My most recent (first!) trip report: POR March-April 2014
So here we go again. Mom and I were talking about two weeks ago, saying how nice it would be to head to WDW again in March 2015. Back in November, I was in the process of breaking ground on a new house when some unforeseen roadblocks popped up and I had to put a hold on it until the spring. It's not a big deal -- I'm happy living where I am now, and waiting a few months won't make much of a difference in the end. So instead of being fully immersed in home building, I decided to plant the Disney seed and see if it got picked up. Well, did it ever.
But before that, I suppose I should mention the thread title. No, our last name isn't Griswold. But National Lampoons Christmas Vacation is a cult favourite within our immediate and extended family, mostly because it hits really close to home. We're able to identify with a lot of the characters...and we wouldn't change that for anything!
Back to the task at hand. Here mom and I are last year drinking ice cold South Sea Storms from the Japan Pavilion on a beautiful hot day at EPCOT.
IMG_0867 by tommypei, on Flickr
And here we are at the Tree of Life on another beautiful day.
IMG_1479 by tommypei, on Flickr
For a week or so, we played around with dates from late February through to the first week of April, but weren't really blown away by the prices, no matter how many different sets of dates we tried. We normally get a travel agent friend to find us a Westjet vacation package, and figured we might need to do the same thing this year. The trouble is, that travel agent friend is currently in Mexico, and we were getting worried about missing out on any current substantial discounts. So, on Tuesday of this week, just for fun we tried backing the date up to January 22-29 and we added a third adult (my dad, who would come along if we found a really good deal). And BOOM! PSDS kicked in, Port Orleans: Riverside suddenly had all kinds of availability, flights got ridiculously cheap, and the final price dropped by about $1,200!
We talked about it for another 24 hours or so, playing with the dates a little bit more, but found that one day on either side of Jan 22-29 hiked the price bit by bit. So, last night, we bit the bullet and booked! We ended up reserving by phone because my parents are actually going to stay in Florida a few days after we leave POR to visit their friends who are renting a condo for 3 months. Sadly, I'll be needing to get back to work!
So here's the plan:
January 22-29, 2015
Port Orleans: Riverside (fingers crossed for Magnolia Bend!)
Play, Stay, Dine & Save package
7 days base tickets (no park hopper - we never do)
Dining plan
My parents and me -- yes, we'll have fun, and no, we won't kill each other. It's dad's and my fifth trip, and mom's sixth. Mom and I are at the point where we're hoping to head to WDW every winter for the rest of our lives.
Driving from our home on Prince Edward Island the beautiful after work on Jan 21st to Halifax, NS (YHZ); staying at the airport hotel and waking up at some terribly early hour; flying Delta YHZ to MCO and arriving around 12:30pm!
We're getting together tonight to make our ADRs and possibly start our FP+ reservations too. We're also considering taking the Magic Behind our Stream Trains tour, possibly on Jan 27th, as a surprise for my dad, who's a big train fan since his dad worked on the railroad for years. We did KTTK last year and absolutely loved it. The icing on the cake was that it was our guide's first ever tour on her own, and she did a magnificent job. It's well worth the investment, and we're hoping Trains will be too.
That's all for now. More to come after we get into ADRs tonight!
Oh, PS, if you're into following trips live on social media, follow me on Twitter and Instagram! I don't usually put any HQ pics on Flickr til we get home. Links are below in my sig.
So here we go again. Mom and I were talking about two weeks ago, saying how nice it would be to head to WDW again in March 2015. Back in November, I was in the process of breaking ground on a new house when some unforeseen roadblocks popped up and I had to put a hold on it until the spring. It's not a big deal -- I'm happy living where I am now, and waiting a few months won't make much of a difference in the end. So instead of being fully immersed in home building, I decided to plant the Disney seed and see if it got picked up. Well, did it ever.
But before that, I suppose I should mention the thread title. No, our last name isn't Griswold. But National Lampoons Christmas Vacation is a cult favourite within our immediate and extended family, mostly because it hits really close to home. We're able to identify with a lot of the characters...and we wouldn't change that for anything!
Back to the task at hand. Here mom and I are last year drinking ice cold South Sea Storms from the Japan Pavilion on a beautiful hot day at EPCOT.
IMG_0867 by tommypei, on FlickrAnd here we are at the Tree of Life on another beautiful day.
IMG_1479 by tommypei, on FlickrFor a week or so, we played around with dates from late February through to the first week of April, but weren't really blown away by the prices, no matter how many different sets of dates we tried. We normally get a travel agent friend to find us a Westjet vacation package, and figured we might need to do the same thing this year. The trouble is, that travel agent friend is currently in Mexico, and we were getting worried about missing out on any current substantial discounts. So, on Tuesday of this week, just for fun we tried backing the date up to January 22-29 and we added a third adult (my dad, who would come along if we found a really good deal). And BOOM! PSDS kicked in, Port Orleans: Riverside suddenly had all kinds of availability, flights got ridiculously cheap, and the final price dropped by about $1,200!
We talked about it for another 24 hours or so, playing with the dates a little bit more, but found that one day on either side of Jan 22-29 hiked the price bit by bit. So, last night, we bit the bullet and booked! We ended up reserving by phone because my parents are actually going to stay in Florida a few days after we leave POR to visit their friends who are renting a condo for 3 months. Sadly, I'll be needing to get back to work!
So here's the plan:
January 22-29, 2015
Port Orleans: Riverside (fingers crossed for Magnolia Bend!)
Play, Stay, Dine & Save package
7 days base tickets (no park hopper - we never do)
Dining plan
My parents and me -- yes, we'll have fun, and no, we won't kill each other. It's dad's and my fifth trip, and mom's sixth. Mom and I are at the point where we're hoping to head to WDW every winter for the rest of our lives.
Driving from our home on Prince Edward Island the beautiful after work on Jan 21st to Halifax, NS (YHZ); staying at the airport hotel and waking up at some terribly early hour; flying Delta YHZ to MCO and arriving around 12:30pm!
We're getting together tonight to make our ADRs and possibly start our FP+ reservations too. We're also considering taking the Magic Behind our Stream Trains tour, possibly on Jan 27th, as a surprise for my dad, who's a big train fan since his dad worked on the railroad for years. We did KTTK last year and absolutely loved it. The icing on the cake was that it was our guide's first ever tour on her own, and she did a magnificent job. It's well worth the investment, and we're hoping Trains will be too.
That's all for now. More to come after we get into ADRs tonight!
Oh, PS, if you're into following trips live on social media, follow me on Twitter and Instagram! I don't usually put any HQ pics on Flickr til we get home. Links are below in my sig.
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I'm too big of a (disney) nerd haha
. As it was our first time to WDW I think i had major adrenaline rush and was basically running through the airport lugging a 24kg bag with me, we ended up on the wrong floor 
. It was all very funny by the time we were seated on the bus watching the video! Probably, to this day, most exciting bus ride of my life!
