Trip Number Nine ~ It's Christmastime!

[Momof2Disneyboys]

I was so glad you loved the Poly b/c when Mark and I tried it and I came home exclaiming over it to you I was thinking I'd never stay anywhere else and was worried that you'd try it and hate it.

Now I'm worried that you're going to try the GF and hate it after I've exclaimed over it so much!

Oh well. If you do that's ok-- we can wave to one another from across the water.

I do want to stay at the BWI. I tried talking Mark into staying there this trip in a CL deluxe room. But since he has stayed there with work once, he isn't too interesed in doing it again. Of course that WAS before the renovations. Maybe next trip?? Two or three years from now?? Maybe he'd be willing to do a split stay like y'all do....

I can't believe those pics were only 8 months apart.
Wait till we get pics of the kids together and compare them to last year. Holy cow it's going to be weird!

I actually figured I wouldn't love it since you did!! But luckily that is something we do have in common!

The GF will be interesting. I'm afraid it's not going to have a fair shot with the giant mess that it is right now. I'm still hopeful that they will have some of it cleaned up within oh say the next 7 weeks, 3 days.....

I think you guys should give the BWI a try! I know Mark didn't love it before, but the rooms are nicer now and maybe he just had a bad room location. I think CL there with a BW view would be so awesome.

It will be fun to get some new pics of all the kids and compare them to last time!!

I probably missed it (I am on my second glass of wine) but wat are your dates?

Well, I didn't exactly say yet.....That would be coming up in the next post. But if you promise not to tell anyone I will tell you....
December 9-16!

 

[15isto2]

Its OK I wont remember tomorrow anyway LOL

 

[Disney Mommy 3]

I love the convenience of the Poly!! Close to both mono lines! I personally don't like the darkness of the room, but I do love the space in there!! And I know they are doing some reno's ..heard that they were repainting and recarpeting the halls a few months back...is it for inside the rooms too? If they could lighten up the decor just a teeny weeny bit I would be more in love with it! I am interested in POR also,...I had it on the table for this trip, but Mike doesn't want to be strapped to just buses all the time,...and he LOOOOVES the WL, so thats what we went with!! Yes, your boys are getting so big!!

 

[ddluvsdisney]

That's so great that you've stayed a lot of different resorts. I'm w/ you on staying in new places since you're in the same place yr. after yr.

We haven't been able to stay at that many since more than half of the times we've stayed in my parents timeshare.
We've stayed at Beach Club, GF, Poly and CBR. The Beach Club was my favorite I think the GF would be next only b/c of the awesome upgrade we got so I'm basing it on the room and RPC. We did love the size of the room at the Poly. The daybed was the best- my kids won't sleep together.

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Its OK I wont remember tomorrow anyway LOL

I love the convenience of the Poly!! Close to both mono lines! I personally don't like the darkness of the room, but I do love the space in there!! And I know they are doing some reno's ..heard that they were repainting and recarpeting the halls a few months back...is it for inside the rooms too? If they could lighten up the decor just a teeny weeny bit I would be more in love with it! I am interested in POR also,...I had it on the table for this trip, but Mike doesn't want to be strapped to just buses all the time,...and he LOOOOVES the WL, so thats what we went with!! Yes, your boys are getting so big!!

Me too! So convenient and so much space in the room!!

They are redoing all the rooms. One longhouse at a time. I kind of hope they don't change it up too much. I like it the way it is. But yes, it could stand to be a little brighter in there!

I'd like to try the WL sometime too. It looks so cozy! Planning on heading over there to check out their holiday decorations!

That's so great that you've stayed a lot of different resorts. I'm w/ you on staying in new places since you're in the same place yr. after yr.

We haven't been able to stay at that many since more than half of the times we've stayed in my parents timeshare.
We've stayed at Beach Club, GF, Poly and CBR. The Beach Club was my favorite I think the GF would be next only b/c of the awesome upgrade we got so I'm basing it on the room and RPC. We did love the size of the room at the Poly. The daybed was the best- my kids won't sleep together.

It's fun to try new resorts!!

You've stayed at some great resorts! I agree - the room size and that extra bed at the Poly is so wonderful.

 

[JoBird]

Happy 51 Days!!










Okay so get this...
we have 50 days to get everything together before we leave. Well, You do. I'm down to 49.

AND, Belle's old teacher--? The one who had the baby and makes me make cupcakes for every single party she has or throws or knows anything about? Yeah, her. So she calls and says that I *must* make her cupcakes for the baby's 1 year old party on....DECEMBER 8th. The day I leave! I told her there was no way.
She said I had to.

So now the day before I leave when yes, I usually run around like a chicken with it's head cut off swearing at anyone and everyone who gets in my way, on THAT day, I have to make cupcakes when I should be packing.



Oh boy. I love me.

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Should we be having 50 DAYS parties???








Oh wow. I can't believe you agreed to the cupcakes!!! I will remember to NOT call you that day!

But hey -- maybe you can make some extra and bring them with you....

 

[lala3291]

It's been a busy couple of days, but I'm all caught up now!

Loved reading about the resorts that you have stayed at! I am so glad that you do reviews on the resorts that your family has stayed at...if you didn't, I would have never tried the Poly! And it is now our favorite resort! You were the one who really convinced me to try it there, and you know how long it took me to finally commit to staying there!

My top resorts (from favorite to least favorite) are the following:
Poly
BWI/GF (tied because I really can't pick a 2nd favorite!)
BC

Have a great weekend!

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

It's been a busy couple of days, but I'm all caught up now!

Loved reading about the resorts that you have stayed at! I am so glad that you do reviews on the resorts that your family has stayed at...if you didn't, I would have never tried the Poly! And it is now our favorite resort! You were the one who really convinced me to try it there, and you know how long it took me to finally commit to staying there!

My top resorts (from favorite to least favorite) are the following:
Poly
BWI/GF (tied because I really can't pick a 2nd favorite!)
BC

Have a great weekend!

Hey Lauren!!

I'm so glad you finally tried the Poly and loved it so much! I had a feeling you would. I know it was very hard for you to drag yourself away from the BWI and GF!!

Thanks, you have a great weekend too!

 

[JoBird]

Happy 49 Days!!



I looked to see when I had booked my package this time. February 1!! If it were a baby I would be almost ready to deliver!


So much to do.
So little time left.

And yeah, aren't I just asking for trouble in saying ok to doing the cupcakes? They take me hours!!!

I think I'm just a glutton for punishment.

But since I'm such a non procrastinator anymore, maybe I'll be better this time around in packing.



Ya think???

 

[Mndisneygirl]

I'm late, but I'm here! I'll go back and read now!

Okay - all caught up!
We spent a fair amount of time at the Poly "visiting" this trip and I have to say I totally understand why so many people love it! If and when they get DVC there, I'm staying there!! Oh and the smell of the Poly? I figured out what it was. You can buy it. Want to know?


Okay - I'll tell. The Disney fragrance Pixie Dust smells just like the lobby of the Poly! I got it for my birthday, and we went in the Poly and I said, "I know this smell. People talk about it on the boards. It's my perfume!!" So if you have a hankering for the Poly and have a Disney store, go get some Pixie Dust. I think the GF smells like the fragrance "wonder" too btw.

Anyway, back to you and your PTR - You have had a bunch of good trips and resorts - I'll be anxious to hear what you think of GF. I got some pics of the new DVC Construction over there. I think I could be persuaded to stay there too.

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Happy 49 Days!!



I looked to see when I had booked my package this time. February 1!! If it were a baby I would be almost ready to deliver!


So much to do.
So little time left.

And yeah, aren't I just asking for trouble in saying ok to doing the cupcakes? They take me hours!!!

I think I'm just a glutton for punishment.

But since I'm such a non procrastinator anymore, maybe I'll be better this time around in packing.



Ya think???

Thanks!!

Wow you did book this trip a LONG time ago!


Well, I think with your non-procrastinating ways now you will be fine with the cupcakes!! Just do all your shopping ahead of time!

I'm late, but I'm here! I'll go back and read now!

Okay - all caught up!
We spent a fair amount of time at the Poly "visiting" this trip and I have to say I totally understand why so many people love it! If and when they get DVC there, I'm staying there!! Oh and the smell of the Poly? I figured out what it was. You can buy it. Want to know?


Okay - I'll tell. The Disney fragrance Pixie Dust smells just like the lobby of the Poly! I got it for my birthday, and we went in the Poly and I said, "I know this smell. People talk about it on the boards. It's my perfume!!" So if you have a hankering for the Poly and have a Disney store, go get some Pixie Dust. I think the GF smells like the fragrance "wonder" too btw.

Anyway, back to you and your PTR - You have had a bunch of good trips and resorts - I'll be anxious to hear what you think of GF. I got some pics of the new DVC Construction over there. I think I could be persuaded to stay there too.

Hi Sheree! Welcome back and welcome to my PTR!! How was your trip??? Tell us all about the new Fantasyland stuff you got to see....

Thanks for the info about the fragrances. I never knew that!! Looks like I need to head to the Disney Store!

I hope you get to stay at the Poly some day soon!!!

 

[DisMomAmy]

Joining in!

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

So exactly when will we be going and where will we be staying???


If you've looked at my tickers you have probably figured that all out by now.

But, I will proceed with my story anyway.


After an excellent summer trip in late August into early September 2011 we just could not wait to get back and so we headed back this past May. Well actually the trip started out in the last few days of April and into the first week of May. The kids had a day off from school that first Friday in May, so we picked that week. And well, long story short we should have waited until late summer again. The May trip was not great. Just lots of things. Believe it or not it was hotter and way more humid than our August trip. Crazy. It was very busy and the parks were very crowded most days. We had issues with our resort. Just lots of little things that added up to being NOT the best vacation ever.

So while we were there we noticed a bounceback offer in our room. 35% off any deluxe resort. But you had to come back by the end of 2012. Well, here we were in the first week of May and not really enjoying our vacation all that much....So we decided to not do it. We didn't want to take the kids out of school (even though our school is totally fine with it) and coming back in late August would be ideal since we loved it so much last year, but it was only 3 months away so we didn't think we should spend the money on a vacation again so soon, and DH wanted no part of potentially dealing with the intense heat after what we were currently dealing with down there. So we let the BB sit there on the desk all week.

We were coming home on a Sunday morning. It was Saturday afternoon and we were in the room (taking a break from the heat) and I got to thinking....All you need is one night's room rate for a deposit, it's is 35% off deluxes and that doesn't happen all the time anymore, especially at the Poly, we can always cancel and get a full refund, we might kick ourselves later if we don't take advantage of this offer, and my thoughts just went on and on and on.......So I presented my thoughts to DH and he was surprisingly on board!! As long as I assured him that we could cancel if need be.

So now it was down to picking a date. And we told ourselves that if they didn't have the Poly available for the date we picked we just wouldn't book anything. After-all this was going to sort of be a redo of this May trip and we only wanted to be at our favorite resort. We also decided that this would be a short trip and the kids were only going to miss 4 days tops, so we were wanting to book a Tue-Sun trip. We looked at all the dates available on the bounceback and decided that we just couldn't swing going back in the summer, plus the heat thing. So fall would be the earliest. There were some weeks available in October and I would have loved to have gone then, but we didn't think it was a good idea to take the kids out of school during the first marking period. So we moved on into November....The weeks available during November were the week before Thanksgiving and the week after Thanksgiving. The week after Thanksgiving would have been ideal, BUT DH was not willing to give up the first day of buck season. So, we decided on the week before Thanksgiving.

After all that I go out on the balcony and call the BB number. Only to find out that the Poly has no availability with the BB discount that week. So now I am in panic mode. Meanwhile DH is in the room taking a stinking nap!!! All these things are going through my head how I told DH that I wouldn't book it unless we could get the Poly, how the Poly was not available, how it probably was available in late August, how DH didn't want to go in August, how it was probably available the week after Thanksgiving, but DH couldn't give up his precious hunting , WHAT TO DO????

So I blurt out to the CM - could you check the last week of August? And she says yes, it is available, should I book that for you??? And I'm like uhhhh....no....and I'm looking at my BB offer in my hand and thinking and all the sudden it comes to me there is one week available in December and it is the second week and since we wouldn't be leaving until Tuesday I was pretty sure buck hunting season would be over!! And so I said I'm sorry, could you please check the second week of December? She did and guess what??? The Poly was available!! So she happily booked it for me. And now we were booked in a garden view room at the Poly from Tues Dec 11 through Sun Dec 16. Got all that taken care of and got off the phone and look in a DH is still sound asleep. So I sat there for a minute and then was like wait a minute, what week in December is Jodi (JoBird) going??? Could our trips be overlapping again??? What the heck??? I think that is the same exact week she will be at WDW for a family wedding!!! So I call her and we both freak out a bit!! And I tell her I have to go tell DH what I just did, so we get off the phone and I go inside. DH hears me open the door when I come in from the balcony and says so did we get the week before Thanksgiving? Um no, not exactly....And I proceed to tell him what happened, emphasising on the fact that it WAS available the last week of August, but I didn't book it because I knew he didn't want to deal with the heat. And that it WAS available the week after Thanksgiving, but I didn't book it because I knew he didn't want to give up any hunting. So that I did the only thing I could do and I booked the second week of December, just for him!! He was like uh, yeah that should be okay....And I could see the wheels turning in his mind and that he was trying to figure out if that was going to interfere with his hunting or not. So I said don't worry, it's not until after buck season (he doesn't hunt doe) is over. So now he was completely on board! I said, okay great we're all set! Oh and BTW, Mark & Jodi will be there that week! And he looks at me totally not surprised at all and says yeah, I figured that much.




Okay, wow that was long. Sorry.

So now I guess in telling you the 'when' I ended up telling you the 'where'!! BUT wait, there's more!


This part won't be much of a surprise to those of you who read my last TR from the May trip....During our stay in May at the BC we encountered many room issues. Issues in which we tried to get the BC staff to rectify when we were there. We even tried to get moved to the Poly, but they wouldn't without a huge upcharge. So when we got back I wrote to Disney and told of our experience. Every last detail with pictures and everything. And told about how we asked them to fix (and clean) things, but they just sort of dropped the ball and didn't seem to care much. I gave details of every call we made to the front desk and everyone we talked to and the dates/times and everything. In the end, we were given 2 free nights to use in the future at any deluxe resort.

Given the fact that we had now been home from WDW for about a month and we were starting to forget how poorly we had been treated and the fact that we were now thinking that 5 days at WDW just wasn't going to be enough for a redo, we decided to add those 2 nights onto the beginning of our December trip and make it a Sun-Sun trip. And yes, this means that the kids will have to miss 5 days now instead of 4, but what's 1 more day, right?! Our school is totally fine with it, in-fact they are allowed up to 10 days for 'educational and family travel'. I just worry about the make up work. But both the kids are honor roll students and I know it will all be fine in the end.

*ETA*: Apparently I somehow forgot to add where we are staying those first 2 nights!! We are using those 2 free nights at the Grand Floridian in the Sugarloaf building!!

I got airfare back in the early summer. Got a decent price on the flight down the day the flights came out. The flight home was not as good. In the end I paid about $1100 for all 4 of us RT. Which really stinks considering just a few years ago I was paying about $850. And a few years before that about $650.

So we will fly down VERY early on Sunday Dec 9 and fly back the next Sunday morning, Dec 16.



So there you have it the wheres, whens, and hows of our vacation!!


Up Next: Disney Parks and Tickets

 

[DisMomAmy]

Your plans look great!!

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Joining in!

Your plans look great!!

Thanks Amy!

 

[JoBird]

<------- Me, trying to get back home this morning yelling at everyone on the road going slow that I had important bid'ness to attend to.










So yay an update!!!!! All this and MORE, much MORE!!!


Felt a little like I was at an infomercial. A GOOD informercial, not one of those dumb rotisserie chicken infomercials where you just 'Set it and Forget it'. I mean, because honestly... what the heck do you do if you're baking chicken in the oven? You Set it and forget it till it's done.
What the heck ever. (My humble apologies to anyone who owns the Ronco rotisserie machine.)

Okay so was that convo we had when you finally chose your date entertaining or what? I can't believe you had to go thru all those weeks just to get to the one you chose.

And I just love that your DH knew that we'd be going the same week.
Of course.

I'm very happy that you are able to stay at two beautiful resorts this trip, and since one of them I will be at and the other you just love.... what could go wrong??

Best. Trip. Evah.

Book it!!!!!!!!!!


Woo Hoo.... 48 Days!

 

[Dancegrl624]

Finally able to join the new PTR! I have just been checking the DIS from my phone lately and haven't wanted to post much. Once we got back from our trip, I just couldn't get out of my funk. Especially because I have NO idea when we'll get back. Anyways...can't wait to read about your plans!

 

[Disney Mommy 3]

good thing you took the boys out of school that extra day,..they wouldn't be able to focus well anyway,,,so it's for the best!

 

[ronnmel]

I already know the answer because it's part of your tickers, but you did not even mention what resort you'll be staying at for those extra two nights you got for free.

I have a feeling this trip will be magical, between your favorite resort, the other deluxe resort , Jodi's family being there at the same time, and all the Christmas decorations everywhere.