The Great Disney Do-Over—PTR for Aug 2010 - UPDATED 8/2 - Page 13 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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[QUOTE=Princess_Wantabe;3305866]Just caught up and let me say I think it's awesome when I hear people talking about doing GGs, that's ALOT of compromising involved that I'm not sure I'd be able to handle...I'm so used to doing what we like Our family would probably end up not talking anymore
QUOTE]
It sounded awesome to us as well! I definitely think there would be circumstances where it would be...but maybe not for a first time trip!
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What a wonderful last day! I your pictures! I couldn't help but tear up as I read about your magical day! I'm so glad that you were able to get out of the rut your family got caught up in, and that you were able to enjoy the little things and Disney at its best. Those are memories you will never forget. I'm so glad you are going back~ to do it all over again.....
I was so excited to see you had updated your trip report and after reading your latest entry I have goosebumps! I loved hearing about what a great time you had on your last day. I am really looking forward to hearing your plans for the August trip!
Thank you so much! I have so appreciated all the poeple I have had reading and following along.
Just read your TR. What a trip!! I thoroughly enjoyed your writing.
I'm sure with what you learned on your last trip, your next one will be so much more towards what you had originally anticipated.
$147 out of here? Wow! I thought ours at $279 were good!!
$279 is Great! We thought our Thanksgiving rates of $340 were good! I was told to "be on the lookout" for fares around $200 during non-peak times. I didn't believe it. That same tipster told me to watch the fares change daily, and Tues/Wed/Thurs generally offer the best rates (on Delta). Best rates also on weekday departures. As soon as I started checking, I consistently found fares around $229. THEN-there was about a week in December that the fares were as low as our ($147). That rate was for a Friday morning departure. If we would have chosen a Sat departure, it would have been about $100/ticket. I took that as a sign that we were to have an extra day at WDW! Enjoy your upcoming trip!
Hi Shelly! I just spent the last three days catching up on your trip report! I loved it . I enjoyed your honesty. I am so glad that you guys can try it again. This summer will be our 6th trip and I feel like I "get better at it" every time! (There's alot to "Disney Science") .
Looking forward to hearing all about your planning for this new adventure! I'm a summer traveler too, and my best advice would be to plan for LOTS of breaks--the heat can be brutal, but we all are able to cope MUCH better after a dip in the pool, or nap in the AC!
Thank you much for spending three days "with us" (through the TR!). Thanks for your feedback on summer trips. It is very encouraging for me to hear that people make return summer trips. We plan to try and get ready for the heat by limiting out airconditioning use this summer (should also be good for the WDW budget!).
What a wonderful job u did writing this trip report. thank you for sharing so honestly. Our last trip was a GG and we went thru alot of the same emotions...this August we are doing a "do over" trip also....cant wait to hear about your plans... I too am worried about the august heat!!
Thank you so much for reading! About the honesty---DH was a little concerned I was being too honest! I would love to know more about your GG experience. Seems I had only read about the positive experiences with GGs. I figured, the people who were miserable with a trip, probably do not become obsessed with WDW, do not join message boards, and do not plan other trips. So therefore, when newbies are looking for trip report experiences, the reviews may be a little biased. I think it would have helped me to know of an experience like our before we went. Good luck with your August trip!
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Your trip report has helped me plan our vacation in July...we too got a 40% pin code, and our vacation dates were picked around my husband's coaching schedule (he's a football coach and teacher). My parents are joining us, however, the adults decided together to plan only two magical meals during our week together - Chef Mickey's and The T-Rex Cafe. Each couple gets one solo meal (also thanks again to your frank analysis). I can't thank you enough for your report!
Your trip report has helped me plan our vacation in July...we too got a 40% pin code, and our vacation dates were picked around my husband's coaching schedule (he's a football coach and teacher). My parents are joining us, however, the adults decided together to plan only two magical meals during our week together - Chef Mickey's and The T-Rex Cafe. Each couple gets one solo meal (also thanks again to your frank analysis). I can't thank you enough for your report!
Thank you! I feel great if I have provided any feedback that others can use in their planning! I hope you have a magical trip!
Sorry it has taken so long for me to get back to this, the end of the school year and the start of summer have required my family to get into a new groove—it always takes some time to adjust to the schedule change, but since we have 48 days before our trip---I am eager to get back to my planning!
We had the pin code for 40% off a deluxe or 30% of a moderate. Since value season at deluxe starts before moderates, the price difference was minimal during the first days of our travel window, so we decided to start our stay at a deluxe and finish at a moderate. The monorail resorts were the only deluxes we were familiar with from our last trip, as we had meals at the Poly and the Contemporary. We were certain the Contemporary was our Dream Resort!
When DH (6’5”) realized there were only double beds at POR, he encouraged going deluxe the whole stay—unless I wanted to share a bed with the kids instead of him! So we planned to stay at the Contemporary the entire trip...Until we realized that the Garden Wing did little to reduce transportation times to some of the places we would visit (one of our main reasons for wanting the resort upgrade). Through this board, I found a list of the “Top 10 Pools at WDW.” From there I discovered SAB. I fell in love with it by the pictures. DS (8) wanted to do water parks, but the girls would not have gotten much out of the water park and more add-on—SAB seemed like the perfect solution! When we realized it put us in walking distance from 2 parks and the boardwalk, it seemed like the perfect fit.
When I posted about our budget concerns, I had a lot of great feedback from PPers on ways to cut money from this trip. One of the topics that came up a few times was our choice of an expensive resort while dealing with financial concerns. I know that BC is one of the more expensive resorts. In researching this trip, we tried to balance price and convenience, keeping in mind our family needs to relax. A deluxe resort would not be an option without the pin code discount during value season.
This trip is a re-do of the last one--trying to see if we can be a family that can have a "normal" vacation. We do not want to set ourselves up to be overwhelmed and stressed (again!).
DD has sensory issues that can be pretty severe when she is overwhelmed. The bed and room sizes in POR would be rough. Last time, all 3 kids slept in the queen bed at CSR, and a few times DS ended up on the floor (when a limb touches DD, she can freak out!). In all I have read on this topic from other parents of ASD kids, having a break from the over-stimulating environment of the parks helps the child calm down (and all of us!). I honestly think the value resorts, and the bus ride there, would be too over-stimulating. Our last experience at WDW taught us meltdowns were most likely when there were long waits, big crowds, and when we tried to fit too much in one day. We need the resort to be a respite from that, not add to it.
Next: The budget crunch that *almost* derailed our trip
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It detailed some money issues we experienced and DH’s first reaction was to cancel the Disney trip. He did not think it feasible for us to give up the daily "extras" to make up the budget difference. I wanted to try. We had already purchased the airfare, and spent just over $300 for the 5 tickets using the travel vouchers from the last trip. We would never get THAT deal again!
Here were some of my quotes (from 5 months ago):
“I became more committed than EVER to wipe out the wasteful spending. DS and DD have agreed to forgo birthday parties this year ("but we can still have cake, right? And a sleepover? That is free"). If we work this out, I think it will be a fresh start to how we manage money. We will see.”
“ For some reason, having a great WDW experience will seem like a sort of redemption for our family. Especially if we can cut out those "extras" to make it happen! Maybe planning this next WDW trip will be good for our family in more ways than I originally considered--maybe it will help put all the little things into better perspective. Maybe my kids will end up with more memories and less stuff. And maybe...if we are lucky...they will not be spoiled little brats”
And back in the present-how are we doing with the budget?
We started out great (maybe too strict to be reasonable), and then got a bit lazier, especially as the real “need” for things arose. BUT we have come a great distance. I have done the vast majority of our clothes shopping at thrift and consignment stores (I love Goodwill!). I pared back the kids’ summer activities. I make DHs lunch for work at least 3 days a week. We have not been out to eat (at a “real” restaurant). The kids no longer ask for Kids Meals at fast food restaurants (although we will still hit the drive through when the night is busy and get a 10 piece chicken nugget and large fry to split 3 ways). The kids no longer ask for a quarter for the machines at the grocery store. They are still picking up found change and adding it to our WDW jar (that now totals close to $400!). Although the last WDW trip (another a couple other credit cards) are not completely paid off yet, we are close, and we have not put a single new dollar on the credit cards since this process began. I cannot remember the last time that happened. We can see there is a light at the end of our debt tunnel. If we continue on this path, it will truly be because of “Disney Magic!”
Great choice in BC!! You will love it! One of the little surprises we really enjoyed during our stay there (in a standard room) is that the couch converted into a single bed. DS immediately called dibs on the couch/bed and was quite comfortable there the entire trip, and this choice made DD very happy too since she now had a queen bed all to herself. They liked this arrangement even better than the bunk beds at AKL! Have a great trip!!!
Great choice in BC!! You will love it! One of the little surprises we really enjoyed during our stay there (in a standard room) is that the couch converted into a single bed. DS immediately called dibs on the couch/bed and was quite comfortable there the entire trip, and this choice made DD very happy too since she now had a queen bed all to herself. They liked this arrangement even better than the bunk beds at AKL! Have a great trip!!!
Thanks--I am thrilled! This is why we looked at Deluxe resorts in the first place... 2 queens and a daybed will be much more comfy sleeping arrangements for our kids--DS is excited that he won't be kicked off the bed by his sister!
I mapped out our Park days/ADR plans using a magnet board. It helped me to visualize the flow of our trip and make sure there was lots of "empty space" (i.e. "downtime").
Every restaurant we chose is a new one for us. After many changes, here is the final list of ADRs (in the order they appear in our trip):
BC: Cape May Café Clam Bake EP: Coral Reef (Dinner) Cont: Chef Mickey’s Breakfast Buffet MK: Crystal Palace (Dinner) EP: LeCellier (Dinner) DHS: Sci-Fi Drive in (Dinner) EP: Tokyo (Dinner) YC: Captains Grille (Dinner) BC: Cape May Café Breakfast Buffet
In particular, I would like feedback on the Tokyo Restaurant at Epcot. I posted a thread that got no responses. Is there anything here of interest to a picky 8 year-old boy?
We BC and that short walk to Epcot is so wonderful. We always took the boat to and from DHS as it is so hot to walk in June as it is and Stefanie's legs would be worn out before we got to the park. Hope you love it, too, and it works well for your family. The bus rides to MK and AK didn't seem very long either. Congrats on getting your finances in order! We have finally done that and it is one of the best feelings.
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your pictures! I couldn't help but tear up as I read about your magical day! I'm so glad that you were able to get out of the rut your family got caught up in, and that you were able to enjoy the little things and Disney at its best. Those are memories you will never forget. I'm so glad you are going back~ to do it all over again.....
. I enjoyed your honesty. I am so glad that you guys can try it again. This summer will be our 6th trip and I feel like I "get better at it" every time! (There's alot to "Disney Science") 
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