Let me start by clarifying: I don’t mean that patience is needed to do the (fun!) stuff; i.e. the planning, etc., I mean that you, well, I, will need patience for the waiting to plan!

You Totally Do This, Don’t You?

So, I can honestly say that I love starting to thinking about our next trip practically as soon as I set foot in the door after returning home from our latest vacation! Ok, so I may not exactly be knocking the luggage out of DH’s hands while tearing down the hallway to go and grab my Disney Vacation Club (“DVC”) points chart — because I already have them memorized. *eyeroll* Ok, not really! — but, I have more than likely already had a conversation, or four, with him about where we should stay next time. Huh. Yeah, I guess it’s not really screaming “World’s Most Patient Person” is it? But I can’t help it! I want to go back before I’ve even left (that makes sense)!

Where else can we stay?

Ok, so being that we are also DVC members, we have been pretty spoiled by our ability to stay at quite a few of the resorts at Walt Disney World (“WDW”), including:

Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa:

Saratoga Springs Villas * photo taken by GTCindy

Animal Kingdom Lodge (“AKL”), both Jambo House (main building) and Kidani Village (DVC villas):

AKL - Kidani Village - Savannah * photo taken by chezp

Bay Lake Tower (“BLT”) at Disney’s Contemporary Resort:

Bay Lake Tower - Bay Lake * photo taken by chezp

And even BoardWalk Villas:

BoardWalk Villas - BoardWalk/Crescent Lake * photo taken by mestitch

Like I said, totally spoiled! I know this, but we’ve been able to do so much with our membership, like stay at all of these resorts, because we’ve learned a few tricks! For example, with these couple of stays under our belts (or is that all those zebra domes?), we have realized that we can make the most of our trips if we do split-stays; i.e. if we change rooms/resorts at some point during our trip. (Although, on one occasion, we did this four times in two weeks! *Please do not attempt this on your next vacation; it is not recommended!* 😛) However, as crazy as that trip was, it did, to say the least, allow us to experience a lot more “resort” than if we had chosen to do a more “traditional” reservation.

There’s only one hitch to this brilliant (if I say so myself!) idea: When staying on DVC points, I cannot book at another resort, except my home resort, until seven months out from my anticipated arrival date. Whhhhy? (Well, I know why, but I’m going for dramatic effect here!)

So, not only do I have to try and decide where we’re going to (hopefully) stay next time, but I have to wait to see if any of my choices are even viable options! This is where my issue (and subsequent topic for this week) lies, I need patience! Unfortunately, I don’t really have much of it. LOL! I mean, I know I’m a grown-up (well, by “definition,” as we’ve previously discussed! ;-)) and, as such, I’m supposed to know that “good things come to those that wait,” right? Well, do the “preachers” of this zen-like thinking ever go to Disney World? I’m thinking no, because, there are just too many of us over on the PassPorter message boards who have either have a vacation ticker, some sort of countdown, create posts for their double, and then single, digit dances and/or actually have all of the above! So, I know your out there and that’s why I had to discuss the waiting; I knew you’d understand!

However, and I don’t mean to only direct my conversation to the DVC members, but, there is super, ginormous news that will make it seem like whatever-such-holiday-you-celebrate-that-requires-torturous-waiting-for-presents to any do-it-yourself planners out there: We can finally book our own vacations online! *Cue the chorus of angels singing!* OMGosh I’m so excited about this news (thanks for the reminder, Cheryl!) and yet so bummed, all at the same time, because I can’t “do” anything with it beyond August at this point (which is 7 months out from now).

Oh the humanity! (Yeah and if you think I’m bad now, you should see me when it’s time to book my dining reservations online! Ha ha ha, oh but you will!)

Anyway, the news of the online reservation system made me think about my planning that’s on hold, which then made me think about the prior resorts we’ve stayed at, and thus the sharing of my rambling thoughts — since that’s all I can do for the time being! Well, that and wonder: What’s worse? The waiting to book or the waiting for the actual trip?! I can’t really say for sure; however, being that I’m currently at the waiting-to-book stage, I’m totally voting for that! 🙂

So, I guess I should get going; that DVC website isn’t going to “test” itself! And, while I’m at it — *channels my inner rock star* — I am going to attempt to try and find myself “a little patience…yeeeeah…just a little patience…ooooooo oooo yeeeah…” (Just be thankful you can’t actually hear me!)

So, until next time!