And so it begins.. Aug 2017 vacation at the World

[JodyLynC]

My family will be going to Myrtle Beach for our summer vacation trip this year. We were at the dinner table a couple of weeks ago writing down some of the activities we want to do on our vacation. Suddenly DD pipes up "Can our next trip be Disney World?" DD2 chimes in "Oh, yes. Let's go to Disney World."

Well that threw me for a loop. It had come out of nowhere. The last time we went to WDW was May 2008. The girls were 5yo and would be starting Kindergarten in the Fall. Now, here they are at 13 getting ready for High School, and after all this time they ask to go back to WDW.

"Ok," I said. "I will start making plans."

So I got on the Internet and saw the 2017 rates weren't out yet so I explored the WDW site. So much had changed!! I was immediately overwhelmed so I got back on the Disboards and started reading trip reports and watching threads. My MS Notes page about Disney started quickly filling up so I made a Disney folder and added additional pages: Resorts, Restaurants, Rates, Travel Agencies, Tips, Attractions.

Soon it was June 21st and the rates came out. I narrowed the resorts down to 5. Plugged in various dates that would work for us and decided on which month we would go: July 2017. As to how many days we will be at WDW, that is still to be determined. I am thinking we may arrive on a Tuesday and depart a week later on a Weds, but that may change.

I have decided that since this will likely be the last WDW trip while the girls are in school, I want to make it a big blow out. Thanks to some friendly folks on the board, I got a link for the $200 Disney Visa Credit Card gift card and passed it on to DH to get one as well. In addition to our plans to earn the gift cards. I have opened a no frills checking account which earns us $100 credit when we meet some direct deposit requirements. DH and I will each have a small amount from our paychecks going into the new account each pay period. We will also deposit any rebate checks, birthday, Xmas, tax refunds, etc. into the vacation account.

Since our Myrtle Beach trip will be mostly a relaxation vacation, we will probably have alot of down time. I have given my DDs the links to all the parks. They are to make a list of all the rides, shows, and events they want to enjoy at WDW. We will determine how many days we will need to do everything they want to do. Something else they want to do is to make a small photo album of all the character and scenery pics. Their goal is to show the characters their vacation pics from 2008 and recreate them in 2017.

While we are in Myrtle Beach, I am going to give the girls links to the resorts I have selected. They will be choosing which one (or two if they cannot decide) we will be staying at. I have already decided that we will do a Club Level. The rest is up to them.

So that is where we are right now. I will post again after we pick our dates and our resort(s).

 

[JodyLynC]

So, it has been awhile since I posted. So much has happened. We are doing a 9 day split stay at three resorts in early August. From what I have read on the Disboards it sounds pretty painless. Drop off luggage, go to a park, check in with bell services at the new resort.

Usually we drive to Florida, but since that usually takes a day and a half each way, we decided to fly in order to maximize our time in the Sunshine State. We are arriving in Florida a few days early and renting a mini van from the airport. BIL and MIL live in Tampa. My Stepdad and his wife live in Spring Hill (north of Tampa). Then we are driving to WDW and dropping off the minivan at the Car Care Center.

Here is our schedule:
Day 1 - Fly into Tampa. I don't have our flights purchased yet, but I think I will go ahead and do that tonight. I know I want an early morning flight. Southwest seems to be the only airline that flies straight through to and from Columbus. I see there is an offer to save $200 when you apply for the credit card. There is a $69 annual fee, but that still saves us $130. I may have DH apply for a card and get credit for our flights back from Orlando.

Day 1 and 2 - visit ILs in Tampa

Day 3 - Day trip to Spring Hill to visit Stepdad and wife

Day 4 - last day in Tampa

Day 5 - The real fun begins!! Get up early and drive to Poly. (Maybe the real fun starts here.) We will be staying Club Level for 3 nights. (great magical deal for that part). DDs and I will check in and leave our luggage while DH drops car off at Car Care Center. (Ok now it begins.) I am hoping we are there early enough to have some breakfast in the Club Lounge before heading to MK.

We will do as much as we can and share a QS lunch at Columbia Harbour House. (This is a tradition for us. We usually purchase 2 meals for the 4 of us then grabs snacks throughout the rest of the day. Dole Treat, here we come!)

We plan on heading back to the Poly for evening snacks. For dinner rather than go to Ohana, we will order a couple of Twilight Feasts from Room Service and enjoy it on the beach or in the lounge. We will probably watch the fireworks from the Poly the first night.

Day 6 - MK Day 2. Maybe go back to Poly in afternoon for pool/resort fun. Evening snacks at CL Lounge then share a couple of QS meals from Kona Ilse or Captain Cook's. If we have time, we may venture back to MK for evening fireworks.


Day 7 - Disney Springs day. Go to Disney Quest. Have lunch somewhere over there. Go back to MK if there is anything we missed or stay at resort to swim.

To be continued...

 

[JodyLynC]

Day 8 - Breakfast at Poly CL then drop of stuff at Bell Services and head to Epcot for the day. We usually snack/QS around the world. In the evening, we will head to BC and check in at CL. We will have our evening snacks and if we are still hungry share some QS from one of the resort restaurants in BC or YC. Watch fireworks from resort

Day 9 - After breakfast, we will do Epcot Day 2. We will hit things we missed or rehit things we want to do again. In the afternoon, we will head back to BC for pool/resort fun. I am hoping they will be serving Afternoon Tea at the Crescent Solarium. If not, we will grab snacks from the Club Lounge or the Pool Bar.
In the evening, we will go back to Epcot to see the evening shows.

Day 10 - After breakfast, we will head to HS. We have reservations for lunch at Scifi. Dinner will be QS at HS or one of the nearby resorts. We may head back in to HS for the evening show.

Day 11 - After breakfast, we will drop off our stuff with Bell Services. Depending on what we saw or missed, we may head to HS for a second day. Otherwise, we will go to AK.

Plan A: HS day 2. QS somewhere in the park. When we are done, go to AKL (standard room this time) and enjoy the pool/resort.
We have dinner reservations at Boma.

Plan B: AK day. Lunch will be Flame Tree BBQ. Do what we can then head back to resort to check in and have dinner at Boma

Day 12 - We haven't decided on what we are going to do for breakfast yet. Maybe we will go to a character breakfast at Boma or Tusker House. Maybe we will just grab QS from Mara. (I know, my 180 window is open so I should make a decision soon). Depending on what we do the day before will determine our last day.

Plan A: AK day. Lunch at Flame Tree. Grab dinner at a QS at AK or AKL. See the evening show.

Plan B: AK day 2 or visit another park or just enjoy the pool/resort. (I'd love to take the Boma tour) Pack up everything and organize our bags for Magical Express.

Day 13 - Take Magical Express to Orlando airport and catch an early flight back home.

 

[JodyLynC]

So we have our resort ressies and our tentative plan. Since we are staying mostly Club Level, we are only doing a couple of TS meals, which I have reserved. The rest of our meals will be QS.

We are hoping to do a Wishes or Illuminations boat ride, but we will need to wait closer to our vacation to try for those.

We still have to get our airline reservations, but I am doing that probably tonight.

We still have to get our rental car. We are probably going to use Alamo so I am keeping an eye on their rates.

Next month: To theme or not to theme, that will be the question.

 

[JodyLynC]

Less than 5 months now.

Got our tickets. After I made the CMH to TPA choices and added them to my cart, I saw an ad to apply for Southwest Chase Card. After 6 weeks, you would get a $200 statement credit. The card costs $69, but that still gives us $130 credit minus any interest. I purchased the tickets to Florida and applied for the credit card. I will pay the statement down to $200 and let the statement credit pay off the card. I had DH get the tickets from Orlando to home. He also got the same offer so he is doing the same thing for our return trip.

Now we are keeping an eye on Alamo discounts.

 

[JodyLynC]

So, since we got the Southwest Chase Card, DH and I each received 10,000 bonus points each. 10,000 points will get you a $100 Alamo Gift Certificate. Since Alamo allows you to use up to 3 certificates, we got $200 off of our Alamo reservations!!

DBIL and his girlfriend are joining us for 2 days at the world. They want to do Epcot and DHS. I am encouraging them to set up a My Disney Experience account so I can link them to our account and set up Fast passes for all of us at the 60 day mark.

I did invest in Touring Plans and have some ideas of which FPs we are shooting for. DDs were nervous about some of the thrill rides so we did check them out on You Tube. We now have our list and are waiting for our 60 day mark.

 

[JodyLynC]

Wow! It has been a while since I have updated this thread. Our plans have changed a bit. We have moved our trip up a day. In addition, my stepfather has to go to NC and will not be in Florida while we are there so there is another day gone. Here is where we stand.

Day 1 - Leave the airport at 6am for a straight through flight to Tampa on Southwest. (tickets purchased on Southwest Visa cards using the $200 bonus. We also got early bird seating. It is our first time flying in 12 years. The girls are nervous and I hate flying so we decided to pay the fee so we can make sure that we sit together.)

Pick up our rental van from Alamo. (Saved $200 on the rental by using Southwest bonus points earned when we signed up for the Visa card.)
Since there are 4 in our family and we will be doing activities with MIL, BIL, and possibly BIL's gf, we opted to rent a mini van.

Not sure what the in-laws have planned for us on day one. By the time we land in Tampa, gather our luggage, and pick up the rental car, it will likely be after 9am so we may just grab breakfast before meeting the in-laws.

Day 2 - Will be spent in Tampa again with the in-laws.

Day 3 - Instead of going to Spring Hill, we will either spend the day at either Clearwater or St. Pete Beach then return to in-laws for the night or we may hit Orlando a day early and stay the night on I-drive. (It depends, I think, of how the rest of the trip has gone.)

Day 4 - Drive to Car Care Center and drop off rental. Have them take us to Poly. Check in CL, grab breakfast and head to MK. We do have touring plans and will use their Lines app once we get to the parks. We snagged a lunch ressie for BOG and have already pre-ordered our food. (I l know!). Our FPs are in the afternoon since we weren't sure of our arrival time - SDMT, Peter Pan, and SplM for DH and DD1, POTC for DD2 and me.

For the evening, we will probably head back to Poly and take advantage of the CL offerings. We will probably go to Captain Cook's for dinner. Since we will be getting CL evening snacks, we will probably split one meal for the family then return to the lounge for cordials and desserts. We may also hit the pool in the evening and watch the fireworks from there if it is not too crowded.

Day 5 - 2nd MK Day. Fast Passes: DH and DD1 will hit SpM while DD2 and I hit Buzz. We also have Peter Pan (again. I know, but it is DDs favorite ride). We also have SDMT again, but this time after dark. Probably the waste of a FP so late, but we really want to ride it at night. Lunch will probably be CHH. We will try to focus on characters today. DDs want to play fairy godmother's in training and will be handing out stickers during the day, glow sticks at night, and mini beach balls when at the pool. I don't know how long we will stay, but we plan on going back to Poly in the early evening for snacks. Since it is MK's late night, we will come back into the parks to watch the fireworks shows and do some night rides. Really nervous about the crowds, but very excited for the night stuff.

 

[JodyLynC]

Day 6 will be a 1/2 day at AK. I don't know what time we will leave MK the night before so our morning Fast Passes may be worthless if I can't get the family up. Breakfast will be Poly CL. Fast Passes are NRJ, Kali, and Kili Safari. I am hoping to get them out so we can use at least some of the FPs. We couldn't get one for FOP, so we will have to do standby for that. We will stay long enough to grab lunch at Satuli Canteen then head back to Poly in the early afternoon. DH and the DDs can go swimming while I do laundry. We will do afternoon snacks and evening snacks at Poly CL. For dinner, we will split a O'hana Twilight Feast and maybe go back to the pool to watch the fireworks.

Day 7 will be our first Epcot day. We will grab breakfast at Poly CL lounge, check out, then take the monorails to Epcot. BIL and his gf will join us for the day. We just have FPs for Soarin and SE. We plan to snack around the world by splitting meals, drinks, and sweets. That evening we will check in at YC Club Level and try the evening snacks there. Then we will probably head to Crew's Cup for dinner.

Day 8 will be our first HS Day. Breakfast at YC Lounge then we will take the boat to HS. We have FPs for TZTT and TSM. Lunch is at Scifi with BIL and gf. Evening snacks at YC Club lounge. We may head back to HS to see one or both of the evening shows.

Day 9 HS Day two. Breakfast at YC lounge. FPs again for TZTT and TSM. Lunch at 50s PTC. It will be our first time there. After lunch we will head back to the resort and enjoy the pool. Evening snacks at YC Club lounge. We have Dinner ressies for Beaches & Cream. Our first time there. Then we will meet with another DIS family and enjoy the Illuminations Cruise.

Day 10 - Epcot Day two. Breakfast at YC lounge then check out. We'll take the boat to Epcot. FPs for Frozen. Lunch is up in the air. If we didn't finish our snack around the world, we will do that. Otherwise, we will grab QS anywhere. We may do a WS scavenger hunt. I expect we will leave mid-afternoon and head to AKL. We will do some activities at the resort. Dinner is at Boma.

Day 11 - AK day two. Breakfast at Mara or Sanaa. We have FPs for FOP and Expedition Everest. Lunch will likely be at Flame Tree BBQ. Since this is our second AK day, I expect we will head back to the resort mid-afternoon. I'd like to do the restaurant tours while DH and the girls go to the pool. We are debating on whether we are going to eat dinner at Mara and have an early night in or if we are going back to AK for QS dinner and late evening in Pandora.

Day 12 - Our flight leaves at 7:30am. Since we are taking ME, we will have to leave super early.

And that is what we are planning.

 

[JodyLynC]

Snagged a Poolside Patio at the Poly for Day 6 starting at 3pm in the afternoon. After a morning at AK, we will grab some snacks and drinks from the lounge and head down to the Oasis pool. The girls can zip over to the lava pool periodically. Should be a nice stress free afternoon. I wish they had patios or cabanas at Stormalong Bay. I would love to do this for the YC portion of our trip.