What will it be for trip #3? (August 5-14, 2012) - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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I think my trip plans will be changed a number of times before we actually get to August, so I thought I would start my PTR to get some help and support in the process.
I will skip formal introductions, as personalities will be revealed as I move along. Also, I figure those of you who checking in early may have followed one of my previous journey's to the World. You may already know that I am a bit obsessive as I try to plan a trip that will accommodate the variety of needs in our family (DD7 has ASD and DD4 has severe food allergies). The first trip taught us the lessons we needed to have a magical second visit. (There is a link in my signature to my August 2010 trip to the BC. ) Our third trip will be August 2012.
Why August? I am a teacher and contractually obligated to vacation during student breaks. Our 5 day stay at a mod during Thanksgiving week in 2009 cost as much as our 10-day stay at BC. Kind of a no-brainer.
We knew we would return during the summer of 2012 but were awaiting a pin code or special offer to book. We also wanted to plan an xtra 3 days to drive down to southern FL to visit DH's sister and her family. We were limited by value season (starts around Aug 5 for mod/value) and my returning to work Aug 20. DH should have 8 days of vacation time but he may be able to take a day or two with no pay in order for us to have a longer vacation. .
About 2 weeks ago, we got a pin code for 30% off any resort level. It even worked on the family suites at ASMu. We booked for 11 days, hoping to provide some flexibility to move our 8-day stay around to allow for better air fares. We also got the tix and DDP but are hoping to get DS into Y.E.S. program (and get those discounted tix) which would make us to food OOP. I have been plotting dining choices to be ready for Feb 7 ADR day.
I spent yesterday *almost* becoming a DVC member. (There is a post on that diversion on the DVC thread). Ultimately, we would love to be DVC members but it is not a wise financial decision at the moment. In less than 2 years, our daycare budget will drop precipitously and we hope we can consider it again at that time. For now, we thought it was important to actually stay in a villa to make sure we love it enough to plan for DVC in the future.
So today....I changed our reservation. We will spend 4 days at POR and 5 days (for now) at OKW in a 1-bedroom villa. I was still able to get the 30% pin code applied to both reservations. The room costs are just a bit more than what it would have been for the same time at the Fam suite. I dropped the tix and DDP. I would not expect to add them back unless I got a promo for free dining (which would also make me change the resort days a bit).
Now I get to re-work our dining choices, taking into consideration our new location and how to manage the resort switch day (which happens to be DH and my 15th anniversary!).
As we move along, I hope to get feedback on my dining choices, especially with plans to pay OOP, as well as other activities we are considering. I hope to post an update about once a week and I appreciate anyone who will join me while I plan our 3rd trip.
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