MCoryB
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Feb 23, 2011
- Messages
- 167
In March 2011, my partner and I spent nearly a week at Walt Disney World and stayed off-site at the Seralago Hotel. We had fun, but the hotel was too far away, and we spent a fortune on food and souvenirs. It was my third trip, the first being in 1979 and the second in 2005. It was his first.
My mother had said several times that she'd love to go back to WDW, since her last time was in 1979, when it was nothing more than the Magic Kingdom. I really didn't think I'd ever invite her to go with us since her mobility issues would slow us down and it would, frankly, not be something she could afford. And really, I didn't have another trip planned for our foreseeable future.
Well, a few weeks ago, I received a PIN code for the free dining offer this fall, so the wheels in my head started turning. I asked my partner if it would be okay to bring mom as long as she had a friend with her who would keep her company while we were on rides we knew she'd never enjoy. Since we agreed that would be fine, and we could probably just drive down this time instead of flying, we proposed the idea to her, and she of course said YES! Right away, she called a friend, who immediately said sure! but promised to let us know for sure in a couple days. The more people who could share the driving duties, the easier the trip.
I priced the trip using the PIN code as well as by using my login to DisneyTravelAgents.com and determined staying at the Pop Century Resort and taking advantage of free quick-service dining would be something we could afford. We would spend 6 nights at the hotel and have park tickets (non-hopper) for 5 days. A couple days passed, and we hadn't heard back yet from Mom's friend. We were anxious to get her go-ahead but decided even if she didn't join us, we'd be perfectly fine just the three of us. Originally, we would split into two rooms, one "accessible" for Mom. But I knew that even if her friend couldn't join us, we'd just have one accessible room with 1 king bed and 1 double bed, which would work out just fine. I also looked into an upgrade from Quick-Service Dining to the Disney Dining Plan and knew the increase of just about $100 per person would be worth it, since Mom had already expressed interest in trying two of the restaurants at Hollywood Studios that I'd enjoyed last year.
Finally, we heard from her friend, who ended up backing out. So Mom called a cousin and invited her, but she had absolutely no desire to visit Disney World. But, in the end, it was perfectly fine for us. We could handle the 11-hour drive without much trouble, so we didn't care. We were determined to go. So I put down the deposit on the single-room reservation I'd already created and put on hold.
Then, again, the wheels in my head started turning, and I looked to see how much more of an increase we'd have switching to a moderate resort. Since we'd already opted for the dining upgrade, switching to the Port Orleans French Quarter would only be about $120 more. So I called and had the reservation switched the next morning. All in all, the package would total just $2030, which we felt was wonderful. And since we will drive my Honda Fit, which can get around 40MPG on the freeway, our gas costs shouldn't be outrageous at all. And, it perfectly holds Mom's scooter, which she'll use to get around everywhere (as long as the battery lasts ... *fingers crossed*).
Now that everything's all settled, we are so excited. We're pleased with the hotel choice, since French Quarter is smaller and tends to get great reviews. And our dining reservations are made for each day as well. Now our biggest challenge is to lose another 20, 30, 40 pounds each before the trip... before we regain about 10 of them from all the wonderful food down there.
My only fear is the possibility of bad weather and/or unbearable heat and humidity. We chose September 9-15 since multiple sites have bragged about the lower crowds and lower prices during that time. But, we know it's hurricane season and very toasty/muggy. And now I'm seeing several reports that crowds were higher than expected in the last couple Septembers. Oh well. I don't care. We're going to have a blast and look forward to seeing Mom feel like a kid again!
My mother had said several times that she'd love to go back to WDW, since her last time was in 1979, when it was nothing more than the Magic Kingdom. I really didn't think I'd ever invite her to go with us since her mobility issues would slow us down and it would, frankly, not be something she could afford. And really, I didn't have another trip planned for our foreseeable future.
Well, a few weeks ago, I received a PIN code for the free dining offer this fall, so the wheels in my head started turning. I asked my partner if it would be okay to bring mom as long as she had a friend with her who would keep her company while we were on rides we knew she'd never enjoy. Since we agreed that would be fine, and we could probably just drive down this time instead of flying, we proposed the idea to her, and she of course said YES! Right away, she called a friend, who immediately said sure! but promised to let us know for sure in a couple days. The more people who could share the driving duties, the easier the trip.
I priced the trip using the PIN code as well as by using my login to DisneyTravelAgents.com and determined staying at the Pop Century Resort and taking advantage of free quick-service dining would be something we could afford. We would spend 6 nights at the hotel and have park tickets (non-hopper) for 5 days. A couple days passed, and we hadn't heard back yet from Mom's friend. We were anxious to get her go-ahead but decided even if she didn't join us, we'd be perfectly fine just the three of us. Originally, we would split into two rooms, one "accessible" for Mom. But I knew that even if her friend couldn't join us, we'd just have one accessible room with 1 king bed and 1 double bed, which would work out just fine. I also looked into an upgrade from Quick-Service Dining to the Disney Dining Plan and knew the increase of just about $100 per person would be worth it, since Mom had already expressed interest in trying two of the restaurants at Hollywood Studios that I'd enjoyed last year.
Finally, we heard from her friend, who ended up backing out. So Mom called a cousin and invited her, but she had absolutely no desire to visit Disney World. But, in the end, it was perfectly fine for us. We could handle the 11-hour drive without much trouble, so we didn't care. We were determined to go. So I put down the deposit on the single-room reservation I'd already created and put on hold.
Then, again, the wheels in my head started turning, and I looked to see how much more of an increase we'd have switching to a moderate resort. Since we'd already opted for the dining upgrade, switching to the Port Orleans French Quarter would only be about $120 more. So I called and had the reservation switched the next morning. All in all, the package would total just $2030, which we felt was wonderful. And since we will drive my Honda Fit, which can get around 40MPG on the freeway, our gas costs shouldn't be outrageous at all. And, it perfectly holds Mom's scooter, which she'll use to get around everywhere (as long as the battery lasts ... *fingers crossed*).
Now that everything's all settled, we are so excited. We're pleased with the hotel choice, since French Quarter is smaller and tends to get great reviews. And our dining reservations are made for each day as well. Now our biggest challenge is to lose another 20, 30, 40 pounds each before the trip... before we regain about 10 of them from all the wonderful food down there.
My only fear is the possibility of bad weather and/or unbearable heat and humidity. We chose September 9-15 since multiple sites have bragged about the lower crowds and lower prices during that time. But, we know it's hurricane season and very toasty/muggy. And now I'm seeing several reports that crowds were higher than expected in the last couple Septembers. Oh well. I don't care. We're going to have a blast and look forward to seeing Mom feel like a kid again!
