MVMCP - My Very Merry Chistmas Pre-Trip Report

[PoppyGirl]

Shoot, forgot to add. To put a link for each entry in the first one, just click on the post number after you post. This should open up that post in a new window/tab. Copy the URL, then go to the first post, click the Edit button. Add the post title. Highlight that, then click the insert link icon and paste the URL.

Thanks! I'm going to try it!

And I might even add some to my PTR link too!

 

[Daddy_of_Princesses]

Thanks! I'm going to try it!

And I might even add some to my PTR link too!

woohoo, Look at me, I'm a trend setter.

Waiter, Pixie dust for everyone.

 

[miprender]

Joining in because your Link is so colorful Great PRT. I read the whole thing in 1 sitting. I can't believe that phone call. But beware of staying at AKL. We stayed there in April ..... and well we are now proud owners of 100 pts. We will be using our bonus points they gave us to stay there in DEC. So we might bump into you. We are checking in on friday dec 10 but late at night and will be there unitl the 14th. DH will be in the NE PATRIOTS ROCK tshirt(sorry just had to add that for all you Eagle and Cowboy fans)

That's funny that your wife doesn't like any of the planning. Both DH and I love planning our trips. I think DH is becoming actually more obsessed though he won't admit to it. The only thing he won't do the DIS. But I do see him at night watching videos of Disney rides with the kids

I had a friend that went with her grand kids recently- I tried to tell them "stuff" but you know the travel agent knows more then what I am talking about.
They PAID for their dining and thought that they can only eat the meals in the Pop Century food court-- even spent their snack credits there- came home with all the table service credits since there was no place available for them to eat.
They got to the parks about 11:30- noon because the kids wanted to swim- so of course they arrived while the parks are at the hottest--let along more crowded.
Then they tried to stay late with 2 little kids---
(Scarey is the word) why do people put out that kind of money and expect miracles?

OMG I can totally relate!!! I saw my dentist a mth ago and she is going in a few weeks for FD. I asked her if she made her ADRs? Nope not yet but was thinking of it I told her to get going ASAP. Like don't you know it s FD and everything is already probably gone. Well I take DD last week and remind her again. So where are you eating? She says she is still planning and will probalby will sit down later and make some ressies. She said in the past they usually just walk up and most likely will do that Good luck to her.

OK rant over, but I just don't get it.

 

[Daddy_of_Princesses]

Joining in because your Link is so colorful Great PRT. I read the whole thing in 1 sitting. I can't believe that phone call. But beware of staying at AKL. We stayed there in April ..... and well we are now proud owners of 100 pts. We will be using our bonus points they gave us to stay there in DEC. So we might bump into you. We are checking in on friday dec 10 but late at night and will be there unitl the 14th. DH will be in the NE PATRIOTS ROCK tshirt(sorry just had to add that for all you Eagle and Cowboy fans)

That's funny that your wife doesn't like any of the planning. Both DH and I love planning our trips. I think DH is becoming actually more obsessed though he won't admit to it. The only thing he won't do the DIS. But I do see him at night watching videos of Disney rides with the kids

OMG I can totally relate!!! I saw my dentist a mth ago and she is going in a few weeks for FD. I asked her if she made her ADRs? Nope not yet but was thinking of it I told her to get going ASAP. Like don't you know it s FD and everything is already probably gone. Well I take DD last week and remind her again. So where are you eating? She says she is still planning and will probalby will sit down later and make some ressies. She said in the past they usually just walk up and most likely will do that Good luck to her.

OK rant over, but I just don't get it.

I am surprised at just how popular this PTR has gotten. I didn't expect to get so many people following me. So Thank you to all of my followers, and thanks to any lurkers who just like reading. I have 142 replies, and 1,639 views in just under two weeks.

I will be on the lookout for someone wearing Patriots gear. When you hear a change E-A-G-L-E-S EAGLES!, that will be me.

I need to get started on the next entry. It shouldn't be long, but the last two entries were only supposed to be one, and just got too long winded. At least it seems that way in Word. I post it here and they look so short.

 

[Daddy_of_Princesses]

OK, so going into this one, I am thinking it is going to be relatively short. I guess we will see when we get to the end of the ride.

So we have the dates figured out, and the reservations made. Now how am I getting there. In 2007 I drove down with a 4 year old and a 7 month old. The 7 month old was a breeze and slept most of the way, the 4 year old just sat and watched movies and slept. Now that they are 8 and 4, they can’t ride in a car for 10 minutes without arguing, so NO WAY AM I DRIVING THIS TIME.

Southwest didn’t release their December ticket prices until mid June, so after booking I didn’t know what the prices would be. So, I just stuck to Travelocity to give me a good idea of what this was going to cost me. At one point I get a price for 4 flying USAir that will cost me $1,005 after all the fees and crap are added on. This doesn’t include paying for luggage. The flight out would be at 8:00 am, which is good, we don’t have to get the kids up too early, and the return flight is 7:30 pm so we can spend a good portion of the last day in a park.

Tangent: Why do I have to pay for luggage? WHY? WHY? WHY? WHY? It defies logic. I am paying for a ticket to fly somewhere. Chances are it is going to be for more than 1 day, so obviously I am going to need to pack clothes. Why isn’t the freakin luggage included in the price of the ticket?

OK, back on the subject at hand. So here I am with a really good price on tickets, but I don’t know what Southwest has to offer.

Tangent: Why can’t they release their prices sooner? Every other freakin airline knows what they are charging, but Southwest makes you wait. AAUUGH! DON'T THEY REALIZE I AM TRYING TO PLAN A TRIP HERE!! HOW INCONSIDERATE CAN YOU BE!!

OK, I decide to wait. Of course it isn’t long before that $1,005 offer is gone, and if I want USAir now it is going to cost $1,200. Did I make a mistake. I hope not.

OK, June 14th finally arrives, and I check out Southwest. The flight down would be 7:55 am, but the latest flight back is only 5:45 which means less time at the park on my last day. Sigh. Then I notice the prices. $128 each to fly down, and $145 each to fly back. WHAT? I thought Southwest was supposed to be a cheaper option. That’s more than the US Air price I saw before. Heck, the US Air price was cheaper even if I had two bags to check.

OK, Calm down. It’s only the first day, surely the prices will go down. I wait a little while and check again. Well, now round trip for four on Southwest is $1,441. Are they crazy? I check out US Air. Round trip for four, taxes and crap included $997. WOW, unless I am taking 30 bags with me, no way am I flying Southwest. The only drawback, the flight out is 6:45 am, the 8 am flight would cost us an extra $28 per person. Ok, I think we can do the early morning thing.

Tangent: Why can’t I ever fly someplace without taking the first flight out of Dodge? Oh well, the kids can sleep in the car, at the airport, and on the plane if they are tired.

I quick run over to Dan, the guy that has worked in my companies travel department and ask him what it would cost me if he booked it using the corporate discount. He comes back with a price higher than what I am getting on US Air, apparently our corporate discount means we pay more since I am getting it cheaper. He tells me that this is a great price and I should jump on it. I let my boss know I am going to be a little late for our meeting, gotta get the flights booked. Of course the price doesn’t go down for the next two weeks so I really didn’t need to book that instant, but hey, it’s better to be safe than sorry.

OK, so now we have the resorts booked, the ADR’s scheduled (ok, so this entry is a bit out of order, the next one will have a summary of the details I guess.), and the flights are booked. Houston, we are go for liftoff.

As of this morning, it would cost me $1,593.61 to fly Southwest. US Air is currently at $914, ugh, could have saved a bit, who knew they were going to offer the flight down for $79 each. Oh well, I lost out a bit there, but gained a tone over Southwest. Where can you go for the $49 one way fare they keep promoting. Apparently not Philly to Orlando.

OK, another entry done. 847 words, so much for keeping it short.

 

[ChildAtHeart82]

I know how you feel about the airfare! I waited on SW to release their fares only to find a price that was way more expensive than other airlines. That was definitely a bit of a disappointment. It sure was a relief to finally get airfare booked, though!

 

[Vickis3js]

Hello from fellow Dec trip planner. Dec in WDW is amazing!

 

[Daddy_of_Princesses]

I know how you feel about the airfare! I waited on SW to release their fares only to find a price that was way more expensive than other airlines. That was definitely a bit of a disappointment. It sure was a relief to finally get airfare booked, though!

I am definitely glad to have the airfare booked even though it dropped a bit since I booked it. I couldn't take a chance on it going up, like Southwest prices have been doing.

Hello from fellow Dec trip planner. Dec in WDW is amazing!

:welcom: I see you will be getting there just as I leave. I wanted to be there for my Birthday, Dec 21st, but the prices jumped pretty drastically on the 17th, and I couldn't really justify the added expense. Plus I tried to pick a week between Thanksgiving and Christmas so she wasn't out of school for too long. At least this way she goes back to school for a week before getting another week off.

 

[serene56]

you did or did NOT book air yet?


use yapta to track your flights. when the price comes down they send you an email.

I use Kayak to show me all available flights to and from on our chosen dates then track what I want in yapta.

 

[Daddy_of_Princesses]

you did or did NOT book air yet?


use yapta to track your flights. when the price comes down they send you an email.

I use Kayak to show me all available flights to and from on our chosen dates then track what I want in yapta.

Already booked, and I am tracking through yapta still. That's how I found out the price dropped a bit.

 

[nessz79]

LOL about not wanting to drive! My DH refuses to fly- he's so adamant about saving money and having our car that we drive everywhere. I bet we'd drive to the Grand Canyon if we wanted to go .

It's not too bad, although we do have kids that argue, too. Actually, this last trip to Orlando was only 3 hours but we were about nuts by the time we got home. Maybe it's an age thing? They are 7 and 5 and if they aren't arguing, they are conspiring together to make us crazy!

 

[Daddy_of_Princesses]

LOL about not wanting to drive! My DH refuses to fly- he's so adamant about saving money and having our car that we drive everywhere. I bet we'd drive to the Grand Canyon if we wanted to go .

It's not too bad, although we do have kids that argue, too. Actually, this last trip to Orlando was only 3 hours but we were about nuts by the time we got home. Maybe it's an age thing? They are 7 and 5 and if they aren't arguing, they are conspiring together to make us crazy!

I think mine conspire to argue just to make me crazy. Last night the littlest one was complaining that the older one was looking at her. I always thought that was just comedians making stuff up, not real

 

[Mickey_Mom]

What has happened to Southwest? I could always count on them for a great rate at great times. I faithfully waited for them to finally release their rates and they were crappy rates at crappy times!!! The one good thing I'm still waiting for is a drop in the rates to get a travel credit. Not looking promising. Grrrr.

You're tangents are spot on.

You ended up with a good rate.

 

[exwdwcm]

I'm with you on the no driving. I still remember being in the back of the station wagon, me and my two sisters (all about a year apart), yelling at each other for 'crossing the line' on the seat. Oh my poor parents. And this was of course before the age of handheld video games or DVD players for the car. I can't imagine, but we couldn't afford to fly!

great deal on the air fare, that isn't too bad. It is direct, right?

We paid about $239 each for RT, direct on American from DFW. we live only about 15 minutes from DFW, so it isn't bad. I actually like doing the first flight of the day- we can always sleep on the plane. right? I think our flight is like 6:55am, arriving at 10:20am. i figure that way we at least can head to DTD, have lunch and then head to the hotel to check in!

can't wait to see all the ADRs!

 

[Daddy_of_Princesses]

What has happened to Southwest? I could always count on them for a great rate at great times. I faithfully waited for them to finally release their rates and they were crappy rates at crappy times!!! The one good thing I'm still waiting for is a drop in the rates to get a travel credit. Not looking promising. Grrrr.

You're tangents are spot on.

You ended up with a good rate.

I haven't been on a plane in almost 10 years. Hawaii in 2000 was the last time. I have never dealt with Southwest, but I had always heard good things about them. Especially their prices. I guess it is my fault the prices are so high.

Glad you enjoyed the tangents. I was struggling with how to get some humor into a boring topic like make flight plans, but the airlines just give me so much material I couldn't resist.
I was relying on people who have traveled more than me lately to let me know if the rates I was seeing were good, or if I should wait, so when the guy in the travel department told me to jump on that rate, I didn't hesitate.

 

[Daddy_of_Princesses]

I'm with you on the no driving. I still remember being in the back of the station wagon, me and my two sisters (all about a year apart), yelling at each other for 'crossing the line' on the seat. Oh my poor parents. And this was of course before the age of handheld video games or DVD players for the car. I can't imagine, but we couldn't afford to fly!

great deal on the air fare, that isn't too bad. It is direct, right?

We paid about $239 each for RT, direct on American from DFW. we live only about 15 minutes from DFW, so it isn't bad. I actually like doing the first flight of the day- we can always sleep on the plane. right? I think our flight is like 6:55am, arriving at 10:20am. i figure that way we at least can head to DTD, have lunch and then head to the hotel to check in!

can't wait to see all the ADRs!

My mom must have been insane. When I was 7 the whole family, me and my four older sisters hopped in the station wagon and went to Michigan, then drove down to Kentucky, and back to PA. I was in the back, no seats, no seat belts. We left early in the morning so I was still asleep and in my pj's. At some point the bag with my clothes fell off the car so I got a whole new wardrobe for the trip when we stopped at a KMart.

My flights are direct. Once we land, and go to the resort, I will check in even though the room won't be available until 4, then head over to Hollywood Studios. I booked us Fantasmic dinner package at Mama Melroses.

I need to add the entry with all of the daily plans, at least at a high level. I can go into greater detail once I start the real day to day planning.

 

[nessz79]

I think mine conspire to argue just to make me crazy. Last night the littlest one was complaining that the older one was looking at her. I always thought that was just comedians making stuff up, not real

Yup! We had our kids share a bed on our mini-trip this past week and they argued in the middle of the night on the first day. One was yelling at the other for being on his side. Then they yelled at each other for hogging the covers. They yelled at each other for putting covers on them that they didn't want. At first I tried to referee and then I decided they could just have at each other- I was too tired! After the first night, they worked it out.

 

[DevonsDisneyMom]

I so feel you on your whole airfare thing! It's crazy!!! SW has nerve charging so darn much from Philly to Orlando!!! I was shocked at their prices.

I ending up booking with AirTran for about $440 ttl for me and Dev round trip. Even with the baggage fee its still cheaper then SW!

 

[francis6306]

I wish we could fly... but with a bookend trip to Atlanta, we need the car. Of course, we ARE looking into flights, in case there is a stupid awesome deal out of Jackson... but I kinda doubt it. Right now, its at $101, but the times aren't great.

 

[stephielela]

i completely agree about southwest. we only ever fly southwest, mainly because they are one of the few airlines you can cancel and rebook when prices go down, and usually the fares are decent. last august we got flights for wdw dor under $100 per person round trip!