Soarin' Disney:2005 - Part #1 - Wrap-up Segues into Planning

[ehagerty]

One of the first things you notice as a vacation-ear is that the trip never really ends. There is the development of the film pictures and downloading digital pictures. The trip report can add weeks of revisiting memories, through creation, publication and fond reading. The DISBOARDS are a nearly endless source of remembrances and shared experiences.

Still, at some point, planning the next trip begins in earnest. It may be set off by

• Great news (** DVC members finally qualify as nearly-Florida-residents, 25% off annual passes!! **)

• An inquiry from a relative seeking to leverage your experience, or

• the need for something to look forward to each morning other than work

Sometimes, the clock has just ticked by enough to put you in the right time frame for securing a challenging dimension of the vacation – usually

• attempting to use frequent flyer miles (or trip-bump-coupons) for the airfare or

• trying to book the BCV at the seven-month window

• or food reservations - although I have boys - we never do Cindy’s….

So, here we are planning away – some things will be new, some different, but just enough the same to guarantee a reasonable number of predictable, enjoyable experiences.

For context, there is probably not much need to go into the history
History, Part #1 or History - Part #2 or The Cast

High Level Strategy:

Accommodation Plan: (nights of)
- Wilderness Lodge - hotel room with bunk bed (6/17-18)
- Beach Club Villa (Studio) - 6/19-6/23
- Port Orleans Riverside - 6/24-25
- Old Key West - 2 bedroom - 6/26-30

Note: Seriously considered mousesaver and priceline specials; if AP rates do not return to former levels, will definitely be trying at least one next year. I would have planned for this year, but my son and his memories of the Big Red Boat, deterred me.

Transportation:
- US Airways frequent flier miles and coupons for taking bumps last year
- Ground Transportation:
-- Car - was able to secure Alamo full sized car for two weeks for a total of $290 (inclusive of taxes, using code from mousesavers - or these threads - or Annual Passholder code - can't remember which. In any case, I could have gotten it for $320 without the code).
-- Magical Express - for 3 of the 6 people in our party

Parks
- Premium Annual Pass – with the start of the Disney Vacation Club (DVC) 25% discount on the annual pass, our park strategy was pretty open-ended. This was exactly right discount to get someone like me to buy an annual pass again. They must have done some pretty good market research.
- Extra Evening Magica Hour (EEMH) - plan to go to the parks later and stay later, on the assumption that it will be (a) cooler, (b) have fewer youngsters, (c) be a slightly different "experience", and (d) hopefully cover a lot of ground quickly, riding the popular rides after others (non-resort guests) have left the park
- Entertainment - focus on shows and street entertainment during the day, and popular rides during EEMH. Drop into Pleasure Island (PI) for Comedy Warehouse and Adventurer's Club.

Miscellaneous
- Exercise / Pools - take greater advantage of resort health clubs and pools (boys are into working out)
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Meals

So long vouchers!! These were not so much a savings, as

• a license to indulge

• an opportunity to share meals (say, 2 meals, for 3 people)

• a way to control, predict and pre-pay costs

Buffets haven't captured our fancy in the past, either because we don't feel we can eat enough to warrant the cost - or our generic aversion to the food quality you usually find on a buffet. Looks like we will reconsider for this vacation, based on:

• positive experience with 'Ohana last year

• sons are old enough to eat enough to justify the cost

• a way to control, predict costs

Disney Dining Experience
Decided to get this, combined with an effort to review the menus and pre-order (in our minds). I am open-minded, but not optimistic that this will be a real alternative to the vouchers, but it will allow us to try some restaurants that we have never tried in the past because they were not on the voucher list.

Filler - Room Snacks
Plan to have breakfast in the room, along with microwave popcorn, juice, soda, etc. Don't want to buy too much, because we have so many resort hops planned.

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Expanding the Cast List
- Next, Best Travel Companion (NBTC) - DSF(14) is returning for an encore. Based on his status and his desire to show his mom everything (The Back Story), his mom will be joining us as well
- Relationship Factor (n(n-1)/2) - of course, I didn't think that the number of communication channels would be a problem, as DSFM(45) raised DSF(14), but time will tell (BTW - the formula calculates (6(5)/2), or 15 possible communication channels in a party of 6 - or 15 different, possible ways for communications to go awry....)
- Focus on newbie - I find the most successful approach for us has been to focus on planning to show the newbie all the things we like. People seem to operate best when thinking about someone other than themselves. The second-timer (DSF14) is now on the team.
- Knowing that DSFM45 doesn't like motion rides, we plan to use EEMH for the teens (and me) to ride these usually popular rides. That way DSFM45 can bus back to the room, if she is tired or not interested.
- Promises the teens some freedom if they demonstrate responsibility during the beginning of the trip

Summary
As always, we made a series of small parties out of planning. I find homemade hot fudge sauce on Breyers real vanilla bean ice cream to be an effective lubricant to the process.

On with the pixie dust!!

 

[Nanajo1]

Let's get going.I'm ready.