We'll Be Doing Whatever Snow Does in Summer- Trip Report

[disney ny]

Edit: I could not come up with a good name for this trip report and after I started it I finally thought of one~ My inspiration came from everyone's favorite Frozen snowman Olaf while the kids were watching the movie today. After this horrible, never ending winter (and yes it is supposed to snow tonight, April 26th, here in upstate NY) I feel an awful lot like Olaf wondering if winter will ever end. The heat and humidity of Orlando in August sound pretty good right about now and these frozen yankees can't wait to do "whatever snow does in summer!"

Welcome to my very first trip report! Or at this point I should say Pre-trip report since my actual trip is still four months away. I will be posting quite a bit to get this started since I did some of the work already and started this a few months ago. I didn't want to jump the gun and start posting too early since I am nervous that nobody will follow along so I have been working on my report and saving it to a MS Word document until now. I guess there is no better time than the present to start so here I go..........

As I said this will be my first trip report but I am an avid reader of them and I hope I can keep people interested in mine. Trip reports are the only thing that helps me endure the long spaces between my trips to WDW. I have gotten some tips in the past for writing trip reports from reading some of my favorites (like franandaj) who said I need to have pictures because people like pictures. I love to write but don’t get to do it much anymore. One of the casualties of growing up and being a mom I guess. So this trip report will be a project for me and one I am excited/nervous to tackle. So let’s get started………………In order to start you need to begin at the beginning and the true beginning of this report is the 1980’s. That is when my love for Walt Disney World began.

Intro./Back story/Child of the 80’s History Lessons
I guess I should do the whole introduction thing- I am Heather, a 36 year-old mom of two and Kindergarten teacher from upstate NY.

This is me (I'm in the middle)


I love Disney. I have always loved Disney- probably starting from when I was a child in the 1980’s and we used to get the Disney channel on our ginormous satellite dish. (You know what I mean right? The real ones, the white monstrosities that you could hear cranking away in your yard as you changed galaxies-not the wimpy ones they have today that can be mounted on a house). I think ours was permanently set to Galaxy 5 home of the Disney Channel for a few years. Does anyone remember those days? The days of Welcome to Pooh Corner, Five Mile Creek, Dumbo’s Circus, You and Me Kid, D TV, Donald Duck Presents, Contraption?




I think I just went way off topic........where was I? Oh yes, the 1980’s. When I was very little we had family in St. Petersburg and we went to visit them on spring break every few years. That meant my mom, dad, older sister and I loaded into our hatchback Datsun and took the 20+ hour drive to Florida. I have many great memories of those trips. Things like how my mom would pack special bags of games and snacks for my sister and I, picking oranges from a tree in my relative’s backyard, and we got to stay in a hotel (maybe even a luxury one like a Days Inn!)



and eat at the coolest southern places like Shoney’s (my Dad’s favorite place for the famous breakfast buffet and something you do not find in the north).



Staying in a hotel and eating at a restaurant was a big flipping deal back in those days let me tell you. We were not made of money yet somehow my parents always made little things seem so special and I had a great childhood. From those days and trips I remember one day trip to the Magic Kingdom, a day trip to EPCOT (in the good old early 80’s right after it opened- so glad I remember it as it was intended) and also a trip to Bush Gardens. We also made a trip to Florida when I was a teenager and we visited Universal Studios- this was also shortly after they had opened. So I had some Disney love as a child.

That my friends is where this trip begins- with me loving WDW as a child and hoping with all my heart to have my own two children love it as much as I did and do today. I hope you will join me on this journey~

 

[disney ny]

Table of Contents:

Pre-Trip:
1- Intro./Back story/Child of the 80’s History Lessons
2- And So We Move On...
3- The one where we come back again...
4- Back So Soon?
5- Cast List
6- Plans, Plans, Plans and..................Squirrel!
7- Real Life Update- Life's a Beach
8- Breaking Bread with the Mouse
9- More Food Plans
10- Summer Has Arrived~
11- Times They Are A Changing...
12- Detour Trip to Hershey Park/Pennsylvania Dutch Country

Trip Report:

Day 1
1- The Trip Report Will Now Begin
2- A Very Good Place to Start
3- Getting the Show on the Road
4- Let Us Entertain You
5- Arrival in Orlando
6- The Wheels on the Bus
7- Welcome Home
8- The Far From Standard View
9- The Tour Continues
10- Waiting on the Luggage
11- Off to the Castle
12- Dinner at CRT- Part I
13- Dinner at CRT- Part II
14- Dinner at CRT- Part III
15- Sleeping With a View of the Castle

Day 2
1- Rise and Shine
2- Best Friends Character Breakfast at Ohana
3- Breakfast at Ohana Continued
4- Character Breakfast at Ohana- Part III
5- A Meeting With Mickey
6- Dinner at Crystal Palace Part I
7- Dinner at Crystal Palace Part II
8- Afternoon Adventures

Day 3
1- Not Making the Opening Show
2- Something New
3- Lunch at Kona
4- About to do the Hoop-Dee-Doo Part 1
5- About to do the Hoop-Dee-Doo Part 2
6- Hoop-Dee-Doo Revue

Day 4
1- Off to EPCOT!
2- Lunch at Via Napoli

 

[disney ny]

Well when I left off I was remembering back to the 80's and 90's and after that it was a long time before we went back to Florida. Things like college and growing up and moving on all happened before WDW would enter my life again. I graduated college in 2001 and got a “real” job working in Human Resources at the corporate headquarters of a bank. In 2003 I had to go to a convention in Florida and I decided it would be fun to add on some days and take a trip to Disney with my Mom and sister. Looking back again at my childhood I remember that my mom used to be a member of the “Magic Kingdom Club” in the 80’s through her employer and we used to get the Disney magazines.


(I found this image of one that I specifically remember and it is from 1981! Wow I am old!)
I spent hours looking through them and dreaming of staying at the beautiful Contemporary Hotel. So in 2003 I remembered those days and decided we should stay onsite. Being that we hadn’t visited since to late 80’s a lot had changed. In fact they had added 2 new parks since we visited last. Since the internet had sprung to life in the past few years I now had a great new tool to help me plan and I started planning a super trip. We got a great rate at The Swan and that summer we took an awesome trip. I fell in love with Disney all over again- all 3 of us did. We loved every minute of it and my memories of that trip are something I will always treasure. You never know how many chances you will get to spend time with the ones you love most and I am a firm believer in living your life for the present. Here is a picture from that 2003 trip that renewed my love of WDW~




EPCOT- Wow had that changed! Who knew they would have characters there now and even red double decker buses full of characters that would just stop and come out and greet you!

 

[disney ny]

After the 2003 trip I was totally hooked on Disney again and I knew I needed to get back as soon as I could. In 2007 we returned to Disney again. My mom was charged with planning more of this trip and we now had a new addition- my nephew Owen who was about 16 months at the time.

Here is Owen on that trip- he charmed all the princesses!


We planned to go on February Break since my sister and were both teachers at this point and my mom booked a 1 BR Villa at Boardwalk. We were so excited. Life was great for me- I had just met am amazing guy a few months before, I had gone back to school and was now doing the job that I wanted as an elementary teacher and I was going back to my favorite place. I would call my mom on the way home from school and we would excitedly chat and make plans each nights. But, then right before we left my mom got very sick. Things were very bad and it was a horrible and scary time for us. Everything was up in the air and last minute it ended up my sister, nephew and I went without my mom. It was a very sad and hard thing to do and even though we enjoyed the trip it was difficult to enjoy it knowing she was not there. Going from such good times to much harder times was very difficult.

Owen and I at EPCOT:


Here is my sister and Owen when we were dashing all around "the world":


Owen and Mary Poppins:

 

[disney ny]

After the February 2008 trip things changed a lot for me and my family. My mom did slowly start to get better but it was a long hard road. The family also grew and for me this was a very important change! In November of 2008 I welcomed my baby boy into the world! I was now a mother and I had the most adorable little man ever. The following year we decided to take another trip again to Disney. My mom had paid for our last trip so this trip was a gift to my mom from my sister and I. It took a lot of convincing and we had to promise no birthday, Christmas or Mother's Day gifts for many years but she finally agreed to go. We lucked out and got a fantastic deal that will probably never happen again where if you booked a package for seven days you paid for the first four and then got the next three free. Seriously amazing deal and in July 2009 we stayed at the Wilderness Lodge which we LOVED. We had loved The Swan but we really loved the WL~ This trip there were now five us since we had Owen and now Braden too! (My sister’s husband, mom's husband and my husband get left behind a lot because they just don't "get" the whole Disney thing). Here is a picture of us from that trip- matching shirts and all.



We had so much fun on this trip! Braden got his first haircut ever at The Harmony Barber Shop by Michael- it was amazing. He was about 8 months old at the time.



Owen got a cut too


They do such a great job with kids there.



We were so glad to all be together once again at the place we love so much. This trip was extra meaningful since my mom could join us again and we knew that before too long we would all want to be back again.

More Memories:

Taryn and Owen



Mom (Mamoo), Braden and I- check out Mom and I sporting our matching 2003 vintage shirts



With each of those trips my addiction to Disney grew and the July 2009 trip made my husband realize that if we were going to soak all that money into Disney every few years we might as well buy into Disney Vacation Club. He didn’t need to say anything twice and before he knew what hit him we had purchased points at The Villas at the Wilderness Lodge. Now I always know I have a trip to Disney on the horizon and I know I can watch my kids growing up with a love of Disney too. After purchasing into DVC we also took another trip to Disney and stayed at VWL but I went with my husband and mother-in-law. I learned something very important on this trip- don’t go to Disney with people who don’t love and “get it.” They made me crazy and I vowed to never go with them again (ok maybe not NEVER, but I sure did miss having my Mom and sister). So now three long years have passed again and I have banked my points, added on at The Villas at Grand Floridian and am in the process of planning our best ever trip. And that is the short (or not so short) back story of my trip.

One last photo for this post. This one is from the February 2011 trip- Here is Braden meeting characters from his favorite Playhouse Disney shows:

 

[disney ny]

Cast List
So now that I have finished our trip's backstory I should really make some introductions and as usual I am not the only one going on this trip! This trip we will have seven of us total.

First up is my Mom. Just adore her and we don’t get to see her often enough as she lives in Ohio with her husband. She loves being a Grandma and the kids call her Mamoo. She got this affectionate name from my step-sister's first daughter and we all thought it wa so cute that it stuck. She is now the proud Mamoo of 7 Grandkids! I will call her Mamoo in this trip report too I am sure.




Also on the trip is my sister, Taryn. She is 3 years older than me and my best friend. She truly is a great big sister and has spent a lifetime looking out for me. We are blessed that our kids get to grow up together and are close in age. We both had “the boys” and then “the girls.” They all get along quite well most of the time and love each other to pieces.

Here she is in the middle from that 2003 trip:



Next we have my two beautiful babies, Braden who is 5 and in Kindergarten and Avery who turned 2 in March. I couldn’t love these crazy little mini-me's more! I already have big plans for them to do the College Program, get jobs at Disney and move me down there someday. My two crazies:






Then we have Taryn’s 2 children Owen, 7, and Adisyn, 1. Owen has been to Disney twice now and this will be Adisyn's first trip. Our four kids are very, very close and we are so excited to take the "complete" group of us to Disney. I say complete because neither of us plan to have anymore kids so barring something crazy four is the magic number for us. We are quite content to have "the boys" and "the girls" and the ages work out perfect for them to grow up together. Here they all are:



"The Boys":





And "The Girls":



What a crazy crew we have and I can not stress enough how different our personalities all are. It is always an interesting time when we get together with all the kids and when you throw Mamoo in the mix all bets are off. Taryn has the type A, first born, super organized, does everything right personality and I am the typical second child, disorganized, free spirited, a little crazy who takes the long road to get anything done. Owen is a true "mini-me" for Taryn and he is a total perfectionist who is a little old man already at 7. Braden and Owen are totally different with Braden being much more rough and tumble and he was a wild toddler that we thought was my payback for my younger years.............until Avery came along. Avery is payback for anything I ever put my parents though and I can imagine WDW won't be the same once she gets there. Adisyn (Adi) is the sweet little baby among the group who has started developing a personality that has glimmers of being more like Avery and I and has my sister very nervous. Words can't even begin to describe Mamoo and well we are never really sure what we will get when Mamoo wakes up in the morning.
Now you know the cast of characters who will be starring in this report and I am sure you will get to know each of us a lot better as it progresses~

 

[Dugette]

Hi, there! Great start! I love all the backstory. I can relate to a lot of things (side note: we used to go to Shoney's for breakfast in Hudson, WI when I was growing up - so they at least had one non-southern location). Glad your mom seems to be doing well and that you are getting to share the Disney fun with your kids. And you both have adorable kiddos! Too bad the husbands aren't on board, but pretty impressive that yours agreed to DVC, all things considered. Gives you a great chance to spend time with your sister and mom and niece and nephew, though. Looking forward to hearing more!

 

[disney ny]

Hi, there! Great start! I love all the backstory. I can relate to a lot of things (side note: we used to go to Shoney's for breakfast in Hudson, WI when I was growing up - so they at least had one non-southern location). Glad your mom seems to be doing well and that you are getting to share the Disney fun with your kids. And you both have adorable kiddos! Too bad the husbands aren't on board, but pretty impressive that yours agreed to DVC, all things considered. Gives you a great chance to spend time with your sister and mom and niece and nephew, though. Looking forward to hearing more!

Thanks for coming over! I was so enjoying reading your trip report last night until I realized it was like 1:00 in the morning and I needed to go to bed! That means lots more to read today. My husband does get a lot of grief but he did buy into DVC and he let me add on points this year so I guess he isn't so bad after all. I love that your husband just joins right in the magic and even helps out with your trip report!

 

[Disney Spaz]

Loving the trip report so far. I love that you shared the back story as well.

 

[disney ny]

Loving the trip report so far. I love that you shared the back story as well.

Thanks for reading~ I am excited to do this report- hopefully I can make it good! I tried taking notes on my little "practice" trip to Myrtle Beach last week in preparation for the Disney trip! I didn't do so good so hopefully I will do a better job for this one. I just love reading everyone's reports.

 

[beyondblessed]

I can't wait to follow along. Your family is adorable!!!

 

[disney ny]

I can't wait to follow along. Your family is adorable!!!

Oh good thanks for joining in! I am so glad some people are going to follow along. I think the fam is pretty cute but I am little biased and some days some are not as cute as other days

 

[DisneyRegulars]

Love you trip report title! I'm "enjoying" the never ending upstate NY winter right along with you. Is was particularly fun spreading frozen mulch last weekend in preparation for an open house at our house. Actually it wasn't fun at all, turns out it's actually impossible to spread frozen mulch, so we just had huge frozen piles of mulch. Sigh... I'm hoping it warms up and stays warm soon. Looking forward to reading the rest of your trip report. It's scary writing that first one and hoping somebody will read it!

 

[DisneyRegulars]

Just noticed your post on another thread. Definitely check out the Kidani pool if you are staying at AKV. The splash area is amazing! Your "boys" are the perfect age for it I think. Also, if they like the big water slides, the slide over at Kidani is way better than at Jambo House.

 

[disney ny]

Love you trip report title! I'm "enjoying" the never ending upstate NY winter right along with you. Is was particularly fun spreading frozen mulch last weekend in preparation for an open house at our house. Actually it wasn't fun at all, turns out it's actually impossible to spread frozen mulch, so we just had huge frozen piles of mulch. Sigh... I'm hoping it warms up and stays warm soon. Looking forward to reading the rest of your trip report. It's scary writing that first one and hoping somebody will read it!

Ugh I can't stand NY! I swear that I am meant to be southern. This weather is out of control. Today is finally nice again and then it is going to rain all week. I sent the kids out to play figuring they will be stuck in the rest of the week. You're in Buffalo correct? You get more snow for sure but I think you get more sun too. I don't think it is possible to live somewhere where the sun shines less than it does here. Thanks for coming over to read, I am still working my way through your reports. Tigger reminds me a lot of my son and is so cute and I am still smiling over your Disney discipline fail.

 

[franandaj]

Well I finally made it over here, but I missed page 1!

Thanks for the shout out, and I'm glad you decided to do a TR, and you have lots of readers too! Your family is so cute and I'm sorry that your husband just doesn't get it, but you're right, at least he let you buy into DVC and add on!

You'll find that with a TR you end up planning and thinking about so much that the trip arrives sooner than later! Great start!

 

[disney ny]

Plans, Plans, Plans and ………….”Squirrel!”

I am a planning maniac when it comes to Disney. I love to plan vacations but not much else. Not typically a planner and definitely not an organizer but Disney and vacation is just different . I am as far from a type A personality as you can get and my house and classroom are proof. Hey I teach 5 year olds all day so things are always crazy! I guess planning trips is my escape from real life. I so need a job as a Disney travel agent. When we took the 2003 trip I designed a whole orientation session for my mom and sister where I showed the free video and I gave out prizes for getting questions right. They were good prizes too- things I got from the Disney store! My mom got scolded because she wasn’t paying close enough attention and fell asleep during the video~ I think perhaps I am just a hair over the top about Disney sometimes but we all need our vice I guess and Disney is so much better than most addictions.
When I set out to plan this trip I thought it would be super easy but as you will see below this was no easy task. Plans changed, they changed some more and then of course they changed again. I often felt overwhelmed with all of the choices I often felt like Dug in the movie up- I would have something decided and then oh look- “Squirrel!” and I was off in a totally different direction. I have come to the realization that having kids gives You ADHD and my sister agrees.

How the Plans Began
(This section I wrote a while ago and am inserting) Today is January 12th and I have been in major planning mode for a few weeks now. The original plan was to take this trip at the end of August when the DVC Seasons shifted to lower points on the 16th. Due to my sister and I both being teachers our trips always have to coincide with school vacations. Over Christmas break (which worked out to be an amazing two weeks this year) my sister and I and the kiddos travelled to my mom’s house in Ohio. (Don’t even get me started on the joys of winter travel with little kids as we got stuck in Detroit coming back). Want a glimpse of the beauty of that? Here you go………….



And that folks is what you may look like after being stuck 8+ hours in Detroit.

Anyway, on that trip I had some time to discuss plans a little with them and look at options a little more. I knew I wanted to try BLT due to it allowing us to walk to MK which is our favorite park. We love, love, love the Wilderness Lodge but the chance to be able to be even closer to MK is just too good to pass up. I decided that I was going to try and squeeze as much life as I could out of my points and stretch the trip to 8 days instead of our usual 7. So I started looking at options and decided on doing a split stay between BLT and VWL just in case we didn’t love BLT. When I realized I had plenty of points I rethought things and decided that maybe we should push the trip up to the end of July which would mean it wouldn’t push right up against going back to school and lets be honest- it also meant I didn’t have to wait so long. But once I started looking at flights that changed again. The direct flight options from upstate NY are awful! I could only find direct flights out of Syracuse and they were already pricing at $450 with not great flight times. EVERYTHING else I could find at any airport was layover flights and not much cheaper. Then I stumbled across Allegiant Air from Elmira. We really like travelling from smaller airports with the kids and Elmira is not a bad drive at all for us. They had direct flights and the prices were good. But, there was a little problem. Allegiant Air only flies on Thursdays and Saturdays and they fly into Sanford not MCO. So I looked into things a little deeper and found that if we flew Allegiant we would fly direct which is a huge +, fly out of a nice close airport and get there at a great time and fly into a smaller airport thus avoiding the crazy return trip through security at MCO. The only downsides I could see were the transportation from Sanford to WDW and the only flying on certain days. I discussed it with my Mom and sister and said perhaps we could add on two days at a value hotel and get car transportation. With us saving easily over $1000 in airline tickets this looked like a great option and we decided to switch the timing of the trip back to late August and see what I could work out with my points to stretch the trip to 10 days. Woo Hoo! 10 days at Disney is a dream come true for me. I love the idea of taking it slow because with 4 kids under 7 that is really what we need to do. We want lots of time to enjoy the resorts and the pools. So now I was again in super planning mode because I was at the 7 month window and I had very specific dreams in mind for my stay. Here was the dream plan (at the time) that will maximize my points. I know it is probably very unrealistic being that values and standard rooms often get booked before 7 months and I don’t have the ability to book at 11 months anywhere but VWL and VGF. But, here is what I am working very hard over the next few weeks at getting for us. Keeping all my fingers and toes crossed.

Arrive Thursday August 14th- Two nights in 2 AK Lodge value studios- We have never stayed here or even visited. Our philosophy is if you are going to spring for deluxe accommodations you should be next to at least one park and from AKL you have to take a bus to all parks so it has never been on the list. However, you cannot beat the points value of the value rooms and I am actually getting kind of excited about trying this place out! Hopefully I can get at least one value studio for the 2 nights and then maybe we could do one value and one standard. I do have 1 room for Thursday only (booked out and now I have to call and cancel on the 14th the first few nights) right now so I am slightly optimistic for one room but two seems like a long shot…. (Side rant: This week I had discovered the DVC App website and was amazed. I was LOVING it and the ability to see so many options and not have to log in to the member website which I think stinks all the time. Seriously how can one person who doesn’t work for Disney get it so right and Disney get it so wrong? Anyway since I am a very often an unlucky person the website got shut down this weekend and my ability to see all my options is gone. Why? I am not at all surprised this happened as soon as I found it because that is how I roll. )

Saturday Aug. 16- Thursday Aug.
21st - 5 nights at BLT in a standard view 2 BR- OK, so I am very hopeful we can get this booked because I really don’t have the points to move it up to a Lakeview! I really would prefer a dedicated 2 BR but a lock-off would be fine too. I am just so nervous I won’t get it and then it is truly back to the drawing board because I don’t want us to have to move more than three times. When I could see the DVC App I was hopeful because there was still availability here and there for late July/early August but at this point I am stuck waiting a few more days until the actual 7 month mark because I don’t have enough points to “walk” this and I don’t see much availability anyway.
Thursday Aug. 21th- Sunday August 24rd- 3 nights in a Boardwalk Villas standard 2BR. Again I know this is a long-shot as I picked all room categories that are hard to get. I am hoping for a heap of pixie dust to get all these reservations for sure! My sister, nephew and I stayed at the BWV previously but my mom has never stayed there and is quite excited. We love the location of the Epcot resorts and I would like to try the Beach Club too but it is more points. It is on my someday list and of course my goal is to try all the resorts in the future. Having DVC makes this so much more realistic. I am so excited about the possibilities of future trips and having the chance to take my son and daughter as they are growing up. MNSSHP and MVMCP are on my short list. This year would have been perfect as the stars aligned and we had two weeks at Christmas but timing and money just didn’t allow for that. Plus I would like to wait a few more years until Avery is old enough to really enjoy it.
So now I am in my checking multiple times a day mode and trying to secure my room reservations. Then in February it is on to my Dining ADR’s!! More updates on the room situation in the coming days~

JANUARY Updates on the room situation: I initially had some good luck at the 7 months window. I was able to score some days in a value studio at AKL and days at BLT in a standard but then making it all connect perfectly got harder. Still checking like a maniac but got a little discouraged. Super kicking myself for not adding on at AKL instead of VGF! I had never really considered adding on at AKL but now when I look at the value options and I find myself more drawn to the resort I am wishing we had done it. Oh well, it is a done deal now! Yesterday I spent hours pouring over options with my sister while I was supposed to be scrapbooking. Using some stolen wi-fi I played on the site for way too long- like way, way too long and I am pretty sure the scrapbookers around me are very tired of hearing about Disney. My sister turned out to be more opinionated then I thought and I guess we had both gotten used to the idea of trying out Animal Kingdom Lodge so that was back on the table and after a discussion with my Disney friend who was scrapbooking across the table she highly recommended Beach Club. I am still a little torn about not doing 4 at BLT and then 4 at BW Standard 2 BR but she is thinking the pool at BW is scary and we all want to try Stormalong Bay so tomorrow morning I will be up trying to get 2 studios at BC. Wish me luck. Oh we also changed the days we are flying due to finding out that Allegiant Air flies out of Lehigh Valley in PA and they have tons of flights and days!!

SPRING Update: Wow a lot has changed on the plans front. Our plans changed many more times as I played with availability and days. Our reservations have been set since January and they are final now so here they are:

I present the FINAL Plans!!!

Arrive-Sunday 8/17 for 5 nights in a standard view 2 BR at BLT

Thursday 8/22 and Friday 8/23- Standard view 2 BR Lock off at Animal Kingdom Lodge

Saturday 2/24- Three nights in a 2 BR Lock off at Boardwalk

My thoughts? Well this got us a lot of what I wanted. I could never truly get the value accommodations on days that worked for us so I ended up abandoning that idea and this is what worked out. I don’t love the idea of moving twice but I do LOVE the idea of getting to try two new resorts this time. I am very excited about AKL because I read so many positive things about it and I am hoping we can spend a lot of time at the actual resort. I love the location of both BLT and Boardwalk. I am a little bummed we don’t get to try the Beach Club as I would have preferred that over Boardwalk but I couldn’t work it for the days/points this trip. That is for sure on the list for the future. I am not positive we will love BLT but I know we will love the location and if we don’t think it is great we won’t stay there again. I love my home resort at WL so that is close enough for the future and I do want to try the GF Villas and now of course in the future I will probably try the Poly too. You just can’t beat those MK locations for us since it is our favorite park and with the kids need naps and breaks location means a lot. So I am hoping we love everything but I am realistic that we will most likely prefer some of the resorts over others. VWL will always be a favorite. I will say that booking this whole thing was a HUGE pain. I love the process and the thrill of getting what I want but man the options start to make my head hurt after a while. Glad this is booked and out of the way finally!!
Travel Update: So plans have also changed on the flight front. We had always planned on flying Allegiant Air but this week I checked in on flights again and found that they have cut schedules drastically for late August. Seriously? Like I mean they switched from 7 days a week to 4. That is a big difference and of course this starts like a week before we leave. I have been watching the schedules for months and they have not changed out of Lehigh Valley- 7 days a week and then suddenly right when we plan to go they change. AND of course nothing matches what we want for days. So now my options were down to fly out of one airport and into another (not good since we can only ride together in my sister’s van and the logistics of working that out are horrible) or we need to drop or add a night. After spinning my wheels for 2 days again on plans my mom found a good option of direct flights on Southwest out of Rochester and last night I booked them. Done! They are booked and we are set. Rochester is about a three hour drive for us but the times are perfect and now we are flying into MCO so we will do the Magical Express and don’t need to worry about a town care. The only downfall will be security on the way back but there are some bonuses like getting 2 free checked bags on Southwest. We paid quite a bit more than I was hoping but it is what it is and we are now all set. We get into Orlando at like 2:30 and we leave around 12:45 on the 27th. One more thing is settled and I am excited that we are now down to under 4 months to go.

 

[disney ny]

Well I finally made it over here, but I missed page 1!

Thanks for the shout out, and I'm glad you decided to do a TR, and you have lots of readers too! Your family is so cute and I'm sorry that your husband just doesn't get it, but you're right, at least he let you buy into DVC and add on!

You'll find that with a TR you end up planning and thinking about so much that the trip arrives sooner than later! Great start!

I am so glad you came over to read. You must be super busy and super excited that it is only a couple of days until the Southwest trip. I am following along on that one too- hopefully you are done having car issues now and can relax and enjoy! Can't wait to read about your next adventure and the upcoming one at WDW too.

 

[Dugette]

Wow, that is quite a ride on the planning! Sounds like it all worked out well, though. I know it's not ideal to move resorts a couple times, but at least Disney makes it easy and will transfer your luggage while you're in the parks and such. I like that you will have some nights near each park. MK & Epcot from BLT, AK from AKL, and DHS & Epcot from BWV. Probably for the best that you didn't fly Allegiant. We flew with them on our Aug. 2010 trip and it was fine, but they are a very low-frill airline. Those free checked bags are a nice perk vs. having to pay for water on the plane.

 

[disney ny]

Wow, that is quite a ride on the planning! Sounds like it all worked out well, though. I know it's not ideal to move resorts a couple times, but at least Disney makes it easy and will transfer your luggage while you're in the parks and such. I like that you will have some nights near each park. MK & Epcot from BLT, AK from AKL, and DHS & Epcot from BWV. Probably for the best that you didn't fly Allegiant. We flew with them on our Aug. 2010 trip and it was fine, but they are a very low-frill airline. Those free checked bags are a nice perk vs. having to pay for water on the plane.

No kidding on the ride right? It makes my head hurt again just thinking about it. Too many choices overwhelm me for sure- I would start to shake after adding points and moving dates and doing all the what ifs. I wouldn't have put it all in the report if I hadn't had it all typed up from before but I guess if anyone has ever tried to figure out their options with DVC points they well get the agony!