Our little thread of BIG changes, the neverending saga of the Resort Changers

[Sparkly]

Hi Everyone! hoping you are staying warm. we had a small reprieve of our -40/-50 temps, it even made it up to PLUS 8 deg C the other day, only to plumet back down to -25 DEG C today!! and down, down, down we go back into the deep freeze! What a winter, I'll be happy to see it go, it's wrecking havock on our roads, pot holes are everywhere!! Since we're in Alberta, and this IS Canada, we are no stranger to -50 degree C weather! and wicked winters! they won't close schools/ businesses down here for anything, life goes on -- I envy those of you who get a snow day oh how i'd love to not have to go into work some of these horrid winter days! I'm so ready for spring and some warmer temps.

My birthday is tomorrow... I don't think hubby and I'll be celebrating until the weekend, as I may end up having to work, my partner's hubby may need surgery, and if so, I'll be coming in tomorrow to cover her shift. I want to go to the Keg for dinner, probably just the 2 of us, as it's a pretty pricey place, if I bring the gang, that'll end up being over $100 just for dinner!!! It would be nice to have a quiet evening with my hubby, haven't done that in a long while. I also want to see Labour Day, it's out on Jan 31 -- so maybe DH will suffer through a girly flick to keep my happy (After all, I am going to sit through Monuments Men with him in a week or 2 when it is released!)
Hope you are all doing well, I think of you all all the time! Can't wait until I can plan another trip to the world.... I miss it so much!

Happy Tuesday my friends!

Marie

Happy birthday for tomorrow!

Sorry I haven't been on here much, been busy with real life stuff and preparing for our trip. 13 days to go, so excited!!

 

[aaz]

Thinking this question might fall under the too BROAD but I hope not. Planning my next trip for the fall with my 14 yr old twins, my sister and her 10 yr old son. WAITING for Free dining dates!!! My last 3 trips were with free dining at value resorts. Last trip Sept 2013 the value dining plan was ok but not enough variety for us. So finally to my ??
Value resort and upgrade the free counter service dining? OR go with a moderate which will included the upgraded dining plan?
Opinions on which will be more economical, and which moderate (since I know very little about them)

THANK YOU

 

[letthewookiewin]

Thinking this question might fall under the too BROAD but I hope not. Planning my next trip for the fall with my 14 yr old twins, my sister and her 10 yr old son. WAITING for Free dining dates!!! My last 3 trips were with free dining at value resorts. Last trip Sept 2013 the value dining plan was ok but not enough variety for us. So finally to my ?? Value resort and upgrade the free counter service dining? OR go with a moderate which will included the upgraded dining plan? Opinions on which will be more economical, and which moderate (since I know very little about them) THANK YOU

The best way to figure it out is to price out the trip at a moderate and then price it at a value and paying to upgrade the dining plan. We did the Deluxe in 2012 and it was way too much. Then we had the basic (with 1 CS and 1 TS) and it was just right.

 

[hstrickland]

Marie.... Happy Birthday to you!!!! Hope you have a beautiful day!!!


Sparkly..... so close, so close!!!!!



Wookie... good luck with new adventures and more Disney money!



aaz....



Would you believe we've been out of school???!! Yesterday and today! Freezing rain and ice....kids are excited, but nasty cold for us South Georgians. This time off is giving me a chance to get some closet cleaning done...and also play a few board games with the kids.

Hope everyone has a great day!!
Heather

 

[chimo2u]

Thank you for the kind birthday wishes! I feel the and am blessed to have you all for friends, you are special ladies who hold a very dear place in my heart! Love y'all!

Kim: Thanks for asking about DH.... so sweet of you to think of him and us still -- hard to believe in 4 weeks it will be a year since his injury! As many of you will probably know, he had his joint replacement on his baby finger on DEC 5 -- he's still healing and beginning gentle physio for that. He's been told he will probably never be front line again (as all Sheriffs have to be able to handle and operate a gun) but we aren't 100% sure yet how he will be able to handle a fire arm as he's still trying to gain some function in his hand. I have a feeling it will be some desk job for him, or perhaps looking at another occupation. That is all so up in the air, and so unknown at this point..... actually it is beginning to cause us some worry as we really don't know what he's going to want to do once WCB starts pushing him back to work. I hope it's not until he's healed as well as he can heal, as I don't want to be on benefits/ off benefits/ on partial benefits, off benefits, etc.... with a mortgage and bills due on deadlines, I just can't deal with that kind of financial stress and worry!
hopefully he'll be looking more seriously at a return to some kind of work in the next months that lie ahead -- I have decided to give DH the reins to the money in our household, as I am really tired of trying to make it all work....perhaps he'll be able to do better than me! in fact I am pretty sure he will!
He and the boys gave me the sweetest cards today for my birthday, I am sure blessed to have the love of my DH and my boys, my family is my reason for smiling

Happy Hump day my friends! Hope it's a good one for all of you

Marie

 

[Janet B]

Happy Birthday Marie!!
Hope you have a wonderful day and a weekend full of fun celebrating you!


dimndgal1, hoping you found the Mickey mailers at the PO. And wow! Japan? That will be an amazing opportunity for you all.

Jen, for on line check in!! It will fly by now! Stay warm my friend!!

Heather, enjoy the day with the kids! Seems like a good day for board games and some movies with popcorn.

Sparkly, so close now!

 

[gwynne]

Happy Birthday Marie!
Sending hugs and best wishes your way!

 

[Janet B]

Thinking this question might fall under the too BROAD but I hope not. Planning my next trip for the fall with my 14 yr old twins, my sister and her 10 yr old son. WAITING for Free dining dates!!! My last 3 trips were with free dining at value resorts. Last trip Sept 2013 the value dining plan was ok but not enough variety for us. So finally to my ??
Value resort and upgrade the free counter service dining? OR go with a moderate which will included the upgraded dining plan?
Opinions on which will be more economical, and which moderate (since I know very little about them)

THANK YOU

aaz! Assuming you are getting two separate rooms (obviously at the value level) but wasn't sure if you would consider one room at POR Riverside... with your group it would be really tight.

To evaluate on $$, would need to know how many nights for the trip. What is your focus too? Are you more park people than resort people? Is pool a big deal breaker? Did you enjoy your stay at the values??

Comparing POP to POR Riverside with FD, the savings realized staying at POP in 2 rooms (and upgrading to the regular DP) is $190.20 (3 people) and $266.55 (2 people) over a stay at POR in 2 rooms. This example used the Fall rates (9/13-10/9) for 5 nights in a standard room (3 weekday and 2 weekend rates). If you don't upgrade to the reg DP at the value, the difference is appr. $456 (per room).

The only mod we've stayed at is POR Riverside. Love it. Beautiful grounds, great location with boat access to DTD, and offers Piano Bob for entertainment (the show is a lot of fun for all ages and IMO a must do). Nice pool area, and food court. FQ is very pretty and as a sister resort to Riverside, pool sharing is allowed but as the FQ pool has a slightly younger feel to it, with your group, I'd choose Riverside.

CSR has a great pool....CBR? really don't know much about it, but I like the feel of CSR over CBR.

Really only you (with your sister) can evaluate the savings staying at a value over a mod... For some the $$ difference may not be a factor, but for others, it is. Would you use the $$ savings towards something else?? i.e. Water park option?

FWIW, there's my 2 cents.

 

[Janet B]

Hi Ginny!!!

 

[gwynne]

Hi Ginny!!!

Hi Janet!! I'm popping in between chores. Somehow occasional DIS breaks make the work go faster!

 

[Missoutandabout]

Happy Birthday to Our Lovely Marie!

​

Jeanette: Also, a huge smack on the forehead for not getting back to wish a...

Very Happy Birthday to Brandon

​

Hope he had a great day.

to all of you. With the schools being out, I've not had a chance to think... nor do any of this so not all bad I suppose.

 

[chimo2u]

I see a Happy Birthday is in order for your little Prince Jeanette! Happy Birthday to Brandon, hope his day was SPECTACULAR!

Thanks for the Bday wishes Ginny and Janet! Love and miss you guys!

 

[chimo2u]

Happy Birthday to Our Lovely Marie!

​

Jeanette: Also, a huge smack on the forehead for not getting back to wish a...

Very Happy Birthday to Brandon

​

Hope he had a great day.

to all of you. With the schools being out, I've not had a chance to think... nor do any of this so not all bad I suppose.

HUGE and a HUGE thank you for making me feel special on my day!
Love ya!

 

[i_heart_the_mouse]

Happy Birthday Marie!

 

[jennyjinx3]

Well, I tried to talk DH into taking advantage of the great deal in August tha we all know about....and then I could finally meet up with some of you lovely ladies in person! Even though the rates are fantastic, he thinks we should skip that....save up till August 2015 for the Alaska cruise we want.

Boo, why can't I have both?? spoiled right?

Ah well it was a fun dream while it lasted to meet up.

 

[gwynne]

Well, I tried to talk DH into taking advantage of the great deal in August tha we all know about....and then I could finally meet up with some of you lovely ladies in person! Even though the rates are fantastic, he thinks we should skip that....save up till August 2015 for the Alaska cruise we want.

Boo, why can't I have both?? spoiled right?

Ah well it was a fun dream while it lasted to meet up.

It's always fun to dream about Disney!! That Alaska cruise idea sounds fabulous.

 

[babyberger]

Coming out of hiding for some advice from the best Disney people I know.

Two nights at AKL....is savanna view a must or can I save my money and book pool view? The price diff is $100/nt if that helps. But it will prob be our last Disney trip for a few years.

Hope everyone is doing well! Miss you all!

Melissa

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[Koh1977]

Coming out of hiding for some advice from the best Disney people I know. Two nights at AKL....is savanna view a must or can I save my money and book pool view? The price diff is $100/nt if that helps. But it will prob be our last Disney trip for a few years. Hope everyone is doing well! Miss you all! Melissa Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

If you're not going to be in the room much, I'd save money and book pool view. But then again, I have yet to stay at AKL at all! (Some day!).

 

[hstrickland]

Happy Thursday Morning



Hope everyone is staying warm with this crazy winter weather! We're on a 2 hour delay so that means Dis Time!! And since it's super cold outside, I'm having visions of Castaway Cay to keep me warm....





I think it's time to start planning another cruise


Melissa...views are so subjective, as you know. And I'm probably not the one to give you advice but we really loved our savannah room - the kids especially. HOWEVER...that being said....the pool view is also super awesome. I agree with Koh, too...that makes perfect sense.


Savannah Arusha View





Pool - and who wouldn't love waking up to this??!!







If DH told me we were going back and had a pool view, I would be totally happy Not sure you can go wrong with either.



Jen....that Alaska cruise does sound fabulous!!!!


to all the RC Peeps!!

 

[babyberger]

If you're not going to be in the room much, I'd save money and book pool view. But then again, I have yet to stay at AKL at all! (Some day!).

We don't spend a ton of time in our room, but when we do we are total balcony people. The kids lived on the balcony at YC and CR, and I can only imagine how much more they would LOVE the animals. My kids have never wanted to stay at AKL before but all of a sudden they really want this

Happy Thursday Morning

Hope everyone is staying warm with this crazy winter weather! We're on a 2 hour delay so that means Dis Time!! And since it's super cold outside, I'm having visions of Castaway Cay to keep me warm....

I think it's time to start planning another cruise

Melissa...views are so subjective, as you know. And I'm probably not the one to give you advice but we really loved our savannah room - the kids especially. HOWEVER...that being said....the pool view is also super awesome. I agree with Koh, too...that makes perfect sense.

I'm sending you some sunshine stat Keep dreaming of that cruise!

As for AKL, when I was going back and forth Jeanette reminded me of your TR, so off I went to check it out. You didn't help the fiscally reasonable side of me at all I had already seen that CL was only $27/nt more than the Arusha view, then read your review and saw all those amazing pictures. So, um yeah, probably making that call today

Wishing everyone a great day today Kids have a half day so I got to run. But I promise to get back and start catching up!

Melissa