The Fantasy Becomes Reality - A 2015 Land and Sea Extravaganza

[ZephyrHawk]

Hello everyone!

I hope this is the right place to start this trip report. Currently, I'm planning for a combination WDW and DCL trip in late 2015, and I wasn't sure if the report belongs with the Cruise Line Board, or here. Regardless, I figure if/when I move on to a "completed" trip report I can figure things out at that time. It's...pretty far off. However, I just booked the cruise portion of the trip, so it's all fresh in my mind and I'm excited. No time like the present to share my enthusiasm with the Dis.

Who is going?

I thought I'd start out with a cast of characters, because it's kind of long, and somewhat confusing. I'll start with the "confirmed" members of our vacation crew (for now anyways, they could still change their minds).

Me - Becky, will be 36 at the time of trip, long time Disney fan and highly skilled Disney trip planner

DH - BJ, will be 37 at trip time, Disney fan, former CM, would rather have me work out the trip planning details

DD - Bee, she'll have just turned 3 when we leave, it will be her first time visiting anything Disney

Poppa - My dad, will be 68 for the trip, is a consummate world traveler and experienced cruiser, thinks Disney is okay once every 10 years or so

Grandma - My mom, will be 67 for the trip, is a consummate world traveler and experienced cruiser, is slightly more enthused about the trip so far than my father

Grandma Judy - DH's mom, will be 61 during the trip, is excited to be with her only grandchild but is not a huge Disney fan

Grandpa - DH's dad, actually I'm not sure how old he is, he really likes Disney and visits WDW fairly frequently with his family, is geeked to schedule DD into BBB

Grandma Sandy - DH's stepmom, I definitely have no idea how old she is, she likes Disney and WDW, she's interested to see it during the Holidays

Aunt Dana - DH's half sister on his dad's side (See! I told you it would get confusing!), she's a PhD student in Pharmacy at OSU, she likes visiting Disney and is stoked to go, provided she can work the trip around her exam schedule

Now for the unconfirmed, but invited, individuals:

Aunt Megan - DH's half sister on his mom's side (Confusing!), she's excited to go and is pretty sure she can manage since she has 18 months yet to get the money in place, but she hasn't responded to my planning emails as of yet

Mr. Logan - Logan is Aunt Dana's current (but pretty serious) boyfriend, it's entirely possible that by the time this trip rolls around he could be DUTB (that's "Dear Uncle to Be") Logan, or not...we'll have to see

Others? - I dunno, but the call has gone out to other family members and their significant others who may, or may not, be interested

Wow! That's a lot of people!

I know! What can I say, I just find regular high intensity Disney trip planning to be not challenging enough.

In all honesty, I've been planning this trip since long before DD was born. I always knew I wanted my first child's first Disney trip to be a big one. And I knew that everyone would want to tag along. See, DD is a very lucky little girl. She is an only grandchild on 3 sides. That additionally makes her an only niece for her aunts. So yes, for all the individuals described above, she is their sole source of childhood entertainment. And unless something drastic happens with DH's sisters between now and then (unlikely), she'll still be that way in 2015. So, yes, EVERYONE wants to be part of this trip.

Cool! So are you all cruising together?

No actually. My parents love cruising. They love boats. I have been trying t get them on a Disney cruise for years, but they refused to do so until I presented them with grandchildren. They do not believe me when I tell them Disney is for everyone.

However, DH's families (both of them) are not boat fans. Even if being on a boat in open water did not paralyze them with sickness, they are not interested in shelling out big bucks to stay on one for a whole week. To each their own.

DH....does not like boats. He gets sick. He puts up with them for me. He has been on one cruise and, though ill throughout, he did enjoy himself. He swore, however, that he would never go on a cruise again unless we went with a group of people so I wouldn't be left high and dry if/when he gets sick. Also, he's willing to make an exception because it's Disney.

 

[ZephyrHawk]

Oh heck.....somehow the first post posted before I intended it to...oh well, I guess I have to continue from here.

Have you booked the cruise?

Yes! We'll be travelling on the Fantasy, Eastern Caribbean, December 5th through the 12, 2015. We have staterooms 6588 and 6590, which are both Category 4D Deluxe Family Oceanview Staterooms with Verandah on deck 6. The important thing is that they're connecting, so we can share room with my parents. Well, that's one important thing. The other is that they are low and in the center of the ship, to help DH with his boat issues.

I booked with my Disney Visa, securing us a whole $50 on board credit.

So what about the "Land" portion of the Trip?

Glad you asked. After hemming and hawing, and after seeing the 2015 Fantasy itinerary schedules, we have decided that the best option for everyone is if we bookend the cruise with two land portions. If we tried to do a full WDW vacation on either end we'd either be running into Thanksgiving or Christmas week crowds. So, we're thinking 5 days before and 5 days after.

This also allows the families to self-segregate. As one might reasonably imagine, DH's families don't get along famously (apparently not even 35+ years of separation can erase all animosities). DH's dad and stepmom have chosen to visit after the cruise so that Aunt Dana can attend (her exams will be over by then). Accordingly, we're encouraging Grandma Judy to visit before, when it's also cheaper and less crowded. My parents get along well with everyone and can choose their preference. They'll probably pick the before option.

So...wait....how many days is that for your family?

Errr.....17? About that. Yeah, crazy, I know. But we live to travel.

Where are you staying?

No idea! We'll actually probably stay in two different locations for the two land portions. We love trying new Disney hotels.

Grandpa John and Grandma Sandy want to stay at the Wilderness Lodge because they think it's beautiful. However, Grandpa John was concerned about the price of going during high season. That's when we turned him on to renting DVC points. He is very happy about that.

My parents have expressed a desire to stay at "one of the monorail resorts". They've never stayed at anything else (mind you, the last time they stayed at WDW the Grand Floridian had just been built). I cringe because this is getting to be a massively expensive trip as it is. Plus I was hoping to do something that would stick within Grandma Judy's budget.

I want the Beach Club. DH loves the Boardwalk. No, these are not much cheaper (if at all) than a monorail resort...but still!

What kind of tickets will you get?

For once I think we might forego Park Hoppers. It's sacrilege for DH and myself who love to park hop, but I think we'll be a little too busy/distracted to do much more than focus on one park per day.

How do you expect to handle your different families?

With great difficulty.

Obviously, we're already taking steps to sensibly separate the participants from DH's two families, but my family can be difficult to work with at times as well. For example, my dad hates buffets. Hates. Try scheduling meals at WDW with no buffets.

One thing I've decided to do is to give everyone 1 day to be DD's "chaperone". During that day you can do with her whatever you want, and the rest of us will tag along for the ride. I will have to set a schedule of park days and I'll probably be the one making all the sit-down dinner reservations, but otherwise I won't put any requirements on people to be any particular place at any given time. I've found that the key to good group vacations is flexibility and allowing people to comfortably bow out of any activities they don't want to participate in.

 

[littlemamma]

Just wanted to say HELLO!!!! I'm on that sailing too, and like you - had a bit of resistance from family, mainly my father. He's never cruised, and we've been trying to YEARS (literally....) to get him to cruise. DH + I cruised in April of 2014 with my in-laws, and we're hooked. I'm a HUGE Disney person, as is my family - my DH + in-laws aren't as much, but they really enjoyed being with the kids on our trip. Amazing how grandchildren change them, huh? Haha.

We plan on doing WDW after the cruise too - possibly Beach Club! Look forward to seeing you on the cruise, and reading along with your planning - I'm working on my planning report now

 

[ZephyrHawk]

Wow, a reader! Now I actually have to update this thread! Well, I've been meaning to for a long time anyways.

I look forward to meeting you too!

 

[ZephyrHawk]

All right then, it's time for an update, I guess. It's been a while. Kind of a lot's happened since my last post. Lots of changes to the trip.

So, have you figured out who's going yet?

Sort of. I've got some definite yeses. So far those are Me, DH, DD, Poppa, Grandma, Grandpa, and Grandma Sandy.

Aunt Dana is a maybe. It sort of depends on her exam schedule. We actually revised all our WDW trip dates to try and accommodate her, but she's still not sure.

Up until last week Grandma Judy and Aunt Megan were "confirmed", but now are decidedly less confirmed. A fact which I consider irksome, seeing as how I already went through a bunch of reservation rigamarole for them. But I digress.

Everyone else on the list has politely declined. People do tend to change their minds about things once they realize that money is involved.

How's the cruise portion planning?

Well, it still needs to be paid off, for one. Gotta keep reminding myself of that as I allocate funds to other sources throughout the year. I joined a community gathering which shall not be named related to the sailing. I've been looking into making Fish Extenders. Signed up for a mixology class with my mom (also known as Grandma). Have been obsessively looking at Navigators and deck plans online.

I came to the conclusion that not a lot of the Disney offered shore excursions are good for toddlers. That being said, I'm thinking of the submarine one in St. Maarten and DH wants to visit the national park on St. John (despite my warnings that the ferry ride over could be sickness inducing).

Have you made any decisions about where you're staying for the WDW portion?

As a matter of fact, we have. So, I started looking at how difficult it was going to be to get 4 studios at our hotel of choice (the Wilderness Lodge), and to get them cheap enough for our various families to stomach. I was running lots and lots of numbers, and not liking any of them. And then, I had a thought. I ran some other numbers. I thought some more and then, turned to DH and said, "I think it's time we had a serious conversation about DVC."

DH has been waiting for me to seriously bring up DVC for about a decade now, so he jumped at a chance to convince me. We've got a 2 year old, if we were going to buy in at any time, now would be it. So we did. We bought 150 VWL points on resale with a "loaded contract", more than enough to get rooms for everyone booked 11 months out.

Our family will be staying in Wilderness Lodge deluxe studios from December 12th (disembarkation day for our cruise) through the 20th. Grandma and Poppa (who you may recall are doing the cruise with us) will be staying from the 12th through the 16th. Grandpa and Grandma Sandy will (as of current) be staying from the 12th through the 17th. Grandma Judy and Megan (assuming they don't back out on us) will be staying from the 15th through the 20th. And Aunt Dana, if she makes it at all, will probably bunk with us sometime later in the week.

I put in some hard work on the reservations site in early January, that's for sure.

What are you doing before the cruise?

I hemmed and hawed a bit about this, but I think we're going to stay at WDW and take WDW transportation to and from the ship. I originally though that it cost to much to stay on Disney property for a night to bother with just one day before the trip, but then I remembered I'm a DVC member now. It doesn't cost me anything except points and money which I've already spent (and have regretfully waved goodbye to forever). We're looking at the Boardwalk for that first night, with Animal Kingdom Lodge as a backup plan.

As for transportation, everyone on the boards said renting a limo service was about the same cost for better service, but I'm not sure they figured in tip (which can be a ton).

What about ticketing decisions?

Since the rumors are that ticket prices will be going up soon, I jumped on buying them now. Our family has 9 day Base Tickets, Poppa and Grandma have 4 day base tickets, and Grandpa and Grandma Sandy have authorized me to buy them 4 day base tickets should I hear confirmation of an increase.

How about flights?

Our preferred airline is Southwest and, unfortunately, they don't have their December schedule out yet.

Have you figured out your park touring plans?

Yes, with the caveat that these very well may change when park hours come out. They are the definition of "tentative" plans.

Sat Dec 12 - Epcot (half day)
Sun Dec 13 - Animal Kingdom
Mon Dec 14 - Hollywood Studios
Tues Dec 15 - Magic Kingdom/MVMCP
Wed Dec 16 - Epcot
Thurs Dec 17 - Magic Kingdom
Fri Dec 18 - Hollywood Studios (?) - We really don't love this park, so if any days get cut, this is the one
Sat Dec 19 - Animal Kingdom
Sun Dec 20 - Magic Kingdom (half day)

Any restaurant plans?

Well, it kind of depends on who goes and what their eating budgets are. I have, however, committed to a dinner at Ohana the night everyone is to be together (Ohana means Family!!!) I'll also be getting MVMCP tickets for everyone (Our treat. Happy Christmas guys!) for that evening. It will be a busy, but satisfying day.

Other than that I really want a Crystal Palace breakfast and a Raglan Road dinner. Probably also a Be Our Guest lunch. Other than that, I'm pretty open.

DH and I WILL be eating at Remy on the ship. Grandma and Poppa have declined our invite. That's fine, they can babysit.

Water parks?

DH and his various sisters all want to do a water park. With what time, I ask you?! I am almost positive this is not happening, and since I am the official/unofficial planner for everyone, if i say it ain't happening - it ain't happening.

Wow, you've gotten a lot done!

I know! But the really hard work comes in June when I have to make final park touring and ADR decisions. Then, of course, in October there's FP+. I....am really freakin' nervous about that. I can just see myself doing all this work and then the extended family is all, "Oh, we didn't want to do that. You shouldn't have wasted a FP on it."

Funny story: My parents did a one day trip to the MK last year because they were in the area. They had a horrible time but, thankfully, realize that a lot of that was probably poor planning on their fault (they expect better performance from me). Anyways, they actually liked FP+. They understood it right away and decided to use it on "rides they'd never seen before". That's a good plan, but what 3 rides did they choose? Winnie the Pooh (acceptable FP+ usage), Little Mermaid (okay I guess) and Aladdin's Magic Carpets (what were they THINKING?!). Point is, I won't have to work too hard to be better with them.