Weber's at the World this Christmas!

[nessz79]

You are so lucky! What was it like renting DVC points? I've looked around on the boards, but I always get too intimidated.

 

[taramoz]

You are so lucky! What was it like renting DVC points? I've looked around on the boards, but I always get too intimidated.

It was actually so much easier then expected, I just posted the dates I was looking for on the DVC chat and a couple DVC members who had points to sell contacted me. Then we chatted on the phone about what i was looking for, my DVC angel checked availability for me, I choose and we called to book. I did payments through pay pal. I did lots of research before deciding to do it, but all has gone smooth so far!

 

[nessz79]

It was actually so much easier then expected, I just posted the dates I was looking for on the DVC chat and a couple DVC members who had points to sell contacted me. Then we chatted on the phone about what i was looking for, my DVC angel checked availability for me, I choose and we called to book. I did payments through pay pal. I did lots of research before deciding to do it, but all has gone smooth so far!

Thanks! I just need to get brave enough to give it a try!

 

[Daddy_of_Princesses]

Does renting DVC points save money? Guess I should look into that some time. Maybe next trip, but that won't be for a while after this one. Every 4 years is enough for me. It gets a bit pricey since we need to fly. Maybe next time could be shorter though, and we can drive again with stops on teh way down and back.
The wife wants to see Savannah some time, maybe I could see some of the NASCAR shops on the way back. Hmm. Is it too early to start thinking about a vacation you are taking 4 years from now?

 

[taramoz]

Does renting DVC points save money?

Yes, there are point charts out there in the DVC section, you pay a DVC member a fixed amount per point. But it is a tranation between you and the DVC member (not Disney) so it does require trust on both ends, so it is not for everyone! This is my first time doing it, like I said, so far all is good!

Is it too early to start thinking about a vacation you are taking 4 years from now?

It is never too early!!! Especially when planning a Disney vacation!

 

[Daddy_of_Princesses]

Thanks for the info.

My wife would probably disagree about plannig too early, but hey she benefits from my planning so she might be ok with it.

 

[Tinker_Tam]

Wow! Renting DVC points. That would make me nervous. But than again, I don't even trust a TA to make my arrangements anymore!

 

[taramoz]

Today Kris and I celebrate our 7 year wedding anniversary!

It is also exactly 1 year until we cruise on the Dinsey Wonder in Alaska!

 

[Tinker_Tam]

Congrats!!! DH and I will celebrate 12 years on the 15th. August is such a great month to get married, isn't it???

 

[taramoz]

Congrats!!! DH and I will celebrate 12 years on the 15th. August is such a great month to get married, isn't it???

Thanks! It sure is!!

 

[Daddy_of_Princesses]

Today Kris and I celebrate our 7 year wedding anniversary!

It is also exactly 1 year until we cruise on the Dinsey Wonder in Alaska!

Happy Anniversary. To celebrate, here is the song that went through my head right away. I apologize in advance if this gets stuck in anyones head.

Happy Anniversary song

 

[exwdwcm]

happy anniversary Tara!

i am in Dallas- and have family in Houston!

loving the report so far. SSR looks nice. We just bought DVC this February and did our tour there. i think you will enjoy it.

hope you find a great deal on a flight! we found a direct on AA out of DFW for $239 each and took it, especially since it was the times we wanted too. HOpefully something will pop up!

 

[taramoz]

happy anniversary Tara!

i am in Dallas- and have family in Houston!

loving the report so far. SSR looks nice. We just bought DVC this February and did our tour there. i think you will enjoy it.

hope you find a great deal on a flight! we found a direct on AA out of DFW for $239 each and took it, especially since it was the times we wanted too. HOpefully something will pop up!

Thanks! My sister lives in Dallas, Allen to be exact! The little boy in the photos with us at Disney is her son!

 

[taramoz]

Happy Anniversary. To celebrate, here is the song that went through my head right away.

Thanks!!

 

[taramoz]

So my latest obsession on the disboards has been reading peoples dining reviews. I honestly cannot get enough! My favorites are the people who do the dining plan and then show how much they saved vs. paying full price. But I also just love seeing all the food and hearing about how the meal went as well. I stumbled across these dining reviews just a couple days ago, I am truly obsessed!

So it got me thinking about my dining. I do have several ADRs for my trip. With renting DVC points I do also have the option to do the dining plan if I want, but as much fun as I have had reading everyone’s savings with their dining plan, we are not going to get the dining plan. The first reason is that none of us are dessert people. I wish I could do an appetizer instead! We tried the dining plan when we went last time and man it was way too much food, we felt obligated to order our desserts everytime because “we have paid for it” but most of the time we didn’t want them anyway! And at the end of our trip we were left with almost every one of the snack credits. So, we concluded the dining plan just isn’t for us!

A little more about our whacky eating habits that turn us away from doing the dining plan:

Me (Tara), I do not eat red meat or seafood (shellfish allergy), crazy, I know! But this usually means that I am ordering the chicken dish, or vegetarian, which translates to typically the lower cost items on the menu. I totally get how the dining plan is great if you order the high priced items and such! Also, as mentioned, I am just not a sweets person so all that dessert is just too much!

Kris, more normal, he is not likely to eat anything with seafood (except maybe fish and chips, he is Canadian after all), but he does occasionally like to indulge in some steak, occasionally being the key here. I think he also would prefer an appetizer to a dessert, but he does enjoy dessert now and then (especially if it is crème brule!).

Ainsley, now she is the most odd-ball eater of the 3 of us. NOT your typical 6 year old at all. I don’t think you could pay her to eat chicken nuggets or pizza or burgers or hot dogs or cake. Basically if a typical kids eats it, mine doesn’t. Makes birthday parties and Disney kid menus impossible! It was such a problem on the dining plan last time. You may wonder what my child does eat. First, her obsession is Mexican food. But a close second is curry, the spicier the better. And then she loves Chinese food, again, bring on the spice!

So below are some of our ADRs, why we choose them, and what we look forward to!

First ADR is for The Spirit of Aloha the day we arrive. We also have ressie’s at Chef Mickey’s that I plan to cancel. We let Ainsley pick between the 2, she picked SOA, reason – “at Chef Mickey’s it is just people coming around dressed in costumes to hug you, I want to see a show”! So SOA it is. In truth I am a bit nervous about the food. None of us like coconut, but I am gonna give the bread a try with an open mind! I think Aisnley and I should do ok with the chicken and rice, and Kris will definetly like the ribs. But we are doing this one for the show, even if it is cheesy!!!

When we go to Animal Kingdom we have lunch ressie’s at Tusker House. We did Yak and Yeti last time at AK and LOVED it. It was hard not to book Y&Y again, but we want to try new things, and Tusker House food looks to be up our alley! We love Indian food, and just different types of food in general. I have high hopes that we will enjoy this one, but I have seen mixed reviews. I am definetly looking forward to finding out for myself!

At Epcot we currently have a Nine Dragons ressie, and hopefully we get the CP when we can and I think we will stick with Nine Dragons. I have toyed with possibly San Angelo as well, I am not 100% either way yet. Seeing as I still have some time, I am likely to change my mind many times until booking! Mexican is the kids favorite, but the hubby gets so tired of it (cuz it’s my favorite as well!), and Chinese is more of something we could all agree on. So we will see, I am not yet fully committed to either choice!

At Magic Kingdom we went with our old fav Crystal Palace. It will be our only character meal, we always enjoy it. But in truth I kinda wish I had tried something new, like Liberty Tavern (looks so good after reading those reviews). But, we will try that next time!

Then at HS we chose the fantasmic package and Mama Melrose. Italian is Kris’s favorite, so this was my pick for him! Plus this is a new restaurant for us, in the past we have done Sci-Fi, 50’s Prime Time and Hollywood and Vine, so we are rounding it off at HS! But I do look forward to this meal, a lot of the review have looked so yummy to me.

Then, finally, to my surprise and delight, I got a ressie for our last half day to have lunch at Le Cellier (so DTD is out again this trip). The lunch looks good for me cuz at lunch they have the “sandwiches” and there are some really good sounding crepes on the menu. I haven’t seen of review of them, cuz I am the odd-ball not getting the steak at a steak house, but I so look forward to trying the crepes! And Kris will end the trip with a nice steak in his home country!

So anyway, all the dining review reading just got my inspired to write a little about our ADRs!

 

[exwdwcm]

Thanks! My sister lives in Dallas, Allen to be exact! The little boy in the photos with us at Disney is her son!

yeah for more texans! well she isn't too far from us then since we are in plano!

so funny on the dining reviews- i am obsessed with the food porn. DH walks by and i have a big old picture of a plate of food and he is like WTH! lol

i am the picky one in our group- i don't eat salad. or seafood, other than tuna out of a can. i know........crazy. i love steak. more of a meat and potatoes kinda of girl.

we did the old dining plan, DH and I years ago and it was SO MUCH food- this was when they included appetizers. it was crazy. i could just eat the appetizer and be full. so it was a waste of a lot of food (but it was free dining). We also did free dining this last trip in december and again- too much food. i love dessert, but we would usually order one for every 2-3 people and share. i only need a few bites. We will not be doing dining this time either- since we are DVC, we'd have to pay and we are going to use the TIW card instead to save 20%. I think we will make out better that way anyhow.

never done SOA, but we have done Tusker House breakfast and it was
great. I haven't heard much on the lunch- is it indian themed? never done Nine dragons either, but it looks good and want to try it sometime- looks like Ainsely will love it! I am not a huge fan of San Angel- love the atmosphere, but it isn't tex-mex, which is more of what we are used to. It is more authentic, which is good too, but not what we expected. I am hoping to book the new Hacienda place on the water and try it out!

yeah for CP- love it- a must do each trip for breakfast!

Le cellier for lunch is great. we've had the sandwiches and they are very good.

 

[taramoz]

I have been away on an end of summer trip to Galveston with my sister and family! We had fun, did alot of Disney talking, mostly about the cruise we will be taking next year (since we are all going together!). Anyway, I need to catch up on everyones PTR's! Looking forward to seeing what I have been missing!

 

[exwdwcm]

I have been away on an end of summer trip to Galveston with my sister and family! We had fun, did alot of Disney talking, mostly about the cruise we will be taking next year (since we are all going together!). Anyway, I need to catch up on everyones PTR's! Looking forward to seeing what I have been missing!

welcome back! how was galveston? I was hoping to get out there this summer and just didn't happen. My grandpa used to own some beach houses in surfside and we'd go every summer!

 

[taramoz]

welcome back! how was galveston? I was hoping to get out there this summer and just didn't happen. My grandpa used to own some beach houses in surfside and we'd go every summer!

Thanks, it was actually very enjoyable! We had great weather, and we rented a beach house at Pointe West which was a lovely resort, I highly recommend it if you are ever planning a trip!

 

[taramoz]

Ok, so I have a potential update!!! I was worried about flight prices, so I started to look at prices if we flew in a day earlier, well, yayay, that would be a big savings. So I wrote my DVC angel last night, and she can sell me another nights points if there is still availability. So it's not official yet (she is calling today) but I may be going a day early!!!