DownNeckBoy
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Mar 11, 2001
- Messages
- 409
Prelude to a Relaxing vacation at WDW
I like to plan. Part of the joy in planning is that you can imagine different scenarios, much like that current commercial for Expedia where the husband imagines the surfing lesson gone awry. A more elemental joy for me is that the planning portion of the trip is, in and of itself, an escape from the daily trials and tribulations of life.
This year's trip had to be fit in so that both of our children could attend two weeks of Cub Scout camp yet still make it back in time for school. The planning began in earnest while I was still caught in the grip of an icy winter. You surely know the feeling. You step out and it is below freezing. You sprint to the car only to find the windshield iced over and the scraping begins. You wonder whether you can truly navigate the highway with only four square inches of clear windshield before deciding to push on. It is at that moment that your mind, searching for something to rescue you from the grim reminder of a still young winter, that your mind perceives of an alternate reality. A reality where the day is warm and the pool is alluring. Where a team of employees intent on making you and your family happy joins the sound of laughter from other children and adults. Yes, you are transported to the alternate universe that is Disney.
All trip planning is divided into three basic decisions:
1: When will you be traveling?
2: How will you get there?
3: Where will you stay?
We decided that we would travel down by car. As that would entail a trip of over 1,100 miles, it meant that we would need 10-14 days to truly relax at WDW. We decided that the two weeks leading up to Labor Day would provide us with the most flexibility should something go wrong during our trip. Having made those decisions, we then had to select our hotels. Wilderness Lodge and Boardwalk were selected as our hotels for the bulk of the trip.
We decided to include a few hotels as ?fillers?. For example, we had initially opted to reserve a room at Pop Century for the first night that we arrived at WDW, as I knew that we would be tired and the price was right. However, that reservation was cancelled once we became aware of a special being run by Doubletree Suites where we could have a suite for the same price being paid for Pop.
We next selected the Animal Kingdom Lodge for the weekend between Wilderness Lodge and Boardwalk. AKL was selected once the AP rates were released for August.
Finally, we were so excited by the prospect of our trip that we then reserved one night at the Contemporary when the AP rates were released for September.
Thus, our trip was going to span 8-22 through 9-4. We were going to visit five hotels over the space of two full weeks with two days of travel time as well. We were going to be at WDW. What could possibly go wrong?
I like to plan. Part of the joy in planning is that you can imagine different scenarios, much like that current commercial for Expedia where the husband imagines the surfing lesson gone awry. A more elemental joy for me is that the planning portion of the trip is, in and of itself, an escape from the daily trials and tribulations of life.
This year's trip had to be fit in so that both of our children could attend two weeks of Cub Scout camp yet still make it back in time for school. The planning began in earnest while I was still caught in the grip of an icy winter. You surely know the feeling. You step out and it is below freezing. You sprint to the car only to find the windshield iced over and the scraping begins. You wonder whether you can truly navigate the highway with only four square inches of clear windshield before deciding to push on. It is at that moment that your mind, searching for something to rescue you from the grim reminder of a still young winter, that your mind perceives of an alternate reality. A reality where the day is warm and the pool is alluring. Where a team of employees intent on making you and your family happy joins the sound of laughter from other children and adults. Yes, you are transported to the alternate universe that is Disney.
All trip planning is divided into three basic decisions:
1: When will you be traveling?
2: How will you get there?
3: Where will you stay?
We decided that we would travel down by car. As that would entail a trip of over 1,100 miles, it meant that we would need 10-14 days to truly relax at WDW. We decided that the two weeks leading up to Labor Day would provide us with the most flexibility should something go wrong during our trip. Having made those decisions, we then had to select our hotels. Wilderness Lodge and Boardwalk were selected as our hotels for the bulk of the trip.
We decided to include a few hotels as ?fillers?. For example, we had initially opted to reserve a room at Pop Century for the first night that we arrived at WDW, as I knew that we would be tired and the price was right. However, that reservation was cancelled once we became aware of a special being run by Doubletree Suites where we could have a suite for the same price being paid for Pop.
We next selected the Animal Kingdom Lodge for the weekend between Wilderness Lodge and Boardwalk. AKL was selected once the AP rates were released for August.
Finally, we were so excited by the prospect of our trip that we then reserved one night at the Contemporary when the AP rates were released for September.
Thus, our trip was going to span 8-22 through 9-4. We were going to visit five hotels over the space of two full weeks with two days of travel time as well. We were going to be at WDW. What could possibly go wrong?
