PART TWO *December 2012 Roll Call* Holidays, FLE & MVMCP!! A very, merry thread!

[BDL]

How in the world have I not been here in 2 days and now I have almost 25 pages to read ! AAAH!

Imagine how many pages you'll miss in 2 days when we get to Part 3...? The closer we get to Dec, the more questions, answers and updates. Never mind the posts that will occur when some of us start going down there.

 

[Valgoof]

But what am I going to do when I've crossed off the WHOLE list and still have 2 months to wait before our trip???

souvenir list
packing list
which outfits for which days list
must have snack list
buy more clothes on Disney Store online
get window decorations
buy new shoes and walk to break-in new shoes
buy cute little travel toiletries
get a manicure with little Mickey heads

 

[Valgoof]

We are driving from near Philadelphia PA, from what I figure it will take us around 17 hours driving with field and food stops (and a stop at the border for OJ, making DH cringe). We are leaving Sunday afternoon around dinner time and should get to POP around 10am on Monday

We drove down last year and I made sure I was driving when we crossed the border so we could stop for the OJ.

 

[Mom2Cody06]

Hehe

Me too. I think we can hit 4 before Thanksgiving.

Yeah because we'll be at 3 by the end of the weekend the rate we are going.

 

[Mom2Cody06]

I really wish I could get either an Akerhaus breakfast ADR or CRT breakfast ADR for my days. I keep checking every day (okay, maybe more than once a day ) but nothing is opening up.

I just got lucky last week and found Askershus for our Epcot day. Still trying for CRT or CP for MK day but if not its ok. But I like stalking the ADRs

 

[jimjenkids]

getting closer.....just ordered my PP+.....

 

[WedgieSock]

Question--Have you done PM EMH for DHS? I am definitely doing MK and Epcot. DHS just doesn't seem to have enough attractions and/or space to spread out the crowds. I had us going there that night, but then switched it. I think someone might have talked about this earlier in the week but I was too wrapped up in my resort drama to remember what was said.

Yes. When we were there last year, we got to DHS at 10am and left at 1am. Its a great park to just take leisurely with lots of great shows and unusual shops (there is even a bookstore where you can sit and chill). We took a 2hr stop at Hollywood Brown Derby to eat .... it was a fantastic day and it was my hubby's fav.

 

[cybrkitn]

Huh........for my dates it was only $75 more that POP for a Little Mermaid room.......weird. I don't think I'll EVER understand hotel pricing!

Are the rooms bigger? Maybe that is the reason why it's more than the rest of the values

 

[Tltorrez]

I refuse to look at crowd calendars - I think it pushes you into overplanning. The way I see it, you have either booked low or high season ... how much more control can you have over the crowds?

While I think this is still true for some low times (like late January), I'm finding that for Oct and early Dec there is increasingly a lot of variation between days in a given week. For example during my week, I have the option of MK at 1.5 0r 8. That's a huge swing.

Of course, it's all up to personal preference and how much the crowds affect your enjoyment. For me, I'm more affected by crowds, especially for things like Wishes. We've been on a 1 day and a 6. I would be hesitant to ever do it higher than a 4 again. The 6 day stressed us out too much to really enjoy it.

Mostly the ratings are based on Disney's projections and past numbers for similar days. But you're right that they can't always get it right. The 6 day we went to MK was slated as a 4. Disney ended up extending hours at the last minute. Still, that doesn't happen often. They're usually pretty accurate.

 

[BDL]

getting closer.....just ordered my PP+.....

I gotta get on that too. It's a little pricey, but I think I'll make it back just in the ride pics alone.

 

[Tltorrez]

Are the rooms bigger? Maybe that is the reason why it's more than the rest of the values

Yes, it's mostly Family Suites.

 

[M&MGirl1]

souvenir list
packing list
which outfits for which days list
must have snack list
buy more clothes on Disney Store online
get window decorations
buy new shoes and walk to break-in new shoes
buy cute little travel toiletries
get a manicure with little Mickey heads

Great ideas! The snack list alone should take days since we're in the DxDDP and have an obscene number is snack credits to go through. And I hadn't even thought about decorating our window!

 

[Mom2Cody06]

Nope. A few years ago we lost our business (rough! but all good now) so the first thing was get rid of the credit cards. Then, after tons of research (which I won't bore you with ) I decided that it would be better to learn to live without them which is what we did and, tbh, I love not having them. I don't have the dreaded credit card bill (I am a spender ) . We deal with our money differently now and, although it took a while, it works better.

Yep, I might call the bank first. I'm just thinking that, even though it will be an in-state payment and there is more than enough to cover it, its unusual for me to suddenly drop 6k, so would they class it as 'unusual activity'?. Maybe I'm just overthinking it. I can do that.

A call to the bank for that dollar amount is a good idea, just as a heads up. Also for people traveling out of state you should call your bank the week before travel and have your bank put on a travel alert so they don't mess up your debit card seeing transactions out of state. For us we do it because we drive so we let them know when we travel so they don't see gas station charges from PA to FL and red flag our acct (we don't have credit cards either so a hold on our debit card would be devastating)

 

[Tltorrez]

I gotta get on that too. It's a little pricey, but I think I'll make it back just in the ride pics alone.

I'll be doing the regular PP again this time.

 

[cybrkitn]

Yes. When we were there last year, we got to DHS at 10am and left at 1am. Its a great park to just take leisurely with lots of great shows and unusual shops (there is even a bookstore where you can sit and chill). We took a 2hr stop at Hollywood Brown Derby to eat .... it was a fantastic day and it was my hubby's fav.

A bookstore ? I don't remember ever seeing one there. Where is it located?

 

[M&MGirl1]

Are the rooms bigger? Maybe that is the reason why it's more than the rest of the values

I don't think the regular rooms are. Most of the resort is family suites, which are very large. Most likely the price difference is just because it is new and people will pay a premium for it.

 

[cybrkitn]

Yes, it's mostly Family Suites.

Ahhh. That would account for the the cost being more.

Dang! I can't believe in the last five(eta - ok maybe 10 or so) minutes since I posted that question, we have already hit another page! We are a very busy and talkative bunch today!

 

[Mom2Cody06]

Imagine how many pages you'll miss in 2 days when we get to Part 3...? The closer we get to Dec, the more questions, answers and updates. Never mind the posts that will occur when some of us start going down there.

My head is spinning.

 

[Mom2Cody06]

I gotta get on that too. It's a little pricey, but I think I'll make it back just in the ride pics alone.

I ordered and revived ours. DH said since its our 10th anniversary he looks at it like our wedding pics, he wants them as memories from the trip and between Tusker House, Askershus, and ride photos alone it's worth it

 

[1stvisit0909]

My head is spinning.

Yes, it's hard to keep up. I'm going back to the doc this afternoon bc my hands are still tingling. DH need to go out of town this weekend, so he wants me checked out again. I imagine we will be a few more pages closer by the time I get back!