PTR: Thingamabobs, Zebras, & Giraffes, Oh My! - Page 2 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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I left off with the who, when, where, etc. So Now I will get a bit more detailed......or try to anyway!
But first, can I just say - I ANNOYED with the Disney site right now I have been trying all day to get Fastpass+ for the Seven Dwarves Mine Train ~ and I keep getting booted off.......I get so close, and then BAM - kicked out!!! Oy vie, Guess I will be staying up late tonight and try to get on while the rest of the world is sleeping!
Anyway - on with our plans..............
I had mentioned our resorts ~ last summer we had done a split stay with one week being at AKL Jambo House with a studio savannah view, and the second week was a 1 bedroom at BLT. We ABSOLUTELY fell in LOVE with AKL!!! And hind sight being 20/20 - we wish that we had done AKL the second half of the trip - as we relaxed so much sitting on the balcony watching our animal friends every day - even in the rain - it was great! Who knew that red river hogs could be so entertaining!!! . And BLT ~ well, we really liked the space we had in the villa, and we really appreciated the close walk to Magic Kingdom - the resort itself just didn't really do it for us (well Scott liked it okay - Em & I not so much) - and I really missed that "Welcome Home" hospitality you get at other DVC resorts, there was minimal staff at the front desk area of BLT and they never really seemed to pay much attention to you when you walked in.
We started planning for this trip early last fall and knew that we wanted a 1 bedroom for the stay. We find that as Emily is getting older, it just is really nice for her and Dad to each have more privacy - not to mention how nice it is to have the washer/dryer right in the villa and bring home mostly clean clothes and not have 2 weeks worth of laundry when you return home. Well, points were an issue - as we had used ALL of our points last year and had even borrowed a few. Scott called our very dear friend, Joie (who was the culprit who introduced us to DVC/Disney in the first place 10 years ago) to inquire if she was interested in selling us some of her points for this use year (she is now a single mom and is unable to visit as much as she used to) and of course she was more than happy to help us out! We just needed to figure out exactly where we were staying and how many points we needed from her. So back to the calendar to figure out dates (we knew we wanted to go over the 4th of July) and the DVC website to see what was available - it was looking crazy already and we weren't even near the 7 month window yet
Flash forward to that 7 month window (I believe it was December 2nd) - and we found that really our only options for a 1 bedroom without having to move half way were SSR, OKW, or AKL (both Jambo & Kidani were available). Now of course, to get a 1 bedroom savannah view for that length of stay was ALOT of points , so I suggested a compromise......................as MUCH as I DESPISE split stays, I knew that Emily really, really wanted to stay in a Little Mermaid room at AoA (I had tried to get a room there last August for her last minute Birthday trip and of course that was impossible!). So I got on the phone with Guest Services and found that indeed a room was available for the first couple nights of our trip - and the rate was reasonable (and besides I already knew that I had enough points on my capital one visa to cover one night ) - so I booked it! I have to say, I did a little bit of that "sneaking" in some extra Disney time here.........Originally this trip was suppose to start on July 1, but when I booked the room, I checked to see if June 30th was available also (my thought was we would take a later flight out and arrive in the evening, and wake up in Disney). Of course, when Scott saw the confirmation he caught on quick! But he was okay with it - and we agreed that a later flight (to avoid an extra vacation day for me............more on this later!) would work!
So with that booked, Scott got on the phone again with Joie - told her how many points we needed ~ and she called DVC, got that all squared away - Scott got back on and got us booked in a 1 bedroom savannah view villa at Kidani! We figured we enjoyed Jambo so much - why not try Kidani (my Disney bucket list includes staying at every Disney resort!). And the idea of having that second full bathroom was quite appealing.........especially with a teen!!!
Well - now we had a trip booked for June 30 - July 12, but not checking into AKL until July 3, but we didn't want to tell Emily that we were staying at AoA - we wanted to surprise her, so we had a "Disney Family Meeting" to discuss our trip and we decided to tell a little fib......and we told her that in order to have enough points to stay in a 1 bedroom savannah view the entire trip that we had to book a couple nights at a value resort and that we had chose POP. She was bummed, but was fine with it when she realized that it still allowed us almost 2 weeks! And of course, the first question out of her mouth is - well, can we stay in a Little Mermaid Room at AoA instead??? I immediately straight faced said - nope - already tried - they are full already! She bought it - hook, line, and sinker!!!
Fast forward to I believe February () - and I just couldn't hold it in anymore..........and I was afraid the surprise would be spoiled by her going on MDE or me slipping up here (as she sometimes lurks around here ), so Scott & I called another "Disney Family Meeting" - complete with Disney Jelly Beans and all! I had the reservation booklet that they mail to you (we actually had 2 due to the 2 resorts), along with all my spread sheets - and handed one booklet to her (the AoA one ), one booklet to Scott and told them that they needed to look over it and make sure that the room types and dates were all good ~ she opened hers and said yep, "looks good"...........................me: KID - DID YOU EVEN LOOK AT IT???? HELLO????? MCFLY?????.................Em: yeah, yeah.............OH, wait a Minute!!!! (insert BIG SMILE )........we are staying at AoA, in a Little Mermaid room , and leaving a day early??? man, o man............to be an oblivious teenager again!!!
But needless to say - she was VERY excited to be staying at AoA, in her Little Mermaid room, and being able to swim in the Big Blue pool - AND have a 1 bedroom savannah view at AKL with her own bathroom!!! Can you say spoiled???
So - once again - we get to try 2 NEW TO US RESORTS!!!
Up Next: Dining plans and some extra guests!
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Lisa Co-Guide to Sharing the Adventure: Disney World Trip Reports
I love surprises!!! And hers almost slipped right past her!!! How funny!!!
Glad you were able to work out buying some points from your friend Joie.
One day I will get to stay at AKL, I will, I will, I will!!!
I feel the same as you about BLT. I'll continue to enjoy staying there occasionally for the MK access, but the resort itself doesn't have the DVC feel to me. Your choices worked out perfectly. Kidani will be SO nice with the 2nd bathroom.
Glad you were able to get both resorts for your stay! I am also happy for the extra space, the washer/dryer, and the extra bathroom. We're going to be spoiled after this vacation.
I love surprises!!! And hers almost slipped right past her!!! How funny!!!
Glad you were able to work out buying some points from your friend Joie.
One day I will get to stay at AKL, I will, I will, I will!!!
Thank you! Yes, Joie is always willing to help us out.....helps her too
Quote:
Originally Posted by KMB733
Glad you were able to get some extra points to be able to stay at AKL!
Thank you! We were too!
Quote:
Originally Posted by lauriep
I feel the same as you about BLT. I'll continue to enjoy staying there occasionally for the MK access, but the resort itself doesn't have the DVC feel to me. Your choices worked out perfectly. Kidani will be SO nice with the 2nd bathroom.
Thank you! Glad I am not the only one that feels that way
Quote:
Originally Posted by iwonathomas
What a great surprise for Emily. Your hotel plans are sounding great
Thank you!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cam22
I love how oblivious Emily was about the AoA and extra day. Can't wait to hear what you all think about both resorts.
Thanks! Isn't it crazy .....sigh.....TEENS!!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by MayraLR
Glad you were able to get both resorts for your stay! I am also happy for the extra space, the washer/dryer, and the extra bathroom. We're going to be spoiled after this vacation.
Thank you! I know we will definitely feel spoiled! So nice to have so much space!
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Lisa Co-Guide to Sharing the Adventure: Disney World Trip Reports
Sorry, but it will probably be a day or two before I can add another update of our plans......
Today is Scott's birthday ~ so he & I are heading into NYC for the night, we are going to sit in on Saturday Night Live!!! Special thanks to a fantastic friend of ours!!!
And then tomorrow after we finally rise, we have to hurry home as Emily has an all day studio rehearsal for dance, and of course I am volunteering . Lucky for us, our dance "family" is very close and she is staying with one of them tonight so she will be at the rehearsal on time, just in case I am running late
Speaking of dance - I just picked up all her Dance Photos for this years performance - she is in 10 different dances ......and they took 2-3 poses of each costume.......let's just say I might be eating pb&j for awhile!
Darn kid is just too photogenic and the costumes are beautiful! I will share them when I can!
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Lisa Co-Guide to Sharing the Adventure: Disney World Trip Reports
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Happy Birthday Scott! I think it's awesome that your friend got you into SNL tonight. I hope I catch a glimpse of you! Your plans sound great. Now that Sean is starting kindergarten this year, we'll going to be doing the summer trips going forward. I'll have to try to get one scheduled for 4th of July when you're there!
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I have been trying all day to get Fastpass+ for the Seven Dwarves Mine Train ~ and I keep getting booted off.......I get so close, and then BAM - kicked out!!! 
Oy vie, Guess I will be staying up late tonight and try to get on while the rest of the world is sleeping!
with AKL!!! And hind sight being 20/20 - we wish that we had done AKL the second half of the trip - as we relaxed so much sitting on the balcony watching our animal friends every day - even in the rain - it was great! Who knew that red river hogs could be so entertaining!!! 
. And BLT ~ well, we really liked the space we had in the villa, and we really appreciated the close walk to Magic Kingdom - the resort itself just didn't really do it for us (well Scott liked it okay - Em & I not so much) - and I really missed that "Welcome Home" hospitality you get at other DVC resorts, there was minimal staff at the front desk area of BLT and they never really seemed to pay much attention to you when you walked in. 
to inquire if she was interested in selling us some of her points for this use year (she is now a single mom and is unable to visit as much as she used to) and of course she was more than happy to help us out! We just needed to figure out exactly where we were staying and how many points we needed from her. So back to the calendar to figure out dates (we knew we wanted to go over the 4th of July) and the DVC website to see what was available 
- it was looking crazy already and we weren't even near the 7 month window yet 
, so I suggested a compromise......................as MUCH as I DESPISE split stays, I knew that Emily really, really wanted to stay in a Little Mermaid room at AoA (I had tried to get a room there last August for her last minute Birthday trip and of course that was impossible!). So I got on the phone 
But he was okay with it - and we agreed that a later flight (to avoid an extra vacation day for me............more on this later!) would work! 
I immediately straight faced said - nope - already tried - they are full already! She bought it - hook, line, and sinker!!! 
) - and I just couldn't hold it in anymore..........and I was afraid the surprise would be spoiled by her going on MDE or me slipping up here (as she sometimes lurks around here 
), one booklet to Scott and told them that they needed to look over it and make sure that the room types and dates were all good ~ she opened hers and said yep, "looks good"............
)........we are staying at AoA, in a Little Mermaid room 
man, o man............to be an oblivious teenager again!!! 
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, Scott! So cool that you all get to sit in for Saturday Night Live! 
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