Biscuit's Grand Adventure 2 - Adventures in Opposites *TR NOW ACTIVE!
- Thread starter GreatBiscuit
- Start date
GreatBiscuit
Golden but never flaky
- Joined
- Aug 20, 1999
- Messages
- 3,009
Good to see you again! They are growing indeed. Hats off to a fellow cheer parent. It's a WILD world isn't it? One of the teams Tahlia is on got a bid to the Summit. It is an at large bid, so currently they are not planning to attend, but they are gunning for a paid bid which would then require us to fly her down there and probably First Lady Biscuit. (I'd love to go, but my ability to handle hair and makeup ranks up there with my ability to fart out a rainbow or say no to bacon.) It's great to see so many familiar faces checking in! Hi again Hucifer!Hi V!
How the heck is Leo? I miss his sweet little face.
My solo trip was in July. Yep, it was hot. I loved it.
I agree. GB's TRs are classics.
GreatBiscuit
Golden but never flaky
- Joined
- Aug 20, 1999
- Messages
- 3,009
Hi Rosie!
Don't know if there will pole dancing or diving into shrubbery, but I can hope! Hey Marita!
Hope all is going well in The World. I think it was a Nebo report if I remember correctly. That's been a while! Very excited to visit your neck of the woods! Go Texas! Ahh memories!
Faint....no seriously its all about expectations. If you set them to expect crowds and plan accordingly, you will be OK.[/QUOTE]I've been doing a ton of research on it. I think we are going to be okay.
Yay! Another report! I had to look back at the old TR and see how much the girls have grown.Dang. Time flies. Looking forward to more! Until then, I'll skate to work and dream of warmer weather.
This weather is insane. Our windchill here is in the single digits tomorrow. That's not normal. We in this state are NOT equipped to handle something like that. I may have to call in frozen.
GreatBiscuit
Golden but never flaky
- Joined
- Aug 20, 1999
- Messages
- 3,009
Me too! Thanks for coming back for round 2! Hey Cynthia! I tend to buck trends just for the joy of it. No doubt!
I had NO idea what was in store when we signed up for this gig.
We should be good then.
Yeah, that's gonna be....interesting.4 girls!!!!!!!!! Oh how much fun, cousin trips are the bomb. Literally.
Yep...so much for sleep.
You make an excellent point!
I'm sure they will be invoked.
I live that every day.11-going-on-12 is interesting.
Thanks for joining in! Glad to have along! 
glennbo123
DIS Legend
- Joined
- May 10, 2008
- Messages
- 10,236
Can you be Stinky Pete? Dude, you were the inspiration for Stinky Pete!
Steppesister
DIS Legend
- Joined
- Dec 27, 2013
- Messages
- 13,554
Once upon a time, I was a 1st-pager. 
But I am here... better late than never. I join TRs for a lot of different reasons. Yours, my friend, is for many.
Glad you sent the heads up, Matt!
But I am here... better late than never. I join TRs for a lot of different reasons. Yours, my friend, is for many. Glad you sent the heads up, Matt!
GreatBiscuit
Golden but never flaky
- Joined
- Aug 20, 1999
- Messages
- 3,009
Burly!Present! Here! Ready!
oh and yay!!!woohoo and all that other stuff. Glad to see you back and that you are going back. Whom are those giant kids and what did you do with those precious little girls.....hmnmmm?
KIM
back! Glad to have you aboard for round 2! I think Pixar is owing me some residuals.
We're just getting started!As usual I am late to the party....but hey at least I showed up
back! Howdy andOnce upon a time, I was a 1st-pager.
Glad you sent the heads up, Matt!
my friend! Glad you stopped by! I know it's a bit hectic up your way at present. Tell everybody that Bubba says "Hey!"
Sooze
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 10, 2006
- Messages
- 2,997
I'm here and checking in! I must warn you, though, I have been an AWFUL Dis-er lately... I am having trouble finding time to get online and visit. So please don't be offended if I'm not posting... just know I'm here lurking and loving all of your great writing!!
PrncessA
Dis_Mom_
- Joined
- Jan 16, 2009
- Messages
- 1,858
Waiting on pins and needles for the next update!
I can't believe how time flies, your girls are growing so fast. It seems like they have grown a lot faster than my kiddos, even though our trips were both in 2009. Yours was 2009, right?
We are entering into the world of cheerleading as well, although I am hoping to not move to the competitive side for a couple of years.
I can't believe how time flies, your girls are growing so fast. It seems like they have grown a lot faster than my kiddos, even though our trips were both in 2009. Yours was 2009, right?
We are entering into the world of cheerleading as well, although I am hoping to not move to the competitive side for a couple of years.
GreatBiscuit
Golden but never flaky
- Joined
- Aug 20, 1999
- Messages
- 3,009
Howdy and
I certainly understand that. I tend to post in spurts these days as my schedule allows. Glad to have you lurking along! The update is coming momentarily! We were indeed there last in 2009. It looks like we are coordinating return years.
Tahlia was on a show team her first year and there are many days that I miss that. I'll have a bit more to relate as time goes by on how Cheer may impact our excursion.
GreatBiscuit
Golden but never flaky
- Joined
- Aug 20, 1999
- Messages
- 3,009
During the wrap up of my last TR, I posted a review of the Pop Century resort and pretty well guaranteed that we would be staying there again. It was my only time staying on property and I full on loved it. Extra Magic Hours played a huge role in our trip and I loved the feeling of never leaving “The World.”
The journey that was required to get me to even consider staying off property, much less be happy about it, was long and hard fought. In the end, it came down to a salami sandwich. But that’s getting ahead of myself.
Because we had such great trip in ’09, I had in my mind to try and redo as many details as we could this time as well. Yet, as has been shown in countless TR's on these boards, you can never take the same trip twice. My initial plan for our return trip was to do ten days at Pop Century. That later morphed into 8 days at a moderate. (Port Orleans Riverside led the pack most of the time.)
I sounded great in theory, but if I may borrow from Robert Burns, the best laid schemes of mice and men often go awry. As time marched on, and the reality of a trip was never quite realized, I began to see that the only way to get back to The World was to make some drastic changes.
After canceling a second trip in as many years, I vented some of my frustrations to a Bama loving lawyer friend who gave me the best Disney advice I've ever had. He told me that instead of trying to figure out how to fund a “dream trip”, that I should instead create a list of EVERYTHING I wanted to do at Disney, create a separate budget of what I could realistically afford, and then start paring things down until the former met the latter. He also reminded me that being in the parks is a must do. Everything else is gravy.
It was a simple concept really, but it changed the way I was planning. Crunching the numbers and ciphering the widgets, I started comparing options, calculating individual costs, and exchanging things on my Must Have list.
As you might well imagine, staying on property was one of the last things to go. I just wasn’t wanting to give up EMH, Magical Express, the dining plan and other intangible bonuses of being in a Disney Resort. There I was standing near the mental precipice, staring at the gaping void below me and had all but made up my mind that I just unwilling to take that plunge. Then I managed to take one step closer the edge thanks to the intervention of Disney-Loving red headed relative.
I speak of course of Aunt Janna.
Aunt Janna and I have a long Disney history whose complexity goes beyond the scope of this particular narrative, but you can read all the sordid details in my original TR.
The cliff notes version is that she is most Disneyfied of my clan and we have shared multiple adventures at The World. She was walking next to Tahlia the first time my girls stepped through the tunnel and into Town Square, and she helped save our honeymoon from a dismal defeat.
In an effort to increase their Florida enjoyment, Aunt Janna and Uncle Randy purchased a 3 bedroom condo a couple of years back at The Orlando WorldQuest resort, which is near Disney property. They then sent out an APB to the entire family that it was there for use anytime one of us wanted to go down.
I have said it before and I say it again, yes I have an amazing aunt.
In the time since her initial invitation, a few of my cousins and another aunt & uncle have all stayed there and declared it to be a nifty thing. Yet as enticing as it sounded, I remained on the fence for a while. I just wasn't sure if I could handle giving so many “must have’s” up.
And then there was the transportation issue.
Sure WorldQuest has a shuttle, but it only drops you off at Epcot and then you have to take Disney transportation to the other parks. Standing in line for a shuttle, riding to Epcot, then standing in line for a bus or monorail and riding to another park seemed to have the potential to drain a substantial chunk of time from each day. I knew the only way I could even HOPE to handle doing it without freaking out on a daily basis was to rent a car. Yet, that would mean we would need a car big enough to fit all of us into comfortably, and having been there and done that, I knew we’d at least need a mid-sized. By the time you factor in paying for that, fuel and for the daily parking, we really weren't saving all that much per night. At least not enough to convince me to stay offsite.
Through the curious realms of Disney fuzzy math I flew until another piece of the puzzle clicked into place; we drove for the second year in a row from Texas to Minnesota. During that drive I realized three things. One, I kind of like driving cross country. Two, our minivan is more than adequate to handle us and all our stuff in comfort. Three, (and this is essential) it is exactly nine miles further from my house to the Magic Kingdom parking lot than it is from my house to my Mother In Law's house.
Suddenly the idea that we HAD to fly was busted. As cool as flying into MCO and riding DME to our resort had been, I realized it wasn't a necessity. Having now experienced a trip of that magnitude twice, and calculating out the travel costs, I knew that driving as opposed to flying would be much cheaper. (Give or take depending on gas prices, airlines ticket prices, and where we stay along the way. As of today, it is about 35% cheaper.)
This also solved the issue of daily transportation to the parks, and even with paying to park the beast every day, the scale was tipping back towards staying off property.
Another little fact of life helped to tip it a little more. Namely, my decision to NOT do the dining plan. (Also a VAST departure from my last TR and the End of Trip Dining Plan review.) The reasoning for this was 2 fold. 1. Disney raised prices SUBSTANTIALLY compared to 5 years ago. 2. The girls are now considered adults, even though they eat like birds. No WAY would I be able to wrap my brain around spending $59 per day per kid for each of them to eat. It just made my organs quiver. In 2009, $99.96 per day was a great deal for the 4 of us. In 2014, $234.64 per day is not. With DDP off the table, that particular entry in the “pro” column for staying onsite went with it.
Disney’s decision to cut evening EMH by an hour also gave another push towards the edge of the cliff. We LOVED us some evening EMH and utilized it every night they had it during our visit. Cutting that by 33% cut its value for me.
All that remained now was a final little nudge to seal the deal. Interestingly enough, it came in the form of hard salami. Nick, Tammy and the girls were down to visit us and during the course of their stay, I went and grabbed some lunch provisions. I picked up some deli ham, some thin sliced hard salami, veggies, chips, bread and a couple of two liters all for around $25. Not bad to feed 8 people.
As I was just taking a bite out of my salami with mayo, I had a Disney Epiphany. The condo has a kitchen. And it has free breakfast daily. If I factored in eating a meal or two there, (like sandwiches for lunch, snacks, bringing water with us, etc.) I would now be fully within my allotted return budget. I could actually return to The World in summer 2014!
I was so excited I gave a little shout. Then Nick did the Heimlich because I still had a mouthful of salami.
As I fell from The Cliff of Lodging into the Valley of Offsite Slumber (hollering like Goofy the entire way down) I suddenly realized I was okay with it. I had built staying on property into a “MUST HAVE TO ENJOY MY TRIP” experience, when really it isn’t. Was it cool? Yes. Do I have to have it to enjoy this vacation? No.
So there you have it. It wasn’t any one thing that led to this decision, but a series of little things and changes in my way of thinking. The plan was now set: 7 nights at World Quest with a week at the parks.
But as we all know when it comes to Disney Plans, they never quite stay the same. Turns out Disney would again throw a monkey wrench my way that would lead to me giving up another Must Have, only this time it wasn’t a surrender, it was a trade. And what I got back in return was pretty dern cool. Oh, we’re still off property, don’t get me wrong. And I’m still good with it.
Though if I am to be accurate, I must now say that we are “MOSTLY” off property.
Oh, and my excitement for the trip shot up ten-fold.
But I’ll save that story for next time.
The journey that was required to get me to even consider staying off property, much less be happy about it, was long and hard fought. In the end, it came down to a salami sandwich. But that’s getting ahead of myself.
Because we had such great trip in ’09, I had in my mind to try and redo as many details as we could this time as well. Yet, as has been shown in countless TR's on these boards, you can never take the same trip twice. My initial plan for our return trip was to do ten days at Pop Century. That later morphed into 8 days at a moderate. (Port Orleans Riverside led the pack most of the time.)
I sounded great in theory, but if I may borrow from Robert Burns, the best laid schemes of mice and men often go awry. As time marched on, and the reality of a trip was never quite realized, I began to see that the only way to get back to The World was to make some drastic changes.
After canceling a second trip in as many years, I vented some of my frustrations to a Bama loving lawyer friend who gave me the best Disney advice I've ever had. He told me that instead of trying to figure out how to fund a “dream trip”, that I should instead create a list of EVERYTHING I wanted to do at Disney, create a separate budget of what I could realistically afford, and then start paring things down until the former met the latter. He also reminded me that being in the parks is a must do. Everything else is gravy.
It was a simple concept really, but it changed the way I was planning. Crunching the numbers and ciphering the widgets, I started comparing options, calculating individual costs, and exchanging things on my Must Have list.
As you might well imagine, staying on property was one of the last things to go. I just wasn’t wanting to give up EMH, Magical Express, the dining plan and other intangible bonuses of being in a Disney Resort. There I was standing near the mental precipice, staring at the gaping void below me and had all but made up my mind that I just unwilling to take that plunge. Then I managed to take one step closer the edge thanks to the intervention of Disney-Loving red headed relative.
I speak of course of Aunt Janna.
Aunt Janna and I have a long Disney history whose complexity goes beyond the scope of this particular narrative, but you can read all the sordid details in my original TR.
The cliff notes version is that she is most Disneyfied of my clan and we have shared multiple adventures at The World. She was walking next to Tahlia the first time my girls stepped through the tunnel and into Town Square, and she helped save our honeymoon from a dismal defeat.
In an effort to increase their Florida enjoyment, Aunt Janna and Uncle Randy purchased a 3 bedroom condo a couple of years back at The Orlando WorldQuest resort, which is near Disney property. They then sent out an APB to the entire family that it was there for use anytime one of us wanted to go down.
I have said it before and I say it again, yes I have an amazing aunt.
In the time since her initial invitation, a few of my cousins and another aunt & uncle have all stayed there and declared it to be a nifty thing. Yet as enticing as it sounded, I remained on the fence for a while. I just wasn't sure if I could handle giving so many “must have’s” up.
And then there was the transportation issue.
Sure WorldQuest has a shuttle, but it only drops you off at Epcot and then you have to take Disney transportation to the other parks. Standing in line for a shuttle, riding to Epcot, then standing in line for a bus or monorail and riding to another park seemed to have the potential to drain a substantial chunk of time from each day. I knew the only way I could even HOPE to handle doing it without freaking out on a daily basis was to rent a car. Yet, that would mean we would need a car big enough to fit all of us into comfortably, and having been there and done that, I knew we’d at least need a mid-sized. By the time you factor in paying for that, fuel and for the daily parking, we really weren't saving all that much per night. At least not enough to convince me to stay offsite.
Through the curious realms of Disney fuzzy math I flew until another piece of the puzzle clicked into place; we drove for the second year in a row from Texas to Minnesota. During that drive I realized three things. One, I kind of like driving cross country. Two, our minivan is more than adequate to handle us and all our stuff in comfort. Three, (and this is essential) it is exactly nine miles further from my house to the Magic Kingdom parking lot than it is from my house to my Mother In Law's house.
Suddenly the idea that we HAD to fly was busted. As cool as flying into MCO and riding DME to our resort had been, I realized it wasn't a necessity. Having now experienced a trip of that magnitude twice, and calculating out the travel costs, I knew that driving as opposed to flying would be much cheaper. (Give or take depending on gas prices, airlines ticket prices, and where we stay along the way. As of today, it is about 35% cheaper.)
This also solved the issue of daily transportation to the parks, and even with paying to park the beast every day, the scale was tipping back towards staying off property.
Another little fact of life helped to tip it a little more. Namely, my decision to NOT do the dining plan. (Also a VAST departure from my last TR and the End of Trip Dining Plan review.) The reasoning for this was 2 fold. 1. Disney raised prices SUBSTANTIALLY compared to 5 years ago. 2. The girls are now considered adults, even though they eat like birds. No WAY would I be able to wrap my brain around spending $59 per day per kid for each of them to eat. It just made my organs quiver. In 2009, $99.96 per day was a great deal for the 4 of us. In 2014, $234.64 per day is not. With DDP off the table, that particular entry in the “pro” column for staying onsite went with it.
Disney’s decision to cut evening EMH by an hour also gave another push towards the edge of the cliff. We LOVED us some evening EMH and utilized it every night they had it during our visit. Cutting that by 33% cut its value for me.
All that remained now was a final little nudge to seal the deal. Interestingly enough, it came in the form of hard salami. Nick, Tammy and the girls were down to visit us and during the course of their stay, I went and grabbed some lunch provisions. I picked up some deli ham, some thin sliced hard salami, veggies, chips, bread and a couple of two liters all for around $25. Not bad to feed 8 people.
As I was just taking a bite out of my salami with mayo, I had a Disney Epiphany. The condo has a kitchen. And it has free breakfast daily. If I factored in eating a meal or two there, (like sandwiches for lunch, snacks, bringing water with us, etc.) I would now be fully within my allotted return budget. I could actually return to The World in summer 2014!
I was so excited I gave a little shout. Then Nick did the Heimlich because I still had a mouthful of salami.
As I fell from The Cliff of Lodging into the Valley of Offsite Slumber (hollering like Goofy the entire way down) I suddenly realized I was okay with it. I had built staying on property into a “MUST HAVE TO ENJOY MY TRIP” experience, when really it isn’t. Was it cool? Yes. Do I have to have it to enjoy this vacation? No.
So there you have it. It wasn’t any one thing that led to this decision, but a series of little things and changes in my way of thinking. The plan was now set: 7 nights at World Quest with a week at the parks.
But as we all know when it comes to Disney Plans, they never quite stay the same. Turns out Disney would again throw a monkey wrench my way that would lead to me giving up another Must Have, only this time it wasn’t a surrender, it was a trade. And what I got back in return was pretty dern cool. Oh, we’re still off property, don’t get me wrong. And I’m still good with it.
Though if I am to be accurate, I must now say that we are “MOSTLY” off property.
Oh, and my excitement for the trip shot up ten-fold.
But I’ll save that story for next time.
Backstage_Gal
<font color=darkorchid>Let me rephrase the dog ste
- Joined
- Apr 8, 2005
- Messages
- 11,536
GB, you sure know how to tell a story! I'm so happy to have another trip report from you to look forward to
But what are you doing to my 401K, staying off property? The Horror!!!!!!!!!
Just kidding, I know you will be fine (mostly, sorry) and looking forward to your surprise.
Thanks for the chapter
But what are you doing to my 401K, staying off property? The Horror!!!!!!!!!
Just kidding, I know you will be fine (mostly, sorry) and looking forward to your surprise.
Thanks for the chapter
GreatBiscuit
Golden but never flaky
- Joined
- Aug 20, 1999
- Messages
- 3,009
GB, you sure know how to tell a story! I'm so happy to have another trip report from you to look forward to
But what are you doing to my 401K, staying off property? The Horror!!!!!!!!!
Just kidding, I know you will be fine (mostly, sorry) and looking forward to your surprise.
Thanks for the chapter
Not to worry Marita! I will be padding the corporate coffers in many ways this summer!
Poolrat
I am alive, sometimes I wonder too.
- Joined
- Jan 6, 2008
- Messages
- 9,189
Knock Knock.....
I hear a good time happening here....
I'm gonna crash if that is okay...
Intros are great - Looks like the little biscuits are doing great with their sports even though it can screw up family vacations.
I see the logic in off-site. Can't beat having a condo to crash in. Curious to see how FP+ ( I know I said It ) works into the plans.
You may just have a pace I can keep up with.
I hear a good time happening here....
I'm gonna crash if that is okay...
Intros are great - Looks like the little biscuits are doing great with their sports even though it can screw up family vacations.
I see the logic in off-site. Can't beat having a condo to crash in. Curious to see how FP+ ( I know I said It ) works into the plans.
You may just have a pace I can keep up with.
PrncessA
Dis_Mom_
- Joined
- Jan 16, 2009
- Messages
- 1,858
I think my world just shifted, the Biscuits are staying off site? After I got over the shock, and recovered from the bump on my head, I realized that your are incredibly luck to have Aunt Jana! Where can I get an Aunt Jana?
I remember how tiny you said POP was, this is definitely a better plan. Much more comfortable and definitely cheaper! Wondering if this has anything to do with FP+...
glennbo123
DIS Legend
- Joined
- May 10, 2008
- Messages
- 10,236
Hey, you're getting there, that's what's important. And remember, you can't force the magic. 
Just relax, and let it happen.
I'm a big proponent of driving to save money. Airfare ain't cheap nowadays and when you've got yerself, the missus, and a couple of buckaroos, it adds up fast. (How am I doing speaking Texan?)
Staying off-property is way down the list of items to give up, but you've gotta do what you've gotta do. I'm just glad you're able to get there.
Just relax, and let it happen.I'm a big proponent of driving
to save money. Airfare ain't cheap nowadays and when you've got yerself, the missus, and a couple of buckaroos, it adds up fast. (How am I doing speaking Texan?)Staying off-property is way down the list of items to give up, but you've gotta do what you've gotta do. I'm just glad you're able to get there.
GreatBiscuit
Golden but never flaky
- Joined
- Aug 20, 1999
- Messages
- 3,009
Hey Pat, come on in, the water's fine. (You know I had to do a pool joke.) It's going to be an interesting trip all the way around.Knock Knock..... I hear a good time happening here....
GreatBiscuit
Golden but never flaky
- Joined
- Aug 20, 1999
- Messages
- 3,009
Aunt Janna rocks! The POP was definitely small...a fact that may or may not come into play in the next installment...as to FP+, well it will pretty will be the headliner..
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