Boo To You and The Castle Suite Too! – A September 2013 TR

[purpledisneyprncess]

That is so amazing that you won the trip. Might be getting ahead of myself with asking, but when you won did you get to pick from different resorts or they told you which resort? So excited to read about your trip!!! DH and I have 2 more years before our 10th anniversary. Not sure where we are going but Cancun looked nice.

 

[mstee777]

That is awesome!!! I an so glad you decided to share your trip report! What a dream come true to stay in Cinderella's Castle! Can't wait to read more.

 

[jedimeg16]

The last time I stayed at a Deluxe resort I was 4 1/2, so it will be fun seeing another through your camera lens. I can't wait to read the rest!

 

[DisKH]

Subscribing!

That's so incredible that you won! Thank you so much for deciding to write the report! you are sharing a trip that I have only dreamed about (so now I can live vicariously through this report )

 

[littlenellbell]

How exciting!

Jill in CO

What an awesome opportunity! I can't wait to read more!!

Yes, it was awesome. Thanks for reading along!

That's amazing that you won the trip! I can't wait to hear all about it!

Thanks! Welcome to my trip report.

How awesome! Can't wait to read all about it!

It was so awesome. Hopefully, I'll get in another update today.

Totally amazing!!! Thanks for sharing your trip report

Thank you for reading it!

Okay, your story of how this trip came to be has me hooked!! I can't wait to read the rest.

I know, who would have thought a little weekend Anniversary trip would eventually turn into this dream Disney trip?

So YOU'RE the one that won that package! I entered that contest numerous times. I am so glad I get to hear about your trip!! Congrats and I'm looking forward to reading all about it!

Sorry...I'm the guilty one Thanks for reading!

That is so amazing that you won the trip. Might be getting ahead of myself with asking, but when you won did you get to pick from different resorts or they told you which resort? So excited to read about your trip!!! DH and I have 2 more years before our 10th anniversary. Not sure where we are going but Cancun looked nice.

Yes, I was able to give my resort preferences but it was subject to availability. I'll explain in my next update how we ended up with the Yacht Club. By the way, we loved Cancun. I like that it's not too far from the US (good for a shorter trip) and it's pretty affordable. We stayed at The Royal In Cancun. I highly recommend.

That is awesome!!! I an so glad you decided to share your trip report! What a dream come true to stay in Cinderella's Castle! Can't wait to read more.

Thank you, It was a dream come true! Actually, it went by so fast, kind of feels like it was a dream.

The last time I stayed at a Deluxe resort I was 4 1/2, so it will be fun seeing another through your camera lens. I can't wait to read the rest!

THank you for joining in on our adventure!

Subscribing!

That's so incredible that you won! Thank you so much for deciding to write the report! you are sharing a trip that I have only dreamed about (so now I can live vicariously through this report )

Awww....thanks! Glad you are reading along.

 

[littlenellbell]

One more pre-trip post, then I’ll get on with the trip, I promise.

The Delta Rep gave me the contact information to someone at Disney to help me get booked. The dates were non-negotiable because they had specifically reserved the castle for 9/24/13 for the Delta Vacations winner. I think if I could have picked I would have gone during the Christmas season or pushed it into 2014 because we’d already been in 2013. But I was NOT complaining, nor was I turning this down. September 24 was fine with us! I was asked to give my top 3 deluxe resort choices. I talked to my DH and he said I was the winner so the choice was all mine, he really didn't care where we stayed. My immediate thought was Grand Floridian, Polynesian, and Contemporary. Up until now we've only stayed at the Moderate Resorts, and I've always thought being close to the Magic Kingdom at a monorail resort would be convenient. Then I got to thinking, we are actually staying “inside” the Magic Kingdom it doesn't get much more convenient than that! I would plan our Magic Kingdom park time around our Castle Suite stay. So I decided to focus on the Epcot Resorts for the rest of our trip. I picked Beach Club, Yacht Club and The Boardwalk in that order. Logistically it just made sense, and the Beach/Yacht Club pool looked wonderful! I also told her that we would like to add one night at our own expense. If we hadn't already been to Disney once this year, we would have extended it out further. But, we’d already spent our vacation budget and most of our vacation time for the year, so one more night would have to do. This was a free trip, but the extra expenses and the taxes we eventually have to pay would start to add up. She agreed a 3 night trip was way too short. She said that she would check availability and get back with me. She called me back and we got the Yacht Club! And the best part…they added another complimentary night and another day of park hoppers!!! We also found out that the night of our Castle Stay was during Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party and tickets for that would also be included!!! Wow! We had never been to the Halloween Party before. This just keeps getting better and better. I was still kind of in shock that this was all really happening.

Next I needed to call Delta and make our flight reservations. Because our trip was only 4 nights and 5 days, I wanted the earliest flight possible so we could make the most of our first day. The first flight out was 7am. We live about 2 hours from the airport, so unless we were leaving home at 3am, we needed to get a hotel at the airport. Then I got to thinking…if we are getting a hotel anyway, why don’t we fly down the night before and stay at the Hyatt MCO hotel? Then we could just get up early and hop on the Magical Express. I read about how to get a great deal on Disboards for the Hyatt and we were all set.

We also found out we would be testing the MagicBands and got to customize them. We were so excited the day these arrived!



The only problem was that Disney arranged for our park hopper tickets to be picked up at will call when we arrived, so I didn't have tickets to link to the MagicBands to select our Fastpass+. I emailed the wonderful Disney Rep we’d been working with and she said she would send them. About 2 weeks before our trip they arrived along with a backpack filled with other Disney goodies! It also included a formal invitation from Cinderella’s Castle explaining the details of our pick-up time etc. They were spoiling us already! Here is a picture of the kids with their new plush Mickey’s that were sent. If you look in the background you can see our Disney countdown chain on the art wall with 10 days to go!



I talked to the family about our favorite rides and attractions. We picked our Fastpass+ selections for each day and we were set!

 

[geckodani]

It sounds like everyone was going out of their way to make your trip especially magical!

 

[littlenellbell]

It sounds like everyone was going out of their way to make your trip especially magical!

Yes, they did! The Disney Rep who helped me arrange everything was super sweet. I made sure to send Disney an email with how helpful she was!

 

[littlenellbell]

Let's get this trip started!

Sunday, September 22nd finally arrived. The day you leave for Disney is always so exciting!!! We didn't need to leave until after lunch, so we were able to relax a bit in the morning and pack any last minute things. Here is a picture of our last chain on the Disney countdown taken right before we left the house.



We left home around 1:00pm and made it to the airport by 3pm. Below are a few blurry pictures I took with my phone as we trekked through the airport.





DD looked so cute pulling her own luggage and of course Dumbo had to come along for the ride.



We knew it would be almost 8:30pm before we would arrive in Orlando, so we decided to grab a bite to eat for dinner at Chili’s at the airport. Any Bachelorette/Bachelor fans out there??? As we were waiting for our table, I recognized JP and Ashley from the Bachelorette show who were also eating there. I wanted to ask to get a picture with them, but they looked like they didn't want to be bothered. After eating we headed toward our gate to wait. Here are the kids waiting for the plane.



The flight was on time and uneventful. We arrived at MCO around 8:30pm and got on the fake Monorail for our first ride! We made it! I didn’t realize it at the time but in all the excitement I left my camera case on this bench inside the Monorail. Opps!





Then we took the traditional MCO airport pictures.








It was kind of weird not to be rushing to the Magical Express. But, it was so nice to walk off the little monorail and be right inside our hotel! I felt more relaxed rather than how we are usually rushing to hurry and get to Disney. We checked in and headed right up to our room….how convenient after a day of traveling! I didn't take any pictures of our room, but it was very nice, clean and modern. I would love to stay there again. Here are a few from our balcony. A very fun place to people watch!





I was holding my camera taking pictures, when I went to put the camera back in the case, it was gone. It was at this point that I realized I left my camera case on the monorail. We decided to take a walk and see if the airport had a lost and found. I wasn't too worried about the camera case (at least I had my camera) but it did have an extra battery in it so I wanted to try to find it if I could. I went to lost and found and they had it!!! By this time it was a little after 9:00pm and all the shops were closing up. We took a few more pictures, got something to drink and let the kids run off some steam in the empty airport.



See the little pink case next to DD? That is her toy camera. She was having fun pretending to take pictures like Mommy. On our way back up to our room she realized she left it sitting next to Snow White. Yep....just like her Mom! Thankfully it was still there.



With both cameras and cases in hand, we headed back to the room to call it a night. We needed to get up early the next day….we were finally headed to Walt Disney World!

 

[ProudMommyof2]

Wow! How awesome that they added a night for free. When we won, we extended our trip, but at our own expense.

I am getting so excited for all the extras they arranged for you, that I need to remember the trip already happened!

Can't wait to read more!

 

[littlenellbell]

Wow! How awesome that they added a night for free. When we won, we extended our trip, but at our own expense.

I am getting so excited for all the extras they arranged for you, that I need to remember the trip already happened!

Can't wait to read more!

I know, I was so shocked they comped the additional night and another day of park hoppers!! I did not expect them to do that. I think they did it because the trip was so short to begin with and I was only extending it for one more night. If I would have said we wanted to extend it 3-4 more nights, I don't think that would have happened. Plus, we didn't get our first choice (Beach Club) and she said she felt bad. Seriously, there isn't much difference between Beach and Yacht, so it was no big deal and I told her that. She was just super sweet.

How long was the trip you won? Did you write a trip report? I'd love to read about it.

 

[emmysmommy]

Hi Kristy! I'm finally subscribed! This is insanely amazing!!! I'm glad you followed Jen's advice because this is a great start to your fabulous trip!

Yacht Club is my favorite Epcot resort so I can't wait to see what you thought. And of course the epic night in the castle with the party.

 

[Marsheliz]

I am totally in... What a dream come true!!!!
I can't wait to read more!!
I bet staying at the Hyatt is super cool!

 

[ProudMommyof2]

I know, I was so shocked they comped the additional night and another day of park hoppers!! I did not expect them to do that. I think they did it because the trip was so short to begin with and I was only extending it for one more night. If I would have said we wanted to extend it 3-4 more nights, I don't think that would have happened. Plus, we didn't get our first choice (Beach Club) and she said she felt bad. Seriously, there isn't much difference between Beach and Yacht, so it was no big deal and I told her that. She was just super sweet.

How long was the trip you won? Did you write a trip report? I'd love to read about it.

Our trip took place August 2011. We didn't write a trip report unfortunately. We had a bat in the house just prior to the trip and all had to get rabies shots . Then we flew home over Hurricane Irene just in time for it to hit us here in RI. Soooo things were a little crazy and I didn't get it done.

Our win was kind of a cool story.
I am the Disney freek of the family. We took the kids to WDW in 2007 & 2009. The summer of 2010 I started planning for a spring 2011 trip. Well, DH had just returned to grad school and sadly sat me down to discuss what I already knew- no $ for a 2011 trip. I had just read an article about sweepstakes and optimistically told him not to worry I would just win a trip! He practically patted me on the head, thanked his lucky stars that I was that easily placated and wished me good luck! Every morning, I took 10-15 minutes to enter any Disney sweeps I could find. My DS goofed on me all the time. I started in August 2010 and got the email that I won at the end of Jan. 2011. It was a Radio Delilah contest. I had to write an essay about my favorite Disney memory. 10 people won. The trip included airfare, park hoppers and 3 nights at a deluxe as well as $300 giftcard. We got our first choice of the Polynesian and they put us in a Theme Park view room! I rented points to extend the trip 3 nights at AKV. Despite the drama before and after the trip, we had a blast. We tried the waterparks for the 1st time and decided to see all the smaller attractions we never took the time for before. I still enter every Disney sweeps I can find!

Can't wait to hear more about your trip!

 

[AGPrincess]

Subbing! What an amazing prize -- can't wait to hear all about the trip!! And so funny you spotted Ashley and JP at the airport!

 

[DisneyJo]

Wow congrats on your win, how amazing, I can't wait to read all about it

I've kind of done things the other way round, I spent the night in the castle and now I enter competitions still haven't won a WDW trip but have won 5 trips elsewhere

 

[MrsMuffinMan]

I'm here...a little late! We won an extra hour (or 2?) at Animal Kingdom in '08 during the Year of a Million Dreams and I thought that was the most awesome thing EVER A night in the castle would have sent me into the ER with excitement! What an amazing prize and looking forward to your trip report!

 

[beebeeryan]

Jumping on board, how amazing so far, can't wait to hear all about it.

 

[jenseib]

Oh I am so made it took me to page 3 to respond! I can't wait to hear all about this!!! Now to go back and read and catch myself up!!!!!!

 

[littlenellbell]

Hi Kristy! I'm finally subscribed! This is insanely amazing!!! I'm glad you followed Jen's advice because this is a great start to your fabulous trip!

Yacht Club is my favorite Epcot resort so I can't wait to see what you thought. And of course the epic night in the castle with the party.

Hi! Thanks for finding my report. We absolutely LOVED the Yacht Club! I was so happy with our resort choice. Our room was nothing like your awesome upgrade to the Admiral's Suite, but we had an great location and view! We loved the whole Epcot Resort Area.

I am totally in... What a dream come true!!!!
I can't wait to read more!!
I bet staying at the Hyatt is super cool!

Welcome!
The Hyatt was really cool. We went back and forth between staying there or a value for the first night, but I'm glad we picked Hyatt. It was so convenient. DS said he felt like he was on the Disney Cruise with the glass elevators and balconies overlooking the atrium. We would stay there again next trip.

Our trip took place August 2011. We didn't write a trip report unfortunately. We had a bat in the house just prior to the trip and all had to get rabies shots . Then we flew home over Hurricane Irene just in time for it to hit us here in RI. Soooo things were a little crazy and I didn't get it done.

Our win was kind of a cool story.
I am the Disney freek of the family. We took the kids to WDW in 2007 & 2009. The summer of 2010 I started planning for a spring 2011 trip. Well, DH had just returned to grad school and sadly sat me down to discuss what I already knew- no $ for a 2011 trip. I had just read an article about sweepstakes and optimistically told him not to worry I would just win a trip! He practically patted me on the head, thanked his lucky stars that I was that easily placated and wished me good luck! Every morning, I took 10-15 minutes to enter any Disney sweeps I could find. My DS goofed on me all the time. I started in August 2010 and got the email that I won at the end of Jan. 2011. It was a Radio Delilah contest. I had to write an essay about my favorite Disney memory. 10 people won. The trip included airfare, park hoppers and 3 nights at a deluxe as well as $300 giftcard. We got our first choice of the Polynesian and they put us in a Theme Park view room! I rented points to extend the trip 3 nights at AKV. Despite the drama before and after the trip, we had a blast. We tried the waterparks for the 1st time and decided to see all the smaller attractions we never took the time for before. I still enter every Disney sweeps I can find!

Can't wait to hear more about your trip!

Thanks for sharing your story. Sounds like a wonderful trip! Way too funny how you told DH you would win and you did!!!! Theme park view room at the Poly sounds amazing! I never had too much faith in sweepstakes before, but now I will also be entering any I can find! Although, I'm pretty sure this will be a once and a lifetime thing.

Subbing! What an amazing prize -- can't wait to hear all about the trip!! And so funny you spotted Ashley and JP at the airport!

Thanks and welcome! I kept looking at JP thinking "how do I know that guy?" He totally caught me staring at him too, he just looked so familiar. Once I saw Ashley I knew! LOL

Wow congrats on your win, how amazing, I can't wait to read all about it

I've kind of done things the other way round, I spent the night in the castle and now I enter competitions still haven't won a WDW trip but have won 5 trips elsewhere

I just clicked on your link and read about your castle stay! The whole week looked amazing and being a part of the Mom's Panel is such an honor! I loved when you got to go out after the park closed in your robes, what a nice memory. I wanted to go out after closing to get some good pictures in front of the castle, but the kids crashed in those heavenly beds so that didn't happen.
You have won 5 trips!!! You are one lucky lady!! I'm sure with your luck, you will win one to WDW!

I'm here...a little late! We won an extra hour (or 2?) at Animal Kingdom in '08 during the Year of a Million Dreams and I thought that was the most awesome thing EVER A night in the castle would have sent me into the ER with excitement! What an amazing prize and looking forward to your trip report!

Thanks for joining! That is so cool you got an extra couple hours in AK. You had the park to yourself? I wish they would bring back the Year of a Million Dreams, they did some awesome things during that time. I found it kind of sad when they told me that the Castle Suite is vacant most nights. I would love for more families to have the magical experience we had that night.

Jumping on board, how amazing so far, can't wait to hear all about it.

Thanks for jumping on board!

Oh I am so made it took me to page 3 to respond! I can't wait to hear all about this!!! Now to go back and read and catch myself up!!!!!!

Yay! You made it! Your awesome trip reports have inspired me to write this report.