Hot Dog, Hot Dog, Hot Diggity Dog! LINK TO TRIP REPORT!!!

[tinacaplan]

Check out Jet Blue out of Bradley...they are quoting thru Feb and I got nonstop for $84 at 8:40 am We are going Jan 29-Feb 5. Love your PTR so far and hope your trip is Magical. We are travelling with my DD and her family which includes a 2yr old boy! We are sure he will not remember it all but we go every 2 years and he will hear the stories and see the pictures. If your Dad goes rent him an ECV that is what I do. Better for everyone!

Thanks the tip! I actually checked out Jetblue flights yesterday and they are pretty cheap. Much cheaper than a direct Delta flight!

 

[tinacaplan]

So, one of the things that my husband and I are worried about is having enough room in our room for our three year-old to sleep without us having to all go to bed at nine. While we LOVE CSR, I'm worried about the size of the rooms and what will happen once its time for Max to go to sleep and we aren't quite there yet. My husband thinks we could possibly put a pack and play (my son is small, not a climber, and still sleeps in a crib at home, quite happily, I might add) in the vanity section at CSR and shut the sliding doors. At least we could then stay up and read if we want. I should also add that once Max is out, he's pretty much out for the next twelve hours or so.

We have not ever travelled in a single hotel room with Max before and we're a little concerned about this. I know a lot of you have traveled in single rooms with small children before, so any light you can shed on this is much appreciated.

If I had the money, I'd at least spring for a studio, if not a 1 br villa, at BLT, but that isn't where we are financially.

Then I went and checked out the Swan and they offer incredible discounts for AAA members (and teachers, but those haven't been released yet). I'm looking at a deluxe alcove for $187/night. I know I need to factor in resort fees, etc, but that seems like a fanastic deal to me. This type of room would give my husband and I a king bed and a ton of extra space, as well as the aforementioned alcove for Max. It would also put us in walking distance of EPCOT, our favorite resort. We checked out the lobbies of both the Swan and Dolphin last year and I loved them. Also loved the Boardwalk area.

Now, I know that means no Magical Express and no DDP, but I'm wondering how worth it the DDP really is anyway. We would get a bit more creative to stretch our dining dollars a bit, but I think it would work out OK.

My last point...we are taking our three year old son and will undoubtedly be spending a LOT of our time at MK. Is the transportation between CSR and MK easier than it is between the Swan/Dolphin and the MK? It appears that it is.

What do you all think? I'm also going to post this on the general resort board, as well.

Thanks.

 

[Mindy5767]

Well, in my experience with 8 year old who we've taken to Disney 7 times so far... we have nearly ALWAYS carried her sleeping onto the bus and back to the resort. I have been on many a Disney bus at night and its full of parents carrying their zonked little ones. There is SO much activity during the day that they just crash on the buses, if they make it that far! Our issue has always been who is going to carry her! We've put her down on the sofa (in the Villa), in our bed (king sized), in the pack n play, in her siblings bed... etc... she'll sleep anywhere when she's that OUT like a light. I just can't imagine a child needing quiet or dark to fall asleep. I'm gonna guess that he'll just zonk out like the rest of them and you'll be smooth sailing. I wouldn't bother with the Swan or Dolphin. You'll be fine at CSR. It works for us at the Pop.. and that's small!

 

[tinacaplan]

Well, in my experience with 8 year old who we've taken to Disney 7 times so far... we have nearly ALWAYS carried her sleeping onto the bus and back to the resort. I have been on many a Disney bus at night and its full of parents carrying their zonked little ones. There is SO much activity during the day that they just crash on the buses, if they make it that far! Our issue has always been who is going to carry her! We've put her down on the sofa (in the Villa), in our bed (king sized), in the pack n play, in her siblings bed... etc... she'll sleep anywhere when she's that OUT like a light. I just can't imagine a child needing quiet or dark to fall asleep. I'm gonna guess that he'll just zonk out like the rest of them and you'll be smooth sailing. I wouldn't bother with the Swan or Dolphin. You'll be fine at CSR. It works for us at the Pop.. and that's small!

Thanks. Max just really resists falling asleep most places other than this crib, these days. But since his bedtime is at seven, right now it certainly doesn't need to be dark for him to fall asleep! Thanks for giving me more to think about.

 

[tinacaplan]

.... I am back to CSR! Again! The last thing my husband said, who is usually prettly useless with Disney planning, he shrugs a lot and says, you're just going to change it fifty times anyway... "Aren't we going to be spending a lot of time at MK this trip?" Well... yeah. Duh. OK. That pretty much settles it. Sounds like getting from the Swolphin to anywhere but DHS and EPCOT is kind of a nightmare and I will literally scream from the rooftops that I think CSR has excellent bus transportation.

Yeah, so just ignore my last post. Sorry. I'm kind of silly sometimes, I know.

 

[KatMark]

.... I am back to CSR! Again! The last thing my husband said, who is usually prettly useless with Disney planning, he shrugs a lot and says, you're just going to change it fifty times anyway... "Aren't we going to be spending a lot of time at MK this trip?" Well... yeah. Duh. OK. That pretty much settles it. Sounds like getting from the Swolphin to anywhere but DHS and EPCOT is kind of a nightmare and I will literally scream from the rooftops that I think CSR has excellent bus transportation.

Yeah, so just ignore my last post. Sorry. I'm kind of silly sometimes, I know.

Tina, we all understand. It is all so different when traveling with a young one for the first time. Mark's and my first trip alone we drove back and forth from Daytona. Our first trip with Andy, back in 1987, we stayed at the Contemporary because we didn't know much about different resorts. I can tell you that my kids never had trouble falling asleep after a long day at the parks. They might talk and giggle for 10 or 15 minutes with each other while laying in bed, but after that they were out like lights. Now, if my youngest -- who is now 22 -- could just go back to that routine. Now he stays up until 3 or 4 in the morning and sleeps until 2 in the afternoon.

 

[3princesses+aprince]

Well, it's good to consider all of your options! Glad you're staying put though. For our last trip we had 2 connecting rooms at all star movies. My 5 and 8 yr olds slept in our room with dh and I and my 10 yr old and 12 yr old each got their own bed in the connecting room. We never once had a sleep issue. Everyone was so tired every night that they would even fall asleep before we turned lights and TV off. Never had a problem. I think you'll be just fine!

So, I love Max's character breakfast, very cute! And we are not too far from each other, i'm about an hour away from Lake Compounce! Looks like you guys had a nice time and that's great that Max wasn't scared in the Haunted House. The Haunted Mansion is our FAVORITE Disney ride, i'm sure Max will do fine on it. It's really only the first part before you even get on the ride that's a little scary, the rest is just cool.

 

[loritemp]

We took my son last year when he was almost 17 months old. Like Max, my son pretty much only sleeps in his crib, never liked his pack and play and anytime we took him to our family's mountain house, he would pretty much refuse to sleep till he couldn't physically stay awake anymore. So needless to say we were worried about Disney. The first day was a tad rough but after that, he slept like a log. We had a crib brought to our room and put it all the way by the windows and DH and I would lay in the bed closer to the bathroom (we had 2 queen beds) with the tv on and didn't bother the little man one bit.

And I know you decided on CSR but we stayed at the Swan when we went and it was heavenly!!! The location is unreal, the Boardwalk area, easy access to Epcot and DHS. The bus stop was right there, easy walk, and I think the whole week we were there we waited once for about 10mins for a bus and that was to DTD, that was the longest wait. So just for future reference, the location is amazing, the hotel is fabulous, transportation rocks! And you can get some really great deals! Don't even both with a delux room, a standard was great for us!!

 

[tinacaplan]

Tina, we all understand. It is all so different when traveling with a young one for the first time. Mark's and my first trip alone we drove back and forth from Daytona. Our first trip with Andy, back in 1987, we stayed at the Contemporary because we didn't know much about different resorts. I can tell you that my kids never had trouble falling asleep after a long day at the parks. They might talk and giggle for 10 or 15 minutes with each other while laying in bed, but after that they were out like lights. Now, if my youngest -- who is now 22 -- could just go back to that routine. Now he stays up until 3 or 4 in the morning and sleeps until 2 in the afternoon.

Well, it's good to consider all of your options! Glad you're staying put though. For our last trip we had 2 connecting rooms at all star movies. My 5 and 8 yr olds slept in our room with dh and I and my 10 yr old and 12 yr old each got their own bed in the connecting room. We never once had a sleep issue. Everyone was so tired every night that they would even fall asleep before we turned lights and TV off. Never had a problem. I think you'll be just fine!

So, I love Max's character breakfast, very cute! And we are not too far from each other, i'm about an hour away from Lake Compounce! Looks like you guys had a nice time and that's great that Max wasn't scared in the Haunted House. The Haunted Mansion is our FAVORITE Disney ride, i'm sure Max will do fine on it. It's really only the first part before you even get on the ride that's a little scary, the rest is just cool.

We took my son last year when he was almost 17 months old. Like Max, my son pretty much only sleeps in his crib, never liked his pack and play and anytime we took him to our family's mountain house, he would pretty much refuse to sleep till he couldn't physically stay awake anymore. So needless to say we were worried about Disney. The first day was a tad rough but after that, he slept like a log. We had a crib brought to our room and put it all the way by the windows and DH and I would lay in the bed closer to the bathroom (we had 2 queen beds) with the tv on and didn't bother the little man one bit.

And I know you decided on CSR but we stayed at the Swan when we went and it was heavenly!!! The location is unreal, the Boardwalk area, easy access to Epcot and DHS. The bus stop was right there, easy walk, and I think the whole week we were there we waited once for about 10mins for a bus and that was to DTD, that was the longest wait. So just for future reference, the location is amazing, the hotel is fabulous, transportation rocks! And you can get some really great deals! Don't even both with a delux room, a standard was great for us!!

Thanks for all the advice. We are nervous...we've never travelled this far with Max before! And, of course, this being Disney, you want everything to be as perfect as possible!

 

[tinacaplan]

Got some good news today and it looks like I'll have no problem making my reservation as soon as I want to.

That said, I thought the best way to celebrate would be with another update! I can't believe that my ADR window will be here before I know it. Crazy.

Day five, which will be a Wednesday, will be day two at the Magic Kingdom. Again, until I can spend some time with Ridemax, I'm not sure what we'll be doing when, but its safe to say that we'll start off with what we didn't get to on our prior visit. We'll get to MK for rope drop, regardless, and spend the morning touring. We'll do a CS lunch at Columbia Harbor House or Pecos Bill's, depending on where we ate before and what we're in the mood for. And, again...no surprise here, we'll make our way back to the resort to rest and relax.

That evening I want to make an ADR at Boma for dinner. We did breakfast here last year and loved it. And as those of you who've read the rest of this report already know, I LOVE the Animal Kingdom Lodge! This time, though, I am going in prepared to see some more of the animals and more of what the resort has to offer.

Aftewards, we'll probably take a cab back to the resort and turn in early. No doubt we are going to be tired by this point in the week!

 

[tinacaplan]

...my dilemma about the Swolphin vs. CSR, that is! Figuring everything else out is just going to take some time, I guess.

Anyway...we are attending a wedding just outside Philly in a few weeks and the block of rooms is at....you guessed it...a Hilton with the Heavenly beds and everything. If my husband and I truly fall in love with it, then maybe that will make up mind! I just can't get their deals out of my head. And those are guaranteed... Now, I might get lucky and Disney will offer the 4/3 deal or something, but then again...knowing they are trying to move away from those kinds of deals, maybe I won't, especially during President's Week!

Oh...and a question for all you seasoned travellers (we aren't)... if I see a good price for a flight, am I better off booking it sooner rather than waiting around? Am I more likely to find a good deal now than I will be in a few months? Jetblue has some very nice looking fares for direct flights out of Hartford on our dates. Just wondering! TIA!

 

[annmarieda]

Got some good news today and it looks like I'll have no problem making my reservation as soon as I want to.

That said, I thought the best way to celebrate would be with another update! I can't believe that my ADR window will be here before I know it. Crazy.

Day five, which will be a Wednesday, will be day two at the Magic Kingdom. Again, until I can spend some time with Ridemax, I'm not sure what we'll be doing when, but its safe to say that we'll start off with what we didn't get to on our prior visit. We'll get to MK for rope drop, regardless, and spend the morning touring. We'll do a CS lunch at Columbia Harbor House or Pecos Bill's, depending on where we ate before and what we're in the mood for. And, again...no surprise here, we'll make our way back to the resort to rest and relax.

That evening I want to make an ADR at Boma for dinner. We did breakfast here last year and loved it. And as those of you who've read the rest of this report already know, I LOVE the Animal Kingdom Lodge! This time, though, I am going in prepared to see some more of the animals and more of what the resort has to offer.

Aftewards, we'll probably take a cab back to the resort and turn in early. No doubt we are going to be tired by this point in the week!

Looks like some great plans. I know what you mean about needing to spend time with Ridemax. I have to do that still... I know roughly what we are doing, but not specifics. It is driving me nuts since we are getting close...

 

[annmarieda]

Oh...and a question for all you seasoned travellers (we aren't)... if I see a good price for a flight, am I better off booking it sooner rather than waiting around? Am I more likely to find a good deal now than I will be in a few months? Jetblue has some very nice looking fares for direct flights out of Hartford on our dates. Just wondering! TIA!

We are not sooo seasoned, but we do fly at least once a year. For me, I get nervous about air fares. I watch and watch to see if there is a pattern. Bing and Tripadvisor are good for that. I book when I see that the fares don't seem to be changing and when it is a fare I can live with. Usually, my comfort zone is closer to the time I initially plan than to the trip itself. This trip, I was sooo nervous about getting everyone on the same flight and for a good fare, I booked at what might have been a slightly high rate. It turns out with that airline, it has not fluctuated much beyond a few dollars on either side of what I paid. Other airlines have been cheaper, but I had companion fares...so really I still got a better deal going with the airline I did. Anyway, the point to my rambling you should book when you feel you can live with the fare.

 

[tinacaplan]

We are not sooo seasoned, but we do fly at least once a year. For me, I get nervous about air fares. I watch and watch to see if there is a pattern. Bing and Tripadvisor are good for that. I book when I see that the fares don't seem to be changing and when it is a fare I can live with. Usually, my comfort zone is closer to the time I initially plan than to the trip itself. This trip, I was sooo nervous about getting everyone on the same flight and for a good fare, I booked at what might have been a slightly high rate. It turns out with that airline, it has not fluctuated much beyond a few dollars on either side of what I paid. Other airlines have been cheaper, but I had companion fares...so really I still got a better deal going with the airline I did. Anyway, the point to my rambling you should book when you feel you can live with the fare.

Thanks. I think we're going to end up flying Jetblue...they are a lot cheaper than Delta. And I also think I might book the plane before anything else this time.

And you ARE getting so close!

 

[GrammyJudy]

...my dilemma about the Swolphin vs. CSR, that is! Figuring everything else out is just going to take some time, I guess.

Anyway...we are attending a wedding just outside Philly in a few weeks and the block of rooms is at....you guessed it...a Hilton with the Heavenly beds and everything. If my husband and I truly fall in love with it, then maybe that will make up mind! I just can't get their deals out of my head. And those are guaranteed... Now, I might get lucky and Disney will offer the 4/3 deal or something, but then again...knowing they are trying to move away from those kinds of deals, maybe I won't, especially during President's Week!

Oh...and a question for all you seasoned travellers (we aren't)... if I see a good price for a flight, am I better off booking it sooner rather than waiting around? Am I more likely to find a good deal now than I will be in a few months? Jetblue has some very nice looking fares for direct flights out of Hartford on our dates. Just wondering! TIA!

Book your air ASAP. I booked ours on the morning nonstop Jet Blue last week and they have since gone up $25.

Also advice on getting your little one to sleep: one of you put him to bed with the lights off or low.. Once he is asleep the one comes in and you will be fine. We travelled many times when my kids were small and they fell off real fast after busy day and never woke up.

 

[GrammyJudy]

Whoops forgot to mention have a bottle of wine for the 2 of you to relax and relive the memories you made that day!!!!

 

[tinacaplan]

Book your air ASAP. I booked ours on the morning nonstop Jet Blue last week and they have since gone up $25.

Also advice on getting your little one to sleep: one of you put him to bed with the lights off or low.. Once he is asleep the one comes in and you will be fine. We travelled many times when my kids were small and they fell off real fast after busy day and never woke up.

Whoops forgot to mention have a bottle of wine for the 2 of you to relax and relive the memories you made that day!!!!

Again, thanks for the advice! I'll probably be making some reservations in the next couple of weeks.

 

[tinacaplan]

...and could not figure out why no one had responded to it! That's because I apparently wrote it and then it didn't post for some reason (probably my fault )

Anyway, we left for our week at the beach on Cape Cod, in Massachusetts. We rent a small place with my parents and my cousin Joe is along for the ride this time, as well. I am being very careful to track my expenses this time, as I am dying to know how it compares to a Disney vacation.

In years past, we never had wireless internet, or internet of any kind. I brought my laptop anyway, hoping I could get a little work done for school. And lo and behold...the house now has wireless! I almost wish it didn't, as I was looking forward to a week without the internet... oh well. Have to find the cure for my internet addiction someplace else.

So...a BIG announcement...I am going to book the Contemporary. As all of you know, it is my DREAM resort. I fell in love when I rode the monorail through it as a little girl and I thought it was amazing when we had dinner there this past February. I love the architecture!

I finally got approval from the person from whom I needed it...my mom. She actually said that after this past year that we deserved it. Go figure. I can't say that I disagree with her. And this trip we will be spending some serious time at our resort, so I figure if there is ever a time to splurge, its now, for a LOT of reasons.

I also did some math regarding our dining choices and the dining plan. I knew that in addition to the regular plan, I wanted to do dinner at California Grill, site of one of the absolute best moments on what was, at many points, an abysmal trip (not Disney's fault...our fault...just couldn't leave our problems in Connecticut, had to take them with us). I also want to do virtually every character meal possible, as I think Max is going to really enjoy them. Plus, I was going to have do something for Max's breakfast on the days we weren't doing a character breakfast, as he has scrambled eggs pretty much every morning. Bottom line was that when I added in the cost of Cali Grill, as well as another OOP TS meal, the difference was only around ninety bucks. So, we're going with the Deluxe plan, as well!

This trip is going to be amazing...and now I have to tinker with our intinerary, because that's going to have be changed around, too!

 

[KatMark]

So much for a nice week away with no internet access. But you'd miss DISsing too much anyway.

I'm glad you decided on the Contemporary. Although I know how much you love the CSR, I could read "between the lines" that you really wanted to stay at the Contemporary. Are you going full out and getting a tower room with a view of the MK?

 

[tinacaplan]

So much for a nice week away with no internet access. But you'd miss DISsing too much anyway.

I'm glad you decided on the Contemporary. Although I know how much you love the CSR, I could read "between the lines" that you really wanted to stay at the Contemporary. Are you going full out and getting a tower room with a view of the MK?

Thanks, Kathy. It is true, about missing the Dis and staying at CR. I'm actually quite happy to reserve a garden wing room for the time being. We took a pretty extensive tour of the CR when we were there in February and the garden wing didn't feel so far away to me. We'll see if they offer some sort of super deal (like 4/3, for instance) and then I might consider the upgrade. And who knows? I could be the recipient of some pixie dust!