Just wanted to post after our one night platinum plan in August pre cruise. We split into groups for some activities but I wanted to let everyone see what we did since we had grandparents (active ones!) and kids too.
We had a dvc stay on points prior to our platinum night which made it MUCH easier! And while we loved the Beach Club Villas as always, if I plan more than 3 weeks in advance next time, I would try to do near MK since we ended up having many activities in that area.
Oh, and we have done the Platinum Plan twice previously. The first time it was DH and myself for his 40th and we actually did 2 nights platinum at BWI followed by 2 nights platinum at GF--on that trip we did a lot of tours and dining. La Nouba was dark so we had 2 gift cards each.
The second time we did platinum 2 nights with my mother in law and our kids who were young--youngest was under 3. We did not take advantage of any tours but did V&A and La Nouba and in room sitting and Illuminations Cruise and still got a deal.
OK, so back to this trip. Friday am Gma and Gpa head to Epcot for Backstage Magic Tour ($486), Dh and DS13 head to Sammy Duvalls for Jetskis ($135), followed by fishing at 10 ($270), myself and ds9 and dd6 head to Crystal Palace for bfast ($60) and the Family Magic Tour at 10 ($87). Me, ds9 and dd6 meet up with dh and ds13 at Conempo Cafe and use snack credits for fruit. At 1:00 we booked tubing for the kids ($165). They absolutely LOVED this! We had so much fun watching them too. After tubing, dh, and kids went back to Villa to chill and get ready for dinner. I used my ds13's spa voucher for a mani pedi at GF Spa and then went back as well. By then, my parents were finished w/Backstage Magic and we all headed to California Grill for 5:35 dinner (around $400-450) After dinner, we headed over to the GF marina for our Wishes Fireworks Cruise ($346). The cruise was great but unfortunately the weather wasn't. Storms all around. Thankfully we didn't have to cancel but it wasn't ideal conditions. Then back to the room to start day 2.
Saturday morning had gma and gpa heading back to Epcot for the Segway Tour at 8:30. Bfast they used more snack credits for yogurt parfaits at Beachclub Marketplace. I got up early and headed back to GF spa to use my spa treatment on a facial. Also, messed up a toe the day before and they were happy to fix it! Then I met dh and the kids (who got to sleep in a bit) at Ohana for 9:30 breakfast ($92). After breakfast we headed back to Sammy Duvalls where my parents met us. They grabbed a quick lunch to share--not the best use but we had one credit left and they just wanted something quick. So, we had booked parasailing. Dh and I had done it on our first platinum trip but we weren't sure if the kids would do it or not. In all honesty, I was terrified the first time and still was this time! My parents had originally said they wouldn't do it but after coming off the segways they were all jazzed up and decided on tandems with the boys. So, gpa and ds9 went first, then gma and ds13 then I decided to go with ds9 since he wanted to go again. Great pix! I wish dh had been able to go again but only 6 in the boat and we had 7 so he took one for the team and stayed back with dd6. He even had margaritas waiting on the dock! He's a keeper!
On a side note, can't say enough good things about the staff at Sammy Duvalls. They were great with all of us. So helpful and encouraging and great with the kids too.
Ok, so we were going to try to fit in minigolf after parasailing but decided it would be too much so we hit the pool at Beach Club for an hour or so. While there, my mom had her massage ($120 x 3)at Ship Shape first at 2, then gpa and dh followed (since they have 2 rooms) at 3 while I kept the kids in the pool. Great way to rejuvenate!
Then we had an hour to get ready and drop ds9 and dd6 at Neverland Club ($80)while myself, dh, ds13 (day before his 13th bday) and gma and gpa went to V&A (125 x 5). Dh and I had been a couple times prior and I had sent my parents a couple years ago for their anniversary but this was our son's first time. And his last meal as a 12 year old. He was very nervous at first but cannot stop talking about the experience now. Of course, he has always been an adventurous eater and this was no exception. He didn't even stick with the "safe" choices. We all had a wonderful time and the staff was amazing. We even got a tour of the kitchen!
After dinner, we grabbed the kids at Neverland Club and booked it by cab to Cirque ($735).
Thankfully, that night was on points at BCV so we came back to the same room and packed up. The next morning was my son's 13th birthday and we headed off on a 5 night Dream cruise!
So, we paid $2832 for the package for the 7 of us. We figured we had about $5300 of activities (including photopass cd, refillable mugs and snacks). Of course, I could've gotten 40% off the room with a passholder discount and 20% off most if not all of the dining and activities again with passholder/dvc/tables in wonderland card but as you can see we still came out ahead---even with kids in our group! I do wish they would've let our ds do the dolphin tour the day before his bday but oh well. Gotta save things for next time!
We may try it one last time for one night---although I have done it for 2-3 nights before and liked the slower pace---in December but we'll see. Now that we have dvc I don't like to pay cash for rooms but that one night was fun! My parents also really loved it and the pictures of them parasailing are priceless!
Thanks to everyone for their help and if anyone has any questions, ask away!
