Weren't we supposed to skip Disney this year? A back-to-back WDW/DLR trip report.

[taaren]

Apologies in advance, this TR will be loquacious, and its mainly for my own benefit. After reading Daniel Kahneman’s book, then watching his TED talk “The riddle of experience vs memory”, I realized that trips are better which we anticipate them, and then record them to relive in our memory, so I’m going to be writing TR’s from now on( and wish I had for several previous trips!) Any followers who wish to dispense advice or compare notes with their own trip are welcome! I’ve been finding its also just handy to have restaurant reviews and pictures of certain things in one place to send people who ask for reviews of places we’ve been to.

About the title: we had a once-in-a-lifetime (okay, once in 5-10 years) trip planned to WDW for December 2012, and it was amazing. (TR to that 14 night trip is in my signature.) Living in Hawaii, getting the time and money together to get out to Florida is a lot more difficult than going to our home resort at Disneyland. The plan was we were taking 2013 off from Disney to save and go back to DLR in 2014.

Then, they offered the special DVC PAP’s while we were there, and it was only $21 for DH, myself, and DS to upgrade from 10-day WP&M hoppers to the PAP’s, so we upgraded “just in case”. Shortly after we returned home, I was offered a job in California, so our flight costs were cut more than in half, and DH said “As long as we have the annual passes, and the DVC points, we might be able to swing a trip to WDW this year … “. Add to that all the Rapid Reward points we racked up by moving into a completely unfurnished home, and this WDW trip is bottom basement priced. Decided to go shortly before Thanksgiving to avoid crowds and hopefully grab a desired resort at 7 months.

We moved in January, and in February my best friend’s sister invited us to join their family to go to Disneyland with them for their son’s 3rd birthday in December … which also happens to be my birthday. How could I refuse a Disneyland weekend with my best friend’s family on our birthdays? So, since VGC was already booked for our dates at almost 10 months out, I wait listed several combinations of 1-2 nights for that weekend in separate wait lists (I have 4 wait list possibilities with 2 contracts/UY’s), VGC studios for our dates. Yep, skipping Disney in 2013 had gone right out the window ...

In April, we were able to snag 5 nights at the BCV in a 2 bedroom with our VGC points. DH would have preferred BWV for the location, and I would have preferred BLT for the room itself and the views/resort, but with less than 200 points to work with + the Boardwalk and Standard Views sold out before the 7 month mark, we opted to check out a new resort!
Here we come Storm Along Bay!

In late July, one of our VGC wait lists came though, so we are now heading for DLR about a week and a half after we return from WDW!

 

[taaren]

So the crew:

Me, the DH, and DS (will be 7).

One of my favorite Photopass pix from last year.

Joining us will be ... camonkeygirl & her DH grumpygoat! We met these lovely DISsers on our first cruise back in 2011, the Pacific Coast southbound repositioning, and got along so well that camonkeygirl and I starting popping into Disneyland together when we could manage since we both had AP's. Then we took another last-minute cruise together in 2012, and when I started talking about going to WDW in 2013, they had been planning on Hawaii, but decided for various reasons to come with us to Orlando instead! This will be their first WDW trip. I haven't asked if I could post pictures of them yet, but grumpygoat is a wonderful photographer, so at some point some of his pictures will probably show up.

Part I -

The resorts:
Nov 17-22 BCV 2 bedroom (full crew)
Nov 22-25 AKV Savannah view studio (just us chickens)

Due to airfare/scheduling, it was easier to add on a few nights and fly out Monday rather than pay outrageous airfare on Sunday, and DS had been asking to stay at AKV ... so we were able to rent extra points to grab those three nights.

The tickets:
DVC Premium Annual Passes. I really want to get to Blizzard Beach this time!
Also, 2 day Universal Orlando hoppers.

We got free tickets last year when a buddy of mine happened to work there, but he left the company earlier this year and by then we had already told DS he could go on the Transformers ride ...

Transportation:
Flying, one way on Alaska (Delta now, due to flight schedule changes, but we got a great rate on Alaska and they honored that fare price), and returning on Southwest on Rapid Reward points.

The special stuff:
1 Pirate's League appointment, courtesy of camonkeygirl who knew DS would love it
1 MK Train tour for grumpygoat
1 IllumiNations cruise on our last BCV night, shared with 5 other DISsers.
Contemplating getting Blue Man Group tickets for Saturday at 6:30pm showing.

Part II -
The resorts:
Dec 6-8 VGC
Dec 8-9 DLH (may switch to Dec 5 if my VGC waitlist comes through for this night)

The tickets:
Deluxe AP's, on a monthly installment plan bought before the June price rise. Hoping to have them paid off before the trip so we can ask for our DVC member discount of $20 each. (They gave it to us last time when we bought our AP's before the price increase at the ticket booth.) Will be starting the AP's on this trip.

The transportation:
DS and I have plane tickets on points on Southwest flying down 12/5 at noon, and returning 12/9 in the evening. Not sure if we'll keep this or drive the 6 hours depending on whether or not DH joins, or the waitlist comes through. Fortunately the points are completely refundable.

Special stuff:
A character meal at Goofy's Kitchen with my best friend's sister's family. DS7 really wanted to go with some other kids, so he picked DL over WDW for this event.

 

[taaren]

1 month 20 days!
​

And this week we got Magic Bands for WDW! 2 sets for our split stay no less. Picking FP+'s was fun, I've already changed them several times, and will again soon I'm sure. Between 3 people and 2 sets of MB's we were able to get 6 colors of Bands to try out the full rainbow.

The first four days were very easy to plan, but I'm having a hard time scheduling the last four days. The parks will be much more crowded, and without knowing what the weather will be I'm not certain we'll be able to get a Blizzard Beach day in or not.

 

[Irishlisa]

You show me yours, I'll show you mine.
I'm in and excited to read this.

 

[Irishlisa]

Love the picture of you and your beautiful family!!!!

 

[Sheilby]

Me, the DH, and DS (will be 7).

One of my favorite Photopass pix from last year.

OK, when exactly was this that the Osborne lights were so empty? Is that really late at night? That would be awesome to see it like that.

 

[hallienicole]

I'm in! Can't wait to see what you've got planned.

 

[taaren]

OK, when exactly was this that the Osborne lights were so empty? Is that really late at night? That would be awesome to see it like that.

It was after the park closed, on Friday, December 14. We'd already gotten some group pictures at Osborne the previous week, but my DS and his BF were in a bad mood so the young boys skipped those pics. On our last night before we wandered out of the park we decided to take one last look at the Lights. They keep them on an hour after park closing I think (only on non-EMH nights though, and there's no shows). Fortunately DS had just participated in Jedi Training for the second time so he was in a better mood, and we got a great photographer. Only problem we had that night was waiting to transfer DS's Star Wars Jedi Training pictures from the everybody's pictures card to one of our photopasses. Waiting in the line at the picture place on the way out of the park starting a half hour after closing ended up taking us well over an hour. Oh well. Lesson learned.

 

[taaren]

Currently day one looks something like this:

November 17, Sunday

Epcot hours 9-9, DHS hours 9-10 w EMH. TouringPlans has Epcot crowd level 2, DHS 5.

• 5:30 am Plane lands, get luggage/car, get groceries on the way to WDW.
• 8:30 am Check into BCV, leave luggage including groceries.
• 9:00 am Breakfast @ Sunshine Seasons or maybe Boardwalk Bakery, wander Epcot and figure out what C-ticket rides we want to do (eg Spaceship Earth, etc)
• 11:00 am FP+’s: Soarin’ (11-12), Mission Space (12-1), Test Track (1-2)
• 2:20 pm Lunch - Chefs de France ADR, hoping to catch 2:50 Remy
• 4:00 pm Go to room at BCV, rest
• 6:30 pm Head for DHS via boat
• 7:00 pm DHS priorities tonight are TOT, Osborne Lights, and TSMM. If we have time for more, then we'll go to Star Tours and maybe grab dinner at Fairfax Faire or cupcakes at Starring Rolls.
• 9:30 pm Be in line for TSMM
• 10:30 pm Bed

I'm thinking about switching our FP+'s to DHS evening slots of TSMM & TOT, but then we'll be pressured to do Test Track and Soarin' first thing and I really wanted to kind of wander and soak up the Epcot resort area/Future World and have a leisurely breakfast to start. Plus they don't give out FP+'s for the EMH's.

Day 2, Monday, November 18

Universal Hours 9a-7p, MK Hours 9a-11p
I selected Universal for this day since everywhere other than Epcot the crowds are kind of medium, and it looks like they'll be low at Universal. We have 2 day hoppers but 1 day will be with camonkeygirl and grumpygoat, and the other just on our own since they have 1 day hoppers.

• 8:15 am Leave room for Universal
• 9:00 am Start at IOA. Priorities include HP - Forbidden Journey, Butterbeer, wand?, Jurassic, Dudley Do-Right, Spiderman, Suess rides
• 1:00 pm Head over to Universal Studios. Priorities include Transformers, Minion, Simpsons, MIB II, Mummy
• 6:00 pm Head to TTC/MK
• 7:00 pm FP+ Tomorrowland Speedway
• 8:00 pm Electrical Light Parade, then FP+ Space Mtn
• 9:00 pm Priorities for this evenings EMH include Monsters Inc Laugh Floor, Buzz, Jungle Cruise
• 11:00 pm Head to room, bed by midnight

It seems like a lot, but we'll start slowing down on Wednesday and Thursday. I like to front-load our trips, then just leave the later bits for repeats of favorites. We also have a FP+ for BTMRR at 6p, but I doubt we'll make it in time for that and its not a huge priority. This will be our first time getting to MK from anywhere other than BLT, so parking at the TTC/monorail will be new to us and take awhile.

Oh, we will have a rental car. I managed to snag a mid-size for under $200 for the 9 days from Firefly, or an economy from Dollar for $205. By the time we go to Universal twice, it was cheaper and more convenient to have a rental car, and we just like the convenience most of the time (hate buses).

I'm contemplating reversing the order of Universal, going to UO first, then do IOA in the afternoon. The main feature is that then the Transformers line would be shorter. But I still think HP is a bigger draw with larger crowds to avoid than Transformers.

Btw, we picked up our 2-day Universal hoppers for a really reasonable price, $119 from USSA travel agency. Apparently they usually sell to large groups, like kids sports teams, but also sell to individuals. Since Costco is not selling the $135 3 day tickets anymore, this is the next best deal I could find. Plus, we really only wanted to spend 2 days at Universal since there's so much Disney to do!

We also joined a Photopass share, though I'm still contemplating getting Attractions+. I like having the ride pictures, but not sure if that's worth it to me yet ...

 

[taaren]

So now its become a Disney month for us!

My brother's first wife messaged me a few weeks ago asking for Disneyland advice ... turns out she was thinking about bringing my nephew and his sisters up for Veteran's Day weekend in November, the weekend before we leave for DisneyWorld.

Since I don't get to see my only nephew very often (they still live in Hawaii), she was kind enough to invite us to join her on her family vacation. Plus, Veteran's Day is my DS's birthday. We had been planning on a party here but when given the choice of DLR with his cousin or a party, he picked Disney ... I'm raising an addict here apparently, though I think his cousin was the main draw.

I'm currently trying to rent points to stay at the Paradise Pier Hotel from Nov 9-11 so we can get Magic Mornings at California Adventure. My nephew's mom just finalized her flight plans yesterday so we're throwing this trip together in 6 weeks! I asked my boss for the 9th off, but one of my colleagues currently has a trip to the East Coast planned for that weekend so has the time; my colleague might cancel it depending on some factors with her family, if she does and I have the day off we'll leave on the 8th, stop to visit some friends in Bakersfield, then start the Disney weekend early on the 9th. If I don't have the day off, we'll start driving at 5p on the 9th, get in late that night, then start our APs on the 10th at 7am. It seems like a lot to drive a 12 hour round trip for a day and a half in the park, but it'll be worth it to see DS so happy on his birthday.

I have a back up reservation at the Doubletree for $103/night which has a free shuttle to Disneyland. We've never stayed there before as I usually prefer staying walking distance, but prices for the places we like to stay within walking distance happened to be too high for this budget weekend!

Then we'll return to reality and work from the 12-15th before heading to DisneyWorld!

 

[taaren]

So back to the big trip: DisneyWorld.

Day 3: Tuesday, November 19th
MK hours 9-9, Epcot 9-9, Crowds at level 1 for MK, level 5 for Epcot

• 7:00 am Camonkeygirl and grumpygoat head to the train tour
• 9:00 am MK opens, we're going to try to be there. I'm contemplating getting a cab this morning as I don't want to drive to TTC then monorail, and we're not huge fans of the bus system. We might bus one way though. Goals upon arrival are BTMRR, Splash Mtn, Frontierland, Adventureland
• 10:35 am Pirate’s League for Sam, and meet up with ca & grumpy then maybe a few rides in Fantasy and/or Tomorrowland
• 1:20 pm Be Our Guest Lunch (FP+) entire party
• 2:30 pm Head to BCV, either cab or bus depending on how patient we feel
• 3:00 pm Pool time - Storm Along Bay
• 6:00 pm To Epcot! FP+ Soarin, Test Track, Agent P World Showcase. Dinner at Sunshine? Kouzinna? Tangerine Cafe?
• 9:00 pm Boardwalk/bed

Last year's Pirate's League finished product -

And I'm kind of disappointed that DS doesn't want to do Enchanted Tales with Belle again since last year he got picked to be the Beast, but it would be hard for us to go back and have an experience that paled in comparison, so we'll be skipping it this year.

MK rides are lot of repeats from Disneyland for us, so we don't love it as much here. Be Our Guest we enjoyed quite a bit, and Splash is one of my favorite rides done even better here, but overall we enjoy Epcot and DHS more, so we'll be emphasizing those this trip.

I talk a lot about budgeting, because I think a Disney trip can be very reasonable if done right. But when it comes to things like time>money, I can throw budget right out the window. A $10 cab is totally worth saving a half hour waiting for a bus (or letting us sleep a little longer) to me, where a souvenir is very rarely worth that much unless it has another purpose (hence why I collect kitchen Mickey items we use everyday). Its an odd value system, I know.

Day 2 into Day 3 was the main reason I wanted BLT, but I think being super close to Epcot is going to work out the better for us anyways.

 

[kayemgi]

Joining in from the FB group! (Kristen)

That is such a great picture at the Osborne Lights! And I love that your DS got picked to be the Beast in his Pirate's League makeup, that's so awesome. I think you're right, it'd be tough to top that!

Can't wait to read more!

 

[wiigirl]

Following along!

 

[taaren]

Joining in from the FB group! (Kristen)
Can't wait to read more!

Following along!

Yay more people! Its nice to not be blogging to myself!

Day 3 Wednesday, November 20
DHS hours 9a-8p, DisneyQuest 11:30-10p
7:30 am Wake up, breakfast
8:30 am Head to DHS for rope drop, probably via boat, perhaps driving
9:00 am Run to sign up for Jedi Training, ride Star Tours
10:00 am FP+ TSMM, RnR Coaster, Indiana Jones
1:00 pm Hoping for a Jedi Training session around this time
2:00 pm Pool time!
5:30 pm Head to DTD via car. Dinner at Wolfgang Puck Express, play time at DisneyQuest
10:30 pm Bed

Jedi Training is awesome, I highly recommend it if you're a nerd like we are. The photographer caught DS mid-leap, I was video-ing it on my phone at the time.

We might also stop to ride a speedster from Endor again ...

And here's one of the better RnR pictures from last year. Really hoping DS will get that last 1/2 inch in the next 5 weeks so he can ride it!

I know that Indiana is kind of a waste of an FP+, but not sure what else I'd want to use it on. For lunch I'm thinking either Starring Rolls to check out a cupcake, or if we can get an early enough Jedi Training it'd be great to head back to BCV to eat at Beaches and Cream! We do want to try some of those ice cream creations! (The No Way Jose is on my list ...) Hmm ... it sounds like we choose our meals based on dessert, which isn't true I promise!

So I guess this is our nerd-out day. 5 stories of video games is heaven to my DH and DS, and I'm a gamer, too. Though more table-top style than video, some of the virtual rooms at DisneyQuest are pretty spectacular, and if you have a ticket for it its worth checking out for a few hours. The bacon-wrapped meatloaf at Wolfgang Puck Express is amazing, so we usually get that + one other thing to share which we try out different stuff, all of which have been fabulous.

Part of the flow will depend on what time we'll get to select for Jedi Training. If you're one of the first in line you can sign up for an earlier time ... we've gone at rope drop and ended up with choice slots for noon or later, and we opted for later to avoid ADRs previously.

 

[taaren]

Hiya everybody, life's been crazy. How about yours? We took a brief weekend trip to Park City to check out some of the wildlife and enjoy our other timeshare (it gets pretty reasonable to pick up an extra week off-season). It was freezing cold (there was snow in early October!) but fun to see my nephew and my mom who flew out from Maui for fall break. Didn't take any pictures 'cause I'm a terrible mom. When I got back I found out one of my colleagues had to have surgery (hysterectomy), so I've been trying to pick up extra shifts whenever I can to help out.

Also been having trouble trying to arrange the soonest trip: the November Disneyland weekend for my DS's birthday. I found someone to rent DVC reservation points from for the Paradise Pier Hotel, which I was super excited about. Then I found out the Paradise Pier was sold out on points. (This has never happened to us before, those hotels are always wide open for points!) My nephew's mom was still able to rent those points for herself to use at the Disneyland Hotel, so they're staying at the DLH which is awesome but since its more points that's just not in our budget even at the fantastic rate the reservation points were at (she got 4 nights/$1k on a holiday weekend with no resort fees or parking).

So, I've been scouring the internet trying to come up with someplace that is both clean and close, and a lot of those places are sold out ... right now I have the Doubletree Orange which has a free dedicated shuttle to DLR booked at a very reasonable rate, but as a backup I have one night at the Fairfield Inn which is a very short walk on points, and one night on cash since that first night is a lot of points but even more cash.

Before DS we used to be okay with staying in iffy places like Super 8 and the threadbare Best Westerns but I've become a spoiled hotel snob now. With all of our vacation resources dedicated to WDW, though, I really need to stick to a reasonable budget for this weekend. First world problems are the best kind to have!

The good news is our WDW car rental finally dropped in price! I've got $158 with Alamo compact or $183 for Enterprise midsize (I have a bunch of free upgrades with them), and I can apply a $20-->$40 Discover cashback award on either.

I'm having trouble figuring out what to do with days 5-8 at DisneyWorld, which is why I haven't posted about them. Next post I'll put down my options and have you guys weigh in!

 

[SAT887]

I didn't know you had a PTR! I can't see signatures on my phone so I miss out on a bit
It sounds like you have a great "Disney Month" lined up!!

I agree - documenting a trip really does help the experience Makes it much more memorable! I actually have this crazy plan to document 2009-now in a large photobook- I've come to realize that since everything is so digital we miss out on some of the tangible memories.

Also on you budget theory- I am a firm believer time is money! We have so little time all the time I often would rather reduce food expenses, souvenirs or something like that to help with time saving (and sleep because often we don't have enough of that!)

Can't wait to read more!