The Last Minute(-ish) Pre-Christmas Trip....

[hematite153]

The Tea Cups are not that bad IF you don't turn the wheel in the middle.

Yes, but, don't you just about always end up with SOMEONE who wants to spin? (When I was a kid and used to ride those types of things I always felt like the goal should be to use the wheel to balance the spin so that the ride had a minimum of spin power -- others never seemed to agree.)

The Astro Orbiter almost killed me the ONE time I rode it.

Oh god, I forgot I'd have to ride that again too!

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

Yes, but, don't you just about always end up with SOMEONE who wants to spin? (When I was a kid and used to ride those types of things I always felt like the goal should be to use the wheel to balance the spin so that the ride had a minimum of spin power -- others never seemed to agree.)



Oh god, I forgot I'd have to ride that again too!

If you tell the CM loading the Cups that you are by yourself you don't have to share. We usually ride during AM EMH and there are empty cups - they don't care if we each have our own. There was one time that the CM got snippy and told me I couldn't have my own, so we all rode in one cup and I wedged my knee against the center thing so it wouldn't spin.

I HATED the Astro Orbiter. That hot, tiny little elevator is almost as bad as the flippin' ride. DH went in the rocket with DS, and when the ride stopped he came to help me out of my rocket. I said "DON'T touch me!" I just wanted to sit there for a minute to collect my bearings. I will NOT ride that again.

 

[hematite153]

So, when we last left the plan, we had DVC waitlists with two different contracts not linked to self cancel if one came through. So, we were checking online obsessively to make sure we didn't end up with multiple reservations. We were also still calling obsessively to cover the other options that we weren't allowed to waitlist. (Yes, we were booked at CSR and I've always liked the idea of staying there someday, but, a DVC stay would cost us LOTS less in immediate cash outlay and generally less overall as well. And, we're cheap...so, we wanted the cheaper option.)

Because I have limited phone and computer access when I'm at work (and it's impossible for me to use a phone and a computer at the same time at work) my DW needed to understand our goals and learn how to make reservations. Yes, she's capable of doing things like this...it's just that I generally do it and she claims to get confused because of that -- I (sometimes) think that's just an excuse to get out of it though.

(Mini vent here: despite the fact that I'm always the one who calls and always the one who makes reservations and alphabetically before her, DVC registered us with her name as primary owner. So, when I login to the member website it says "Welcome <DW's name> Family". When I call MS, roughly half of the CMs try to use her identifying information with me (and claim that I haven't properly identified myself yet) even though I say my FULL name TWICE for them in the opening conversation. Most of our Reservation Confirmations come with her name as the primary guest even though I'm the one who made the reservation. And, then, I once had some stuff mail ordered and delivered to the resort. It came addressed to me and the concierge desk called up to tell us that there was a package for her. I knew that I'd ordered it and tried to go get it. They refused to get it for me because "we only give mail to the person it's addressed to even if you're staying in the same room". So, I went back and got my DW. We went to pick it up together and the mail was (as I'd expected) addressed to me, but, the resort had added a tag with her name on a post-it note and they were now only willing to give it to her even though both packages were CLEARLY addressed to me. Argh!)

So, my DW called twice a day and I called once a day for the next couple of weeks. And then, my DW emailed me at work saying "call me ASAP". I called her and she said, "it looks like our waitlist came through, I'm confused though...fix it!" Fortunately, this conversation all happened at a moment where I actually had 30 min in which I could make some phone calls. So, I checked the dvcmember website to figure out which waitlist had come through, then, I called DVC to cancel the other waitlists, etc.

Want to know the new plan???










1 night AKV Jambo Savannah View
4 nights SSR

(Waitlist for the 2nd night only for AKV Jambo Savannah view because a 2/3 split seems preferable to a 1/4 split.)

Woohoo! Waitlist success!

 

[Hydani]

Oh, I'm so glad everything came through for you ! I think a 2 night stay at AKV Jambo would be better than just one Have fun on your trip. When do you leave again?

 

[TuckandStuiesMom]

Did you miss it...FOUR parks!

Yes, we're crazy!

Part of the problem is that the first plan only had us actually in WDW for 2-3 days. Now, we've gained days, but, not necessarily the willingness to skip things.

It's a little bit that we're cheap and don't want to pay for a 2nd day in the parks and a little bit that my fibro works best at overwhelm/relax rather than heavy days back to back.

I don't know...we'll likely end up doing 4 parks in one day whichever day we head to the parks. But, we may be able to convince ourselves to do 2 park days....

It really was much easier before TSM when I would happily skip DHS.

Insanity -- yes; but also FUN!!!!! Totally loving your TR!

 

[hematite153]

Insanity -- yes; but also FUN!!!!! Totally loving your TR!

Thanks!

We figure the rest of the trip sounds nice and laid back, so, what's one crazy day? (After all, we have lots of days that crazy in our regular lives--last year I was working full time, working part time and a full time student.)

 

[hematite153]

A couple of days after the waitlist triumph getting us 5 consecutive DVC nights at only 2 resorts it occurred to me that I could also waitlist the first 2 nights (together) for an AKV Kidani Savannah view room. After all, we've never managed to stay at AKV, so, we don't really care whether our first stay is at Jambo House or Kidani -- just that it include a savannah view for my birthday.

So, I logged on to the member website in the morning before leaving for work to write down our membership IDs to take with me to work and I noticed...












...a waitlist marvel!

We now had:
2 nights AKV Jambo Savannah view
3 nights SSR



It was so exciting that I went and interrupted my DW's shower to tell her about it. (She wasn't so happy when I opened the door, but, she was excited and happy too once I told her the news -- I think I was forgiven for letting in the cold air.)

I called later in the day to add 2 waitlists (3rd night only AKV Jambo Savannah view; first three nights together AKV Kidani Savannah view), because, if you recall, our planned park visit is on the day we'll now want to spend at AKV doing activities, etc.

I'm still checking online obsessively, but, I doubt this one will come through -- after all, we've already been really lucky -- but, I figure it can't hurt to try.

So, for now, we're debating what to do about our park plans. Do we just go on another day and accept that there won't be as many hours in the evening (might not be bad since we'll get tired anyway)? Do we consider spending the money to go to the parks on two days? That way we could go to DHS (for TSM only) on the Sunday, then AK until we wanted to head back to AKV. After spending the afternoon at AKV, we could still head to MK for the late EMH if we wanted, but, we'd have the option to do many things at AKV during the day. If we combine that by sticking close to AKV on Saturday and Monday (until midday) we'd probably get to see and do lots. But, we'd probably also end up feeling the need to spend another day's worth of park tickets and that might make us cranky. If we just moved our park day to Monday then AK has a morning EMH so we'd HAVE to start there. (I get stressed by crowds at AK on the best days, so, arriving late on an EMH morning would really be a problem.) But, if we start at AK, then, by the time we made it to DHS the lines for TSM would be too long and the FPs might even be gone. There's actually an evening EMH at DHS that night. But, that's probably just going to increase crowds. People have told me about seeing them restart FP machines at the start of evening EMHs, but, I've never encountered that -- any chance of it close to Christmas? (Is there anyway I could just convince all the other people to spend the day at their resorts?)

 

[hematite153]

My DW thinks that I'm making her out as a grump and casting her in a bad light.

My goal is simply to create humour and point out just how committed I was to making something that seemed like a silly idea on the surface turn into a reality.

Which version are you reading?

Does it sound like she's a grumpy, controlling person that I have to convince of things? Or, does it sound like we have a loving relationship in which we accept each others insane ideas and support each other in pursuing our dreams?

 

[DOPEYLUVER]

My DW thinks that I'm making her out as a grump and casting her in a bad light.

Nooooooooo.

I think it's all pretty humorous.

 

[hematite153]

Nooooooooo.

I think it's all pretty humorous.

Good! Thanks for the reassurance.

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

You are not casting her in a negative light at all! I am loving your report!

 

[DVC~OKW~96]

Seriously? No! You are just relating your experiences, and no one is coming across as being negative, or anything else derogatory!

Your report is fun to read.

 

[Hydani]

I agree with the rest of them, your DW doesn't come off in a bad way in your pre-trip report It's just showing how dedicated you are to make Disney SOUND like a good idea

 

[hematite153]

You are not casting her in a negative light at all! I am loving your report!

Seriously? No! You are just relating your experiences, and no one is coming across as being negative, or anything else derogatory!

Your report is fun to read.

I agree with the rest of them, your DW doesn't come off in a bad way in your pre-trip report It's just showing how dedicated you are to make Disney SOUND like a good idea

Thanks all. I didn't think I'd been harsh, but, she'd commented a couple of times that I was "painting her as the villian" and though I understand that as a prose formula it wasn't my intention.

Hopefully you'll keep enjoying my ramblings.

 

[rosiep]

No, no...not a villian at all!!! I'm enjoying the adventure...the give and take...the plotting...the intrigue....You're DW sounds like the perfect foil.

 

[hematite153]

Before I met my DW, I'd never even considered going to WDW and I didn't like the basic concept of Disney.




My in-laws took my DW to WDW when it was newish and she was 5. She maintains that it was the perfect age and that she fell in love with the place and the concept for life. She spent her whole life trying to convince someone to go back with her.

When we were planning our wedding and started talking about a honeymoon my DW suggested WDW and I looked at her in confusion. Ultimately, we decided on a cruise that left from Miami and agreed that a leisurely drive down to Florida would give us an opportunity to see some other parts of the US (including giving me a chance to show my DW one of the places I'd lived for awhile -- we drove through on our trip home last March too) and my DW suggested we go a few days early so that we could go to Disney.

I agreed on the condition that we also allow ourselves time to visit Cape Canaveral. We also discussed how long she needed and she assured me that a single day would be enough. We looked at where to stay and decided that on-site prices were out of control and booked a "nice" cheap place in Kissimmee.

My DW spent a bit of time researching and planned our day whereas I just kept saying, "okay...whatever you say..." with regards to Disney.

At the end of the one day in the MK, I'd had a good day, and my DW said "can we come back?" We also had other things to worry about since we'd been run over by Charley in the midst of things. So, the conversation was put off until later.

A year and a half later, my DW convinced me that we should plan a 3 day trip to WDW and stay on-site. Once the trip was booked she started convincing me to add a day since there were 4 parks after all. I agreed. Then, during the drive down she talked me into asking at check-in if there was a 5th night availability.

So, you can see that really she was the one who seemed destined to eventually appear in this trip report whereas, without her involvement in my life I might have never discovered the joys of Disney addiction.

 

[2GirlsMama]

It sounds like you are going to have a great adventure! I hope you have a great trip!

I hope the weather is nice and warm!!!

 

[hematite153]

It sounds like you are going to have a great adventure! I hope you have a great trip!

I hope the weather is nice and warm!!!

Thanks!

(I don't think we'll have a hard time finding the weather warm given that the currently "cold" weather would be nice and warm to us.)

 

[DOPEYLUVER]

Before I met my DW, I'd never even considered going to WDW and I didn't like the basic concept of Disney.

WOW, I have to say that I am shocked by this revelation.

I am married to one of those people who really doesn't get the whole Disney obsession. So now that I've hooked back up with an old college friend, I will be making my 4th trip to WDW in 2009. Leaving hubby and the kids home. DH is fine with this; the kids, well not so much.

 

[hematite153]

WOW, I have to say that I am shocked by this revelation.

I told you it was a confession! (Can you imagine what a big hole my life would have had my DW not been so good at sneaking wdw into my experience???)