We invite you, if you dare Summer plans 08/04 Day 25

[Minnie&Nana]

OKW is almost too gorgeous!! We took a tour when it was brand new and wow!!

Do I ever LOVE a one bedroom - even on a short stay I loved doing laundry every night - I could wear my favorite capris every day the summer we stayed at SSR in a one bedroom.

So happy your Disney summer is all set - nothing like a little bit of heaven on earth at WDW!

Good news Tom is in the mend, but I am sorry you'll have a couple of intense weeks just before vacation - at least it is followed by DISNEY!!!!

 

[HowieHowie]

two more weeks!!!

So happy you got OKW for the summer.

Glad Tom is feeling better.

 

[dizneeat]

OKW is almost too gorgeous!! We took a tour when it was brand new and wow!!

Do I ever LOVE a one bedroom - even on a short stay I loved doing laundry every night - I could wear my favorite capris every day the summer we stayed at SSR in a one bedroom.

So happy your Disney summer is all set - nothing like a little bit of heaven on earth at WDW!

Good news Tom is in the mend, but I am sorry you'll have a couple of intense weeks just before vacation - at least it is followed by DISNEY!!!!

You know that we LOVE OKW! It's like you live in a small community where everyone is happy and smiling!

We really will put that washer and dryer to good use after our visit to (the real) Key West.
I am really happy they came up with the idea of one time use points - made it so much easier to book that one extra night at BLT in February.

The weeks before half term are always really stressful, but as you said, I'll have a vacation to look forward to!

 

[dizneeat]

two more weeks!!!

So happy you got OKW for the summer.

Glad Tom is feeling better.

Hi Elaine,
how is everyone! Hope you are all doing fine!
YES, only two more weeks! I will say hello to the DREAM for you!

We discussed this a lot and decided that the most perfect vaction starts and ends with OKW ..... and we got it! I was SOOOOO happy!

 

[HowieHowie]

Hi Elaine,
how is everyone! Hope you are all doing fine!
YES, only two more weeks! I will say hello to the DREAM for you!

We discussed this a lot and decided that the most perfect vaction starts and ends with OKW ..... and we got it! I was SOOOOO happy!

Hi Karin, Everyone here is fine. Howie started his busy season so he's working 6 days a wk, soon to be 7. Still hetic for me, running back & forth to my parents twice a wk, they live 45 minutes from me. They are still in rehab and I have to bring them their mail and I do their laundry. I'm hoping they will get out very soon.

Howie knows exactly how you feel about OKW. In a way I feel bad that we didn't stay there last summer since I don't think we will be back this summer. , but on the other hand I wouldn't have traded staying at BLT for anything.

Yes, say hello to the Dream for me and have a Konk Cooler for me. I so could use a relaxing cruise right now.

Did you get our postcard from Disney?

Howie, Scott & Rachel send their regards. They say have a wonderful time!

 

[Linda67]

Ooh not long now Karin and great that you already have your summer plans locked down

 

[dizneeat]

Hi Karin, Everyone here is fine. Howie started his busy season so he's working 6 days a wk, soon to be 7. Still hetic for me, running back & forth to my parents twice a wk, they live 45 minutes from me. They are still in rehab and I have to bring them their mail and I do their laundry. I'm hoping they will get out very soon.

Howie knows exactly how you feel about OKW. In a way I feel bad that we didn't stay there last summer since I don't think we will be back this summer. , but on the other hand I wouldn't have traded staying at BLT for anything.

Yes, say hello to the Dream for me and have a Konk Cooler for me. I so could use a relaxing cruise right now.

Did you get our postcard from Disney?

Howie, Scott & Rachel send their regards. They say have a wonderful time!

Elaine, I am so, so sorry for not saying "thank you" for the card. YES, it did arrive and I really wanted to post about it, but it was hectic and I never got around to do it. But THANK YOU so much for thinking of us during your vacation.

It is so hard to decide on a resort when there are so many great ones. And they make it VERY easy to fall in love with new ones.
We will just love BLT in 2 weeks - so close to the MK, feels so much like a "home". But I will still miss OKW.
Then in the summer I will longingly look at BLT, while we have to monorail by to get back to our car.

Elaine, if there is one thing I can promise to do, than it is to have a Konk Kooler for you!

Ooh not long now Karin and great that you already have your summer plans locked down

Less than two weeks now, Linda and they will be busy ones, counting down to half term.
But at least when we get back I'll have a DLRP trip and a summer vacation to plan.

Not much longer until your DLRP trip either!!!!! How long are you staying? What hotel did you pick in the end?
I am REALLY hoping for a trip report, Linda, I just LOVE reading yours!

 

[caroleRWO]

Hi Karin,

We will be doing the Eastern itinerary this time - three sea days
We´ve already booked tours privately, so that just leaves us to decide between Palo and Remy brunches and dinners. I almost wish we were doing the B2B like you, so we had time to do it all-but we need time to do all the other offerings too.
OKW we can´t book for another month, but with no free dining this year - how do we decide which ADR´s to make when we have to "ration" them!
We are having such a fun weekend reading about the Fantasy - just told Jen yesterday that we have booked so she is pretty excited

Planning the trips is so much part of the fun.
Carole, Mike and Jenny

 

[dizneeat]

Hi Karin,

We will be doing the Eastern itinerary this time - three sea days
We´ve already booked tours privately, so that just leaves us to decide between Palo and Remy brunches and dinners. I almost wish we were doing the B2B like you, so we had time to do it all-but we need time to do all the other offerings too.
OKW we can´t book for another month, but with no free dining this year - how do we decide which ADR´s to make when we have to "ration" them!
We are having such a fun weekend reading about the Fantasy - just told Jen yesterday that we have booked so she is pretty excited

Planning the trips is so much part of the fun.
Carole, Mike and Jenny

So this is not your first trip on the Fantasy? We might even have talked about that at OKW, but I forgot.
I guess we will stick pretty much with the tours Disney offers this time, as all the ports are new to us. With three sea days, can't you do Remy lunch and Palo brunch?
Be careful, on the DREAM, some of the menu items they offered for lunch were the same for dinner. Very small changes in them.

I can start our ADRs on Saturday next week - just have to figure out if/how I can book the 10 days ahead on the new site.
It somehow took me by surprise that the date is so close and I started putting together a "first" itinerary yesterday. Should be fun to see it changing.

Give Jenny a hug from me!

 

[Teri1]

Thank you, Teresa. How's your DD doing? I hope everything is alright with her.
glad you got your new itinerary - are you sailing an Eastern or Western?

Hi Karin, Our daughter is doing fine, thanks for asking. We are still sailing the Eastern itinerary in Sept. The show on CMT spotlighted each thing the Dream had to offer. I got a good look at Castaway Cay at least. They said the groundhog Buckeye Chuck didn't see his shadow promising us an early spring. I sure hope he is right, because I hate the frozen tundra we are currently in!

How great for you and Tom getting OKW for the last part of your trip! Hopefully we will be neighbors again.

 

[pas130]

It's great you've got OKW!!! I love how you have your Feb. plans and August all together!! I'm so excited for you and Tom!!!! There is something so serene about Bay Lake, and then right around the corner, THE CASTLE

 

[Disney9.9.10]

Yay! Congrats on getting OKW! I'm glad that things are working out for you

 

[englishrose47]

Yay!!! for OKW !!!!

 

[WDisneyMom]

Yay for OKW!! I know how much you love that resort. Never heard of one time use points...interesting!!

 

[dizneeat]

Hi Karin, Our daughter is doing fine, thanks for asking. We are still sailing the Eastern itinerary in Sept. The show on CMT spotlighted each thing the Dream had to offer. I got a good look at Castaway Cay at least. They said the groundhog Buckeye Chuck didn't see his shadow promising us an early spring. I sure hope he is right, because I hate the frozen tundra we are currently in!

How great for you and Tom getting OKW for the last part of your trip! Hopefully we will be neighbors again.

Great to know that your DD is doing fine!
So we still get to plan the Eastern itinerary together! Even though it is on two different sailings.
Have you checked Disney's website for excursions? Tom and I have talked about joining theirs or going on our own, but since all of these ports are new to us we thought we'd go with Disney.

Early spring would be awesome! I cannot wait for some warmer weather - this winter has been long enough (and then it might even linger until mid/end of April )

I think everyone knew that we could not do without OKW. And it will be interesting to stay at a Studio at the beginning.

It's great you've got OKW!!! I love how you have your Feb. plans and August all together!! I'm so excited for you and Tom!!!! There is something so serene about Bay Lake, and then right around the corner, THE CASTLE

It's finally all coming together. We still have a few things to get ready for February and August is taking shape as well.
And topping it all off with 5 nights in a 1 bedroom at OKW is just the icing on the cake.
As for BLT - it doesn't have that "immediate" hotel feel, more like a condominium and then you look out the window and have a view of WDW. Can't get any better.

Yay! Congrats on getting OKW! I'm glad that things are working out for you

Thank you! We really wanted to have that last few nights at OKW, as we love it there so much.
And I cannot believe how lucky we were to get everything without a hitch.

Yay!!! for OKW !!!!

Thanks, Rosie! You have been there with us - you know WHY we are so happy!

Yay for OKW!! I know how much you love that resort. Never heard of one time use points...interesting!!

Thanks!
OKW is just the icing on our vacation cake!
I had read about the one time use points a few weeks ago. You are allowed to "buy" up to 24 one time use points a year at $15 per point. I would have had to borrow 22 points from next years allowance and by buying those one time use points I can save them for 2014!

 

[eandesmom]

WE ARE ALL SET!!!!!!!!!!!

Since we added that one night at BLT in February I was a bit short on points, but with the addition of a few "one time use DVC points" we were able to secure 5 nights at

Old Key West in a one bedroom villa.

:

Yay! You know I share your love of OKW! I love the one time points option, used it last summer, and more recently for Aulani so we could have an extra night without cutting into the points we'd need for NYE, I love knowing it is an option.

 

[dizneeat]

Yay! You know I share your love of OKW! I love the one time points option, used it last summer, and more recently for Aulani so we could have an extra night without cutting into the points we'd need for NYE, I love knowing it is an option.

OKW lovers unite!

Those points are great! I would have never even thought about them, if we hadn't needed those points for our first night at BLT. Now we can enjoy that AND OKW and still have enough points for next summer (I have the villas at the Grand Californian on my mind. )

 

[dizneeat]

And the resort changing saga continues ...............




So after I made my reservation for OKW yesterday, it dawned on me that next Saturday I can start booking ADRs for our summer vacation. In order to do so I started to put together my planning sheet, filling in all the info I already have, like hotels, flight times aso.
While looking for the address of the Motel 6 in Pompano Beach

I came across some, let's say, not so favourable reviews. Thinking back to the experience we had had in 2012 at our Ft. Lauderdale hotel I was a bit worried and started to "investigate".
After some reading I knew I wanted to stay somewhere else, so this morning I booked a night at another motel.

Rates were pretty low and reviews were good. But somehow it didn't sit all too well with me, so when I got home from my afternoon with Tom I started to look for alternatives.

And look what I found ...........




and finally booked ...............

a beautiful room at the Hampton Inn Cypress Creek. Rate includes a free hot breakfast.

I am pretty happy with my choice and just had to share with all my friends here.

 

[dort]

DH and I have stayed at Hampton Inn's a couple different times and have always been happy with them!!

 

[Wicket's Mom]

A much better choice!