Vegan mom takes on Disney..... Dec, 2011 PTR

[shocky5]

Enter dh....

He tells me yesterday, don't know if B really wants to go to WDW, I think she would rather go on a cruise.... maybe a disney cruise but still.....
AND I still don't know why we would do the same things all over again. I know, I know, JI does not remember a lot of it but well, still.....

GGRRRRRRR!

Enter ME!!

Hold on, hold on, hold ON!! You have GOT to be kidding me! Really, the kids don't want to go to WDW... whose kids are these!!

Enter B:

Well mom, it's just that I want to go on a cruise one day... I don't care what kind I just think it would be fun. Oh yeah, and of course I want to go to WDW world, especially at Christmas, can you just imagine all the lights and trees, I love Disney and I LOVE Christmas, it would be the best

Aaahhh, there's the girl I know.

Enter JI:

I can't remember most of WDW I want to do EVERYTHING again!

Enter DH:
ok, um, Well, really, all I care about is spending time with everyone so I will just go where you all go

Enter ME:
HA!!! Told you so!

End scene

YOU GO GIRL! That's all I have to say!

I finally made it over here! Crazy at my house right now - hmm... it's always crazy at my house... Anyway - loving your report - glad you decided to do it!

So sorry about the medical stuff you have gone through but kudos to you for taking charge!

 

[JacksMama]

Hi there veggiemama! I hunted down the vegan bakery for you at WDW, because everyone should get to enjoy dessert.

http://www.babycakesnyc.com/2010/11/its-truebabycakes-nyc-now-in-downtown-disney.html

And... a blog review full of food porn!

http://www.disneyfoodblog.com/2010/11/15/guest-review-babycakes-nyc-cupcakes-at-disney-world/

Hope you get to try it out!

 

[disneyaddicted]

You know, maybe you are crazy! But we all have a little crazy (some of us have a lot) in us! Truly, it is the only way to do life Yes my blood type is A. Curious why you wondered that?
When Bo said "I bet your type A, I knew she had to be right. I will let her tell you how she knows though.

BO actually switched her eating habits too, she was at one time a carnivorous bein glike me but she was getting sick alot too, her life style change has done nothin gbut wonders for her.

Me? I tried, but according to the list of things I needed to drop from diet coffee was one of them and I just couldn't do it. no way no how. I did try alot of her superly nature foods and some veggie meals she prepared and I really liked them.
I'm not sure my dd will do the American idol. Though she loves her music she is still pretty shy. I am going to encourage her to give it a try though. I think she would be pleasantly surprised by how much fun it would be
:

My DD writes her own music, she plays guitar and used to sing in a band, she's gone "solo" since then, I would love to have her do the American Idol experience, I know she would love it and she agrees with me, she loves being on stage, but she doesn't like Disney, she's been twice and said that is all she needs in a life time.
I agree with Bo, I bet your DD would rock the AI stage, maybe she will come out of her shell by then, or maybe she could watch a show to get the feel of it and then decide. Anyway, I know ya'll will have a great time regardless.

 

[veggiemama]

Hi there veggiemama! I hunted down the vegan bakery for you at WDW, because everyone should get to enjoy dessert.

http://www.babycakesnyc.com/2010/11/its-truebabycakes-nyc-now-in-downtown-disney.html

And... a blog review full of food porn!

http://www.disneyfoodblog.com/2010/11/15/guest-review-babycakes-nyc-cupcakes-at-disney-world/

Hope you get to try it out!

OH MY! You just made my Disney trip !!! I'm going to end up spending way too much time and money there I bet!

 

[veggiemama]

My DD writes her own music, she plays guitar and used to sing in a band, she's gone "solo" since then, I would love to have her do the American Idol experience, I know she would love it and she agrees with me, she loves being on stage, but she doesn't like Disney, she's been twice and said that is all she needs in a life time.
I agree with Bo, I bet your DD would rock the AI stage, maybe she will come out of her shell by then, or maybe she could watch a show to get the feel of it and then decide. Anyway, I know ya'll will have a great time regardless.

I think the same thing. I will most certainly be pestering her to do it!

 

[veggiemama]

YOU GO GIRL! That's all I have to say!

I finally made it over here! Crazy at my house right now - hmm... it's always crazy at my house... Anyway - loving your report - glad you decided to do it!

So sorry about the medical stuff you have gone through but kudos to you for taking charge!

I understand the crazy!! I have one week till spring break and I swear I will be doing 3 weeks amount of work in one.

I was out for my walk today and ended up talking to a new client and they signed up on the spot..... I sure get some strange looks as I am cruising around my little town and talking music, seemingly to myself!

 

[veggiemama]

So after dh little 'scare the crap out of me' scene I think he must have felt bad He now has informed me that maybe staying onsite makes more sense and so I should check out the pricing for that as well!

So now I'm back to the starting line..... Where to stay, where to stay, where to stay!! HELP!!!!!

Ok, here are my options:

1: stick with the condo and rented car, potentially do a few things off site like Nasa, Sea world, and dh seems to think her really wants to go to Hard Rock Cafe

2: Stay at the value resort, like Pop or All Star music. Spend more days in the parks and maybe rent a car for 1 day and go off site just one day.

3: Stay at the moderate resort, like CBR and spend the whole week onsite.

If we stay onsite, is it worth doing the DDP? Can I even do that with my special dietary needs?

The only thing that hasn't changed is the dates! And I don't trust that anymore either! Knowing my dh he is suddenly going to say "let's go for 2 weeks instead of 1" !!!!! Good thing I love him!

I'm truly not getting anything done... I keep reading and reading and reading just waiting for some sort of AH HA! moment where all the pieces of where to stay will fall into place!

 

[shocky5]

So after dh little 'scare the crap out of me' scene I think he must have felt bad He now has informed me that maybe staying onsite makes more sense and so I should check out the pricing for that as well!

So now I'm back to the starting line..... Where to stay, where to stay, where to stay!! HELP!!!!!

Ok, here are my options:

1: stick with the condo and rented car, potentially do a few things off site like Nasa, Sea world, and dh seems to think her really wants to go to Hard Rock Cafe

2: Stay at the value resort, like Pop or All Star music. Spend more days in the parks and maybe rent a car for 1 day and go off site just one day.

3: Stay at the moderate resort, like CBR and spend the whole week onsite.

If we stay onsite, is it worth doing the DDP? Can I even do that with my special dietary needs?

The only thing that hasn't changed is the dates! And I don't trust that anymore either! Knowing my dh he is suddenly going to say "let's go for 2 weeks instead of 1" !!!!! Good thing I love him!

I'm truly not getting anything done... I keep reading and reading and reading just waiting for some sort of AH HA! moment where all the pieces of where to stay will fall into place!

Okay - preclause - this is just totally my opinion... After staying onsite our prior 2 trips, I can't think of doing it any other way. And I don't think it matters where you stay - you just have to pick out what is important to you in regards to park locations and transportation to get there.

We've had friends stay at Pop, and the All Stars (we never had as we are a family of 5) and they had a tremendous experience. So if saving on your room because you are never going to be in there but you want to be on site, then go for a value!

If you want a little bit more 'resort' feel to your trip, then go with moderate. Have heard wonderful things about CBR, POR... true transformation to a different world away from anything else - much like the feel the parks give you.

But my vote for you would be to do the onsite experience, at least once! And if DH is on board - GO FOR IT!!

Also, love the DDP. I love, if for nothing else, that our food is paid for before we ever even get there. I've done the comparison and we have always come out ahead on the DDP - saved us $$$!! We do the regular old DDP. Plenty of table service meals for us and if we go over, then we do pay out of pocket for the cheapest table service we have scheduled. And I've not one time heard someone say they couldn't get what they needed from the chef for special dietary needs. I'm sure there are a lot of experts on here that can point you in the right direction of the best locations to accommodate you!! AND you are still not in the date range of which you can make your dining reservations so you have plenty of time to fret over them with the rest of us!!

 

[disneyaddicted]

Oh Wow, I hate the thought of major changes, but I love it to...what a great challenge.

Ok, you could keep things the same and the pros are, your own kitchen... so that makes it easier for your dietary needs.

It might be nice to step away from the hubaloo of Disney every minute. (I don't really mean that.LOL)

Sea World and NASA sounds like major fun, I haven't been to Seaworld but I did go to the space center years and years ago, I loved it.

Now if you stay on property, it's nice not having to deal with driving and parking each day.

You get to partake of the extra magic hours for resort guests only.

the resorts offer fun activities through out the day, even the values.

I am more than sure that you can still have your dietary needs met on the DDP, however I heard it really doesn't save you much more money to buy DDP then it does to pay out of pocket. I have always gotten the DDP and this year I think we are are going to pay OOP. I think I can eat cheaper than what the DDP would cost me. IT might not be the same for everybody though, I say do the math, make some calls and see what works best for ya'll.

I hope your decision comes easy for you. It's rough when you think you have it all planned out and then you discover you still got some work to do.

 

[annmarieda]

I really don't have much to add that hasn't already been said. My vote would be #3. I have stayed off site and while it gave us some flexibility on what we could do non disney relate and it afforded us a bigger room, the fact we paid oop for all our meals, had to rent a car, had to pay for parking and couldn't do extra magic hour made it so I ONLY like to stay on property now. The transportation and ddp just make my life so much easier.

Being mom, I try and keep us within the budget for spending while on a trip. The ddp makes it so I have less to worry about since food is covered. My dh's philosophy on a trip is "we are on vacation" so he will eat WHATEVER he wants. Knowing that our meal is not going to break our budget (or cause me to choose a slice of bread to compensate) is important to me.

Being the main driver, when we rent a car I have to drive us around. Orlando isn't hard to navigate, but when one person insists on going to the park later or going back to the room earlier than rest... I am left driving back and forth. I know this isn't what normal families do... but since I somehow make it my mission to ensure everyone has a good time... I try to accommodate everyone.

 

[veggiemama]

Great tips everyone!

So I've been crunching numbers today and checking out the numbers from our previous trip and here is what I have come up with:

By the time we rent the condo (which is cheap and has 2 bedrooms but is not onsite), rent a car, pay for gas and parking at all the worlds. It ends up costing about as much as staying at Pop.

I then added on a DDP and checked it against what we spent on food last time and the DDP is cheaper, providing I can get my meals. The only downside to DDP is that my kids are not big eaters but they are too old for the children's menu. I hate having wasted food. Even taking with us to eat later, probably would not happen.

The only thing that is cheaper is the actual tickets. I can get them for a bit less seperately, not a lot mind you but it is a savings.

So then I looked at moderate, CBR. Run the same numbers and comes out to about $400 more than Pop. Makes sense.

I presented all this to my dh last night and with some pros and cons of value versus moderate and his repsonse was go ......

MODERATE!!

Could have knocked me over! But as he said to me, it's a holiday and I don't like going 'cheap' I want to eat what I want, when I want and I like to eat good food. He really liked the idea of relaxing on the hammocks and having the running trails.

Sooooo..... Now I'm still debating. Do we want to stay the whole time on site. DH response: might as well, it's really what we are going there for and it is still 'magical' for the kids yet, they are young enough to have the 'magic' experience. In a few years they might now feel the same (seriously?!!) and then busch gardens and sea world and all that other stuff will still be fun. There is only a small period of time where WDW is truly kid magic time.

He has a point, I think. I probably can't convey exactly what he was saying to me but it made sense when we were talking.

Crazy guy, from a few days ago of "I don't know if we really need to go again" to "We should stay onsite and spend all our time in WDW"

My initial decision is to stay on site. Don't know why I'm hesitating.... Probably because it seems like such an extravagance and I'm not used to thinking "Go for it". I'm much more used to "budget wisely". Weird how life changes.

 

[veggiemama]

I really don't have much to add that hasn't already been said. My vote would be #3. I have stayed off site and while it gave us some flexibility on what we could do non disney relate and it afforded us a bigger room, the fact we paid oop for all our meals, had to rent a car, had to pay for parking and couldn't do extra magic hour made it so I ONLY like to stay on property now. The transportation and ddp just make my life so much easier.

Being mom, I try and keep us within the budget for spending while on a trip. The ddp makes it so I have less to worry about since food is covered. My dh's philosophy on a trip is "we are on vacation" so he will eat WHATEVER he wants. Knowing that our meal is not going to break our budget (or cause me to choose a slice of bread to compensate) is important to me.

That is what my dh told me too! And not having to worry about the cost of food seems like a really nice thing. I'd rather focus on other things and my dh hates and will NOT decide to eat for cheap. If he is hungry he wants to eat and eat well. He tells me that when he travels for work they don't go budget and now he doesn't like to do that on a holiday either. But I come from a very frugal family up bringing and it's tough for me to let that go! I'm sure I could convince myself to do it though! Especially for Chirstmas!

 

[veggiemama]

Here are some pictures from our first visit in 2008. My parents went with us that trip and bless them, they actually paid for the trip too!

This is me and my mom on our first day.

Can you see the tickets hanging around our necks? Our first day in MK we went on Splash Mountain first thing and as we got off the ride there were CM handing out magic your way passes! My mom didn't even know what they were, she was trying to say "no we don't need those" as they were handing them out! What a fabulous start to our first trip!

We through out our itinerary. It took me almost 20 min to convince my mom that it was ok. We would do space mountain on our first day not second and yes, it would work just fine! She threw up her hands and said " Fine, fine but I'm just following you now, you make all the decisions"

After a couple more rides we sat down for lunch and then she was ready to pour over the itineraries again and figure out our new schedule. It was Fabulous!!

During our first lunch my dd lost her tooth!! She was so excited!

CM are wonderful, let me tell you! I went to go and get some napkins for her because it was bleeding a bit and ran into a CM. I told them what had happened and he came over with a special dessert for her and even for my ds!! How sweet! She was thrilled at the special attention.

This was my Dh favorite sign in all of Disney!

He kept quoting it all week!

More pictures later.... Time to go and work now for a few hours....

 

[annmarieda]

I am excited for you. I think you are going to love staying on property.

I too grew up in a frugal household. I clip coupons even now... I don't spend a lot on my own clothes... I have a hard time letting go of all that. Staying on property allows me to let it go. I would NEVER go to any restaurant and order a $40 plate. On the ddp... I don't even hesitate and it is nice.

 

[BoBippity]

Mmmmm popcorn... must be air popped, is there any other type Add a little Nutritional yeast (tastes like cheese, with a slightly nutty flavor and is full of B vitamins) and you have one of my favorite snacks/treats.

You know, maybe you are crazy! But we all have a little crazy (some of us have a lot) in us! Truly, it is the only way to do life Yes my blood type is A. Curious why you wondered that?

I'm not sure my dd will do the American idol. Though she loves her music she is still pretty shy. I am going to encourage her to give it a try though. I think she would be pleasantly surprised by how much fun it would be

Thank you for the well wishes! Every healthy day is a great day! I love what I do, I love every moment of every day, the good and the bad. We only get one life and I don't want to squander it by being negative or depressed about things I can't change. The things I can change, I do.

As for exercise.... ok, here I might sound a bit nuts
I walk for 45 min every morning, usually around 6:00 am. I then make breakfast for myself (and usually something for the kids) once they are off to school I do 1/2 of weight training (we have a bowflex which I LOVE!) Then I shower and start my work day.

Throughout the 7 hours my kids are at school. I practice piano. I usually play about 4 hours a day and it take me almost all 7 hours to do that. The reason is that I can't sit for more than about 45 minutes at the piano at a time. My back/spine just can't do more. BUT that is a HUGE improvement, right after my fall I could only sit for 5 minutes at a time. So in between my 45 minute sets I spend 15 minutes stretching, doing physio work, which is mostly with a band to help stretch and I do pilates work to strengthen my core.

Then I teach for the afternoon/evening, with a break to make dinner and eat with the family. I always finish teaching by 8 pm and then I spend time with the kids catching up and helping with whatever they need done. Though that gets less and less every year as they get older Then at about 9pm my dh and I go for a walk. Usually about 1/2 hour he then goes for a jog after that but I am not able to jog...yet! I fully intend to start jogging one day soon!!

After that, it's kids to bed and then we watch a show, some favorite comedy that we tape, and we stretch while watching that. Then off to bed and start all over again the next day!

Long response, I know. I just can't seem to keep the writing down to manageable amounts.

I can hardly wait to try the nutritional yeast on my popcorn!
I wondered if you were a Type A because the things you suffered from are common in people with Type A blood, most of us do better on a vegetarian type diet. YOu might be interested to Read "eat right 4 your type" by Dr. Peter j. D'Adamo. he also has a live right for you type. Great books! packed with info...
Have you considered yoga? I love it, it honestly gives me a full strengthening and cardio work out in one, but leaves me feeling calm and centerd, not drained.there are plenty of modifications for everyone individual ablility...
your family sounds so motivated and goal oriented! Thats awesome! I was dumbfounded by how much you accomplish in a day. You GO GIRL!!

 

[veggiemama]

I can hardly wait to try the nutritional yeast on my popcorn!
I wondered if you were a Type A because the things you suffered from are common in people with Type A blood, most of us do better on a vegetarian type diet. YOu might be interested to Read "eat right 4 your type" by Dr. Peter j. D'Adamo. he also has a live right for you type. Great books! packed with info...
Have you considered yoga? I love it, it honestly gives me a full strengthening and cardio work out in one, but leaves me feeling calm and centerd, not drained.there are plenty of modifications for everyone individual ablility...
your family sounds so motivated and goal oriented! Thats awesome! I was dumbfounded by how much you accomplish in a day. You GO GIRL!!

I have heard of his books but never read any of them. This will go on my list of summer reads.... aaahhh summer, sitting on my deck, drinking , well, something alcoholic! and reading..... all day long, Aaaaahhhh!

When I write out what I do in a day I always end up questioning myself! It seems like I should not be able to do all that I do. he he. Really though, that is an ideal day. There are many days when it changes. But the basic is there and the working out is no longer optional.

My dh put a quote up on his wall:

You will get anything done that you make a priority, period.

My favorite quote:

I run because I can, I can because I run.

Now I'm not running yet but the sentiment is there.

And on more favorite quote:

You will never go to bed regretting that you worked out.

 

[veggiemama]

Ok, time for an update:

It's a busy crazy week here but I am on my last day of teaching. I've been cleaning and organizing and all that fun stuff so now it is time for a break.

So here is where I'm at:

Where we are staying: I think I am at about 95% sure that we WILL be staying at CBR.

I still have reservations, mainly about Busing. Dh is pretty sure that he still wants to rent a vehicle. He really, really hates crowds on buses... and he's not too big on crowds in general! So I think to appease him we will rent a car. The nice thing, of course, about that is that we can get to other resorts easier.

We are still going: Dec 10-17

The plan:

This is not confirmed, of course yet because there are really no dates out yet for many of these events.

We should arrive sometime in the late afternoon on Sat.
ADR at AKL at Boma. I can stay there but I really, really want to soak up some of the ambiance. We may do some walking around on the trails to work out some of those long traveling day kinks.

Hang out at CBR and swim - oh, I know it will be 'cold' out side but where we are coming from it will probably be close to -30 celcius and so anything in Florida is WARM!

Day 1:

MK - I know lots of people go to other parks the first day, but I HAVE to get my MK fix before I can do anything else! I highly doubt there will be a MVMCP that night (it will be Sunday) so that means I really get my Christmas wish and we will have to do 2 days at MK
Lunch: Liberty Tree Tavern. Had such a good experience and meal there last time I just can't pass up doing it again!
Dinner: Not sure yet

Day 2:

AK- My second favorite place to go.
Lunch: ADR at Yak and Yeti
Dinner: probably something in DTD
Since the park closes early the plan is to go to DTD and go see Cirque du Soliel. Dh is still debating this one because we can see Cirque anytime, though I keep telling him that this one is ONLY in WDW. I'm sure I will persuade him to go.... I have my ways..... Mwah, ha, ha.

Day 3:
Epcot - This is my dd's favorite place to go. Dh is really not interested in it at all and neither is ds. The boys may just drop us girls off and go to DTD and do DQ. My dd is sort of interested bu probably not enough to pass up a whole day in Epcot, with mom! ( I LOVE that my 13 almost 14 year old still loves to hang out with me! )
Lunch: Who knows, some sort of cs I'm sure
Dinner: I'm debating on LCS- We are Canadian and we have GOOD steak here. My dh is pretty fussy about his steak, don't know if they can live up to the standard.
Plan is to do the CP as well that night

Day 4:
DHS- we missed a lot of stuff here last time so there are some must do's on our list. Great Movie Ride, Backlot, The new improved Star Tours, Indiana Jones and a few more. Of course there are some favorites that we are doing too. Oh yes, Can't forget the Tower of Terror either. We were all too SCARED to do it last time. Don't think dh will do it but my kids are insisting that we MUST do this!
Lunch: Pizza Planet.
Dinner: I'm thinking Sci-fi diner I know it doesn't get good reviews but the whole drive in thing looks like so much fun! We may end up at the 50's diner though. I'm just a little worried about being able to get food for me there. I'll end up calling at some point to see.
Of course, we must do fantasmic as well! Dh says he does not remember this one! How can he not remember this?!!

Day 5:
back to MK - Do the MVMCP if we have not yet.
Lunch: CS don't know where yet.
Dinner: Poly - Kona

Day 6:
Probably split up this day. I'm sure my dd will want to go back to Epcot and I'm also very sure that my dh and ds will NOT. Who knows where they will go....
Dinner: probably Hard Rock Cafe I really have no desire to go but Dh is obsessed with Hard Rock. So, of we go. I guess I can make the sacrifice since I 'm dragging him all over the Kingdoms all week!

Day 7:
Time to go home. Plan won't be leaving till late so we may hang out at DTD again though I'm sure we will do a lot of relaxing at CBR that day too. Guess we will have to just how tired we are.

All this of course, is subject to change, and I know it will many times but there is a preliminary.

Next thing to do is book the room.

Question for you all:

I know that there are occasional promos for rooms and DDP. If I book now and then see this promo later, can I still get the promo?

 

[disneyaddicted]

I still have reservations, mainly about Busing. Dh is pretty sure that he still wants to rent a vehicle. He really, really hates crowds on buses... and he's not too big on crowds in general! So I think to appease him we will rent a car. The nice thing, of course, about that is that we can get to other resorts easier.

Day 1:

MK - I know lots of people go to other parks the first day, but I HAVE to get my MK fix before I can do anything else! I highly doubt there will be a MVMCP that night (it will be Sunday) so that means I really get my Christmas wish and we will have to do 2 days at MK
Question for you all:

I know that there are occasional promos for rooms and DDP. If I book now and then see this promo later, can I still get the promo?

Ya for on property. I have never stayed at a moderate, relaxing in a hammock sounds perfect though.

If ya'll do rent a car, parking will then be free since you are staying on sight.
My families first time at Disney in 2006 we stayed at Pop and decided to drive to the parks, only MK was a pain because of having to park, catch a tram to the monorail and then of course the monorail to MK, after that first time we parked the car and stuck with the busses. They do get crowded depending on what time of the day you are catching them. I'm just saying I've done it both ways and they both have their ups and downs.

I agree with you about MK on the first day, I always start at MK, one year I made AK my first park and it just seemed off, ya know?

Last year I didn't have any pin codes or discounts when I booked, and then when DIsney anounced free dining I called to have it added to my package, I had to go 1 day earlier in order for it to happen, but to answer your question, yes if you book now and later get a promo you can add it to your package as long as the promo is within your dates.

The free dining promo last year ended on Dec 2nd I think, I wasn't do to get there until the 3rd but by bumping my trip up one day I was able to get the free dining for the length of my stay.

 

[annmarieda]

So here is where I'm at:

Where we are staying: I think I am at about 95% sure that we WILL be staying at CBR.

Yay

I still have reservations, mainly about Busing. Dh is pretty sure that he still wants to rent a vehicle. He really, really hates crowds on buses... and he's not too big on crowds in general! So I think to appease him we will rent a car. The nice thing, of course, about that is that we can get to other resorts easier.

The buses do get crowded. Course, so do that trams from the parking lot or the monorail to MK or the bus to MK. I think if I wasn't using DME then maybe a car would work for us... but not having to get our luggage and going straight out to DME is so much better than having to deal with a rental car. (IMO)

We are still going: Dec 10-17

The plan:

Day 4:
DHS- we missed a lot of stuff here last time so there are some must do's on our list. Great Movie Ride, Backlot, The new improved Star Tours, Indiana Jones and a few more. Of course there are some favorites that we are doing too. Oh yes, Can't forget the Tower of Terror either. We were all too SCARED to do it last time. Don't think dh will do it but my kids are insisting that we MUST do this!
Lunch: Pizza Planet.
Dinner: I'm thinking Sci-fi diner I know it doesn't get good reviews but the whole drive in thing looks like so much fun! We may end up at the 50's diner though. I'm just a little worried about being able to get food for me there. I'll end up calling at some point to see.
Of course, we must do fantasmic as well! Dh says he does not remember this one! How can he not remember this?!!

If you do the ddp... then try to book the fantasmic dinning package. It only uses one ts credit. You get an ap with the meal (one of the few times you do on the dp) and you get reserved seating for the show. You would have to rethink your restaurant though. We usually go with Mama Melrose.. I can't remember what other restaurants are participating.

Question for you all:

I know that there are occasional promos for rooms and DDP. If I book now and then see this promo later, can I still get the promo?

Yes!

If ya'll do rent a car, parking will then be free since you are staying on sight.
My families first time at Disney in 2006 we stayed at Pop and decided to drive to the parks, only MK was a pain because of having to park, catch a tram to the monorail and then of course the monorail to MK, after that first time we parked the car and stuck with the buses. They do get crowded depending on what time of the day you are catching them. I'm just saying I've done it both ways and they both have their ups and downs.

This is an excellent point

 

[veggiemama]

Good points..... I forgot about the DME. That might just tip it over in the direction of buses. I'll see what dh says.

I'm So excited to be staying onsite! This has always been a dream that I have had but never thought it would happen. What a great Christmas gift to me!

I want to make sure this time around that we have more time to relax. I don't want to never see CBR and I most certainly want to relax on the beach.

The nice thing about this being our second time is that I don't feel this need to 'every single thing we can possibly do in a day' at every park. Last time it was a once in a lifetime type things. Financially we were not doing well at the time and I thought that there was no way we would ever have the kind of money it would take to go to WDW again. So it was sooo important to me to spend as much time as I could in the parks. The kids were troopers through the whole thing. Only at AK did we run into any problems. During the parade I guess I didn't realize how hot it was because my ds almost passed out from heat. We dumped a huge bucket of water on him and made him drink water and juice and then he was ok. Thank goodness we went back early that day, he needed his rest.

So, back to the point....

I want time to relax this time. My dh wants a holiday, as he says, " I don't want to need a holiday from my vacation!" : Huh? You'd think he was not a disney fan with talk like that! He likes WDW, just in smaller doses than me!


Have to share the funny from my dd this morning:

DD: Mom, I had a weird dream last night.

Me: oh yeah?

DD: Yup, I dreamed I was in WDW

ME: (thinking to myself ) Crap, did she hear me talking? Find my books?

Me: really? How strange is that?! (trying to keep my cool )

DD: I dreamed I was there for my sweet 16 and I went to the castle and I had a friend with me. Wouldn't it be COOL to have my birthday at WDW?

Soooo, now I guess I just may have to plan yet another trip for 2 years down the road.... Shoot! (insert sarcasm here!)
Somehow I don't think DH would come..... again!