Why Not Just Queue Up Another Disney Trip? Link to New TR 6/24 p136!

[Pinkocto]

Since the DIS was so slow last night I didn't spend a lot of time on it - too frustrating. But I did look at points and prices for October 2013. I am thinking the 4 day Dream cruise on October 20th (our anniversary is the 21st) and then 4 nights at AKL and then I was thinking 4 nights at HHI .....OR.......a longer stay at AKL and skip HHI to visit it next spring. I don't think I can go a full year from October 2012 to 2013 without some kind of Disney fix. There's also a little part of me that would also like to get one more trip in during December 2012 before my AP expires. What chance do you think I have of talking Denny into that? I would love to go right after Thanksgiving.

The DIS HAS been going to slowly lately. I hope they get it fixed soon. I'm glad you made an appointment for your PCP, I hope they figure out what's been giving you so much trouble.

If you can get a good flight I'd say go for another trip before the AP expires! I'm trying to figure one more in also. And that sounds like a wonderful anniversary trip! We're doing our first cruise on points, and it's saving a ton of money. Is Denny content to let you plan and he goes wherever, or does he want a say in the planning? I'd say just plan it and tell him what a wonderful anniversary trip you've got planned and these are the dates he needs off work. Would that go over well?

 

[MEK]

The DIS HAS been going to slowly lately. I hope they get it fixed soon. I'm glad you made an appointment for your PCP, I hope they figure out what's been giving you so much trouble.

I don't think my PCP will do too much other than order an X-ray and send me to PT. I could do that myself, but its easier to get the referrals from her. Just need to get the ball rolling here so I feel more in alignment. It's a weird feeling - not really pain but just feeling like a bobble head or worse.

If you can get a good flight I'd say go for another trip before the AP expires! I'm trying to figure one more in also. And that sounds like a wonderful anniversary trip! We're doing our first cruise on points, and it's saving a ton of money. Is Denny content to let you plan and he goes wherever, or does he want a say in the planning? I'd say just plan it and tell him what a wonderful anniversary trip you've got planned and these are the dates he needs off work. Would that go over well?

I think one more trip might be doable if I do get a good flight, otherwise forget about it.

Did you get an incentive for the cruise? I looked at the prices for October 20th 2013 and a 4 nighter is about $1600 for a verandah. Or its 220 points, which seems high. I could rent 220 points at $10 a point and pay for the cruise and have spending $.

Denny wants to do a cruise. We just won't while Nick is still home because I don't like the whole idea that I can't be reached right away for an emergency. I know he could still have an emergency in college, but something about him being away at school makes the thought more palatable. I wanted to do a cruise for Nick's graduation, but he wants to rent a beach house for a week. So there you have it! Denny will def be on boards with whatever I plan for October 2013!

 

[tinacaplan]

Wow. The Dis is working well enough right now for me to actually comment on a few things. I hope your neck is feeling better.

Men! Do they think we have imaginary friends?

I think they might. My husband even has a hard time keeping track of the people I work with, let alone anyone from the Dis, even folks we've met together.

 

[MEK]

Wow. The Dis is working well enough right now for me to actually comment on a few things. I hope your neck is feeling better.

The DIS WAS working well for me for about the first 5 minutes. Now - not so much! UGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Thanks on the neck. It's doing OK. Actually responds pretty well to the Motrin so I'm feeling OK right now!

I think they might. My husband even has a hard time keeping track of the people I work with, let alone anyone from the Dis, even folks we've met together.

Men need a lot of visual cues I guess. I think I'll try the Cynthia line again tonight and see if he recognizes her name.

 

[eandesmom]

Men need a lot of visual cues I guess. I think I'll try the Cynthia line again tonight and see if he recognizes her name.

Yup, probably!

Interesting. Well, I made the appointment with my PCP today and I'm thinking she may want to do a cervical spine film. I have Denny's insurance so I can't even get my stinking X-ray where I work. Then I am asking for PT and a chiro. I am so out of alignment today it is not even funny. I actually can't stand it.

UGH! Mine is bugging me today but I haven't had any treatments at all in over month and started working out again. Scared. And tired of the co-pays! It's funny, I've still never had a cervical spine film...although if things didn't clear up, they were going to.

June 10 - 15 is in the treehouse. That was 211 points and I figured that was enough for my bro and sil. The next three nights are in a studio at BWV and that is for me and Denny and Nick if he decides to stay. If he wants to go home on the 15th that is fine with me. If we fly we will arive on the 9th and I will either using up the points Denny has for the country inn and suites or stay value for a night. I would love to try the new animation place. If we decide to go to KSC I may just book a couple nights over in Cocoa beach and stay a couple extra nights. It all depends on how much time Denny can get off from work. I really want him to nail this down so I can plan the details on both ends of the trip.

Fun! And great that you are doing it before the point increase. I really would love to do it for the big family trip but...I don't think it's likely at this point, all I'm going to be able to do is room the 4 of us unless we do a split stay of some sort.

Since the DIS was so slow last night I didn't spend a lot of time on it - too frustrating. But I did look at points and prices for October 2013. I am thinking the 4 day Dream cruise on October 20th (our anniversary is the 21st) and then 4 nights at AKL and then I was thinking 4 nights at HHI .....OR.......a longer stay at AKL and skip HHI to visit it next spring. I don't think I can go a full year from October 2012 to 2013 without some kind of Disney fix. There's also a little part of me that would also like to get one more trip in during December 2012 before my AP expires. What chance do you think I have of talking Denny into that? I would love to go right after Thanksgiving.

ooh! Tough call, so many lovely options! The points for the cruises generally does not seem to be the way to go...unless you have points to burn I guess or really wouldn't use them otherwise. Then, heck, why not!

 

[MEK]

I'm going to try for a short update tonight because I have to stay up and wait for Nick to get home from his indoor soccer game which doesn't start until 9:15pm Ugh!

So when I left off in my last update we were heading to the front of the park. I was planning to head over to Epcot and meet up with Kara. I missed her on Thursday night because I thought HS stayed open later than it actually did. Kara and her family were leaving today to drive home to SC, but they were going to Epcot at 2pm before they left.

I had just about convinced Denny and Nick to head over to Epcot with me. I thought Nick would enjoy the friendship boat since he had never been on one before.

Here are a few pictures on our way out of the park.

I think I am obsessed with ribbons and wreaths.

Courtesy of the PP photographer

We stopped to say Hi to Boh, but this fellow was in the picture.

Opps - Wrong view

Ah - Here We Go!

Just as we were getting ready to leave I got a text from Kara that she and her family had a change of plans. They were making a quick stop at DTD and then heading north.

Phew - perfect timing because I was almost out of the park! I completely understood. Kara was on a big family trip and its hard to keep everyone happy in that situation. So, we wished each other well and I told Denny and Nick they were "off the hook". They no longer had to follow me to Epcot.

So I stood there for a moment trying to plot my next plan. As you might imagine, I was ready to run back into the park and ride Star Tours again, but the boys wanted nothing to do with that. I knew I shouldn't have let them ride three times! I considered heading back there myself, but then I realized it was only 2pm and that would give us plenty of time for an afternoon pool break before our dinner ADR.

So despite the fact that it was overcast, I decided to call it a park day and head on out.

But first - some pictures of the HS Christmas tree.

I almost forgot - Nick must have been hungry again. To think, he could have stopped at the Writer's Stop or Starring Rolls. I can't even remember what his snack was.

Quick rant here. I got a AAA parking pass when I bought a ticket there. We always park in the AAA section of the lot, but I hate it because its such a convoluted walk. You leave the park and walk all the way to the right, then you have to walk back towards the left. It's like a big semi-circle and annoying. Rant over.

It actually turned out nice to have the afternoon free. Nick went in the pool, but I just sat with an adult beverage and enjoyed the quiet time. I also took a bunch of pictures.....

Continued Next Post........

 

[MEK]

Continued......

Sorry random girl. I think I was just trying to get all directions from the pool deck.

You can see it wasn't super crowded, probably because it wasn't sunny and warm out, but it was still pretty comfortable in my opinion.

After my OKW pool photo session I decided it was hot tub time. Denny joined me. Nick stayed in the regular pool. We struck up a conversation with a really nice quest who was there with her husband (no kids). She overheard me talking about HHI and started to inquire about it. She readily admitted that she prefers lying by the pool or the beach to hitting the parks. I told her I thought she would love HHI for just that reason (and it sure doesn't hurt that she and her DH can easily take a day trip into Charleston or Savannah). She was from North Jersey and actually has a sister who attended the University of Delaware. Small World! He husband eventually showed up and we talked a bit more until we all realized that we needed to start getting ready for our respective ADRs.

Here are a few more pictures I took before hitting the hot tub

So - sorry - there is not a lot of content in this update, but it really was a lovely, relaxing afternoon. The best part was that we had a generous two hours just to hang out and do nothing but chat to strangers and drink adult beverages!

I almost forgot - remember that Sweet Carolina lemonade vodka I dropped in HHI. Well, I replaced it with the Sweet Caroline iced tea vodka and I mixed that with the pomegranate lemonade and it made a nice, refreshing adult beverage.

Up Next....A signature dinner at a monorail resort!

 

[eandesmom]

what a lovely afternoon! How timely that you were able to regroup when the meet didn't happen, it is hard herding cats on a trip like that, DISmeets are much easier when you are solo.

I've only parked once at WDW since '04 and I swear we lost the car. It was pretty funny but it was at DHS! No AAA parking but that doesn't sound like it was much of a benefit. I thought there was a parking benefit to an AP but maybe I'm confused?

 

[Mndisneygirl]

I have heard MANY people say that using points for a cruise is not a good value unless you have nothing else to do with them. Renting them out and using the $$ to pay for the cruise is smart.

Great pictures - Thanks especially for the OKW pool pics! I hope to be enjoying those pools in October!!

 

[Poolrat]

A nice relaxing afternoon. Sorry your plans went awry but you made the best of it.

 

[dawnbu40]

Sounds like a great afternoon break

That pool area is so cute! I love all the pictures. We had breakfast at Olivia's on our last trip and now OKW is on Dale's must do list.

Looking forward to hearing about your evening.

 

[Stringbean&Wingnut]

That sounds like the perfect relaxing afternoon by the pool! (And yay for other people from NJ! )

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

Sorry the DIS meet didn't work out. I'm glad you enjoyed relaxing by the pool. It's so hard to force yourself to sit and relax at WDW sometimes!

Nice pictures...

And for the University of Delaware! Go Blue Hens!

 

[Queenofallthings]

Another great update! Sounds like a heavenly day to me...there is nothing I love more than an afternoon by the pool with an adult beverage!

The OKW looks fantastic!

 

[mickeystoontown]

What a lovely way to relax for an afternoon! How neat that you were able to pass along some HHI information to the other guest. I am sure that she was very happy that she met you.

 

[Pinkocto]

[

Did you get an incentive for the cruise? I looked at the prices for October 20th 2013 and a 4 nighter is about $1600 for a verandah. Or its 220 points, which seems high. I could rent 220 points at $10 a point and pay for the cruise and have spending $.

Denny wants to do a cruise. We just won't while Nick is still home because I don't like the whole idea that I can't be reached right away for an emergency. I know he could still have an emergency in college, but something about him being away at school makes the thought more palatable. I wanted to do a cruise for Nick's graduation, but he wants to rent a beach house for a week. So there you have it! Denny will def be on boards with whatever I plan for October 2013!

ooh! Tough call, so many lovely options! The points for the cruises generally does not seem to be the way to go...unless you have points to burn I guess or really wouldn't use them otherwise. Then, heck, why not!

I have heard MANY people say that using points for a cruise is not a good value unless you have nothing else to do with them. Renting them out and using the $$ to pay for the cruise is smart.

The 'sandcastle' at the pool is so so cute! What a nice relaxing afternoon It is so hard to actually just sit and relax at WDW. I wanted to do that same thing, sit by the pool and relax, but by the time I dragged my mom from AK with complaints that my feet hurt so bad and all I wanted to do was sit in the pool, a thunderstorm started and we just waited in the room... At least we weren't outside in the deluge, it worked out I guess.

Here's the reason I think cruising on points is excellent. I'm basing my point cost on the actual price I paid, not the potential a rental could get me. I know a lot of people rent and it works out, but it really makes me uncomfortable. If I'm not able to use my points some year I'll let a friend use them. Here's my baseline figuring: If I take the whole ten years to pay off my loan each point will end up costing around $3. If I'm able to pay off the loan earlier it's even less than that. So, for a trip using 220 points at $3 a point you're looking at $660, well $755 with the $95 fee, about $850 less than the OOP cost. If you can definitely get a rental with no problems I can see that working too. We're doing a 5 day cruise which uses 294 points, so at $3 a point that's $882, plus the $95 fee they charge that's $977. Whereas OOP it was $3200 a year in advance, and now it's $3800 for the same category. Now, I will mention that those same 220 points can get you probably two weeks at WDW if you do a studio, so if you want more time for your points it works out much better to use them at a resort.

I don't want to step on anybodys toes, I've found whole threads that bash people for using points to cruise and I just think that's so silly. They're your points, do with them as you please.

 

[thecapells]

Nice pics of OKW - I've never been there so it's fun to see!!
Oh, and just for the record, I would've voted to hit Star Tours several more times!!

 

[Moira222]

So tomorrow is Woodstock! I am signing off now to do a little rehearsing. I am hoping for an update on Sunday night. We have one show tomorrow at 8pm and two shows on Saturday at 3 and 8 pm. It's 20 songs. I only have parts in 3 of them. so its lots of down time. I am trying to decide what to wear which might look a little woodstocky.

Tie died T-shirt and head band perhaps?

FUN! Is that what you wore?

Woodstock was a lot of fun tonight! It was so cool to watch the kids really pull it together (and the adults, too). Lots of great music and it was definitely bonding experience. Show 2 and 3 tomorrow.

Thanks for the well wishes. Comments tomorrow. I am going to bed.

Oh - and you'll love this - I am so freaking old I think I hurt my neck dancing to one of the songs.

Ew sorry you hurt your neck. Y'know, at Woodstock they had a special "cure" for your neck








a neck rub of course! what did you THINK they'd use for pain at Woodstock

I hope that was gortex rain gear!

Thanks for sharing all these pics We so enjoyed this in May -that was our first time ever. I love walking through all the random aisles of props, though I wished there were not a line of people behind me. I wanted to look more.

Applause Applause. With the marvels of movie making behind us, it was time to tour the backlot complete with Hannah Montana's house. Did this movie actually make money?

Yup, just take a look in Katie's room.

this looks like an Indiana Jones prop

That tour does sound pretty cool. I think its fairly expensive but doesn't require a park ticket. I know I would really enjoy it. I have been wanting to take another backstage tour for awhile. I am definitely going to save that until Denny and I have another solo trip. Thanks for the suggestion!

--

shhh I am thinking of adding this on to our trip package in June. I think that with just us going, its an ideal add on. Joe has been talking about adding on a day before & a day after to our reservation, but not adding park days. This tour sounds like the perfect peek into the parks on a non-park day.

Continued......

Love that slide!

After my OKW pool photo session I decided it was hot tub time. The best part was that we had a generous two hours just to hang out and do nothing but chat to strangers and drink adult beverages!

I almost forgot - remember that Sweet Carolina lemonade vodka I dropped in HHI. Well, I replaced it with the Sweet Caroline iced tea vodka and I mixed that with the pomegranate lemonade and it made a nice, refreshing adult beverage.

Up Next....A signature dinner at a monorail resort!

That sounds like a fantasic afternoon in my book!

That drink combo sounds delish! Did you bring the pomegranate lemonade or was that from the snack bar fountain? I usually just get diet coke there so don't pay much attention to the other flavors.

what a great update Mary Ellen! Sounds like another great trip for the books so far!

 

[TanzUnited99]

Great pics as always and I love ribbons and wreaths - the more the better

at telling Denny and Nick they were 'off the hook' I'm sorry you didn't get to meet with Kara but like you said it is hard when you have a big family to please.

Glad you got to enjoy the hot tub and promote HHI as well!

 

[Nermel9]

Sorry your DIS meet didn't work out! Sounds like you had a great afternoon though! Brandon and I never have relaxing pool time on our trips, I have to make more of a point to try to go to the pool on our next trip! The OKW pool area looks really nice!