"Excuse me, could you tell me what time it is please?" UPDATE! To DVC or not?

[ash-n-brensmom]

You've been a busy little bee since I last visited your TR! And where are the pics of the purse? That Ferb always manages to pull at my heartstrings! How sweet is he? I'm loving all the updates! It's making me so excited for our trip!

When I have the time to devote to the computer, it's hard to get me off ..the girls were at school and I ignored the filth piling up around me!

Love the relaxing day at DTD and the Ghiradelli Sundaes!
Sounds like you all had a great time at Epcot (yay on a DIS meet) and what a cool way to see Illuminations!

We always plan for one of those days in the middle of the week. It really recharges us for the parks, and shopping is ALWAYS a good thing. It was my first time meeting someone that I knew. I have seen LGMH's before and talked to people, but this was pretty neat! I was happy to see all of Illuminations finally!

Ok, I've neglected my children this morning and caught up. Just kidding, I at least threw them some breakfast.

Yay for everyone liking TT! I'm hoping in the next few years my son will be willing to try it again - so much more fun when we can all 4 ride together! Love the face painting at Epcot too - I asked the kids if they wanted to do that and was shocked that they didn't, especially my DD.

That TSM madness is unlike anything I've ever seen there - and it was way worse this time than our 09 trip. We love the ride too but geez, I carry DD and won't even let her walk b/c people just get so freaking nuts! Glad you enjoyed Fantasmic!

Your slow paced day at DTD sounds lovely. We LOVE DTD - I swear my son like it as much as any park. T Rex is such a fun place to eat too - we got seated in the ice cave this trip and it was so cool! Glad your girls enjoyed it. What size Nerds bag did you get?? My mom surprised me with one while we were there too. I LOVE it - makes me happy at home just carrying it.

I'm jealous that your Spaceship Earth pic showed up on the screen. Everyone else in our group did but some reason my pic didn't show up. I even made an appropriately goofy face. Sorry to hear your food at Rose and Crown was disappointing but what a great table anyway!

That little parade thru PO sounds so cute! We stayed at PO back then it was PO and DL and again at POR on our honeymoon - I just love the surroundings there, so pretty.

What WDW Park Music do you have? I'm always on the lookout for more ways to bring Disney into the house.

HAHA!!! Your poor children! It's hard to find the time isn't it? Something has to go, here it's everyone!! We ran into a few hiccups with Rapunzel and some rides, it was frustrating at times. We did the face painting last year at AK and I was surprised that Stitch opted out. I figured we would run into a problem later in the week when she wanted to get it done and Rapunzel wanted it again, that would have made for a fun argument.
As far as TSM goes, I think we have found the best way with sending Ferb to get the FP's and the girls and I carefully dodge the crowds and meet to ride together standby. It's safer that way!
My Nerds bag is the cross body one, I love it!! Being Pooh sized I tend to have a hard time finding a strap that fits well..but this is good!
Stitch's first pic didn't work on SPE either..don't know why? The R&C wasn't really disappointing because I had read some pretty mediocre reviews, you are basically paying for good seating for the fireworks, and we certainly got our money's worth their!
I have youtube playing with a couple of different sites..MrThemeParkAudio is a good one.

Great finish to the day at EPCOT! I never did get my picture with the fairies - what is Tink wearing?????
Wait - I see me, across the lake, during Wishes - do you see me over in Mexico!?!?

Yep it was a good end..too bad they have to end, though! Oh yeah, THERE you are!

 

[TinkerbellLuvr7]

Sorry about the food at dinner! I went with some friends a few years ago..(while on a quest to eat at every TS in WS, which we did accomplish) and it was for sure one of our least favorite meals. The fish and chips which we all got seemed to be the same as what you get outside but less and you pay more! Our server was great..the food was not and at least you got fireworks with your meal haha. Live and learn I guess!

I'll agree with you on the slide at POFQ. The first time we stayed there I was 7 and my brother 5 and we both loved it. 2 years later now 9 and 7, he loved it, I didn't think it was as great as 2 years ago lol. I think the slide is better at POR right???

 

[lovethattink]

Day Six!!

At this point Ferb told me that he saw a t-shirt and wanted it!! We headed into the MS gift shop and he got a Tron shirt!! It's pretty neat!!

Continued in next post!

OOHHHH!! Tron shirt! We haven't seen any Tron merchandise lately. Going to have to head over there and check it out! Do you remember if they had kid size shirts too?

 

[ash-n-brensmom]

Sorry about the food at dinner! I went with some friends a few years ago..(while on a quest to eat at every TS in WS, which we did accomplish) and it was for sure one of our least favorite meals. The fish and chips which we all got seemed to be the same as what you get outside but less and you pay more! Our server was great..the food was not and at least you got fireworks with your meal haha. Live and learn I guess!

I'll agree with you on the slide at POFQ. The first time we stayed there I was 7 and my brother 5 and we both loved it. 2 years later now 9 and 7, he loved it, I didn't think it was as great as 2 years ago lol. I think the slide is better at POR right???

The slide at POR was definitely better..I even went down it a couple times! But Rapunzel was afraid of it..I think because you couldn't see all of it from below, she was apprehensive of the unknown. I might do R&C again for the view..but Ferb would order something else, for sure. I was actually very happy with my soup and salad.

OOHHHH!! Tron shirt! We haven't seen any Tron merchandise lately. Going to have to head over there and check it out! Do you remember if they had kid size shirts too?

I do remember there being kids sizes. It was in the MS exit gift shop.

 

[Ferb]

OOHHHH!! Tron shirt! We haven't seen any Tron merchandise lately. Going to have to head over there and check it out! Do you remember if they had kid size shirts too?

Not too sure, if they had that shirt in a kids size, but they did have a couple of shirts of various designs...good luck

 

[ash-n-brensmom]

Here is an update that has absolutely nothing to do with this TR, but everything to do with Disney! Ferb and I are seriously considering a DVC resale purchase! Scary, no?
The exchange rate is soooo fabulous right now, and we have no idea how long that will last. If we purchase DVC now, we are basically locking in the cost of our vacations at a very good exchange rate. That could potentially save us a lot of money. We originally were looking at SSR, but upon further review, I am going to show him OKW instead. The necessary points needed is much lower and we would be financing this purchase with our line of credit most likely. Buying at OKW would keep our initial investment down. And I read that they just refurbished there, so bonus.
Thought's, ideas, commentaries...all welcome at this point! This is an exciting, but scary prospect all at the same time!!

 

[TinkerbellLuvr7]

We aren't DVC but I know my mom is hoping that my Dad will sit down for the "talk" if they have it at Vero Beach! She and I have done it at WDW and think it's a great perk since you are able to use it outside of WDW (they vacation to CO a lot). He has refused up until now hoping one of his darling kids will buy into it and he'll come along for the ride but he makes way more money than what my brother or I will ever make but we'll see haha.

I guess we haven't considered resale either but I'm not sure if he would go for that or not..I really have no clue how that even works. Good luck though!

 

[wdwgirl03]

I don't know much about the buying process since my dad's the owner but all I know is that we love our DVC!

 

[teachermommy78]

That is so awesome! We are going for a tour in June! I worry about buying resale because of the loss of perks. I know that those perks aren't a good use of points at all, but it makes me wonder about the future. There will be lots of research before we buy in!

 

[disneydreamingdebby]

Hi! Loving your report. I have to go back to your PTR to fill in some questions...like how old are your girls (I don't know if it is in your siggie- I forget to look.)

Love the special touches of your trip: dh's flower delivery, the Pirate Party (don't know if that is the correct name), the carriage ride. It was cool that your MK had all of the special touches for your room too!

We bought DVC resale a couple of years ago. I don't think the change in perks matters. As we are locked in before the change, I would think that any additional changes would have you locked in. We wouldn't use our points for any of the cases that they are limiting anyway. Although, some people do. (I can't imagine using almost a week's worth of points for a night at the Poly!) Many owners do say that the only guarentee of your contract is that you can stay at your home resort. Currently, you can use your points at any villa, but some caution that Disney can change that.

We own at BCV and SSR. We've stayed at AKV, BWV, BCV and OKW. We didn't love OKW. We've loved all other resorts. You can read about OKW in my Jan trip report if you are interested. If you have any questions, I am happy to answer!

 

[TanzUnited99]

Am afraid I can't be of much help but good luck with the DVC purchase if you decide to do it

 

[MossyCastle]

Hey there!

We are a DVC member. We bought in after my wife convinced me to do it. It was a good decision. We are at the SSR and have stayed all over the parks include the Grand Calfifonian at DisneyLand.

Our Last Stay was at Kidani, that place is excellent as well.

One thing to atch out for is the ending date at OKW. since this was the first the expiration date will come up faster than the newer resorts. I have not stayed at OKW, but I have heard they are nice. Also OKW is said to have the biggest rooms as compared to the other resorts.

Exchange rate:
While today the exchange rate is fantastic, you do need to consider the future. if the exchange rate goes back to $1.50 CA to $1 US you will be paying alot more for your maintenance fees annually. You just need to factor that in when you do financial planning.

Good Luck and Welcome Home....

PS. Go ask questions on the DVC forum. Lots of good info there.

 

[ash-n-brensmom]

We aren't DVC but I know my mom is hoping that my Dad will sit down for the "talk" if they have it at Vero Beach! She and I have done it at WDW and think it's a great perk since you are able to use it outside of WDW (they vacation to CO a lot). He has refused up until now hoping one of his darling kids will buy into it and he'll come along for the ride but he makes way more money than what my brother or I will ever make but we'll see haha.

I guess we haven't considered resale either but I'm not sure if he would go for that or not..I really have no clue how that even works. Good luck though!

HAHA!! That's funny...our girls are a little too young to rely on them to buy,..but that's a good strategy for your Dad! Buying resale wouldn't allow us to use our points anywhere but DVC, except through exchanges with RCI and a couple other companies. We are okay with that, though.

I don't know much about the buying process since my dad's the owner but all I know is that we love our DVC!

Good to know!

That is so awesome! We are going for a tour in June! I worry about buying resale because of the loss of perks. I know that those perks aren't a good use of points at all, but it makes me wonder about the future. There will be lots of research before we buy in!

I hear ya..lots of speculation on the DVC boards about them changing policies in the future as well.

Hi! Loving your report. I have to go back to your PTR to fill in some questions...like how old are your girls (I don't know if it is in your siggie- I forget to look.)

Love the special touches of your trip: dh's flower delivery, the Pirate Party (don't know if that is the correct name), the carriage ride. It was cool that your MK had all of the special touches for your room too!

We bought DVC resale a couple of years ago. I don't think the change in perks matters. As we are locked in before the change, I would think that any additional changes would have you locked in. We wouldn't use our points for any of the cases that they are limiting anyway. Although, some people do. (I can't imagine using almost a week's worth of points for a night at the Poly!) Many owners do say that the only guarentee of your contract is that you can stay at your home resort. Currently, you can use your points at any villa, but some caution that Disney can change that.

We own at BCV and SSR. We've stayed at AKV, BWV, BCV and OKW. We didn't love OKW. We've loved all other resorts. You can read about OKW in my Jan trip report if you are interested. If you have any questions, I am happy to answer!

Thanks, I have checked it out! I was hesitating because of that stay where you own theory. Especially since you never know what can happen in the future regarding their policies. I know that the option to rent out our points and use that money to stay elsewhere is still available, and that would be okay with us if we were desperate to stay at a non dvc resort. Again, that option could be taken away sometime too.

Am afraid I can't be of much help but good luck with the DVC purchase if you decide to do it

Thanks, can always use some luck!!

Hey there!

We are a DVC member. We bought in after my wife convinced me to do it. It was a good decision. We are at the SSR and have stayed all over the parks include the Grand Calfifonian at DisneyLand.

Our Last Stay was at Kidani, that place is excellent as well.

One thing to atch out for is the ending date at OKW. since this was the first the expiration date will come up faster than the newer resorts. I have not stayed at OKW, but I have heard they are nice. Also OKW is said to have the biggest rooms as compared to the other resorts.

Exchange rate:
While today the exchange rate is fantastic, you do need to consider the future. if the exchange rate goes back to $1.50 CA to $1 US you will be paying alot more for your maintenance fees annually. You just need to factor that in when you do financial planning.

Good Luck and Welcome Home....

PS. Go ask questions on the DVC forum. Lots of good info there.

Thanks for your perspective!! I agree that the exchange rate is something to worry about, and that is actually the deciding factor for us to buy. We figure the exchange on maintenance fees is going to be less than the exchange on regular resort fees. Consider we just paid almost $1000 to stay at POR with a pin code discount, and our maintenance fees would be around $450. These will of course go up as the years go by, but so will the cost of staying at a WDW resort. So apple to apples it's a better deal in our minds.

 

[teachermommy78]

Lol of course my accountant husband had to be a stick in the mud and figure out that it would be about 20 years before it paid for itself in our family. Maybe the tour will give him some better feelings!

 

[ash-n-brensmom]

FINALLY, I am back on here to update our TR!!! We are on to day Seven...

We headed back to the MK this day for our last day there...so we thought!
MK was open from 9-9 with MSEP at 8 and Wishes at 9. We made it just in time for RD and we were squished up to the ticket scanners with LOTS of people crowding.

We made our way into the park and headed straight for this ride:

We love this to be our first ride of the day...and there was a short line to ride. This little guy was hanging out in front and we managed to get a couple of sneaky shots with the girls:

I liked the pic I took like this from last year...this one, not so much..but here you go anyways:

We were in front of these two crazy kids:

A shot from up above of the construction:

We continued around Fantasyland from there and rode PPF..and while we were walking around we saw this pretty lady with only a couple people in line:

I had to get in on the act...she IS my favorite!!

Next we rode something we had to miss last year because of the line refurb:

The girls enjoyed the play areas..and the honey pictures were neat!!
When we exited this ride we saw these two walking over to their meet and greet area. Stitch wasn't interested in meeting them, so she and Ferb headed over to ride HM while I waited with Rapunzel:

We headed over to meet up with Stitch and Ferb and Rapunzel insisted on trying this..look how hard she was trying:

Continued in next post:

 

[Kurby]

We continued around Fantasyland from there and rode PPF..and while we were walking around we saw this pretty lady with only a couple people in line:

:

ohhhhh Mary. DD LOVED Mary. and that IS the Mary she met

 

[ash-n-brensmom]

Next we met up with Ferb and Stitch and they had a decent ride with some ghosts...
We all headed over to Frontierland grabbed fp's for Splash Mountain and grabbed lunch at The Golden Oak Outpost and sat and ate in the area inside Pecos Bill's. This was a good lunch...

Chicken Flatbread with fries:

Chicken sandwich with fries:

Chicken nuggets with fries:

Stitch and I rode Splash Mountain while Rapunzel and Ferb did something? We can't remember what though? I know..horrible!! I will have to ask Rapunzel, but she is at her friend's house right now!!

We grabbed FP's for BTMRR to use later and decided to head back to the room for a swim and a rest. This was Stitch and Ferb on the bus that day being silly when I asked them to show their shirts for a pic:

We really had a great Mousekeeper, look what she did this time:

The snake is eating a mouse!!!

We had to check out the next day, , so I made a quick start at packing, and then we headed out to swim..it was really nice having that pool right out our door!! We got dressed and headed back to the MK. The plan was to get on some rides, eat dinner at The Plaza and watch MSEP and Wishes. This is how it actually went...
We used our FP's for BTMRR:

Someone likes this ride

Ferb and Stitch rode POC while I took Rapunzel to the little girl's room and then we headed back towards the front of the park for dinner at The Plaza.

Our reservation was for 6:35 and we got there a little early. We checked in and it had started raining. We ducked under cover and waited for our name to be called. They announced that they were keeping the park open an extra hour that night, it was pretty busy at that point, but then the rain got worse and worse and people were leaving in droves. I started thinking that they were going to cancel the parade. They called our name and we got a great table by the window. I was hoping we could get our dinner done in record time because we REALLY wanted to see the parade.

Here are some neat pics I took of the castle through the window...it was better in person but you get the idea:

We really liked our meal here...the service was good and it's a cute place to eat!! Rapunzel ate off the kids menu and got salad and a turkey sandwich:

How cute is this?

Stitch and I shared a cheeseburger and fries..they split it for us in the kitchen and brought it on separate plates...not a big deal, but so nice not to have to cut it ourselves at the table! I'm pretty sure they gave us extra fries, too!

Ferb had the club sandwich:

For dessert Rapunzel got the Mickeylodeon sundae, too cute and just the right size:

Stitch and Ferb shared a brownie sundae:

I got a regular hot fudge sundae, no pic it was too bright.

After dinner we headed out only to find out they were canceling the parade. We were bummed, but we decided to make the best of the rain and low crowds and went over to Tommorowland and rode Buzz Lightyear and saw Monster's Inc with NO wait!! It was great.

I was really hoping to see the new Castle Memories show and Wishes. Thankfully they didn't cancel that...we had our ponchos on and it was still drizzling, but we got an awesome spot in the hub right in front of Casey's and watched the castle show and Wishes!! Sorry no pics, but we just wanted to enjoy it, kwim?
What a great way to end your last night at the Magic Kingdom.
Tomorrow is our last day we we planned on going to Animal Kingdom...how did that work out?

 

[lovethattink]

Great pics! The castle looks great through the window. I love the Plaza restaurant!

Your mousekeeper was the best mousekeeper I've ever seen!

You will need to come back May 16th. Phinneas and Ferb make their debut at at new character meet and greet.

 

[wdwgirl03]

It's amazing how that construction is coming along. My sister and I wanted to ride Dumbo just to see it but didn't get around to it.

The new Pooh area is so adorable. The honey thing was neat!

 

[TanzUnited99]

Yay on riding Dumbo and getting those pics of the expansion - can't wait for it to be finished

Am looking forward to meeting Mary Poppins - she sure is great!

Your mousekeeper sure had some fun! Thanks for the food porn and am glad you still managed to watch the Castle Memories show and Wishes