I was really tempted to call this the “What the heck are we doing?!?!!?-PTR,” but the reality…this trip is my 40th birthday present to me. Still, it’s one crazy convoluted mess, so at some point you’ll probably catch on to the reason behind the secondary title.
WHO...
Ok...enough about that...there will plenty of time to address the planning insanity.
If you're new to my reports, I'm Sandy...
I've been going to WDW since 1985 - even lived in Florida for a while. Soooooo, let's just say I've been to WDW a number of times.
Beyond that, my 40th is about a month before this trip and this is my gift to me. I'd considered going on my actual 40th; however, I promised myself that our next trip would involve MNSSHP...so, September it is. And if you're familiar with the Cake Talk...I promise you....THERE WILL BE CAKE! In fact, there will be 2 CAKES! But more on that later.
Also, I'm usually the one behind the camera, so you won't be seeing much of me when it comes to the actual TR. Hey, I at least take TONS of pictures (like thousands!). And if you do see me, I doubt you will ever see my hair down since it's usually up on top of my head in the heat and humidity.
Like this...
...although, I may add a flower to make it ... well ... cute.
Hey, we live in Texas so heat is our norm, but we also approach it wisely and hair up like this is a great way to keep cool when not wearing a hat to keep my head from baking in the sun.
OK, enough about me (for now)...let's talk about the girls.
The brunette is Kendall...she'll be turning 7 about a month before the trip...and the blonde is Sammie...who will be turning 5 a little over a month after the trip. This will be the girls' 4th trip to WDW.
The girls are total characters. Seriously. Kendall is a drama queen, but insists she's no diva (yeah right!). I could be really mean and post a video of a more recent meltdown, but I'll spare her. Sammie is our tomboy and quiet little trouble maker. Just recently, she tried to see how much toilet paper she could flush down each toilet in the house. Too bad I noticed we were suddenly down 6 rolls AFTER her experiment.
Next up...DH...
He likes, but does not love WDW. He's made it very clear that he's bored with trips to Disney. I told him I'd planned this trip for just me and the girls, but he was invited to come if he'd like. Well, when the first of two SWA fare sales hit, I cornered him on the matter and he agreed to go. Ultimately, I think he has fun and enjoys seeing the girls having such a good time and experiencing new things as they grow. So, I spent several months of having this trip booked not knowing if he'd be joining us... and if things go well job wise...he may still have to bow out. Soooo...really, who knows.
Beyond us...
We are actually being joined by 5...YES 5 ... more family members on day 3 of our trip. My parents will be joining us along with my brother's family. They all live in south Florida, so it's a fairly easy trip up for them. Well, assuming my brother & fam are still able to make it come trip time. They have a bunch of stuff going on and while they've booked lodging and all have orders in for discounted tickets through their employers (perks of living in FL), there's still a chance they'll back out. So, if DH has to stay home and if they back out...we could go from a party of 9 to a party of 5. Insanity I tell you!
When and Where...
Well, the when is fairly drama free...
Sept. 19 - 23
I just rebooked our air, so our arrival and departure changed, but I think it's for the best...since it saved us an additional $512. So instead of arriving at 11:45a, we're arriving around 2:50pm. I don't see that being a huge deal. On the flipside, we'll be getting a lot more time on our last day. I think our original flight had us leaving MCO around 2pm, but now we're leaving just after 7pm. So, more time with my family and more time to play on our last day.
So, that's the when, but the where is complicated...and still bugs me.
We were originally booked at the Contemporary...my fave. I was hoping fall discounts would mirror summer discounts so I could splurge on night 1 and stay in an MK facing room in the tower...then switch to the garden wing...but NO...the Sept discounts did not mirror the summer ones. On top of that, Mousesavers (via Small World Vacations) posted some incorrect info on the discounts for the Contemporary. They posted that MK view was 5% (which is correct) and standard rooms were 20% (which was incorrect). I put off calling by a day b/c I didn't know what to do. Overnight, I decided to switch to WL with a 30% off discount since it's a greater savings and it's DH's fave. The % never came up when I was on the phone with Disney that day, but I had to call about something else the next day and found out that the Contemporary discount was 30% for all non-MK facing rooms. Unfortunately, everything in the garden wing was gone and a full trip in the tower was more than I wanted to spend...sooooooo, WL it was. I did complain to Mousesavers and they corrected the problem, but I wonder if I would have gotten the room I wanted at the 30% discount if they'd posted the correct info.
So, now we're staing in WL. Most of our trip was geared for staying at the Contemporary, but WL isn't a huge transition. We'll be staying in a bunk bed room with a woods view. I figure at least it'll make it fun for the kids. I've also asked for 5th floor on the MK side.
Far from a good picture, but we had a nice view from our standard view room the last time we stayed at WL.
I know most people love WL and I shouldn't whine, but I really didn't care for the bedding on our last visit. The room also felt very cramped. Don't get me wrong, the resort is stunning...I just had some issues. Imagine that. I am also wondering how it will feel to have a non-holiday stay at WL. Last time we stayed there...we had a room over the lobby and this beauty greeted us every time we left our room.
Still, we had a great time popping over for drinks at Trout Pass during our summer trip in 2011.... and clearly, there was no tree up at that point.
We are also going to try going stroller free this trip and should have less to bring clothing wise since it's a warm weather trip....so, hopefully that will help the room not feeling as cramped.
Honestly, the real lodging drama is the rest of the family. My parents and brother also lost out on the Contemporary discount, feel that 20% is too little for the Poly, and refuse to stay again at WL... so they're now staying at the Dolphin. Seriously---what's going on here!!!!????!!!! This is really putting a monkey wrench in all of our early morning plans. We'll manage, but not without certain people whining about it. I guess at least they got a really awesome AAA rate...like under $150/nt.
COMING UP...
Calling it a night, but coming up:
Dining
Cakes
Surprises - and to think I said I'd take a break from these
Special Goodies for the Girls
MNSSHP
The Tickets
The School Issues
...and a host of other things.
Thanks for reading
WHO...
Ok...enough about that...there will plenty of time to address the planning insanity.
If you're new to my reports, I'm Sandy...
I've been going to WDW since 1985 - even lived in Florida for a while. Soooooo, let's just say I've been to WDW a number of times.
Beyond that, my 40th is about a month before this trip and this is my gift to me. I'd considered going on my actual 40th; however, I promised myself that our next trip would involve MNSSHP...so, September it is. And if you're familiar with the Cake Talk...I promise you....THERE WILL BE CAKE! In fact, there will be 2 CAKES! But more on that later. Also, I'm usually the one behind the camera, so you won't be seeing much of me when it comes to the actual TR. Hey, I at least take TONS of pictures (like thousands!
). And if you do see me, I doubt you will ever see my hair down since it's usually up on top of my head in the heat and humidity.Like this...
...although, I may add a flower to make it ... well ... cute.
Hey, we live in Texas so heat is our norm, but we also approach it wisely and hair up like this is a great way to keep cool when not wearing a hat to keep my head from baking in the sun.
OK, enough about me (for now)...let's talk about the girls.
The brunette is Kendall...she'll be turning 7 about a month before the trip...and the blonde is Sammie...who will be turning 5 a little over a month after the trip. This will be the girls' 4th trip to WDW.
The girls are total characters. Seriously. Kendall is a drama queen, but insists she's no diva (yeah right!). I could be really mean and post a video of a more recent meltdown, but I'll spare her. Sammie is our tomboy and quiet little trouble maker. Just recently, she tried to see how much toilet paper she could flush down each toilet in the house. Too bad I noticed we were suddenly down 6 rolls AFTER her experiment.
Next up...DH...
He likes, but does not love WDW. He's made it very clear that he's bored with trips to Disney. I told him I'd planned this trip for just me and the girls, but he was invited to come if he'd like. Well, when the first of two SWA fare sales hit, I cornered him on the matter and he agreed to go. Ultimately, I think he has fun and enjoys seeing the girls having such a good time and experiencing new things as they grow. So, I spent several months of having this trip booked not knowing if he'd be joining us... and if things go well job wise...he may still have to bow out. Soooo...really, who knows.
Beyond us...
We are actually being joined by 5...YES 5 ... more family members on day 3 of our trip. My parents will be joining us along with my brother's family. They all live in south Florida, so it's a fairly easy trip up for them. Well, assuming my brother & fam are still able to make it come trip time. They have a bunch of stuff going on and while they've booked lodging and all have orders in for discounted tickets through their employers (perks of living in FL), there's still a chance they'll back out. So, if DH has to stay home and if they back out...we could go from a party of 9 to a party of 5. Insanity I tell you!
When and Where...
Well, the when is fairly drama free...
Sept. 19 - 23
I just rebooked our air, so our arrival and departure changed, but I think it's for the best...since it saved us an additional $512. So instead of arriving at 11:45a, we're arriving around 2:50pm. I don't see that being a huge deal. On the flipside, we'll be getting a lot more time on our last day. I think our original flight had us leaving MCO around 2pm, but now we're leaving just after 7pm. So, more time with my family and more time to play on our last day.
So, that's the when, but the where is complicated...and still bugs me.
We were originally booked at the Contemporary...my fave. I was hoping fall discounts would mirror summer discounts so I could splurge on night 1 and stay in an MK facing room in the tower...then switch to the garden wing...but NO...the Sept discounts did not mirror the summer ones. On top of that, Mousesavers (via Small World Vacations) posted some incorrect info on the discounts for the Contemporary. They posted that MK view was 5% (which is correct) and standard rooms were 20% (which was incorrect). I put off calling by a day b/c I didn't know what to do. Overnight, I decided to switch to WL with a 30% off discount since it's a greater savings and it's DH's fave. The % never came up when I was on the phone with Disney that day, but I had to call about something else the next day and found out that the Contemporary discount was 30% for all non-MK facing rooms. Unfortunately, everything in the garden wing was gone and a full trip in the tower was more than I wanted to spend...sooooooo, WL it was. I did complain to Mousesavers and they corrected the problem, but I wonder if I would have gotten the room I wanted at the 30% discount if they'd posted the correct info.
So, now we're staing in WL. Most of our trip was geared for staying at the Contemporary, but WL isn't a huge transition. We'll be staying in a bunk bed room with a woods view. I figure at least it'll make it fun for the kids. I've also asked for 5th floor on the MK side.
Far from a good picture, but we had a nice view from our standard view room the last time we stayed at WL.
I know most people love WL and I shouldn't whine, but I really didn't care for the bedding on our last visit. The room also felt very cramped. Don't get me wrong, the resort is stunning...I just had some issues. Imagine that. I am also wondering how it will feel to have a non-holiday stay at WL. Last time we stayed there...we had a room over the lobby and this beauty greeted us every time we left our room.
Still, we had a great time popping over for drinks at Trout Pass during our summer trip in 2011.... and clearly, there was no tree up at that point.
We are also going to try going stroller free this trip and should have less to bring clothing wise since it's a warm weather trip....so, hopefully that will help the room not feeling as cramped.
Honestly, the real lodging drama is the rest of the family. My parents and brother also lost out on the Contemporary discount, feel that 20% is too little for the Poly, and refuse to stay again at WL... so they're now staying at the Dolphin. Seriously---what's going on here!!!!????!!!! This is really putting a monkey wrench in all of our early morning plans. We'll manage, but not without certain people whining about it. I guess at least they got a really awesome AAA rate...like under $150/nt.
COMING UP...
Calling it a night, but coming up:
Dining
Cakes
Surprises - and to think I said I'd take a break from these
Special Goodies for the Girls
MNSSHP
The Tickets
The School Issues
...and a host of other things.
Thanks for reading
), but I still think you're going to be better off cost-wise without a sketch.
I've gotten pretty lucky with the selection of appliques on etsy. I still need to pick out ones for me & DH, but I'm still not 100% what I want to do for those.
So, at this point, all savings go towards dining, cakes, and souvenirs!!! 
I wish I could remember which days Chef Brian is off. I want to say one of them is Tuesday, so maybe I'll send my email on Sunday night. I've also started thinking about where I'd cut back if I don't like the price. Thinking having Donald in silver & gold vs. fully painted may be the first change on the big cake and I could scrap the carousel horse on the little cake. Hate thinking about scrapping things, but paying too much is also not a happy thing. OY.