Land and Sea - Yippee! September 2013 -TR updated 02/11/2014 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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Land and Sea - Yippee! September 2013 -TR updated 02/11/2014
Hello everybody! I wanted to wait until I got those three beautiful letters, "PIF" before I started a pre-trip report. I'm not a superstitious person, but this being a trip of firsts, I just didn't want to start planning for real-for real until June 25th when our travel agent let us know that it was all good.
Our brief backstory:
I'm Angela: mom of two boys, wife of one guy. Disney fan, PassPorter student, movie lover, nurse on the weekends, homeschooler during the week.
Husband: "Dh" very private guy, works a lot. Needs a vacation somethin' awful. Tolerates my Disney mania, but appreciates my efforts when it's trip time. SuperDad.
Max: Ds11, oldest son, sneaks my PassPorter when I'm not looking, hates roller coasters, loves Disney World. Almost a black belt in karate.
Titus: Ds8, baby boy, sneaks my iPad when I'm not looking, LOVES roller coasters (I'm talking the big scary ones! ), loves Disney World. Makes cool Lego spaceships from scratch.
Our upcoming trip: 4 day stay at the Beach Club Villas before a 4 night cruise on the Dream the second week in September. (My youngest sister and her son will be joining us on the cruise.)
After our last trip to the World this past Thanksgiving, we knew we'd be back again this year. There were no definite plans or ideas until we were looking at the DVC points book and suddenly started thinking about how many points it would take to book a Disney cruise. After immediately figuring out that using points wouldn't work for us , we saw that we might be able to work it out paying "cash". So about about a month after our trip, a few days after Christmas, we booked our first cruise . Around the same time, we booked a room at Animal Kingdom Lodge, Kidani, to stay prior to sailing. I knew we wanted to stay somewhere else the next time, but we had to go by the 11 month booking window, just to be sure we had something. We would keep our fingers crossed for the 7 month booking window for another DVC resort.
I wanted to use a travel agent because cruising was entirely new territory. In order for me to take on something new, I have to investigate it, learn it, and breathe it until I am completely familiar with it . That goes for anything. Cooking, teaching, crochet, gardening, whatever. It's pretty ridiculous, but that's me ! I decided to contact a member of one of the Disney podcasts that I listen to. I'm not sure if they're one of the big time ones, but they make me laugh, and sometimes that's all it takes . Before I called the TA, we actually took a few weeks deciding what kind of cabin we'd like. Let's just say I'm happy with whatever, but Dh wanted a cabin with more room and a verandah. Many hours went into the research of different cabins, different decks and even different sides of the boat (port or starboard??) . We ended up with category 4B "Deluxe Family Ocean View Stateroom with Verandah" which should be good for us with 2 adults and 2 kids. (Just to give you an idea, my 11 year old is 5'6, so he would like his own bed. ) We debated about the verandah and the extra room, but since we wouldn't be booking anything extra, except maybe Palo brunch, it was okay to splurge a bit on the space.
With our credit card number safely in the hands of our trusty TA and our down payment made, we next spent some time deciding which resort we should stay at. Sometime in the past, I had promised the kids we would stay at the Boardwalk Villas. It is such a pretty resort! The convenience and location of BWV was a great selling point. But then Dh dropped a bomb on us - we would NOT be going to the parks ! After much ballyhooing and hissyfitting , the kids and I picked ourselves off the floor to listen to why this was such a "great" idea .
Negatives:
1. >$1000 for 4 park tix
2. we'll wear ourselves out before we even start the "real vacation"
3. we really disliked touring the parks when it was 90 degrees and humid.
Positives:
1. We don't need the parks, we're going on a cruise!
2. We'll get to do all the fun stuff we never get to do on a Disney vacation.
He was getting on my nerves because he was right . For less than the price of 4 days at the parks, we could do so many other things we never get to do. Like mini-golf, La Nouba, Disney Quest, the water parks, or some of the recreational stuff at the resorts. I mean Disney resorts ARE resorts, right ?
So with all that in mind, I immediately thought of the Beach Club. We had enough points to be able to stay there and they have STORMALONG BAY. That sold it for the kids. We would have fun and relax for a few days before our cruise. I heard that we would need it. When the 7 month booking period came, I was able to book a 2 BR dedicated villa at BCV . I did that because we thought my youngest sister and her son would be coming for the whole vacation. Things turned out a little differently though. She ended up only wanting to go on the cruise, but we were kind of stuck with a 2BR, 2 queen . I called to see if I could swtich to a 1BR, but it's a dedicated room. We were really late in getting on the waiting list, but we got on it for a while, hoping for a miracle. After a few months, we decided to just keep what we had. We had to use the points anyway, so it was all good. It's funny - we're going to be in a huge villa, but then spend the rest of our vacation in a ship cabin, lol.
Next time, planning for a "no parks" vacation at Disney World.
It all sounds wonderful, Angela! I love the idea of a few days at WDW doing everything BUT the parks. With Stormalong Bay and Downtown Disney, you'll have more than enough to do and none of the "stress" of getting to rope drop, darting here and there for fastpasses. The cabin is a nice size, but will feel pretty small after the spacious 2-bedroom DVC unit! Can't wait to hear the rest of your plans.
Thanks Laurie! I got used to the idea of no parks pretty quickly and I'm actually looking forward to it. I know it's going to be hard though, especially when we are getting on those buses seeing all those folks heading to the magic!
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Thanks Laurie! I got used to the idea of no parks pretty quickly and I'm actually looking forward to it. I know it's going to be hard though, especially when we are getting on those buses seeing all those folks heading to the magic!
I agree, but for me the hard part would be staying at BCV and knowing I'm just steps away from Epcot! Some of my favorite days at WDW, though, have been spent entirely around the resorts and DTD.
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Great start! I would have probably been upset with a no park plan at first too, but I think you'll have a great time! You'll get to go at a slower pace and get to see all the things you miss rushing from park to park. I'm sure your trip will still have lots of magic
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Great start! I would have probably been upset with a no park plan at first too, but I think you'll have a great time! You'll get to go at a slower pace and get to see all the things you miss rushing from park to park. I'm sure your trip will still have lots of magic
Yes! It seems like we're still going to get to do a lot...
We finally submitted our applications for our passports today. I really wanted to do it a few weeks ago, but I guess I didn't realize how expensive it was to get them. For 2 adult passport books and for 2 child passport cards = $350! The 4-6 week waiting time puts us at about mid-August probably. This is making me just a little nervous...
My dad was in the military and getting a passport back in the day seemed easy (for me of course ). Everyone else's was easy, but I had a few other important papers to submit. We made an appointment at the local post office, thinking we would have to sit down with someone to verify all the info for all four of us. The transaction instead took place over the counter. The clerk was very nice, but it all seemed very casual. We were handing over the original documents that verified who we were, just like that. We're supposed to get them back when they send the passports. I know I was annoying to the nice lady, but I must have asked her 3 or 4 times, "So we'll get these back in the mail, right?" I guess I glossed over that boring part when I looked up how to apply for a passport ("Just tell me the good parts!").
Planning: looked up ideas for fish extenders. My sister wants to do it with us and her son. Shopping: bought a swimsuit coverup - bargain for $9 Budget: need to account for tips. I'm almost at the end of my Passporter for DCL where it lists recommendations for tips.
I don't remember having to relinquish my original identification info, but I was a child when I got my first Passport and since then have just kept renewing. They really have gotten expensive!
About This Page: 
), loves Disney World. Makes cool Lego spaceships from scratch.
, we saw that we might be able to work it out paying "cash". So about about a month after our trip, a few days after Christmas, we booked our first cruise 
. Around the same time, we booked a room at Animal Kingdom Lodge, Kidani, to stay prior to sailing. I knew we wanted to stay somewhere else the next time, but we had to go by the 11 month booking window, just to be sure we had something. We would keep our fingers crossed for the 7 month booking window for another DVC resort.
. That goes for anything. Cooking, teaching, crochet, gardening, whatever. It's pretty ridiculous, but that's me 
! I decided to contact a member of one of the Disney podcasts that I listen to. I'm not sure if they're one of the big time ones, but they make me laugh, and sometimes that's all it takes 
. Before I called the TA, we actually took a few weeks deciding what kind of cabin we'd like. Let's just say I'm happy with whatever, but Dh wanted a cabin with more room and a verandah. Many hours went into the research of different cabins, different decks and even different sides of the boat (port or starboard??) 
. We ended up with category 4B "Deluxe Family Ocean View Stateroom with Verandah" which should be good for us with 2 adults and 2 kids. (Just to give you an idea, my 11 year old is 5'6, so he would like his own bed. 
) We debated about the verandah and the extra room, but since we wouldn't be booking anything extra, except maybe Palo brunch, it was okay to splurge a bit on the space.
! After much ballyhooing and hissyfitting 
, the kids and I picked ourselves off the floor to listen to why this was such a "great" idea 
.
. For less than the price of 4 days at the parks, we could do so many other things we never get to do. Like mini-golf, La Nouba, Disney Quest, the water parks, or some of the recreational stuff at the resorts. I mean Disney resorts ARE resorts, right 
?
. I did that because we thought my youngest sister and her son would be coming for the whole vacation. Things turned out a little differently though. She ended up only wanting to go on the cruise, but we were kind of stuck with a 2BR, 2 queen 
. I called to see if I could swtich to a 1BR, but it's a dedicated room. We were really late in getting on the waiting list, but we got on it for a while, hoping for a miracle. After a few months, we decided to just keep what we had. We had to use the points anyway, so it was all good. It's funny - we're going to be in a huge villa, but then spend the rest of our vacation in a ship cabin, lol.
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Pixie Dust
PassPorter Guide Author
Congrats on being paid in full! 
everyone!
The 4-6 week waiting time puts us at about mid-August probably. This is making me just a little nervous...
I guess I glossed over that boring part when I looked up how to apply for a passport 
("Just tell me the good parts!").
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