Our First Magical Poly Vacation: April 14-21 2012!

[DaveinFallsChurch]

Coming back from Disney it's like we move through all 4 stages of loss and grief. Or would it be more appropriate to have a 12 step program for Disney addiction?

But I like being addicted to Disney!

Oh Dave - I was there weeks ago! I have already had a Disneyland Califrnia vacation planning DVD sent to my house! It arrived 5 days ago!! The only thing that I find frustrating, is trying to find info for prices for 2013 - it's impossible. We want to know prices for January, it's not allowing us to book that far in advance on their website? I went to the West Jet sight, and I can find flights for that day to Orlando (Still almost $600 each return!), but can not book a complete Disney package yet. I CAN however, book one through DVC rentals - let me know if you think this is a good price, cause I have NO idea! My parents went ALL OUT for our last trip, and it was just over $10,000!!!!!

Dates of trip - Jan 26 - Feb 2, 2013
Family of 4 (2 adults, 10 year old (priced as an adult for DP) & a 5 year old)
7 nights at the AKL Villa (DVC points rental) - $910.00
QS DP - $818.72
8 Days Park Hopper Passes - $1344.00
Flights - $2942.60

Total price of Disney Vacation (minus spending $ of coarse) = $5796.32

Hi Charity! Hadn't seen you on the boards the past few days!
You lodging at AKL Villa is definitely a good deal where basically you have it under $150 per night (which is on par for a Moderate resort pricing for off-peak season) for a Deluxe.

If I remember correctly, 2012 pricing for packages from Disney were not released until July of 2011. So if we go by the same timeline, it should be another couple of months before you can do anything online. I think I remember reading somewhere you could still book for room-only ressies over the phone if you call Disney directly.

Another thing to consider. The dates you're quoting for are one of the most off-season times of the year. Our trip in 2011 was practically the same week as yours. In the past few years, Disney had a LOT of promotions for this period including room discounts or free dining plans. No guarantee that this will be the case for 2013 since Disney has been doing quite well financially the past couple of years, but the odds are in your favor. Depending on how deep the discounts are, you may be able to go even cheaper than your current total.

You can also see if you can get a personal PIN. I would register an online account on Disneyworld.com under your husband's name and email so that Disney's system doesn't recognize your family (They tend to send more PINs to people who they believe are first timers), and price and save a few vacations once they become available online in a couple of months. Usually, that results in an email with a PIN. I tried this under my DFIL for our last trip and he got multiple PINs although we never ended up using them because the room-only discount for the public made up for it.

As for the dining plan, when you have time, I would recommend calculating out your meal expenses and seeing if the dining plan will actually save you money or not. I did this for our last trip, by looking up menu prices from allears.net and calculating the amount for each meal for the whole family and found out that at best we would break even by purchasing a dining plan if we ordered the most expensive items on the menu. So, we decided not to purchase it.

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

Ok. So today is my day off and I went and bought a lens for my new camera that is excellent for portraits and in-door/low lighting. I am so happy with my new camera now, and am kicking myself for not upgrading before our Disney trip. Just to show off a couple of sample shots I took

Here's one with moderately low indoor lighting from about 6 feet away. I clearly need some more practice on how to place my focus, but still looks good.

Here's one with extremely low lighting (all the shades down and lights off). I still have to work on minimizing my hand shaking, but I think this works splendidly.

Will be going to a relative's wedding this weekend in Ohio, and plan on practicing more there.

 

[vicki's mom]

I am aboard. Enjoying your report.

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

I am aboard. Enjoying your report.

Thanks for joining in!!

 

[solana131]

I’m thinking, that’s a tough act to follow. We’re just going to take a nice boring group picture with the two year old not even looking at the camera. Okeee.

The show was over. CMs were cleaning up. I hate trying to leave MK at closing time right after Wishes. The crush of the crowd is just too much, and navigating that with strollers is just not magical. So we’ve always hanged back for about 45 minutes in the past. I asked the CMs if we could just sit here for that long and they said, absolutely. The food carts were all gone by then. But we just hung around, the kids playing with the balloons. Around 10:45pm we headed down Main Street and exited the park.

So glad to see this portion. I was looking for a review of the Dessert Party as we have that booked for the first time this July. Good tip to know about waiting at the Terrace while the hoards of people head out. Question though....our party is on a EMH night. We were planning on staying there after the party and getting a few more rides in. Was it possible with the crowds to move towards Tomorrowland? Or should we stay put for a while then try to ride?

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

So glad to see this portion. I was looking for a review of the Dessert Party as we have that booked for the first time this July. Good tip to know about waiting at the Terrace while the hoards of people head out. Question though....our party is on a EMH night. We were planning on staying there after the party and getting a few more rides in. Was it possible with the crowds to move towards Tomorrowland? Or should we stay put for a while then try to ride?

You should be fine heading towards Tomorrowland from the Dessert Party right after it's over. The party area entrance is along the corridor of Tomorrowland Terrace that connects Main Street area (Plaza Restaurant Area) to Tomorrowland (next to the Laugh Floor). Since the exit crush crowd is usually heading out Main Street, if you exit the Dessert Party through the Tomorrowland end of the path, I think you'll be fine.

Also, since I spent some time in Tomorrowland during and right after Wishes as part of my solo tour, I can tell you that the crowd level in Tomorrowland was very manageable during those times.

 

[solana131]

Also, since I spent some time in Tomorrowland during and right after Wishes as part of my solo tour, I can tell you that the crowd level in Tomorrowland was very manageable during those times.

Cool thanks Yay! Can't wait! I thought this TTDP would be a wise choice with the heat and crowds of July. Hope we get as good of a table assignment as you did.

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

Cool thanks Yay! Can't wait! I thought this TTDP would be a wise choice with the heat and crowds of July. Hope we get as good of a table assignment as you did.

You'll love it! And even if your table assignment is in the back, you can move up to the railing when the fireworks start and there's plenty of room for everyone. Avoiding the crowds is what makes this all worthwhile in my opinion.

I've heard rumors that the table assignments are made in the order the reservation was received. I made our ressie about 2 hours after the online system opened up for April, and it appears I got the second table in order if the rumor holds true.

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

Wednesday, April 18th Part I - Resort Day

We were all ready for this day. As much fun we all had, everyone was tired and needed some sleep. There were no rope drops to make for this day. No touring plans. No FP runs. Just relaxation and pool time. Well, at least that was going to be the case for everyone else. I don’t know about you, but when I’m at Disney I have a very hard time sleeping and I never take any naps. I just want to spend every waking minute soaking it all in and naps tend to get in the way of that. Also, a couple of months back, I believe it was a fellow DISer Zuzu03 who introduced the idea of watching the sunrise from the Poly beach. I loved the idea so even though I didn’t fall asleep until midnight the night before after returning from Wishes, I made plans to wake up at 6am and head out. DW who just the night before told me I was crazy, woke up with me as well and was able to join me.

We walked along the beach from Tahiti. It was still pitch dark when we first came out and we made it all the way over to the Volcano Pool.

The whole beach and walkways were completely deserted. I just love that feeling where you have the whole area to yourself especially at a place like Disney. We spotted one CM with a broom and a dustpan who appeared to be “sweeping” the zero-entry area of the pool with his broom hitting the surface of the water – hmmm, that’s an interesting way to sweep. Ducks and rabbits were plentiful.

Not sure if I mentioned this, but there were a LOT of ducklings following their moms during our visit. We started noticing a glow to the east with the Contemporary Resort as a back drop.

So we walked back over to Sunset Pointe.

By then, there was a very decent yellow/pink glow in the horizon. As we walked back towards the main beach, we had to dodge a couple of sprinklers that just happened to pop their heads out as we were walking right by them! We sat on one of the bench swings for a few minutes, then noticed a beautiful red hue in the clouds.

I was very glad we did this (Thanks Zuzu03!). It was quiet. Just a couple of early morning joggers. It just set the right tone for the rest of our relaxing resort day. When a CM started using the riding beach-sweeper, we headed back to our room around 7am to hear both of our kids up and trying their best to get Grandpa out of bed.

Next Up: A Tropical Breakfast with Lilo and Stitch

 

[HalloweenNut]

Beautiful pics!! (imagine what you'll be able to do next time with the new camera! ) We were waking up around 6:00am most mornings and I peeked outside once and saw a beautiful sunrise but didn't take the time to step outside with the camera. Now I'm really wishing I had.

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

Beautiful pics!! (imagine what you'll be able to do next time with the new camera! ) We were waking up around 6:00am most mornings and I peeked outside once and saw a beautiful sunrise but didn't take the time to step outside with the camera. Now I'm really wishing I had.

My point and shoot camera actually came through for me for these pics!

 

[jennyjinx3]

How nice those pics are of early morning Poly...makes me sooo want to be there!!

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

How nice those pics are of early morning Poly...makes me sooo want to be there!!

Same here!

 

[solana131]

You are really making me regret my decision to save some money and switch to POFQ Beautiful sunrise pics!

 

[204charity]

But I like being addicted to Disney!



Hi Charity! Hadn't seen you on the boards the past few days!
You lodging at AKL Villa is definitely a good deal where basically you have it under $150 per night (which is on par for a Moderate resort pricing for off-peak season) for a Deluxe.

If I remember correctly, 2012 pricing for packages from Disney were not released until July of 2011. So if we go by the same timeline, it should be another couple of months before you can do anything online. I think I remember reading somewhere you could still book for room-only ressies over the phone if you call Disney directly.

Another thing to consider. The dates you're quoting for are one of the most off-season times of the year. Our trip in 2011 was practically the same week as yours. In the past few years, Disney had a LOT of promotions for this period including room discounts or free dining plans. No guarantee that this will be the case for 2013 since Disney has been doing quite well financially the past couple of years, but the odds are in your favor. Depending on how deep the discounts are, you may be able to go even cheaper than your current total.

You can also see if you can get a personal PIN. I would register an online account on Disneyworld.com under your husband's name and email so that Disney's system doesn't recognize your family (They tend to send more PINs to people who they believe are first timers), and price and save a few vacations once they become available online in a couple of months. Usually, that results in an email with a PIN. I tried this under my DFIL for our last trip and he got multiple PINs although we never ended up using them because the room-only discount for the public made up for it.

As for the dining plan, when you have time, I would recommend calculating out your meal expenses and seeing if the dining plan will actually save you money or not. I did this for our last trip, by looking up menu prices from allears.net and calculating the amount for each meal for the whole family and found out that at best we would break even by purchasing a dining plan if we ordered the most expensive items on the menu. So, we decided not to purchase it.

Great advice all around! I think I am hoping the price of airfare will go down at some point, cause that seems to be where the chunk of the money is going right now. It's painful - cause DH and I could go on an all-inclusive holiday for a week ALL IN for the price of airfare to Disney alone!! Trying to remind myself that it will all be worth it in the end - cause there is no magic that compares to Disney magic....

You are really making me regret my decision to save some money and switch to POFQ Beautiful sunrise pics!

Oh you - just STOP IT! POFQ is a lovely spot....and I bet you can even find some beautiful sunrise pics from their if you look hard enough.

 

[solana131]

Oh you - just STOP IT! POFQ is a lovely spot....and I bet you can even find some beautiful sunrise pics from their if you look hard enough.

I know...I know...I'm sorry! Here I am getting back on the POFQ bandwagon:

 

[204charity]

I know...I know...I'm sorry! Here I am getting back on the POFQ bandwagon:

. Your trip is coming up fast! I'm sooooo jealous!

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

Traveling in Ohio for a wedding this weekend. Found out thus morning that DW packed the Disney Resorts Shampoo and conditioners. You know how certain scents can bring back memories? This is one of them.

 

[pwdebbie]

You are really making me regret my decision to save some money and switch to POFQ Beautiful sunrise pics!

Sunrise is quite nice at POFQ, I can assure. I am an early riser so I get out of the room and head down to the river and watch the day come alive.

 

[pwdebbie]

Traveling in Ohio for a wedding this weekend. Found out thus morning that DW packed the Disney Resorts Shampoo and conditioners. You know how certain scents can bring back memories? This is one of them.

Every once in a while when I need a mood lifter, I'll pull out one of my Disney shampoos and savor the scent while I shower.