Official Pre-Trip Report!! Feb. 2009

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Sun, 01/25/2009 - 00:40

admin

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Official Pre-Trip Report!! Feb. 2009

All this chatter about discounts and the like hasn't gone un-noticed. We haven't been to the World since our September trip, and although we'd promised to take a little break while we moved house, the move (and therefore the extra cost of the move and extra rent) no longer applies.

So.

That allowed the thought of a little trip to enter our disneyfied brains, and quick search on the disney world site told us that we can get some majorly discounted rooms at the Contemporary, Wilderness Lodge, and the Caribbean Beach.

Great, right? "Get moving!" you say!

Well, my (relatively) new job was a bit shocked at my request for vacation dates so early , and might be the death of our Valentine's Day vacation.

I shall charge forward in the meantime, make ADRs, and wait for my beloved company to determine my fate.

Sun, 01/25/2009 - 02:27

SoloFriendly

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Well, you do like living on the edge, don't you? Good luck with that. Do let us know how it turns out.

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Sun, 01/25/2009 - 04:12

bali

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Good luck to you. I've never really understood why companies give you vacation time if they don't let you use it.

Did they tell you there was a stipulation on how far in advance you need to request vacation?

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Thu, 01/29/2009 - 04:05

admin

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I got the OK at work and we're GOING!

Here's the itinerary so far:

Saturday:
Arrive at MCO mid-day
Check in at the Contemporary (first time staying there; yay for AP discounts)
Liberty Tree Tavern lunch
Hang around the MK
No dinner planned yet
Watch Wishes from our balcony

Sunday:
Epcot early to ride the new Spaceship Earth
Le Cellier Lunch
Chill out at the resort
Citricos dinner
MK EMH

Monday:
AK EMH
Donald's Breakfastosaurus
AK Day and rest at the resort
California Grill for dinner

Tuesday:
Crystal Palace for breakfast
Magic Kingdom rides and stuff
Afternoon resting at resort
9:45pm 'Ohana

Wednesday:
Chef Mickey's for breakfast
Check out of Contemporary and Check in Wilderness Lodge
Head to DHS while waiting for room to be ready
Lunch at Beaches and Cream (if we're hungry)
Chill out at the resort
AK EMH
Artist Point for a late late late dinner

Thursday:
MK EMH
Plaza for lunch
Rest at resort
Shutters @ Caribbean Beach for dinner
DHS EMH (Might skip this)

Friday:
Get up early and go ride Toy Story Mania as many times as possible
Lunch at Beaches and Cream
Rest at hotel
Dinner at Boma
Epcot EMH (Might skip this)

Saturday ( Valentine's Day):
DHS EMH (Might skip this)
1:00pm lunch at Olivia's @ OKW
Rest at Resort
Dinner at Jiko

Sunday:
Whispering Canyon Breakfast

Thu, 01/29/2009 - 10:29

ZapperZ

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Hum.. you have an evening EMH and then followed up the next day with a morning EMH. Do you think this is wise? Or are you not planning on getting any sleep?

Also, that Thursday with EMH as the bookends to your day, that could be rough!

I guess some people have more energy than I do.

Zz.

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Thu, 01/29/2009 - 12:16

SoloFriendly

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Yay! Congrats!
BTW, I love those dancing emoticons at the top of your last message. So cute.

But wait--are you doing the 7 for the price of 4 deal? I didn't think you could switch hotels during your stay on that one...

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Thu, 01/29/2009 - 15:28

admin

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ZapperZ wrote:

Hum.. you have an evening EMH and then followed up the next day with a morning EMH. Do you think this is wise? Or are you not planning on getting any sleep?

Also, that Thursday with EMH as the bookends to your day, that could be rough!

I guess some people have more energy than I do.

Zz.

I guess I never realized that I always include ALL EMHs in my planning no matter what. And as you have brought my attention to some situations that will likely end up with what I like to call "cranky moments ," here's how I think we'll rememdy:

Friday's Epcot EMH will likely not be used to its fullest by yours truly. We'll probably pop in, wander around World Showcase for a bit, and pop out, saving our energy for the Toy Story Mania-a-thon at MGM's EMH the next morning.

Regarding the Thursday double EMHs--the "open afternoon" in there will likely include a ginormous nap. But even with that, we still won't make it through the evening EMH, I imagine, and will therefore favor the MK morning EMH that day.

[quote poster=SoloFriendly]
But wait--are you doing the 7 for the price of 4 deal? I didn't think you could switch hotels during your stay on that one...

Pitting the pros and cons of the 3+4 against the annual passholder discount, we went for the AP discount. I'm amazed at how many AP discounts are still available this late in the game--who gets a Wilderness Lodge AP discount two weeks before they're leaving?!?

Sat, 01/31/2009 - 01:20

UnbalancedLibra

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Wow - you will be BUSY!!!!!

Oh, clue me in, what are AP discounts?

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Sat, 01/31/2009 - 02:18

cdub

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UnbalancedLibra wrote:

Wow - you will be BUSY!!!!!

Oh, clue me in, what are AP discounts?

Annual Passholder discounts. If you're gonna be there for around 9 days you usually might as well get an AP.

Sat, 01/31/2009 - 05:54

admin

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Just updated the itinerary with a couple more character breakfasts, and taking into account Zapperz note that we're essentially getting no sleep (Ha!). I've always wanted to try Donald's Breakfastosaurus.

Sat, 01/31/2009 - 05:55

dsoup

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So you're switching from Contempo to Wilderness Lodge halfway through?

Sat, 01/31/2009 - 11:37

UnbalancedLibra

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cdub wrote:

UnbalancedLibra wrote:
Wow - you will be BUSY!!!!!

Oh, clue me in, what are AP discounts?

Annual Passholder discounts. If you're gonna be there for around 9 days you usually might as well get an AP.

Ohh, I see. thanks!

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Sat, 01/31/2009 - 15:53

SpaceAce

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cdub wrote:

UnbalancedLibra wrote:
Wow - you will be BUSY!!!!!

Oh, clue me in, what are AP discounts?

Annual Passholder discounts. If you're gonna be there for around 9 days you usually might as well get an AP.

Mousesavers link about Annual and Seasonal Passholder discounts

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Sat, 01/31/2009 - 17:53

UnbalancedLibra

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SpaceAce wrote:

cdub wrote:
UnbalancedLibra wrote:
Wow - you will be BUSY!!!!!

Oh, clue me in, what are AP discounts?

Annual Passholder discounts. If you're gonna be there for around 9 days you usually might as well get an AP.

Mousesavers link about Annual and Seasonal Passholder discounts

Thank you for the link!

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Tue, 02/03/2009 - 02:08

Brad

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ZapperZ wrote:

Hum.. you have an evening EMH and then followed up the next day with a morning EMH. Do you think this is wise? Or are you not planning on getting any sleep?

Also, that Thursday with EMH as the bookends to your day, that could be rough!

I guess some people have more energy than I do.

Zz.

Yeah, I foresee a cranky/sleepy admin.

Sat, 02/07/2009 - 06:58

admin

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dsoup wrote:

So you're switching from Contempo to Wilderness Lodge halfway through?

Yes, indeed-y! Contempo is too expensivo for the whole time, plus we switch from value season to peak season right in the middle of the trip--that last weekend (President's Day) prices are through the roof.

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Official Pre-Trip Report!! Feb. 2009