Honeymoon Ideas - need some help!!!

[TwirlerGirl]

My son is getting married in June. He has asked if we can give him some points for his Honeymoon. I would like to help him out. Here is the catch - we just took his brother and family on a great vacation using all of our points for 2002 and more than half of our points for 2003. This vacation was planned before he became engaged and set the date. Not many points left for 2003 about 95pts. DH is not happy about this request. This is the only vacation option we have. If I convince DH to give up the 95 pts, is there anywhere in FL other than WDW suitable for a Honeymoon for about a 4 - 5 days stay? DS will pay for the remaining time.

I looked at the Doral Resort and Spa. They both golf, would this be right for a couple in their mid 20's?

My DS is marring into a family of "means". I think he feels a little pressured into coming up with
a great Honeymoon idea that he can afford. They just brought a house, he still paying on the engagement ring and his hours at work were cut , still better than being layoff.

The wedding will be beautiful but much more than I could ever afford. The rehersal dinner is a problem financially for us as it is. They are planning on 60 guests because of a large number of out of town family.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Sandy B.

 

[fkj2]

Sandy, I don't intend this to sound critical, but it already seems as if these kids are committed financially too much. That's a tough burden to bring to a marriage and your son shouldn't feel so much pressure to "live up to the Jones'." You may want to consider checking over at the Rent/Trade board for points and maybe suggest he look at a Sun-Thurs night stay to avoid the Fri-Sat night points.

I don't suppose they'd consider taking a "delayed" honeymoon and wait for a time for lower points.

And, since he knows you took brother and his family on a "great" vacation last year, it sounds as if you and DH are in a tough spot; if you don't help him out, it looks pretty favorable for the brother and that will be a tough perception to overcome going forward, and that may be even more costly than going ahead and letting him have the 95 remaining points.

 

[TheRustyScupper]

Try Ornage Lake Country Club in Kissimmee.
. . . On-Site Golf
. . . Water Park
. . . Big beach area
. . . Swimming pools
. . . Sail boats, jet ski's (rental)
. . . MANY on-site activities (free or very slight fee)
. . . Disney shuttle
. . . Discount tickets (Disney, Universal, Medieval Times, etc)
. . . Reasonably priced studio, 1-bedroom or 2-bedroom condos.



In My Own Opinion . . .
. . . tell the family that Rehearsal dinners are bridal party ONLY
. . . I also agree to not keep-up-with-the-Joneses

 

[downontheBW]

Congratulations to your son! First of all, a studio should be fine for the two of them. Since you don't have many points, you could check with MS to see what studios are available through II for that time. You may be able to find a place off-season enough to only use 55 DVC HHI points to trade. MS can help you out.

IMHO, since Doral is primarily a golf resort, I assume it might be a bit too stuffy and conservative for a young couple on their honeymoon. If it were me, I'd prefer Ft. Lauderdale/Miami area or the keys - something beachy with good nightlife. Sanibel is good for golf and there are many resorts but it would probably be expensive for golf, food, etc.

You could also look at the classifieds on TUG (www.tug2.net) to do a private trade with someone. Access to the classifieds is free but it will cost you a $15 membership to look at the resort ratings and reviews, well worth the price. Because of the value of DVC, you could possibly offer 5 weekdays at DVC in return for a week the other trader's resort, again a way to save points. Check out the timeshares for rent on TUG; there are fantastic deals there, also.

Good luck on finding a great deal!

 

[MikeScott8]

You may also want to consider renting points for him or helping him find points to rent. You can either do just rented points for a stay; or combine a few nights using some of your points and rent points for other nites and link the ressies.

Mike

 

[jane of the jungle]

Well Congrats to your son for finding the women of his dreams.
As a recent honeymooner at the WORLD. I would just like to give some input you may find helpful. First I squeezed 2 weeks out of our budget and wouldn't have changed that for the world. I have many friends who postponed or cut short their honeymoons due to money constraints. Their relationship IMHO suffered a bit because of it.
First, the whole wedding process is very stressful and the new couple needs tons of relief and time away from everything.

Second, this is a once in a lifetime thing(this is the way it should be anyway) they want to have no regrets. Live everyday to the fullest, as you don't know what the future may hold. Make memories everyday!

Third, they will need this time to bond as a couple and get used to all the things that come with the honeymoon experience. Being distracted by work and family and other things is just not fun.

DISNEY makes honeymooners MAGIC everyday. We were spoiled while there~everything from free cake & champagne to balloons and pictures. Fun Fun Fun

My suggestion for further help them with there trip planning is this

Whoever throws the Bridal shower make it honeymoon help orriented. Ex. Ask everyone to bring something they can enjoy while on their DISNEY honeymoon give them examples like Disney Dollars-can be spent on anything; maybe a bottle of wine and some cheese(hence seeing the mouse) well you get the idea. People can have fun with this and it need not be expensive. Have a disney dollar tree there and ask people to help it grow.

They can use the money the recieve from the wedding as spending money in the parks and maybe to pay for extra weekend nights. Maybe have your family get together and give a joint gift of the first 2 nights at the Polynesian -The most Romantic IMHO. Try for discounts. It never hurts. Make sure the reservation however it may turn out requests a kingsize bed and let them know they are honeymooners.

OK I've said enough. I hope this helps.
Pixie Dust to a fellow MD Member.

 

[Maistre Gracey]

Honeymoon Ideas - need some help!!!

Well [ahemm, ahemm], perhaps you should try another web site for this question.

 

[wdwnut]

hi: my son and dil spent their honeymoon at wdw. the first 5 nights were in a 1br at bwv and the last 5 nights were at the gf (my dil had always wanted to stay there). the bwv points were from an add-on that we had just done, and the gf had a great ap rate during the time frame they were there. you may want to check and see if there are any ap discounts available, but i think june will be a little hard to find. several people i know have spent their honeymoon at po/dl (tells you how long ago that was) and absolutely loved it.

 

[DemoBri1]

Originally posted by TheRustyScupper
In My Own Opinion . . .
. . . tell the family that Rehearsal dinners are bridal party ONLY
. . . I also agree to not keep-up-with-the-Joneses [/B]

Rusty,

Just so you are not misinformed. Usually out-of-town guests are invited to the Rehearsal dinner, as long as they get into town that day.

As for some tips...

I think the delayed honeymoon idea is the best. If this girl really loves your son, and is not spoiled by her family of "means", she'll realize the spot he's in and wait until they can afford to take the trip.

Tell your son to spend within his means, not someone else's. On the other hand, maybe her family would be willing to chip in a dime or two??

Gosh...is Dr. Phil around??

 

[crisi]

When I got married we did a bed and breakfast in town for two days. (BTW, Jane, it was ten years ago and the marriage is still going strong. I don't think the length of the honeymoon has much to do with the strength of the marriage. And if it does, the marriage isn't real strong to start with).

Six months later we did a week in WDW and called it a honeymoon.

We did it this way for a lot of reasons. One was we got married in June and I hate Disney and crowds. One was with the wedding, we were already in pretty deep with vacation time and delayed job committments.

I am going to second (or is it third now) not keeping up with the Jones' Explain to your son that you simply don't have points in the timeframe he is talking about, but you'd be happy to provide points (assuming you are) for a delayed honeymoon after your use year turns over, or as a wedding gift for a first anniversary trip.

And there are no rules on rehersal dinners that insist you have to invite out of town guests. It is a nice gesture. If you are expecting a lot of out of town guests - try something less formal for a rehersal dinner - like a pig roast or a clam bake (you can try something regional). Both can be catered and your local park will rent a shelter for cheap.

 

[fkj2]

If you are expecting a lot of out of town guests - try something less formal for a rehersal dinner - like a pig roast or a clam bake (you can try something regional). Both can be catered and your local park will rent a shelter for cheap.

And, you might be able to find a local church (woman's) group who would be able to cater the meal. Maybe you could consider a menu from the Recipe/Scrapbook forum here and also the Disney cookbooks. I know the first one had the recipe for the barbecued chicken from the Crystal Palace and someone at the Recipe forum had the potatoes from Cinderella's Royal Table. And those Sally Lunn rolls from Liberty Tree Tavern. Guess I should stop, huh?