They'd Better Get Ready on the East Coast!! May 2009 **TR started on TR boards!!**

[kgle]

Okay I am finally joining!

Canadian! I have friends in Hamilton and Keswick ON I usually flew from Indy to Buffalo and we drove the 3 hours back to Keswick instead of 1. me buying 2 darn passports and 2. paying over $300 for a flight when I could pay $127 RT! I love it up there though My friend, Linda, keeps trying to convince me to move. I took Rylan up there when he was 6 months and last March. We have been to Niagara etc. Okay enough rambling.

Excited to see how everything turns out! I'll keep my fingers crossed that DM can take off work and you guys can drive to Buffalo! Have you looked into taking the train too that way you wouldn't have to worry about leaving your car for so long?

I've never been to CA period so that's really cool that you get to go there, and also experience Disney twice in 2 months!

 

[autumnpalm]

Okay I am finally joining!

Canadian! I have friends in Hamilton and Keswick ON I usually flew from Indy to Buffalo and we drove the 3 hours back to Keswick instead of 1. me buying 2 darn passports and 2. paying over $300 for a flight when I could pay $127 RT! I love it up there though My friend, Linda, keeps trying to convince me to move. I took Rylan up there when he was 6 months and last March. We have been to Niagara etc. Okay enough rambling.

Excited to see how everything turns out! I'll keep my fingers crossed that DM can take off work and you guys can drive to Buffalo! Have you looked into taking the train too that way you wouldn't have to worry about leaving your car for so long?

I've never been to CA period so that's really cool that you get to go there, and also experience Disney twice in 2 months!

Welcome!!! And thanks for joining me! I get so excited to know I'm not just chatting away to myself. It happens enough in real life LOL.

That's neat you know people in Keswick... I grew up in a small town not too far away from there! And Hamilton is pretty close to Toronto! I do love living here. The winters are long and cold but I absolutely adore the city I live in. So multicultural and always something to do. We're also so close to nature... it's a perfect combination.

Although I must say, the combination of palm trees and Mickey Mouse sounds pretty good to me too!!!

Ooooh I hadn't thought of the train!! I'm off to look at that right now. Thanks for the idea!

 

[Lady Lallie]

I just caught up with all of your posts. Two trips is very exciting! I really want to go to Disneyland someday.

I decided to do a photopass share this trip. We did get a lot of pictures last trip but I just want to try to save some money.

 

[tinkgurl]

Just wanted to delurk myself!

 

[autumnpalm]

YAY!!!! Good news, everyone!!!!

Everything with the flights has worked out perfectly. Earlier today, after the "okay" from my DM, I hopped onto Priceline to check Buffalo to Orlando flights. Out of all the discount travel websites I looked at, Priceline had by far the lowest prices (with Hotwire in 2nd place).

I found tickets from BUF--> MCO for only $180 per person, round trip!!!

Annnnnnnnnnnnddddd the best part is that these are flights from May 1 till May 9th meaning we get to spend our extra night at ASMu!!! We've never been to the All Stars before, so it will be nice to get a little peek... and a chance to see Wishes one more evening (our favourite fireworks show at WDW)! Please forgive my excessive and obnoxious use of exclamation marks but I am just so so thrilled!!

This will be the longest amount of time we've ever spent at WDW. The longest previously was seven days, six nights in July. This will be nine days, eight nights! I really appreciate the longer stay so we can slow down and really enjoy everything without rushing from ride to ride. I can be known to be a little... *ahem*... obsessive... when it comes to planning, so I'm trying to sit back and relax this trip.

However I must say, the ticket purchase didn't go off without a hitch. So if you feel like you need a little raise in adrenaline, read on!

So I'm clicking all through the Priceline information. Departure day, return day, ages of passengers, destination, etc, etc. I'd been looking at flights to both California and Florida. I thought I had the dates straight, but apparently I got mixed up and entered the California dates to the Florida destination. Right. I hadn't noticed this however, and somehow I managed to make it through every stage of confirmation with the completely wrong dates. So I get my ticket confirmation and email the itinerary to my mom. Tickets for only $165!!! YEAH!!!

I get a call from my DM.

She had realized that the tickets were not from the 1-9. They were from June 18-22. Noooo, I told her. There is no way. I would've noticed that. Are you sure? She was sure.

I just about panicked. Because Priceline was a discount website, I had no idea if we would be able to get a refund for our tickets. Did I just waste over $300 because I hadn't double checked everything properly? My mom decided to call Priceline, explain the situation and luckily, with her charming conversation skills we got a full refund on the ticket. Whew!! I hopped right back on the website, found MAY flights to Orlando and bought those instead. Ahhhh. Saved by the.... well, proofreader? I guess. I should never again be in possession of a credit card at such an early hour of the morning.

This was exactly the little bit of pixie dust I was hoping for. I've also found June flights for around $215 but I'm not going to book those for another month or so. As far as June accommodations go, we're waiting to hear back from my DDad's convention to see if there's a specific resort we are getting a discount at (*coughGrandCaliforniancough*)

Hope everyone is keeping warm!!! It is FREEZING here. Brrrrrr! And thanks for reading!

 

[autumnpalm]

I just caught up with all of your posts. Two trips is very exciting! I really want to go to Disneyland someday.

I decided to do a photopass share this trip. We did get a lot of pictures last trip but I just want to try to save some money.

I think that's what I might look into. Generally, group things like swaps and shares kind of make me nervous because I'm afraid of messing things up, but it would be nice to save some extra $$!

And thanks for joining me!! It feel SO nice to have readers.

Just wanted to delurk myself!

Well hello!! So glad to have you along for the ride with me! I'm going to head over to check out your PTR now. Thanks for delurking! Makes me feel like I'm not so self absorbed that I'm just writing for myself.

And just to keep things interesting, I'm going to post another one of my favourite photos from our December trip.

I took this picture right after we arrived at the Poly. After a long flight, ME ride, check in... I headed right for the hammocks. It was my very first "This is Disney" moment of my trip. Love those. If any of you guys feel like sharing, I'd love to hear about some of your "This is Disney" moments. They're pretty magical.

 

[Lady Lallie]

Congratulations on the flights!

I would have had a heart attack if I had done something like that, good for you keeping your cool!

 

[wlwilliams9]

Oh man! I feel your panic! I booked our flights for the wrong dates too. I think I hit the back button and didn't check the dates. Luckily, we were able to get ours corrected too!

I'm excited you were able to book the extra night at ASMu. It's a fun resort!

 

[bertegirl]

You are so lucky. Glad to see I am not the only wrong flight maker. Ours turned out for the best as well. We are going Sat. to Sat. now so we got an extra night, too. Although I did have to pay to get the flights corrected. Oh well hopefully DH will be out of the field by the time we go now.

 

[tinkgurl]

Well hello!! So glad to have you along for the ride with me! I'm going to head over to check out your PTR now.

Well it's my TR from my June '08 trip, I haven't started my PTR yet, but I just wanted to let you know that the pictures on my TR will start working again on Friday so then you'll be able to see everything! But please subscribe or something until then!

 

[scooby9932]

Yeah! I made it over here! Great news about the affordable flights, well, not the hiccup on the date error (I would have been beside myself ). I'm glad you got it worked out okay.

Your PTR is great so far! I know you & your DM and your & your DF will have so much fun!

It's really nice that you want to spend quality time with your parents. And what better place than Disney, right?

I clicked on that link for the Disney audio clips...and am having so much fun listening to the monorail guy! The music is great, too. Makes me feel just like I'm there.

It looks like your trip is pulling together. Now for those May hours.....

 

[autumnpalm]

Congratulations on the flights!

I would have had a heart attack if I had done something like that, good for you keeping your cool!

Oh believe me, I did NOT keep my cool at all. In fact, I'm fairly sure the whole episode aged me about twenty years. But I can relax now, and hope that the Disneyland flights go off without a hitch!

Oh man! I feel your panic! I booked our flights for the wrong dates too. I think I hit the back button and didn't check the dates. Luckily, we were able to get ours corrected too!

I'm excited you were able to book the extra night at ASMu. It's a fun resort!

I'm so glad you got yours fixed too! And it's nice to know I'm not the only one who makes flight mistakes. I was joking with my mom, I think it was all the excitement of adding the extra night, I just couldn't think straight. She says she's just wondering if I am subconsciously trying to sabotage the vacation.

You are so lucky. Glad to see I am not the only wrong flight maker. Ours turned out for the best as well. We are going Sat. to Sat. now so we got an extra night, too. Although I did have to pay to get the flights corrected. Oh well hopefully DH will be out of the field by the time we go now.

Aww, I'm sorry you had to pay extra to get your flights corrected. Who did you book them through? But yay for you getting an extra night too!! Where are you staying for yours? And now I'm REALLY feeling not alone with the flight mix ups.

Well it's my TR from my June '08 trip, I haven't started my PTR yet, but I just wanted to let you know that the pictures on my TR will start working again on Friday so then you'll be able to see everything! But please subscribe or something until then!

Just headed over and subscribed!! I can't wait to see all your pictures, especially your Tink tattoo.

Well, I've got a busy day ahead of me... I've got to go get ready to go out now, I have a doctor's appointment and then work all day. And I must remember to call Disney when I get home so I can book the night at ASMu! My mom was trying to get me to book an extra night at the Yacht Club but I would rather save the money... plus I kind of love the Values! So I'm trying to convince her that it won't be that much of a hassle to move resorts, but we've never done it so it's a little tricky since I'm not sure how it all works. Any wise words of advice from all you lovely readers?

Happy Wednesday, everyone!! Halfway to the weekend!

 

[tinkgurl]

Just headed over and subscribed!! I can't wait to see all your pictures, especially your Tink tattoo.

Thanks! And I posted a picture of my other tattoo antoher day so you'll have to be sure to look on every page for pictures!

 

[autumnpalm]

Yeah! I made it over here! Great news about the affordable flights, well, not the hiccup on the date error (I would have been beside myself ). I'm glad you got it worked out okay.

Your PTR is great so far! I know you & your DM and your & your DF will have so much fun!

It's really nice that you want to spend quality time with your parents. And what better place than Disney, right?

I clicked on that link for the Disney audio clips...and am having so much fun listening to the monorail guy! The music is great, too. Makes me feel just like I'm there.

It looks like your trip is pulling together. Now for those May hours.....

Oh, I just missed you by a minute! WELCOME! And thanks for bringing me up to 3 pages, woo! Starting to feel like I have a real PTR!!

Glad you like the Disney audio, I love listening to it when I'm doing something boring like work or cleaning... the monorail is my favourite too!!

And I wake up every day and check for the May hours. I guess this is a test of patience for us? Disney is trying to get us ready for the long waits in line ahead of time?

 

[Lady Lallie]

On our last trip, we stayed 4 nights at Pop and 3 nights at WL. Pop was able to transfer our luggage for us to WL. We just brought it down to bell services that morning. They told us that all internal luggage transfers are completed by 3PM. Around 4PM we still hadn't gotten our luggage so we called down to bell services and they said they would bring it up to us. It was there in 3 minutes I think, super super fast. I really recommend doing that. We went to the park for a bit and then checked into WL around 1PM and took a nap so we didn't miss our luggage plus we knew it would be until about 3PM until it was transferred.

I've also heard others just take a taxi to their next resort so they don't have to worry about it. I do know that you can't bring your luggage on the park buses.

 

[autumnpalm]

On our last trip, we stayed 4 nights at Pop and 3 nights at WL. Pop was able to transfer our luggage for us to WL. We just brought it down to bell services that morning. They told us that all internal luggage transfers are completed by 3PM. Around 4PM we still hadn't gotten our luggage so we called down to bell services and they said they would bring it up to us. It was there in 3 minutes I think, super super fast. I really recommend doing that. We went to the park for a bit and then checked into WL around 1PM and took a nap so we didn't miss our luggage plus we knew it would be until about 3PM until it was transferred.

I've also heard others just take a taxi to their next resort so they don't have to worry about it. I do know that you can't bring your luggage on the park buses.

Oh, that's definitely a relief to hear! I think we'll probably stick with getting the CM to transfer our luggage and then head to a park that day. Perfect!!

 

[autumnpalm]

So. Since the May hours aren't out yet there isn't a whole lot I can do in terms of planning. However, want to keep this TR exciting so I thought I'd tell a little backstory of how we came to choose the YC as our resort for this trip.

Up until our December trip, my DM and I were not "Deluxe" people. In July we had stayed at the POP and absolutely loved it. We swore that we would never need anything more than a value, that we were perfectly happy with the POP from there on out.

Well, once we found out my DB and DDad were coming on our December trip and we got a discount code... we decided to try a monorail resort as a once in a lifetime kind of thing. So we booked the Contemporary. Then I switched us to the Tower from the Garden Wing. And then I switched back to the Wing. Then I decided to book the Poly because the CR just didn't feel like something our family would LOVE.

Once we booked the Poly, there was no going back. We loved it, but we though we would stay Mod for our May trip. In fact, we already had the CBR booked!

Well, on our last day, we wandered over to the YC/BC from the World Showcase. My DM and I were immediately in love. It seemed like such a relaxing, vacation within a vacation kind of place. We loved the Boardwalk across the lake, the proximity to Epcot, the lighthouse... just everything.

I got some pictures of the YC and BC, trying to capture it before we boarded the plane back to snowy Canada. Don't know how well I did, but here you go:

We walked back to the WS and grabbed a pretzel (I was quite sad that we were leaving that day )

took the boat back to Future World to catch the monorail to the Poly, where my brother was because he was sick, and continued on with the last bit of our vacation.

Well. It turns out my DM was just as enchanted with the YC as I was, and once we got home, she suggested upgrading from a mod to the YC. It turned out it was only about $400 difference with the 4/3 deal, so we went for it!! I couldn't be more excited. I can't wait to swim in SAB, walk to Epcot and DHS and just soak in the lovely atmosphere. I have a feeling the YC will be the perfect resort for us.

And that is the story of how the Yacht Club in May came to be. The end.

 

[jewels1916]

Hey! Followed you from my PTR...subbing! Looks like you've got some good plans started! I wish they had your May hours released. It's tough waiting on that...I try to make tentative plans based on the hours from the previous year. Never works...
Looking good so far! Can't wait to read more!

 

[autumnpalm]

Hey! Followed you from my PTR...subbing! Looks like you've got some good plans started! I wish they had your May hours released. It's tough waiting on that...I try to make tentative plans based on the hours from the previous year. Never works...
Looking good so far! Can't wait to read more!

Welcome!!!

Great to have you!! Having readers is so exciting LOL.

Well, wish me luck everyone... I am off to brave the Disney phone lines and book our ASMu room!

 

[Lady Lallie]

I love your sad pretzel face!! That is priceless.

I think it's great that you can take advantage of the 4/3 deal and stay at a deluxe.