Surprising the Kids with a NYE Trip! Jan '16 PTR (Update 12/29 We're off! See ya in 10 days!)

[JoshAndEvsMom]

So, ohmigosh, I don't even know how to start this PTR because I can't even believe its actually happening! Ever since our last trip in 2012 we have been dreaming of going back but just couldn't swing it. However, 2016 is the year DH has been planning on taking his HS Band back to Disney so it looked like we were going to tag along! He and I had a lot of discussions about the pros and cons. He wasn't too excited about it because he doesn't get to spend that much time with us when he's with the band. Its a lot of work, a lot of early mornings and late, late nights. But he knew we wouldn't just let him take off to Disney without us either! So we crunched some numbers and decided to do our OWN trip this winter!!

We knew we would want to spend a few days with DH's sister and her family in southern FL so after looking at the calendar we decided that leaving the day after Christmas (my birthday!) would work best. Of course as soon as we decided that, we said "OMG, we have to surprise the kids on Christmas morning!!" Wouldn't that just be the best? "Hey kids, we're going to see your cousins in Florida.... AND go to Disney World.... AND we're leaving TOMORROW!!!" Whaaaaatt??! Best. Christmas. EVER!

Aaaakkk... so many months of keeping this secret in! See why I have to do a PTR?? I need people to share this secret with me and help me plan and keep me (mildly) sane!

I will probably also throw in a few tidbits about the Band's 2016 trip since I am helping to plan, just in case anyone is curious about planning a trip for a humongous group of HS students!

 

[JoshAndEvsMom]

Chapter Links

1. Introductions
2. Plan Changes & Warm-up Princesses
3. 3/5/15 TBT Tower of Terror/SciFi Dine-In/Backlot Tour, 1994
4. Am I Tall Enough Yet??
5. First Thoughts on Our Itinerary
6. ...And Our Home Away From Home Is...
7. 3/26/15 TBT Disneyland Paris, 2001
8. How to Plan a Disney Trip for 200 People. Or How to Drive Yourself and Everyone Around You Insane
9. Seattle Mini TR - Woodland Park Zoo
10. Seattle Mini TR - Shopping/Mickey Mail!!!
11. Disney Movie Night Master List
12. The little things are coming together
13. BIG Changes! Fights Booked!
14. Yay for the Magical Express!
15. Park Days & ADRs Part 1 & 2
16 DDP Added!
17. 181 Days Before Our Trip!!!
18. Real Life Update - May/June
19. ADRs Booked!!
20. The saga continues...
21. Fantasmic! Dinner! Package! (Dinner and Package were crying that "it wasn't fair" and each wanted their own exclamation point too.)
22. BIG SURPRISE ANNOUNCEMENT!
23. Tickets, shopping & FP+! Oh My!
24. Oh how I love my In-laws. (I really do!) CHANGES!

 

[skier_pete]

Hi there! Joining in after you posted on my PTR. That's definitely a most excellent Christmas present - though I hope it's not the ONLY one.

On my PTR you mentioned you were considering renting DVC points for the trip. If you have any questions regarding doing this, I would be happy to try and answer them, as I have both rented points from an owner and also am now a DVC owner myself.

The one thing I should warn you though - if you are looking to rent points for Dec 26th - Jan 3rd or something like that, it's something you probably should get onto pretty quick. While the holidays aren't the MOST popular of DVC times, New Years and New Years Eve is VERY popular with owners. There is a large % of owners that use their points for short (2-3 day) stays, and that is a popular weekend.

DVC owners are not supposed to check the availability for others on the boards (by request), but I can tell you that a quick check of DVC studio rooms shows only AKV (Kidani Savannah view only), OKW, and SSR still available for the full week. (I'm assuming you are thinking studio not 1-bedroom.) Looking at my survey from last year those were the only choices of availability at the 7-month mark as well, and AKV was gone by 6-months, with the last two gone at 5-months out.

Anyways, as I said, if you have questions, feel free to ask.

 

[JoshAndEvsMom]

Hi there! Joining in after you posted on my PTR. That's definitely a most excellent Christmas present - though I hope it's not the ONLY one.

On my PTR you mentioned you were considering renting DVC points for the trip. If you have any questions regarding doing this, I would be happy to try and answer them, as I have both rented points from an owner and also am now a DVC owner myself.

The one thing I should warn you though - if you are looking to rent points for Dec 26th - Jan 3rd or something like that, it's something you probably should get onto pretty quick. While the holidays aren't the MOST popular of DVC times, New Years and New Years Eve is VERY popular with owners. There is a large % of owners that use their points for short (2-3 day) stays, and that is a popular weekend.

DVC owners are not supposed to check the availability for others on the boards (by request), but I can tell you that a quick check of DVC studio rooms shows only AKV (Kidani Savannah view only), OKW, and SSR still available for the full week. (I'm assuming you are thinking studio not 1-bedroom.) Looking at my survey from last year those were the only choices of availability at the 7-month mark as well, and AKV was gone by 6-months, with the last two gone at 5-months out.

Anyways, as I said, if you have questions, feel free to ask.

Oh wow! Thanks for checking for me! Yes, I already put in my request with David's DVC Rentals. AKL was our second choice and we were told that there is availability at Kidani. We were so excited! BUT... I guess they don't have enough points to rent out for the lenght of our stay so we're in the queue. I've been sitting, waiting on pins & needles for a week now! Uugh. Fingers & toes crossed we hear back soon!!

 

[JoshAndEvsMom]

Introductions

The Plan
Our trip, in its current evolution, will having us flying out on December 26 to Southern FL to spend a few days with my husband's sister and her family. Our girls are only 3 months apart in age so even though we live 2,959 miles away they are BCFFs (Best Cousin Friends Forever ) so just the fact that we get to go visit the cousins is going to be VERY exciting! Then, on the 30th, we'll rent a car and drive to Orlando!! I talked to SIL and they will definitely be joining us for a portion of the trip too. Yay! Because of the way New Year's falls this year - on a weekend - and the fact that DH has 4 personal days he can take off from work, we will get to spend 9 blissful days at Disney!! This will be the longest span of time we have ever planned for so I'm super excited! We've done our research and are fully aware of the crowd situation on NYE. Our hope is that it will significantly drop off after the 2nd but I guess we'll see. Our only other trips have been during Spring Break and in July so we are no stranger to crowds! I am a little worried about the weather... see, I LOVE the sunshine and heat. We live in the Northwest so I am really hoping to escape the winter! I know FL can be a bit chilly in January, however FL chilly and Eastern WA chilly are two TOTALLY different things.

The last part of our plan involves our reservation. We are NOT planning on booking through Disney this time! We really want to rent DVC points and because of the great reviews, we decided on David's DVC Rentals. The NYE portion of the trip (Dec 30 - Jan 1) the point requirements are the most expensive you can get but on Jan 2 they drop way, way down! So this means that booking a Deluxe resort is well within our budget! Something we definitely couldn't afford at another time of year or without renting points. We are also planning on buying the Disney Dining Plan (the regular one) and purchasing tickets through David's as well. They are slightly discounted, when I priced them against the Disney website it looks to be about the cost of tax but hey, every cent counts!

*5/14 EDIT: We finally booked and are leaving on 12/29 on a REDEYE to MCO! Yikes! We'll arrive at 6:00 am so I guess that means we'll have to find something to do... hmmm.. pool?? Park??? Decisions, decisions. Obviously, we're forgoing our S. FL beach portion of the trip because the family we intended on visiting just decided that they are MOVING! So no driving or rental car either!

The Clan

I suppose its time to meet my crazy family! We're a family of 4 and like all young families busy all the time, it seems. Here's us this last Christmas. We're not very diligent about getting family portraits done, unless we're at Disney, so this is the only one I have since Ev was 2!!


2014 11 30_9766_edited-1 by laurenkp80, on Flickr

One of our friends, who is a very talented photographer, and crafty-momma-extraordinaire took these for us. She hand drew that cute chalkboard behind us that says "Baby its cold outside" - well, with all the subtle, super creative, Pinterest-inspired baby announcements floating around all our friends thought our Christmas card was a pregnancy announcement! UM NO!!! I am most definitely NOT pregnant!!

So I guess that leads to me first. I'm Lauren. I'm 34 and we'll be traveling on my 35th birthday! Yes, I'm a Christmas baby


20140716_173228 by laurenkp80, on Flickr

I'm a Work From Home Mom to my two gorgeous kiddos - I'm not big on the term "Stay At Home Mom" because I swear I work harder at home than when I worked full time... and I was in the Bridal/Events industry!! I also work a couple small jobs from my home office to bring in a little extra income & fun money. I'm a Discussion Group Leader for our MOPS group and in my spare time I make hair bows


20140918_140105 by laurenkp80, on Flickr

I have had several friends who ask me if I sell these and, no, I don't. I really love doing it, and I'm afraid if I start selling them, I wouldn't love it anymore. Know what I mean? However, if a friend or family member really likes a bow that I did, I'll usually just make them one for free. They make really fun, inexpensive gifts for little girls! (And sometimes for us big girls too!) Other than that my kids' activities keep me pretty busy. Here we are on my son's birthday at a soccer tournament last season:


20141018_165123 by laurenkp80, on Flickr

I have always loved Disney but I suppose I didn't become an Obsessed Disney Loving Geek Fan Girl until our 2011 trip. That trip was a bit bittersweet for me as we left just two weeks after my dad's funeral. He was the Disney Freak in my family, growing up, and had always wanted to be able to go with his grandkids. We tagged along with DH's High School band and brought my mom along to help out. We had a great time but it was a lot of WORK!


Photo0134FourBySix by laurenkp80, on Flickr


DSC_0283 by laurenkp80, on Flickr

So we decided to go back a year and a half later!!


Photo0409FourBySix by laurenkp80, on Flickr

I did a TR for that trip:

We've Got this Rider Swap Thing DOWN - July 2012 TR

I was a bad, bad Disser and didn't finish it But I'm trying to rectify that now! I realized I only had two days left on it so I thought "what the heck" I might as well finish it if I want anyone to read my new PTR! (And hopefully new TR!)

As a kid we went three times as a family - once when I was 9 (Magical!!), once when I was in Jr. High (Moody), and once when I was a Sr. in High School. We also went to Disneyland once because my brother won a trip through Boy Scouts and I went with school trips twice. When I was in college, I spend a semester in France so I got to visit Disneyland Paris too!

My favorite ride is Tower of Terror

Favorite Character is Remy

Favorite Princess is Belle

Most excited to see New Fantasyland and meet Gaston

Next up, I'll introduce you to DH, or Eric. He's a HS Band teacher and very good at his job. He has done so much with his program and has tons of support from his students, band parents, and school administrators. Its pretty much a dream job for him and I couldn't be prouder!


20140627_184401 by laurenkp80, on Flickr

He really didn't get what "the big deal" was about Disney until our first trip in 2011. He grew up in LA, right next to Disneyland but said he wasn't that into it as a kid. He had much rather gone to SeaWorld! He went to Disney World for 4 hours once when he was on tour with the Crossmen Drum & Bugle Corps, and hid out in the Mexico pavilion the whole time because it was raining. After that 2011 band trip he really got bitten by the Disney bug and started scheming about how to do a family-only trip. He ended up giving me the surprise of a lifetime when he booked our Disney vacation in 2012 and gave it to me as my Mother's Day present! I was so shocked!

He is passionate about football, especially the Seahawks (his poor Blue & Green heart is still broken about this year's Superbowl loss!), his LA Kings, of course music and being a dad. He is such a great dad! He is NOT passionate about cooking... this is his idea of dinner, or better known as "what happens when mommy is working that evening"


20140716_172500 by laurenkp80, on Flickr

Yes, that is chocolate syrup, strawberries AND maple syrup on their waffles. Yikes!

His favorite ride is Expedition Everest

Favorite Character - probably Woody & Buzz

Favorite Prince - We'll go with Prince Eric

Most excited to take kids on the roller coasters!

Josh is our 8 year old Disney loving son. He'll turn 9 before this trip. He is our social butterfly! He has always been Mr. Friendly and will strike up a conversation with a brick wall if given the chance.


20141031_081625 by laurenkp80, on Flickr

He's in Club Soccer, ASB, and does baseball during the summer. He's not especially athletic but he can keep up and he does it more so he can be out playing with his friends more. His soccer team has all stayed together since they were 4 so even though they go to different schools now, they are all very tight still and we know all the parents well. Oh my, Club soccer has been quite the experience this year! I was never a "sports kid" so this is my first experience navigating these waters and there's definitely a learning curve! Its fun though!

As you can see he wanted to be Sorcerer Mickey for Halloween this year so we came up with this! I was pretty proud of myself! I had no idea how to do the hat so I just bought a witch's hat, broke out the glue gun and started cutting up some old fabric scraps. The ears I made out of the brim of the witch's hat. The toughest part of the costume to find was the red bathrobe. I searched and searched and couldn't find one! I had been lamenting to my mom that Josh really, really wanted a Sorcerer Mickey costume and I didn't want to let him down but I just couldn't find a red robe. Then she says "Oh, I HAVE one!! I'll bring it when I come over next week!" Seriously!?! That had to be Disney Magic!

Josh's favorite ride is Space Mountain

Favorite Character is Goofy

Favorite Prince - Flyn Ryder (also Mr. Popularity... am I right?!)

Most excited to see Fantasmic! for the first time. (He listens to the soundtrack daily!)

Last but certainly not least, there's Evelyn, our 4 year old princess. She'll turn 5 before this trip. She's our little drama queen. Always has, I imagine, always will be. I swear, she's turned up the girl drama to an 11 these last couple weeks.


20141031_093910 by laurenkp80, on Flickr

So much has changed since our last trip in 2012!! We were just sending Josh off to Kindergarten, now its HER turn! Whaaaaaat??! Is this really happening? Kindergarten registration is next week and I'm having my mommy freak-out moment. Evelyn loves to dance in her ballet class and guess what the recital theme is this year? CLASSIC DISNEY! She's dancing to Beauty & the Beast "Something More" and "Be Our Guest." I'm so excited! Its already adorable! She loves, loves her preschool class, her friends and her teachers. She's nervous about starting Kindergarten at a new school but I know she'll love it. She's my shy girl, until you get to know her. Then she's sweet, generous and very creative. She loves to paint and draw and wants to be a designer when she grows up. Her favorite foods, in order, are as follows: "Butter, cheese, bacon, and cupcakes." That is a direct quote, people!

Her favorite ride is Toy Story Midway Mania

Favorite Character is Daisy Duck

Favorite Princess is (who else...) Elsa

She is most excited about the chance to dine in Cinderella's Castle

We will also be spending part of our trip with DSIL and DBIL and their kiddos. Here we are in 2012 when we met up for the last two days of that trip!


Photo0531FourBySix by laurenkp80, on Flickr

We'll call them Mama Bear (MB), Papa Bear (PB) and Goldie Locks (GL). Since this this trip, they've added Baby Bear (BB) to their family as well. Before meeting up with us in 2012, they went to Disney World once before but were completely un-enamored with the whole thing. When they heard us gushing about how fabulous our trip was they got curious and, since they are FL residents, wanted to drive up to spend a few days with us! We took them to a character meal, showed them how FastPass worked, rode Dumbo and took tons of Photopass pictures with them. They had such a great time that now THEY'RE hooked and have been back several times! SIL is a Pro at FastPass now! lol!

*5/14 EDIT: Because The Bear Family will no longer be FL residents, they won't be traveling with us. Boo hoo! We're bummed that they won't be with us but we're glad they'll live permanently closer to us all! Woo hoo!

The Span

With fingers crossed that our Resort reservation goes through soon, we'll be checking in on Dec 30 and staying through Jan 7. While I have no delusions that this will be a relaxing vacation, it will certainly be amazingly fun! And with the couple extra days I hope we get to slow down a little and enjoy our resort too; something we didn't really get to do in 2012.

So that's us! I hope you guys follow along and say hi! I'm really excited to share in the planning process!

​

 

[skier_pete]

Oh wow! Thanks for checking for me! Yes, I already put in my request with David's DVC Rentals. AKL was our second choice and we were told that there is availability at Kidani. We were so excited! BUT... I guess they don't have enough points to rent out for the lenght of our stay so we're in the queue. I've been sitting, waiting on pins & needles for a week now! Uugh. Fingers & toes crossed we hear back soon!!

With it being more than 7 months out, they need AKV points to get a reservation there, so perhaps that's why it's taking so long. You'll probably be OK getting into Kidani. Kidani usually stays available longer than Jambo, because it is all DVC, whereas Jambo is mostly hotel rooms.

If you DO get Kidani, try to make a room request. You want to DEFINITELY be in the right-hand branch of the resort (See map below).Request would be rooms between 7200-7562.



Being close to the center of the resort is best, because the two ends of the resort extend into giant dead ends. However, the one big negative (to me) of Kidani is that there is no quick-serve restaurant if you want to get a bite to eat. The good news is that right-hand branch extends out towards the main lodge/Jambo House, where the Mara is. So, if you are on that right-hand branch near the end, it is a quick walk to go and grab a bite to eat, whereas the other branch extends off into nowhere, and if you are out on the end, you are walking half a mile to EVERYTHING.

In addition, if you end up with Savannah View room, make sure to request (a) Sunset Savannah and (b) a lower floor. Again request rooms rooms between 7200-7362. These are the lower # floors and the right branch would also ensure the Sunset Savannah. (The Pembe Savannah, to put it mildly, kinda sucks - no giraffes.)

Probably premature to tell you this since you haven't even gotten in there yet, but I'm just OCD that way.

 

[skier_pete]

Ha, I was posting while you were posting. Just read your update. One other thing to mention, the other thing that might make DVC tough is january 7th-10th is the DisneyWorld Marathon. This is also a SUPER popular time for DVC bookings. Probably less of a problem than the New Year's dates though.

 

[JoshAndEvsMom]

With it being more than 7 months out, they need AKV points to get a reservation there, so perhaps that's why it's taking so long. You'll probably be OK getting into Kidani. Kidani usually stays available longer than Jambo, because it is all DVC, whereas Jambo is mostly hotel rooms.

If you DO get Kidani, try to make a room request. You want to DEFINITELY be in the right-hand branch of the resort (See map below).Request would be rooms between 7200-7562.



Being close to the center of the resort is best, because the two ends of the resort extend into giant dead ends. However, the one big negative (to me) of Kidani is that there is no quick-serve restaurant if you want to get a bite to eat. The good news is that right-hand branch extends out towards the main lodge/Jambo House, where the Mara is. So, if you are on that right-hand branch near the end, it is a quick walk to go and grab a bite to eat, whereas the other branch extends off into nowhere, and if you are out on the end, you are walking half a mile to EVERYTHING.

In addition, if you end up with Savannah View room, make sure to request (a) Sunset Savannah and (b) a lower floor. Again request rooms rooms between 7200-7362. These are the lower # floors and the right branch would also ensure the Sunset Savannah. (The Pembe Savannah, to put it mildly, kinda sucks - no giraffes.)

Probably premature to tell you this since you haven't even gotten in there yet, but I'm just OCD that way.

GOOD to know!!! Do we make the room request through the rental place (David's) or through Disney? Our request was for a Savannah View - one of the reasons I'm so excited about it! I'm curious: Why do you recommend the lower floors?

 

[skier_pete]

GOOD to know!!! Do we make the room request through the rental place (David's) or through Disney? Our request was for a Savannah View - one of the reasons I'm so excited about it! I'm curious: Why do you recommend the lower floors?

We've only stayed there (@ Jambo) once, renting DVC points. In Jambo the DVC rooms are all upper floors. The view was fine, but you were looking down on the animals from above. It is MUCH better (IMO) to be looking at the animals closer to your level, which is why I recommended a lower floor.

As far as the room request, typically when renting the owner needs to make the room request, so I would guess that you would ask the person at David's to do this for you. (They SHOULD - they are being paid to provide a service.) Once they've done it though, I would confirm with Disney. You should be able to call with your reservation # and confirm the room request.

 

[JoshAndEvsMom]

Skier_Pete!!! All your info is so helpful!! I really, really appreciate it!!!

 

[JoshAndEvsMom]

Well, as you all know, when you plan a trip this far in advance plans change. And it looks like plans are already changing even before we get anything nailed down!

DH & I were looking at flights last night and flights to SIL's hometown airport are crazy expensive. Also, it seems that flying ANYWHERE on 12/26 is pretty much the worst idea ever - price wise at least. So now we're considering flying out on Christmas day to Orlando then renting a car and DRIVING to the Bear Family's place. That'd be 6.5 hours on a plane (God willing, winter weather cooperates) then 3.5 hours in a car. We'd get there around 3 am, however it would feel like only Midnight to us. Even with the extra three days of a rental car and gas it will save us almost $1000 so its looking like a good possibility. Southwest still is not booking for December so the question now is - do we wait for those and risk the other flights going up even more? Or bite the bullet and jump on the current flights?

In other news, I got an update from David's DVC and they still don't have enough member points to book our room so here I sit, impatiently waiting...

To pass the (excruciating) time, we went to visit some traveling Royalty! Our local mall had some "Fairytale Princesses" and the "Snow Princesses" visit yesterday. I don't think they could have predicted the madness! The event was supposed to go from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm. I had planned on getting there at 10:30 but of course we didn't leave on time because... kids. Well, we got there right at 11:00 and the line was already 2 hours deep. Luckily, our friends had gotten there a little earlier than us and had already reserved our spot in line. We "only" waited about an hour and my very, very patient son was a champ the entire time.

Meeting some mighty familiar "Fairytale Princesses"

2-15 Fairy Tale Princess Meet by laurenkp80, on Flickr

Eric asked if these Princesses compared at all to the Disney's Princesses.... You can be the judge

2-15 Princess Meet - Evelyn by laurenkp80, on Flickr

I'm 100% certain these "Snow Princesses" were the reason for the 4+ hour line!

2-15 Snow Princess Meet by laurenkp80, on Flickr

What a GREAT big brother! He put up with all this Princess stuff for way longer than he bargained for!

2-15 Princess Meet - Josh by laurenkp80, on Flickr

It was a fun little event and I thought the costumes were pretty legit but those WIGS!! That is some scary stuff, right there! Oh well, the little girls loved meeting them anyway and weren't the wiser that these weren't the real thing. The other blaring difference when you've met with actual Disney Royalty is obviously Disney's level of professionalism. These girls were very, very sweet but you just can't compare.

Well, hopefully this week I'll get some good news from Davids! Fingers crossed!!

 

[skier_pete]

Bargain Basement Disney for sure!

Hmmm, good question on the fares. This past year, we booked flights from Buffalo to Phoenix (probably comparable prices) on Southwest the day the flights opened up. We left on December 26th, and returned Saturday January 2nd. We got round trip flights for about $450, which is on the low end that you can get for those flights. ($400 is about the lowest).

The one thing I would say is if you are already considering Christmas Day, you might just want to wait until Southwest fares come out on May 14th, there fares are always cheap on Christmas, so if you are going to fly Christmas anyways, you could see what they come out with on the 14th.

I can't tell you much else with David's. You could check other rental folks, or try and find someone on the rent/trade board. I think you still have plenty of time to get into Kidani yet, though.

 

[JoshAndEvsMom]

Bargain Basement Disney for sure!

Hmmm, good question on the fares. This past year, we booked flights from Buffalo to Phoenix (probably comparable prices) on Southwest the day the flights opened up. We left on December 26th, and returned Saturday January 2nd. We got round trip flights for about $450, which is on the low end that you can get for those flights. ($400 is about the lowest).

The one thing I would say is if you are already considering Christmas Day, you might just want to wait until Southwest fares come out on May 14th, there fares are always cheap on Christmas, so if you are going to fly Christmas anyways, you could see what they come out with on the 14th.

I can't tell you much else with David's. You could check other rental folks, or try and find someone on the rent/trade board. I think you still have plenty of time to get into Kidani yet, though.

Truth be told, I'd much rather fly Southwest than any other airline so we probably WILL wait. I'm just so anxious to get at least one part of our plan nailed down, though!

So one question about the DVC booking dates - is it by day? or by month? Like, since I want to check in on Dec 30, do I have to wait until May 30 for the 7-month range to start? Or does the entire month of Dec become available on May 1?

 

[skier_pete]

It's by day, so yes May 30th would be the 7 month mark for Dec 30th. I would be surprised if you have to wait that long AKV points should NOT be that hard to come by.

The wait is hard, even for an owner. While we can book our home resort at 11 months out, all the other resorts have to wait until 7 months out. If you book your home resort as a back-up, it can then delay on that 7-month date how quickly you can grab availability, because you have to cancel your existing reservation in order to book. When we recently booked, I had to wait twice because we were booking a split stay, and then a third time to try and get the Poly. In our case it was a slow time of year for DVC. Chirstmas is much busier, but still not as bad as early December. Early December will be pretty much gone at 7 months for everything. Again, based on last year, you should still be able to get into Kidani Savannah view even at 7-months. (While I am happy I own at AKV, I would prefer to mix it up between the different resorts - especially since we are new to it and want to check out all the resorts.)

 

[JoshAndEvsMom]

When my brother came over to visit, he brought our old Disney World photos from 1994! We sort of thought these were lost forever. When my parents divorced, a million years ago, my dad swore that my mom had them and my mom swore that my dad had them. Then, I guess my step-mom was going through some of my dad's stuff and found them! Woohoo!

So here's a little Throwback Thursday in DHS for ya!

Here's Tower of Terror being built. These must have been the final stages because when I looked it up, looks like it opened in July of 1994!


Here we are at the Backlot Tour - my brother and I were selected to "ride" the bee from Honey I Shrunk the Kids.


Dinner at SciFi Dine-In Theater. Don't we look thrilled?


Anyway, I thought those were kind of fun. Anyone else visit in Spring 1994?? Maybe we were there at the same time!

 

[SimplyGoofy]

Hi, Lauren! I had to make sure to check in over here, as well!

I'm so excited that you get to go back to Disney World! It should be a totally different experience with both of your kids being older - it's too bad that the rider swap won't be nearly as helpful this time as Evelyn should be tall enough for most of the rides! I think your family and I would get along quite well - with the favorite rides of you and your husband being the Tower of Terror and Expedition Everest, and your son's favorite character being Goofy... what a great group!

I will cross my fingers that your DVC rental comes through - I'm sure you should be just fine.

 

[skier_pete]

Love old Disney pix. Can't say I went in '94, but here's one from May 1997.

 

[JoshAndEvsMom]

Love old Disney pix. Can't say I went in '94, but here's one from May 1997.

Lol! LOVE it!! Isn't it weird how Roger Rabbit was this huge thing for so long and now its like it never existed? I wonder if the movie is still available on Amazon Prime or something... hmmm... project: rent Who Framed Roger Rabbit.

It's by day, so yes May 30th would be the 7 month mark for Dec 30th. I would be surprised if you have to wait that long AKV points should NOT be that hard to come by.

The wait is hard, even for an owner. While we can book our home resort at 11 months out, all the other resorts have to wait until 7 months out. If you book your home resort as a back-up, it can then delay on that 7-month date how quickly you can grab availability, because you have to cancel your existing reservation in order to book. When we recently booked, I had to wait twice because we were booking a split stay, and then a third time to try and get the Poly. In our case it was a slow time of year for DVC. Chirstmas is much busier, but still not as bad as early December. Early December will be pretty much gone at 7 months for everything. Again, based on last year, you should still be able to get into Kidani Savannah view even at 7-months. (While I am happy I own at AKV, I would prefer to mix it up between the different resorts - especially since we are new to it and want to check out all the resorts.)

Oh the waiting is sooooo hard! I just want one little piece of this trip to be settled. It will feel so much more real when that happens!

It makes me feel better that Kidani should still have some availability, even at 7 months. Thanks for easing my mind!

Hi, Lauren! I had to make sure to check in over here, as well!

I'm so excited that you get to go back to Disney World! It should be a totally different experience with both of your kids being older - it's too bad that the rider swap won't be nearly as helpful this time as Evelyn should be tall enough for most of the rides! I think your family and I would get along quite well - with the favorite rides of you and your husband being the Tower of Terror and Expedition Everest, and your son's favorite character being Goofy... what a great group!

I will cross my fingers that your DVC rental comes through - I'm sure you should be just fine.

Hi Jenny! to my PTR! I think the thing I'm most looking forward to about traveling with older kids is the same thing I'm most nervous about... NO STROLLER! Yippee! But... no place to stash all our stuff. Nuts! Should be interesting for sure.

Ev is so excited for the "Big Kid" rides! The kids know we're going back *someday* and talk all the time about what they'll do at Disney "the next time we get to go." I really hope she likes ToT as much as we do!

Still trying to sort out the photobucket thing... soon, I hope!

 

[JoshAndEvsMom]

Welp... Still no news on the resort front. This waiting business is for the birds!!! We even started throwing around the option to stay with The Bear Family at Shades of Green. They LOVE that resort and the price was extremely tempting but we ultimately decided to table the idea, at least for now. We would only be able to stay there when they are there so we would have to find another resort for the other dates of our trip, which would mean a double or triple split stay. We also wouldn't be able to do the Dining Plan - even though with the cost savings on the room paying out of pocket wouldn't be that bad - but we like the convenience of it, not necessarily the "value". Also, because its not technically a Disney resort we wouldn't be able to book our FastPasses until 30 days out. I have a feeling that being able to get these at 60 days will be a pretty big advantage at NYE. Especially since NYE is going to be at the beginning of our stay and not the end, like I assume most people will have booked their trip. Those who have NYE at the end of their trip have the advantage on us as they will have had up to 10 days ahead to book their FastPasses.

So while the wait to book continues...

A while ago I posted these notes on our growth chart because I got tired of the kids asking if they were tall enough to ride X yet.

DSC_0358 by laurenkp80, on Flickr

Here's Ev's progress!! (Don't mind her... she's crazy! )
DSC_0357 by laurenkp80, on Flickr

As you can see, at almost 5 years old Evelyn is just a smidge taller than Josh was at 3!!! She's very petite for her age; I'm hoping she can eat her veggies and grow another 4 inches before December!!

On the other end of the spectrum, my 8 year old son grows like a weed...
DSC_0359 by laurenkp80, on Flickr

He's well past the height requirements for every ride now! How did this happen? He's going to be taller than me before the 4th grade!!

Last on the list for this lovely Friday, the 13th... Cinderella comes out today!! My friend and I are taking our girls who are also best friends. If you've looked in on my old TR you'll notice that my daughter's fingers are in her mouth, like 90% of the time. She and her best friend, K have both done this since birth!! Ev, fortunately quit about 6 months ago but K just quit a month ago so this is a reward! We're taking them to dinner and getting dressed up. Its going to be so much fun! Can't wait!

 

[Writer325]

Hi there, I wanted to chime in bc we went NYE 2010. It was a great success; we rode everything on our list with no wait! I know things change, but I wanted to let you know that it is perfectly feasible.