A Disney Trip 10 Years in the Making. PTR 10/14 - 23/2011 - Page 3 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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Today’s date: 03/17/11
Evan’s birthday is October 8th; the cut off for kindergarten in my town of Marlton, NJ is Sept 30th so he misses it by about a week. Really not a big deal because in typical little boy fashion, he can use the extra year to gain some maturity and self control over his impulses – especially those impulses to smack, wrestle and roll around on the floor, but I digress.
I read this and had to control my laughter. I was a school secretary for 5 years (still work for the district but in a different capacity) and you wouldn't believe how many people try to push for their kids to be in before their ready. (Dec 31st is our cutoff.) A lot of them it's a financial thing (another year of Daycare for a few days is a lot of $$) and I actually had a parent say to me "His daycare teacher says he's not ready for school yet, but if he has to repeat I'm OK with it."
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I can't believe I just found your PTR!! What an incredible backstory and a good reason to wait to return to Disney!! Congrats on the PIN code!!! Can't wait to read more!!
50% off is definitely worth changing dates for! Closer to Evan's birthday, too.
Yes - I can't wait for his birthday this year and any sale is great but 50% - awesome!
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Originally Posted by Cam22
for 50% off! BTW -- Luke's birthday is October 8th.
Luke and Evan are Birthday buddies - I know Woo-hoo 50%!!!!
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Originally Posted by mcc0313
What a gret start Holly and a beautiful story. Evan is just adorable. Life pretty much got in the way with my oldest so her first trip was when she was 12, but my youngest was just turning 5 - and she loved every magical moment.
Can't wait to hear more of your plans...what a great traveling part you have, a wonderful way to celebrate Evan's brithday.
I was 5 on my first trip too. I only remember parts of it but hey I only remeber parts of yestereday!
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Originally Posted by thumper8524
Just got on board. What a great story. I am very excited for you and Evan. DH and I took the kids to DL in 2008 and they were 6 and 12. We had a blast. I am taking the kids this December to WDW for our first trip there. I want to hear lots of stories
Thanks for joining in. Congrats on the trip to WDW - you'll love it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by OCEANGRLLG
Another great update! I would LOVE to get a pin code for the free dinning! But I have never got any type of code
I had never gotten an PIN codes before but I just ordered the free CD like a month before - maybe that had something to do with it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by shanmac
Congrats on the 50% that's amazing!
I read this and had to control my laughter. I was a school secretary for 5 years (still work for the district but in a different capacity) and you wouldn't believe how many people try to push for their kids to be in before their ready. (Dec 31st is our cutoff.) A lot of them it's a financial thing (another year of Daycare for a few days is a lot of $$) and I actually had a parent say to me "His daycare teacher says he's not ready for school yet, but if he has to repeat I'm OK with it."
I'm all for keeping them back even if they should be going. So much better to hold them back than to have them struggle or end up repeating 11st or 2nd grade - when all the other kids in the class know about it. That happened to my niece. She is a summer baby and just never really caught up in Kindergarten.
Quote:
Originally Posted by disneyfreeeak
Great start so far! Sounds like this'll be a great trip for you guys!
Yes - I hope so.
Quote:
Originally Posted by KMB733
I can't believe I just found your PTR!! What an incredible backstory and a good reason to wait to return to Disney!! Congrats on the PIN code!!! Can't wait to read more!!
Thanks for coming along with me.
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Originally Posted by MickeyMags1
LOVE LOVE LOVE SHADES OF GREEN!!!
So cool to hear it. I know very little about it. My girlfriend stayed there and her only complaint was the buses.
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Originally Posted by debrabrown
Good for you on the discount!
I know -
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Originally Posted by dwonderz
Congrats on the discount ! That's awesome!
Thanks! I'm very excited about the discount.
STay tuned guys - I have the next installment ready to go but I just booked my airfare this weekend and I'm working on breaking it out and giving the details for each traveling party.
I'm so excited because it always seems more offical once I have the flights booked.
Just joining in! Great trip plans so far, and congrats on airfare being booked!
I still remember how excited DD was seeing JoJo (from JoJo's Circus) on her first trip to DW! Now that the kids are too old for Playhouse Disney (at 11 & 14) I miss some of the toddler stuff!!
Looking forward to hearing more on your trip!
Pre trip report Part Four
How we selected our hotel
When I was in the early stages of talking about this Disney trip I was very excited to think about where we would stay. I mean the possibilities are endless. I have a dream to someday stay at every resort in The World so far I’ve done All Star Music, Caribbean Beach and Fort Wilderness (4 times) so I’ve got a lot of catching up to do.
I’ve stayed off site a few times as a child but have no idea where. One time I stayed at Orange Lake Country Club, courtesy of my father and last trip in 2006 we rented an All Star Vacation Home. It was really nice and I highly recommend it. We had 6 bedrooms, 4 baths, full kitchen and a private pool.
For this trip, in the beginning, I wasn’t sure who all was coming. My mom can get Shades of Green so that was a consideration. All Star Homes offered a coupon for 10% for return visits so that was also something to consider. I was thinking a condo or townhouse. The time of year would play into things as there may be a pool/resort day. Also a consideration was our length of stay; I like to have a kitchen for any stays over a week. Also I knew if my sister and her family were coming we would NOT be renting a house together – 2 separate homes or rooms would be required. Of course the biggest consideration would be the cost.
As much as I would love to stay at the deluxe resorts I have a hard time convincing myself that the extra money is really worth it, since we really spend little time in the room; sleeping mainly. And with this being a fairly short trip for us (9 nights and really only 8 days) there was less likely hood of resort time.
So where to go, where to go? La dee dee, La dee daa
My very first thought was Port Orleans. I’ve heard a lot of great things about both areas and their “fans” are very loyal, plus I haven’t stayed at either resort FQ/RS so that would check one off my list.
As our plans began to take shape and Mom was coming it was almost a no-brainer to do Shades of Green. First, I can’t get that hotel on my own. Second, it is deluxe. Third, I haven’t stayed there before. Fourth, with my mom getting older (aren’t we all) and our Disney visits spreading out further in years, I thought this may be her last trip to Disney. No one knows for sure what the future holds but if we wait another 5 years to go she may not be able to come or just plain not want to come. That was the final piece to the puzzle. We may never get another chance to stay at Shades of Green so we are doing it now.
Really the only concerns I have about the resort is 1) the buses as I have heard they are on a half hour schedule and you often wait around. 2) the lack of “Disney” touches.
Problems solved: we are renting a car (we do every visit anyway) and the break from Disney overload may be just what I need to get Evan to bed each night.
So to bring things back to my last post in reference to selecting our dates…
I was keeping my eye out for the free dining plan but knew we would have to switch to a Disney hotel as Shades doesn’t offer the meal plan. After calculating what it would be in a Mod/DLX resort with free meals, it still was better to pay the really reduced rate at the hotel and pay for meals out of pocket than it would be to have to get a Mod/Dlx resort (my sister has 5 in a room). Well better for me as it was just Evan and I. My sister is a family of 5 so we thought she may change hotels but I was staying at SOG regardless. It turned out that Disney wasn’t offering the meal plan in November (our original dates) anyway so it didn’t matter.
A short time after we booked SOG, they announce a sale –! Up to 50% off room rates, but only valid until the end of October. So we quickly switched dates and now are only spending $60.00 per night. I can’t believe it actually. We saved so much money on the resort I’m booking Evan the pirate adventure cruise and hoping to do Wishes Dessert party too, if they offer it again.
I’m still a little nervous as this is a new resort for us but also looking forward to the new experience.
Just joining in! Great trip plans so far, and congrats on airfare being booked!
I still remember how excited DD was seeing JoJo (from JoJo's Circus) on her first trip to DW! Now that the kids are too old for Playhouse Disney (at 11 & 14) I miss some of the toddler stuff!!
Looking forward to hearing more on your trip!
Thanks for joining in. Evan loves Sprout so much. I'm trying to get him to watch Playhouse Disney and he does like Mickey Mouse Club house (Choo Choo Express and Road Rally Movies). I assume we will be making a stop at the new show. But not looking forward to sitting on the floor as my feet will lose all their blood.
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I remember how upset my parents were when Disney Inn became Shades of Green. We LOVED the Disney Inn as a family. (It wasn't as pricy as the Poly or Contemporary, but you got the same benefit of staying at a MK resort - if we didn't feel like waiting for a bus we would walk over to the Poly and take the Monorail. Oh and it held a family of 5 - something that seems to be fleeting in the land of Disney - a vacation is now only "value" if you're a family of 4) Not that they were upset about it becoming a military retreat (my dad was an Army Vet) they were just upset that they couldn't stay there anymore.
Personally, as a mom, I love the Poly. There's nothing better than hopping on that monorail or boat and being at MK in a few minutes. I also love Saratoga Springs (where I'm staying next month) - my last experience there was completely magical.
As a kid, I loved the Contemporary. I loved watching the monorail come through the building. It was just so to see on my first trip. That image will be with me forever!
My daughter and I would like to stay at all the hotels on property as well (some people want to see all 50 states, we want to stay in all the Disney hotels - to each her own I guess). So far we've stayed at Poly, Port Orleans RS and SSR together. She hasn't stayed at Contemporary, but I have. Maybe I should book that for my next adventure to put us on the same page of the score sheet?
That room rate is un-be-lievable! I've never had the chance to stay at Shades of Green, but have certainly heard very nice things about it. My favorite resort is BWV. I love the ease of walking/scooting to Epcot and DHS and love all the dining choices from the Crescent Lake hotels. That said, I also LOVE AKL and need to spend some more time there. I also like, once in a while, to stay at least one night at CR. I love staying for Wishes and the Goodnight Kiss at MK, but not when I have to brave the crowds waiting for the bus to BWV afterwards.
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Holly: 
I so agree with you - the airfare makes it official!!! Congrats!
– 2 separate homes or rooms would be required. Of course the biggest consideration would be the cost.
! Up to 50% off room rates, but only valid until the end of October. So we quickly switched dates and now are only spending $60.00 per night.
I can’t believe it actually. We saved so much money on the resort I’m booking Evan the pirate adventure cruise and hoping to do Wishes Dessert party too, if they offer it again.
to see on my first trip. That image will be with me forever!
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