Trying again in 2010 or 9 "Christmassy" nights at the AKL in December.

[PoppyGirl]

Thanks! I agree that they should be diagnoseable (don't think that's a word but hey my PTR I can make up any words I want) conditions but I don't know if I would actually want treatment for it, I like it too much.
"I have a fever and the only cure is more cowbell, er I mean Disney World!"

"Diagnoseable" is definitely a real word! At least I use it all the time.

 

[LVTink]

Okay, so now DMom is getting involved! We're under 100 days so I figure it's acceptable to start tracking Leash's PTR. I can't imagine where she gets this obssessive behavior (??) but I fully support it, as she has planned trips for the four of us previously with great success! She's so right about the men's disinterest until day of departure - we (the chicks) care deeply about the details and they (the guys) reap the benefits. This is truly going to be our "Trip of a Lifetime", as the DD & DSIL are going to be pro-creating soon so it will probably be the last BIG trip the four of us take together. AKL is all about her dad - he so loved our trip to the Wild Animal Park in San Diego that this resort was a no-brainer. We'll be celebrating his 60th Bday on this trip so it's pretty much all about making him happy! I've gotten the Passporter for WDW so I can make notes each day (and Leash will be Tweeting and posting her daily report) and then do a scrapbook when we get home. I want to have a fun record to look back on and share with the grands when DDad retires! I hope DD doesn't mind if I piggyback on her thread ~ she is such a good writer and I'm almost as excited as she is about our trip.

 

[exwdwcm]

So any tips on what I might need cash for?
Here is what I have so far:
Mousekeeping and turndown service
Bell services
Cabs
A little extra (walking around money) for snacks not coming off our dining plan or in case the card reader is down

We will pretty much just use our KTTW cards for everything but I figure a little cash would be good, not sure how much I should figure for the walking around money. I can't remember how much I took last time so any advice is much appreciated.

we like to do envelopes before hand and decorate them! My mom was uber generous on this last trip (which they paid for all 15 of us!) and we had $5 a day for mousekeeping per room. However, i would typically only do $1-2 depending on how messy you are, lol! If you are tipping for turndown, then more of course.

bell services, i do a dollar per bag (arrival and departure).

cabs- depends on how far and where you are going.

other- i like to have some extra cash for snacks or a bottle of water here or there too. heck, maybe plan on $10-$20 in cash a day at least for that?

lol at giving the teller your list. too funny!!

 

[Leash]

YAY!!!!
So it occured to me that with the savings from free dining I could just add a night to our package. We come in on 11/29 and very early on in the planning we were going to stay at POP that first night. Then I priced out the difference between a standard view at AKL and we decided the cost difference was worth it to not have to change hotels. I also priced out just adding a night to our package and it was just way too much.
Then the awesomeness of free dining came and I was able to get it and I guess I was on just too much of a discount high to see the solution. I just called and added the first night to our package so now we will be on the club level the whole trip and we won't have to change rooms! I priced out the difference and with the extra night of free dining offsetting things (we were going to have to pay for 1 TS and 1 CS OOP) it is only going to cost about $30 more but since we have saved about $1400 with free dining I'd say that is quite a deal.

 

[LVTink]

Oh, Hooray, Alicia!!! You are just that good - I LOVE the idea that we can add the first night to the club level and never have to change rooms! You are just amazing, that's why you're our Travel Planner Extraordinaire! You rock, Babe!

 

[exwdwcm]

yeah for the extra night!!! what great news!!! so jealous of the club level, i want to hear all about it. i am hoping we can use our points for AKV club level sometime.

 

[Leash]

yeah for the extra night!!! what great news!!! so jealous of the club level, i want to hear all about it. i am hoping we can use our points for AKV club level sometime.

I've gotten very spoiled by club level at Disney hotels. Way back in 2005 DH(DBF at the time) and I went with my parents to Disneyland for it's 50th and stayed club level at the Grand Californian and we were hooked. Then when DH and I got married in November 2006 we had the ceremony on the beach in Laguna and the reception back in Anaheim then almost all the wedding guests went to Disneyland the next day. So as a wedding present DMom and DDad put DH and I up at the Grand Californian in club level again for the whole wedding weekend Thur. - Monday! Then DH and I went on our honeymoon in early Decmeber 2006 and we stayed in a honeymoon suite at the Wilderness lodge and it was also club level. So yeah we love our club level!

Though I do love staying CL we have made several trips to Disneyland in the meantime where we haven't even stayed at a Disney hotel let alone CL but I think the mood at Disneyland is different, at least for us and maybe since we have been so many times, that it is fine to stay at a non Disney hotel but I think the next trip to WDW we will be hard pressed not to stay CL.

I'm ordering a netbook tonight that I will bring on our trip and use to keep an up to date/live trip report with as many pictures as Photobucket will let me put up.

 

[PoppyGirl]

I've gotten very spoiled by club level at Disney hotels. Way back in 2005 DH(DBF at the time) and I went with my parents to Disneyland for it's 50th and stayed club level at the Grand Californian and we were hooked. Then when DH and I got married in November 2006 we had the ceremony on the beach in Laguna and the reception back in Anaheim then almost all the wedding guests went to Disneyland the next day. So as a wedding present DMom and DDad put DH and I up at the Grand Californian in club level again for the whole wedding weekend Thur. - Monday! Then DH and I went on our honeymoon in early Decmeber 2006 and we stayed in a honeymoon suite at the Wilderness lodge and it was also club level. So yeah we love our club level!

Though I do love staying CL we have made several trips to Disneyland in the meantime where we haven't even stayed at a Disney hotel let alone CL but I think the mood at Disneyland is different, at least for us and maybe since we have been so many times, that it is fine to stay at a non Disney hotel but I think the next trip to WDW we will be hard pressed not to stay CL.

I'm ordering a netbook tonight that I will bring on our trip and use to keep an up to date/live trip report with as many pictures as Photobucket will let me put up.

Niiiiiiiicccceeee!

 

[exwdwcm]

I've gotten very spoiled by club level at Disney hotels. Way back in 2005 DH(DBF at the time) and I went with my parents to Disneyland for it's 50th and stayed club level at the Grand Californian and we were hooked. Then when DH and I got married in November 2006 we had the ceremony on the beach in Laguna and the reception back in Anaheim then almost all the wedding guests went to Disneyland the next day. So as a wedding present DMom and DDad put DH and I up at the Grand Californian in club level again for the whole wedding weekend Thur. - Monday! Then DH and I went on our honeymoon in early Decmeber 2006 and we stayed in a honeymoon suite at the Wilderness lodge and it was also club level. So yeah we love our club level!

Though I do love staying CL we have made several trips to Disneyland in the meantime where we haven't even stayed at a Disney hotel let alone CL but I think the mood at Disneyland is different, at least for us and maybe since we have been so many times, that it is fine to stay at a non Disney hotel but I think the next trip to WDW we will be hard pressed not to stay CL.

I'm ordering a netbook tonight that I will bring on our trip and use to keep an up to date/live trip report with as many pictures as Photobucket will let me put up.

lol, you are spoiled by club level! it is hard to go back after that, i am sure! yeah, i am doing a DL trip next weekend, first time in 25 years, i am interested to see how the vibe there is different from WDW. we are staying off site at DL, but would never consider that in WDW! lol

 

[PoppyGirl]

lol, you are spoiled by club level! it is hard to go back after that, i am sure! yeah, i am doing a DL trip next weekend, first time in 25 years, i am interested to see how the vibe there is different from WDW. we are staying off site at DL, but would never consider that in WDW! lol

I'm afraid we are going to be spoiled after only 2 nights at CL in December!

DL does have a totally different disney "feel". If you go not EXPECTING it to be WDW, you'll love it. And it's totally fine to stay offsite there! PLUS...NO HUMIDITY in CA!

 

[Leash]

lol, you are spoiled by club level! it is hard to go back after that, i am sure! yeah, i am doing a DL trip next weekend, first time in 25 years, i am interested to see how the vibe there is different from WDW. we are staying off site at DL, but would never consider that in WDW! lol

I know what you mean I don't think I would ever stay offsite at WDW but at DL some of the "offsite" hotels are actually a shorter walk than one of the Disney hotels. Do you mind if I ask where you're staying, I'm always curious about where people stay out there since I have stayed at many of the hotels I like to get input if it's somewhere I haven't stayed in case I want to stay there in the future.
Overall I feel a lot more relaxed at DL than I did at WDW. Now that may be because I have been to DL a lot but everything just feels less rushed and tense. Also as much as I love my ADR's for WDW I usually only make one at DL, Cafe Orleans, and then do CS for the other meals which is kind of nice.

I'm afraid we are going to be spoiled after only 2 nights at CL in December!

DL does have a totally different disney "feel". If you go not EXPECTING it to be WDW, you'll love it. And it's totally fine to stay offsite there! PLUS...NO HUMIDITY in CA!

When DH and I went to WDW for our honeymoon we had just been at DL for 5 days about 3 weeks before so I was really comparing them, especially since we did MK on day 1. There are some things I like better at DL and vice versa at WDW but other than MK and DHS both resorts are so different that I stopped the comparisons by the middle of day 2.

 

[DisneyCP08]

Hi, im joining in a little late. I love OPS, since that explains me too I have never been able to stay at AKL, but I hope to stay there sometime soon.

 

[Leash]

Hi, im joining in a little late. I love OPS, since that explains me too I have never been able to stay at AKL, but I hope to stay there sometime soon.

I think OPS applies to a lot of on the DIS, that's why we're here because we love planning for Disney. I hope you do get to stay there soon, I'm so excited to get there, it looks like a beautiful resort!

 

[Leash]

I ordered some packing cubes from ebags and they came today. As soon as I got home I started putting clothes in them just to test them out and they are great! I think these will really help to organize my packing and keep everything tidy in the room, I can just take out the cubes of socks and undies and put them in the drawer at the hotel.
Of course now that I have theses I am super anxious for the trip so I can use my new "toys" to pack. DH has to go out of town for a few days next month so I will get a practice run with the cubes before I have to pack for "the big show".

 

[PoppyGirl]

I ordered some packing cubes from ebags and they came today. As soon as I got home I started putting clothes in them just to test them out and they are great! I think these will really help to organize my packing and keep everything tidy in the room, I can just take out the cubes of socks and undies and put them in the drawer at the hotel.
Of course now that I have theses I am super anxious for the trip so I can use my new "toys" to pack. DH has to go out of town for a few days next month so I will get a practice run with the cubes before I have to pack for "the big show".

How many did you order? I went online and looked at them. That's right up my OCD alley! When we went on our cruise I packed DD's outfits in gallon size zip lock bags--one for each day. It sure made it easier on the trip.

 

[Leash]

How many did you order? I went online and looked at them. That's right up my OCD alley! When we went on our cruise I packed DD's outfits in gallon size zip lock bags--one for each day. It sure made it easier on the trip.

I got the 6 piece set that has the small, medium and large and then 3 of the slim cubes that are all the same size. I did some "practice packing" and I can get a lot in the cubes but since I'm packing for both DH and me for 9 days I can't fit everything in them. So I'm going to get a box of the big Ziploc bags and use those for pants and save the packing cubes for the other clothes.

 

[happenin2you]

I'm always surprised to see another Vegas person on the WDW board rather than on the DisneyLAND board. I tell you the only thing getting me through this summer is the thought of WDW in the fall/winter! Have you lived in Vegas long enough to be used to this heat or are you still adjusting? I've lived here since I was a baby and can't wait to get somewhere that doesn't feel like an oven for 5 months a year.




[/B]

Sorry it took me so long to respond, the semester just started back up at UNLV and my classes are much more difficult and time consuming than I expected, and I was expecting a heavy workload...

Anyways, I've checked out the Disneyland boards and they don't seem half as interesting as these ones. Maybe because we live so close and not nearly that much planning goes into it for us.

I have lived here since 1989, most of my life since I'm 26, but I don't think there's any getting used to the heat. Hot is hot. As much as I wanted the hot summer to go by quickly, I also wanted it to go slowly so that I could enjoy my free time before school came back in session. Although, now that it's back in, December will be here before I know it because I'll just be working and studying all the time Time will fly by. I have about 2 years left until I finish my degree and then my husband and I will be looking to get out of this heat, hopefully somewhere on the east coast. The weather is starting to get nice again, though (you know you're in vegas when you think dropping into the 90's is nice weather)

Your trip report is looking great, girl! I'm super excited to hear more!

 

[LVTink]

So I posted on the DISabilites board about how humid it gets in Orlando in December and kind of got blown off by the chick who moderates it. I have read all the info on oxygen patients but no one really addressed the issue of the humidity. We are coming in from Las Vegas where it is super dry in Dec. I just want to get an idea of the percentage of humidity/temperature so I can plan for how difficult it will be for DH. Any help? Thanks so much!

 

[exwdwcm]

I know what you mean I don't think I would ever stay offsite at WDW but at DL some of the "offsite" hotels are actually a shorter walk than one of the Disney hotels. Do you mind if I ask where you're staying, I'm always curious about where people stay out there since I have stayed at many of the hotels I like to get input if it's somewhere I haven't stayed in case I want to stay there in the future.
Overall I feel a lot more relaxed at DL than I did at WDW. Now that may be because I have been to DL a lot but everything just feels less rushed and tense. Also as much as I love my ADR's for WDW I usually only make one at DL, Cafe Orleans, and then do CS for the other meals which is kind of nice.

our DL trip was great- i have a TR started in my sig. but i just didn't feel the same magic as WDW. but we did love it. we rushed a lot too- since we only had 3 days----even though it was supposed to be a relaxing trip. lol we did decide if we go back, we are staying at the grand californian. we stayed off site, and drove everyday and it was a hassle to drive, park, take the tram and walk. heck, i am DVC, so if we go again, we could use points there too. i just didn't have any to use this year for this trip.

I ordered some packing cubes from ebags and they came today. As soon as I got home I started putting clothes in them just to test them out and they are great! I think these will really help to organize my packing and keep everything tidy in the room, I can just take out the cubes of socks and undies and put them in the drawer at the hotel.
Of course now that I have theses I am super anxious for the trip so I can use my new "toys" to pack. DH has to go out of town for a few days next month so I will get a practice run with the cubes before I have to pack for "the big show".

i will have to check these out!

 

[Leash]

our DL trip was great- i have a TR started in my sig. but i just didn't feel the same magic as WDW. but we did love it. we rushed a lot too- since we only had 3 days----even though it was supposed to be a relaxing trip. lol we did decide if we go back, we are staying at the grand californian. we stayed off site, and drove everyday and it was a hassle to drive, park, take the tram and walk. heck, i am DVC, so if we go again, we could use points there too. i just didn't have any to use this year for this trip.

i will have to check these out!

So glad you had a great trip to DL. I think the magic feeling can also depend on what you are used to. Thinking back I know I felt some magic when we went to WDW but not as much as we feel at DL. But I think part of that is we have been to DL so many times that my memories add to the magic feeling. Whereas at WDW we had never been so had no memories so the magic was there but different.

We have only stayed at one off site hotel that was too far to walk to the parks from and we will never do it again, you're right it is a huge pain to drive and park. One day I will be able to afford DVC and then we will always be at the Grand Californian, sigh, I love that hotel.