"It all started with a whopping price error ” 10/24 The Perfect Storm of Opportunity

[A&Bmama]

Hi, A&Bmama, I'm still here! So happy to see the updates!

I love your conclusions. I remember being almost in tears much, much earlier in your TR, but somehow those closing thoughts struck that chord again.

Probably because I can relate on some level. We're not as awesome as you guys--we still have a mortgage--but that's the only debt we have left (and we're paying extra on it). We’ve spent our whole marriage so far (almost 5 years) parting with gigantic chunks of money each month to get out of debt. So, I can understand the feelings. We also saved quite a bit at the same time (retirement, emergency funds, etc.). So, when we hit 2010, when our debt was gone, it was pretty wild to actually be "living that dream." But, like you, we're still pretty "disciplined". We actually haven't increased our expenditures since we've been out of debt...we just decided to put that money that was once debt payment money towards travel for a short time. And it got us this crazy Year of Disney! (We're still quite thrifty at that, though, our last WDW trip was $675 total!)!

Hey Dugette, glad you're still here! You guys are doing awesome at your age! The mortgage will come, but it takes awhile.

I read the super inexpensive TR, sorry I didn't post but I would sneak a read in every now and again at work. I wish I could get such awesome airfares from here but it is not that easy for us. I think for us it is easier to go less frequently and make it a "blow out" when we do go.

Like you were talking about realizing, we think that the experiences you have are much more important than material things. And I'm well aware that I've been very lucky with my family situation and that it can change quickly. I had all 4 grandparents up until a few years ago and still have 2. Time with family is priceless. We don't have kids yet, but you can be sure that, when we do, they'll be traveling with us as much as possible. Making those memories.

Sorry, didn't mean to make this all about me. I've absolutely loved your TR! So excited to hear that you're planning another trip! Enjoy making all those “remember when…” moments…you deserve them!

When you guys do have kids Disney will be a whole new experience again for you! If Dugbaby loves small world and wants to ride over and over again you will have a great time just looking and the expression on Dugbaby's face!

Material things are nice but the memories are priceless! (I sound like a PR rep for Disney's new "memories" theme, don't I?)

Thanks for coming back. I totally understand all about NOT finishing TRs. It's hard to keep the momento going. I started one, and thought about starting 3 others, but never did because I didn't finish the first one! Thank you again for sharing your whole story with us.

I think next time I should write the whole TR and then start posting the installments! I drug this thing on for a long, long time. Thanks for seeing it through to the end!

 

[miprender]

Wow.. I missed your last two updates!

The last we spoke you were heading to NH. I hope you had an awesome time.


But I am sad your TR is coming to an end. You did a wonderful job. Maybe you should plan another Disney trip so you will have another TR to write.

 

[A&Bmama]

Thanks for coming back to finish and give some 'final thoughts' (every time I hear that I think of Jerry Springer!!!).

I must say I learned awhile back to 'take some time and enjoy the view' (honest, I don't watch daytime TV that often.....it's on when I see patients!). I see people who had plans for 'tomorrow' that never made it to tomorrow.

My dad opened a service/gas station when I was 6. I can count on 1 hand the number of family vacations we took. Work was EVERYTHING to dad, as without the shop, we had nothing, it was truly a family business. I raised my younger brother because dad and stepmom worked 7am to 9pm Monday thru Saturday. Anyway, growing up I saw other kids DO things with their families, go on vacation, go to the zoo for the day, their parents showed up for school concerts. I was envious. The shop came 1st.

So when I became a mother I vowed to be there, where ever there was, for my kids. Do we have debt? Of course. Do I have Credit cards (nope!), we paid cash for this trip (as we do for any trip). Should I be taking the money I spend on a vacation and putting it to better use? probably, but in 15 years $4,000 will be a drop in the bucket, but the memories my kids have will be priceless. I'm glad you and DH came to that way of thinking for your kids. HUGS!

Thanks! I think we are a lot alike. I couldn't enjoy a trip that wasn't paid for before going, I guess that's just hard wired into me. Thankfully, it easier for us now to find the extra cash for the nicer thing in life. (Like Disney )

WOW! I'm all caught up just before your final words. I hope you have found some peace - and it sounds like you have. Your story reminds me as to why we don't have the top notch furniture and splurgy items in our life. WDW is our splurge - it is our memories that we will cherish forever. I hope you are planning another trip soon so you can enjoy all of the things you missed.

The Disney memories are awesome! They are also sad, bittersweet and painful. Still, when it was good, it was very, very good!

Wow.. I missed your last two updates!

The last we spoke you were heading to NH. I hope you had an awesome time.


But I am sad your TR is coming to an end. You did a wonderful job. Maybe you should plan another Disney trip so you will have another TR to write.

We had a great trip. It was even better than I expected it to be! My kids even got along and even, OMG, interacted with each other!

I want to go back again next summer, I think we would like to stay in Maine this time in a Cabin somewhere along the Maine NH border. I think some friends might come along this time.

As for a Disney trip... We are going back in February!

I have the day off tomorrow and both kids are in school so I am going to post the details as best I know them tomorrow. I am just going to post the basics on the TR here rather than do a whole PTR.

 

[miprender]

We had a great trip. It was even better than I expected it to be! My kids even got along and even, OMG, interacted with each other!

I want to go back again next summer, I think we would like to stay in Maine this time in a Cabin somewhere along the Maine NH border. I think some friends might come along this time.

As for a Disney trip... We are going back in February!

I have the day off tomorrow and both kids are in school so I am going to post the details as best I know them tomorrow. I am just going to post the basics on the TR here rather than do a whole PTR.

So glad that you had fun in NH. We stay in Lovell ME, which is right on the border btwn NH/ME. It is just so beautiful up there and we are about 30min from North Conway.

YEAH for another DISNEY TRIP. Can't wait to read about it!!!!

 

[Dugette]

When you guys do have kids Disney will be a whole new experience again for you! If Dugbaby loves small world and wants to ride over and over again you will have a great time just looking and the expression on Dugbaby's face!

"Dugbaby"-that is about the cutest thing ever! I'm totally stealing that and using it myself someday!

As for a Disney trip... We are going back in February!

I can't wait to hear all about it! So glad you're going back!

 

[A&Bmama]

The Perfect Storm of Opportunity:


We arrived home from Disney tired but satisfied.

I feel a mixture of relief and regret that it is all over. We will go back for sure someday for sure but who knows when?

We discussed coming back one evening while we were still at Disney and we concluded that the next trip we would skip Disney and take in some of the other parks. We will hit the Universal parks and SeaWorld, weather permitting, we might even do Aquatica. I know we will find it difficult to stay away from Disney when we are so close but with the ticket structure it just doesn’t make good economic sense to spend a day Disney and I don’t think we can squeeze in any more time for Disney into a one week trip.

Once we are home I check my e-mail and there is a customer satisfaction survey from WestJet Vacations wanting me to answer some questions on my recent trip to Animal Kingdom Lodge. I fill out the survey, and let them know that overall I was satisfied by the level of service I rec’d from them and Disney but the one thing I did feel was unfair was that they charged me almost $1000.00 to change my flights so that we could get home right away after my Father passed.

I got another e-mail from them asking me to write to them in detail what had happened during my trip. I send them the details I get a nice reply from them telling me that they were sorry to hear of my situation but these are their policies, and that last minute fares are much higher than advance purchases, yadda, yadda yadda, and they will issue me a credit for $950.00 for future flights. It is good for one year and can be extended to two years if I request them to do so before it expires.

What?

Are they serious?

They are.

Since we don’t have any desire to take a trip to Orlando in 2010 we decide that 2011 will be the Universal trip. It will also be DS’s last year of High School. Since I don’t think he can afford to miss a whole week of school we are looking at going during March break.

I keep watching the fares for the 2010 March break so I can get some idea of what we are looking at. OUCH!!! It is going to be expensive! My $950.00 credit is not going to go far but will certainly be a help.

One nice summer evening in DH and I are sitting on our deck barbequing supper and listening to the radio. We hear it announced that since the Canada Winter Games are being held in Halifax in February 11-27 2011 the school board is closing the schools for 2 weeks in February. This will allow them to utilize facilities at the schools for the games and also so that students can volunteer. To make up for the time, there will be no March break and schools will open a couple of days early at the beginning of the year and remain open a few days longer at the end of the year.

Looks like my March break trip just got moved to February and probably will be longer than a week!

Which gets me to thinking…

President’s day will be on the 21st in 2011 so the early part of the trip should still fall in value season. Maybe we could do 5 or 6 nights at Disney followed by 5 or 6 nights offsite while visiting the other parks?

Maybe.

Maybe? Who am I kidding? Once a seed like that gets planted in your head it just grows, and grows and grows.

Once we stayed at Lake Eve with all that space we said we probably wouldn’t stay on property again.

Since we are going to be there during value season if you ever wanted to stay on property again now is the time, right? If you ever wanted to do a deluxe resort now would be the time, right? Or, if you wanted to get two rooms at a value it would be a great time now, right?

I kid you not, I ran estimated cost for every resort on property, from Beach Club at club level, to POP Century standard room, from Poly with a Dining Plan, to Fort Wilderness Cabins with packed lunches.

Staying at the Beach Club would be my dream. Paying the cost for it…not so dreamy. Besides, we will be there in February, what if it is too cold to ever use the pool? Using stormalong bay is a very integral part of the Beach Club Dream, take it out of the equation and Beach Club doesn’t hold nearly as much appeal anymore.

I love the pictures I have seen of POR, especially Alligator Bayou and I feel a sense that we are the type of people that belong there. We might be too cramped in one room but I don’t think that I want to pay for 2 rooms. Hmmmn

Pop Century? I could definitely swing 2 rooms but am left with a sense that I will be unsatisfied by staying there. It would do the job but I don’t think it will really cure my Disney resort craving. Staying at Pop would be like eating diet cookies when I am longing for cheesecake.

So with the resort still a mystery I turn my attention to dining. I can rule out the regular Dining Plan easily. Since both of my kids are now considered adults the cost is just too prohibitive. I know that if we were paying out of pocket we would probably never order desserts and if we did, it would be one or two to share. DD would probably order a kid’s meal regardless of her having adult credits and that would be a huge waste of money.

Wouldn’t it be great to be offered free dining during our trip? Sigh, if only Disney would offer it in February… Unheard of, I know.

I know DS would be disappointed if we didn’t have a dining plan. He enjoyed it so much when were at AKL. I consider getting the QSDP and it seems like a better fit to me. We would still do better financially by paying OOP, skipping the unwanted desserts and ordering kids meals for DD if that is what she wanted. The cost difference is close enough that I can say what the heck, we will just go for the QSDP and not worry about if we could have done it cheaper.

We decide that we will do one OOP TS meal. Le Cellier. I know I will have to book that as soon as the window opens even though we don’t have any other part of the trip booked. So, sometime in mid August I will be booking my one lonely ADR.

Mid August rolls around it’s time to book our dinner at Le Cellier! Just the thought of having a real, honest to goodness ADR makes the trip so much more real to me!

I take a peek at the DIS to look at a few Dining reviews of Le Cellier. I am distracted by what I am seeing in the DIS update section. Free dining being offered for a whole slew of dates in 2011.

I scramble to find the available dates. I tell myself not to get too excited like somehow that will inoculate me against disappointment.

Wow! My dates are there!

I make my Le Cellier ADR and my head is spinning. If we stay Moderate or Deluxe I will have to make a lot more ADRs. The window is already open and I am without a plan!

I start running numbers for different resorts in earnest. DH and I are going to have to make the decision on a resort sooner rather than later. I pretty much settle on POR. It is somehow just calling my name but I also can’t stop longing for the Beach Club. What to do, what to do. I show DH all the details and cost for staying at Port Orleans and he likes it but he asks what else is out there. I show him pictures of the Beach Club and picture of Stormalong Bay. I show him the substantial cost increase over POR. He say book it anyway.

I whip out the credit card and book 5 nights with free dining at the BC. I stare at the confirmation, scarcely believing that we are the proud owners of a confirmed BC reservation.

I am excited.

When I wake up the next morning I realize I am not as excited to be staying at the BC as I thought I would be.

There is something in the back of my mind that I have been ignoring.

In order to take advantage of the Value season rates we are visiting BC Feb 11-16. We will enjoy low crowds, wonderful accommodations and free dining to boot. Once we check out on the 16th we will switch to offsite accommodations and begin to tour the Universal/Seaworld parks.

Presidents’ Day weekend starts on the 18th so we will be touring the other parks in peak season, without benefit of FOTL privleges.

Really, it should be the reverse. We have already visited Disney and plan to several more times before we leave God’s green earth. Chances are, whatever we miss we have already done before and will have another chance to do on a future trip. Besides, Disney has fastpasses and I think my family knows how to tour WDW well in spite of crowded conditions. We won’t have those kind of advantages in the other parks so better to tour them while crowds are low.

If I switch the dates around I am no longer in Value season and that puts the cost of staying at the Beach Club into a range that I am just plain unable/unwilling to pay. I kiss my dream of staying at the Beach Club goodbye, for now at least.

I play with the idea of going to POR again and am feeling really good about it! An idea occurs to me. Why stay anywhere else? Why not just stay at POR the whole time? The dining is free. We will also then have access to all parks for the duration of visit. If we stayed offsite until the 16th we wouldn't have access to any of the Disney parks until we checked in at POR. This way we could wake up, wander to the food court for a bite to eat, head out to IOA for the day, come back and have dinner in the WS and take in Illuminations.

I love the idea! It was a tough sell to DH though. He really wanted to have some larger accommodations for part of the trip at least. As a compromise we will spend the last couple of days of our vacation at a condo on the beach at Treasure Island in St. Petersburg.

So for now we are tentatively booked to arrive in Orlando on Feb 10th I will probably book one night room only at POR for this night. Starting on the 11th we will switch to our package with free dining and stay through to the 20th. Then we will drive to St. Petersburg, (might do Busch Gardens while there) for 3 nights and fly home on the 23rd. No flights are booked yet so until they are all the plans are a little loosey goosey.

I made a lot of ADRs and changed most of them. I still think I have some tweaking to do but here is what I am thinking:

10th check in dinner OOP at Riverside Mill
11th Boatwrights or Kona
12th Rose and Crown with Illuminations viewing
13th 50’s Prime Time
14th ‘Ohana
15th HDDR
16th Boma breakfast, Yak and Yeti dinner
17th Le Cellier
18th Coral Reef
19th no ADR
20th check-out, no ADR

With HDDR being 2 credits and having 2 ADRs on the 16th I have more booked than we should but just in case we missed something I though it was better to book more and scale back. Also, DD is probably going to want to order from the kids menu sometimes, if she does I will ask if we can pay OOP for her meal. If this is allowed I might actually need another ADR to use up those extra credits.

So tell me, what to you think?

 

[ChildAtHeart82]

Yay for another Disney trip! It sounds like you've got a pretty good plan. I'm sorry you're having to delay your Beach Club dream. DW and I have a few things on our Disney dream list that we just haven't been able to make happen yet. I'm sure you'll find the opportunity eventually!

 

[rndmr2]

Glad you are going again in February! I stayed at POR in May and Loved it! We were in the Magnolia Bend area, but I really love the Mansions theming. The whole resort is beautiful, We did a Horse and carriage ride the one evening and it was really nice. Great that you are getting Free Dining!

 

[lborne]

Not many TRs hold my attention much past the first few sentences. Yours was an exception. I'm not done yet, but just had to let you know how much I am enjoying it. Thanks for taking the time to write it.

 

[twitch]

Thanks for sharing your TR. I know that you said it was beneficial for you to write... I'm certain you've been a blessing to your readers who found this thread to be a safe place to process their own grief journeys.

 

[A&Bmama]

"Dugbaby"-that is about the cutest thing ever! I'm totally stealing that and using it myself someday!

I thought it was kind of cute myself. Looking forward to reading a TR that features "Dugbaby" someday.

 

[A&Bmama]

Yay for another Disney trip! It sounds like you've got a pretty good plan. I'm sorry you're having to delay your Beach Club dream. DW and I have a few things on our Disney dream list that we just haven't been able to make happen yet. I'm sure you'll find the opportunity eventually!

You know, the more time I spend looking at POR the less BC seems to pull at my heartstrings. I would still love to stay there sometime but I think a couple of nights would be fine I don't need a whole week or anything.

Glad you are going again in February! I stayed at POR in May and Loved it! We were in the Magnolia Bend area, but I really love the Mansions theming. The whole resort is beautiful, We did a Horse and carriage ride the one evening and it was really nice. Great that you are getting Free Dining!

I like the mansions too, but I love how "remote" AB seems. I would like to be in a more quite area so that we can decompress after all the sensory stimulation of the parks. I see you have a TR, I'm going to check it out!

Not many TRs hold my attention much past the first few sentences. Yours was an exception. I'm not done yet, but just had to let you know how much I am enjoying it. Thanks for taking the time to write it.

Thank you. I started to read your TR last night. Sadly, I had no merlot on hand so faked it and had vodka and cranberry pomegrante juice instead. It was better than nothing but I think a nice glass of riesling would have been perfect.

So far I am really enjoying your TR!

Thanks for sharing your TR. I know that you said it was beneficial for you to write... I'm certain you've been a blessing to your readers who found this thread to be a safe place to process their own grief journeys.

Thank you. We all go through these tough times in life, and we we do we so often feel so "alone" in the grief. I really appreciated how many people were willing to share thier experiences with me on this TR.

 

[sly1971]

You know, the more time I spend looking at POR the less BC seems to pull at my heartstrings. I would still love to stay there sometime but I think a couple of nights would be fine I don't need a whole week or anything.

I echo your sentiments about Beach Club. I want to stay there for 2 main reasons - to experience Stormalong Bay and also because it's a short walk to EPCOT and some of the best dining experiences in the "world". We have have wonderful meals at Le Cellier, Les Chefs de France (one of my VERY faves.), also at Nine Dragons and in Morocco (sorry I forget the name of the place). Beach Club is beautiful, but also seems like it could be a bit "stuffy" and a little more formal than we want our home resort to feel like when we're on vacation. POR is gorgeous and I do not think you would ever regret staying there. My DH and I honeymooned there 13 years ago. Back then it was a sister hotel to Port Orleans and it's name was "Dixie Landings". Boatwrights offered great meals and the piano player in the family friendly "lounge" is terrific.

A group of 7 of us are leaving next Thursday for an 8 night stay at Wilderness Lodge. This is my very fave property on site - the themeing is second to none and the close proximity to the MK and TTC are great, yet you still feel like you are nestled in your own private sanctuary (sorry, had to get a plug in for WL). But my BIL and SIL want us Disney veterans to come with them next year and show them and our 5 year old niece the World. So we are having the same internal debate you are...Beach Club for the Stormalong Bay factor or POR for its charm and cost savings. What a dilemma!

Anyway, I will definitely be reading your next TR as I have thoroughly enjoyed this one. It's an extra-special treat reading TRs from fellow Nova Scotians. THANKS again for all your heartfelt and honest postings!

 

[A&Bmama]

Howdy fellow Bluenoser, I'm glad you pointed out that you are from Nova Scotia because I probably would have completly missed that.

I echo your sentiments about Beach Club. I want to stay there for 2 main reasons - to experience Stormalong Bay and also because it's a short walk to EPCOT and some of the best dining experiences in the "world". We have have wonderful meals at Le Cellier, Les Chefs de France (one of my VERY faves.), also at Nine Dragons and in Morocco (sorry I forget the name of the place). Beach Club is beautiful, but also seems like it could be a bit "stuffy" and a little more formal than we want our home resort to feel like when we're on vacation. POR is gorgeous and I do not think you would ever regret staying there. My DH and I honeymooned there 13 years ago. Back then it was a sister hotel to Port Orleans and it's name was "Dixie Landings". Boatwrights offered great meals and the piano player in the family friendly "lounge" is terrific.

I'm glad to hear that you liked POR. I think we will really like it there.

I considered booking us at the Beach Club with a room only discount for the first night or two of our vacation but it didn't make much sense to do that since we wouldn't have any tickets or dining credits until we checked in for the package. I could have cut the POR stay short by a couple of days but there were no room discounts to be had and the rooms were at holiday pricing.

It's a shame that Disney won't allow you to change hotels and still stay withing the same package, they could have gotten more money from me.

A group of 7 of us are leaving next Thursday for an 8 night stay at Wilderness Lodge. This is my very fave property on site - the themeing is second to none and the close proximity to the MK and TTC are great, yet you still feel like you are nestled in your own private sanctuary (sorry, had to get a plug in for WL). But my BIL and SIL want us Disney veterans to come with them next year and show them and our 5 year old niece the World. So we are having the same internal debate you are...Beach Club for the Stormalong Bay factor or POR for its charm and cost savings. What a dilemma!

I hope you have a great time! The Wilderness Lodge looks fantastic. I'd like to stay there sometime too.

Do you have kids? I'm surprised to hear that you are going in Nov. instead of Feb. I think there are going to be Nova Scotians in Disney during that February break than are left in Nova Scotia.

Anyway, I will definitely be reading your next TR as I have thoroughly enjoyed this one. It's an extra-special treat reading TRs from fellow Nova Scotians. THANKS again for all your heartfelt and honest postings

I'm so scared to write a new TR. I keep thinking I won't have anything to write about! I'm sure I will though but I hope to try to get it a good part of it done before I actually start posting installments so that the next one doesn't take me sooo long!

Thanks for stopping by and sharing your thoughts with me.

 

[Dugette]

Sounds like a great trip! So long and so many parks, I'm jealous!

POR is a nice resort. Very pretty paths along the river. Make-your-own pasta in Riverside Mill. The rooms will probably seem tight for your family compared to your previous accommodations. But I understand the the Alligator Bayou section has trundle beds, so that should help. And you probably won't be spending a lot of time in the room anyway.

My thoughts on your BC temptation: If I'm reading things right, you are planning to stay at POR room-only on your arrival night and pay OOP for dinner. So, if you instead stayed at BC just that first night, it probably wouldn't matter that you don't have your dining credits yet, as you were planning OOP anyway. Room-only discount is 40% off for your date. I'm guessing there is probably not a big price difference between 30% off POR and 40% off BC. You can cancel room-only without penalty up to a week in advance, I believe. So, if it were me, I think I might book both. Then, around 10 days out when you can start seeing the weather forecast, see if it will be nice enough for enjoying SAB. If so, consider the small additional cost "admission" to the waterpark for that night and/or the next morning and cancel the room-only at POR. If the weather's bad, cancel BC and stick with POR. Also, if needing the park tickets during that time is the issue, you may be able to get them early. Last January, we had two days of room-only ressies before our POR package began. We had to go the MK guest services window, but we were able to detach our tickets from our package and use them on the first day. (Dining had to wait until POR check-in, though).

I'm not trying to plan your trip for you, by the way, but following along with your thought process there really got my mind going on this.

I think you will do just fine on your next TR, as your writing style is very engaging!

 

[sly1971]

Do you have kids? I'm surprised to hear that you are going in Nov. instead of Feb. I think there are going to be Nova Scotians in Disney during that February break than are left in Nova Scotia.

No, no children. But we do have our niece and also are godparents to a terrific 2-year old girl, so I am certain there will be kid-focused trips in our future. For now, it is an adults only trip. One that has actually been about 4 years in the planning. When my DH and I last visited in 2006 (our first stay at WL), I knew I would have to come up with a good incentive to get him to go back. Don't get me wrong, he likes Disney. But me - I LOVE DISNEY and really like to visit every couple of years - if I go more than than between visits, I really start to miss it, the same way you miss an old friend you haven't seen in a while. So the wheels in my head started turning and I seized upon a brilliant idea to celebrate my 40th birthday at WDW!

I announced this plan to our closest friends, as an open invitation to come celebrate with me - and gave them almost 5 years to save for the trip. It had been love at first sight with WL and that is exactly where I wanted our group to call home during our stay. To sweeten the offer and make it a little more affordable for everyone, DH and I offered to cover everyone's airfare. (More about that in a minute.) But with such a large group (originally 9 of us were going), we had to agree on a time of year when it worked with everyone's work schedules. My actual birthday is in January - just 3 weeks after Christmas to be exact. This appealed to NO ONE, including me. There just isn't ample money in the coffers right after the holidays. And work-wise, it was not ideal for one or two people. It seemed that November would be the best time for all. It is perfect for me. I have my own business, running a small shuttle company that transports people between Halifax and PEI daily, and November, sandwiched as it is between our Canadian Thanksgiving in October and the oh-so-busy month of bustling December is DEAD for me. Deader than dead. So my business partner will work the entire time I am gone, during the slow time!

That is one reason why I could not go in February. My business partner has two school age kids, so she will take a long break in February concurrent when her children are off, while I "mind the store" so to speak. I think you are right that a lot of people will be taking extended holidays during this unique time. Historically, mid February is usually busy for us - we have a lot of University kids who use our service during their annual study break, and I am really hoping that the Canada Games will make us even busier!!

Anyway, am I long-winded or what?! Due to the nature of our business and the fact that we buy A LOT of gas each year, we earn A LOT of reward miles on our credit card. That is how we can afford to treat our respective friends and family members to free airfare for our trip next week. Many people from the US and other more central parts of Canada have no idea how much it costs Maritimers to travel south. It's a pretty substantial chunk of the cost. I am so glad that you have a partial credit towards your trip. Every cost you can save along the way makes a difference.

That's part of what first drew me to read your report. Your obsessive planning! I am the exact same way. I can totally relate to you figuring out the best dates to go, place to stay, Deluxe dining versus Quick Service or OOP! Very familiar! The other thing that pulled me in from the beginning was your promise to your son. That someday you would take him to Disney. I so admire and respect that you wanted to honour this promise made when he was 4 years old, even if it turns out he didn't remember it and wouldn't have been "scarred" by not going! It just shows such integrity and this will not be lost on either your son or your daughter if/when they parent their own kids someday

I totally understand if you do not write a new TR. It is a significant time commitment to be sure. Just know that if you do, it will be appreciated.

I'm so scared to write a new TR. I keep thinking I won't have anything to write about! I'm sure I will though but I hope to try to get it a good part of it done before I actually start posting installments so that the next one doesn't take me sooo long!

Thanks for stopping by and sharing your thoughts with me.[/QUOTE]

 

[SplashMom]

Wow...I just read this entire thread tonight! My condolences on the loss of your father (very late) but I am so happy that you were able to travel again and enjoy what Disney really is. I noticed this report because you were flying from Halifax, which is where we usually fly from as well. After reading the entire thing, I now see that you are going again and will be staying at POR when we will be there! I recently booked and got the free dining as well--soooo happy! Our dates are a little different. We will be there from Feb 17-28 since we only get one week off. Riverside is a beautiful resort and I'm sure you will enjoy the dining. Have a wonderful trip!

 

[A&Bmama]

Sounds like a great trip! So long and so many parks, I'm jealous!.

I can't wait to go. I hope we aren't biting off more than we can chew though. Originally we were staying at Disney (and we still might) until the 23rd or 24th. Those last few days are going to be super crowded due to the Presidents' Day holiday. I thought that we might be so "full" by then that the thought of fighting our way through crowds to do more just might not be worth it to us anymore.

POR is a nice resort. Very pretty paths along the river. Make-your-own pasta in Riverside Mill. The rooms will probably seem tight for your family compared to your previous accommodations. But I understand the the Alligator Bayou section has trundle beds, so that should help. And you probably won't be spending a lot of time in the room anyway.

I know that we are going to feel a bit tight in those rooms, we are going to take (or buy locally) a twin sized air mattress. I think that DD would be fine on that trundle bed, she actually might really love it, but since we are a party of 4 there is no guarantee that they will give us one of those rooms. If I have the air mattress I can make DD and DS alternate nights in the bed in case she is not loving the trundle.

My thoughts on your BC temptation: If I'm reading things right, you are planning to stay at POR room-only on your arrival night and pay OOP for dinner. So, if you instead stayed at BC just that first night, it probably wouldn't matter that you don't have your dining credits yet, as you were planning OOP anyway. Room-only discount is 40% off for your date. I'm guessing there is probably not a big price difference between 30% off POR and 40% off BC. You can cancel room-only without penalty up to a week in advance, I believe. So, if it were me, I think I might book both. Then, around 10 days out when you can start seeing the weather forecast, see if it will be nice enough for enjoying SAB. If so, consider the small additional cost "admission" to the waterpark for that night and/or the next morning and cancel the room-only at POR. If the weather's bad, cancel BC and stick with POR. Also, if needing the park tickets during that time is the issue, you may be able to get them early. Last January, we had two days of room-only ressies before our POR package began. We had to go the MK guest services window, but we were able to detach our tickets from our package and use them on the first day. (Dining had to wait until POR check-in, though).

I'm not trying to plan your trip for you, by the way, but following along with your thought process there really got my mind going on this.

I did consider that and I still might go for it. I'll have to see what my flight times are. Right now WestJet's times are horrible. They have only one set of flights that would get us there by mid day, the other won't have us landing until 11pm so by the time we arrived at the resort it would be well after midnight. As I have it planned now the day after arrival will be spent at Universal. If we can get the early flight times I might do arrival night at the Beach Club and spend that next day in the Disney Parks. If we do stay that night at BC it would be awsome to get our tickets early, I would love to go for an evening stroll over to the WS for Illuminations. Thanks for the tip!

I think you will do just fine on your next TR, as your writing style is very engaging!

I hope so, I think that I will really want to write one, if only so that I can refer to it over time to keep the memories fresh.

 

[A&Bmama]

No, no children. But we do have our niece and also are godparents to a terrific 2-year old girl, so I am certain there will be kid-focused trips in our future. For now, it is an adults only trip. One that has actually been about 4 years in the planning. When my DH and I last visited in 2006 (our first stay at WL), I knew I would have to come up with a good incentive to get him to go back. Don't get me wrong, he likes Disney. But me - I LOVE DISNEY and really like to visit every couple of years - if I go more than than between visits, I really start to miss it, the same way you miss an old friend you haven't seen in a while. So the wheels in my head started turning and I seized upon a brilliant idea to celebrate my 40th birthday at WDW!

I announced this plan to our closest friends, as an open invitation to come celebrate with me - and gave them almost 5 years to save for the trip. It had been love at first sight with WL and that is exactly where I wanted our group to call home during our stay. To sweeten the offer and make it a little more affordable for everyone, DH and I offered to cover everyone's airfare. (More about that in a minute.) But with such a large group (originally 9 of us were going), we had to agree on a time of year when it worked with everyone's work schedules. My actual birthday is in January - just 3 weeks after Christmas to be exact. This appealed to NO ONE, including me. There just isn't ample money in the coffers right after the holidays. And work-wise, it was not ideal for one or two people. It seemed that November would be the best time for all. It is perfect for me. I have my own business, running a small shuttle company that transports people between Halifax and PEI daily, and November, sandwiched as it is between our Canadian Thanksgiving in October and the oh-so-busy month of bustling December is DEAD for me. Deader than dead. So my business partner will work the entire time I am gone, during the slow time!

That is one reason why I could not go in February. My business partner has two school age kids, so she will take a long break in February concurrent when her children are off, while I "mind the store" so to speak. I think you are right that a lot of people will be taking extended holidays during this unique time. Historically, mid February is usually busy for us - we have a lot of University kids who use our service during their annual study break, and I am really hoping that the Canada Games will make us even busier!!

Anyway, am I long-winded or what?! Due to the nature of our business and the fact that we buy A LOT of gas each year, we earn A LOT of reward miles on our credit card. That is how we can afford to treat our respective friends and family members to free airfare for our trip next week. Many people from the US and other more central parts of Canada have no idea how much it costs Maritimers to travel south. It's a pretty substantial chunk of the cost. I am so glad that you have a partial credit towards your trip. Every cost you can save along the way makes a difference.

You guys are going to have so much fun! I would love to go sometime and see the xmas decorations. Will they be up when you are there?

Your friends are so lucky that you are so generous with your airmiles! The flights are really expensive.

That's part of what first drew me to read your report. Your obsessive planning! I am the exact same way. I can totally relate to you figuring out the best dates to go, place to stay, Deluxe dining versus Quick Service or OOP! Very familiar! The other thing that pulled me in from the beginning was your promise to your son. That someday you would take him to Disney. I so admire and respect that you wanted to honour this promise made when he was 4 years old, even if it turns out he didn't remember it and wouldn't have been "scarred" by not going! It just shows such integrity and this will not be lost on either your son or your daughter if/when they parent their own kids someday

I think I almost (but not quite) like planning the trip more than taking it. Once you choose the things you will experience you are also choosing, by default, the things you will not experience. It's a little sad, but also a good reason to go back againin the future!

I totally understand if you do not write a new TR. It is a significant time commitment to be sure. Just know that if you do, it will be appreciated.

I most likely will write one. How else will I get over my Post Disney Depression?

 

[A&Bmama]

Wow...I just read this entire thread tonight! My condolences on the loss of your father (very late) but I am so happy that you were able to travel again and enjoy what Disney really is. I noticed this report because you were flying from Halifax, which is where we usually fly from as well. After reading the entire thing, I now see that you are going again and will be staying at POR when we will be there! I recently booked and got the free dining as well--soooo happy! Our dates are a little different. We will be there from Feb 17-28 since we only get one week off. Riverside is a beautiful resort and I'm sure you will enjoy the dining. Have a wonderful trip!

Thanks so much for reading!

Have you been to POR before? I think we will really like it.

That's cool that we overlap. If you see us wandering around the resort be sure to introduce yourself. With a name like "SplashMom" I'm thinking I'm most likely to run into you at the pool?

Are your kids only getting one week for some reason? I thought everyone got the two weeks unless you were outside HRM and then the regular break in March was still being taken.