395 days of planning all lead up to this! Sept/Oct 2012

[oopsiDAISY]

Would you mind telling me how much it was to upgrade from QS dining to the regular dining plan? We will have 4 "adults" 10 yrs & up and just one child. So if you know how much it is for one adult and for one child I can calculate the rest. I am crunching numbers to see if we may be able go in March rather than October, and March has free dining. I am looking at getting 2 rooms @ Pop, so they would come with the QS dining.

 

[CaseFace5]

Hi There! Subbing..

I have read through your report so far and I'm looking forward to keeping up.

I just booked my next trip yesterday! I'm going with my cousin and her two kids March 5-11 2012. I am thinking of starting a PTR, but don't know where to start haha.

I am also an American Hockey fan. BUUTT.... I am a BRUINS fan! Haha. So maybe hockey won't be the best topic of conversation, but WDW will be!

 

[HeatherLassell]

Hi There! Subbing..

I have read through your report so far and I'm looking forward to keeping up.

I just booked my next trip yesterday! I'm going with my cousin and her two kids March 5-11 2012. I am thinking of starting a PTR, but don't know where to start haha.

I am also an American Hockey fan. BUUTT.... I am a BRUINS fan! Haha. So maybe hockey won't be the best topic of conversation, but WDW will be!

Sweet!

Hmmm well for my ptr I just kinda ramble on all the time whenever I come up with something else I want to do for the trip. Or when I buy something for the trip. And then just inject some non disney stuff to pass the time.

lol We can still talk about hockey!

 

[HeatherLassell]

Would you mind telling me how much it was to upgrade from QS dining to the regular dining plan? We will have 4 "adults" 10 yrs & up and just one child. So if you know how much it is for one adult and for one child I can calculate the rest. I am crunching numbers to see if we may be able go in March rather than October, and March has free dining. I am looking at getting 2 rooms @ Pop, so they would come with the QS dining.

I have no idea how much each persons cost. I have 12 days, 11nights. When I upgraded to Table Service I also added an extra night and it cost me $600 to do that. Hope that helps. I would just call Disney and ask...OR...cheaper...(which I love) go to the disney website and find the "chat live" to chat with a Disney person and ask them there.

 

[oopsiDAISY]

I got everything squared away...and we booked for MARCH 2012 at Port Orleans Riverside!

 

[lmbcdb]

I figured I'd go read and respond to your PTR instead of us continuing to hijack the Pop thread about socks! Off to read!

 

[lmbcdb]

Random thoughts from the beginning of your PTR....

Love the carry on bags...and the luggage/purse/bag section is always like that - not having things a long time - I found lunch boxes I wanted to get for the kids, and within a few weeks they were gone.

For your extra day, you could visit the deluxes - AKL is where we are going to visit. (dream resort, but can't ever see spending that much) I saw you were interested in it, so I'll let you know how it was when we get back.

MNSSHP - we decided not to. My kids are early to bed and get GRUMPY as the evening wears on. And, from what I've read, the lines have been long at the parties. Maybe it was just the weekend/popular ones, but that's a lot of money. Maybe when they are older.

Definitely make a countdown chain. I have the file if you want it. We started ours at 90 days and it went from the ceiling to the floor!

I'd like to stay at AOA, too, but WOW on the prices. We just sleep in our room and spend our whole days at parks, so I'm not so sure it's worth it.

Pet peeves thread - I try not to read those. Those and the ones where people complain. I'm trying NOT to ruin my trip by looking for these things.

saving change - My kids have a Disney jar, too, and they are allowed to put in ANY money they find around the house - counters, clothes dryer, car, where ever. Then we put it on a gift card for them to spend when we get there. (We usually just put $50 on it no matter what) They know that when it's gone, it's gone, so they choose wisely on their souvenirs.

congrats on the free dining - BBB is definitely worth it, along with PL. My DD3 chose PL this year, though! (wants to be with big brother)

not shopping at the parks - they will send your purchase back to the resort for you! Right from the shop where you buy it!

bus vs. rental - I don't care either way, but my something you might want to take in to consideration - my DH likes the bus so he doesn't have to drive. He says it makes him feel "taken care of" and he doesn't have to do anything. (take care of the keys, remember where we parked, stress about directions/getting lost, etc)

kid vs. adult food - many of the kid portions are SMALL - good size for my bird like eaters, but if your son is like most 9 year olds, it won't be enough. In fact, last year, when DS was 7, he ended up finishing a lot of his sister's food.

 

[HeatherLassell]

MNSSHP - we decided not to. My kids are early to bed and get GRUMPY as the evening wears on. And, from what I've read, the lines have been long at the parties. Maybe it was just the weekend/popular ones, but that's a lot of money. Maybe when they are older.

Definitely make a countdown chain. I have the file if you want it. We started ours at 90 days and it went from the ceiling to the floor!

I'd like to stay at AOA, too, but WOW on the prices. We just sleep in our room and spend our whole days at parks, so I'm not so sure it's worth it.

Pet peeves thread - I try not to read those. Those and the ones where people complain. I'm trying NOT to ruin my trip by looking for these things.

saving change - My kids have a Disney jar, too, and they are allowed to put in ANY money they find around the house - counters, clothes dryer, car, where ever. Then we put it on a gift card for them to spend when we get there. (We usually just put $50 on it no matter what) They know that when it's gone, it's gone, so they choose wisely on their souvenirs.

congrats on the free dining - BBB is definitely worth it, along with PL. My DD3 chose PL this year, though! (wants to be with big brother)

not shopping at the parks - they will send your purchase back to the resort for you! Right from the shop where you buy it!

bus vs. rental - I don't care either way, but my something you might want to take in to consideration - my DH likes the bus so he doesn't have to drive. He says it makes him feel "taken care of" and he doesn't have to do anything. (take care of the keys, remember where we parked, stress about directions/getting lost, etc)

kid vs. adult food - many of the kid portions are SMALL - good size for my bird like eaters, but if your son is like most 9 year olds, it won't be enough. In fact, last year, when DS was 7, he ended up finishing a lot of his sister's food.

I do think we will probably visit Animal Kingdom one of our days. I'll get an ADR for dinner over there and then explore. It looks amazing. With one of those 35% off PINS it would be doable.

I'm still not sure about MNNSHP. Guess I have time to figure out if we are gonna go.

I think we're all gonna do the Pirates League! It's much cheaper and is something the boys can do too. I think we'll go ride Pirates a bunch of times after! *lol*

I do like the idea of the bus so I can have an alcoholic drink and not have to worry about driving.

And I probably will upgrade Braden to adult. I think it only works out to like $60 more for the whole trip. He is a big boy for his age and I've looked at the menus and don't think he'd be satisified with the options.

Thanks for joining!

 

[HeatherLassell]

Braden had his first hockey experience today!!! He has never played before and he got to play in a game for about an hour! He had alot of fun!

BRADEN is #10!

We had alot of fun. My mom came with us. I made big brother get up and come too and he sat with us and little sister.

 

[HeatherLassell]

Would you mind telling me how much it was to upgrade from QS dining to the regular dining plan? We will have 4 "adults" 10 yrs & up and just one child. So if you know how much it is for one adult and for one child I can calculate the rest. I am crunching numbers to see if we may be able go in March rather than October, and March has free dining. I am looking at getting 2 rooms @ Pop, so they would come with the QS dining.

Look what I found on DIS:

2012 Upgrade from the Quick Service DDP $34.99/$11.99 to Basic/Plus DDP $51.54/$15.02
$16.65 per adult 10+; $3.03 per child 3 - 9

Hope that helps!

 

[SoNotAPrincess]

I'm in! We have a family reunion planned for the end of September (15 people), and I'm the planner...fun for me. I've been thinking about doing a PTR, and now I'm inspired.

 

[HeatherLassell]

I'm in! We have a family reunion planned for the end of September (15 people), and I'm the planner...fun for me. I've been thinking about doing a PTR, and now I'm inspired.

Sweet!!!!! Nice to meet ya! Let me know if you do start a ptr! I'll join!

 

[HeatherLassell]

I got everything squared away...and we booked for MARCH 2012 at Port Orleans Riverside!

Sweet! So are you going to rent a car or use the Disney busses? I thought about moving to POR but I don't find any positive information about the bus system. Mostly because POR Riverside shares with POR French Quarter.

Everything I read shows POP having the best bus system because it doesn't share with any other resort. Since I'm seriously considering a rental vehicle I may just move up to a Moderate. Since the price isn't that much and then we get the queen beds and the pools are alot cooler and have slides at the mods/deluxes/

 

[HeatherLassell]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY COLE!!!!!!!!!!!!

Today my oldest son turns 14! OMG! I can't believe he is already 14! Wow I remember when he was a baby!

Of course this just means I'm getting older! I turn 32 in 2 weeks!

 

[jenny105]

Happy birthday Cole!

 

[SoNotAPrincess]

I thought about moving to POR but I don't find any positive information about the bus system. Mostly because POR Riverside shares with POR French Quarter.

Everything I read shows POP having the best bus system because it doesn't share with any other resort. Since I'm seriously considering a rental vehicle I may just move up to a Moderate. Since the price isn't that much and then we get the queen beds and the pools are alot cooler and have slides at the mods/deluxes/

POR is our favorite moderate...when the kids were small, they LOVED the FQ pool with the sea monster slide! The boat to DTD is very convenient and such a cool way to get there...sailing past the treehouses and checking out all the wildlife...plus no need to ride the bus to get there!

We stayed there with my mom using a scooter and used the bus system exclusively. I found the system and the drivers to be a-MAY-zing. (I've never stayed at POP, so I can't compare.) If you go for it, I recommend that you try for a preferred room because they're closer to the amenities and bus stops, which is especially nice at the end of the day when the kidlets are tired.

 

[CaseFace5]

POR is our favorite moderate...when the kids were small, they LOVED the FQ pool with the sea monster slide! The boat to DTD is very convenient and such a cool way to get there...sailing past the treehouses and checking out all the wildlife...plus no need to ride the bus to get there!

We stayed there with my mom using a scooter and used the bus system exclusively. I found the system and the drivers to be a-MAY-zing. (I've never stayed at POP, so I can't compare.) If you go for it, I recommend that you try for a preferred room because they're closer to the amenities and bus stops, which is especially nice at the end of the day when the kidlets are tired.

I agree. I stayed at POR twice when I was young and I had a blast there. I remember the pool being amazing and the shops and decor was cool. The boat to DTD was also a favorite of mine and I don't remember the bus system being any different then the buses at All Star Sports, which I stayed in last year.

Just some food for thought.

 

[jenny105]

Adding my two cents, when POR and POFQ share buses (and from my understanding, they run separately during peak times) POFQ is the first stop. You could always stay there if the buses are a concern and that way you'd be able to utilize the amenities at both resorts.

 

[HeatherLassell]

Adding my two cents, when POR and POFQ share buses (and from my understanding, they run separately during peak times) POFQ is the first stop. You could always stay there if the buses are a concern and that way you'd be able to utilize the amenities at both resorts.

I think POR looks amazing! I showed it to Ava and she was like "oooooh it's a fancy one!" lol

Not sure I'll make up my mind anytime soon! lol But for now it will just stay as POP.

But IF I find a great car rental deal then I'm definately gonna move up to a moderate. Just not sure which one. And then IF Disney was nice enough to pixie dust me with a 35% off room only discount I would move to AKL and pay for our food oop!

 

[HeatherLassell]

The boat to DTD was also a favorite of mine

Since we're definately planning to spend some of our 2 days off visiting DTD (also the first day we arrive) the boat to DTD would be an added bonus!

Hmmm POR is getting back to the top of my list.