PTR for the planning obsessed....Updated 11/5 We're home now.

[Charleston Princess]

I cannot wait to hear all about the big changes!!!

 

[MRYPPNS]

Well I did it. I booked our room.
Remember that we have plenty of park tickets for this trip and I don't want to do the dinning plan. So I'm sure that you all know that package discounts came out this week. $99/night for a moderate...everything else in the package is full price. I got nervous that CBR would be totally booked by the time room only discounts come out (probably at the end of Sept). So I wanted to book a room this week using either my 20% off pin code or AAA discount, than try to apply a better discount to it later. Life got in the way and I didn't do it. Well last night I decided to run some numbers because what if Disney didn't release room only discounts for October this year? What if they did and it wasn’t a very good discount? I'd be screwed.

So I looked at the cost of using the package discount to take advantage of the $99/night room rate. 2 adult one day tickets would cost $160 (includes tax)…so if I could save more than $160 it would be worth it. Well it was worth it because I now have confirmed ressies for a King bed room at Caribbean Beach Resort for 9 nights plus 2 adult one-day tickets for $1358! My resort budget was $1350 for a standard room…so for $8 over budget I got a king room plus park tickets. I’ll save those park tickets and apply them to other tickets (or maybe even AP’s) sometime in the future.


I feel the need to run the number again for the dinning plan…right now I show it would be a break-even if we got it with our current dinning plans. I need to compare apples to apples. I still don’t know if I want to be chained to the dinning plan this year. Thankfully I have awhile before I have to decide!


In other trip news…Disney has decided to close Typhoon Lagoon the day we get there. I’m so bummed! I really wanted to go to Typhoon Lagoon instead of Blizzard Beach. I’ve been to BB and TL looks so much more toddler friendly. I’m still hoping out hope because BB is scheduled to re-open on Oct 26 and our plans have us at a water park on the 27th so if BB runs late, TL will still be open. UGH….the drama .


I’ll do another update with how our little trip to Santa’s Village went.

 

[LegoMom3]

Oh my goodness I LOVE Santa's Village!!! We went last year for the first time and everyone loved it. We really wanted to go again this summer but since it costs over $100 for 5 of us to get in (never mind gas money, goodies, and a small souvie for each kid...) we knew we needed to keep the money in the Disney budget. It'll be there next summer!

Can't wait to hear how that went. Did you take any pics??

.

 

[Charleston Princess]

Hurray for CBR and staying within resort budget!!!

You know, Heidi, that you are in charge of taking LOTS of pictures of CBR and scoping it out for me! I really hope you'll love it and gush so much about it that I won't even think about switching resorts before next June.

That's my hope anyway!

Can't wait to hear about Santa's Village.

 

[MRYPPNS]

Oh my goodness I LOVE Santa's Village!!! We went last year for the first time and everyone loved it. We really wanted to go again this summer but since it costs over $100 for 5 of us to get in (never mind gas money, goodies, and a small souvie for each kid...) we knew we needed to keep the money in the Disney budget. It'll be there next summer!

Can't wait to hear how that went. Did you take any pics??

.

I didn't take that many but DisMomAmy posted pictures from her trip to Santa's Village in her new PTR...check 'em out!

Hurray for CBR and staying within resort budget!!!

You know, Heidi, that you are in charge of taking LOTS of pictures of CBR and scoping it out for me! I really hope you'll love it and gush so much about it that I won't even think about switching resorts before next June.

That's my hope anyway!

Can't wait to hear about Santa's Village.

Yes hurray for staying in budget....I thought I was gonna blow it when we decided on a King bed room.

I really think we will love CBR....my biggest worry had been the condition of the rooms...well now that they are doing the Nemo rehabs I think we are all set. I have no intentions on using the bus system so that won't be an issue.

 

[mrsksomeday]

Congrats on the resort!!! I love it when the codes help you upgrade like that!! Sounds like all your plans are coming together, good for you!!

 

[Charleston Princess]

Yes hurray for staying in budget....I thought I was gonna blow it when we decided on a King bed room.

I really think we will love CBR....my biggest worry had been the condition of the rooms...well now that they are doing the Nemo rehabs I think we are all set. I have no intentions on using the bus system so that won't be an issue.

Are you planning on a midday break? That has been my worry -- how much of a hassle is it to leave the park, drive your car back to the hotel, return to the park in your car, and park all over again?

 

[MRYPPNS]

Congrats on the resort!!! I love it when the codes help you upgrade like that!! Sounds like all your plans are coming together, good for you!!

Thanks! The vast majority of planning is done....what I have left is a lot of printing out of things, but I can't do it too soon or it will change...example no more Typhoon Lagoon.

Are you planning on a midday break? That has been my worry -- how much of a hassle is it to leave the park, drive your car back to the hotel, return to the park in your car, and park all over again?

Yes a mid day break everyday except for AK day. The UG has a chart for travel times and most commutes will be a break even or better. I think Liam will do better traveling in his car seat vs. the bus. And there is the chance that he will start his nap in the car on the way back to the resort.

 

[MRYPPNS]

When I was writing about my first trip to WDW in 1984 I posted this:

(Little note about the pictures in this mini TR. ... I know that we had 3 cameras with us on this trip. Both me and my mom had 110’s (remember those? the film was so tiny) and my dad had a 35mm. I know this because I have one picture of me and my dad and you can clearly see we each have a camera (dad’s was hanging around his neck like a true tourist) so my mother had to be taking the picture with a 3rd camera…like that bit of CSI there? I have found 2 sets of pictures…the ones from the 110’s. I have asked my father a few times for pictures from his camera…says he doesn’t have any.)

Low and below guess what my father found once he bothered to look....slides from his 35 mm camera of our WDW trip! These are scans of the slides (he was too cheap to send them to a professional service...which I'll do at some point in the future)

SeaWorld 1984 Shamu show

Please note that my mother does not have a facial deformity in real life...just on the internet!

 

[MRYPPNS]

EPCOT Center in 1984

 

[MRYPPNS]

Magic Kingdom 1984

These were taken from the Skyway Tram

Me and the characters

 

[LegoMom3]

I'm holding! The outfits are TOO funny!! (Did we all really look like that in '84?!)


.

 

[willwriteforears]

Hurry for getting your resort booked! That must be such a relief for you to know that it's taken care up.

And those pictures from 1984 are great! Do you have as much fun using the swirly tool when editing pictures as I do? I go "Wheee!" in my head whenever I do it.

 

[TarzansKat]

Heidi, congrats on booking your room! I wondered when I saw that package released if you were going to jump on it. I'm glad it works for you.

 

[Lady Lallie]

Congrats on booking, Heidi!!

I love the pictures from 1984. I really need to get my Dad motivated to change his slides over to prints.

 

[DisMomAmy]

That's great news about booking your resort!!

I love all of the 1984 pictures! I really need to get my old pictures from my mother - I asked her once, but I think she forgot!

Can't wait to hear about Santa's Village. We had so much fun!

 

[Sarilas]

Oh my gosh your trip is going to be here before you know it!

 

[MRYPPNS]

I'm holding! The outfits are TOO funny!! (Did we all really look like that in '84?!)
.

I'll have you know that those big red framed sunglasses I was sported were Foster Grants and they flipped up!

Hurry for getting your resort booked! That must be such a relief for you to know that it's taken care up.

And those pictures from 1984 are great! Do you have as much fun using the swirly tool when editing pictures as I do? I go "Wheee!" in my head whenever I do it.

The swirly tool is tons of fun....in one of them I tried to make my mom's head look like a chocolate/carmel candy!

Heidi, congrats on booking your room! I wondered when I saw that package released if you were going to jump on it. I'm glad it works for you.

I almost didn't because I was so set on booking room only.

Congrats on booking, Heidi!!

I love the pictures from 1984. I really need to get my Dad motivated to change his slides over to prints.

I figure once I get all my pictures squared away and re-organzied then I will tackle the 2 shoes boxes of slides that my parents have.

That's great news about booking your resort!!

I love all of the 1984 pictures! I really need to get my old pictures from my mother - I asked her once, but I think she forgot!

Can't wait to hear about Santa's Village. We had so much fun!

We liked Storyland better but Santa's Village was still a good outing for us...I think I learned a lot in regards of what to expect with Liam at Disney.

Oh my gosh your trip is going to be here before you know it!

You are so right about that! 70 more days!

 

[Tinkerbellarella]

Heidi - Congrats on the room and I love the old-school pics! Ah how they make me yearn for just one more ride on 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea!!

 

[MRYPPNS]

Heidi - Congrats on the room and I love the old-school pics! Ah how they make me yearn for just one more ride on 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea!!

It's not the same thing but you can do the Nemo Sub ride at Disneyland.