Can we? Should we? A Spring 2009 PTR - New 5/6 - The TR has begun!

[accountingbabe08]

Hi Amy,

I just read through your entire pre trip report. I feel like I've been riding a roller coaster. Your tentative plans look great BTW. Your kids are so precious.


Belinda

 

[KathyRN137]

Hi Amy!

Just wanted to let you know that I'm here.

(I'm still only on pg. 3, but I'm here!)


Kathy

 

[KathyRN137]

All caught up!

I think its great you're going to stay on site now! The CBR was the first resort we ever stayed at in WDW (2003 I think.) We just loved it! We stayed in Martinique in a first floor room...so nice to be close to the food court and the main pool. I know your family will love it!!

Kathy

 

[DisMomAmy]

very cute!

He is so serious and "matter-of-fact" but he can be so funny sometimes too!

Adorable!!! And quick thinking on your part -- I never would have been able to think of a response.

My kids spend about that long in their rooms at night unwinding, also.

I think we could all use some time to unwind at night.

White lies are most definitely necessary sometimes to keep magic alive.

I have a feeling that when we tell them, Alex will say he already knew! He seems like he isn't paying attention but he picks up on things that I would never expect. I guess I need to be more careful with my planning...

That is too funny and smart...

And the funniest part is that he was totally serious.

Hi Amy,

I just read through your entire pre trip report. I feel like I've been riding a roller coaster. Your tentative plans look great BTW. Your kids are so precious.


Belinda

Thanks for reading!! I feel like I've been on a roller coaster too!

Hi Amy!

Just wanted to let you know that I'm here.

(I'm still only on pg. 3, but I'm here!)


Kathy

All caught up!

I think its great you're going to stay on site now! The CBR was the first resort we ever stayed at in WDW (2003 I think.) We just loved it! We stayed in Martinique in a first floor room...so nice to be close to the food court and the main pool. I know your family will love it!!

Kathy

Hi Kathy!! So glad you made it over here to my little PTR. I think we will really like CBR. I requested a first floor Nemo room so we'll probably end up in Martinique unless the Trinidad North rooms are finished before we go - not sure how long it takes for them to make it through an "island". I'm most excited about the pool - the kids will LOVE it! More on that in my next update.

Hope you're planning to stick around for a while - and I hope you get that ticker you are looking for.

 

[DisMomAmy]

DH & I finally got a chance to talk about a few more details this weekend and we decided to cancel.................




























the park hopper and waterpark and more options from our park tickets (for now). It will save us over $400 that we have to pre-pay and we can add it on later if we want to. I'm going to try to plan a single park per day, but our kids do well with a change of scenery so I suspect we'll end up adding on the park hopper when we get there. And we'll need to decided before I make ADRs in two weeks!

We're not sure if we are going to visit any waterparks since we have the great pool at CBR. Zachary isn't big into wet rides - especially at waterparks. He hates getting water squirted in his face. We're going to the indoor waterpark near us on the 25th so we'll get a better sense of how he's feeling about water then. Maybe DH will take Alex and Zachary and I can go somewhere else... we'll see.

DH also got confirmation from his boss that his annual bonus will be paid. Apparently there was a meeting where the VPs & CEO discussed it and they decided to only cut their own bonuses. DH is a software engineer so he is in the clear to get his full bonus. We should be able to pay for our trip and have money for DH to put toward a new car that he has to get later this month. We were hoping that it would be a little bit higher, but apparently the long term job he has been working on since mid-December won't be invoiced until after his anniversary date of 1/31 so it won't count toward his bonus. That seems totally LAME to me - but it is what it is and at least he is getting a good bonus and we can still go to Disney and still stay on-site. (If we choose too... more on that later. )

While I was on the phone with the Disney CM (after I listened to some strange techno "It's a Small World" music) I also put in a room request. She seemed very happy to help me request a First Floor Nemo Room (preferred as part of our package). Then I mentioned a corner room and she got a little miffed with my greediness - she said, "well I can't guarantee that" and I said, "oh I understand that, but if it's available that would be my preference" then she basically said good-bye and hung up before she could have possibly entered it into the computer. So I'll be making another call to confirm my room request pretty soon.

 

[carissanboys]

First off - yay on the bonus being a sure thing!

Second - we've never done hoppers and really can't say we wished we'd had them. We're normally too tired to even make a full day at one park so I can't imagine hopping somewhere else. We've also never done the water parks. We barely have time to squeeze everything in as it is! The idea of walking around in my bathing suit does not interest me.

Third - that stinks that you got such a rude CM! I don't think I've ever run into someone who was rude - just some that are less friendly and/or less knowledgable than others.

 

[mousescrapper]

I think it is smart to think about dropping the WP & P part of your tickets, it is a huge savings! We didn't use it our last trip and didn't miss it at all.....

doing a 1-day maybe at one of the WP's could be the way to go you then have the freedom to say that's what we are doing today or not and not feel horrible if you don't go and wasted the money.....

for DH and being assured of his bonus. That is wonderful!

How's the weather by you, more snow? heard on the radio today about some massive car pile up in NH....that's not near you is it?

We got a over a foot over the weekend w/ more snow coming and frigid below zero weather this week. But on the flip side, the girls had a great time Sat afternoon out playing in it and Margaret got to use her new toddler sled she recieved for Christmas. Basically I just pulled her around on the snowy street, but she had fun!

looking forward to more Disney fun!

 

[Charleston Princess]

Hurray for the bonus!!!

We haven't done park hoppers for the past couple of trips, and it does work out okay. We take a mid-afternoon break and then head back to finish up whatever park we went to in the morning. I thought we would miss the park hoppers, but we really didn't. And $400 is a lot of souvie money!

 

[DWFan4Life]

I'm new to this thread and seeing pics here is really amazing. Hopefully I can also share my pics soon.

Have a nice day everyone.

 

[xoktenox]

Hellooooo, just back here getting caught up!

I love love looooveeee that luggage, its too cute! I agree with you and think its a good idea to drop the PH and WPF&M option from the tickets. We have the water park on ours but we plan on going to at least one water park and DisneyQuest. I don't think the park hopper is really necessary and I think you will be good just doing one park a day. Your boys will probably like taking a break during the day too (I know I will like it ) .

 

[DisMomAmy]

First off - yay on the bonus being a sure thing!

Second - we've never done hoppers and really can't say we wished we'd had them. We're normally too tired to even make a full day at one park so I can't imagine hopping somewhere else. We've also never done the water parks. We barely have time to squeeze everything in as it is! The idea of walking around in my bathing suit does not interest me.

Third - that stinks that you got such a rude CM! I don't think I've ever run into someone who was rude - just some that are less friendly and/or less knowledgable than others.

The bonus is a VERY good thing! DH is going to get himself a new car - a VW Jetta - probably this week. We actually borrowed some money from his mom until the bonus comes so we could put some money down on the car and not have to finance it all.

I'm still on the fence about the hoppers - especially toward the end of the week. We like to spend a half day in each park on the last couple of days revisiting our favorite rides... so we'll see. And I agree about the bathing suit. I think Alex will get his fill of thrills at the 4 major parks and can get his water time at CBR - I don't really see the need for a water park. Unless DH wants to take him.

The CM was super nice right up until the end when I requested the corner room. I don't know what was up with that?

I think it is smart to think about dropping the WP & P part of your tickets, it is a huge savings! We didn't use it our last trip and didn't miss it at all..... I'm trying to put together a plan without the hopper - we'll see how it looks - I'll post my intinerary options soon.

doing a 1-day maybe at one of the WP's could be the way to go you then have the freedom to say that's what we are doing today or not and not feel horrible if you don't go and wasted the money..... that's what I'm thinking - and we can just pay oop for it.

for DH and being assured of his bonus. That is wonderful! Thanks!!

How's the weather by you, more snow? heard on the radio today about some massive car pile up in NH....that's not near you is it?

Yes - we got more snow on Saturday night - better than during the week though. And today it's ridiculously cold - and getting colder! That 59 car pile up was crazy - but not near me - I'm way over on the southeastern corner - that was more central/southern.

We got a over a foot over the weekend w/ more snow coming and frigid below zero weather this week. But on the flip side, the girls had a great time Sat afternoon out playing in it and Margaret got to use her new toddler sled she recieved for Christmas. Basically I just pulled her around on the snowy street, but she had fun!

That's funny - I just came across one of those sleds in my basement - I remember those days when they are so little and you bundle them up to the point they can't move!

looking forward to more Disney fun!

Hurray for the bonus!!!

We haven't done park hoppers for the past couple of trips, and it does work out okay. We take a mid-afternoon break and then head back to finish up whatever park we went to in the morning. I thought we would miss the park hoppers, but we really didn't. And $400 is a lot of souvie money!

We usually like to take a mid-day break too - we'll probably do that on most days unless we plan for an early night then we'll just keep going until we feel ready to go. Saving $400 would be a good thing - we'd break even (compared to the condo) and still be able to keep our minivan for the week. Or I could just buy some more souvies...

I'm new to this thread and seeing pics here is really amazing. Hopefully I can also share my pics soon.

Have a nice day everyone.

Thanks for reading!! I wish I had more pictures in this PTR - but I guarantee you lots more in my TR.

Hellooooo, just back here getting caught up!

I love love looooveeee that luggage, its too cute! I agree with you and think its a good idea to drop the PH and WPF&M option from the tickets. We have the water park on ours but we plan on going to at least one water park and DisneyQuest. I don't think the park hopper is really necessary and I think you will be good just doing one park a day. Your boys will probably like taking a break during the day too (I know I will like it ) .

Hi! I can't wait to give the kids the luggage. Then I won't have to hide it in the basement anymore. Originally we thought we would do one WP, maybe 2 and maybe DisneyQuest. But the more I read about DQ the more I thought we should hold off for a couple more years. And with the great pool at CBR - who needs a waterpark, right?

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Hi Amy! Can I join in too?

I only read the first page but will get caught up on the next 19 very soon. Can't wait to hear about the surprise and your trip!!

 

[DisMomAmy]

Hi Amy! Can I join in too?

I only read the first page but will get caught up on the next 19 very soon. Can't wait to hear about the surprise and your trip!!

Glad you came over to join me!

 

[DisMomAmy]

I'm really having an hard time with the idea of NOT park hopping. I think we will end up adding it on when we get there, or before. Here's one example of why... we have 7 days (really 6 1/2 depending what time we get there on Monday after visiting family on the west coast). That gives us 2 days for each of 3 parks and only 1 day for the other park. The most obvious choice would be AK to visit only once. Anybody remember what Alex's two favorite rides were last time??? ToT and "The Yeti Ride." He must have ridden 6 times. And Zachary is looking forward to being tall enough to ride, next time we go, whenever that may be...

It worked out really well last time spending our last two days visiting each park and riding our favorite rides over again. The first part of the week being more for exploring (and riding our favorites too). So for now, I'm planning my itinerary based on park hopping.

Here's my first draft:

Monday 4/27 - check in and head to Epcot. Dinner at Garden Grill (or CS?)

Tuesday 4/28 - AK in the morning/break?/ DHS in the evening (50s PTC for dinner)

Wednesday 4/29 - MK all day - dinner at Chef Mickeys - early night

Thursday 4/30 - Epcot/break/DHS (Mama Melrose F! dinner package)/F!

*********************************************************
This part gets tricky because I don't even have park hours yet...

Friday - Sunday: in no particular order...

A) AK (Tusker house character breakfast - either 8am or late instead of lunch)/break/Whispering Canyon for dinner - early night

B) Epcot (LeCellier lunch)/break/Magic Kingdom - stay for Wishes

C) ??? DHS & Something ???

I'm not in love with this itinerary. I currently have two ADRs for Chef Mickey's - Monday and Wednesday (both at 5:00). We could go to MK on Monday and have Chef Mickey's be our first night - and maybe top it off with Wishes, but TGM recommends avoiding MK on Mondays, so I thought we might want to save it for later in the week. I would like to have one of our later nights be early in the week, but maybe we'll catch Illuminations on Monday?? Fantasmic would be great on Monday night - but it's only showing on Wednesday & Thursday (and I'm guessing Sunday - maybe we'll change F! to end our trip on Sunday??) Or maybe we could start of with MK/dinner at CM/Wishes and test out TGM. We've used him every time in recent history so it's hard to know how we would do without him... I'll have to give that some more thought.

I don't really feel like I can finish up this itinerary until I get May hours, which might not be until after January 27th (my 90 ADR day).

The other thing (I dropped a hint and nobody commented) is that the condo is still an option - which would mean our week at WDW would probably have to be Saturday 4/25- Saturday 5/1. Which would mean a whole new itinerary and a whole new set of ADRs, plus more members of our party.

We talked with DBIL over the weekend and told him what our plans are. He said they would come and meet up with us for a day or two, but since we don't have the condo, they would be on their own for lodging. This is fine for a night or two, but I would feel bad making them spend money to visit us (even if it is at Disney). Plus if we are in the condo, the adults can stay up and chat after the kids are in bed - hard to do at a hotel - with two separate rooms - that may or may not be near each other. So we followed up with an email putting our dates in writing for them and adding that if they had wanted to come and spend more than a day or two with us but the cost would be prohibiting them from doing so, we can still get the condo. They may not even have time off - the kids are in school that week - and DH's mom is going down to visit them for two weeks in early April, so they'll be needing to use vacation time then too. And we haven't heard back from them... I'm guessing we probably won't until we ask them about it - closer to the condo exchange date in late February.

So with all of that in the back of my mind, I'm going forward with my current plans and I'll change them if I need to. I'm sure that will mean a change in some ADRs too - needing to add them on. With that in mind I may want to go heavy on TS early in the week and have some more flexibility with CS for later in the week - or maybe make a back up ADR for a party of 8.

I feel like I just did a brain dump in this post... sorry.

Comments, Questions...

 

[carissanboys]

Good morning and Happy Weekend Amy.

I don't really have any suggestions for you. I can imagine how frustrating it is not having the May hours to help you plan. I've been hearing that a lot around here!

Staying at the condo would definitely have benefits. You've offered your family the option so now it's just wait and see what they say. It's frustrating not having a plan set, isn't it?

(I'm all confuzzled with the quick add smiley changes here ----------------->
on the right!)

 

[DisMomAmy]

Good morning and Happy Weekend Amy.

I don't really have any suggestions for you. I can imagine how frustrating it is not having the May hours to help you plan. I've been hearing that a lot around here!

Staying at the condo would definitely have benefits. You've offered your family the option so now it's just wait and see what they say. It's frustrating not having a plan set, isn't it?

(I'm all confuzzled with the quick add smilie changes here ----------------->
on the right!)

I'm all messed up with the smileys too... some of my faves aren't there anymore so I have to take the extra time to open them all up... oh well - maybe I'll find some new faves.

I've decided to just plan away and change gears later if necessary. What else can I do, right...

 

[MRYPPNS]

Amy I have one word for you....UGH! So you know the Disney Dork in me had to go figure out what my plan would be for your dates. UGH! Not only are May hours not out....April EMH are all over the place so you really can't guess as to what they will be in May. I picked your 4/27 to 5/3 because I'm not a fan of planning around what other people might or might not do....to my way of thinking your family should just go with whatever you plan for your vacation if they want to join you.

Here's what I came up with (no park hopping)

Monday Epcot (no to AK and DS because of EMH, and I just can't go to MK when I can't be there for rope drop)

Tuesday MK (no to EP because of EMH, no to DS because of no F!)

Wednesday Disney Studios (no to AK b/c EMH, yes to DS because of F! that night)

Thursday Animal Kingdom All Day I do AK all day with no break because they close at 5pm....we leave before the parade.

Friday MK (I don't like MK on Saturday nights....and the crowd level is suppose to be really low on Friday which is always nice for MK)

Saturday Epcot (Crowds will be heavier on the weekend and Epcot is good for that.)

Sunday Disney Studios This would be my one park that I would give up a second day at if I wanted/needed to shift something around at the end of the vacation.)

Chef Mickey's....It would still work to go on Monday with Epcot. But since I have no love for Chef Mickey's right now I would suggest either the Cape May buffet or Beaches and Cream for dinner to work in with a break from Epcot that night.

And with only going to AK on Thursday it gives you an early day/night in the middle to either have a quite night at the resort or go to DTD.

 

[DisMomAmy]

Amy I have one word for you....UGH! So you know the Disney Dork in me had to go figure out what my plan would be for your dates. UGH! Not only are May hours not out....April EMH are all over the place so you really can't guess as to what they will be in May. I picked your 4/27 to 5/3 because I'm not a fan of planning around what other people might or might not do....to my way of thinking your family should just go with whatever you plan for your vacation if they want to join you.

Here's what I came up with (no park hopping)

Monday Epcot (no to AK and DS because of EMH, and I just can't go to MK when I can't be there for rope drop)

Tuesday MK (no to EP because of EMH, no to DS because of no F!)

Wednesday Disney Studios (no to AK b/c EMH, yes to DS because of F! that night)

Thursday Animal Kingdom All Day I do AK all day with no break because they close at 5pm....we leave before the parade.

Friday MK (I don't like MK on Saturday nights....and the crowd level is suppose to be really low on Friday which is always nice for MK)

Saturday Epcot (Crowds will be heavier on the weekend and Epcot is good for that.)

Sunday Disney Studios This would be my one park that I would give up a second day at if I wanted/needed to shift something around at the end of the vacation.)

Chef Mickey's....It would still work to go on Monday with Epcot. But since I have no love for Chef Mickey's right now I would suggest either the Cape May buffet or Beaches and Cream for dinner to work in with a break from Epcot that night.

And with only going to AK on Thursday it gives you an early day/night in the middle to either have a quite night at the resort or go to DTD.

Ooooooo... I like!!! I have to read again and take it all in, but it looks good!! I'll have to compare it with my TGM advice (what I have of it so far) and see if it jives. At a quick glance - it does - he uses a lot of the same reasoning you do.

I think we'll be sticking with Chef Mickeys since I have been looking forward to it for a long time - but I completely understand why you would offer some alternate suggestions.

I agree about planning our trip and if family joins us then they join us - even if we have ADRs that don't include them - I'm sure they could find something to do at whatever park we are at. They probably wouldn't want to spend the money for TS anyways. Plus I can always make a couple back up ADRs just in case.

Thank you! Thank you! I'll stew this over and make some more comments later.

 

[MRYPPNS]

I just wanted to give you a no hopping option plan.

 

[DisMomAmy]

I just wanted to give you a no hopping option plan.

Thanks for trying to save me $200!!

I printed out your post and showed it to DH... he says, "Looks Greek to me."