Never challenge a DISer to find a deal--a Nov/Dec PTR 11/26: Today's the day!!!

[moparop]

Welcome to my PTR! I love reading PTRs and TRs, but never seem to have my act together enough to attempt my own. As I start planning I think goodness, this would be a great thing to put in a PTR. While I am Disney I think this moment would make an awesome story for the DIS board.

We are a little over 180 days away from our trip and I still don't have ADRs figured out so I figured it was a perfect time to start writing!

As you can see from the title, this trip was started because I was issued a challenge and not just any challenge. A challenge revolving around finding a good deal for a Disney trip. And you know a DISer, this is something they can NEVER turn down!!

Up next: a little about our wild crew!

Since I am on hold and making links is mindless, I have decided to add them to my first post
The Cast

My Challenge

Number Crunching

I thought this was a Nov/Dec TR?

ADRs

The Plan 1.0

ADRs and the Plan 1.5

Cha-cha-cha-changes!

Summer Fun

Getting the itch to make some changes!

Decisions made!!!

Party Planning!

A few vacation pics!

Birthday Parties

Trip Plans Recap

More ADR Changes!

Talk to me Goose!

Holding

It's Almost Time!!

Customs of Trips Past

Disney Day!!

Any readers into scrapbooking?

Arrival Day Plans

Day 2 Plans!

Your A to Z of Disney

 

[moparop]

Chapter 1 The Cast


Ryan, hubby extroidinaire.

He works very hard in the insurance industry to provide for his family. In the past year, Ryan has become a big time runner. I am hoping in the not too distant future that we could go for a race weekend! He was the one who issued the challenge which brought about the title of this PTR (more about that in Chapter 2). While not Disney obsessed like me, he does enjoy watching his family love Disney. He also loves parking the car on arrival at the resorts and spending his time enjoying the family!
Favorite ride: Soarin'
Favorite restaurant: Kona

Doug (DS5) is our oldest son.

He is just finishing kindergarten and will 6 when we go. He is my biggest Disney supporter. He loves that we have Travel Channel shows on the DVR and often puts them on. Doug is a very bright kid and blows me away with his reading ability. While far from a daredevil, he is a bit more adventurous than Liam. He tells me he wants to be a zookeeper when he grows up and work in Animal Kingdom. :
Favorite ride: Kilamajaro Safari
Favorite restaurant: Crystal Palace

Liam (DS4) is our middle child.

He is quiet and confident and will not try anything he thinks he will fail at. Obviously, he likes to be right and is most upset by his brother proving him wrong. He tells me that he wants to be an Armyman when he grows up, like the ones in Toy Story.
Favorite ride: Test Track (although he's never been on it)
Favorite restaurant: Chef Mickey's

Aileen (DD9months) is the baby of our family.

She will be 16 months when we go on our trip. She is our surprise, our gift from God. We had decided we were done having kids about a week before I found out I was pregnant. She many be the littlest member of our family, but she rules the roost around here. Everyone in the house is wrapped around her finger. Even though she has no words yet, she can clearly convey her opinions with her tune and 'tude. This will be her first trip and I cannot wait to see her reactions to all of the excitement.
Favorite ride: anything that makes her brothers smile
Favorite food: Spicy (tacos) and sweet (ice cream) stuff


Lastly, there's me, Margaret.

I am a stay at home mom to our three munchkins. Before the kiddos came along I taught special education, but now I spend my time tending a small flock much closer to my heart. I would describe myself as a jack of all trades, master of none. I love to sew, craft, scrapbook, photography, bake and garden. I am not amazing at any of them, but they definitely give me life and excitement. I obviously love all things Disney and will plan pretend trips when we've been away too long. My non-Dis friends call me the Disney guru and one even told me that I should make a business out of Disney tricks and tips.
Favorite ride: Tie between Soarin' and Mickey's Philharmagic
Favorite restaurant: Kona

Up next: "The Challenge" is spelled out!

 

[newtodis]

Have fun planning!! There's a link in my signature with tons of links for people planning a Nov/Dec trip - come on over and check them out. Hopefully that will help make your planning easier and find some deals!

 

[moparop]

Have fun planning!! There's a link in my signature with tons of links for people planning a Nov/Dec trip - come on over and check them out. Hopefully that will help make your planning easier and find some deals!

Thanks for following along! I popped over there real quickly. It looks like there will be a lot of us planning for the same time!

 

[999ghostslover]

I think we are long-lost sisters. My 3rd was a total surprise. We swore we were done! Your PTR is great. I want to know the deals!! I'm subbing.

 

[moparop]

I think we are long-lost sisters. My 3rd was a total surprise. We swore we were done! Your PTR is great. I want to know the deals!! I'm subbing.

I thought the same thing when I read your TR!! Glad you are going to join in! I am going to add my challenge now.

 

[moparop]

Chapter 2: My Challenge

Our last trip to Disney was in August 2008. My parents took my brother's family and mine for a wonderful 6 night night 7 day adventure. We arrived three days after Doug's 4th birthday and the day my dad's. (Incidentally, Doug is named after my dad and they are best buds.) An awesome time was had by everyone.

Almost from the day we got home, Doug and I started talking about the next Disney trip. He and I would look through our scrapbooks and pine for more Disney. We talked about hotels and rides. We'd watch YouTube videos of shows and rides and just dream. We told Doug that we couldn't think of going again until after he was already 5. There was no date set, just the number 5. Well, fast forward to January and we found out about our big surprise - Aileen! Because pregnancies end up being difficult for me, I knew traveling while pregnant was out of the question. Also, given the ages of the boys and the fact we already did a trip with my parents, this needed to be a trip when Aileen was a little more self sufficient. So, we told Doug after Aileen turned 1 we could plan the next trip. That seemed to satisfy our 5 year old, but it left me longing for something more specific.

Long about January, I said to my husband that we needed to start looking at more specific dates for this trip. That way, we knew what we'd need to budget. (and let's face it, I wanted to do some planning and needed a little Disney planning in my life!) We discussed various times of year and the pros and cons for each. And then the challenge came about. He said that he'd be glad to go back to Disney again, with several caveats.
1. We need to stay at least 6 nights.
2. We needed to have at least one day with no parks.
3. Our trip had to include the traditional dining plan.
4. I was not allowed to spend more than a set dollar amount.
5. We had to drive as he wasn't going to spring for Disney and airfare this year.

I agreed to his terms and went to work!

Up next, pricing out our plans and making the numbers work for me...

 

[ladybugmom]

Hi Margaret!! We'll be there the same week (saw your post on Katie's PTR)!! We are booked at WL!! You'll LOVE being on the monorail at CR!! We stay at the Poly a lot and it is sooo nice to have that access!! Your kiddos are adorable!!

 

[BippityBoo]

HI!! Subbing

 

[Mickey_Mom]

I made it over! Your kiddos are so cute... love that missing two front teeth grin Would they hurry up with December hours already??

 

[IluvXU]

And then the challenge came about. He said that he'd be glad to go back to Disney again, with several caveats.
1. We need to stay at least 6 nights.
2. We needed to have at least one day with no parks.
3. Our trip had to include the traditional dining plan.
4. I was not allowed to spend more than a set dollar amount.
5. We had to drive as he wasn't going to spring for Disney and airfare this year.

2 and 3 are set rules in my house too. I will let you know how we do with the drive... I am not looking forward to it!

I am glad I saw this.... you needed to let me know!

I know you will love the Contemporary. It is probably the hotel I most am glad to have stayed in, and would stay in again with no second thoughts... the location cannot be beat the huge rooms... oh my!

 

[moparop]

Hi Margaret!! We'll be there the same week (saw your post on Katie's PTR)!! We are booked at WL!! You'll LOVE being on the monorail at CR!! We stay at the Poly a lot and it is sooo nice to have that access!! Your kiddos are adorable!!

It's so cool to find other DISers going that same week. We had WL booked first but made some changes along the way! I am actually just getting ready to post about that. I'm gonna head over to your PTR in a few, I am already feeling so far behind! Thanks for the compliments on the kiddos! Of course I think they are pretty cute, but I am also VERY biased!

HI!! Subbing

Glad to see you made it!! Hope you are having a great day!

I made it over! Your kiddos are so cute... love that missing two front teeth grin Would they hurry up with December hours already??

Isn't that photo hilarious? I have many pics where Doug is far less crazy, but that is really him! The hours, they're OUT!!! I need to get mt spreadsheet working! GAAH! This is the week of excitement!

2 and 3 are set rules in my house too. I will let you know how we do with the drive... I am not looking forward to it!

I am glad I saw this.... you needed to let me know!

I know you will love the Contemporary. It is probably the hotel I most am glad to have stayed in, and would stay in again with no second thoughts... the location cannot be beat the huge rooms... oh my!

Hi Laura! Thanks for coming over! I was going to send you the link and then my posts were short and just getting started and life and well, you know the rest!

We've never tried #2 before, but I have your TRs to Ryan and he loves that idea. He always feels like we need a vacation from our vacation. Plus, with that third kid... I am sure to be more worn down overall. We all love the dining plan so all we need to think about spending money on is tips. While it's more food than we need, we like the convenience and the kids are all pretty nonpicky, so they will be eating off our plates as well.

How are you guys dividing up the drive down? What time are you leaving at? I swear, every time we drive to Michigan (300ish miles) we throw out an entirely new plan for the trip. Are you going to do a TR? I love love looking at the photos and hearing the stories of your family from Disney. I find it great for gauging my crew!

I am glad to hear you would go back to CR without a second thought! I am keeping my fingers crossed they have lots of cool activities going on even in the cooler months!

 

[moparop]

Chapter 3 - number crunching

Once I had my challenge in hand, off to the code board, Mousesavers, and Disney website I went. We knew that the summer heat was out. While we had a great time in August 08, my hubby is a sweaty guy and he didn't want a repeat, even if that meant no pool time. While free dining sounded interesting -- again, too hot for our blood. We were then left with October, November or December. Based on vacations and traveling to see our families in Michigan, October seemed like the best option. Once we started reading out the food and wine festival, we were SOLD! Without any deals, I was looking at a moderate or a family suite to stay within my dollar amount. Given those options, I was drawn to POFQ and the hubby, to the suites. While reading on the code board, I had heard the best way to score a pin was to price out a bunch of different trips and when the survey popped up after saving without booking to mark that it was too pricey to book at this time. With that knowledge, I decided to add WL to my list and see what happened. After three days of this game, I opened my email to a very exciting sight!!

A PIN CODE!!!!! And not just any pin code, the highly revered 20/30/40% off pin!!! The first thing I did, hyperventilate. Secondly I called Ryan and firmed up dates. We decided on October 15-22nd. We could arrive after the Columbus Day crowds left, but be home before the Halloween people arrived.

When I called, I started with my real dream -- the one I could never even think of pricing on the website, CR standard room. Well... it was sold out. The only rooms they had left were well over my budget. After the CM quoting me both a Poly and GF room (like they were going to work) we moved onto WL. It was a boat ride not a monorail ride away from MK and the theming is so fun. I've wanted to stay there and our only shot will be before Aileen turns 3. They had a great rate for bunkbed rooms and I let the Disney dreaming begin! I had mental ADRs done, our park days planned out and was ready to go ---

until I got a little hitch in my giddy-up.

Up next, Wait a second, I thought this was a Nov/Dec trip to CR??

 

[disney<333]

Joining in! Your kids are so cute! Aileen is getting so big! I remember you announcing her arrival on MeMom's thread, what feels like not that long ago! You will love CR! My girls loved staying there. I'm working on a November TR if you need any help with planning a Christmas trip. Link is in my siggie of you're interested.
Subbing!
Barbara

 

[IluvXU]

Hi Laura! Thanks for coming over! I was going to send you the link and then my posts were short and just getting started and life and well, you know the rest!

We've never tried #2 before, but I have your TRs to Ryan and he loves that idea. He always feels like we need a vacation from our vacation. Plus, with that third kid... I am sure to be more worn down overall. We all love the dining plan so all we need to think about spending money on is tips. While it's more food than we need, we like the convenience and the kids are all pretty nonpicky, so they will be eating off our plates as well.

How are you guys dividing up the drive down? What time are you leaving at? I swear, every time we drive to Michigan (300ish miles) we throw out an entirely new plan for the trip. Are you going to do a TR? I love love looking at the photos and hearing the stories of your family from Disney. I find it great for gauging my crew!

I am glad to hear you would go back to CR without a second thought! I am keeping my fingers crossed they have lots of cool activities going on even in the cooler months!

We are driving into Fl on day one (12 hours) and the last four hours to Vero Beach the next day. I am dreading it.. and in denial. The girls no problem, Luke yikes!

DH is insistant on no park days. We need them in the middle though, or we run down.

Not sure about the TR. I am probably way behind in my getting ready since I did not do a PTR. Oh well. I knew this spring would be tough emotionally, so I tried to eliminate non-essentials like that. Maybe we will have a great trip to share.

I think CR will be great!

 

[therussells08]

Subbing! I am loving this one! I can't wait to read more!

You have a beautiful family! Your children are adorable and that picture of your DH with the butterfly is so cool!

 

[PamelaKay]

Ok, so I am a little confused. When exactly are you going and where are you staying?

I love the challenge.

1. We need to stay at least 6 nights.
2. We needed to have at least one day with no parks.
3. Our trip had to include the traditional dining plan.
4. I was not allowed to spend more than a set dollar amount.
5. We had to drive as he wasn't going to spring for Disney and airfare this year.

I haven't updated my PTR yet, but I called today and added on more night so we are there fr 6 now too! I didn't do a single day with no parks since we will be there in December and typically it is too cold for me to enjoy the pool. We do have a bunch of days where the afternoons are for hanging out at the resort to re-charge.

Do you guys love Kona Cafe for the Tonga Toast?

I was born in Mount Vernon, Ohio, but I grew up in a suburb of Atlanta. I am familiar with that drive down I-75. 3 hours through Kentucky, 3 hours through Tennesee and an hour and a half from GA border to Atlanta.
I live in NC now and this is as far north as I ever want to be. My Gram just moved to Newark, Ohio. I told her I wouldn't be visiting in the winter.

 

[TinkerbellLuvr7]

HOW DID I NOT KNOW THIS WAS UP??!!! Of course I am here I'm assuming you are going in Dec since you asked me when we were going on FB lol. I'm ready for an update! Sadly I won't be starting a PreTR until my brother gets down to WDW and starts working so that we can book our resort..hopefully WL!!!!

 

[moparop]

We are driving into Fl on day one (12 hours) and the last four hours to Vero Beach the next day. I am dreading it.. and in denial. The girls no problem, Luke yikes!

DH is insistant on no park days. We need them in the middle though, or we run down.

Not sure about the TR. I am probably way behind in my getting ready since I did not do a PTR. Oh well. I knew this spring would be tough emotionally, so I tried to eliminate non-essentials like that. Maybe we will have a great trip to share.

I think CR will be great!

Yeah, we drove to Michigan and back this past weekend. Aileen spent a good hour of the drive home fussing. Ryan and I kept looking at each other in terror! Not a good sign at ALL!! I do hope you guys have a wonderful trip to share!

Subbing! I am loving this one! I can't wait to read more!

You have a beautiful family! Your children are adorable and that picture of your DH with the butterfly is so cool!

Thank you for the compliments on the family! We were at a butterfly garden over the winter and all of them thought my hubby's shirt was awesome. He's in all sorts of photos around the area!

Ok, so I am a little confused. When exactly are you going and where are you staying?

I love the challenge.

1. We need to stay at least 6 nights.
2. We needed to have at least one day with no parks.
3. Our trip had to include the traditional dining plan.
4. I was not allowed to spend more than a set dollar amount.
5. We had to drive as he wasn't going to spring for Disney and airfare this year.

I haven't updated my PTR yet, but I called today and added on more night so we are there fr 6 now too! I didn't do a single day with no parks since we will be there in December and typically it is too cold for me to enjoy the pool. We do have a bunch of days where the afternoons are for hanging out at the resort to re-charge.

Do you guys love Kona Cafe for the Tonga Toast?

I was born in Mount Vernon, Ohio, but I grew up in a suburb of Atlanta. I am familiar with that drive down I-75. 3 hours through Kentucky, 3 hours through Tennesee and an hour and a half from GA border to Atlanta.
I live in NC now and this is as far north as I ever want to be. My Gram just moved to Newark, Ohio. I told her I wouldn't be visiting in the winter.

We are going Nov. 27-Dec 5 and staying at CR. I just wanted to build the story correctly as it went. I will be filling in the missing pieces today I hope. We have done what you did in the past. We are at the parks until just after lunch and then do 3 hour naps at the hotel. When we go back to the parks in the evening, it's been just to have dinner and maybe do a ride or two.

We actually have only eaten at Kona for dinner. Their tuna oscar was awesome! DH also was a huge fan of the chicken wings. I would say our meal there was the best we had on property!

That I75 drive is a killer. I remember not so fondly doing it as a kid and now I am about to put my kids through it. I am trying to look at as a means to an end.

HOW DID I NOT KNOW THIS WAS UP??!!! Of course I am here I'm assuming you are going in Dec since you asked me when we were going on FB lol. I'm ready for an update! Sadly I won't be starting a PreTR until my brother gets down to WDW and starts working so that we can book our resort..hopefully WL!!!!

Megan!!! I hadn't publicized too much yet, but I do need to get this rolling!! We are definitrly doing Dec this year and I am so excited about Christmas decorations! I didn't know your brother was going to work at Disney!!! Is he doing the CP program? How is the moving going?

________________________________________________

Sorry it's taking me so long to get the next chapter up! We were in Michigan this past weekend to visit family (which directly ties into my next update) and so my DH could run his first 5k. The traveling has really slowed me down! I am off to the gym in a few to start busting my tail to prepare for a 5k and then Aileen has PT. BUT!! I do promise an update (or maybe 2!!) this afternoon!!

 

[jeremysdisneymom]

I'm joining in for the fun!

I love any trip where resorts are changed as I do that way tooooooooo often!

Plus, I see we are neighbors! I live in southern Ohio about 30 minutes from the east side of Cincinnati.

I can't wait to read all about your plans!

Erika