I'll Just Put My Random Ramblings Here...Feel Free to Read and Comment

[kristenrice]

I'm not great at writing trip reports, but I sure do like to jot down all of my random thoughts. It's fun to go back and read the "reports" that I've posted about our past trips.

I'm way behind on this one so I will start with several posts which explain what has transpired so far. We are heading back to WDW from October 15-22, 2016 and we've been planning since 2012!

THE CAST
My family...in 2012
-Me (Kristen) -Kamryn (will be 13)
-DH (Kevin) -Kaedyn (will be 11)



My Sister and her family...in 2012
-Kim -Olivia (will be 8)
-Brad -Emilee (will be 5)



...and My Parents...also in 2012



...up next...the setting!

 

[kristenrice]

Dad has stayed at OKW twice and he loves it. He is also a "creature of habit" and he prefers to stick with the "tried and true". My family has a DVC membership and my parent's previous OKW stay was facilitated by transferring points into my account from other members. Dad wanted to do the same for this trip so asked me to start looking for available points. My sister's family decided that they would split the cost of the points if my parents wanted to share a 2BR with them. My family has 194 of our own points available to cover our lodging. I do NOT like studios and prefer 1BR's if we can swing it, but with only 194 points, our options are limited.

I was able to find points for the others....at BWV. I told my dad that he would LOVE the Boardwalk because he can walk to Epcot. Unfortunately, getting enough points for a P/G 2BR was out of their price range so I was only able to get enough for a standard 2BR. I explained that getting a standard 2BR for a full week at the BWV during October was NOT a gimme. They needed to have a back up...and of course, it was OKW. I was really worried because I knew I needed to book this at exactly 11 months, but since I was using transferred points, I would not be able to do it online. I was sure that the 1-hour difference between online and phone booking would be the stopper. As luck would have it, the booking system was down on the morning that I needed to book. When I finally got through on the phone, I had to waitlist since that first night was taken. Fortunately, within a day or two, the room became available (I assume someone who was "walking" gave it up) and I was able to get the whole week for them.

Last week, the 7-month window opened for my family. We were only able to get a BWV 1BR P/G view for Sunday-Tuesday night. I snagged a 1BR standard at BWV for Saturday (arrival night) and got a 1BR value at AKV for Wed-Fri nights. The good news is that we have a 1BR for the entire week and I don't have to spend any time in a studio. I waitlisted a P/G 1BR for Saturday night (arrival) so we don't have to switch rooms, and also for Wednesday night, so that we can have 5 nights at BWV. The Saturday waitlist filled within 3 days! So now, we have 4 nights at BWV with the rest of the family, and 3 nights at AKV.

Up next...knocking something off my bucket list...and can I keep it a surprise???

 

[kristenrice]

How are we getting to Florida this time?

Well, we live about 10 minutes from the Grand Rapids airport. My sister has a lot of points with SWA so that is her preferred airline. My mom has a LUV voucher from SWA (from a flight we took last October) so my parents are "locked in" to SWA as well. Unfortunately, there were no non-stop flights from GRR to MCO on any date in October (NOT COOL, Southwest!) so they decided to fly out of Flint. There is one non-stop flight out of FNT on Saturday, departing at 1pm and arriving around 3:30pm. The plan was to drive over on Friday, after the kids are out of school, and stay in a nearby hotel for the night. That way, there's no huge rush in the morning and no worries about getting stuck in traffic on the way to the airport. We've always booked a hotel the night before our flights when we do not fly out of Grand Rapids. It's a much less stressful way to start our vacation.

When I bought the park tickets for the rest of my family (I have an AP), I was assuming that the non-stop flight would be an early one. It has been 8am or earlier since SWA was AirTran. So, I went ahead and bought 7-day tickets, thinking that we'd be in Orlando by noon. Well, now SWA threw a wrench into that plan and the flight doesn't land until 3:30. Using DME, we probably won't be at the BWV until 5pm, which doesn't leave a lot of time for a park. The rest of the family only bought 6-day tickets so they have no plan to go to the park on Saturday anyways. They are booked on the flights out of Flint, but I really didn't want to "lose" that day...so...the wheels started turning...

I looked at the SWA fights on FRIDAY night out of Grand Rapids...sure enough, there is one that departs at 6:30pm. That means that we can surprise the girls when they get home from school on Friday...IF I can keep it a secret. It was a bit more expensive than flying out of FNT, and it has a plane change in Chicago. The girls have flown several times now so they are able to "fend for themselves" at the airport. The only worry is missing the connection...it's only 70 minutes and it will be the last flight of the night into Orlando. I guess if we get stuck and have to fly out in the morning, we should still end up in Orlando before noon.

So here's the plan for everyone...so far...

On Friday, the kids get home from school at 3:30pm. I'd like to leave for the airport by 4:30pm, but it may be earlier. My sister would like to head over to Flint right after school so that they can eat dinner and give their girls a chance to swim at the hotel pool before bed time. My parents will be going with them (not in the same vehicle) so they will leave whenever Kim decides to go. My dad had offered to drop us off at the airport, but we really don't want to get there at 4pm...that's a little too early. We may opt for Uber instead.

When we get to Orlando at 11pm, we will be exhausted. Every time we've walked through the Orlando airport, I point out the hotel rooms in the atrium. The girls ask when we can stay there and my answer is always "someday". Well, now we have the perfect opportunity! I'm not too excited about the $250 price tag, since we will really only be there for about 10 hours, but I'm thrilled with the prospect of getting off the plane and heading straight to the room to fall into bed.

Up next...the plan for Day 1...

 

[kristenrice]

Let me back up a bit...

Thanks to the great folks over on the Budget Board, I was able to "churn" my gift cards and I earned $225 in eBucks this quarter. I am going to combine that with a $25 eBay card that I "bought" with my Best Buy rewards (free!) and use it to buy a $250 Hyatt gift card from eBay...making our night at the Hyatt completely FREE. (*Ok, well, not "free"...but no money out of pocket)

Back to the plan...

Since the rest of the family isn't arriving at the resort until around 5pm, I am going to try and wrangle everyone onto DME by 11am. That means that we can hopefully spend a few hours in a park (probably MK or AK) before they arrive. Once they are settled in, we plan to meet over at Disney Springs for dinner at Earl of Sandwich around 6pm. Then it's off to bed to start our first full day at "The World".

...Up next: Did I mention that Sunday is MY BIRTHDAY??

 

[kristenrice]

I have a new plan for our arrival day...of course, it is subject to more changes..

Kaedyn has been on a cooking-kick lately. She loved watching MasterChef Junior and she has become obsessed with anything to do with cooking and baking. Perfect timing for a trip to Food and Wine Festival. She asked me about the Behind the Seeds tour at Epcot and I think it is a great idea. I looked into the tour and it is only 45 minutes and $15 which is quite reasonable.

I am hoping to get everyone up and over to BWV by noon. I think I will schedule us on the 2:15pm tour. Then we will head back to BWV and meet up with the rest of the family who should be arriving around 5pm. Their flight is scheduled to land at 3pm and they will be taking DME to the resort. Once we are all together, we will head over to Disney Springs for dinner at Earl of Sandwich.

 

[kristenrice]

Yippee! I checked the rate at the Hyatt and now the AAA Member rate is down to $215 ($191 + tax) so that knocks $35 off my budget.

I also happened to look at the Behind the Seeds tour information and it is actually $20, but still...totally worth it. I mentioned that plan to my dad and he was interested in the tour as well. So now I may rethink it....if dad wants to join us, we won't schedule it for our arrival day.

Dad and Kim are getting all excited about booking our ADR's. I am being no help at all because I simply cannot decide at 180 days. I know I will have to narrow it down soon since our window opens in 6 days. Kim wants to do breakfasts at Tusker House and Garden Grill, lunch at Crystal Palace and dinner at O'Hana. So basically, EVERYTHING she wants to do will need a 180-day ADR. Unfortunately, I don't want to eat at that many AYCE places since both of my "kids" are actually "adults". The only one that I really want to snag is a lunch at BOG. Our family has eaten dinner there, and while it was delicious, I'd prefer to try lunch since we may not have a TIW card for this trip, and lunch is cheaper.

Kim and I want to do the MNSSHP, but dad is not interested...that's a bummer because he is such a Disney fan, but he's not interested in the extra cost. I'm sure that they would love it, especially when their youngest granddaughters are all done up after their BBB appointments, but I understand the financial aspect. Right now, we are just waiting for the prices to be released. We already know that Tuesday will be the night that we would go, but Kim has a set budget and if it is too much, she's not going. She hasn't mentioned it to her kids so they won't be disappointed either way. My kids have already been to the party and they said they would be fine with going, but they don't really care either way. I told Kim that the party decision is entirely up to her. I have the funds allotted in my budget so if she says they are going, then we are going too. If not, that's money I can put into the account for next year.

 

[kristenrice]

OMG...My waitlisted night came through! Now, we have 5 nights in a P/G 1BR at BWV and the last 2 in a value 1BR at AKV. This was the best-case scenario for us...well, the "best" case would have been if WE could have got a 1BR standard for a week at BWV at the 7- month mark, but I was fairly certain that would not happen. I do NOT like studios for more than a few nights and I prefer to do them at the beginning of a trip. I was shocked that the 1BR value was available just outside the 7 month window so that is when I grabbed up the last three nights. I was going to be 2 points short if the waitlist filled so I did a little finagling (involved cancelling one night and immediately rebooking it, buying 2 OTU points to book it) and freed up those 2 points I would need. Good thing I did! I'm so excited...and so are my dad and my sister.

BWV during F&W is such a great experience. I've only been able to do it one time (2011 for three nights) and I can't wait to do it again with the whole group. To top it off, I get to finish the trip at "home". Every time I've been to WDW since 2008, we have visited AKV and I truly missed it when we weren't staying there. NOw, we will get to stay there, in a 1BR, and I get to eat my favorite getaway breakfast at Boma.

 

[kristenrice]

Oh boy...the plans are changing all over the place

Kim has decided not to take her girls to the BBB...they weren't that interested in the hair, just the makeup, and she feels that $50+ is a little too much for eyeshadow and glitter. She also decided not to attend the MNSSHP. She knows that there is so much to do already and her kids will probably be too tired to really enjoy it since they typically go to bed around 8:30. She said that they would crash before the parade.

Now that the party is off the table, I have another $350 in my budget freed up for other stuff....so we booked our ADR's....

As much as I love to eat at the TS restaurants at WDW, since we are so close to Epcot, I foresee myself eating a lot at the F&W booths and don't want to fill up on too many TS meals. We decided to eat at O'Hana for my birthday dinner (5:30pm), Crystal Palace for lunch (1pm) and breakfast at Garden Grill (10:15)...but we couldn't get a table for 10 at Garden Grill. Kim was able to get a table for 6 at 10:10 but every time I try to secure a 10:15 (for 4), the stupid app and website give me an error message. Since that will be a very pricey breakfast, I am not going to bother trying to call and sit on hold for 30-45 minutes...I'll just wait it out and see if they get the website back up and running.

...That's all for now...

 

[kristenrice]

It's been a while since I've updated and a few things have changed...

The first thing that has changed is our dining options...

When I saw that Disney is raising the prices for some of the character buffets, I told my sister to remove my family from our lunch at the Crystal Palace. None of us are fans of the food there (it's palatable, but nothing we love), the characters don't do anything for us, and at almost $60 each, there is no way I am going to pay $250 for my family to eat LUNCH at a restaurant we would not otherwise eat at. We decided to book at Liberty Tree Tavern instead.

I am also on the fence about where to eat for my birthday dinner. Right now, we have a 5:35pm ADR at O'Hana. The plan for that day (Sunday) is to spend the day at the Studios and take the bus to the Poly for dinner. After dinner, we will walk to the TTC and catch the monorail to Epcot and take a leisurely stroll through to the IG exit. We don't have any plans to do anything at Epcot, but we aren't ruling anything out at this point.

The price of dinner at O'Hana is really bothering me. Unlike Crystal Palace, this IS a restaurant that we enjoy, but now that our kids are all "adults", we would probably skip it, except this time, we are celebrating a special occasion. My sister's kids are picky and she is not sure that they will like the food at O'Hana. She knows they will like the experience though and she is OK with the cost. I am now considering changing dinner to Big River Grille. The menu seems both diverse and affordable so I think it will appeal to all of us. My only concern is that when we ate there in 2001, DH said that the steak he ate was the WORST steak he's ever had and he will never order a strip steak from anywhere in WDW again. Fortunately, that meal was comped to us when we took the DVC tour at the BWV so he didn't bother to complain about it at the time.

So that's where we stand right now. We are still over a month away from our FP+ booking window and we need all of that to try and figure it all out. I'm not looking forward to it because I really just want to wing it...but you can't do that with 10 people!

 

[DisneyRegulars]

It's fun to read how your plans have been evolving! I think for your birthday you should choose your favorite restaurant on property and go there. Sounds like the Big River Grille might be risky, and it doesn't get the best reviews. I don't ever hear people dying to make Big River Grille reservations. The kids will find something to eat no matter where you choose, and if they don't, just let them get dessert. It is a celebration after all.

 

[kristenrice]

I blew it! The secret is out...the girls know that we are leaving on Friday instead of Saturday. I had to do it, though, and here's why...

Kaedyn (our youngest) is quite interested in participating in the F&W festival events. She's been asking to do a culinary demo, "as long as it's a pastry". As luck would have it, there are TWO demos with pastries during our stay. I also saw the Parisian Afternoon event and when I mentioned "macarons" to her, she said, "We HAVE to do it!". As luck would have it, they are offered on Saturday, which is the day we arrive. At $55 each, I wanted to make sure that she would do it since it means we will have to make it a point to get up and out of the airport hotel and on the DME bus in a timely manner. I knew that DH wouldn't be interested and I assumed that Kami (my picky eater) wouldn't be interested either...and she's not. In order for the girls to make their decisions, I had to let them in on the secret. They were pretty excited, but since the trip is still 3 months away, it's not like they were jumping for joy. I am planning on booking right away on Tuesday morning. I am an AP holder, DVC member and Chase Visa card holder so I qualify for early bookings. I did make sure that Kaedy knows that it is not a sure thing. I will try my best, but we still may not get to attend.

Yesterday, the new carry-on bag I ordered showed up. I'm such a dork because I am SO excited about it...it's a spinner. I've never owned a spinner before and I keep twirling it around on the hardwood floor...I'm like a kid with my new toy. I've wanted it for quite a while and after discounts and rebates, the net expense is about $70...for a $150 bag. I actually had a reason to buy it too. We normally fly non-stop and check our large rolling duffel and use our 22" rolling bag as a carry-on. We each have a large backpack that works as our "suitcase", holds everything we need for the week and still fits under the seat on the plane. Well, for this trip, since we have a plane change and a late arrival, I would prefer not to check any bags at all. We will have a few items that can't go in the carry-on (sunscreen, laundry detergent, and fabric softener, etc) but my parents have offered to throw those items into their bags for us. Now, instead of packing our extra shoes, non-perishable food and sweatshirts in our big duffel, we can spread it out between our two carry-ons. Then, on the way home, we can check them if we want.

That's all for now...we will see what happens on Tuesday

 

[DisneyRegulars]

The spinner bag is life changing. There are few products that I've tried and thought "I'm never going back", but the spinner bag is one of them. Just wait until the first time you wheel that thing into one of those tiny bathroom stalls. It's amazing!!!!!

 

[kristenrice]

I was not successful yesterday in trying to book our Parisian Afternoon. I was on hold for about an hour and by the time I got through to someone who was able to pull it up, all of the "pre-booking" slots were filled. So, I will be getting up nice and early tomorrow so I can be on the phone at 7am sharp to try and get this booked.

I was able to book the culinary demo that Kaedyn wanted. It's a "pastry" demo on the 20th which happens to be the day we are at Epcot anyways. The only concern I have is that we have a breakfast booked at Garden Grill at 10:15am and the demo is at noon. I know that it is not a lot of food so that's not the issue. I need to make sure that we will be able to finish our meal at GG and still have time to get over to the Festival Center. Unless GG is running way behind, I think we will be fine.

 

[kristenrice]

The plans are all starting to come together now. In 3 weeks, we will make our FP+ selections and that will change everything, but here's where we stand so far...

Friday, October 14
I work from 0500-1100, DH will take the dogs to the kennel at 1000, and the kids get off the bus at 3:30. My dad is picking us up at 4:30 and dropping us off at the airport. We fly from GRR to MDW at 6:30, stop for 70 minutes and change planes in Chicago and then fly to MCO, landing around 11pm. We will head straight up to our room at the Hyatt MCO and settle in for a good night of sleep.

Saturday, October 15
Kaedyn and I are booked for the Parisian Afternoon event at Epcot which starts at 1:30pm. I'm going to try and get everyone up and out of the room by 10am so that we can get on the DME bus by 10:30. If our room is ready when we get to BWV, DH and Kami will just hang out in the room, which is actually their preferred activity. If the room isn't ready, I suggested that they walk over to Fantasia Gardens and play a round of mini golf. After lunch, Kaedy and I will head back to the BWV to meet up with the rest of the family. Their flight lands at 3:30 and they are also taking DME to the BWV. When they are all settled in, we are all planning on heading over to Disney Springs for a little shopping and dinner at Earl of Sandwich.

To be continued....

 

[Twilight Sparkle]

Let us know what you think of the Parisian Afternoon event. My DD loves all things French, so this might be a nice thing to do for her. I know nothing about it, though. Off to Google . .
.

Update: Well we won't be able to do this since it's only during F&W Festival, but please do share a review of the experience. We'll live vicariously.

 

[kristenrice]

59 days to go and the FastPasses have been booked

Here's the rough plans...

Saturday
I made FP+ for Kami and Kevin for Soarin' from 1:10-2:10. Then, I made one for Kaedy and I for Test Track from 2:10-3:10. Since we have a split-stay, we will all have at least 2 MagicBands. I plan to give one of mine to DH and one of Kaedy's to Kami and that way they can use "our" FP+ to ride Soarin' while Kaedy and I are enjoying our Parisian Afternoon from 1:30-3:30. I also grabbed FP's for Living with the Land (3:20-4:20) and Spaceship Earth (4:30-5:30) just in case. I figure that we can meet up after Kaedy and I finish our lunch and enjoy those two attractions, then head back to the BWV by 5pm. The rest of the family lands at 3:00 so I anticipate they will be at the BWV and settled in by 5-5:30. Once we are all together, we will take the bus over to Disney Springs for dinner.

After dinner, Olivia (8yo niece) wants to do some shopping. She specifically asked that we include "shopping" on our to-do list so she is going to visit some of the venues at Disney Springs. Then, it will be off to bed to prepare for Sunday...

 

[kristenrice]

Sunday

We are heading to the Studios today. Hopefully, we will get everyone up and at 'em so that we can get there for the 8am EMH. The plan is to do Rock n Roller Coaster, Tower of Terror and then Toy Story Midway Mania, all without FP+. Then, we have a FP+ for Star Tours fro 9:10-10:10, the Frozen Sing-a-long at 11 and then the Great Movie Ride at 12:10. After that, we will try to hustle over a catch the 1pm Beauty & the Beast Show, but if we can't make it, then we will grab a bite to eat and wait for the 2pm show.

Once the show is over, we plan to head back to the resort. Dinner is at 5:30 at O'Hana....Kim wants to let the kids do a little swimming before dinner. I told her that if we don't get back to the resort until 3pm, she will have less than an hour since I assume we will need to leave by 4pm to get to dinner on time. The plan is to walk through Epcot and catch the monorail to the TTC and the walk to the Poly. We may be OK if we leave by 4:30, but I don't really want to have to run to get to dinner. I am trying to convince her to use Uber Family. If she opts for that, she can hold off until about 4:45 before she'd have to leave which would give the kids plenty of time in the pool. She is very leery of using Uber (because of bad press it got up here in Michigan...driver went on a mass shooting spree...blamed Uber...so now it has a bad stigma...) but I am trying to convince her that it is perfectly safe and will be completely worth the time savings.

After dinner, Dad wants to watch Illuminations at Epcot. The plan is to take the monorail back to Epcot and walk through to the Boardwalk. We will play it by ear to see how the kids are holding up at that point.

 

[kristenrice]

The travel nightmares have begun...that means the trip is closing in.

In my dream, I got on the plane (by myself...apparently, everyone was coming in the next day) and realized my carry-on was rather light. To my horror, I realized I'd forgotten to throw in the packing cube that contained all of my clothes. So I was headed to Florida for a week with only the clothes on my back. I was frantically trying to call my mother so she could grab the bag and bring it with her, but of course the phone wouldn't connect...and I was already on the plane...and the door was closing.....and then I woke up

7 weeks from today...

It's time to start watching out for our Magical Express packets....

 

[kristenrice]

My dad cracks me up...
I showed him a video tour of the Boardwalk that I found on YouTube. He watched it and afterwards, he said, "I saw my bench". He could go to Disney World and just people watch all day long and have the time of his life. He can't wait to grab his morning coffee and head out to the Boardwalk before the sun comes up and just watch the world go by...just sitting on "his" bench.

 

[Twilight Sparkle]

Your dad sounds like a sweet guy!