Thanks for All of the Magic!

[luckofthedraw]

I owe the DIS boards a great big thanks for all of the tips that helped make our first Disney trip the most magical trip we could have dreamed up. Well, except for the heat and rain.

Our first day out, we were selected Family of the Day at Epcot! We got to open the theme park, ride in the car with the crash dummy, got on Test Track twice before the park even opened, and got to go in GM's lounge (wow, what a view!). We also got a few bonus passes to the front of the line. It was just all so magical.

The next day at EPCOT was pretty much a washout.

The following day (Sunday) was spent off property at Seaworld, then we went to the MNSSHP. Wish I had followed a few more tips there, so I'll add my own: get to the FRONT of the castle to see the fireworks. We hit all of the big rides on Sunday night, which saved us a ton of line-standing time when we came back later.

That Monday we went to Animal Kingdom. It was very crowded, but was a much more enjoyable park than I imagined it would be. Now we have an excuse to go back: we must try out that Mt Everest roller coaster when it opens .

Tuesday and Wednesday were spent at MK. Tuesday we got to wake up Tink and spent most of our time in FutureWorld, FantasyLand, and Toon Town. Since we'd ridden most of the major rides, we spent most of our time trying to master Buzz Lightyear. Never did though...gotta read those tips a little more.

Wednesday we found the paintbrushes on Tom Sawyers' Island, and shared them with other families. Since the crowds weren't too bad, we are saving the pass we "won" for the paintbrush till next trip. Our kids also got to be guest conductors on the train.

Learning from your strategies and the budget boards tips, we planned a Thursday through Thursday trip. We got very cheap airfare ($396 total for 4 round trip tickets), stayed on property (SSR, rented points), ate on the cheap...if that's possible (ate several meals in our room since we had facilities), rented a car cheaply (thanks to tips and discounts) and saved a little on our tickets through Ticketmania. When we initially planned the trip, we budgeted $5000. We spent just under $3600 from the time we left the house to the time we got back. That's a small price to pay for all of that magic.

Big thumbs up to you guys! I cannot thank you enough!

 

[Miller1412]

Wow! Sounds like your trip was amazing! You got to do lots of things that are hard to come by!! And the most amazing thing was that you came in under budget! Glad you had such a fabulous time.

 

[Ducky4Disney]

It's great to hear such a great trip recap! You got to do a lot of special things on that trip! I'm an SSR owner, but I was wondering how you liked the resort? It's nice to hear outside reviews of DVC resorts.

D4D

 

[luckofthedraw]

Ducky, I loved SSR. It was not even my first choice, but one of the few availabilities on a short notice. (We planned this trip 39 days before we left.) I have nothing to compare it to, but based on this experience, SSR was great.

The staff went out of their way to be accommodating. We asked for a quiet but convenient room, and we got a first floor corner room with a nice view. Couldn't hear the buses; couldn't hear our neighbors; couldn't hear DTD, etc. If you want quiet or love golf, this is the place to be. One day I imagine it will be in the middle of everything, but for now it's pretty quiet.

Kids loved the pool area. At one point I had to remind them that we did not come to Orlando to swim in the pool. "Oh yeah...."

We are considering purchasing DVC as a resale, and are giving thought to purchasing here. My biggest concern about purchasing at SSR would be the planned size of this resort, and the ability to resell, should the need ever arise.

The buses were the complaint I would have. Some of the connections were not all of that convenient if you went outside of MK, AK, and EPCOT. It was actually quicker to drive to DTD even though it is just right across the lake. After a couple of long nights getting home on buses, we made a rule: do not get on a bus after 7PM. If we were going to be out after 7, we took the car. Things worked out very well after that.

 

[pixieprincessmom]

Did you see the Buzz hint about shooting the back of the hand of the large red robot in the first room? You have to turn around to shoot it. My DD was so excited! She was the only one who hit it and she beat Dad. I think it's like 100,000 points.

 

[bytheblood]

So glad to hear you had a wonderful trip.