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

[jennyjinx3]

Did I even post my latest RC here....

Instead of my YC/WL split...

I've moved the party to
A week at Old Faithful Club, look out WL here we come

EXCITING!!!!

 

[dimndgal1]

Thank you so much for the advice! I am thinking more towards a MK resort now as several people on this thread have recommended that scenario And although I think I would love Epcot I'm not so sure my daughter will be as sold on it as I am. She is all about the castle and the princesses. So now I have to decide which MK Resort. Geez, life is so rough.......

One thing you can consider is to go ahead and book a MK resort and as the dates get closer you can consider renting points? That time of year should offer LOTS of options even 2 or 3 months out. You could look at BLT or GFV which would really up the magic!!!

Also, there are LOTS of princesses lurking in the countries of EPCOT... not to mention Alice, Mary Poppins, and the elusive Genie! Also, if you do 'desserts around the world" you tend to capture the desire of any kid or kid at heart! I was not an EPCOT fan as a kid but in my teens I developed a new appreciation. Now, to engage DD6, we do less 'boring' stuff and find a new focus: one year it was characters, last trip music... this year desserts and Agent P missions. If you go in with the "I'm going to do EVERYTHING" at Epcot mentality, you'll over (and under) whelm. But pick one focus and you and DD will have a ball!

MM - furniture is nice! Not a bad trade for a step down!

Dimndgal - I nixed MM and the Fantasmic package. Decided we'd just go to the later show instead...doing Hollywood and Vine for lunch for the characters instead.

I think we'll do the same. No late show but Fantasmic isn't a dealbreaker, so going to probably end up with an ADR for 50's PT.

 

[dimndgal1]

Okay - for those in the know:

I know that when you set up FP+, you have to pick your 3 for one park. BUT, if we fast forward to the day of, can I use 1 at EP, cancel the other 2, and then use those at (say) HS when I hop over there?

Just trying to figure out logistics of one of our EP/HS days. We are a hopping family (it forces us to take a natural break and helps my ADD-esque child from getting too overdone) and I really want to like FP+ but it's super constricting for us! We have 8a Akerhaus, so my thought is to hit TT once or twice, then MS, then FP+ Soarin'. Ideally, I would want to wander over to HS and get FP+ for ToT and RnR.

 

[Koh1977]

Okay - for those in the know: I know that when you set up FP+, you have to pick your 3 for one park. BUT, if we fast forward to the day of, can I use 1 at EP, cancel the other 2, and then use those at (say) HS when I hop over there? Just trying to figure out logistics of one of our EP/HS days. We are a hopping family (it forces us to take a natural break and helps my ADD-esque child from getting too overdone) and I really want to like FP+ but it's super constricting for us! We have 8a Akerhaus, so my thought is to hit TT once or twice, then MS, then FP+ Soarin'. Ideally, I would want to wander over to HS and get FP+ for ToT and RnR.

If you use 1 FP in one park, the others can be changed, but they have to be at the same park where you used the 1st one. Most people suggest doing FP+ for the second park and just doing what you can with standby lines at the first park (assuming you're at the first park early to hit rope drop).

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[LisaTC]

I am going to take a closer look at the resorts near MK. So you don't think it's crazy to switch hotels twice? Does going to Universal in the middle of the trip sound ok? Everyone is so nice here. So pleased. Although geez, I find it hard to pull myself away from Disney research to live my regular life I think I may be slightly addicted!

I hear you! This thread is one of the most friendly, to be sure. The POR thread in Resorts Forum is friendly as well. However, and I digress..many of the other threads can be very snarky. Just beware. Had lots of bad experiences lately with people assailing me for no reason. That said, this THREAD -- IS awesome & friendly and the people seem like they care about your vacation as much as theirs!

I know what you mean about getting back to your regularly, scheduled life. It is addicting planning a trip to Disney!

I don't think it's crazy to change if you are going to stay at Universal in the middle of your trip to Florida. You are already moving out, may as well try something else, eh? Sounds fun to me. LOL

MK resort is my dream. We love POR. It fits our budget, but would be lovely to try a MK resort.

 

[gwynne]

If you use 1 FP in one park, the others can be changed, but they have to be at the same park where you used the 1st one. Most people suggest doing FP+ for the second park and just doing what you can with standby lines at the first park (assuming you're at the first park early to hit rope drop).

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I keep hoping Disney will modify the FP+ stuff to allow more flexibility. Fingers crossed!

 

[bhyer]

If she loves the castle so much, maybe see if you can snag a theme park view at Contemporary? It's on my bucket list too! (Actually all the deluxes are really...and POR).

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I mentioned a theme park view to her and I was surprised when she said she didn't think it was worth the cost considering we are never in our room. I know she doesn't care for the WL (although I know I would love it). I think it's too much like being in the mountains here at home and she isn't a big nature fan. At least I've taken one of the deluxes off our possible list! Hey, that's progress.

 

[bhyer]

I hear you! This thread is one of the most friendly, to be sure. The POR thread in Resorts Forum is friendly as well. However, and I digress..many of the other threads can be very snarky. Just beware. Had lots of bad experiences lately with people assailing me for no reason. That said, this THREAD -- IS awesome & friendly and the people seem like they care about your vacation as much as theirs!

I know what you mean about getting back to your regularly, scheduled life. It is addicting planning a trip to Disney!

I don't think it's crazy to change if you are going to stay at Universal in the middle of your trip to Florida. You are already moving out, may as well try something else, eh? Sounds fun to me. LOL

MK resort is my dream. We love POR. It fits our budget, but would be lovely to try a MK resort.

POR fits my budget too so doing a Deluxe is going to be a major treat!! We could do Universal at the very beginning or very end of our trip BUT that would mean giving up some low crowd days at Disney and that just seems crazy!!

Even my daughter who LOVES Disney doesn't have the patience to listen/participate in all my planning. Hmmmm, maybe she isn't REALLY my daughter...... JK of course

 

[bhyer]

One thing you can consider is to go ahead and book a MK resort and as the dates get closer you can consider renting points? That time of year should offer LOTS of options even 2 or 3 months out. You could look at BLT or GFV which would really up the magic!!!

.

Do you think BLT or GFV would be "more magical" than Poly?
I thought I had read somewhere that those resorts (with renting DVC points) go 11 months out. Hmm. If I could leave it until 2 to 3 months that would change my perspective on taking a risk and locking in. And that certainly makes it much closer to what I SHOULD be spending.

 

[pas130]

EXCITING!!!!

Well yesterday afternoon I told DH we should just stay at an Epcot resort and he said no. So then....I came up with the idea of staying at All Star Sports. We would save $89 staying there instead of POFQ which would cover all by $6 of one of our Epcot tickets. Plus I thought, we're not going to spend much time at the resort. We have not stayed at a value since 2008 and have been spoiled by the Poly since 2010 so I had to convince myself of that one, lol. So I text my husband and he said "ok", I'm thinking great we'll just stay at Sports and save some money that way. Then last night we were talking and he says he doesn't know if he wants to stay there!!! Back to square one!! I said, let's just spend the money and stay at an Epcot resort. His repsonse........we'll see!!!!!!!

Our flight does not get to MCO until a little after 2:00 pm and we were planning on spending all day at Epcot until they close at 11:00 pm and then the DCL bus will pick us up the next morning, not sure what time, I'm guessing 11 or 12. That would still be enough time to enjoy an Epcot resort, right???

It would be nice to do the Epcot resort pre-flight. You can stroll the BW in the AM grab some goodies from the bakery...

nice!

I am so glad I came across this thread. Seems like a lot of people who have a LOT of experiences at WDW
So, I'm hoping maybe somebody can share some "Disney Wisdom" with me that might make it easier to settle on a "final" plan. Yes, I know - I might change it many times before the actual date arrives!! All this and I haven't even started to make dining plans yet!!

My 26 year old daughter and I are planning our first trip to WDW.
We have been to Disneyland three times and stayed at the Dinseyland Hotel with the light-up headboards. My daughter is in love with them. Yes, she is 26 but was always delighted to press that button and listen to the music that plays along with the fireworks on the head board. Even in the middle of the night when I was sound asleep......

We only have certain months we can go and so had to choose between January/February or May. May seemed a bit hot for us so we choose the dates according to when Touring Plans looked like there were a set of days with lowest crowds in Jan/Feb. We wanted 10 full days in the parks, 3 days at Universal and 2 rest days. Soooo, we decided on January 27 to February 12, 2015. Sooooo freaking excited!!!! And of course there is a Disney commercial playing these days advertising a sale for this summer - that just happens to show the Contemporary, the Royal Guest Rooms AND the Beach Club.

At first we were thinking to rent DVC points and stay at the same resort for the entire 16 nights. We aren't much for packing & moving. Then I got nervous about locking into that a year ahead of time.

Then we discovered the POR Royal Guest Rooms and my daughter just knew she wanted to stay there. So we were going to do that for the entire stay.

Then I was reading how if you want to do Universal for three days it's best to stay on-site at a Universal hotel. And no - I have totally no idea which resort to stay at in Universal although thinking Hard Rock is closest so maybe we just do that.

We didn't want to miss out on the really low crowd days at WDW that happen to be right at the beginning of our trip or at the very end of our trip (cause it would have made sense to do Universal right at the beginning or end).

Sooo, we were thinking to go to Universal in the middle of our trip (when Disney days looked the most crowded) for three nights and since that meant changing hotel that maybe we should stay at a different Disney Resort when we got back from Universal for the last five nights of our stay.

This is where I'm stuck.

Some folks say the Contemporary is awesome because you can walk to the MK. And that the monorail is much easier than buses. But then again, monorail can be broken down but you can still walk!

Some folks say try a Boardwalk area hotel because the location is awesome for walking to EPCOT. I was kinda thinking the beach club but then again I'm not sure how much we would actually use the pool.

On our last five days of the trip we will likely have one rest day.
Spend two days at MK. Not entirely sure how we will spend the other two - perhaps revisiting what we liked best at Epcot and DHS.

So many folks say it's wonderful to be able to walk to Epcot but I'm having trouble picturing what that park is like. I totally get MK and DHS (cause that is so much like Disneyland) and AK is obvious. Is Epcot mostly about the restaurants?

When we went to the Disneyland Resort last time we spent 3 days at California Adventure and five days at Disneyland. My daughter never tires of the princesses and atmosphere. We stayed at the parks all day every day and only came back to our rooms when we were so exhausted we HAD to sleep.

Any suggestions on whether we should try a different hotel for the last part of our stay? Or perhaps we should just head back to the POR Royal Guest Room?

I KNOW we will have a ton of fun no matter what - just trying to make a somewhat educated choice!! And I would dearly love any advice!!

Thank you in advance!

How exciting a first WDW trip to the RC thread. I really like World Showcase but Epcot's other half is attraction and rides..you can easily fill 2 park days! Honestly, any resort would be awesome but an Epcot resorts will afford your location close to DHS and Epcot! As for a split with Universal, yes yes yes. If you have any questions I have stayed at all three. You will have NO lines with the Express pass and you can pool hop to all three hotels. Although it may be chilly. Plus you can walk or boat to the parks and Citywalk which has great restaurants and clubs! Happy planning!!

Hmmm...POR is awesome. But you will be leaving anyway, so I think a MK resort like the contemporary, if you wish, is good advice. You'll have had your experience in the Royal rooms and Epcot may be a bit confusing to you & since you are very familiar with Disneyland, you would likely prefer to be near MK.

I'm glad to have found this thread, too. Very friendly. The POR thread is friendly, too. Take advantage of these threads. The others can leave you feeling like you've been throttled sometimes, but this thread is very helpful and nice!

I agree some threads can be, well ummm an experience. I LOVE my RC family!!!

I am going to take a closer look at the resorts near MK. So you don't think it's crazy to switch hotels twice? Does going to Universal in the middle of the trip sound ok? Everyone is so nice here. So pleased. Although geez, I find it hard to pull myself away from Disney research to live my regular life I think I may be slightly addicted!

No change is crazy here...GrumpyGrandma and iheartthemouse have done 3 and 4 way split stays....best of all the worlds I think

 

[dimndgal1]

If you use 1 FP in one park, the others can be changed, but they have to be at the same park where you used the 1st one. Most people suggest doing FP+ for the second park and just doing what you can with standby lines at the first park (assuming you're at the first park early to hit rope drop).

BOO! With the tier system at EP and our families ambivalence about TSM, It really ties our options!

I keep hoping Disney will modify the FP+ stuff to allow more flexibility. Fingers crossed!

AGREED!!!

Do you think BLT or GFV would be "more magical" than Poly?
I thought I had read somewhere that those resorts (with renting DVC points) go 11 months out. Hmm. If I could leave it until 2 to 3 months that would change my perspective on taking a risk and locking in. And that certainly makes it much closer to what I SHOULD be spending.

I admit I am biased - I lived in Hawaii so Poly is low on my list. That said, with the new Poly Villa construction/completion, I would try for GFV - they are new and many consider GF to be the 'premiere' Disney resort. I love the BLT Villas - walking to MK and the fireworks view would be big for our group - but I honestly think any of the Monorail resorts would fit your bill.

 

[DznyCrzy11]

It would be nice to do the Epcot resort pre-flight. You can stroll the BW in the AM grab some goodies from the bakery...

That's what I'm thinking!!

I love this story! It has resort changing and it has a husband changing his mind . . . gradually! It also has WDW/cruise plans! When we planned our August 2011 cruise, we started with one night in a hotel near the port. Changed that to two nights. Then changed that to BWI! Then upgraded to BWI CL. Then added BC CL after the cruise. Then decided against space center in favor of typhoon lagoon. It was hard being so close to Epcot with no tickets (we were in between APs at the time and my husband only agreed to stay on property if no parks - he decided TL didn't count!)

So as for the morning of the cruise from the Epcot area, YES you have plenty of time to enjoy the resort!!! We originally planned a breakfast ADR at Cape May. Then we upgraded to CL and planned breakfast in the lounge and pool time. What actually happened is our DCL transportation notice advised us our pickup time was 12:45pm, so we ended up enjoying our BWI boardwalk view balcony, walking around crescent lake, shopping and lunch at Beaches N Cream. It was wonderful! I highly recommend it!

On the other hand, any Disney resort is fun pre-cruise, so it will be great wherever you stay!!

Awesome!! Sounds like we would have a few hrs that morning to walk around the resort. My thought is I would rather pay the money and visit Epcot!! I just can't stand the idea of being so close and not going to any of the parks. I had even thought of adding park hopper and stopping at all the parks for a little bit. I am leaning towards staying at BC.

I think so!!!

Ok, yeah, the more and more I think about it, the more it seems like we will have at least a few hours.

YAY back!! I have faith you can talk DH into anything

Thank you!! I sure hope I can!

Did I even post my latest RC here....

Instead of my YC/WL split...

I've moved the party to
A week at Old Faithful Club, look out WL here we come

That will be so fun!!

Love the 1-day epcot ticket, and of course you should stay in an epcot resort! (Keep in mind, though, I'm the one who started with POR for later this month, and now we're booked Poly CL - serial upgrader here.)

Yeah, I'm thinking that will be much more fun than spending the day at DTD!!

 

[trishadono]

Do you think BLT or GFV would be "more magical" than Poly?
I thought I had read somewhere that those resorts (with renting DVC points) go 11 months out. Hmm. If I could leave it until 2 to 3 months that would change my perspective on taking a risk and locking in. And that certainly makes it much closer to what I SHOULD be spending.

I am extremely fortunate to have stayed in all 3

I would go back to them all again!

Here's the thing: the villas are not as DELUXE as the deluxe resorts. You have to walk to get food and shops. BLT does have its own pool and you can use pool area at cr which is nice. Also small things you will notice like the availability of turndown service etc.

If you have a large group then a 1/2 br villa is great. The price is way lower than 1/2 br SUITES. However if you were going to get a studio BLT is the smallest single room for any deluxe. I would only do if cr was booked and you needed a castle view or walk to the park.

For a studio in gf the room will fit 5 which is nice. The bathroom has a shower AND a tub/shower so getting ready would be great.

So I would rank gf villa since new tied with poly which is undergoing refurbishment right now. I would do BLT if a big group because price is like 20% lower than VGF.

FYI I am doing poly in June because I don't mind the refurbishment . Just me and dd so I don't want BLT and VGF and gf were expensive. I got CL at poly for 88 a day more than a GV room so I went for it. Between breakfast, waters, wine, dinner(light eaters) and desserts/snacks I felt best monies worth. Poly CL was less than a GV room at cr and gf.

I just love poly. The tiki lights, smell of lobby and lushness are very magical. However dh prefers gf and loved VGF!!

If on the monorail for me is the key. Stay at one and visit the others

Seeing castle and park from your hotel is priceless.

 

[Koh1977]

I mentioned a theme park view to her and I was surprised when she said she didn't think it was worth the cost considering we are never in our room. I know she doesn't care for the WL (although I know I would love it). I think it's too much like being in the mountains here at home and she isn't a big nature fan. At least I've taken one of the deluxes off our possible list! Hey, that's progress.

Lol. Only how many left...?

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[Koh1977]

So...I still have 110 days left...and I'm really happy with my resort and ADRs...not FastPass+ time yet...what to do??

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[letthewookiewin]

Now that our DL trip is totally planned and booked, I can hopefully get more time to keep up here. We ended up booking at the Anaheim Marriott Hotel. Our plans are
5/16 - Pick the boys up early from school and get from the DFW area to Albuquerque, NM
5/17 - Check out the Meteor Crater site in AZ and the Grand Canyon before checking into a cabin at the KOA closest to the Grand Canyon. Cook hot dogs and S'mores over a camp fire for dinner.
5/18 - Detour through Phoenix, to see where DH lived and went to school there, on the way to Anaheim.
5/19 - DCA day
5/20 - DL day
5/21 - LA/Hollywood/Beach Tour
5/22 - Check out of the Marriott then, stop at the La Brea tar pits on the way to San Francisco. Check into a hotel near the fisherman's wharf. Eat at Bubba Gump's on Pier 39 and the 7D-Experience
5/23 - Drive to the Redwood forst, and then check into a hotel in Redding, CA (where DH lived once)
5/24 - Drive to Salt Lake and check into a hotel
5/25 - Drive to Estes Park, CO and take picture of the boys at my favorite picnic spot. Then check into a hotel at Colorado Springs
5/26 - Drive home

Then there have been some changes on my girls only trip. We thought about renting DVC points and have bounce around nearly every MK and Epcot DVC location. We finally narrowed it down to BLT or BWV, both of which are booked up through a company we found that rented points for $12 a point.
I solemnly swear this change is our last change...there will be no other resort changes (except for me calling tomorrow and changing it to a normal bathroom from a roll-in shower bathroom). We have landed at the WL Courtyard view, with the same dates of Sept 20-24.

 

[dimndgal1]

So...I still have 110 days left...and I'm really happy with my resort and ADRs...not FastPass+ time yet...what to do??

Jealous! I'm still unsettled with my rezzies and I don't know why!!! I guess that gives me something to fixate on until FP+ window.

Now that our DL trip is totally planned and booked, I can hopefully get more time to keep up here. We ended up booking at the Anaheim Marriott Hotel. Our plans are
5/16 - Pick the boys up early from school and get from the DFW area to Albuquerque, NM
5/17 - Check out the Meteor Crater site in AZ and the Grand Canyon before checking into a cabin at the KOA closest to the Grand Canyon. Cook hot dogs and S'mores over a camp fire for dinner.
5/18 - Detour through Phoenix, to see where DH lived and went to school there, on the way to Anaheim.
5/19 - DCA day
5/20 - DL day
5/21 - LA/Hollywood/Beach Tour
5/22 - Check out of the Marriott then, stop at the La Brea tar pits on the way to San Francisco. Check into a hotel near the fisherman's wharf. Eat at Bubba Gump's on Pier 39 and the 7D-Experience
5/23 - Drive to the Redwood forst, and then check into a hotel in Redding, CA (where DH lived once)
5/24 - Drive to Salt Lake and check into a hotel
5/25 - Drive to Estes Park, CO and take picture of the boys at my favorite picnic spot. Then check into a hotel at Colorado Springs
5/26 - Drive home

Then there have been some changes on my girls only trip. We thought about renting DVC points and have bounce around nearly every MK and Epcot DVC location. We finally narrowed it down to BLT or BWV, both of which are booked up through a company we found that rented points for $12 a point.
I solemnly swear this change is our last change...there will be no other resort changes (except for me calling tomorrow and changing it to a normal bathroom from a roll-in shower bathroom). We have landed at the WL Courtyard view, with the same dates of Sept 20-24.

Love your road/DL trip!!! Make sure to do World of Color!!! It's the bestest! And say hi to The Stanley for me!!!

Your girls only 'road trip' of ch-ch-changes made me smile... DH and I have done this very journey this weekend mentally (talking about renting points/considering alternate resorts/throwing his hands up in frustration) and the most we can decide on is possibly moving to WL Bunk - CYV. *sighs* I think your trips sound great!!!

*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*

I'm unsettled with September and I don't know how to fix it!!! The problem is I saw a special on Food Network where a chef went to some restaurants at Disney and they blew through AKL... and I realized I really like everything about AKL BUT the distance. I just can't get over how far it is!!! Love the pool (esp with our LO), love the idea of seeing animals, but hate the idea of riding everywhere. Is it really as far as it seem sin my head?

 

[DznyCrzy11]

I'm unsettled with September and I don't know how to fix it!!! The problem is I saw a special on Food Network where a chef went to some restaurants at Disney and they blew through AKL... and I realized I really like everything about AKL BUT the distance. I just can't get over how far it is!!! Love the pool (esp with our LO), love the idea of seeing animals, but hate the idea of riding everywhere. Is it really as far as it seem sin my head?

I feel the same way!!! Back in 2009 we were at WDW the same time as my cousin and her family, they always stay at AKL so we visited them and ate dinner at Boma. I love the food there and the atmosphere but I can't get past the location!!! I also saw something on Food Network, it was something about Disney restaurants and I believe it was late January I saw it and they talked about the restaurants at AKL. I agree, it's a great resort but the only transportation is bus.

Sent from my LG G2.

 

[letthewookiewin]

Love your road/DL trip!!! Make sure to do World of Color!!! It's the bestest! And say hi to The Stanley for me!!!

Will do. I love the Stanley!! I want to stay there, but the DH is too chicken.

Your girls only 'road trip' of ch-ch-changes made me smile... DH and I have done this very journey this weekend mentally (talking about renting points/considering alternate resorts/throwing his hands up in frustration) and the most we can decide on is possibly moving to WL Bunk - CYV. *sighs* I think your trips sound great!!!

Thank you. I can't wait to take the boat from the WL to the MK.

I'm unsettled with September and I don't know how to fix it!!! The problem is I saw a special on Food Network where a chef went to some restaurants at Disney and they blew through AKL... and I realized I really like everything about AKL BUT the distance. I just can't get over how far it is!!! Love the pool (esp with our LO), love the idea of seeing animals, but hate the idea of riding everywhere. Is it really as far as it seem sin my head?

We stay at the AKL when we were there in September. We all loved it!! I don't remember the buses being an issue on our trip at all. I know it looks far on the map, but it didn't feel that far on the bus.

 

[bhyer]

Lol. Only how many left...?

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Depends on the day and/or the time of day you ask me
My thoughts change regularly on this topic but at least it's such a FUN topic!!