fantasia73
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Mar 21, 2000
- Messages
- 183
SAP Does Disney Part 1
Trip Dates: August 17-25
One year ago, I embarked on a wild, zany adventure known as planning a Walt Disney World Vacation. I have been to WDW eight times in the past and have always gladly relinquished trip planning and expenses to my parents. But . . . my parents arent going on this trip. I know that Im obsessive-compulsive when it comes to trip planning. Just explaining all the things that Ive done to plan for this trip, makes my grandmother collapse in a fit of laughter. You mean you already know where youre going to eat every night? she says and then laughs until the tears come. I like to be well prepared. Im flexible once we get there, but beforehand I want to know that Ive done everything possible to insure a good trip.
My roommate and good friend started all of this hoopla a couple of years ago. Shes turning 30 on August 23rd and is a little traumatized. She wanted to spend her birthday doing something fun and unforgettable. My ears perked up and I managed to convince her that no birthday is as unforgettable as a WDW birthday. We talked it over and invited a couple of our other friends to join us. Things were in the works.
Im a teacher, so last summer I started the planning of our trip. Im a computer nerd and found The DIS right away. I was addicted from the get go, and spent my summer reading up on trip reports and getting all sorts of information. My friends began to get a little scared when I started telling them the things that I had learned. They chuckled when I mentioned people getting up at 5AM to make reservations for breakfast at the Castle. They all laughed when I mentioned that a good viewing spot for Illuminations is at the Cantina in Mexico and that we could layered margaritas there. My sanity was definitely questioned, but I persevered.
My first real planning job was to find a hotel for us. In the beginning, we had decided to stay on property and pay the big bucks. We were looking at places like the Contemporary (a little nostalgia from when I was a kid) and the Wilderness Lodge. The more we thought about it, though, we couldnt imagine spending a whole week cooped up in a little room, all of us together. We didnt really want to share beds or worry about cramming all of our luggage into the room. So . . . we started looking into different off site places that rented out suites. We looked at a whole bunch of them and narrowed it down to the Sierra Suites in LBV or the Days Suites Maingate East. It all really came down to price. We preferred the Sierra Suites but were finding prices around $100 a night. A bargain, but the Days Suites were only $69. I finally called the people at Sierra Suites and told them I couldnt decide between the 2 properties, and that it all came down to price. The woman was sweet as punch and said I can give you the $69 a night here, sugar. We want you to stay with us. Perfect. Well take it. The price includes breakfast, a full kitchen, a 24 hour coffee bar (the best perk, I think), and plenty of room for us to spread out. Theres 2 double beds, a pull out couch, and the lady said shed even roll a cot in for us (I can even picture this sweet southern lady rolling my bed in every night. LOL).
Next we had to plan our airfare. By this time, my friends were getting into the spirit and doing a lot of helping with the trip planning. We are very lucky that we live near Providence and can fly Southwest Airlines of Green Airport. The first rate that we were given was $198 a person round trip on a non-stop flight. That sounded damn good to me and I booked us all. We were leaving at 10:15AM and we would be in Orlando by 1:30PM. Good deal. Then one of my friends saw an offer for buy-one-get-one-free on tv. I gave Southwest a call and nice as can be the lady refunded our money for 2 of the tickets. Thats right folks, we paid $99 each round trip. Can you even imagine that? You cant take a bus for that price.
The biggest expense for this trip was the Theme Park Passes. We knew that right away, but we were bound and determined not to pay the full price. We looked into buying our tickets at AAA, but the discount really wasnt that significant. Saving $5 on a $250 product sort of stinks. If I was any good in math, Id let you know what percent that is, but Im a music teacher who cant do math! Anyway, my cousin recommended a web site called Ticket Mania (www.ticketmania.com) and we saved about $20 a piece on 5 Day Park Hopper passes.
The next obstacle to tackle was the rental car. There were 4 four of us, with a lot of luggage (all 20 something ladies, so thats a lot of suitcases). I remembered taking a shuttle to some rental place my last trip to Florida and it sucked. It was hot and we were crammed in like sardines. I was not going to do that. So, I went on-line (of course) and booked my car through Dollar Rental car. An intermediate car for $107 for almost 9 days. I called and asked if I could use my upgrade coupon and upgrade to a mini-van. Of course I could. So $107 for a mini van for almost 9 days. Thank you very much, thats a deal.
I cant believe how much that I have written. Id apologize for being so verbose, but you had the choice to stop reading whenever you wanted to. But . . . I will now succinctly summarize all of my other planning:
We leave in less than 7 days!!! We have our itinerary all planned out. We have our meals all planned out and priority seating made. We have maps and directions printed off of the computer. We have rides to and from the airport. We are good to go!!!!!
(Shift To Sentimental Tone)
I am looking forward to this trip! I havent been to WDW in ten years and I have missed it. Im looking forward to seeing the castle lit up at night. Im looking forward to riding Pirates of the Caribbean and getting that silly song stuck in my head. Im looking forward to finally getting to see Fantasmic. Im looking forward to surprising my friend on her birthday with dinner at the California Grill. Im looking forward to being run over by crazy parents who cant drive their kids strollers. Im looking forward to getting my picture taken with Mickey, so I can hang it up at school. Im looking forward to screaming on the Tower of Terror (and boy will I scream). Most of all, Im just looking forward to the magic and the memories.
Trip Dates: August 17-25
One year ago, I embarked on a wild, zany adventure known as planning a Walt Disney World Vacation. I have been to WDW eight times in the past and have always gladly relinquished trip planning and expenses to my parents. But . . . my parents arent going on this trip. I know that Im obsessive-compulsive when it comes to trip planning. Just explaining all the things that Ive done to plan for this trip, makes my grandmother collapse in a fit of laughter. You mean you already know where youre going to eat every night? she says and then laughs until the tears come. I like to be well prepared. Im flexible once we get there, but beforehand I want to know that Ive done everything possible to insure a good trip.
My roommate and good friend started all of this hoopla a couple of years ago. Shes turning 30 on August 23rd and is a little traumatized. She wanted to spend her birthday doing something fun and unforgettable. My ears perked up and I managed to convince her that no birthday is as unforgettable as a WDW birthday. We talked it over and invited a couple of our other friends to join us. Things were in the works.
Im a teacher, so last summer I started the planning of our trip. Im a computer nerd and found The DIS right away. I was addicted from the get go, and spent my summer reading up on trip reports and getting all sorts of information. My friends began to get a little scared when I started telling them the things that I had learned. They chuckled when I mentioned people getting up at 5AM to make reservations for breakfast at the Castle. They all laughed when I mentioned that a good viewing spot for Illuminations is at the Cantina in Mexico and that we could layered margaritas there. My sanity was definitely questioned, but I persevered.
My first real planning job was to find a hotel for us. In the beginning, we had decided to stay on property and pay the big bucks. We were looking at places like the Contemporary (a little nostalgia from when I was a kid) and the Wilderness Lodge. The more we thought about it, though, we couldnt imagine spending a whole week cooped up in a little room, all of us together. We didnt really want to share beds or worry about cramming all of our luggage into the room. So . . . we started looking into different off site places that rented out suites. We looked at a whole bunch of them and narrowed it down to the Sierra Suites in LBV or the Days Suites Maingate East. It all really came down to price. We preferred the Sierra Suites but were finding prices around $100 a night. A bargain, but the Days Suites were only $69. I finally called the people at Sierra Suites and told them I couldnt decide between the 2 properties, and that it all came down to price. The woman was sweet as punch and said I can give you the $69 a night here, sugar. We want you to stay with us. Perfect. Well take it. The price includes breakfast, a full kitchen, a 24 hour coffee bar (the best perk, I think), and plenty of room for us to spread out. Theres 2 double beds, a pull out couch, and the lady said shed even roll a cot in for us (I can even picture this sweet southern lady rolling my bed in every night. LOL).
Next we had to plan our airfare. By this time, my friends were getting into the spirit and doing a lot of helping with the trip planning. We are very lucky that we live near Providence and can fly Southwest Airlines of Green Airport. The first rate that we were given was $198 a person round trip on a non-stop flight. That sounded damn good to me and I booked us all. We were leaving at 10:15AM and we would be in Orlando by 1:30PM. Good deal. Then one of my friends saw an offer for buy-one-get-one-free on tv. I gave Southwest a call and nice as can be the lady refunded our money for 2 of the tickets. Thats right folks, we paid $99 each round trip. Can you even imagine that? You cant take a bus for that price.
The biggest expense for this trip was the Theme Park Passes. We knew that right away, but we were bound and determined not to pay the full price. We looked into buying our tickets at AAA, but the discount really wasnt that significant. Saving $5 on a $250 product sort of stinks. If I was any good in math, Id let you know what percent that is, but Im a music teacher who cant do math! Anyway, my cousin recommended a web site called Ticket Mania (www.ticketmania.com) and we saved about $20 a piece on 5 Day Park Hopper passes.
The next obstacle to tackle was the rental car. There were 4 four of us, with a lot of luggage (all 20 something ladies, so thats a lot of suitcases). I remembered taking a shuttle to some rental place my last trip to Florida and it sucked. It was hot and we were crammed in like sardines. I was not going to do that. So, I went on-line (of course) and booked my car through Dollar Rental car. An intermediate car for $107 for almost 9 days. I called and asked if I could use my upgrade coupon and upgrade to a mini-van. Of course I could. So $107 for a mini van for almost 9 days. Thank you very much, thats a deal.
I cant believe how much that I have written. Id apologize for being so verbose, but you had the choice to stop reading whenever you wanted to. But . . . I will now succinctly summarize all of my other planning:
We leave in less than 7 days!!! We have our itinerary all planned out. We have our meals all planned out and priority seating made. We have maps and directions printed off of the computer. We have rides to and from the airport. We are good to go!!!!!
(Shift To Sentimental Tone)
I am looking forward to this trip! I havent been to WDW in ten years and I have missed it. Im looking forward to seeing the castle lit up at night. Im looking forward to riding Pirates of the Caribbean and getting that silly song stuck in my head. Im looking forward to finally getting to see Fantasmic. Im looking forward to surprising my friend on her birthday with dinner at the California Grill. Im looking forward to being run over by crazy parents who cant drive their kids strollers. Im looking forward to getting my picture taken with Mickey, so I can hang it up at school. Im looking forward to screaming on the Tower of Terror (and boy will I scream). Most of all, Im just looking forward to the magic and the memories.
