Matt UGA's "Man Has a Dream" Trip Report Updated 10/20 About This Page:

[goofysdtr]

Great start, Matt! Can't wait to hear all the details as they occur.

[MattUGA]

Where to stay, where to stay….

Our first idea was to stay at the Fort Wilderness Cabins. However, they are pretty pricey and we can stay there again in a few years when Audrey is older. After realizing we could afford another trip or two during the year if we downgraded our choices, we decided we would stay at a moderate. Bethany and I have stayed at Port Orleans Riverside, Caribbean Beach Resort and Coronado Springs. We immediately eliminated CBR as a choice. It’s just not that special to us. While we liked Riverside, we decided to not stay there this time. So now we are left with Port Orleans French Quarter and Coronado Springs Resort. I love French Quarter but I think the girls would love the pool at CSR. We enjoy the look of the resort although many people seem to complain about it. Anybody have any suggestions?


Okay I just had a thought. Maybe Swan or Dolphin? Bethany is a teacher so we could possibly get a discount on it. I’m sure the AP discount for POFQ or CSR would be lower though.


Another idea. I mentioned in the first post that we wanted to do Mickey’s Backyard BBQ. We have the “Tables in Wonderland” discount card so we could use that. By the way, The “Tables in Wonderland” name is the dumbest thing ever. Haha Okay rant over.

So we had thought about doing the new counter service dining plan because we’ve eaten at every character meal. But.. should we get the regular dining plan? At least we could use two credits each for the BBQ. I’m not sure about this. I’ll be glad for suggestions on this!

More later!

[Colexis Mom]

I'd vote for POFQ!! We loved it there!!

[rlb38]

Great start. Love the picture of Audrey in the intro.

[DyanKJ130]

Great update, Matt!

While we haven't stayed at POFQ, we have stayed at Dixie Landings 1/POR 2 times. Our last trip to WDW was a short one. We stayed at CBR and decided it really wasn't the resort for us, but really couldn't put our finger on why. We spent 10 nights at CSR in 2006 and fell in with it. I was very hesistant to stay there, but the resort really won me over. Pepper Market took a little bit of time to get used to, but once we figured it out we were very pleased - some of the best CS we have ever experienced on property. I didn't get to the main pool (broken toe at the time), but DH & DS really enjoyed their time spent there - I think the water slide is the longest resort slide. Another benefit of CSR right now is that they are rehabing each building and have already replaced all of the full beds with queens. We were also thrilled with the bus service. Since there was a convention going on, there were very few people on the buses. I think we only had to stand once the entire trip. The bus stops are in great locations at the parks too. I believe it is the most deluxe you will get at the moderate price. You might like to check out Buzz's Unofficial Coronado Springs site. We it so much, we're headed back there for 10 nights this Christmas!! (No promises, but I am hoping to write a TR, so that might help!)

As for the DDP....I don't know if I could eat just CS meals our entire trip, but then again, I wouldn't get the DDP just to go to the BBQ, as that wouldn't be making the best use of 2 dining credits. If that's the only deciding factor, I would get the CS plan and then just pay for the BBQ out-of-pocket. I also don't have an infant, who may or may not enjoy sitting down for a long TS meal on any given day. Maybe someone else will have a better idea....I'm kind of clueless on this one!

Hope this helps!

[chezp]

Great start! How cool that you're planning on spending longer at Disney - that will make for a more relaxing stay.

[lindawdw]

Great start Matt! I'm so excited that you're getting to experience a longer vacation this time around I love the POFQ for the size of the resort and the pool. My DD use to love the slide when they were younger and it was easy to keep an eye on them in the pool since it's not as big as some of the other pools. It's also nice to have the boat service to DTD from the back of the resort.

[Jillybean]

Matt,

Have you guys thought about taking advantage of the Buy 4/Get 3 offer?

Jill

[Luvsun]

I vote for POFQ - I think your family would really like it there! The pool area is really fun and the size of the resort is not so spread out.
I too was wondering if you had checked into the deal Jill mentioned?

[MattUGA]

Originally Posted by Jillybean

Matt,

Have you guys thought about taking advantage of the Buy 4/Get 3 offer?

Jill

I've thought about it but I think I'd rather just use the annual passes this time around. I know I could use it to make it cheaper to renew our annual passes but I don't think I'd want to deal with that this time around . It's a hassle believe me haha I did it last year.

[Jillybean]

We just bought the 1-day ticket which we plan to apply towards the purchase of our AP's in 2010.

Also consider renting DVC points for a 1-bedroom!

Jill

[MattUGA]

Originally Posted by Jillybean

We just bought the 1-day ticket which we plan to apply towards the purchase of our AP's in 2010.

Also consider renting DVC points for a 1-bedroom!

Jill

Okay explain the new deal to me. It's buy four nights of hotels and get 3 free, right? And you can just buy one day tickets for each person, correct?

I might check it out and compare prices.

[OhToodles!]

I've read some of your PTR & TR in the past, but this is my first post to them. I'm glad you'll be going for a longer time this go around. Our trip will overlap with yours for a few days (we're going 6/7-13). Any chance you're also going to check Star Wars Weekends at DHS? (This is why we're going then - DH loves Star Wars.) Anyway, enough rambling, hope you enjoy your trip!

[piratefreak]

Great start Matt. My vote would be for POFQ. We have stayed at CBR a few times and it was a little to big and spread out for us. The boys got easily tired walking all over the place to main pool etc.

[agnes1956]

Great Start!!!