Over planning?

[bunkkinsmom]

OK, so Im a bit obsessed with my upcoming vacation! Here's the scoop so far, I wanna go to WDW in January 09 with my 3 kids (6,4,2), hubby, and in-laws (mid 60s). The inlaws and kids have never been. After EXTENSIVE research, I think that I have decided on OKW 2BR villa. First off, what are the chances that I can get that? Second, the mominlaw has back trouble, and I am worried about the walking. I know OKW is spread out, but will the resort honor building requests? Also, if she is on the second or third floor, we need an elevator, and from my (EXTENSIVE) research, I see that OKW only has 3 bldgs with elevators. We are taking the train in from NC (thought that would be fun!) so we will not have a car. Once inside the resort, what are the grocery options? DH says I'm driving him nuts with the planning, BUT I CAN"T HELP IT!!!!! HELP ME PLEASE!!!

 

[BlondeAlligator]

IMO, there's no such thing as "over-planning" when it comes to WDW! The more prepared you are, the better your trip will be.

1. If you want OKW 2 BR Villa, try to rent points from a DVC member...it will save you some big bucks! A DVC member who has OKW as his home resort can book it 11 months in advance, so you'd be safe to get it now. We did this in 12/06 with great success! PM me if you want more details on this...

2. If MIL has back problems, you can make a request to OKW for medical reasons (ie. need first floor or building with elevator due to back problems). There are no guarantees, though. When you check in, if your request has not been met, very nicely ask to speak to a manager to explain the situation. Also, try to check in early in the day...you'll have better luck.

3. I would reconsider taking the train...I don't know if you've ever done it, but they are NOT comfortable & I fear your MIL will start the trip off on a bad note with her back. Sleeper cars are super expensive. Especially if you end up renting form a DVC member, I would fly or even make the drive from NC before I would take a train.

4. There are companies that will deliver groceries to your resort for you, and you can buy some things at OKW (but be prepared to pay a fortune if you do that.) You can search the boards here for grocery delivery services. If you end up flying, *********** is the company we always use to get to WDW from the airport & they will do a free 30 minute grocery stop on your way to the resort...that's always worked best for us, esp. when we were still travelling with diapers & such!

Feel free to PM me with any other questions...I have been to WDW 16 times & have planned trips for almost everyone in my family. I'd love to help you plan yours!



Allison

 

[BlondeAlligator]

I just realized that thr limo company name was "starred out" of my last post...I guess they don't want us endorsing any one company over another. PM me for more information!

 

[Aliceacc]

Hi and welcome!!

I started a thread for other newbies; it may help with some of your concerns: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1715551

As far as groceries, try www.gardengrocer.com or www.wegoshop.com Both have their fans here and both will deliver to your resort.

Post your questions as they come up; someone here is sure to know the answers!!

 

[eliza61]

IMO, there's no such thing as "over-planning" when it comes to WDW! The more prepared you are, the better your trip will be.



Allison

Oh come away from the dark side Allison. This is so not true. I used to be an obsessed over planning, maniac. I knew I had gone over board when my kids said they wanted to go home (imagine a 10 yo wanting to leave disney world) because I had turned into some kind of psycoatic marine drill sargent with a spread sheet. Now the only information we go with is park hours and they have been the absolute best disney vacations ever. I'm going again this May and I don't even have ADR's.


Op, my main concern would be for your MIL. Forget OKW, do you guys have any idea how much walking is involved just touring a park? You can rent those motorized scooters and I would look into them. WDW is huge.

 

[Tnkrbelle565]

Also wanted to second that maybe you should think about a scooter for your MIL. Disney is a TON of walking. DH and I have walked 16 miles in one day (this was before we had to slow down for DD)...we wear pedometers. But with DD, we typically walk about 10-11 miles a day. That is a LOT for someone with back problems. I would start talking to her about how she feels about those scooters.

 

[MontanaZoo]

We just got back a week ago, and I don't think the overplanning hurt our trip at all. Really, I think the key is to categorize it into research and actual scheduling. Finding out what is there and what you want to go to before you do helps a ton, especially getting everyone's input. I made ADR's just in case we happened to be somewhere (but only 3) since we were not using the DDP, there was only 2 of us and we did mostly counter service or ate at the resort.

What we actually went with was a schedule of what park I thought we'd go to each day for the first 5 days or so of a 9 day trip. I followed the UG crowd level and stayed away from EMH parks. We basically followed the touring plans for the things we wanted to see but would do repeats etc of rides if we wanted. I don't think the touring plans are really necessary if you hit rope drop and do the big rides first unless it's really crowded. Neither of us are into parades and just took photos of DNiece 11 with any characters that happened across our way.

Planning and reading this helped a ton though to know what we would want to see and what would be oh if we have time type of things. Also, DIS helped me pick the resort which we loved and made me pay attention to that discount postcard I got in the mail. It also helped to say ok, this is vacation and I talked with my niece about everyone else trying their best to have the most fun they can and that can make people seem rude but really they're just trying to do what we are.

Also, I did use gardengrocer and having water bottles and breakfast foods in the room was essential. We also did the cheap glow bracelets and handed out our extras at the P&PP which made some other people's night magical as well. Also, I ordered a thumper/bambi best friends basket from the disney florist and had it delivered at the end of our first full day from "our pals at disney". That remains the most magical moment of the trip for my niece, that this mysterious gift just showed up for us, even beat out getting the dream fast passes at AK for her.

So thanks DISers for all the help planning and believe me, I don't think any of that was time wasted, I wouldn't have known about any of those things. Once you're prepared and know what you're doing, it's easy to just let the scheduling flow.