I hope she is able to take you up on your offer and you can get BLT for her. What an awesome vacation and being so close to MK will make it so easy to go back to the room in the middle of the afternoon for a swim or lunch. If she has already paid for a package she maybe under a penalty for cancellation.
Good luck let us know
She had booked and paid for her trip Friday afternoon. She cheked over the weekend and evidently it hadnt been booked with Disney yet. She called first thing Monday and they are refunding her Disney portion of the trip and she is keeping her flight through them.
I couldnt gte her in BLT - the first night of her trip was no longer available so I went with Wilderness Lodge since it was the next closest to the Kingdom. Ironically, we have never stayed at either of those locations.
Since we have given stays to other rerlatives, what we usually tell them is (a) they have to purchase park tickets separately; (b) there is essentially no daily housekeeping, they get the towel and trash service on fourth day and to count to four you count day of arrival; we also tell them they can purchase daily service for any one or more days while there by just calling housekeeping and we give them price, and alternatively they can purchase extra towels and other items and give them that price; (c) if they want dining plan, we now tell them they must purchase through us as part of reservation; (d) they are not supposed to get any DVC benefits such as free internet; and (e) we will make the reservation only if they are certain they are going because if they cancel 30 days or less before going, they will make me extremely angry. We also provide general information on what is in the rooms and at the resort.
I did go back and tell her about Housekeeping. She was ok with that. I had already told her about getting the tickets, and we are going to get together this weekend to call for her new dining plan. She is unaware of any DVC benefits, and I dont think she will be taking a computer. I have hooked her up with websites showing pics and descriptions of the resort, and have given her a folder of notes on tips (what is a fastpass, which rides - Toy Story & Soarin - to head to first thing, extra magic hours.....)
Yeah, sorry, I don't know all the lingo here so I still use my own a lot of the time. Since the main difference between a resort that you park near your room and one where you park in parking lot or use a valet is the valet itself it is why I coined them valet resorts.
Bay Lake or Wilderness Lodge are both great picks for a first-timer who will be concentrating on MK. Starting the first full day at Chef Mickey for Breakfast followed by an early entrance to MK is a perfect script for a child going the first time. It is a shame you can't go with her, I LOVE taking a child for the first time because they have no way of knowing what to expect. Most recently I took my nephew and I just watched his face as he tried to comprehend leaving reality behind and crossing over into Disney. He was jaw-dropping stunned.
I would love to go with her, but we will have just returned from our trip 2 weeks earlier. Plus - this is a mother daughter trip. I have known Angie since 2nd grade, but Emma doesnt really know me. So I wouldnt want to intrude on their first trip together.
how very generous of you! i've gifted points before and its a great way to spend them (if its on someone who isnt as fortunate as we are).
i agree that the counter service might be easier but then again, if they're watching every penny having a studio with breakfast/snack/lunch items saves loads of cash!!! cereal and toast for breakfast. fruit and chips for snacks. sandwiches and veggies for lunch. all things you can easily purchase at the general stores/bring in your suitcase.
keep us posted!
She had the dining plan with 1 snack, 1 Cs & 1 TS per day. I have her booked for a lunch at Cinderellas - I was surprised there was availability so I went ahead and held it on my card after receiving reassurances from the CM that once she gets her dining plan it can be switched over to her credits. I think she wants to go to Chef Mickeys also. Which will leave only one more TS credit apiece. I will tell her to throw a few things in her suitcase for the room if she has the space and that will stretch her credits a little further.
I am going to go against the grain her and say that you should not give her the points. She has already paid for her trip as a package and for a first timer, going on points might complicate things. We stayed at pop for our first family trip and had a great time. If you want to help her, to have a better trip and financially, I would suggest giving her a Disney gift card. That way she'll be able to give her daughter a little bit more thanks to her great friend.
Financially for us, it is easier to give her points that would save her about $300 than it would be for us to give her $300. And while she was hesitant to accept a free room (she wanted to pay us for it), when I explained that we would not be able to use all of our points this year since I had a kidney transplant in February and am unable to travel for several months, she felt more comfortable taking it. If I gave her cash I think she would be offended. I did also tell her not to feel pressured into taking the room and that she would have a very good time at Pop if she wanted to stay there, that we could bank our points for next year and would not lose them - but that with our boys getting older and not as able to vacation with us, that we dont need as many as we used to.
I agree with this. Our first real trip was on site at Pop and it was so simple since we had everything in a package. Renting/using points would have been very confusing for us on our first trip.
I guess I am missing what is more complicated. If she pre-paid her room at Pop and checked in, how is that different than me pre-paying her room (with points) at Wilderness Lodge? In either case the room is paid for when she gets there and she just has to check in and either put a card down for charging or not. Am I missing something??
I disagree. Of all the things a first-timer to Disney has to learn, understanding the subtle differences between a paid and point room is probably one of the easiest. This seems like a smart resourceful lady and if this is the first and last trip to Disney for quite some time BLT will be much nicer than Pop.
I stressed to her in every conversation that I did not want to make things more complicated for her. And that if she felt more comfortable with her package then, by all means, to keep it. I was only offering something that we had that we wont be using, and if it could free up some of her funds so she can do more stuff with her daughter than that is a plus.
I am going to suggest that since she has so few days, that she may want to take some of the savings and get Park Hoppers. Her first night is Extra Magic hours at Magic Kingdom. And I have her booked at Cinderellas castle the next day. She may want to leave that park after lunch and try a different one. Also, Animal Kingdom closes at 5 most of her trip - she may want to go to another park that is open later after that one closes.
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