A year without Disney? Who am I kidding?!(a PTR) LINK TO TR!

[DisneyCrafter]

A year without Disney?! Who am I kidding?!​

Let me start this PTR by saying that I was SO SURE that DH and I would NOT be going to Disney World this year because I was (and still am...somewhat) determined to visit somewhere where I haven't been yet. However, after sulking for 2 months and coming up with endless excuses as to why we shouldn't go back. (Reasons included: the construction in MK, the fact that we had a fantastic, and pixie dust filled, 8 night trip to WDW in October 2010, we've been to WDW 3 times together since we got married in May 2009, etc.) However, once the Disney Blues subsided and became just a constant ping in my daily life those COMMERCIALS started. You know, the ones of the home videos of families surprising their children by telling them their going to Disney? Yeah, I teared up almost every time I saw them. I swear I felt the emotions that they were feeling at that moment. Ha! Ha! Then, one day while driving with DH, I brought up the fact that I really do love WDW and DH replied by saying something along the lines of "I don't know why you don't think I love that place." I quickly replied with, "So are you saying that we can go back again this year?" DH said, "Can we go during the Food & Wine Festival, eat at Boma, and WGPE?"

Well, folks, that's all the reassurance I needed to begin planning our trip back to my happy place in 2011! I hope you'll join me and offer your advice and opinions as I plan from beginning to end what I hope to be a trip just as magical as the ones before!

CHAPTER LINKS ARE IN POST 3 or just click HERE!

When, Where, Why​

When: Thursday September 29 to Monday October 10, 2011

Where: The Dolphin and Pop!

Disney's Pop Century Resort (September 29 to September 30)

Why? We wanted to come a day early and to save cost, we're staying at Pop!

Walt Disney World Dolphin (September 30 to October 6)

Why here? Each time I've visited WDW, I've wanted to stay within walking distance to Epcot. What better than to stay in the Epcot area than during Food & Wine Fest?! I know that this isn't technically a Disney resort but they had a great rate going, the pool area looks really nice, and the decor is actually really appealing to me. We get our 6th night FREE and we also get a $100 Resort Credit and at $169/night, I just couldn't pass it up!

Disney's Pop Century Resort(October 6 to October 10)

Why? We're trying to save cost and Pop Century really is beautiful for a value resort!

 

[DisneyCrafter]

Meet me, Rachael, and Greg, my DH. This picture was taken on our last trip to Disney World in October 2010 where we were upgraded to the Grand Floridian from Coronado Springs due to an overbooking! We're both 20-something's with a bad love for THE Mouse! (For example, one of our cats is name Mickey...after THE Mouse!)

In the everyday world, I work part-time in the youth services department at a library in the town over from me and I work part-time as a babysitter for a local family with 3 children. DH finished his MBA degree in December 2010 and recently began a new career as a testing engineer for a software company in Chicago! Before that, he worked for nearly 4 years at an insurance software company in the suburbs. We've been married since May 2009 and we've been together since 2004. In our spare time we enjoy watching movies, going out to eat, and traveling. I like cooking/baking, reading, and scrapbooking and DH looooves video games. I'm the planner of the vacations and Greg just goes with the flow for the most part. However, he's already spoken his mind about what he wants to do this next trip! I love that I've made him just as obsessed with Disney World as I am!

 

[DisneyCrafter]

Fall 2011 PTR:
Early Planning Stages
WDW Trip Dates & Resort Choice Announced!
Roughly Laid Out WDW Plans.
Disney Projects!
Arrival Day Plans (Day One)
First Full Day Plans (Day Two)
Day Three Plans
The Important Stuff: ADRs!
Day Four Plans
Trivia Contest Directions/Rules Explained
Day 5 Plans
Day 6 Plans
Day 7 Plans
MNSSHP T-shirts

February Cruise TR:
February Cruise TR, Arrival Day: Part I
February Cruise TR, Arrival Day: Part II
February Cruise TR, Day 2: Part I
February Cruise TR, Day 2: Part II
February Cruise TR, Day 2: Part III
February Cruise TR, Day 3
February Cruise TR, Day 4: Part I
February Cruise TR, Day 4: Part II
February Cruise TR, Day 5
February Cruise TR, Day 6 & 7(Departure Day)

Girls' Weekend:
PTR: Girls' Weekend Touring Plans
PTR: Girls' Weekend Food Picks
Top 5 Moments

 

[SOUTHERNtinkerBELLE]

I'm here! And so excited you've got a trip planned!!! I can't wait to hear all of the details!

 

[DisneyCrafter]

I'm here! And so excited you've got a trip planned!!! I can't wait to hear all of the details!

I'm so glad you came on over! I haven't really began to plan wholeheartedly yet, however. Right now I am still in the budgeting phase. I don't think I will actually call to book the room until March! When I say that you will be here from the beginning of my planning until the end I really mean it!

 

[DisneyCrafter]

Being that we just agreed on a trip to Disney World yesterday, I don't have a lot planned as of yet. However, being the planner that I am I began pricing immediately and also looked at our finances to see approximately how much of a budget we will have. Unfortunately, that number isn't very high. However, I know that I can make it work-somehow.

Curious to know what that number is? $1700

That translates to being VERY careful with our money. I doubt that number is actually what we'll end up spending and I hope to start an envelope within the next month. (We use the envelope to put any extra cash in. We're surprised by how much we accumulate as the months progress!) But I'd like it to cover the cost of the resort, tickets, airfare, and hopefully at least some food.

Here's what I've figured out so far:

Potential Dates: Monday September 26-Saturday October 1

I'm not a fan of NOT utilizing weekend days but b/c of our budget, it is what it is. I'm between two different weeks (the one listed as well as the week after) but I'm leaning towards the first listed week for 2 reasons: I believe this is still considered value season, so we don't see an increase in the room cost AND the room discount is already being offered (if you book before March 27 and travel by October 1). We loved going at this time of year last year. Plus, Greg made it pretty clear that we must go during the food & wine festival. It begins on September 30. That gives us an entire day plus hopefully a half to engorge ourselves on delicious food!

Resort: Pop Century

This resort is actually on my to stay at list (you know along with the Boardwalk, Animal Kingdom Lodge, and the Beach Club). It obviously wins out on this trip because the total cost for 5 nights is $375. That's a nice low number! A number I like!

Tickets: 6 Days (+ park hopper? + waterpark?)

The cost for both of us to have 6 day tickets is about $516. The cost with park hoppers would be about $631. With the waterpark option it would be about $746. Believe it or not I'm actually leaning towards only adding the waterpark option and not adding the park hoppers (it is the same price as only adding the waterpark option, $631). This will have to be decided a bit further down the road (once I start outlining our days and such).

Dining: Up in the Air

I can't even begin to make even a close guess to whether or not we'll do the dining plan. I need to decide where we would really like to eat and then how much it would save us. I do enjoy the convenience of having many of the meals prepaid, however.

$375 (Room) + $631 (Park Tickets) + $400 (Approx. cost of airfare) = about $1400 & to add the park hopper option on it becomes about $1520. That leaves about $180 for food. Yes, I know that's not enough. That's where the envelope comes into play. I knew we could do it-all it takes is a little FAITH, TRUST & PIXIE DUST!

Also, I'm sure you're wondering when we plan on booking the trip. The answer to that would be we're waiting. We're going on a cruise next month. I hope you won't mind but I plan on doing a trip report within a pre-trip report!

 

[DisMomAmy]

Hi Rachael! I saw the link to your new PTR when you posted on my TR & I just had to hop right over here!!! Yay for another Disney trip!!! Can't wait to hear about the planning & how you pull it off with a tight budget (and I know you can!)

 

[martinolichfamily]

Hi!
I'm in! Can't wait to read more!

 

[DisneyCrafter]

Hi Rachael! I saw the link to your new PTR when you posted on my TR & I just had to hop right over here!!! Yay for another Disney trip!!! Can't wait to hear about the planning & how you pull it off with a tight budget (and I know you can!)

I am already looking forward to it! Choosing the dining I think is going to be the hardest part. It's easy to spend over $1000 on food-it all adds up very quickly!

 

[SOUTHERNtinkerBELLE]

I think your budget is totally doable! Going during value season makes such a difference. I think it ended up costing us more to do our 4 day November trip at a mod resort than it did to do a 7 day January trip at a Deluxe! I really do think the DDP saves money, especially if you stick to the amount of credits you have and not add in a ton of meals (I'd be guilty of that one )

I love that we're going to be able to follow you throughout the whole process! And I can't wait to hear about this cruise, so I'm looking forward to the TR within a PTR!

 

[DisneyCrafter]

Hi!
I'm in! Can't wait to read more!

Hi! Welcome! Another update coming up soon!

I think your budget is totally doable! Going during value season makes such a difference. I think it ended up costing us more to do our 4 day November trip at a mod resort than it did to do a 7 day January trip at a Deluxe! I really do think the DDP saves money, especially if you stick to the amount of credits you have and not add in a ton of meals (I'd be guilty of that one )

I love that we're going to be able to follow you throughout the whole process! And I can't wait to hear about this cruise, so I'm looking forward to the TR within a PTR!

I'm so guilty of going over on the DDP. I almost want to do the DxDP. We did it on our honeymoon and loved it. I'm just not sure I can justify the cost.

I'm working on posting our plans for the cruise right now!

 

[DisneyCrafter]

When it comes to us making the decision to go on a cruise-I guess 3rd times the charm! We booked a NYE cruise back in 2009 which we cancelled to go to Disney World. Back in October 2010 we booked a Disney Cruise but I couldn't justify the extra $1000 in our budget for it, so we cancelled and just spent our entire trip in Disney World. This time, I found a $199 per person 4 night Bahamas cruise on Royal Caribbean's Monarch of the Seas. I also happened to score $69 Southwest flights from Chicago to Orlando. (We're sailing out of Port Canaveral.) With pre-paid gratuities and all taxes included the total comes to $943. Not too bad! But there are of course other costs, such as transportation, pre-cruise hotel accommodations, meals before the cruise, etc.

Being that we are going in February when snow can effect even the best laid out plans, we are scheduled to fly out on a Saturday even though the ship doesn't sail until Monday. Better safe than sorry. Now, I'm sure you're beginning to wonder about Disney. My initial thoughts were simple, stay at Pop for 2 nights, and spend Sunday at the MK. That's not happening. I cannot bring myself to spend the $175 for us both to get into a park for ONE day. So, instead I spent HOURS and I mean HOURS finding a decent hotel in Orlando for less than it would cost me to stay at Pop (with the room discount that was out) which was $157. I finally found one. The HAMPTON INN ORLANDO-FLORIDA MALL. It includes free breakfast and get's great reviews on Trip Advisor. The total cost is $120.

I also spent A LOT of time debating over transportation options. If we were going to stay at Disney, no question, we would use the Magical Express. I then thought we could take the ME back to MCO on Monday morning to board the RCCL bus to Port Canaveral. However, that's a big hassle. I then thought about booking private transportation but being that we are NOT staying in Disney, we needed a way to get around. Initially, renting a car was out of the question. I was being quoted at $150 or more for just 2 days. Then, I decided to check out BUDGET another time, hoping the price would go down, it didn't but what I did do was click the pay now button and what do you know, $92 including tax, etc. What's better is that you can cancel if you need to and you only lose $10. Peace of mind and less than $100? Yes please! Of course we'll have to factor in the cost of gas but hopefully we'll get a car with good gas mileage so it would be so bad! We do need a way back to the airport from the port too so I decided instead of worrying about getting a rental car we'll just use RCCL and pay $72 for both of us. The estimated total cost (keeping gas in mind) is $204.

See the next post for our plans!

 

[DisneyCrafter]

All that is left now is the fun stuff! Restaurants, Excursions, Drinks, etc. For me that fun stuff translates to $$$. However, I also believe that if we are going to go on vacation and worry about money we won't have as good of a time as we would if we just were realistic with ourselves. Here are our plans:

Saturday: Today will be a long travel day for us. Our flight leaves Chicago late morning and we don't arrive in Orlando until early evening. We have a 2 hour layover, but for only $69, I'll do it. It will give us a chance to have some lunch. Once we do arrive in Orlando, we'll head right over to the Budget desk and get our rental car. (Being the organized person I am-I'll have our GPS ready to go with addresses already inputed.) Once we check-in to the hotel, I know we'll be famished and there just so happens to be a Cheesecake Factory about 5 miles from the hotel, so we'll head on over there for dinner before calling it a night. My budget for this day is $95.

Sunday: We'll most likely sleep in somewhat this morning and take our time getting ready and eating our FREE breakfast. We'll then drive over to Downtown Disney and spend the afternoon there, eating at either Earl of Sandwich or Wolfgang Puck Express for lunch. We'll also do some window shopping and catch a movie at the theatre. I used our debit card reward points to get $20 in gift cards so we can see the movie for $0! By then, I'm thinking it will be early evening and so we'll drive over to the Contemporary, grab a 3 hour parking pass and eat dinner at the Contempo Cafe. Then, we'll ride the monorail and resort hop a bit before calling it a night and driving back to the hotel. My budget this day is $100.

Monday: I would like to be at the port around 11am, so we'll check-out and head out of the hotel around 9am, once we get near the Port, we'll fill up with gas and return the car. Budget offers a free shuttle to the port, so we'll hop right on that and begin our cruise adventure! Like all the other cruisers we'll start our cruise off with lunch before getting settled into our closet-I mean hotel room. I plan on only being in there to sleep and shower anyway. I then think we'll get freshened up at grab a drink before heading off to dinner. After dinner, I'm sure we'll either catch a show, spend some time at one of the lounges/bars, or give some money to the casino.

Tuesday: Today is our day at Coco Cay. Our plan is to SNORKEL...and lay on the beach! Neither of us have ever done this and I am really looking forward to it just as much as I am REALLY nervous to do it. I'm going to do it though, it's on my bucket list! Unless, it's just too cold, then obviously we won't. It's only $29 for each of us to rent all of the equipment and they instruct you on how to use it and then we can go out on our own. I plan on following people around that know what their doing.

Wednesday: Today we will be in Nassau. We were here for our honeymoon and there really isn't much to do. You go for the beautiful water and relaxation and that's what we plan on doing. We are going to pay the $55 a person to spend the day at the British Colonial Hilton right off the pier. I've heard good things and saw really nice pictures. Plus, the cost includes a $30 food and beverage credit. We plan on having some lunch on the beach and enjoying a couple drinks!

Thursday: Today is our cruising day. I know the pool area is going to be CROWDED and that's the least favorite thing I am looking forward to on the cruise. When I see other cruiser's pictures of them relaxing on the ship, they are literally inches away from a stranger. Our plan for this day is to get a couples massage instead of hanging out by the pool. We'll get up early, start the day off with our massage, enjoy breakfast, and quite perhaps go back to the room and sleep. I then plan on finding a comfortable chair and plopping down and read! The couples massage is obviously a BIG splurge but we both agreed that we want it and Greg says he wants to do it OVER going to MK for a day, so I am going to make sure he get's that massage! The cost is around $310 (I'm including a tip for both therapists in there.)

Friday: We disembark this day and our flight doesn't leave Orlando until 3pm. We'll have some lunch at the airport and just hang around until it's time to leave. We make a stop on the way home, too but we don't have to change planes, so that's good. We'll get home late evening only to wake up on Saturday morning and spend the day at Navy Pier volunteering at my cousin's gymnastics meet. We do it every year and my aunt gets everyone a hotel room and we all go out to dinner after. It's actually a lot of fun.

Our budget for the cruise is $100 for the casino and $100 for drinks. Also, $50 for souvenirs. We aren't big drinkers to begin with so I'm not too worried about going over. Plus, the last thing I want is to lay in bed at night and have the room spin AND already be rocking.

 

[DisMomAmy]

The cruise sounds like a lot of fun!! You do a great job keeping close tabs on your budget.

 

[SOUTHERNtinkerBELLE]

How fun that you're going to get to visit DTD before the cruise! I think you'll really like snorkeling. I did it once while I was in Cancun and I loved it - and my biggest fear is drowning! It was neat getting to see all of the fish up close.

 

[DisneyCrafter]

The cruise sounds like a lot of fun!! You do a great job keeping close tabs on your budget.

Thanks! I think we are really going to enjoy the cruise. I know that February doesn't bring the warmest of temps to the Bahamas but I can guarantee you it will be warmer than Chicago. If anything, I'm excited to just relax and read. I've read about 7 books since I started at the library and it's only been a little over a month!

How fun that you're going to get to visit DTD before the cruise! I think you'll really like snorkeling. I did it once while I was in Cancun and I loved it - and my biggest fear is drowning! It was neat getting to see all of the fish up close.

I'm really excited that we can go to DTD before the cruise as well. The feeling of just buying APs won't go away, though. Because if we bought the APs we'd be able to visit EPCOT on Saturday night and they are open until 12a.m with EMH (we'd obviously have to switch to stay on property) and then we could to MK and another park in the evening. I'm just not sure I can part with the $1000 right now.

 

[DisneyCrafter]

Tonight I went ahead and booked our couples massage for the cruise! I am so looking forward to the 50 minutes of pure relaxation alongside my hubby! We booked it for the early morning (8am) on our Nassau day, which is our second full day. We got a discount for booking on a port day. We figure this will be perfect since the day before we are spending at Cococay where we plan to snorkel. We didn't want to do it that morning b/c our muscles will just get tense again with all of the swimming. Our only plans on our Nassau day are to relax by the beach. I can't wait. We're supposed to get more snow here in the next couple of days and to torture myself (obviously I just HAD to look it up) and the temp. in the Bahamas tomorrow is said to be around 78 degrees. 4 weeks from tomorrow we'll be on the ship and 3 weeks and 5 days until we are in Florida!

 

[SOUTHERNtinkerBELLE]

A couples massage sounds so romantic. I'm hoping to do one of those on the honeymoon. And that Bahamas weather sounds even better! We're currently snowed in here in Atlanta!

 

[DisneyCrafter]

A couples massage sounds so romantic. I'm hoping to do one of those on the honeymoon. And that Bahamas weather sounds even better! We're currently snowed in here in Atlanta!

You definitely should have a total relaxation day on your honeymoon! Start the day off with breakfast at Grand Floridian Cafe (it really is delicious) and you could get something light, I believe they have a continental breakfast on the menu that includes pastries and some juice. Then get your couples massage. Then you can go back to the Poly and take a nap/relax or hang out by the pool for the afternoon. Finish off the evening with a nice meal like California Grill or something. I bet it would be one of the best days of your honeymoon! I suggest doing it towards the end when your legs will be tired from all of the walking.

 

[DisneyCrafter]

I have some good news! DH got a raise at his yearly review and he said it was okay to use that to put towards our vacation. That's another $900 to put towards our budget! **Fingers crossed that everything works out and we can stay on track.** If we keep things going the way we have planned financially for this year, we will have all of our CC debt paid off and have some money in the bank! Plus, we'll have gone on a cruise AND to WDW! Wow! I've started working on a preliminary planning document for Disney. I'll share it once I have more concrete plan!