SW airline points! I am thinking of doing the same, but how do you figure out how many "miles" you'll need? I am coming from boston...

Yes it will totally be worth it...the card costs $69 which is cheaper than ONE RT ticket to Florida for us...and we'll get two of them with points leftover. Don't know if they are still offerring the 50K points but if they are, it's worth it!

So to figure it out, if you just go to SWA website and select your flights and dates. There is a radio button in the top right I think...for you to show the cost in PRICE/Dollars or in rewards/points. Just select points...and then you'd see how many points/miles it would cost for a ticket. You can pick and choose options of flights to see the values. Good luck!

 

[kittylady1972]

Sorry, didn't mean to threadjack ... Back to the topic ... Yes.... Jiko. I wouldn't mind trying Jiko ... but its another menu I'm a bit squirmish about. I've heard many good things, though, so it can't be bad!

Edit: Because I got off topic, I forgot what else I was going to say. That's awesome about being able to change to DVC for March! I'm not real familiar with it ... I checked into it slightly once, but the price tag on it gave me major sticker shock. While it would be my dream to be a DVC owner, I don't think we'd ever be able to afford the money for it. We'll just have to wait and see.

Fingers are crossed that you get your AK stay all the way through! I dunno if I could handle packing up and moving back and forth. I dread the thought of doing a split stay across two resorts! And it seems kind of odd that it was a day in the middle ... but maybe that's just me?

Keep us posted as we stay tuned to Resort Changers: How many will it take before we're done?
(Because I've never, ever resort changed before. )

Ok the chicken did sound pretty good. So many food places to try or try again, so little time each trip!

The DVC thing was actually my DH's idea...it's funny how HE had to talk ME into it and not the other way around. We had success renting DVC points from others in the past and enjoyed it so on one of our adults-only trips he convinced me to take a tour. We did not buy at the time but came back home and made our decision after thinking it over. We took out a loan through our credit union home equity...and eventually refinanced our house and rolled it into our mortgage, so really I guess we are still paying for it somewhat. We are lucky in that we bought our house before housing prices shot way up and even now that they've come back down we still have plenty of equity so I am not at all concerned about the loan/mortgage. We have gotten SO much use out of our DVC membership....I don't regret it!

Yeah I really don't expect we'll be changing resorts and if it comes to that we'll work something else out. We only done a resort change on a trip ONCE...but it was worth it. We went down for Thanksgiving in Nov. 2007 and the first 3 nights it was just 7 of us...so we got a 2BR at OKW which was really nice and plenty of space. My parents joined us the last four nights and we stayed in a 3BR Villa at SSR (our home resort) and it was just AWESOME...and we used some points to also put up my brother and his girlfriend in a studio for a few nights. It was just great to be able to use our points for our family...we do that more than anything. We almost always travel with the in-laws and we usually cover the cost of the stay with our points. If we can't we will rent/trade points from other DVC owners and the in-laws cover those costs...but the majority of it is still our points use. It's worked out really well.

Yep you probably won't hear much more from me about the resort for at LEAST another month and I'm going to try not to make any more dining changes until at least then either...but no promises of course!

 

[kittylady1972]

13 Months away until our FIRST DISNEY CRUISE

Ok, I don't know if I've mentioned much about this trip yet, since I'm clearly more focused on the more immediate March 2012 trip, so here's where the planning is for the November 2012 Park/Cruise/Park trip! I'll keep this in this font color to help differentiate them.

THE PLAN (as of now):

Thursday Nov. 15th: Kids will get to attend school for a half-day this day. We'll pull them out close to noon, having the car already packed, and then hit the road for the 1 hour drive to the Autotrain station. We have to be at the station by 2pm, so as long as we are on the road by noon we should be okay. THIS MAY CHANGE...and we might leave Friday instead but I think this is my preference. The kids will just miss an afternoon and one full day of school...no biggie! By 4pm we should be well on our way to Sanford, Florida!

Friday Nov. 16th: This could be our potential travel day as well...but if the above works out, then by Friday morning we should be in Sanford, Florida. If it works out like last time, we should arrive on Disney property no later than NOON. We will check into the resort...if the room is ready. If not, then I think we'll maybe hit Downtown Disney for lunch at TREX and then hit a park until the room is ready. By Friday evening we should be checked in, but it's not like we'll be unpacking much. We are only staying Friday and Saturday night. My resort of choice for these two nights is going to be a 2BR at Bay Lake Tower.

Saturday Nov. 17th: This is going to be an EPCOT day and MK evening! I want to soak up any holiday decorations and also enjoy the park lit up at night. I will probably make a dinner reservation at a resort that is along the monorail...which means probably Kona Cafe unless we want to try something new. I'd love to maybe try Grand Floridian Cafe for the first time if everybody else is game, but my MIL LOVES the Lapu Lapu...which would mean a Poly Resort restaurant.

Sunday Nov. 18th: CRUISE TIME! We will be packing up and checking out early Sunday morning and making the drive out to catch our cruise on the Disney Dream!

Sunday/Monday/Tuesday: Cruising on the Disney Dream and probably eating way too much. Right now I have no plans to book any excursions...just enjoy the ship and the ports themselves.

Wednesday Nov. 21st: Return to port and make the drive back to Walt Disney World! My planned resort for the next 3 nights is going to be a treehouse at Saratoga Springs and I think I have a REALLY good chance at getting one since SSR is our home resort. We will check into our room on Wednesday if it's ready when we arrive, otherwise we will explore MK for a while and return when our room is ready. Evening at EPCOT.

Thursday Nov. 22nd: Happy Thanksgiving...this is our second Thanksgiving spent at Walt Disney World! Plan to hit Hollywood Studios as soon as it opens and do some of the rides and shows there. We may also head over to AK for a little while. Dinner plans for now...I am hoping we can order a pre-cooked Thanksgiving Feast from a local grocery store to enjoy in our treehouse that evening! Perhaps head to EPCOT after dinner for a while!

Friday Nov. 23rd: Believe it or not, MK is recommended historically for this day so we will head there and spend as much time as we want there. When/if it gets crowded, we'll head to either AK or HS for later.

Saturday Nov. 24th: Check-out this morning from our room. We'll pack up and then spend the remainder of the day at a park...probably EPCOT or HS. We will need to drive out to Sanford to catch the Autotrain back in the afternoon if we have chosen to take the train back, which is our preference. If not, then we'll be packing up early that morning and then hitting the road for our drive back home!

MEALS: I have very few planned for this trip, since we have so little time in the parks. I think we may try to stick to counter service for the most part. I have been given a request to eat at Mama Melrose so I may try to book that one. I'm not sure if I'll book a Cali Grill meal for this trip...just a long and expensive meal and we'll have plenty of nice meals on the cruise I am sure!

 

[kittylady1972]

Ok, so in just over TWO weeks I will FINALLY be able to call DVC Member Services and rebook my trip with my next allotment of points. I'll be borrowing my 2012 points for my 2012 trip, since right now I have borrowed my 2011 points to book my 2012 trip because I haven't officially earned them yet. See I don't actually earn my 2011 DVC Points until my Use Year Month which is DECEMBER! So I have currently booked my 2012 trip using BORROWED 2011 Points because I don't earn them until December 1st...at which time I can borrow my 2012 point as well.

Anyway what have I done to occupy my time this week and get in my Disney fix, other than reading a few threads on the board here? Well I've been helping ANOTHER family plan out their very first Walt Disney World trip...for FEBRUARY! The sister of my sister-in-law (my brother's wife) had contacted me because she wanted to plan a Disney trip and was told I was the person to ask...YIPPEE!! I love helping plan trips for others. She and her husband want to take their 6-month old twin girls and their DD3 to Disney for her first trip...and they are hoping it will become a frequent thing after this first trip. After some discussion with her by phone, she wants to do about 4 or 5 days so we decided she should concentrate on just TWO parks...Magic Kingdom (duh! ) and also Hollywood Studios. So she'll get 3-day passes to the parks (not hoppers) and just focus on those for now. As for resorts, with the babies I know she would at least want a frig and microwave so I suggested moderate at minimum, but then when she asked about resorts closest to the MK park I told her Contemporary was really the way to go. If she could swing it, a room with MK view would simply MAKE the trip for her daughter who is just longing to see the castle!

I priced out some rooms for her and the best I could do was use the current 35% off room only rate for Contemporary, which was still pretty good. She has early February booked, but I told her there is still a chance similar rates will come out for later February and early March in case she prefers that timeframe. I'll keep her posted as she can always cancel and rebook a room easily enough later. She may even end up there the same week we are there, which would be fine with me. I'd love to help show them around even if it is *MY* birthday trip!

So she is all set and then another close family of ours is leaving TOMORROW for their Disney trip! I helped her get this one booked over the summer and they are SUPER EXCITED. This will be their 2nd trip as a family, but the first trip was a short one in February a few years ago and it was BITTER COLD the entire time they were there...they were so miserable! Weather for them next week looks to be great. They are staying off-property at my suggestions for a few reasons. One is that there were 6 of them and they wanted to all stay together and they plan to visit SeaWorld and the Universal Parks as well, so this will work out well for them. They got a great rate at Floridays which seems to get good reviews...I am excited for them as well! Can't wait to hear all about it when they return...and in the meantime I"ll be catsitting...so nobody let me forget to feed their cats!!

Another friend who I also helped plan HIS first trip just got back last week. I have yet to hear how it went other than a few short FB posts so hopefully he'll give me an update soon too!

Am I the only one who just LOVES hearing about other people's trips and LOVES helping other plan trips? Seriously wish I could make money doing it for a living...but my job pays pretty well, has good benefits and we like to EAT at our house!

So no updates on my own trip. However I will say I found this photo group the other day as I was cleaning up one of my directories...and had to make a quick little edit. This was my DS11 when he was just about 18 months old on his VERY FIRST Disney trip! Ah the memories!

 

[Lidian]

Ok, so in just over TWO weeks I will FINALLY be able to call DVC Member Services and rebook my trip with my next allotment of points. I'll be borrowing my 2012 points for my 2012 trip, since right now I have borrowed my 2011 points to book my 2012 trip because I haven't officially earned them yet. See I don't actually earn my 2011 DVC Points until my Use Year Month which is DECEMBER! So I have currently booked my 2012 trip using BORROWED 2011 Points because I don't earn them until December 1st...at which time I can borrow my 2012 point as well.

Anyway what have I done to occupy my time this week and get in my Disney fix, other than reading a few threads on the board here? Well I've been helping ANOTHER family plan out their very first Walt Disney World trip...for FEBRUARY! The sister of my sister-in-law (my brother's wife) had contacted me because she wanted to plan a Disney trip and was told I was the person to ask...YIPPEE!! I love helping plan trips for others. She and her husband want to take their 6-month old twin girls and their DD3 to Disney for her first trip...and they are hoping it will become a frequent thing after this first trip. After some discussion with her by phone, she wants to do about 4 or 5 days so we decided she should concentrate on just TWO parks...Magic Kingdom (duh! ) and also Hollywood Studios. So she'll get 3-day passes to the parks (not hoppers) and just focus on those for now. As for resorts, with the babies I know she would at least want a frig and microwave so I suggested moderate at minimum, but then when she asked about resorts closest to the MK park I told her Contemporary was really the way to go. If she could swing it, a room with MK view would simply MAKE the trip for her daughter who is just longing to see the castle!

I priced out some rooms for her and the best I could do was use the current 35% off room only rate for Contemporary, which was still pretty good. She has early February booked, but I told her there is still a chance similar rates will come out for later February and early March in case she prefers that timeframe. I'll keep her posted as she can always cancel and rebook a room easily enough later. She may even end up there the same week we are there, which would be fine with me. I'd love to help show them around even if it is *MY* birthday trip!

So she is all set and then another close family of ours is leaving TOMORROW for their Disney trip! I helped her get this one booked over the summer and they are SUPER EXCITED. This will be their 2nd trip as a family, but the first trip was a short one in February a few years ago and it was BITTER COLD the entire time they were there...they were so miserable! Weather for them next week looks to be great. They are staying off-property at my suggestions for a few reasons. One is that there were 6 of them and they wanted to all stay together and they plan to visit SeaWorld and the Universal Parks as well, so this will work out well for them. They got a great rate at Floridays which seems to get good reviews...I am excited for them as well! Can't wait to hear all about it when they return...and in the meantime I"ll be catsitting...so nobody let me forget to feed their cats!!

Another friend who I also helped plan HIS first trip just got back last week. I have yet to hear how it went other than a few short FB posts so hopefully he'll give me an update soon too!

Am I the only one who just LOVES hearing about other people's trips and LOVES helping other plan trips? Seriously wish I could make money doing it for a living...but my job pays pretty well, has good benefits and we like to EAT at our house!

So no updates on my own trip. However I will say I found this photo group the other day as I was cleaning up one of my directories...and had to make a quick little edit. This was my DS11 when he was just about 18 months old on his VERY FIRST Disney trip! Ah the memories!

Don't forget to feed the s!

The DVC thing is all confusing to me ... so I'll just take your word for it.

I could totally make a living as a WDW vacation planner. It would be my dream job ...

Totally love the photo! It's adorable!!!

 

[kittylady1972]

Don't forget to feed the s!

The DVC thing is all confusing to me ... so I'll just take your word for it.

I could totally make a living as a WDW vacation planner. It would be my dream job ...

Totally love the photo! It's adorable!!!

Thanks! Kitties have been fed and litter boxes changed twice now. My friends return on Friday and they have been having GREAT weather and a GREAT time...so happy for them. They have been through a lot in the last year...they really needed this vacation!

Yes the DVC thing can be confusing...I guess that is why my husband leaves it all up to me!

Glad you enjoyed the photo!

 

[kittylady1972]

Ok, so this week I realized that my credit card bill was due for this month and it contained my deposit for my room at CBR (before I changed it to CSR) and I didn't feel a need right now to have to pay for that...since I don't plan on using it. So I called and cancelled the reservation!

Now we still have no idea if we'll leave late Saturday or early Sunday. It will depend on when the basketball ceremony is scheduled for the younger two kids, and right now it just says TBA. I have a feeling we'll have to book our flights without knowing that information, so we'll probably just be safe and book an early Sunday morning flight. That's less we'd have to pay for a room and a rental car.

So in just over a week I'll be RE-booking my reservations for March with my new allotment of DVC points. It's funny that this week I got an email from another DVC member asking if I needed any more points. I guess it was around this time last year that I booked the trip for our family for June and we needed some additional DVC points to book the whole thing. I contracted with this guy for his DVC points and had them transferred to my account...and the family members using them split the cost. Right now I don't think we'll need to do that again though. I actually think we'll have enough points to book our March trip as well as the November trip.

It will be interesting to see what is available for all four nights in March, since my waitlist for a standard room at AKV still has not come through...for just ONE night. I guess I thought it would by now. Hopefully we'll be able to get four consecutive nights in ONE DVC resort for our timeframe!

On a side note, so ready to get this work week over and start my 4-day Thanksgiving Vacation! We are cooking at our house for 10 (our five plus both sets of parents) and I still have preparations for that. My mom and dad are in the process of driving up from NC to our house in MD today but I don't expect to see them until after dinner...and I should make sure their room is ready! Very much looking forward to tomorrow though. We will start the day with our traditional Thanksgiving Day movie and last weekend we watched previews for the two possibilities: Arthur Christmas and The Muppets. My DH was leaning towards Arthur Christmas until we saw the previews...and then he admitted Muppets was probably the better choice. I've bombarded my kids with a few previews as well this week for Muppets so that's where we will be headed tomorrow. Even better was that I ordered TWO movies this week online....Muppet movies of course...and each one allowed me to add to my Disney Movie Rewards account and get a free ticket! So we have TWO free tickets for the movie tomorrow and will only have to pay for three out of five...BONUS...plus I have two movies to give as gifts for Christmas to the kids (even though I had to open them to get the codes). I'm not sure if I can wait...we may break out Muppet Show 1 tonight and watch a few of the episodes just for fun!

Hope everybody has a wonderful holiday and look for my update next week where I hope to tell you for SURE where we REALLY will be staying in MARCH!!

 

[kittylady1972]

TRUE STORY: Conversation with my husband yesterday morning. I'm letting him know that in just a few days I can book our March room again using our DVC points....but I can't decide where to book.

Option #1: Bay Lake Tower...because it was so nice to stay so close to MK and that monorail convenience can't be beat. His opinion: whatever you want dear...it works for me

Option #2: Beach Club or Boardwalk...because it's so nice to be able to walk to EPCOT. His opinion: the only reason he would opt for Beach Club over Boardwalk would be for the pool there, and since we have only a short time there, not sure we'd use it too much so it might not be worth it

Option #3: Animal Kingdom Concierge...because it's the only concierge option we can book with points and how cool would it be to have the lounge and all of the free food...but would we really use it? His option: we probably don't need any incentives to EAT more...we are both trying to lose weight right now

Overall he really just defers to me to make the plans as I guess he figures whatever I book will work for him no matter what.

So countdown is now just less than 3 days when I can make the call and I guess it will come down to what is available. After all, if the only thing free all four nights is Old Key West, I'd take it because it would use the least amount of points next to Animal Kingdom Value Studio and we'll have a car with us so don't mind doing the drive to the parks.

Guess we'll see what happens!

 

[kittylady1972]

Can I get a drumroll please?? We have a NEW Resort decision for March!

I called DVC Member Services early this morning...longest I've ever been on hold with them, but it made since since Dec. 1st is when all December Use Year people get another allotment of points, so I'm sure I was not the only one making a reservation!

Anyway, she checked for studios that were available for my dates and my options were SSR, OKW and AKV in a Savannah View. Well we've stayed at AKV Savannah View twice now...so I ruled that one out. I've stayed at SSR at least twice...2BR and 3BR Villa (since it's our home resort) so I decided to go with OKW. We've been in a 2BR Villa at OKW before and it was nice too. I think OKW is not my favorite due to the lack of food there other than Olivia's and a very small counter service outside along the dock area...but it is also one of the cheapest in terms of points. So we are now staying all four nights at OKW and I have cancelled the AKV room I was in before. I still can't believe my waitlist for the ONE night there has not come through.

Unfortunately the woman I was talking to had a very strong accent and I was having a hard time understanding her. I was going to have her check some of the EPCOT resorts again (I know she mentioned one of them had 3 of my four nights available...and they were consecutive nights) and put me on a hold list for them...but I think I will probably call back early next week and do that. For now though, we are set for OKW!

So now my next call will be in about 2 weeks when I can call and reserve the first part of our November 2012 trip with the family. That will have to be SSR though...and I'll probably book a 2BR for our 2 nights there. A week later I'll call again and book the last 3 nights of our November 2012...hopefully in a TREEHOUSE!

Nothing else to update...for NOW!

 

[kittylady1972]

Just a few more days until I can finally make our November 2012 reservations...or part one of them. This will include the train as well as the resort, which will be Saratoga Springs. I think I'll just book a regular 2 bedroom for our first 2 nights and then hope for the treehouse for the last part of the week. I guess that would be the best way to do it but maybe I should secure a treehouse for both just in case? I guess I still have some decisions to make.

***************************
WARNING: LIFE UPDATE TIME!!
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Our weekend was so busy that I just feel like it went too quickly. Saturday I had to spend all day at Univ. of MD College Park with my 11yo DS for his school's science fair. That meant leaving the house around 7am for the 45 minute drive and then returning home around 4:30pm that evening. He really did not want to go, but this is a BIG thing for his school which is a public charter school that is science and technology oriented so I told him we really needed to go this year at least...and if we hated it we would not have to go back next year.

Honestly I wasn't as lost as I thought I'd be at College Park and they really did have a pretty good day planned for the kids. There was time in the theater with a movie, time in the bowling alley and arcade to fill the space when they did not have to be in the judging area or doing other stuff. My DS11 spent an hour or so in the room with his project and while I could not be in there with him I was lucky to be able to see him from the doorway and I loved watching him talk to the judges and really get into his project! When it was time for public viewing, I was really impressed with so many of the middle school projects (6th, 7th and 8th graders) but we still had to wait until the end of the day awards ceremony to find out if he had won. Once again, we were tempted NOT to stay, but since we were already there I figured we might as well stick it out until the end! My DS decided he might have a chance at 3rd or maybe even 2nd place (same kid who was sure during the week he had no chance at any prizes) so we stayed.

The awards presentation was long but nice. There were probably 10+ categories and prizes were: 3rd place-$50 Gift Card (can't remember for what); 2nd Place-Kindle Keyboard; 1st Place-Kindle Fire

My DS11 was in one of the last categories. They announced 3rd place and 2nd place and he immediately went limp...since those were the only ones he was sure he had a chance at winning and quite frankly I thought the same thing. Then they announced 1st place...and it was HIM! OMG I think we were both shocked...I was SO EXCITED for him!

So we spent the rest of the weekend helping him get setup with his new Kindle Fire which is very cool! I was considering getting him a tablet for Christmas, but we are a Nook family (I have the reader, got my DH the Nook Color for his birthday) but I'll admit the Fire is a nice little gadget. It was SO cool and I think I was smiling the rest of the weekend thinking about that moment when they called his name. It was too cool! I now wish the whole family had been there!

 

[Lidian]

Major grats to your DS!!!!!!! That's so amazing!!!!!!!!!!

 

[kittylady1972]

Major grats to your DS!!!!!!! That's so amazing!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks Lidian! It was truly one of those coolest PROUD Mommy moments and I'm so glad I got to experience it with him. Needless to say, I felt that this was news that I could NOT send to my DH via text message or a phone call. We plotted the entire 40+ minute drive home about how we would spill the big news to his dad, who had been texting me almost all day and asking how it was going.

We managed to pull that one off pretty well too I must admit! DS11 walked into his dad, head hung low, showing off his Participation Ribbon which everybody got if they attended. Dad congratulated him. Then he handed his dad the certificate...it read in bold CERTIFICATE OF RECOGNITION and then below it stated for First Place in Biology and Zoology. DH took the certificate, read it and then also exclaimed "FIRST PLACE! CONGRATULATIONS!" and it was so cool to see that too.

I must admit it's a cool gadget. I don't like it as much as the Nook Color in some aspects, but it was free and DS11 loves it of course and that's all that matters.

 

[kittylady1972]

NOVEMBER 2012 TRIP UPDATE
OK, so glad I contacted Amtrak yesterday because my assumption on my Amtrak Rewards points has been off apparently and I have had to scramble to make some adjustments. I'm still hoping they will be in place in time.

The situation is this: I have just over 30K Amtrak Rewards points. I was sure that for our trip down in November, the vehicle would cost me 10K points, a roomette would cost 15K points and a bedroom would be 20K points. So that meant I could book our vehicle and the bedroom and would just have to pay for either another bedroom or a roomette for our five, and then pay OOP for another room for my in-laws. I knew last time I talked to the Amtrak Rewards people I remember being told I HAD to use Rewards for the vehicle and the room but could pay for additional rooms in cash. This was confirmed yesterday so that's good...since you can't take Autotrain without a vehicle. I will have to book our train trip down tomorrow...or at least that's the earliest I can book it and I'll have to pay for all of it together.

Well yesterday I was informed the vehicle, since it's oversized, will be 15K points...I had not counted on that. That meant I could not book a bedroom on points as well...and that sucked. Amtrak is currently allowing you to buy additional points and you get an extra 30% for free. So yesterday I had to buy some additional points for our trip...and I'm not sure how long it takes for the deposit. As of today, they still are not there!

So I'm hoping I'll see those points in my account by tonight or tomorrow. While I probably don't HAVE to book right away, it is the weekend before Thanksgiving and I don't want to chance it. This should be interesting.

 

[kittylady1972]

TWO FOR ONE DEAL: MARCH 2012 UPDATE & NOVEMBER 2012 UPDATES

Ok, I'll start with the first upcoming trip, as I made changes to that this morning. I mean, I was ALREADY on the phone with DVC Member services....I couldn't be expected NOT to check on my options there right?

So for our March trip, we were already booked at a studio at Old Key West resort. Now we've stayed in a 2BR at Old Key West before (back in Nov. 2007) and it was nice...but I really like the Boardwalk area resorts or the MK Resorts. There's something about being able to walk to at least one park! Well they had SSR available and AK Savannah available as well as Boardwalk! Now Boardwalk was our VERY first DVC Resort stay back in Feb. 2004 and I remember how much we really enjoyed it. We had rented points from a DVC member to stay there and we just could not get over how nice the room was and how we all got to stay in a room together! We had a 2BR lockoff so we were able to put the two little ones (yes only two of them at the time...but I was pregnant with #3 who would arrive in July! ) to bed in the bedroom, close the door and then hang out in the family room.

Anyway, I thought it would be nice to return to Boardwalk and I love that we can walk over to EPCOT anytime or take the boat over to EPCOT or Studios. It's just going to be nice to return there and so I've changed our March reservation. I know this may sound CRAZY but I think I am done making those reservations. I am good with our March plans. I don't anticipate any more changes...well with the room...dining might be another story!

And now...for November 2012. What a NIGHTMARE this morning but thankfully I have it all worked out. We will start with the Autotrain which, I have to come to learn, is not the most customer-friendly thing to book. This morning confirmed that to me.

I'll save the long and detailed story, but it started out with me booking our reservations this morning. I am booking all seven of us and our vehicle on the trip south next November. I was able to book our vehicle, rail fare for 1 adult and two kids and one bedroom with my Amtrak Rewards points. I had to pay cash for 3 additional adults and one child and in order to do that they link the cash and rewards reservation together but they are two transactions. I never bothered to ask the cost because I was pretty sure I knew the total. For the additional passengers and bedrooms I was expecting the cost to be around $900 or so. Imagine my surprise when she took my credit card information and then informed me the charge went through...for $1900!!! What? When I asked for the cost breakdown the fare was what I expected but the two bedrooms, which should have cost us $292 each were costing $814 each!

Now I didn't think to question it at the time, because I though perhaps the prices had just gone up so I figured I'd get online afterwards and look into it and then make some decisions later. Well I did check online and sure enough the cost was as I had expected it to be...$292 instead of $814. So now it was time to contact Amtrak to find out what the heck???

True to form, the original Amtrak reservations agent was EXTREMELY less than helpful. When your explanation is "that's the way it has to be done" and I don't know what you are talking about...it's clearly time to move up the phone tree food chain. She ended up transferring me back to the Amtrak Rewards line.

I explain the same thing here and this woman clearly understands my issue, can see that I should be able to get the other price, and then proceeds to fix it for me. Now the irritating thing about Amtrak is that they are incapable of actually CHANGING existing reservations...they have to cancel the old one and then rebook a new one, which means I'll have two charges on my account until the refund is processed, but I'm okay with that as long as I get the correct price!

She gets the whole thing rebooked and sure enough the cost is exactly what I had planned for...and we are GOOD to go! Train southbound is booked for next November...and it only took me three agents and about 45 minutes on the phone and computer!

Next up was my call to DVC, which goes much more smoothly. I book our 2BR room at Saratoga Springs Resort for all seven of us for two nights in November easily enough. A treehouse is available she tells me, but I don't think we want to do it for two nights. I do plan to book the treehouse for our final 3 nights but I have to wait until Wednesday to book that. So fingers crossed it's still an option when I call in two more days!

So in summary...March 2012 room changed from OKW Studio to a Garden View studio at Boardwalk, Autotrain trip booked for southbound trip in November 2012 and 2BR Villa at SSR booked for two nights in November 2012!

Whew...now I can relax until after Christmas...when I'll make the same phone calls to Amtrak and to DVC to book the last few days of our November 2012 trip!!!

 

[kittylady1972]

Since my March 2012 trip will be our return to the Boardwalk Resort, and the last time we stayed there was in late February of 2004, I thought it would be cool to dig up a few photos from that trip just to refresh my memory. This was DD's SECOND trip to the World, but the first trip where she was walking! This was Nicolas 3rd trip. Here are some fun photos from our visit that year:

View from our room:

Inside of our 2BR lockoff:

Me and DD1 on the balcony:

Kids on the Boardwalk:

DS at EPCOT after a rainy morning:

Breakfast at O'Hana:

Teacup time:

Character greetings at Animal Kingdom:

Hope you enjoyed the little flashback...hard to believe these kids are now THIS size...and of course we've added an extra one!