September 29, 2007 - Magic

[MiaSRN62]

wow Shannon...that's downright eerie !
Sorry you experienced that........

 

[Gr00vyChc]

Hi Maria. I noticed that you are a DVC owner... how do you like that? We own a timeshare with Marriott...... Can you use your points for cruises? We love our marriott 'coz we can use it all over the world..some of our friends have Hilton or Starwood.. every timeshare is different and has it's pros and cons.. is Disney limited to just disney? or do you use interval international to exchange also?

Just curious........ who knows... we might end up buying one.. ooh how I wish!

Gr00vyChc

 

[SueRS]

Ok, I am really glad we live in So. California. About 1 hour away from DL. We have had AP in the past but we decided to save this year because of our big trip to FL.

I am cold in 72 degrees!.

I read that thread and yes it seems creepy to me. You never really know who you are talking to online.

 

[MiaSRN62]

Hi GrOOvy ~
Yep....we really enjoy our DVC. We've only used it for DVC resort and DCL so far. Our cruise in Sept is booked on our DVC points actually.
You can trade/exchange out to other non-disney resorts all over the world via II (Interval International) exchange company. One of these days we're considering trading to CA. My dd wants to go to Ireland too.

 

[Zane_Anthony]

I have this cruise booked on points as well, probably not the best value but I didn't necessarily buy for value but for good quality vacations and the memories. I am thinking about Tanque Verde Ranch in Tuscon. JD have you even been here or do you know anyone that has? Groovy I also want to plan a trip to Disneyland soon, I have looked into it before but it was too overwhelming so I just booked WDW again. Maybe you can help me!

 

[ragdoll]

Good grief! There is about a foot of snow on my deck and it is still coming down! Hurricanes, bugs and humidity are starting to sound good! I actually like snow in the winter and to tell you the truth it really looks very pretty outside. But for heaven's sake, it is spring!

We need some of this...

 

[MiaSRN62]

probably not the best value but I didn't necessarily buy for value but for good quality vacations and the memories.

Zane Anthony !
Couldn't have said it better myself ! We feel the same !


Ragdoll,
Well I never like snow....not in the winters and definitely not in the spring ! I feel for you ! We are due to get only a coating to maybe an inch. But even this is WAAAAYYY too much for my blood ! Stay warm to anyone not in a toasty state !

 

[Gr00vyChc]

Zane: I heard that the Grand Californian is beautiful! And it's right next to Downtown Disney. Of course, Disneyland is miniscule compared to WDW, but California has A LOT more to offer than just Disneyland. The Original Disneyland Hotel is also beautiful and you can just walk down from your room and have brunch at Goofy's kitchen (which we LOVE). We're actually having Easter Brunch at Goofy's kitchen tomorrow There are lots of other hotels surrounding DL also... can you use your points in Grand Californian? If so.. you're soooooo lucky!

Maria: We also use Interval International and we've actually used our points quite a bit. We've been to Spain and Cancun just using our points. I've actually already book Maui (Wailea) & Aruba for our vacation this year.. but we opted for a Disney Cruise instead. My DD(3) has already been to Sweden, London & Paris, Spain, Mexico, Asia, WDW and all over the U.S. That's the advantage of having a timeshare and also having just 1 (one) child... hehehe it's inexpensive!

But this year is very special 'coz we're going on our FIRST ever Disney Cruise! We can't use our timeshare points.. but the $$$ is WORTH it.. at least.. I hope so.

Well y'all my MIL has left Texas already and is on her way here for a 3 month visit... so I gotta do more cleaning!!

Gr00vyChc

 

[MiaSRN62]

That's the advantage of having a timeshare and also having just 1 (one) child... hehehe it's inexpensive!

Agreed !
As for Hawaii. This is one place we really want to go. So you used your DVC points ? Was it difficult to get the dates you wanted ? How were the accomodations ?
Having 3 kids it's the airfare that kills us to Hawaii. I've never found under $600 each round trip and even that's rare. On average, flights around around $800-$1,000 per person ! That's close to or at $5,000 for the family JUST for airfare from the east coast.
Then, we only have a enough points for a week stay---we need a 2 bedroom. Friends/family that have gone to Hawaii have said you really should stay a minimum of 10-14 days when flying from the east coast because of the lenth of the flight and the need for recoup time. So, that means, I'd need to find other accomodations for the second week (means more $$$). Hawaii is just a very costly destination and the airfare really is what has stopped us. We fly to Orlando for $100 or less per person so $800+ per person is alot to us !
But it's definitely on our to-do list ! The places you've visited sound wonderful. Sounds like you have more points than us to be able to book all those destinations (lucky you !). We'd like to buy more points but college tuitions have taken over our lives. DS is a sophmore in college and I have two daughters to follow down the road. One is currently in 11th grade and the other is in 8th. But time moves fast.

As far as out of the country---we've only been and seen the places that we encountered on our past two cruises. I feel cruising is a pretty economical way to see the world in a "Cliff's Notes" kind of way.

 

[Zane_Anthony]

It's snowing here too! I hate the snow and the cold and now it's here to ruin our Easter plans. The weather here is so crazy. 80's on Wednesday then snow Saturday and Sunday then back into the 80's by Tuesday.

Groovy, yes we can use our points at any of the 3 DL resorts. How long do you think we should plan to spend actually at Disneyland? I know I want to go to Sea World, we go quite often to the one in San Antonio however I saw the San Diego one on the travel channel and it looks like it has a lot more then we have here. Are there any other not miss attractions?

 

[Deweysgirl]

Hello All! Happy Easter! I hope it warms up soon for all of you! Mother Nature just won't let go this year. It's actually cold for us here in Florida now but at least no snow. Just think warm thoughts, after all only 6 months from now, we'll all be beach bums!

Here are a few pics of the family. hopefully I'll get this right!

We Luv TIGGER!

DH Luvs Snow White!!

Costa Maya

Pirates for MNSSHP

 

[MiaSRN62]

Your pics are great Deweysgirl ! Love the pirate one !

 

[Gr00vyChc]

Love the pics Dewey!

Maria: I hear you about the airfare. Even if you have enough points for the hotel.. the airfare will still put a big dent on your budget. It's easier for us to fly to Hawaii from here, we can get it for a little over $500 per person during peak season. We don't own a DVC, we own a Marriott and we can use our points to stay at any marriott hotel in the world, but we can also trade our timeshare weeks anywhere in the world. We can even trade it for Disneyland France, but it's usually around Feb or March when it's too cold, so we never exchange it. It was pretty easy getting a room at the Marriott Wailea in Maui, but my DH was hooked on Caribbean Blue waters and Hawaii water just doesn't compare. That's why we decided on the cruise.

Zane: Is it snowing in Texas? My MIL just arrived.. she's from Rowlett outside of Dallas. We have pretty gloomy weather here too. Well, you do have DL and California Adventure, so you might want to do 4 days, 2 days at disneyland and 2 days at California Adventure (for bigger kids). When you go to SeaWorld, you HAVE to do the breakfast with Shamu. It's my daughters (and mine) absolute favorite. You have breakfast around the whale's training area, so you're pretty upclose when they're "training" them. It will take about 1.5 hours from Disneyland to get to SeaWorld. Also, of course you have to go to Santa Monica Pier, Rodeo Drive, Kodak Theatre, The Grove (American Girl Store) etc.. If you have time that is.

Happy Easter everyone!
Gr00vyChc

 

[MiaSRN62]

but my DH was hooked on Caribbean Blue waters and Hawaii water just doesn't compare. That's why we decided on the cruise.

I didn't realize this....always thought Hawaii water was so beautiful from what I read. Interesting to hear from someone who can compare the two.
Also, I have heard Marriott trades very well......we own Sheraton Vistana as well as DVC but it doesn't trade too great. It's because we own in one of the older sections. We bought before Sheraton/Starwood took over so our week is not worth as much.

 

[grumpy-gramps]

Hi to All,
Happy Easter to all, have a great day cold or not....
For those of you with a lot of snow or cold weather, ( my version of sunshine and flowers).
gg

 

[MiaSRN62]

Thanks GG ! Happy Easter to all as well ! Happy Passover too !

 

[jajomo0118]

Merry Christmas All?...wait i forgot it's Easter..i guess living in "little alaska" will do that to ya... but for real...Wishing All of you a Happy and Safe Easter...

 

[Zane_Anthony]

Happy Easter!

It's not snowing today but it's still really cold. We are about 200 miles west of Dallas but I talked to a friend and it was snowing there too. I leave in 2 1/2 weeks on Carnival for my first cruise but I am not near as excited for this as I am for my Disney cruise.

 

[JDBlair]

Happy Easter everyone!
I haven't been outside so I can't report on the weather!

 

[MiaSRN62]

I leave in 2 1/2 weeks on Carnival for my first cruise but I am not near as excited for this as I am for my Disney cruise.

Hey Zane Anthony.....the Carnival cruise line has so many ships. Which one are you on ? What's the itinerary ? Have a great time and looking forward to hearing about it !