It's Family-moon time!

[StitchIsOurHero]

Ooh, that sounds like a fun change! And great savings! We usually always have at least one non-park day! We swim, sleep in, and usually go to another resort or DtD for dinner! I love those days!

[momto3gr8boys]

Originally Posted by Coconuts

We usually do one or two days less of park tickets than length of stay. We use the non park days to hang at the resort, do DTD and shop, rent a boat at our resort. There's so much to do at WDW, and if you have tickets to a water park, that's a whole day right there. If I would be saving $1000 and the only downside is losing 2 park days, I'd do it in a heartbeat.

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

Originally Posted by StitchIsOurHero

Ooh, that sounds like a fun change! And great savings! We usually always have at least one non-park day! We swim, sleep in, and usually go to another resort or DtD for dinner! I love those days!

Ok, you've both convinced me having a non-park day is a good thing! And now I need to wrap my head around another change ugh!

With the current set up I have the Poly booked first and BC second with my 10 day PHs on the Poly ressie. If I switch over to Magical Vacations, the "package" is for the BC and therefore the tickets (8 day PH with bonus) are attached to that ressie. Which means I can not begin to use those tickets until I check into the BC (five days into my trip). So that is not feasible. So Angela, the TA, who has been very patient with me, asked if I would consider doing the BC first and the Poly second. Can you believe I am stuck on this? What is wrong with me?? We are talking about $2800 and all I need to do is get it out of my head that Poly comes before BC...I think I've lost my mind

So I casually mention this to my 16 year old DS, (the reason for the Poly leg of this trip) and he looked at me like this: and said um, that's a no brainer. Why did I think a teenage boy would care what order we did resorts in?

So now I am officially waiting on three quotes from Angela which I think will cover all configurations of hotel rooms and tix and discounts and I'm going with the cheapes

But in other exciting Disney news, my photopass+ voucher came today!! Woo Hoo!!! Ok, I am aware I have 220+ days to actually use it, but in the meantime I can look at all the awesome stock photos that came on a CD with the voucher Off to check them out and stalk my email for deals from Angela!

[momto3gr8boys]

Well, here I am a week later and still no concrete trip booked. I'm glad I have my current reservation because I would be stressing with how long it seems to be taking Magical Vacations to figure out all the aspects of what I want!

But my dates are firm because I BOOKED MY AIR THIS MORNING!!!!!

To me, nothing seals a vacation like airline tickets Air from JFK seems relatively low for August right now. It's been a while since I've been able to get an early departure going (shhh....we won't tell Clara just how early yet...it'll be more like a surprise the night before ) and a late departure coming home (because I'm all about maximizing the Disney time!) for under $300 a ticket, but I was today and my Chase points covered most of it

So that's out of the way . Now I'm off to study DMGeurts adorable little trip planners - I think I'm going to make one for each family member and that is how I will present them with their itineraries!

[momto3gr8boys]

Hurry up and wait! Or at least that is how I feel right now . We just got back from a long weekend in Puerto Rico and I am still waiting on confirmation from MVT for my booking. I have the confirmation numbers for the Poly, but not the BC yet as the TA said Disney has been very behind since the first of the year. Um, new website problems, maybe? Frustrating, but I am so happy to have the park hours for August!!!

Here is a link to them in case you haven't seen them yet:

http://media.disneywebcontent.com/St...lendar_aug.pdf

So, it's cold and rainy out - perfect day to start really planning this trip! I need to start to figure out our park days and ADRs.

In the meantime, here's a little memory from a previous trip. This was during a Pirate and Princess party back in August 2007, so they were 11, 9 and 6 at the time:

[DMGeurts]

Originally Posted by momto3gr8boys

Well, here I am a week later and still no concrete trip booked. I'm glad I have my current reservation because I would be stressing with how long it seems to be taking Magical Vacations to figure out all the aspects of what I want!

But my dates are firm because I BOOKED MY AIR THIS MORNING!!!!!

To me, nothing seals a vacation like airline tickets Air from JFK seems relatively low for August right now. It's been a while since I've been able to get an early departure going (shhh....we won't tell Clara just how early yet...it'll be more like a surprise the night before ) and a late departure coming home (because I'm all about maximizing the Disney time!) for under $300 a ticket, but I was today and my Chase points covered most of it

Congrats on booking airfare... I am the same exact way... Nothing - absolutely NOTHING is in stone until airfare is booked.

I am afraid to look at airfare yet (although I have been watching it a little bit), because I would like to have a bit more in trip savings - however - if a price came up that I just couldn't pass up... Well, we'd definately be going to FL - just not sure about the rest of it. LOL

Originally Posted by momto3gr8boys

So that's out of the way . Now I'm off to study DMGeurts adorable little trip planners - I think I'm going to make one for each family member and that is how I will present them with their itineraries!

Awesome!!! Please post all the pics when you are done - I would love to see how it turns out!

Originally Posted by momto3gr8boys

Hurry up and wait! Or at least that is how I feel right now . We just got back from a long weekend in Puerto Rico and I am still waiting on confirmation from MVT for my booking. I have the confirmation numbers for the Poly, but not the BC yet as the TA said Disney has been very behind since the first of the year. Um, new website problems, maybe? Frustrating, but I am so happy to have the park hours for August!!!

Here is a link to them in case you haven't seen them yet:

http://media.disneywebcontent.com/St...lendar_aug.pdf

So, it's cold and rainy out - perfect day to start really planning this trip! I need to start to figure out our park days and ADRs.

In the meantime, here's a little memory from a previous trip. This was during a Pirate and Princess party back in August 2007, so they were 11, 9 and 6 at the time:

Love the photo - and Donald is so adorable in that one! The boys are cute too.

D~

[momto3gr8boys]

Thanks, D! I hope I can figure out how to make that planner...haven't even had a minute to try yet.

Great Disney news! We are OFFICIALLY booked!! WooHoo!! I got the confirmations from MVT, cancelled my existing reservations, and was able to link up to the website (sort of). I entered all my reservations, but now it is only showing two of the four. There's still some problems with the system, but they are in there somewhere!

The only thing we may change is the level of room at the BC. It was such a good deal, I asked the TA to check club level prices for me. If it's not a huge jump, I may go with it for the BC only. As of now I'm still paying rack rate for the Poly so no splurging there! Fingers crossed some kind of discount comes out over the next few months.

I began studying the calendar and trying to plan out some ADRs this morning, and was checking a few crowd calendars (which were conflicting) and didn't end up getting very far! I'll try again later.

[DMGeurts]

Originally Posted by momto3gr8boys

Thanks, D! I hope I can figure out how to make that planner...haven't even had a minute to try yet.

Do you do any Photoshop? That's how I do mine... But I know others that have used other programs like Word - I am sure you could do it in almost anything.

Originally Posted by momto3gr8boys

Great Disney news! We are OFFICIALLY booked!! WooHoo!! I got the confirmations from MVT, cancelled my existing reservations, and was able to link up to the website (sort of). I entered all my reservations, but now it is only showing two of the four. There's still some problems with the system, but they are in there somewhere!

Congrats!! So, what are your offical dates then?

Originally Posted by momto3gr8boys

The only thing we may change is the level of room at the BC. It was such a good deal, I asked the TA to check club level prices for me. If it's not a huge jump, I may go with it for the BC only. As of now I'm still paying rack rate for the Poly so no splurging there! Fingers crossed some kind of discount comes out over the next few months.

So, don't leave us in suspense... What kind of deal did you end up with?

Originally Posted by momto3gr8boys

I began studying the calendar and trying to plan out some ADRs this morning, and was checking a few crowd calendars (which were conflicting) and didn't end up getting very far! I'll try again later.

I use Touring Plans exclusively, and they have never done me wrong. I don't always follow their "recommended park" but I definately don't go into the "avoid" park either. LOL

D~

[StitchIsOurHero]

So glad that it's all booked!! And a big yay for potential CL! It looks like it's all coming together! I am one of those people who (oops!!) doesn't use a tour guide crowd-prediction system. I know lots of people have great success with them, though!!

[momto3gr8boys]

Originally Posted by DMGeurts

Do you do any Photoshop? That's how I do mine... But I know others that have used other programs like Word - I am sure you could do it in almost anything.

I used to have a Photoshop program, but I am sure I can find something to use!

Congrats!! So, what are your offical dates then?

Thanks! We are going August 18-23 at the Beach Club and the 23-27 at the Poly

So, don't leave us in suspense... What kind of deal did you end up with?

A great one! But I still don't know if I can justify CL. The deal I got from MVT was $3600 for two rooms (connecting) at the BC (6 days, 5 nights) with 8 day PHs for five, plus a one day pass to either a water park, DQ or golf. Had I booked directly right now it would $5,900. Adding CL is $4500, so $900 more than what I am paying, and still much less than what I would have paid, but $900 is a lot of play money for some snacks and breakfast items, and I'm not really sure just how much we would use it. Plus, at the moment I am still paying rack rate for 4 nights for two rooms at the Poly. If a deal is released between now and the summer, whether it be through Disney or MVT, I can get the lower price, so I may add it then, but for now, I am going to say no.

I use Touring Plans exclusively, and they have never done me wrong. I don't always follow their "recommended park" but I definately don't go into the "avoid" park either. LOL

D~

Originally Posted by StitchIsOurHero

So glad that it's all booked!! And a big yay for potential CL! It looks like it's all coming together! I am one of those people who (oops!!) doesn't use a tour guide crowd-prediction system. I know lots of people have great success with them, though!!

I am not a hardcore planner with the crowd predictions...I'm not sure why I'm hung up on it now...I think the DISers are freaking me out with these fastpass nightmares, etc. lol. I think we will be fine. I'm just so excited to have everything booked!

[OregonMomToWDW]

Congrats on the official booking. We arrive a couple of days after you, but we are planning on eating at Poly a couple of times during our stay.
Touring plans just updated all their park info after the hours were released. I moved a couple of things around, but not much. I decided not to do Universal two days in a row, so those have changed. I tried the other sites, but decided to stick with touring plans. There is only one day that I didn't pick their best park and went with a neutral one.

[momto3gr8boys]

Originally Posted by OregonMomToWDW

Congrats on the official booking. We arrive a couple of days after you, but we are planning on eating at Poly a couple of times during our stay.
Touring plans just updated all their park info after the hours were released. I moved a couple of things around, but not much. I decided not to do Universal two days in a row, so those have changed. I tried the other sites, but decided to stick with touring plans. There is only one day that I didn't pick their best park and went with a neutral one.

Where are you going to eat at Poly? I think I have it down to Ohana for dinner and kona for breakfast. I had thought about SOA, but after some reviews I'm going to stick with HDDR.

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

[DMGeurts]

Originally Posted by momto3gr8boys

Where are you going to eat at Poly? I think I have it down to Ohana for dinner and kona for breakfast. I had thought about SOA, but after some reviews I'm going to stick with HDDR.

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

We are also planning one breakfast at Ohana... I really wanted to do Kona, but the girls vetoed me. I am gonig to try for a late breakfast ADR on one of our days off, and I am just planning on being there at whatever time our ADR is and waiting to be seated for an hour, because it seems that Ohana has never been very prompt. Ever.

We need to try to do a Dismeet if we are ever in the same parks/same days.

D~

[momto3gr8boys]

Originally Posted by DMGeurts

We are also planning one breakfast at Ohana... I really wanted to do Kona, but the girls vetoed me. I am gonig to try for a late breakfast ADR on one of our days off, and I am just planning on being there at whatever time our ADR is and waiting to be seated for an hour, because it seems that Ohana has never been very prompt. Ever.

We need to try to do a Dismeet if we are ever in the same parks/same days.

D~

Yes we should! Or if I pass you while you are waiting for breakfast at O'hana . Tell me your dates again? We are planning a resort day at Poly on Saturday 8/24. I figured Saturdays are always so busy in the parks and that's a little more than half way through our stay...we will be wanting it then!

Ok, I wasted way too much time yesterday trying to plan and not planning anything at all . So today needs to be a little more productive (meaning I actually have to do non-Disney things ).

I did do my walk/run this morning. I started the C25k (couch to the 5k) program just before Christmas and today was week 5, day 2. I am hoping to lose some weight by summer, and do something I've never even dreamed of....exercise at Disney I would love to wake up early and go for a run around the BC and Poly areas. I would also LOVE to get to a point where I can actually do one of the runDisney events (what a great justification for a trip ).

Ok off to my day. I'm sure I'll be back soon (who am I kidding about a non-DIS day!)

[DMGeurts]

Originally Posted by momto3gr8boys

Yes we should! Or if I pass you while you are waiting for breakfast at O'hana . Tell me your dates again? We are planning a resort day at Poly on Saturday 8/24. I figured Saturdays are always so busy in the parks and that's a little more than half way through our stay...we will be wanting it then!

Ok, I wasted way too much time yesterday trying to plan and not planning anything at all . So today needs to be a little more productive (meaning I actually have to do non-Disney things ).

I did do my walk/run this morning. I started the C25k (couch to the 5k) program just before Christmas and today was week 5, day 2. I am hoping to lose some weight by summer, and do something I've never even dreamed of....exercise at Disney I would love to wake up early and go for a run around the BC and Poly areas. I would also LOVE to get to a point where I can actually do one of the runDisney events (what a great justification for a trip ).

Ok off to my day. I'm sure I'll be back soon (who am I kidding about a non-DIS day!)

We are planning to be at the Poly for Ohana on Fri, the 23rd. Hoping for a late breakfast that day.

Congrats on the c25k... It's an awesome program - I tried it once. LOL And then the Dr. said no more running for me ever - since my knees are so bad. So, I've resorted to things with a lot less impact. It's always been my dream to run, but I've decided that I don't need to do everything I dream about - I'll just settle for doing most of it, at a slower pace.

So, how did you do with the non-Dis day??? Let me know how that works for you... It's been several years since I've skipped a day here.

D~

[MyKidsMom1820]

Originally Posted by momto3gr8boys

Thanks, D! I hope I can figure out how to make that planner...haven't even had a minute to try yet.

Great Disney news! We are OFFICIALLY booked!! WooHoo!! I got the confirmations from MVT, cancelled my existing reservations, and was able to link up to the website (sort of). I entered all my reservations, but now it is only showing two of the four. There's still some problems with the system, but they are in there somewhere!

The only thing we may change is the level of room at the BC. It was such a good deal, I asked the TA to check club level prices for me. If it's not a huge jump, I may go with it for the BC only. As of now I'm still paying rack rate for the Poly so no splurging there! Fingers crossed some kind of discount comes out over the next few months.

I began studying the calendar and trying to plan out some ADRs this morning, and was checking a few crowd calendars (which were conflicting) and didn't end up getting very far! I'll try again later.

Glad you are officially booked! cant wait to hear about your ADRs!!