I'm thinking August 2015!

[loislane]

DH was pushing to go again this summer - I think more than anything to make me happy, but I know he also really enjoyed our time at the Fort last August. But....from a planning perspective, two years in between trips gives me more time to budget for things. We aren't independently wealthy, so being able to afford Disney takes some saving and planning on our part.

Anyway, I am gearing up to book this summer for next summer and really can't wait. I think we're looking to do the same type of trip we did last time, maybe even a few days longer if we can manage it. Last time was 10 days in the parks along with the water parks and more option, plus arrival and departure day. I think I might like a few extra non-park days to incorporate doing some other things. It will just be 4 of us for this next trip as our oldest son graduates this year and will be moving out (not too far away, just to the in-law apartment at my parent's house up the street) and working full-time on the family farm.

 

[bama_ed]

Good luck on your planning, loislane. Sounds like it will be a nice, long, relaxing vacation.

Bama Ed

 

[tiggerdad]

Sounds like a good strategy allowing two years in between to spread out the financial headache.

I think some people fail to fully enjoy vacations because they are worried about the financial strain it is causing them.

 

[grumpyaggie]

I think every other year is a good idea. We usually try plan a big vacation this way. We are making an exception next year, as we belong to a National Christian Camping group and the 2015 rally is in Florida. I would hate to be 50 miles from the Fort and not go. Plus the rally is during Epcot's flower event. This should give my allergy medicine a good test. Glo & I made our reservations already. This will give us a good idea of what the site will cost. Plus getting rid of the stress trying to get the dates we want. We will be traveling alone(no grandchildren), which will help control our cost. As we do not have to convince a child that we will not be eating at the castle or getting made-up at Bibbidi-bobbidi. Glo & I spent two weeks at WDW in Feb. this year an ate the parks only four or five times. Trails End chicken does not count.

 

[clmhood]

National Christian Camping convention? I will have to check this out!

 

[grumpyaggie]

Christian campers, at one time the group was under the umbrella of the Methodist church. All christians are welcome and do join no matter what denomination. More info www.umcampers.org.

 

[momof2n2]

I think every other year is a good idea. We usually try plan a big vacation this way. We are making an exception next year, as we belong to a National Christian Camping group and the 2015 rally is in Florida. I would hate to be 50 miles from the Fort and not go. Plus the rally is during Epcot's flower event. This should give my allergy medicine a good test. Glo & I made our reservations already. This will give us a good idea of what the site will cost. Plus getting rid of the stress trying to get the dates we want. We will be traveling alone(no grandchildren), which will help control our cost. As we do not have to convince a child that we will not be eating at the castle or getting made-up at Bibbidi-bobbidi. Glo & I spent two weeks at WDW in Feb. this year an ate the parks only four or five times. Trails End chicken does not count.

Can you please tell me how you made reservations for next august? I only have the option of searching dates through December 2014. Thank you.

 

[2goofycampers]

Can you please tell me how you made reservations for next august? I only have the option of searching dates through December 2014. Thank you.

call 407-828-8101

 

[tiggerdad]

Can you please tell me how you made reservations for next august? I only have the option of searching dates through December 2014. Thank you.

I believe that is an online thing. As Denise suggested, if you call and actually speak to someone at Disney you should be able to book that far in advance.

 

[KPSmithSr]

Yep, you can call to make reservation. A coupe of days ago I made ours for 2 weeks - end of Oct, beginning of Nov for 2015.

 

[lokin4deer]

I believe you can book up to 499 days out. Have fun!!

 

[TheRustyScupper]

. . . I think I might like a few extra non-park days to incorporate doing some other things . . .

1) Excellent choice.
2) Yes, the parks and water parks are fun
3) But, MANY people "do The Fort" and only hit the parks a few days during the trip.
4) There is just so much to do at The Fort.
5) THE BEST place in WDW to veg-out! *

* For full disclosure, I admit to being biased toward The Fort. I think it is
the best resort on-property (to work or to stay as a guest).
. . . people can actually get to know their neighbors
. . . folks say "hello" as they pass you
. . . kids get to bond and play with other kids for the duration of the trip
. . . it is pleasure to just "go walkabout"
. . . IT HAS TREES AND GRASS

 

[momof2n2]

call 407-828-8101

I believe that is an online thing. As Denise suggested, if you call and actually speak to someone at Disney you should be able to book that far in advance.

Yep, you can call to make reservation. A coupe of days ago I made ours for 2 weeks - end of Oct, beginning of Nov for 2015.

I believe you can book up to 499 days out. Have fun!!

Awesome!
Thank you, all!!!

 

[jbrostek]

We do a 2 week vacation every winter in FL. We used to do a week at the beach and a week at FW. A few years ago we decided to do 2 weeks at FW, and now heading into the 3rd year in a row doing so. We love the campground and activities there, and even though we are there 14 days at the sites, we buy 10 day park hoppers and use the rest of the time at the fort. We have talked more then once about doing stuff off the Disney campus, but that never seems to happen.

 

[loislane]

Well, the email was sent to our trusty travel agent - she has booked all our Disney trips for us and we love her to death - and we're on her list to get us our quote as soon as the new pricing comes out. I know I could just call and book on my own at this point, but she has done such a great job for us over the years, we like to keep using her.

Now the kids and I have been reviewing our "must-do" lists from last trip to see which things we didn't get to, which we want to do over, and what new things we can add. And reviewing restaurants to see where we'd like to dine out - we like to do at least one dinner out as a treat. So far, they are leaning towards Whispering Canyon Cafe - both for the food and the atmosphere.

Maybe, since we'll only be a party of 4 for this trip instead of 5 (the oldest child has flown the coop, although we told him he's welcome to buy his own park tickets and come pitch a tent) we'll try to do a lunch or breakfast as well. So many places we'd like to eat, but we have to stick to the budget.

Lord, I wish I was independently wealthy.....

Anyway, even though I"m not, I'm already getting silly excited just thinking about the next trip.

And in the meantime, we leave tomorrow to spend 4 days in PA visiting Knoebel's Amusement Park and some other places around that area.

 

[loislane]

Looking forward to using these. Got them with Disney in mind, but they will serve us well for lots of trips. The bottles match the covers, and the covers have straps so you can wear it over your shoulder or cross body.

 

[Napria]

Have you scoped out the budget board here on the Dis?

One thing that's helped us was a tip my sister told me. We book directly with Disney. If you book a year or more in advance, call once a month and put one night's worth on your deposit. That way the campsite is fully paid for in advance of arrival.

Also, set a budget and purchase Disney gift cards on a monthly basis for spending money. I've been told that there is a way to get a discount on them if you have a Target credit card and buy them at Target. This is one suggestion I've meant to take but haven't yet.

We buy one family member's park ticket a month from AAA at a discount.

If you do all this you won't have a huge debt following you home from the Happiest Place on Earth.

 

[loislane]

Have you scoped out the budget board here on the Dis?

One thing that's helped us was a tip my sister told me. We book directly with Disney. If you book a year or more in advance, call once a month and put one night's worth on your deposit. That way the campsite is fully paid for in advance of arrival.

Also, set a budget and purchase Disney gift cards on a monthly basis for spending money. I've been told that there is a way to get a discount on them if you have a Target credit card and buy them at Target. This is one suggestion I've meant to take but haven't yet.

We buy one family member's park ticket a month from AAA at a discount.

If you do all this you won't have a huge debt following you home from the Happiest Place on Earth.

Thanks for the tips - we use some of them, or some version of them.

Our travel agent allows payments after the deposit so we usually save up and put a chunk down and then make weekly payments that fit our budget and pay the trip off in time before we go.

The kids save up their own spending money in advance. When a trip is on the agenda, they will do odd jobs or even ask for Disney gift cards for b'days and holidays leading up the trip.

We also have a big jar that we put money in between every trip. Loose change, bottle return money, any little bonus money we come across goes into the jar and that is our spending money for the trip.

 

[MrIncredibleswife]

Loislane I noticed you camped last year in August...is it just horrible in a tent at night? Also, any thoughts on a screened tent vs. Easy up for over table in case of rain?

 

[loislane]

Loislane I noticed you camped last year in August...is it just horrible in a tent at night? Also, any thoughts on a screened tent vs. Easy up for over table in case of rain?

I can't really answer that as we have a popup and it has a/c, which we pretty much ran full time while we were there. As for the table, we just put it under our awning but it wasn't completely covered. We've already said we'd like to bring a small easy up for next time. We didn't see a need for a screen house - we had no problems with bugs really.