4 kids, 3 adults, 2 Grand Villas, and 1 Split Stay!!!!

[Irishlisa]

Ok, this is my first attempt at a Pre-trip report so I'm not sure who will be interested....but here I go anyway


4 kids:
Last September at PL for MNSSHP; DS Capt. Jack Sparrow then age 8, and his 3 Empress sisters, then age 6, 4, and 4. And yes, they're twins
For our upcoming November trip they will be 9, 8 (we will be celebrating dd's 8th birthday while we are there), and the twins will be 5.





3 adults:
DH, my sister (aka the babysitter ), and myself.

2 Grand Villas:
One at AKV Kidani and one at BLT.

And our first split stay
We stayed in a grand villa at AKV last September for the first time and absolutely loved it so we wanted to stay there again. DH has always wanted to stay at BLT and after trying for the past 3 years we were able to get a GV there so....the compromise. 3 nights at AKV and 4 nights at BLT. I'm a little nervous about the whole packing/unpacking aspect of a split stay but I'm sure it will all work out.

DH and I have been to WDW over 20 times since we owned a timeshare at Vistana for 10 years before selling it when our DS and DD were 4 and 2. This will be DS's 5th trip, DD's 4th trip, and the twin's 3rd trip. We have done Disney all sorts of ways; our timeshare as I mentioned, hotels off property, renting homes, and then finally on property for the first time last September at Kidani. What were we waiting for ? Is there any other way to do Disney? And then of course we splurged on the Grand Villa so there's no turning back

We really loved staying on property and all the perks that come with it. First of all ME is awesome. Not having to rent a car at the airport and just being able to get off the airplane and head straight to the ME busses is fantastic. And then not having to drive at all while we are there is great too. And for the many other reasons that Disney spoils their guests

So that brings me to the planning stage of our upcoming trip which is my favorite part . My family is just along for the ride.

 

[Irishlisa]

While the kids impatiently wait for me to cut out the links for our countdown chain :



They decided to make a countdown board in the mean time:

 

[Disney9.9.10]

Joining in! We've taken a few big family trips and have discussed getting a grand villa at some point, so I'm interested to read about your experiences. Your children are so cute and I love them all dressed up as pirates! Your countdowns also look like so much fun. Looking forward to reading more

 

[Irishlisa]

I've tried to not analyze, over analyze, change, confirm, cancel, book, and then re-book our ADRs, but that takes the fun out of it, right ? I've been solid for the past 2 weeks and have left them alone but at 115 days out....

Here's a list of our ADRs with our plans for each day since those pesky ADRs come into play with each move we all make:

Day 1: Arrive at AKV and hit Sanaa for lunch. We have family driving in from NC so we'll hang out at the resort until they get in. DTD for dinner at Raglan Road for the 11 of us. RR has been a first night dinner family tradition for each trip we've made and is always a great way to start off our trip.

Day 2: Hollywood Studios. Sci-Fi res at 11:00 for an early lunch and then Mama Melrose's for dinner at 4:30. Osborne Lights after dinner.

Day 3: MVMCP . We are excited for the party since it will be our first. We did MNSSHP last September and loved it. BOG for dinner while we're there.

Day 4: Moving day. Ohana for dinner at 5:05 and then fireworks from our balcony at BLT

Day 5: Chef Mickey's for breakfast. Epcot and Via Napoli for lunch. Back to BLT and The Wave for dinner. Pirates and Pals Fireworks cruise that night

Day 6: AK and Tusker House for breakfast. QS for lunch. Dinner for adults only at Paradiso 37.

Day 7: MK. CRT to celebrate DD's Birthday. PL. Adults only dinner at Shula's.

That's it so far . Although I'm waiting to see if CG starts taking reservations when it opens back up and then I'll add it in somewhere

 

[Irishlisa]

Joining in! We've taken a few big family trips and have discussed getting a grand villa at some point, so I'm interested to read about your experiences. Your children are so cute and I love them all dressed up as pirates! Your countdowns also look like so much fun. Looking forward to reading more

Yay!!!! Thanks for joining in. I was afraid no one would read this
Thank you, I love seeing Disney through my kids' eyes.

 

[Irishlisa]

I'm not sure if I mentioned how much my ds loves all things Pirates of The Caribbean and especially Capt Jack Sparrow. He convinced his sisters to skip BBB last year so they could all do PL together. It was great and the girls loved it too. This year I made reservations for PL again for the 4 of them and the girls have no interest in BBB....so far anyway


Here's their Jack Sparrow shirts:



We are also doing the Pirates and Pals Fireworks Cruise for the first time. I've read some great reviews so we're looking forward to it. Here's the shirts I got for the kids to wear for the cruise:



I have the shirts hidden in my closet

 

[Irishlisa]

Just got off the phone with my cousin who lives in NC and has met us for the past 2 trips with her DH and DDs, age 10 and 11. We're excited to have them meet us again for this trip. It's great for the kids to all get together, although DS complains about being the only boy surrounded by 5 girls . They are DVC members and introduced us to AKV last year. My cousin's husband is not a fan of the split stay, he likes to stay at one resort. For this trip they are booked in a one bedroom at AKV for the week, same as what they did last year, and we requested to have our units near each other. She decided to try to get a room at BLT so they could move with us (although her DH is against it) but so far she hasn't been able to get a one or two bedroom unit. She did put them on the wait list to see if anything comes up. I offered to have them stay with us since we will have plenty of room in our GV, but they said they prefer to have their own unit . I understand though, I just thought I'd offer. When we move to BLT and they stay at AKV, they will probably be over there with us most of the time anyway since we plan on doing almost everything together including some of our ADRs for the 11 of us; RR, Mama Melrose's, BOG and Ohana. Some of the time they like to do their own thing and will be skipping the Pirates and Pals Cruise, Chef Mickey's, CRT, and PL. It works out well for everyone.

 

[angelabrezovsky]

iM SUBING IN! I AM IN YOUR NOVEMBER GROUP. I CANT WAIT TO READ MORE.

 

[wiigirl]

Following along.

 

[Irishlisa]

iM SUBING IN! I AM IN YOUR NOVEMBER GROUP. I CANT WAIT TO READ MORE.

Hi!!!!

 

[Irishlisa]

Following along.

 

[goofy4prez]

Count me in; looking forward to it. The kids are way too cute in those costumes.

 

[lololovebird]

Totally following. We are in the process to find a DVC member to rent from. We want to get a grand villa at AKV since our family is so large we rarely get to stay together in the same room.

Can I ask you a question? Is it very hard to book a grand villa at AKV? Will we have to try a few times?

 

[Irishlisa]

Count me in; looking forward to it. The kids are way too cute in those costumes.

Thank you

 

[Irishlisa]

Totally following. We are in the process to find a DVC member to rent from. We want to get a grand villa at AKV since our family is so large we rarely get to stay together in the same room.

Can I ask you a question? Is it very hard to book a grand villa at AKV? Will we have to try a few times?

It's not hard at all. Last year we got a grand villa at AKV 3 months before our trip. This year we booked 6 months out and had no problem with availability either. If you are a little flexible with your dates if helps. Although last year we had specific dates and were able to get it with no problem.

Because there are 6 of us, plus my sister, it just makes sense for our family instead of squeezing into a 2 bedroom unit. We like to have room to spread out. It would be so fun for your family to stay in one unit

If you have any questions I'd love to help. There are a lot of reputable DVC members to rent from on this site.

 

[lololovebird]

It's not hard at all. Last year we got a grand villa at AKV 3 months before our trip. This year we booked 6 months out and had no problem with availability either. If you are a little flexible with your dates if helps. Although last year we had specific dates and were able to get it with no problem.

Because there are 6 of us, plus my sister, it just makes sense for our family instead of squeezing into a 2 bedroom unit. We like to have room to spread out. It would be so fun for your family to stay in one unit

If you have any questions I'd love to help. There are a lot of reputable DVC members to rent from on this site.

Okay, great! That's wonderful news!

Yeah, I'm just having a hard time finding someone with enough points more than anything.

Anyways, can't wait to see your trip come together! Maybe steal some ideas

 

[Irishlisa]

114 days out....

Today I called Magical Express to add our flight information. I don't know why I obsess over small items like ME so far away from our trip, I guess I just like to have everything in place as soon as possible and then tweak if needed.

I also called Disney Dining to add a special request for our DD's 8th birthday, which is actually the day before we leave, but we told her we would celebrate while we were in WDW instead of having a party the weekend before at home. Of course she loved this idea. So I talked with a very helpful CM who added notes to EVERY ADR that we have saying we were celebrating DD's birthday. She was a little over zealous, but so helpful. I explained that we did not want to celebrate the entire week for DD's bday, only wanting to add it to our ADR for dinner the first night at RR, and then to Chef Mickey's for breakfast.

And now here comes the small dilemma I have created. If we say we are celebrating her birthday at Disney, how does that make her siblings feel? And then what are the expectations for their future birthdays? Obviously WDW is not in the cards for every birthday . We originally booked this week not at all based on her birthday, it just happened to work out that way. So now I am thinking a small party the weekend before our trip with DD's friends, and then a small acknowledgement of her birthday at Disney for dinner and a welcome in our room when we arrive.

There are some great delivery options at WDW for any kind of celebration; flowers, cakes, Disney gift baskets, balloons, etc.. I was thinking something like this delivered to our villa so DD can share with her siblings:



If I was slightly motivated, and maybe as we get closer it will happen , I would make something like this to bring with us instead of paying an arm and a leg for a basket to be delivered from an outside source. But at this point I can't imagine trying to smuggle the items in my suitcase and then putting them in the room as a surprise without getting caught. The $80.00 seems almost worth not having to deal with doing it myself . I have thought of just decorating the villa with birthday things and then getting a cake, but AKV doesn't allow balloons because of the animals, so maybe streamers and that sort of thing .

Side note: I asked the CM I spoke to about dining if there was any news on the rumored re-opening of California Grill in September. She said they had no news at all as to when it would re-open and no reservations were being accepted.

 

[taaren]

Wow, 2 grand villas I'm super jealous! Especially of the BLT one ... we had a two bedroom with 8 people (5 adults/3 kids) and it was amazing, I can't imagine having a 3 bedroom. One of these days we'll have enough points for that ... fortunately the uncle in our group is just fine with the sleeper chair, doesn't want his own room.

Sounds like a great trip you guys have planned! We'll be there just a couple of days after you the 17th through 25th BCV 2 bdr/AKV studio. I still haven't added ME as I'm not sure when we're getting the rental car, whether for the whole trip or just part, etc.

 

[Irishlisa]

Wow, 2 grand villas I'm super jealous! Especially of the BLT one ... we had a two bedroom with 8 people (5 adults/3 kids) and it was amazing, I can't imagine having a 3 bedroom. One of these days we'll have enough points for that ... fortunately the uncle in our group is just fine with the sleeper chair, doesn't want his own room.

Sounds like a great trip you guys have planned! We'll be there just a couple of days after you the 17th through 25th BCV 2 bdr/AKV studio. I still haven't added ME as I'm not sure when we're getting the rental car, whether for the whole trip or just part, etc.

I know, BLT is a big deal for us. We are very excited to finally stay there The points are crazy though. Honestly, we would stay in a 2 bedroom if it was just the 6 of us but we like to have the extra room for my sister. She is a huge help with the kids and lets dh and I go out alone at night. With a 3 bedroom at least she has her own area and it doesn't feel like we're all tripping over each other.

You must be excited for your trip as well. Do you and your family use the rental car because you're going to non Disney parks as well? We debated on using a day to go to LegoLand but decided against it.

 

[Irishlisa]

The always annoying aspect of the parks for me is how it carry all of our stuff. Our "stuff" means the camera, camcorder, change of clothes, cell phone, wallet, water and snacks. I remember being able to go to the parks with nothing but myself, some cash and a small pocket camera (before kids). And then with kids of course there comes a lot of "stuff" that needs to be carried. At least when we used a stroller we could put our stuff in the basket under the stroller. And I used a diaper bag that clipped to the back of the stroller so I had plenty of room for our stuff.

On our last visit we did not use a stroller for the twins, so we lost our storage area. Instead I carried my camera bag, camcorder bag, and all our other things in a nylon backpack. And it was annoying. Very annoying. It was hard to get things out if they fell to the bottom of the bag. And taking the camera out of the backpack and then out of the camera bag was ridiculous. And forget about the camcorder. I used it twice the entire trip. But I still lugged it around everywhere with me.

So I've spent a bit of time researching the best options. There are a few threads on here where people have asked opinions on what kind of bag to bring to the parks. Like anything else it's a matter of preference, but I think I've finally figured it out, at least for me

Instead of carrying the camera and camcorder separately:

I bought a camera backpack:

The best thing is that it's not a bulky backpack but can still hold a lot. There is a zippered slot on the back for a tablet, a cell phone holder, 2 water bottle holders, a bunch of spots inside to hold things, and compartments for my camera and camcorder. And it comes with a rain cover. Nifty

I am so excited to try it out....and dh thinks I'm crazy.