A Disney-addicted mom: Disney cruise, Family trip, Running trips! *Update 2/18*

[DrMomof3]

My emotions are so crazy right now!! I am happy and scared to death all at the same time! So excited about the APs, and going more often but just not sure about everything else. Thanks for sharing about you and Tom making it work. I know my DS15 will be just happy he doesn't have to move.
We are going to buy a condo so I think we're going to try to rent it when not using it.( 1-2 weeks a month) So let me know if you're interested

For sure!
I had a 16 month old and was about 10 weeks pregnant when I moved to Baltimore and returned to NY with a 3 1/2 and an 18 month old.

Amanda

 

[DrMomof3]

Just for fun. Here are some pics from the ToT weekend...

Amanda

 

[ddluvsdisney]

Just for fun. Here are some pics from the ToT weekend...

Amanda

Love your Minnie costume~ very cute!!

 

[DrMomof3]

Love your Minnie costume~ very cute!!

Thank you!

Amanda

 

[DrMomof3]

Some planning updates:

Marathon Weekend - I have a huge training weekend ahead of me. 10 mile walk on Saturday and 24 mile run on Sunday. Yikes!!! Overall training is going well. Ecoaching has been great! I love having a coach to answer questions and trouble-shoot.
I'm all set at the Poly. The only ADR I know about is dinner at Via Napoli on Friday. It's early, like 4:30pm or so. I guess I need to talk to my roommate about other meals! I'm also doing the race retreat package which was pricey. I've heard for the Goofy it's worth it though. Flights are set. I think DME is set.

Princess weekend - I booked our flights. Our flight down is now sold out! Still need to rent a car. We're set for our timeshare tour on Friday afternoon. Tom will try to get military tickets to the park when he's at West Point tomorrow. Need to think about ADRs but I'm less worried being off-site. Need to look for a rental car at some point...

Not sure if we'll go back in August. I have a few ideas: WDW again. Universal but a shorter trip. DL instead. Haven't discussed with Tom yet...

Amanda

 

[luvpoohandcompany]

Love all the photos Amanda Glad to hear you are all safe. Sooooo jealous of the airfares you guys pay!!! The cheapest I can find from here for next year is £650 per person

 

[DrMomof3]

Love all the photos Amanda Glad to hear you are all safe. Sooooo jealous of the airfares you guys pay!!! The cheapest I can find from here for next year is £650 per person

Yikes! Although we're only traveling 2 1/2 - 3 hours so it's a pretty short flight. And thankfully in the same time zone.
Airfare to England for us is about the same - $1000 or more. I did fly to London a few years ago for $650 round trip but that was just lucky and it was before the gas prices went up so much.

Amanda

 

[DrMomof3]

So let's pretend that my DH agrees to another August trip (he's already complaining that it's been too long since he's been to Disney so there's hope). Let's start pretend planning!

Where to stay?
Idea #1: I think my kids would love to return to Fort Wilderness Cabins and spend some time NOT at the parks. A day of fishing, canoeing, and swimming? Maybe a day at a water park? We could cook breakfast in the Cabin each day and bring snacks. It sure is nice to have a fridge with a freezer! Need car and golf cart.
Idea #2: A one bedroom villa at Kidani. Lots to do at the resort. Good pool(s). Good food. Kitchen + washer/dryer. Need car.
Idea #3: Beach Club (either a regular room or 2 bedroom villa). More expensive for 2 bedroom villa. Great location! Great pool! No need for waterpark. No car.
Idea #4: Wyndham Bonnet Creek. Great rooms. Great price. Lack Disney magic. Need car.
Other ideas?

Amanda

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

Hard choices!!! Kidani would be my first choice, but then again Beach Club location and pool cannot be beat! FW isn't my thing, so my opinion wouldn't matter here...I LIVE in the wilderness, I don't want to vacation there too!

 

[cogero]

Kidani or beach club, personally I love the tranquility of Kidani

 

[DrMomof3]

Hard choices!!! Kidani would be my first choice, but then again Beach Club location and pool cannot be beat! FW isn't my thing, so my opinion wouldn't matter here...I LIVE in the wilderness, I don't want to vacation there too!

I could see that! Nathaniel is obsessed with camping and fishing so FW is right up his alley!

Kidani or beach club, personally I love the tranquility of Kidani

My only issue is one of cost. Seeing as we didn't win Poweball!

Amanda

 

[DrMomof3]

I love my husband but sometimes....
He has worked at West Point for TEN years. And only recently realized that he is eligible for military discounts. (He's a civilian but because of what he does he has an army ID and has been told he is eligible.) Now I understand that he never wanted to take advantage of a discount if he wasn't really entitled but... We are going to save $130 on our February park tickets with the discount and could have gotten military discounts on hotel rooms - for the last 10 years! (Granted we've only been going to Disney for about 5 years.) I know the Swan/Dolphin tend to have good military discounts so what about adjoining rooms at the Swan? We did that the night before our Disney cruise and loved it...

And just for laughs...After Tom texted me the military ticket prices and I calculated how much we were saving, he texted me "That'll pay for dinner at La Hacienda!"
He also keeps complaining about Disney withdrawal....

Amanda

 

[ddluvsdisney]

So let's pretend that my DH agrees to another August trip (he's already complaining that it's been too long since he's been to Disney so there's hope). Let's start pretend planning!

Where to stay?
Idea #1: I think my kids would love to return to Fort Wilderness Cabins and spend some time NOT at the parks. A day of fishing, canoeing, and swimming? Maybe a day at a water park? We could cook breakfast in the Cabin each day and bring snacks. It sure is nice to have a fridge with a freezer! Need car and golf cart.
Idea #2: A one bedroom villa at Kidani. Lots to do at the resort. Good pool(s). Good food. Kitchen + washer/dryer. Need car.
Idea #3: Beach Club (either a regular room or 2 bedroom villa). More expensive for 2 bedroom villa. Great location! Great pool! No need for waterpark. No car.
Idea #4: Wyndham Bonnet Creek. Great rooms. Great price. Lack Disney magic. Need car.
Other ideas?

Amanda

That's a tough one they are all very nice. I think it really doesn't matter where I am as long as I'm there. I'd go with cost effective. More bang for your buck

 

[ddluvsdisney]

That is kinda funny about the military discounts. So for 5 years you could have gotten discounts and didn't?? Ugh!!!!

Well I found out that DH will be flying down to FL for his "interview" Jan. 12 so we'll see what happens. Crossing my fingers!!

 

[luvpoohandcompany]

I'd go with beach club-that's what we do I'd love the 2 bed villa but it's always outta my price range so we just do reg rooms. Club level is great for some extra breathing space if that fits your budget. It's priced between the 2 and we have loved it when we'e done it but if money is tighter we do reg room and garden grocer for breakfast snacks. Fort wilderness would be fun too but I love being able to walk into Epcot and HS. My husband hates driving in florida and we both like a glass of wine at dinner so Beach club is a winner for us.

 

[DrMomof3]

That's a tough one they are all very nice. I think it really doesn't matter where I am as long as I'm there. I'd go with cost effective. More bang for your buck

Bonnet Creek is probably the best deal. And we liked it a lot. But it didn't have that Disney touch....

That is kinda funny about the military discounts. So for 5 years you could have gotten discounts and didn't?? Ugh!!!!

Well I found out that DH will be flying down to FL for his "interview" Jan. 12 so we'll see what happens. Crossing my fingers!!

SO excited for you! Fingers crossed for your DH's interview!

Yup. 5 years worth of military discounts. In all fairness we've always gotten pretty good discounts anyway - AP or even general public ones - so we probably wouldn't have save a lot more. The best part about the military discount is that we *could* potentially book next summer's trip already with a 40% off deluxe.

I'd go with beach club-that's what we do I'd love the 2 bed villa but it's always outta my price range so we just do reg rooms. Club level is great for some extra breathing space if that fits your budget. It's priced between the 2 and we have loved it when we'e done it but if money is tighter we do reg room and garden grocer for breakfast snacks. Fort wilderness would be fun too but I love being able to walk into Epcot and HS. My husband hates driving in florida and we both like a glass of wine at dinner so Beach club is a winner for us.

I love Beach Club! I really do. But a part of me wonders if the kids wouldn't be better off at a slightly less accessible resort. Only because they do well with resort days. We could do a resort day or 2 at Beach Club but it's hard to resist the call of Epcot and DHS!

Amanda

 

[DrMomof3]

I'm in the hardest part of training for the Goofy right now! I was up at 6am to walk 10 miles today and then tomorrow I'll be up even earlier to run/walk 24 miles. No, that wasn't a typo!

It's funny because both Zachary and Tom are starting to get antsy for a return trip to Disney. Which bodes well for me. Our February trip is fairly unplanned at this point but I guess I should make some meal reservations. Apparently we're eating at La Hacienda at some point (I'm thinking post-Princess Half celebratory margarita!). We may eat off-site a bit, too. And probably cook breakfast in the room - except the morning that we do the 5k because I signed us up for the breakfast there.

I want to make family t-shirts for the 5k but I lack inspiration right now. Any ideas???

Amanda

 

[ddluvsdisney]

I'm in the hardest part of training for the Goofy right now! I was up at 6am to walk 10 miles today and then tomorrow I'll be up even earlier to run/walk 24 miles. No, that wasn't a typo!

It's funny because both Zachary and Tom are starting to get antsy for a return trip to Disney. Which bodes well for me. Our February trip is fairly unplanned at this point but I guess I should make some meal reservations. Apparently we're eating at La Hacienda at some point (I'm thinking post-Princess Half celebratory margarita!). We may eat off-site a bit, too. And probably cook breakfast in the room - except the morning that we do the 5k because I signed us up for the breakfast there.

I want to make family t-shirts for the 5k but I lack inspiration right now. Any ideas???

Amanda

So is the Goofy race in January and the Princess Half in february?? There seems to be so many marathons I wasn't sure when exactly you were going.
I'm really glad you're all able to go in Feb. that is fantastic.
I know what you mean about itching for a trip! i can't seem to wait til July. Apparently neither can my DS11. He's been talking about going.


On another note we told the boys yesterday. It went well. I think that's when DS11 starting asking when can we go?? "If dad's going in jan. can't we go too??" Didn't really fase DS15 (typical teenager) as long as we weren't moving he was fine with it. We're hoping that the flights will get cheaper for Feb. or April vacation so we can bring the kids down to see the condo before July.
I'm so glad that's over with. Waiting for the next step now. DH will fly down Jan 12 and have dinner with execs. and stay for a couple of days so he can look at places. When he finds a few prospects- I'll fly down to tour them and hopefully we can make a decision together. I'm kinda excited.
I wonder when we can get our FL APs. DH looked into it and can't find on the website what we need to do. Do you know if he can get APs for all of us or just him??

Deb

 

[DrMomof3]

So is the Goofy race in January and the Princess Half in february?? There seems to be so many marathons I wasn't sure when exactly you were going.
I'm really glad you're all able to go in Feb. that is fantastic.
I know what you mean about itching for a trip! i can't seem to wait til July. Apparently neither can my DS11. He's been talking about going.

On another note we told the boys yesterday. It went well. I think that's when DS11 starting asking when can we go?? "If dad's going in jan. can't we go too??" Didn't really fase DS15 (typical teenager) as long as we weren't moving he was fine with it. We're hoping that the flights will get cheaper for Feb. or April vacation so we can bring the kids down to see the condo before July.
I'm so glad that's over with. Waiting for the next step now. DH will fly down Jan 12 and have dinner with execs. and stay for a couple of days so he can look at places. When he finds a few prospects- I'll fly down to tour them and hopefully we can make a decision together. I'm kinda excited.
I wonder when we can get our FL APs. DH looked into it and can't find on the website what we need to do. Do you know if he can get APs for all of us or just him??

Deb

The Goofy is a 1/2 marathon + full marathon (13.1 miles + 26.2 miles). The Princess is "only" a Half Marathon (plus walking the 5k). It is a lot of racing but it's hard to run for fast times at Disney bc the races are crowded. So it'll be fun more than serious.
In terms of APs, I'm not sure but you might need to be there in person.

Amanda

 

[ddluvsdisney]

The Goofy is a 1/2 marathon + full marathon (13.1 miles + 26.2 miles). The Princess is "only" a Half Marathon (plus walking the 5k). It is a lot of racing but it's hard to run for fast times at Disney bc the races are crowded. So it'll be fun more than serious.
In terms of APs, I'm not sure but you might need to be there in person.

Amanda

Thanks for clarifying!