You just lost your job, where are you going next?! DISNEY WORLD - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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You just lost your job, where are you going next?! DISNEY WORLD
I decided this was a great title for a trip report, after seeing the Super Bowl commercials yesterday for Aaron Rodgers - you just won the Super Bowl, where are you going next? I'm going to Disney World!
I hope to upload a few pictures from the first day after I'm back at home tonight. For now, you'll have to just enjoy the written part!
Pre-trip planning & Friday, January 28 Who: me, DH, DS14, DD 10 When: Friday, January 28-Tuesday, February 1 Where: Villas at Wilderness Lodge Why: Christmas gift for kids
This trip was originally planned in September or October – when AirTran had announced some good airfares , and DH & I decided a trip to the World would make a great Christmas gift for our kids (who are getting harder & harder to buy for). When we booked the trip, we were already within our 180 day booking window so we had to think fast about our ADR’s.
We were going to use DVC points for our stay, and only wanted a studio, since it was a short trip. We really wanted to try Beach Club, but of course there was no availability. Struck out similarly at Boardwalk, but did find a studio at Wilderness Lodge. Score!! Another DVC property to add to our list of tried. (Previous DVC stays at the World have been at SSR, OKW & AKL)
We were then thrown for quite the loop when in mid-December, I was told my position at work is being eliminated as part of cost-saving measures. Initially, it seemed that would happen as of January 31, which would be while we were scheduled to be at Disney World! (Later I got a bit of a reprieve, and now think I’ll have a job until late March) DH and I talked about whether the trip should be scrapped, given the upcoming change in family finances, and since this was still before Christmas, and the kids had no idea we were even making this trip. We realized our airfare was non-refundable, we had the DVC points, so it really only came down to the food piece. We have a Disney Rewards Visa, and that gave us enough points to cover more than 50% of the DDP. That meant that we would only be paying another $300 or so out of pocket, and that seemed manageable. Not to mention, we agreed we could really use this trip, after the last few months we’d been having. You see, in addition to my job situation, DH has been having some significant health issues for the past year (many trips to the hospital, including 2 via ambulance) and we were still not sure what was going on there. This has been very stressful for all four of us, so escaping reality and being someplace we all love so much seemed like a good antidote for now. Yeah! Trip on!
Next, DH & I began brainstorming ways of surprising the kids. You can see that in this thread: Revealed trip to kids. We were very proud of ourselves for the creative way we gave the kids their gift! And needless to say, the kids (DS14 & DD10) were THRILLED!! Best of all, they had just about a month to wait – not long at all!
When the trip had been conceived, we booked flights for Friday, January 28th, at 8 pm, leaving from BWI. We live about an hour from BWI, and the plan was to leave our house the moment our youngest returned from school – about 4 pm – so we could allow for the rotten DC traffic on the beltway. As it turned out, the kids had snow days Wednesday, Thursday and Friday! We tried not to think about the fact that we could have had an extra few days at DW had we been able to leave at the start of the snow, and just enjoyed the fact that we had plenty of time to get all our things together that week, while not running to the various kid-activities.
We left our house around 3:45 pm, and there was almost no traffic on the way to BWI (most likely in part due to all the school systems being closed that day), so by 5:30 pm we had arrived at BWI, parked in the long-term garage, taken the shuttle to the terminal, and cleared security! WOW! We had dinner at the Greene Turtle – a sit-down restaurant – since we had so much time to kill. Then we walked around for a long time to get some exercise before the flight, and kill a bit more time. The flight boarded at 7:30, and took off right on time. This was our first time on AirTran, and the kids liked that there was XM radio at each seat, and the fact that one of the drink options was Vitamin Water Lemonade.
We had checked one bag, and were carrying two others (plus the various carry-on type bags). All the toiletries were in the checked bag, making it a lot easier to go through security. We were also traveling with bobble bottles, and had read recently that security was looking more closely at water bottles (even though they have to be empty). It seemed easier not to deal with that. So, when we arrived in Orlando, we did have to go to baggage claim before making our way to Magical Express. Our bag was there within about 10 minutes, though, and soon, we were boarding the bus! WOOHOO!
The bus made two stops before ours – at the Poly and the Grand Floridian. We arrived at the Wilderness Lodge right around midnight (the flight came in at 10:30). I’d done on-line check-in, so our package was all ready to go.
We loved the theme of the Wilderness Lodge – and the kids quickly noticed the Mickey’s along the ceiling as we made our way down the hall in the Villas building. We were a bit disappointed to find our room on the first floor, and at the VERY end of the hall from the VWL lobby. But as we also knew, we wouldn’t be spending much time in the room. The studio seemed pretty roomy, with a bed, pull-out couch, table & two chairs, and kitchenette. The bathroom only has one sink, but is outside the room with the toilet & bath, so that is helpful.
I should mention the pull-out couch, as it is one of the new ones. It took us a minute to actually figure it out! The cushions don’t come off at all (which was a disappointment, as we often use those to make a bed on the floor for our DD – DS sleeps on the couch bed, and we get the “real” bed). There was a strap in the center of the couch, but on the back of it. You pull that, and the couch flips over into a bed. As you’re opening it, there are 2 little cubbies under the back cushions that hold the pillows. Not sure if that makes sense, but if you see one of these, hopefully you’ll remember that and not wonder where to find the pillows! It was a pretty comfortable bed, as hide-a-beds go.
We were ready for bed by 1 am, which was good, as I had planned a full schedule! We were to spend the next day at Epcot, and I wanted to get there as close to opening at 9 am as possible!
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Your pizza at Via Napoli sounds positively delish. And I've heard about the little donuts for dessert--this place is definitely on my list for next time! Sounds like a really great day, with the successful TT rides for your DS, Soarin', shopping, and two good meals!
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, and DH & I decided a trip to the World would make a great Christmas gift for our kids (who are getting harder & harder to buy for). When we booked the trip, we were already within our 180 day booking window so we had to think fast about our ADR’s. 
Struck out similarly at Boardwalk, but did find a studio at Wilderness Lodge. 
Score!! Another DVC property to add to our list of tried. (Previous DVC stays at the World have been at SSR, OKW & AKL)
Initially, it seemed that would happen as of January 31, which would be while we were scheduled to be at Disney World! (Later I got a bit of a reprieve, and now think I’ll have a job until late March) DH and I talked about whether the trip should be scrapped, given the upcoming change in family finances, and since this was still before Christmas, and the kids had no idea we were even making this trip. We realized our airfare was non-refundable, we had the DVC points, so it really only came down to the food piece. We have a Disney Rewards Visa, and that gave us enough points to cover more than 50% of the DDP. That meant that we would only be paying another $300 or so out of pocket, and that seemed manageable. Not to mention, we agreed we could really use this trip, after the last few months we’d been having. You see, in addition to my job situation, DH has been having some significant health issues for the past year (many trips to the hospital, including 2 via ambulance) and we were still not sure what was going on there. This has been very stressful for all four of us, so escaping reality and being someplace we all love so much seemed like a good antidote for now. Yeah! Trip on! 
We tried not to think about the fact that we could have had an extra few days at DW had we been able to leave at the start of the snow, and just enjoyed the fact that we had plenty of time to get all our things together that week, while not running to the various kid-activities. 
– a sit-down restaurant – since we had so much time to kill. Then we walked around for a long time to get some exercise before the flight, and kill a bit more time. The flight boarded at 7:30, and took off right on time. This was our first time on AirTran, and the kids liked that there was XM radio at each seat, and the fact that one of the drink options was Vitamin Water Lemonade.
So, when we arrived in Orlando, we did have to go to baggage claim before making our way to Magical Express. Our bag was there within about 10 minutes, though, and soon, we were boarding the bus! WOOHOO! 
We were a bit disappointed to find our room on the first floor, and at the VERY end of the hall from the VWL lobby. But as we also knew, we wouldn’t be spending much time in the room. The studio seemed pretty roomy, with a bed, pull-out couch, table & two chairs, and kitchenette. The bathroom only has one sink, but is outside the room with the toilet & bath, so that is helpful. 
We were to spend the next day at Epcot, and I wanted to get there as close to opening at 9 am as possible!
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