A Disney-Addicted mom plans an August, 2013 Autotrain Trip for 7! *Big Update! 11/19*

[DrMomof3]

So....
The kids and I are flying to Orlando at some ungodly hour of the morning tomorrow. To add to the insanity.... We're staying in 3 different hotels over 4 nights. Yup. Disney addiction at its finest!
We're flying out of Stewart airport in Newburgh, NY which is about an hour North of us. The flight leaves at 7:24am so we need to leave home by 5am. Tom will drop us off and then he will cover the hospital all weekend while we play.
I rented a car from Alamo and did the "skip the counter" deal. We'll grab our bags (free bag check with JetBlue so we'll check some bags) and pick up our rental car. Then it's off to Wilderness Lodge for 2 nights. I got an AP rate which was a decent deal. I've always wanted to stay at WL so I'm pretty happy for this opportunity.
Monday morning we leave Wilderness Lodge and check into Saratoga Springs for one night. SSR is a lovely resort but it's sprawling and the bus service is iffy at best. Having a car will fix that problem. And maybe we'll take the boat to DTD for dinner...
Tuesday we leave SSR for..... Kidani! Yes, we got a savannah-view studio at Kidani for free!!!! I'm super excited for that. I've always wanted to stay at AKL/AKV but have never been able to convince Tom that it's worth the increased travel time (did I mention that we like convenience??? ).
Wednesday we check out and fly home. In the afternoon.

I have made NO plans at all. Except at dinner tonight the kids were saying that 50's Prime Time is a favorite place. And I was able to get an ADR for 5:45pm on Tuesday night for dinner. That should be a nice surprise.
Crowd levels are going to be 10 for most of the weekend and then drop on Tuesday. And it's Star Wars Weekend at DHS....

Amanda

 

[333disneymom]

Have fun! Sounds like quite an adventure! Can't wait to hear about Kidani. We will be doing our first stay there this summer before we head over to BCV.

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[luvpoohandcompany]

Cant wait to hear all about your adventures Amanda! Have a brilliant time

 

[cogero]

Have fun. I would definately do it. I love Kidani it is one of my favorites.

 

[ddluvsdisney]

Ok maybe I would be able to do it!! Lol

Getting to stay in a savannah view room for free!! That's awesome. Have a blast!

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[momto3gr8boys]

How exciting!!! Can't wait to hear all about it!

 

[carissanboys]

Hope you have a great time!

 

[rentayenta]

Here's an interesting quandary. I was offered 2 nights at SSR for free. But I have to be able to go Monday and Tuesday. Yes. THIS Monday and Tuesday (Memorial Day and the day after). One of the nurses I know is a DVC member and her points are expiring and she can't use them....
Tom can't go. I can go but it would require some minor schedule adjustments. It looks like I can get an AP discount for SSR on Saturday night and Sunday night so I'd still be changing rooms but it would be the same resort.
Would you travel solo with 3 kids and spend about $2000 for a surprised 5 day/4 night trip to Disney?

Amanda

I'd go.



I'm glad you decided to too.

 

[DrMomof3]

Quick update from the road...

Good trip. Kids have been as good as could be expected. Hotel hopping was fine - thanks to a rental car. I think we all like Kidani best of the 3 but all were good. I felt that the pool area at WL was too small but it was Memorial Day weekend. Our room location at SSR was very good. We even went to Splittsville last night!

Amanda

 

[ddluvsdisney]

Quick update from the road...

Good trip. Kids have been as good as could be expected. Hotel hopping was fine - thanks to a rental car. I think we all like Kidani best of the 3 but all were good. I felt that the pool area at WL was too small but it was Memorial Day weekend. Our room location at SSR was very good. We even went to Splittsville last night!

Amanda

Glad you had fun!! We are going to Splitsville in July. Can't wait to hear all about it!

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[natebenma]

Amanda! The surprise trip is so cool! Love that you pulled it together in a few days! Nice lineup of resorts.

Never know what I'm going to find when I log on here!

 

[luvpoohandcompany]

Glad to hear you're having a good time

 

[DrMomof3]

Thank you everyone!!!

Sorry I haven't updated. 24 hours after we returned from Disney, Nathaniel had a piano recital and then less than 24 hours after that we drove to New Jersey for the weekend for my 20th college reunion. Which was also great fun but exhausting. And we're smack in the middle of all of the end of the year nonsense which means we haven't been home very many nights.
The trip was fun but exhausting. We stayed 2 nights at Wilderness Lodge followed by one night each at Saratoga and Kidani. Kidani was definitely our favorite but I liked them all for different reasons. Although I loved the theming at WL, I thought the pool area was too small for the resort (but it was Memorial Day Weekend with crowd levels 10 out of 10). We never got a single chair at the pool. The waterslide was ok but not great. And we spend a lot of time at the pool both during the day and at night. We ate at Artist's Point again (kids request!) and the food is fabulous. I highly recommend it.
We had a good room location at Saratoga but there was tons of construction going on in our building. It wasn't a huge issue - just a little inconvenience. The main pool at Saratoga is really fun with a good water slide. We took a boat to DTD and ended up at Splitsville. It is very pricey but fun.
Kidani was beautiful but - like Saratoga - I think you need a car. I know plenty of people will disagree but I think it makes life easier. The pool at Kidani is great. There's an extensive splash area/water play area (which we didn't even use), a pool bar with hot food (Nathaniel was starving and ate a hot dog there), and a fabulous water slide. The best slide of the 3. We were there on Tuesday night which is after the crowds left but there was plenty of seating and the pool never felt crowded. The kids all participated in the pool activities and generally had a blast.

Amanda

 

[ddluvsdisney]

Thank you everyone!!!

Sorry I haven't updated. 24 hours after we returned from Disney, Nathaniel had a piano recital and then less than 24 hours after that we drove to New Jersey for the weekend for my 20th college reunion. Which was also great fun but exhausting. And we're smack in the middle of all of the end of the year nonsense which means we haven't been home very many nights.
The trip was fun but exhausting. We stayed 2 nights at Wilderness Lodge followed by one night each at Saratoga and Kidani. Kidani was definitely our favorite but I liked them all for different reasons. Although I loved the theming at WL, I thought the pool area was too small for the resort (but it was Memorial Day Weekend with crowd levels 10 out of 10). We never got a single chair at the pool. The waterslide was ok but not great. And we spend a lot of time at the pool both during the day and at night. We ate at Artist's Point again (kids request!) and the food is fabulous. I highly recommend it.
We had a good room location at Saratoga but there was tons of construction going on in our building. It wasn't a huge issue - just a little inconvenience. The main pool at Saratoga is really fun with a good water slide. We took a boat to DTD and ended up at Splitsville. It is very pricey but fun.
Kidani was beautiful but - like Saratoga - I think you need a car. I know plenty of people will disagree but I think it makes life easier. The pool at Kidani is great. There's an extensive splash area/water play area (which we didn't even use), a pool bar with hot food (Nathaniel was starving and ate a hot dog there), and a fabulous water slide. The best slide of the 3. We were there on Tuesday night which is after the crowds left but there was plenty of seating and the pool never felt crowded. The kids all participated in the pool activities and generally had a blast.

Amanda

Sounds like a lot of fun!!! Glad you had a good time. How was Tom? I would have been so jealous.
23 more days for us!! I can't wait! My sister has been doing a lot of planning the ADRs which has been nice.

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[DrMomof3]

Sounds like a lot of fun!!! Glad you had a good time. How was Tom? I would have been so jealous.
23 more days for us!! I can't wait! My sister has been doing a lot of planning the ADRs which has been nice.

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Tom was jealous but he actually got called into the hospital multiple times over the weekend so it was a good thing he stayed home!!!

Amanda

 

[DrMomof3]

Has anyone done the Gospel Brunch at House of Blues? I'm wondering if that would be a good activity for arrival time. I've heard the train arrives in Sanford between 7:30am and 9am. It takes about an hour to unload the cars from the train. We should be able to get to DTD in time for a 12pm ADR. Opinions?
My husband and step-dad want to play golf one morning. What should the kids, nanny, and I do that day? Mini-golf? Park touring? Pool? Other? I'm sure Nathaniel would love another fishing excursion but I'm not sure that I want to spend that kind of money, especially without Tom. I'm reluctant to do the waterparks because it's so expensive. We will have a car so we could drive anywhere...

Amanda

 

[DrMomof3]

My countdown says that we leave for Disney in 67 days!
This is the last week of school for us. Kids have half days all week except Friday when there is a 10am dismissal (why bother???). Zachary has his last week of preschool (I paid my final preschool/daycare check earlier this month!). His graduation is Friday evening. He's so excited!
The kids all start day camp on Monday. I went to parent orientation last night. I truly believe that summer camp is wasted on children! I wish I got to go to camp again. Boy would I enjoy it!!!
Tom has decided that we are NOT going to Disney for February break. I'm a little disappointed because I wanted to run the new Glass Slipper Challenge which is the 2nd weekend of break. On the other hand I totally understand wanting to take the kids someplace different. If we can survive a 12 hour flight to Hawaii (we'll see how that goes!), we can certainly take the kids someplace further away than Disney.
Any suggestions for February destinations? While I don't require tropical climates, it would be nice if it were warmer than New York (my crazy SIL suggested Mount Rushmore - NOT in February!). I've heard the weather at Atlantis is iffy in February. Turks and Caicos is too expensive. Currently considering San Diego or Phoenix (Tom and I were just at the Hotel Del Coronado in San Diego and loved it). No idea where we'd stay in Phoenix or what we'd do. I'm looking at some resorts in Mexico but Tom hasn't agreed to that...yet. There is a Disney cruise that would work but Tom isn't on board with that either. I wouldn't mind a Universal/Sea World trip but, again, Tom might say no and Zachary doesn't like roller coasters which is tough at Universal. Ideas? The kids will be 10, 8, and 5 at the time if that helps.

Amanda

 

[momto3gr8boys]

Atlantis may be too cold in February. How about Puerto Rico? The weather will be great, the flight isn't long and there are lots of options into San Juan. We've stayed at a number of places, but this one got my kids' top vote for the pool and the kids' club!

http://www.wyndhamriomar.com/index.html

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[333disneymom]

My countdown says that we leave for Disney in 67 days!
This is the last week of school for us. Kids have half days all week except Friday when there is a 10am dismissal (why bother???). Zachary has his last week of preschool (I paid my final preschool/daycare check earlier this month!). His graduation is Friday evening. He's so excited!
The kids all start day camp on Monday. I went to parent orientation last night. I truly believe that summer camp is wasted on children! I wish I got to go to camp again. Boy would I enjoy it!!!
Tom has decided that we are NOT going to Disney for February break. I'm a little disappointed because I wanted to run the new Glass Slipper Challenge which is the 2nd weekend of break. On the other hand I totally understand wanting to take the kids someplace different. If we can survive a 12 hour flight to Hawaii (we'll see how that goes!), we can certainly take the kids someplace further away than Disney.
Any suggestions for February destinations? While I don't require tropical climates, it would be nice if it were warmer than New York (my crazy SIL suggested Mount Rushmore - NOT in February!). I've heard the weather at Atlantis is iffy in February. Turks and Caicos is too expensive. Currently considering San Diego or Phoenix (Tom and I were just at the Hotel Del Coronado in San Diego and loved it). No idea where we'd stay in Phoenix or what we'd do. I'm looking at some resorts in Mexico but Tom hasn't agreed to that...yet. There is a Disney cruise that would work but Tom isn't on board with that either. I wouldn't mind a Universal/Sea World trip but, again, Tom might say no and Zachary doesn't like roller coasters which is tough at Universal. Ideas? The kids will be 10, 8, and 5 at the time if that helps.

Amanda

I think San Diego sounds like a great option!

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[DrMomof3]

Atlantis may be too cold in February. How about Puerto Rico? The weather will be great, the flight isn't long and there are lots of options into San Juan. We've stayed at a number of places, but this one got my kids' top vote for the pool and the kids' club!

http://www.wyndhamriomar.com/index.html

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That looks like a beautiful hotel! Thanks for the suggestion!

I think San Diego sounds like a great option!

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San Diego is a great city. We're still in research mode but it's certainly a front-runner.

Amanda