What will it be for trip #3? (August 5-14, 2012) About This Page:

[benjiboo25]

Hi All

I think my trip plans will be changed a number of times before we actually get to August, so I thought I would start my PTR to get some help and support in the process.

I will skip formal introductions, as personalities will be revealed as I move along. Also, I figure those of you who checking in early may have followed one of my previous journey's to the World. You may already know that I am a bit obsessive as I try to plan a trip that will accommodate the variety of needs in our family (DD7 has ASD and DD4 has severe food allergies). The first trip taught us the lessons we needed to have a magical second visit. (There is a link in my signature to my August 2010 trip to the BC. ) Our third trip will be August 2012.

Why August? I am a teacher and contractually obligated to vacation during student breaks. Our 5 day stay at a mod during Thanksgiving week in 2009 cost as much as our 10-day stay at BC. Kind of a no-brainer.

We knew we would return during the summer of 2012 but were awaiting a pin code or special offer to book. We also wanted to plan an xtra 3 days to drive down to southern FL to visit DH's sister and her family. We were limited by value season (starts around Aug 5 for mod/value) and my returning to work Aug 20. DH should have 8 days of vacation time but he may be able to take a day or two with no pay in order for us to have a longer vacation. .

About 2 weeks ago, we got a pin code for 30% off any resort level. It even worked on the family suites at ASMu. We booked for 11 days, hoping to provide some flexibility to move our 8-day stay around to allow for better air fares. We also got the tix and DDP but are hoping to get DS into Y.E.S. program (and get those discounted tix) which would make us to food OOP. I have been plotting dining choices to be ready for Feb 7 ADR day.

I spent yesterday *almost* becoming a DVC member. (There is a post on that diversion on the DVC thread). Ultimately, we would love to be DVC members but it is not a wise financial decision at the moment. In less than 2 years, our daycare budget will drop precipitously and we hope we can consider it again at that time. For now, we thought it was important to actually stay in a villa to make sure we love it enough to plan for DVC in the future.

So today....I changed our reservation. We will spend 4 days at POR and 5 days (for now) at OKW in a 1-bedroom villa. I was still able to get the 30% pin code applied to both reservations. The room costs are just a bit more than what it would have been for the same time at the Fam suite. I dropped the tix and DDP. I would not expect to add them back unless I got a promo for free dining (which would also make me change the resort days a bit).

Now I get to re-work our dining choices, taking into consideration our new location and how to manage the resort switch day (which happens to be DH and my 15th anniversary!).

As we move along, I hope to get feedback on my dining choices, especially with plans to pay OOP, as well as other activities we are considering. I hope to post an update about once a week and I appreciate anyone who will join me while I plan our 3rd trip.

Shelly

[Linnynad]

Hey Shelly,
Great start and I am looking forward to reading along with you again. I think the idea of holding off on DVC is a smart choice too, I have been going over it for about a year now.....back and forth, back and forth. The split stay sounds good too, but do you think the move may cause added stress? I only ask because our trip this year had us one day at BC, move on to the DCL, off the boat to one day at AKL, next day back home. NOW, I know THAT was alot of moving, but it was the one thing that annoyed me the most on our stay.

I know this year we have to pay for some meals OOP so I wrote down what places we liked then checked the prices on ALL EARS. Out of those we pick, I'll just pay for the cheapest ones. It helped us alot to look over that info.

Good luck with the plans!!

[benjiboo25]

Originally Posted by Linnynad

Hey Shelly,
Great start and I am looking forward to reading along with you again. I think the idea of holding off on DVC is a smart choice too, I have been going over it for about a year now.....back and forth, back and forth. The split stay sounds good too, but do you think the move may cause added stress? I only ask because our trip this year had us one day at BC, move on to the DCL, off the boat to one day at AKL, next day back home. NOW, I know THAT was alot of moving, but it was the one thing that annoyed me the most on our stay.

I know this year we have to pay for some meals OOP so I wrote down what places we liked then checked the prices on ALL EARS. Out of those we pick, I'll just pay for the cheapest ones. It helped us alot to look over that info.

Good luck with the plans!!

Hi Linny!

When I have read about people going to WDW before and after DCL only to return to the airport....it sounds very stressful! I would imagine the commutes would have a hand in the stress in that scenario, not to mention how you would need to get COMPLETELY packed to make for easy transport of your luggage.

Last trip we originally planned a split stay but moved it to the BC for the whole trip, in part because it seemed quite stressful.

I *think* it will be okay this time. We are just moving from POR to OKW (essentially neighbors). My kids will be 10, 8 and 5. Because I can do laundry once we get to OKW, I should be able to limit the packing (no matching outfits for us!). We are also planning to rent a car for this trip (so we can drive to southern FL to visit family after our WDW trip). So it seems to me that moving the luggage will be fairly smooth. It will definitely add a wrinkle, but we are adding an extra resort day to allow for it. We will also need that to be a non-park/DTD/waterpark day to cut down on the stress.

[Colexis Mom]

Great start!

[mcc0313]

Great start Shelly - so glad you decided to start your PTR as I always enjoy reading along as your plans fall into place. We have done a split stay twice now, I held off doing it for so just because I thought it would just take too much time from our trip...granted I did wait until the girls were a bit oldr but I know realize I wshould have had no fear. Both times the change went over fine, the only thing I would like to perfect if we do a split stay again is to try to truly keep one bag unpacked and save those closthes for the second resort. My girls are creature of habit, they do not settle in until we are unpacked, so we are still trying to master that aspect of it but it truly made our vacations feel like two seperate trips, it really made the trip feel longer in a way. As you said....OKW and POR are so close, plus having the car which make it much easier.

[KMB733]

Great Start!!! Congrats on the PIN code!!

[missminniedreams]

Great start! Can't wait to see what you come up with. I'd definitely keep the split stay. A little more work, but then you get to experience 2 separate resorts!

[B.M.]

Great start!

[Cam22]

Great start, Shelly!

[bsblady01]

I hope that you and your family have a magical time at the world

[benjiboo25]

Originally Posted by mcc0313

Great start Shelly - so glad you decided to start your PTR as I always enjoy reading along as your plans fall into place. We have done a split stay twice now, I held off doing it for so just because I thought it would just take too much time from our trip...granted I did wait until the girls were a bit oldr but I know realize I wshould have had no fear. Both times the change went over fine, the only thing I would like to perfect if we do a split stay again is to try to truly keep one bag unpacked and save those closthes for the second resort. My girls are creature of habit, they do not settle in until we are unpacked, so we are still trying to master that aspect of it but it truly made our vacations feel like two seperate trips, it really made the trip feel longer in a way. As you said....OKW and POR are so close, plus having the car which make it much easier.

Thanks for the advice. I think having a bag stay unpacked is a perfect idea. We have the delta AMEx card so we get to check 5 bags for free when we travel. Last trip, we filled one whole bag with food. I will have to plan it out to keep one bag unpacked...with food and necessities. But I am looking forward to laundry in the villa.

Originally Posted by missminniedreams

Great start! Can't wait to see what you come up with. I'd definitely keep the split stay. A little more work, but then you get to experience 2 separate resorts!

I guess it would only change with better pin code opportunities. But I will remain open to what life sends us.

[benjiboo25]

I said we could not afford to buy into DVC. It could be said that we also could not afford to go to WDW. But I plan to work around that wrinkle. Last time we took advantage of the 6 months no interest financing on the Disney Visa. Choosing room-only option takes that out of the picture. Here is the plan:

1. We flex spend money for daycare/preschool. We usually have it automatically deposited in our checking account every 2 weeks. Starting this month (2012) I plan to let it accumulate in my flexspend account and claim it at the end of the school year. January-June should be about $2,400. (I am a teacher so childcare needs are gone in the summer). This will be a tricky plan to pull off since we generally use the money when it is deposited in our account. I hope seeing a smaller balance will make it easier to choose to eat in and pack lunches.

2. Last July, Sparky turned me on to the wonders of the survey sites. I will not copy her PTR by detailing my earnings, but I may report on it occasionally. (I keep a spreadsheet.) From July 2011-December 2011 I earned over $600 from surveys. Half of that was cashed in as Amazon dollars and most of it was used to splurge on Christmas (3 kids and extended family to buy for...). Hoping for a repeat total in the next 6 months!

3. Annual garage sale. Our town hosts one of the largest garage sales in our state (according to various thrifters who have made our house a regular stop over the years). We have a great outlet mall in our community and people want to get deals on peoples' deals. My house location makes our sale one of the busier ones (last year we had a "staff" of 4 adults on opening day and they still had lines to checkout much of the morning!). Our sale brought in over $2,000 for the 3 families over two days. Our take was around $800. We got rid of the last of the high-ticket baby items last year....but DH is a collector of free stuff from the side of the road. Last year, his finds got us over $150 at the sale. He has since stepped up his "picking." (He is a delivery driver so spends his days driving past lots of free stuff). We are hoping to double our take from free stuff this year.

Wish me luck....

[EddieCVS]

I wish we would get a pin code! We haven't received on in a while and we are going back around the same time as you. We changed our passes into annual passes last August so we were hoping this trip we would get some kind of passholder discount, but nothing yet! Congrats on receiving yours.

[benjiboo25]

Originally Posted by EddieCVS

I wish we would get a pin code! We haven't received on in a while and we are going back around the same time as you. We changed our passes into annual passes last August so we were hoping this trip we would get some kind of passholder discount, but nothing yet! Congrats on receiving yours.

I have gotten a number of pin codes over the years. I always seem to get one after "saving" vacation offers on the WDW website. I try to play around with bookings on the WDW site even when I am not planning a trip. Maybe something to try?

[EddieCVS]

Originally Posted by benjiboo25

I have gotten a number of pin codes over the years. I always seem to get one after "saving" vacation offers on the WDW website. I try to play around with bookings on the WDW site even when I am not planning a trip. Maybe something to try?

Not a bad idea! I'll save a reservation under my wife's name. I already saved one in mine before booking our room.Thanks!