rgoble5972
Are we there yet?
- Joined
- Feb 4, 2001
- Messages
- 276
CAST
Robin/Me - 40; trip planner/recorded; 11th trip to WDW
Paula/Sister to Robin - 30; 5th trip to WDW
HISTORY
Gosh, is it already that time again? Time for a visit to Walt Disney World? Well, no, not really, but Im never one to let an opportunity to go to WDW pass. So, during a particularly nightmarish tax season (Im a CPA, have I mentioned that? Yes? Well, sorry, but youll just have to bear with me because I want to make sure that all the first-time readers are on the same page as we are.), I began to craft a clever plan to take a trip to WDW, my excuse being that I needed a break after April 15th. Which, in fact, was really not an excuse but truly a valid reason? Did I mention that this tax season was hellish, at best? Twice? Sorry.
The choice of traveling companions was fairly easy to make this trip. I had already taken my nephew, Michael, out of school for a week when we went to WDW in November, and I dont like for him to miss more school than that for vacation. Thus, the role of sidekick would be aptly played by my sister, Paula, who is always more than willing to take a trip to Disney.
The only problem with Paula going with me was that she had just started a new job in January and wasnt due any vacation time until she had worked there a while, so we were unsure whether shed be able to arrange to take a week off or not. Being the resourceful girl that she is, Paula waited to ask her boss for the time off until the boss was praising Paulas performance. Then, Paula laid it on thick about how this trip was the only thing that her poor sister had to look forward to, and how it would help her sister get through tax season (did I mention that this tax season was unmercifully hideous? .Oh, right.), and how Paula was the only one available to go with me because I had no friends and no hope of finding anyone else before May and my dog didnt even like me and many other highly unflattering descriptions. I would have been offended at her portrayal of me, but it seemed to work on her boss so I let it slide.
Airfare
Luckily, about the time we got it cleared with Paulas boss that the trip was a go, Southwest Airlines was running some decent airfare specials. Round trip to Orlando was only $230 per person instead of the usual $335-$350. The only drawback was that our only choice for a return flight left at 9:30 in the morning, thus squelching any park time on our last day. However, since this was by far our most inexpensive option, we booked it anyway.
Lodging
I initially made reservations at the new Pop Century Resort since no codes or Annual Passholder discounts had been issued for our time-frame. In February, Disney came out with a decent discount code (CTV) which I used to make reservations at the Boardwalk Inn (BWI) for the first half of the week, and the Polynesian (PR) for the end of the week. Normally we stay at the Beach Club for the Epcot/MGM portion of our trip and at the Polynesian for the Magic Kingdom (MK)/Animal Kingdom (AK) portion; however, there were no rooms available at the Beach Club or Yacht Club with the discount code, so we went with the Boardwalk instead.
We had never stayed at the Boardwalk Inn before, but had visited the resort and thought it was lovely, so we were excited about the opportunity. Later in March, annual passholder rates were released and we got a slightly lower rate for our stay.
Rental Car
As usual, we went with National for our rental car. Our initial reservation, made in February was $165 for an intermediate for the week. I kept checking the rates and, by the time April had rolled around, had lowered our rental cost to $127.
Meals, etc.
After our super-budget trip last September, Paula and I were in the mood for a few better meals this trip than only cheeseburgers and hot dogs, so we made a few priority seatings before we left. Paula requested another meal at Le Cellier and wanted to try Bomas this trip (I had eaten there, but she had not). We also wanted to do the afternoon tea at the Garden View Lounge in the Grand Floridian again since we had enjoyed it in the past. Priority Seatings at Ohana, Tonys Town Square Restaurant, and the Cape May Cafe rounded out our list.
Finally, Im sure you will all be thrilled to hear that I have moved into the 21st century with this trip report. Yes, I have jumped on the technologically savvy bandwagon and purchased a laptop computer that I plan on taking to WDW with me. While I dont think I could ever write a trip report live and post it daily on-line such as the very brave but stern Larry Wilmot has done, Im sure it delights you that I can type my notes now instead of laboriously writing them out longhand to the detriment of my tired wrist and fingers. Or maybe not.
Anyway, the tentative plan looks like this:
Saturday, May 1 - flight to Orlando; check in at BWI; MGM
Sunday, May 2 - Epcot; dinner at Le Cellier
Monday, May 3 - MGM; lunch at Sci Fi Diner; dinner at Cape May Buffet
Tuesday, May 4 - Epcot; dinner at Bomas
Wednesday, May 5 - move to Polynesian; MK; tea at Grand Floridian; MK for Wishes
Thursday, May 6 - AK; dinner at Ohana; Downtown Disney (DTD)
Friday, May 7 - MK; dinner at Liberty Tree Tavern or Tonys Town Square
Saturday, May 8 - flight back home
Shortly before time for our trip we read where Its A Small World (IASW) was going down on May 2nd for an extensive rehab, thus leaving our first day as the only day the ride would be open. Unfortunately, the day we arrived was also a Grad Night at the Magic Kingdom (where the park closes early to the general public and stays open until 4:00 in the morning for graduating seniors), so the prospect of going there just to ride IASW, was not a very pleasant one. Since this is one of Paulas favorite rides, I told her that Id leave the decision of whether or not to try to make it to IASW before it was closed up to her.
Robin/Me - 40; trip planner/recorded; 11th trip to WDW
Paula/Sister to Robin - 30; 5th trip to WDW
HISTORY
Gosh, is it already that time again? Time for a visit to Walt Disney World? Well, no, not really, but Im never one to let an opportunity to go to WDW pass. So, during a particularly nightmarish tax season (Im a CPA, have I mentioned that? Yes? Well, sorry, but youll just have to bear with me because I want to make sure that all the first-time readers are on the same page as we are.), I began to craft a clever plan to take a trip to WDW, my excuse being that I needed a break after April 15th. Which, in fact, was really not an excuse but truly a valid reason? Did I mention that this tax season was hellish, at best? Twice? Sorry.
The choice of traveling companions was fairly easy to make this trip. I had already taken my nephew, Michael, out of school for a week when we went to WDW in November, and I dont like for him to miss more school than that for vacation. Thus, the role of sidekick would be aptly played by my sister, Paula, who is always more than willing to take a trip to Disney.
The only problem with Paula going with me was that she had just started a new job in January and wasnt due any vacation time until she had worked there a while, so we were unsure whether shed be able to arrange to take a week off or not. Being the resourceful girl that she is, Paula waited to ask her boss for the time off until the boss was praising Paulas performance. Then, Paula laid it on thick about how this trip was the only thing that her poor sister had to look forward to, and how it would help her sister get through tax season (did I mention that this tax season was unmercifully hideous? .Oh, right.), and how Paula was the only one available to go with me because I had no friends and no hope of finding anyone else before May and my dog didnt even like me and many other highly unflattering descriptions. I would have been offended at her portrayal of me, but it seemed to work on her boss so I let it slide.
Airfare
Luckily, about the time we got it cleared with Paulas boss that the trip was a go, Southwest Airlines was running some decent airfare specials. Round trip to Orlando was only $230 per person instead of the usual $335-$350. The only drawback was that our only choice for a return flight left at 9:30 in the morning, thus squelching any park time on our last day. However, since this was by far our most inexpensive option, we booked it anyway.
Lodging
I initially made reservations at the new Pop Century Resort since no codes or Annual Passholder discounts had been issued for our time-frame. In February, Disney came out with a decent discount code (CTV) which I used to make reservations at the Boardwalk Inn (BWI) for the first half of the week, and the Polynesian (PR) for the end of the week. Normally we stay at the Beach Club for the Epcot/MGM portion of our trip and at the Polynesian for the Magic Kingdom (MK)/Animal Kingdom (AK) portion; however, there were no rooms available at the Beach Club or Yacht Club with the discount code, so we went with the Boardwalk instead.
We had never stayed at the Boardwalk Inn before, but had visited the resort and thought it was lovely, so we were excited about the opportunity. Later in March, annual passholder rates were released and we got a slightly lower rate for our stay.
Rental Car
As usual, we went with National for our rental car. Our initial reservation, made in February was $165 for an intermediate for the week. I kept checking the rates and, by the time April had rolled around, had lowered our rental cost to $127.
Meals, etc.
After our super-budget trip last September, Paula and I were in the mood for a few better meals this trip than only cheeseburgers and hot dogs, so we made a few priority seatings before we left. Paula requested another meal at Le Cellier and wanted to try Bomas this trip (I had eaten there, but she had not). We also wanted to do the afternoon tea at the Garden View Lounge in the Grand Floridian again since we had enjoyed it in the past. Priority Seatings at Ohana, Tonys Town Square Restaurant, and the Cape May Cafe rounded out our list.
Finally, Im sure you will all be thrilled to hear that I have moved into the 21st century with this trip report. Yes, I have jumped on the technologically savvy bandwagon and purchased a laptop computer that I plan on taking to WDW with me. While I dont think I could ever write a trip report live and post it daily on-line such as the very brave but stern Larry Wilmot has done, Im sure it delights you that I can type my notes now instead of laboriously writing them out longhand to the detriment of my tired wrist and fingers. Or maybe not.
Anyway, the tentative plan looks like this:
Saturday, May 1 - flight to Orlando; check in at BWI; MGM
Sunday, May 2 - Epcot; dinner at Le Cellier
Monday, May 3 - MGM; lunch at Sci Fi Diner; dinner at Cape May Buffet
Tuesday, May 4 - Epcot; dinner at Bomas
Wednesday, May 5 - move to Polynesian; MK; tea at Grand Floridian; MK for Wishes
Thursday, May 6 - AK; dinner at Ohana; Downtown Disney (DTD)
Friday, May 7 - MK; dinner at Liberty Tree Tavern or Tonys Town Square
Saturday, May 8 - flight back home
Shortly before time for our trip we read where Its A Small World (IASW) was going down on May 2nd for an extensive rehab, thus leaving our first day as the only day the ride would be open. Unfortunately, the day we arrived was also a Grad Night at the Magic Kingdom (where the park closes early to the general public and stays open until 4:00 in the morning for graduating seniors), so the prospect of going there just to ride IASW, was not a very pleasant one. Since this is one of Paulas favorite rides, I told her that Id leave the decision of whether or not to try to make it to IASW before it was closed up to her.
