February 2009 .....Anyone else going then?

[BigDogHU75]

We (DH, DS (who will be 22 months), my parents, uncle, and MIL, and of course me) will be staying at AKV from Feb. 7 - Feb. 13. This will be our fisrt trip to Disney with our son, our first trip with extended family, our first trip as DVC members, and our first trip since our honeymoon (2002).

We will be driving down to Disney. My parents will leave from NJ and pick us up in MD. My uncle & MIL already live in FL so they will be driving to Disney together.

I have made ADRs at Boma (breakfast), Crystal Palace (lunch), and for Donald's Safari Breakfast at AK. We did the Donald Breakfast on our honeymoon the morning we left for DCL. We plan on bringing snacks, water, and maybe sandwiches into the parks to cut down on the expense of eating out. For our other meals, we will play it by ear.

Since we have the little one, we definitely made plans for afternoon breaks.

I cannot wait!

 

[Genieswife]

We'll be there Feb.21 - March 1 at CR.`This time of year the weather is great and the crowds are pretty low. We don't enjoy going to any Mardi Gras parades and our kids get the whole week off, so why not enjoy some Disney magic.

 

[Disney Fan Katt]

We will be flying down from PA...I really did not want to pack the stroller because I figured that Disney had the rental BIG wheeled 2 seat carts that you can push around. Getting the stroller checked into the plane and then lugging it onto the busses was not something I was wanting to deal with. DO they have those 2 wheeled carts with the canopy over the top? I know the 4 year old can walk around most of the time but even HE will get tuckered out after walking (who am *I* kidding) make that RUNNING all over the park during the day...that is why I was wanting to do the 2 seat option. Any thoughts?



The Disney strollers are great. I know several people who would like to bring them home to use. We find that it is an easier transition to just have our own. We spend a lot of time on the monorail and just keep our DS in the stroller and wheel him on and off. It is a bit of a hassle on the busses and boats, but we have a 2-1 ratio of parent to child, so it is a little easier. We also like having a tray for food and drinks for our little one, not to mention the beer, I mean juice, cup holders on top for us!

Here is a link to all things Disney Stroller related: http://allears.net/pl/strol_faq.htm

It should answer any remaining questions you have, and they have photos.

 

[smoihusted]

We decided that rather than spend a ton of money on useless junk at Christmas just so that there were presents under the tree, our girls agreed to forgo the present pile for a week at Disney - and thanks to the Buy4 get 3 nights promotion we can finally stay at the Polynesian, which is something our girls have begged for for years. We are so excited! So our trip IS our Christmas this year - we cant wait!!


http://www.**************/id/1233982774.jpg

 

[ofhs93]

The Disney strollers are great. I know several people who would like to bring them home to use. We find that it is an easier transition to just have our own. We spend a lot of time on the monorail and just keep our DS in the stroller and wheel him on and off. It is a bit of a hassle on the busses and boats, but we have a 2-1 ratio of parent to child, so it is a little easier. We also like having a tray for food and drinks for our little one, not to mention the beer, I mean juice, cup holders on top for us!



It should answer any remaining questions you have, and they have photos.

YIKES!......The prices for the rentals are outrageous! I'm now looking into a possible stroller swap or stroller rental from a 3rd party. The last option is getting an umbrella style double and bringing that along. I can't believe what WDW is charging for these things...that is horrible. We have a local amusement park that rents the same thing WDW has for $10 a day! I can't justify spending $200 to rent a stroller for a week...that is just straight up gouging the consumer.

 

[Otootles]

YIKES!......The prices for the rentals are outrageous! I'm now looking into a possible stroller swap or stroller rental from a 3rd party. The last option is getting an umbrella style double and bringing that along. I can't believe what WDW is charging for these things...that is horrible. We have a local amusement park that rents the same thing WDW has for $10 a day! I can't justify spending $200 to rent a stroller for a week...that is just straight up gouging the consumer.

The stroller swaps are on the budget board. If that doesn't work, check out
http://www.orlandostrollerrentals.com/ they have rentals for 85 bucks for a week for top of the line double strollers delivered to your resort and picked up

Harry

 

[Disney Fan Katt]

We decided that rather than spend a ton of money on useless junk at Christmas just so that there were presents under the tree, our girls agreed to forgo the present pile for a week at Disney - and thanks to the Buy4 get 3 nights promotion we can finally stay at the Polynesian, which is something our girls have begged for for years. We are so excited! So our trip IS our Christmas this year - we cant wait!!


http://www.**************/id/1233982774.jpg

We will be there the same week. Look for the frazzled old mom chasing a 2 year old boy around the resort.

 

[ofhs93]

The stroller swaps are on the budget board. If that doesn't work, check out
they have rentals for 85 bucks for a week for top of the line double strollers delivered to your resort and picked up

Harry

Thanks OOOOO'tootles I'll see if I can get the "Mystery Mouse'catool" to work on this issue (I'm assuming that is where your name comes from?)

I checked out the orlando rental place but the stroller they use for doubles appears to have issues for older kids that are over 36" tall. My oldest DS is 4 and currently 42"...so I'm working on getting into a stroller swap at this point. But I appreciate the link for the rental place. Wish me luck.

Craig

 

[Otootles]

Thanks OOOOO'tootles I'll see if I can get the "Mystery Mouse'catool" to work on this issue (I'm assuming that is where your name comes from?)

I checked out the orlando rental place but the stroller they use for doubles appears to have issues for older kids that are over 36" tall. My oldest DS is 4 and currently 42"...so I'm working on getting into a stroller swap at this point. But I appreciate the link for the rental place. Wish me luck.

Craig

Craig,

If you run into trouble with the swaps(you shouldn't) check the posts on the rentals I mentioned. Lots of reviews of folks who have used the strollers they rent with children bigger than yours(my boys are big too and this is a concern of mine) some as big as 50" with parents saying the baby joggers worked well. Just keep your options open. Also yes to where I got my name. We watch MMCH every weekend!

GOOD LUCK!
Harry

 

[ofhs93]

Craig,

If you run into trouble with the swaps(you shouldn't) check the posts on the rentals I mentioned. Lots of reviews of folks who have used the strollers they rent with children bigger than yours(my boys are big too and this is a concern of mine) some as big as 50" with parents saying the baby joggers worked well. Just keep your options open. Also yes to where I got my name. We watch MMCH every weekend!

GOOD LUCK!
Harry

AH..I just noticed your on the list for Royal carriage #4. Have you used one of those joggers on the buses before or are you renting a car for the week? The size of it concerned me being that we will be relying on the buses for all of our transportation.

 

[Disney Fan Katt]

YIKES!......The prices for the rentals are outrageous! I'm now looking into a possible stroller swap or stroller rental from a 3rd party. The last option is getting an umbrella style double and bringing that along. I can't believe what WDW is charging for these things...that is horrible. We have a local amusement park that rents the same thing WDW has for $10 a day! I can't justify spending $200 to rent a stroller for a week...that is just straight up gouging the consumer.

Another option that my cousin uses is to get two umbrella strollers and to buy a clip to hold them together when you need it. I know that they used to sell a fairly good umbrella stroller at Epcot. You can also look at having them delivered to your room.

I think she bought the stroller clips at One Step Ahead.

Good luck.

 

[OZ 877]

My wife and I will be celebrating our 20th anniversary while we are there 1/31 - 2/7. (No kids! ) We are staying 4nts AKL Savannah View with DxDP and 3nts Concierge Level.

We have reservations for both the Sunrise and Sunset Safaries, LaNouba, Epcot Segway Tour, and Discovery Cove.

Dinner reservations at Narcoosee's (2x), Flying Fish Cafe, Coral Reef, California Grill, and Artist Point.

We stayed this same week back in 2007 and the crowds were minimal. Most days we waited a maximum of 30 minutes for the major attractions. We were also able to make dinner reservations for our restaurants on the same day - we were flexible with where and times.

 

[ofhs93]

Another option that my cousin uses is to get two umbrella strollers and to buy a clip to hold them together when you need it. I know that they used to sell a fairly good umbrella stroller at Epcot. You can also look at having them delivered to your room.

I think she bought the stroller clips at One Step Ahead.

Good luck.

Yeah...if for some reason I can't get onto a stroller swap then that is the route I'm going to take. I think I might buy the connectors now just to be safe and then if the swap falls through for some reason I'll be able to pickup a couple of the umbrella type. Amazon has a pretty good deal going on a nice high end Umbrella for $40 with free shipping but I don't want to give up on the swap idea at this point. If I can save $90 to spend elsewhere in the park then I would certainly rather do that

Thanks for all of the tips folks..I'm sure I'll be looking for more advise as my planning moves forward.

Craig

 

[ofhs93]

oops...mistake..sorry

 

[ofhs93]

Another quick question. I have been looking around a bit for this but figured I would ask folks going around the same time....is anyone in this thread participating in a Photopass swap?

 

[Henlady]

Count us in for February - We were at the world in September with the "kids" and grandson. I decided we need to go back for my birthday on Feb 13th . So it's just DH & I for a quick 4 night, budget minded stay from Feb 10 to Feb 14th. We're staying at POP for the first time ever. I'm sure we'll find it more than adequate for a couple of days. We'll also be flying for the first time in many years - we usually "do" the AutoTrain. So this will be quite a switch. We will be using Magic Express for the first time also. Can't wait.

 

[Otootles]

Another quick question. I have been looking around a bit for this but figured I would ask folks going around the same time....is anyone in this thread participating in a Photopass swap?

Now you can help me> What is a photopass swap?

Harry

 

[BigDogHU75]

Count us in for February - We were at the world in September with the "kids" and grandson. I decided we need to go back for my birthday on Feb 13th . So it's just DH & I for a quick 4 night, budget minded stay from Feb 10 to Feb 14th. We're staying at POP for the first time ever. I'm sure we'll find it more than adequate for a couple of days. We'll also be flying for the first time in many years - we usually "do" the AutoTrain. So this will be quite a switch. We will be using Magic Express for the first time also. Can't wait.

We were thinking about doing the auto train. How do you like it? Any tips?

 

[ofhs93]

Now you can help me> What is a photopass swap?

Harry

I meant to say Photopass share instead of swap. I see your signed up on the same one that I am at this point...so I'll assume you found information about them.

 

[alleycat'smom]

We will be there from February 13th through February 21st and we are staying at Port Orleans Riverside.