We've got that 7 year itch...the only prescription is the Mouse! My Oct 2013 PTR!

[c4alymom]

Well, I have attempted this PTR / TR thing once before, but I was a newbie then and I am going to give it another go now. We havent been to the World since 2006 and before that it was our Disneymoon in 1999! The way it worked out, we are going to WDW every 7 years!

Lets start with the Why, the Who, the When, and the Where, shall we? And I should warn you& I have just been playing with Photobucket. I will be putting in some pics. I look at it this way, if no one reads my PTR (hopefully turned TR), I can still enjoy them, right?

Speaking of which, here is a pic of the castle on our trip in 2006. Can you believe how empty it was????

The Why:
We are ready for a family vacation. Is there really any other reason? No, really, it has been a LONG couple of years. In the last 6 months alone my father passed away, I had ACL repair surgery and we had family living with us while they saved to purchase a home. My DH and I agreed it was time to get away. We made the decision to book a cruise. I put the deposit down 18 months prior to the cruise and our whole family got really excited. BUT my Disney loving mind started wondering&How could I fly all the way from AZ to FL and NOT go to WDW???? After discussing it with DH and the kiddos, we all decided we would prefer to cancel the cruise and spend that time at the world!

The Who:

First up, theres me:

Tiffany (age 33 did I really just admit that????), I am the Disney enthusiast of the group. I chose our Disneymoon location, I chose the location for our last trip. I chose&(are you detecting a vibe here???) I am a home daycare owner and full time student, so I am REALLY ready for a vacation!!!!!

DH Charles (age 33, one month older than me and I dont let him forget it!) He humors me. Nicknamed my planning binder in 2006 the Binder of Doom, but admitted that without all the work I did, our trip would NEVER have been the amazing success it was! (BTW, I didnt see him complaining as I purchased new supplies to reinvent the Binder of Doom, as a matter of fact, he was encouraging me!) He is a PICKY eater and not willing to bend on that, so dining is ALWAYS an issue.

DS- Charlie (12) Love this kid! When we went in 2006, he was my planning buddy, always BEGGING to watch the DVD we got in mail and claimed he was an expert! Couldnt wait to ride all the big rides since he was finally a BIG BOY. Now? He is almost too cool for Disney, but secretly admits he cant wait to get back there! He is most excited about spending time at DisneyQuest...Boys.

DD- Alyssa (10 ,but 11 by the time of the trip). Oh my, talk about a Diva (or Villain) in training. She is WAYYYYYY past the princess stage. The Fab Five are still cool with her, but keep her away from the froo froo ladies of the parks. She is soooo above all of that. She is my coffee loving, Justin Bieber &1Direction obsessed preteen little MONSTER, but I LOVE HER all the same! I am ready to spend some quality time with her on this trip, before she is too cool for mommy.

And how about one of all of us together just for fun???

The When:

We will be spending 9 GLORIOUS nights in WDW from Oct 4th thru Oct 13th! The longest we have ever stayed. I have been dreaming of making a long trip like this and only wish it could even be a little longer!

The Where:

This is where we hit a snag. On our Honeymoon, we stayed at CBR. I loved the resort and hubby liked it too. However he had been there once before so when 2006 came around we thought we would try something different. Well, when I found out about FREE DINING, we went all out and stayed at a resort I had been dreaming out: THE CONTEMPORARY! WOW, that wasnt too great of an idea. I LOVED IT! How could we ever downgrade? Now, I am not trying to offend anyone who stays value, or moderate, BUT, we were spoiled being on the monorail line (even though we were not in the tower building). Loved the extra room (as we also took along my cousin that trip), and really enjoyed being close to MK. So when this trip started taking on life, the big question was, where to stay? Our first thought was with so much time, lets rent DVC points! I looked into it and figured the where and how much&. Whew&. Thats a pretty penny (and worth every one of them, I am sure!)

Then I started poking around on the DIS. Of course you can find all you need to know in life on the DIS, right? And to what did my wondering eyes appear? Why, information on Wyndham Bonnet Creek, of course! You mean I can get a 2BR suite for the SAME price as renting a studio from a DVC owner? And stop fights on which of my kids would sleep on the floor (cause they sure as heck wont share a sleeper sofa bed!)? SIGN ME UP! So after pricing, emailing, question, and reading a TON, we booked it! We are set. A presidential 2BR suite at Wyndham Bonnet Creek. Not quite the Disney magic we are used to, but I am excited all the same. I am also actually a little relieved that we will be renting a car. Love the convienence of Disney transportation, but the timing is not always that great& And who wouldnt love being able to make their own breakfast (quick and easy, of course) including GOOD COFFEE before leaving for the parks?

So there you have it. We are booked with 268 days to go. I have a new Binder of Doom. Whats next? Planning all of our days adventures, of course! That is where this PTR and you all come in. I am counting on YOU to help me plan (although I am sure whatever I plan will be changed, changed again, and then changed once more before we actually get there!).

Our Tentative Plans...
Small Update/Knee Trouble
Decisions/Changes
Major Change
Flights, Planning, OH MY...

 

[danielle79]

Yeah joining in and can't wait to read more, we stayed at the fort wilderness cabins last time for two reasons. 1. My girls don't have to share beds and 2. It had a kitchen and full fridge!!!!!

 

[c4alymom]

Okay, so hopefully someone will find and read this, but if not, oh well! I am having fun creating it! I am going to post what our tentative plans are so far… (and throw in some pics for fun too)

This is what I’ve got…. (and it could change depending on EMH and such)

Oct 4th – Travel Day. Flights don’t normally get in too early when you are coming from AZ, so unless we take a Red Eye, I don’t plan on landing until around 6pm or so. Our plan is to pick up rental car, stop for supplies for the week at Wally World (AKA Walmart) and head to WBC. We will most likely be exhausted from traveling all day so we will probably just “chill” at the resort for the night and ready ourselves for the days to come!

(This is a pic of us last Oct in DL)

Oct 5th – EPCOT DAY! Unlike most people around here, for some reason we ALWAYS start our trips at Epcot! I think it started on our Honeymoon because it was EMH day. Then in 2006 I figured the kids would enjoy it more if they saw it BEFORE the rest of the parks. So now it is kind of a tradition. I am really looking forward to exploring World Showcase this time around. Didn’t get to do much of it last time, AND it is the Food & Wine Festival! Woo Hoo! Not sure of the dining plans for today. I know, with all the choices, right??? Well with Mr. Picky and Mr. Picky Jr, it’s hard to narrow it down. May end up doing several CS places for lunch and will probably end up at Coral Reef for dinner. Another tradition, even though it would not be my first choice.

Oct 6th – ANIMAL KINGDOM! Another park my kids really enjoyed last time we were there! My DD is looking forward to getting to ride EE for the first time (she was too short in 2006 ☹). My DS is an animal lover, so this is a favorite for him. No real lunch plans, but thinking we will head offsite for dinner. Have gotten LOTS of ideas from these boards and may go to Sweet Tomatoes (we frequent it often here at home and LOVE it!).

Oct 7th – MAGIC KINGDOM!!!! FINALLY! I love this park! We will probably open and close this park! (BTW- we are definitely park opening people, not because we have to be first, but we feel we get more done first thing in am and can rest in afternoon if we choose) So excited that my kids are over the “nap” stage! Last trip, we were very careful to go on their schedule and not push them. I have a feeling though, it may be the opposite this time around . No plans on dining whatsoever, although we really like Pecos Bills and I want to try Columbia Harbour House. And I WILL get a Dole Whip Float at some point during this day!

Oct 8th – FREE DAY! A luxury we didn’t get on our last trip. This will be a day to REST. The plan is to head to one of the marinas and rent a boat or something. We will also spend the majority of afternoon and evening at DTD. My son is only requesting one thing this trip; DisneyQuest. He still remembers it from the last time, even some specific attractions/activities! I do know we will eat at Crossroads House of Blues for dinner this night. We ate there last Oct in Anaheim when we took a family trip to DL and LOVED the menu. I also have a Restaurant.com coupon, so that helps! Oh, and this morning we will eat at Kona Café. I HAVE to try this Tonga Toast of which so many speak! Not to mention the pressed pot coffee…

(Why post this here? Cause I love this picture of us and it was one of the few character pics I convinced the kids to take in DL!)

Oct 9th – DHS! DHS! Oh wait, I am back in high school (school’s name was Dobson High!) Today we venture to Disney Hollywood Studios. It still feels weird to not say MGM… Like this park, but it’s not my favorite. Although, I did make my acting debut on my honeymoon in the Indiana Jones show ☺. My family is big on Star Wars, so that will be the big draw for my kiddos here. And who can forget TSMM? We really enjoyed it at DL, so looking forward to it here as well. My DD used to LOVE TOT, but now she seems so so on it. (A little scared of the drop, but she will never admit it!). She is also nervous about her first go on the Rockin Rollercoaster. As far as dining, we have only dined at 50’s Prime time here. We all loved it, but thinking we may just go offsite for meals. We were blah about Toy Story Pizza Planet (and I have family of pizza connasoirs here). Nothing really jumps out at me. Maybe we will just dine on cupcakes at Starring Rolls?!

Oct 10th – MK again. I am really excited for the longer trip since we get to have more time in the parks! We will use this day to do anything we miss the first day and hit things again that we love. Again, no dining plans. Will go with the flow for this one.

(Wrong park, I know, but aren’t they cute when they are small???)

Oct 11th – Epcot (part deux). A second day in this park was important to me. Because I have never spent considerable time in World Showcase, it is a must for me this trip. We will use this day to cover what we can’t get through on day 1 in the park. Some must do items? Pick a Pearl in Japan, sampling F&W items, getting anything from the bakery in Norway!

(Back when they still loved each other!)

Oct 12th – Free & Favorites Day. This is our final full day in the World. I am leaving it open to be able to do those things we may not get to earlier in the week. My kids really want to go to Blizzard Beach. We have been to Typhoon Lagoon twice, so they want to try out BB. We will see. As far as anything else, we are keeping it open. Will probably eat offsite this night as well.

Just throwing in another pic for fun!

Oct 13th – Travel Day ☹. Time to go home. The only plan I have for this day is breakfast at Chef Mickey’s. We did this on our last day in 2006 and both kids requested it again. I will try to book a late flight home so we can at least try to get in some time at either a park or DTD. We will see.

That’s it for the plans so far. What do you think?

 

[c4alymom]

Yeah joining in and can't wait to read more, we stayed at the fort wilderness cabins last time for two reasons. 1. My girls don't have to share beds and 2. It had a kitchen and full fridge!!!!!

How cool! I have a reader!!!! YEA! Glad you are along for the ride! Hope I don't bore you with life, droning on...you know, the usual! At least for me Welcome!

 

[khertz]

Joining in! You have a beautiful family! I replied to you on the October 2013 thread, but I'll say it again, I think you will really love your stay at Bonnet Creek! This year will be our 4th stay there, and I'm a total convert. I thought I would miss staying at a Disney resort (and I do, to an extent), and using the Disney transportation, but having our own vehicle is so great, especially with our little one and all of the stuff that comes along with him. Anyway, I look forward to following along with your planning! Once my Oct 2012 TR is done, I plan to start a PTR for our next trip.

 

[sheila <3 WDW]

What a gorgeous family! Your trip sounds great! I am jealous of 9 nights. We are staying 7 nights our trip in March and this will be our longest trip. Our first trip was 5 nights, second trip was 4 nights.

 

[Pixiedust530]

Hello there! I am joining in your PTR! I love reading other PTRs! You have a beautiful family and your tentative plans look great so far! 9 nights will be SPECTACULAR...I'm a little jealous! My upcoming trip overlaps yours...we will be there Oct. 5-11. Feel free to follow along (link in my siggie). We can plan together!

 

[lsenquiz]

Joining in.

 

[happybelle]

I am joining in as well.

 

[c4alymom]

So, a small update. Since I am so far out from the trip, it's kind of hard to make too many changes to our plans. I am following the Facebook page for DIS peeps going in Oct. What a great idea! Love the info I get from my new found "friends".

I have decided that we will try the MNSSHP. My kids are really not into the characters or parades for some reason right now, but I think the villains will be a big draw for my daughter. And to have that extra time in the park will be great!

Right now, I am making packing lists like a CRAZY person and trying to read trip reports and get as much info as possible on Bonnet Creek. I am SO excited to try this place out. As worried as I was to leave the Disney hotel experience, I am that much more excited to have so much space!

On a badder (yes, I just went there and said it like that! - not my fault, I am around three year olds all day) note, I had a set back with my knee this week. Back story, I tore my ACL in July and had it repaired in Aug. I was doing GREAT in physical therapy and was even up to running for 10-15 minutes at a time. Until last Fri (a week ago). I worked a little too much on my knee (did a LOT of lateral jumping) and put a HUGE strain on my hamstrings. This caused a really big strain on my knee and now it is swollen to the size of a softball. Looks like it did (and feels like it did) right after the surgery. Soooo, back to three therapy days a week. At least the swelling is down some and the pain is subsiding a little. Hopefully it will be back to how it was in another week or so. I am working really hard to get it in perfect shape before my trip. I don't want to hold anyone back. (like that would happen since I am the commando one on trips!!)

Anyway, that is it for changes so far. My "Disney" shelf is filling up with things I am packing. I think it may be time to start packing a bin with the things I am buying already!

 

[c4alymom]

Joining in! You have a beautiful family! I replied to you on the October 2013 thread, but I'll say it again, I think you will really love your stay at Bonnet Creek! This year will be our 4th stay there, and I'm a total convert. I thought I would miss staying at a Disney resort (and I do, to an extent), and using the Disney transportation, but having our own vehicle is so great, especially with our little one and all of the stuff that comes along with him. Anyway, I look forward to following along with your planning! Once my Oct 2012 TR is done, I plan to start a PTR for our next trip.

I am really looking forward to BC! The more I look at pics and read about it, the more excited I get. I think having a car will be awesome too. All of us HATED the busses and having to wait the last trip we were there! Thanks for compliments, I think the fam is kind of cute too

What a gorgeous family! Your trip sounds great! I am jealous of 9 nights. We are staying 7 nights our trip in March and this will be our longest trip. Our first trip was 5 nights, second trip was 4 nights.

I never thought we would be able to make a trip this long! It may be awhile before we can get back. The one bad part about being in AZ. I honestly think we would have considered DVC if we didn't live so far away. Plane tickets are wayyyyy too much! I joke that I should get a job for the airlines

Hello there! I am joining in your PTR! I love reading other PTRs! You have a beautiful family and your tentative plans look great so far! 9 nights will be SPECTACULAR...I'm a little jealous! My upcoming trip overlaps yours...we will be there Oct. 5-11. Feel free to follow along (link in my siggie). We can plan together!

I am going to head over to your PTR now!!!! I love reading them and seeing what ideas I can come up with/steal!!!!! See you over there!

Joining in.

Welcome! Hope I don't bore you too much!

I am joining in as well.

Thanks for joining in! My biggest fear: no one would read



HEY, I finally figured out this multiquote thing!!!

 

[happybelle]

Thanks for joining in! My biggest fear: no one would read

I am reading. No worries.

 

[LadyBeBop]

Yea! Another member of the October 2013 group staying at Wyndham Bonnet Creek. However, I'll be there about two weeks after you guys.

Your family is darling. Can't wait to see what transpires in the next 8 months or so.

 

[MelMel11]

Count me in!!

 

[tigerbelly]

I'm reading! We'll be at the parks around the same time!
Are you thinking about doing MNSSHP? I am on the fence about it with the ages of my kids and the cost.

 

[c4alymom]

Yea! Another member of the October 2013 group staying at Wyndham Bonnet Creek. However, I'll be there about two weeks after you guys.

Your family is darling. Can't wait to see what transpires in the next 8 months or so.

Thanks, but I bet if you spent too much time around us, darling might not be the word you would use !
I am really excited to stay even after reading some of the recent news about it (bed bugs and all!!! )

Count me in!!

Welcome!!!

I'm reading! We'll be at the parks around the same time!
Are you thinking about doing MNSSHP? I am on the fence about it with the ages of my kids and the cost.

I am still somewhat on the fence about the party. I think it is the cost that is making me wonder... But I am leaning towards it. Welcome!!!



SO... not much of an update.... BUT, I did get my first Disneystore.com delivery! I ordered water bottles on lanyards! My disney shelf is filling up! Might have to switch to a bin soon! Hope to have to more soon to update!

 

[dsamama]

I am in. I don't have the patience to write a ptr i don't think but I love reading others!

I am also excited about WBC the bedbug thing did totally freak me out not gonna lie but I am trying to get past it ha ha.

And you have me wanting to upgrade to a 2br pres. we booked a deluxe....

Gosh you have so much planned already...I need to get on it!! yikes!

 

[LOVEMY3KIDDOS]

I'm going to follow along! I have been to WDW in the fall for the past three years (Sept 2010 and Oct/Nov 2011 & 2012). After having gone at all other times of the year, I can say this is the best time to go!! Love it! You are making a wise choice by doing the MNSSHP!! Soooo much fun! I can't wait to read more! I too will be starting a PTR soon...I'll let you know when!

Oh...one other suggestion...I am not 100% sure on the days, but Oct. 5 when you had planned for Epcot...if that is a Saturday or Sunday, I'd switch it up. Saturdays and Sundays during F&W are a MADHOUSE!!! Our first year we ignored the advice and absolutely regretted it I am not kidding...shoulder to shoulder people! Crazy! And, when we were there last year with family they ignored what we had warned them about and were in for a rude awakening. Lots of locals and college kids. Just a heads up. I know it's a tradition, but it's bad.

Looking forward to more planning and now going to go back and read more PTR's that are linked in this one

 

[c4alymom]

I'm going to follow along! I have been to WDW in the fall for the past three years (Sept 2010 and Oct/Nov 2011 & 2012). After having gone at all other times of the year, I can say this is the best time to go!! Love it! You are making a wise choice by doing the MNSSHP!! Soooo much fun! I can't wait to read more! I too will be starting a PTR soon...I'll let you know when!

Oh...one other suggestion...I am not 100% sure on the days, but Oct. 5 when you had planned for Epcot...if that is a Saturday or Sunday, I'd switch it up. Saturdays and Sundays during F&W are a MADHOUSE!!! Our first year we ignored the advice and absolutely regretted it I am not kidding...shoulder to shoulder people! Crazy! And, when we were there last year with family they ignored what we had warned them about and were in for a rude awakening. Lots of locals and college kids. Just a heads up. I know it's a tradition, but it's bad.

Looking forward to more planning and now going to go back and read more PTR's that are linked in this one

Thanks for the advice! You are not the first to tell me that! We are already making changes and I am sure I will continue to change up our schedule!!!!

 

[c4alymom]

Okay, so I FINALLY feel like I am getting somewhere with this trip (like I didn't before....).

Flights are starting to come up among the airlines. What to do, what to do??? Pay upwards of $500 a ticket? I THINK NOT. Not for four of us. Flying from Az is what keeps us from going to the World more often . I can't fathom paying that much, no matter what. Therein lies my dilemna.

Should we Priceline it? I know several people who have. The complaints are this: layovers and CRAZY timing. And of course, we have no control over either. SOOOOO, what is a girl to do? Add another day onto our trip OBVIOUSLY! So, IF (and that is still a BIG if) we Priceline our flights, we will leave on 10/3 so that we can still check into WBC on the 4th. What will we do on the 3rd you ask? GREAT QUESTION! Stay at Disney of course! I have already decided to book a night at POP and get our tickets through Disney as a "package" deal!

Our other option is to take out a Southwest VISA card to get the perks they are offering; 50,000 points (about two RT tickets) resulting in about what we would pay for the four tickets if our bid is accepted should I choose the Priceline option. We would just use the card for our everyday expenses and pay them off each month...

But guess what? Either way, I am keeping the extra day and the night at POP! So excited to get another day and to start it off at Disney (even though we have never done a value resort!). And another perk? I can make all of my ADRs at the 180 day mark!!!!

That leads me to another change... we were just going to get Park Hoppers, now, we are going to get the Water Park and more option as well! In all of our trips, we have been to Typhoon Lagoon each time. This time, we are really wanting to try Blizzard Beach. My kids are dying to go, so this works out great!

Oh and one more thing to mark in the books, I made my FIRST call to Disney for this trip. I even wrote the date in my planning binder. Not a big deal, I know, but I have a page to keep track of all my calls. Just thought it would be interesting to see just how many calls I actually make over the course of my planning.

That's it for now... Hope to have more soon, once I get my air firgured out!