Free Dining Designing!

[lovedonaldduck]

I have my sights set on a Free Dining trip! As I'm formulating my plans, I want to share with my DIS friends from the very beginning. We don't have dates yet, but I'll let you know what our considerations and constraints are.

• I only have 4 vacation days left to use this year
• We don't want to take DD out of school for more than a couple days
• My dad travels for his job and is gone for about 6 weeks at a time and his schedule is subject to change at any time
• I need a minimum of 4 park days

Prior to Free Dining being announced, I had ruled out any chance of another 2014 trip - given vacation and budget constraints, but when I saw free dining, I thought I'd rerun the numbers and check out the dates. DD has two school breaks that overlap with free dining and having our meals for free helps with budget constraints!

Once free dining goes public tomorrow, I will be booking a November trip and a December trip and then once we get to the 45 day mark, we'll see if it looks like my dad will be able to make either trip and make a decision. As of now, it looks like my dad should be home for both of the dates that work for us. If that stays true, I think we'll go with the November trip because crowds should be a little less.

My plan was to try for POFQ with POR as my back up. I read the fine print on the Disney Visa offer and both of those resorts are excluded! Now I don't know what to do. We've only stayed at CBR once, but the double beds are a huge drawback for us. DH and I sleep in a king sized bed at home so a double bed is a tight fit. We've stayed at CSR twice, we loved it our first trip but after our second trip, we swore we'd never stay there again. This has me contemplating either a value or a deluxe resort.

Just ran some numbers and a deluxe resort isn't looking like a possibility. I'm thinking one of the following may work, with my major concern listed after:

• CBR - double beds
• CSR - bad experience
• Pop - double beds/room size
• ASSports - double beds/room size
• ASMusic - double beds/room size
• FWC - sharing with parents/double bed
• AoA - sharing with parents
• ASMusic - sharing with parents/pull out bed

We've stayed everywhere but AoA. I'm going to discuss with DH tonight so I can book something tomorrow - but I'd love advice. The comment about sharing with my parents is about not being able to get away and have our own space. I love my parents and they are a huge help with the girls at Disney, but at the end of the day, it's nice to have our own space to go back to.

I will be back to do intros, but I wanted to start sorting through my thoughts before I have to get something booked!

 

[lovedonaldduck]

To anyone who may have been waiting to hear about my Spring Break trip - I will either include it here or go back and convert my Spring Break PTR to a trip report. I have every intention of finishing that report - just need to get my pictures straightened out.

 

[ljcrochet]

Can't wait to see what resort you decide on.

 

[lovedonaldduck]

After talking to DH last night and giving it some thought, I had made a decision this morning CBR. Then, I had a second thought - if we're going to be sleeping in double beds anyway, why not stay at a value? I am currently pricing out CBR and ASSports to see what the cost difference will be. Even though DH isn't a huge fan, I am throwing Pop into the mix due to the dedicated busses. I think I'm going to leave the final decision to DH. I've narrowed it down to 3!

 

[lovedonaldduck]

So, we haven't made any decisions yet. DH is having a hard time understanding why I'd want to book trips that I have no idea if we'll actually be making. I don't want to miss out on Free Dining, in case we can make a trip so I'll have to try and explain that to him again

While I was running numbers and researching yesterday - I found another set of dates that may work. So now I'm looking at September, November, or December. They each have their own plusses and minuses but the biggest determinant is going to be my dad's schedule.

Essentially, we've made no progress from yesterday except for adding more options. The Disney dreamer in my loves it - I may get to plan 3 trips! Even if we only take one, planning is so much fun just having the possibility is exciting (to me).

 

[disneychic2]

Hi Jennifer! I'm checking in. I'll be back later to get caught up. I'm so excited that you're getting to plan a trip for 2014. Doesn't matter WHEN it will be, just the fact that you get to go is awesome!!

 

[lovedonaldduck]

Hi Jennifer! I'm checking in. I'll be back later to get caught up. I'm so excited that you're getting to plan a trip for 2014. Doesn't matter WHEN it will be, just the fact that you get to go is awesome!!

That is exactly how I feel, Lois, a trip to Disney is always a good thing! Our only issues are my dad's travel schedule and saving the money. I think we may end up in a situation where my dad will actually be home for all 3 of the potential trips. If that's the case we'll have to decide which is the best option based on crowds, price, and Peyton's school schedule. The budget front is relying a little bit on DH getting this new job. He had the interview yesterday but it's going to be a 30-60 day hiring process. He felt like things went well yesterday so hopefully he'll get an offer. The increase in his salary should easily cover a free dining trip and our trip to Vegas early in 2015. But, I'm not counting my chickens before they hatch - we'll be saving towards the goal regardless and if the job doesn't come through, we'll either save the money anyway or we'll wait until Spring Break 2015.

 

[sewmess]

Good luck for your DH's new job.

We always stay at CBR, but double beds don't bother us in the least.

That FD is a siren call: we switched our plans from late October because of it.

 

[disneychic2]

You asked for advise about resorts and I'll give you my thoughts. Pop or AoA would be my first choices. The dedicated buses is one of the main reasons. Also the food courts are better there than the All Stars in my opinion. As far as double beds, I would rather have queen, but for a trip to Disney I can make do with a double. At Pop or AoA you can get two rooms and have your privacy.

Now about the time of year. September is almost too close. If you're saving toward your trip, you may want to take September off the table. Your ADR window is past and you might have better luck in November or December. That gives you longer to save too. I assume you probably won't have many table service meals, but thought you may want one or two. We went in November once and the crowds were more than September but less than December. Depends of course on when in those months you want to go. We've gone twice the first week of December and the crowd levels were as low as 2 overall and as high as 6.

Good luck to DH on the job. I hope he gets it! I hope Charlotte is feeling lots better. I saw that she went back to school. That's all good. How's the big girl bed working out?

Gotta go and finish my ironing. It's the one thing I dislike above all my chores. That and dusting. Oh well, back to the grindstone. Have a great day!

 

[lovedonaldduck]

Good luck for your DH's new job.

We always stay at CBR, but double beds don't bother us in the least.

That FD is a siren call: we switched our plans from late October because of it.

Thanks! I am hoping this job will work out for him, he is ready for a change.

I think if we didn't have a king sized bed at home, double beds wouldn't bother us so much. It looks like it will be double beds this trip no matter where we stay so we'll see how it goes.

When are you going now? Free dining is hard to pass up!

You asked for advise about resorts and I'll give you my thoughts. Pop or AoA would be my first choices. The dedicated buses is one of the main reasons. Also the food courts are better there than the All Stars in my opinion. As far as double beds, I would rather have queen, but for a trip to Disney I can make do with a double. At Pop or AoA you can get two rooms and have your privacy.

Now about the time of year. September is almost too close. If you're saving toward your trip, you may want to take September off the table. Your ADR window is past and you might have better luck in November or December. That gives you longer to save too. I assume you probably won't have many table service meals, but thought you may want one or two. We went in November once and the crowds were more than September but less than December. Depends of course on when in those months you want to go. We've gone twice the first week of December and the crowd levels were as low as 2 overall and as high as 6.

Good luck to DH on the job. I hope he gets it! I hope Charlotte is feeling lots better. I saw that she went back to school. That's all good. How's the big girl bed working out?

Gotta go and finish my ironing. It's the one thing I dislike above all my chores. That and dusting. Oh well, back to the grindstone. Have a great day!

Your thoughts on Pop of AoA are right on. My choice would be Pop since the Little Mermaid Rooms at AoA are excluded from free dining and I think a family suite would be too much togetherness. The one time we stayed at Pop, DH was not impressed, so I'll have to see if I can talk him into it.

I have to take September off the table for other reasons, I got so caught up in the excitement of planning, I forgot about a work conflict that makes it impossible to take that time off in September. Crowds would have been low and Charlotte still would have been under 3, but it's just not an option. Our November dates would be over Veteran's Day and our December dates would be the beginning of Peyton's Christmas break, coming home either 12/23 or Christmas Eve. The December crowds scare me, but since Peyton is out of school, we have some flexibility with dates and making the trip slightly longer. I'm going to wait to worry about dates until we know my dad's schedule a little better. We typically do one sit-down meal a day so if we stay value we will be upgrading the dining plan. It will still save us a ton thought.

I am keeping my fingers crossed for DH's job. Charlotte is feeling much better, although she's had a cough the last 2 nights that has kept her (and me) awake. She's doing pretty good in the big girl bed. I've been laying down with her to help her fall asleep, and the last 2 nights, with all of the coughing, I've stayed with her most of the night. We go back to the doctor on Monday for her ear re-check and I think after that I'll start moving her to a more structured and earlier bedtime routine.

Ironing is the worst. I've pretty much stopped buying clothes that need ironed, or I just send them to the dry cleaner. There is nothing I like less than ironing.

DH surprised me this morning and said that he's made arrangements for a date night tomorrow I am looking forward to it. Other than that, we have no weekend plans, although we may end up visiting with my mom and swimming on Sunday. DH and I should have a chance to talk about Disney over the weekend (I may ambush him on our date ), once he makes a call on the resort and we figure out exact dates, I'll get the trips booked.

I have a couple of work projects I want to get off my plate today. Hopefully, next week will be a little smoother at work. By Monday, I should have some planning updates.

 

[disneychic2]

How was your date with hubby? I hope you went somewhere fun and were able to talk Disney.

Our little 18mo old next door just got tubes put in his ears last Monday. He had so many ear infections over the last year that they felt it was necessary. I can't remember if Charlotte has had tubes in her ears? Anyway, little Easton was congested and coughing all the time and the procedure has helped tremendously with that as well. It is always so tough when the little ones have anything wrong with them. I sure hope Charlotte gets rid of that cough soon! And you both can get some rest!!

Have a great day!

 

[Chicago Mo]

HEY!!!

I didn't know you had a PTR going?!?! ya know i am Capt. oblivious!!

It's all ok.. I am here now...


Did you make a decision???

 

[lovedonaldduck]

How was your date with hubby? I hope you went somewhere fun and were able to talk Disney.

Our little 18mo old next door just got tubes put in his ears last Monday. He had so many ear infections over the last year that they felt it was necessary. I can't remember if Charlotte has had tubes in her ears? Anyway, little Easton was congested and coughing all the time and the procedure has helped tremendously with that as well. It is always so tough when the little ones have anything wrong with them. I sure hope Charlotte gets rid of that cough soon! And you both can get some rest!!

Have a great day!

As you already know, the date night got cancelled due to my mom's hospitalization. We've talked a little bit here and there about Disney, but everything has been a bit of a blur since Saturday afternoon.

Charlotte hasn't had tubes in her ears yet, but it would seem that we are headed that way. We had her at the doctor for a recheck on Monday and both ears are still infected. They switched her medication and then yesterday I managed to spill most of it and our insurance won't cover a refill. I need a break from my life after this week!

HEY!!!

I didn't know you had a PTR going?!?! ya know i am Capt. oblivious!!

It's all ok.. I am here now...


Did you make a decision???

I am glad to have you here, Mo! Better late then never!

I am still working on DH, but I think I am selling him on Pop. I've been booking dining as if we are going, so hopefully it will work out. My dad's schedule is even more up in the air now since we had to get him to come back after being there for only a week after my mom's stroke. It will be a while before we know if he will be home in November or December or both.

For anyone that didn't read on D~'s or Lois' reports, we have been dealing with a medical emergency in my family this week. My mom went to the hospital on Saturday after having several small strokes last week. She is home now and just needs physical therapy for her walking and handwriting. My dad is a contractor and spends time working overseas, he had just left last Wednesday so we had a bit of a time getting him home. I picked him up from the airport this morning so now they are home together and hopefully I will have some normalcy back in my life soon.

I am trying to get DH to sign off on Pop for our potential trip. I think I'm making good progress I've made dining reservations for our the first 3 of our potential November days - although I haven't been able to get exactly what I'd want. I haven't been on top of things enough to be trying to schedule at 6 or 7 am so I'll take what I can get. At this point, we'll be blessed to all be able to travel together so we'll just deal with it if we don't end up eating at Ohana or BOG this trip. There are worse things!

 

[Chicago Mo]

I do hope something opens up for you and ADR's!!! Your right there are worse things and not getting the exact ADR isn't going to ruin a WONDERFUL trip too Disney!!!

How is your Mom now that's shes home?? Keeping you in my thoughts!!!!

 

[DMGeurts]

I finally made it Jennifer!!!

I agree with Lois' thoughts... AoA or Pop... Especially if you have to stay with a double bed anyways... It would be nice if they would put queens in those other resorts - I might consider staying there some day if they did. Might. LOL

I hope you are able to figure out your dates, I know you said you have to wait, but I can see the plusses/minuses of each one. It will be a great trip anyways.

Anyways... Here's and followig along as best I can. Hoping to have a full Dis schedule again soon.

D~

 

[lovedonaldduck]

I do hope something opens up for you and ADR's!!! Your right there are worse things and not getting the exact ADR isn't going to ruin a WONDERFUL trip too Disney!!!

How is your Mom now that's shes home?? Keeping you in my thoughts!!!!

Not being able to get my first choice ADRs might be a blessing. Maybe we can try some new places! We were able to score an awesome Ohana reservation on our Spring Break trip even though we only scheduled it 3 weeks out so I have faith that we'll be able to get what we want - although we probably won't be able to pull off BOG.

Thank you for the thoughts. Mom is doing ok at home. She's so happy to have my dad home too now. She's not enjoying asking for help with the little things like getting a glass of water or making lunch, but she needs the help and we're all happy to do it. I'm anxious for her to start physical therapy and have her follow up with her doctor, just so we can get answers to some of the lingering questions and so she can get on with her recovery.

I finally made it Jennifer!!!

I agree with Lois' thoughts... AoA or Pop... Especially if you have to stay with a double bed anyways... It would be nice if they would put queens in those other resorts - I might consider staying there some day if they did. Might. LOL

I hope you are able to figure out your dates, I know you said you have to wait, but I can see the plusses/minuses of each one. It will be a great trip anyways.

Anyways... Here's and followig along as best I can. Hoping to have a full Dis schedule again soon.

D~

Glad to have you here!

The double beds are killing me - but I think to get a queen bed it means staying at CSR (we had a bad experience there last time) and an extra $400. We can make double beds work. Although, if POR/POFQ is added to free dining, I'll pay the extra $400 or so happily

My dad's whole schedule is up in the air right now - he's not sure if he's going to take a leave of absence, use up his 200 hours of sick time, or just work a reduced schedule - so there is absolutely no way to know what his travel schedule will look like. Who knows how long it will be until he feels comfortable leaving my mom again? Or maybe he'll change jobs or careers at this point so he can be home full time. I just don't know.

You just check in when you can. I know how busy you are right now. After the auction, I'll start taking attendance.

Back to work for me today. Hopefully back to Disney planning soon too. Thanks for bearing with me.

 

[Chicago Mo]

 

[lovedonaldduck]

Thanks for the hug, Mo! I will take all of those that I can get.


We visited with my parents this weekend, my mom is doing pretty well. She's goes to the doctor this week, I'll be interested to hear what she has to say. As of Saturday, she still hasn't had any cigarettes! One week down!

On the trip planning front, I have talked DH into Pop. Then I did some more pricing, and staying in a cabin at Fort Wilderness with my parents would work too. This is a decision they have to weigh in on too so I probably won't know where we're staying until next weekend. I'm hoping to review the dining reservations that I was able to get and see if I can tweak them to get anything we'd like better.

I am saying some selfish prayers this morning for this to be a normal week with no extra drama!

 

[Chicago Mo]

Repeat after me

I am NOT selfish..

Sorry i didn't hear you... can you say it again??


THERE YA GO!

You are NOT selfish to ask for strength to get through a week. or asking for it to be a quiet week.

say it again... LOUD!!!


It will all turn out..

 

[lovedonaldduck]

Thanks for the vote of confidence, Mo! I AM NOT SELFISH! I feel better already!

Trip news - I went ahead and booked a Fort Wilderness Cabin for our potential November dates. When I was checking prices yesterday (why I do this daily, I don't know, it's not like they change ) I noticed that AoA and ASMusic are now booked for those dates so I figured I'd better snatch up a cabin while it was still an option. If we decide we'd like our own space, I can move us to Pop or ASSports or ASMusic if I need to. I'm not as worried that those 3 will book up before we make a final call.

Also, when my mom was in the hospital last week, she mentioned that my dad was wanting to buy into DVC. We had talked about doing it before, but DH and I really can't afford to buy outright and I don't want to finance it. Once my dad and I have a chance to talk, I'll start trying to find a resale contract for them. I'm so excited because even though it is going to be in my parents' names, I'll almost be a DVC member

I am still stalking dining reservations hoping we'll be able to score BOG or Ohana. Right now we have Mama Melrose (one of our must dos), Trail's End (thought it would be nice to try it out if we keep the cabin), Raglan Road (another must do) and Garden Grill (the food gets awesome reviews and it gives us a new character meal for the girls).

Charlotte is my little Disney girl. Her bedtime routine right now includes watching a Disney movie before bed. Last night she wanted 'Punzel. She had watched "Tiana" the night before, which I mentioned when I was switching out DVDs for her. She said, "Tiana is my favorite. Need to go to Disney World and see her." A girl after my own heart.