Me, Laura and Our Adventures with no boys!!!!! PTR - Page 2 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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This sounds like a great trip! I'm so excited for you to get some sister time.
Thanks, Lisa!! Me too!!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Pris
I can't wait to hear all about your plans and the changes that will inevitably come about. I have scheduled our days to include being in Epcot on the 9th. We will not, as of now, be at the CP that night as we have an ADR at Homecoming in DS. It is the only night of the trip that I can find an ADR there! Hopefully, we can get together sometime during that day to say hi to each other.
I think once this trip is set, it will remain the way it's planned. After all, Muffin is not involved in this one! I would love to meet up with you at Epcot!! I will PM you when it gets closer!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by SuperDave
Sounds like a great trip and the two of you will have an amazing time together! Great idea after the loss of your dad!
Thanks, Dave!! I think so too!! There is no therapy like Disney!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by gremlinkid73
The big question how many changes will there be in the plans?
I swear you guys will see very little change to this trip! Mufffin is the change culprit! Honest!!
At first, Muffin and I looked at our DVC points but since we have already pretty much decided how to allocate them for next year, we decided to just leave them alone and wherever Laura and I wound up, we would just pay for in cash.
This trip is about Christmas and seeing my niece sing. We were thinking we could suck it up and either stay at PoP, where Angela’s group will be, or maybe a moderate resort this time around. We talked about a deluxe resort briefly but decided we would much rather spend money on some nice meals and maybe a few margaritas.
We looked at the value resorts first. Two years ago, Laura stayed at PoP Century and since this is once again where Angela will be, we thought it would be a good place to start. We took a look at the pricing for that and for the five nights that we will be there, it was unavailable! Next we went to Art of Animation. We looked at a Little Mermaid standard suite which was 973.15 total. The room looked nice and we decided this would certainly be an option.
Still, my sister wanted to check out the moderate resorts as well to see what the price difference was and compare amenities. Being the resort snob that I am, this was the hardest part of the planning for me. I tried really hard though not to persuade Laura one way or another and I think I did a good job of it! . I just had to secretly keep telling my self that I was there to spend time with my sister and see my niece in the CP. Anyway!!
We next took a look at POFQ. The total price for a garden view room was 1383.77. I showed Laura lots of photos and we watched a few you tube videos. When my sister looked at the grounds at POFQ, she immediately decided that it was worth it and remember, we are also splitting that difference of 400 dollars. . Laura also loved the idea of taking a boat to Disney Springs. We didn't even need to look further as we decided this would be the perfect choice!
So! We wound up making quick work of deciding where to stay.
Best of all, the resort cost is my only concrete expense making this trip around 700 bucks as a base. The airfare was paid in mileage and I have an Annual Pass!! And believe it or not, I still have some Disney rewards dollars and 400 bucks worth of gift cards to use!!
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How great to have everything else already paid for, except the accommodation - that sounds like a great deal you got there... now are you going to stick with it, that's the big question in my mind...
Very exciting to have the resort plans in place! I lovePOFQ as well!
I haven't been there in many years, Donna but I remember thinking that the grounds were so beautiful!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Pris
OK, then! We definitely should be able to arrange meeting up as we are also staying at POFQ from 12/4-12/11.
That is AWESOME!!!!!
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Originally Posted by NanaTink
Awesome!! Love POFQ!!! One of the prettiest resorts imho!!
Thanks, Stephanie!!
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Originally Posted by purplegal
I think POFQ is my favourite resort, I love the option of the boat ride to DS and the size of the resort.
That is so awesome to hear, Julia!!
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Originally Posted by cubfancolleen
Good choice on resort!
Thanks, Colleen!
Quote:
Originally Posted by chezp
How great to have everything else already paid for, except the accommodation - that sounds like a great deal you got there... now are you going to stick with it, that's the big question in my mind...
Well, we shall see but remember, crazy Muffin is not involved this time and honestly the price difference for a deluxe is just too great right now. the only way I would switch things is if a great deal came out and I am not holding my breath!
With our resort settled, Laura now had to decide on a one park a day ticket or a park hopper ticket. She asked me if I cared if we park hopped and I again, had no opinion and let her decide. On this, I was being totally honest with her. I can go to a park and spend all day or I can hop around with the best of them. As long as I am in WDW, I am happy!
She remembered last time really liking the flexibility that a park hopper offered and decided to go with a 6 day pass since we would be arriving early on the first day and leaving later in the afternoon on the last day. It was 80 bucks more total or 13 bucks a day more and she really felt it was worth the investment.
Finally, I asked her if she was sure she wanted to fly down with me instead of Angela and she said she definitely wanted to. Rather quickly, I might add! I asked her what that was all about and she said that riding on a plane with 50 teenagers was not a fond memory. So we checked on Southwest and sure enough the flights I booked were still available so I grabbed them.
We will take DME both ways to and from the airport and POFQ.
So we now had a basic plan. The total cost for Laura for resort, park tickets and airfare came out to 1,641.05, which she was very happy with! She had me book everything, which was fine with me because I get rewards dollars by doing so, and gave me a check. I was able to book POFQ, Laura’s flights, her Park Hopper ticket and DME exactly as planned and without any trouble whatsoever!
Now that we had our transportation, resort and park admission taken care of, it was time to get down to some serious planning! This my sister left completely up to me because she knows that I know WDW pretty well and has always enjoyed the food, drink and park of the day that I picked. So!
I first and foremost knew that we needed to see each Park. Two years ago, Laura only got to really go to MK and Epcot. She had an amazing time but I need to fully Disneyfy my sis!! Laura also really loves the nighttime shows, so my goal was to try to get to each Park at night as well as DS for the Christmas Tree Trail!
Since Laura went with a Park Hopper pass, I figured we may as well use that and split each day in half. This will enable us to get good FP’s in each Park and see all of the Parks in both the light and the dark.
I checked for EMH hours first (actually to avoid most of them). Using these, I came up with a park draft that looks like this:
12/6- E/ MK
12/7- DHS/AK
12/8- AK/DHS
12/9- MK/E
12/10- E/DS
12/11- MK
Splitting the day up has always worked well for Muffin and I in the past and I am thinking Laura will also enjoy the afternoon breaks. I am thinking we will head to the Parks early, come back to POFQ for a respite in the early afternoon and then head back out for the evenings around 3 PM or so each day. We won’t be doing any tours this time because we just don’t have enough time to enjoy them.
Next I wanted to make sure that Laura had some new dining experiences. The last time she joined us, we ate at Teppen Edo, Le Cellier and La Hacienda de San Angel. These were all wonderful experiences but thankfully, there are plenty more options for Laura to try. Since Laura has no food issues, I also wanted to pick some places that I wouldn’t go with Muffin. Working from planning the CP night first, which is December 9th, I knew where I wanted to eat for that experience.
I also asked Laura if there were any must dos for her or anything she wanted to avoid. She told me that she enjoyed just about everything the last time she was in WDW but she did give me a list of four things she would like to do. Which were:
Ride Soarin’
Ride Frozen Ever After
Eat at Teppen Edo. ( Oh my gosh is this girl on my husbands payroll?!?!!)
See Muppet Vision ( My Dad loved this show!)
Laura also told me that she would go through some of our old photos with my Dad at Disney and come up with some other fun memory lane items!
Next: Our dining plans fit nicely into our itinerary!!
Sounds like great plans and nice cost savings! I love POFQ. Love the boat ride to Disney Springs. This was our favorite resort before we purchased our DVC. It is just so nice to walk by the Sassagoula River and sit on the benches facing the water. The walk from POFQ to POR is so peaceful and scenic. You can cross the bridges over the to the Mansions at POR. All that - and beignets!
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Plans look great and love POFQ. Just a beautiful resort, great layout and the boat to DS is always a good selling point! I've stayed here 3 times. Nice going with the park passes. Did you ever consider some of the wholesalers like Undercover Tourist or Park Savers? I've been using the latter for my last few trips and saved me some loot! Park plans and ADRs also seem to be shaping up and hope you can get them to all fit in together.
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October 6, 2017-Enjoying an amazing dinner at Victoria & Albert's with PP's Dot and Drew
My TR from my most recent trip is now underway. Includes: Universal Studios Florida, Disney World and Sea World Orlando Trifecta TR -Updated December 10th! TR is now COMPLETED!
Congrats on getting Port Orleans French Quarter for this trip! So cool that this trip is so low cost. Loving how all your plans are falling together so neatly!
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Me too!!! 
I would love to meet up with you at Epcot!! I will PM you when it gets closer!! 
Great idea after the loss of your dad! 
It’s happening!!!!
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I asked her what that was all about and she said that riding on a plane with 50 teenagers was not a fond memory. So we checked on Southwest and sure enough the flights I booked were still available so I grabbed them.
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