The Redemption Reunion Tour - Mar 2025 (+2024 PTR) - (Updated 3/7 - Lightning Lanes)

[SimplyGoofy]

Our First Family Disney Trip… Take Two!
May 2024 Pre-Trip Report

Hello!

I can’t believe this time has come… we’re finally planning our first family trip to Disney World!

As you may note from the title, we tried planning this trip once before. We were planning a fantastic vacation with a stay at the Polynesian and a slew of awesome ADRs… which you can read about in my prior pre-trip report, Disney… Party of Three!

So what happened to these wonderful plans? Well, it was planned for May in 2020.



Yes, we all know what happened to everyone’s plans in the spring of 2020.

We were very sad to miss out on our fantastic trip, but why did it take us three years to get back on the Disney-planning bandwagon? After all, Disney World opened a few months after our trip.

To be honest, after taking so many Disney trips myself I knew what I wanted our trip to look like… I wanted character meals. I wanted meet and greets. I wanted the parades and fireworks!

I knew the resorts would still be great and the attractions would still be awesome, but I hoped to have the trip I imagined when I started planning our trip four years ago.

And slowly, one piece at a time, all of those things came back.

We had one additional delay as our party added a member… our youngest daughter arrived last fall. I know many have done it (very successfully!) but I’ve never wanted to travel to Disney while pregnant (no trip is complete without my Tower of Terror!) or toting along a baby under one (bottles! multiple naps!), so waiting a bit longer would allow us a (hopefully?) less complicated trip.

But wait no more! Dates have been chosen, resorts have been reserved, and it’s time to get this Disney planning in gear!

Before we jump into the plans for our family trip re-do, here’s us…



Our family consists of me, Jenny, along with my husband G and our two girls, M (age 5) and L (age 10 months).

And… here we goooooo!

Up Next: Introductions

 

[SimplyGoofy]

2024 Trip Planning Checklist

Here’s my running to-do list, both to highlight the trip details and to keep me on track. (I remember @Elevationist used to do this in her PTRs, and I loved it so I’m borrowing it.)

Choose Travel Dates - May 23 - June 1, 2024

Book Resorts - Polynesian Village Resort (Studio - 5 nights) & Beach Club Villas (Studio - 4 nights)

Book Airfare - Southwest Airlines (to Orlando) and Delta Airlines (from Orlando)

Book Airport Transportation - Cast & Crew Transportation

Reserve Rental Stroller - through Cast & Crew Transportation (Baby Jogger City Mini GT Double Stroller)

Purchase Park Tickets - 7-Day Park Hoppers

Purchase Memory Maker -

Order Magic Bands -

Plan Itinerary -

Book ADRs -

Purchase Travel Gear -

Purchase Travel Surprises -

Packing -

———

2024 PTR Table of Contents
Ohana Means Family
So Many Resorts, So Little Time...
To Hula or Not to Hula?
Fly Like an Eagle
One Rental Down... One to Go?
Disney Excitement, Kid-Style
Our Disney Schedule, Take 1 (-ish)
91 Days and Counting!
Our Disney Schedule, Take 2
Room Decisions and Late-Night Quandaries
Magic Bands and Mickey Mail
Our Disney Trip Trial Run
ADR's Acquired! - Part I
Transportation and Memories
ADR's Acquired! - Part II
The Great Gear Rundown
The Countdown has Begun!
Magic Kingdom Must-Dos
Epcot Must-Dos
Hollywood Studios Must-Dos
Animal Kingdom Must-Dos
Where did our ADR go?!
Day 1 Plans
Day 2 Plans
Day 3 Plans
Day 4 Plans
Day 5 Plans
Day 6 Plans
Day 7 Plans
Day 8 Plans
Day 9 Plans
Day 10 Plans
Three Days and Counting (!)
Wardrobe Planning
How Far We'll Go
We're Back (and Exhausted)!
New Trip Report Link and New PTR Plans!

2025 PTR Table of Contents
The Redemption Reunion Tour
We're Going on Safari
Let's Skip the Park Hopping?
Let's Eat!
Magic Kingdom, Here I Come!
So Much To Do, So Little Time...
Surprise!!!
Do It Before It's Gone!
I'm a Lightning Lane Wizard

 

[SimplyGoofy]

Ohana Means Family
a.k.a. Introducing Us

So who the heck are we?

First up is me, Jenny:



(Does anyone else have trouble finding a recent picture without at least one of your kids in it? Or is that just me? )

This will be my ninth trip to Disney World, but my first trip in eight years, so I have a ton to catch up on! I LOVE (with capital letters) Disney World and can’t wait to share the magic with my family. My favorite rides include Tower of Terror, Toy Story Mania, and the Carrousel of Progress and choosing ADRs is one of my favorite parts of Disney planning.

Outside of Disney World I’m a stay-at-home mom for our girls and love cooking, Broadway plays, Target, and spending time with family.

Next up is my husband, G:



G has been to Disney World twice before - once as a child and again for a work conference. He’s not nearly as excited about this trip as I am, but he’s willing to go along with just about anything I plan. His favorite vacation destination is the National Parks - the above picture is from Rocky Mountain National Park.

He works a ton, but when not at work you can find him running, kayaking, hiking, or spending time with his girls.

Next is our oldest daughter, M:



M is five and will be just shy of six when we’re in Disney World. It will be her first trip but she is VERY excited… her mother and all the YouTube videos we’ve watched may have something to do with that! She’s most looking forward to riding Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway and Soarin’, but she’s still considering Slinky Dog Dash after a rough time on a rollercoaster this summer.

M and I love watching Disney movies together and we worked our way through most of the Disney and Pixar classics. Her favorites right now include Zootopia, Mulan, and The Nightmare Before Christmas. She is super pumped about meeting each and every character - I see a lot of character meals in our future!

Last but not least is our newest daughter, L:



L is 10 months old and will turn 19 months while we’re at Disney World. She’s a smiley, joyful little peanut who goes with the flow much better than her sister. I look forward to seeing what excites her most at Disney… but based on how much she LOVED her sister’s dance recital perhaps the stage shows will be her favorite?

That’s our family… a great party of four!

Up Next: Resort Choices

 

[pkondz]

Our First Family Disney Trip… Take Two!

Clever title.

So what happened to these wonderful plans? Well, it was planned for May in 2020.

That's no excuse.



Wait... it is.

We had one additional delay as our party added a member… our youngest daughter arrived last fall.

Congrats on the new arrival!

First up is me, Jenny:

This will be my ninth trip to Disney World, but my first trip in eight years,

Eight years! Definitely overdue!


(Which is a word you don't want to hear when nearing full term...)

My favorite rides include Tower of Terror, Toy Story Mania, and the Carrousel of Progress

I'm really curious to see if that will change, given the slew of new rides since you've last been.

G has been to Disney World twice before - once as a child and again for a work conference. He’s not nearly as excited about this trip as I am, but he’s willing to go along with just about anything I plan.

Hopefully, with an experienced guide, he'll come to love it as much as you do.

 

[SimplyGoofy]

Pkondz! It’s so nice to see you! I know you prefer trip reports to pre-trip reports, so it means a lot that you came over.

Clever title.

Thanks! My original thought was a play on my 2020 PTR title, but I couldn’t get the strike through to work on the title line. (Disney… Party of Three Four!)

Congrats on the new arrival!

Thank you! It took longer than we hoped, but we’re so happy to have her. Her big sister loves having her, too!

Eight years! Definitely overdue!

YES. TOO LONG.

Honestly, I couldn’t believe it had been four years back in 2020 after nearly annual trips between 2012-2016… but so it goes with life. I’m very excited to go back!

I'm really curious to see if that will change, given the slew of new rides since you've last been.

Me, too! There are so many rides I’m excited to try for the first time - Flights of Passage, Slinky Dog Dash, Rise of the Resistance, Cosmic Rewind, TRON, … so many great attractions! (And many that M should be able to ride if she’s feeling brave!)

Hopefully, with an experienced guide, he'll come to love it as much as you do.

I don’t know that he’ll love it as much as I do (although you never know… now my sister does!), but I’ll be thrilled if he’s happy to return in fewer than eight years.

 

[pkondz]

Pkondz! It’s so nice to see you! I know you prefer trip reports to pre-trip reports, so it means a lot that you came over.

I'll make few comments... but I'll be here.

Thanks! My original thought was a play on my 2020 PTR title, but I couldn’t get the strike through to work on the title line. (Disney… Party of Three Four!)

YES. TOO LONG.

Me, too! There are so many rides I’m excited to try for the first time - Flights of Passage, Slinky Dog Dash, Rise of the Resistance, Cosmic Rewind, TRON, … so many great attractions! (And many that M should be able to ride if she’s feeling brave!)

All of them are great. Some are more great than others. I found some worth waiting extra for... some... not so much.

I don’t know that he’ll love it as much as I do (although you never know… now my sister does!), but I’ll be thrilled if he’s happy to return in fewer than eight years.

 

[tink_86]

I feel like I could have written this! We also had our daughters first trip planned for 2020 and had to cancel, then baby #2 arrived in 2021 and now we're finally taking their first trip in April 2024! Excited to follow your planning journey!

 

[buzzrelly]

Hello! Happy you are back to trip-planning!

We were very sad to miss out on our fantastic trip, but why did it take us three years to get back on the Disney-planning bandwagon? After all, Disney World opened a few months after our trip.

To be honest, after taking so many Disney trips myself I knew what I wanted our trip to look like… I wanted character meals. I wanted meet and greets. I wanted the parades and fireworks!

I get that! I totally felt the same about planning our visit to DLR...I wanted it ALL!

We had one additional delay as our party added a member… our youngest daughter arrived last fall.

Congratulations!

You have a beautiful little family! Can't wait to read more!

 

[SimplyGoofy]

I feel like I could have written this! We also had our daughters first trip planned for 2020 and had to cancel, then baby #2 arrived in 2021 and now we're finally taking their first trip in April 2024! Excited to follow your planning journey!

Welcome! I'm thrilled you're following along!

Wow, we really do have parallel lives! I wish our youngest was closer in age to yours when we travel, but I think she'll still find things to enjoy. And hooray for a stay on Crescent Lake! The Swan will be so convenient for Epcot and the Studios.

Feel free to share any questions or details about your trip - I may be debating some of the same things.

Hello! Happy you are back to trip-planning!

Welcome, Kelly! I'm so glad you're here and SO thrilled to finally be back into Disney-planning mode!

I get that! I totally felt the same about planning our visit to DLR...I wanted it ALL!

I may have sung a different tune if we'd been before or if I had older kids... but with a "first trip" with young kids, I wanted ALL the magic! Ah, the disadvantages of being too "in-the-know"!

Congratulations!

You have a beautiful little family! Can't wait to read more!

Thank you so much! She's a wonderful addition and brings such joy to our family.

The next edition is coming up shortly!

 

[SimplyGoofy]

So Many Resorts, So Little Time...
a.k.a. Picking Travel Dates and Resorts

Apologies in advance for this very wordy post! (I promise, I'm usually very picture-heavy!)

When planning a Disney trip, two of the biggest decisions you need to make to get the ball rolling are...

"When do we want to travel?" and "Where should we stay?"

In an ideal world, I would've picked the first week of May for our trip. I LOVED my visit during the Flower and Garden Festival in 2016 and early May would have lighter crowds. Plus, our daughter is in Pre-K so we don't have any qualms about pulling her out of school (but did want to avoid certain weeks, so most of April was out). However, my husband has important work commitments that week, so... a no-go.

Whomp, whomp.

Still wanting to get a jump on the crowds, we looked next at leaving the weekend after our daughter finished preschool. We'd leave on a Saturday and come back the following Sunday. I started looking at flights and wasn't finding great options - we live near a "major" airport, but as it's not a hub for any airline, our flight options almost always include layovers. I started looking at other airports including a big airport a few hours away that had multiple direct flights for less.

G was willing to consider the drive to get direct flights (especially with how unreliable flights have become) but decided he would prefer to take another day off from work rather than make the drive at the end of the day. Duly noted.

After that discussion we learned my brother-in-law’s graduation from law school (and his celebration) would be the day we planned to leave… so, time to shift dates again.

We landed on leaving the Thursday before Memorial Day and coming home the following Saturday – nine wonderful nights in Disney World! Thanks to Memorial Day G would have a “free” vacation day and therefore would miss the same amount of work as planned with the earlier dates. I still can’t believe I got G to agree to nine nights… but he did!



Once our dates were confirmed it was onto the next planning milestone… booking our accommodations.

Especially after coming so close with our (sadly canceled) 2020 trip, I still imagined staying at the Polynesian for our first trip. The Poly is such a beautiful resort and the monorail would be so convenient for taking a stroller to Magic Kingdom. Plus, there are SO MANY great restaurants that are in close proximity to the Poly for my ADR-loving heart.

The downside? That hefty Poly price tag.

Therefore, I looked again at renting DVC points to make the Poly doable.

But before I jumped on the point-renting bandwagon, I wanted to make sure our older daughter M would be excited about our accommodations. I hated to spend that much on a resort if she would be happier staying somewhere else.

Enter, YouTube! We watched multiple resort tour videos, with everything from the Poly and the Grand Floridian to Art of Animation and Caribbean Beach. Of everything we watched (and we saw nearly every resort!), she was excited to see the character statues at Art of Animation but was most excited by the resorts with fancy pools. My girl loves to swim!

Her two favorite resorts (seemingly based solely on their pools?) were the Beach Club (no surprise there – their pool looks amazing!) and… the Polynesian due to their volcano pool.

Score!

The problem was I did too good of a job of selling M on the Poly – she talked non-stop about staying at the hotel with the volcano pool and the Tiki man (the Maui statue in the Poly lobby). Now I was a little nervous… what would I do if my attempt to rent points didn’t work?!

Just minutes after our dates were confirmed (seriously, G left for a run after we talked about it and I jumped on my computer immediately), I hopped straight onto the David’s Vacation Club Rentals website and submitted our rental request.

I picked David’s over other point rental companies as I felt very comfortable with them (they’re well regarded and have been around a long time) and their cost per point was less than my runner-up choice, the DVC Rental Store. I was willing to spend more if necessary but figured the savings were worth a shot.

As for my request, I’d already decided to try for a split stay. Our dream scenario was five nights at the Poly to concentrate on Magic Kingdom and four nights at the Beach Club Villas to enjoy close proximity to Epcot and Hollywood Studios. I wanted to minimize our time on the bus due to our stroller needs and thought the bonus of awesome pools would be great for our park breaks.

I submitted both requests in the early evening and waited… the worst part of renting points is the waiting!

(I wrote a detailed description of my point rental experience in my 2020 pre-trip report and the process hasn’t changed – take a peek over there if you’re interested in the point rental process.)

The next morning I received an email from David’s stating that they were unable to fulfill my request for the Poly but I could elect to enter the queue and wait for available points. I replied immediately and said yes, enter me in the queue!

Curiously, I didn’t receive an email about the Beach Club Villas.

I didn’t, that is, until a few hours later when my inbox received an email that started with…

“Congratulations Jennifer!”

We were in at the Beach Club Villas!

Frankly, I was shocked. Although the Poly is very popular, they have a heck of a lot more studios… how on earth did we book the Beach Club Villas so fast?!

What great luck!

I immediately plugged our confirmation number into MDE. Seeing our reservation appear was a glorious sight!

I’m still in disbelief that we get to spend four nights at the Beach Club! M will LOVE that pool and it will be amazing to walk to Epcot! (Or the Boardwalk! Or Hollywood Studios!)

I don’t want this update to be devoid of pictures (that’s just not my style), so here are a few from my 2015 visit when my sister and I enjoyed lunch at Beaches and Cream:



That courtyard!



That lobby! (Yes, I know the Beach Club Villas have their own lobby, but we’ll see this one, too!)



And, most importantly, THAT POOL!

One resort down, one to go!

When I picked up M from school, I excitedly told her that we got our room at the Beach Club. She asked if that was the hotel with the volcano pool and the Tiki man.

Um, not quite, kiddo!

She was excited that we get to stay at the hotel with the ship slide (honestly, all about the pools!), but was still hoping to stay with the Tiki man.

You and me both, sweetheart.

Do you think we got lucky a second time? Will I get a chance to enjoy pulled pork nachos and a drink from Trader Sam’s? Will M get to stay with the Tiki man and fly down that volcano pool slide?

Stay tuned to find out!

Up Next: Booking Resort #2

 

[amazingact21]

I'm here and can't wait to follow along! How exciting that you finally get to return to WDW, and now as a family of four!

but she’s still considering Slinky Dog Dash after a rough time on a rollercoaster this summer.

If it helps, my daughter HATES roller coasters but loves Slinky Dog. So maybe by May, your DD will be all right giving it a go. Make sure to point out the height requirement is lower compared to some of the other "bigger" coasters. I think knowing that fact helped rationalize it in my kid's head.

She is super pumped about meeting each and every character - I see a lot of character meals in our future!

She's going to be at such a fun age! I think that 5-7 age range is perfect for WDW.

She’s a smiley, joyful little peanut who goes with the flow much better than her sister.

Sounds like the quinessential second child.

nine wonderful nights in Disney World!

That's such a great length of trip. Long enough to really enjoy the parks and amenities but not so long you get sick of anything.

I’m still in disbelief that we get to spend four nights at the Beach Club!

Congrats on getting Beach Club!! That's wonderful. Now I'll keep my fingers crossed you get the Poly. (Or the Tiki Man resort.)

 

[pkondz]

When planning a Disney trip, two of the biggest decisions you need to make to get the ball rolling are...

"When do we want to travel?" and "Where should we stay?"

And... how on Earth are we going to afford Disney prices!

I still can’t believe I got G to agree to nine nights… but he did!

Woot!

We were in at the Beach Club Villas!

Yuss!!! Nice!

 

[cindianne320]

I was so excited to see this pop up in my threads!
Congrats on Baby #2, AND on the upcoming trip.
I can't wait to follow along, and it's so nice to see all the old friends on this thread! <3

 

[SimplyGoofy]

I'm here and can't wait to follow along! How exciting that you finally get to return to WDW, and now as a family of four!

Welcome, Alicia! I’m so excited that you’re here! You’re a Disney-with-kids expert so I’d love any feedback you have.

I’m still a bit sad that we missed on our 2020 trip, but this trip should help make up for it!

She's going to be at such a fun age! I think that 5-7 age range is perfect for WDW.

Yes, M is going to LOVE Disney World. She’s definitely the second most excited person in our family for the trip.

As for the coasters, I’m planning to ease in slowly. We had her join us on the “family” coaster at our local amusement park and she was traumatized. It was not the reaction I was expecting as she loves to go fast and spin fast… but somehow it was too much. We’ll be in MK first so we’ll start with Barnstormer and then move on to 7DMT if that goes well. We’ve been talking a lot about the roller coasters and I think she’ll give them a try, but I’m happy for her to bypass them this time if it results in a happier girl.

(And I’m not even going there with BTMRR or Everest… I’ll happily take her on them but I don’t think they’re worth pressing until she’s older.)

Sounds like the quinessential second child.

She does, right? And thank goodness… I adore M but I do not need two of her!

That's such a great length of trip. Long enough to really enjoy the parks and amenities but not so long you get sick of anything.

I can’t believe it worked out so well. This will allow us to have two “off” or flex days which should keep us from burning out. This will also give M plenty of time for the pool!

Congrats on getting Beach Club!! That's wonderful.

Thank you! I was surprised when that came through so easily - I’ve read so many times that it’s hard to book through DVC. I’m super excited about that short walk to Epcot!

Now I'll keep my fingers crossed you get the Poly. (Or the Tiki Man resort.)

Isn’t that hysterical? I hope I don’t slip into calling it the Tiki Man Resort while I’m there!

And thank you!

And... how on Earth are we going to afford Disney prices!

Isn’t that the truth?!

Woot!

I really was stunned… but I went with it! I needed to get everything booked before he changed his mind!

Yuss!!! Nice!

Thank you! I’m super excited about staying at an Epcot-area resort for the first time.

I was so excited to see this pop up in my threads!
Congrats on Baby #2, AND on the upcoming trip.
I can't wait to follow along, and it's so nice to see all the old friends on this thread! <3

Hi, Cindi! It’s wonderful to be back on the DIS and I am SO excited to go back to Disney World!

And I completely agree, I get very excited when I see someone I “know” here. It seems many folks have left or aren’t as active as they used to be (which I understand, as I’m one of them!) so it’s always delightful to see a familiar name.

Thank you for the congratulations! We were so happy to welcome L - we waited longer than we’d hoped. It will be amazing to introduce Disney to both girls.

(Also, did I spot you in Dugette’s wedding pictures on FB? I thought it looked like you…)

 

[pkondz]

I really was stunned… but I went with it! I needed to get everything booked before he changed his mind!

 

[SimplyGoofy]

To Hula or Not to Hula?
a.k.a. Did our Poly reservation come through?

With one hotel booked (hooray, Beach Club Villas!), we still needed to secure accommodations for our first five nights.

Thankfully, I was (mostly) on top of it and put in our point rental request with David’s about nine months out. Yes, eleven months would’ve been better, but at least it wasn’t after the seven-month mark! We had some wiggle room and time to wait for a Poly owner to choose our request and book our stay.

But I’m not one to wait around.

Although it cost a bit more per point, I put in a matching request with the DVC Rental Store. They came through for me back in 2019 and I was willing to fork over more money if it got us the Poly.

(After all, we were already paying a lot to stay there… what’s a few hundred more?)

There was only one downside to placing requests with both rental companies – I would be out one deposit if both companies booked our Poly stay at the same time. Each will refund your deposit if you cancel your request, but your deposit is not refundable if they book your stay. I decided the risk was worth it to increase our chance of success.

The DVC Rental Store was a bit slower to get back to me this time (perhaps they were inundated, or I didn’t get as speedy of a vacation specialist?), but I heard back within 24 hours. I forwarded our deposit and did more waiting.

I may have checked my email about 50 times a day (err, not an exaggeration?) searching for a congratulatory email about the Poly.

Did I get one?

Nope.

Faced with the strong possibility that my Poly dream may remain a dream, I began pricing out some other options.

My best alternative was a resort I’ve stayed before…



The Wilderness Lodge.

Not only are their rates less nausea-inducing than the Poly rack rates, but the resort is also beautiful and super close to the Magic Kingdom. The Wilderness Lodge also has great restaurants and a fun pool, not to mention a “national park-esque” theme that should appeal to my husband. True, it wouldn’t be as convenient as a monorail resort, but it was much closer than other non-monorail resorts.

Another option I priced out (and by far the most economical choice) would be a stay at Port Orleans French Quarter:



I’ve stayed at their sister resort (Port Orleans Riverside) twice and enjoyed it both times. The major downside is the bus transportation to all the parks, but the upsides include its small footprint, shared amenities with Riverside, and the fun food (beignets!) at the food court. The boat to Disney Springs is a great perk, too.

I also wasn’t against talking my husband into paying rack rates at the Poly if push came to shove.

(Unlikely he’d be a taker on that, but… why not try?)

Honestly, I stopped checking my email as frequently as the days went by.

When I opened my email for something else, I found an update from David’s Vacation Club Rentals.
It started with…

“Congratulations Jennifer!”

Wait, WHAT?!

WE WERE IN AT THE POLY!!!



I literally leaped off the couch and started jumping up and down. I couldn’t believe we managed to get into both resorts!

My husband was at work, so I texted him about our reservation at the Poly. (I also texted him because I was using his credit card to pay for it as his card doesn’t have international transaction fees – he needed to approve the charge if he received an alert!)

I plugged the reservation number into MDE, paid off the resort balance, and just stared at that beautiful drawing of the Polynesian that now appeared on my MDE reservation page.

My husband can’t chat during work (and would not have shared my level of excitement anyway – he’s new to this Disney business!) so instead I called my mom to tell her the news. She was the perfect person to call as she’s been to the Poly and knew how awesome it would be to stay there. She was very excited for us!

Another person who was excited was my sister – I texted her as well and she was thrilled. Anika and I have had tons of fun wandering around the Poly and enjoyed several meals there on our sister trips.

As I figured, my husband’s response that night was, “Is that where you wanted to stay? That’s good.”

However, one member of our family is VERY excited that she gets to stay at a resort with this guy:



Why yes, M, we will be staying at the Tiki Man Resort!

This reservation came through weeks ago and M is still talking about it.

I’m so excited about the volcano pool, the monorail, and the proximity to Ohana and Kona. I’m also excited to finally try the pulled pork nachos (they look delicious!) and a drink from Trader Sam’s.

I was (and still am) flabbergasted. This trip is going to be amazing!

I’m also thrilled that we get to stay in two different studio villas. I’ve never stayed in a DVC resort and a studio is perfect for our current family configuration. M is super excited about the “M-sized” kid beds at both resorts and keeping the trundle bed in the wall gives us plenty of room for L’s Pack N Play.

An added bonus for me is the kitchenette - after washing bottles and sippy cups at multiple hotels, I’m thrilled I don’t have to wash cups in the bathroom!

Our dates and both resorts confirmed, it was time to move on to flights…

Up Next: Booking Flights

 

[pkondz]

we still needed to secure accommodations for our first five nights.

I have a suggestion!

I may have checked my email about 50 times a day (err, not an exaggeration?)

WE WERE IN AT THE POLY!!!

Woot! That's great!! Congrats!

Why yes, M, we will be staying at the Tiki Man Resort!

 

[mi*vida*loca]

That is awesome! Two great resorts and both requests came through!

We did a poly and beach club split in 2015 when a certain travel agent offered great deals in late August. I think we paid $200 a night. Oh the good ole days. Lol

I am planning a May 2025 trip with my DD17. We are thinking of renting points for the BC too. It’s good to hear that you were able to get BC at 9 months out! The 11 month out would be June 2024 but we have a big family trip that same month and I don’t know if I want to pay upfront and book that same month.

 

[SimplyGoofy]

I have a suggestion!

Nicely played.

Woot! That's great!! Congrats!

Thank you! I am SO excited and can’t believe we were lucky enough to get both of them!

That is awesome! Two great resorts and both requests came through!

We did a poly and beach club split in 2015 when a certain travel agent offered great deals in late August. I think we paid $200 a night. Oh the good ole days. Lol

Thank you so much! Also, welcome! Thank you for joining in!

Whoa, $200 a night?! Those were the good old days! It’s crazy how expensive the resorts have become.

I am planning a May 2025 trip with my DD17. We are thinking of renting points for the BC too. It’s good to hear that you were able to get BC at 9 months out! The 11 month out would be June 2024 but we have a big family trip that same month and I don’t know if I want to pay upfront and book that same month.

Yes, I was pleasantly surprised! I know there’s a bit of luck involved (and I’ll take it!), but I think the BCV are easier to get in May rather than August-October. I know Epcot’s now year-round festivals make them less special than they used to be, but I’d guess it’s still tougher to book the Epcot-area resorts during Food and Wine.

And that is defiantly the downside to renting points - that full payment is not fun!

 

[SimplyGoofy]

Fly Like an Eagle
a.k.a. Flight Credits are Awesome

Booking airfare… absolutely no one’s idea of a fun time.

Nonetheless, it’s a necessary evil when you don’t want to drive 20+ hours to your destination.

We considered so many flight options. We live 20 minutes from our state’s largest airport… which is great, except for the fact we have limited direct flights (exactly one airline flies directly to Orlando) and we pay more for flights as we are not a hub for any major airline.

We thought about driving a few hours to give us direct flights with lower fares, but that comes with its own hassles of extra travel time, higher parking fees, and perhaps an additional night in a hotel.

When it came down to it, we decided close proximity was worth the tradeoff of layovers and higher prices, especially since it would allow us to sleep at home before departure.

Our ideal flights would get us to Orlando around noon (that’s the earliest we can get there without a direct flight) and get us home before bedtime on the way back. As much as I’d love to take an evening flight home, that’s a poor choice with young kids that are likely to be tired after ten days in Disney World. I need to be a responsible adult even if I don’t want to.

I found a few good options with Delta but was waiting for Southwest to release their flights for our dates. While perusing the Southwest Airlines website, I came across some surprising information… as of 2022, Southwest Airlines credits no longer expire.

Huh… I booked our 2020 trip departure flight with Southwest Airlines. We canceled those flights and most airlines extended credit times due to the pandemic – were those credits still valid?

I searched through my email, found the travel confirmations, and plugged the confirmation numbers into their search tool… and yes! Our credits were still valid!

That was an unexpected and awesome surprise!

Once Southwest released their flights for our dates, I booked our departure flight to Orlando right away. Using the credits (which was super easy – you enter your flight credit confirmation number on the payment screen) we paid a whopping $45 per seat for me, G, and M and only had to pay for L’s seat. Hooray!

I didn’t book our flight home on Southwest, though, as their departure times were not great – we would’ve had our choice of leaving very early in the morning or getting home very late at night. No thanks. Instead, I turned back to Delta for our flight home from Orlando.

I decided to join Delta’s reward program before booking our flights. I was a member years ago but decided to create a new account rather than go through the hassle of changing my name on my old one.

I mention this because of what happened when I searched through email for my new SkyMiles reward number. My email pulled up all Delta-related emails, including our travel confirmations from our 2020 trip.

(Why yes, I booked almost the same airfare back in 2019 for our 2020 trip – a Southwest flight to get us there and a Delta flight to get us home. They have the flights I want!)

Delta does not have non-expiring credits, but I figured it wouldn’t hurt to check those flight credits, too. I plugged them into Delta’s search tool… and they were still valid!

What?! This was amazing!

I was practically beside myself with glee. The Delta credits would expire at the end of 2023, but as long as you booked your flights before the end of the year you could use the credits. I booked exactly the flight I wanted and even bumped us to the Comfort+ seats – we spent a whopping $16 per ticket for me, G, and M even with our upgraded seats.

Thanks to our flight credits*, we spent just under $900 for four** people. The original cost would’ve been around $2800. That’s almost a 70% savings!

*Yes, I realize we did pay for those tickets back in 2019, but it’s been so long it felt like free money. Please check your cancelled airfare to see if any of your flight credits are still available!

**And yes, we absolutely booked a seat for the 19-month old. I barely kept my sanity when we flew with a 15-month-old M, so we are happy to fork over money rather than take a chance that we’ll have to hold L in our laps.

All of that was a lengthy way to say… flights are booked!

We’ll be flying out on Southwest with an early departure and noon-ish arrival in Orlando and flying home on Delta with a noon departure and early-evening arrival home.

I’m excited to have most of the big decisions out of the way so I can move forward with the fun stuff like planning our park days, choosing our ADRs, and figuring out what on earth I need to purchase to make Disney easier with two young kids.

To that end, I added a nifty to-do list to my second post on this thread. I’ll be updating it as I go to highlight our trip details (and keep myself on track with what I still need to do). Feel free to check it out!

Up Next: Stroller Rental and Airport Transportation Options