In the Spirit of the Season

[annmarieda]

I made an ADR for my daughter and myself for the afternoon tea at the GF do you think it would be nice for a 15yr who rants all the time "I HATE BEING A GIRL". She really likes green tea and I want to do something special with her since its her bday celebration trip.

I don't know... she might. While it is very girly, it is also very special/fancy. I think I would say go for it. If she doesn't like it...then yo know you tried something new that you won't do in the future.

Yeah it sounds okay! I just kept thinking and telling K that you probably didn't want to ask because you thought you might interrupt us, but we wouldn't have looked at it that way!

If I really needed it, I would have asked...so thank you. You are too sweet!!!

And I didn't mean any offense with Zoe! I was just curious because I feel really bad that she's so little and has to go through so much! It's not right, but she's lucky to have a mom to step up to the plate and take as much control and precautions as she can!

I didn't take any offense. i thought it was a caring inquisitive question. I honestly feel blessed that you would even ask. We have family members that don't even care to ask details..so thank you.

And Damien at tea? I'm not sure he would go with that we saw Aurora without a line and he wouldn't go to her because she was only for the girls as well as Marie! So maybe one day I will be able to!

Yeah, I think very few boys are into it. Even the husbands or boyfriends I saw there with their gals looked a bit horrified to be there.

I have always wished that I could bake/cook like this! I would love to have people over and put that swan dessert out and see/hear the OOO's and AAAA's!

I know... that swan definitely had me ooo and aaa

Thanks for the link! the photos look wonderful.

My mom was here today and I presented my 'secret' plan to her.

She was all for it... she's as nuts about Disney as I am

GF tea will definitely be on our list of things to do

I hope you have a nice time. Just maybe remember that the food is pretty...but not necessarily filling or tasty. At least not until you get to the desserts.

 

[lovethattink]

Ohhhh! Those pictures in that link!! I'd like to do the tea sometime, but I don't think my boys would be willing and I'm not willing to go solo.

 

[Monknmom]

Anytime!
Yeah I can't imagine how long they have those chefs and bakers training to make everything just right! The other day I pulled up some jobs that Disney has available for K and told him he should apply!!!! LOL he will never though

 

[annmarieda]

Among all the mail that came while we were gone, was a mailing for DVC. Call..do the phone/internet tour and get a $40 gift card. While it would have been nice to get that for the trip... I am sure there will be other trips (at least I am hoping)

I have done the tour before, but this time I got more questions answered. Honestly, I am having a hard time seeing where it would be a good deal for us. I always go with some discount. (one that I don't have to pay for) The way I look at it, we would be paying about $100 a point to buy in and then about $4.73 a point for dues a year. I would then need to buy food and tickets.

I can see that at some point it will not be bad considering just paying dues + tickets + food.

Anyway... Steve actually before we got back had told me we should look into it. So it was worth looking into...but still thinking it may not be good for us. But... for getting a gift card!

 

[dizneeat]

Among all the mail that came while we were gone, was a mailing for DVC. Call..do the phone/internet tour and get a $40 gift card. While it would have been nice to get that for the trip... I am sure there will be other trips (at least I am hoping)

I have done the tour before, but this time I got more questions answered. Honestly, I am having a hard time seeing where it would be a good deal for us. I always go with some discount. (one that I don't have to pay for) The way I look at it, we would be paying about $100 a point to buy in and then about $4.73 a point for dues a year. I would then need to buy food and tickets.

I can see that at some point it will not be bad considering just paying dues + tickets + food.

Anyway... Steve actually before we got back had told me we should look into it. So it was worth looking into...but still thinking it may not be good for us. But... for getting a gift card!

Congrats on the gift card!!!!!!!!
I was always the one who said - it's not for us, especially at our age - I cannot see myself at age 80 going to WDW and riding EE!
BUT - we made an inheritage (and my cousin's little boy will inherit) and I am paying it off with that (I can only pay as much as is the max on one CC).
and from there on I am writing down what those vacations would cost me - even with a discount and we will break even in just a few years time.
I think it also depends on HOW you vacation. We love those 1 bedroom units and haven't stayed in a value for years (even though I loved them).

 

[annmarieda]

Congrats on the gift card!!!!!!!!
I was always the one who said - it's not for us, especially at our age - I cannot see myself at age 80 going to WDW and riding EE!
BUT - we made an inheritage (and my cousin's little boy will inherit) and I am paying it off with that (I can only pay as much as is the max on one CC).
and from there on I am writing down what those vacations would cost me - even with a discount and we will break even in just a few years time.
I think it also depends on HOW you vacation. We love those 1 bedroom units and haven't stayed in a value for years (even though I loved them).

Ya know for the last few years, I have been saying "ok, next trip no disney" Now with the thought that we could use the points elsewhere it might actually not be a bad idea. Also, I am kinda learning there is NO saying NO to disney.

Oh...and just to note... I did mention something in error. I do realize that the yearly dues go up and change so that 473 or so would not be that each year as that is just the current price for Saratoga Springs.

I know that the person I spoke with today is sending me a more extensive packet... and that would list perks.... so I will have to weigh it all out. The AP being less for DVC is nice... and from there the use of TIW instead of dp. However, I like having the dp (payin oop for it or getting it free)

As you can see, I am still mulling it over quite a bit. Did I mention I just paid my car off? So there is much more room in the budget for that (since we would definitely have to finance it) Oh.. and then there is the benefit of using the interest on our taxes.

 

[dizneeat]

Ya know for the last few years, I have been saying "ok, next trip no disney" Now with the thought that we could use the points elsewhere it might actually not be a bad idea. Also, I am kinda learning there is NO saying NO to disney.

Oh...and just to note... I did mention something in error. I do realize that the yearly dues go up and change so that 473 or so would not be that each year as that is just the current price for Saratoga Springs.

I know that the person I spoke with today is sending me a more extensive packet... and that would list perks.... so I will have to weigh it all out. The AP being less for DVC is nice... and from there the use of TIW instead of dp. However, I like having the dp (payin oop for it or getting it free)

As you can see, I am still mulling it over quite a bit. Did I mention I just paid my car off? So there is much more room in the budget for that (since we would definitely have to finance it) Oh.. and then there is the benefit of using the interest on our taxes.

Yes, you can use it outside of Disney as well, but it is quite high on points.
I just paid off our annual dues .... don't want to be in debt with Disney, now that they let me stay at the Poly nearly for free. .... and SSR had the lowest dues of all the resorts (we own SSR too!)
The thing is that
- if you cannot use your points you can always rent them out, which will definitely cover your annual dues and give you something extra
- you can bank your points for the following year and borrow from the next year, so you would have double the points if you only go every other year
- Kira and her new hubby could use your points as well AND just pay you a little for the use
- you can resell to Disney

I do NOT want to sell you DVC, but it does make sense. BLT costs around 1200$ for the two nights we are staying there and we pay only 40 points! (please note that this is one of the most expensive seasons)
A week at OKW in early September (value season) - 1 br - is around 170 points - can't remember properly. so it really works out! (We bought 160 points)
Think about it!

 

[annmarieda]

Yes, you can use it outside of Disney as well, but it is quite high on points.
I just paid off our annual dues .... don't want to be in debt with Disney, now that they let me stay at the Poly nearly for free. .... and SSR had the lowest dues of all the resorts (we own SSR too!)
The thing is that
- if you cannot use your points you can always rent them out, which will definitely cover your annual dues and give you something extra
- you can bank your points for the following year and borrow from the next year, so you would have double the points if you only go every other year
- Kira and her new hubby could use your points as well AND just pay you a little for the use
- you can resell to Disney

I do NOT want to sell you DVC, but it does make sense. BLT costs around 1200$ for the two nights we are staying there and we pay only 40 points! (please note that this is one of the most expensive seasons)
A week at OKW in early September (value season) - 1 br - is around 170 points - can't remember properly. so it really works out! (We bought 160 points)
Think about it!

I am definitely giving it some thought. I think my biggest issue is I am comparing apples to oranges. Staying at a value vs. say a studio at the villas.

Did you buy through Disney or a resale? Another thing that is nice about right now... if we bought with Disney we would get 2011 points... could "borrow" against the 2012 points(for some reason they are not actually awarded until december )and have double the points for a trip or trips in 2012.

Obviously this will take some thought... and I am tired and need to be up in 6 or so hours.

Thank you though, Karin. I really hope you don't mind me picking your brain... I might need to in order to come to a decision.

 

[ladytink75]

Ann I myself am also a DVC owner.. My home resort is VWL. December would of been my first time staying as a member but now that i'm going in March that will be my first time as a member. I don't have that many points right now I only have a contract for 78 points that's just enough for a week's worth if i'm lucky. We are thinking about adding on later this year once my DH get's established with his job and I get caught up on our bills that have been suffering since he's been without a job. I bought through Disney and it was not that hard of a process. My dues actually went down this year and I have to say I was amazed that it did. My DH agreed to let me buy into DVC because we can stay at other places and not just only travel to DW or DL. If you do buy in get what feels right for your family and what you see your family will be using it for in the future. When I add on I will be adding on 160pts hopefully they will let me add on that much at VWL. Think long and hard we wanted to buy in back in 09' but chose to wait.

 

[Monknmom]

You know while we were there I kept telling myself that I wanted to look into that because it's not just for Disney though, but K kept telling me what your saying- we aren't going every year and when we go next time (yes he did say that and I got him to sign a copy of it) we will wait for a deal like we had this time as well! So I'm not sure... honestly we were shocked whenever we paid for dining because sometimes the bill said it was going to be over $50 and then with the card it was taken care of! So I'm not sure about this... I want to do more research on it too so if you can keep posting about it so I can learn from you and the site that would be greatly appreciated! Thank you!

 

[disneydreamingdebby]

Ann, we own DVC. We bought both contracts (BCV and SSR) through resale. This was before some of the restrictions with resale. It costs us about 40% less to buy resale.

I am not sure I would recommend it if you have to finance. You are then paying interest too and that has to be factored into the cost. DVC members do not get the same promos applied to DVC stays: They do not get free dining unless they book cash like everyone else.

I think you can research and find out when the break even point is--it is several years. It over those years, your family would stay at a value, the break even point would be even longer.

It sounds great to hear two nights at BCV would have cost $1000, but the reality is, a current discount would have really made the cost $650.

Although it sounds like a great perk to be able to use points elsewhere...I don't think it is cost effective. The points work best at Disney.

I love my DVC, but I think it is a big decision involving a lot of research. I think you may want to talk to someone about resale too. I suggest Jaki and **** at Resales dvc .com - We bought both contracts from them and had a great experience.

If you have specific questions, you can pm me. The DVC forums have helpful folks to learn more information from too.

Debby

 

[annmarieda]

Ann I myself am also a DVC owner.. My home resort is VWL. December would of been my first time staying as a member but now that i'm going in March that will be my first time as a member. I don't have that many points right now I only have a contract for 78 points that's just enough for a week's worth if i'm lucky. We are thinking about adding on later this year once my DH get's established with his job and I get caught up on our bills that have been suffering since he's been without a job. I bought through Disney and it was not that hard of a process. My dues actually went down this year and I have to say I was amazed that it did. My DH agreed to let me buy into DVC because we can stay at other places and not just only travel to DW or DL. If you do buy in get what feels right for your family and what you see your family will be using it for in the future. When I add on I will be adding on 160pts hopefully they will let me add on that much at VWL. Think long and hard we wanted to buy in back in 09' but chose to wait.

I will definitely think long and hard. I think it would depend on how things go for dh at work and if we get anything back on our taxes this year. Point wise, I think I would need about 160. Depending on where we stay... that seems enough for a good week somewhere and then maybe a second somewhere else for a shorter trip. Actually, looking at the point charts... and assuming we could use 320 in 2012. (the 160 from 2011 and then the 160 from 2012) I figured a week a with standard view at Aulani, a week in a value room at AK which would then leave 118 to add to 2013. We will see though... it may still just be less to find a condo in Hawaii and get a good discount (like fd) for a week in WDW.

You know while we were there I kept telling myself that I wanted to look into that because it's not just for Disney though, but K kept telling me what your saying- we aren't going every year and when we go next time (yes he did say that and I got him to sign a copy of it) we will wait for a deal like we had this time as well! So I'm not sure... honestly we were shocked whenever we paid for dining because sometimes the bill said it was going to be over $50 and then with the card it was taken care of! So I'm not sure about this... I want to do more research on it too so if you can keep posting about it so I can learn from you and the site that would be greatly appreciated! Thank you!

On one of our very very first Disney trips, I wanted to take look. I really really should have then. Alex was only 5 then... imagine. I still am not sure it is the best choice for us. I know how much yearly we spend on our trips... but that total includes airfare and park tickets... But if we owned DVC outright... and all we had to pay were the dues dues on 160 at SSR is just under 800 now. If I say that I can make the 160 work for 2 weeks a year..that is 14 days. The $800 divided by 14 is only like $57 a night. even with a good room discount you can't really stay for that little. I should compare my most recent stay. I would have been short by 7 points to stay at the VWL. (but we will just play like I would have had enough) I would have had to pay for dinning plan instead of the room. (I got fd, but paid rack for the room) I know it isn't exact... but $50/night/person is 2200. Add in the dues... comes to 3k. Add then in the park tickets and it is about 4200 total. That would have been a savings of about 1100. At that rate, it would take us about 14 trips (each two weeks) to break even. Hmm Is that making sense to you? I think/wonder when DVC advertises that you break even in x amount of trips (not the 28 weeks that I am seeing) I wonder if they are comparing rack rate with no other discounts. In that case, the room was 3300..assuming dues at 800 well then there is a huge savings. That is like 2500 and that would only be 6 trips (or 12 weeks) Hmmm

Ann, we own DVC. We bought both contracts (BCV and SSR) through resale. This was before some of the restrictions with resale. It costs us about 40% less to buy resale.

I am not sure I would recommend it if you have to finance. You are then paying interest too and that has to be factored into the cost. DVC members do not get the same promos applied to DVC stays: They do not get free dining unless they book cash like everyone else.

I think you can research and find out when the break even point is--it is several years. It over those years, your family would stay at a value, the break even point would be even longer.

It sounds great to hear two nights at BCV would have cost $1000, but the reality is, a current discount would have really made the cost $650.

Although it sounds like a great perk to be able to use points elsewhere...I don't think it is cost effective. The points work best at Disney.

I love my DVC, but I think it is a big decision involving a lot of research. I think you may want to talk to someone about resale too. I suggest Jaki and **** at Resales dvc .com - We bought both contracts from them and had a great experience.

If you have specific questions, you can pm me. The DVC forums have helpful folks to learn more information from too.

Debby

I appreciate your feedback. The more I think about it, the more I wonder if it is the best thing for us. Course, if discounts dry up and we are all forced to pay rack rate and full price for dinning and such... Maybe I should look at resale a bit more closely before I completely close the door on this thought...

 

[annmarieda]

Our last night at Pop Century

After leaving the Grand Floridian, it wasn’t very long before we were back at Pop. We decided to go through the Classic Hall in order to stop and pick up Zoe’s medicine. Sadly, before we could even get back to the room we had another mess due to a cap malfunction. This made it so we had to hurry to our room. The stress of the mess behind us, we opened the door to find a very cute new friend.

Once we were back in the room, Steve very quickly fell asleep. It was only 4:15pm! This meant he was up an entire 5 hours on this day. I didn’t get too worked up over it though. I figured he just needed to get caught up on all the lack of sleep he had had over the last day or so.

Wanting to let him sleep, I took the kids for a swim. Well, Alex swam. Zoe was still not allowed to go into the pool since she had an open wound still. (which at this point I could tell would not need to be repacked again on the trip so it would not be long until she could swim).

Once water fun was over made a quick trip back to the room to get cleaned up and then we left the room again. This time we took a walk. Both the kids were in good spirits and had fun monkeying around.

We considered watching the night time movie, but instead went into Everything Pop for some dinner.

As this was still oop at this point and because none of us could really decide on what we wanted, our best option seemed to be the pizza. OMG! I am so very very glad we did. It was cheap, very filling, gave us left overs and above all was YUMMY!

After we had our fill of pizza we decided to split an oreo cupcake. Each of the kids took and ear. Alex oo’d and ahhh’d over his, noting it had “magic” in it.

We were all satisfied with just sharing. (should have seen that as a sign of things to come)

After dinner, we went back to the room and I had Zoe asleep by 8:30, I cleaned up a bit and then got into bed myself. I briefly, accidentally woke Steve (which caused his “not awake” self to not be particularly happy) Once Steve fell back to sleep (which was soon) I took completely journalling and turned in for the night. It was only 9:30pm.

Next Chapter: Checking out of Pop and heading to DTD

 

[Joyciemc]

I got tired just reading about your travel day! But it still sounded like a good start to your trip, and your first day was great (minus the snafus for Zoe along the way)!

The tea sounds partly amazing and partly gross (that bacon wrapped thing was weird looking!) but definitely something I am considering at some point in the future!

 

[Monknmom]

Wow that's nice when they get along I bet! I know that Damien and his uncle are about the same years apart as Zoe and Alex and I know it's nice for us when they get along which is sadly rare! The pizza looks good, but I can't get over the fact that it's not my pizza... if you ever come to NY I will treat you to real pizza and that is very good! And I see that you guys did share a bit of food-- we ended up doing the same thing most of the time, none of us were ever really hungry to just eat...

 

[KatMark]

Can I please have that cupcake now? It looks so yummy.

It looks like it was a fun night walking around Pop and having a meal. And that pizza doesn't look bad for Disney pizza.

 

[disneydreamingdebby]

You're sweet to let him sleep. You must have been exhausted.

 

[annmarieda]

I got tired just reading about your travel day! But it still sounded like a good start to your trip, and your first day was great (minus the snafus for Zoe along the way)!

The tea sounds partly amazing and partly gross (that bacon wrapped thing was weird looking!) but definitely something I am considering at some point in the future!

I think with the champagne and an adult as a companion it would have been a different experience. It was really nice with Zoe. Next time I hope to go with Kira (and any other friends who may be around that would want to go )

Wow that's nice when they get along I bet! I know that Damien and his uncle are about the same years apart as Zoe and Alex and I know it's nice for us when they get along which is sadly rare! The pizza looks good, but I can't get over the fact that it's not my pizza... if you ever come to NY I will treat you to real pizza and that is very good! And I see that you guys did share a bit of food-- we ended up doing the same thing most of the time, none of us were ever really hungry to just eat...

I was actually really surprised by how good Alex was with Zoe the ENTIRE trip. I mean in the airport there was the incident with the crayon and I though "oh no, here we go..2 weeks of this is not going to be fun" Howeer, there wasn't many more like that. Course, that doesnt mean Alex or Zoe were perfect on the trip..but...

And I was surprised by the pizza. I tend to have a couple requirements with pizza. The crust has to be good (ie, not hard, not soggy, not greasy) The sauce has to be good (ie. not too sweet, not too salty) From there it is hard to screw up on the toppings... so this fit the bill.

Can I please have that cupcake now? It looks so yummy.

It looks like it was a fun night walking around Pop and having a meal. And that pizza doesn't look bad for Disney pizza.

Normally i stay away from Disney pizza. I don't like it. this though, I liked. And..there was nothing not to like about the cupcake!

You're sweet to let him sleep. You must have been exhausted.

Yeah... I was. However, I can function on little sleep and to be honest... I can't sleep much when on vacation. I feel too.. too... <- yes, that is me while on vacation. And... Steve he can sleep like the dead and often does anywhere. AND he tends to get cranky if he doesn't get to sleep when he wants to. yes, key word when he WANTS to. He will tell me over and over he "needs" the sleep, but often I think it is he "wants" the sleep. Just last night he mentioned that he thinks he may have spent too much time sleeping while on the trip. This is why we are a good match. I regret not sleeping enough...he regrets sleeping too much. Between the two of us we got just the right amount.

 

[Leger13]

Love the pictures of the kids with Mrs. Potato Head! The pizza looks delicious and so does the cup cake. I love that Alex said the Oreo had Disney Magic on it. ALL the food at Disney always tastes better due to the Magic!!

 

[lovethattink]

We had looked into DVC years ago. We don't mind staying at value resorts. We did the numbers crunch and for us DVC didn't work. My dh's job would give him off holidays and weekends. So most of our points would be spent at times that require more points.

Instead, we opted for an premium annual pass. Even when we lived up north, we would time our vacations 10 to 11 months apart. The savings we were able to use with the passes worked out better for us.

Over the years we have stayed at values for as low as $49, moderates for as low as $79. This year, the lowest we paid for a moderate was $103 per night, the lowest for a value was $53 a night, which will be our upcoming Feb stay.

The cheapest we have stayed at a DVC resort was $174 in Aug 2010 for a studio room. Now that same room is over $200 with the AP discount.

We also use our AP to get the Tables In Wonderland card at a discounted rate. I think TiW is available for DVC owners too, right? That saves us 20% off food and alcohol at participating restaurants and lounges.