How do I pull this off ??

[zdad]

DW has said she wouldn't mind heading back to WDW, just the two of us for a romantic few days. Here are her caveats....
1. She doesn't want to spend lots o money (not quantified at this time).
2. She doesn't want to leave the kids alone.
3. She doesn't want to spend lots of money on tickets.

Now item #2 means we'd have to go over Christmas holiday, which makes me laugh at item #1. Romantic means no Pop Century, but GF or CR totally violates #1. I'm trying to work her over on #2. Boys will be 17 & 13 by then. Our neighbors are great, and they could be there for all but the sleeping.

So I'd like to try this.....
---Go Jan 1 or 2 (Jan 2 is our anniversary). This is also value season.
--- Rent points for BC, OKW or VWL. 2005 points for OKW are 8 per night in Jan. At ~$10 per point, that's a deal and a half.
--- Only get park ticket for two of the 4 days. No hoppers either.
--- Fly SW, on some Ding fare.

Do any experts have thoughts on how to pull this 2nd trip off ???

 

[grimley1968]

On #2, it seems to me that a boy/young man 17 years of age should be perfectly capable of the type of arrangement you suggest with your neighbors, and could help take care of the 13 YO. The 17 YO will probably be in college or something like that in a year anyway, so it'd be a little practice for him.

On #1, you have far more options for a little romance than just CR and GF. I think your suggestion for VWL is a really good one, since I've heard WL is awesome around Christmas time. I just hope it wouldn't be too much same old same old for you since you just returned from there.

On #3, buying 4 day MYW tickets, sans hopping and sans no expiry is not as expensive as it used to be with the old parkhopper passes. I'd check it out.

 

[tubachick]

grimley1968 took the words right out of my mouth . There are other options besides CR and GF unless those are where she wants to go, and that time of year would be great (value season and the hoiday decs are still up) and renting points is the most value for your $$. check out the new ticket prices, it might be worth while to buy the 4 day w/o options or hoppers for about the same $$ the old combo's were.

 

[PB'sMOM]

Go for it!!! DH&I went for a few days-just the 2 of us. We have 2 girls-15 and 2. We had not been away together in 16 years-since our honeymoon-before kids. OMG did we have fun. We stayed at CBR and liked the romantic beach feel. We ate when we wanted and stayed up as late as we could. Of course we(I) were nervous about leaving my kids-but they were in good hands. My sister came in from NC(we payed for her ticket-but it was worth it).
Since your boys are older maybe you could arrange with some of their friends parents for them to stay at their home-maybe that would give peace of mind so the boys are not alone overnight. How about any relatives near by?
Renting points is a great idea or how about one of the mods- POR and POFQ are very romantic-like. We stayed at CBR because we were in desperate need of the warm beach feeling since we had had a long, cold winter.
SW will probably have the best fare deal-start looking and like you mentioned, use Ding.
Ticket wise, depending on how much you want to spend and what parks you will go to-you can probably get a decent ticket online-check Mousesavers and signup for the newsletter -if you haven't already.
DH and I had so much fun. Oh sure, we missed the kids(for about a minute) but we needed to get away. We had just accepted an offer on our house(that had been on the market for over a year-major stress). My brother had gone through some very serious emergency surgeries which put him in the hospital off and on for 2 months. Most of my family is out of state so I was one of his primary caregivers. I almost called off the trip and my DH said no. By the time the day arrived I was desperate to go. I left my sister 6 pages of notes and contact info and we called to check on the girls.
DH and I are thinking we may do another trip-we don't know when.
Hope you can convince your DW.

 

[lagunaseca]

zdad, you sound like you have a good plan. Kids will be back in school after the 1st right? So most of their day will be occupied. From the sound of your post you WILL get this accomplished. And dw will love ya for it.

 

[robinb]

I hate to be a wet blanket, but you will be hard-pressed to find a studio at VWL for the first week of January. The first part of that week has everyone who stayed at WDW for New Year's Eve and the latter part of that week has the marathoners.

You will probably be able to score something at OKW or SSR, though. If you want too long even those will be booked. Another romantic option would be POFQ.

 

[Tigger&Tink]

ZDAD--looks like you have received some great info here,, and I don't have any more to offer,,,but I just wanted to say--WHAT A SWEETIE... for doing this for your wife ,,and I am SURE no matter where you stay or what you two do , she will LOVE IT!! Have a BLAST!!!



Tink

 

[experiment626mom]

I thnk really any of the resorts could be romantic, it's all what you do with it. Yes granted the values are a little more childlike in there decor but with a gift basket or flowers and the two of you together, I don't think it would matter much.

Go for it and have a magical, romantic time!!!

 

[zdad]

Thanks all. Some good advise and encouragement !! I think I'll pull this one off. Maybe I'll let her forget about it and spring it as a Christmas present !! Then again, her reaction to surprises isn't always what I think it will be

More planning ahead. I think buying points will be the cheapest way. We'll see what I can whip up. I'll be sure to get back to the board for comment before pulling the trigger.

Thanks,
Z