Cross your heart we're going! Cross it!An Unexpected April Adventure! TR Started!!!!

[Cory's Gal]

Good News!!!

Just wanted to share that we received our 2010 Disney Vacation Planning DVD in the mail yesterday!!! YAY!! Always happy to receive some kind of Mickey Mail! It was so cute too..because when Noah found out he immediately grabbed it and wanted to watch the whole thing. (even though almost all of it is the exact same as last year and we've probably watched the others a dozen times already!!) I'm also considering ordering some new Disney maps as well.Last trip I got the character ones and as cute as they were I think I prefer the old style better. Hmm.... Does anyone know if there is a limit to how many you can order within a year? I ordered some in July of last year (I think) I like to keep them as souvenirs from each trip.

Oh and for anyone who orders anything from the Disney Outlet. There is a coupon today for 20% off the lowest price. I saw a Daisy Duck t-shirt I'm considering??? I think with the coupon it ends up being $3.99.

Yeah! I got caught up! Love the pics of you and your family Angie!! Now I know who I'm typing to
So the new planning DVD is 2010??!!! Good to know because now I can order ours! I haven't done the planning maps before but I like the idea of them especially for Gabe! (Also will be nice to toss in the scrapbook!) Thanks for the reminder for Disney Outlet too, I wanted to see what kinds of t-shirts they have! $3.99 for a shirt, you can't beat it!!!!!! Also, LOVE LOVE the name Noah, it's my brother's name and he is the sweetest guy so I always smile when I see another Noah!!!

 

[Angies1274]

Hi again Angie! I know exactly what you mean about those Disney doubters! Honestly, if someone told me that the only place I could ever go on vacation again was Walt Disney World...I'd take it! Not a problem! Luckily, I have a very good friend here that feels the same way so we can share with each other! She's actually going on a Land and Sea trip this March..her DH just got back from Iraq and they need a little family time!

Anyway...so nice to see your beautiful family again! Woo-Hoo on the Mickey mail! That's always a good day.

Can't wait to hear more plans....keep it comin!

Hi Missy!!
I agree!! I wouldn't be disappointed in the least if Disney was my only choice of vacations!! Oh sure...we've thought about going other places. This year in fact we were thinking about just heading to the beach for a week and as good as that sounds. There is just something about Disney that keeps pulling us back.

That's so wonderful that you have someone that feels the same way about Disney you do. Wow! A land and sea trip! Your friend must be very excited!!I'm hoping we can do that someday!! It sounds like so much fun!

Yeah! I got caught up! Love the pics of you and your family Angie!! Now I know who I'm typing to
So the new planning DVD is 2010??!!! Good to know because now I can order ours! I haven't done the planning maps before but I like the idea of them especially for Gabe! (Also will be nice to toss in the scrapbook!) Thanks for the reminder for Disney Outlet too, I wanted to see what kinds of t-shirts they have! $3.99 for a shirt, you can't beat it!!!!!! Also, LOVE LOVE the name Noah, it's my brother's name and he is the sweetest guy so I always smile when I see another Noah!!!

Ahh..thanks! Yup, the planning DVD is 2010. It's really not much different than last year. They switched up the beginning so it's about the Give a Day Promotion. Plus, I think they have added more about Toy Story Mania, and the American Idol Experience and Kim Possible. You should definitely order the maps. They make great soveniers!! Noah loves when we get them in the mail! He grabs them before anyone else can and usually starts pointing out everything that he wants to do. It's so cute! That's so cool that your brother's name is Noah also. I've always loved that name!!

 

[Angies1274]

Well, before I begin the planning. I must report that we only have 79 days until we leave. YAY!! Noah informed me this morning as he was running around our kitchen island singing "It's only 79 days until Disney, Mommy!!" over and over. He's not excited at all is he? Let's just say since I had just barely woken up and was only working on my first cup of coffee I wasn't quite sharing in his excitement. But, then I realized that I get to share our plans with all of you today and the excitement is back!!!

Plans

Since you already know the Who and the What.....(us and a Disney Vacation!) Let's get on with the Where, When, and Why?

Where

Well....If you know my family, I'm sure you are already guessing by now. Yes!! We are staying at Pop Century Resort again. This will be our
4th trip to Disney and our 4th trip staying at Pop. As much as I wanted to at least try a Moderate this year. (had my eye on CBR or POR) We just couldn't swing the extra since our trip in August took a big chunk out of our vacation money for this year. We knew we wanted to find a way to go back and with a Pincode that makes the rooms $73 dollars a night, we just couldn't pass it up. Besides, we love staying at Pop. We love all the bright colors, huge icons, and the music that plays around the resort. Right now, it just fits our family.The boys love it and so do we...it works for us!!

When

You already know that we are arriving on Monday, April 12th and leaving Friday,April 16th. We have decided to fly out of Syracuse. Some of you may remember from my last TR that we have 2 choices of places to fly out of and both are about 3 hours away. It usually comes down to who has the lowest fare...Syracuse obviously won out this time. We always fly Jetblue. Can't beat the direct flights, TV's and snacks. Another good thing about flying out of Syracuse is that the direct flight is only about 2 1/2 hours!!!

Why

Why Disney? Why only 5 days? Why April? Well, if you're reading this...you all know the answer to the first question. It's just that feeling you get when you step aboard the Magical Express bus and the video starts to play and as you are passing under the Walt Disney World sign, or walking into your resort again or even just how you feel walking back down Main Street....yeah, I think you "get it". But, only 5 days....you ask? Since last August's trip was just as unexpected as this trip is, we had to dip into this year's vacation fund. And as sad as I am that we can't stay longer this year, I don't regret a minute of last year's trip in August. It was so wonderful to take family there and show them what Disney is all about. They loved it and have promised us that they will be joining us when we decide to head back in 2012. Another big reason is that DH vacations are only Sun-Sat. He didn't really want to use up 2 weeks vacation at once so we knew we needed to be back home early on Saturday sometime in case he was scheduled for that Sunday (requesting days off--are not guaranteed) As far as the last question goes I think I explained it pretty well in my very first post but another reason is that I really prefer not to have to pull the boys out of school if I don't have to. Which limits us to school vacations and summer vacations.

Tickets
This is the part I'm most unsure of. Right now I have only booked 2 day MYW tickets with the Waterpark and more option. Since we only have 5 days in Disney and we really wanted to do different things this time such as going to a waterpark and visiting Disney Quest. It's going to limit the amount of time we can spend at the parks. I'm considering getting park hoppers but we're usually one park per day people so I'm still unsure. I still may add an extra day on to our tickets for our very last day. We don't leave until around 4:00pm. We had been planning to visit DTD the last day and maybe do a character breakfast in the morning...so who knows.

The Food!!!
On our first trip to Disney we did the DDP, on the second the QSDP, on our last trip we did the regular Dining Plan again....so this trip we have decided that.........we will do Quick Service again. Why? Well, even though I missed the sit down meals and character meals. We are really trying to stay in budget plus with only 5 days and so many new things we want to try. We figured it would work best for this trip. I'm planning paying OOP for either a Character breakfast our last day or a dinner somewhere on our MK day. However, I've even tossed around the idea of going to T-Rex in DTD with the boys and they got very excited about that! Here's the problem though....ADR's. We are now only 79 days away from our trip and since you can start making your ADR's at 180 days I'm having a hard time getting a ressie for any of the places we want to go. I'll keep trying through and update you on what I've found.

There you have it...a brief description of our plans for this trip. (well, maybe not so brief) But, anyway it gives you an idea of what we are going to do. Of course I have many, many more details to share about attractions, park days, things to buy, things to do. My head is spinning. Now, I remember why you should start planning more than 6 months in advance!! I also thought it would be fun to discuss our favorite Disney movies, rides, or anything Disney for that matter and maybe add some trivia in here in there to make it more fun!! I hope you continue following along on our journey.....Adventure awaits!!!

 

[dismagiclover]

Your plans sound exciting! I especially can't wait to hear about the water parks and disney Quest. I've thought about trying them too! So if you only have 2 park days which parks would you visit? (Obviously Magic Kingdom, but what other park?)

 

[Mickey_Mom]

Plans plans plans!! Yay Noah! Reminds me of Demetri asking me daily when we're going back:

Demetri: "When are we going back to Disney World mommy?"
Mommy: "In December my love."
Demetri: "How long is that?"
Mommy: "Eleven months."
Demetri: "What's a month?"

Pop Century! Two day park passes ... mmm, which ones will you visit? I'm guessing MK and Epcot but you can always add another day to the passes once you get there if it works out. We're one park per day people too, but with the added mix of your ADR dilema right now, perhaps the hopper option will work better depending on what your able to get?

dismagiclover - I'd recommend the water parks and Disney Quest! Hop on over to my never-ending August TR if you're interested in details. We did them for the first time this past trip and they were fabulous!

Is paying OOP for the one character meal more cost effective than upgrading to the regular dining plan? I've never calculated it out -- I might consider it for our December trip if they don't extend the free dining.

 

[Cory's Gal]

Great plans Angie! We stayed at POP last time and had a lot of fun there! I know as my kids get older Waterparks and Disney Quest will be high on their lists of must-dos!! Jet Blue always sounds so nice, especially with their TV's, I wish they would fly out of Minneapolis-St. Paul!! I hope you can get a couple of ADR's when you want them!!! Here's some Pixie Dust for you !!

 

[wdwgirl03]

Yay for 79 days! We are at 74.

Your plans look great so far.

 

[mommytothreeboys]

Is paying OOP for the one character meal more cost effective than upgrading to the regular dining plan? I've never calculated it out -- I might consider it for our December trip if they don't extend the free dining.

Just chiming in here...hope you don't mind Angie! If you are only going to do ONE character meal, it is most definitely more cost effective than the upgrade. Take into consideration, that if you do upgrade, all of your tips come OOP as well. That was the kicker for our family and the main reason we did QSDP!

 

[mommytothreeboys]

Now...for your plans! I'd take 5 days in Disney and 2 park days over what I'm getting this year! LOL!

If I was going to stay Value....and remember with a family of 5, it's not really an option....I'd do POP. I fell in love with it looking at all your TR pics!

T-Rex sounds great especially with the boys! Mine are a little big for the whole dinosaur thing, but I think even they would enjoy it!

When you fly out of Syracuse, shout really loud and maybe I'll hear you! It's only an hour from my house!

Can't wait to hear more!

 

[Angies1274]

Your plans sound exciting! I especially can't wait to hear about the water parks and disney Quest. I've thought about trying them too! So if you only have 2 park days which parks would you visit? (Obviously Magic Kingdom, but what other park?)

We are very excited to try a water park and Disney Quest this trip! The boys have been asking to visit the waterparks since they saw them on the Disney Vacation DVD before our first trip!! You're right, definitely Magic Kingdom. The other park we're visiting is Epcot. We're still trying to decide if we want to add another park day to our tickets....if we do then we have to decide what other park...hmmm....

Plans plans plans!! Yay Noah! Reminds me of Demetri asking me daily when we're going back:

Demetri: "When are we going back to Disney World mommy?"
Mommy: "In December my love."
Demetri: "How long is that?"
Mommy: "Eleven months."
Demetri: "What's a month?"

Pop Century! Two day park passes ... mmm, which ones will you visit? I'm guessing MK and Epcot but you can always add another day to the passes once you get there if it works out. We're one park per day people too, but with the added mix of your ADR dilema right now, perhaps the hopper option will work better depending on what your able to get?

dismagiclover - I'd recommend the water parks and Disney Quest! Hop on over to my never-ending August TR if you're interested in details. We did them for the first time this past trip and they were fabulous!

Is paying OOP for the one character meal more cost effective than upgrading to the regular dining plan? I've never calculated it out -- I might consider it for our December trip if they don't extend the free dining.

Ahhh....Demetri is such a cutie!!!! I love that...."what's a month?"

I know...YAY!! We're so excited to be going back to Pop Century!! It's such a fun resort isn't it? Maybe we can actually finish our scavenger hunt this time!!! Oh...I wanted to ask you. I'm thinking about requesting the 50's section this time. Although we loved staying over in the 80's and 90's, we thought a change of scenery would be nice. How much longer is the walk from the 50's to the Classic Hall than the walk from the 80's section? Is it pretty much the same?

Hmm....upgrading...good question!!! I couldn't really remember myself so I decided to check again and then calculate it out. It ends up being an extra $100, which sounds great at first but then you have to add in the price of tips for each of the meals and extra money for snacks since we use the snack credits for breakfast plus the refillable mugs. (DH has to have his refillable mug) The quick service plan will give us 2 CS and 2 snack credits a day which allows us to use one snack credit for breakfast and then another for a snack at the park later on that night. The boys also like the fact that they get their own refillable mug with the plan. Now to just decide on my ADR!!!!UGH! Although, I checked on Ohana's for breakfast on our last morning and they have a few times avaliable. Love Ohana's!!! It looks like it might be a winner!?!?

Great plans Angie! We stayed at POP last time and had a lot of fun there! I know as my kids get older Waterparks and Disney Quest will be high on their lists of must-dos!! Jet Blue always sounds so nice, especially with their TV's, I wish they would fly out of Minneapolis-St. Paul!! I hope you can get a couple of ADR's when you want them!!! Here's some Pixie Dust for you !!

Hi Beth! Thanks!! We love Pop! We always have lots of fun staying there! The boys are soooo excited to try the Disney Quest and a water park!! It's all they talk about!! Noah's already got it all planned out! DH won't fly unless we can fly Jetblue. I don't mind though...I tend to be a little bit of a nervous flyer and the TV's are a nice distraction! Thanks for the ADR pixie dust!!

 

[DisMomAmy]

Hi! Just joining in! We'll be there just after you - arriving at Disney on 4/25. Your plans look great. Can't wait to count down the days with you.

 

[Angies1274]

Yay for 79 days! We are at 74.

Your plans look great so far.

I know....so excited!!!!! and 74 or actually 73 now for you!!!!YAY!!

Just chiming in here...hope you don't mind Angie! If you are only going to do ONE character meal, it is most definitely more cost effective than the upgrade. Take into consideration, that if you do upgrade, all of your tips come OOP as well. That was the kicker for our family and the main reason we did QSDP!

After doing a few calculations just to compare the 2 plans. I think the QSDP w/ one character meal is definitely the way to go for us-- especially, since we are leaning toward a character breakfast on our last morning. We really liked all the snack credits and the refillable mugs on the QSDP last time and not worrying about saving out extra money for tips was less hassle as well.

Now...for your plans! I'd take 5 days in Disney and 2 park days over what I'm getting this year! LOL!

If I was going to stay Value....and remember with a family of 5, it's not really an option....I'd do POP. I fell in love with it looking at all your TR pics!

T-Rex sounds great especially with the boys! Mine are a little big for the whole dinosaur thing, but I think even they would enjoy it!

When you fly out of Syracuse, shout really loud and maybe I'll hear you! It's only an hour from my house!

Can't wait to hear more!

I agree!!! I'm very happy with our plans! Even if we are only able to tackle 2 parks this time and only be there for 5 days. I'm just thrilled that we can go back for any amount of time!!!

I can't say it enough!! Pop is such a fun resort!! I'm glad you liked looking at all my Pop TR pics because I plan to take a ton more this trip!!!!

Right now, I think we may have narrowed it down to either an Ohana's breakfast or T-Rex. When we visited DTD last April and walked inside T-Rex so the boys could do their Build-a-dino. Noah was just in awe of all the dinosaurs he saw everywhere. He couldn't look at them long enough. It was so cute!

 

[Angies1274]

Hi! Just joining in! We'll be there just after you - arriving at Disney on 4/25. Your plans look great. Can't wait to count down the days with you.

Hi and welcome!!I'm so happy you joined in!! As you could probably tell from my first post, we just love going in April!! Can't wait to go back! I see you have PTR going too!! I'm off to check it out!!

 

[Mickey_Mom]

Just chiming in here...hope you don't mind Angie! If you are only going to do ONE character meal, it is most definitely more cost effective than the upgrade. Take into consideration, that if you do upgrade, all of your tips come OOP as well. That was the kicker for our family and the main reason we did QSDP!

Oh you've got me seriously thinking about it now. I really do love the character meals and there were a few I wanted to try for the first time this trip, but if the free dining isn't extended.... Can I still make ADRs if I haven't purchased the dining plan by the 180 day mark? (Sorry to hijack Angie!)

Oh...I wanted to ask you. I'm thinking about requesting the 50's section this time. Although we loved staying over in the 80's and 90's, we thought a change of scenery would be nice. How much longer is the walk from the 50's to the Classic Hall than the walk from the 80's section? Is it pretty much the same?

We loved the 50's section better. When we were in the 80's/90's section we walked across the parking lot to get to the Classic Hall and the buses. Our rooms in the 50's section were literally 10 steps to the Classic Hall. Really. I counted. It was our luck to get that location in the 50's building, but even if you were to get a farther room, I'd recommend it also for the bowling pin pool. It was less busy than the other pools.

Hmm....upgrading...good question!!! I couldn't really remember myself so I decided to check again and then calculate it out. It ends up being an extra $100, which sounds great at first but then you have to add in the price of tips for each of the meals and extra money for snacks since we use the snack credits for breakfast plus the refillable mugs. (DH has to have his refillable mug) The quick service plan will give us 2 CS and 2 snack credits a day which allows us to use one snack credit for breakfast and then another for a snack at the park later on that night. The boys also like the fact that they get their own refillable mug with the plan.

That does sound like the best plan. You're swaying me....

Now to just decide on my ADR!!!!UGH! Although, I checked on Ohana's for breakfast on our last morning and they have a few times avaliable. Love Ohana's!!! It looks like it might be a winner!?!?

Oh you know I'll recommend Ohana's!

 

[eandesmom]

Angie! I'm so happy for your unexpected April trip. I enjoyed your TR and am thrilled you get to go back so soon as I know you didn't think that would happen. PIN codes are the bomb!

We'll be heading to the "Land" right when you get back from the "World" (well actually the "Adventure" but...you get the idea )

Keep trying on the ADR's, I am sure something will open up.

2 days....I take it you don't plan a whole day at the WP then? DQ is a couple of hours, I would probably lean towards one more day. One thing to consider but it only makes sense if you are not doing DQ is that when we priced it, on the multi day tickets the WP tickets alone were cheaper than the "and more" add on. But I think if you plan to do DQ then it makes sense.

What a lovely time to be going there!!! I flower and garden TR's!

 

[Angies1274]

We loved the 50's section better. When we were in the 80's/90's section we walked across the parking lot to get to the Classic Hall and the buses. Our rooms in the 50's section were literally 10 steps to the Classic Hall. Really. I counted. It was our luck to get that location in the 50's building, but even if you were to get a farther room, I'd recommend it also for the bowling pin pool. It was less busy than the other pools.

Oh you know I'll recommend Ohana's!

YAY!! I'm so glad you liked staying in the 50's section. The boys are really excited to swim in the bowling pin pool. It looked much quieter when we were walking around the resort last time. Which is good, because as fun as the Hippy Dippy pool was-- it was soooo busy. It felt like I was constantly ducking...either because I was being sprayed by the water sprayers or dodging balls that were flying past my head.

Yeah...gotta love Ohana's!! I could really go for some of their yummy juice right now!!

Angie! I'm so happy for your unexpected April trip. I enjoyed your TR and am thrilled you get to go back so soon as I know you didn't think that would happen. PIN codes are the bomb!

We'll be heading to the "Land" right when you get back from the "World" (well actually the "Adventure" but...you get the idea )

Keep trying on the ADR's, I am sure something will open up.

2 days....I take it you don't plan a whole day at the WP then? DQ is a couple of hours, I would probably lean towards one more day. One thing to consider but it only makes sense if you are not doing DQ is that when we priced it, on the multi day tickets the WP tickets alone were cheaper than the "and more" add on. But I think if you plan to do DQ then it makes sense.

What a lovely time to be going there!!! I flower and garden TR's!

Yay! I'm so glad you found me and decided to join in!! I was so thrilled to get a PIN code!!! I should actually thank you because before my August TR ended, you suggested checking out the Disney website and looking into a trip and then saving it. I don't know if that's what did it but if so...THANK YOU SO MUCH for the idea!!

I decided on booking only 2 days as of right now because our flight doesn't get in until late afternoon on Monday. (later flight= better price) Anyways, I figured we wanted a full MK day, a full Epcot day, A waterpark/DTD day. The boys want to go to Disney Quest...me not so much. (I'm really not an arcade kind of person) but I have been holding them off for the last 2 trips. I figured we would do the waterpark in the morning/early afternoon. Then DTD/Disney Quest that night. It's really the last day that makes me wonder whether we should add an extra park day. We need to be on the DME around 4:00pm. I'm not sure it would be worth it?? or even what park to choose...probably DHS since we went to AK last time.

We can't wait to go back for the F&G Festival!! It's so beautiful!

 

[Angies1274]

Oh you've got me seriously thinking about it now. I really do love the character meals and there were a few I wanted to try for the first time this trip, but if the free dining isn't extended.... Can I still make ADRs if I haven't purchased the dining plan by the 180 day mark? (Sorry to hijack Angie!)

Hi Tracy,

Thought I'd jump in...You can make ADR's without having the dining plan. So at 180 days, if they still haven't extended the free dining but you want to book a few character meals just in case, you could. However, if you ultimately decide to do the QSDP later on, then you can always cancel. (is that what you're asking??) If not--maybe Missy can jump in and help. When did they extend free dining last year?

Hey...I just noticed your new ticker!!! Love it!!!

 

[Mickey_Mom]

Hi Tracy,

Thought I'd jump in...You can make ADR's without having the dining plan. So at 180 days, if they still haven't extended the free dining but you want to book a few character meals just in case, you could. However, if you ultimately decide to do the QSDP later on, then you can always cancel. (is that what you're asking??) If not--maybe Missy can jump in and help. When did they extend free dining last year?

Hey...I just noticed your new ticker!!! Love it!!!

Well, I went back thru my PTR and found July 26th as the date they extended the free dining into November/December so there's quite a while to keep my fingers crossed. My ADR date is the beginning of June so I think I'll go ahead and book them and then cancel if need be. Thanks ladies!!

I couldn't help it! I needed the ticker . I haven't booked yet, still putting numbers together .... Universal is officially out - over $400 just for park tickets and then there's transportation, food...

 

[mickeystoontown]

I sure thought that I had posted a day or so ago but apparently I didn't. I think that your boys will like Disney Quest. I am not a gamer either but even I had fun when we went. There are things for all of you to do together and that makes it all the more fun.

You already know that we love the water parks. I can't believe it took us so many trips before we ever even went to one.

 

[mommytothreeboys]

Good morning Angie! Is it raining where you are today?? UGH...rain and mud, I'd almost prefer snow!

Just wanted to chime in on DisneyQuest. I am not an arcade girl either....actually find them very boring! That said...I really enjoyed DisneyQuest. There are a lot of interactive games that the whole family can play....the Buzz Lightyear game, the Pirates attraction, Aladdin virtual reality game, and the virtual create-your-own-rollercoaster were AWESOME! They also have a cool interactive pinball game and a Jungle Cruise attraction that is pretty neat. Of course, the regular video games are there as well, but we didn't spend a whole lot of time on those. All in all, I'd go back. We spent about 3 hours there on the first night we arrived.

Feel free to go back to my TR for some pics and a look at how much fun we had!

Just my 2 cents! Have a great day!