A

[Marsheliz]

I know what you mean about it being a tease but you know.. We had a laid back- weekend at Disney two weeks ago and visited all the resorts and it was definitely a tease- having such a short trip but it was probably, the best Disney trip yet..

As long as life doesn't get oh the way, I'm hoping for a DCL vacay in fall of 2016.

 

[Credit Man]

I'm in. Looking forward to sailing along.

 

[DisneyKid4Life]

Oh wow, at first I read $200 less a month out and thought... eh, no biggie. But $2000? Wow, that's pretty big. But I also completely get not gambling. It could have also been sold out or even higher. I tend to be one that once the booking is done, I never check again. I'd rather not know, lol.

Staying the night in Disney. Always a good choice.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

joining! Sounds like such a fun time! Congrats on the potty training by the way!

I like how the cruise path is like taking a lap around Cuba

ack, all those codes does make it sound confusing but also fun to learn and plan, etc. That does sounds like quite a bit of $ you could have saved by waiting but I would have been a nervous wreck!

Gotta love USAA - we do all our car rentals through them, they always seem to have the best deals!

Glad all the busy life stuff is positive!

 

[JulieODC]

I think those special rates are the way to go now - to be able to afford getting on a Disney boat- but I can't handle that uncertainty. I'm too Type A!

Plus I am a crazy light sleeper and the thought of a week on a boat under/below a dance club, the buffet, the pool or right off an elevator would be horrible for me.

Looking forward to hearing more!!!

Happy 4th!

Yes, I totally agree! I was keeping an eye on rooms leading up to the cruise, thinking about upgrading at the port, but everything that was left was in one of those locations...so I never even looked into it once we got on the boat!

We have never even priced a cruise and what it would cost to get to the port, etc. That seems like a lot of work. Kudos to you for getting it all done.

I think Mark and I are getting passports this summer just so we have them (talking about Cancun next year or the year after).

Have a great 4th of July.

It was a lot of learning!!! I had WDW down, and this was all new stuff to understand!!

Ooh, passports are fun to have -- never know when a last minute opportunity might come up!

I know what you mean about it being a tease but you know.. We had a laid back- weekend at Disney two weeks ago and visited all the resorts and it was definitely a tease- having such a short trip but it was probably, the best Disney trip yet..

As long as life doesn't get oh the way, I'm hoping for a DCL vacay in fall of 2016.

A weekend at WDW sounds lovely!! Glad it was a great trip!

And, 2016 sounds so far away...but booking early means really good deals! So keep an eye on that!

 

[JulieODC]

I'm in. Looking forward to sailing along.

Welcome, and thanks for joining in!!

Oh wow, at first I read $200 less a month out and thought... eh, no biggie. But $2000? Wow, that's pretty big. But I also completely get not gambling. It could have also been sold out or even higher. I tend to be one that once the booking is done, I never check again. I'd rather not know, lol.

Staying the night in Disney. Always a good choice.

Yeah, that's a huge price difference! It seems that with DCL, booking REALLY early or REALLY late is the way to go....but if you book somewhere in between, prices are definitely higher.

joining! Sounds like such a fun time! Congrats on the potty training by the way!

I like how the cruise path is like taking a lap around Cuba

ack, all those codes does make it sound confusing but also fun to learn and plan, etc. That does sounds like quite a bit of $ you could have saved by waiting but I would have been a nervous wreck!

Gotta love USAA - we do all our car rentals through them, they always seem to have the best deals!

Glad all the busy life stuff is positive!

Haha, we were totally intrigued by Cuba when we sailed by!

USAA does have great car rental deals - I was really happy with that! Plus, you can waive the insurance too!

Potty-training is a blessing and a curse...but more so a blessing now.

 

[Dugette]

Great planning post! As someone in the very early stages of planning a Disney cruise (and with a toddler!), this is great information! Thanks and looking forward to more!

 

[RGirl]

Excellent planning! I went TA as soon as I decided to do our first DCL cruise too - why not get that OBC??? And since then, I have rebooked onboard and gotten both the DCL OBC and the TA OBC. SWEET!

Can't wait for your trip to start!!!!

 

[heaven2dc]

I love that you are writing about all of the steps prior to your actual trip and the advice especially with room selections and codes. I agree with you that when I see a TR with a bunch of abbreviated codes I tend to not want to read it - it gets so confusing sometimes. I still would be confused on categories for the DCL even after going to that thread but when I do plan a cruise one day, I'll keep that thread in mind to refer to.

You really know how to get some great deals - esp with the car rental! Looking forward to reading more about your adventure

 

[Riles_and_Gabe]

Joining in. I just finished reading your report from your November trip. I look forward to hearing about your cruise. It is definitely a trip I would like to take in the near future. My kids have been on cruises but never one with Disney.

 

[JulieODC]

Great planning post! As someone in the very early stages of planning a Disney cruise (and with a toddler!), this is great information! Thanks and looking forward to more!

Glad it's helpful!!! I will get back on the TR this week, I promise!

Excellent planning! I went TA as soon as I decided to do our first DCL cruise too - why not get that OBC??? And since then, I have rebooked onboard and gotten both the DCL OBC and the TA OBC. SWEET!

Can't wait for your trip to start!!!!

The OBC did not go nearly as far as I imagined! But, it's certainly helpful!!! I've been the slowest TR writer ever, but vacation and work craziness is done, so I'll be back later this week with an update!

I love that you are writing about all of the steps prior to your actual trip and the advice especially with room selections and codes. I agree with you that when I see a TR with a bunch of abbreviated codes I tend to not want to read it - it gets so confusing sometimes. I still would be confused on categories for the DCL even after going to that thread but when I do plan a cruise one day, I'll keep that thread in mind to refer to.

You really know how to get some great deals - esp with the car rental! Looking forward to reading more about your adventure

I am a crazy deal hunter! The hunt is part of the fun!! And, the abbreviations STILL confuse me! I had to refer back to that thread about 25 times!

Joining in. I just finished reading your report from your November trip. I look forward to hearing about your cruise. It is definitely a trip I would like to take in the near future. My kids have been on cruises but never one with Disney.

Thanks so much for reading my November report, and for joining in here!! I swear I'll be updating this week!! We really did enjoy the DCL experience

 

[RachelNinja]

Ooo, a cruise! Howard and I are so intrigued by them, but I'm afraid that I would get seasick because I get motion sickness fairly easily even in the car. Even though the SeaBands help, I don't know how it would last on the ship. It's also strange thinking that booking a cruise would be doing something totally unknown to us. I totally had to read that little cruise thread you posted about the abbreviations!

Can't wait to read more about your trip!

 

[JulieODC]

Ooo, a cruise! Howard and I are so intrigued by them, but I'm afraid that I would get seasick because I get motion sickness fairly easily even in the car. Even though the SeaBands help, I don't know how it would last on the ship. It's also strange thinking that booking a cruise would be doing something totally unknown to us. I totally had to read that little cruise thread you posted about the abbreviations!

Can't wait to read more about your trip!

I never get seasick on the ship, but I don't tend to get motion sickness....but this time, I got horrible seasickness after leaving the ship! For a week! It was awful! So, now I understand what people who experience it on boats/planes/cars feel like.

Thanks for joining in!!

 

[JulieODC]

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[Riles_and_Gabe]

Great update. I feel like the transportation is my 5-year olds favorite part of the trip. He looks forward to the plane/bus/train ride just as much as the actual trip.

We are staying at POR in August for the first time so I am loving the pictures to get a better feel of the resort.

Can't wait to read more!

 

[BarbP]

Looking forward to your thoughts on the cruise. Hotel looks really nice. Might have to try that sometime.

 

[JulieODC]

Great update. I feel like the transportation is my 5-year olds favorite part of the trip. He looks forward to the plane/bus/train ride just as much as the actual trip.

We are staying at POR in August for the first time so I am loving the pictures to get a better feel of the resort.

Can't wait to read more!

Enjoy your stay at POR! We really loved it! I have more posting to do about the resort, and the boat ride to Downtown Disney...but it was really a great stay!!

Looking forward to your thoughts on the cruise. Hotel looks really nice. Might have to try that sometime.

Thanks for joining in! POR was great, we'd stay again in a heartbeat. In fact, I wish I were there right now!

 

[KatMark]

for an update. I have found that a lot of us have been very busy this summer.

on getting a picture and on arriving 20 minutes early.

I'm so glad your room was ready and that you enjoyed the resort. I love that quiet pool area...it looks very pretty and peaceful.

The daddy/daughter picture walking warmed my heart.

 

[saintstickets]

Just found your TR and subbed in! Great pics and narrative! Looking forward to more, especially about your cruise. DW and I are going for the first time this October!

 

[starousse]

Joining in too. Great report so far. So glad that you loved POR. We are WL people but are going to give it a try next time around. I'm feeling better about my choice now.