****Official August 2014 Thread****

[pigletto]

My DD loves your screen name - it seems to combine her 2 favourite things - pokemon and Disney. It may not have been your intent, but it's very similar to the name of one of the poke on.

It just popped into my head when I was signing up because I love piglet. But my ds9 is also a huge pokemon fan (only asked for cards for his birthday next week!) so I will ask him what character that is. Isn't it funny how long Pokemon has been popular? I am 40 and I remember my little brothers playing and collecting just like my son does now!

So.............

Now that we have had a few new folks (and a few old friends) join us on this thread as their trip dates get finalized, who might be interested in a Dismeet?

Thinking maybe at Ghirardelli's at DTD? Its fairly central to all the resorts and easy to get to.

I am there the last two weeks of August, and could make most nights work. I know Lynne G was up for it. Anyone else????

I'm in! My dates still aren't firm but they will only shift by a few days in either direction. I am using a discount that has to start after the 17th. We are toying with the idea of flying home into Toronto instead of Buffalo because dh works just outside of the GTA now. He could pick us up from the airport and we could head to the cottage for Labor day weekend instead of coming home for a few days. I will firm up my dates in the next few days and if it works I would love to do a dismeet at Ghiradelli! We always go there once or twice a trip anyway. I would suggest it being during the day though because it is an absolute zoo in the summer evenings and we've waited for over an hour and often can't find a table. It's not bad during the day.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

I'm in! My dates still aren't firm but they will only shift by a few days in either direction. I am using a discount that has to start after the 17th. We are toying with the idea of flying home into Toronto instead of Buffalo because dh works just outside of the GTA now. He could pick us up from the airport and we could head to the cottage for Labor day weekend instead of coming home for a few days. I will firm up my dates in the next few days and if it works I would love to do a dismeet at Ghiradelli! We always go there once or twice a trip anyway. I would suggest it being during the day though because it is an absolute zoo in the summer evenings and we've waited for over an hour and often can't find a table. It's not bad during the day.

Yay! I was hoping you could squeeze it in!!!

Daytime works for me....we have tons of resort and/or shopping days planned. I was wondering if a mid-day get-together would be tough for those who have a park day planned for everyday, though.

Our tentative "schedule" (but gosh, I hate that word when its in relation to my vacation!!) is:

Aug. 17th: Arrival day (no firm plans)
Aug. 18th: Resort day & outlet malls
Aug. 19th: Typhoon Lagoon
Aug. 20th: Resort day
Aug. 21st: Aquatica
Aug. 22nd: Resort day
Aug. 23rd: Daytona Beach
Aug. 24th: Resort day
Aug. 25th: Discovery Cove
Aug. 26th: Resort day & outlet malls
Aug. 27th: SeaWorld
Aug. 28th: Resort day
Aug. 29th: Either MNSSHP (assuming the rumors are correct) or Wet 'n Wild
Aug. 30th: Resort day
Aug. 31st: Departure day (but we don't leave until 7:30 pm, so we have all day to work with)

Somewhere in there, we will visit Downtown Disney (probably more than once!) and CityWalk. We may trade in a resort day to go tubing at Kelly Park (if we have two weeks of spectacular weather) and we will probably visit Aquatica and SW for a couple of part days (since our tickets are unlimited).

 

[pigletto]

Yay! I was hoping you could squeeze it in!!!

Daytime works for me....we have tons of resort and/or shopping days planned. I was wondering if a mid-day get-together would be tough for those who have a park day planned for everyday, though.

Our tentative "schedule" (but gosh, I hate that word when its in relation to my vacation!!) is:

Aug. 17th: Arrival day (no firm plans)
Aug. 18th: Resort day & outlet malls
Aug. 19th: Typhoon Lagoon
Aug. 20th: Resort day
Aug. 21st: Aquatica
Aug. 22nd: Resort day
Aug. 23rd: Daytona Beach
Aug. 24th: Resort day
Aug. 25th: Discovery Cove
Aug. 26th: Resort day & outlet malls
Aug. 27th: SeaWorld
Aug. 28th: Resort day
Aug. 29th: Either MNSSHP (assuming the rumors are correct) or Wet 'n Wild
Aug. 30th: Resort day
Aug. 31st: Departure day (but we don't leave until 7:30 pm, so we have all day to work with)

Somewhere in there, we will visit Downtown Disney (probably more than once!) and CityWalk. We may trade in a resort day to go tubing at Kelly Park (if we have two weeks of spectacular weather) and we will probably visit Aquatica and SW for a couple of part days (since our tickets are unlimited).

Your schedule looks restful and fun though! You might be right on a mid day meet messing with peoples park plans. We are going to take it easy with more resort time and less park time this trip so I am sure I can work something out. I will have exact dates soon. Flight prices are INSANE. I know I missed that early booking window, but they are still making my jaw drop. I can't find non-stops that won't break the bank, and though I hate having connections I might have to do it this time. 1300 for the three of us non-stop is nuts. Hopefully they are just bad because it's the weekend or there will be some sort of sale soon. I don't know whether to book the hotel first and then end up narrowing my flight search to certain days or find good flights and then hope there is room at the hotel under the promo. Sigh. This is what happens when you don't plan as soon as possible!
I seem to remember a sale around St Patricks day for Southwest from our trip in August 2 years ago. I think I just have to wait and see because I am not paying that for non-stops and I don't want awful flight times with tight connections.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Your schedule looks restful and fun though! You might be right on a mid day meet messing with peoples park plans. We are going to take it easy with more resort time and less park time this trip so I am sure I can work something out. I will have exact dates soon. Flight prices are INSANE. I know I missed that early booking window, but they are still making my jaw drop. I can't find non-stops that won't break the bank, and though I hate having connections I might have to do it this time. 1300 for the three of us non-stop is nuts. Hopefully they are just bad because it's the weekend or there will be some sort of sale soon. I don't know whether to book the hotel first and then end up narrowing my flight search to certain days or find good flights and then hope there is room at the hotel under the promo. Sigh. This is what happens when you don't plan as soon as possible!
I seem to remember a sale around St Patricks day for Southwest from our trip in August 2 years ago. I think I just have to wait and see because I am not paying that for non-stops and I don't want awful flight times with tight connections.

I hear ya on the flight prices . We paid $428 pp, round trip, for nonstops with JetBlue out of Syracuse. We thought that was ridiculous, but we love JB for the included checked baggage, seat selection, TV's, and snacks, plus my big DH is comfortable in their seats, and we also adore flying out of SYR. Then, we had a $400 credit with our TrueBlue points, so it knocked the overall cost down to something semi-reasonable. Those same flights today are..........if you can believe it.............up to $836 pp.

$836!!!

For one person!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[pigletto]

I hear ya on the flight prices . We paid $428 pp, round trip, for nonstops with JetBlue out of Syracuse. We thought that was ridiculous, but we love JB for the included checked baggage, seat selection, TV's, and snacks, plus my big DH is comfortable in their seats, and we also adore flying out of SYR. Then, we had a $400 credit with our TrueBlue points, so it knocked the overall cost down to something semi-reasonable. Those same flights today are..........if you can believe it.............up to $836 pp.

$836!!!

For one person!!!!!!!!!!!!!

$836?!! Unbelievable. At least you didn't pay that much. But wow.. I have never seen flight prices this high around here. It's crazy. I expect a little increase every year but not this! I can fly to DisneyLAND for the same price.
Hopefully I see some drops or I'll have to switch to AoA LM rooms instead of the Beach Club to make up the difference. I wouldn't mind that, but the Beach Club pool is a huge draw for a summer trip.
I am slowly coming around to the idea of flights with connections. I've done it before for other places. I just got used to non-stops for Florida trips.
Well Gina, if there is a drop at some point at least you will get another credit to use for another trip. Being time share owners now, I am sure you could find a use for it.

 

[pigletto]

Annnndddd.. in other news. The kids would rather stay at a mod and stay a night longer and have a bit more spending money than Beach Club.
Darn me for giving them a choice.
However I found flights that work for $800 after I use the points I have, and it would give us 8 nights at POR or CBR. We love the mods. If the kids are just as happy that way who am I to argue?

And now I will stop dominating this thread with our travel plans and flight price complaints.

 

[Lynne G]

Gina how about about a meet day the day you are doing TL, as TL is right across the street from DTD. We always do DTD after our TL day, as that is when we also do DQ.

So ready for summer. Yeah, it was a shock to see fewer nonstops and much higher prices for our airfare this trip. Oh well. I still rather fly than drive 18 or so hours.

I bought my USO tickets, but will have to still get my Disney tickets. I wanted to pay off the airfare first.

 

[Mrs. M. Mouse]

So.............

Now that we have had a few new folks (and a few old friends) join us on this thread as their trip dates get finalized, who might be interested in a Dismeet?

Thinking maybe at Ghirardelli's at DTD? Its fairly central to all the resorts and easy to get to.

I am there the last two weeks of August, and could make most nights work. I know Lynne G was up for it. Anyone else????

If the date workd we're in for a Ghirardelli's meet. We go anyways lol why not meet some people ha ha!!!

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Annnndddd.. in other news. The kids would rather stay at a mod and stay a night longer and have a bit more spending money than Beach Club.
Darn me for giving them a choice.
However I found flights that work for $800 after I use the points I have, and it would give us 8 nights at POR or CBR. We love the mods. If the kids are just as happy that way who am I to argue?

And now I will stop dominating this thread with our travel plans and flight price complaints.

lol, pigletto, it just wouldn't be the same if you weren't switching resorts!!! Have I mentioned lately how happy I am to have you back, planning along with the rest of us?

Have you set your dates yet?? (or did I miss it somewhere?)

Gina how about about a meet day the day you are doing TL, as TL is right across the street from DTD. We always do DTD after our TL day, as that is when we also do DQ.

So ready for summer. Yeah, it was a shock to see fewer nonstops and much higher prices for our airfare this trip. Oh well. I still rather fly than drive 18 or so hours.

I bought my USO tickets, but will have to still get my Disney tickets. I wanted to pay off the airfare first.

That would work for me! As long as you don't mind my frizzy waterpark hair .

If the date workd we're in for a Ghirardelli's meet. We go anyways lol why not meet some people ha ha!!!

Woohoo! I would love that! What are your travel dates again?? Just to be sure we co-ordinate a date that works for most.

 

[pigletto]

Gina, right now I am looking at the 17th to the 25th. I am going to watch flight prices a little longer so it might move around a little. It will definitely be while you are there though.

 

[Mrs. M. Mouse]

lol, pigletto, it just wouldn't be the same if you weren't switching resorts!!! Have I mentioned lately how happy I am to have you back, planning along with the rest of us? Have you set your dates yet?? (or did I miss it somewhere?) That would work for me! As long as you don't mind my frizzy waterpark hair . Woohoo! I would love that! What are your travel dates again?? Just to be sure we co-ordinate a date that works for most.

Gina we're down from 20-28 and then we cruise. I hope we can meet this time!!!

Gina, right now I am looking at the 17th to the 25th. I am going to watch flight prices a little longer so it might move around a little. It will definitely be while you are there though.

Pigletto glad to have you back!

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

 

[nadira36]

Woo hoo!!! Let the planning begin!



Do share!!! (lol, he's a boy....does they have anything to do with food, girls or sports? )

In our neck of the woods 18 is legal. A sample of some food & drinks from around the world. To keep costs down either do the official countdown closer t departure, or stretch it to weekly vs daily.

So.............

Now that we have had a few new folks (and a few old friends) join us on this thread as their trip dates get finalized, who might be interested in a Dismeet?

Thinking maybe at Ghirardelli's at DTD? Its fairly central to all the resorts and easy to get to.

I am there the last two weeks of August, and could make most nights work. I know Lynne G was up for it. Anyone else????

I'd be interested! But it would need to be later - 4 or later. No way I could miss my little guys firsts at WDW.

It just popped into my head when I was signing up because I love piglet. But my ds9 is also a huge pokemon fan (only asked for cards for his birthday next week!) so I will ask him what character that is. Isn't it funny how long Pokemon has been popular? I am 40 and I remember my little brothers playing and collecting just like my son does now!

Both my DH and his younger brother loved Pokemon- now my girls do. It is amazing the way certain things stand the test of time. My DD says it reminds her of pidgeotto. She's 5, a lot of the letters are the same

Yay! I was hoping you could squeeze it in!!!

Daytime works for me....we have tons of resort and/or shopping days planned. I was wondering if a mid-day get-together would be tough for those who have a park day planned for everyday, though.

Our tentative "schedule" (but gosh, I hate that word when its in relation to my vacation!!) is:

Aug. 17th: Arrival day (no firm plans)
Aug. 18th: Resort day & outlet malls
Aug. 19th: Typhoon Lagoon
Aug. 20th: Resort day
Aug. 21st: Aquatica
Aug. 22nd: Resort day
Aug. 23rd: Daytona Beach
Aug. 24th: Resort day
Aug. 25th: Discovery Cove
Aug. 26th: Resort day & outlet malls
Aug. 27th: SeaWorld
Aug. 28th: Resort day
Aug. 29th: Either MNSSHP (assuming the rumors are correct) or Wet 'n Wild
Aug. 30th: Resort day
Aug. 31st: Departure day (but we don't leave until 7:30 pm, so we have all day to work with)

Somewhere in there, we will visit Downtown Disney (probably more than once!) and CityWalk. We may trade in a resort day to go tubing at Kelly Park (if we have two weeks of spectacular weather) and we will probably visit Aquatica and SW for a couple of part days (since our tickets are unlimited).

Looks like fun!

That would work for me! As long as you don't mind my frizzy waterpark hair .

If anyone were to judge me on my hair/make-up at Disney, I'd be in serious trouble!! Sun, sunscreen, splash pads, and little fists holding Mickey bars. I'm always a mess. But I'm okay with that.

 

[WAHkoMom]

I finally made it through all the 2014 posts! What a chatty bunch!!

Here are our park plans for our 8/16 - 8/23 stay:
Sat 8/16 - Check in at AKV
Sun 8/17 - Hollywood Studios
Mon 8/18 - Epcot
Tue 8/19 - Animal Kingdom
Wed 8/20 - Magic Kingdom
Thu 8/21 - Epcot AM / Animal Kingdom PM
Fri 8/22 - Hollywood Studios AM / Magic Kingdom PM
Sat 8/23 - Depart

And here are our ADRs:
Sat 8/16 - none (plan to eat at Mara)
Sun 8/17 - 50s Prime Time Café @ 1:15 pm
Mon 8/18 - Teppan Edo @ 6:40 pm
Tue 8/19 - Rainforest Café @ 1:15 pm
Wed 8/20 - Kona Café @ 10:30 am & Chef Mickey's @ 7:05 pm
Thu 8/21 - Boma @ 7:45 pm
Fri 8/22 - California Grill @ 7:10 pm

Please add these on with the rest of the group's plans when you have a moment (thanks anjalee!).

My family is travelling with my DGF from high school and her DD (14), staying in a 2BR villa at AK. We took a trip together when the kids were much younger, so we're all looking forward to the freedom we'll have - both the adults and the kids - this trip!

I booked our flights as soon as they opened up on SW and was able to get 4 for under $1200, which was my budget, so I was pleased. My DGF was able to get on the same departing flight out of PVD with us (thanks to our texting in the early morning hours last week!), but they are leaving a day before us, due to commitments on their end.

LOVED all the QOTDs - I was crying reading the magical memories some of you shared (happy tears). But I cry a lot when it comes to Disney-related stuff. You know, like, EVERY movie, all the stage shows at WDW - especially Festival of the Lion King or Nemo the Musical!

As far as the "what number trip is this" question, DH and I went 2 times without the kids, then I think we've been to WDW 4 times with the kids, 2 Disney cruises with the kids and 1 cruise, just the two of us. We purchased DVC (at Boardwalk) when I was pregnant with my DS in 1999 and we managed with 150 points until 2012, when we purchased another 160 pts while on the Fantasy cruise. We love the 2BR villas: full kitchen and washer/dryer are key!

159 days to go!

 

[Mousemommy1]

I am subscribing to this thread! We are going Aug 16th - 23rd and are staying at AKV for the first time. Going back to read through the posts now.

I added you to the list on page 1.

Need some help from the Southwest people...

I've never flown with them before, but since I'm kind of annoyed with my Jetblue options, I'm looking into them.

What does "wanna get away" mean? What are the chances these flights will change drastically in the next 5 months?

We always find that the best SW fares are released on day one. They typically tend to go up from there. At least for our area. So, we always snatch up low fares on day 1.

I was thinking first row, or the Emergency Exit rows? Those seem roomier and the seats in front of them don't recline.

I called Disney ticketing today, and spoke to a very nice man who checked my KTTW cards. He was able to confirm they still have the 2 day tickets on them. So it's only going to cost us $450 to upgrade our tickets. Beach Club here we come. My son enjoys the waterparks but dd and I aren't huge fans. I would take him, but Beach Club has such a fabulous pool we won't need the water parks! Being able to walk to Epcot and DHS or catch a quick water taxi will be wonderful. I am getting really excited! I am even going to try my luck and request a room with a daybed. I know it's not a guarantee but it would be so nice for everyone to have their own bed and not have to share.

So, are you BC or POR? What are your exact dates, so I can go ahead and get you added to page 1.

If anyone else needs to be added, feel free to PM me. It's sometimes easier for me to get the info there than try and find ones that I missed in the discussions.

Oh August, you can't get here soon enough!!!

 

[Mousemommy1]

Oh, and I am finally happy with all of my ADR's and shouldn't need to change them again!

8/17 - Via Napoli lunch
8/18 - Ohana dinner
8/19 - Cape May Cafe dinner
8/22 - Le Cellier dinner
8/24 - Be Our Guest dinner
8/26 - Cape May Cafe breakfast

 

[digiMom]

As far as SW, I've never booked day one before this last time. I've booked my trips differently in the past, so the airfare vs package specials always was the driving force for what dates I booked around days off during the school year. They weren't in August, though, they were in October and January. There seemed like there were SW deals available closer to the travel dates, but I can't remember how far out. There were also changes made to the schedule, with more flight options added. I think with Spring Break and Easter, we're not going to see this until possibly later in the spring or even into summer. Has this been anyone else's experience in the past? I'm hoping more times open up...

 

[Disneylover99]

As far as SW, I've never booked day one before this last time. I've booked my trips differently in the past, so the airfare vs package specials always was the driving force for what dates I booked around days off during the school year. They weren't in August, though, they were in October and January. There seemed like there were SW deals available closer to the travel dates, but I can't remember how far out. There were also changes made to the schedule, with more flight options added. I think with Spring Break and Easter, we're not going to see this until possibly later in the spring or even into summer. Has this been anyone else's experience in the past? I'm hoping more times open up...

Our cheapest flights using Air Tran or SW have always been booked within the first few days flights have opened up and I have never noticed additional flights being added but we have only flown out Buffalo. Maybe it's different from city to city.

Last year we flew in August, October and December. We booked on day one or two and prices never decreased. I kept checking the prices almost daily because we were thinking of changing our travel dates for those months.

If you've already booked for August then that's amazing. I think they may release some more wanna get away prices eventually, but think of how many people are watching and waiting to pounce on these deals. I know I am.

I may be asking some of you if I can stow away in your luggage,

 

[klsst88]

We are going to be staying at Bay Lake Tower from 8/23 to 8/30.

We just booked our flights on SW the day after they opened up and they were the cheapest I've seen them ($260 per person round trip). I was very excited since my DD will be 2 now and I have 6 tickets to buy.

 

[pigletto]

Our cheapest flights using Air Tran or SW have always been booked within the first few days flights have opened up and I have never noticed additional flights being added but we have only flown out Buffalo. Maybe it's different from city to city.

Last year we flew in August, October and December. We booked on day one or two and prices never decreased. I kept checking the prices almost daily because we were thinking of changing our travel dates for those months.

If you've already booked for August then that's amazing. I think they may release some more wanna get away prices eventually, but think of how many people are watching and waiting to pounce on these deals. I know I am.

I may be asking some of you if I can stow away in your luggage,

We fly out of Buffalo too, and usually booked right when they were released. However, I have seen flights drop below what I paid or get as low as what I paid during sales. I keep watching to get a credit and I almost always end up with one. So I am holding out hope that they will drop soon.
Everything seems different this year. So much higher and so many non-stops showing as "sold out" when there is no way that everything in a 10 or 15 day range is booked. I think they are trying to sell the higher fares first this time. Time shall tell.

Another option I am considering is to look at packages (Southwest Vacations, Jetblue vacations, Travelocity etc.). Sometimes they book their flights at a huge discount and some of that can get passed on to the customer. It works better to wait until Disney releases their discounts too, so that the hotel portion is also lower. For example I remember one year that I had a coupon code I could use on top of the discount from Disney by booking through Travelocity. Might be worth keeping an eye on those sites and bundling.

 

[pigletto]

As far as SW, I've never booked day one before this last time. I've booked my trips differently in the past, so the airfare vs package specials always was the driving force for what dates I booked around days off during the school year. They weren't in August, though, they were in October and January. There seemed like there were SW deals available closer to the travel dates, but I can't remember how far out. There were also changes made to the schedule, with more flight options added. I think with Spring Break and Easter, we're not going to see this until possibly later in the spring or even into summer. Has this been anyone else's experience in the past? I'm hoping more times open up...

I just looked in my email (because I never clean it out) and I booked for August 2012 in mid April because there was a good sale. This was Southwest.