DONE 7/28!! My Life on the DVC Blacklist - an August '09 Pre-Trip.

[DisneyJo]

He (who-shall-not-be-named-but-will-most-definitely-start-arm-flailing-and-neck-craning-upon-mention-of-this) knows that we got the company condo in February.

OMG LL you're hilarious

I KNOW!!! It just feels wrong. It won't be the same at all, but we so need a Flat Jo to bring with us!

Wow no comments about me not being flat, I'm amazed

 

[boysmom5150]

pssssst go down for a solo trip

(and I'm definitely not an enabler LOL )

NO not an enabler at all LOL

I wish it were that simple but I have another son and if he went and not the older one --well lets just say there would be NO PEACE at our home.

 

[askelton]

I wish it were that simple but I have another son and if he went and not the older one --well lets just say there would be NO PEACE at our home.

My mom went to Australia with my sister and not me when we were in college. I'm not still bitter.

 

[sharkB8HooHaHa]

When you wish upon a star… your dreams come true.

Not that I’m enabling, mind you.

Hey lady, I've got dibs on that star!

Enabler? You? Never.

And I'm not happy.

About not being able to be listed as one of the travelers in this PTR.

Darn tootin'.

How can I be a chink in the chain??

We'll share the guilt, LL.

It's been killing me.

I'm dying to make the call.

I've been fuzzy mathing all over the place

I could always cancel if we can't make it...

You read my mind...

He (who-shall-not-be-named-but-will-most-definitely-start-arm-flailing-and-neck-craning-upon-mention-of-this) knows that we got the company condo in February.

Hmmm...maybe I could just book a short stay. Just for a few days...

Just a few......

 

[englishrose47]

Hi V! I vote you all go in September to save me from the Family! I will be the biggest enabler on this thread

 

[englishrose47]

Almost forgot (Where's Kristel!!!!) Love the pix of you and Leo!!!

 

[lovemyblt]

NO not an enabler at all LOL

I wish it were that simple but I have another son and if he went and not the older one --well lets just say there would be NO PEACE at our home.

Darn those kids! spoiling our Disney fun
My kids have informed me if DH & I go without them they will not be speaking to us LOL

My mom went to Australia with my sister and not me when we were in college. I'm not still bitter.

ACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! well hmmph that wasn't fair

 

[T-i-double-g-err]

Darn those kids! spoiling our Disney fun
My kids have informed me if DH & I go without them they will not be speaking to us LOL

We did an adults-only trip for our 11th anniversary. The kids got over it.

 

[GreatBiscuit]

I seem to be channeling Cyndi Lauper today. Only without the Technicolor hair. I left that in the 80’s, thank you very much. (NO Bibbidy Bobbedy Boutique)

DED

And, if I’m to be honest, there isn’t anything all that unusual about my WDW crew. I’m sure readers will find commonalities with any one of us. Which, of course, is what makes reading the trip report ramblings of complete strangers interesting in the first place.

But we do have our share of idiosyncrasies, unique personality traits, and preferences. That, put together in a hotel room for several days, could unravel the nerves of even the most chillaxed Buddhist monk.

Double DED

Gramma’s “Favorite” ride, by the way, is the drive back home.

I know several who share this sentiment!

How freaking cool is that?!

Pretty Freaking

Not that I’m enabling, mind you.

Like any of us need enabling!

Next: Six-year-olds are the most interesting planners…

I can raise a hand of testimony to that one!


Great update! - Glad to finally be able to put a name to a face.

 

[BigDogHU75]

Loving your PTR thus far. Subbing.

 

[Sooze]

Hi V! Hey, did you know that's a grocery store chain in Iowa... HyVee?!

There's your random thought for the day....

 

[TheDISneyFamily]

I'm here! Sorry for the 'fashionably late' post after such an awesome introduction. I AM SO EXCITED we get to see you guys again in August! Plus Janet, and Tracy... Hey LL! - just BOOK IT already and have the fight with DH later. What about Kate? Is she going, too? Keep me posted on any updates and changes for August. You know how bad I am with posting consistently on the DIS, but I try! I can't wait to try out the new Contemporary Outer Rim lounge with you guys! Should be a blast! - no pun intended... Oh, and Susie, we WILL get together this year, I promise!

 

[jcc0621]

I'm here! Sorry for the 'fashionably late' post after such an awesome introduction. I AM SO EXCITED we get to see you guys again in August! Plus Janet, and Tracy... Hey LL! - just BOOK IT already and have the fight with DH later. What about Kate? Is she going, too? Keep me posted on any updates and changes for August. You know how bad I am with posting consistently on the DIS, but I try! I can't wait to try out the new Contemporary Outer Rim lounge with you guys! Should be a blast! - no pun intended... Oh, and Susie, we WILL get together this year, I promise!

Not that she is enabling or anything LL

 

[englishrose47]

HyVee!!!!! Sorry couldn't resist !!!

re you by any chance also going in September ?????

 

[PrincessV]

too CUTE!!both of you

Thank you! He was mad at me the rest of the night for "making" him take a nice picture. Dontcha just love age 6?!

I hope I can make it work, but it doesnt look good. P and Happy are going to a hockey camp that week, if I were able to chg the dates I would then have to chg airfare and deal with those penalties on 2 trips. GOod news is P said I could look into it but I just have a feeling its going to be lots of $$$$$

Ouch, airfare penalties are seldom kind. But if it somehow works out... you'll know where to find us!

Probably a smart idea.

Yep. I'll have to tell him at some point, but I'm not ready yet!

Wow no comments about me not being flat, I'm amazed

Enabler? You? Never.

I've been fuzzy mathing all over the place

And I've been enjoying it! Anything Fuzzy and new this week?

Almost forgot (Where's Kristel!!!!) Love the pix of you and Leo!!!

Thanks Rosie!

Like any of us need enabling!

Exactly!

I can raise a hand of testimony to that one!

Fascinating, isn't it? Based on what I've experienced so far with letting Leo help plan, I suspect The Plan come Aug. won't even vaguely resemble what's going on now, lol!

Loving your PTR thus far. Subbing.

Thanks so much, and welcome!

Hi V! Hey, did you know that's a grocery store chain in Iowa... HyVee?!

Shut up - seriously?! I want royalties!

I'm here!

Yaaay!!! I was about to send a search party!

Hey LL! - just BOOK IT already and have the fight with DH later.

I can't wait to try out the new Contemporary Outer Rim lounge with you guys! Should be a blast! - no pun intended...

Maybe we need a rolling Focker meet - start with a revisit to the Tambu and then monorail it over to the Outer Rim for a new tradition!

Are you by any chance also going in September ?????

Way too early to say, but maybe for just a day!

 

[englishrose47]

V I hope your Day in Sept is between the 12thand 20th!!
Are you still gonna be there in May?????

 

[lazydoxy66]

You guys crack me up. Just one big bunch of enablers.
V shame on you for not telling Leo about the People Mover!

Sorry Rosie, I won't be at WDW until the 27th. Rockie's B-day is Oct. 2nd. So I'll miss you guys and the IP-DIPS, Darn it.

 

[PrincessV]

Are you still gonna be there in May?????

Yep, though we're still unplanned beyond the resort!

V shame on you for not telling Leo about the People Mover!

Trust me - that's not a conversation I'm looking forward to having.

 

[PrincessV]

Okay, now comes the tough part. From here on out, the pre-trip installments don’t really have any specific themes – it’ll pretty much be whatever I’m thinking and/or what’s been going on regarding the trip in question.

Which is really, really hard to wrap my mind around! I like themes when I write. At work, I find an angle among the madness of notes and bullet points before I can even conceive of starting the actual writing. Ditto for school.

This… random thoughts dispelled at random times… feels an awful lot like blogging. Twittering. Facebooking. And all those other “ings” that mean “I’m so narcissistic that I want the entire world to know that I’ve just treated my dog for fleas and will soon be heading to the store for pimple cream.”





Hey – I’m allowed to poke fun.
Know why?
Because I do it, too.

What’s worse is that I’ll soon be doing it… as PART OF MY JOB!!! Good grief.




Anyway, I digress. I’m here to tell you about what’s been happening with our Aug. WDW trip plans.

For starters, there’s been a little change in resort.





















BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!!!


Had you going, didn’t I?! No, no – we’re still booked at AKV on DVC points and that’s not changing.

But there is a change; an addition, to be exact. For years, I’ve read about other DISers’ week-long or more Disney vacations with some envy. Heretofore, my longest stay was 6 nights/ 6 days. And it was great! We never felt the need to rush around seeing “everything” and had a ton of downtime. V likes downtime. So does Leo.

Given our summer camp and vacation schedules, I saw a great opportunity to lengthen this trip by a few days and requested that vacation time from work.


That’s when things got tricky. I had to pick a place to stay.

It would have to be a cash booking, since my yearly DVC points allotment is already accounted for. Sadly, that doesn’t even begin to narrow down the possible options.

With no clear front-runner, I settled down for some serious number and ambience crunching. Yes, ambience crunching. Numbers aren’t everything – I need the place to feel right. Remember? Big Picture. Just how would any given resort fit into the trip – how might one enhance the experience over another - based on the time of year we’re going, the people with whom we’ll spend some time, the parks we’ll visit, the meals we’ll eat (which is a WHOLE ‘nother saga – aren’t you glad you signed on to this thing?!), and the secondary resort at which we’ll stay. You might want to think of it as Fuzzy Crunching.

Unless you’re eating, in which case you’d best not.



Fuzzy Resort Crunching With V – Vol. I

My first Fuzzy step was the instant elimination round – get rid of the All Stars. Been there, didn’t like ‘em, not going back. Pop Century also gets the boot for lacking a fridge in every room.

Also out of the running form the outset were Port Orleans Riverside and French Quarter. I actually like both places – love their grounds, actually. But the rooms have seen better days and, if it’s an option, I’ll always take a freshly refurbished room over an old, run-down room.

I was feeling pretty good about how quickly I’d whittled down my options… until I realized that still left me 10 regular resorts and 6 DVC resorts to crunch Fuzzily!

Next round – AKL and AKV were eliminated. Because we’ll already be there for five nights and I wanted something different for these three.


At that point, I thought upon the situation for a few days, mulling the choices around and trying to get a vision of what our trip might look like at each.

Didn’t help. I was still undecided.


It hit me then – I should go online and see what availability was even left at that point; that might narrow the options considerably!


Nope. For July 30-Aug. 2, there was availability at every single resort, in every single room category. Holy carp – it’s a wonder this state even has a pulse with tourism down that much!



And I was still at a loss. So the Fuzzy Crunching got serious. It was time to consider minute details…

Caribbean Beach – love the pool and grounds; like the rooms well enough; kind of over it, though – I’ve been there a bunch in the past few years.

Coronado Springs – love the newly renovated rooms; really don’t love the pool; hate the food court. Could the fresh, pretty rooms be enough to sway me? Eh.

Wilderness Lodge – love everything about it; pool was pretty crowded last July; we’d just been there last summer. Still, a definite contender.

Yacht Club – old rooms. ‘Nuff said.

Beach Club – gorgeous new room décor; amazing swimming complex; hot walk to Epcot; hoo boy it’s pricey with no discount!

Boardwalk Inn – beautiful new rooms; scary clown pool is, well… scary; hoo boy, it’s pricey, too!

Villas at Wilderness Lodge / Boardwalk Villas / Beach Club Villas – all older rooms; no DVC discount available

Old Key West / Saratoga Springs – rooms are okay; grounds are nice; DVC discount available. Possibilities there.

Polynesian – good lord but we love this place!; we’re already staying there in May with a hefty discount; I threw up a little at the July price. Nope.

Grand Floridian – never stayed there; the pools have called to me for years; rooms look okay; passed out cold upon seeing the July price. Nuh-uh!


So, unless I’ve missed something, those were all the choices….





…oh, WAIT! I’m missing one, aren’t I?!

The Contemporary – Leo and I just love this place, from the monorail sailing through it, to the lakeside location, to the Bauhaus-esque design aesthetic (yes, Leo enjoys Art History, too). First time we stayed there was just after they’d begun room renovations and we got a brand-new room in the South Garden Wing. Leo took three steps in and said “Mommy THIS is a nice hotel room!” And he was right – it was so soothing and comfy and relaxing in there. And, despite its lack of theme, we enjoyed the pool very much.

Here’s where Leo comes in. Wanting him to feel a part of the planning, I narrowed it down to the Wilderness Lodge and the Contemporary and asked him which he liked better.

His answer? “I like them equally.”

V: “Yeah, but we can only pick one. Which do you think we should stay at?”
Leo: “You decide Mommy. I trust you!”

So much for letting Leo feel a part of the planning!


I told him I was leaning toward the Contemporary (CR) because we hadn’t been there in a couple years, we really liked the rooms and it would be fun to watch the monorail. He agreed!

And, lucky day, a Standard View Garden Wing was available last week for a cost just less than what I’m paying at a discount at the Poly!

That’s how I’m rationalizing it. I’m hoping for an Annual Pass discount before July, but if I can’t get one, I’m okay knowing I’m still paying less than the Poly at a discounted rate.

Fuzzy Disney Math at its finest, folks.



So, as of today, we’re booked for three nights at CR, followed by five nights at AKV. I think the two resorts make for a nice contrast, essentially giving us two vacations in one. The Big Picture shows us feeling pampered and spoiled as we release the weighty stress of school and work from our shoulders and melt into vacation bliss. Oh yes, I can see it perfectly.


Coming soon: More planning with Leo, Spreadsheets are the Devil, and Restaurant Roulette.

 

[jcc0621]

Hey – I’m allowed to poke fun.
Know why?
Because I do it, too.

What’s worse is that I’ll soon be doing it… as PART OF MY JOB!!! Good grief.

That is just so not right!

That’s when things got tricky. I had to pick a place to stay.

And so it begins

Pop Century also gets the boot for lacking a fridge in every room.

This is the only thing I have found to dislike about Pop so far. Otherwise it's Jimmy's favorite...of course it's the ONLY one he's been too

Caribbean Beach – love the pool and grounds; like the rooms well enough; kind of over it, though – I’ve been there a bunch in the past few years.

Hae you stayed in the new Pirate Rooms yet?

Wilderness Lodge – love everything about it; pool was pretty crowded last July; we’d just been there last summer. Still, a definite contender.

And you could say howy to mom

So much for letting Leo feel a part of the planning!

But he is so cute

Fuzzy Disney Math at its finest, folks.

You are the master

Coming soon: More planning with Leo, Spreadsheets are the Devil, and Restaurant Roulette.

Can't wait