I Have Some Decisions To Make

In less than a month, I'll be heading to Disney World. I've been listening to Disney World music and whipping myself into a fever pitch of excitement because DISNEY! Music! Food! Dancing! Awesomeness!
I got my travel documents sometime last week. You know once those show up that it's not much longer!
As usual, I felt like I had plenty of time to plan things and well, time is running away from me. Like time does. I mean, the last time I posted here was in March, and I still owe you trip reports. Oops. I have some choices to make. 
In the past, I've taken the Magical Express. It's easy, it's free, and they play the video to get you all excited. My mom and Falandos have never been to Disney World, and I'd love for them to experience the fun of the Magical Express.
BUT. I've been toying with the idea of getting a car service instead.  I've seen reviews for two particular services and ooohhh, it's so tempting. It would be an additional cost for sure, but we'd get a 30 minute grocery stop, where I can pick up a case of bottled water and some pineapple juice for my mom, and we'd possibly get to our hotel sooner. And on our last day, we'd probably get at least 30–45 extra minutes in the parks, so we could leave at 430 instead of 330 or something like that. THAT is really appealing to me, as I do not want to miss the Jammin' Jungle Parade!
So, I did some pricing and looking at the different options. Honestly, I think the Escalade would be the best for us because it would fit all of our stuff (none of us are light packers--Falandos has already prepaid for two carry-ons!) and would be fun to ride around in that. But I'm not one of those people who is obsessed with SUVs--in fact, I strongly prefer to AVOID them. I feel like most people who drive them are bullies and they take up too many parking spaces. And they're ALWAYS parking in the compact car spaces--what is up with that? ANYWAY. I have reservations about that. I was thinking of a limo. Aidan's never been in a limo and I know he'd get a kick out of it. I've been in loads of limos--for all sorts of things. Bachelorette parties, funerals, casino nights, grocery store runs.... so it's not a big deal for me to ride in one. In addition, there was that terrible limo fire that just happened in San Francisco, so I have a friend who is begging me not to get a limo for that reason. A town car just seems boring. I mean, they're NICE and everything... but it's really just a fancy car. 
I would love a car just to go back to the airport... but none of them seem to do that. It's either round trip or one way from MCO to Disney.
The other choice I'm trying to make is whether or not to do the Photopass thing. I want to pre-pay because you save $50 by paying before vacation.... but I also remember feeling so liberated, not having to stop at every Photopass photographer so I got my money's worth. 
So, these are the agonizing decisions that have been plaguing me the past couple days. If any of you have any insight, please let me know. I could use some advice! :)

Booking Madness

Planning the summer 2013 trip for my mom, Aidan and me has been more stressful than I am used to. There are so many factors to look into that I haven't had to deal with before, such as my mother's health issues, predicted high crowd levels, and flight times/costs that were ... less than satisfactory.

I'd originally decided we'd go from June 3-June 6. The plan was to fly out early on June 3, leave our bags with bell services if the room wasn't ready, and hit Magic Kingdom. On our last day, we'd go to Animal Kingdom, and then fly back that evening. Sounds good, right? Adam and I have been doing that, or a variation of that, for years and it worked out fine.

Except the airlines would not cooperate. Well, I'd found a decent deal with Airtran a few weeks ago (just over $800 for the three of us round trip), but I didn't book it because things weren't finalized yet. Every week, I watched those fares creep up and up and up, and I decided to set up a watchdog for fares. When I got an email this morning with the right prices, I jumped on the chance. BUT. My original times? They were either sold out or SUPER expensive. I'm taking $300-$400 to fly one way. I was frustrated. VERY frustrated. And nervous. Because what if I kept waiting and ended up having to pay thousands for a crappy flight with connections and entire days of traveling?

Adam told me that it was way too early to book. That prices go up and down all the time. I was very concerned about the times I wanted being sold out, though, and those were the times whose prices were jumping up all the time.

When we took a trip around this time frame in 2011, the flights we wanted were going to cost us $1200 with Southwest, which is usually our first choice. Adam looked at other airlines and asked me how much would it cost to stay an extra night. Well, he'd found a flight on Airtran that flew in on Saturday night instead of Sunday morning, and round trip for me, him, and Aidan was just over $700. Even staying an extra night, we came out hundreds ahead. AND WE GOT AN EXTRA NIGHT AT DISNEY WORLD. It was a win-win!

And I wondered... could I possibly get that lucky again? So I played with the numbers. Found flights for the three of us for $662. $662 total round trip for three of us. Instead of flying in Monday morning, we'd have to fly in Monday afternoon BUT by adding an extra night (room only), I come out $200 ahead.

I worked and worked trying to figure things out. Naturally, the cheapest flights were to fly in late Monday and leave early Friday. That was not going to work because we'd miss an entire day in the parks. I ended up picking a midday flight to Orlando on Monday, and the last flight out to Chicago Friday night. It costed a bit more, but was worth it and much better than the $900-$1000 I was looking at the week before.

I was on the phone with Disney for 45 minutes getting everything set up. They were super helpful and nice. They shifted my original reservation to June 4-7, and added a room only to June 3. I didn't want the Dining Plan and park tickets for June 3 because I didn't see any point in wasting a park ticket on half a day. We can go to Downtown Disney, have dinner in the food court, and relax so we can be well rested for the Magic Kingdom rope drop the next morning. They also transferred me to Dining so I could change my reservations. On top of all this, they're running their Spring discounts on rooms and packages, and our stay falls right within the dates.

AND checking the crowd calendar on Easy WDW, it turns out that the shift in our vacation plans and days we visit which park works out in our favor. It will still be crowded, but slightly less in the parks we're going to.

I swear, this is the most math I've done in years. I don't even know if it was algebra or what, all I know is that it made my brain tired!

I'll write again soon with more of the nitty gritty details of the trip itself. It will be my mom's first trip ever, and I want to make it really awesome for her! :)

'Til next time.....

40 Days!!!

Forty days until my Disney trip and I have FINALLY gotten all my plans squared away. It's all paid off and now I'm just waiting for my travel documents to show up. I am so excited!

I'm changing things around a lot more this time than I've ever done. We're coming in on a Monday instead of a Sunday. THAT is going to feel weird! I know I'm going to be off the whole time I am there. Anywhere, here is the plan.

Monday - Magic Kingdom and dinner at Be Our Guest
Tuesday - Animal Kingdom and dinner at Cape May Cafe
Wednesday - Epcot and dinner at Garden Grill
Thursday - Hollywood Studios and dinner at Grand Floridian Cafe
Friday - Magic Kingdom and lunch at Liberty Tree Tavern

We are trying three new places this time, and Liberty Tree for lunch which we have never done before; we've always had dinner there. I'm excited to try out the new places, and also hit a few old favorites as well. I don't think we'll make Fantasmic--I have this habit of scheduling dinners during the show. Everyone says we need to see it, and I don't doubt them. It's just something I want to keep saving for "next time." A reason to come back. Because I plan on coming back!

Here is my preliminary wish list for this trip:

- meet Gaston
- have a Dole Whip float
- see Wishes
- ride the new Test Track
- ride Soarin'
- take lots more photos (and instagram more too!)
- relax in the hot tub more often

This trip is going to be easy peasy. Fun, laid back, and a nice break from the Chicago winter (which honestly hasn't been that bad this year)!

Next time I will talk about the FUN I'm having trying to plan a trip for my mom and my son for the summer. Until then...

166 Days

That's right, folks. 166 days until our next visit to Walt Disney World!

I know it's time for me to start looking at another trip when I start having dreams about being at Disney World but something weird is in effect as well. Like, I had a dream that we were going on a spontaneous trip, but that I'd forgotten to pack my camera and my bathing suit. Well, I had my pink point and shoot camera, but not my nice Rebel T3. Or I dream that I'm on a coaster and it's at Disney World, but when I wake up I realize the coaster wasn't actually at Disney World but in my dream it was...

ANYWAY
The point is that I'm going back and I'm super excited! Last week of February, 2013. Flights are booked and dinner reservations for that first night are booked at Be Our Guest, the new restaurant based on Beauty and the Beast. Of course I have to fit in Garden Grill, Columbia Harbour House, and ABC Commissary while we are there as well.

We've stayed in Port Orleans French Quarter the last three times. I really like that resort. It's small and pretty and easy to get around. But I was thinking of trying something new. I don't want to lose the intimacy of POFQ, so it's a hard choice to make. We'd save around $300 if we tried Art of Animation and stayed in The Little Mermaid rooms, but Adam doesn't really want to do value again (and I'm OK with that). I would be interested in Caribbean Beach (but it sounds HUGE and I don't really want huge) or Coronado Springs. Hmm. Anyone have any suggestions?

Anyway, I'm very excited. I get to obsessively look at my favorite Disney blogs and message boards again. I get to plan and unplan meal reservations. And I get to dream of my trip. But the trip is more than four months away so I'm trying to be calm about it. I'm so very blessed that I get to go again to help break up my wintertime blues. :)

Looking Ahead

This winter is not letting up. Every day it gets worse. More snow. Colder temps. Greyer skies. So depressing. Even the thought of Disney in June isn't cheering me up now, because June may as well be a million years away at this point. *sigh*

But at least I have a Disney World light at the end of the tunnel, right?

As promised, I am going to give more details about the upcoming trip. I'll be doing things a bit differently this time around. For the past four times I've gone, my routine has been similar to this:

Sunday - Arrive, drop off stuff in resort room, hit Magic Kingdom, soak up Extra Magic Hours
Monday - Back to Magic Kingdom. Get bored by midday. Hop if I have a Park Hopper, endure if not.
Tuesday - Epcot. OH YES Garden Grill!
Wednesday - Hollywood Studios
Thursday - Random whatever, go home

There was usually at least one character breakfast mixed in, and two character and/or sitdown dinners. I always wanted to fit in the parades and the fireworks. This has worked for me every Disney trip since 2005. But I want to switch things around a bit. Shake things up. With more frequent parades, I can do it. It's time.

I have never gone to the parks in June before. I've gone in January, May, August, and September. (So far, my favorite has been May and September, but if I want to take Aidan, those are out of the question.) We're going the very first week, so I am hoping the crowds won't be terrible and it won't be too humid. I'm looking forward to the sun warming my skin, but my husband and son will melt if the humidity is too stifling.

This will be the first time we're flying in on a Saturday night and not going to any parks. We're flying Airtran, and I ALWAYS expect delays with them. By coming in Saturday night, I won't feel like we're missing out on park time when the inevitable delay happens. We can just go to Port Orleans and relax.

In the past, I've always wanted to be wherever the evening EMH were. I am a night owl and therefore being at Disney World at night is awesome. However, I'm going at a busier time of year than I am used to, so I want to avoid large crowds any way I can. I plan to do Rope Drop every day (I usually sleep in), and have early evenings relaxing by the pools and stuff. Well, after the fireworks and everything. Midday breaks will be utilized if needed. I'm skipping the Park Hopper. I rarely use it. I also plan to spend more time in Animal Kingdom. On our last trip, Adam and I enjoyed the park a lot more than we anticipated. He LOVED the safari and Expedition Everest.

So. This time, it's going to be like this:

Saturday - Arrival
Ride the Magical Express to the resort, check in, chill out in the pool and/or hot tub, or hit Downtown Disney. I'd like to try the boat ride to Downtown Disney from the resort. I hear it's really nice.

Sunday - Magic Kingdom
It's important to me to go to Magic Kingdom on my first day in the parks. I have to see the castle, smell the scents of Main Street, hear the music, watch the parade. The difference is that I'll be dragging Aidan out of bed so that we can do Rope Drop. Magic Kingdom will have evening Extra Magic Hours, so I figure we can ride all the awesome stuff in the morning, have lunch, go back to the resort and relax, and then hit Magic Kingdom in the afternoon for the parade and then evening hours. I love the evening EMH at Magic Kingdom. The park empties out. It's quiet. The castle is changing colors. It's gorgeous. P

Monday - Epcot ...and GARDEN GRILL!
For the rest of the trip, I will be avoiding any parks with EMH, so instead of going to Epcot on Tuesday, we'll be going on Monday. (Usually, I hit Magic Kingdom a second day.) It's going to feel weird, but I think I'll be fine. And hey, Garden Grill a day earlier than normal is always a welcome change to the ole routine. God, I love that place, and the character interaction there is my favorite.

Tuesday - Hollywood Studios
I've heard weird stories about the bull run to Toy Story Midway Mania at Rope Drop so people can load up on FastPasses. I like TSMM, and I'd really like Aidan to experience it, but the idea of that bull run kind of scares me! I think I'll do it anyway, because I think Aidan would love the ride. Tower of Terror--I doubt I'll get a chance to ride it this time around, unless I can get up the courage to ride it alone. I don't think Aidan will ride it, and we could do the parent swap (maybe?), but we'll see. I'd love to ride Rock N Rollercoaster just once. It's a rough one, but it's super fun. For dinner, we'll bus it to Wilderness Lodge for Whispering Canyon Cafe dinner (I am excited!).

Wednesday - Animal Kingdom
We're going to try to spend the whole day here. I really hope Aidan is over any fear of coasters by then because Expedition Everest is so fun! The safari should be fun, too. And maybe the giraffes will be out again. Then, dinner at Chef Mickey's.

Thurday - OPEN
We leave that evening, so we'll just pop into whatever park we want, eat a counter meal, and relax until time to go and wait for the Magical Express.

We've decided that sit down breakfasts cut into precious Rope Drop time, so we're going with all dinners this time. Breakfast will be a quick snack (cereal, cinnamon roll, etc.) procured from the food court the night before) so we can just GO. Also, we get the dining plan, and the dinners are a bigger value when using the dining plan.
I'm eager to see how this new plan will work out. Come on, June!

Til next time!

Disney Dreaming

We just had the mother of blizzards in Chicago. So bad that my job actually closed on Wednesday, and this morning's (non)commute was so stressful that I ended up going back home to warm up. I was so frustrated that I decided to take another day off. My boss told me to write a Disney blog entry, so here I am.

I AM SO READY FOR JUNE, YOU GUYS. Seriously, this morning, I stood on a train platform in 1˚F temperatures for an hour. I am so over the cold and snow, and every day I dream about being in Florida with the sun beating down on me while I nom on a chocolate and M&M covered marshmallow or maybe even a Casey's hotdog. It is that serious, folks.

The past couple of weeks, I went ahead and put the deposit on our Disney trip and extra night at Port Orleans French Quarter, got Adam to book the plane tickets, and made our meal reservations. If you're one of the three regular readers of this blog, you know that I like to try something new every trip. Here are my meal plans for our June trip:

Saturday - Whatever strikes our fancy. We won't be on the meal plan yet, so I figure we can eat at Downtown Disney or even in one of the resort food courts.

Sunday - Liberty Tree Tavern dinner (Of course I had to put in a tried and true favorite!)

Monday - Garden Grill dinner (Always.)

Tuesday - Whispering Canyon Cafe dinner (This is our new place. The menu looks scrumptious, and I hear that you can get into some real shenanigans here!)

Wednesday - Chef Mickey's dinner (I've never done this place for dinner before and I am eager to try the parmesan mashed potatoes.)

I used to follow a certain pattern every single time I went to Disney World. This time, I'm going to be doing things differently. It's just about time for me to eat dinner, so stay tuned for more details. :)

Less Than A Week!

OK, seriously, this has really snuck up on me. I am so not prepared!

So much has happened since I last posted. I was offered a full-time job and I accepted, with the provision that I'd not have to cancel Disney World, and I've been so busy with work (lots of long days and some weekends), birthdays, and the holidays that I haven't had much time to give Disney World much thought until a couple of weeks ago when Suzy emailed to say that she was ready to send out my travel documents!

So, the documents are here (along with a gift from Suzy--I have mentioned how awesome she is, haven't I?) and I barely had any time to look through them before stashing them in a safe place. I went ahead and did the early-bird check in for our flights (because let's face it: there is no way I'm going to be up at 6:40 am this Saturday), and I pre-ordered our Photopass CD. I've yet to make a packing list, check the weather obsessively, clear off my camera memory cards, recharge the camera batteries, make sure the Flip cams are in order, and check and recheck the crowd calendar. I even have a new Disney Parks Blu-ray Disc™ that I still need to watch. What is wrong with me?

I think I'm in denial, as I always am, when I am this close to the Disney trip. I mean, it's less than a week away, and I'm still kinda like "la la la." I think once Friday rolls around I'll be in full on frenetic Disney mode, but now all I can think is that I have a work week ahead of me, so until *that's* out of the way, there is no need to get all crazy with excitement yet.

What I am doing is praying for warm weather, no rain, no wind, and lots of sunshine. I think I'll have a better idea of what to pack once the end of the week gets here and I have a clearer picture of what it will be like out there.

I am very excited to go, though. Lots of stuff I want to buy, lots of stuff I want to eat, and lots I want to see and do.

I'll try to post more this week. Maybe I'll get more crazy! :)

To Agent or Not to Agent?

The first time I planned a Disney World trip on my own was in 2008. The two trips I'd taken prior had been planned by my then husband, Chris. My first was in 2001. I still have all the paperwork for it, and all the receipts. He did everything, and booked our flights using AOL Travel. Does that even exist anymore?

The second trip happened in 2005. Again, Chris planned the entire thing. I didn't see any of the financials or paperwork for that trip. I might have it all buried in my Precious Things bin. Maybe I'll hunt for it someday.

In 2008, I got remarried and Adam and I decided to take our honeymoon at Disney World. We got married in July of 2008, but decided to take our trip in September because we wanted cooler weather, lower crowds, and lower prices. We got all three. I planned that trip on my own. I know, isn't it the husband who is supposed to plan the honeymoon? Whatever. I had fun. Plus, he's the one who paid for a good chunk of it, so I'm not complaining. (The rest was funded by our friends and family and well wishers who contributed to our Disney Honeymoon Registry.)

The night I finally got online to book, the site was acting weird and not loading. A quick trip to some message boards confirmed that Disney was indeed having issues and that calling would be easier. Now, I'm not a phone person. I would much rather communicate by e-mail/blog/text message/Facebook/whatever. But this was my honeymoon and it was Disney World so I sucked it up and made the call. The agent couldn't have been nicer. I felt like I was talking to an old friend. I called again a few days later to make my dining reservations (no online system yet) and even though I was kind of annoying, the rep was pretty patient considering that I was indecisive, was calling well into the 180 or 90 day window they had going on at the time (because I'd booked the trip so late) and having a hard time finding replacements as my first choices were not always available. I guess that wasn't too painful, but man was I glad when Disney came out with their online reservation system a few years later!

For the trip I planned in 2009, I decided to click on one of the many Disney-oriented travel agencies to see what I could see. I happened to click on Mouse Fan Travel. I think I was at work, waiting for something to do, and browsing All Ears, and they had a link. I clicked it. Decided to get a free quote because I'd just gotten an e-mail about a free dining promotion. Not even 24 hours later, I got a response from Suzy. She was able to put the package I wanted on hold while I waited for my boss to approve the days off I'd requested. Once he approved them, I gave Suzy the green light to charge my card for the deposit, and I booked our flights with Southwest.

Over the next few months, Suzy was my go-to person for anything I needed to ask for my upcoming trip. She made all our ADRs (YAY, I didn't have to get on the phone!), scheduled our Magical Express information, and when it came time for me to make the final payment, I actually had to call her because my bank changed my card and I needed to update the information on file.

I don't ever dread talking to Suzy. She is amazingly personable and sweet. Again, it was like talking to an old friend.

Suzy got our trip documents first. You know what I am talking about! That magic package from Disney World with all of your information, perks, goodies, Magical Express tags, and assorted good stuff. She sent them to us using expedited delivery, but also included some surprises! There was a Peter Pan slap bracelet, a lanyard (that I still use), and a Minnie Mouse antennae ball (that I do not use because some wack job would just steal it). I was not expecting the extra stuff, but that cinched it for me. If I was ever going to plan another Disney trip, I was definitely going to use Mouse Fan Travel.

When I went to plan my 2011 trip, I didn't even hesitate. I e-mailed Suzy right away and she usually got back to me within hours if not minutes, even if I e-mailed her at 2:30am. She priced many different packages and options for me, helped me when I wanted to change a few things around, and again offered to call in my ADRs, but now they have the online system, and I had fun doing those myself!

So, to agent or not to agent? It's totally up to you. Some people would rather have complete control, especially if they have to make modifications to their vacation plans. Also, if you book by yourself, you get a Disney confirmation number and you can go on the site and play around with things. As for me, I find the services and help that Suzy provides for me to be beneficial and valuable. I am not a fan of math, but she's good at figuring out the best deals for me. She handles all the paperwork, and I can ask her anything because she's a Disney expert and a fan of the parks herself. She gets back to me quickly, and she's always fun to communicate with.

A good agent will try to get the best possible deal for your upcoming vacation. Mouse Fan Travel checks for discounts and automatically applies them if your vacation is eligible. There are many other services they provide as well. And did I mention how patient Suzy is with my questions? On top of all this, Mouse Fan Travel's services are free.

I'm sure that many of the other Disney-oriented agencies are just as great. I know a lot of people like Dreams Unlimited. There is also Small World Vacations. There are many agencies out there, but you want to make sure you book with an Authorized Disney Vacation Planner.

I can't see not using Suzy for future Disney trips. She's been such a help, and I trust her 100% with my vacation planning needs.