Hey, only true friends are willing to step out of their own delusional worlds for a bit to help cut through to the reality of the situation for you.....but don't expect me to live in that rational reality forever!!!! 
Ha ha ha hahahahaha!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Love ya girlie!!!
At least you will still be at Disney! 
I wouldn't know how to plan any vacation without fuzzy math. That's a good thing though. Once you have spent all that time going over and over your plans, then you can head out feeling confident that you did your research and you made the right choice. Give it some time, the right decision will come to you. It's sort of like writers block............ sometimes you just need to step away from it for a while and let all the information marinade in your mind. 
Hi Jackie! i just recently found out that when staying on DVC points you are not subject to the "summer surcharge" on the dining plan. That helped sway my decision back to the regular dining. Just wanted to let you know!
Wow, that would save a lot of money! Would use still do any table service OOP?
You need your CP crown back!!
Sometimes it's good to just take a break from all of the thinking and number crunching. When your mind is at peace, that's when the perfect solution will hit you. Or so I like to think.
Not sure if you knew I have a new PTR going. I'd love for you to stop by if you get a chance.
Another queen of indecision here so I sympathize. But let's just call it considering your options carefully, shall we? All great options. $200 is quite a savings!!
Rumor has it that there is a "big" DVC announcement coming next week...No idea what it is but hoping it comes with some major incentives...
Good idea about GAD! Don't be so hard on yourself girl! Thinking and pricing out Disney is still accomplishing something! At least now you'll be a Fuzzy Disney math expert!
I really agree with you on the meal plan. I don't remember how well your kids eat based on your other TR's, but from a lot of the TR's I have read, kids are just so touch and go on meal plans. A lot of the times, especially on their mood, you could go anywhere with it, from them eating everything to nothing. So if your kids aren't reliable like that, you two probably would be best just paying out of pocket on it. Blake and I did that one year. On our Dec 2008 trip, we literally picked all of our counter service meals out and snacks (a liberal amount) ahead of time, priced it out with tax and everything and had a very close number of what we would spend. We saved SO much compared to the dining plan. Now don't get me wrong I love the dining plan, when you have the money for it, but we're very comfortable doing counter service because there's SO many great choices/variety now.
Good luck with it all!
Ok, I must be behind Jackie. What happened to the GF? CBR is the next resort on our list. It looks like so much fun there!
Sometimes all the options need to marinate in your head for awhile. The best decision usually floats to the top sooner or later!
I agree with the others. Take your time with the decision and you'll make the choice that's right for you and your family.
And Susan's idea is great. Renting points will give you the chance to try out DVC. Are you considering buying at AKV or BLT?
Good luck with your decision
Doing nothing is a perfectly acceptable, dare I say, appropriate response!
Marinate. FDM will give the best of us a headache and I imagine, many a dream where a new option pops into your head and then you have to go crunch those numbers!
I've been dreaming in FDM for a couple of weeks now. Oddly pleasant, and stressful at the same time.
I think it's good that you are sifting, thinking, stepping back and not rushing to make the change.
The summer surcharge and that turning 10 is pricey, I can really relate to looking hard at that (as you know!). And, not to be a DVC enabler but there is a lot of $$ to be saved by having that kitchen and groceries for breakfasts, snacks and evening libations!
I'd trade a Mickey bar for a sit down dessert any day!!!!!!!!!
Don't be hard on yourself about not rushing to re-decide your plan, sometimes it seems to me that when I can't decide it's because for whatever
reason that "right" solution hasn't appeared yet and when it does, things just fall into place. That's certainly what just happenediwith our little reconfiguration!
Taking a break from thinking too hard can produce magical results. Sending you "aha" moment vibes. It will happen.
CP, don't worry, you'll figure it out! I must admit, I do like the idea of not doing a dining plan. So much freedom! It makes me giddy.
It will all come to you Jackie.....most likely it will wake you up in the middle of the night!
Tracy
It's very smart of you Jackie to weigh all your options & decide what is best for you. I know how expensive it is with older children. Most of our trips have been with our 2 DS's as teenagers & it is NOT cheap!! That is why we have stayed twice at value resorts & 4 times at moderate.
You will figure it all out & we will be here right along with ya
I second the motion.
(If there's anyone who knows what he's talking about when it comes to both marinating and floaters, its Jordan.)
Kathy
So very true! I find the same thing, if I have a decision to make that is eluding me I take a nap and usually dream about a solution. Weird I know but it works for me.
I like that idea too! marinate!
Take a few days and do other things, don't crunch any numbers, don't debate it. Just see what floats up. The best will rise to the top.
We decided that for dining - this will be our last trip with a dining plan for a while. We really don't save tons of money, but we enjoy the pre-paid aspect and then being able to order whatever we want. We would not order that stuff otherwise. And we won't do it after this year partly because our kids are SO picky and DD8 is turning 9 in about a week. When she hits 10, there is NO WAY I'm paying for an adult meal plan for her to eat chicken strips. So this trip, we're going deluxe and going out with a bang!
Good luck!!
You know me too well, Wigd!Don't think too hard, CP, you'll get a headache!It is hard paying for 4 "adults" no matter how you do it. Maybe you could go OOP and do one extra special TS meal to celebrate, then do mostly CS meals. There are alot of healthy choices and variety. Breakfast in the room saves alot, too!
Oh I am sure this will fall into place, but I hear you Jackie, slow goes it, the right answer will present itself! I think all of those options sound great! I am sure the right decision will make itself known. We didn't do the DP this short trip, and I too know dessert at lunch, heck, lunch in general, is not our style always, either. I think on vacation you want to eat the way you wish to eat, and do what works for you. I am sure the resort plans will sort themselves out just the way you need them to if you don't feel pressured to make a decision to quickly. But I also know how it feels not to have it all organized and that is stressful too! It will work out!
Hey Jackie, I'm so sorry to hear about the need to change your plans. I'm glad Charles is so determined to make a Disney trip work, though. It would be harder if you had to convince him, too. I know that you will figure out the right thing to do.
Jackie- I completely understand, because I can also be the queen of indecision at times! CBR sounds great, and who needs to eat?
Hoping you have an epiphany soon, so you can get this trip planning a'rolling!
Okay Jackie, here's my advice..............
Find the cheapest scenario within your comfort zone. Meaning......if you REALLY think you won't mind doing without the dining plan, go ahead with budgeting out for eating off the plan. I agree with you that I think it might be some bit less than taking the plan. Put that amount on to a gift card.
We have purchased our tickets at UT before, and would highly recommend using them again---especially for the savings overall!!!
Weigh out the pricing for a stay at a DVC place, and also the pricing for the room-only at CBR. Aren't there promotional deals and discounts going on right now?? See what is cheaper. If you are up for a split-stay, you could even stay at DVC for the Sun-Thur part of your trip, and move to POP or CBR for the Fri-Sat portion of your trip. Whatever is cheaper, go for it.
I would hold off on the DVC purchase for now----AHHHH GASP WHAT?@Q?!?!?!?!?! Wait until things level off a bit on your salary--especially with the possibilities of more changes to come!!!!
I hate being the voice of reason and rationale, but as long as you are in Disney, nothing else should matter!!!! Remember that there will be another day to come back to the GF and DVC dream someday!!!!
Okay.....now I need a break from reason and rationale cap for a bit.....need to go back to dreaming about luxurious trips to WDW and the prospect of owning DVC someday too!!!
I do so appreciate your advice and support. It helped me make our decision about the trip. Hi Jackie! I'm sorry to hear things are still up in the air, but it sounds like you have made some progress with evaluating what is important and what isn't.
As far as the DVC thing... if you can do it without causing more financial stress then go for it, but if it's even a stretch I wouldn't add more stress right now. But you should definitely buy later.
I would weigh the renting DVC points with the cost of CBR and go with your gut after that.
Good Luck with the decision - I'm sure whichever way you go will work out great for Chelsea's birthday trip.
Just read your entire PTR and decided to join in. What a bummer that you can no longer stay at the Grand Floridian.
Surprise trips are the BEST! We surprised our DD last January and it was one of the best things we've ever done. It was very hard to keep it a secret, but we managed to pull it off.
Thanks for coming over to join in the fun! I am very excited about planning the surprise trip for Chelsea. I think we will have a great time with it! Well if you are claiming to be the queen of indecision, then you stole my crown!
I think I finally am done fretting and running numbers and have come to a decision I am happy with. As soon as we got to school, the snow started falling. Keeping the kids looking at the board instead of out the window was an exercise in futility. Then, about two hours into the day, our assistant principal came on the intercom and said we needed to alter the lunch schedule to make sure the kids were all fed "just in case." The madness ratcheted up a notch with that. Then, soon after, he came back on and announced we would be dismissing around 12:00 as soon as the buses had run the elementary routes. It was all over at that point. Parents were checking their kids out like crazy, and the kids who remained could not even focus on doing the usual DOL and vocabulary exercises that we start the class period with every day. Needless to say, I was exhausted by the time our half day was over. I came home and collapsed for an afternoon nap. Apparently the novelty of snow has worn off for Chelsea and Connor because they didn't even go out to play in it. They were just happy to have the afternoon off.
Yes, but it will be tonight or maybe tomorrow. I have to go make lasagna now.
Yes, but it will be tonight or maybe tomorrow. I have to go make lasagna now.
Oooooo, what time is dinner???
