Could use some advice on where to say for a group with varying budgets. sorta long

[ppony]

LONG story short but our trip this dec. was cancelled because of an illness in the family but we'll pick it up again in 2003. But THIS time...my brother and his then to be wife will be coming along. So it'll be my hubby and I and our then 3 1/2 year old son...my mom and my brother and his wife on a sort of honeymoon.
We WERE going to be celebrating our 10 year anniversary but as that is in less than a week and we're going NEXT december the reason for staying in a deluxe as were were going to aren't as strong except I love to stay on the monorail because of my son and my mom has knee trouble so he walking is limited (Fortunately we'll have her handicapped parking pass to be able to park close when we can ) BUT it's still a strong reason to stay on the monorail. The hitch is, my brother and his fiance are really on a limited budget (not like we have money to burn but we're a little better off than they are) yet this is going to be partially a honeymoon so they'll splurge a little but not enough for a week at a deluxe. proabaly justa few nights. We will be renting a minivan to cart us all around. They are not too keen on the idea of taking a bus to our hotel to meet us for whatever and it may not always be feezable to go get them from somewhere else and end up back tracking....See my trouble?

Any suggestions on what we may be able to do to be best for all of us? I know one option I thought about is staying at a moderate the whole time and getting 3 rooms so my mom can stay in her own as opposed to being in ours at a deluxe...but I LOVE the deluxes....I'm in a quandry.

My bro and his fiance want to get together and have a disney planning party so we can help them as they ahve never been there and we've been there several times and staye at 7 resorts on property.

Sorry so long but I tried to make it as concice as possible.

THANKS in advance everone brave enough to read this LONG message.

 

[TammiMcMan]

What a tough decision for you. My feelings are, it was your vacation to begin with, so go with your original plans to stay at a deluxe with your mom. They are beautiful and you really can't beat being on the monorail line with a 3 1/2 year old. I've been there. Be honest with your brother and let him know that it's more convenient for mom and his nephew and it's something that you and DH have been planning for a while. As this is going to be your brothers honeymoon trip with his new wife, I can't imagine you all spending each moment together. I like the idea of you sitting down and planning out an itinerary. That way you can make some definite plans on eating out together, or maybe if mom's willing to babysit, then a night at Pleasure Island for the 4 of you to celebrate. Disney transportation is great, so they shouldn't be overly concerned about meeting up with you. Disney can be a bit traumatizing for a "first timer", but I think that they'd really appreciate having their own space while at WDW.

For what it's worth, I'm planning a trip with my sister's family for 2004. They love camping and budget wise, Fort Wilderness is a great choice for them. Our last 3 trips have been to the Grand Floridian and we can't even imagine staying anywhere else. No problem though, we're going to plan some things together and other things we'll do seperately.

Hint, if you have cell phones, bring them. It makes getting together and finding each other so much easier.

I hope everything works out for you.

 

[crazyforgoofy]

I too feel you don't want to give up the convenience of a monorail resort with your son and mother. I also feel your plan to treat your own family is the right thing.

Depends on when you're going but perhaps a code will allow them to stay part of the week at the deluxe with you and the rest at a moderate (at times the mods are as low as $79 per night depending on season and code availability.) A few nights at POFQ for example then to whatever deluxe you choose (contemporary is cheapest with code along the monorail, isn't it?) I agree with Tammi that some time alone together sounds appropriate for the 'honeymooners'.

Hope your trip is magical!

 

[jel0511]

I'd say stay where you'll feel most comfortable and if your brother can't afford the deluxe, maybe he can split his stay a few nights with you and a few nights alone for that honeymoon. You can meet up, since you'll have a car, maybe your brother can take the car back to their hotel at night, and drive it back to yours in the morning, that way, it really won't be that difficult to meet up in the mornings. You'll be at most a 10 minute ride away, really not all that inconvient, especially if you have a car.

 

[torismom]

Read the DVC rent / Trade Board here on the Dis. Maybe renting DVC points would be a good option for you. It would still give you deluxe, lots of room and can be very good on the pocketbook.

You just would not be on the monorail.We had no troubles and were traveling with a 3.5 and 7 month old. We rented points last year and stayed at BWV. it was wonderful.

 

[eeyore0062]

Perhaps your brother, being that he will be on his honeymoon, would rather stay in a different resort than the rest of the family, and may be too polite to say so. Not to be rude, but I know if I were on my honeymoon, I would. Case in point, a couple of years ago, my family went to WDW. My parents, and my family (DH, DD (then 6) and I stayed at WL, and my brother and his fiancee stayed at PO-R. We had times that we met up with them, and they still had their "alone time" to enjoy themselves that their resort pool, hottub, etc. We ate some meals together, and others we didn't.

Also, this way, you could stay on the monorail, which would better accomodate your child and mother, and they could stay in a resort that would better accomodate their budget, and allow for a more private honeymoon.

Just a thought!

 

[ppony]

Good ideas! In fact I know my brothers fiancee metioned somthing about liking the idea of the wilderness campgrounds. And I do agree if I were on my honeymoon...I actually wouldn't want my family around....but they asked to come and they did say they wanted to be at our hotel as much as possible...but I think it might have just been my brother not having been there before an being a little more comfortable with a veteran.

STILL....I think it needs exploring and I think I want to take the advice to not give up what WE were going for. There's ways to meet and YEP,,,great idea!!! We both have cell phones. TOTALLY didn't occur to me.

Thanks for the advice..I welcome any other thoughts.

Take care you all!

 

[CaliforniaDreaming]

Coronado Springs has the standard resort rooms and a variety of suites - if you wanted something a little more "deluxe", you could go with one of the Junior or One-Bedroom Suites.

 

[mcm]

We have 6, 3 and 1 year old. We live nearby and have gone to WDW with about every combination of ages you can think of. One thing I tell the kidless folks, "Don't worry, you are going to want to ditch us. Doing WDW kidless is a whole other world and I don't want you to miss out."

Why don't you stay in the deluxe, give him the car and parking pass then he'll be able to come and go as he pleases without bus waiting. Then call him to pick you up at the front entrance whenever you need the car.

Having kids is so much fun but WDW kidless, was .... ahhh the life!

 

[suevee]

I agree with mcm. Let him be in charge of the car as he will need it more than you will, or ditch the minivan idea and each get their own car. It would spoil the trip for all if there were any major problems with the transportation. Make a few dinner ressies together and maybe some down time at the pool. Breakfast and dinner are the best times to meet. Lunch can be so variable depending on the kind of day you are having with a 3 yr old. Point out to your brother that your handicapped mom and a 3 year old need a schedule and rest breaks that may not be conducive to active newlyweds.

 

[mcm]

We have 6, 3 and 1 year old. We live nearby and have gone to WDW with about every combination of ages you can think of. One thing I tell the kidless folks, "Don't worry, you are going to want to ditch us. Doing WDW kidless is a whole other world and I don't want you to miss out."

Why don't you stay in the deluxe, give him the car and parking pass then he'll be able to come and go as he pleases without bus waiting. Then call him to pick you up at the front entrance whenever you need the car.

Having kids is so much fun but WDW kidless, was .... ahhh the life!

 

[ppony]

Ha!
Great ideas!!!!
Tis true...ahh the life. This will be our first trip WITH a kid so I all too well remember the kidless trips. This will be different for my hubby and I for SURE!
I love all the ideas and when we do our little Disney planning "party", I'm going to bring them all up.
I think the BEST idea would be for them to get their own car or at least take the minivan (if that's what we get). And believe it for not, we had considered CS since we had never been there before...didn't think if the Jr Suite idea though.
LOVE YOU GUYS!!!!
This board is the best!!!
Take care all!

 

[Mic]

I have to go with torismom's suggestion about renting points from a DVC member. A 2-bedroom would be perfect for your group, and you can split the cost with your brother. Since you are a little better off than he, why not split the cost in half, but let him and his new bride have the master bedroom with the king bed and the jacuzzi. Your mother could sleep on the pull-out in the livingroom, or in one of the queen beds in your room. You will have the benefit of a full kitchen and a lot more space, for less than the cost of 2 deluxe rooms. Also, since you like being convenient to the MK, I would suggest the Villas at the Wilderness Lodge. In order to afford your brother and his wife some privacy, I suggest you request a 2-bedroom lock-off (the "studio" has a separate entrance from the 1-bedroom half of the unit). You can plan to meet up for a meal or 2 during the trip, but other than that, leave it up to your brother to decide when to ditch the family. If this is your son's first time at WDW, I can't imagine your brother not wanting to hang around to see his nephew's face light up at the sight of Mickey, but he may want to abandon the group at nap-time. You have more than a year to work out the details...you can meet once a month for a "Disney planning party" until then!

 

[eeyore0062]

If this is your son's first time at WDW, I can't imagine your brother not wanting to hang around to see his nephew's face light up at the sight of Mickey, but he may want to abandon the group at nap-time.

This may be true, but the guy IS ON HIS HONEYMOON! Also, we must consider the wants of the bride... perhaps she would like to be in a separate resort from the rest of the family. There is more than one side to this.

 

[dahess]

My bros family & mine planned our WDW & Cruise together last November. We had everything planned together, dinners, shows, parks, hotel, etc. While we were at the parks (3 days) we seen each other 2 times & that was around 10 pm at the hotel. While on the Disney Cruise, we seen each other maybe 5 times. We had so much fun planning our trips together it really didn't matter that we didn't see each other that much.

 

[ppony]

Oh, my brother simply ADORES Nicholas. In fact Nick looks more like him than either one of us. BUt yes, it is his honey moon...I'll bring up all of these options with them and let them mull it over. But HE is the one that asked to come because he wants to see Nick's face. Nick's new Auntie loves him to death as well. Our little man...he's such a masher....he's groped her on more than a few occasions and he's grabbed her butt. I SWEAR...it's not at home he's learing thsi stuff! And he's also known for snuggling into another friend's chest. Hey...I only breast fed for 2 and a half weeks (pumped for 7 though)...so it's not that. He's just such a ladies man. BOY did I digress!!!!!!

All such GREAT ideas guys. I can't wait to ahve our planning party!

Oh...and I just had to say... It's our 10th Wedding Anniversary today!!!!!! (26th) YAY!!!!!!!!!!!
10 bounces for 10 wonderful years.