As some of you may recall, we were supposed to return to WDW in July of 2020. It would have been the first time the whole family has set foot on property since December 2017 and it was going to be a surprise for our girls. Check in day was supposed to be July 11th, the same day the parks started reopening, but I had no desire to be part of the reopening process. So, we canceled and wound up going on a road trip that took us from TX through AR, TN, NC, GA, AL, MS, and LA. If you think that sound crazy, you should see the map of the trip I want to do this summer!
I'm going to try and break the PTR down section by section rather than just through it all out there. I don't know why, but I'm choosing to start with...
LODGING
In any event, we pushed our WDW plans to February and made it one big family planning event. Seriously, we probably watched 50 resort room videos and I was still left to decide on the winner. I wasn't even sure what was going to be open, but the finalists were 1. a studio villa at the Poly 2. a Lion King suite at AOA (this was the decor they liked best) or 3. connecting rooms at CBR. And this is where it gets kind of crazy.
This is what I picked for our lodging...
(not my picture)
Yes, it's a Poly studio villa, but don't get too excited...I didn't stick with these plans. I was already off to a bad start when my parents opted to go with the GF, since they do not care for the Poly. When the Poly construction was announced and I realized monorail service to Epcot probably still wasn't going to be a thing in February, I decided to go big. The kids were bothered about no rain style shower, but we're getting one installed in our master bath at home...so, they'll get over it!
(also not my pictures)
So, I switched us to a 1 bedroom villa at OKW. I know...it wasn't on our list! I wasn't optimistic about bus service or boat service resuming to Disney Springs, but this is going to be a road trip, so having my vehicle and all of this space for the price seemed like a great option. The kids were a little bit sad because they like being MK area, but when they saw the size of the room, they quickly came around to the idea and really liked the jetted tub. We had one in our old house and recently put one into their renovated bathroom, so they've become quite the bath and shower connoisseurs. The only thing...I wasn't sold on it and had plans to change if a decent discount was offered to get us into a 1 bedroom at BWV. If it were for a regular resort room I'd be all over BC, but I don't like the BCV decor as much. Sure, YC was an option, but after our 2012 stay, I was asked to skip it for future trips. BWV also seemed like a good plan for getting to HS to try and get a RotR boarding pass (before they changed the process to 7am).
(definitely not my picture)
I was actually a little bit late to the game when discounts hit. I mean, it was still probably same day, but I wasn't ready at the crack of dawn. Consequently, the phone wait time was 2+ hours (heard it was more like 4). I couldn't spend my whole work day waiting on hold with Disney, so I did what I've found in the past to be the easiest thing to do. Book a whole new reservation and then cancel the first one. Sure, it's a game of deposits, but it's better than sitting on hold. In the end, it was still more than a discounted villa at OKW, but everyone seems happier with the location. In fact, my parents...who did not make the shift to OKW with me, were good with BWV and also booked a 1 bedroom there for themselves. Sounds like it was cheaper than their room at the GF. I had thought about upgrading to a 2 bedroom at OKW instead, since many of you know about my husband's snoring, but BWV seemed like the better option...and I'll just try and cram an air mattress into the room so I can sleep in peace! Oh, and while this also didn't make the list, this was where we were supposed to stay over the summer...well, in regular room. So, it's kind of fitting.
This also gave me a chance to have some fun with my younger daughter...the one who hates clowns.
I had told her that Luna Park's slide was under construction and nobody knew what was going to happen with the clown. When the end results were revealed (which are really kind of blah, IMO), I decided to play a trick on her and show her a pic from a previous trip. I told her that the clown was just refreshed and is open for business.
(This is my picture!)
At first, she got all mad. When I showed her the actual renovation updates with the new school Mickey and friends, she was not a fan and said they should have kept the slide! Wow! And that's coming from a serious clown hater!
Coming up...I discuss dining and cake possibilities, the who's and what's kind of stuff, and some other little things.
I'm going to try and break the PTR down section by section rather than just through it all out there. I don't know why, but I'm choosing to start with...
LODGING
In any event, we pushed our WDW plans to February and made it one big family planning event. Seriously, we probably watched 50 resort room videos and I was still left to decide on the winner. I wasn't even sure what was going to be open, but the finalists were 1. a studio villa at the Poly 2. a Lion King suite at AOA (this was the decor they liked best) or 3. connecting rooms at CBR. And this is where it gets kind of crazy.
This is what I picked for our lodging...
(not my picture)
Yes, it's a Poly studio villa, but don't get too excited...I didn't stick with these plans. I was already off to a bad start when my parents opted to go with the GF, since they do not care for the Poly. When the Poly construction was announced and I realized monorail service to Epcot probably still wasn't going to be a thing in February, I decided to go big. The kids were bothered about no rain style shower, but we're getting one installed in our master bath at home...so, they'll get over it!
(also not my pictures)
So, I switched us to a 1 bedroom villa at OKW. I know...it wasn't on our list! I wasn't optimistic about bus service or boat service resuming to Disney Springs, but this is going to be a road trip, so having my vehicle and all of this space for the price seemed like a great option. The kids were a little bit sad because they like being MK area, but when they saw the size of the room, they quickly came around to the idea and really liked the jetted tub. We had one in our old house and recently put one into their renovated bathroom, so they've become quite the bath and shower connoisseurs. The only thing...I wasn't sold on it and had plans to change if a decent discount was offered to get us into a 1 bedroom at BWV. If it were for a regular resort room I'd be all over BC, but I don't like the BCV decor as much. Sure, YC was an option, but after our 2012 stay, I was asked to skip it for future trips. BWV also seemed like a good plan for getting to HS to try and get a RotR boarding pass (before they changed the process to 7am).
(definitely not my picture)
I was actually a little bit late to the game when discounts hit. I mean, it was still probably same day, but I wasn't ready at the crack of dawn. Consequently, the phone wait time was 2+ hours (heard it was more like 4). I couldn't spend my whole work day waiting on hold with Disney, so I did what I've found in the past to be the easiest thing to do. Book a whole new reservation and then cancel the first one. Sure, it's a game of deposits, but it's better than sitting on hold. In the end, it was still more than a discounted villa at OKW, but everyone seems happier with the location. In fact, my parents...who did not make the shift to OKW with me, were good with BWV and also booked a 1 bedroom there for themselves. Sounds like it was cheaper than their room at the GF. I had thought about upgrading to a 2 bedroom at OKW instead, since many of you know about my husband's snoring, but BWV seemed like the better option...and I'll just try and cram an air mattress into the room so I can sleep in peace! Oh, and while this also didn't make the list, this was where we were supposed to stay over the summer...well, in regular room. So, it's kind of fitting.
This also gave me a chance to have some fun with my younger daughter...the one who hates clowns.
I had told her that Luna Park's slide was under construction and nobody knew what was going to happen with the clown. When the end results were revealed (which are really kind of blah, IMO), I decided to play a trick on her and show her a pic from a previous trip. I told her that the clown was just refreshed and is open for business.
(This is my picture!)
At first, she got all mad. When I showed her the actual renovation updates with the new school Mickey and friends, she was not a fan and said they should have kept the slide! Wow! And that's coming from a serious clown hater!
Coming up...I discuss dining and cake possibilities, the who's and what's kind of stuff, and some other little things.
I haven't done as many as I used to, but I still do make cakes for the family. I'll add on a few more recent ones at the end of this post.
I know TS meals take longer, but I like knowing there's a table for me when I show up and won't risk spilling my tray of food onto the floor in a panic. I have issues! So, I have a lot of things booked in case I feel that we truly need table service to fill in the meal gaps.