Plans Changed - New Years / Marathon Weekend / BLT Experts Advice Wanted! (Please!)

[disneymath]

Urrrgggggg ... please bear with this brief vent ... there is an upside and I would love your input with it.

But first, let me say again, urgggg!!! Our first trip home to BLT for October 2011 appears to be off! Bye bye first time at Food & Wine Festival, so long family costume theme for our first MNSSHP, adios to our first ever "untraditional" Canadian Thanksgiving celebration, and see ya later to my sister's WDW Bday celebration. Fortunately it is not because of a health or financial issue, but rather due to my (and my sister's) jobs. It's frustrating, because based on past practice it should not have been an issue, but new policies and procedures are being implemented. (I'm SO GLAD that I hadn't stumbled on any decent airfare yet!)

Oh well ... the bright side is we have a back up plan. We're thinking about just after Christmas and into early January. (We know that time off from work will not be an issue then and we love the how Disney celebrates the season.) We're looking at some range of dates between Thursday, Janaury 29, and Saturday, January 7 (at least 7 nights, possibly 9).

Our plan is to stay at BLT in either a SV 2BR or a SV 2BR / LV GV split combo. (Fortunately our 11 month window is not yet open.) I've been playing with my points and we have a few options available (even LV 2BRs if needed as a last resort).

So now we're at the point where I'm hoping you will be willing to share your experiences, ideas, etc.

1. How difficult do you imagine it will be to secure a SV 2BR at BLT during this time frame? (I will be on the phone at 9:00AM at 11 months, no matter what. I'm hoping because we would be starting our stay during Premiere season - including weekend nights - that we might have a chance.)

2. How difficult would it be to secure a LV GV once we are into January (and the point cost drop significantly)?

3. What is New Year Eve / New Years Day like at Disney? We'll be travelling with 3 little boys (who will be aged 4.5 and 2.75 years) so I seriously doubt that we would be staying out late at a park on NYE. (I'm thinking maybe a morning/afternoon in a park, dinner at a resort restaurant, and then back to BLT and sneaking out to see the fireworks from the elevator lobby or the TotWL.)

4. My brother-in-law is a runner - he would love to run the half marathon - or even just the Family 5k. (Heck, a Disney Run might even convince me to learn to run.) Is it likely that it will take place the weekend of January 6th to 8th? What is this weekend and the days leading up to it like?

5. Typically, how are the crowds between New Years and the Marathon Weekend? (For reference, our past Disney trips have been in mid to late August - with one trip in early December.)

Well, that's it for now.

 

[Sandisw]

For the SV rooms, I do believe you really do have to call at the 11 month window to get them. If you call right at that time, I think you have a great shot, especially since you have a little wiggle room with your dates.

We got the last SV 2 bedroom for our mid August trip, and this was around the 10 month mark. I think that January is a bit more popular with DVC so the 11 month booking window is crucial.

The rest I can't help you with, but I am hoping to book a SV studio at BLT for two nights during Marathon weekend as well so I can't wait for my 11 month window to open up in 3 weeks!!!

Good luck!!

 

[bobbiwoz]

We've hoping to stay at WDW from December 28th of this year through the Monday after the Marathon weekend. We don't own at BLT, so I don't know the answers to those questions regarding booking, but in 2010, I was able to get a Lake View dedicated 2 bedroom at BLT for the time Wednesday before the Marathon to the Monday afterwards. I got it through a waitist that I went on at 7 months.

We just spent 4 nights including NYE at WDW with our DS's family and DGC ages 5, 7 and 8. We did not go into the parks every day, and the youngest 2 weren't up for the "real" NYE fireworks at Epcot. The parks were crowded during that time, but not super bad, and we also did some off site things, like the Champs Bowl game in Orlando, and we visited Blue Springs SP in Orange City Florida to see the manatees that winter near those springs.

The 5 people in DS's family want to do the 5K next year, and more family members may be doing that as well, and DDiL wants to do the 1/2.

I'll be trying to book BWV for the NYE part of our stay and I'm not particularly concerned about where we'll stay for the Marathon part. I understand that the park is crowded this week before the marathon. One thing that we did in 2010 is we booked the Pirates and Pals firework cruise during the Marathon weekend and that was fun, it's out of the Contemporary's dock, but your children may be too young to enjoy that.

Best wishes as you plan your vacation.

Bobbi

 

[heathrow42]

IMO, the parks on New Year's eve are cah-ray-zy at WDW - I've done it a couple of times, Epcot and MK. The lines are extremely long, and the whole thing has the feel of everyone waiting for fireworks. Now that might just be because Epcot and MK have big shows for NYE. I'll give you an example, one year we went to Epcot, got there before park opening, went immediately to Soarin' for FP's - had to be within the first 20 min of park opening and we got FP's for 11:30 PM!!!! Night! not morning! One year we nearly got into a brawl with a guy in MK - he wanted our seats and dumped water on me in an attempt to get us to move. A friend has taken to doing MGM on NYE the last few years, she enjoys the open spaces and being able to hang out there. I might do AK if you don't plan to stay in a park all day for fireworks - or go somewhere you don't mind getting a lot done, or won't mind standing in lines - AK has lots of open spaces and things to see and do that aren't rides. Plan for lines for even the less popular rides to be an hour or more.

As for marathon weekend you shouldn't have long to wait to find out next year's dates -and the info might already be out (it's not on the website yet)- but they typically announce the next year's dates around the end of marathon weekend or very shortly after. Folks who are there now, might have more info. You should be able to have the info before Jan 29.

Goodluck!

 

[heathrow42]

Duplicate Post - Sorry!

 

[disneymath]

Sandisw: When I first called to book our October trip (which was to have started over the Columbus Day / Canadian Thanksgiving weekend) I called at about 11:30 on our 11 month day and was able to get a L/O SV 2BR (and went on a waitlist for the Dedicated as that setup would work much better for us). I called right at 9AM a few days later and had no trouble getting the LV GV for the last part of our trip. Hopefully things will go as smoothly when I call for this new plan! Good luck to you too!

bobbiwoz: Thanks for sharing your experiences. I know everyone's booking experiences are different, but the fact that your waitlist came through after going on it at 7 months is reassuring. I doubt our little guys would be up for the real NYE fireworks, either. But at least being at BLT the adults should be able to see them. The Pirate and Pals Cruise is an awesome suggestion - we thought the boys were a bit young to do it during our August trip, but they might just be at a perfect age next Christmas.

heathrow42: Thanks for sharing your experiences - 11:30 PM for Soarin' and a head full of water to get you to give up your seats - WOW, that's NUTS! AK might not be a terrible choice for us for NYE - seeing as the "night time festivities" are not what we would be there for. If it is a nice day, a waterpark could work too. I'll keep checking for the Marathon dates.

If anyone else wants to chime in, I'm all ears!

 

[emlutz23]

The 2012 marathon weekend is Jan 5th-8th. The Fun Run would be on that Friday, the Half on Saturday and the full on Sunday the 8th. Crowds will probably pick up around Thursday, when the marathon Expo opens. And even the weekend crowds won't be that bad. Nothing like summer or holidays.

 

[disneymath]

The 2012 marathon weekend is Jan 5th-8th. The Fun Run would be on that Friday, the Half on Saturday and the full on Sunday the 8th. Crowds will probably pick up around Thursday, when the marathon Expo opens. And even the weekend crowds won't be that bad. Nothing like summer or holidays.

Thanks for posting this!! Hopefully we'll be able to squeeze the fun run in before we head home.