Not a real PTR

[Pumba's Truth]

So this isn't a full on PTR - in fact I'm not sure if this qualifies to be here. But........

I just had to share ... we got MICKEY MAIL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yeah I'm that psyched!

See we went to WDW back in November 2010 for a pre-Thanksgiving trip with my DS10 who lives with his mum in GA. At the time my DW pretty much told me that this was the last trip for a good long while.

So imagine my surprise when, after long discussions, she proposes going to WDW for a full week! Oh BTW this is her 30th BDay trip (shhhhh don't tell any one) and a late Anniversary Trip.

Yeah ca ... ray ... zee!!!!

But ok .. I don my research cap .. start doing some digging ..

What? Where? Discounts? Who? How much?

Stay tuned .. I'll bring you up to speed over the course of the next little while.

 

[mnmrmustard]

Let's hear it for great DW's aye? Mine just suprised me with a week for my birthday ...STARTING NEXT WEEK!!!!!

I look forward to hearing how your planning comes together

 

[Pumba's Truth]

So this PTR is kind of a Post Mortem (sp?) .. well see it's now planned.

Well kinda ....

It all started about January/February time frame. It was a bit cold here in the great white north. AKA Canada.

My DW and I wanted to get away for a bit. We didn't really care where to be honest with you. But the DW was adament that we were not going to go back to WDW... "We were just there in November. We aren't going again until your fathers 65th BDay in 2013."

My response ... "Ok Ok, a place that shall not be named"

So we get started, research research research! Cruises, All-inclusives, etc.

All-inclusives tend to be a bit boring for me; there isn't much going on.

As for cruises, well we enjoy them. So research on the cruises began ....

More to come shortly.

 

[mnmrmustard]

Intriguing! I think I know where this is going but I'll wait to see what comes next.

 

[Pumba's Truth]

Yeah we loved our two cruises we've been on.

DCL in April '08 as part of a Land & Sea with BC stay. It was our Dismoon.

Then last year we went with another couple on Princess for a 7 day eastern Caribbean. Great cruise, good food, good entertainment.

But we thought, well we want to go some where different.

Parameters for the search:

• Must be warm!
• Must be sunny!
• Must be entertaining!
• Must involve relaxation!
• Must be different!

So with that in mind I began my search.

Preliminary searching indicated that cuising could be an option.

Pricing wasn't too bad. Umm, here's where I should note that the past two cruises we've done we've had a balcony stateroom. We want to keep it that way.

So I sent an email to our trusty Cruise Ship Centres consultant and low and behold pricing was even a little bit better. SWEET!!!!

Now time to look at air fare.

At this point in the game there are beginning to be a few scenarios - Any sailing after April 16 but before May 8, 2011. Pretty much limitted the cruiselines to RCCL, Princess, DCL and Carnival.

So what was next - EXCEL!!!!! note:I'm a bit of an Excel geek.

After entering all options - coming in a day early on the flights leaving a day after the cruise returns. etc. etc.

Plus all hidden expenses - drinks, excursions, upgraded dining, gratuities. It was beginning to add up.

So what else could we do???

 

[mnmrmustard]

Yes, lots of variables for sure, but maybe something of a Dream come true vacation? Only a couple of weeks out, good for you! We leave next week for our little adventure

I know what you mean about excel - for our last big trip to WDW I had a 7 tab spreadsheet

 

[Pumba's Truth]

Yes, lots of variables for sure, but maybe something of a Dream come true vacation? Only a couple of weeks out, good for you! We leave next week for our little adventure

I know what you mean about excel - for our last big trip to WDW I had a 7 tab spreadsheet

7 tabs eh?

Hmmm .. let's see if you combined all my workbooks that I had going for this trip - consider that it wasn't just a Disney vacation plan. We'd be nearing the 20 mark I think.

Mind you the Dining plan workbook consisted of nearly 10 tabs in itslef.

 

[Pumba's Truth]

Ok, so after looking through the workbooks and options and all we were trying to figure out how we might pay for this adventure.

TAX TIME!!!! So we decided to budget ourselves to whatever our refund might be, plus a little bonus that we've been putting aside.

Now we haven't decided to go to the World just yet. BUT.... we were now looking at possibly exploring more of Florida.

See I lived in south FL for about 8 years between West Palm for school and Tampa for a few years after. So my DW was hoping that I could show her more of where I spent my time as a young adult and what have you.

At this point I need to say I have not brought up the Disney idea as, if you may recall, my wonderful DW told me that November was the last trip for a long ... LONG time.

However, what does the wonderful DW do --- send me an article on Disney trips, "Just because she thought I might enjoy the article"

What the...? C'mon now .. you don't send info like that to a person planning a vacation whilst knowing we aren't supposed to be looking at WDW. What a tease.

Anyways. I then decide to suggest that we might be able to spend 1 to 3 days in the World and then rent a beach front condo for the rest of the week.

She now seems intrigued ..... what happens next kinda puts some kinks in the mix.

 

[Pumba's Truth]

So my folks have a place over on the gulf coast.

After hearing our possible options they have offered up their place for the remainder of our week, or for the full week.

Now the issue with going down to FL is that we would have to rent a car.

We aren't going to drive this time .. maybe next time

So that's another 180 - 200 off the top.


Wait for it .....

So I get an email from my lovely .. wonderful .. sweetheart of a DW.

"Would it be easier/cheaper to just spend a full week at Disney?"

Huh? ... What? ... Who are you and what did you do with my wife?


Yeah .. threw me for a loop that's for sure.

So back to the planning stage now ... umm I believe the excel workbook count was some where near 3 at this point.

But alls good. So we have narrowed it down ...


Cruise to the Western Caribbean
A week at WDW

The battle begins ......
Note: I'm not the one that gets the ultimate decision here, it's her Bday trip.

 

[mnmrmustard]

7 tabs eh?

Hmmm .. let's see if you combined all my workbooks that I had going for this trip - consider that it wasn't just a Disney vacation plan. We'd be nearing the 20 mark I think.

Mind you the Dining plan workbook consisted of nearly 10 tabs in itslef.

Got me beat for sure!

Ok, so after looking through the workbooks and options and all we were trying to figure out how we might pay for this adventure.

TAX TIME!!!! So we decided to budget ourselves to whatever our refund might be, plus a little bonus that we've been putting aside.

Now we haven't decided to go to the World just yet. BUT.... we were now looking at possibly exploring more of Florida.

See I lived in south FL for about 8 years between West Palm for school and Tampa for a few years after. So my DW was hoping that I could show her more of where I spent my time as a young adult and what have you.

At this point I need to say I have not brought up the Disney idea as, if you may recall, my wonderful DW told me that November was the last trip for a long ... LONG time.

However, what does the wonderful DW do --- send me an article on Disney trips, "Just because she thought I might enjoy the article"

What the...? C'mon now .. you don't send info like that to a person planning a vacation whilst knowing we aren't supposed to be looking at WDW. What a tease.

Anyways. I then decide to suggest that we might be able to spend 1 to 3 days in the World and then rent a beach front condo for the rest of the week.

She now seems intrigued ..... what happens next kinda puts some kinks in the mix.

My DW has pulled the exact same scenario! "We can't do Disney for a while" and then she hands me a flyer or shows me a Dis vacation deal on her laptop and says "what do you think of this?"

So my folks have a place over on the gulf coast.

After hearing our possible options they have offered up their place for the remainder of our week, or for the full week.

Now the issue with going down to FL is that we would have to rent a car.

We aren't going to drive this time .. maybe next time

So that's another 180 - 200 off the top.


Wait for it .....

So I get an email from my lovely .. wonderful .. sweetheart of a DW.

"Would it be easier/cheaper to just spend a full week at Disney?"

Huh? ... What? ... Who are you and what did you do with my wife?


Yeah .. threw me for a loop that's for sure.

So back to the planning stage now ... umm I believe the excel workbook count was some where near 3 at this point.

But alls good. So we have narrowed it down ...


Cruise to the Western Caribbean
A week at WDW

The battle begins ......
Note: I'm not the one that gets the ultimate decision here, it's her Bday trip.

It is nice (if confusing) when the take the lead on incorporating Disney, even though they know they're feeding our addiction

 

[Pumba's Truth]

Sorry for the delay in updates …

Where were we? Oh yeah a cruise for a week or a week at WDW.

When it comes down to it – we weren’t sure how much we would actually have in the Tax refund but at least we’ll have something.

So when doing price comparisons – the DCL kind of priced itself out of the market at this point. So we took a look at Princess – In Feb 2010 we went on the Emerald Princess on an Eastern Caribbean cruise and we had a blast!

So off to the web and our contacts at Cruise Ship Centres. In recent years, at WDW, we’ve stayed at BC, AKL and most recently CSR.

After all of those stays we decided that we prefer deluxe resorts. So there we are trying to compare a 7 day cruise to a week long stay at WDW at a dlx resort. Umm can you say pricey

In any case --- how does one decide? From a financial perspective it looked like the cruise would win out. Simply a bit cheaper than WDW, even with the room discounts at the time.

Then what do I see …. DVC rental options. Hmmm could this work?

 

[mnmrmustard]

Sorry for the delay in updates …

Where were we? Oh yeah a cruise for a week or a week at WDW.

When it comes down to it – we weren’t sure how much we would actually have in the Tax refund but at least we’ll have something.

So when doing price comparisons – the DCL kind of priced itself out of the market at this point. So we took a look at Princess – In Feb 2010 we went on the Emerald Princess on an Eastern Caribbean cruise and we had a blast!

So off to the web and our contacts at Cruise Ship Centres. In recent years, at WDW, we’ve stayed at BC, AKL and most recently CSR.

After all of those stays we decided that we prefer deluxe resorts. So there we are trying to compare a 7 day cruise to a week long stay at WDW at a dlx resort. Umm can you say pricey

In any case --- how does one decide? From a financial perspective it looked like the cruise would win out. Simply a bit cheaper than WDW, even with the room discounts at the time.

Then what do I see …. DVC rental options. Hmmm could this work?

DVC rentals could make a difference and give the cruise a run for its money, that's for sure. So do you buy new walking shoes or deck shoes?