(Update 9/14!) WDW Sept 2014 Come Hell or High Water...Adults-only trip!

[DexLabDeeDee]

When I say "adults", I mean the term loosely. We definitely feel like kids in WDW!!

I decided to start a pre-trip report even though I'm not 100% sure that I am going but I am going to try my best to get there.

This is my therapy for the extremely cold weather that we've been having and continue to have. Also, I have a very stressful work situation right now involving a very belligerent employee. Hopefully, it'll be resolved soon and the tension level will drop!

So, I was sitting in my cube one very very cold day (schools were closed but work was still open! Apparently it's too cold for children but not for adults ) while my co-worker slammed doors and yelled, when I got an email about our bonus checks. Immediately, visions of Disney World danced through my head. My breathing picked up and my pulse started to race. I could taste the Florida air and feel the hot sun. I just HAD to go.

Unfortunately, the email didn't mention how much our bonuses would be, just that we could expect to receive them in March. I do expect to know how much it is going to be in Feb, though, and if it is anywhere close to last year, I should be able to afford a trip to the World.

Another potential stumbling block was my DH. He doesn't care much for Disney and would not want to go. I would have to convince him that I really needed to go and then I would have to find someone to go with me...


Quick links:

This is me
Who's coming with me? Part 1
Who's coming with me? Part 2

Potential Complication
To AKL or not to AKL Part 1
Rental Car

To AKL or not to AKL Part 2
Maybe not a complication after all... (a musing about life, not super related to vacation planning)
How WDW Stole My Heart

We're booked!!
OOP Food vs Free Dinning
4 for sure! - More about Bubbles

Quick TR - WDW 2008 Part 1
Quick TR - WDW 2008 Part 2
Tentative Itinerary - 3/15

Mickey Mail and ADRs!
More about Nature Girl - we are 5!
Schedule, MNSSHP, Lefse, and Belle

Updates as FD draws near...
Free Dining!!
Life update!

More Mickey Mail!!
Double Digits and Luggage!
Life Update and Disney Update!

Rental Car and lame Mickey Mail
More Rental Car and FP+!!
It is done!!

Dining Changes!
Mickey Mail!
The Super Exciting Nothing Update!

The Last of Our Mickey Mail!
To Memory Maker or To Not Memory Maker
Things are getting ugly...

The end is near!

 

[DexLabDeeDee]

Before I go on with my story, I should probably introduce myself.

I am a big Disney World fan, I live with my DH and our cat, Sirius Black. He's a (surprise!) black cat with a tiny bit of white on his chest. The vet thinks he's part Siamese, which would make sense because he has close set eyes and he talks A LOT. He reminds me a lot of Toothless from How to Train Your Dragon (from one of the other animation houses ).

I am 32 years old and I work as a chemist for a large company. I've been on several Disney trips, the last being in May 2013 with my youngest sister.

Here I am after I got 999,999 points on Buzz my last trip. As you can tell, I was really excited!

 

[DexLabDeeDee]

Before talking to my DH, I decided to talk to some of my family members to see if they might be willing to go. I have two younger sisters who are also fans of Disney, along with my parents. I called my middle sister (30) first because she hasn't been to Disney in a long time and I feel bad each time that I go that she (because of work) is not able to go.

She was a tentative and she could only go if it wasn't in the summer. She works as a naturalist, so she has programs all throughout the spring and summer. We call her Nature Girl. She is very much the middle sister: a peacekeeper and very practical. This is part of our conversation:

Me:"I feel bad that we go and you can't come along."
Nature Girl: "It's okay, I'm over it."
Me: "Well, I'm not."
Nature Girl: <laughs> "That's because you can't imagine turning down a Disney vacation ever."

It's true. It's completely incomprehensible to me that anyone would turn down a Disney trip if they knew about it with enough advance time.

So I'm already thinking September so that Nature Girl can come. Also, I would like to have free dining as well and maybe go to MNSSHP again. I love Halloween!

On to my next sister, Bubbles. The youngest at 27. As the oldest and youngest we definitely butt heads sometimes. Though I have trained her very well and she usually lets me take charge - I'm the oldest and I can't help myself.

Her reaction was much more immediate:

Me: "I'm thinking about going to Disney again if I can convince DH to let me go. Do you want to come?"
Bubbles: "Yes!....Wait, when?"
Me: "September for free dining."
Bubbles: "I would like to go but I'm not sure if I can - what if I have a different job by then and I don't have any vacation?"

So Bubbles is a barista in a coffee shop. She likes her job but would definitely like to get something in her field - music. She does teach music lessons on the side with the students of her music teacher husband but she wants something more permanent. Unfortunately, permanent music jobs aren't exactly thick on the ground. It is unlikely that she'll have something by Sept. But I don't mention that fact and we'll just wait and see.

The last time that the three of us girls were in Disney together was 2006. Nature Girl was 22 (far left), I was 25 (left), Bubbles was 19 (right), and then our DMom (far right):




So, my sisters are both maybes - on to my parents...

 

[DexLabDeeDee]

I called and talked to my DDad and he said that he thought they could swing it. Not exactly the enthusiastic response I was hoping for.

So, I had four maybes and now I needed to talk to my DH. He isn't too keen on me spending money on Disney but he usually understands that sometimes I just need to go. The money that I was going to use was my bonus money so I felt I had a strong position, I just needed the right time.

After dinner that night, while washing up the dishes, I casually mentioned my bonus check and how I wanted to go to Disney in Sept. He said okay and then that was that! I expected waaaay more discussion. Go Team Jenna for picking the perfect timing!! Do I know my DH or what?

So I'm definitely going in Sept....well...maybe...

 

[DexLabDeeDee]

Another aspect of the entire thing is that DH and I have been trying to have a baby for awhile now. We have now been referred to a specialist so we'll see where that goes.

So, depending on how it goes, I may have to either cancel my trip or go to Disney pregnant. I know I'd have fun in Disney no matter what but I'm a little bummed at the thought of not being able to ride EE or ToT or RnRC. I know I'd be really happy to be pregnant but I want to have it all - a baby within the next year and a 2014 Sept Disney vacation without being pregnant. Not asking for much, am I? Can the stork just deliver me a baby in Oct?

Well, if it ends up that we just aren't able to have any kids - at least I'll have my Disney vacation to look forward to!

 

[ChickyRootie]

yay! Disney in September!! That is one of my favorite times to go!! I'm following along, can't wait to read more about your plans... And hey I've been to Disney three times pregnant and you know what...if was FABULOUS!! A little bit more shopping, eating and relaxing to take the place of the thrill rides and cocktails...did I mention shopping??? and what better place to shop for baby than at Disney?? Have you seen the adorable baby stuff they have there?? Good luck with your plans!!

 

[BellesLibrary]

Following!

I'm with you--how can ANYONE not jump at the idea of a Disney vacation? That is a crime in my world.

Here's hoping that you can get everything in order so you can go!!

 

[DexLabDeeDee]

yay! Disney in September!! That is one of my favorite times to go!! I'm following along, can't wait to read more about your plans... And hey I've been to Disney three times pregnant and you know what...if was FABULOUS!! A little bit more shopping, eating and relaxing to take the place of the thrill rides and cocktails...did I mention shopping??? and what better place to shop for baby than at Disney?? Have you seen the adorable baby stuff they have there?? Good luck with your plans!!

That is great to hear, ChickyRootie! I have been concerned and it seems so silly to put Disney and preganancy at the same level but I really need this vacation!

I didn't think about the shopping. That's a good point. I actually already have a onesie that looks like Mike Wazowski from Monsters Inc. I just happen to see it at Target and I couldn't help myself. If it doesn't work out, I'll just gift it to someone else. It's super cute! I can only imagine all the wonderful things they have at Disney World.

Following!

I'm with you--how can ANYONE not jump at the idea of a Disney vacation? That is a crime in my world.

Here's hoping that you can get everything in order so you can go!!

It's incomprehensible that you wouldn't jump at the chance. Especially a Disney vacation with me! You don't have to do anything but just sit back and enjoy - I'll take care of the details. People are crazy.

 

[DexLabDeeDee]

So, over the weekend, my parents and I were talking Disney plans. DDad says that he kept finding deals for the AKL villas and Savannah view rooms. But when pressed, he couldn't exactly tell me where he found the deals.

In his defense, he and DMom have been planning and booking hotel rooms for a vacation at the end of March and for the weddings we're going to this summer, so I'm sure he lost it in the shuffle. The trip they have planned is a cruise with my aunt and uncle and grandma so it's a little complicated to coordinate between them all. My parents have never been on a cruise so it's an education for them. Unfortunately, it isn't a Disney cruise since the sail dates didn't match with their plans.

But, DDad is really serious about doing AKL in some form or another. Which has been a dream of ours but it's just so expensive! Even if we all share a room (my parents, Bubbles and me), it's still really expensive. And from what I understand, the "deals" that DDad found were from Expedia or something so I don't think that we'd get the free dining that we were hoping for. We'd have to see if the savings was greater than what we'd spend on dining.

So DDad is gungho on AKL, DMom would love love to do it but is hung up on the money. I'm on the fence myself but I would love to experience a Deluxe sometime. If we did do it, I'd want to have a savannah view and that is really expensive and I'm not sure if it is worth it. I'll have to check on the resort board. I'd hate to pay all that money and not really see any animals!

This is all assuming that Nature Girl won't go. If she does go, we'll have to revamp our plans because we'll need two rooms. Though DMom would like to "sneak her in". When I asked her where Nature Girl would sleep, she shrugged and said that I could sleep on the floor. Then she laughed. That's my mom - trying to squeeze savings wherever she can while teasing us all unmercifully. She has a wicked streak. She does love us dearly, she just likes to push our buttons. Especially Bubbles' buttons. Bubbles is very easily embarrassed sometimes. DMom has made it an art. It really livens things up!

 

[wiigirl]

Following along!

 

[DexLabDeeDee]

The one thing that we did discuss in length and eventually decided on was renting a car despite the cost. DMom has back problems and while it's something that she manages and can walk, it's harder on her back if she's standing still on concrete. So by the end of the day, it could potentially be miserable for her to stand and wait for a bus. If we ended up parked really far away, then we would plonk her down on a bench at the park entrance/TTC and then go and pick her up. Hopefully, we'd be able to get back up there and not be directed to the parking lot exit. We'll have to research it. I'm sure everyone would just pick their people up if they could. Maybe we could go into the taxi/valet area.

Hmm.....

I am really excited about having a car, though. I really hate waiting for a bus at the end of the night and being jam packed in either standing or sitting! I much prefer to be under my own steam and I would rather sit in traffic exiting with a seat than getting jostled standing on a bus.

 

[DexLabDeeDee]

Following along!

Welcome!

 

[DexLabDeeDee]

Happy Belated Valentine's Day, everyone!

I also turned 33 last week. I got a Disney giftcard from my parents to spend on our trip!! Very good gift.

I've been listening to my Four Parks, One World CD almost non-stop in the car as I go to and from work in the cold and snow. We got up to 40F today - whoo hoo! - but we're supposed to have a snowstorm on Thursday. Nothing compared to the East Coast but ugh. We've had a very long, snowy, cold, cold winter; and it's not even over! March is usually the snowstorm month so I can't imagine what it's going to be like if we've already had this much snow.

But in Disney planning news - we are definitely going to AKL and staying in a savannah view room!! The money still makes me cringe a little but I did get my bonus at work and DDad really really really wanted to stay there. Normally, he's quiet and doesn't get to excited about anything but when I was talking to him, he kept asking if we could somehow make it work out. He was so anxious and almost pleading that I couldn't say no.

We've always said that we've wanted to do this someday; why not this year? I would hate for us to not stay at AKL and then have something happen to my parents and then living with the regret for not taking the opportunity. Fortunately, though we can't afford to do it every time, we can afford to do it this once.

AKL here we come!!!

 

[MatoMany]

AKL is one of the places I have always wanted to stay but can never justify the money in staying there. Have fun!

As for going to Disney possibly pregnant. Ive been to Disney during 2 of my 4 children's pregnancies, it was a lot of fun. Yes there is limitations but it gives you an opportunity to enjoy things that you might have overlooked otherwise. And you can always shop a bit for the baby. Im about to go again pregnant, going to look for coming home outfits while my husband takes my older ones on the rides that I can't ride.

 

[DexLabDeeDee]

AKL is one of the places I have always wanted to stay but can never justify the money in staying there. Have fun!

As for going to Disney possibly pregnant. Ive been to Disney during 2 of my 4 children's pregnancies, it was a lot of fun. Yes there is limitations but it gives you an opportunity to enjoy things that you might have overlooked otherwise. And you can always shop a bit for the baby. Im about to go again pregnant, going to look for coming home outfits while my husband takes my older ones on the rides that I can't ride.

CONGRATULATIONS on baby #5! Oh my goodness, that is a lot of joy you have going on at home! I'm glad to hear that so many people have enjoyed Disney while pregnant. At least I'll know ahead of time so I can adjust to not being able to ride my favorite ride - Expedition Everest.

 

[DexLabDeeDee]

Happy Monday, everyone!

DH and I spent the weekend at a hotel in town for a staycation for my birthday! It was a lot of fun. We visited the Mall of America, minigolfed, went to the MN History Center, saw Frozen for the first time and ate and ate and ate!

I went to the Disney Store at the MOA and though I do like the interactive parts, I am disappointed in it as a whole. There isn't a lot beyond the toys, dolls, and outfits. There used to be a lot more. I miss the art of the old store and the neat Disney bags and shirts, etc. I understand that this is mainly a kids thing but I would think that there would be at least a little bit of a market for the "kids at heart".

Speaking of disappointments, DDad sent me a PIN code email this weekend for 35% off a resort stay in September. YAY, right? Um, no. The PIN code expired on Feb 15th. Apparently, DDad didn't notice it. In his defense, he's still trying to navigate the new tabs in Gmail. I had him take it off and just do everything in the Inbox. Don't want to miss great opportunities like that again!

Oh well, we'll see what the next few months bring. Free dining would be worth it for us. And my parents are always getting pin codes. You just never know. I NEVER get a pin code. I think Disney is trying to bring in their demographic. The email had pictures of older people enjoying Disney. So, there's one good thing about getting older!

 

[DexLabDeeDee]

And as for the other thing, for those of you interested, we got referred to a specialist since we've had some trouble conceiving and I just got all the instructions about how to go about setting up an appointment.

Wow. There is a lot to do before we can even be seen! So much medical stuff and insurance stuff. I did call my insurance and they won't cover any IVF, etc. I'm still waiting to hear back to see if they'll even cover diagnostic testing to see why we're having trouble.

And boy oh boy is all of this very expensive. Not that I thought it would be cheap but it's just so much more than I was thinking. I know that we'll go in stages but if we take it all the way, it'll wipe out our savings and then some!

So, DH and I will have to do some soul searching. We could probably afford to do all of the testing but then we wouldn't be able to pay to do anything about it after we got the results. Is that worth it? Is finally knowing for sure whether or not it's a possiblity for us worth it? I don't know. I would like to say that money is no object but it really is. Especially at this amount of money. (I know this sounds weird to be talking about it being too much money when we may be doing a deluxe resort but even if we skipped the Disney trip, we wouldn't save nearly enough money and I so badly need my Disney fix.)

Perhaps it is not our destiny to become parents. And you know what? Right now, I'm okay with that. I think DH and I could have a great life without kids. It wouldn't be our first choice but we'd have a lot of opportunities to go and do things that we couldn't do if we had kids. I do worry about when we're older and we'd have no one to come over for Christmas or other holidays. Or if, heaven forbid, one of us died, the other would be very alone.

Okay, well, I'm just going to concentrate on the present and let the future take care of itself!

 

[DexLabDeeDee]

Okay, enough of the serious stuff, let's talk about something fun! I thought I would talk about my past trips to Disney and how I fell in love with my happy place!

I had been to Disney twice as a kid at ages 8 and 11. Both times were with my parents, sisters, aunt, and cousin. Like most kids those ages, I have fond memories of the hotel pool. We stayed off-site and though I did like Disney, espcially Horizons!, I remember quite clearly begging to go back to the hotel to swim.

Fast forward to 23 years old, 2004. Nature Girl played softball in college and was part of the round robin tournaments that go on all throughout March. Basically, different schools go down during their Spring Breaks and play whoever else is also there on break. DDad loves baseball and softball so him and DMom always went along with the team. Bubbles always went because she was still at home and I went this one time because I also happened to be on Spring Break from college.

My parents had been talking about how they had gone to Disney for a day the previous year and they had had the best time. DDad could not stop talking about the customer service and the attention to detail put into everything. So, one day, DMom, Bubbles, and I decided to go to the Magic Kingdom while DDad went to Nature Girl's game.

It was raining. So we went to the Publix (which DDad kept accidentally referring to as Pubix therefore horrifying us all) to grab some ponchos. I don't remember getting to the Magic Kingdom but DDad must have dropped us off at the TTC and then went on his merry way.

Looking back on it now, I realize that we were really lucky to have gone when it was raining because we were there during Spring Break and waaay after rope drop. I remember thinking that the park seemed empty. So, we walked right on to Space Mountain. Bubbles in front, then me, and then DMom. Our ponchos were still on (for the record, now they make you take them off before boarding but for some reason didn't back then? ) and as we went down that first hill, our ponchos flapped hard, sprinkling us all with water. I started to giggle. I could hear Bubbles doing her little sister "I'm evil and loving it" giggle in front of me. Which made me giggle even harder. Then we heard it as we dove down and then back up again "whaaaaAAAAAAaaaaaAAAAAaaaaaaa!" DMom screaming. But not just screaming, screaming in time with the ups and downs. As we went over a hill, she would scream high and louder and as we decended, she would scream low and slightly quieter. This was continuous. Non-stop. It was completely ridiculous, our ponchos spraying our faces and DMoms stereo screaming behind us.

Bubbles and I had a hard time exiting the ride, we were laughing so hard. DMom didn't understand why we until Bubbles did a spot on impression of her screaming (DMom and Bubbles are VERY alike, its scary). She immediately doubled over herself and we all stumbled out into the rain, looked at each other and said "Let's do it, again!"

And it was there, like any good love story, that I fell in love standing in the rain and I have been going back ever since.

 

[DexLabDeeDee]

I have an update!

As I may have mentioned, DDad is very anxious to book. I told him that we were waiting for free dining to be announced but he didn't want to wait so I went in to high gear putting together all the information we needed to make our decision.

And it was a lot of information. Since Bubbles and Nature Girl were on the fence, I put together a lot of scenarios in a spreadsheet (love spreadsheets!!) to see which ones would be our best options. I also spent some time reading some PTRs and TRs even though we ourselves had been to Disney several times, just to get a different perspective. One of those PTRs mentioned that they had gotten a good deal through AAA. DDad has AAA, so I decided to check them out.

Wow. Depending on the scenario, we would be saving between $700-$1100 as compared to straight up Disney prices . And considering that AAA membership is only about $70, this is an incredible deal. Granted, this is only on the room portion of the package but it's worth it to check them out. When I called their travel booking, they didn't even ask for DDad's AAA number to get a quote, so you may be able to get a price and then see if buying a membership is worth it.

My travel agent was so awesome and very nice. She looked up so many different rooms and prices for me without a complaint. Originally, we were thinking that perhaps Nature Girl would only come for a few days and we would then get another room for her so that we wouldn't be bound by her tickets and/or dining options. Well, that is very expensive to do. I knew that there were suite options so we looked into that. It was cheaper to get a 1 bedroom suite than to get another room for even a few days. Thank you, AAA!

After considering all our options, we decided to book as if everyone was going and then just remove people as necessary, which would make me very sad so I hope I don't have to! As of right now, we are staying here for a week in September:


A 1 bedroom villa with Savannah View in Kidani Village at Animal Kingdom Lodge!!

I am very excited! If we do have one person not go, we'll downgrade to a Savannah view room in Jambo House but I'm kinda getting attached to the idea of a villa. Maybe that's a bad thing because it may spoil me but this also may be our only chance to do something like this. And, who wouldn't want to travel with these two crazy girls:


Bubbles and Nature Girl, the last time NG was in Disney, 2006

We'll also be renting a car. I went to MouseSavers.com where they have a lot of car rental codes, which is awesome. I found that the cheapest car for a week in September is through Alamo at the Car Care Center on Disney property. National is just a few dollars more. Since I've had some trouble with Alamo in the past, I think we'll be going with National. We'll wait to book for the moment, though.

We are also waiting for free dining to be released, cross your fingers!

So excited!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[DexLabDeeDee]

Sooooo.....

I've been reading a lot around the site about MB, FP+, and the possibility of FD.

I'm a little concerned about the MB working properly and if we do get FD, having DDP screwed up on our MB. I can definitely see DDad losing his patience over the entire thing and I would like to mitigate it if I can. The only way to help mitigate that would be to not do the DDP at all, even if FD is offered.

Okay, I'm going to think out loud here. With prices. <<if you are not interested in the math, scroll down to the bottom for my conclusion in BOLD>>

So, I calculated, using the menus, that it would be about $250 per person, per week for OOP meals (mostly CS with snacks and 2 TS for the week).

With 4 people that is $1000 (includes tips)
With 5 people that is $1250 (includes tips)

The Disney DDP, per person, per week, is $410.

With 4 people that is $1640 ($640 difference)
With 5 people that is $2050 ($800 difference)

But - we need to factor in tip. So, at around $30 per person a meal, tips for a week using the DDP would be:

Add $168 to the 4 person and $210 to the 5 person:

$1808 (4 person DDP) ($808 difference from OOP)
$2260 (5 person DDP) ($1010 difference from OOP)

Okay, now for room prices:

AKL Savannah view (4 people) AAA price $2677
AKL Villa Savannah view (5 people) AAA price $3752

Add food OOP and you get total (not including tickets):

AKL $3677
Villa $5002

If we do get FD, then we would lose the AAA rate. So Disney rack rates plus tip prices (again, not including tickets):

AKL $3376 + $168 = $3544
Villa $3894 + $210 = $4104

If we saved the AAA rate and then just added DDP at regular prices with tip, it would be:

AKL $2677 + $1808 = $4485
Villa $3752 + $2260 = $6012

So, for free dining we would be "paying" (the difference between Disney prices and AAA prices with OOP food):

AKL -$133 (negative)
Villa -$898 (negative)

So, yikes, instead of "paying" we would be saving a lot if we got FD. The difference between paying for food (OOP) and not paying for food (FD) is greater than the AAA rate. Note: Breakfast was not included in the calculations since we would be doing breakfast OOP no matter what.

Even if DMom shared her meals with someone, we still would save money.

So, I guess that it'll be worth it to do FD and just hope our MBs work and then, if they are a problem, remind DDad of our savings!