Two and a half hours on hold.... and worth every minute!

[NOLAdisneymom]

Note: I’ve been typing on this PTR for about 4 months now, saved in my pc, but never posted it, so there will be a LOT of posts at the beginning…. Thanks in advance for reading!



Hello Readers! This is my second PTR, hopefully this one will be smoother and more interesting than the first!

WHO: Let me introduce us. Going on this trip will be my DS10,Jarrott..my DH Chris.. and myself, Angela.

WHAT: We’ve got 6 day Park Hopper Tix, no water parks, and the Disney Dining Plan.

WHEN: I received a PIN in the mail for 35% off Moderate, starting December 11. We will be staying until December 16. (Edited) Scratch that, we’ll be going from November 13 to November 18, using the same PIN.

WHERE: We’re staying at Port Orleans Riverside this trip, more on that in a bit.





How this trip came about.

Last year we took Chris’s son Jacob to Disneyworld in November. He was 17 and it was his first trip. Yes, I know, poor sheltered boy. We also took his girlfriend with us. A wonderful time was had by all. We learned quite a lot about Rope Drop, Fastpass, and the Dining Plan. As in, they are ALL necessary for the best trip, in OUR opinion, anyway.

My son, DS10, did not go on this trip, as he was with his father for the Thanksgiving holiday. He was aware that we were going, and was not upset that he wasn’t, as he put it, he had “been there, done that”, in 2007. Well… as soon as we got back, and he saw the pictures, he was instantly heartbroken about not being taken. So, him being my only child, this broke MY heart also.. So a new trip was in the works.

In 2008, the week leading up to Thanksgiving was an excellent week for weather and crowds. In 2010, Free Dining made a mess of it. On the Tuesday before Tday – shoulder to shoulder in MK. So this year, we decided to go a bit later. Sometime in February we got the offer for 35% off a Moderate resort, and went ahead and booked.

 

[NOLAdisneymom]

How we chose a resort:

I stayed at All Star Movies in 2007, and it was nice, but not really my thing. I stayed at Coronado Springs way back in 1999, did NOT love it. That one was out. I’m just not into the whole southwestern thing. We stayed at Caribbean Beach in 2008 and 2010. We love it, but I really wanted to try something different. So that left the Port Orleans resorts. Problem was, being from the New Orleans area; we didn't know that either of them would appeal to us. We spend a lot of weekends wandering the “real” French Quarter, so that was scratched out. In the end, it was the pics of POR that did me in, plus the boat to DTD. I did request the Mansions sections.


The Disney Dining Plan

The DDP was never something I gave more than a passing thought to. I figured we could eat for WAY less than the cost. Then they gave us Free Dining for our 2010 trip. I rec’d a PIN for it, about 2 months after we booked, and called and added it to our package. It was love at first bite. There is something about your meals being paid for before you go, and being able to tell the teenagers, YES, you can have ANYTHING you want from the entrée and dessert sections. It’s so liberating to not be checking prices and watching your budget and adding up your receipts all the time. So, one trip with Free Dining has turned me into a DDP lover. Even if we have to pay for it…. Which we do…. So far…. I’m hoping that a FD PIN comes to me for my trip dates, it would save us $400 more than the room discount PIN. Also, since DS will be 11 when we go, he is a Disney dining “adult” and can have all the steak and salmon he wants, what with him being a little foodie and all, and not be forced to eat pizza and nuggets every meal.

 

[lfwhipp]

Subbing, hey Angela!

 

[annmarieda]

I am here.

 

[brookelizabeth]

I'm here! Thanks for sending out the bat signal.

 

[NOLAdisneymom]

Subbing, hey Angela!

Hey, Laurie! Thanks for coming by!

I am here.

Hey Ann! I gotta tell you, one of your TR's was one that inspired me to write my own!

 

[3boys4me]

Found it

 

[mermaid764]

I'm here!

Thanks for the heads up

 

[Oliquig]

I love your ptr so far, looking foward to reading more!

 

[PittypatBR]

Well, I am glad you finally got this TR started! I enjoyed your last one and I am looking forward to hearing more.

 

[annmarieda]

Hey Ann! I gotta tell you, one of your TR's was one that inspired me to write my own!

Well, I am glad to have inspired you.. but I have to laugh. Was it my neat way of rambling?

Seriously though... I am very glad you started your PTR!!!!

 

[NOLAdisneymom]

I'm here! Thanks for sending out the bat signal.

Found it

Hi Shelley!

I'm here!

Thanks for the heads up

Thanks for coming!!

I love your ptr so far, looking foward to reading more!

Thanks! I'm so excited to have readers!

Well, I am glad you finally got this TR started! I enjoyed your last one and I am looking forward to hearing more.

I'm excited about writing it now! Welcome!

Well, I am glad to have inspired you.. but I have to laugh. Was it my neat way of rambling?

Seriously though... I am very glad you started your PTR!!!!

The rambling.. and all the details! I love details! LOL!

 

[bizeemom4]

Hi! Found my way over from the FBook link. Great start!

Laura

 

[jenseib]

I'm here too!

 

[Abby's Dad]

OK - let's get this party going!

Fred

 

[lfwhipp]

Well, I am glad to have inspired you.. but I have to laugh. Was it my neat way of rambling?

Seriously though... I am very glad you started your PTR!!!!

you are so funny, you dont ramble, you talk it out in style

 

[annmarieda]

you are so funny, you dont ramble, you talk it out in style

at least I have some style in something.

 

[lynnielou]

Hello everyone!

I am here to join in as much as my time allows. DH sent me the link. Things are off to a fine start. I look foward to reading this PTR.

 

[NOLAdisneymom]

Driving vs. Flying

As we all know, the gas prices are insane. So while I’m terrified to fly, it was something we needed to consider, especially since Southwest flies straight out of New Orleans, and its only an hour and a half flight. Now, Southwest has not released its flights for December yet, but as far as I can estimate, we are looking at $1100.00 MINIMUM for the three of us to fly. So I estimated getting 18mpg in my gas guzzling Tahoe, with gas being at $4.00 a gallon (please let this NOT be the case), fuel would cost me about $320 round trip.

Even if you add in a hotel for the night before our package starts and two meals on the road, that’s still only about $450.00. SO. It looks like we will be driving. Hubby isn’t looking forward to 10 hours each way, but I informed him that lots of people drive three times that far for THEIR Disney fix.

Last trip home he cut the time from 10.5 hours to 9.5 hours.. He had 2 monster drinks, 2 cups of coffee and an espresso from DTD before we left..

 

[NOLAdisneymom]

Hello everyone!

I am here to join in as much as my time allows. DH sent me the link. Things are off to a fine start. I look foward to reading this PTR.

I'm so happy you're joining in! Welcome!