I honestly didn't think I would be going to Walt Disney World this year. Last March, I was lucky enough to go for my bachelor party. Then I went to California to visit some friends in October. I decided at the last minute to spend a day by myself at Disneyland before my flight home. I thought that's all the Disney I was going to get for a few years. Then it all started with a thought...
My sister-in-law is in her last semester of college and was talking about going away for her spring break. I asked, "what if we go to Disney World?" My father-in-law is a DVC member so I brought it up to him and the entire family. Unfortunately, my sister-in-law wanted to go somewhere else and my father-in-law and his girlfriend were already going away that same week of her spring break. So that was the end of the conversation. Or was it?
I spoke with my wife and mentioned that we should just go. I had the idea in my head and I couldn't get it out. I just love Disney way too much. After some discussion and seeing if we can take time off of work, my wife texted, "Book it!" My father-in-law was gracious and let us use his DVC points.
If you are unfamiliar with how DVC points are used to book resorts, here is a brief rundown. You have to book through the DVC website and you can only book rooms at DVC resorts. So you can only pick from deluxe studios, 1 BR villas, 2 BR villas, grand villas and bungalows/cabins. You can't book a regular room at any of the Disney resorts. After searching for resort availability, we had some slim pickings. There weren't any studios or 1 bedrooms available so the next option was the 2 BR.
I was hesitant to book the room since it was only my wife and I. I talked over it with my father-in-law and he said it was fine. He had points expire last year and didn't want that to happen again. So the only two options we had were Old Key West and Saratoga Springs. My wife, Melissa, stayed at Saratoga Springs many times so we decided to go with OKW. I haven't been to either so it's gonna be a new experience for the both of us. I have only stayed at resorts around Bay Lake so its a totally new experience. So we were all booked for Wednesday, February 28th through Monday, March 5th in a 2 Bedroom Villa at Old Key West. We're flying from Newark and arrive around 6PM Wednesday evening. We'll be leaving on a 8:45PM flight Monday night.
So you're probably thinking, "what are the two of you going to do with all of that room?" My first thought was to invite my best friend and his fiance who live in Atlanta. I figured that its such a close drive that they could meet us there for the weekend. Long story short, they will already be in Florida that same weekend! They changed their plans around a bit and made it work. They are coming in late Saturday night and will be leaving with us on Monday. We asked a few other people but unfortunately no one else was able to join on such late notice.
We went to our friends house in Connecticut (we live in NJ) for the Super Bowl. We found out that they will be in Florida with their kids and their immediate family that same week! We will hanging out with them at Disney Springs Thursday night and seeing them in Magic Kingdom on Friday. Such a crazy coincidence that a few of our friends will be in Florida the same weekend.
Melissa and I want to make this trip as relaxing as we can. The only park we will rope drop is Animal Kingdom so we can rush to Flight of Passage. Still hoping I can snag a fastpass though! We want to sleep in the mornings and go to the parks in the afternoon and evenings. I won't bore you with the day to day details.
We are trying to experience as many new things as we can. So here is a list of "firsts" we have planned:
My sister-in-law is in her last semester of college and was talking about going away for her spring break. I asked, "what if we go to Disney World?" My father-in-law is a DVC member so I brought it up to him and the entire family. Unfortunately, my sister-in-law wanted to go somewhere else and my father-in-law and his girlfriend were already going away that same week of her spring break. So that was the end of the conversation. Or was it?
I spoke with my wife and mentioned that we should just go. I had the idea in my head and I couldn't get it out. I just love Disney way too much. After some discussion and seeing if we can take time off of work, my wife texted, "Book it!" My father-in-law was gracious and let us use his DVC points.
If you are unfamiliar with how DVC points are used to book resorts, here is a brief rundown. You have to book through the DVC website and you can only book rooms at DVC resorts. So you can only pick from deluxe studios, 1 BR villas, 2 BR villas, grand villas and bungalows/cabins. You can't book a regular room at any of the Disney resorts. After searching for resort availability, we had some slim pickings. There weren't any studios or 1 bedrooms available so the next option was the 2 BR.
I was hesitant to book the room since it was only my wife and I. I talked over it with my father-in-law and he said it was fine. He had points expire last year and didn't want that to happen again. So the only two options we had were Old Key West and Saratoga Springs. My wife, Melissa, stayed at Saratoga Springs many times so we decided to go with OKW. I haven't been to either so it's gonna be a new experience for the both of us. I have only stayed at resorts around Bay Lake so its a totally new experience. So we were all booked for Wednesday, February 28th through Monday, March 5th in a 2 Bedroom Villa at Old Key West. We're flying from Newark and arrive around 6PM Wednesday evening. We'll be leaving on a 8:45PM flight Monday night.
So you're probably thinking, "what are the two of you going to do with all of that room?" My first thought was to invite my best friend and his fiance who live in Atlanta. I figured that its such a close drive that they could meet us there for the weekend. Long story short, they will already be in Florida that same weekend! They changed their plans around a bit and made it work. They are coming in late Saturday night and will be leaving with us on Monday. We asked a few other people but unfortunately no one else was able to join on such late notice.
We went to our friends house in Connecticut (we live in NJ) for the Super Bowl. We found out that they will be in Florida with their kids and their immediate family that same week! We will hanging out with them at Disney Springs Thursday night and seeing them in Magic Kingdom on Friday. Such a crazy coincidence that a few of our friends will be in Florida the same weekend.
Melissa and I want to make this trip as relaxing as we can. The only park we will rope drop is Animal Kingdom so we can rush to Flight of Passage. Still hoping I can snag a fastpass though! We want to sleep in the mornings and go to the parks in the afternoon and evenings. I won't bore you with the day to day details.
We are trying to experience as many new things as we can. So here is a list of "firsts" we have planned:
- Chef Art Smiths Homecomin'
- 50s Prime Time
- Staying at Old Key West
- Taking the Water Taxi to Disney Springs
- Raglan Road
- Jock Lindseys
- Pandora
- Star Wars Fireworks
- Happily Ever After Fireworks
- Beaches and Cream or Ample Hills Creamery