Sajchinook2015
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jan 3, 2015
- Messages
- 391
Good luck with your waitlists. Keeping my fingers crossed for ya.
Good luck with your waitlists. Keeping my fingers crossed for ya.
Wow what an update! Your May plans are coming together. Would be nice if one of your waitlists comes thru. I'd be all about saving points if I could while still staying somewhere nice. And a cruise in 2025 - that's exciting! A different way to experience Disney. Looking forward to reading more about your plans.
Hi Kait - I’m excited to see how your plans develop! We’ll be at WDW next May as well, including May 23-28th at the Poly Villas. We’re renting points and are VERY excited to stay at the Polynesian for the first time!
I’ll be crossing my fingers for you as well - it’s stressful to wait for requests! I bet at least one of your requests will come through, but it would be fun to meet you if we end up at the same resort this May.![]()
I could probably research but when is the Poly DVC building going to be ready. To lazy to look. I have stayed twice at Rivera and loved it. Sure wish I had the courage to do a solo trip. Too afraid of eating solo in restaurants. Silly I know. Good luck with all the planning. Sometimes the planiining and DREAMING is soo much fun,
Your plans look great and I love the Bronco!! Glad you treated yourself to what you really wanted! And congrats on the new position. Awesome!A Small Life Update & First Batch o' May PlansWell hello, hello! Long time, no see. A lot has happened since my last update!
So I've been talking about getting a new car for about a year now. Long story short: my sister was involved in a car accident in 2020, thankfully she walked away completely unharmed but the car we were sharing at the time was totaled. I needed a new car quickly in order to get to work so we took the small insurance payout we got and bought a 2011 Ford Edge that was about to go to auction. It was fine but certainly not my dream car and was really only going to be temporary until I had been working at my job for a while and was ready to lease or buy a new car.
Well, the Edge served me well, but over the summer I began to realize her days were numbered-- the rearview camera stopped working, she started having a lot of tire pressure issues we couldn't source, she started making clunky noises. I had found my dream car at a local dealer but didn't feel quite ready to commit to her...
... Until the Edge died on me in the first week of NovemberIt was a Sunday morning, I ran out to get some Starbucks, and as I was turning into the parking lot, she died on me. Wouldn't turn the steering wheel. Wouldn't budge. Called AAA to get her towed but my dad arrived to the scene first and when he popped the hood, he knew that the car was gone for good. We had to donate it to Habitat for Humanity.
It was very sad but it was her time and I took it as a sign. It was the universe's way of saying, "Go get your dream car!"
And the next week, that's what we did. Here she is! A Ford Bronco Sport in Robin Egg Blue.
She is my baby. Seriously. I couldn't love her more-- she's the perfect color and everyone tells me about how perfect she is for me, so I couldn't be happier with her!![]()
![]()
The good news didn't stop there. A few weeks ago, I accepted a new role within my company (which I LOVE) and I'm really excited about it. I'll be creating this role in a net new department where I'll be reporting to a coworker I absolutely adore and I'll be making more money than I am in my current role, which makes me very excited to book my September trip soon!
That's enough talk about me. If you've made it this far through the post: thank you, and I'd love to hear about the recent wins in your life as well.
Now back to planning! I think I've nailed down my first set of Park plans & dream ADRs for our May vacation. Our Maycation, if you will.
Saturday, May 18These are the plans. As always, open to thoughts/questions/comments/concerns/critiques!
Travel Day
We drive from NJ, so this is our driving day. We start the drive at 11 PM on a Friday night and drive all through Sunday, stopping for Denny's for breakfast and Buc-ees for Lunch. Around 4-5 PM, we stop in Georgia for some dinner and to rest up at a hotel in Kingsland.
Sunday, May 19
Arrival Day/Hollywood Studios
Our day starts very, very early. Stupidly early. 4 in the morning early. We wake up, get back in the car, and start the final leg of driving to the mouse, which typically involves another stop at Buc-ees for some coffee and a breakfast pastry.
We don't typically start in Hollywood Studios, but I feel pretty confident in the plans I have laid out for the first three days. We'll do some morning fun at Toy Story Land and MMRR, then we'll head back to the hotel in the afternoon to unpack and get ready for dinner. We're hoping to have a nice early dinner at Jiko. This has been on our bucket list to try for a while, and we'll either drive or Minnie Van over there before heading back and spending the rest of the evening relaxing at the resort.
Monday, May 20
Magic Kingdom
Nothing crazy here today. Breakfast at Crystal Palace, then a nice, run-of-the-mill day at MK. For dinner, we'll take a boat launch to Wilderness Lodge and grab some drinks and small plates at Geyser Point-- it's a family favorite.
Tuesday, May 21
Epcot... and my birthday!
May 21 will be my 27th birthday! I've celebrated a birthday at Disneyland Resort before, but this will be my first birthday at Walt Disney World. Epcot is my favorite park, so we'll be having some fun here today. When my ADR window opens up, I'm going to book breakfast at Akershus because duh I want to spend my birthday with my favorite gals, but TBD if we keep it. We'll do all the birthday standards: drink wine, hug Mickey Mouse, have a margarita, buy a new Dooney bag at Creations, have a third drink of some sort. My birthday dinner is going to (hopefully) be at Chefs de France, my favorite restaurant in the Parks. I'm so excited for this day!
Wednesday, May 22
Pool day!
We're going to build a pool day into the middle of this week so we can fully enjoy the Lava Pool. We're gonna get our tan on! This will be the night we go to dinner at Disney Springs, and I'm hoping we can try the new Summer House. I've heard very good reviews since it opened this week and I reeealllly gotta check out that cookie bar!
Thursday, May 23
Hollywood Studios
Second DHS day, we're going to try Roundup Rodeo BBQ on this day. If I'm not wrong, we missed the soft opening of this restaurant by just a few weeks this year and while the reviews have been a mixed bag, I'm always down to try a well-themed restaurant!
Friday, May 24
Epcot
I'd like to try Shiki-Sai for dinner. We love Teppan Edo and the reviews for this new restaurant have been amazing, so this is on the top of our list. The only thing that would sway me was if there was a really, really good Garden Rocks performance happening on this day. And in that case: to Biergarten we go for the Garden Rocks package!
Saturday, May 25
Magic Kingdom
Our last day at the Parks! I think we're going to hop over to the Swan & Dolphin and try Rosa Mexicano -- this is another new one for us and we've heard very good things.
Sunday, May 26
Drive Home
Drive home with hearts full of Disney magic and eyes full of tears.
Wishing you and your family a very happy, healthy holiday season!
![]()
Love the new car and congrats on the new job.A Small Life Update & First Batch o' May PlansWell hello, hello! Long time, no see. A lot has happened since my last update!
So I've been talking about getting a new car for about a year now. Long story short: my sister was involved in a car accident in 2020, thankfully she walked away completely unharmed but the car we were sharing at the time was totaled. I needed a new car quickly in order to get to work so we took the small insurance payout we got and bought a 2011 Ford Edge that was about to go to auction. It was fine but certainly not my dream car and was really only going to be temporary until I had been working at my job for a while and was ready to lease or buy a new car.
Well, the Edge served me well, but over the summer I began to realize her days were numbered-- the rearview camera stopped working, she started having a lot of tire pressure issues we couldn't source, she started making clunky noises. I had found my dream car at a local dealer but didn't feel quite ready to commit to her...
... Until the Edge died on me in the first week of NovemberIt was a Sunday morning, I ran out to get some Starbucks, and as I was turning into the parking lot, she died on me. Wouldn't turn the steering wheel. Wouldn't budge. Called AAA to get her towed but my dad arrived to the scene first and when he popped the hood, he knew that the car was gone for good. We had to donate it to Habitat for Humanity.
It was very sad but it was her time and I took it as a sign. It was the universe's way of saying, "Go get your dream car!"
And the next week, that's what we did. Here she is! A Ford Bronco Sport in Robin Egg Blue.
She is my baby. Seriously. I couldn't love her more-- she's the perfect color and everyone tells me about how perfect she is for me, so I couldn't be happier with her!![]()
![]()
The good news didn't stop there. A few weeks ago, I accepted a new role within my company (which I LOVE) and I'm really excited about it. I'll be creating this role in a net new department where I'll be reporting to a coworker I absolutely adore and I'll be making more money than I am in my current role, which makes me very excited to book my September trip soon!
That's enough talk about me. If you've made it this far through the post: thank you, and I'd love to hear about the recent wins in your life as well.
Now back to planning! I think I've nailed down my first set of Park plans & dream ADRs for our May vacation. Our Maycation, if you will.
Saturday, May 18These are the plans. As always, open to thoughts/questions/comments/concerns/critiques!
Travel Day
We drive from NJ, so this is our driving day. We start the drive at 11 PM on a Friday night and drive all through Sunday, stopping for Denny's for breakfast and Buc-ees for Lunch. Around 4-5 PM, we stop in Georgia for some dinner and to rest up at a hotel in Kingsland.
Sunday, May 19
Arrival Day/Hollywood Studios
Our day starts very, very early. Stupidly early. 4 in the morning early. We wake up, get back in the car, and start the final leg of driving to the mouse, which typically involves another stop at Buc-ees for some coffee and a breakfast pastry.
We don't typically start in Hollywood Studios, but I feel pretty confident in the plans I have laid out for the first three days. We'll do some morning fun at Toy Story Land and MMRR, then we'll head back to the hotel in the afternoon to unpack and get ready for dinner. We're hoping to have a nice early dinner at Jiko. This has been on our bucket list to try for a while, and we'll either drive or Minnie Van over there before heading back and spending the rest of the evening relaxing at the resort.
Monday, May 20
Magic Kingdom
Nothing crazy here today. Breakfast at Crystal Palace, then a nice, run-of-the-mill day at MK. For dinner, we'll take a boat launch to Wilderness Lodge and grab some drinks and small plates at Geyser Point-- it's a family favorite.
Tuesday, May 21
Epcot... and my birthday!
May 21 will be my 27th birthday! I've celebrated a birthday at Disneyland Resort before, but this will be my first birthday at Walt Disney World. Epcot is my favorite park, so we'll be having some fun here today. When my ADR window opens up, I'm going to book breakfast at Akershus because duh I want to spend my birthday with my favorite gals, but TBD if we keep it. We'll do all the birthday standards: drink wine, hug Mickey Mouse, have a margarita, buy a new Dooney bag at Creations, have a third drink of some sort. My birthday dinner is going to (hopefully) be at Chefs de France, my favorite restaurant in the Parks. I'm so excited for this day!
Wednesday, May 22
Pool day!
We're going to build a pool day into the middle of this week so we can fully enjoy the Lava Pool. We're gonna get our tan on! This will be the night we go to dinner at Disney Springs, and I'm hoping we can try the new Summer House. I've heard very good reviews since it opened this week and I reeealllly gotta check out that cookie bar!
Thursday, May 23
Hollywood Studios
Second DHS day, we're going to try Roundup Rodeo BBQ on this day. If I'm not wrong, we missed the soft opening of this restaurant by just a few weeks this year and while the reviews have been a mixed bag, I'm always down to try a well-themed restaurant!
Friday, May 24
Epcot
I'd like to try Shiki-Sai for dinner. We love Teppan Edo and the reviews for this new restaurant have been amazing, so this is on the top of our list. The only thing that would sway me was if there was a really, really good Garden Rocks performance happening on this day. And in that case: to Biergarten we go for the Garden Rocks package!
Saturday, May 25
Magic Kingdom
Our last day at the Parks! I think we're going to hop over to the Swan & Dolphin and try Rosa Mexicano -- this is another new one for us and we've heard very good things.
Sunday, May 26
Drive Home
Drive home with hearts full of Disney magic and eyes full of tears.
Wishing you and your family a very happy, healthy holiday season!
![]()
Your plans look great and I love the Bronco!! Glad you treated yourself to what you really wanted! And congrats on the new position. Awesome!
Love the new car and congrats on the new job.
I am trying to talk my mom and sis into eating at Woody’s BBQ RoundUp. Not having much luck. It’s been years since we have eaten at Biergarten so we have that on our list.
Have a Merry Christmas!
Yay for 2 trips in 2024!NOT CLICKBAIT: I Am For Real (For Real) Going to Disney World September 2024!The countdown is on! Again! And FOR REAL, this time. No takesie-backsies.
I'm going to Port Orleans -- French Quarter from Sep 22-28, 2024!
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I learned from my mistakes this year and:
After an insane holiday season at my job, I was ready to go back to the Mouse and my mind was on the prospect of my solo trip next year. With far less concerts planned for next year + my bonus at work, it felt totally reasonable to start planning now so that I can continue to budget wisely and make this trip a reality for next year.
Picked a different week in September where flights were much, much cheaper Picked a different week in September where DISNEY was slightly cheaper Started planning well in advance so I could lock in said cheaper rates Started planning well in advance so I could budget my money and PTO for a longer trip!
I did a little bit of digging and calculating with WDW's "Compare vacation offers" feature on their website to finesse the best dates, aided by JetBlue in a different tab to see what would truly be the best week to travel to WDW outside of Labor Day next year. I found a week where it was no cost to fly on the weekend versus weekdays and I was sold. I went back and forth between Pop C or POFQ, but the difference in price to go to POFQ wouldn't kill me and another poster here on the boards pointed out that late September would be hurricane season, so the storms could potentially shut down the Skyliner for prolonged periods of time. Staying at POFQ is on my bucket list anyway, so I'm just all-around very excited to for this trip.
![]()
I put my deposit down for the room to lock in the rates, and as soon as I float my PTO request by my new manager to make sure this week is kosher for a vacation, I'll book my flight. I have a solid plan for paying off this trip by end of April, aided by Disney gift cards, Disney Visa reward points, (hopefully!) my company's bonus payout, and (possibly!) a tax return.
So the next stops are:
I loved 2023 and I'm sad to wrap up such a great year, but I'm so excited for 2024 already!
- Book my flight for September (Early Jan/ASAP)
- Book ADR for May (March 20)
- Buy ticket to MNSSHP when they're released (Likely sometime in April)
I love love LOVE the French Quarter. The boat to Disney Springs, the beignets, the quaint street like walkways. I am sure you will fall in love with it to.NOT CLICKBAIT: I Am For Real (For Real) Going to Disney World September 2024!The countdown is on! Again! And FOR REAL, this time. No takesie-backsies.
I'm going to Port Orleans -- French Quarter from Sep 22-28, 2024!
![]()
I learned from my mistakes this year and:
After an insane holiday season at my job, I was ready to go back to the Mouse and my mind was on the prospect of my solo trip next year. With far less concerts planned for next year + my bonus at work, it felt totally reasonable to start planning now so that I can continue to budget wisely and make this trip a reality for next year.
Picked a different week in September where flights were much, much cheaper Picked a different week in September where DISNEY was slightly cheaper Started planning well in advance so I could lock in said cheaper rates Started planning well in advance so I could budget my money and PTO for a longer trip!
I did a little bit of digging and calculating with WDW's "Compare vacation offers" feature on their website to finesse the best dates, aided by JetBlue in a different tab to see what would truly be the best week to travel to WDW outside of Labor Day next year. I found a week where it was no cost to fly on the weekend versus weekdays and I was sold. I went back and forth between Pop C or POFQ, but the difference in price to go to POFQ wouldn't kill me and another poster here on the boards pointed out that late September would be hurricane season, so the storms could potentially shut down the Skyliner for prolonged periods of time. Staying at POFQ is on my bucket list anyway, so I'm just all-around very excited to for this trip.
![]()
I put my deposit down for the room to lock in the rates, and as soon as I float my PTO request by my new manager to make sure this week is kosher for a vacation, I'll book my flight. I have a solid plan for paying off this trip by end of April, aided by Disney gift cards, Disney Visa reward points, (hopefully!) my company's bonus payout, and (possibly!) a tax return.
So the next stops are:
I loved 2023 and I'm sad to wrap up such a great year, but I'm so excited for 2024 already!
- Book my flight for September (Early Jan/ASAP)
- Book ADR for May (March 20)
- Buy ticket to MNSSHP when they're released (Likely sometime in April)
We LOVE French Quarter so much, it's such a chill vibe and so easy to navigate. Late September should be perfect for crowd levels too!NOT CLICKBAIT: I Am For Real (For Real) Going to Disney World September 2024!The countdown is on! Again! And FOR REAL, this time. No takesie-backsies.
I'm going to Port Orleans -- French Quarter from Sep 22-28, 2024!
![]()
I learned from my mistakes this year and:
After an insane holiday season at my job, I was ready to go back to the Mouse and my mind was on the prospect of my solo trip next year. With far less concerts planned for next year + my bonus at work, it felt totally reasonable to start planning now so that I can continue to budget wisely and make this trip a reality for next year.
Picked a different week in September where flights were much, much cheaper Picked a different week in September where DISNEY was slightly cheaper Started planning well in advance so I could lock in said cheaper rates Started planning well in advance so I could budget my money and PTO for a longer trip!
I did a little bit of digging and calculating with WDW's "Compare vacation offers" feature on their website to finesse the best dates, aided by JetBlue in a different tab to see what would truly be the best week to travel to WDW outside of Labor Day next year. I found a week where it was no cost to fly on the weekend versus weekdays and I was sold. I went back and forth between Pop C or POFQ, but the difference in price to go to POFQ wouldn't kill me and another poster here on the boards pointed out that late September would be hurricane season, so the storms could potentially shut down the Skyliner for prolonged periods of time. Staying at POFQ is on my bucket list anyway, so I'm just all-around very excited to for this trip.
![]()
I put my deposit down for the room to lock in the rates, and as soon as I float my PTO request by my new manager to make sure this week is kosher for a vacation, I'll book my flight. I have a solid plan for paying off this trip by end of April, aided by Disney gift cards, Disney Visa reward points, (hopefully!) my company's bonus payout, and (possibly!) a tax return.
So the next stops are:
I loved 2023 and I'm sad to wrap up such a great year, but I'm so excited for 2024 already!
- Book my flight for September (Early Jan/ASAP)
- Book ADR for May (March 20)
- Buy ticket to MNSSHP when they're released (Likely sometime in April)
Yay for 2 trips in 2024!
I love love LOVE the French Quarter. The boat to Disney Springs, the beignets, the quaint street like walkways. I am sure you will fall in love with it to.
We LOVE French Quarter so much, it's such a chill vibe and so easy to navigate. Late September should be perfect for crowd levels too!
After Wilderness Lodge, POFQ is my favorite resort! I think you will love it.