WE'RE GOING HOME!!

[Sinders99]

First things first - Introductions

P5130149 by Jennie Gardiner, on Flickr

We're Adam & Jennie, a pair of late 30's/early 40's Disney tragics currently living in Melbourne. We haven't been blessed with children so it's just the two of us and our cheeky Maltese fur babies Raif & Rastas.

Adam and I have both been to Tokyo Disneyland prior to getting married but our first trip to Disneyland together was in 2010. We travelled to the US on a month long West Coast extravaganza. We made the fatal mistake of spending our first 5 days in country at Disneyland. I say fatal mistake because after seeing Disneyland at Christmas time everything else kind of paled in comparison

So that's how our Disney obsession began.

Following that trip we started to hear all about this magical place called DisneyWorld that was the size of San Francisco city and was Disneyland on steroids. So in September 2016 we ventured over to the east coast and OMG!!

10.09.16-271 by Jennie Gardiner, on Flickr

We did the whole Disney deal on that trip including DisneyWorld and a 4 night Disney cruise.

So after 2 years and all the nagging the hubby has finally agreed to take December 2019 off and head back to our favourite place on earth AND I"M SO EXCITED TO BE GOING HOME!!

So this thread is going to be a combination of pre trip planning and asking for advice. Please feel free to add planning tips and hints on all things DisneyWorld



​

 

[WanderlustNZ]

Congrats and may the fun of planning begin.

We started seriously saving around this time last year and will be there December this year. You will find the time will come around faster than you think.

 

[heidispidi]

How exciting, there's nothing like making the decision for another Disney trip!

I've been to DL twice and will be going to WDW for the 1st time this September for 11 nights, and DL again for 4 nights. I'll share any tips I think you might need, particularly after our trip!

 

[viaggiamo]

How wonderful, it sounds like an awesome trip! I am in for the ride...

 

[Sinders99]

Congrats and may the fun of planning begin.

We started seriously saving around this time last year and will be there December this year. You will find the time will come around faster than you think.

I hope you'll consider writing a trip report for all us Aussies to learn from when you get back? I'm so lucky to have the gift of time on my side for this next trip. Are you staying for long? We did 8 nights at WDW on our trip in 2016 and it wasn't nearly enough. The beauty of our next trip is we've got 3-4 weeks of time to see as much as possible without going nuts every single day

 

[Sinders99]

How exciting, there's nothing like making the decision for another Disney trip!

I've been to DL twice and will be going to WDW for the 1st time this September for 11 nights, and DL again for 4 nights. I'll share any tips I think you might need, particularly after our trip!

Awesome!! I love reading all the trip reports. We loved our September 2016 trip to WDW but gee it was unexpectedly HOT!! I hope you're doing the Halloween party while you're there? It was one of the highlights of our trip.

 

[Sinders99]

TRIP PLANNING UPDATE!
OUR LEAVE DATES ARE SET!

So, one of the big decisions have been ticked off now. I've approached my bosses at work and received permission for our chosen leave dates!! I need to take a combination of annual leave plus one week's leave without pay but luckily for us the dates we've chosen also include a 2 week mandatory office shutdown so the request for leave without pay wasn't an issue. I have great bosses and work with a great team of people. None of them really understand my Disney obsession but I'm sure all of us have that in common - people who think we're a little strange because we're adults who love Disney.

So our leave dates are 30 November 2019 - 6 January 2020

At this stage we're thinking of flying to Orlando on 30 November and spending 3 weeks onsite at WDW. We're lucky enough to have met new friends on our last trip who relocated from Texas to Orlando and live only 10 minutes from WDW gates!! We have an open invitation to stay with them when we visit. Of course we don't want to overstay our welcome which is why we'll probably stay onsite for 3 weeks and then spend 22 December - 26 December with them before flying back.

So my question to all of you is - Would you stay that extra week and experience a proper Christmas in the old US of A or checkout and fly back in time to have Christmas in Australia??​

 

[WanderlustNZ]

TRIP PLANNING UPDATE!
OUR LEAVE DATES ARE SET!

So, one of the big decisions have been ticked off now. I've approached my bosses at work and received permission for our chosen leave dates!! I need to take a combination of annual leave plus one week's leave without pay but luckily for us the dates we've chosen also include a 2 week mandatory office shutdown so the request for leave without pay wasn't an issue. I have great bosses and work with a great team of people. None of them really understand my Disney obsession but I'm sure all of us have that in common - people who think we're a little strange because we're adults who love Disney.

So our leave dates are 30 November 2019 - 6 January 2020

At this stage we're thinking of flying to Orlando on 30 November and spending 3 weeks onsite at WDW. We're lucky enough to have met new friends on our last trip who relocated from Texas to Orlando and live only 10 minutes from WDW gates!! We have an open invitation to stay with them when we visit. Of course we don't want to overstay our welcome which is why we'll probably stay onsite for 3 weeks and then spend 22 December - 26 December with them before flying back.

So my question to all of you is - Would you stay that extra week and experience a proper Christmas in the old US of A or checkout and fly back in time to have Christmas in Australia??​

Firstly, yay for good bosses. It’s so wonderful that you have managed to lock in all that time in advance. Once you get that confirmation, you become truely committed and it all starts feeling very real.

In answer to your second question, I would certainly stay in the USA (or somewhere nearby) for Xmas. You have till the 6th off, so I would want to be maximising that and would probably stay for NY as well.

If not at your friends, perhaps somewhere further north for a white Xmas? Or further south for a beach Christmas (eg a Caribbean cruise). Just throwing ideas out there and spending your money for you.

 

[WanderlustNZ]

I hope you'll consider writing a trip report for all us Aussies to learn from when you get back? I'm so lucky to have the gift of time on my side for this next trip. Are you staying for long? We did 8 nights at WDW on our trip in 2016 and it wasn't nearly enough. The beauty of our next trip is we've got 3-4 weeks of time to see as much as possible without going nuts every single day

Our last WDW trip was a Sep/Oct one, beginning with 3 nights at Universal (Hard Rock Hotel), a 7 day Disney Fantasy cruise, and then 11 nights WDW made up of 5 nights at the Boardwalk and 6 nights at Animal Kingdom Lodge. For those 11 nights we rented DVC points to afford those resorts.
I loved it all, particularly the cruise, but it was probably the Universal stay that has left the biggest craving to return. I just loved the WWOHP so much and Diagon Alley was still in the process of being built when we were last there.

This trip, we don’t have anywhere near as much time at WDW and will only be there 3 nights. I love Disney, but there is one experience I love more, and that’s seeing animals in the wild. (On our last trip to The States, Yellowstone National Park became our new US happy place).

So this trip began mainly with a plan to visit Costa Rica and has grown from there. We will be flying on the 15th December and the trip pretty much looks as follows:

- 1 week in Orlando split between Royal Pacific Resort and Wilderness Lodge (again renting points to stay at Disney)
- 2 weeks in Costa Rica. We’re spending Xmas and NY in two different jungles/national parks.
- 2 weeks on a cruise to the Southern Caribbean. We needed that relaxing element to our trip as the first 3 weeks will be full on.
- 2 days in LA before flying home.

Sorry, that was pretty long-winded, but in answer to your actual question, I will probably do a trip report of sorts as I’m hoping to spend about 30mins each evening live blogging. Will see how that goes.

 

[Sinders99]

Firstly, yay for good bosses. It’s so wonderful that you have managed to lock in all that time in advance. Once you get that confirmation, you become truely committed and it all starts feeling very real.

In answer to your second question, I would certainly stay in the USA (or somewhere nearby) for Xmas. You have till the 6th off, so I would want to be maximising that and would probably stay for NY as well.

If not at your friends, perhaps somewhere further north for a white Xmas? Or further south for a beach Christmas (eg a Caribbean cruise). Just throwing ideas out there and spending your money for you.

Hmmm my thoughts exactly, maximise that time while we have it but where to go?? We're from North QLD originally, so we've had plenty of hot, beach Christmas's. A couple of ideas we had were flying back via Vegas, going north to NY, heading to New Orleans or hopping on a cruise out of Miami or Florida Keys?? It'll all come down to budget though. As all us Disney tragic's know, Disney is hell expensive so adding on another week further increases our budget. TOO MANY CHOICES. I'm not a good one with choices HELP!!!

 

[Sinders99]

11 nights WDW made up of 5 nights at the Boardwalk and 6 nights at Animal Kingdom Lodge. For those 11 nights we rented DVC points to afford those resorts.

OMG renting DVC points is what we're seriously looking at this time around. When we run the numbers on 21 nights accomodation at POP via the Disney site the cost comes up around $6,000 but when we looked into DVC we found that for only $600 more we could do a split stay - 14 nights at the Boardwalk Villas and 7 nights at Bay Lake Towers!! Can I ask who you rented your points through and what the Boardwalk was like?

 

[heidispidi]

Awesome!! I love reading all the trip reports. We loved our September 2016 trip to WDW but gee it was unexpectedly HOT!! I hope you're doing the Halloween party while you're there? It was one of the highlights of our trip.

I'm expecting it to be hot, that's the way I'll be leaning when I pack, anyway! We have tix to attend MNSSHP 23rd Sept but haven't finalised our costumes yet. I've picked mine but they others are dragging their feet.

We rented points for our stay at AKL through DVCRequest (David's rentals). Saved a heap of money on booking direct, particularly as we're staying in a 2BR villa. I wish now that we had split our stay bw AKL and an Epcot resort, however there's no changing a rental - so be 100% certain what you want before booking!

 

[WanderlustNZ]

We rented points for our stay at AKL through DVCRequest (David's rentals). Saved a heap of money on booking direct, particularly as we're staying in a 2BR villa. I wish now that we had split our stay bw AKL and an Epcot resort, however there's no changing a rental - so be 100% certain what you want before booking!

AKL is magical. You will love it there. Also, having a 2bedroom is amazing. Are you in Jambo or Kidani?

 

[WanderlustNZ]

OMG renting DVC points is what we're seriously looking at this time around. When we run the numbers on 21 nights accomodation at POP via the Disney site the cost comes up around $6,000 but when we looked into DVC we found that for only $600 more we could do a split stay - 14 nights at the Boardwalk Villas and 7 nights at Bay Lake Towers!! Can I ask who you rented your points through and what the Boardwalk was like?

I have rented points successfully through both David’s and DVC Rental Store. I’ve also rented points for Aulani in the past and shown my sister how to rent points, and she got a week at both BC and AKL. Both companies are very good, but there were some notable differences between the two (happy to message you if you want more info).

Some suggestions that may or may not help. The first 2 weeks of December are two of the hardest to get DVC points as it’s a popular time for DVC members to travel. To help your chances, it may help to either: be flexible with your resort choices (ie have second, third options etc, bearing in mind that big resorts like AKL are easier to get) or perhaps be open to splitting the 14 nights into two smaller stays if they can’t get you all 14 nights in one. This option might not work, but it will open you up to renters with smaller amounts of points. I was surprised how quickly I was able to get my 3 nights at WL, knowing how hard it can be to get at Xmas, but I think it may have been because I didn’t need too many points.

To be honest, my thoughts of BW were mixed. The location is arguably the best in all of Disney as you can walk comfortably to 2 of the parks and the bakery on the lake front is great. But the boats and the buses to other parks were awful (this may have improved though).
We stayed in a Boardwalk view room and that was pretty cool. One night we looked out and could see 2 sets of fireworks (MK and EP) and buskers down below. On the downside though, the theming did little for me. Compared to the lush, tropical feel of AKL’s pool and the grandeur and strong sense of theming of Jambo house’s lobby, I found BW a bit ‘concrete’.
That is very much personal opinion though, as going by your choices you like the brighter, more modern styled resorts, while I’m very much a homely AKL and WL kinda gal.
Check out Disney Tourist Blogs rundown of Christmas decorations at resorts, as the Xmas decorations were also a big decider for me when picking where to stay in December.

 

[WanderlustNZ]

Hmmm my thoughts exactly, maximise that time while we have it but where to go?? We're from North QLD originally, so we've had plenty of hot, beach Christmas's. A couple of ideas we had were flying back via Vegas, going north to NY, heading to New Orleans or hopping on a cruise out of Miami or Florida Keys?? It'll all come down to budget though. As all us Disney tragic's know, Disney is hell expensive so adding on another week further increases our budget. TOO MANY CHOICES. I'm not a good one with choices HELP!!!

I know what you mean about too many choices. It’s exciting, but can also be overwhelming. And I agree that WDW is hell expensive. The food prices have gone up so much since we were last there and I’ve really had to be much more selective with my ADRs this trip.

I may not be the best person to give you advice on where else to stay as I’m not a city girl and haven’t been to either NY or New Orleans.

My choice would probably be the cruise, as I love cruising, and chosen correctly, it can often be a cheaper way to travel than many land options. (Disney cruise line excluded, which has now priced us out of their market).
However, NY, does come with the possibility of snow which would be pretty cool at that time of year, and Vegas is a lot of fun (my husband and I have many pre-child happy memories of our time there).

I was planning on going to Costa Rica for the week of Xmas-NY right from the start as the holiday prices were least inflated there. However, deciding what to do in the weeks surrounding, took me months to decide. One place we did consider, and may or may not interest you, was Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg. It’s kind of like a wilderness version of Las Vegas, and Dollywood at Xmas looks like fun. We wanted to hire a car, drive around the National Park, and stay in a cabin, hoping for a little bit of Xmas snow. Unfortunately, we just couldn’t fit it in this trip, but will probably look at it the next time we go to the US, whenever that may be.
So many places, not enough time...

 

[ColinA]

I sent you a PM about DVC points.

 

[heidispidi]

AKL is magical. You will love it there. Also, having a 2bedroom is amazing. Are you in Jambo or Kidani?

I'm glad you loved AKL, it's anyways good to hear first-hand. We are starting at Kidani. 3 bathrooms, can't go wrong lol. I think many people see that as overkill for my DH and I plus our 2 girls, but at 25 and 16, they need their own space. Don't want to live on top of each other for 11 nights! The plan is to relax this trip, as well as getting in all the park time we want.

 

[WanderlustNZ]

I'm glad you loved AKL, it's anyways good to hear first-hand. We are starting at Kidani. 3 bathrooms, can't go wrong lol. I think many people see that as overkill for my DH and I plus our 2 girls, but at 25 and 16, they need their own space. Don't want to live on top of each other for 11 nights! The plan is to relax this trip, as well as getting in all the park time we want.

If it makes you happy and is within your means, then it’s not an overkill.

If we could afford bigger than a studio, I’d certainly look at booking a 1 bedroom even though the space is not a necessity. If nothing else, I’d book for the washer/dryer as I hate wasting vacation time waiting in a laundry room.

I did love AKL. I love places that feel completely unique and unlike any place I could find at home, and of all the hotels we’ve stayed in the US, it’s probably in my top 2 favourite alongside Old Faithful Inn in Yellowstone. Since WL is themed after one and designed by the same people as the other, I’m guessing I’ll love it there also.

I got all emotional when I walked in to Jambo lobby - it was just so pretty. Plus the grounds are gorgeous - such fond memories of sitting in a rocking chair by the camp fire watching my son toast marshmallows.

In saying that, after selling my sister on AKL, she preferred BC, and then preferred Royal Pacific Resort at Universal to both of them. So I guess what one person likes is often quite different for another.

 

[LivingforDisney]

I have rented points successfully through both David’s and DVC Rental Store. I’ve also rented points for Aulani in the past and shown my sister how to rent points, and she got a week at both BC and AKL. Both companies are very good, but there were some notable differences between the two (happy to message you if you want more info).

Some suggestions that may or may not help. The first 2 weeks of December are two of the hardest to get DVC points as it’s a popular time for DVC members to travel. To help your chances, it may help to either: be flexible with your resort choices (ie have second, third options etc, bearing in mind that big resorts like AKL are easier to get) or perhaps be open to splitting the 14 nights into two smaller stays if they can’t get you all 14 nights in one. This option might not work, but it will open you up to renters with smaller amounts of points. I was surprised how quickly I was able to get my 3 nights at WL, knowing how hard it can be to get at Xmas, but I think it may have been because I didn’t need too many points.

To be honest, my thoughts of BW were mixed. The location is arguably the best in all of Disney as you can walk comfortably to 2 of the parks and the bakery on the lake front is great. But the boats and the buses to other parks were awful (this may have improved though).
We stayed in a Boardwalk view room and that was pretty cool. One night we looked out and could see 2 sets of fireworks (MK and EP) and buskers down below. On the downside though, the theming did little for me. Compared to the lush, tropical feel of AKL’s pool and the grandeur and strong sense of theming of Jambo house’s lobby, I found BW a bit ‘concrete’.
That is very much personal opinion though, as going by your choices you like the brighter, more modern styled resorts, while I’m very much a homely AKL and WL kinda gal.
Check out Disney Tourist Blogs rundown of Christmas decorations at resorts, as the Xmas decorations were also a big decider for me when picking where to stay in December.

Wanderlust , do u mind pm me re Davids and DvC Rental , I have looked at both sites, I am wanting to rent points for Aulani, for Jan 2020. Ty

 

[Sinders99]

To help your chances, it may help to either: be flexible with your resort choices (ie have second, third options etc, bearing in mind that big resorts like AKL are easier to get) or perhaps be open to splitting the 14 nights into two smaller stays if they can’t get you all 14 nights in one. This option might not work, but it will open you up to renters with smaller amounts of points. I was surprised how quickly I was able to get my 3 nights at WL, knowing how hard it can be to get at Xmas, but I think it may have been because I didn’t need too many points.

Funny you mention this. My hubby and I have just spent the day in the car together driving back from Canberra after seeing friends and we were discussing trip plans One thing I mentioned is that we might have to split our stay into 3 x 7 night bookings because finding someone with enough points to cover a full 14 night stay might be pretty difficult at any time of the year. I imagine that would be a pretty big DVC contract.
So, we thought we'd spend 7 nights at BW or BC, 7 nights at SSR or KW and then finish off with 7 nights at BLT, WL or POLY.